The Lewes Wanderer Editor
The Official Monthly Magazine of the Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club
Issue 256
Chris Martin
‘Probably the best Cycling Club in the World’
April 2012
www.leweswanderers.co.uk
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
wanderers@awesomeantix.co.uk
Page 1 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer What’s On - for Wanderers on and off the bike
Editorial - Tuesday 3rd April 2012 Well, the new race season is up and running and we have two star performers leading the pack. Peter Morris, hot off the blocks with a bit of road racing, followed by a second on the ESCA Hardriders and a win with Tom Glandfield in the ESCA Two-up. Whilst across the water, Jamie Lowden seems unstoppable on his local French road racing scene. Jamie will be bringing his French form home over Easter, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can decimate the local UK opposition. You can read about both lads and their exploits inside this slightly slimmer than normal edition of The Lewes Wanderer. CM Included Inside this Month’s Magazine • • • • • • • •
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Page ……………..
Editorial, News & What's On…………….....….………. Surrey League, New Standards…...………………...… Archive - looks at stuff from the 1950’s.....……………. Time Trial results & reports…………………….………. Middlemarkers & Classic League comp latest……….. Gallery - more photos from the Circuit of Laughton…. Gallery - ESCA Hardriders……………………………… Wanderers in Global Road Racing Action Part 1: French Racing - Jamie Lowden…………. Part 2: Letter to the Editor - Bob Evans……….... Part 3: Barcombe Road Race - Peter Morris…… Two different Club Run reports………..…………….… Tommasini Tecno Extra - Lawrence Watts………….. Back Page - Every picture tells a story!!..........…….... Plus one pull-out •
LWCC Summer Club Run Programme
Front Cover photos I had a bit of a panic this month over the cover photos. I’d left half the page for an anticipated couple of action pics from the ESCA Two-up. And then, with a day to go to publication I find that the event wasn’t photographed! Sorry about that - You’ll find an old (unpublished) shot of Pete & Tom taken on last year’s Evening Ten Two-up and a nice snap of a happy Rob taken at the recent ESCA Hardriders to fill the gaps. Shame about not getting any Two-up shots, as for me, they make some of the best action photos of the year. Top left: Peter Morris leading from the front on the recent ESCA Hardriders on Sunday 18th March - Photo: Lawrence Watts See page 5 for results & report and page 8 & 9 for more of Lawrence’s Hardrider photos Top right: Jamie Lowden in French Road Racing action See pages 10 & 11 for more on Jamie’s dominant performances across the Channel Middle right: Callum Middleton closes down his dad (Charlie) on the ESCA Hardriders - Photo: Lawrence Watts See page 6 to read about Charlie taking an early lead in this year’s Middlemarkers Competition Bottom left: An archive shot in celebration of Peter Morris
2 3 4 5 6 6 8 10 12 13 14 15 16
Club Run - Sunday 8th April - Start: 9:00am •
Arlington Tea Rooms
SCA Two-up 28.5 miles - Sunday 8th April •
Promoter: Dave Abbott - Entries closed: 27/03
Brighton Mitre (Hilly) 25 miles - Mon 9th April • •
Promoter: Robin Johnson - Entries closed: 27/03 Round 4 of our Classic League Competition
Club Run - Sunday 15th April - Start: 8:30am • • • • •
Start of Summer Club Runs Programme See Pullout in the middle of this mag for details Meet outside Boots, Uckfield. Note: Summer Club Runs start at 8:30am Ride out to Danehill then after to Heaven Farm
LWCC Circuit of Danehill - Sunday 15th April • • •
Promoter: Oliver Tuckley - 18.11 miles Entries to Adrian Hills - Entries Closed: 3/04 Round 3 of our Middlemarkers Competition
Next Waldron Pub Night - Tuesday 17th April • • •
The Star Inn, Waldron from 8:00pm New faces always welcome On a bike if you can, if not cars are ok!
ESCA 10 mile - Saturday 21st April • •
Promoter: Mark Winton - Entries close: 10/04 Round 4 of our Middlemarkers Competition
Club Run - Sunday 22nd April - Start: 8:30am •
Middle Farm, Firle
ESCA & Club 25 mile - Sunday 22nd April • • • • •
Promoter: Chris Chapman - Entries close: 10/04 LWCC 25 mile Championship Round 5 of our Classic League Competition Round 5 of our Middlemarkers Competition See page 6 for latest on Middlemarkers & CL
Club Run - Sunday 29th April - Start: 8:30am •
Petals for Plants, Broadoak
SCA 10 mile - Saturday 5th May •
Promoter: Mike Anton - Entries close: 24/04
and Tom Glandfield winning the ESCA Two-up on Sunday 1st April - Photo: Julie Owen - See results & report on
Club Run - Sunday 6th May - Start: 8:30am
page 6
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Bottom right: Rob Pelham heading off for No.2 pusher off duties on the ESCA Hardriders - Photo: Lawrence Watts
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Exceat Tea Rooms, Cuckmere
SCA 25 mile - Sunday 6th May • •
Promoter: Mike Anton - Entries close: 24/04 Round 6 of our Classic League Competition Page 2 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer •
Ask not what your club can do for you Ask what you can do for your club Summer Club Runs See pull-out in the middle of this mag. Also available as download from website & forum
Evening Tens - Start on Tuesday 8th May
Round 6 of our Middlemarkers Competition
Membership update Despite the best endeavours of Hugh Procter, myself and other members of the Committee, we say goodbye to 33 of our 2011 membership. They won’t be getting this mag. I’m sure as tradition dictates some will drift back when it suits them, or when they want to race etc. Our current paid-up membership is 119
Note: The maximum field for 2012 is only 30 for the four rounds in May (this is due to the time of the setting sun). So get there early, as it's first come first served. The maximum field size increases to 50 for the remaining eight rounds.
