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Records broken in Old Skool event... With £500 on offer for the first rider to break either Colin Sturgess’s or Alf’s Old Skool record, competition became ultra hot at Team Sanjan’s recent 10 mile held in Cambridgeshire - so much so that there was talk of records being broken. Event organiser Stuart Tarry and his band of merry men were not to be disappointed - neither were Old Skool series sponsors Planet X as no less than nineteen riders entered...which is without “The Power” Parkinson - Number 1? …...only time will tell. doubt a record. Only two more events remain: the Kent Valley 10 on the competition record course at Levens and Wrekinsport’s event over a similar distance on the World’s fastest course between Sambrook and Newport in Shropshire (well let’s face it, it’s the only course between Sambrook and Newport...so it must be the World’s fastest course there …..mustn’t it?).
The final overall winner is not yet certain. While it looks like “the Power” Parkinson is running away with the competition it will only take a middling 15 minute 10 for Gavin “good man” Hinxman to usurp him from the top spot. If the likes of Chris Worsfold and Stan Mills can pull off even faster rides than that, we’re certainly in for a fantastic end of season. Be there...and be square...right?
EUROBIKE 2009 Testing Times - Issue Dave’s juicy bits + number Nine and still ‘Special’ centre page pull-out going strong ...just S EE
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Old Skool
Carbon
September 2009
In this issue: Meet the team - page 2 Old Skool Series: Seamons 25 - page 4 Team Sanjan 10 - page 19 Gambling On.. the Press - page 8 Frankly Franklin: In the dark - page 10 Peter Whitfield - speaks to John Woodburn on page 12 Eurobike 2009 - pages 14 - 17 Britain’s Smelliest Testers: continues on page 18...No 3! September’s Unsung Hero Keith Carlton - page 22 Steve Kish’s favourite course page 24 Wilko’s 12 - page 26 NOB OFF to page 30
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Meet the team
Starting this month: meet the first of the individuals responsible for ensuring Testing Times arrives in your inbox. Put faces to names….etc etc.
First up ...Dave Loughran... the Boss (left…the larger of the two!). Don’t be fooled by that innocent “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth” smile. Dave (I hope you don’t mind me calling you Dave … Mr Loughran Sir?) is a hard ruthless businessman who won’t stand crepe from anyone likely to prevent him gaining total control of Carcroft Enterprise Park...and beyond (rumour has it that eye is now firmly set on Doncaster). ‘Nudge nudge wink wink’ Loughran as he has become known in the trade wears his heart on his sleeve “You get what you see lad - and that’ll cost thee a tenner... reet?” Loughran couldn’t sleep one night last winter and ‘dreamt’ up Testing Times while he was tossing and turning between the sheets. The rest of us haven’t slept since. He’s the one to blame...honest! In a word….fair1 • adjective 1 just or appropriate in the circumstances. 2 treating people equally. 3 moderately good (in Dave’s case...VERY good!) • adverb 1 in a fair manner…
Ian Frankly Franklin (right) needs therapy. He is presently on medication (like most of the rest of us) but is let out to mix and mingle with the public at regular frequencies (urm…unlike most of the rest of us). Naturally he’s tagged so that his whereabouts can be constantly monitored by his carers. The general public is assured however that no-one is at risk …although he should be approached with caution if copies of Cycling Weekly are likely to come into eye-shot. If Ian ever decided to relax a bit and not take life too seriously it would certainly be to Testing Times’s loss. In a word…dependable • adjective trustworthy and reliable. derivatives dependability noun dependably adverb.
Probably the only sane one amongst us, Peter Whitfield (left), as you might have already guessed, likes his Martinis shaken not stirred. Misled by the smooth talking of the Editor, Peter has taken regular time out from writing works such as ‘The Condor Years’, ‘Twelve Champions’ (highly recommended...chapter 10 is brilliant!!) and ‘If I’d been 10 years younger I could have been the next James Bond’ to head up the serious side to Testing Times. His laid back approach to interviewing and ease in which he teases out all the nice little nitty gritty juicy bits we all like to read about, is second to none. A valuable asset to Testing Times and one which would surely be missed if he ever realises he’s been duped and is never EVER going to make his million out of the sad sorry state of a project this has become. In a word….gentleman • noun 1 a courteous or honourable man. 2 a man of good social position, especially one of wealth and leisure. 3 (in polite or formal use) a man. — DERIVATIVES gentlemanly adjective.
