Boots & Spurs June 2020

£2 (Free to members) Summer 2020 Summer 2020

Boots & Spurs Magazine of the National Clarion Cycling Club Early Summer 2020

Pic by Alan Goodchild Obituaries + Survey Results + The Touring Pages + Competition and Endurance - 1 - Champs + Section News and much more …… +The Track

Boots & Spurs

EDITORIAL

A

s I write this in early April there is only one thing on our minds, Covid 19 and the terrible impact it has had on the world - millions of people ill and many thousands dead – dystopia on an unimaginable scale. I wish any of you who have suffered illness, a speedy recovery and offer solace to those of you have may have lost family members or friends at this difficult time.

This disaster makes the Clarion cycling club, in its own small way, more relevant than ever. In difficult times it is good to know that there others around you who can provide support in difficult times and I would urge all club members to reach out to their fellows where help is needed, regardless of the circumstances and provide comfort and assistance whenever possible.

Notwithstanding the present circumstances there is change afoot in our club.

Elsewhere in this issue you will find a statement from the Committee seeking a new National Secretary. After many years in the post, Ian Clarke (with an e!) has decided that it is time for someone else to take over the position he has held on and off for 23 years. Under Ian’s stewardship the National Clarion membership has risen from around 550 to over 2000. That is a remarkable achievement. A full appreciation of his work for the club will appear in the next issue. I would wish to add my personal thanks to Ian for his help when I took over the Editorship of Boots and Spurs and his encouragement

to set up Broadland Clarion, guiding me around the intricacies of Membermojo

by Skype. Thank you Ian and enjoy your cycling.

Ian was of course just one of the competitors at our National Track Championships in Derby back in February. Another event in our annual points’ championship. This edition sees a double page spread of action photographs from the track side, alongside a touring section to rival the wonderfully glossy on line offering which is Bicycle Traveller magazine. Tales from near and far, wet and dry, hot and even hotter, should both amuse you and hopefully encourage you to strike out on your own adventures. We also have the results of our survey which shows the breadth of activity amongst out members – along with the usual Section reports and other news. We particularly welcome the report from new comers Cotswold Clarion Presently of course we are all restricted to one session of exercise a day, with cycling often being referred to as an appropriate activity. I am sure many of you will have taken advantage of the shutdown to get out on your bikes. Here in Norfolk we are used to empty country roads, for those of you in more urban areas it must be a very strange experience riding on almost traffic free roads, enjoy it while you can.

Until such time as life returns to some semblance of normality, keep safe and look out for your fellow club members

Edward

bootsandspurs@clarioncc.org

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Summer 2020

CONTENTS

READER COMPETITIONS

Editorial

2

Reader Competitions

2

From the Committee

4

Obituaries

4

Association of Cycle Traders Event

6

Audax RidingIs it just about the miles?

7

Results of the National Survey

8

Try Something Different

X

Look to the Future Honour the Past

12

Simon Cullen – Mersey Roads 24

14

Joanna Cebrat – 12 Hour Time Trial 16 John and Alex Stirzaker – Our Haute Adventure

17

Neil Shand Trains for the Ultimate Audax

20

On the Boards – 2020 Track Champs 23 Some Thoughts on Joining Up

26

The Touring Pages

27

Section News

37

W

e have two reader competitions in this edition – Andrew Livesey of London Clarion is offering a copy of his forthcoming book on cycling to the best suggestion to address the issues he highlights in his piece under the heading of the Association of Cycle Traders.

I am offering a copy of the Wind at My Back – A Cycling Life by Paul Maunder to the first person that can untangle the musical reference in one of the article headings. Email me on bootsandspurs@clarion.org

COPY DATE FOR LATE AUTUMN BOOTS AND SPURS

C

losing date for articles for the Autumn edition is the 31st September. There are lots of Sections I would love to hear from in addition to our regulars. Don’t worry if you have been inactive due to the Covid 19 epidemic – there is always something to write about, even if it is just a memory of a happy day out in times gone by. Articles in word are preferred, with photos sent as separate files rather than embedded in the text.

IAN CLARKE RETIRES – NEW BLOOD REQUIRED.

An appreciation of Ian’s service to the Clarion over the years will appear in the next issue

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Boots & Spurs

A STATEMENT FROM THE COMMITTEE

W

e all pay tribute to the work over many years of Ian Clarke as National Secretary. We recognise the tendency for an excessive amount of work and responsibilities to be demanded of such officers. So the committee is looking carefully at what the role requires and at redistributing tasks

OBITUARIES

where this is possible among the other officers and members of the committee.

The Secretary’s role still remains central to the operation of the Club.The constitution requires all officers and committee members to be elected by the annual conference, but the national committee would welcome enquires about the National Secretary’s role and will consider inviting those who express interest to join meetings of the committee – face-to- face or via Zoom – in the meantime.

Alan Wray of Calder Clarion recently passed away, he was a life member of the National Clarion and a formidable time triallist in the 1970s and 1980s.

One result had him record a 57.38 in 1981 coming 3rd in the VTTA Wessex 25, possible ridden whilst he was on holiday.

During the 1990’s he and his wife Joan Lister served on the National Clarion committee for several years.

Frank Clarkson 74yrs. A larger than life character who had been a member for about 10 yrs. In that time he had attended two Easter meets with Bob Jackson and really enjoyed three coast to coast rides, including a trip to Belgium.

The photo is of Frank at the summit of Hartside comparing bike weights on a Coast to Coast. At the age of 71 he rode The Way of the Roses, 170mls in under 15 hrs, with 3 other club members and was 1st over 70 in the Cumbria Cracker Sportive. He regarded his cancer only has a nuisance! His wisecracks and opinions on life had everyone in stitches at the café stops.

He is photographed here on the right hand side of the photo in sunglasses at the 1997 Easter Meet in Whitby. Joan is shown in black at the back. Also shown 2nd on the left is Doug Clark of Stockport Clarion who passed away a few years ago. Anita Hemsley (daughter of President Ken) is shown in the centre with the white helmet.

Mick Meath.

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Summer 2020 Ken (Spider) Clarke – Fenland Clarion CC (1930 to 1989), known by many as ‘Spider’ passed away on the 28th February in his nursing home in Peterborough.

A member of the Fenland Clarion & National Clarion since 1948, he was a regular racer for nearly seven decades.

Initially riding time trials, road races and grass track, but his passion was for long distance time trials especially 24 hours. He held the National Clarion vets 24hr record since 1983 until only 2 years ago.

organising bike races and cycling clubs.

But Spider was also known for his extensive race organisation, running several races every year for much of the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s, as well as being Fenland’s Club Secretary for many years.

As a young man in the Clarion he would ride to and race around the country, taking all weekend to do so, and even joining the Fenland club run on his way home. He used to ride on the tandem with his older brother Pete, an avid trike rider, and his brother-inlaw Peter Norman, one of the country’s top 10 time trialists in the early 60’s.

Ken met his wife Judy through his association with the club, and ‘won’ the chance to ask her for a date, when he placed higher than his team mates in a road race. Ken and Judy rode a tandem around Europe, taking young Steve in a side car on holiday, until Ian came along and made that a little difficult.

He inspired his sons to take up the sport, enjoy the racing, and especially never to ‘pack’. Spider was never a ‘packer’… he’d always finish a race, whatever position he would get. He took this spirit right to the end, and despite being very frail, he lasted much longer than anyone expected.

He leaves his wife – Judy, and two sons Steve and Ian who have inherited his love of racing and follow in his tracks with

Edward (Eddie) Hall (1938-2020) Sunderland Clarion. We were sad hear of the death of Eddie Hall in April this year.

Eddie had been a long-time member of the Clarion initially as a member of Tyneside Clarion from the 1950’s to the late 1960’s when it merged with Sunderland Clarion.

Eddie was born and lived in Gateshead throughout his life where he worked as a tailor and cycling was his relaxation away from a hard job. He took part in racing including road and time trials as well as touring and club rides.

Until recently, Eddie was a regular at National Clarion Easter meetings which he usually attended with his old cycling friend and Tyneside Clarion clubmate, Allen Armstrong. Despite not cycling as much in recent years, Eddie was a staunch supporter of club events and until ill health prevented it, was a regular marshal at time trials and races. He used to turn up on his bike equipped with its Carradice saddlebag.

He was awarded Sunderland’s Tommy Rowell Clubman of the Year trophy for services to the club in 2006.

Eddie died in a local nursing home after several years of poor health, a victim of Covid 19.

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Boots & Spurs

ASSOCIATION OF CYCLE TRADERS EVENT

Have you ever thought of campaigning for better cycling facilities – Andrew Livesey of London Clarion has got stuck in. There are campaign groups all around the country. Find one near you and get banging the drum for safer roads and better cycle paths. Tell us how you get on in the next issue.

J

ust before Christmas, I was invited to what was to be the first Cycle Showcase Event at the House of Commons. It was subsequently cancelled first because of the general election then the COVID-19 situation. However, it is still on the agenda and will probably happen after the summer recess.

The significance of this is that all the political parties are discussing cycling as a serious method of transport. If you are a member of the older generation, you will remember that cycling to work was quite normal, indeed as a keen club cyclist you probably do this now. The situation is that cycling to work now is not as easy as it was; but I’m sure that there are many readers of this magazine that can make suitable suggestions for making commuter cycling easier. I’m personally offering a prize for the best suggestion, dealing with the any of the following points: • 20,000 bicycles are stolen in London every year, cycle theft is a problem across the country too.

• Since the 1950s we have moved to homes further and further from work, a forty-mile each way commute is now common.

• As a cyclist you are very vulnerable on any road; trucks weighing over

40-tonnes and £1,000 cars capable of 150 mph being driven by teenagers worry me.

• Bad road conditions, pot-holes and those silly traffic calming things that squash you into a narrow space with whatever is coming towards you at breakneck speeds.

• Worst of all, in my opinion is the attitude, not just of motorists; but of many others, people being anticyclist, shouting insults from the pavement – I just don’t understand that one – it’s a sort of racism in my view.