Our future with the Surrey League?
Summer Chain Gang - Wednesday Eve
We need to make a quick decision and if we are staying within the SL we will need to pick two events ASAP. We have the usual suspects, but would need to take around four people along to each event.
th
They kicked off again on Wednesday 28 March, same format as last year. Starts 18:00 at Golden Cross Pub car park. The sessions will go on for approx 60 - 90 mins. If you get there late ride around in the opposite direction & they'll soon pick you up. See the Forum for more info, or speak with Rob Pelham.
New Forum The old Blue Forum has been updated and replaced by the new Green Forum. You should have all received your new log-in details from Forum Administrator, Matt Coombs. Any problems, then give Matt a shout. It looks good, so get to work posting and remember, the bigger the community, the better the tool!
Good News Laurie Leaney has been given the all clear from his medical team and can now park up his electric bike and get back to pedalling. Can we expect a return to his 1996 form, when he did a 25 in 57:58? Photo: Laurie & Graham Seymour on the start ramp of the 1993 Duo Normand
Bad News New Wanderer, Yuriy Tymchenko was all set for the new season, when he had a bit of a fall and broke a collar bone. All the best and we look forward to seeing him back The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
The following has been posted on both Forums We have to run two events this year (probably at Dunsfold - home of the Top Gear test track) if we wish to remain a member of the Surrey League.
So Road Racers, what do you want? It's crunch time, do we have volunteers. Please post on the Forum and or speak to Peter Morris. If we have the numbers, then Mr Morris, Mr Hough, Mr Winton & myself will make it happen. If we don't have the numbers, then I will ask Mr Hough to let SL know that we can not maintain our membership. CM
The new Veteran Standards for 2012 There has been a lot of debate and some of it quite heated, about the introduction of the new standards for 2012. Every race HQ is abuzz with the older fellows bemoaning the change. And there is a lot of pressure to ditch the new standards. We will run Danehill using the current standards, but will then review our position. Alan Lloyd has written to our local VTTA group re his concerns and has done a lot of detailed work looking at the negative impact on the older rider. More next month. The table below was prepared by Ian Landless and it shows how the results for Laughton would have been under the old standards. The 2nd column lists the rider’s age, the 3rd column their + on the old standard, and the final column shows how they finished under the new standards. Alan Lloyd was the big looser, whilst Micky Turner was the biggest beneficiary. Circuit of Laughton Results based on 2011 Standards 1st A Lloyd 59 +3:12 4th nd 2 M Frost 43 +2:26 1st rd 3 C Martin 53 +2:15 3rd 4th A Stevens 55 +2:00 5th 5th O Tuckley 56 +1:56 6th th 6 M Turner 43 +1:43 2nd Page 3 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer out and racing soon. Photo: Yuriy at Awards Evening - LW
Don’t look back in anger!
Deep Archive has a look at stuff from the 1950’s
With the latest running of the ESCA Hardriders covered in this mag, here’s a report from 60 years ago on the 1952 event taken from the Sussex Express of 2/03/52.
Ten Cyclists Broke Course Record Time When the East Sussex Cycling Association opened their 1952 season with the annual 12-mile hard riders’ time trial on Sunday, 10 riders beat the course and event record of 36 minutes, previously held by F. Figgott, of the Tunbridge Wells Road Club. In an event favoured by a fine mild morning, with a stiff breeze helping riders over the harder parts of a hilly route through lanes and minor roads, first place was taken by 18-year-old B. Smith of Eastbourne Rovers, with a time of 34min 58sec. Second place was taken by last year’s winner, C. A. Pearson (Uckfield), with a time of 35min 8sec. Third place was taken by M. Kenward (Hastings and St. Leonards C. and A. C.), who recorded a time of 35min 2sec. The team award produced a close battle between the Uckfield and Eastbourne Clubs until A. Thorpe, of Uckfield, returned a time of 35min 30sec, to take fourth place and give Uckfield first team place with an aggregate of 1hr 47min 6sec. Other leading returns were: J. Dutson (Uckfield) 35min 38sec. Riders from Lewes Wanderers, although unable to achieve leading places, showed good early season form. A. Cornford was fastest with a time of 36min 45sec. J. Adams returned a time of 37min, D. Agg 38min 14sec, and R. Nye 43min 15sec.
Cyclist Ran With Machine, Came Second Taken from the Sussex Express 24/02/52 - Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club promoted their first open cycling race on Sunday over a downland course in the FirleAlfriston area. This event, which is known as a cyclocross, was the first event of its kind in Sussex.
In 1958, ESCA promoted a road race. Which, I believe remains their only ever road race promotion. I have taken the following from a Sussex Express report, unfortunately it is undated. Note: A Gale who finished third is none other than our own Audaxing legend, Tony Gale, who reports being a fresh faced 18 year old at the time! It was also a time when you could take a road race from Boship to Horam and do a right turn towards Marle Green.
Seven Riders Crash In Cycle Race This road race, the first ever promoted by the Association, received only seven entries short of the maximum allowed and proved that this type of event is popular in the district despite the early morning start. The event was run over four laps of a circuit – Hellingly, Boship roundabout, Horam, Marle Green and Grove Hill with the start and finish in New Road, Hellingly. The riders remained in a compact bunch until the last time up Grove Hill where seven riders where involved in a crash, without any serious injury to themselves. This broke the field up and several small groups were formed. With only half a mile to cover D. Patten made his big effort from the leading group and crossed the line an easy winner with D. Lock leading in a group of six riders. Points were awarded to the first three riders over the top of Lealands Hill and Grove Hill each lap and some of these primes were hotly disputed especially when D. Patten, R. Hayward and M. Robinson were concerned. No serious attempts to break away took place during the race mainly because the traffic lights at Lealands, if they were at red, could give the main field a chance to catch up again. 1st D. Patten, (Tunbridge Wells RC) 1hr 47min 55sec 2nd D. Lock (East Grinstead CC) 3rd A. Gale (Uckfield & District CC) Wanderers: 21st D. Agg; 22nd M. Carder.
