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Plomesgate Cycling Club
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Newsletter
- May 2007
Two Wheels Good, Three legs Bad?
I don’t know if I’ll ever understand how I ended up getting hooked on competing in, or at least completing, multi-sport events.
Over the last seven years, work commitments and young children have kept me away from Sunday club runs, let alone evening 10’s. Every Spring, I have looked guiltily at a garage full of increasingly dusty bikes and patted my increasing gut in an attempt at self conciliation, but… I wasn’t happy with myself and I knew something had to change before I hit forty.
The trigger to make that change came when the company that I work for was sold. A lot of the staff had share options which meant a bit of a payout for the worker bees (as well as a lot of a payout for the owner). There wasn’t much of a decision to make really. I invested it in a bike (which would eventually become bikes) that I would have otherwise only dreamt of owning, before my wife could invest it in some soft furnishings! Being the sort of person that I am, I needed to justify the purchase with a suitably painful purpose and, standing in the middle of my local multi-sports dealer looking longingly at a Felt tri bike, I caught the triathlon bug and I caught it badly. I didn’t realise it at the time, but this is one of the great attractions of multi-sports, at least for an avid gear fondler like me. I have been feeding my gear habit with a hundred and one little bits and pieces for the three legs ever since; thank heavens for mail order delivery to work!
So, what’s triathlon all about? Athletes compete over the three sports back to back. The changeover points between sports, known as transitions, are commonly referred to as the ‘fourth’ discipline. The order is always the same (swim, bike, run), but the distance can vary enormously. Sprint tri’s (300 to 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) are geared towards encouraging novices to start the sport, with a shortened (often pool based) swim. Olympic is the standard distance (1500m, 40km, 10km) and “Ironman” in various guises is for the immortals (up to 2.4mile, 112 mile, 26 mile). For non swimmers there are Duathlons, where the swim leg is replaced with a run (5km, 30km, 5km). Athletes, with the exception of the elite, compete in age groups comprising 5 year bands. Races award prizes for the top three males and females outright and then placings in each age group.
You might think that I have lost my marbles, but the best bit about triathlon is definitely the training! I train for about 4 to 6 hours a week, spread over six days. Two days a week, I get the early train and go for a swim before work. On weekday evenings, I alternate bike and run sessions and on Saturday I have a go at one of the dreaded ‘brick’ sessions, where the idea is to transition straight from the bike to the run. Sunday is usually a long recovery bike run. It may sound like a lot, but as I’m in my first season, the training is aimed at completing rather than competing and it’s really good fun. The variety also means that you can get more training volume, without the risk of overuse injuries, in comparison to single sports (touch wood).
Over the winter, I found that evening running around country lanes is no fun at all, so I have bought a treadmill, a purchase which was impossible to conceal from my wife, but as she has started to use this herself, I think I am forgiven on this one. The treadmill and the turbo trainer set up in the garage means that there really are no excuses though…
My first race was the Diss Duathlon, appropriately enough on April 1st. I hadn’t intended on entering this race, but the triathlon I was aiming for as a starter got cancelled and itchy fingers at work clicked the mouse over the submit button on entrycentral.net. The benefit (I told myself afterwards) was that I would get a longer race under my belt to start with and I would be able to face my fears about my worst discipline, namely the run.
Race day was sunny, but with a stiff, blustery Northerly. I set up my bike at transition, laid all my kit out, paced around trying not to look like a novice and fussed and fretted endlessly about how much clothing to wear. Arriving at the start line, everyone else stripped down to singlet and shorts and I stuck with my decisions on æ length tights, long sleeve top and a sleeveless windbreaker. This turned out to be a wise decision as I was out on the course far, far longer than anyone else!
At the signal, the bunch hurtled off, but I didn’t take the bait. “Pacing, pacing, pacing” was my official (and only available) strategy, so I let them all go and settled into a comfortable pace with the back markers.
My bike leg was better and I hauled some places back. In the back of mind though was the spectre of the second run, so I drank plenty of fluids (probably too many it turned out) and headed back in to the second transition feeling like I’d recovered some time and perhaps, a smidge of pride. Such hopes were quickly dashed as I headed out onto the second run. Note that I didn’t claim to run out! I think my stride length was about 30cm at best. I hobbled for about 10 minutes past wincing marshals until things loosened up sufficiently for me to able to run, at least in some charitable definition of the word.
