Keep the Faith - Manchester Whs. '50' - Club Record ..........o7ò

With the Manchester Wheelers having their 130th Anniversary (Is that Carbon or Titanium?) they promote the last gasp 50 mile time trial for all those with an interest in the BBAR and those like myself  who think we can improve. The course only just in the Manchester district starts at Blythe Bridge on the Stoke end of the A50 like the Stone Whs event a couple of weeks ago but comes right down to Etwall in Derbyshire. The Tommy Barlow Memorial finishes up the feared 'Concrete Mountain' past the JCB factory at Rocester but has a lovely decent out and this autumnal day at the tail end of the season.

Club Record 1:45:56

I had been blown around on my Friday ride to work after a difficult week, I'd had a disappointing ride last weekend in the Bert Christian Memorial promoted by my own Notts & East Midlands VTTA on the A46 just South of Newark, I'd given myself an easy week and hope for a sprightly and encouraging ride with the World Masters only two weeks away but my time and more importantly my performance was brittle and lackluster in the windy conditions, my time was average but crucially I went back on most of the riders I performed well against in the Stone Whs and the BTTC the week before so I was plunged into a gloomy week of what ifs and maybes about my form and fitness, two weeks after the BDCA '100' I should be solid but I was up and down the gears unable to settle and in the end my frustratingly fragile ride started to eat away at my confidence. I have to kept the faith, no more fitness to gain no, from here on in it was all going to be about condition and self help, no trainer to turn to I just think about what I have been taught and what I have learned

For the Saturday I am blessed with a wonderful autumn day, I go out for an hour after breakfast, quit hard on my legs but Its the only warm up they will get, the start is fast and to hit this event too hard could mean I pay later when I need it in the last ten miles
There is a dusting of rain as I sit with my coffee and compose my thoughts, I'm one of the last so most of the other riders are out on their effort, now like the calm before the storm. I sit at the side of the road waiting my turn, a bus pulls into the lay by where we are starting from just thirty feet in front (it's not a bus stop!) Is this a sign? Am I to be blocked and baulked today? I start and get on with the race

My legs feel good, 19:27 for the first ten miles dropping to the dog leg to Rocester which is slower B roads and two new roundabouts and I get baulked a bit on a couple of these so 21:38 but once back on the A50 I'm still feeling good 20:23 and the far turn at 31 miles comes up with no problem. Shortly after Charles Taylor (South Pennine) the National '100' champion and my five minute man steamed past, I do not look at my splits in the race these days, too much information and it spoils the race if you are going badly so either he's going well or I'm having another dismal day (when I look at it later I'm over 29mph to this point) 21:51 and I still save a bit for the 'Mountain' looming in the distance, It's getting near dusk and the light makes the speed feel deceptive, always feels faster and all I have to do is not overdo it on the series of ramps that make up the last ten miles, each one increasingly harder and as you press your body for more as you reach your threshold for pain and lactic acid fills every sinew of your legs, at one point when the pain is the worst I glance down and see my speed at 20.5pmh! How can I be going so slow? It's not encouraging and my advantage is slipping away. As the end is near, going over the top is the worst though, as you try and pick up the pace again, you need to have a masochist streak, nobody to see or encourage you just you and your self inflicted suffering

With less than a mile to go Robert Hayes from the promoting club catches me for a minute, he must have been chasing me up the final drags using me as a target, he was only 10 seconds up at the far turn but has come back better, that's what catching a rider can do but once past me he slumps a bit and I am able to go past him and cross the line. 22:34 for the final split so I lost about a minute on that section over most of the return (the winner 20:07 So you can see where he gets the power down) 1:45:56 is a seventeen second beating of my previous best and always satisfying to go into another minute, from being a forty six man into a forty five man. Great feeling!
Charles Taylor has pounded back to 1:37:33  but he has been beaten by 'Scratch man'  Adam Topham (High Wycombe) 1:37:19 to seal the BBAR for the third year Richard Bideau (Pendle Forest) 1:39:34 surely the first rider to do +30mph in his first 10, 25 and 50
I'm happy with a PB and a club record for the ninth time in seven years on seven different courses o7ò


