Old Stories

Please note that not all races mid week are on Tuesday nights due to clashes with the SCCA programme.

The League will be decided on the best 18 results from 22 scoring races.
Rained off events will reduce the quantity of total qualifying races.

John Hall meets Louis Bobet in the Pyrenees

During the summer, John Hall took on the challenge on crossing the Pyrenees, coast to coast. John joined nineteen other cyclists from Australia, USA, and UK along with two support/guide vehicles provided by the tour company (Pyractif). John was to cover some 700km (440 miles) and thirty six thousand feet of climbs in five and a half days!

John climbed some legendary Tour de France mountains such as the Col d’Tourmalet, topping out at 2,115 meters above sea level and nineteen kilometres long at an average of 7.4% incline.

The first two days were a taster for the following week climbing the Col d’Osquich (500m), Col d’Marie-Blanque (1,000m) and the Col d’Aubisque (1,700m) with fantastic scenery all around.

The weather can change from one side of the mountain to the next and this was true of the Tourmalet that day. The first kilometre decent was fast, and then descended into thick cloud, mist and fog.

"I was constantly having to wipe my specs as they were misting up every 30 seconds. It got so bad that one of my fellow cyclists (who wasn’t wearing specs) took the lead so that I could follow his wheel down the mountain.”

John would like to thank his wife, Ginny, for her patience and understanding as he started stacking in the miles some months prior to the coast to coast turning her into a virtual 'bike widow'.

John also raised over £600 for Children with Leukaemia so hats for John, one of our younger club members.

John has sent some cracking photo’s with a great one at the top of the Tourmalet at the Louis Bobet Memorial who was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955.

Dover clears up at the Ludlow Cycling Club Awards

Ludlow Cycling Club presented this seasons cups at the Annual Dinner hosted at the Stagg Inn, Titley, Herefordshire. No surprise that the slim-line Dover Disney won 6 cups; the Powell Cup for the fastest 25mile TT, the Taylor Trophy for the faster aggregate time of 25.27mph timed over three trophy events ; the Farnell Cup for the League winner; Pearce Engineering trophy for most events ridden; the coveted Nelson Trophy, a fixed gear event over 10 miles and finally the Weaver trophy for the fastest two up over 10 miles with Pete Ding.

Richard Stanton won 2 trophies, the 1st Senior and the Most Improved Rider. Clancy Wilson won the Hill Climb trophy.

Next Season will be as competitive as ever with Pete Ding aiming to re-claim his 2008 Club champion crown and most probably sick to death of coming 2nd to Disney all season. Steve Bent is coming back from a serious illness and is focused on the Veterans Worlds next year so he will provide some stiff competition.

Neal Deller and Chris Williams are looking for improvement and Clancy Wilson is not to be discounted in the mix up for next season.

Club runs will continue, weather permitting, from 0900hrs every Sunday from the Sports Centre in Ludlow. Please check with the club secretary, Peter Ding, pete_ding@msn.com or visit the club website at ludlowcc.org.uk.

Clive Beacon (left) from Climb on Bikes, Hereford, presenting the Nelson Trophy to Dover Disney

Ludlow Cycling Club entered four teams in the 'The Duo Normand 2010, a two up time trial race which takes place on a closed circuit of more than 54 kilometres in September around the Normandy Town of Marigney. The Duo Normand has become an internationally recognised event with the presence of French, Swedish, Dutch, Belgian, Russian, Italian and British champions with the famous Chris Boardman, victorious in 93, 96 and 99. This event is one of the rare places in the cycling world where true amateurs can compete with professional cyclists with the chronometer as the single judge.

Over 360 teams started this year from across Europe with Ludlow CC entering three teams in the Veterans Class and the fourth team in the Unlicensed Category. The race is held on a very technical road circuit which begins with a flat zone for the first 20kms ending with a number of demanding hills over the remaining 34kms. This Time Trial means that each team had to approach this technical circuit in a very strategical manner.

Clancy Wilson and John Munns were the first Ludlow Team back, in 20th position in their class, in a time of 01:23:38secs, beating Ludlow Club champion Dover Disney and Pete Ding in a time of 01:28:54secs (35th overall). The third Ludlow Team of Neil Deller and Chris Williams were under a minute behind in 37th position in a time of 1:29:40secs.

Andrew Alston and Steve Bent entered the Unlicensed Category and finished with a very creditable time of 01:32:13seconds, coming 68th in a field of 210 teams. The winning team were the Russian Pro team, Katusha, in an amazing time of 01:06:14seconds.

The Ludlow Cycling Clubs 2010 Time Trial League season was all about Dover Disney. Disney had shed 2 stone in weight at the beginning of the season and it paid dividends as he romped home to the Ludlow Club and All Comers Championship. Out of 16 races in the club championship, he came first 11 times and second 5 times. Peter Ding the 2008 Club Champion came second followed closely by the much improved senior Paul Lewis in third.

Clancy Wilson won the the final race of the season, the Club Hilly that starts from the Charlton Arms and ascends to the top of Mortimer Forest.This is a leg breaking 2 mile climb which Clancy completed in 9 minutes and 13 seconds.

Twenty different clubs participated in the All Comers Championship with local cyclist, James Griffith from Ditton Priors, Climb On Bikes, coming second.

Ludlow Cycling Club will be participating in the Duo Normande, a 2-up International TT Event that attracts teams all over Europe. Ludlow CC will also be defending their National Track Veterans Pursuit Crown in the next few weeks.

