Easter Racing Pt. 2 - City RC '10' (Old Skool - B+)

N.B. Can you have one of these on the start of a post?
Just a quick note to say two old friends of the club accosted me at the Ashfield 2 Up and the Melton Hilly. The lovely Cheryl Owens rode with her GS Metro(partner) and we caught up over tea in the Coalville Whs Clubroom (the HQ) She now lives in Burbage (better than saying you live in Hinckley) which is tantamount to saying that you live in Darwin's waiting room (topical there), beware of places where they still point at aeroplanes! Name escapes me but another soul accosted me at the Great Dalby Village Hall and then seconded to pusher off, now in the Melton Olympic CC and missing everybody at the SWRC

So to Easter proper and the City RC (Hull) '10' on the 'uber' fast V718 (on the A63) now this had been designated the first of the Planet X - 'Old Skool' series for Retro bikes (No carbon, No Aero,) just back to basics TT'ing 80's style. The event was a run out for me as I fancied having a crack at doing a ride in the Catford '10' on the Q10/19 in Kent in a couple of weeks, I did club record on this course way back in 1982 (21.10) the same day Dave Lloyd broke Comp. record (19.11) but never attained the magic 20 minute ride that I thought capable so with my comeback in full swing I felt an early season challenge to go for it 80's style and see how I compare. Only half a dozen riders wheeled out their iron framed bikes on this occasion but that was not to play down the seriousness of the competition, If multi champion Ian Cammish was going to put his neck on the block you can be certain he would not want to be beaten in the 'Old Skool' style to which he is the undoubted and un-challenged King.
A good day and fast times were coming back from the senior event Derek Parkinson (Clevely RC - no relation) winning in 19.12 from A Duggleby (Shorter RT) 19.19 with a tie for third Phil Graves (Clifton CC) and R Handley (Maxgear RT) 19.28 I had only put my 'Retro' Dave LLoyd (do you like the symmetry?) together the night before and run out of time on my 28 spoke wheels (Campag on Argent 10's for authentisity) so I had to make do with a 'bastard' pair of 32's. Most of the rest of the equipment was Campag Super Record circa early 80's, I found some Mafac brake blocks to replace the well worn ones in discarded shoes at the bottom of a drawer and not prepared to buy new from Campyoldy at £4.50 each!
Campag fricton handlebar control as no DT bosses (to be fair the 'Lloydy' is from the early 90's but all steel) and drilled levers with the cables tucked under. Back in the day when 'Old Skool' was all we knew I never had a custom TT bike we just used to put some light (32 spoke for us heavy track buggers!) in our road bikes and away we go, but then in those days there was not so much difference as there is today. Single 53 ring (with front changer - screwed down) on 180 track cranks and a genuine Cinelli A1 stem & Merckx bars, the major difference a non Campag seatpin (they just didn't make them that long in those days - for compact frame) and cleated pedals, Cammish was using clips and straps (so Dave Worsfold is now not the only person racing on them in the country) and exposed cables. However I had my original 80's racing top (silk effect viscose) so I guess we were just about even on the un-aero stakes. It was quite liberating all that wind in your (lack of) hair it took me back to the days before we had to worry about power meters and Heart Rate Monitors, if you look at the picture yes that is what I look like under all that garb, and those that remember from before still biteing my bottom lip I think I lost out to Cammish in the 'cool' stakes.


'Old Skool' style

I went for a long warm up and to try out the bike, then tightened everything up (I'd taken my road bike as a fallback in case anything broke or fell off!) and set off for the start. A few riders were amazed that I was riding 'Old Skool' I was number 60a fast man and there was alot of fast new carbon bikes on show, people spend alot of money to go fast, training and preparing for a day like today and travel a long distance to a course rated to be a competition record course in the future, but I reasoned would I do a PB this early in the season? How much harm could it do to have a bit of fun on a bike I'd put together that had cost less than these guys had spent on their spare front wheel.

King Cammish


The race as with all 10's was over in a flash, just push all the way slightly harder on the way out but with no aero facade to hide behind you catch the full force of the elements. I only had a clock, no speedo so I had no idea of how I was going but my MM (a 52 minute 25 miler) was on the up ramp as I was going down so he had not gained that much on me(10 sec?) On the way back I did not settle into any rhythm but then this was my first DC race of the year and I've been used to going at 23 mph Av. here at faster speed it's difficult to handle the gears and the position so I just had to keep picking up the speed and the finish was soon in sight, my MM did not catch me but informed me he had done a short 21 so I reasoned inside a 22 (which was my target for the day) and I was well chuffed with that. Mr Cammish gave me a nod as he rode up to the start on his immaculate cream Guerlocci I coughed all the way to the car. At the result board it was evident how fast a day it was 30 inside 21 minutes and 10 inside 20 one of those inside 19 and the winner of the event (and a veteran to boot - Vets Comp Record?) Wayne Randall (PlanetX) 18.58 with Barry Charlton (Lyme RC) 19.26 and John Surtees (RAF CC) 19.58 King Cammish came in 21.38 so he only beat me by 8 seconds and S.Ward (Team Swift) a further 2 seconds down on my 21.46 It was not easy but I thik I can go faster, now that I look in my diary for 1982 the Catford CC '10' on the Q10/19 I did 21.44 only 20 seconds down on Derek Cottington, If anybody fancies getting across to Tonbridge to watch you will have to get up early, traffic dictates that the event has to kick off at 6.30am I'll keep you posted