Manchester Whs. '50' - Tommy Barlow Memorial Result

Nottingham & East Midlands VTTA '25' - Bert Christian Memorial Result

Main Course - National '10'

Training bike 'Lloydy'

Traditionally the National 10 Mile Time trial is the first big event of the 'Testing' season but this year its at the tail end and on the fastest course in the country or a version of it, the powers that be decided for reasons of their own to turn it off the fast dual carriageway and do the last mile along a bumpy B road so that it can finish near the headquarters, this will entail riders to negotiate a slip road a turn and a roundabout (together) when coming to the end of their ride so should be interesting. My last four rides on the traditional version of this course 20:08, 20:07 last season 20:13 and 20:08 this season so while I am informed that I have not experienced it under 'Superfast' conditions (apparently) they have been consistently fast. Now when I saw the National was going to be the tail end of the season a month or so before the World Championships my major objective of the year I planned to target the event as the start of the build up to the main course.

Oldskool style (and time) 23:38 (Pic Taceys Photos)

By way of preparation I had a full Bank Holiday of riding, first the local Leicester Forest CC '10' on A46 Six Hills. and then the VTTA National '25' at Newmarket on the Sunday early! They had tried to run this earlier in the season and it was cancelled half way completed by one of those torrential rainstorms in June. I had not entered the original event, this was to be a complete re-run.

Winner - Matt Sinclair 19:46

I rode a single fixed in both events my steel 'David Lloyd' (Lloyd'y), a modest 92" on my training bike with 'non aero' as there was a Road bike prize and I did not want to stuff my legs, it was important to get two hard rides without overdoing it as this would be my first back to back racing of the season. The only race wheels I have for the Saturday are over 30 years old 28 spoke Campag SF, my best track wheels in the day, elliptical spokes and super-light Argent 10 rims (can you feel the nostalga?), the front tyre (a Clement No6) still shellacked on (Google it!) for that real Oldskool experience. Advanced in their day but would I be able to compete with geared riders on their carbon aero road biked and wheels (No Disc or Tri bars allowed)

'Bands' get an outing

I wanted to change the bars and stem to get a better racing position (on the drops!) but the stem stuck fast, I did a nice warm-up on the rollers and it felt great that gear spinning around at 110 RPM. The race however was another thing, strong cross-winds made it tough both ways on the DC section, some were having problems with their deep rims, not me on my 'skinny' Mavics. I was off number 50 so I knew I would be caught by David Mead (Hinckley CRC) who usually beats me by half a minute or so in the Tuesday evening 10's but without the aero aids he was on me at half distance. To be fair I struggled in the conditions and did not get into my riding even though I was not over-geared and even the fast last 3 miles was a struggle, my time 23:38 only good enough for half way down the 100 rider field but I did manage to get third on the Road bike event and got my entry back, so a result of sorts I don't think I could have bothered the winner Matt Sinclair (Lutterworth) 19:46 by a second from Brett Harwood (Terry Wright RC)


On the Sunday I rode my Pursuit/Fixed Time Trial bike an alloy Cervelo SL which is 'Super Lite'  it comes in only 80 grams over the UCI minimum weight for bikes and makes a lovely 'stiff' TT bike and this was the first time this year I've stepped the gear up to 106" (56 x 14). The conditions for the 6.30 start were not ideal (cold, windy and early!) at least I was off in the last half hour (125) and had time for a 10 mile warm up on the roads this time as the organisers did not want riders disturbing the locals with Turbo's or Roller's at this un-earthly hour.