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Old Skool Series - Round 9 Seamons 25 by Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman Severe weather warnings couldn’t deter the enthusiasm of the Old Skool cult. For the few regulars, this was becoming more than a fad, in fact by round nine, more of a way of life. There are many testers that travel the country in search of fast courses on float-days; unfortunately this event was going to be neither. Eight riders had declared their Old Skool intentions on their entry forms, but by the start-line 50% more than that (that’s 12 for those of you who preferred cycling to maths at school) had come out of the (alpaca jersey) closet. What a lovely village Goostrey is, tucked away ‘up north’. On arrival, us southerners thought that they must still drive around in steam powered vehicles up there as traction engines were everywhere, until we spotted the ‘Steam Festival next left’ sign in the village. This event was a ‘last chance saloon’ qualifier event for the Old School Series for several of the riders. Old Skool regular Tom Woolard (Northover Vets), who had missed his start in the fast a3crg event due to traffic problems, decided to travel up the previous day. “I just couldn’t afford to take the risk” Woolard said, “there is just too much at stake, my whole season is based around a top 5 finish in the series.” Other regulars Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley Wheelers) & Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) were also both relying on this event as one of their qualifiers. “I’m taking four spare tubs with me today just in case” Mills admitted, following his first puncture before he’d even left the HQ carpark
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Mark Lovatt flying the PlanetX flag en route to a race winning 59-16
for the start. A crowd had gathered around Testing Times (August edition) Paul Gittins (Retrobike.co.uk). His bike was complete with a 50-year-old watch (they sell nice digital watches these days Paul) but the centre of interest was focused on the PMP ‘L’ shaped cranks - full 80’s bling or what??? For info: 1981: PMP, a small Italian firm, bursts on the scene with the revolutionary ‘bent’ crank, featuring a 90-degree bend in the crank arm. The "L-shaped design increases the pedal's propulsion power and lessens energy dispersion on the downstroke”, according to the manufacturer's literature. 1981: The British magazine Cycling issued a set of PMP cranks to an unnamed first category Surrey road man for road testing "Whatever the theories, in practice our roadman tester felt the PMP cranks offered an
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advantage and surely that is the true criterion," Cycling reported. The roadman himself said, "At low pedalling speeds, dead centre seemed to be removed.” 1982: PMP cranks are the talk of the New York trade show. Not many orders, but lots of talk… The event started without issue, the forecasted rain held off but the wind was certainly blowing. Seamons CC rider Malcolm McAllister was the first of the retro-fans off. “I was determined to crack that 90 minute barrier today” he said after crossing the line, finishing in exactly 1-30-00, the 68 year-old’s sprint finish letting him down in the last seconds. John Burston of Pendle Forest CC was determined to be the first Old Skool finisher, off #19, “I thought I could reel Malcolm in today & cross the line first” Burston explained. Unfortunately for Mr Burston, Planet X PAGE
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Complete with woolly jersey, exBBAR and National Champion Bob Porter - Hounslow and District CC, masqueraded under the pseudonym of Robert Porter GS Surosa and clocked an impressive 1-09-41, “Who needs lycra” he said afterwards. Porter denied reports that a late BBAR bid was scheduled for 2009 but did admit that he had missed top flight cycling and was pleased to be part of it all once again.
Former BBAR Bob Porter returning to top-flight competition with 1-9-41. had played their own trump card, entering Mark Lovatt on his lovely carbon road bike (The rules state no tri-bars, funny hats or aero wheels, no mention of carbon, so Mark was in the clear with the scrutineers). Lovatt had passed Burston before the first junction & with it the dream of the chequered flag gone for Burston. Lovatt was really loving it “This is a proper roadman’s course and I am a proper roadman” he said. “I had to ride Old-Skool today, the boss told me as (Ian) Cammish wasn’t around. I have the Stealth in the boot of the car and did consider a sneaky change but knew someone would tell tales”. As it was, Lovatt rode just as he would in a solo break, & blasted round in 59:16, a time that would take some beating. Manchester Wheelers were represented by Richard Weltman, in his second year as a veteran. His 1-09-03 slotted into second place at this stage Woolard was next to finish, struggling around in 1-08-02, and a far cry from his sub-hour old-skool ride on the U46 earlier in the series. A walk in the northern hills on the Saturday morning didn’t prove to be ideal race prep. “At 63, I should know better,” he said.
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David Wilson of ABC Centreville, would maybe prove to be the surprise, with no entrytime. “I had no-idea what I’d do today, I have been training for 40 years for this so I hoped that it Paul Gittins - superstar of the 60s, 70s would be good one.” Wilson was and 80s takes on the 21st century. pleased that he took a break from running his successful building Photo by: company for a day or two to record a www.mrshinxmanbakesnicecakes.com satisfying 1-12-14. slotting into an eventual second place Gittins was reported to be flying, those with 1-05-47, albeit a distance from cranks making huge gains on the hills Lovatt’s time. & flat sections. Another woolly jersey clad rider, this time, a 40-year old Leek’s John Green recorder a jersey picked up from the 1959 Skol respectable 1-11-44, holding off Chris Six-day (that’s true), 1-13-46 would be Worsfold (API Metrow) who finished in Gittins’ finishing time, the event was 1-06-54. Worsfold sported an proving to be a close run thing. immaculate Cinelli machine, c/w drillings everywhere a weight-wheeny could possibly want them. The bike picked up the prize for the sexiest bike, putting the modern machines to shame. Ever-regular Stan Mills completed the course with no-more punctures, to qualify for the BAR with 1-10-11. A great event, apart from the wind & road surface. Great tea, cakes & hospitality, thank-you Seamons CC Happy 61st birthday. Results: Mark Lovatt (Planet X) 59-16 Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) 1-05-47 Chris Worsfold and his retro Chris Worsfold (API Metrow) 1-06-54 Cinelli. Tom Woolard (Northover Vets) 1-08-02 Richard Weltman (Man Whls) 1-09-03 Photo by 1-09-41 www.mrshinxmanrulestheroostok.com Robert Porter (GS Surosa) Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) 1-10-11 John Green (Leek CC) 1-11-44 Hinxman was next up, the 1980’s David Wilson (ABC Centreville)1-12-14 Vernon Barker (formally MB DronPaul Targett (Pendle Forest CC)1-13-27 field) would hopefully be back to Paul Gittins (Retrobike.co.uk) 1-13-46 (near) winning ways. It was not to let Malcolm McAllister (Seamons CC) the Northamptonshire ‘boy’ down, 1-30-00
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Testing Times road tests…. new unbranded P155 – U5ele55 TT frame and ultra slick testing tubs. more ‘mature’ readers may recall the name Wankebar (not too sure about the spelling there!). In the late 70s, Wankebar manufactured seamless tubular tyres similar in construction to today’s Tufos. UK teams riding such races as the Berlin - Warsaw - Prague (the Peace Race) returned with suitcases full of their wonderful products - the main attraction no doubt being the price which amounted to somewhere in the region of £1-10s-00d...PER TUB. Legend has it that Glenn Longland rode most of his BBAR events on Wankebars and Ken Platts is said to be considering retiring from competitive racing if his stock ever runs out. What further testament is there to the quality of the product? The latest offering produced by the Company will certainly be of interest to British testers. Their new tubular tyre is said to have the lowest rolling resistance ever achieved in independent tests. The super slick silicainjected green bean and carrot-cake compound used for the ultra smooth tread has been found to outperform EVERY other tubular tyre currently available on the market. Viney fully supported the results of the tests and claims of the manufacturers.
