May Club Run

May’s Club Run took place over the border down in North Essex, starting from West Bergholt just outside Colchester.  Despite the journey required into darkest Essex and contrary to the rumours that no-one was going to turn up we set out with 6 Club members. There was an array of shiny looking solos and one (I have to admit responsibility for this one) rather dusty tandem!

We headed out through Copford, Heckfordbridge and Layer-de-la-Haye (curiously known to locals as Layer-de-la-Whoop) and over Abberton Reservoir, which looked fuller than it has done for years. We then passed through Gt. Wigborough and on to Peldon before joining the busy, but only, road to Mersea Island. We paused briefly on ‘The Strood’ the link between the mainland and the Island which floods at high tide and having managed to avoid the Roman Centurion who is reputed to haunt the Strood, we headed into West Mersea town.

We had lunch at the Victory, which can best be summarised as brilliant position overlooking the boatyards and creek, but slightly odd reception. The latter was due to the fact that it was Sunday therefore virtually all choice seemed to be removed from the menu, so for veggies and non major-meat eaters as we all turned out to be the ‘veggie choice’ was a Glamorgan Burger or nothing! That said the Glamorgan Burgers turned out to be quite nice and they did try to make things up by giving us a free bowl of chips, which didn’t hang around too long!

After refilling on beer (in most cases) and fat we headed back to The Strood and Peldon this time heading NE round the side of Abberton Reservoir to Abberton and Langenhoe then back to Layer. Here we headed North to the outskirts of Colchester and worked our way round to Stanway before crossing the A12 and the mainline railway to come back into West Bergholt.

Click here for a map of the route.

All in all it was a pretty good ride, the weather was warm and sometimes strongly sunny but with occasional clouds and it was certainly chilly in the shade. I hope those who came along enjoyed themselves and got to see some different terrain from the more usual Suffolk Coastal fayre!  Jon S

June Club run

Trevor will lead a ride from Framlingham this Sunday, 13^th June, starting at 10:00am.  Meet at the Elms Car Park.

Open & GHS 10

Trevor is promoting this Plomesgate event on Sunday June 20th, on our usual "10" course, Sudbourne Village Hall is HQ, time of start is 09:30. He has timekeepers and a recorder but would still like volunteers for pushing off, marshalling, result board scribe and signing on/number steward please.

Contact Trevor on 01728 723701 (07952 799448) or trevor.figgitt@btinternet.com

Get Well Soon

Our best wishes go to Heather Collinson, who has recently undergone an operation to repair torn cartilage and a cruciate ligament ripped away from the bone.  Heather is now recuperating at home, and we wish her a speedy recovery.

May Open 25

Firstly thank you to all those who helped out - the event wouldn't happen without you.

Our new signs drew some admiring glances and enquiries as to where we'd got them made - Pete Bott could set up a nice little business if he wanted!

The weather was kind to us - a "float" day - warm and bright with a light breeze - and winners Charles McCulloch and Julia Shaw, both former triathletes, both set new course records. This was despite the course being a little bit longer than last year, as we re-discovered the correct start point!

Patrick Ellis (Godric) added to the "excitement" by crashing heavily on the section from Bromeswell to Butley after his front forks failed. By the time marshalls were told and went looking for him, he was already back at the HQ, helped by passers-by, and an ambulance was sitting in the middle of the car-park. A suspected broken collarbone was confirmed at the James Paget hospital, but fortunately there was no other serious damage, just bruising and scrapes.

Viv and Mark H both took home prize money - Viv was 2nd woman and Mark for fastest novice.

Plomesgate riders:

Pete, 8th, 1:02; Mark H, 16th, 1:06; Mark B, 17th, 1:07; Jim, 20th, 1:10; Valerio, 22nd, 1:11; Viv, 23rd, 1:11; Bev, 34th, 1:20.

Paul Willsher was the winner in the helpers and marshalls draw.

Steve

Foxhall Sessions

14^th May

After a week off (rain prevented play), a warm sunny evening meant a bumper turnout of 16 riders, with Valerio, saving himself for the "25" next day, acting as commissaire for the night.

There was a shock in the time trial, as Jenny, despite lowering her PB by over 3 seconds to record her first sub-50 second lap (48.2), was beaten by nearly a second by Natasha. Lewis was third, ahead of Anna, Jack, Jessica and Georgia, all four setting new personal bests.

The handicap races were a no contest. In the first race, Georgia was crossing the line before the rest even made it onto the finishing straight! Despite a modified handicap, Georgia still showed the rest a clean pair of heels in the second race. For the record, Jenny led the charge for second place, ahead of Jack. The devil was a close race, with Jenny taking line honours by about a length from a fast-finishing Lewis, with Natasha in third.