New member Edward Wood is making the following appeal for cycling sponsorship on his End To End Cycle Challenge in May 2010.

“I am seeking a big favour from you to help me mark two big events: In April, the Wood Brewery celebrates 30 years of brewing and a month later (on 13 May) I celebrate a milestone birthday – 60 years young. In one of my crazier moments I decided to cycle from Land’s End to John o’ Groats (the 30/60 Challenge). I will set off on 4 May and hope to complete the journey 12 days later after passing my 60th somewhere in Scotland.

To make the trip and training all the more worthwhile, I am aiming to raise a minimum of £6,000 for the Midlands Air Ambulance which covers the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, dealing with over 3,500 callouts each year. It costs £5.6 million a year to run and the organisation relies entirely on voluntary donations to get that amount. Its need is urgent. This is a cause very close to my heart – my 15-year-old son Jonathan needed an emergency airlift last summer to save his life following a freak cricketing accident. That rapid response certainly helped save him from brain damage and even from possible death

I am hoping that you will feel able to help me raise my target money. Your generosity will be much appreciated.

I understand that, like us, you will be inundated with calls for donations and sponsorship, but I guarantee that this is a definite one-off from me and I will not come calling again! If you are able to help, I shall be forever grateful. You can donate either by cheque made out to 30/60 Challenge or by BACS to sort code 20-53-22 Account No 13728668

Yours very sincerely

Edward Wood”

LUDLOW CYCLING CLUB
2010 – THE YEAR AHEAD
We have arranged the following exciting ride programme for 2010.
There is something for everyone in this.

1. Regular Winter / Early Spring weekly events (until end March / early April):

a). Tuesday night chain gang – meet 6:30 to 6:45 each Tuesday evening at the Eco Park entrance on Sheet Island. 25 miles minimum.
b). Sunday Morning Club Run – from the Ludlow Sports centre from 0900hrs. Please note the start point could vary so keep an eye on the cub website. (Distance minimum 50 miles).
c). Saturday morning starter/medium group rides – distance approx 20 to 30 miles depending on the group.
d). Mountain bike rides on Saturdays or Sundays arranged by James Griffiths – watch out for email details
e) Weekly Friday Track Cycling at Newport Velodrome. £6.00 per session (4 to 7pm). Bike hire from £6.00 or take your own fixed gear track bike.

The Reliability programme has now been set giving riders looking to gain early season fitness the chance to test themselves against others - or against a reasonable time limit. These popular, low cost events attract riders of all standards who work together around a fixed route. At some point the pace will split up, with riders organising themselves into smaller groups according to ability to get home within the limit. For anyone unfamiliar with a course a route map is available. All riders are welcome.

The Ludlow Reliability Ride will be free of charge to signed-up Club members (first or second claim). It will be £5.00 to non members. This includes a free cup of tea/coffee or squash for all riders in the Ludlow Leisure Centre café after the event.

The format will be similar to previous years with a car/minibus assist and a 60-70 mile ride each way to a hotel in North Wales.

Anyone interested please put the date in your diary and also send an email to Steve Bent so he has a rough idea of numbers.

E: stephen@bentstours.com

T: +44 (0)1568 780800
F: +44 (0)1568 780801

4. Shropshire Clubs Cycling Association Time Trial Programme

This is a series of 16 Time Trail events held throughout Shropshire from, March to September.
This kicks of with the Wrekinsport Hilly TT on Saturday 6th March 2010, passing through Bridgnorth and covering 18 miles.
The full programme will be published shortly. Neal Deller is the Club Co-ordinator for these events.

The full programme is now set and a print out can be found in the right hand side menu under “evening League 2010”.

First event is on Tuesday 13th April Start 6:30 on the Brimfield (R10/6B) by-pass, one of the fastest courses in Shropshire and the South Wales District.

We have again a special recession busting discount for signed-up Club members (first or second claim) with race fees held at £10 per season for all 25 events. (£3.00 per event for non members)

 Saturday 17th March 2010 Brimfield By-pass R/106B 10 mile course
 Saturday 3rd July 2010 Brimfield By-pass R/106B 10 mile course

A series of 16 rides starting on Saturday 27th March on the Waters Upton Course north of Wellington. Look out for full details in due course.

8. Sprint Triathlons

A number of the cyclists will be taking part in the following Sprint Triathlons:
a. Hereford Duathlon in April
b. Harlech Tri in May
c. Ludlow in September

This will take place on Tuesday 15th June 2010.
The HQ will be at the Ashford Carbonnel Village Hall.
This event is to encourage younger and new riders to a Time Trial Event. Full details to follow. Watch out for the flyer as we get nearer to the date.
This was huge success last year and over 20 new faces turned up and enjoyed their first time trial event.

10. Sportives

A number of the cyclists will be taking part in the following sportive events. Further details to be published once all details are finalised:
i). Shropshire Highlands Event in June
ii). Dartmoor Classic in June
iii). Dragon Ride
iv). Bernard Hinault Sportive

Back by popular demand after 1 year’s absence we will be sending several pairs of rides to the Duo Normand in late September.

The two-up Team Time Trail is ridden on closed roads over 35 miles with over 300 teams taking part, including elite riders from the Tour de France and other professional International race stars. A grandstand in the local town is erected mainly for the benefit of the Ludlow Cycling Club to encourage cheering and heckling of other participants.

A visit is in the outline planning stage for November 2010 to Ghent to follow the hugely popular Ghent 6 day event which takes place in Belgium.