On the BH Monday I rode the Leicester RC Hilly '29' around the lanes of NE Leicestershire, the HQ in Syston North of the city so I had a leisurely ride out at 8 in the morning through the empty but sun filled streets of Leicester on my TT bike a bit conspicuous in my aero helmet but it was a lovely morning to be out on a bike after two days of drizzle. A few people asked me about the 'Old Skool' as they had seen the result and rated my position just behind Cammish, I'm seen as a bit of an enigma here, just a rider who rides all the local events but in SWRC colours, when I tell then I've lived in Leicester for 25 years they look at me a bit puzzled. I'm not out to do anything here in what is a pretty tough course, just don't be embarrassed and come more than respectable but what that means anybody knows? I start well but my legs are tired and it is a hard start into the wind, I catch my 1,2 and 3 mm before half way but that is about all I can do and settle in for the rest of the ride using my 42 inner and revving up the hills as hard as I can, the road along to Russian Farm is muddy and pock marked, I'm re-living Paris Roubaix I sat and watched on the sofa yesterday, lovely stuff. I suffer on Borough hill the toughest part of the circuit and then the long drag up from Thorpe Satchville I'd ridden in the Melton event last week, not so bad today and over the top I put it in the big ring and begin the decent to the finish at Queniborough 35 mph along here and feeling good although I cannot get top, no matter I need a bit of spinning after all that. Geoff Platts (De Rosa 4th - 1.10.06) coasts past me nearly caught me for 4 min but my time 1.14.11 four minutes faster than last year (and 10 faster than 2006) so going in the right direction but I'll never be good at these things (last year I'd been out for 50m in the snow the day before!) Winner James Perkins (Zenith CC) 1.8.29 from James Cambridge (Melton Oly.)1.9.15 and third Scott Walker (De Rosa RT) 1.9.32

Easter Racing - Pt 1.

After reading those last few reports, Does anybody in the SWRC ride anywhere close to SW London? Or are we all off around the country or Europe doing our thing! Anyway bit of an update on the Midlands (and the North) racing scene, last week I had my first back to back weekend of racing, on the Saturday I rode the Ashfield RC 2 Up '25' on the testing Griffydam course (the most windswept place in the windswept county)If I tell you that our Av. Sp. for the first five miles was above 33mph then you can imagine what the second half of this two lap course was like. My (usual) partner Mark is a whippet and offered no cover so we plugged away as the flags on the new housing estate near EMA and Castle Donnington were being shredded, we were just on 25mph as we went past the timekeeper (for the first time) and then from the aptly named Top road the flume ride began again as we touched 40mph on the twisty roads. Mark was beginning to suffer by now and I had to slow a bit for him on the second lap but we still came in under the hour in 59.54 for 7th place. Mark Lovatt(Planet X) and Mike Cummins (Raleigh) won it with 55.48 although D. Otter and Marc Mallinder the first Club team (Rutland CC) in 2nd spot over a minute down 56.56.
On the Sunday the Melton Olympic Hilly '20.5' solo this time and as I go back through my racing diary I'm sure I've ridden this recently but I have to go back to2006 when I was outside the hour (with a punture mind) must have put me off! As it was I managed 51.59 for 11th a mere 5 minutes behind Matt Bottrill (De Rosa) 46.51, I still caught my 3 minute men and beat Mark by 4 minutes, to be fair Mark was beginning to suffer by now, two night shifts as a fireman catching up with him.
Over the Easter weekend I had two races but on the Friday and Monday to give my body a bit of a chance to recover (from all that chocolate!), early season TT's are a bit tough on the body, you have to get used to the position not assumed since you last raced and the cold and wind are all tougher at this time of year. To be fair we have been blessed with some nice weather for a change, this time last year it was snow and ice so things are looking up for the summer, a later Easter always makes a difference, Easter was my first racing last year.