Photo from Mike Anton’s vast archive. Have a ‘goosey’ here... http://www.mikeanton.com/
Richard Viney (Addiscombe CC) wasn’t fully aware of precisely what he was letting himself in for when he agreed to product test a number of items which recently arrived for Testing Times to review.
An element of some grip would however be useful if users intend to deviate in any way from straight line riding. The initial run of tyres are highly recommended for use by RRA record aspirants or for time triallists renowned for ‘dnf’ing with excuses like… “I was on Comp Record at the turn but crashed heavily when negotiating the roundabout…” Testing Times thanks Richard Viney for putting himself at risk and would like to point out to readers (if there are any) that no animals (including Viney) were harmed during the carrying out of this important research. We appreciate that the road testing of bikes and equipment does not always meet with everybody’s approval but in order to provide a service to the keen and conscientious British tester we consider it our duty to provide you with the latest updates on cycling technology...so we may be back! Oh yes….and the pair of Marigolds on test proved conclusively that blue ones grip better than black ones.
The first was the super-new ultra-stiff unbranded P155 U5ele55 TT frameset which bears a remarkable resemblance to a number of those already available in the UK under various difference brand names and numbers. (What’s wrong with Planet X’s ‘Stealth, Cinelli’s ‘Laser’ or Indurain’s ‘Blade’? Why christen bike frames with indiscreet non-sensical numbers FGS?) Viney road tested the frameset together with the latest in ultra slick tyres produced by a small group of former Wankebar employers from the (former) Eastern Block. The
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...tried and tested!
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GAMBLING ON….the Press. 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 still alive and pedaling in Norfolk. Cycling is often referred to as a minority sport and receiving Cinderella treatment from the national press, so probably the projection of our sport is all wrong. Clearly, cyclists are too pure and their supporters too wellbehaved to achieve attention from the media. To compete with football, tennis and other major-covered sports, perhaps our image should be less clean and more controversial, thereby claiming the interest of he Fleet Street scribes. Some reputations must be tarnished for the benefit of cycle sport, with activities on the following lines and reported by the national dailies. “Thirty in jail as fans head home! England’s shameful army of cycling hooligans were in a Belgian jail last night. The arrests came as fans returned to their coach, after burning Ghent Velodrome to the ground, minutes after British ‘Wall-of-death’ star Tony Doyle was unfairly eliminated from a ‘devil’ race. Doyle, himself, was locked up, after wandering through a shopping precinct in a skinsuit, claiming his clothes had been burned. “One man, who left a trail of destruction in a cycle shop because the owner could not speak English, was later identified as a correspondent with
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“British manager, Jim Hendry, said ‘Let's get this in perspective. It was a minor accident caused by the excessive speed of the Icelandic team and their coach had his head trapped in the bars before the race even started. Bloody foreigners.’ “An MP has demanded an apology from the Government of Iceland.” a national cycling magazine. The proprietor was treated for penstabs. “An MP has called for a ban on Tony Doyle racing abroad.” “Pitiful racing in London. The international cycle race in the centre of London was marred by an unsporting incident, caused by national champion Phil Thomas shouting ‘You can’t be serious’ at an official who disqualified him for elbowing Aussie Shane Sutton into the sixth row of the grandstand. Thomas then insulted the chief judge with “You are the pits”. A fine of £1000 was imposed and he was warned as to his future conduct. “His manager said: ‘He is misunderstood by authority and has become a target. They are trying to take the competitiveness out of criteriums. Anyway, that judge is the pits.’ Thomas was recently warned for landing a blow on the bell. “An MP has tabled a motion for the cancellation of city centre races to prevent war with Australia..” “British Team condemned! In the world championship 100-kilometres team time trial the British team was condemned for attacking the Iceland tram, who had caught them by three minutes. The Icelanders complained that they were unfairly tackled as they passed and riders body-checked them from their machines and then stamped on their wheels. Two needed stitches in head wounds and their teammates received treatment for groin injuries caused by abrupt raised knees. Firemen worked for two hours to free handlebars wrapped round the neck of the Iceland coach, after he lodged a protest.