Sussex riders gained the major honours, and the winner was A. Limbrey (Prestonville Nomads), who rode well to cover the nine miles of rough country in 1hr 47sec. P. Boseley (Lewes Wanderers) was only a third of a mile from the finish, and close behind Limbrey, when his rear wheel collapsed, twisting the frame. He shouldered his machine and ran the remaining distance, finishing second in 1hr 2min 17sec. D. Thompsett (Uckfield) battled his way round the course and finished third in 1hr 2min 42sec. C. L. Howe (Addiscombe) followed closely with a fine ride of 1hr 2min 53sec for fourth position. Of the 31 riders who started, 18 finished. The rest retired with punctures and mechanical troubles. Starting at Firle School, the course followed a lane to the top of the Downs, then turned left, passing over Firle Beacon, and went down a rough path almost to Alfriston. A muddy track under the hills brought the riders to Bo-Peep Farm and, turning left, climbed the gruelling Bo-Peep Bostal, at the top of which the first two riders won special prizes. A tricky descent to the track under the hills followed, and this eventually brought the riders to the finish at the back of Firle Church. Limbrey led the massed field almost from the start, and won the prime award at Bo-Peep Bostal, with C. L. Howe taking second place. Before luncheon at the Ram Inn, Firle, Mr H. C. Strudwick, vice president of the Lewes Club presented the awards in the absence through illness of the President (Mr. E. Jenner). Mr T. J. Boniface was time-keeper and Messrs. C. BartonTales, C. F. Turner and R. Humphrey were judges. The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine Page 4 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 5 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer Wanderers in Time Trial Racing Action •
Middlemarkers Competition Round 2
•
Classic League Competition Round 1
ESCA Hardriders 15.06* miles - Sun 18th March Pos 2nd 5th 8th 10th 11th 16th 19th 25th 30th 32nd 35th 39th 40th 41st 43rd 47th 50th 52nd 55th 56th
Name Time Peter Morris 34:38 Tom Glandfield 37:45 Nick Dwyer 38:02 Dan Gardner (J) 38:30 Mark Frost 38:40 Matt Coombs 39:46 Michael Valks 40:09 Callum Middleton (J) 41:31 Neil Midgley 42:28 Oliver Tuckley 42:57 Alan Lloyd 43:05 Richard Frost 44:25 Charlie Middleton 44:32 Chris Martin 44:42 David Beale 45:45 Doug Gardner 48:09 Paul Hanratty 52:11 Kaye Dwyer (L) 52:22 Simon Yates 55:22 Adrian Hills 67:01 Micky Turner DNF DNS Yuriy Tymchenko DNS Sholto Haggart Peter Tadros 1st 33:08 In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp Course: GS/895 - Entries: 61 - DNF: 1 - DNS: 4 * Due to road works the course was 1.2 miles short
As tradition dictates the ESCA season kicked off with the ubiquitous Hardriders event. Weather wise, Saturday had been grim, as can be evidenced by Peter Morris’s report on page 13 from the Barcombe Road Race. Fortunately, the weather took a turn for the better over night and although quite chilly before the off, there could be little complaints about the climactic conditions and the early sun even did its bit in drying most of the roads. Unfortunately, there were road works on the course, with temporary traffic lights. This meant, event promoter Peter Moon having to sort an extra pair of time keepers, so we could all grab a breather at Dallington before being pushed off by Rob Pelham for the final thrash home. A big thanks to Pete and his team for making it all happen so smoothly. With his tails of cramps from the previous day’s road race, I wonderer if Pete Morris would have given Mr Tadros a closer run for his money if he’d rested up and just focused on the Hardriders TT? This said, he still did a top ride for second place overall. Tom Glandfield was next up and must be pleased with getting one over on Nick. Dan Gardner flew round the technical course in style, placed in the top ten on GC and was a clear winner of the Junior prize. He took some big scalps, with Frosty (see back page for details of which one), Matt Coombs and new boy, Michael Valks all following in his wake. Mark Frost, Nick Dwyer & Oliver Tuckley all won the veteran awards for their age group. Kaye Dwyer won the first female award. Despite our good showing we were beaten for the team award by a strong In-Gear squad. Micky Turner had another unfortunate day, with a late start due to a puncture and a DNF due to another puncture! Micky, things can only get better. CM
Southboro & Dist Wh 10 miles - Sat 24th March Pos 56th
Name Time John Mankelow 26:56 Peter Tadros 1st 20:53 In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp Course: Q10/33 - Entries: 90 - DNF: 0 - DNS: 5
SCCU (Hilly) 25 miles - Sun 25th March Pos 8th 25th 26th 30th 37th 41st DNS DNS 1st
Name Peter Morris Micky Turner Colin Harris Neil Midgley Michael Valks Dominic Lowden Mark Frost Oliver Tuckley Yuriy Tymchenko Jerome Walters
Time 0:57:04 1:01:38 1:01:44 1:02:23 1:03:22 1:03:53 DNF
54:13 VC St Raphael Course: G25/44 - Starters: 98 - DNF: 8 - DNS: 12
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Classic League Competition Round 2 The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
See event photos from Lawrence Watts on the front cover and pages 8 & 9 - Photos of Mark and Richard Frost can be found on the back page. More photos from the event can be found at:
www.photoboxgallery.com/ESCA SCCU 25 Report - Some strong performance from the Wanderers, with Pete Morris putting in another top ride. It’s good to see Colin Harris back and racing and I’m sure it’ll only take a couple of events for him to get back to his old sub-hour speeds. Frosty - taken from the old Forum - Great ride Pete. I too found the unknown course a bit blowy to start with. Unfortunately punctured on the second lap at 25km, probably as far away from the HQ in both directions as you could get. Obviously I had my full Tubs repair kit and can of pit stop with me. NOT - so rode back on my rim, got very cold doing so. Oh well, that'll teach me to take the micky out of Micky last week. To top it all, went mountain biking this afternoon and got another puncture.