*********************************************************
The above is not an exhaustive list but hopefully provides a flavour of events in 2010.
Our membership is spread across South Shropshire; Welsh Borders; North Herefordshire & Worcestershire so anyone who wants a cycle, please contact the Ludlow Cycling Club.

Our Organised Winter Club runs are back!
Come and join our friendly bunch on our weekly rides.
These rides will carry on through to the end of March or early April 2010.

We ride the pace of the slowest rider in our group and stop for a break at a variety of cafes throughout the whole area.

We publish our weekly ride towards the end of the working week so you can plan to join us at the start or somewhere along the route taken.

Dad, that’s Mr Neal Deller to you, Dover, our support team (Jacqui and Rob) and I set off, somewhat under duress in my case, for the beautiful Bleheim Palace and our first Brompton World Championship at a truly ungodly hour on the first Sunday morning in October (Dover was suspiciously chirpy considering the hour). A couple of hours later and feeling almost human we arrived to find the event in full swing. In the car park everyone was busy prepping for their race; in the case of BWC riders that meant last minute costume adjustments and unfolding their weapon of choice, but the time trialers dressed in Lycra, warming up on their turbo trainers looked rather too serious. We hadn’t arrived in the requisite attire, so each of us proceeded to change, it should be noted that in a crowded car park/field this is a highly skilled, shuffle manoeuvre.

After an amazingly painless registration, we entered the event paddock and beheld a truly beautiful sight, Bromptons everywhere, every colour of the rainbow. The dress code required shirt, tie, and suit jacket to be worn, and at the car we thought we’d got the dress code down. Dad looked pretty dapper in his cream suit, so long as you ignored the three quarter length trousers, Dover looked rather like an over-grown school boy, and I managed to look almost as scruffy as I did at school, needless to say we were outshone by a fair few enthusiastic BWC old hands. There were bumble bees, tail coats, fishnets and stilettos, top hats, psychedelic pyjamas and hot pink suits to mention but a few.

A little while before the race we started a leisurely warm up, pootling up and down a rather short strip of drive. It wasn’t a very effective warm up but it was good practice in collision avoidance. As the crucial time drew near we folded our bikes and left them on our designated spots within the pens we had been allocated to. We stood to attention for the race instructions, where there seemed to be a fairly broad spectrum of entrants gathered, all ages and both sexes were well represented. We were grouped in pens of one hundred to be set off in one minute intervals. The air was electric with the anticipation of 670 oddballs chomping at the bit when the first horn went and the first group was set free. For safety reasons, having unfolded our bikes, we were told to walk, not run, and not to mount our bikes until on the road. It didn’t matter how long we took to get started, a very clever timing chip provided at registration, ensured that the clock didn’t start on us until we reached the track. The excitement proved too much for quite a few in the first group, Dad and Dover among them, and all chaos ensued, thus setting a bad example for the rest of us. Amazingly everyone appeared to get off unharmed.

I had been assured by Dad, when he told me we were doing the race, that the course would be practically flat. He was wrong. We had to do two laps of a rather scenic 4-ish mile circuit starting in front of the palace then circling a lake behind it; there were several hills. The weather was kind, and it stayed mild and dry with barely a breeze for the duration of the race. I pedalled hard from the get go, not wanting to end up last, and immediately regretted it when I got to the first hill. There was rather a nifty decent from here which I enjoyed a bit too much and consequently suffered on the next hill that was considerably nastier than the first. Mr Bent has suggested that I should make the most of the opportunity to rest on the descents, he is undoubtedly right, but that’s just not as much fun. I thought it wasn’t unreasonable to request a tow from a chap who did not appear to have noticed the existence of the hill, for some reason he thought I was joking. Eventually I made it up under my own steam, and to my surprise found the second lap easier, I even enjoyed it, I think.

Sandwiches and sports drinks were provided post race and very much appreciated in the wait for the final presentations. There turned out to be less than .3 of a second between Roberto Heras in first place and Michael Hutchinson in second, Julia Shaw took first place for the women. I had been chatting to Michael Hutchinson in our pen before the start of the race and was considerably cooler about it than Dover was when he took advantage of a photo op with Heras after the results presentation. That was largely because I had no idea who he was. Although none of the Ludlow Lounge Lizards ended up on the podium, we gave a pretty decent account of ourselves. Dover was second Male vet, at 25 mins 56, Dad came in as 10th male vet with 27 mins dead, and I finished 38th female senior with a time of 35 mins 24, our combined times placed us in 6th place for the team rankings, which I was fairly chuffed with. For a full list of official timings go to http://www.brompton.co.uk/bwc/2009/. All in all a very successful day, quintessential British eccentricity at its very best, and looking forward to next year!

Well after 21 competitive events with almost 450 individual rides taking place it is all over.
The champions are among us and the winners are:

League Champion – Steve Bent
Runner Up – Pete Ding
3rd Place – Clancy Wilson

Other prizes go to:
Top Senior – Paul Lewis
Top Vet – Ian Chubb
Top Lady – Louise Baker
Top Junior – John Gilmour
Fastest 10 – Steve Bent
Fastest 25 – Pete Ding
Hill Climb Champ – Clancy Wilson
Two Up Trophy - Neal Deller & Steve Bent

Many thanks to Fi, Mick and Jacquie and Ian for help with the time-keeping, start and finish.

The 2010 TT programme will be published soon – start training now and grab yourself a prize for next Season.