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“Straps row as only two girls finish in women’s road race. After confusion at the start, when all but two girls found their pedals strapped to their cranks, the race was won by Margaret Herety and her sister Catherine Swinnerton, with a tie. Neither had the strap problem. Two officials interviewed them behind locked doors for three hours and later said ‘The sisters were innocent’.” “More Time Trial trouble! There was havoc on our roads at the weekend when allegations of race fixing and mechanical failure faking was directed at tester’s folk hero Ian Cammish, after he retired from a 100-miles race on the A1, with three punctures, two collapsed wheels and a straightened crank. In a wet and windy Suffolk, ex-champion Martin Pyne was reported for a twofingered salute at a timekeeper, who greeted him with ‘Good morning’.”
Spare space….for your story or details of your unsung hero. ian@planet-x-bikes.com
(The size of the space shown here is not in any way representative of the space we can ultimately make available!!)
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This week’s competition…. with a first prize of (possibly) many millions of pounds.
WHO IS THIS?
Is it: A)
the “Pocket Rocket” - Steve Joughin….Manchester Wheelers’ ace roadman/sprinter of the 80s
B)
Natalie Soens - Manchester Wheelers dynamic track star of the same era
C)
Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman - Manchester Wheeler wannabe
If you chose c) Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman, well done, you’re correct and you’ve qualified to proceed to round two of the competition. To continue participating, you may now pop round to your local corner shop and treat yourself to a National Lottery ticket. Winners will be drawn on Saturday. You could be on your way to a million. If you are successful, kindly remember where it all started! :-)
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The Dubious Pleasures of Night Cycling by Ian Franklin
Don’t be left out in the dark like Frankly - it’ll soon be winter. Have a look at these (above). Only 89 smackers! 200 Lumen LED includes: Helmet and Bar Mounts 2 Cell 18650 Li-Ion Battery Charger Size: Head: 6cm x Ø3.5cm Weight: Head: 120g, Battery: 150g (2cell li-ion/protection circuit) Run Times: High Setting: 3 hours Medium Setting: 6 hours Low Setting: 22 hours Charge Time: 4 Hours ..here
Frankly Franklin and his friends on one of his more memorable 24 hour bike rides - a brief overnight stop to check their tackle. Photo courtesy Frankly Franklin’s box Brownie. My club, the A5 Strangers, like most traditional cycling clubs, organizes an all-night ride once a year. They cheat a little bit because they always hold it on the shortest night of the year. I’ve never had the pleasure of riding one of these because my experiences of riding in the dark have never been terribly pleasant. Indeed, if you’ve ever wondered why a mile-eater like me has never ridden a ‘24’, then the answer is explained below. I did once try to persuade the Mersey to run their ‘24’ in daylight hours only, but, for some reason best known to them, they declined. But I promise to ride if they run it in three daily 8-hour sessions over a bank holiday weekend. As usual it’s the hard core that attends these club night rides. You know them – they are the folk who combine the jobs of Treasurer, Chairman, Secretary, CTT delegate, BC delegate, local association delegate, timekeeper,
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course measurer, pusher-off, event organizer, tea maker and, of course night ride organizer. Gosh, I almost forgot, they are usually the same person who risks life and limb to retrieve your punctured inner tube from the thorny hedge where it has just been slung. The rest of us don’t bother to patch and repair – we just use a new inner tube each time we puncture. I discovered recently that such cyclists also exist in Thailand – so I guess it’s a worldwide phenomenon – except they don’t organize anything here which is why there are no time trials. But they do collect odd bits of bicycle that drop off – old tyres, punctured tubes, spokes, the odd nut and so on. My Italian friend André collected 32 wrecked inner tubes from a cycle shop dustbin last week and repaired the lot. But I digress. Every now and again I break my rule of a lifetime and I wander out in the dark on the bike. Here in Thailand it gets dark at about sevenish every day. On
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http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/ Airbike_P4_Smartlight.html
OR EVEN MORE LUMENS (as used by Cammish et al).....last few left at only £124-99 go here http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/ Airbike.html
this particular occasion last week, I was on a rare late evening run minding my own business and trundling down one of the numerous concrete roads when, all of a sudden, an object hurtled through my front wheel sending me crashing to the ground. In Thailand we have three animal problems – little black chickens, numerous stray dogs and snakes. So I knew the culprit would be one of these. I got up quickly, shone my light at the guilty object and sure enough discovered that it was one of these horrible little black chickens. After its encounter with my front wheel and fork it was now headless with blood pouring out from where its brain should be. I was more annoyed than stunned, so in a cruel act of frustration I picked up the remains of the little bastard and threw it over a hedge. My front wheel was PAGE
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wrecked, my fork bent and I sported just a few cuts and bruises. A great deal of this blood had squirted over my club jersey and when I eventually arrived home Mrs Frankly Franklin was, quite frankly, a bit concerned. “No I haven’t murdered anyone, this is what happens when you decapitate a chicken with your front wheel” I explained. It reminded me of an occasion, some fifty years previously, when I was riding in the dark lanes of the North Downs just above Folkestone. These are fantastic little lanes – just about the width of a car – and because of the high banks and hedges they are very dark. In those far-flung days bicycle lights didn’t have the power they have now. I used one of those Ever-ready lights that took a special double battery and were held onto the handlebar with a cleverly adapted ‘Terry’ clip. You couldn’t see very far ahead with these lights, especially when the battery had used half of its power. There I was, minding my own business whilst poodling along on my BSA Sport, when suddenly there appeared in front of me a monster-like creature, breathing steam and snorting. I was petrified. My heart was pounding. Remember – I was only 12, it was pitch black and my Never-ready light was useless. So, shaking like a leaf in a gale, I turned around and fled, but as I did so the monster announced its presence. “Moo”, it called, “Mooooo”. Of course the ruddy thing was an escaped cow. I sheepishly turned back and continued somewhat apprehensively to the safety of my mummy and a nice warm bed. A few years later – I must have been about 16 – I entered a CTC 24-hour reliability trial with the task of covering 230 miles in that time. I know the Andy Wilkinsons of this world cover more than twice that distance but our ride was done at a comfortable pace with regular stops for tea, mending punctures and consulting the route map. There were no marshalls to help us along. However, I recall that at one point a largish group of riders were travelling downhill spread across a winding lane, when a driver started to hoot impatiently as he tried to pass us.