Tooting BC (Sporting) 21 miles - Sat 31st March Pos 19th
Name Time Oliver Tuckley 62:17 Rupert Burbidge 1st 51:16 In-Gear Quickvit Trainsharp Course: GS/334 - Entries: 38 - DNF: 1 - DNS: 5
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Classic League Competition Round 3
With Oliver our only entry, the pack missed a great chance to chase down Mr Morris in the Classic League. Page 6 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer
ESCA Two-up 23.92 miles - Sunday 1st April Pos 1st 3rd 4th
Name Peter Morris & Tom Glandfield Nick Dwyer & Rob Pelham Duncan Fuller & Phil Allen (Brighton
Time 53:10 53:48 55:48
Mitre)
11th 16th 22nd
Callum Middleton (J) & Dan Gardner (J) 61:02 Paul (Sussex Nomad) & Michael Valks 64:48 Helen (L) & Sarah (L) Dwyer 77:53 Solo Alan Lloyd & James Ryan 61:52 Solo Natasha Fuller (L) & Chris Martin 65:34 Solo John Mankelow & David Beale 68:52 Course: GS/839 - Entries: 25 Teams - Solo: 5 - DNS: 2
•
2012 Open Win No. 1
It was a chilly 1° when I arrived at the HQ, but on the positive side, it was dry, quite still, sunny and warming. Though, for all but the real hard boys it was still a day for arm warmers and full finger gloves.
Middlemarkers Competition Pos st
1 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th =8th =8th 10th 11th 12th 13th
After first two rounds Events Name 1 2 Charlie Middleton 09 18 David Beale 08 16 Doug Gardner 06 15 Richard Frost DNE 19 Simon Yates 04 12 Paul Hanratty DNS 14 Kaye Dwyer (L) DNS 13 Matt Townsend 11 DNE Adrian Hills 00 11 George Upex 10 DNE Martin Komen 07 DNE Stuart Anderson 04 DNE Horry Hemsley 01 DNE
Nick & Rob had been closely beaten (3 seconds) last year in this event by the East Grinstead pairing of Steve Denis & Alan McInnes, and despite Steve having been off the bike for a few weeks with a broken hand, it looked like it would be another close battle for top honours this year. This all changed as the East Grinstead pair were down as a DNS. So the main threat to our dynamic duo looked like coming form the Eastbourne Rovers top team of Iain Brogden & Matthew Woods. In the end, the threat came from within, with early season fast man Peter Morris and perennial strongman, Tom Glandfield upsetting the Dwyer/Pelham apple cart and taking a splendid victory, seven seconds ahead of the ERCC pairing. Nick & Rob rounded off the top three on GC Our top two Juniors worked well together and it was good to see the young Dwyer girls in matching pink trimmed LWCC kit. A huge sorry to Natasha, as I let the show down by packing at Golden Cross and in the process denied us back-to-back victories in the Mixed Team award. CM
Total 27 24 21 19 16 14 13 11 11 10 07 04 01
Qualifying events for 2012 Middlemarkers Comp 01) 04/03 - Circuit of Laughton - 12.46 miles - GS/836 02) 18/03 - ESCA Hardriders - 15.6 miles - GS/895 03) 15/04 - Circuit of Danehill - 18.11 miles - GS/891 04) 21/04 - ESCA 10 miles - G10/87 05) 22/04 - ESCA & Club 25 miles - G25/89 06) 06/05 - Sussex CA 25 miles - G25/93 07) 28/06 - Circuit of Earwig - 17.68 miles - GS/838 08) 15/09 - ESCA 10 miles - G10/87 09) 16/09 - ESCA 25 miles - G25/89 10) 30/09 - Circuit of Chailey - 17.58 miles - GS/888 Introduced in 2006, the Middlemarkers competition is open to riders who have not beaten 25 minutes for a Ten mile Time Trial or 1 hour 5 minutes for a 25 mile Time Trial in the past three seasons. The competition is decided on the same points scoring system as the Classic League (see right). With the added proviso, that in non-Club events only Wanderers score points - e.g. if you finish 40th in the ESCA Hardriders, but are the 13th best Wanderer you get 18 points. I hope that is clear, but if not, give me a shout. 2012: With his big score on the Hardriders, Charlie Middleton has taken an early lead, but with Danehill and The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Classic League Competition Pos st
1 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th =7th =7th 9th 10th 11th 12th
After first three rounds Events Name 1 2 Peter Morris 29 23 Tom Glandfield 26 DNE Nick Dwyer 23 DNE Dan Gardner 21 DNE Mark Frost 20 DNF Matt Coombs 15 DNE Michael Valks 12 00 Oliver Tuckley 00 DNS Callum Middleton 06 DNE Micky Turner DNF 06 Colin Harris DNE 05 Neil Midgley 01 01
3 DNE DNE DNE DNE DNE DNE DNE 12 DNE DNE DNE DNE
Total 52 26 23 21 20 15 12 12 06 06 05 02
Qualifying events for 2012 Classic League Comp 01) 18/03 - ESCA Hardriders - 15.6 miles - GS/895 02) 25/03 - Southern Counties CU (Sporting) - 25 miles 03) 31/03 - Tooting BC (Sporting) 21 miles - GS/334 04) 09/04 - Brighton Mitre (Hilly) - 25 miles - GS/999 05) 22/04 - ESCA 25 miles - G25/89 06) 06/05 - Sussex CA 25 miles - G25/93 07) 03/06 - Crawley Wheelers - 41.9 miles - GS/196 08) 01/07 - LWCC Open 30 miles - G30/88 09) 15/07 - ESCA & Club 50 miles - G50/90 10) 16/09 - ESCA 25 miles - G25/89 The Classic League competition was introduced in 1985 and is awarded on a points basis to the club member who has the best placings in a number of selected time trials on 'sporting' / 'hilly' courses. Points are scored for finishing in the top 30 in each event, i.e. a 1st place is worth 30 points; 2nd place is worth 29 points down to 1 point for 30th. Riders finishing outside the top 30 do not get any points. 2012: Peter Morris has got the jump on the field in his bid to retain the trophy. It’s disappointing to note that only Page 7 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer the ESCA double header on the horizon it’ll be interesting to see who enters and who handles the pressure.