In the Seniors, Matt became only the second rider to get under 33 seconds to take the time trial ahead of Paul (33.07 - PB). Colin, Steve (riding fixed) and Jim were covered by less than half a second, while Julian, Daniel, Adrian and Natasha all set respectable times for their first visits. Adrian won the handicap race, from Jim, while Steve continued his circus riding - having shipped his chain at the finish of his timed lap, he narrowly avoided being thrown from his bike after pulling a foot out at the start of the handicap.

The devil was an interesting race. Paul made an early attack, which was marked by Matt and Daniel, and so came to nothing. A few laps of reasonably steady riding followed, with Matt and Julian controlling the pace, before Steve took a flyer on the back straight with two and a half laps to go. Matt and Julian responded, before Julian dropped off slightly. As Steve faded in the last half lap, Matt made his move and won by several lengths.

The "drag-races" at the end of the session had mixed results. Of the juniors, Lewis won the first dash comfortably, but was boxed in for the second race, as Anna showed she went to the Robbie McEwen school of straight sprinting, leaving the door open for Jenny, who also took the third race, ahead of Natasha.

Paul took the first heat of the seniors and Daniel the second, with Adrian also qualifying for the "A" final. Steve was quickest in the "B" final, ahead of Julian, Colin and Jim, while the A final went to form, with Paul winning from Daniel and Adrian.

Georgia wins the handicap race
(click picture to see it enlarged)

21^st May

Some new faces appeared on a bright, but chilly, evening, as Adrian McTigue brought the whole of his "tribe" to play.

In the time trial, the wind on the back straight took the edge of the times, with Natasha Parker a couple of seconds quicker than Jenny, who was just 0.2s ahead of Lewis Parker. Anna and Jack were both under the minute, with Curtis (1m05) and Aaron (1m08) just over on their first visit. In the battle of the stabilisers, Laurence did 2m03 and Niall, at 3 and a half, the youngest ever rider at Foxhall, did a very  creditable 3m17.

In the senior event, Adrian, cheered on by his supporters, took the honours, ahead of Jim, with Julian just (by 0.1s) beating son Daniel for 3rd place.

In the series of drag-races, there were some very close results. Curtis (twice) and Jack both won in group 1, with Aaron always pushing them close. In the second group, we had a dead-heat between Jenny and Lewis in the first race, before Lewis took the second and Natasha the last.

For the adults, the groups were split along club lines, with Daniel getting revenge on his dad 2-0, and Adrian beating Jim by the same score. Alas, the IBC vs PCC finals didn't happen - maybe next week?

In the first handicap race, Niall was a clear winner, almost reaching the finishing line before the scratch riders (Lewis, Natasha and Jenny) had started! Laurence took second a few seconds later, then a gap until Natasha used her strength to win the bunch sprint for 3rd. Niall sat out the second race, giving Laurence the opportunity to win narrowly from Natasha, Jenny and Curtis.

28^th May

Another excellent evening of traffic-free fun.

First to ride the timed lap, Georgia D set a new PB of 1m43 - compare this to her time of 2m12 just a month ago! Gary Ingram was next, on his new racer, with a respectable 53.3s, while brother James rode a PB and was just outside the magic minute. Natasha Parker continued her winning ways, with a PB time of 46.5s, ahead of brother Lewis who clocked 49.8s. Ben and Dom, the sons of Nick, the stadium manager, were persuaded to have a go, recording times of 1m01 and 1m09 respectively, and are determined to return and go faster!

Of the oldies, Matt was off his best with 34.8s, while Paul was flying - his time of 32.5 was a new PB. Jim had an interesting time - his first attempt ended after two pedal strokes as he snapped his chain! When his voice dropped back down from soprano :-), he then did his lap on Steve's bike, while Steve fixed the chain.

A time just outside his PB from a couple of years ago, on an unfamiliar bike, shows that Jim is making a welcome return to form. In the battle of the Parkers, dad Julian had a slightly more comfortable win over Daniel this week and Angela set a new PB of 43.8s.

Gary regained his crown as king of the handicap race, ahead of Dom and a dead-heat for third between Georgia and Lewis. Lewis got his revenge in the sprints, winning both of the drag races ahead of Natasha, Gary and James. A skills exercise followed- picking up sweets from a marker as you rode past. This caused great amusement to the spectators, until they were invited to try and found it wasn't nearly as easy as it looked! Then a "slow" race - easily won by Georgia.

Jim kept handicap wins in the family as he crossed the line first, ahead of Daniel and Matt, before Paul showed he could do track stands to win the adult slow race.

An "all-ride" devil was the final race of the night, with Steve acting as "derny" to try and keep the bunch together. Natasha was the last of the juniors to be knocked out, after which the derny pulled off. The last lap was close, with Julian looking to have blocked Paul on the last corner, but Paul's finishing speed got him the win.

If you would like to join in future sessions meet at Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, from about 7pm on Friday evenings until the light goes or it gets too cold. The sessions are open to all.