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Eventually he succeeded but further down the lane he stopped and blocked the route with his car. We screeched to a halt whilst he ranted and raved, insulted and threatened us. I was a bit scared but one by one we squeezed past while the two biggest lads held him off. Under cover of darkness, two of his tyres mysteriously deflated whilst one brave person leaned into his car, grabbed the keys from the ignition and threw them into the roadside hedge. We all managed to escape safely and I never did find out what happened to the maniac and his car! I don’t think that particular event ignited a passion for riding all night and it was definitely a first and last! Sometimes, riding at night is unavoidable. A few years ago I had ridden back to the UK from Paris in two days. Arriving at the Boulogne ferry port, I was dog-tired and eager to get on the boat only to find that it was delayed and they weren’t boarding. I hung about for two to three hours in a somewhat anxious and agitated state and eventually got onto the boat. Any hopes of sleeping were dashed as the boat jumped up and down on an extremely stormy sea. Arriving in Dover, I only had to do the 9 miles or so (without lights) to Folkestone and back home but I could hardly keep my eyes open. Somehow, I fell asleep while riding and fell off onto the grassy verge where I woke about two hours later. I could smell something quite nasty but couldn’t see what it was in the dark so I just carried on home carrying the stench with me. Finally I arrived. I turned on the light and to my horror discovered that I had been sleeping in a pile of dog poo, a big dollop of which was firmly attached to my Lutz cycling jacket. That didn’t endear me to cycling at night either. One of the pleasures of daytime cycling is to look at the countryside. I guess I must be a tourist at heart because I’ve always done that whilst riding time trials. Hutchy and Tosser type speedsters don’t do that, do they? Their eyes remain glued to the tarmac. But I enjoy the views, the birds fluttering in the breeze, the corn lazily growing in
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fields. With their eyes glued firmly to the tarmac, the only wildlife seen by Tosser’s mates are those who themselves are glued to the tarmac – in other words, road kill. To me the same applies to night riding. What do you see? Stars? You can’t exactly look upwards while trying to avoid potholes and keeping to the edge of the road. The only stars you’ll see are the ones inside your head if you look upwards too often. On a typical night ride you spend half the time being blinded by the headlights of onrushing cars. Or you are insulted by beer-swilling revelers who also don’t see the point of night riding, or riding at all for that matter. If that’s not enough you’ve got the drunks to avoid as they wander all over the road on their crooked way back home. You get black cats, black chickens and black potholes. What is the point of riding at night when there are 12 or more perfectly good daylight hours in which to ride and look at the countryside? You certainly don’t see much at night time and Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis tells me that there are better things to do in bed when it’s dark!
Who’s Hot in the very very small world of domestic time trialling: Wilko - the Ed’s always rated Wilko! Always! The best 25 times BBAR there’s never been. 302 miles + ...on an MTB…..and 2009’s BBAR if he fancies (but he might not!). Absolutely white hot!!! Philip Graves - shame there’s no money in testing cos Graves would be worth a mint. VERY impressive 100s ;-) Julia Shaw….again! Three comp records at the three BBAR distances. No odds are being given on the BBAR win. Incredible! Roger Iddles - World champion tester.