Oliver Tuckley entered the third round, Tooting BC Hilly 21.
Steve Owles
Sholto Haggart
Matt Townsend
Charlie Middleton
Oliver (nice wheels) Tuckley
Martin Komen
Graham Jeffs
Circuit of Laughton Gallery - Part 2 By Lawrence Watts - See last month’s mag for more photos along with event report & results
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Stuart Anderson
Page 8 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer Doug Gardner
Tobin Aldrich
Dan Gardner
Father on up the road Callum Middleton closes in on his dad, Charlie Middleton Kaye Dwyer
Tom Glandfield
ESCA Hardriders Gallery By Lawrence Watts See page 5 for report & results
Adrian (happy) Hills
Below left: CM - Middle: David Beale Right: Alan Lloyd
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 9 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer
Matt CoombsNeil MIdgley
Nick Dwyer
Paul Hanratty
Simon Yates
Oliver Tuckley
Meanwhile back at the HQ Three of our prize winners collect their awards from event promoter, Peter Moon
Dan 1st Junior
Oliver Vet prize winner
A big hand for Kaye 1st Lady The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 10 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer Doug Gardner
Wanderers in Global Road Racing Action Part 1: French Racing - Jamie Lowden As I imagine most of you know, about two years ago I moved to Pau in the South of France since it offered me a job, skiing and lots of lovely cycling. One thing I didn’t find however was any racing. It turns out that racing in France is huge; you just need to know where to look. Unlike in the UK where all racing is organised by one federation, British Cycling, in France there is the Fédération Française de Cyclisme which organises some more serious events and national series and then several smaller, regional federations which organise hundreds of races but are difficult to find. So when I arrived in 2009 I took one look at the FFC website, saw there was only one race planned within a hundred miles of me in 2010 and sort of gave up on the idea of racing down here. Then at the end of last winter I found myself a club here in Pau, Vélo Club Pau, Béarn les Isards or VCPBI. It turns out that they are affiliated to a federation called UFOLEP (no idea what it stands for) which organises racing in the South-West of France and they were happy to invite me along on some winter club runs.
The club itself turned out to be a bit like LWCC really. There is a nice mix of serious racers, a few guys racing for fun and a few more Sunday-club-run riders. Most importantly though, there is a really relaxed and welcoming attitude, and a few guys who can speak English. So the racing season started here on the 26th of February with a race on a circuit around my office. I didn’t really know what was going on; I’d been given a 3 rd category license and been told to turn up at a bike shop ready to race. It turns out that in UFOLEP there are three levels, Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3. I’d been given a The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
between 60 and 70km on a 3km to 5km loop with a few intermediate sprint prizes. The thirds race first then the first and second categories race at the same time with the seconds finishing a lap earlier. So back to my first race… I’d been unable to ride my bike for a couple of weeks before due to work so the obvious thing to do was attack as soon as the race started. The other riders very nicely gave me one lap on my own then caught me fairly easily. I competed for and won the first couple of intermediate sprints then led out a team mate for the last two. The last 10km though I really noticed the lack of riding and the sprint efforts and was starting to cramp up. I lead out the sprint just to get out of the way really (a good idea: with 70 riders there was always going to be crashes) and finished towards the back as a teammate got sixth. Overall, it had the feel of a 3rd/4th cat race in the UK. My second race was on a hillier circuit of 4km with sixteen laps. The first 5 laps I stayed in the group while a couple of team mates tried to escape and then on the sixth lap I went off the front with another guy who realised he wasn't feeling it and soon dropped back leaving me 8 laps (I think) on my own. I wasn't given any info regarding the gap so I had to keep pushing, which was made harder by a mean wind picking up towards the end. My team mates controlled the peloton though and at the line I had a gap of
more than 90 seconds... if only someone had told me, I could have eased up a bit. This was the first time I’d ever won on my own and I think it gave me the confidence to attack in my next races… The following week (11th March) was a different sort of circuit. Only 3km long so 22laps to do, it was mostly flat with slight rise before the finish. A group of four went away early on and I wanted to go with them but my cassette lock ring was coming off so I had other things to think about. There were some of my teammates who were doing a later race hanging around the start/finish area and I managed to shout out in French that I needed a new wheel. One lap later I was riding on a lovely Mavic Cosmic Carbonne and Page 11 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer 3rd cat license because it was too much hassle moving my British Cycling points over. The races are normally
quickly back in the bunch. A lap to recover then I was back on the front trying to bring back the break that now