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE
ROUNDS 5 & 6
TUESDAY 5TH MAY 2009 – KC45/25 CADBURY’S
TUESDAY 12TH MAY 2009 – D28/10 CRAVEN ARMS

Round 5 - The Ludlow TT's now start at 7pm. Round Five had to be changed to the KC45/25 route due to roadworks.
This April has been pretty nice so far compared to last year’s downpours so no one can really complain about the constant winds that all cyclists have all experienced in the first 5 Rounds. The outward leg was in to a head wind making the homeward journey more enjoyable.

Pete Ding beat Steve Bent (both Ludlow CC) by 11 seconds with a time of 01:01:30 secs followed by 'Charlie' Chubb on 01:03:04. First lady home was Louise Baker from Ludlow CC.
Steve Bent still leads the Ludlow CC and All Comers League by 2 points.

Round 6 - Scenic 10 at Craven Arms weather conditions were excellent, a slight easterly pushing the cyclists up to the Purslow turning at the Hundred House, sheltered conditions to Hopton and then hugging the hedges from the slight wind back to Long Meadow.
Ludlow 3rd claim Veteran and all-round boyo, Phil Mason stormed home in24:02 with Steve Bent setting a Course Best taking the Ludlow League maximum points in 25:08.
Andrew Alston also posted a Course Best in 27:57 and Mark Warren went one better with an impressive Best in 27:33.
As the name suggests, the Scenic offers awesome views of South Shropshire at its best even though this should be a secondary thought to the cyclists on the road.

It was a pity the event was marred by the antics of the road menders on the A49, with no road markings for ¾ of the racing strip with heavy deposits of grit to deter several riders.
The weather was kind to us and many still managed PBs.

Thank you to all riders, marshals, other helpers and as ever to Gill and Brian Morrison for the time-keeping duties.

We are trying to encourage young riders, ladies and riders of all abilities to come and try a time trial.

We have booked the Ashford Carbonell Village Hall just off the Brimfield Ludlow by-pass and will run a timed event of 1 lap of the Hilly Course for all new-comers.

All Ludlow Club members will help to encourage any and all who come along.
They will help also with their bike set-up and if required ride behind them as they try their first Time Trial.

We have had a flurry of events and winners over the last few weeks. Below is a short report on each.

LUDLOW CC TWO UP TEAM TIME TRAIL - TUESDAY 2ND JUNE 2009
A good turnout of 37 riders saw 15 pairs and 7 solo riders.

The prize of the evening went to Neal Deller and Steve Bent winning the Ludlow team TT prize in 21:47 from second placed Pete Ding and Dover Disney in 22:40 and Clancy Wilson and James Smith in 23:21 in third spot.

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE - ROUNDS 7, 8 & 9
TUESDAY 19TH MAY 2009 – R10/6B BRIMFIELD
SUNDAY 24TH MAY 2009 – KC45/25 CADBURY’S 25 CHAMPIONSHIP
TUESDAY 26TH MAY 2009 – K44/10C LEOMINSTER ARROW

Round 7
Steve Bent (Ludlow CC) won the Castle Cup Club 10 mile Championship in a cracking time of 21:57 beating his nearest club rival, Peter Ding by a whopping 1:04.
Steve's win was even more impressive as Pete Ding had recently beaten Steve by 6 seconds on the same course at the Ludlow Open 10 at Brimfield on the previous Saturday.

Pete Ding was handicapped by having to use safety pins to keep his skin suit together as the zip had failed just race before the race.
Dover Disney came in third with also a good time of 23:20.

Mark Povey got his fifth PB of the season with a 24:13 and will surely beat the 24 minute barrier some time during the season.

Sarah Lloyd Stephens also attained another PB with a fast time of 25:24 and yet again put some of her male counterparts into the shade.

Paul Gibbons did a good time on a fixed wheel bike with a 25:30 and 'spun out' on the decents.

The race conditions were the same familiar southerly breeze giving all cyclists a good work out on the backward leg.

Steve Bent still leads the Club and All Comers league. It’s going to take a holiday for Steve to lose the lead to Peter Ding.

Round 8
The 25 mile Club 25 Championship was won by Pete Ding who came close to his PB with 58:11 showing he is master of the Cadbury’s Course. This is a route he has ploughed all winter backwards and forwards to the chain-gang on a Tuesday evening in all weathers.
Well done Pete!
Steve Bent tried all he could to counter Pete Ding’s stamina nad strength at this distance and also broke the hour to record his fastest time for several years at this distance in59:10.

The weather was very conducive to good times with a light southerly cross wind allowing the return leg to be covered fast.

Round 9
The weather was very clement this evening with light westerly cross winds allowing for reasonably fast times throughout the field.

Steve Bent ruled the day winning another 30 points to consolidate his lead at the top of the League in a time of 23:10

Pete Ding took second spot in 23:51 with Clancy Wilson running him closely for 3rd place 6 seconds back in 23:57

It’s the turn of South Shropshire to host the Friction and Hydraulic Services Shropshire Championship Points Series when Ludlow CC host round 5 on the fast Brimfield course on Saturday over 10 miles. The A49-based out-and-back has produced many personal bests over the years and this has attracted a significant number of the county’s fastest.

Andy Bason holds a 10 point lead over team mate Dan Soltys and both are present with strong support from Andy Tamplin and Dave Gostelow amongst a travelling contingent of 13 riders. Tamplin missed out on taking over third spot in the Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ 50 thanks to breaking a wheel, but will be determined not to miss that chance a second time with Paramount’s Dave Griffiths again absent.