Of course, there are lots of other hazards and problems, please write in and tell us your thoughts, your suggestions. It’s worth looking at the Association of Cycle Traders website - www.cycleassociation. uk/ it contains lots of useful information and a good jobs board if you are seeking a job in the cycle industry.

Andrew Livesey London Clarion CC Competition entry and comments to the editor via the Boots and Spurs email address which can be found at the foot of the Editorial

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Summer 2020

AUDAX RIDING - IS IT JUST ABOUT THE MILES?

F

or those of you not familiar with this particular discipline it involves riding long distances against the clock, but there are no winners, or perhaps everyone is a winner.In days gone by it was old blokes with beards on steel touring bikes. Not any more, plenty or Titanium on the Audax circuit these days along with the usual mix of Carbon and Aluminium, my Dutch friend Trudi turns up on her everyday bike and wearing flat shoes and rides us all in to the ground. Audax is about distance and for distance you need comfort.

You have a maximum and a minimum time to get round a pre-set course with the benefit of a route sheet which reads a bit like a road book for a stage rally, or a gpx file you put in your Garmin or phone. At the start of the event you will be given a Brevet Card which will include control questions requiring answers, perhaps a distance on a signpost at a certain road junction and possibly a stamp control which may double as a feed stop or a receipt control to show a purchase and time. Stamp controls and receipt controls will have a time window in the same way that the whole event does. If you get to a control before the window “opens” then you have to wait idly by, or go to the café if there is one. If you get there too late, then you are “done for”, you can of course complete the ride, but won’t get your brevet card signed of at the end. It’s a simple concept based around average speeds and steady riding. Some like to get round as quick as they can, some it seems specialize in creeping back in to HQ with just minutes to spare, perhaps having stopped for a sit down lunch on the way.

Taster events start at 50k, Brevet Populaires are 100k and then you start moving on to the serious stuff, 160’s, 200, 400’s 600s, London-EdinburghLondon and the ultimate Audax sufferfest, Paris-Brest-Paris which we covered in the last issue. To add to these organised events which take place throughout the year, you can organise your own events and register them with Audax UK. I can guarantee that there will be Audax events near you throughout the year. The calendar on the AUK website lists all of them and can be searched geographically or by distance. Entry fees rarely exceed £10, including insurance for non AUK members. Some summer weekends will see 10 or a dozen events listed Saturday and Sunday and even the odd mid-week one. You are quickly lost for choice. There is a tradition that they have names which give hint of what is to come. The “Brum 200 Another Loop of Birmingham” run by West Midland Randonneurs seems pretty obvious to me, as does “Dustman Dave’s Demon Hilly” from Taunton - Exmoor calling, possibly one for the triple chain set brigade. Some are more obscure “Hellfire Corner” run as a 400k from Dingwall – where does that go I wonder and will you ever return? There’s no broom wagon on an Audax – you are on you own (or hopefully with your mates if you need help).

Are you already and Audax rider? If so then send Boots and Spurs an account of your adventures.

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Boots & Spurs

RESULTS OF THE NATIONAL SURVEY Q1: Whilst 36% of respondents take part in National Clarion activities, a much larger percentage of 56% only take part in their section activities.

A 6% (probably new members), are unaware of National Clarion activities.

Q2: Riding for leisure with their local section, with a group of like-minded people is significantly more important than being involved in bike racing. And many want to be better riders and be safe in a group.

Q3: Clearly club runs and leisure riding are 3 to 5 times more important than different aspect of racing. Audax also had 25 mentions in the free type comments.

Suggesting that the Clarion needs to recognise that non-competitive cycling is what most of our members are interested in.

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Summer 2020 Q4: Whilst Facebook is quite popular, some people have found the website lacking in updates, so we need to put more effort in this area. People also commented that they rely on emails from sections and the National club.

Q5: A very strong theme here, not only in the question responses but also in the comments, is that we are proud of our history, but that we should focus on the future, on cycling and fellowship. There were some really great comments given, and I will attempt to summarise some of them later.

Q6: The responses to this question surprised us with 56% who would like to keep receiving their card and only 7% would like to not receive a card.

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Boots & Spurs

Q7: Once again, 56% still like the idea of having a printed magazine and 31% don’t care either way. 13% would rather not have a printed magazine. Interestingly a few people asked for only one copy per household which is already an option when you renew your membership. 15 comments said that they would be happy to have it online to save money and trees (most likely in the 13% above).

Q8: Two to three times as many people want us to concentrate more on cyclist rights and protection, and/or on leisure riding than putting more emphasis on racing.

Maybe we need to get volunteers on the National committee who want to help us with these areas. We had lots of comments on this question, but few were more than 2 similar comments, with the exception of some quite complimentary comments, thank you.

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Summer 2020

Q9: For a new benefit to our members, we were very surprised that 3rd party insurance is the highest response in this question. Fondness for the history of the club is also very high, whereas racing, Easter Meets and the affinity with the political origins are quite small. Over 20 comments all said that they like the Clarion because it’s their ‘local’ club. Some said that they saw no benefit from National membership, and a similar number said that it was nice be part of a National club as well.

Q10: Wow, we have a whopping 85% who think that the membership fees are good value for money and only 3% who don’t. In the comments, there are quite a few about not being aware of some of the benefits, so clearly we need to be better at telling people about benefits and events.

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Boots & Spurs

L

LOOK TO THE FUTURE. HONOUR THE PAST

ike many members I ticked that we should ‘Focus on the future’ in last year’s survey That is certainly what those who formed the Club in 1894 did and I think we should honour that and seek to emulate it as best we can. I’ve been researching and writing about aspects of the pre-1939 socialist movement in Britain, including the Clarion, on and off since the 1970s, so I should be able to sum up the ethos of the paper and it’s cycling club quite easily.

But I still find it hard; mere words seem inadequate. But I will try to give my interpretation. See also the ‘history’ page on the national website.

First we need to understand what ‘socialism’ meant in the 1890s when the paper was launched at the end of 1891 and our club in 1894. Nowadays it can mean anything from Bernie Sanders’ ‘democratic socialism’ to the appalling dictatorship of Kim Jong-un in North Korea. Back in the 1890s things were simpler. At a time of deep class divisions when all women and about a third of men were still denied votes in parliamentary elections the main preoccupation of the paper was the promotion of democracy and equality and opposing oppression of all kinds. There is still, clearly, a great deal to do about all of this but whereas in the 1890s few

apart from socialists would support such aims nowadays many, perhaps most, people in Britain would at least claim to believe in these values.

The Clarion approach was social and cultural rather than political. However imperfect the world was we should anticipate the sort of society we would like to live in by, as far as possible, living it every day. There was, and is, a lot to be said for just getting out on your bike enjoying the company of your fellows and trying to make ‘Fellowship is Life’ a reality. Don’t wait for Utopia to arrive; anticipate it as far as possible. Enjoyment of life was not only for members of the club and readers of the paper. I wrote a short piece for the last Boots and Spurs about Cinderella Clubs. In those days Sunday schools promoted Christianity, the socialist Sunday schools of the period tried to produce little socialists. But the Cinderella clubs were simply focused on giving poor kids the sort of good time that more privileged kids enjoyed with free trips to the seaside and other treats.

It was assumed that if you treated people right they would end up with the right sort of beliefs and attitudes.

What was unique about the Clarion was the promotion of such a wide range of social and cultural activities on a

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Summer 2020

really enormous scale. The German Social-Democratic Party, then the largest and most successful in the world, did something along the same lines but in the UK the Clarion was in a class of its own in a way that is now difficult to appreciate. There was not only the cycling club. There were theatrical groups, choirs, camera clubs, rambling clubs, and, of course, the Cinderella clubs as well as the Clarion Glee Club, plus the Clarion Fellowship which sought to unite them all.

Cycling club reports in the issue of 3 July1914 - just before that outbreak of war - began with nine from various ‘unions’ covering London, Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland. This was followed by 95 very brief reports from the clubs themselves, laid out in alphabetical order from Ashton-under- Lyne to York. The same page also featured three reports from Clarion swimming clubs, one from the Clarion Ramblers in Rochdale, and another from the Clarion Scouts in Glasgow. In addition there was a Clarion Fellowship report from its national secretary announcing a campaign to try to raise the paper’s circulation to 100.000. But where, some will ask, did Clarion socialism fit in?

It was assumed that ‘politics’ could be left to look after itself. According to Tom Groom, or ‘the O’Groomio’ – silly nicknames and self-deprecation were compulsory in the Clarion – the key task was to create the desire for a better society. In a ‘Cyclorama’ piece later in 1914 he put it like this. ‘When that desire is great enough the professional politician will supply the goods, whether he calls himself Liberal, Tory or Labour Man. Our work is to create that desire.’

No doubt he underestimated the importance of politics and politicians, but nevertheless what the Clarion stood for and our Club still tries to stay faithful to is well worth preserving. Not everyone will agree with every aspect of my interpretation. Great! Who would want to be in any organisation where there was no disagreement or debate?

Ian Bullock If you want to know more about the history of the Clarion movement and the cycling club in particular then get yourself a copy of the club’s history “Fellowship is Life” by the late Dennis Pye, which can be ordered from the club shop on the website price £8

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Boots & Spurs

COMPETITION AND ENDURANCE

SIMON’S CULLEN’S 24HR RECORD AT THE MERSEY ROADS 24

I

t seems that Simon Cullen of Saddleworth Clarion is a rider who likes a challenge – not content with breaking Andy Clarke’s long standing 1985 vets record of 414 miles in 24 hrs in 2018 he returned to the Mersey Roads 24 hour TT in 2019 for another go.

This is an account of how he got on…….

First of all I would like to say what a great rider Ian’s Dad must be to have done that distance over 30 years ago probably without even clip on tt bars ?? The idea of doing a 24 for me came about 8 years ago when I first meet Andy and Jill Wilkinson who were stopping at the same B&B as Kath and me prior to the Wild Wales challenge, we have meet up every year since for the event. Andy had held the 24 hour record until this year and I just kept thinking every year I really should give it a go. And so in 2018 I did.