I can honestly say the last leg was Hell on Earth, but I was determined to finish, and finish I did, in 01:55:12, the last male in my age group. My target was 02:05 though, so… I’m pretty chuffed. The winner in my age group came in at 01:32:42, whilst 01:46 or thereabouts would have placed me in the middle of the pack. Next year, I want to shave those 10 minutes off. With my running being what it is and my shambolic transitions, I’m pretty confident of getting close!
There are at least four sprint triathlons in the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk region spread over the late Spring and Summer months and an equal number of Duathlons. If you’d like to try multi-sports there are places left on the Ipswich Duathlon and Waveney Triathlon, both in September, after the evening 10’s finish. Why not dig out your trainers, slip on your Speedos and have a go? It’s a lot more fun than it looks!
Martin Alabome
New numbers
Thanks to Aggy Clarke for providing the club with a set of race numbers, shame it wasn’t for the Open 10 eh Valerio! These were the Felixstowe Tri Squad numbers that Aggy was involved in running.
SPOCO East competition
Anyone considering riding the sporting time trial type courses in the area should consider signing up to SPOCO East. There are a number of age related categories that riders can be placed in, plus this year there is a team award for the best placed team of three from a club. You need to sign up before the first event you plan to ride. Note, that Plomesgate is promoting an event in each category this year. http://www.team-cambridge.co.uk/spocoeast/
Pete W
Suffolk Sunrise 100.
Action Medical Research are organising a challenge bike ride through rural Suffolk lanes offering a choice of 100 or 50 mile routes. Both routes are circular starting and finishing at Woodbridge passing through Felixstowe, Orford, Dunwich, Framlingham and Debenham. They are hoping to attract some 300 riders and would like to ask for your assistance in making the local cycling community aware of this new ride.
A link to their website can be found below www.action.org.uk/takeaction where full details of the ride can be found. Online registration is available from that site.
Action Medical Research are dedicated to building a healthier future, for everyone.
They have been making medical breakthroughs for over 50 years, saving countless lives and giving hope to millions. They work with the finest medical minds in the UK, raising money to fund research into a wide range of diseases and conditions.
Over seven million people in this country have some form of disability, and many more suffer serious medical problems (I’m not sure spending too much money on carbon bits counts, but fingers crossed). The symptoms are numerous but the question we ask is often the same. What can be done to stop this happening in the future?
Action Medical Research are working with the brightest researchers in the country who, by using the most innovative approaches, are continuing to push back the boundaries of medical knowledge.
Medical Research will provide the answers we need to help create a healthier future for everyone.
Committee meeting.
The next meeting of the committee will be held on Thursday 31st May 2007 at The Butley Oyster after the first Club Evening 10. All members welcome.
Matt
Ron Shoo’s racing
During April I have ridden 4 open events starting with our own 10. The VTTA 10 on the A14, Marshall Crowe had a good ride of 25:50, mine was a 29:35. A rather scary thing happened on the return trip a boot fare was taking place and some how a motorist got out of the field and drove towards me down the wrong side of the dual-carriage way !!! The other 2 races were 25s the interesting fact was Ian Cammish won all 4 events. How does he do it at 50.
Ron Shoobridge
For Sale.
Rob Cotton has for sale:
2 saddles ( good condition)
1 Shimano front mech, bottom end of the range (ok condition)
1 giant adjustable stem 12cm long (good condition)
Quill stems ( All used)
12 cm
11 cm x 2
10 cm
8 cm x 2
Seat pins (All used)
26.4
26ish
27 X 2
Contact details 07725897902 or robertcotton2006@yahoo.co.uk
Kettler 'Runner' treadmill, manual operation. folds flattish
£50
Contact: Pete Whelan - pete.whelan@openreach.co.uk
CTT handbooks.
Trev has several CTT National Handbooks available at £5.50 each. He will endeavour to obtain the East DC handbooks in the next couple of weeks. Speak to Trev if you want one.
Calendar Dates.
Tuesday evenings – MTB ride from Sizewell T, starting at 7:30 contact Mark or Viv for details, or to check whether anyone is riding.
Tuesday evenings – Grass Track training. St. Mary's school field, Woodbridge, 7pm for about an hour from 1st May onwards. If it is raining or wet grass, then it both won't be too safe to ride and also rip the grass up - we do get the field for nothing, so need to respect it. I'll try and get there most weeks, but if not, just start without me. Pete
Thursday evenings – on the weeks between club TT events, TTT training on the B10/9. All welcome the pace will be to suit all, one lap in TTT formation, a further optional warm down/social lap. Due to shifts I can’t guarantee being there every week so contact Matt prior.
