Trevor
March Club run
Evert
will be leading March’s club
run on 19th March, starting at 10am in Martlesham. Park
at the Crown Point fish & chip shop (Evert has arranged parking with
them), then cycle the 50 metres up the road to Aysgarth (Evert and Annelie’s
house). Evert has planned a 38 mile route, with a planned stop in
Levington. Annelie will be providing refreshments on the return to
Martlesham.
April Club run
This will be on April 9th from
Woodbridge, then back to Pete and Bev’s to watch Paris Roubaix.
March
Open ‘10’
Bev is organizing the first Plomesgate
Open event of 2006 on 18th March. Please contact Bev if
you are able to offer any assistance: bev.whelan@talk21.com.
Subscriptions
It’s now March and subs are overdue. If you haven’t renewed
your membership yet, please send a cheque for the appropriate amount, payable
to “Plomesgate CC” to Steve at 4 Leicester Close, Ipswich, IP2 9EX.
Please note: Anyone intending to ride the Open 10 must have
renewed their membership before they enter.
For
over 18s it is £10, under 18 and over 12s, £5, and
under 12s free. If you are a second claim member half of the above
fee is due.
Club Dinner
We
had a successful dinner at the Lighthouse in Aldeburgh, and had a waiting
list for places for the first time ever. Trevor
presented the trophies (mostly to Matt), and Jon Smith was the winner of
this year’s Abdu award, commemorating his pre-Mountain Mayhem crash. Continuing
the Mountain Mayhem theme, Steve received a MM buff for his newsletter
articles.
For
the next dinner we are planning to set a date further in advance, so
that more places will be available. More details will
be available once it has been agreed at a Committee meeting.
Viv
Race Results
Ely ‘Hardriders’ 25
With my change in approach and targets for 2006 I decided
that for only the second time in my 2 years of racing in Opens I would
have a go at a 25. What possessed me to start with the Hardriders on February
12th, the day after the club dinner, can only be put down to
my excitement about this season and the positive effect I could feel from
the training program I am following.
I had been watching the weather web pages all week and
was expecting a cold dry day and was lulled by the mild, dry and bright
Saturday the day before, but woke to heavy rain, near freezing temperatures
and a stiff breeze.
I
drove up to Ely and signed on, there were a lot of miserable faces about
but
I had been looking forward to finding out how the training
I was doing was going to benefit me and Trevor had even suggested a strategy!
Yes I have found there is another way to ride other than when the starter
says go ride as hard as you can using the ‘brute force and ignorance’ method
that I have perfected in 10’s!
I ‘warmed’ up gently and had found the start and turned
up with a minute to spare, so far so good, I was nice and relaxed as I
had a joke with the starter and time keeper before winding up to my race
pace. The first 5 miles were a technical mixture of country lanes undulating
through farms and villages with many tight and twisty bends into the stiff
breeze. Due to the heavy rain fall some parts of the road were totally
submerged and I just picked a spot and hoped there were no pot holes! I
settled into a nice rhythm and felt good, the new bike was everything I
wanted it to be, comfortable, stiff and fast! I had no 1, 2 or 3 minute
men as they being of sound body AND mind had not decided to start so settled
into my lone ride and was enjoying myself and looking forward to making
the turn onto the A10 where a tailwind waited and I intended to put the
hammer down. After 4 miles I caught my 4 minute and was a little surprised
to see him and shortly after passed my 5 minute man, before people start
thinking I am either living in a fantasy world or I am the new Lance Armstrong
I must say I was in the half of the field for riders with times over the
hour having only ever ridden one 25 before and both these riders were old
enough to either be my father or grandfather. As I came round a bend within
site of the A10 I felt that horrible spongy feeling in front and a quick
bounce on my tri-bars confirmed I had punctured one of my new ‘tubs’. Luckily
I could ride the 5 miles back to the start on a flat tub but was very disappointed
as I was going well and was just coming to the 12 mile section with a tailwind!
I washed up and packed the bike away and scouted the course in reverse
for next year and to see who was going well. Predictably Michael Hutchinson
won on a 57 which I think was a new course record with Lee Bark of Stowmarket
placing well.