I had done London-Edinburgh-London the year before and a number of long Audaxes and other long distance events but never anything TT wise, other than our club’s Mountain TT a few times on my road bike, so I thought let’s try a 100 mile TT first ...

Well it was a bit of a shock to the system. I found my road bike with TT bars fitted not great position wise, but I finished it. The time was not what I hoped for. So obviously I blamed the equipment and bought a £1000 Cannondale TT bike and did a few long rides on it; I found it was much more comfortable and off we went to the 24.

It was a bit surreal really. I set of like I would on a long Audax, with pockets full of food and just went as fast as I could it. It all really merged into one blur of speed and distance stopping only to take on food drinks etc. Fatigue sent in during the night time stint and as so often happens on endurance rides I lost the will to live at various times and yet at the end on finishing the circuit felt quite strong.

I was hoping for over 400 miles, which on the day both Dave Brown and I managed.

(Dave had apparently been slightly ahead of me all race but apparently suffered terribly on the finishing circuit. so I was told). I was happy with the distance and with the thought that I was never going to do it again... Two days later I was thinking I could go further and faster if I had another go, then I got that knowing look from Kath ….. again!

But practice makes perfect so the saying goes, so back on the TT bike with a bit more thought put into the project. A much better all round effort this time, I didn’t feel tired during the night and only lost the will to live (cycle? ed) once or twice. I still stopped too much, not helped by stacking it coming into the pits in the early morning. That probably helped by making me angry and more determined to carry on.

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Summer 2020

We managed over 450 miles which was my target.

I think I have a bit more in me but I’m not sure I will do it again as it consumes all your spare time and energy. Both items in shorter supply than in my youth.

I could not have done it without Kath’s help - we never dropped a bottle during the handouts and special thanks are due to Neil Warner and Mike Wriggley from Saddleworth Clarion for the help and support both years.

If you think you fancy it, give it a go it’s a very special atmosphere at the Mersey Roads 24. Nothing else compares with this event.

See Duracellbunnyonabike.com for an excellent explanation as to what this endurance event is all about!

“If you think you fancy it, give it a go

it’s a very special atmosphere at the Mersey Roads 24.

Nothing else compares with this event.”

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Boots & Spurs

12 HOUR TIME TRIAL RACE REPORT

BY JOANNA CEBRAT FROM BURY CLARION

H

aving completed a 100 mile TT mid July I decided to give a 12hTT a go a month later.

With no specific training and pretty clueless of what to expect I chose to sign up for the RTTC 12TT Nationals hoping that a big event would be more entertaining and being held in Norfolk it will be pancake flat. The first one was a good guess the 2nd was not. The event was really well organised and marshalled, credit to CC Breckland. They attracted an extremely good field of 113 with national and world TT champions, it was great to see all the PRO-support set ups. I decided to use the neutral support team for unsupported riders who were based on a big roundabout where all the circuits met, they were brilliant! I still had to carry my puncture repair kit and a pump as nobody was driving behind me. My bike set up was an “Audax style” with 2 Garmins, a big frame bag and 2 bottles.

By the way how many watts/seconds did it cost me guys?

As soon as I set off it turned out that Norfolk is not as flat as I expected and over the first 100 miles I climbed more than during the 100 mile TT in Keswick! I soon discovered that the biggest challenge of the day was to be the weather. As a lighter rider I do struggle in winds. We had over 20mph with occasional strong gusts, a big headwind riding west. It was pretty cruel…

especially going over the exposed A11 bridges. When I tried riding out of the saddle uphill I nearly came off! it was so gusty... but I didn’t give up. The 2nd challenge was circuit number 2 which contained about 10 miles of bumpy concrete, this we repeated 5 times. It felt like cycling over speed bumps spaced 2 metres apart, one of my bottles popped out of the cage. Circuit 2 killed my neck and my bum and at just under the 200miles I felt that my knees had had enough and that I wouldn’t be able to push anymore without risking injury. For the last 2 hours it was a battle of mind versus body. Circuit 3 was the finishing circuit where Marshals are placed evenly every mile. This was a bumpy countryside road with two longish uphill struggles which made my bum and knees even more unhappy! But I just kept going, rather slowly at that point, but there was no way I was pulling out! I wasn’t the only struggler though! As I rode around I was happy to see my partner Mark hanging around the HQs so I knew that I when I finished I would have a lift home!

The supporters and marshals along the finishing circuit were just awesome and kept us going with many kind words and cow bells. Most of the spectators had the start sheet so they could match race numbers with names! Hearing “Go Go Jo” was very good! I stopped my Garmin making sure the marshals noted that I had finished as having a DNF after all that would be terrible! As I stopped and put my foot down my leg went wobbly and I fell off the bike into stinging nettles! The new kind of pain was welcome as it took my mind away from all the others!

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Summer 2020 I’m pleased to confirm the official result was 232.407 miles and I placed 7th.

Most importantly it is on Strava! https:// strava.app.link/x3WHAbHmaZ https:// www.velouk.net/2019/09/12/result-rttcchampionship-12hr/ Will I do this again? Hell yes! I will however do some more training for it next time.

Credits to :-Bury CCC members for encouraging my bonkers idea. Mark Jones for his support and company, although he wasn’t supporting me full time on Sunday he appeared out of nowhere when he was needed. He also drove all the way back to MCR when my legs were not quite fit to do so. Joseph Cadwallader for his great training and race nutrition tips (although we did not

train for long distance TTs this year) Paul Whatmough #eliminationbikefit for my bike rebuid and a spot on bike fit as well as last minute mechanical help. Peter Roscoe for his enthusiasm and ongoing race-encouragement and for following all the ladies National Clarion and NLTTA BAR/trophy opportunities.

Photos by #ridingforlove and Breckland’s Michelle Richards

OUR HAUTE ROUTE ADVENTURE

BY JOHN & ALEX STIRZAKER BURY CLARION volunteers on every junction marshalling traffic, and for us, a village complete with Mavic shop, massages, lunches and medical support on the road. But what truly makes the Haute Route experience something else is the camaraderie between the riders from all over the world sharing one fantastic goal.

H

aute Route events are 3 or 7 day, stage events, located worldwide so riders can experience some of the finest cycling roads with a level of support way above what you would expect on the average sportive including

After my amazing time in the Alps last year, my partner Alex and I decided to do a 3 day event together and after much debate plumped for the compact route as 2 days of 3,000 metres plus of climbing did not appeal to Alex. Ventoux seemed like the perfect start as it had been my first super category climb and we both love France and it’s culture.

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Boots & Spurs Alex committed herself to many hours of training, a lot of them on the turbo as weather and work commitments made riding outside difficult at times, but after nine months she was ready to take on the Geant of Provence.

The start of each stage was neutralised and keeping to the back of the peloton taking it steady, an early pee stop did have us coming across the broom wagon after just 2 km! With a steady climb up to Chalet Reynard, it was lovely being able to look around and take in the atmosphere which Alex loved. After two hills 4 and 7km long and a 10% ramp to the first feed station, we approached the Category 1 18km climb to Chalet Reynard, this was the day’s Event and a real challenge for Alex after a decent day already.

of another couple for the start and again we paced it really well. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly La Gorge de la Nesque, a stunning 19 km “climb” of 2% that wound its way around the edge of a beautiful gorge with some amazing little tunnels through the rock at the top. We then wound our way back to Sault and a neutralised zone, so we stopped for a toilet and coffee break of course.

The route then took us off main roads on to some quite technical descents which Alex negotiated really well, it’s amazing to think that before our Mallorca trip she really didn’t enjoy descending at all.

The decision to give her clean road by having me following her has really paid dividends. The timed route concluded with some tough little climbs on the way to Malaucene which were way more testing than appeared in the route book, but we pushed on through enjoying the pleasant road back to Bedoin over another Col De Madeleine!

Unfortunately as the road ramped up her back started to complain, we managed the situation by taking an occasional rest but she fought through it and made the end of our timed section in an hour and a half. This was the longest climb she has ever done, with an elevation gain of 700 metres, a massive achievement but there was more to come!

The day finished with us leading our category by a good 13 minutes or so, but we knew that day three was going to be a new challenge with a time trial up Mont Ventoux from Bedoin. We attended the briefing and received our kilometre markers as category leaders although we didn’t win the stage as a couple had gone from Original to Compact. So having had our picture taken with the mayor of the town we went for another excellent evening meal at the hotel in preparation for the next day.

Stage 2 was an absolute stunner and on paper by far the easiest day for us compared to the original route. We managed to plonk ourselves on the back

Our two main fears for the time trial were the wind and how Alex’s

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Summer 2020 back would react to so much climbing.

The forecasts were a bit mixed with wind speeds of 35 kmh forecast at the top, it’s not called Ventoux for nothing! Windy is venteux in French. We learnt, post massage, that Alex’s glutes required some tlc, two and half hours climbing would be testing, so pain management would be critical.

Nothing we have in the UK can prepare you for the physical and mental challenge of climbing for 2 or more hours. You have to preserve energy and think about little milestones not the top itself as well as drinking and eating regularly. The climb from Bedoin is 21km long and the elevation difference is 1,500 metres, it has featured on a regular basis in the tour and is considered to be one of the toughest climbs in cycling.

The plan was to let Alex off first and I would catch her up before she crossed the timing mat, she was very nervous on the top of the ramp. She set off and we met up, proceeded on to the village of Saint-Esteve which was the start of the fearsome section of 10 kilometres at an average of 10%. The approach is pretty

steady allowing the legs to get warm with an average of around 5% for 4 km, but this shouldn’t lull you in any way.

