Club Notes 22nd April 2007

Saturday the 21^st and I joined Richard Brookes for the Manchester And District 25 mile time trail Championship where Rich was hoping to defend the title he won for Leek CC Den Engel. However his hopes were dashed before he started, it would have been Richards first race but he failed to notice cracks in the hub of his front wheel, with a failure potentially being dramatic, and painful and no spare available he was forced to abandon before turning a wheel, this just left YT ,to carry the Den Engel banner and although I tried, some vicious strong winds that seemed to be every where meant that the times for virtually all of the field times dropped from the Macclesfield Wheelers event the previous week, but with lack of training mine seemed to suffer more than most losing over a minute and a half from 57-35 to 59-08, and although the results are not yet out I would be surprised if I stayed in the top 15 I have been just about managing, 13^th in the Macclesfield event although way down on the winner Holme Valley Wheelers Andy Jackson who covered the course in 53-39.

On Sunday Leek had a 4 man contingent in the Stone Wheelers TLI 55 mile Road Race I will let one of the riders Gavin Pringle take up how the morning unfolded

The race started with what was probably the longest neutralised zone I’ve ever known. About five miles in total! This was pretty good for most of the Leek cc boys though as none of us had really warmed up properly, except maybe Adrian Myatt. Once the race started the first lap was pretty uneventful apart from the obligatory attempts to make an early break, none of which were successful. Unfortunately Leek lost a rider Marc Briand who had to pull out somewhere near the start of the second lap with a pulled muscle, this left three leek riders in the fight with 44 miles to go. Over the next three laps there were plenty of attacks at the front of the field with Leek CC featuring in quite a few. Unfortunately during this time Leek CC lost Kieran Meharg after a "racing incident!” Towards the end of lap four a lone rider from pinarello R.T. managed to escape from the bunch and establish a gap. This gap was allowed to grow over the course of the fifth lap, due to a combination of tired legs in the bunch and a lot of the riders who still felt good seemingly deciding to leave it to a sprint for second. Adrian and I rode strongly throughout this period of the race along with riders from Macclesfield Wheelers and Stone Wheelers, but the gap to the lone escapee was just too big to close. The race ended in a bunch sprint for second place. I tried to get away on the final incline before the finishing straight but was swamped by the group with about four hundred metres to go. Ade and I both finally finishing in the bunch.

All in all a fairly successful day considering the inexperience within the team. Definitely a positive start which hopefully we can all build on with some more racing together. Well done to all who took part and thanks to everyone who came to support?

Thanks Gav a nice report and and I would like to add my congratulations as a spectator it was worthwhile the trek out

Moving onto Tuesday and leek fielded 7 riders for the first of the Congleton 10’s with 22 solos and one two up, to say the night was eventful maybe an understatement with perhaps the best result for the Leek riders being not getting wet. Of the seven we had two DNF’s John Goreham who missed the final turn after the Marshal went AWOL, unfortunate but he was on an errand of mercy taking one of the other riders who had come off just down the road from the turn to hospital for observation. Kerien Meharg also DNF after an evening wandering round Congleton town!

After some unscrupulous person described the turn as a roundabout with a pub in the middle and not an island with a pub in the middle , sorry the pub in the middle is the key to drink orientated riders like myself. Leek riders weren’t on their own with one of Congletons own first timers going off course.

The fates did get there own back on my misdirection’s of Keiren though as the site of the afore mentioned fall was blocked by traffic, then a farmer having navigated round the obstruction then elected to park his rig diagonally across the road whilst he opened the gate into his field. Still with Dunc and Keiren as rabbits I carried on catching Dunc just before the turn then determined to hunt down Kieren unknowing that he was not actually ahead at all. Still it did pull me out to a 3^rd overall (4^th if you count the two up) with a time of 23-20, behind Karl Austins 22-53 however the event was won by another Leek rider Tri-athlete Simeon Llyod who recorded a PB of 22-34 beating the two ups effort of 22-35 by one second.

The other Leek riders strung out through the field with Kev Pickford who promised himself he would do a race in his ?? year covered the course in a distinguished 29-39, don’t know if he’s retiring on that or he means a season not just a race. Next was Ruth Goreham in her first attempt at the course earning a respectable 28-25. John Middleton who knows the course a little dipped under 27 minutes at 26-54 and Duncan Poole at the other end of the 26 minutes in 26-19 about half a minute up on his opening time last year. All in all good efforts and a strong base or steep learning curve, I blame the reliance on sat navs myself!

Off on my hol’s, Sans bike so good luck for al those racing over the next week or so.