Time Triallist's apathy sees the end of Time ... … Trial Weekly Testing Times soldiers on (against all odds) Time was prematurely called on Nino Picolli's ambitious plans to fill the gap on the time trial race report scene when the plug was pulled on Time Trial Weekly shortly before its second issue even hit the streets. Against all odds, Piccoli had managed to get the inaugural issue off the ground and into the hands of the race-report-starved tester and all looked rosy for its future as subscription numbers doubled during the following week alone due to the success of the first issue. The sudden unplanned disappearance of Piccolli's project partner however, resulted in the loss of not just invaluable editorial experience but vast amounts of subscribers’ capital. Fortunately, before the decision was taken to call a halt to what could have been the beginning of something even bigger than (dare we say) Testing Times, most of this had already been spent on the team's spring training camp in Majorca.
Planet X’s Old Skool series almost here. Be there … be square SEE MORE AT
March 2010 In this issue: John Taylor’s 24 hour story Frankly Franklin wins something … so does Planet X Lynne Taylor What's your tipple? A bit of this ... Paul Gittins’ rubber fetish Letters Old Skool Series news
As a result of the unfortunate events that have subsequently unravelled, Piccalilli is believed to have had to sell both his body and his collection of ABBA LPs to recoup the cash necessary to fulfil his promise to refund subscribers. Unfortunately, there have been no takers for either. Full credit to Pickalilly then for managing to find the money from somewhere to refund ALL those who subscribed … even more so for putting his head on the block and giving it a go in the first place. The time trialling world is full of knockers and if there was half as much action as there was talk we’d all have what we want … and that isn’t going to happen unless, and until, people put words into action. No one’s going to do it alone … both Piccadilly and the team behind this illustrious publication know that for sure. Content is the key to success. Don’t rely on others … lend a hand … please? Content, money, cake or vodka please to: ian@planet-x-bikes.com
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Dude ‘Masher’ Marsland … a bit of that More on … the stealthiest ever Stealth Gambling on … a case Sue Fenwick looks at women’s time trialling for 2010 We would have had a bit of the other too but we had no takers North Road Hardriders 25 Nob’s off … his rocker Testing Times’s most trying tester Paul Hyde has been out and about (again) road testing Planet X’s latest offerings. Renowned on the Kentish time trial circuit for his piles… (cont’d on page 6)
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Book Review by Frankly Franklin John Taylor’s 24-hour story This is not a book. It's a labour of love. It's a work of art. Its an absolutely glorious record of longdistance time trialling in the UK. It gives due credit to the riders and to the officials but above all it honours our unique and wonderful sport. After John Taylor's first book The End to End Story (published by John's Bridgetown Cycles in 2005), I was expecting a similar volume 270 pages, A5 size. When The 24 Hour Story - A complete history of the 24 hour cycle race 18822008 arrived it wasn't at all as expected. A4 sized, it contains 481 pages and weighs a massive 1.8kg. That's a third of the weight of my Dimar-Lloyd road bike! Some say that size doesn't matter. In this case it does, for John's book is packed with every single bit of detail about 24 hour time trials (and other long distance events) over the past 13 decades. It explores the personalities, gives updates on those stalwarts who have been part of this sport for so long and adds thousands of anecdotal titbits that brighten the pages of this superbly researched book. John has gone to extraordinary lengths to produce a record worthy of our king of sports. There have been one or two other histories of UK time trialling over the years, the RTTC's Golden Jubilee Alpaca to Skinsuit (Bernard Thompson, 1988) is a fine example but in just 47 pages it cannot compete with The 24-hour Story in its depth and breadth. Books like this are not usually read from cover to cover. It's a tome for dipping into, looking for your clubmates' names or searching for the full result of some past event. A lot of this can be found on the internet these days, but the electronic media cannot compete with the joy that such a collection of fine writing, obSEE MORE AT
Gould with 340 miles) but the event was significant in that it was the last North Road event to allow pacing! The Great War interrupted all aspects of life, but nevertheless the Anfield Bicycle Club managed to run its invitation 24 in 1914. There was a close finish between the promoting club's J A Grimshaw (379.75 miles) and J Brown (Walton C&AC) who finished just one mile further back. However, Brown had been misdirected off course, but the 'committee' credited him with the miles that he actually rode. Such kind generosity!
scure facts and great research offers. In order to add historical context to the feats of the long-distance cyclists the author has noted events such as the Suez Crisis, the increase of road speed limits from 4 to 14mph and the Aberfan tragedy of 1966. This adds to the overall flavour. The early pages cover, in chronological order, events that were held in the late 1800s. There is not much detail available for those early years, but what is there makes for good reading. Many of these early events were paced and held on velodromes, so, in 1896 John recounts the race between Rivierre and Huret paced by teams of quads (four-men machines) which set a new world record of 545.728 miles in 24 hours. Another long-distance race, the BordeauxParis was held and Rivierre was awarded first place alongside Britain's Arthur Linton. Two months later Linton was dead, an early victim, it is suspected, of doping amongst the pro classes. We learn that in 1897 the North Road CC 24-hour was back on the open road after a spell on a velodrome. There were eight riders and just two finishers (won by by Ernest
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After the war, the 24-hour road battles continued but, Taylor reports, in the 1920s the relationship with the police was fairly hostile. This resulted in members of the North Road CC being stopped in Eaton Socon, having their names and addresses taken and later being fined. These fines were paid for by their club. Apart from publishing full results from many national '24s' and other significant events, the book contains many such anecdotal stories that make this publication an absolute delight. Now that John has managed to write such a magnificent work on 24s, I would like to see similar volumes on 12s, 100s (dominated by our editor I have no doubt), 50s and even 25s. Now that would be interesting, but cycling historians of the talent and wit of John Taylor are rare to find, so John - it's down to you! The 24 Hour Story A complete history of the 24 hour cycle race 1882-1988 by John Taylor Published by: Btown Bikes Ltd, Unit 7, Lakeside Plaza, Bridgtown, Cannock WS11 0XE ISBN 978-0-9562023-1-4
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FRANKLY SUPERB! CTT’S scholarship snub fires up Franklin When the CTT scholarship panel of so-called experts recently announced their list of successful scholars for the up-coming season, there was public outcry at the omission of one name in particular … that of our infamous ex-pat in Thailand, Frankly Franklin. Undeterred by what many claim to be complete short-sightedness by ‘old farts who wouldn’t know talent if their tits hit them head-on’, Frankly Franklin proved beyond doubt, in the best possible way, that he has the form and pedigree to ’kick the best butts in the business’ by knocking spots of all-comers in his debut race of the season on the (in)continent.
PLANET X IN TOP SPOT TOO! Bike of the Year 1) Planet X Stealth 2) Cervélo P4 3) Cervélo P3C
Full details of where the race was, how far it was, who was riding, how much money changed hands during the jockeying for positions leading up to the sprint etc remains a closely guarded secret. Frankly remains adamant that the race was won fairly and squarely. “I’m retired for God’s sake and Testing Times doesn’t pay enough [doesn’t pay anything … Ed] to allow me to throw my money about. It’s all talent I tell you!” No doubt CTT’s old farts and Dave Rayner fund committee members will be monitoring Frankly’s future performances with interest. Testing Times will be there to report on anything dramatic … watch this space!