The plan was always to stay steady and comfortable, taking short occasional breaks and standing out the saddle ensured that we kept moving. For the other lantern rouge riders you could see the immense effort they were putting in to just keep moving, from a German guy Jans with cerebral palsy, a British lad called Ian who was on an aluminium bike, with thick soled shoes and who weighed at least 17 stone and a young Indian girl who just kept tapping away up the mountain. All I could do was keep motivating Alex and those others around us and try to pay my part by telling her what was due up and where we were.

Seeing these individual battles was so humbling and made me realise how easy it is to take for granted the ability to climb tough roads.

Thankfully we made it to Chalet Reynard and the welcoming appearance of our Sports Tours support vehicle, a quick refuel and stretch and we were off for the remaining 6 kilometres of exposed road like some kind of moonscape with the promised heavy winds.

Trying to draft in these conditions is always difficult and made it hard to give Alex any sort of shelter from the elements, but it was dry and we could see the summit coming into view. The few switchbacks on this section helped us keep momentum going and when the road changed direction we used any tailwind however short.

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Boots & Spurs It was such a battle but soon we saw the memorial to Tom Simpson and the most amazing scene you will ever see on a bike, the summit of Ventoux in front of you and the 8-10% section from the penultimate corner. After months of training the end was in sight, but the Geant doesn’t give up so easy, the last switchback before the finishing line is a cruel twisting 13% horror with a nasty camber and a ferocious wind on the day that threatened to blow Alex back down the mountain! All I could do was shout encouragement and follow her across the line to claim our finisher’s medals and to enjoy the celebrations of everyone on the top, including the lady who had won the GC battle.

The descent back to Bedoin was going to be chilly and sketchy so after a quick photo at the signpost we set off. The wind hit us immediately. It was so bad we had to walk some of it and thankfully got a lift down with Howard from Haute Route.

It turned out that we were the only finishers so we had our presentation with the mayor and a very nice 100 euro voucher for cycling stuff (I gave it to Alex of course). It was a real achievement for her as she had never done anything like this before and had faced some real challenges. You’ll have to ask Alex if she would ever want to do another, but she loved the whole experience and it has made her realise how small UK hills are.

She felt it would have been extremely difficult to complete it on her own and more than anything we both appreciated sharing this fantastic experience in some stunning scenery.

For me I’m (fingers crossed) looking forward to taking on the Pyrenees in August this year and some tough training ahead of it!

We used Sports Tours for our transfers and accommodation, Roy and Howard were brilliant and the feed stations were always a welcome sight, even if it was at the top of a 17% ramp on the first Stage!!

NEIL SHAND TAKES US THROUGH THE TRAINING NECESSARY TO COMPLETE PARIS BREST PARIS – THE ULTIMATE AUDAX.

L

et’s start at the beginning; it began in 2019 with Mille Cymru, a 1000km audax around Wales. This gave me my registration slot, this then just left the full Super Randonneur (SR) series of audax rides to complete before July. A SR series is a 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km audax. Due to the high demand for these rides in a PBP year, so I booked early on a local series.

January was the Newport for the first 200km of the year and the first part of the SR ticked off (plus I rode out to the start and back for an extra 70km!).

February I ran the Mere audax rides so I completed the test ride the week before, then did a short ride on the day (foggy and cold) between the organiser bits that needed doing, with it being a PBP qualifier all the paperwork had to be in order and the cards sent off for validation. March was going to be a local 200km audax from Winsford (Scouting Mam Tor) but as we started to head up into the peak district it started to snow, and continued to worsen, so we thought better of it and headed back. A few NCC members did the ride as a DIY a couple of weeks later in better weather!

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Summer 2020 April, things started ramping up with a 300km, “Plains” started at 11pm, this was to prepare you for the night riding of PBP. We had good weather but COLD, down to -2degC until well after dawn but dry and no wind (and warm enough clothing choices, just) but a broken rear wheel spoke in the first 100km meant a slightly wobbly wheel for most of the ride. One control, which we visited twice, was at an open air café, which sounded grim in these temperatures, but just stopping and there being no wind felt relatively warm, until you got going again! We got to the turning point just before dawn, a 24hr McDonalds, at Newtown, you could tell dawn was about to break as the birds started singing before any sign of light. At least the return trip visited one of my favourite cafes; The Old Priest house in Audlem, so another breakfast, but a proper one this time! My dynamo worked well and the night riding was OK, with my low point, mentally, being just after the turn at McDonalds. In April I also did a hilly 200km DIY to “Worlds End”, a route that’s worth another go at some time, also taking in the Prospect tea rooms above Llangollen as a control!

May, time for the 400km. “Llanfair……. gogogoch” a ride from Poynton (near Manchester) out to Holyhead and back! A 9am start meant another ride through the night on the way back! The outward trip used the Chester Greenway, for a traffic free trip through, you guessed, Chester! I chose the hilly diversion on the way out to get away from the N Wales coast road/ cycle path for a change of scenery. A head wind out made it hard work, this eased of course for the reverse evening return!

Another rear wheel broken spoke on the way out meant another wobbly ride! It is also interesting visiting 24hr McDonalds (Abergele just before midnight and

Chester services at just after 3am) on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, mind you returning revellers are probably also fascinated to also find loads of cyclists there too! A 7am finish was not too bad, especially as we waited a few times at the end for a couple of weary riding colleagues to ensure they got back safely.

(A 10min nap at Chester services helped reduce tiredness.)

June, the last and biggest qualifier, 600km, “A pair of Kirtons” which goes through two places called, you guessed, Kirton! A 6am start from a soggy Poynton with the hills over to Holmfirth to warm us up, but it stayed wet almost all day only stopping at about 8pm around Boston. The outward trip took us East towards Hull, where it is nice and flat (after the early hills), before turning South over the impressive Humber bridge. There was then a head wind as we headed south as well as the ever present rain. After rounding Lincoln, it was again flat for a while, with a nice traffic free path alongside the River Witham. The rain stopped just before Boston, so a quick break to remove

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Boots & Spurs jacket and overshoes to try and dry out.

McDonalds in Boston, now only 50km more for the day (350km in total), flat first then rising up. About four hours sleep on an air bed in village hall (ear plugs and eye mask required) set us up for the return journey, after breakfast of course! A dry, bright morning and a lumpy ride continued West as far as Wem, where we would now pick up more familiar roads as we headed north with the help of a bit of a tailwind. The last food stop was at Prees Heath with about 70km to go, so a good feed and it was time to cruise back! Immediately we left the Café, the rain started and continued heavily for the next two hours, so tired legs got cold and niggling pain in the knees started, which slowed things down considerably, but the ride was finished with plenty of time to spare at 7pm. The qualification was now complete. I could now actually enter PBP!

Mere Audax I just now needed to maintain my fitness until the event in August! So at the end of June I did a DIY 300km solo based on the old “Full Monty” event to a nice café in Montgomery in mid Wales and back, a great route that is mostly flat (I might even think about making it an audax event sometime!), my only mistake was doing it on a Sunday, so the choice of food stops on the way back was limited, I eventually resorted to a kebab shop, definitely not my first choice but I needed calories! July, I decided to do the “Full Monty” again but this time on a Saturday so a better choice of shops, but the weather was not so good with persistent drizzle for the first 12 hours! So that had tested my mental resolve a bit as well (starting the ride in the rain in the first place and keeping going at a reasonable pace on my own) and I was now as prepared as I could be for PBP! Neil Shand

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Summer 2020 ON THE BOARDS – A DAY AT THE RACES.

FULL RESULTS AND MORE PICTURES CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB SITE.

H

ave you been to a Velodrome? I guess even amongst cyclists the answer is mainly no. Track cycling is, for the most part a niche event when it comes to live viewing but something fans of the sport in general will pick up on during the Olympics and Commonwealth games.

people get started? The answer is taster events, track leagues and club races at local velodromes and there are a few around the country - (can you name them all?). These provide opportunities for budding youngsters to rise up and get noticed and competition for those adults who enjoy a day out on the oval.

Great Britain has for many years been the dominant force in track cycling. I was fortunate enough to go to the Manchester World cup meeting immediately after the Bejing Olympics and lost track of the times we stood for the National Anthem.

Cavendish, Wiggins , Hoy, Pendleton et al were household names and a string of greats have followed on from the “medal factory” as the Manchester Velodrome became known But what happens below the elite level in track racing, how do

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Boots & Spurs Our own track championship was held this year at The Derby Arena at the start of February, a wonderful multipurpose building next to the Derby City football ground at Pride Park. The track, constructed at first floor level, with banked seating on one side, circulates at first floor level around a large ground floor sports arena, which, when the Clarion track championships visited, was also hosting some sort of tag team “suffer fest” involving extreme circuit training against the clock!

The racing, for both juniors and seniors featured a range of disciplines with competitive riding throughout the day and particular mention must go to the determined youngsters of North Cheshire Clarion who raced each other keenly and safely and with a huge degree of mutual

respect, throughout the day. These guys are the future of the sport and were a pleasure to watch.

The seniors were impressive too; racing hard in a field of 13 competitors, special mention must go to Lindsey Clarke our own National Champion, who took on the men on equal terms and to Alex Ball who seemed to win everything. No written account of the racing would do the event justice, you have to witness a Points race in full flow to appreciate it in all its complexities. So next year get along to the Championships either as a competitor or as a spectator – admission is free and come and see what track racing is all about. In the meantime enjoy the picture spread from my fellow Broadland Clarion members Alan and Steve who had a great day out snapping the competition.

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Summer 2020 MORE ACTION FROM THE TRACK CHAMP’S AT DERBY Cautious covering

Alex Ball

In the pack

Pit action

The Fantastic Derby Venue

Pictures by Alan Goodchild and Steve Shepherd

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Boots & Spurs ONE RIDER’S (UNSATISFACTORY) EXPERIENCE OF JOINING A CLARION SECTION Ed – I wouldn’t normally print an anonymous contribution but in this case the contributors name has been omitted for obvious reasons. We can all learn from this.