Bourne Whs. Hilly 22.5

Just got back from Portugal at the weekend, ten days of sun and I took the bike to get in a few miles and build a but of early season fitness



The previous week I had ridden my first event of the year the Bourne Whs (Where?) Hilly in Lincolnshire, I'd got a 2nd place in their early season Road Race a couple of seasons ago on the same course based at Essendine but also using some of the roads I ride alone when doing a 100 mile loop out this way through Stamford East of the A1.
I'd had a cold all week (my first of the year) after being ultra careful and avoiding anywhere and anything germ infested. Handrails and door handles have become Persona non Grata for me and Fiona and I have to include lots of hand washing after being in public places, this is no hardship for Fiona as she has (like most women I assume) an obsession with knowing and rating where all the best and worst toilet facilities are in the whole world. For your information Worst - Cairo central market & Best - Bicester Shopping Village. Is there a potential book here? I'm beginning to think myself with a touch of OCD with the paranoia of people and germs, turning into the Howard Hughes of Leicester. But a trip to Brussels on Euro star proved too much for my defences and my immune system was overwhelmed despite copious use of hand wipes. To be fair Belgium does not have an illustrious history in the toilet department a service station just north of Lille taking my top spot for sheer awfulness well up in my bottom ten (literally)
Not wanting to shift my cold onto my chest I did not go all out in the Bourne event, and finished up in 5th place but well off the pace of the winner James Perkins of the Zenith CC the local 'fastman'. I had been the 'scratchman' or the last man off so expectation was high but as I now miss two weekends away in the Algarve but It was good to get a race under my belt before going away which I'd never done
The south of Portugal was scorching all week (9 days) and I had to be careful over the first few days not to get burnt, those of us with less than the full quota of hair have to run a fine line between getting a tan on our exposed bonse and having a two tone line around our heads for the rest of the season and these first few days seem to be crucial as to get it wrong means six months of alternating peeling skin and a scalp like a map of Middle Earth

Keep that Uri Geller away from my bike!

Some times you get a 'Lucky Break' and sometimes a break is lucky, I had the latter (twice) riding to work the other day, I've done thousands of miles on my trusty spare bike. Descended mountains at 50mph+ or racing at Mallory Park it's the best part of 20 years old and one of the first carbon bikes ever produced (carbon tubes stuck into alloy lugs). The original one was my dad's and some years ago (early 90s) I was out riding when I found I could not use the front changer, I gave it a bit of a boot as I went along thinking "It's stuck or jammed" but a good hard Whack! with the right foot usually frees things up , but NO! On closer inspection the tube where it goes into the bottom bracket lug was barely in having come un-glued, the only thing holding the bike together was the front changer cable wrapped under the BB. I know some bikes have tension cables and the Dursley Peterson had a saddle strung from it like a hammock but this was a bit too much 'High Tech' innovation that even Eva Jiricna would not have approved of, I turned the bike over walloped it home and rode home gingerly. Specialised replaced the frame free of charge even though it was well over 3 years old and I noticed the tubes on this one had pins as well as glue. Its usually hung on the wall but it's always being pressed into action at various times as things go wrong through the season with bikes and frames, I've been using it as a winter bike with mudguards this winter since fatigue took my winter bike.




You can see a pretty big dirty mark in the break which means that it's been broken for quite a long time but I only got out the saddle at 15mph on a little side road and it snapped and I had a 'mono fork' for a brief few seconds as I came gracefully (and thankfully) to a halt, when I thingk about it afterwards, well It doesn't bear thinking about too much downhill, in a bunch, on a main road...........
Only the week before the bracket on my front mudguard had succumbed while riding along the busy A47 and the whole guard shot forward gripped by the tyre and wedged itself under the crown bringing me to a sudden and skidding halt. I was lucky that time as well, it took my computer sensor and magnet with it across the road but I was just shaken as I only had my hand on the bars and the other on the peak of the guard (wondering why my mudguard had gone so lopsided?) so let us all learn a lesson to check our bikes more often and if a repair needs doing, do it now don't wait and if something looks or feels strange stop and find out before you find out at 25mph with the unpredictable outcome, do not relie on luck

I'd just like to point out at this time that the South Western Road Club (All Stars) are currently 47th in the National Club ranking at the present time thanks to some sterling efforts by Paul Alderson over the winter months. On the same points as Rapher Condor but way ahead of Barloworld!
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/Rankings/RankingsClubs.asp?rank_region=

Third Overall for Paul

Paul Alderson consistent results throughout the winter months saw him take third overall in the E/1/2/3 category of the Imperial RT Winter Series at Hillingdon Circiut. Talking after the result which saw him move up to a 2nd Cat he said he wanted to get his 1st Cat licence by the end of the year and then mabe Elite after that, not a bad ambition for a man who just joined the over 40's. Go Paul!

Picture by Jonathon Bentman