Last year’s winner – Testing Times is almost as pleased to be associated with Cervélo P3C Planet X as it is with Frankly time triallists currently riding Franklin after hearing its Stealths. Paul Davis, Debbie Knott, Stealth time trial / triathlon Tony Parks and the two Davids … bike topped the poll in 220 Clarke and Baker (ex-Quintana Triathlon magazine’s ‘Bike Roo) have all excelled over the years riding theirs. Even a certain of the Year 2010’ ratings. The news is unlikely to come as any great surprise to the many leading SEE MORE AT
Coyote Evans is believed to have ridden a frame which looked
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remarkably like a Stealth in Le Tour a few years ago. Scooping the ‘Bike of the Year’ prize for the second time, Planet X’s full carbon time trial machine left countless mega buck machines
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LYNNE TAYLOR It wasn’t going to take long for Lynne Taylor to really make the grade in national time trial competitions looking at her past history of road record breaking. At last, after several years of being ‘on the brink’ , Lynne has bridged the gap and is now one of the front runners of women's time trialling. Testing Times cornered Lynne to find out what changes she’s made to move up the important notch. The highlights of my long racing career, so far, started in the year 2000 by breaking the RRA mixed tandem ‘End to End’ record with Andy Wilkinson. This was followed by my own two solo records over the same route in 2001 and 2002, continuing for the 1,000 miles record for a time of 2days 16hours and 38mins. This was the icing on the cake. In 2007 I narrowly missed Christine Roberts’ 24 hour competition record by 2 miles and decided to put my long distance exploits on hold for the time being at least. That following winter of 2007 I was knocked off my bike twice by motorists and sustained a back injury, followed by broken ribs. Paul Histon, who had inspired and helped me in two of my ‘End to Ends’ and had pushed me to that 459 mile 24 hour, suggested that I gave up the long, cold, wet, dark hours of training on the road I had gladly endured for 20 years, and try a different approach, as I hadn’t even made the top 6 of the ladies B.A.R. in 2007. So, over what was left of that winter I tried to accept that training on a ‘turbo’ and getting used to a low tribar position would be my way of life from then on. At first I rebelled mainly through the boredom and the discomfort of trying to perfect a different style of riding, as up to that SEE MORE AT
Lynne seen during the 2009 National 25-miles championship. Photo courtesy of that very nice Sarah Brooke http://www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk/ … hers are so much better than Kimroy-Silks don’t you think? point I’d done no specific speed training, just using the club 10’s for this purpose. My dad John always said that upwards of 100 miles on a Sunday and 20 miles to work each way never did him any harm, but it was totally the wrong base for the high speeds required for just the 3 shortish distances of the ladies BBAR in comparison to the men's. My brother Mike, who owns and runs the family bike shop Bridgtown Cycles where I also happen to work, started to take my quest for speed more seriously and tried to make sure I had the correct environment to train in. I used a state of the art turbo at the shop, either before or after work and only used the roads to commute to work, or time trial on. I had to programme my mind to using the van to get to events instead of riding there, but I was determined to do it. Paul devised all of my turbo sessions so as to bring some variety to my training. He regularly travelled down the M6 from Runcorn to talk me through my sessions and make improvements to my position. By March I was starting to enjoy the pain of intense interval training and had got used to the ‘tuck’
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position with elbows just inches apart. I now had an aerodynamic time trial bike and a helmet to match. My first 4 events of 2008 all showed a time improvement over the corresponding events of the previous year and by the 4th May I’d turned in a 58-44 on the F1 followed six days later by a ‘pb’ of 55-50 on the A25/11. I now expected to beat the hour every time I rode a 25 and by the 21st June, the National 50 in Yorkshire had given me another ‘pb’ of 1-58-45. Things were definitely looking better, Paul was taking me to all of my races, and I warmed up on a turbo before every event just like all the other riders. In July I won a bronze medal in the National 100 and a week later rode a ‘pb’ 50mile with 1-56-31. Paul felt that my season was going very well and the change in training was paying off. He’d always felt that on the right day I could vastly improve my 12 hour of 251.51miles and so he took me to the ‘National’ where we had 3 hours of rain and then wind. At the end I’d missed a ‘pb’ by 0.4 of a mile! Ian Cammish won
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with 283 miles and we both earned a gold medal on another hard day. I just wanted a fast 100 to finish my season off and to try and move up to 2nd place in the BBAR, or even better, and so in September we took the road over the Pennines to ride the Yorkshire 100. It went well for the first 3 hours and I was onto a sub-4 hour ride and then the heavens opened. Torrential rain and poor visibility forced a slower last quarter and I finished with 4-0347. Just over 12 hours and 300 miles later I was in Wales riding a 25 on the Port Talbot course, but again windy conditions only allowed a 58-38 ride and despite another long journey to the same course two weeks later giving a 5658 ride, I failed get the ‘pb’ I needed and came 2nd in the Ladies BBAR. But, what a year, 36 events including three 100’s and a 12 hour. Could I keep this pressure up for the following year? Only time would tell.
My last two events were 25’s in Wales producing a 54-23 and a 5505, but despite all of my personal bests this year giving me a 1mph improvement over 2008, I had still been beaten by Julia Shaw.
Classic Andy Waters shot of two legends of long distance record breaking … Wilko and Taylor in a 50 on Boro’ during 2008
I was a little tired by this time at the end of September, but I think most of the tiredness came from travelling hundreds of miles to events at such unearthly hours. I also found it very expensive to stop overnight before an event, but I realised that this was the only way it could be done, such is the nature, the intensity and sometimes the fickleness of the women’s BBAR. Paul was obviously over the moon, all of the preparation and radical change of training methods had paid off. The winter went well and apart from regular turbo sessions throughout I also took to using a local gym twice a week for my upper body strength, as well as swimming twice a week with my mum, Liz. In March 2009, a training camp trip to Majorca with the lads from the Walsall RCC went very well and I came back feeling very positive and ready to race. The aim for 2009 was to ride the Nationals from 10miles to 100m. I opened my season in April and rode the Acme Wheelers 10 in 22-57 on the Saturday and a 25 next morning in a ‘pb’ 55-08. A clutch of ‘pb’s at 10 miles took my time down to 22mins by the beginning of May and my SEE MORE AT
25m times were consistently between 56 and 58 minutes. I came 5th in the National 10 missing bronze by 5secs whereas normally I would be struggling to get in the top ten and at the very end of May came my ‘pb’ 25 in 54-22 on a very hot day in Wales. The National 25 gave me probably one of my best results so far, a bronze medal in 58-01 and a week later a ‘pb’ 50 in the Shaftesbury event in 1-51-22, another hot day. I almost had to pinch myself to believe it was true, after all I hadn’t felt physically stressed when producing these rides, I had been told that if I trained properly these results would happen, and now they had. A bronze medal in the National 100 with 4-11 gave me close to what I needed for the BBAR but I still had over 2 months to improve my 25 and 100 mile times. Over the course of these next 7 weekends I rode another 4 hundreds in succession with 4-12, 42-48, 4-1-09 ‘pb’ and finally a 4-548. It would have been 5 hundreds but one was cancelled. My ‘pb’ 100 at Cirencester was made even more memorable afterwards by dashing over to Whitchurch to help ‘Wilko’ on his record-breaking 302mile 12 hour.