had about 45 seconds. Once I saw no one was interested in helping me, I went off the front again and managed to bridge in 3 laps. The break of 4 was surprised to see me, even more so when I went straight past, only taking two others with me. This was 12 laps from the end (I think) so we had some work to do. We rotated at the front nicely but the others were pretty much shot. With five to go I upped the pace a bit on the climb and only one other came with me. He sat on until one lap to go when again I pushed it a bit on the climb. He must have been suffering because I took almost a minute out of him on the last 3km to win on my own (again!) He managed to hang on for second place, about 30 seconds before the peloton came through with a team mate winning the sprint for third. It was after two solo wins in a week that I asked about moving up a level. I found out that you need to win three races in each category before you can move up so I quite happily decided to wait until the following weekend when the race would be organised by my club and I could (hopefully) put on a show... This time though there seemed to be a pact between everyone else in the peloton to stop me winning. Every time I attacked, there was lots of shouting and an effort to bring me back. The weather was horrible though and I knew that if I could get away they would lose interest pretty quickly. After six laps of eleven, I repeatedly attacked and finally got away on a long climb. A nice TT to the finish (with a bit of pacing by the lead car) and I’d won my third race as a third category. Time to move up to second cat. On the 25th of March I headed off to the village of Montrejeau for my first race as a second cat. Having felt that the third cat races were about the same as UK 4 th cat, I was expecting the race to be hard work. As is normal, we were put in with the first cats to give a peloton of about 60. The circuit was 3.4km long with 150ft of climbing each lap, so nice and hard. Eighteen laps for the seconds, 19 laps for the firsts. I started right at the back and as the roads were tiny it took me a couple of laps to get towards the front. The third time up the hill I didn't really attack, I just increased the pace which split the peloton up a bit. I ended up in a group of about 12 off the front with a 2nd Cat teammate and one other 2 nd Cat. The others were all 1st Cats. We generally worked well together and made the break count but I noticed the other 2nd category rider wasn’t doing a lot so on the 9th run up the hill I went for it with a 1 st category rider. We opened up a gap of 40 seconds before another 1st rider bridged to us after about 13laps. We worked well together but my original companion was tiring and not really doing anything other than hanging on so a well timed acceleration on the hill left me with one other rider.
We went straight past so I won in front of the bunch and let my companion carry on round for his last lap. I was expecting this race to be a lot harder but I think that really the three different levels in UFOLEP would all come in below UK 3rd cat. I don’t really know why that should be but there are no time trials here at all so if you want to ride competitively, you have to race so you get a fair number of “older gentlemen” in the peloton. Also, if someone is clearly too good in UFOLEP, they’ll be invited to join an FFC affiliated club and then they’ll travel around France each weekend as a team to compete in the few higher level races. That is possibly what I’m thinking of at the moment. There are a few interesting stage races coming up which I’d like to do well in then maybe I’ll see if I can find some more difficult racing to do in the FFC. I’m also going to try to get back to race and TT in the UK at some point so I can see if I’m winning because I’m really good at the moment or if it’s because the level here is really low. My next target here is the Tour de Podensac. There are four stages spread over a weekend with a 5km time trial on the Saturday morning, a hilly 100km road race on the Saturday afternoon, a 16km team time trial on the Sunday morning then a flat 100km on the Sunday afternoon. Based on my racing so far here I imagine I’ll be competitive and with a prize list consisting mostly of cases of champagne I hope to do well. That is at the end of May and before then I hope to get home to ride the Bayeaux race at Barcombe and maybe a few TTs. Hope to see you all soon. JL
On the last couple of laps he was tiring as well, so I was doing about 80% of the work, but with no one giving me The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 12 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer time gaps it was difficult to know what was happening. It was only on the last pull up the hill when we lapped the main peloton that I knew we'd done alright...
Jamie just keeps on winning - Following Jamie’s article, I’ve taken the subsequent words from the new Forum on Monday 2nd April Anyway, another weekend, another race. This time it was in the town of Tarbes. A completely flat 2km loop around an industrial estate on the outskirts. I'm still a second cat and we were put in with the firsts. 35 laps for us, 40 for the first cats. I think the peloton was about 60 strong. Very early on a big group got away. I thought I glanced a team-mate up the road so made no effort to get across. I think this break got about a minute ahead at one point but our main bunch never let them get too far.
Wanderers in Global Road Racing Action Part 2: Letter to the Editor - Bob Evans Dear Chris, You recently (and unwisely) asked that I should send an update on bikey adventures here in New Zealand. Well, as I’ve mentioned before, there’s lots of bike racing here, so each week when I can I race on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, plus a few longer ones at the weekend. The Tuesday rides are particularly impressive since a bunch of around 30 rides out from the town where we are living - Cambridge, population about 12,000, i.e. smaller than Lewes - to the next town, 30k away, where the race starts. We then race around a 30k circuit and then ride back. 90k on a Tuesday evening - not bad, eh? At the race itself there are category races for all ranging from Elite to Category F - and each evening between 150-200 riders compete. I’m in Category C, so the races are usually around 30-40k, depending on daylight, and the bunches number about 30. The pattern of racing doesn’t vary very much. Breakaways are almost impossible on these undulating circuits, so what happens is that the group forms into a chain gang at the front in order to, as one guy put it to me, “get rid of the people who shouldn’t be here”. However, many riders still just sit in at the back until the last few kilometres when, as you might expect, it all gets a bit silly. My sprinting is coming on a bit, but I usually get beaten to the line, coming in 3rd or 4th. Still they’re all much younger than me, so I’ve got an excuse….