VTTA 'NuSkool' (Pic Kimroy)

It was a bit of a struggle going out, I could see I was not handling the uphill sections on the bigger gear and then not able to take advantage of the downhill until the way back when I got into my stride and managed a 30mph last five mile split (9:47) But I'd lost too much over the rest of the ride my dad's maxim "You only ever loose time!" ringing in my ears, still 53:30 good enough for 10th overall but only 16th on VTTA Standard (+14:56) Defending Champion Rob Pears (Pro Cycling) went fastest 49:46 at only a year younger than my 25 years but could not match the 'Old Guys' and 6th on Std +18:18. Local 84 year old Eric Marsh (Cycles Uno) +22:11 was the winning plus (1:03:21) over a minute ahead of Scot Derek Stewart (Deeside Thistle) a mere youngster at 78 with 58:22 but Brian Sunter (Condor RC) 54:33 at 71 only good enough for third +20:03

These are the times you need to win at this level, Rob Pears would have to break Competition Record to win today, on a slower/harder course where he is on the roads longer and the 'Old Geezers' suffer more power loss than the younger man they are clear winners even though the Standards have been adjusted (from their 1943 original) in the past few years to allow the younger man to be more competitive as riders are better even though they are getting older.

So the National '10' is this Sunday and I'm off just before 2.00pm No 55 of the 150 man field (Juniors and Ladies at Alcester) so that means there are 95 riders faster than me at the present time (or the time of entering, rider No 2 did a 19:11 in the Swift Charity '10' on the Championship course last week!) so a place in the top 50 could be considered a good one. I would still like to break Roger Hammonds club record 19:49 but that would require half a mile per hour improvement in speed to shave off the twenty odd seconds (two a mile!) needed to go from my personnel best. I would like to be within two minutes of the winner, the last time I managed that of last man Michael Hutchinson was 2010 on the windiest day I have ever raced and that too was on the V718, he just scraped a 30mph ride with 19:57 and I did 21:34 so maybe I should wish for tough conditions but that would mean my ambition for the club record would go out the window and it seems like I have been trying to attain that for most of the ten years since I came back to racing

The march of time

If you look at my times over that time, there have been a few 'wobbles' but I have steadily got faster over the years, despite the encroaching age I still feel I can do it. Roger was a 21 year old recently crowned World Champion and had all the same aero advantages that we have today (aero bars, helmet and disc wheel) but had to negotiate the six roundabouts on the Rusper course (twice) to achieve the feat. I think he was studying at Brunel University when he was racing in the club, going over to Belgium to race in the summer months and I do remember him and Steve Gowar riding (& winning) the Divisional Road Race Championships around Lingfield in SWRC colours circa 1993. I however am also a newly crowned World Champion and when I saw him at the BC dinner where he was being invested into the 'Hall of Fame' I had a quite word with him and shook his hand hoping a bit of Hammond magic would rub off.  o7ò

Follow events unfold on the TT Forum

MERCIA '30' - CLUB RECORD - Rich Pickings

A week after the '100' and I'm up to my elbows in Jam and Chutney, fresh produce all comes along at once and I do like a bit of a faire bouillir so with my windfall apples and beans from the allotment and brambles from the hedgerows we see what we can cook up. The Mercian CC '30' is over the same roads on the A50, it's the curates egg of events the 'Thirty', neither fish nor fowl.

On a standard road bike (Pic Harry Wilson) o7ò

The record stands at 1:04:42 I think it would be arrogant to say I could beat a club record at the asking but with my current form this one is ripe for the taking. I set the record over thirty years ago with a time that was the fastest in the country that year, brother Phil (yes your club secretary used to race) and I were first and second on that day (Hertfordshire Whs) and first and second on H'cap (reversed) just to prove what a ride it was for us, even in those days time triallists had their own 'special bikes' with drilled bits & bobs (lightness) and the best of them used terrific big gears, we on the other hand had standard road bikes with 32 spoke wheels and used our track speed to win the day over some impressive local talent.