Sunday morning - 3 hour (ish) training rides from North Ipswich. Contact Steve and Valerio for details.
Wanted.
Wanted: a small cross frame or complete machine for a beginner.
For sale: 21" Merckx frame with carbon forks as I used last year £100.
Contact Ron Shoobridge - ronshoo@tesco.net
Club evening TTs
The club events have been decided for 2007 and are as follows, we are planning to run our normal 10 evening "10"s, but in addition we will be running a "15" which is one lap of the new "30" course, and starts and finishes in the same place as the "10", plus we will be running an evening "25" in July. To avoid the possibility of too many starters the latter ("25") will not appear in the East District Handbook.
Thursday May 3rd “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday May 17th “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday May 31st “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 7th June “15” Start time: 19:00 Course B15/9. One lap of B30/2
Thursday 14th June “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 28th June “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 5th July "25" Start time: 18:45*
Course B25/2
Thursday 12th July “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 26th July “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 9th August “10” Start time: 19:00 Course B10/9
Thursday 23rd August “10” Start time: 18:45* Course B10/9
* - note early start.
PCC Open 25, volunteers please.
The P.C.C. Open 25 event on 12th May. Bev would like some volunteers to help on the day, and is looking for people to marshal, help with catering, pushing off etc. Please contact Bev at an evening event or by e-mail on bev.whelan@talk21.com
PCC 2007 Dinner
What do you want from your Club Dinner? The Club would like ideas for the Annual Dinner and Awards Night for 2007. The usual format of a meal at the Lighthouse in Aldeburgh is popular but some members would like to have amore inclusive night, where we all eat at the same time and get to socialise.
So far the options are The White Lion Hotel in Aldeburgh and the Holiday Inn in Ipswich who can give us our own room, with a sit down meal at an all inclusive price (between £22.50 and £29.50 per head) for the evening or we can stay as we are. Please forward your ideas and comments to Ron Shoobridge by mid June 2007.
PCC Hillclimb 2007
After the success of the trial last year of a Club Hillclimb, the event is being made a bit more formal this year with a date set in advance. Sunday 21st October 2007 has been set aside for the contest. The road to be used, again, is from the southern edge of Walpole village, near the road sign for Walpole, heading towards Peasenhall, with the finish at the water tower. It's a gentle ascent for most of the way, then a brief descent around two sweeping bends, then another little kick up, before an almost flat run-in to the finish. Although it sounds quite easy, it's quite a "heavy" road surface, which makes it a bit harder than its modest gradient would suggest.
This will probably coincide with a Club ride from the Framlingham area, it’s about an easy hours ride out and back with a stop at The White Horse at Sibton. The exact time is to be decided nearer the event.
PCC Questionaire
The much anticipated PCC Questionaire responses are in, over the next month I will be abridging and condensing the answers and will publish a synopsis of it next month, watch this space.
Articles for next month
If you feel inspired by anything in this months newsletter then please drop me a line, by e-mail, post or carrier pigeon by 25/5/07. Everything will be considered, do you have something to sell, something you want that another club member may have somewhere gathering dust, something to get off your chest or memories you want to share? It’s your newsletter so drop me a line at
or
Matt Donaldson
3 Boyton Road
Hollesley
Woodbridge
Suffolk.
IP12 3LD
………and finally
I can’t take the credit for this, I have ‘borrowed’ it from NY Velo City. It is genuine and Andy is a bit of a legend and a science geek/genius! I thought you might like this. Pip is away at the Badminton Horse Trials for 4 days over the weekend, where’s my tool kit J
‘Ok, before the inevitable 'you're
out of your mind' comments, let me explain myself first. I got a lot of
feedback on my series of articles on my homemade wind drag test rig and
some of it was printable! One reader, a fellow biketechreview geek from
the midwest, wrote to tell me that he had an old windmill just laying around
in pieces. He offered to send the blades to me for free, on the stipulaton
that I build a full sized wind tunnel with it. I had no intention of taking
my tests further, but this was just way too intriguing to pass up. I figured
I'd sit on the blades while I researched the subject. I could spend a few
months scouring ebay for spare parts as well. Schmalz offered to look into
cheap warehouse space in Jersey, another reader suggested this design, and before you knew it, the NYVC wind
tunnel project was born.