Tamplin needs to claim at least 6th to take that place, but will have some tough competition, not least from Griffiths’ team mates Richard Watson, Huw Roberts and Tim Challinor who will be going all out to stop him. On paper they are all faster, but once the adrenalin starts flowing Tamplin could pull one out of the bag.

Dysynni’s Carl Heitman, Oswestry’s Neil Coles and a number of fast Ludlow riders could also join the mix, with Stephen Bent first off and Veterans’ Series leader Pete Ding no slouch himself on actual time. Ding will be trying to stop the charge of reigning Veteran’s Champion Pete Griffin of Newport – as well as looking over his shoulder for Wrekinsport’s Allan Jones who starts two minutes behind him.

The Ladies competition sees the top three all present with Claire Cook protecting her 10 point lead from Mid Shropshire Wheelers’ Jenny York. York is defending her Series title and has the faster personal best, but this is Cook’s first foray south and a strong performance is almost certain. Oswestry’s Helen Tudor is also out to consolidate her third place and extend her 30 point advantage over the absent Rebecca Leaper.

With Daniel Lamsdell managing to arrange a few hours off work to compete his Junior Series lead is beginning to look comfortable - with a very good prospect of a lowered personal best also on the cards given the right conditions.

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE ROUNDS 5 & 6
TUESDAY 5TH MAY 2009 – KC45/25 CADBURY’S
TUESDAY 12TH MAY 2009 – D28/10 CRAVEN ARMS

The Met Office has predicted a good summer for cyclists so we could see a drop in winds and faster times for all cyclists. Ludlow Cycling Club will be running a “Come and Try It” Session on Tuesday 16th June for all new cyclists, to introduce them to the fine art of Time Trialling.
Further details will be circulated to all or can be obtained from the Ludlow CC website.
All race details are also updated on the website.

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE ROUND 4
TUESDAY 28TH APRIL 2009 – R10/6B - BRIMFIELD

After Round 4, Steve Bent still heads the Ludlow Club as well as the All-Comers Leagues with an excellent performance on the night.
Round Four was moved to the Brimfield course due to road-works on the
Leominster by-pass. The fourth round was blessed with fine weather again
with a strong northernly wind on the outward leg. Overall results were
reversed in this round compared with Round 3 with Simon Ward (Epic Cycles) beating Stu
Griffiths (Climb On Bikes) by 15 seconds with a time of 22m 20secs.
Mark Povey completed a hat trick of PB's with a respectable time of 24m
56secs.

Ewen McDonald produced a super fast ride of 22m 32secs which underlines the talent of this audacious 17 year old.

First lady back was Louise Baker (Ludlow CC) in 28mins which means
she is now the leading lady in the Overall All Comers and Ludlow Club
Leagues.

Simon Ward and Stu Griffiths smile despite the pain of Tuesday’s strong head wind

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE, ROUNDS 2 & 3
SUNDAY 18TH APRIL 2009 – KC45/25 – BRIMFIELD TO LEOMINSTER
TUESDAY 21ST APRIL 2009 – KC45/11.4 HILLY CIRCUIT (2 LAPS)

Rounds 2 & 3 were blessed with good weather conditions.
Jon Tetley from Hereford Wheelers won Round Two, the Ludlow 25 mile TT, with 59:25 seconds. In second place was Peter Ding (Ludlow CC) with 1:00:37secs, followed by Clancy Wilson with 1:02:06
(also from Ludlow.) Steve Bent suffered a mechanical failure and was relegated to fourth place, two seconds behind Clancy. Although the weather was pleasant for April, a strong headwind on the backward leg made all the cyclists work hard.

The Third Round was the Ludlow Hilly 11.8m circuit and was supported by a good field of 30 cyclists.
Stu Griffith from Climb On Bikes, Hereford, won with an impressive time of 27:11 followed by two Epic Cyclists, Ewen McDonald with 27:26 and Simon Ward 27:46.

Mark Povey from Ludlow CC continued his good form by registering Personal Bests in both Rounds.

Louise Baker, Ludlow CC was the first lady home with a good time of 33:20.
Birthday boy, Ian Chubb was also on course for a PB but suffered a mechanical failure on the first lap.

Early overall leaders of the Ludlow CC and All Comers League are Steve Bent and Peter Ding from Ludlow CC.

LUDLOW CC TIME TRIAL LEAGUE ROUND 1
TUESDAY 14TH APRIL 2009 – R10/6B BRIMFIELD

Ludlow Cycling Clubs 2009 League Programme kicked off this Tuesday on the Brimfield 10 mile course. Steve Bent won with a good early season time of 22:39secs followed by 2008 Club Champion, Peter Ding on 23:16secs. Third was ‘Charlie’ Chubb from Epic Cycles with 23:24 seconds. Two other notable times were from first time club members Mark Warren ( also of Ludlow Tri Club ) with 26:58secs and Carl Whitehill with 33mins 50 secs.

The first lady in was Sarah Lloyd Stephens from Hereford Wheelers on a good time of 25min 42 secs providing some stiff competition to her male counterparts.

There was a slight head wind on the back leg of the course providing a harder than normal work out for this seasons opening time trial.

See detailed programme: Click Here!

Credit Crunch Deal!

As a special incentive to all Club members to come and ride the TT programme this year and to help all to beat the Credit Crunch, the TT fees for the whole 2009 programme will be halved from £20.00 to £10.00. This covers a total of 25 races (only 40p a race!!)

This special offer is available to paid up members only, with the £10 race fee paid in one lump sum.