E72 - I even had time to go and give Phil a cheer o7ò

I was off at unfavoured number 5 so I'd caught everybody in front of me in the first ten miles, I remember it had been raining and all the marshal's were sitting in their cars and stared out the window at me as I came past mouths agape. it was a good job I knew the course! At least Harry Wilson (above) the photographer was ready to mark my passing for posterity. Phil was late on and we had time to go back up the course and give him a shout

Post race - Winner and Runner Up o7ò

So no push over to do it on the day I have beaten all my other times from when I was arguably fitter but without the modern advantages in Aero equipment, now was the time.

1982 Parkinson dominate the result

As I finished my 20 minute warm up on the rollers the heavens opened and we had a hail storm, I felt sorry for those already out on the course but as soon as it arrived it was gone and apart from a couple of wet roundabouts I had a dry ride and the other end of the course saw none of it. I tried not to start too fast but 10:29 a good 5m split, this course has a tough start with two ramps to get up onto the main road. With again strong winds but unlike last week cutting across the road and not as troublesome as I punched my way through them 11:16 included a little dog leg over some lumpy bumpy roads to make up the extra distance but we got a feel for the return which came on super quick and i needed to get to the McDonald's roundabout at then turn (sad but true we register our way points with fast food than any more significant monument to the byways) 10:59 or 32:41 at half way I was down on the record, I set the record previously on the old E72 course on the A12 in Essex, the fastest courses in the country at the time (too busy now) with the A1 (The 'Great North Road' all up the country from Baldock to N Yorkshire), yes Brampton Hut was on the way North but It wasn't named after a Pizza or roadside cafe (but there probably is one now!) These roads had taken over from the Bath Road in the South during the early days of time trialling, when landmarks like Sunrise Pub and Speen Hill marked a riders progress and were spoken by riders up and down the country as hallowed places Can there ever have been as aptly named a place as Pains Hill on the A3 mores the pity that its not used for racing any more though you can still ride up it. 10:49 was a bit of a haltering return but then 9:29 and I go through 25 miles in 53:02 as I get into my stride and the big gears moving and coming to the finish 10:21 the wind has condensed my effort and I have run out of steam. Its a well beaten record by over a minute 1:03:23 and 9th overall. Barry Charlton (Lyme RC) a non finisher last week on his trike with a bad back runs out winner this week 1:01:35 o7ò


