Club Notes 10th May 2005

To the uninitiated it may appear that the clubs racing community as been taking a back seat (or stoker to use the correct cycling vernacular) of late. In reality the club has been enjoying considerable success albeit in the hands of one particular individual, the flying Ipstonian Richard Brooks. If we back track a little to the 23^rd of April and the Manchester & District Time Trial Championship 25 Leek CC Den Engel’s had 2 riders down on the entry sheet Rich and yours truly, with YT going down with a lurgy the previous week it was touch and go if I would get to the start and I failed, Rich had also missed an event the weekend before with a cough so did not expect great things especially as the infamous Cheshire plains wind struck up with a vengeance! Although as Rich commented “it felt pretty fast and presuming you could pedal into the head wind the tail wind was superb” whether this was echoed by fellow competitors

Is probably doubtful as when all the times finally arrived Rich rolled out in second place with out of over 80 finishers only Stone wheeler Rider Barry Charlton Managing to “pedal into the headwind” quicker (just) edging Rich out by 11 seconds with times of 56-11 to 56-22. Not bad for a recovery ride! Elsewhere that weekend Mark Poyser and Simeon Lloyd took part in a duathlon at Carsington, Simeon no doubt using his Tri-athlon experience to finish in an impressive 7^th place overall. Mark had a less successful morning having to retire.

Moving on a week to the Manchester Wheelers 25 and Rich was back in action and feeling stronger was hoping for an improvement in times and another top five finish. YT would have just liked to get on his bike but at least we now know what the problem is, so I was once more relegated to spectator, And from my view point Rich looked to be up on last weeks victor Barry Charlton at just over half race distance, and looking more relaxed of the pairing, now I know that looking at spilt times on my trusty mobile is not the most accurate but in this case it was correct Rich managing to edge Barry who finished in a time of 55-25 into 4^th place, the pair being split by Andrew Moore another of the established big hitters on the local scene who recorded a time of 55-19. However a first win still evades our hero with another former Tri-athlete Charles Mc Culloch taking an emphatic win as he stormed round the course in an unbelievable 53-01 a little over 2 minutes clear of the field. But I think it is only a question of time before Rich claims his first open victory, and like wise the clubs first for a very long time, who knows it maybe even be in his next event the Glossop Velo 25. He as a better chance of winning than YT does of even taking part, although after a mix up with the wrong tablets I am on the right stuff, now if I can only remember where I put me bike!

And finally for a round up the evening 10’s have been underway for a few weeks now and although I have had no feed back from club members my sources indicate that in last weeks Congleton 10 we had a couple of riders with Mark Poyser claiming 3^rd spot with a time of 23-17, the event winner being Congletons own Karl Austin with a rapid 22-29 beating fellow club member Mark Dooley’s 22-57. Also on the results board was a J Middleton who recorded a 26-19 personal best time unconfirmed as yet but it could well be one of our newest members as John as been threatening that he would like to try his hand at racing if it is one and the same its an excellent effort for his first time out

I will keep you up to date with any developments as and when they occur.

'Till then remember you only have one month before the Club "5" on the 6^th of June and although it feels that everybody is better equipped to tackle the 5 mile course I intend on being there I hope you will be too!