Otherwise Race fees will remain:
Members: £1.50 per night
Guests: £3.00 per night or £25.00 per season

With many members taking part in races; time trials; audaxes and sportives the regular Club run routes will not be specifically organised from April through to September.

1. General Club Runs
9am start at Ludlow Leisure Centre – 50 miles with a café stop. Generally Bob Woodley is there to ride with all comers.

2. Audaxes and Sportives
Ian Lambert, Viv Tolley,Tom Green, Rose and Jim Churton are the main contacts for the following upcoming rides:
4th April Long Mynd 2000 @ 100kms (entered)
13th April Cotswold Spring Classic Cirencester 105m (entered)
18th April Clywidian 200 @ 200kms (entered)
19th April 5 Castles Sportive (Shrewsbury) (entered)

3rd May Forest of Dean Spring Classic 85m (entered)
24th May Gran Fondo Cymru (entered)

7th June Tour of Pembrokeshire
14th June Rough Ride (Marin) www.roughride.co.uk (entered) Also the Dragon Ride
21st June Shropshire Highland Challenge (entered)

5th July Wyre Forest Stinger 99m, 62m
12th July Devil Ride 100m (entered)
19h July Anthony Maynard Memorial Sportive
25th July Tour of the Black Mountains 115m 90m

9th August Wild Edric Sportive (Bishops Castle)
30th August Wild Wales Challenge

Rose Churton: rosechurton@btinternet.com
Jim Churton: Jim.Churton@networkrail.co.uk

We've added the March 2009 Members profile
This time it's the turn of our most important member
Fiona Miles!

Mike is planning 2 steps in his training for the Ironman Triathlon and invites all to join him who can as he details below:

1. I'm going on a long ride on Saturday 21ST March 2009 - 100mile plus - if anyone fancies joining me. I'll be going in whichever direction the wind is blowing and coming back with it behind me.

2. On weekend 24th April 2009 I am going to Zurich to ride the Ironman course (56miles). I will probably do a couple of laps on Sat and 1 lap on Sun. Easyjet is £47 return inc. taxes from Luton. I will probably hire a bike in Zurich rather than take mine although still not decided. Do you think anyone might be interested in coming over with me?

Also …………….
Simon Norwood is doing Ironman UK this year, a fantastic feat. Simon is trying to raise money for St Michael’s hospice. Please check out his site and monitor his progress over the coming weeks and if possible donate to a great cause.

This Triathlon is a sprint distance event, ideal for all Triathlon competitors across the board!

2009 RELIABILITY TRAIL DATES

The following are the local ride dates coming up.

This is a tremendous opportunity to get fit for the start of the racing season.

Date	Club	Headquarters	Distance(s)	Start Times
25th Jan 09	Wrekinsport CC	Rodington Village Hall	53 Miles	9:30 - 9:50 am
1st Feb 09	Various - Charity Event	Red Lion, Bobbington	59 Miles	9:30 - 10:00 am
8th Feb 09	Ludlow CC	Ludlow Leisure Centre	47 & 70 Miles	9:20 - 9:45 am
15th Feb 09	Paramount CRT	Sundorne Sports Centre	50 & 75 Miles	9:30 - 10:00 am
22nd Feb 09	Climb On Bikes	Coningsby Rd COB Shop, Hereford	53 Miles	9:00 - 9:30 am
1st Mar 09	Newport Shropshire CC	Ex-Woolworths Car Park	53 Miles	9:30 - 9:45 am
17th May 09	Oswestry Paragon CC	Llanyblodwel Village Hall	49 Miles	10:30 am

Please contact the other Organising Clubs on a direct basis to get details of these rides.

See you there!

Dover Disney

Each Tuesday – Chain Gang Sheet Island 6:45 pm for 4 laps of the Hilly Circuit
Each Sunday – Sunday Club Run (with café stop) 9:00 am from Ludlow Leisure Centre -50 to 60 miles
Each 1st Sunday in the month we will organise the Run starting from a different location
1st Wednesday in the Month – Nelson Public House Club social from 8:00pm

February 2009 – Ludlow Reliabilty ride – 47 and 69 mile options look out for further details on the website

March – Tour of Wales – a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) away staying in a good hotel in central Wales with 60 to 70 miles riding each day

June 16th Ludlow Cycling Club "Come and try it" Open Evening. From 6pm Ashford Carbonell village hall - just bring a road worthy bike, we will help with the rest!

June 28th Dartmoor Classic - To view the route and details visit this site www.dartmoorclassic.co.uk (copy into browser)

Clancy Wilson
3rd in New Year’s Day Ride – The SCCA ‘Wonky Wheeler’ 10 2009

Clancy Wilson turned up from Ludlow in a tailcoat and formal shirt – and managed to capture third spot in 26:50, 1:02 clear of second North Shropshire Wheeler Dave Wright and a minute back from the winner Dave Gostelow of Wrekinsport.

The temperature during the ride rose to a mighty -2°C. The car park was a frozen lake and the turn island was like Cycling on Ice.

Ludlow Club Kit

Andy Mear is arranging a new kit order.
See attached Endura Catalogue for details on item available.

Any questions contact Andy – also talk to other Club members who will give you advise on these garments from personal experience.

Greetings All,

It had to happen sometime, so a ' credit crunch' is a good excuse. A D.I.Y. Christmas Card. Print off the attached, fold carefully, and place on mantelpiece.