Result here

CLUB RECORD (1:46:13) - Olympic Dreams

The British Olympic cyclists were sweeping all before them and I was getting into the spirit with a second breaking of the Club '50' record in the space of a fortnight, a shade under 90 seconds off what I'd done in the Shaftsbury but this was a different sort of ride, the third time I'd broken the record in this event the BDCA on my 'local' fast course on the A50 between Etwall & Blythe Bridge I'd ridden back from London on the Thurs (80m) Fiona picked me up from Northampton so I didn't have to do it all and I took it easy (18.5mph) but it was still a long ride close to the event on Saturday afternoon. The day forecast showers (again) and I plumped for gears for the first time this season since the opener as I figured the 'Concrete Mountain' would blunt any chance of taking advantage of the course and conditions which were blustery I downed several coffee's after being abstemious as usual and I was off to the timekeeper (Joe Summerlin) resplendent in his Olympic 'Gamesmaker'jacket making us feel part of the amazing sport we have witnessed so far. I looked up at the ominous heavens and removed my visor, not raining yet but it was 'how long' now not 'what if' I've been starting more cautiously because of using a fixed, it takes a bit of time to get into your ride and I carried over to gears, I've also turned off my computer notifications but with the rain I soon forget about my splits and just concentrate on my performance. Looking at my splits in retrospect my first (five mile) split was the only one outside 11 minutes 11:10 apart from the dog leg to Doveridge which knocks you for six after descending the Mountain at top speed. 10:33 as I get into my stride and then 10:19 as I battle with the conditions and the rolling roads, a couple of tricky roundabouts and then 10:54 as we ascend to the high point but still keeping my form. Around the Blythe Bridge roundabout at the far turn, I was about level with Neil Skellern (Team Swift) my 5 minute man but still not caught my minute man which is a bit unusual. The return is slightly harder but the rain storms have killed the wind a bit and it's only tough for the couple of exposed miles at the top of the 'Mountain' 10:42, and then descending is 9:57 my only +30mph split Then I catch my minute man at 35m and he promptly re-passes me on the dog leg as I have a bad patch but I decide not to get involved and ride my race,11:14 past the JCB factory I was only 20 seconds down on Skellern Its pouring with rain again and I try to keep out the grit, I have already seen a couple of 'walkers' and its a rare occasion when I do not have a spare since I lost one (with inhalator) and I feel lucky! Once back on the A50 I re-pass my man but he goes passed again but I'm not going that bad 10:33 and I decide (again) not to race and he goes out to 10 seconds. Coming to the penultimate 5 miles 10:12 and then I re-pass my man again and push for the line, I'd long since stopped looking at my time but the final split 10:32 I knew it would be good but again I'm not expecting to do personnel bests when not concentrating on the distance events, all my effort has been around preparing for the track in October and you would think I would have done my best times when I was doing longer distances in preparation for the BBAR but perhaps there is something to say for doing less and more recovery time as I feel great! The several riders that rode the Shaftsbury have gone back one or two minutes but I have done my biggest improvement for four years so surprised as the conditions not the best but my legs are, which bodes well and I can build on that.

Full Result Here

Record breaking ride - Breckland CC 12 hour 281.63 miles

My own ride was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that (Dr) Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist) managed to fluke the competition record by three miles 305.51miles so my own five mile breaking of club record (my own) with 281.63 (23.46mph Av.)  was lost in the excitement. This was the event that was cancelled at 200 miles last year when I was leading and the rider that pushed me that day Nick English (AW Cycles) was again present so with BBAR contender Jeff Jones and Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann) and local favourite Dave Green (RAF) we had quality in the 31 man (and one woman) field. We had to compete with the National Championship taking  on the other side of the country (Shropshire/Cheshire) the winner of that race (and champion) with 302.75 miles Andy Bason (Pedal Rev) would have made claim to the record had he not finished half an hour later than Dr Jones at 6.30 in the evening because he had also broken the old record which stood to Andy Wilkinson at 302.46 miles.

There is nothing that can prepare you for getting up before light, scooping up a meal of prepared meal of fruit and cereal and trying to get your body active enough to start a race just as the day is starting, you just have to be as prepared as possible so a little light sleep is possible in a hot hotel room (with helpers) and little bonuses like securing the room at the back of the building come a long way down the list of worries that begin with miles and miles of preparation and racing, and  praying for the right conditions. Last year I felt those conditions were pretty perfect on East Anglian roads that are notorious as a graveyard for sporting performance and yet here I was again willing to risk a second dose of pain against judgement of the gods for a second chance at that elusive target I had set myself, the 280 mile 12 hour. Just over 30 riders have achieved this feat, mostly young men in their prime not riders entering their fifth decade

Going with the flow

Brother Alan rode up from South London to be chief helper the week before his own marathon ride and a last chance to make sure man and machine were ready for the Paris-Brest-Paris which he plans to complete in 80 hours with fellow club man Paul ("Show me the mileage") Alderson who plans to do the ride in 20 hours less! We had a picnic on the same spot, re enacting our preparation last year in the hope that it would be lucky or at least reveal to us some notion of justice that had been denied last year. When the preparation is done all that is left is faith and belief and where that fails in the twilight hours we pray, pray for good luck and good weather, selfish as it may seem I become the centre of my world, athletes are at the best of times egocentric but here at the alter of an important  event we are stuck in purgatory between the unknown and the possible, sleep is impossible and so we hope