I

have been a cyclist from childhood, my degree of seriousness has increased over the past 30 years with mountain biking and a few years ago after deliberation decided to buy a road bike, I have to say that really my decision was a result of much viewing of the racing on Eurosport. I kept below £1,000 as I wasn’t really sure if it would be for me.

The beautiful summer of 2018 gave the opportunity to really put a lot more rides in and increase distances. Then in February 2019 I was made redundant.

This now meant a chance to step up the riding even more. But after a few months and spending long periods on my own I realized that maybe riding with a club would be a way to meet people and found my local Clarion.

After a difficult start, I couldn’t seem to get in contact with anyone, membership secretary, committee members, with unanswered phone calls, emails etc - not an ideal baptism for a person like myself.

Now to the rides, most of all the clique maybe a problem for someone with metal health issues but of course many clubs, societies etc operate like this. Arriving at ride starts, well you aren’t really known so hardly anyone will even give you a good morning. Amazing that people who have ridden alongside you on the last ride you went out on don’t remember you and again ask if are going to join the club, this

would happen every time without fail.

How many rides do you have to go on before recognition? Well maybe if more people stepped outside of their clique to respond to a new member this wouldn’t be the case. The club would occasionally put on Sunday leisure rides open to anyone to join in and encourage new riders. Well is it any wonder most first timers don’t return.

Eventually I received a mention on the club website as a new rider who had joined from the leisure rides. By this time I must have been on around 5 or 6 club rides and been a member for nearly a year. The person who gave me the mention had met me and rode with me on several of my outings.

Okay the cafe stops, well I have seen tables at breaking strain as the clique crams together in one place despite a plethora of empty tables. Well I joined this club to meet people, which I sometimes find a little difficult, so I will just sit on my own, always a good sign. At least rides with no cafe stops are more enjoyable, my latest act of desperation has been to purchase a club shirt so at least it is obvious I have already joined.... hopefully.

It’s sad that every ride I approach with “do I really want to go” and not a feeling of enthusiasm.

My membership has recently been paid, another mess up with wrong emails sent to me.... I was uncertain of the merits of rejoining but have to say I do enjoy the actual road riding and thought it worth this alone. Will my membership card ever arrive?

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Summer 2020 Maybe I am not alone, certainly not with mental issues but also I wonder how many more members feel as I do?

singing the praises of a local pub who have introduced coffee mornings to help combat loneliness. This is all super stuff but seems at odds with what I have experienced.

But I have to say I recently received an email from West Lothian Cycle circuit asking for donations towards the building of a cycle circuit for people of all ages and abilities to improve their physical and MENTAL wellbeing, the section of the clarion I belong too made a fantastic donation to them. And on the club facebook they have been

Of course since I composed this something has happened to our world which trivializes everything, hopefully we will all be out soon but I ask all Clarion members to look within.

Anon

THE TOURING PAGES

Melting roads and warm water bottles - how hot is too hot?

I

t’s always a weather risk, booking a cycling holiday in the UK. You keep a wary eye on the forecast in the run up. It was starting to look promising for our 6 day jaunt around Norfolk last July – then a bit too good. At what point does a heatwave become dangerous and how to handle this with two boys aged 13 and 11?

Day 1 – Stamford to Hunstanton – 78 miles We set off from Chris’ parent’s house in Stamford early on Sunday morning.

It was 9 ish and the church bells were ringing as we spun through its deserted, Georgian streets. It was cool so we had our windproof jackets on for the first hour or so. We never put them back on

again. Our destination was Hunstanton on the North Norfolk coast. En-route we saw some fellow Clarion riders from Fenland, and shouted a cheery ‘boots’ to them, before peeling off onto the Peterborough Greenway. By mid-morning we were pushing our bikes across dried mud dykes and walking round the cows that had taken up residence.

It was a relief when we got back onto tarmac. We were deep in Fenland where the roads were flat, straight and went on forever. We picnicked in Parson Drove just short of Wisbech.. By mid-afternoon we reached Kings Lynn .It was bright and sunny by this point, which kept us going into the hillier areas round Sandringham.

This was tough, weighed down by panniers. We peeled off route 1 and turned towards the sea, hugging the coast until we rocked along a dirt road into south beach, Hunstanton. It was 6pm and we had ridden almost 80 miles.

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Boots & Spurs Day 2 – Hunstanton to Sheringham via Titchwell and Wells – 46 miles The next morning was already warm when we set off. We followed the warden’s advice and went straight up a steep hill to an old drove road which took us onto a stony path and through fields. Our plan was to check out RSPB Titchwell. It was so hot we couldn’t birdwatch for long, retreating to the cafe for lunch. Our next stop was Wells Next The Sea. Wells was so packed that we had to dismount and walk to the harbour! We bought ice creams and hid in the shade.

On our final leg to Sheringham, we decided to go via the main coastal road But it was windy and hilly road and full of traffic. I suffered a puncture. A passing car told my husband that I was walking with my bike so they came back to rescue me.

The valve had ripped on the only Schrader inner tube we had. Chris had to improvise using a Presta tube, wrapping the valve in tape to pack it out. He spent the rest of the day staring nervously at the tyre. It was a huge relief to finally make it to Sheringham, where we had been given an attic room in the youth hostel. It was stifling up there

and sleeping was very difficult. I doused myself with cold water to try to cool off but it was a very uncomfortable night.

Day 3 – Sheringham to Great Yarmouth – 47 miles A quick post-breakfast visit to a bike shop got me a new inner tube (and a spare!) but we forgot to refit the rear brake. I discovered this on the hill down into Cromer which was an unpleasant surprise. Cromer was buzzing with tourists. We took the Norfolk Coast Cycleway route 30 which was much quieter and very pretty lunching on the beach at Sea Palling where the boys had a paddle among the diving terns.

We suffered another puncture on one of the interminably windy roads. It was a long hot ride to Great Yarmouth Finally we were on the main drag which was all illuminations and noisy slot machine salons. We were tired and boiling hot – suddenly our Premier Inn loomed large on the edge of the beach like an Egyptian pyramid. We took full advantage of the facilities and washed our kit before venturing out. The calm on the beach was inviting and the sea breeze was delightful after a tough day in the saddle.

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Summer 2020 Day 4 – Great Yarmouth to Wreningham – 48 miles Our best night’s sleep yet followed by a full English breakfast! But air con doesn’t dry your kit! Chris spent an hour hair drying it, so by the time we set off it was already mid-morning.

The coastal trail down to Lowestoft had great views and a slightly cooling breeze.

We seemed to be back on route 1 again before going into the town centre, where I posted back the Sheringham Youth Hostel key I had inadvertently stolen, The temperature soared into the 30s but we knew we had to keep going until we reached Beccles for some lunch. We bought sandwiches and sheltered from the sun. Everyone was rather frazzled.

From Beccles we followed route 1 then some smaller B-roads to reach our destination, a pub in a small village near Norwich. The air wasn’t moving and we felt like we were riding in a cauldron, as our bodies began to roast. There were no rivers to cool off in and finally I sat under a tree and refused to move. I couldn’t go another metre. My husband threw a load of water on me which helped, but then I worried about running out of water. In the next village, we stopped at the church, found its cemetery standpipe, soaked ourselves with cool water then filled up our bottles. This was our new ploy. We carried on drinking water and pouring it over our bodies which cooled us for a time. Then we would find another church and repeat. After half an hour, the water in our bottles had become warm, like bath water.

The roads were sounding slushy and the top surface was coming off on our tyres, they were literally melting. We longed to arrive at the pub. One road closure and a few miles later, the relief – there was the Bird in Hand pub! We had a room

which led directly outside, so hung up our clothes; they didn’t take long to dry – then ate our weight in the pub dining room.

Day 5 – Wreningham to King’s Lynn – 49 miles At breakfast, there were warnings about the hottest UK day ever with an expected 36 degrees. We briefly discussed whether our endeavour was foolhardy and decided to set off as soon as possible, taking it steady during the hottest time of the day.

We choose B-roads that were not as busy, but some felt very unsheltered; fields of stubble and corn threw the heat back at us.

We aimed for Dereham where we picked up some food in the Co Op, lingering in its air con. A local business offered us a water fill up which was gratefully received.

Our onward journey was a bewildering maze of possibilities as we navigated a route to King’s Lynn. Our water strategy helped us so we were permanently drenched and drinking about a pint per hour. The breeze felt like it was coming from a hair dryer. We started to believe we could achieve our destination intact.

Our final stop at the Crown in Gayton was wonderful. Stripped to the waist, our boys guzzled coke. We had beer to ease the pain. Other drinkers thought we were crazy to be doing anything active.

The last ten miles were bearable because we knew we weren’t far – after the obligatory route finding confusion in King’s Lynn, we located the Premier Inn. The receptionist assured us the temperature would drop to 30 degrees by 10pm. The bad news was that they didn’t have air con.The restaurant next door was cool so we stayed there as long as we could.

Back in the room, the fan was moving oven-hot air around. We even considered sleeping outside but a strange, warm rain prevented that idea. Chris ran a cold bath and tried to sleep in it. It was unbearable.

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Boots & Spurs

Day 6 – King’s Lynn to Stamford – 55 miles We wearily got up to have breakfast on our last day following the worst night of our lives. Fortunately there had been a shift at dawn and the air felt much fresher, at least ten degrees cooler and much more pleasant. We rolled along long roads with huge skies and enjoyed scooting over Sutton Bridge. By the time we reached Holbeach, the Aurora Cafe enticed us in for lunch. The staff were so impressed with our adventures so far they gave the boys free ice cream. We lingered in the market town of Spalding before joining a straight, seemingly infinite road

along the side of the river Welland where Dan developed his second puncture of the trip. We had about 20 miles left.

As we neared Stamford, we encountered our first hills of the day. Despite tired legs, we hit them head on, buoyed on by the signs that counted down our finish line and practically raced the last two miles to the in laws where we posed for triumphant photos safe in the knowledge we could sleep in the next day!