Steve

Quote of the month

Our club treasurer was overheard to say when working out the handicaps at Foxhall (for the second time as he it got wrong first time) ‘I’ve never been any good with numbers’.

5 mile TT

An ideal intro to time-trialling, some extra speed training, or just a bit of fun, these are whatever you want to make them. The 5 mile course uses the middle section of the "10" course, from Tunstall common to the roundabout and back. This is the flattest, and probably fastest, part of the 10 course, and the start and finish point is between the "camelback" section and the turning to Butley.

The (unofficial) course records are

Rob Cotton, 11:30 (2003)

Women: Becky Figgitt, 13:50 (2002)

Tandem: Sarra and Bev Whelan, 13:35 (2003)

U12/U14: Gary Ingram, 21:26 (2002, age 10)

The first of these events will be on June 10th, starting at 7pm.  The second event will be later in the summer - watch this space.

Evening ‘10’s

20^th May

Big Matt made it three straight wins this evening, and continued to close in on Evert's club record for the course (23:31). Pete opened his account with a time close to his 2003 best, but was still over 30s behind. Richard seems to prefer warmer weather and dropped back a bit, but was still a clear 3rd ahead of a close 3-way battle for 4th as Steve and Mark B start to find some form, but Mark H held on, despite being hampered by a minor injury.

Viv moves into the lead of the women's competition, while John V's return to gears paid immediate dividends with a 2 minute improvement. Ron put in a solid ride for his first competitive outing on the course.

Matt is dominating the points comp and has the fastest time of the series so far, as well as pulling clear of Mark H in the handicap. Pete takes over from Paul as best vet, despite Paul continuing to improve.

It was a cooler evening than of late, with a light breeze which couldn't make up its mind about direction, but at least the threatened showers held off!

3^rd May

A cloudy and wet night saw the riders starting on dry weather and roads, but all had to enjoy some rain before the finish.

Dave James recorded the best evening time so far this year, setting Big Matt a new target to aim at! Tony had his first go ever and was very close to his vet’s standard time. Despite riding the Open 10 earlier in the year, this was also Adrian’s first entry into the evening series, so both he and Tony will get handicap times for the rest of the competition based on these performances.

Trevor and Rob C made their first rides in this year’s series, with Trevor just missing his veteran standard time for a whisker.

Next evening ‘10’ – 20^th May at 7pm.

Thursday Training

We're restarting the training rides, on the "10" course, on those Thursdays when there's not an evening race. Meet at the start at about (before?) 7pm.  Because of the 5 mile race on June 10th, the next training session will be on June 24th.

Road Races

16^th May, Eastway

The race was a 3/4^th Cats, I managed to convince Steve to start in the Cat 3 race, they held the 4ths back half a lap. All was good at the first hairpin and the pace picked up nicely, I spent a bit of time on the front before I realised everyone was letting me pull or bring back any breaks and sitting in behind me. I’ll put that down to my enthusiasm getting the better of me. After 3 laps I was taking a pull again when Steve launched himself off with another rider so I soft pedalled on the front to give them a lead of about 200m, at this point I think someone realised that both of us had Christmas trees on and a chase ensued to bring the main bunch back together. The pace was good and with continuous attacks surged a fair bit but I was feeling very comfortable, Steve’s effort seemed to take a bit out of him and he drifted back, eventually losing touch with the group and waiting for the 4^th Cat race I later found out. I got 3^rd at the first Prem and a lap later took another pull and looked back and had opened a gap of about 100m, but decided that another hour on my own was not really an option physically or mentally so sat up and rejoined the group, then decided as so many people were jockeying for my wheel and letting me work I should drift back and hide in the bunch for a bit, which was lovely and spent the next half an hour coasting round a third of the way back in the bunch keeping an eye on things and picking out the best lines for the finish and who was strong where and which wheels to look for later. As the hour came and went we started the final 10 laps and the pace picked up, some more riders were shelled out but a bunch of about 30 odd kept the pace on. I opted not to contest the second Prem as I hoped I had been forgotten by the front runners. With 3 laps to go the pace picked up again and a fair bit of bumping went on as riders set themselves up for the final lap and looked for wheels. Being the diminutive waif that I am I obviously held my lines and with the aide of elbows, shoulders and knees kept myself out of trouble and only briefly raced on the grass adjacent to the track, pointing out to the rider who put me there ‘politely’ what I thought of his bike control. I did however get treated to punches being traded by two riders just in front of me which had me chuckling, Steve later mentioned he had seen it from the back of the bunch that he rejoined when we passed and thought it was me!!! Charming.