Matt
Winter Training!
To train in Spain you have to catch a plane
Phil Hetzel and I jetted off to Spain on Monday 13th February
to get some warm weather riding in the hills of Murcia, I had borrowed
a friend’s apartment and sorted cheap flights with bikes to Murcia and
a car to get us to Puerto Mazzarón on the Med coast. A short 2 hour flight
and we were there, 20°, sunshine, empty roads and which ever way you go
hills. As usual huge thanks to Pip my very understanding wife, especially
as it was half-term and Valentines Day to boot!
Our first ride was on Tuesday the 14th,
we decided to head west and find a suitable loop, the air was still a
little chilly
but the clouds were burning off and 16° was fine with us after freezing
at home, I did however decide to put leg warmers and a windproof gilet
on, which within an hour and after climbing the first 500m soon came off
and ended up filling my already laden jersey pockets. The temperature hit
a nice 20° and the clouds had gone as we headed toward the summit of the
Sierra Almenara, on the descent I managed to hit a patch of gravel and
ended up vaulting off my bike and over the Armco to land in a heap on the
dirt on the other side. Phil enjoyed mentioning how I only ever seem to
crash when we ride together, brilliant I thought I have another 4 days
of this! After a fast descent we headed across the valley toward Lorca
before swinging off North onto some fast back roads on the plain and reaching
a little village called La Hoya, we decided the next bar we saw was going
to be our stop for lunch having covered 60km in 2 hours with 800m of climbing.
We found Bar Starsky next to the level crossing and headed in, it was a
kind of cross between a bar and a café, formica tables with paper table
cloths and plastic chairs and full of local farm workers and lorry drivers.
We managed to negotiate the language barrier with the nice young serving
girl and ordered the lunchtime special and a couple of beers each, we nervously
waited to see what came. What a surprise, starter was a soup with plenty
of rustic bread and a huge salad to share, followed by a plate of pasta
and beef in thick gravy and for desert crème caramel and two espresso much
to Phil’s delight. The whole lot cost €16, I initially thought that was
each but so that there was no misunderstanding the owner wrote it on the
table cloth, I gave him €20 and insisted he keep the change. We took the
next hour fairly steady as we were so stuffed before picking up the pace
back to Puerto Mazzarón. 110km in 3 hours 29 minutes with 1115m of climbing.
As
it was Phil’s birthday, I won’t embarrass him by saying
how old he is but next year is a big one, we went out for dinner. We did
get a few odd looks from couples celebrating Valentines Day as we tucked
into a great meal at our cosy table for two, good job we changed out of
lycra though before heading out!
On
Wednesday we headed North over a mountain called Algarrobo on a fantastic
road,
the sun was shining the almond trees were in bloom
and the temperature was a nice 22°.
Once
over the climb we headed toward Totana at an impressive 30 plus mph bit
and bit the whole way and finally stopped for lunch after
2 hours and 20 minutes and 70 km at another little road side bar/café in
a village called Ventorrillos, same deal, 3 courses and coffee plus cokes
cost €18, friendly service and the locals friendly and impressed at the
crazy British cyclists in shorts in the cold weather! One of the locals
was joking with the waitress about us being in shorts and bare arms, we
had obviously impressed her as she replied ‘son hombres verdaderos’, those
who want to know what it means can ask me when you see me J. After lunch we tried to ride a small road marked on our map that
would take us on a loop to the top of the 1066m Sierra Carrascoy, but after
half an hour of repeated climbing up lane after lane we gave up as the
road clearly only existed in the map makers mind! We then had the joy of
grovelling down fast A roads into a really strong headwind coming in off
the coast, this was not so much fun, HR’s went up speeds came down, talking
stopped as we had no breathe spare to talk and we wouldn’t have heard each
other above the roar of the wind in our ears. We actually appreciated the
shelter from the wind provided as we climbed back over Algarrobo and wearily
dropped back in Puerto Mazzarón after covering 130km in 4.5 hours, climbing
1360m.