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Am I disappointed? Yes a little . Am I despondent? Certainly not, as I have now joined forces with 5 of the top lady riders in the BBAR, to form a ‘Born to Bike’ elite ladies’ squad to attack all of the team competition records from 10 miles to 12 hours. We all decided after riding on our own for the last few years just how good it would be to belong to a team. We spoke to each other before and after events and got on well, even though we were in direct competition with each other.
Born to Bike had its successful team launch in January 2010 and we are all itching to get going again. My physical testing and initial training has gone well and I’m already a month ahead of last year’s fitness results. I’ve been very cautious with all the snow and ice during a very long cold winter and once again I’ve grown accustomed to training indoors and trying to improve my technique some more. I owe most of my successes so far to Paul Histon’s positive thinking, driving force and support. I thank Gail, his wife, and Kimberley, his daughter, for letting me borrow him so often!
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Testing Times introduces … the world's comfiest saddle ... (cont’d from front page) …. and piles of worn out cycle shorts, chammies and Zoncolan SLR Kium Triple Action Muscle Booster U can't bend-it Carbonio Gel Flows, Hyde has admitted to years and years of discomfort caused as a result of his punishing training regime [yeah like … Ed]. At last, Hyde believes his prayers have been answered. He’s been able to discard
his tried and tested Dettol swabs and baby lotion now he’s found the ‘piece de resistance’ in cycling comfort … the world’s most comfiest saddle … that is … the Planet X recliner. Stocks are certain to be limited so if you’re seriously scarred in the scrotal region this one’s for you.
… and, possibly, Waresley’s fastest ever ‘shopper’ Competition in the sleepy little hamlet of Waresley, Bedfordshire is hotting up as Ian Cammish plans to strike back after Ryan Sturgess’ recent record breaking run between Manor Farm Road, Waresley and St Neots Tesco. Sturgess has been in phenomenal form, honing his fitness between his home in Waresley and his training camp in Bognor Regis. The latest figures were set during the summer when Sturgess was contacted by text SEE MORE AT
from his better half midway through the weekly shop as he was working his way from the freezer aisle towards the pharmacy department just in time to get ‘something extra for the weekend’. The fact that the record was broken on a return trip, with both panniers, packed to capacity, made Sturgess’ figures that more impressive.
realms of reasonableness is unlikely to effect the outcome. Meanwhile, Cammish has taken delivery of his latest hi-tech shopper (see photo above) cos ;-) he’s deadly serious about getting his record back and only the best will do.
The Village Committee has yet to verify the new record but claims by Cammish that Sturgess was ‘on a promise’ from his Mrs and was therefore stimulated beyond the
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WHAT’S YOUR TIPPLE? I like a Chateau Lafite … I also like a Penfolds Bin 707 … but which is better? The first in a new eagerly awaited series for the connoisseur of wines, beers and soft drinks. If you were a drink, which drink would you be … and why? Testing Times hasn’t gone to any expense whatsoever to secure the services of a former fa(s)tman from Hemel Hempstead who wishes to remain anonymous until the response to the series by those under the spotlight can be gauged … or a sponsor such as Oddbins or Threshers comes forward. So … it’s Cabernet Sauvignon time – the ‘Old World’ (introducing Ian Cammish) V the ‘New’ (Mr Phil Griffiths).
On the ‘Old World’ front, from France, we have the Chateau Lafite – it’s deep earthy and powerful and takes a decade or more to come to form … but lasts many more – massive power and long. Moderate alcohol, 1982 or 1983 would come to mind.
Ian ‘Chateau Lafite’ Cammish
Phil ‘Penfolds Bin 707’ Griffiths On the other hand, you might prefer a bit of ‘New World’ – from Australia – maybe Penfolds Bin 707? It’s got immediate style, high alcohol content and a loud, big punch, not as long as a Lafite and due to the alcohol content at 14.5% it leaves the taster flat on his back quite quickly ... SEE MORE AT
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… is titillated to toast Testing Times’ tipplers PAGE 7
WHERE (have all the tubulars gone?) with Michelin Training Tubulars, a whole 16oz of cotton and rubber for the princely sum of 24/8d (approximately £1-23p). Mounted on Constrictor rims I actually carried them to events on sprint carriers in case of punctures, a case of overkill of the first order!
Where have all the tubulars gone, long time passing, Where have all the tubulars gone, long time ago ... (with apologies to Pete Seeger,
Joan Baez, the Kingston Trio and everyone else who, despite not being Welsh, have sung the original song) Here we are in early 2010 (please say ‘twenty-ten’ and not ‘two thousand and ten’) and I’m perusing my shiny new handbook. This is the first I’ve had since 1989 and I must say that it has changed a bit. It is a larger format this year and a lot easier to read for us older types with lots of nice photos of my heroes (including Mr Cammish), some of them in Colour! However, this is not really what I’m going to blather on about this month. I’ve quickly scanned the lists of events picking out a few 10’s to comprise my rather limited season (quality not quantity) which led to considering what equipment I am going to ride. For Planet X ‘Old Skool’ events I have several suitable bikes plus a ‘modern’ TT bike (1998 Giant TCR which is Retro itself now) for events where I stand a chance of doing a fast time (fast for me that is). For all these I have an assortment of wheels but which tyres to use, tubulars or 700c? One thing led to another and I began to compare what I conceived as the current state of affairs surrounding tubulars with how it was when I was a lad. In those days, tubulars were the only racing choice since HP’s only existed in heavy 27” format. In preparing this comparison it is quite possible I may have made assumptions that are not strictly correct - but I’m sure someone will put me right!