The rotors arrived in far more pristine condition than I imagined possible.
The hub had a solid axle and smooth running bearings. All I had to do to
mount it was drill a 1/2" hole! The whole thing started to scare me.
This was going to be a lot easier than I thought, and once I become obsessed
with something I have to do it right away. I figured with three days in Schmalz's
woodshop and two days for assembly, I could get the basic structure built.
(Click on
the picture to see it larger, in a new window)
As luck would have it, this was
the week of my wife and kid's annual visit to grandma in Boston. We had
no leads for a space in Jersey, but there was no way I could wait any longer.
I spent three days last week cutting 2x4's and 3/8 plywood sheets in Schmalz's
basement, and got the stuff home the afternoon Laurie and Sofie left for
Boston. A couple of sleepless nights later the NYVCWT was done. (Behold,
the power of insomnia!) It'll be dismantled Sunday night, and as long as
my wife doesn't visit this site, she'll never be the wiser. So, you see,
I didn't really WANT to build a crap wind tunnel in my apartment. It was
thrust upon me. Really. Besides, there isn't a cat 5 in the city who hasn't
been lactate tested, so why not build a wind tunnel? I predict the NYVCWT
will be booked solid this time next year.
So how does it work?
(Click on
the picture to see it larger, in a new window)
The tunnel itself is a pretty cool design. It pulls the air rather
than pushing it. I'm hoping this means the airflow will be less of a vortex.
Also, it has a large bell shaped inlet. The idea is that it draws a larger
volume of air and gradually accelerates it by squeezing it into a smaller
channel. Supposedly this smoothes out the airflow as well. A couple of
cross braces at the outlet provide the fan mount. The build was pretty
straightforward: a series of rings are hammered together out of 2x4's which
are then joined by longitudinal ribs. Once the skeleton is done, it was
simply a matter of lining it with 3/8" ply. I dropped some frosted
plexiglass on top to provide light. Thanks to a meticulous drawing, the
pieces came together without a hitch.
For now, the NYVCWT will strictly be for riders who can ride the aerobars
on rollers, and can start and stop without handholds. It's tight in there.
I'll eventually drill out the feet of my TruTrainer rollers and mount skateboard
wheels on them. Rider and rollers will roll inside the tunnel, and I'll use
the same pulley/weight system from my helmet drag rig to determine drag force.
This has two advantages: I won't have to figure out how to work with strain
gauges, and I won't have to get someone to write a program to plot the forces
and average them. It may seem like a crude system, but it was good enough
for the Wright brothers.
The fan will be belt driven by a motor. Schmalz wound a rope around the axle
and pulled like mad, and the iBike registered a 16 mph gust! We'd have a
picture of this, but I was riding inside the tunnel while he was doing this.
He was able to generate such a strong gust because, I suspect, he wanted
to blast me off the rollers. I must confess it was a bit scary in there.
I'm not 100% confident riding aerobars on rollers, and I kept picturing a
crash where I'd fall through the plywood. As you can see in the photo, we
did the test facing the fan to maximize the Schmalz powered gust.
Not much room inside for a photographer. The rider will face the other
way once we get the motor hooked up.
(Click on the
picture to see it larger, in a new window)
With an internal diameter of about 6 1/2 feet, there simply isn't enough
volume for a proper wind tunnel. The presence of the rider has the same
effect as pinching a garden hose: the air channel is reduced in size,
and the air will be forced to accelerate. This will probably invalidate
much of our results, but I'm hoping that the results will be consistently
skewed one way or another. Maybe I'll book myself a visit to the SD LSWT.
That way, I'll be able to compare my results from both tunnels, and hopefully
establish a conversion figure for the NYVCWT.
Other drawback of the NYVCWT? Big rotating sucking knives situated a mere
3 feet from your butt.
So where does that leave us?
Well, we're still looking for space. Anyone have a big empty room we can
borrow? Since I wrote the previous paragraphs, we've come into a marine
engine. Schmalz assured me that he's a good mechanic and knew his way
around an engine, so I let him fire it up inside. A cloud of smoke and
two traumatized animals later I learned my lesson. Do not trust the Schmalz.
So we're also looking for someone who knows motors.
Stay tuned for NYVCWT Part Deux.’
Thanks to http://www.nyvelocity.com
Matt