Fiona and I drive to the start in the dark, Alan has to ride, no room in the car (2 x bikes, 5 x wheels, tools, food, drink, more food, more drink, everything for every eventually for a day camped at the side of the A14 between Thetford and Norwich. The Eccles road interchange at Attleborough is common to the two main DC loops of the ride one ten miles up and one ten miles down so the helpers are gathered here for 9 hours of the ride and it becomes an impromptu cycling festival with chairs and tables of food and drink to keep everybody (riders & helpers) going for the day

Nick English (AW Cycles)

There is a mad dash to get ready for the off, more than a normal race and with a car full of stuff to wade through (and then repack) but I'm on my way at 6.20 so all I have to do is go as far as I can on these roads before 18.20 that evening. The roads are damp from the dew, the air is fresh and clean out here in the Suffolk lanes only the fields of early cropped wheat because of the good weather at the start of the year. But what would today bring? There was a bit headwind from the West and after the first 25 miles (59:51) and I have caught half a dozen riders. Next we had a 20 mile pull into the stiffening breeze  the full length of the course from Browick interchange to the Croxted (Jct) big flags billow and little flags flap maddenly fast but it feels good to be going now everything else I can put behind me, it has not got tough yet but there is plenty of time. This second 25  takes me 1:03:27 and by the time I saw my helpers for the first time at 50m I was over 3 minutes down on last years schedhule, not a good start but I take my first food of the day, a banana. I rallied over the next 75m (1:00:49) (1:00:49) and (1:01:49) bringing me almost level, then we had the payback for the early hard section and as we swapped circuits we had a 20m wind assisted section which saw my fastest split of the day (58:28) this was a great fillip and put me up for the first time. Jeff Jones meanwhile had caught me for 10 min at 75m going very strong but only just behind him (on time) was Steve Berry one of the early starters going away from me. Nick English my 5 minute man caught me on the downwind section at 120m we exchanged a nod and a smile, this is what we had come to do, grim as it may seem the draw of competition with others and the elements but more importantly ourselves makes the half day race the ultimate racing puzzle, to pitch your ride with all the conditions to space it over those twelve hours, everybody  has bad patches, doubts themselves and then with determination and sheer willpower you come across the plains of  self doubt the wilderness of suffering over the middle stages and a dim light appears in the distance , and your moral begins to rise and you can see the end and when you can see a personnel goal achieved it is the feeling of pure nectar itself

Here in the race we are coming to half way 150m (6:05:54) over 4m up on what I thought last year was an amazing ride so by the time I got to 180m with 4:36 remaining I felt sure I could relax a bit and here it nearly went wrong, I decided to stop, mainly to have a p*** as I had been needing one for the last four hours, in fact since I had a p*** on the move at 30m when I should have gone at the start but in all the rush I forgot and then as soon as I was on the road I got that 'full' feeling down there which to be honest stayed with me for the whole day, not a pleasant feeling. The toes on my right foot had been gradually going to sleep, something I have had in the past, this year I even started with no overshoes so I could adjust my (Velcro) straps but nothing seemed to make it better

New Record Holder - Jeff Jones

So 200 mile a good place to stop (1:03:57) and 8:14  when i stopped I got my shoe off and sprayed my toes with 'freeze' spray. My helpers knew I was going to stop and had things prepared but its the things that had been annoying the noisy chain ("Alan give that chain a spray with silicone") load up the bottle and gels and ("Fiona give that visor a clean") and in all the industry and activity I FORGOT TO HAVE A B****** P***  so I was on my way and before I could think about it I had that 'full' feeling again. Never mind do another lap, no panic, at this stage I would do 285 with only 22mph I calculated and I was at just under 24mph for the race so all seemed fine so long as I did not puncture or get lost on route to the finishing circuit (we never got there last year remember so still a few unknowns to conquer, for the twelve hour what you need is repetition and certainty, take all the variables out of the equation, when you are on the limit, your brain does not function properly and the anxiety of the night before can come back to haunt you.