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So, tubulars, tubolari, pneus/boyaux (never know which is correct!) or even that awful Americanism – ‘sew-ups’. The things that hold some of us to the road or rather ‘did’ owing to the advent of ‘clinchers’ (an almost equally awful Americanism). Having been the recipient of a new Triumph ‘Palm Beach’ sports cycle (I wanted a ‘racer’ but Mum wouldn’t let me have those dangerous dropped handlebars) I first began reading Cycling and Mopeds around 1956 after seeing it in Smiths. Anticipating the magazine would be interesting (well, more interesting than today’s miserable offering!) I bought a copy and discovered a whole world I’d never dreamed of. Indecipherable descriptions of things called 25’s, 50’s and 100’s of which I hadn’t the faintest idea, ridden by old men (after all, I was only 11), using such things as ‘No 2’s’. Interpreting the small ads in the back I surmised these were a form of tyre which was stuck to the rim. My first impression was that these were a ‘single use’ item as they looked so flimsy but I quickly realised that they were the secret to going fast – and the lighter they were, the better. Fast forward three years to my first tentative steps into time trialling – and my first pair of sprints, shod
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As I ‘progressed’ and acquired lighter wheels my tubulars also became lighter - and often manufactured by a brand that doesn’t exist nowadays. But which ones to buy? King Alf and co. used to have the lightest possible tyre (Silk Clement 3’s etc?) but, for guys like me, which were the best in terms of ‘bang for bucks’ as we’d say now? What was not wanted was for them to go ‘bang’! Common sense prevailed and something around 8 9 oz was normal for most time trial and road race events. Some tyres were labelled ‘Imperforable’ which should mean that they were unpuncturable but often didn’t! In practice they didn’t seem much better than ‘un-Imperforable’ ones. For training, a tyre around the 10-12 oz weight – or even heavier - sufficed with an old repaired race tyre as a ‘get-you-home’ spare strapped to the underside of your saddle wrapped in something waterproof. In the 50’s and 60’s this was often an ice-cream advertising banner (now but a distant memory) nicked from outside a corner shop but I, as a law abiding
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young man, used a washing-up liq- through old magazines from the 50’s uid bottle with the top and bottom to the 80’s there were loads of them cut off. such as: Britanica, D’Allesandro, Clement, Hutchinson, Pirelli, Radium, Canetti, Lion, Dourdoinge (which became Dugast), Barum, Kowalit, Dunlop, Continental, Wolber, Vittoria, Soyo, Jenatzy, Laswiss, Milremo, Constrictor, Fontana, Sup’air, Englebert, Zenith, Gommitalia, Worthy (from Holdsworthy Co.), CA (from Cleminson’s Agencies), Anquetil, Genestoux, Saturne. How many of these, such as the ‘own brand’ Worthy and CA models, were actually the same thing under a different brand name? There was much competition in the ads in Cycling, all promising the cheapest prices and it was worth trawling through to find the best offers. With all this competition there was probably very little margin to be made unless sold in large numbers and I certainly wasn’t going to make anyone very rich on my limited purchases.
One of the best tubulars I ever used was a Radium – which never wore out and didn’t puncture. Why they went out of production is a mystery, they were excellent. The main problem for a young lad was cost. Clement, D’Alessandro, Pirelli etc. were all quite expensive (several weeks pocket money!) – and then, thanks to the Eastern Bloc, came Kowalits and Barums and from Japan, Soyo’s. Here were reliable tyres affordable for the ‘average rider’ (ie. me!). I raced on these for several years (I first went ‘inside’ on a pair of Barums) until, at last, with a decent job, I could consider buying a pair of good tyres – but not too good as I also had a young family. The choice was extensive, so - which ones to buy that would guarantee a ‘personal’? Which gave the best ‘noise-to-performance’ ratio when inflated hard on a smooth DC at 6 o’clock on a calm Sunday morning? Which were fast but didn’t look too expensive when smuggled into the bike shed under the household authority’s eyes? I never really knew as I could never justify spending on such exotica as Clement 3’s or Vit- My initial impression when starting toria Cronometro CS Seta’s. to write this was that there were only a relatively small number of ranges This leads me to another point, what- available these days but trawling ever happened to many of the ranges through ‘t’intertweb’ I discov(several very extensive) that were ered more than I imagined. Mind available until – at least it seems to you, this includes several USA webme – quite recently? Looking sites and the items they advertise SEE MORE AT
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may not be readily available in the UK. Of those listed above, Vittoria, Continental, Hutchinson and Gommitalia are still around under their own name, Clement (owned by Pirelli?) are made in the Far East and called Challenge, the D’Allesandro name has appeared on some Thai made tyres and Schwalbe, Deda, Zipp, Panaracer, Veloflex, Tufo and Ritchey have entered the market. Are most of these now manufactured in the Far East, possibly in the same factory and branded as required? Are any still ‘Handmade in Italy’? Another problem with riding ‘tubs’ all the time was the possibility of frequent punctures. I once punctured every time I went out for over a week, something that just doesn’t happen these days with 700c ‘Clinchers’ (urgh!!). Mending ‘tubs’ is an acquired skill which became almost second nature in my youth. After exerting one’s self over 25 miles (plus the rides there and back) on a Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon was often spent mending the tattered remains of yet another ‘training tub’ or two. As I said, they were too expensive to be thrown away (or sent for repair) and the distorted carcases of old tyres kept on going for repair after repair when funds were low. Patches and strong thread were much cheaper! I understand that at least one current brand of tyres is manufactured in such a way that they cannot be repaired. Is this progress? I know the idea is that they should be filled with a sealant ‘goo’ but if the puncture is large then this may not work and the tyre is rendered useless. At least with stitched-up ones there is a chance of repairing them. I think my ‘modern’ time trialling this season will be on 700C’s fitted with light tyres (acquired at bargain price from jumbles, old habits die hard!) and latex tubes. ‘Old Skool’ will be on ‘tubs’ as I have a selection of wheels shod with what would once have been regarded as ‘training tyres’ but now I consider them to be ‘sensible’ tyres. For ‘special’ OS events (ie the ‘Championship!) I may get out the LF Records on GP4 28’s and fit my carefully preserved Vittoria Crono Seta Extras. At least I only paid a fiver each for them!
Paul Gittins
Testing Times’ Inbox (aka the Letters page … or aka the Lettuce page) My First Time Trial Dear Experts I am new to time trialling and have been reading Testing Times in the hope of gaining some insight into how to time trial quickly. So far I have ridden only one event. I was expecting a ‘dragstrip’ because that is what people tell me you ride on, but this went straight up a hill for 1,169 yards and then stopped. Looking at the pictures of time triallists in your magazine, I noticed that they had huge cogs at the front and little ones at the back. So, in view of that visual information, I carefully prepared my bike for my first ever ‘test’ and acquired (thanks to ebay) a 58 tooth chainring and a straight through set of cogs at the back. I wanted to outsmart the other testers that I thought I would be up against, so I re-engineered my rear cogs and managed to get a 9speed combination as follows: 12-12-12-12-12-12-1212-14. The fourteen was exclusively for the warm down on my way back to the tea rooms. However, I did not realise that time trials just went straight up a hill and didn’t come down again. When I set off, complete with a 5-litre Camelback juice dispenser, a fist of bananas and a pocketful of nutrition bars (as advised by your rival publication), I thought I was just facing a slight bump in the drag strip, but the road just went up and up and up. After 200 yards I climbed off and walked and many riders came past me. Eventually, I reached the timekeeper, passed him and then went back to see my time. He told me to stop looking over his shoulder and sent me back down the hill! Cheek! So I went to the pusheroff, complained loudly and demanded a new start coming back the other way as it was quicker coming down. He said ‘No Way’ (rather like that girl a few years back on X Factor) and despatched me to the tea rooms. SEE MORE AT
Here I learnt of my time which they had organised in the finishing order due to some bright IT person who had used a Power Point presentation complete with a projector. When I looked for my name it was not near the top of the list as I had first expected when I left home. Rather it was at or near the bottom. After walking the course I knew I would not win, but I was gobsmacked that I did not come last. Behind me were 7 riders with ‘DNS’ next to their name and a further two with ‘DNF’. I went home delighted with not finishing last but totally bemused about why such a steep hill should be used for dragstrip time trialling.