60 years ago, 1948, I was a young keen lad, and took 'Cycling' every week. In those days, club event results were published, there were cartoons, touring article, and one of the Frank Patterson, pen and ink sketches. Frank was recognised as the best pen and ink artists ever, and my mother bought for me, what was the first printing, of the first Patterson book. Pages going a bit yellow now, but still a good vintage copy.

The pic on the ' card', is typical of his work, a mixture of racing and touring around the country.

Take care out there, Mick

Article By Andrew Alston and Dover Disney
Visit on 9th December 2008 to the Newport Velodrome

Whilst the club run from Ludlow started off in the bitter cold at -6 degrees, six of us enjoyed an excellent session at the Newport Velodrome (18 degress and sunny!)

New club member Myles Povey joined his 'old man' Mark with Dover Disney, John Hall, Neal Deller and Andrew Alston.

Some 30 riders from a variety of local Cycling Clubs were split into 2 to 3 groups to allow the different levels of expertise to get the most of each session.

The highlight session was when you were in a group following the blue line mid way up the track and then the motorbike (durney) and following cyclists went by you below you, one dived down to catch the back of the train and just hung in there….. .
Max speed of the bike was 32mph.

Phil (Bruce) Mason of Climb on Bikes (Ludlow CC Third claim member) escaped a nasty crash by leaping a falling rider in front of him. As it’s Phil, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and not comment on his bike handling skills.

No further Sunday sessions are yet planned. However each Friday why not join the Drop in session from 4pm to 7pm. About 40 riders take part and the training emphasis is on riding steady miles at pace with good bike handling skills. The session costs £6.00 only with bike hire also at £6.00 (fitted with Look pedals only). The hire bikes are geared for riders with a fast cadence. Alternatively you can take you own fixed geared track bike.

This club run was based on an old Phil Mason route, a rare excursion north for the usual cyclists with a tea stop in Church Stretton. The weather was freezing, full thermals on and Steve Bent’s absolutely bizarre hat that is a cross between a stuffed rabbit and a tea cosey came out for an appearance.

The route went out along the Ludlow tri route to Peaton and then across to Upper Millichope, the first hill past Munslow. Tom and Pete chatted to each other up the hill whilst the rest concentrated. The frost at the top was amazing (see picture ). A quick dash across to Cardington over a couple of lumps then into Church Stretton for a tea stop.

And then the fun started, the route that was programmed into Pete's Garmin Computer took us up to Minton which is on the side of the Long Mynd. Now any numpty who knows this area will know that when its freezing, you need a bike with wide tyres e.g. a mountain bike.. Pete got off his bike first on a hill, followed by Andrew. Dover, John, Tom and Chris all fell off at some stage going across the ice. Andrew came off in the mud after getting across the dangerous bit, the ice. And then Chris damaged his penny farthing and had to phone home for help. Steve's hat provided him with balance and pose.

After that excitement, another dash down the valley from Cwm head, via Plowden, Twitchen, over the the Jolly Frog and back to Ludlow, 48.8miles, 1837ft of climbing of which one hill accounted for half of it.

Come and join us every Tuesday night at the Sheet Island on A49 Ludlow By-Pass.
Kick off at 1830hrs to 1900hrs with two warm up laps (each lap is 5.4 miles) then a final three in a chain gang.
All cyclists welcome.
Only Caveat is the last lap, it might get lonely. This week we had 12 cyclists turn up.
Good lights essential.

I wonder how many people have agreed to do something and after reality sets in have thought – ‘Oh my, what have I done!’ Well that’s exactly what happened to me when I agreed to take part in the South Shropshire Sprint Triathlon.
Some months ago I was enjoying an evening with my son, Myles, sampling a few beers, which turned out to be a few too many, in a local watering hole when the subject of triathlon was discussed. ‘I’m going to do one this summer’, he claimed. You know what’s coming next, ‘I bet you cannot manage one, in fact, I bet you can’t beat me!’ the gauntlet was laid down and me, always up for a challenge, duly agreed. How difficult can it be? A comment that came to haunt me in the weeks that followed.
Entry form sent off, that’s it no turning back! The countdown began.

Training:
Having looked at the disciplines I decided to concentrate on the swim and run, my weak events. Not having really done that much since my school days I initially found them quite difficult. But perseverance soon paid off and found running to be really enjoyable. I found that a couple of sessions per event each week seemed to work quite well. I didn’t really keep to a programme and just did what felt right for me. Eventually, I seemed to get quicker and stronger and just kept doing what felt right.
Time soon passed and the event was upon us. All the gear was ready, was I? I was feeling nervous but I was determined to enjoy myself.

Swim:
Of all the disciplines this was the one I was fearing most. The starters whistle went ‘That’s it!’ off we go! I remember thinking relax and try and keep up. That’s easy to say when Myles seemed to be a cross between Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe and I soon got dropped. But the 16th length was soon completed and off to the first transition. I have to say that there was a sigh of relief when I exited the pool.

Bike:
This was the leg I was most looking forward too and was hoping that those Tuesday evening Time trials would benefit me. Transition did take longer that I had hoped but was soon on the bike and with a few words of encouragement from the Ludlow Cycling ‘club’ boys, I was on my way and soon got into a good rhythm.
I remember thinking that I needed to keep something back for the run but knew that this would be where I would make good time what do I do? Go faster! I finally caught up with Myles and as I passed I shouted ‘Plenty of life in the old dog left.’ Soon got back to the transition area for the final leg.

