Old Stories

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

Ludlow Club Kit

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