I hope that in further issues of Testing Times you can explain more about how to time trial, what the protocol is, how to set up the gears and why the pusher-off doesn’t actually push. A Novice, Bramley Apple CC ●Thank you for your interesting letter. I think you may have entered a hill climb, rather than a dragstrip event. Time trials are held on many different types of courses. Sometimes they are flat and fast, sometimes they are flat and slow, sometimes they are hilly but fast and sometimes they are hilly and slow. They can be long or short or even of medium length. They can go out and home (also known as out and back, not to be confused with outback) and they can go around a circuit. Sometimes they go round a circuit once and sometimes twice or even three times. They can be events in which the fastest time is counted over a set distance or the furthest distance over a set time. In fact it is quite a simple sport and the CTT has many leaflets and a 450page encyclopaedia which will explain more. Good luck for your 2010 season – and if you have no further use for that 9-speed block, I believe that our esteemed editor, a certain Hamish Immish has been looking for one just like that.
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What a chancer! Dear Ian I have been writing, without pay, free Planet X goodies or New Year Honours, for your magazine for the past umpteen months. I like the fact that you are appreciative of your authors but how about your readers? Are they appreciative? I have only been doing this to earn the praise, well wishes and to raise myself-esteem amongst cyclists everywhere. After all, as a cyclist I have been a total failure – I once managed to get under the hour for a 10, that’s how bad it’s been. But I haven’t heard one word. Not a word of praise, not a comment about how nicely my pieces read, not a hoot of laughter – not even a tittle. My clubmates don’t even know I do this, so I have to advertise myself around the club’s website and ask people to read the stuff. Perhaps they can’t read. Whether they do or not, I’ll never know, as nobody ever says a word. However, I love Testing Times and I love the involvement as I live 6,000 miles away from my favourite K33/10 course …. [continued on page 96 – Ed] Frankly Franklin, A5 Rangers CC, Chiang Mai ●There was this joke which went something like this: Patient: “Doctor, doctor, everyone keeps ignoring me!” Doctor: “Next please!”
ADVERTISEMENT (donated f.o.c. by Testing Times … because we’ve got no morals or scruples and don’t mind biting the hand that feeds us … whatever that means)
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR VEGETABLES Veg’s of the world unite! What have lettuces got that we haven’t? We’re as green as them! We want a Testing Times veg page.
2010 PLANET X OLD SKOOL SERIES … about to take off Legends were made … others were battered into submission … during the highly unsuccessful and over-rated 2009 Old Skool Series. The inaugural competition had such an impact on the international time trial circuit that its sponsors, Planet X, have decided to throw more SEE MORE AT
money to the wind and sponsor another series during 2010. No doubt, those befitting from the splendid prizes handed out last season will be returning from their holiday homes in the Caribbean for more of the same in the hope that they can follow in the foot-steps of the great ‘Power’ Parkinson. The overall winner of the 2009 series has decided to forgo any ambitions he might have had to
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return to hosting his own highly successful chat-shows and is also quite prepared to turn his back on the future World Darts Series in favour of ‘raking it in by kicking the spit out of knock-kneed knackered old has-beens’ in the Old Skool series which kicks off on Good Friday on the superfast V718 course at Hull. The first event is once again being promoted by City Road Club Hull, and it’s organiser, Lord Geoff of Backshall, has assured the readers of Testing Times, that any ‘knock kneed knackered old hasbeen’ that enters ‘old skool’ will be guaranteed a ride. Entries close VERY shortly … if they haven’t already done so. Be there … AND be square!
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DUDE ‘MASHER’ MARSLAND … PART TWO Beware all ye who enter here ... Part two of Dude ‘Masher’ Marsland’s insight into the dark secrets of turbo training. So you’ve set your turbo up, and against Dude ‘Masher’s former coach Dae Floyd’s better judgement you’re now going to stay off icy roads, away from drunken motorists on their mobiles and train where you can be seen without the need for dayglow jackets and 1 million megalumen lightsets (Dae isn’t a turbo advocate BTW … “miles, miles and more miles” is his motto). To begin with we will do 2x20 minute sessions at 80-85% of your FTP/ S* with 5 minute rolling recovery between sets and decreasing recovery time by a minute each week. We do 2 of these sessions with 2 days recovery between them and then a longer session at the weekend of 6090min with a 30 min tempo block in the middle each week. We will increase the endurance part and the tempo block by 5 minutes each week topping out at 3 hours total unless you are targeting much longer events or races. Always back off the overall workload in the 4th week before we re-test in that week, or the next, to see how much effect the overload from that block has had on our 20minCP/S**. We then re set our zones and off we go again! I will prescribe this type of work SEE MORE AT
for 12 weeks, sometimes 16 to a complete novice or someone who is starting from scratch, before we move into our ‘build phase’ where things get considerably harder and because of this shorter. You can’t have maximum intensity and immensity in the same equation I say! Lol! I also like to experiment and mix things up a little to keep everyone highly motivated and stop them getting stale. So during the ‘Base’ phase outlined above we will mix the sessions up with 3x10’s 4x10’s 4x8’s and 8x5’s all with anything from 1 min to 3 min recovery between sets and at 90-105% of FTP/S. I place a lot of emphasis on recovery which is where all adaptation and progression is realized, so its important to nail every session remaining fresh and highly motivated. If you are not recovered enough and the numbers aren’t there, just climb off and chill, or have a recovery spin for 20-40 minutes. This is your body’s way of telling you it needs more time or you are not fuelled properly so you will need to address these issues to keep progressing from week to week. Make sure you fuel well for all turbo sessions with at least 75g carbs with electrolytes. Also add 15g protein per 750ml bottle as it will help you recover better and help slow down the absorption of carbs during this type of session. With no air to cool us on the turbo we sweat much more than normal, so a big fan (I have 2!) is a must to keep your body’s core temperature down and stop you from overheating. Have 3 to 4 gulps between intervals and always make sure you are well hydrated with at least 500ml of fluid
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before starting a session. Following the same kind of principles above normally elicits an average gain of 40-50 watts across the board for the athletes I work with, 30w being the least and 100w the most! Obviously I am prescribing and monitoring their progress on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. I analyze their power files and adjust things individually to dial each session into their own unique level and around their busy work/life/family commitments. I always teach them as much as I can as it is important they understand where they are going, where they are right now and what the aim of each session/phase is also re- testing on a regular basis, so they can see the sessions and phases are working as, they have already hit 2-3 personal bests on the turbo through the winter which inspires confidence and fuels motivation for more! I tell my troops “There’s no such thing as luck, just good preparation”. So scrape the dust off your turbo, find out where you are at right now, set your zones and go slap 30-40w on your 20min CP/S and FTP/S. By doing this you will emerge in the
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spring with the condition to support the shorter more intense intervals in the build phase, which, if you enjoyed this article we will cover in the next instalment. Train hard and rest harder, dudes, and a happy and successful 2010 to all of you. Coach Mash (Mark Marsland) A little about Masher (by Masher himself): I am 45 years old and have been bike •
racing for six years. I broke the hour for the first time in 2008 and have since brought that down to 55-01. My first 10 was 27-30 and my PB now is 21-26. I have excelled at national level at sprinting and American football and was a contender on the Gladiators program way back when Wolf was the man! I am a part time ABCC level 3 coach and have been coaching for 3 years with 100% success across a wide range of individuals from novice to national standard and a wide age group from 20 to 60 years old.