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THE ESSENTIAL WOODBURN by Peter Whitfield How do you sum up fifty years of racing in a couple of pages? You can’t. So here is the man himself speaking for ten minutes, off the cuff, giving us the essentials. How long have you been riding time trials? 55 years – with a couple of years out here and there. How many races do you think you’ve ridden? 2000, give or take a few. Do you get sick of people asking you this – how long you have been doing this, as if you were some kind of freak? No. I accept that it’s something very few people can understand, but I love it, it’s my life. And before you ask, I’m not planning to stop. As long as I can move and see what’s in front of me, I’ll keep riding, and as long as I can ride, I’ll keep racing. Why you do it, what’s at the root of the cycling obsession? I suppose I’d say cycling is switching off from normal life, it’s more real and more personal. Some of the people I used to work with, they wanted to spend their whole life smoking, drinking and watching television – do you call that living? I call it throwing life away. Out of all those 2000 races, what do you reckon was your best ever? It has to be the National 25 Championship, 1961. That’s the gold standard, the one they all want to win. And Griffiths never won it, did he? Mind you, he usually says anything he never won wasn’t worth winning anyway. So the 25 is better than the End to End? Yes because it’s so competitive. The End to End is a battle with yourself; the 25 Championship is a battle against everyone else. Because I broke the End to End record, a lot of people got the wrong idea about me. It’s speed that really interests me, and riding at 19 mph for two days isn’t really my idea of racing. I did it as a challenge, and to say thank you to my sponsor, but it wasn’t really me. If you take on the End to End, it dominates your life for a year – or more. Who do you think could get the End to End record now? I’d like to see Wayne Randle try it, since he’s the hardest thing in England on two wheels – that would be interesting, especially if he did it on an Old-Skool bike. What was the biggest disappointment of your career? Probably not getting Cromack’s 24 record in 1980 – I
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missed it by a mile and a half. I rode the National 12 the weekend before, and that must have made the difference. I’ve thought about this a lot over the years, and it annoys me because it was a stupid thing to do. I didn’t even win the 12, I came second after crashing. What are your best 25 times in the last two years? This year I’ve done a 56:26, last season it was 54:21. But twenty or thirty years ago, if anyone had said a man of 72 could ride a 54- or a 56-minute 25, people would have said “No, that’s simply not possible.” How can you explain why you still go so fast? First, if someone my age started from scratch, obviously he couldn’t do it, it would be totally impossible. But I’ve never stopped, I’ve been on a kind of plateau for years, and never come down from it. Second, bike technology is a major factor, I’d never dispute that. I couldn’t achieve those times
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on a steel bike from the 1970s, I’ve no illusions about that. But mostly, it’s because I still want to win. I can’t really explain it, but there must be something inside me, something that I’ve still got to prove. I still get annoyed if I don’t come out on top. Do you still push yourself to the limit? Not in every race, no. Quite often now I just ride to enjoy myself. But if it’s a really fast day, or there’s a special edge to the competition, then I do give it everything. Who is your biggest rival now among the vets? Roger Iddles in the Rudy Project series. We’ve been at each other’s throats for quite a few years now. It’s a bit of needle that fires us both up. He’s a very powerful rider, especially on the faster courses. He’s a few years younger than me, so he usually beats me on actual time, but I usually come out top on standard, so I suppose we should both be happy. That series has been great for me, although I sometimes think it’s mad to be driving 400 miles to do a 16-mile race. What about training now? A couple of hours is enough these days as I’m not often racing for more than an hour. But I like to keep the speed up: just riding isn’t training. How does that compare with what you used to do? No comparison. When I was riding the BAR distances it was five-hour sessions, or double sessions in the day. Have you gone over to scientific training? No. I did try it out – the pulse and power training – but it wasn’t for me. I decided if I don’t know how to train by now I’d better give up. I just follow my instincts about how much I need to do. Out of all the people you have ridden against over the years, who really stands out? Well Engers was obviously a case apart. You could never work out what made him tick. He wasn’t unbeatable, but on the right day he was in a class of his own. Phil Griffiths was a larger-than-life character, and I’m still friends with him –
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I think. Potentially one of the greatest time-triallists – if he’d wanted to be – could have been Les West. He was a pure roadman wasn’t he, but the RRA records he set were really tough. I broke his London-Bath-London record by only a couple of minutes, and it was one of the hardest rides of my life. In the 100, Cammish was unbeatable, probably the greatest 100-miler of all time. Do you have other things in your life, things you relax with? I enjoy wining and dining, secretly I’m a bit of a gourmet. I like travelling – Italy and France, the usual thing – and we’re going to New Zealand at the end of this year. I’m fascinated by steam engines: if I had time for a hobby, which I haven’t, I’d like to mess around with them. What about the future? What’s the big plan? Staying young… I sometimes amuse myself by thinking of the top cyclists as characters from Shakespeare: Mark Cavendish for example is obviously Henry V, storming in triumph through France. But among the time-triallists you might have Alf Engers as Hamlet, a neurotic genius with a chip on his shoulder. Phil Griffiths could be Falstaff: wise-cracking, putting everyone down, pulling strings, while making sure he comes out on top. Beryl Burton would be Rosalind from As You Like It, disguised as a man, taking on the men and outwitting them at every turn. Cammish was the magician Prospero, with miraculous powers to defeat all his enemies. Coming up to date, could Hutchinson and Julia Shaw be Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, slaughtering all their rivals so that they can rule alone? So who is John Woodburn in this scheme? Obviously he must be King Lear, ageing and fearsome, who has ruled Britain for half a century and is now wondering who is going to inherit his kingdom. In view of what happens later in the play, I won’t push the comparison too far, but Lear spoke of himself as “bound upon a wheel of fire”, which is a pretty good description of the pain of racing. And like Lear, Woodburn is refusing to give up his status as the ageing king, so we are going to have to wait a while longer before we see him fight his final battle.
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Dave’s German ‘jolly’… aka Eurobike 2009 Last week we made the trip to Eurobike. For a bicycle distributor I should really be saying annual pilgrimage, but fact is I really don't like going to shows any more, and haven't been to Eurobike for a good five years or so. Not sure what the reason is - I guess apathy and laziness are high on the list.
And so to my list of the what’s hot and what’s not from the show, in reverse order, and of no relevance either.
Make no mistake Eurobike is huge, absolutely gionormous. With a first day objective of walking the whole show, that would only mean one thing - a sweaty bum crack and a dehydration headache. The show consists of five types of stands Huge ego-busting us overhyped and over here - the biggest international stands from the likes of Specialised, Giant, Cannondale showing a veritable wankfest of every bike they think we want to buy, global domination and free beer. The German players - the next batch of huge stands from the German only brands with weird names like Checker Pig, Heavy Tools and many more - inevitably huge and usually feature at least one body painted naked lady, which depending on your viewpoint is fantastic or disgusting - but the German bicycle buyers obviously respond well to brightly painted naked flesh.