I stop the next lap and taking a p***, It takes ages to get going when your bladder has been treated like its had a massage from Joe Pecci, it's all manner of sports drink (SIS, coffee, cola) but its always Gatoraid coming out. "Do you think the people there know that and think it's a problem"? I have only had two bananas two hot cross buns to date with chocolate (and yes banana) so the inside of my skin suit looks like a dirty protest has taken place but what else do you do with the wrappers? The rest has all been gels, I save up the first caffeine one for over 100 miles and its what taking mainline heroin and speedball crack at the same time must feel like (Why would I know?) It smooths out all the edges off your riding style, my RPM to this point has been 90 a bit down on what it would be for shorter distances but I cannot allow myself to 'plough' along in a big gear as cramp creeps up on the ununwary and then it's difficult to shake off. From 120m Steve Berry's wonder ride began to slide,  but it was he going slower not me speeding up, he was slowing at a greater rate and that is where the danger lies, the steeper the decline, the harder to arrest and the further away the finish seems, he was having problems with cramp, Nick English was closing in on him after a modest start, his power meter was telling him he could take second spot, Jeff Jones out in front just seemed so strong for only his second outing in the event he was putting a canny ride to go with the extra speed he has found this year.

225 miles (1:04:25) comes with better posture but these past few hours in the heat of the day on concrete roads leave one half baked to go with the exhaustion but there is still a way to go, we leave the A14 at 236 miles and ride the four miles to join the 12 mile finish circuit, I had almost exactly two hours to ride. I had no knowledge of how long I had stopped for, making two stops had complicated matters but  I only have to keep above 20mph all the way to the finish to attain my target, it would be close but surely I ride my bike to work faster than that and regularly do intervals well above on hilly roads, but that is not to take the ten hours of punishment metered out to the body already, the first hurdle is to 'manage' the change from DC roads to the undulating B roads that punish with their variety in effort and tempo, it takes a lap before I am comfortable but I have to take on more food (another bun) that goes down greedily where the others had to be forced down as I find I am hungry. I take extra drink from a friend (thanks Peter!) who whips a bottle out of his van as I wave an empty at him.

Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann)

250 miles (1:09:05) and the slowdown had been dramatic, I still had a few minutes over the 1 1/2 hours in hand (I thought) but it was that close I could not afford to ease up, I usually 'come around' a bit and have a final flourish but today I seem to have left it all my efforts on the DC, no matter what I do there is no style in my riding, it is rough, urgent and ugly, the timekeepers every mile come and go and I even catch a few riders but when the next 25 miles comes up (1:12:09) its a bit of a shock 275 and only just over 15 minutes to make my play. I have done the up wind side of the course through the HQ at Scoulton and thankfully the heat has gone and we are among trees. I  complete my third lap and go on to Hingham Green where Alan and Fiona are waiting, my time has come and gone, I'm sure I'm there and its good to get a provisional result a good half mile over. With Jeff Jones breaking Competition record with 305.691 the course will be re measured and officials will go over the data with a fine tooth comb, they may make some adjustments which will not affect the record but I could loose my 280 but for now its a Club Record and a PB, a good effort, quite an achievement and payback for last year. Nick English has moved on to 2nd with 290.095 and Steve Berry held on to beat me for third 284.604, I did not even win the Vets prize that went to Stan Maciac (Didcot Phoenix) 260.609 at 65 years (+74.219) Not wanting to overstate my case I'd put this as my best ride ever, I've won more prestigious races and performed better but today I achieved a dream and while I could have gone further I think I'm satisfied.

This ride puts Jeff Jones in the box seat for the BBAR and moves me up to 12th but I will need to improve my '100' to stay in position and Jeff could do with improving his as it all looks tight at the top with some very fast times done already.