After about 10 laps the team-mate I thought was ahead turned up next to me in the peloton and said he'd been at the back the whole time. I went to the front of our group and with the help of a couple of other riders controlled the break. There were a couple of guys who had riders up the road though and they were doing their best to disrupt the chase. In the end in turned into a bit of a mess with people sprinting off the front, getting caught then sitting in. It all came down to the final lap. I lead out the sprint and held them off for my 5th consecutive win. This is the first time I've won a sprint here, and the first time I've ever won a flat sprint. My Garmin gave me 61kph which isn’t Cav, but I'm quite happy with it. JL Hours a Week”. It’s jolly interesting and at some point I might consider putting (some) of its recommendations into practice. In the meantime I’m working on the carb loading and the rest day elements of the programme. In addition to the evening races there are many longer weekend events. These are a cross between a sportive and a race, in that the fields are large - usually between 500 and 3,000 - and are open to all. This means that the elite and Category A riders are seriously competing for the (not insubstantial) prizes, while the rest of us try and get round without cardiac arrest. I recently rode the ‘Rev’ which is a 100k race over a testing course. As usual with these events, after the mad first 10k, the pace settles down and you try and fit into a group working at a pace that you are comfortable with. I finished in a reasonable time - see glorious photos of my stunning sprint for what was probably 320th place. It’s stopped raining now, so I’d better get out on the bike and “ride lots” (© Eddy Merckx) before May, Pip pip, Bob
Speaking of age, in a moment of ill-judged optimism I have entered the New Zealand Club National Championships. These are to be held in early May and there are races for all categories, including Masters by age. My NZ racing licence tells me that I’m Masters 7 (65-69) so I’m hoping that (a) it will be a small field and (b) that they will all be slower than me. On (b) I’ve been told that this is a vain hope since there will be many fast old geezers entered, expros and the like, and that I’ll be lucky to hang on. I’ve just looked at the course profile - two circuits of a 28k course with a sodding great hill in the middle, so the above prediction is probably accurate. However, I will be pleased to finish in one piece. One sad point is that I will not be able to wear my Wanderers strip in this event. The rules state that I must wear club kit for my NZ club - Hamilton City Cycling Club. This is a pleasant blue number but sadly does not compare with the sophisticated design of LWCC. The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 13 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer As I write, the event is just over two months away. Plenty of time for training and preparation, although I’ve not done any of the former yet. However, I have purchased a book which promises that I can be “Fit, Fast and Powerful in 6
Wanderers in Global Road Racing Action Part 3: Barcombe Road Race - Peter Morris Surrey League Road Race 17th March - In my prep for this race I feared the dreaded bonk, what with being in the saddle for around 2 and a half hours. I packed my snack bag full of chocolate, shotbloks and dried apricots the day before, as I was short on bikefood I opted for an isotonic drink, just the one 800ml bottle.
managing to get around 50% in my mouth, the rest I like to smear down my front and possibly if my aim's just right I can drop some blobs on my overshoes for good measure. As expected strawberry and kiwi flavouring was obviously created by someone who had never eaten strawberries or kiwi! You can tell I'm a great fan of gels! Pete in the peloton finished 28th - Photo: Dave Hayward
At the HQ car park I started to get my bike out of the car and assemble it. Putting my 'lunch pouch' on my frame whilst having a conversation with James across the car park. He then blurts out "You're not supposed to have anything on your frame", making out that my lunch box was illegal! I was like, "James! Keep your voice down!" Legal or not, if I couldn't take it I was sure to die after the first hour. Luckily nobody questioned it and I raced with it on my cross bar, phew! At the briefing it was brought to our attention that there was a lot of water, mud, cow poop and dead animals on the course. Luckily they cleared the road kill before we went round, which there was a lot of. I drove part of the course on the way to HQ and you name it, it was plastered on the road. There was one particularly messy pheasant which probably needed removing in stages and I found part of it on my wheel when cleaning it after the race! On to the race and the rolling start, the neutral zone was as usual as about as neutral as the rest of the race as people jostled for positions. Next thing I knew we were gunning it along the lanes, it felt a bit like a disorganised chain gang, everyone calling out for potholes etc, the pace was quite quick, on a couple of occasions I looked to see that we were bombing along at 32 mph on the flat but in the wind break of the peloton I was pretty much freewheeling. On the first (or second) prime, I chased no. 27, he was too far ahead for me to snatch the prime but doing so pulled me away from the pack, quite a way in fact. Stuck in no mans land between 27 and the pack I decided to spin along and get caught as it was early days and I didn't know this no.27, and as he was trying to break early on what seemed a bit of a suicide mission. Sitting on the front of the peloton for a while a young chap came past to up the pace and catch him, I told him not to bother and that he'd die out there on his own. The pace was inconsistent, at times I was taking it easy, others I was going hammer and tongs trying to hold a back wheel! Nibbling and drinking wasn't as easy as you'd think, my cage for my bottle was a little tight and at one point I The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Back to the race! I was holding on more and more easily as the race progressed. I think people were beginning to feel it, I felt fine. Although I couldn't keep up with what was going on with the breaks, and when a break was properly away it was tough to catch as there so many cars which slowed the peloton, and the section through the village was more of a neutral zone. On the 3rd to last prime my legs cramped, not much I could do but to knock back my isotonic drink and try and massage my quads - Easier said then done riding in the pack. All this time the rain was getting heavier, everyone was covered in mud and starting to get cold. One chap I could see physically shaking in front of me. The rain made it more exciting, punctures were all over the place, 4 that I was aware of. I wasn't over confident of my new Schwalbe's but they held the corners in the wet. On the 2nd to last prime my legs were again cramping, and with a quick last lap and a substantial break that was away, it seemed I'd be stuck rolling in with the bunch. As we neared the finish line I tried to sprint but I was boxed in and was rather preoccupied trying to fight the cramps in my legs. I rolled over the line in the back half of the pack, stopped to relieve my legs of the cramp only to have them spasm, which hurts! Alice and the girls came over to see me, Lucy shouting "Well that was a poor effort", as I was drastically trying to ease the pain. I took it as constructive criticism, only way really. Some early season lessons and reminders!!