5/ Carbon Tripod stand (above) Tucked in the corner of Steve Lees’ Gigantex stand Gigantex are probably the world’s largest producer of carbon rims, producing for most of the leading brands. Steve the boss is good guy, likes dogs, and drinks red wine. Tucked in the corner was his latest creation, a carbon fibre camera tripod. Looked very clever to my untrained eye, not cheap at all. He promised to send me a sample.
The “too cool for school” players - stands that feature attitude, beer, and an amazing unwillingness to talk to their customers. The Italian section - lots of glorious Technicolor, increasingly looking very like the china section but with flash paint and Italian flags. Some hidden gems still in here from the likes of San Marco, and the superb Cinelli stand, a few still combining tradition, Italian flare and not everything made in China. The China and Taiwan pavilions - the smallest stands at the show, where the manufacturers who produce most things for all of the above. Spotting the odd ridiculous component of next big thing is one of the highlights of the show.
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4/ Carbon Violin (….that’s Dave on the fiddle...again!) Another new product from a leading carbon manufacturer good product extension and eye catching, a carbon fibre violin. For anyone interested FOB cost was a stunning 1250 usd. They refused to send me a sample.
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3/ Classic San Marco (below) San Marco have relaunched a full line of their classic saddles - Rolls, Concor and Regal in a whole variety of colours. The London fixie guys will love them - they are truly timeless. Their normal saddle line looks right on the money as well, topnotch stuff.
2/ Beautiful Cinelli (above) Sometimes at a show you see a bike that just looks quality. There’s nothing apparently special about this Cinelli but it looked right, truly spot on. I rated Cinelli best stand at the show, a great eclectic mix of real history, true quality with a hint of quirkiness.
1/ Handcraftsmanship at its best (right) This was truly stupendous. It’s a bicycle made by a Japanese wood carpenter out of 100 year old Brazilian mahogany. Each bike costs 20k Euros. Not sure if it’s a good use of 100 year old mahogany or what the eco-warriors would think, but it was a fully functioning bike that rode beautifully. Hed sold 4 bikes by the second day, so that’s 100k in his bank, one year’s work, and maybe one less tree.
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Britain’s Smelliest Testers No 3 - Corrina Francis
Corinna Francis - Chelmer CC adds some brightness and sensuality to the Team Sanjan 10. Photo courtesy of David Jones. Crowds at the start had to be cordoned off from the actual count-down area and only the privileged few got to venture within Corinna’s ‘space’. Dave Creese, 48 minute man from the middle ages, drew the lucky straw and claimed to have made bodily contact with the eloquent enigma as he eased her into competition. Alan Crane, pusher-offer of many great icons of time-trialling missed out on this auspicious occasion and sat on the grass verge taking the once in a life-time opportunity to draw in great lung-fulls of Ms Francis’s fragrances. The crowd missed nothing because there was no missing Corinna’s distinct clean, pure and contemporary scent as it drifted across the A428 in the warm
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summer breeze. Corinna is often hyped in the media as being light and relaxed, with a character that is balanced between brightness and sensuality - the same goes for the air about her…..a scent that is intimate, but that you don’t need to be too near to smell. Indeed, Ian Cammish started number 90 and still claimed to sense a certain air of ‘sexiness’ in the air as he too was held up at the start by Mr Creese (who drew the unlucky straw on this occasion). Alan Crane volunteered the essence of ‘sexiness’ to belong to him but the other Team Sanjan members were quick to rebuke his claims
Team Sanjan’s events are rapidly becoming the hot-bed for smelly cyclists. First Sam Barker (5th in the smelly stakes), now Corinna Francis - Chelmer CC. Thanks to the beauty of modern technology and the use of the many TT forums in operation, word quickly spread around the country that Corinna was down to ride Team Sanjan’s latest event on the F2A in Cambridgeshire. Essex, always proud of its girls, considers Corinna to be its own but occasionally, in the quest for fast times and a chance to prove she can ‘glow’ with the best of them, Corinna ventures further afield. Corinna had a very crisp clean smell with more than a hint of all the fruity notes in it - not to mention the very slight flowery hint! If the truth was told my aroma may be slightly more on the masculine side. Nice though wasn't it?” Bearing in mind Corinna started off number 67 there can’t be that many testers who smell that good...or bad ...can there? BUT…..we know different. Watch this space.
Britain’s smelliest testers sponsored by...
At the subsequent hearing, Crane admitted that it “probably smelt too crisp, with too fruity a note to it in the initial spraying phase for it to be mine.