(Click
picture above to see it larger)
Thursday
was our last chance of a big ride so we headed East over the mountains
around Los Ruices, we were both tired now so the
pace was easier than the previous two days, the temperature was a balmy
24° and the wind had gone. We decided as the pace was lower and we had
waited until midday to set out that we would not stop for lunch but push
on to Fuente Alamo before arcing south via Lobosillo to Cuesta Blanca and
Perin before climbing the Sierra de la Muela and dropping at high speed
on the stunning E16 onto the coastal plain and following the coastal road
back to base, the highlight was the descent, hitting 55mph on a superb
gently twisting road with stunning views after a really enjoyable ride.
We still managed to cover 110km in 3 hours and 45 minutes climbing an impressive
1007m.
As
planned we got up early and after breakfast went for a gentle spin around
he
Gulf of Mazzarón via Isla Plana to La Azohia and
back, a short flat spin of 30km which took about an hour, then it was time
to dismantle the bikes and pack before flying home, arriving at a cold
and dark Stansted at 7pm.
A
great trip, good company, fantastic riding and great weather. Thanks
to Phil
for coming with me and making me work harder than
I would have done on my own, we both found it hard coming back to training
in freezing conditions and my cold garage and turbo are no substitute for
warm mountain roads. Phil summed it up with a succinct e-mail a few days
after returning which read – ‘Bloody weather!!!!!!!!!!!’
Matt
Calendar Dates
18th March, Plomesgate Open 10.
12th April, ICA Evening TTs start.
23rd April,
Suffolk CTC 50 miles in 4 hours. Start
from St Margarets Green, Ipswich and finish at Turks Head PH, Hasketon. Contact
Paul Fenton for further details (start 9 - 9:30) 01473 311222.
Tuesday
evenings – MTB ride usually Sizewell car
park starting at 7:30 contact Mark or Viv for details.
Fridays– Foxhall
Stadium roller sessions, from 7pm.
Saturdays – MTB
ride, 10am start from the car park opposite Snape Church during March.
Winter Training
Most Sundays, except when there’s a club run on,
there’s a club training ride, which leaves Northgate Sports Centre, Ipswich
at 10am. You’ll need to bring a drink, something to eat, tools and
spares. We normally do between 2 and 3 hrs at about 15mph average. Route
depends on the wind direction, but usually either West towards Bildeston
and Hadleigh or East around Waldringfield and Kirton.
For more info, contact Steve or Valerio.
Committee News
The
next committee meeting will be at the Horse & Groom
in Melton on Wednesday 15th March, starting at 8pm. All
club members are welcome to attend.
Milly & Robin of Custom Breaks are offering 10% discount to Plomesgate CC members on their holidays at Morzine in the French Alps. I
have the e-mail with more details if anyone is interested.
Viv
At the last
AGM there was a proposal for a new Plomesgate “short TT” competition.
We already have an all-rounder trophy that covers distances to 100 Miles. The
idea is to focus on shorter distances (lets say max 25Miles) and local open
events.
There won’t be time to get the competition ready for this season, but I
think it’s a good idea to have a sort of dry run this year, just to see how
we can make it work for the future.
At the February committee meeting we agreed to experiment with the following
rules
Draft Rules:
- The events included must be no longer than 25Miles
- Events organised by Plomesgate CC will not be included. Furthermore,
no other events should be picked on those weekends.
- The events to be included will be decided year by year by the Plomesgate
committee and should be confirmed by beginning of Feb (the competition
will include events run between March and October). The committee will
also decide the number of best results that will be taken into account.
- There will
be 2 categories (and so 2 trophies): one for Men and one for Women
- We will experiment with 2 different scoring systems:
- The SPOCO
competition scoring system: 120 points for 1st place, 119 for 2nd place,
118 for 3rd pace and so on down to 1 point for 120th
place
- In alternative, only Plomesgate riders will be taken into account:
20 points for the first, 19 for the second and so on. Since this system
might result in a draw, as a tiebreaker rule we will take into account
the best final placement.