With a lap and a half to go a rider from Eagle CC sprung himself clear and with no one willing to commit to a chase sealed the win. Back in the group the bunch sprint was shaping up nicely I moved forward and sat 3^rd wheel on the shoulder of a rider, from the Ciclos Uno Victoria team, I had picked out as my lead out as he had looked strong all day and had a good sprint. As we came over the ramp into the left hand bend the 1^st wheel hit the gas from 250m out, my lead out and I responded and accelerated hard before the 1^st wheel lost his front end and slid across the track I took avoiding action which put me in the adjacent vegetation but still upright so I rejoined and finished 22^nd, the riders behind were not so lucky and all I could hear was impacts and metallic crashes as about 10 – 15 riders hit the deck.

A disappointing finish as I was feeling great and was sure I was capable of a podium finish at least. The good news was all riders walked away, the initial victim came off worst with rash all down his left arm, side and all down his legs but considering the carnage everyone was very lucky. As Steve said afterwards ‘Shit happens!’

Race time was 1hour 31min and we covered 36 miles.

Matt

30^th May Ciclos Uno Series, Eastway

Plomesgate managed to field 6 riders (Matt, Richard, Mark H, Valerio, Gary and Steve) and were joined by IBC's Paul Watts for this race, which was meant to be 4th and novices only, but was every bit as quick as the previous weeks "all categories" race. Matt and Richard rode strongly, making breaks and marking moves, backed up by Mark for the whole race and Steve for the early parts.

After Valerio, Gary, Steve and Paul had been shelled by the pace (Paul paying for his efforts in a break), they regrouped in the second bunch, which was about a dozen strong. Gary and Steve led out Paul for the prime, which he took with a strong sprint. In the last couple of laps, they were working hard to set up Paul again, before a 2-up attack on the last lap. Steve responded and managed to pull Paul, and a couple of others, across before fading - Paul got second in the sprint.

Meanwhile the main bunch had come back together for the finish, everyone stayed upright and Matt got 7th in the sprint. Richard and Mark both finished safely in the bunch - less than three seconds separated the winner from the back of the bunch!

Steve

Newport Track Training

 In May Becky and Trevor unfortunately missed the Open "25" so they could get across to Wales for a 7 hour session on Newport Velodrome. It was a long hard and hot day of training and "pretend" racing. Amongst the 19 or so riders from across the Eastern Region was a contingent from Ipswich BC with Phil Hetzel determined to rip everyone's legs off!! Amongst the days events everyone had a chance at doing a flying 250m lap. Trevor completed it in 17.20s and Becky in 17.80s. Fastest was Antony Stapleton (a name some of you will recognise) in 15.86s.

Results

9^th May Colchester Rovers "50"

Steve put his winter endurance training to good use, as he won on handicap with a time of 2:21:12.  The course was mainly on back roads around Little Bentley, Weeley (what a great name to have in the race directions!) and Tendring, although it had short spells on the A120 and A133. It also had several draggy hills, and one steep little ******, to deal with on each of the three laps. Essex-based fast vet, Steve China, was quickest in 1:55, ahead of Glenn Taylor.

22^nd May Ipswich BC Open, Crowfield

Matt used his power to good effect on his first time around this hilly little course, and his time of 24:33 was good enough for 4th place, only beaten by the Anglia Velo trio of Jim Burgess, David Staff and Martin Pyne. Pete was 11th with 25:33, Steve 21st (27:16), Valerio 30th (29:43), Adrian 31st (29:59) and Bev 41st (32:45).

ICA Wednesday night series.
5^th May Combs: Valerio was our sole rider, off first and clocking 28:26 for 16th place

12^th May: Matt took an impressive 2nd place, with 24:51, as Phil Hetzel won in 24:22.

19^th May: In the last of the Combs series, Adrian tested himself before the Crowfield open event and recorded 29:31.

26^th May Crowfield.  Valerio (28:47) was quickest of our trio, ahead of Adrian, 30:04 and Bev, 33:41.

30^th May, Merida 100

Mark and Viv entered a 90km MTB event at Rhaeadr in mid-Wales.  This is a ‘fun’ event rather than a race, but you wouldn’t think it from the way that everyone steams off.  The 1000 riders started together, with a leading car controlling the ride for the first 6km.  There’d been overnight rain, and the single track was very boggy, particularly when 500 riders had slithered through ahead.  Mark did 5h47 (116^th), and Viv did 7h5 (257^th of the 305 ‘90km’ finishers).

1^st June Bungay Evening 10

Matt has been a regular here, and seems to set a new PB with every visit! On 1st June he lowered his PB to 22:54, despite the rain and breeze.

Dates For The Calendar

10^th June, Plomesgate ‘5’

13^th June, Club Run, Framlingham

17^th June, Plomesgate evening ‘10’

20^th June, Plomesgate Open ‘10’

Evening events 2004:

Starting on Thursday April 29^th, followed by May 6th and then fortnightly until the last one on Thursday 26^th  August.  Start at 7pm except for first and last ones.

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