Coaching is not my full time vocation but a hobby I enjoy immensely as I turn a rider’s season and motivation around and watch them fly! I am currently fully booked for the 2010 season. My website is:
www.velocitycoaching.co.uk More from ‘Masher’ in future issues … maybe! *FTP/S: Functional Threshold Power / Speed. **CP/S:Critical Power / Speed
CYCLING WEEKLY ‘ABANDONS THE BRITISH CLUB CYCLIST’ … it must be true … it says so on Wikipedia (or it did until they saw this!)
SEE MORE AT
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DISAPPEARING STEALTHIEST - EVER STEALTH MYSTERY … ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG? The scale of Planet X’s disappearing stealthiest-ever Stealth mystery appears to be far greater than was A stealthiest-ever Stealth originally thought (see report seen in Thailand (right) in February's Testing Times). Further sightings have been reported, not just in Hyde’s hometown of Hydesville, Kent, but much further afield. Testing Times’ correspondent in Thailand, Frankly Franklin, managed to capture More evidence of evidence on his box brownie stealthiest-ever (top right) to confirm that Stealths seen in things were much, much competition worse than was originally suggested. A select number of Planet X’s directors, advisers and hangers-on recently travelled down to West Kent Constabulary HQ to claim what they believed was their rightful property. As he left the premises, Dave Loughran, Planet X head-honcho, said he was flabbergasted by the amount of stealthiest-ever Stealths he’d just seen neatly stacked up in one of the Police HQ cells (see photo bottom right). Although rumours are being circulated to suggest that the Force were reluctant to release the bikes to Loughran on the basis that no frame ID numbers could be located and / or confirmed, certain sectors of the cycling community are putting Hundreds of stealthiest-ever Stealths neatly forward the argument that this may stacked up in a Police cell just be a ploy to keep the stealthiestever Stealth under wraps and that they were in fact upon Loughran’s person when they come to hand. Testing Planet X are up to something, readers as he left the building. Further Times has no morals or scruples and of Testing Times will be the first to updates will be made available as and owes nobody nowt. If Loughran and know. ;-) SEE MORE AT
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GAMBLING ON … a case Mick Gambling contributed around 5000 articles, race reports, interviews etc for Cycling Weekly, formerly Cycling. They encompassed a 40-year period, 1965-2004 and half that period, to 1985, included light-hearted pieces. Many were topical for the period, although some are still relevant to the present time. A taste of these will be produced on a regular basis. Mick is alive and well pedalling away in Norfolk. At the Old Bailey today, before Mr Justice Grunt, the case for the defence was heard in the sensational trial of Brian Tadman, a professional cyclist of repute. He was before the court on a charge of unlawfully failing to comply with traffic lights, in contravention of the Road Traffic Act, 1962—(Bicycles). There were many dramatic exchanges between Court and defending counsel, Sir George Getoff. The Court: This is a particularly serious crime, as all those attributable to cyclists must be, for they could easily impair the free passage of motor cars. Sir George, please present your case for the defence, if there can possibly be one. Sir George: It is hoped the court is not pre-judging this case, my Lord, nor giving priority to the fourwheeled vehicle over the bicycle. The incident happened during the 270 mile London to Holyhead road race. Mr Tadman, an enthusiastic traveller or representative for Sun-Huret, sprinted away from the start shouting “Let’s go!” Such was his speed that no competitor could ride with him and soon he was out of sight. Tirelessly he crossed England and Wales and at the Menai Bridge was some ten minutes ahead of the other entrants. However, with the finish only one mile away he came upon a set of traffic lights and it was here the alleged crime occurred. SEE MORE AT
When my client arrived at the signals they were red. Although close to victory he observed the law and stopped. After a few seconds he dismounted and took his machine across the road. He was apprehended by Police Constable Pinch, the prosecution witness, whose testimony you have heard. The struggle referred to was when Mr Tadman inadvertently and unfortunately caught the Constable in the stomach with his pedal. The handlebars then swivelled, catching PC Pinch by the neck and pinning his head to the crossbar. This was a pure accident and it is felt the Law used unnecessary force to restrain the defendant, who is of a frail physique. He was not trying to escape, anyway. When the rest of the cyclists passed, PC Pinch was sitting on Mr Tadman’s head and whistling for reinforcements. The Court: Yes, yes. The charge against the prisoner for assaulting a police officer has been dropped. We are dealing with the more serious one of the traffic lights. While you are performing your duties very well, Sir George, would all this not have come better from the prisoner? Sir George: It is not my intention to put my client in the box. The Court: Why not? Sir George: Because he is too short to see over the top. Also, following his traumatic experience with PC Pinch, he has given me instructions to claim damages for wrongful arrest, assault, defamation of character, nervous tension, pain and suffering loss of winnings, missing glory and the cost of twenty cigarettes which were crushed in the hip pocket of his shorts. Altogether, the reasonable sum of £5,000. The Court: That is another action and of no interest to this court. It is clear the prisoner, by his own admission, crossed the red traffic lights. Sir George: My Lord, this is a cycle and not a motor vehicle. The Court: I am surprised that learned counsel is defending on those grounds. A vehicle is defined as a carriage, automobile or other structure
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used for transport. This includes cycles. Sir George: Yes, my Lord, it is also true that he term ‘vehicle’ includes sedan chairs, stretchers and palanquins. The Court: What is a palanquin? Sir George: A vehicle. The Court: Please proceed. Anyway, the 1962 Act referred specifically to bicycles. Sir George: In this instance my client was not riding the machine. The Court: Possibly, but it is still a bicycle. In the same way, a car owner can be prosecuted for illegal parking. Sir George: With respect, my Lord, the chain came off as my client dismounted and it could not be effective as a cycle. The Court: Neither can a motor car with engine trouble. It would still be an offense to push it over red lights. Sir George: My Lord, there are further circumstances for consideration. My client was suffering from a disability caused by dismounting quickly. Medical evidence will support what I have said. Call Dr Push. Dr Push: I examined the prisoner shortly after his arrest and would say his was a classic example of spasmodic seizures and paroxysms in the lower left leg. The Court: What is that? Dr Push: Cramp! There were also strands of navy-blue material between his teeth - from the policeman’s trousers. In addition, there were indications of extovertis showmanshiptus but this is probably a long-standing complaint. Sir George: Thank you Dr Push. In concluding the defence, my Lord, we suggest that a pedal cycle is not a vehicle where the chain is removed and the owner prevented from riding by cramp. His action in walking across the red lights was no different from that of any pedestrian for he carried his cycle - it was no more than a metal parcel. The Court: Oh dear, I direct that the court be dismissed. Brian Tadman: Let’s go!
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WOMEN’S TIME TRIALLING … looking good for 2010 Born2Bike, Cult Racing, PB Science and Orbea - For Goodness Shakes are four exciting new names in women’s teams, joining a3crg, Chelmer CC, London Dynamos and Essex Roads CC among others. Sue Fenwick chats to the teams to find out what they’re about. Male time triallists can largely take for granted the ability to chat with a same–sex team mate over a cuppa at the HQ after an event, something which women time triallists can’t do as they’re usually the only woman from their club or even the only female entrant. Being that female is a lonely position, team camaradie adds so much more to time trialling, whether competing at national or local level. I’ve made the jump this year, from lonesome club female to a women’s team member, so thought I’d find out more about the other women’s set-ups for you. Each has a very different base.