Draft Event List for 1996 (dry run). Best 6 results (3 best 10 miles + 3
best 20/25 miles)
- Friday 14th April:
Great Yarmouth CC open 10 (B10/43,
Harleston – Bungay Bypass)
- Saturday 22nd April:
Stowmarket & District, open 20 (BS33,
Winston – Pettaugh – Ashfield – Occold - Debenham)
- Monday 1st May:
VC Baracchi, open 10 (B10/43, Harleston – Bungay
Bypass)
- Saturday 20th May:
Stowmarket & District, open 10 (B10/33,
Woolpit –Ixworth)
- Saturday 10th June:
Godric CC, open 10 (B10/44, Earsham – Redenhall)
- Sunday 11th June:
Godric CC, open 25 (B25/24c, Earsham – Redenhall – Bungay)
- Saturday 24th June: Ipswich BC, open 10 (B10/9, our course)
- Saturday 1st July:
Norwich ABC, open 10 (B10/44, Earsham – Redenhall)
- Saturday 8th July:
Great Yarmouth CC, open 10 (B10/44,
Earsham – Redenhall)
- Sunday 9th July:
Wolsey RC, open 25 (B25/24c, Earsham – Redenhall – Bungay)
- Sunday 23rd July:
Diss & District CC, open 25 (B25/17,
Bressingham - Thetford)
- Saturday 2nd Sept:
Stowmarket & District, open 20 (BS33,
Winston – Pettaugh – Ashfield – Occold - Debenham)
- Saturday 9th Sept:
Norwich ABC, open 10 (B10/43, Harleston – Bungay
Bypass)
- Saturday 30th Sept:
East Anglian CC open 10 (B10/44, , Earsham – Redenhall)
- Sunday 1st Oct:
East Anglian CC open 25 (B25/24c, Earsham – Redenhall – Bungay)
- Saturday 7th Oct:
Norwich ABC open 10 (B10/44, , Earsham – Redenhall)
- Sunday 8th Oct:
Norwich ABC open 25 (B25/24c, Earsham – Redenhall – Bungay)
Valerio
As
you know Becky left Plomesgate at the start of the year and joined CC
Cardiff as her 1st claim club, so strictly
speaking this is not about a club member. With her new team Becky travelled
to Holland for a week of primarily track training, based at the velodrome
in Alkmaar. Still recovering from chest infection and uncertain how the
antibiotics would affect her she reluctantly threw herself into a week
of track sprinting, road riding and a couple of races. The first couple
of days were hard, but by Tuesday morning she was rattling out 100m in
5s on an 84" gear behind the derny, and feeling much better. So Tuesday
evening she and her team mate Rachel Ball signed up for the local track
league. Becky managed to win the omnium, although her times were slow and
her legs were tired after track training and riding back and forth to the
track, but she got a nice bunch of flowers. The week continued with a couple
of gruelling road rides, mixing it with some of the guys, a couple who
are elite category, one being Tom Smith who has just signed for the Plowman
Craven squad! There was even time to play and Becky even managed to fit
in a speed skating session and a horse riding afternoon which included
a gallop along the beach. On Saturday they were entered for a criterium
on a closed circuit at Sloten near to the track at Amsterdam. The field
was a mixed bag of 180 riders from Juniors through to Ladies, Seniors and
Vets. Becky was amazed at the bike handling capabilities and she never
felt in threat at all. The race was so well organised that each category
sprints for their own finish, then pulls out leaving the remainder to continue
until only the elite men were left. Hence the speed was around 27mph for
most of the 45mins of Becky's race, and as the finish drew closer the speed
rose as some of the elite men were working for their female, or junior
team mates to get them to the front. Unfortunately Rachel had punctured
earlier so leaving Becky as the only lady rep for CC Cardiff. She called
the guys and asked for them to take her to the front as she was feeling
good. She finished at the front of the bunch, as you can imagine it was
an it chaotic, but she thinks she was 4th Junior girl. Anyway a tired but
very happy Becky arrived back in England on Sunday evening, having covered
over 310 miles during her week away.
Trevor
Send
us any news of events, results etc so that they can be included in the
newsletter.
Our
e-mail address is broughton.m@btopenworld.com