Chris, Rosey, Doug and Dan James, Calder Clarion

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Summer 2020 6 1/2 WEEKS IN THE EMERALD ISLE ON A £40 MTB

A

rriving on the overnight boat from Birkenhead to Belfast I spent a couple of days in Belfast, before heading off around the Antrim coast, taking on the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge and the Giants Causeway. I found N.Ireland friendly, like the whole of Ireland...but there were still strong tribal sectarian undertones...especially Derry/Londonderry!

After heading out of N. Ireland I headed into Donegal and Ireland’s most northerly tip, Malin Head. I also took in the climb of the incredible Mamore Gap and the twisty descent that followed! Wild camping isn’t permitted in Ireland, like most other countries in Europe, but I think its mainly turned a blind eye to, as long as there aren’t a few of you, you’re making noise, partying or starting fires! In fact at Roscommon one day I had a Garda policeman in his car stop outside my tent one morning as I was making a brew! He asked me what I was doing, so I told him, before saying the police in England usually turn a blind eye if you’re not causing problems. He listened intently, nodded and said if I wanted breakfast or to use the bathroom his house was the first one down the lane about 50 yards away!

on the cliffs at the end of the magnificent Slea Head route. I gave the Ring of Kerry a miss after advice from locals that I’d have cars and coaches up my backside all day, and instead went to the Beara Peninsular. A great decision as like I was told it is much quieter, just as beautiful, but about half the size. At the end was a rickety looking cable car to an island a few hundred metres away. In the winter apparently they transport cows, one at a time, over to the island to graze! The cable car also has a Bible and a bottle of Holy water apparently, for nervous passengers!

I made it down to Ireland’s most southerly tip, Mizen Head and then on to Skibbereen and Cork, where I spent a few days recuperating at a hostel there. From there myself and the bike took a coach (yes there is a company that does that there!) to Dublin, where I did a few short local rides, as well as the sights....and the Guinness of course! It was then a boat to Holyhead(no boat for foot passengers from Dublin to Liverpool unbelievably!) and a 3 day ride from there to my home in Blackpool from there.

A fantastic 6 and a half weeks, that was really tough at times, but fantastic and unforgettable!

Graeme

I eventually made my way over to the west coast and the incredible Dingle Peninsular, where a young Irish girl was playing a harp

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Boots & Spurs BOLTON CLARION TOUR OF BAVARIA

I

t’s looking increasing likely that our planned & booked cycling trips to Majorca in May & Italy in June this year will both be cancelled due to Coronavirus, our long-weekend trip to Kettlewell has already bitten the dust. So with a deep sense of frustration it’s good to look back on previous trips & the following report is from last year’s escapade.

August 20th 2019 saw 9 of us heading for Manchester airport, complete with boxedbikes & packed panniers, for a flight to Munich airport & a subsequent eight day tour of Bavaria – with a little bit of Austria thrown into the mix too.

A minibus, which had been pre-booked to pick us all up & transport us 20 miles to the airport, arrived on time but it was far too small to carry 9 bikes, 9 sets of panniers & 9 increasingly worried cyclists!

Frantic phone calls by the taxi driver to his mates eventually saw the arrival of

another minibus – which was equally too small, but with some ingenious lifting, pulling & pushing (by us) we eventually managed to squeeze all goods (human & otherwise) between, on & over the seats in the two vans. Fortunately my 6th sense had foreseen this eventuality & therefore the 70 minute delay did not make the incident too critical as I had built in plenty of ‘the taxi company will let us down’ time into our itinerary.

A minibus had also been booked for the journey from Munich airport to our hotel – a mere 6 miles away – but lo & behold, despite thoughts of Germanic efficiency, exactly the same issue was encountered there too. I hasten to add that a detailed list of all our luggage, specifically sizes of our bike boxes, had been emailed to both taxi companies prior to booking (to obtain prices) & repeated as part of the booking procedure! The Bavarian solution to this

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Summer 2020 dilemma was to make two trips, not ideal for us but at least it was only a relatively short journey.

It was raining when we left the UK & it was raining harder when we arrived at our hotel in Hallbergmoos, so all 9 of us had to somehow squeeze into the hotels ground floor corridors to unpack & re-assemble our bikes in preparation for an early start the following day; the floor was a mass of upturned bikes, wheels, tools, pedals & pannier racks, but we all managed to complete our tasks before showering & heading to the nearby ‘Greek’ restaurant for food & drinks, before it closed at 11:30pm.

The first day’s weather was just about okay, kind of on the warm side of cool, but the 2nd day was distinctly cold, the fleece jersey that I always pack, but never use on European tours, was worn all day.

Had we picked a bad week? The forecast for the coming weekend in the UK was for temperatures of 30c – were we jinxed?

No! After the first 2 days all the remaining days were wonderfully hot & we had no rain whatsoever, except for an absolute drenching when we were in the middle of Salzburg enjoying our evening meal; an additional round of drinks failed to outlast the downpour & our desperate run back to our hotel saw us drenched through to our skins within 2 seconds of stepping outside – & that lederhosen takes some drying-out I can tell you!

bikes wouldn’t fit through the pedestrian turnstile. There’s no way we were going to return to the bottom of the hill to come back up again, so we lifted our bikes over the high fence & transferred our panniers through the turnstile.

Jenbach was next, followed by Bernau am Chiemsee, then Salzburg & Altotting before we made our way back to our first hotel near Munich, where we had stored our bike boxes. The 2 days riding from Fussen to Jenbach were quite simply outstanding; jaw-dropping scenery, lovely villages & incredible lakes & mountains. It was hilly but not ridiculously steep terrain, the road surfaces were smooth & there were lots of traffic-free paths - some with gravel surfaces but that was a tiny price to pay for cycling in heaven.

Throughout the tour we encountered 2 punctures, one of which was to a tubeless tyre so there was virtually no delay, one failed bottom-bracket & two broken spokes – all on separate bikes; one of the spokes broke on Saturday afternoon & with no bike shop nearby or close to our route the buckled wheel had to be nursed for the rest of the day & all the following day until a bike shop could be found to purchase a replacement spoke & beg them to remove & refit the cassette (they were too busy to

Our overall, 8 day, route took us through the centre of Munich to Weilheim in Oberbayern, then to Fussen & a trip up to the mist-shrouded King Ludwig’s castle, onwards to Mittenwald where our GPS guided route saw us riding & walking through a pleasant public park, located on the side of a steep hill, then upwards to the top end of the park - which was totally fenced-in, only to discover that our

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Boots & Spurs do the job for us & yes, as always when a spoke breaks on tour, it was on the drive side of the rear wheel).

We completed a fairly leisurely 420 miles – including 12,000 upward feet – the vast majority of hills we encountered weren’t too steep which was really satisfying considering that we were amidst the mountains for long periods; there were of course some exceptions but the only time we were forced to dismount was on a couple of occasions where the gravel surface, combined with the gradient & our pannier-laden bikes, made it impossible to continue pedalling.

Once back in Hallbergmoos. after repacking our bikes in preparation for flying home the following day, we jumped on a bus to the local train station & caught the S-Bann train to the centre of Munich where we wandered around the city centre for a while before finishing the tour with a wonderful evening spent in the Hofbrauhaus, eating heartily & washing it all down with copious amounts of bier from 1 litre tankards, being served by buxom frauleins & lederhosen clad waiters, accompanied by the resident Oomphaband – all whilst relaying & often laughing about our fantastic Bavarian tour.

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Summer 2020 BLACKPOOL CLARION CYCLING CLUB’S CYCLE-CAMPING TOUR DE DORDOGNE, LOT, PYRENEES ET CÔTE ATLANTIQUE.

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fter ‘mountainous’ tours from Lake Geneva, crossing many Alpine Cols to Monaco and from Toulouse along the Tarn and Ardèche Gorges, climbing over Mont Ventoux and through the astounding Grand Canyon Du Verdon to Nice, we opted for what we thought would be a flatter route around the Dordogne and Lot. We flew to Bordeaux from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport, having aviation’s greatest tag line, ‘Above Us Only Sky’. Our base for the first few days was the campsite by the Dordogne River in La Roque-Gageac, often voted the most attractive village in France, it’s almost as nice as Blackpool!

We had a ‘rest day’ canoeing down the river, however our paddle lacked the rapids and towering cliffs found along the Ardèche Gorge of our Toulouse to Nice Tour. The following day we got back on the bikes and visited a reproduction of the ‘prehistoric’ cave paintings of Lascaux, which are thought to be the oldest in the world, but we were underwhelmed by the Disney-esque Lascaux II, the real caves being closed to the public. The route had looked relatively flat on the Carte Michelin, appearing to follow the rivers, but the roads had other ideas, repeatedly climbing high above the valleys before plummeting back down again.

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Boots & Spurs A birthday ride was next as, just like Big Mig’, I have my birthday on each Tour De France, so we headed out on a very undulating 90 mile round trip to the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage that is Rocamadour, built on three successive levels, where old stone buildings, majestic towers and a castle cascade off the cliffs into the Alzou Canyon below.

An easier few days followed as we visited limestone caves in Domme and Le Châteu de Castelnaud, then a day of ups and downs to Cahors on the Lot River, before taking a morning train to foot hills of the Hautes-Pyrénées.

After our customary fine dining experience in a Lidl carpark, we set off on the long climb of the Tourmalet. It wasn’t a ‘bad trip’ at all up ‘The Distance Mountain’ and we paused at the Eugène Christophe statute, in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. He was a professional cyclist from 1904 to 1926, known for inventing the toe clip and for breaking forks. When riding to a possible overall win in the 1913 Tour, Eugène was penalised for letting a villager operate the bellows on a forge, as he repaired his broken forks. In 1919 he was the first rider to wear the ‘new’ Yellow Jersey and at start of the penultimate stage from Metz to Dunkirk, he was leading by 30 minutes, but his forks broke again and he lost more than two and a half hours, and the race, while he made repairs. Three years later, when in third position, a third broken fork, this time on the descent of the Galibier, again cost him the race.