Roberts all give fantastic support. Paul, supported by his wife Gail, has travelled with Lynne “to 99%” of her events over the past five years. Like Lynne and her father John, he comes from a long distance tt/record breaking background, being involved with the Mersey 24hr for 13 years. “My first experiences of helping a rider was with Andy Wilkinson in 1996 when he broke records and won a record-breaking BBAR. I’ve supported Andy and Lynne with 24hr / 12hr racing including Andy’s team when he broke and rebroke the 12hr record, also the end-to-end on tandem and solos, breaking records both times. “ Sponsors are an important part of the team: Bridgtown Cycles in Cannock, run by Mike Taylor, where Lynne works, providing team kit and cycles, NT-tele.com, a telecoms company run by Andy Robinson, “a true cycling nut” and Hydrop, a Legionnaires disease consultancy run by Mike Kuomi “another cycling nut who always wanted his company name on a jersey!”
B2B may not have a clean sweep of the medal table though. Helen Carter is known as a top class rider who rode for Science in Sport between 2002-2008 with top-five positions in national championships, 7 team national golds and a frustrating 4th four-years-in-a-row in the Rudy Project series. She is one of a new and fast-growing breed of sports physiologists, finishing her PhD in 1998 at Brighton University, then staying on as a researcher and taking her focus to applied use of her education for coaching riders in various clubs. “I started PBScience within the Uni in 2007, then created a spinout company last October.” Unsurprisingly, her protégées were very keen to ride for their coach’s new team and include Lesley-Ann Walker, Sara Blackburn, Juliette Clark and Danuta Tinn. “I thought the formation of a team was a good idea, something I was looking to do in the longterm for marketing, but
BornToBike is the women’s team everyone is talking about. Featuring top BBAR cyclists Lynne Taylor, Avril Swan, Carole Gandy, Clare Ella, Claire Lee and Claire Day. Paul Histon is team manager and Lynne’s coach. He, Mike Taylor (Lynne’s brother) and some of the existing men’s B2B team’s sponsors wanted to see more ladies’ teams and build a club/team structure that could bring together novice riders and help them develop into racing cyclists across the spectrum. The women’s team members have impressive pedigrees and obviously BBAR and National Championships are their aims. Running a team takes a lot of effort as Paul points out Lynne’s parents John & Liz, and Alan and Christine SEE MORE AT
BornToBike strutting its / their stuff
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when a couple of riders I coached approached me to ride under the PBScience banner I thought ‘why not now?’ I was very fortunate in my own riding career having a great bunch of team mates – we were serious about our riding in SIS but the emphasis was always on fun.” Helen wants the same for PBScience: “a group of riders who all love riding their bikes, and inspire each other to greater levels.” “Team membership is restricted to athletes working within PBScience: I want the riders to take this team where they want it to go. We have a team manager Vicki Boyle and her role is to facilitate that while I focus on my coaching business. It’s good for a team to have aims but I personally don’t think it has to be at the expense of individual’s wishes. We will naturally head for the nationals but also some TTTing, and aim to be more competitive in 2011. It’s fantastic to see the numbers of [ladies’] teams with serious aims. It will make for some exciting racing this year.” Orbea-For Goodness Shakes has Olympic and international aims on the road and track but with some UK timetrialling too. Rennie Stirling, a mainstay of the Redbridge CC team in the 1980s and now head of Orbea UK, is behind the team and Steve Charles is team manager. The team’s strength is in track cycling with their headline rider being Beijing 2008 individual pursuit gold winner Rebecca Romero, who with the Olympic pursuit event being dropped, has set her sight on the Olympic time trial event in 2012. Supporting her are World Track Masters 500tt record holder Janet Birkmyre, National Women’s Track Omnium Series 2nd-placed Cassie Gledhill, Eastern Region Grasstrack Champion Caroline Wojcik-Gammell and Emilie Fisher, an experienced time-triallist with 7th in the Rudy Project series who’s also handy on track. And so to Cult Racing, set up by Paul Prince and Salim Abuteir who run the Cult Racing bike shop in Solihull. Their men’s team, launched in September 2009, have had a SEE MORE AT
Part of Helen Carter’s PB Science team preparing for the coming season in Majorca phenomenal first few months in cyclocross and are now looking ahead to a summer of road, track and time trialling. “Dane Percival got the first Cult win just days after the team launched, then Jamie Harris won the National U23 CX, Tom Payton the U23 Three Peaks and U23 National Trophy. Throw in multiple National Trophy podiums, we’ve had an unbelievable first season. Moving to summer we have a 2-tier men’s team, majority are 2nd/3rd cats in local races. We also have some top riders such as Josh Papworth, Youth Olympic champion, who, after winning the National Youth CycloCross and National Trophy series, is aiming for Junior TT Worlds and is a real Olympic prospect. Dan Booth is probably our best senior rider, riding with Jamie Harris, Ben Roach, and some Premier Calendar events with Dane Percival.” Yet the team was born out of an idea to advertise the shop, Paul said “we were big fans of Rock Racing and decided to have separate men’s and women’s kit for sale in the shop. The kit design shows that influence, blue
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for boys, pink for girls, but due to the euro and an accidental overorder, we ended up with a lot of surplus kit, mainly pink!” Setting up a women’s team was one way of shifting that kit and local rider and Rudy Project series winner Michelle King quickly pledged her support for a Cult Racing women’s team which Paul says “was a bit of a coup”. The idea of a small team of 3 became 6 after I advertised for riders and got some good feedback as I believe numbers of people at an event can have a bigger impact visually. Finally last week I drew the line and took on our 9th rider.” Joining Michelle are fellow Rudy Project expert Jane Kilmartin, up-and-coming riders Vicky Fleming, Natalie Gower, Nadine Mayhew, Cath Weiss, Debbie Knott and Sam Lea, with me as the oldtimer. How many people know that Sam, who many of you know as the red-stilettoed glamourpuss in the TT calendar, in “real life” is a fireman? a3crg are a club run as a team in
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Turner, 2009 Midland Women’s TT series winner and Tracey Corbett complete the team, who aim to field teams at the nationals. Don’t discount the Essex Roads CC ladies: Lea Marsh, Gwen Cook and Giselle Devlin, only competing locally so far but racking up excellent results in solo and tandem events.