Photos - Stephen Penney

Happy man - "What do yo mean I did'nt win the Vets prize"

Result Here

Read Jeff Jones account here

BBAR standing

BDCA 50 = 2 x PB +1 x CR

Like buses you wait ages and then two come along together (unless you're in Tottenham of course) so breaking my personnel best '50' (and the club record) was a surprise to me as even with my recent mixed fortune I've had better rides on better days. Although I knew I'd turned a corner with the '10' a couple of weeks back I have been on a last round of training and primping to round off my conditioning in time for the 12 hour next week and the end of the season. It was in this event two years ago that I last rode to a club record and although I was at the top of my fitness for a while last season, conditions (and luck) prevailed to stop me making good with that form and I endured a frustrating end to the season.

Dr Jeff Jones winner of the BDCA '50' and recent NM & H '100 (Pic gbr295)

The BDCA '50' lines up like a mini championship with only sixty riders in the main event (closed on a 1:58) the rest taken up by the ladies and the Association event as this course has a 120 rider limit.  The  A50 has become a favourite for its fast times in all conditions but this the one lap version as opposed to the arguably faster two lap (2 x the '25' course) and goes all the way up to near Stoke on Trent, the glorious weather of late has become changeable in the week so as we look to the skies on Saturday morning we are left with mixed feelings as the wind seems too strong and the heat of the past few weeks evaporated as quickly as it arrived. I went out for twenty miles in the morning and did my second portion of yoga this week to ease out the aches and pains of the past couple of weeks which I can still feel on my body.
While there is a frantic Whirrrr of turbo in the car park I prefer to take a more relaxed approach to my warm up, take some food (banana & fig roll) and drink prepared coffee in the sunshine, I do a five mile ride on the road and arrive just as my minute man Scott Povey (i-ride) goes off, a bit fine but its going to be straight into it today as we have a head wind for 22 miles to the Blyth Bridge turn. My first few splits 11:16/11:47/11:58 seem unremarkable and the killer 'concrete mountain' section 12:17 puts me below 25mph for the first time, I see the winner of N Middx & Herts '100' Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist) going the other way and put him 5 min up on me and Povey not far behind so my 57:48 (26.0mph) at 25 miles does not look impressive or PB material, that however does not allow for the return which is super fast 10:28 is followed by 8:29 (this is not an error Av. speed 35.4mph for one 5m section!) The dog leg to Doveridge (JCB) slows the pace 11:13 some what but I catch three riders along this section and this helps me to focus, so are the hunters hunted and I am indeed caught by BBAR Julian Jenkinson (UTAG) for 4 minutes at 34 miles just as I take a second gel, 10:58 back into the A50 with 12 Miles to go and I am hunting down my 4 minute man Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley) its all high speed stuff around the two roundabouts at Uttoxeter 9:17 and then as the pace and the distance take a grip of my muscles and I realise I must be close to my best ever, I catch Gavin on the slip road off the main road onto the A516 we are either side of a startled driver like pilot fish myself in Red & Blue and Gavin in vivid orange (nice socks!)
It's 1:47:52 at the line but I'm unsure of the seconds, I've never been inside 1:48 I have made it back in 50:03 (30mph), back at the HQ there are some super fast times and (Dr) Jeff Jones is fastest of the year so far  the outstanding winner 1:39:08 his splits 53:14/45:54 (32.7mph all the way home) so although he was 2.1mph faster into the wind he was even more impressive going faster on the way back. Povey was an excellent 2nd 1:40:08 (on a fixed) and in form Derek Parkinson (Cleverlys RC) 1:40:49 pushing back the more established riders Jenkinson 1:41:42 and Joel Wainman (Swift) 1:42:32 these are all terrific times for what was a pretty ordinary day but riders are coming into their top form with the National 12 containing most of the same protagonists next week, I will have to contend with Jeff Jones starting 10 minutes behind me in the Breckland 12 with Nick English (AW Cycles) and Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann) also it should be a good race.

Result here