Col at dusk. We had arranged to take our bikes on the cable car up to the Pic Du Midi Observatory and then freewheel back down on the gravel road, but despite having emailed the cable car company photographs of our five stone, fully loaded touring bikes, the staff told us that they only allow VTTs, so we pressed on, up the last 2 miles, to the Tourmalet summit, the highest Col in the French Pyrenees. We had a photo with Octave Lapize and, after a couple of hours taking in the cloudless views, we descended to LuzSaint-Sauveur and camped, before an afternoon ride up to the waterfalls at Gavarnie.

Over the next few days we rode onto Biarritz with stops at Lourdes and at the Grand Prix street circuit in Pau, although it’s not quite as famous Monaco’s circuit.

Two flat days along the coast lead us to Arcachon and the Dune du Pilat, the biggest sand dune in Europe, with amazing views of the Pyrenees and Atlantic Coast.

A last 25 miles from our final campsite took us back to Bordeaux Airport; then insight of the finish’ we had to put our cagoules on, for the only time in 845 miles.

Onwards we climbed, reaching our campsite near La Mongie just below the

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Summer 2020

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SECTION REPORTS BARNOLDSWICK

lub member Dorothy Altham on retiring at 62 needed a hobby to fill her time. She found it in cycling.

She joined Barnoldswick Clarion and the local C.T.C. alternating between slow and medium rides. Last year she clocked up over 10,000mls. With a smile she says: “I think cycling is taking over my life”.

Last year she decided on an adventure and rode the 8mls down to Gargrave and boarded the train to Barrow in Furness, stopping overnight in a travel lodge.

The following morning she set off from Walney Island to ride the Bay Cycle Way NCN700. 130km finishing in Condor Green where, staying overnight, she rode the 50 or so miles back home. Well done Dorothy! Not bad for 67. Where to this year?

Dave Poole finished 2nd overall in The Kielder Forest Duathlon January 2020.

Members Colin and Sharon Urmston have just arrived back from Tenerife. Colin, on a lazy day rode, 120mls and did 16,000ft of climbing around Mt.Tiede.Martin and Linda enjoyed an extended cycling break in Benidorm where Martin just topped 100,000ft of ascent.

Dave Sherwood is organising this year’s Majorca trip to Porto Pollensa.

Barnoldswick Clarion now has more than 65 members with members enjoying the great benefits of the Clarion Third Party Insurance scheme.

Mick Meath

Dorothy, on the left, with club members on a hostel weekend to Arnside.

Dave Poole, Kielder Forest Duathlon

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Boots & Spurs

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BOLTON CLARION

s we move towards the end of the summer the days shorten and we all hope for a last surge of energy as the TT season comes to a close. Along with the National Clarion Crit Champs the Club had its annual Handicap 10 which was taken in his usual cheery style

by Geoff Taylor.

Each year we try to do something different as a group outing, so in late August, an Isle of Man weekender trip following the Lighthouse Challenge route went down well accompanied by fabulous weather. More locally a good number turned out in the wet and cold for the Manchester 100 in aid of Christies Hospital in Manchester.

the first round we had six Clarionistas competing with many junior riders from The Bullets. This level of commitment continued with many Club members and Bullets taking part throughout the season right up until the end of January.

On the 14th September Francis Woodcock came 5th in the National Youth 10tt final with probably the highest placing for a first claim Bury Clarion rider at a National level event. A great result!

John Stirzaker Lighthouse Challenge John Stirzaker was at Poznan Poland on the 1st September for The UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Finals, part of the World Series. The UK qualifier is the Tour of Cambridgeshire that takes place in early June and is split into a race and Gran Fondo with top 25% qualifying for the finals.

Then the CX season started with events in the North West Cyclocross league For

Francis Woodcock

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Summer 2020

Then followed the Clarion National 25TT at Goostrey. Not an easy course but Gavin Wright was 1st Vet (3rd overall) and Joanna Cebrat took the womens Trophy in a time of 1:04:34.

our special guest and £530 was raised for MDS uk.

Hill climbs then became the order of the day with the Blackstone Edge HC on 6th October and also a big event on the North West calender at The Rake Ramsbottom.

This always draws large crowds and Club member Francis Woodcock became the NLTTA hill climb champion. It is also a busy time for club rides as we try to combine them with supporting competing members. At the Nick o’ Pendle HC Marcus Hurst knocked out a good time as our only representative cheered on by a massive Clarion crowd in support who then headed down to Heaton Park on the outskirts of Manchester to watch the CX racing which involved both our smallest and biggest riders…

At the National Clarion Hill Climb Champs, Beeley Moor, our very own Joanna Cebrat placed 7th overall with a winning ladies’ time of 13.17.1 She has trained hard and had a great season!

Moving into December, we appear to be a load of party animals with almost back to back Christmas celebrations! We had a great Curry Night, then the Bullets Christmas Party, followed by the (pre) Christmas Breakfast bike ride! Fortunately there were still some left standing for the Christmas Eve Ride as well !

During the last twelve months we have developed relationships with local British Cycling approved coaches and this has opened the door to Track Skills sessions including some at the Stephen Burke Hub in Barrowford. Places on these sessions have been snapped up proving especially popular with our women riders. We are also really pleased that we now have a broader age group profile in the Club, the younger riders are every ones future!

We are fortunate to have many enthusiastic rider leaders in the Club. Sometimes there has been the option for five rides over the weekend and there is also a regular commitment to midweek rides. Of course, sadly, group riding has been curtailed by the arrival of the Covid 19 virus and we extend our condolences to any who have lost loved ones, family or friends as a result. It it has also been difficult time with many suffering financially as well, so we look forward to a lifting of restrictions with all that entails and the opportunity to meet and ride together again.

Ken Woodward

We are still getting folks into the new Club kit made by local firm, Lusso, and as the New Year started, many turned up for a “try on” evening followed at the end of January by our Awards Evening when over 100 turned out. Jake Wright was

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Christmas Breakfast ride

Boots & Spurs BRIGHTON AND HOVE

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righton & Hove Section’s AGM coming up at the end of March usually gives us the opportunity to review the year just gone. In that year the Section, despite some difficulties with the weather, saw a flourishing continuation of its rides programme, together with welcome new members who are already offering to lead rides; and in line with the aim of our Constitution to “promote Good Fellowship” the tradition of having a summer picnic was revived this year at Pevensey and we can look forward to one later on (as long as the summer arrives!)

A new arrival has now occurred as an addition to the excellent long-standing regular “Newsletter” produced by our Secretary Ian Bullock which carries reports on rides, future activities, including possible forthcoming rides, and

often aspects of the history of the Clarion as well as practical information. The arrival of the Google Group: – “Brighton & Hove Clarion Cycling club group” can add input from members, information, views, discussion, ideas for future activities communication.

Leon Moore – sadly missed But we must now turn to the very sad event of the year when after a long struggle with illness our much loved member Leon Moore died in August. With

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Summer 2020 his love of life, his readiness to go for what life had to offer, his sense of fun and the Clarion ethos, Leon had found the Brighton & Hove Clarion Section an ideal “home”. The way he found his new home was typical of him. After a solitary ride – he noticed on the opposite rail platform the Clarion group waiting for a train back to Brighton – he called across to check who “they” were and just before the train took us away there was the time to call back to him - “The Clarion Brighton & Hove look it up” … and at the very next grouping at Brighton Station who should come across the platform other than Leon. After joining with us on that occasion he became a dedicated member bringing his ready wit, his sense of fun, and his kindness. With such sad news, it was not surprising that soon members were saying through the Google group that the appropriate way to pay one’s respect and amity for Leon would be to have a Clarion Ride in his honour to commemorate him. The suggestion was taken up by three members offering to organise such a ride for 20 October which was to start from Hassocks where Leon had lived for many years, which he knew intimately, had his favourite haunts and from where he often started leading rides.

are very important for members and ultimately this was to be a Clarion ride.

Nevertheless there were cyclists who were not Clarion members wanting to pay their respects who attended. There were also those who wanted to pay homage to Leon but who did not cycle, they were nevertheless welcome. Those who did cycle agreed that as a ride it was a success, passing through the lanes and undulations so typical of the Sussex countryside, topped by a stop at the Sportsman pub with lovely down land vistas; Leon would have enjoyed it.

It was good to see such a large number of people attending. And it was a truly lovely event, one of great tenderness, friendliness, humanity and with people telling their memories, their stories, and of their fondness for Leon, which continued over lunch at the Jack and Jill.

Thus Leon’s memorial event was an outstanding event in our year which brought us close to the ending of the year, usually marked by the Christmas lunch which in this case was organised by Sean who stepped in at the last minute to make sure we had one this year so the traditional “good time” was had by all.

Joyce Edmond-Smith

Saying Goodbye Leon loved the Clarion and he also loved Brighton and had many friends there so it was right that this circular ride from Hassocks should use the fine Sussex lanes to reach the Natural Burial Ground at Clayton where he had chosen to be laid to rest. it was also right that the riders should be mostly Clarion members. Rides

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Boots & Spurs BROADLAND CLARION

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ur small group continues to grow as we welcome Michael Kennedy from south Suffolk, previously a private member and Alan a more local, but super-fast moutain bike and sportive rider who, wants to have a go at time trialing and needed a club membership to further his aims. We will update you on his success and encourage him take part in Clarion national events. Others are lurking in the wings and hopefully will sign up once the rides season gets properly underway.

Our 2019 season saw an ever varying group complete a variety of longer distance club rides and all four of John (Tommo) Thompsons 100k audax events, taking us all over the Norfolk Broads, deep in to rural Suffolk and along the Waveney valley. John’s routes are always interesting and his last for the season, on a bright November day offered us the challenge not only of country lanes, slick with mud from sugar beet fields but also the prospect of navigating two fords. His stamp control at the Good the Bad and The Hungry Café at Wingfield was an inspired one and has been added to our list of destinations.

We assembled 11 for our annual lunch at the excellent Earsham Street café in Bungay.