David Collard-Berry (he’s the one on the right if there’s any doubt) with some of the a3crg women’s team both the men’s and women’s areas. The men won the 50 team trophy in 2006. David Collard-Berry, team director, says the women’s team seriously started when “Maggie Duganski, Kaaren May & Johanna Lovell came 2nd in the Trio Normand, a 3-up TTT at Lillebone, racing against that year’s French U23 national champion. From that moment Paddy (Brennan) and I knew we’d have to look at the women’s team more seriously. We employed the services of Helen Carter as coach and went into the 2008 season with a more structured approach. In 2009 we won the National 10 and 25 TT awards with Sally St Leger, Lesley Walkling and Danuta Tinn. Sally and Lesley also gained Wessex (VTTA) age awards while Louise Burman retained her national The League International Championship. Rachel Morris won road and timetrial in hand cycling but because of a sudden rule change was unable to defend her world title in Italy. For 2010 a3crg are 10-strong with the above three plus Danni Archer, Claire Bather, Sara Dias-Ayton, Jo Edson, Ali Ford, Jacqui Neave, Linda Stocks. “Our aims are to build and strengthen our team for an assault in 2011. The main aim will be the Duo Normand where we entered four women’s and four men’s teams last year.” SEE MORE AT
a3crg have no sponsors but receive help from SIS and Planet-X. David added “We promote events and everyone is involved (there is no opt out) as without events there would be no races. Many clubs get bogged down in committee; we avoid this by removing the democracy! However as we are all ‘race-fixed’, we understand one another’s concerns and help and support each other, all the riders are fixed on the “team win”. London Dynamos are the dark horses, featuring promising rider Jenny Lloyd-Jones who is coached by her partner Rich Simmonds. Jenny is hungry for racing after time out for the birth of their second child last year. Rebecca kept the Dynamos’ flag flying through 2009 with a fantastic 2.00.38 for her first-ever 50, equal to Jenny’s PB. Rebecca also finished 3rd to Julia Shaw and Ruth Eyles (Rebecca’s coach) at Blenheim, and in her first open event of 2010, the Kingston Wheelers 14, she took a minute off the ladies’ course record. Rachel
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Or what about the Chelmer CC ladies? They are Corinna Frances, Charlotte Hornett, Annie Shuttleworth and their role model Sue Gray, former BBAR. They just missed out on winning the Antelope 3-up in 2009. Sue tells everyone she’s hung her wheels up but I don’t believe her for one minute! The women’s time trialling scene is looking the healthiest it’s looked for years with these and more clubs and teams out there. However, to finish on a deadly serious note, only two teams contain TT Calendar modelsthree each for BornToBike (Avril, Claire and Clare) and Cult (Sam, Cath and me) so I reckon that gives us the edge!
Sue Fenwick
Cult Racing at a recent pre-season team get-together PAGE 18
TALLY HO … Chocks away! The first classic event of the season, the North Road Hardriders ‘25’, was held on Photos courtesy 28 February around a hilly of David Jones circuit in the lanes to the (Top to bottom) north-east of Potters Bar. Botteril, White The dire weather which was and Perkins forecast did not materialise but the threat of high winds and rain deterred a third of the field from starting [whimps]. Nevertheless, the claim to fifteen minutes of fame by £350 first prize on offer was getting carted off to hospital with enough to entice 34 riders to hypothermia (despite wearing face the time keeper [I bet!]. several layers of thermals and Conditions were far from perfect. The roads were awash and indeed flooded on the Lower Hatfield Road. Several riders chose to ride mountain or standard road bikes whilst others were equipped with mudguards and racing capes. Matthew Bottrill showed the field a clean pair of wheels with his 59.30 which was two minutes clear of the next rider Jason White. Botteril was a picture of concentration as he ascended Essendon Hill in the saddle, not even bothering to change down to the inner chainring. White, with his1.01.34 had just 12 seconds in hand over James Perkins, 1.01.46. With 3 riders in the top 9, Botteril, supported by Brett Harwood, 1.02.47, and junior Tom Lackerby, 1.05.12 (28 second improvement over 2009), ensured that I-ride.co.uk carried off the team prize. Sue Fenwick, sporting her new Cult Racing kit, took the ladies prize with a 1.21.03. It was hardly surprising that half a dozen riders punctured given the amount of debris washed out over the roads. Many riders were affected by the combination of cold and wet conditions. Tony May staked his SEE MORE AT
neoprene gloves). Fortunately he was released after a couple of hours. A hardman’s event indeed. Finger’s crossed the weather improves later in the season! Results 1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6. 7.
8. 9. 10.
Matt Botteril (i-ride.co.uk) 59:30 Jason White (www.cyclepremier-metaltek) 1:1:34 James Perkins (Zenith CC) 1:1:46 Richard Prebble (Motorpoint—Marshalls Pasdta RT) 1:1:49 Brett Harwood (i-ride.co.uk) 1:2:47 Jonathan Shubert (Verulum CC) 1:3:56 James Millard (www.cyclepremier-metaltek) 1:3:57 Darren Barclay (Arctic Premier RT) 1:4:43 Tom Lackerby (i-ride.co.uk) 1:5:12 Paul Lisher (Team Welwyn) 1:5:54
Team: i-ride.co.uk Fastest lady: Sue Fenwick (Cult Racing) 1:21:03
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NOB’S OFF … his rocker! And now … for something completely different!! From the land of camels and sand I’m now going to let you into my domain and show you what I get up to as Unit Head (posh title for Foreman) of the Wellhead shop, which is part of the Drilling Rig and Equipment Maintenance Division here in Abqaiq. Now you’re thinking what the F*** is a wellhead? Well the photo below gives you an idea
API 6A Monogram Program key factors for the techie types: • API Approved Quality Manual • Audited In-house Procedures • Full Documentation • Full Traceability • Quality produced wellhead Equipment • Customer Satisfaction – Yes we do get contented peeps. See! We do get to achieve things out here in the sand besides completing 50,000 posts on the Time Trialling Forum or even banned (one of my many claims to fame!). In 2009, our small operation saved US$8.5 million dollars. I have some good people working for me (attention boys …) a few of who are shown below…..now for the comments on the mess … :-)
For the historical record making bit, our shop is the only API certified (API 6A) in Saudi Aramco and its main purpose is to refurbish used valves, spools, trees, tubing hangers and casing spools under strict guidelines of API, resulting in a fully certified piece of equipment that is as good as that which you would get from an OEM. Gosh that was a mouthful! Get a load of our nice certificate which is our centre piece to show visitors that we follow an international quality standard just like the CTT rules and regs.
The shop is divided into certain zones for efficiency such as ‘disassembly’ and ‘assemble’ areas pictured above … I like it that way as I’m the Boss.
6”Gate Valve undergoing a 3000psi pressure test.
Pictured above right is our test console within its own control room away from the dangers of being exposed SEE MORE AT
WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM
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to equipment under pressure. We can pressure test up to 22,750 PSI which is a little more than your regular Veloflex Record.
Gosh! You caught me actually doing some work!! Some hardness checks being carried out on some round metal type ring thingy.
We now have a fully upgraded workshop with the recent addition of 5 new machines (2Each Lathes, 1 Each Vertical Mill, Shaping Machine & Radial Drill) so we can so we can get serious into making stuff lighter and modify any bike bits that are in need of loosing a few grams or need to go on a diet.
Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis
Team work is very much encouraged to ensure problems can be sorted out smoothly with all personnel getting involved ‌ much like you would before a 3-up.
Some of our finished products ready to go to happy customers with 20% discount.
We carry more items than Planet-X and we are responsible for some US$175M dollars worth of equipment in our small unit. How many Exocet frames would that get ya‌. ? SEE MORE AT
WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM
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