Run:
With a quicker change I was away and feeling good, better than I had thought. However, this soon changed when my legs started to feel like the evening I had agreed to do it! Not quite unstable but having a mind of their own. Someone once said to me ‘you need to try the bike to run change over.’ Now, I know what they meant! After a while, I soon got into the run when I heard a voice say ‘Not much life in the old dog now’. He was on my shoulder.
At that point I was beginning to surprise myself, could I beat him? I was feeling pretty good, but he was feeling better. Now I know how the donkey feels with the carrot – the harder I tried the further away he was getting.
I finished 3 minutes behind him and crossed the line in 1hour, 33 minutes and I was delighted and felt no shame with my time. All the efforts over the summer months were well worth it. But the thing that surprised me the most was that it was not too painful and realised that the world of Sprint Triathlon can be enjoyed by us mere mortals.

Now looking back I often think how enjoyable the event was. In fact it was terrific. I was never going to give the elite boys a run for their money but he whole atmosphere and encouragement from everyone, competitors and stewards alike, made it well worth doing. And the sense of achievement when crossing the line was wonderful! I remember thinking to myself ‘I am a triathlete.’
So where do I go from here? I’ve got the winter to shed a few pounds (plenty to go at) and look forward to another challenge, who knows perhaps break the 1:30. Would I do the 09’ event? Most definitely. And as for you . . . I will see you on the start line!

Whilst the professionals Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton were storming to gold medal success at the Manchester velodrome this last weekend, Ludlow Cycling Club riders were also in gold at the the LVRC National Track Championships at the Newport velodrome.

The LVRC (League of Veteran Racing Cyclists) Championship took place over the weekend of 1st and 2nd of November 2008. Over 120 riders from all over Britain, aged from 40 to 80 years took part.

Ludlow Cycling Club crowned National Champions, took gold medal in the 3 man Team Pursuit, beating rivals Climb on Bikes on the way to the final, with VC Sevale and a Composite team taking the other medal positions. The team members Steve Bent, Dover Disney and Pete Ding were delighted by their success and all will look forward to defending their title in the 2009 season

For full results follow the link below (or cut and paste it into your browser)

http://lvrc.org/result_details.asp?r=181

Individually Pete Ding excelled to claim two Silver medals; in the pursuit and 10 Km scratch race. Steve Bent also rode to his potential, achieving silver in the pursuit.
Dover Disney and Steve Bent also raced to silver in the Team Sprint.

We've added a page devoted to all those lovely little Cafès out there that have to deal somehow with droves of sweaty, smelly, wet cyclists stumbling noisily through their doors on random occasions. The link - Cafè Stops

Article by Andrew Alston
Visit to the Newport Velodrome Sunday 9th November 2008

Five of us visited the Newport Velodrome last Sunday on an event
organised together with Climb On Bikes. The session lasted three hours with
various training sessions for both newcomers and old hands. You learnt
the basics of riding on the track and the rules to riding in a safe
manner without causing any accidents. The only person to come fall off
was Simon Ward on the slippery inside track whilst trying to sprint off
fast in one of the pursuit challenges. There was a worrying sight of
Stuart Griffiths looking trim and its only the beginning of November. Lets hope
he puts some weight on over Christmas.

One of the training sessions was to have two chain gangs on the blue
line led by Dover Disney and Pete Ding averaging about 23mph and as the fast chain
gang sped around the black line, one could dive down from the blue
line to join the back of the fast boys. Looked great.

Neal Deeler was slowed down by a rat like thing that has recently attached
itself to his face. Chris Williams had to join the beginners group as he could
not hack it (recovering from flu but great to insult Chris). I
thoroughly enjoyed it and was rather sceptical of the wall of death at
each end of the track.

The next session is at the beginning of December. There are limited
spaces and these have to be booked as early as possible via Dover Disney.
The guy running the training session (Courtney Rowe) was good.

Cyclosportives are by far the most popular form of organised cycling events in the UK and Europe, and they are growing like crazy. We are lucky to be blessed with some great events within easy reach. Some of the best on the calendar include:

To whet your appetite for the coming season, click here to read all about how Matt and Dave Morris come down with a dose of Tour Fever as they travel out to the Alps.

There has been some chat on the Sunday club rides about the fact that virtually every bike, regardless of frame (and therefore rider and leg) size seems to be fitted with 170mm cranks. Some of us have tried longer or shorter lengths, with encouraging results - more comfort, power etc. And the consensus within the scientific community seems increasingly to confirm the view that one size certainly doesn't fit all. A quick web search revealed a range of advice and a number of calculators, which in the case of one 6ft rider (with an 85cm inseam) suggests that cranks between 175 and 180 would be best - a suggestion backed up by trying out some 175s. So, have a look yourself at the following sites and see what they come up with. You never know, perhaps you are the lucky and 170 really is right for you.

As a contrast, and based more on conventional wisdom (i.e. not on scientific theory), the calculator on this site suggests something much more in line with the historical view that crank length is not necessarily related to leg/femur length: http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk

So, how tough is L'Alpe d'Huez? Compared with, say, the Burway or Gospel Pass?

It lists details of thousands of climbs across Europe, providing pictorial route profiles and statistics such as length, altitude and gradient (by the kilometre), together with a difficulty rating based on all of these factors. In answer to the question above - L'Alpe scores 114 points (click here for its profile), the Burway 49 (click here), and Gospel Pass 39 (click here).

If you have any cycling related sites that you would like to share, please email us.

Old Stories

John Hall meets Louis Bobet in the Pyrenees

Ludlow Club Kit

(Still) Phil's best day ever on a bike