South Norfolk Loop Audax

Norfolk can be bleak in the winter and whilst we have remained devoid of snow and largely free of ice, weekends have for the most part been exceedingly windy and riding has been curtailed.

Some of course are not deterred and Steve Shepherd continues to clock up impressive mileage counts week in, week out. Well done Steve.

Edward Gilder

Cadence Café

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Summer 2020 COTSWOLD CLARION Meet at Warwick to the section with the most riders completing the 125km Clarion Cotswold Challenge. This was funded by Mike and Tim.

The Cotswold Clarion section was formed in March 2018. While our membership is made up mostly of riders living either side of the North Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire border, we’re also delighted to have Ian and Jan from Oxfordshire.

Our weekly midweek and weekend club rides are very much a core activity. While everyone is encouraged to take their turn, we’re very grateful to Peter and Mike, who both do an excellent job of designing interesting courses, with well researched coffee stops, and then posting them on our Strava Club page.

The Club is ideally placed to enjoy some great cycling, whether it be the flat roads around the Cotswold Water Park or the lumpy lanes that pass through the yellow limestone famed chocolate box villages.

We’re very pleased to have joined the Clarion family and are looking forward to playing our part. What we might lack in terms of numbers, we more than make up for in enthusiasm and commitment. Our distinctive jerseys, complete with a large Cotswold Clarion badge emblazoned across the back, reflects just how proud we are.

It was an honour to be allowed to donate The Cotswold Clarion CC Trophy, presented for the first time at the Easter

Cycling in Audax events also features strongly, with some members regularly riding 100km and 200km. Pride of place though goes to Tommy who in 2019 completed the Celtic Knot 1000km.

Administration wise, we’ve held two successful AGM’s and have managed to fill all the key positions on the committee with willing volunteers.

Tim Wadsworth

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Boots & Spurs

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LONDON CLARION

020 is a significant year for London Clarion. Not only is it the 125th Anniversary of the gathering of Clarion Cycle Clubs in Ashbourne at Easter but it was in May 1895 that the first of our London Clarion Cycle Clubs was formed. We have been in constant unbroken operation since then, now making us the oldest continually operating Clarion Cycle Club. We had planned to celebrate these achievements with a Reunion Easter Meet at Ashbourne but have had to postpone that due to the current Pandemic.

2020 is also the year in which our Club membership has surpassed 100 for the first time since before WWII. A decade ago, we were one of the smaller Clubs with only a handful of members. Today we have a diverse membership and an international following. We put our success down to an adherence to a Constitution which espouses the aims of our founders; excellent website and very active social media accounts; our campaigning and involvement on cycling and social issues; an interesting, attractive and often unique programme of rides & events, a great kit including our popular Anniversary Cap sold through our webstore- all of which have allowed us to build an attractive Club that is united through Fellowship and cycling and open to all.

In the past year our cycles have included visits to abandoned Victorian forts; working Victorian Steam Pumping Stations; a nuclear bunker and WWII Aerodrome and even a cycle, brewery

tasting and tour thanks to Heathen Brewery and Ed Perfect. Many of our rides follow the river, take us through the Royal Parks or out to the countryside which is a good hour’s cycle from the centre of London! Highlights for later this year include a cycle to the World’s oldest Wooden Church, a Charles Dickens Great Expectations ride and a Robert Tressell ‘Ragged Trousered Philanthropist’ weekend (in which the Clarion Cycling Club, of course, gets it’s mention). In the finest traditions of the Club we continue to enjoy excellent pubs and beer, for as The Bounder said, “What this club wants is a not a speedometer but a boozometer.”

Every November we pause for Remembrance Sunday. Like every Club, our usual activities are currently suspended but we are extremely proud to say that having issued a Clarion call for cycle couriers in mid-March to assist a South London Community Centre with food and medicine deliveries, our members Octavian Bulgac and Simon Perera were some of its very first volunteers.

We truly have a great Clarion Cycle Club and are rightly proud!

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Summer 2020

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NORTH CHESHIRE CLARION NEWS

ast year as a club we wanted to entice riders who had not been out on their bikes for a while or those who were less confident riding in a group and on roads. We decided that “leisure rides” would be a good start, these rides would be slower and not as far as our normal “Intro rides”. We linked with British Cycling to advertise these on their website enabling anyone to sign up and also used our own forum. The rides ran every month from April to September 2019 and proved very successful with numbers growing each month. It is our intention to run the leisure rides again in 2020.

It has been a relatively quiet few months in the senior section of the club. On the 8th December we had a club Velodrome session in Manchester where we did some skills sessions and a standing lap (the results of which were closely guarded).

December also saw our traditional Fun Fancy dress ride with a mix of junior and

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senior riders on a 32mile ride followed by festive drinks and food at the pub. On 23rd February we ran the Mere Audax rides, 160 and 200km routes around South Cheshire (into Staffordshire) with riders from at least 5 Clarion sections. The rides took place just after the storms, so some heavy overnight rain meant some flooded roads again (they had been checked and were clear the day before!) but the weather was reasonable for the time of year. The biggest problem being a couple of cars stuck on the grass at the end of the event. But we did raise over £650 for charity (including a donation to the Lothian Cycle circuit). We had planned our Wizard audax rides (120, 160 and 200km) for July this year along with possibly a low key 300km audax for the brave. Our membership now stands at 232.

Neil Shand

NORTH CHESHIRE CLARION JUNIORS award in recognition of this awesome achievement.

he North Cheshire Junior Section continues to flourish as our recent club photo highlights.

The first three months of this year reflected the club’s ability to embrace and excel in a wide range of cycling disciplines, most notably seeing their first National Champion, Seb Grindley, receiving his ‘hoops’ at the National Cyclocross Championships at Shrewbury in January. Seb took an emphatic victory in the U14 Boys category, anything less would have been hard to take on the back of his incredible run of success in National Trophy Series. He was awarded the National Clarion ‘Most Meritorious Junior’

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Boots & Spurs and Tyldesley’s Cycling Club’s Gin Pit Track where adults and children had a fun hour of coaching and racing on bikes with no gears and no brakes thanks to team mates that ride in this discipline.

Over the course of the National Cyclocross season Seb was joined by two club mates, Joe Watkins-Wilson and John White, in the U14 Boys category, along with Gabby Scott in the U14 Girls, Hannah McClorey in U16 Girls and Raph Tabiner and Ethan Grimshaw in the U16 Boys. It was great to have such a large number of riders representing the club on the national stage.

A number of these riders then attended the Northern CX Regional School of Racing in Middlesbrough, which is equally important for cementing friendships as well as developing technical skills. Seb and the other older riders’ results spearheaded a very successful Cyclocross season for all ages and abilities. At a regional level our juniors dominated the NW Cycloross League taking the U12 and Youth Team titles and the most Improved Girl title at the region’s annual awards evening. This was in addition to numerous podiums and first places from U8 (E) to U16 (A).

A number of our accredited track riders attended the National Clarion Track Championships in Derby where they each put on some impressive performances and were made to feel incredibly welcome by the adult racers. (ed - see pics in this edition) The club’s other ‘off road’ activity included a Cycle Speedway taster session at Astley

Our regular midweek indoor training sessions over the winter were very well attended by riders of all ages. The progress made by our younger riders was phenomenal and our older riders used the sessions well putting them in great shape for the pre-season races.

The MTB season started well with a number of riders attending the first round in the Forest of Dean. Similarly, a cohort of riders excelled in the pre-season crits at the Mosseley CRT ‘Early Bird’ series (Tameside), and the Dolan Youth Series (Southport) and Rhyl with some outstanding performances, especially Albie Jones in the U12 Boys category who remained unbeaten until the shut-down of the racing season due to the COVID-19 outbreak With the cancellation of racing, training and coaching, the resourcefulness of the club’s coaches and the camaraderie of the riders has now moved to the virtual world.

Our coaches have been instrumental in the establishment of a NW Zwift Community supporting all the NW region’s riders to keep fit, keep training and most importantly keeping in touch with their friends. Our juniors may not be pedalling together on the road or track, but they are certainly pedalling together in mutual support and staying safe in the virtual cycling world.

See also North Cheshire Clarion juniors in action in our Track Champs feature

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Summer 2020 IRONBRIDGE CLARION UPDATE FOR BOOTS & SPURS

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uite a few of you will know us from the Autumn meets we hosted in recent years. We are still a small club with a focus on recreational cycling in the Shropshire hills usually including the essential café stop.

Membership has fallen slightly in the last couple of years but until the recent events we’ve had regular weekend club runs as well as a few shorter mid-week evening rides in the summer. To maximise numbers and maintain some flexibility these are mainly organised by our club WhatsApp group. In 2019 we also had members joining a range of local and not so local sportives, where the focus was on completing rather than competing.

These included the Fred Whitton on a great sunny but tiring day, some of the local Bostin rides (into Wales and the Peak District), the Brewood ride, as well as the Danny Mason Highland challenge from Ludlow and the Autumn epic in the Welsh borders from Knighton.

2020 has been a lot more challenging.

In January and February, we seemed to be cycling into storm force winds every weekend. These storms also delivered heavy rain in Wales flooding Ironbridge and many of the Severn the river crossings. Our standard routes had to change to include harder hill climb detours and the surfaces of the lanes were transformed from tarmac to mud, gravel and frequent unexpected fords.

Just as the weather started to improve, we went from flood to plague and had to stop group rides in March. At the time of writing here is a straw poll of members on their primary cycling related activities in the UK Lockdown: • 25% mainly short solo rides • 38% training on a turbo • 25% regular short rides to work • 12% no cycle related exercise Hopefully by the time this is published we’ll be back out in a group on the roads (or gravel!) with our favourite cafes reopened.

Future Events These will be notified on the web site and via email to Sections as and when the current restrictions on sporting and social gatherings are lifted.

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Boots & Spurs “IT’S ALWAYS FUN CYCLING WITH THE CLARION”

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