PM
From Forum - Matt Townsend finished 42nd: Got dropped on lap 2. It lined out and I didn't do enough to stay on the Page 14 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer managed to snap my cage ramming my bottle back in! Luckily it wasn't broken too much and could still hold the bottle. My lunch box wasn't great at holding the food over the bumps, not sure how much I lost but I'm sure I didn't eat that much! The gels were messy as usual, only
wheel in front - Lesson learnt - more intervals in training. Ended up doing 4 laps on my tod in the p'ing rain as punishment. James Ryan DNF: Lap 2 - Got dropped off the back and couldn't quite get back on - so rode round with a couple of others for a while (until it started raining...!)
Non-Racing Saturdays & Sundays Club Run to Mark Cross Garden Centre Sunday 11th March by Sam Ramsey - I don’t get out on as many club runs as I would like. Most of my riding is done on my own and I am generally fine with that. Riding the bike is ‘me time’ - an opportunity for the mind to decompress from the demands of work and family life and for the imagination to wander unconstrained, a sort of freewheeling mental massage that leaves the mind fresh and clear. But that said it is always a pleasure to meet up with clubmates and friendly cycling types and to get some quality miles in with a group. This provides a different physical challenge as well as reassurance that we are not alone in our obsession. So I turned up this fine and still March Sunday at Uckfield, met up with 8 others (six regulars already known to me plus Nick from Peacehaven & Tobin from Lewes on his first clubrun) and we set off up the hill towards Framfield. The Uckfield posse clearly don’t mess about and immediately I was hanging on at the back with Tobin. The take away for me is that whereas I had thought that the winter training had gone really well in fact this is far from the truth and I can look forward to a TT season of grinding disappointment. The route to Mark Cross was interesting as well as lumpy, being a bit outside my normal Seaford-based range. But I recognised some parts from the ESCA Reliability Trial, especially the ford at Jarvis Brook, where both of Ian’s bottles flew off his bike in comedy fashion. I also recognised a bit of the Hills and Mills Audax but taken in reverse. There was one longish stop while Nick fixed a front wheel puncture, after a loud blowout on a descent near Hadlow Down. A loop round Wadhurst used up some time and we arrived at the garden centre bang on 11:00. Groups of Wanderers had arrived from all directions, including a small offroad party coated in mud. The tea shop staff were apparently piloting a service strategy to maximise queuing time. They stuck doggedly to this task despite the queue going out of the door. It must have been some kind of psychological experiment. The route back to Uckfield was more direct and we had lost both Tobin and Nick - I do hope they made it back OK. Total distance something like 36 miles. I can’t be sure and I can’t remember the exact route either but there was plenty of climbing and a real good workout. SR - Photos: CM
Club Run to Bodle Street Green Sunday 18th March by Johan Stegers - Bit of news from an eventful ride out. Carl, Jamie, Rob, Stu, Nico & me left Uckfield. Rob was leader in Ian's absence (holiday in Wales?). Route: A22 till Radjutt then left turn into the lanes. We were going to support the LWCC riders at the ESCA Hardrider TT at Bodle St. All ok till we hit the lanes behind East Hoathly on route to Horam and Stu gets a puncture. No problem - fixed in no time & off we go again. We just get to Horam on A267 & Carl advises that Stu has gone? We all stop - Rob has to go as he's pushing off for the Hardrider. Back to Stu - Where'd he go? Someone went back to look & were gone ages, then Carl goes off to look. Stu & the other guy return. Stu had had a second puncture. Carl has now vanished. We ride the A267 back to Heathfield. This was the direction Carl took, but Carl has vanished. Stu hadn't seen him either. We assume he's gone back home for Mothers Day, he did say he had to get back. The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine Page 15 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer We all joined the TT at Three Cups Corner. I stayed, but Stu & the others rode on to Dallington. They all came back later & rode to the finish. I then waited till the end, got names wrong & missed some photos. I rode home. JS - Photos: JS
The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine
Page 16 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012
The Lewes Wanderer
Every picture tells a story!!
It’s snot funny - Right, the next guy to pass is going Psycho Eyes - Be afraid, beto get lassoed by this, now very afraid if you don’t changethat should slow them the standard times back to lastdown a bit. year’s version.
"Curiouser and curiouser!" Simon laughed. "There's no use trying," he said: "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Know your Frosties Adrian Hills recently got in a bit of a kafuffle about us having more than one Frosty. Well, here’s the evidence snapped (crackled & popped) by Mr Watts on the ESCA Hardriders. In the left corner is Richard Frost and on your right it’s Mark Frost. Ok, not even enough for a spoonful, let alone a full bowl, but it’s a start. See page 5 to see how they got on.
The next edition will be No. 257 the May 2012 publication and it should be with you via 2nd Class post on or before the 16th May. It will also be available as PDF download on the club website at www.leweswanderers.co.uk by the 12th May. My contact details - Email:
wanderers@awesomeantix.co.uk Tel 01435 863427 - Bayte, Hailsham Rd, Heathfield, East Sussex, TN21 8ET plus the ESCA 10 & 25 along with the rest of the early season racing action. Issue 257 - the May edition will have reports & results from the Circuit of Danehill, Please let me know if you change address, or if your address details are mm incorrect on the envelope. Also any change in email address or mobile No. The Lewes Wanderers Cycling Club Monthly Magazine Page 17 of 16 - Issue 256 - April 2012 Bob Evans MTB biking on the beach in New Zealand. See page 12 to read.Articles Wanted - Interesting (or even boring) articles always wanted.......... about Bob’s Kiwi road racing exploits..Your Magazine needs you, especially if you’re not one of the regular contributors.. .Let the other Wanderers into your (cycling) life..….. The End …........Chris Martin….