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Old Skool Series - Round 11 Team Sanjan 10 The very kind Mrs Cammish let her husband loose from his self imposed isolation (the comfort of his darkened bedroom) to return to racing after a break of almost three months. Cammish, aka the ‘Jammy Dodger’, is said to be on medication and has been more than a bit ‘off colour’ since the Planet X Old Skool Series kicked off back in April. It was hoped that the programme of events would make men, not break them. Fifteen minutes of fame were promised to all those taking part...not to mention a very generous prize list from the Series' main sponsors Planet X and its supporters Continental and PowerBar. Whilst some riders have fallen by the wayside as the competition builds momentum, one of its stars, ‘the Power’ Parkinson, has certainly taken advantage of every available opportunity that has come his way and who can blame him? Not only has he secured a lucrative deal with a well known German tyre manufacturer (see separate ad elsewhere in this issue) but he now has an energy bar dedicated to his name (see yet another ad elsewhere) we’ve missed the boat somewhere here folks!!! The man is a phenomenon and is surely destined to win the Series overall. What lies ahead for this powerhouse from Leicester? The future looks bright for Orange ‘the Power’? (OK...so I watch too much TV!) Lesser mortals haven’t been able to handle the immense pressure that goes with competing at such a high level -
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Ian Cammish aka “the Silver Fox” aka the “Jammy Dodger” just scraped the win with 22-47. Lovely jubbly photo (so much better than any that have originated from the Sheffield area) courtesy of that very nice lady Sarah Brooke. http://www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk one such rider being the ‘Jammy Dodger’. However, his annoying habit of doing just enough or being in the right place at the right time showed its hand again in the latest round of Planet X’s Old Skool series held on the superfast Cambourne bypass during August. The event attracted the biggest field yet, as nineteen of the Country’s leading old skoolers lined up to do battle on the ‘Jammy Dodger’s’ local roads. The man himself later confessed that if the event had been any further afield he might well have stayed tucked up in bed…such is his current sad state of mind and sorry physical condition. He is believed to have been so
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anxious as to his current state of form that he is said to have been seen in close consultation with chief timekeeper Gordon (unsung hero of August) Hart shortly before the start possibly trying to influence the outcome of the final results. Hart, however is as honest as the day is long, and despite protracted negotiations which are believed to have been responsible for the event being delayed by ten minutes, would not budge an inch. A couple of packs of PowerBar RideShots might well have made the difference but they have proved so popular at the warehouse none were available for Cammish to enter in to the bargaining negotiations. (Hmm ….anyone else noticed how mega-hyperactive the warehouse staff have been PAGE
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Podium tubs for his style, class….and nice white wooden soled Duegis. The competition itself was fierce. Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) has already shown good form (his recent ride in the Nomads Hitchin Old Skool 25 raised a number of eyebrows) and he was clearly in a deadly serious “I can out psych anyone today mood” as he coasted up and down the start lane on his monstrous fixed gear. Both Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) and Cammish (Planet X) were seen quivering as they made themselves comfortable (again…..and not together) behind hedges as Rose slid by like the Bismarck cruising into the Denmark Straight to destroy HMS Hood.
‘The Bismarck’ Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) pushing Cammish so close with his 22-50. Photo courtesy of Sarah Brooke lately?). It must be said that Cammish looked apprehensive as he warmed up along the old A428 with the other Old Skoolers knowing his unbeaten record in theSeries was at stake (he says the Catford 10 doesn’t count because it was a morning event… ???). An unplanned visit to the changing room was called for when word started circulating that Mr 25 miler himself (Alf Engers) was seen to be warming up…..the Planet X organizing committee really thought they’d hit the jackpot. Whilst there’s no disputing the fact that the Alf lookalike certainly had the same impeccable style and rode a similarly immaculate bike to the man himself….it was not to be. Instead, the series had been graced with the presence of Steve Williams of Essex Roads CC. ….instead of just a jackpot, the Planet X organizing committee had walked away with the Euro-millions! Although not on his best form, Williams is by far the classiest rider to grace the Series since the honourable Adrian Perkin hit the scene back in April. Whilst his 26-02 fell well short of a top placing, Williams rolled off into the sunset with a pair of Conti
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The battles that ensued along the A428 were bloody. Nineteen top-flight athletes were down to start …..yet only sixteen of them made it to the finish. Due to the field placing, several separate dog-fights were taking place in the shimmering heat and haze of the late Summer sun. Ian Markham (Team Sanjan) avoided the bloodshed by starting first …. and finishing first in a highly respectable 24-42. The battles that followed were not for the fainthearted. Richard Reade (Mildenhall
Most stylish rider of the day Steve Williams (Essex Roads CC). Photo courtesy of Sarah Brooke
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CC) chose not to get involved but almost came to grief before even reaching the dual carriageway. A bit of jiggery pokery by one of his contenders at the headquarters (probably) resulted in him pulling his wheel over as he eased himself in to competition. Whilst not the ideal start, it did nevertheless, ensure he won the “most eventful first 50 metre” prize on offer….and he waltzed off with a nice Conti wheel bag (and a pair of greasy hands) for his efforts … oh...and a 27-37 for the 10 miles. Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman took on Series regular Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) but kicked through unnecessarily hard (according to Mills) somewhere on the Cambourne bypass to sprint home in 23-37. Mills followed shortly after with 25-09. Chris Worsfold (API-Metrow) spent the whole 10 miles trying to chase down Mike Hennessey (Southend Whls) and claimed to have had him in his sights on more than one occasion. Hennessey however is a seasoned campaigner and managed to survive the
‘catch’ with 24-33 against Worsfold’s 23-59. The Battle Royale however must have been between Jonathan Hemming (Addiscombe CC), ‘the Bismarck’ Rose and ‘the Jammy Dodger’. Riders were caught, gobbled up and spewed out like that horrible pink blancmange stuff you used to get for school dinners on a Thursday...it was an awful sight! Fortunately all survived…. ‘the Jammy Dodger’ managing to scrape the win with his 22-47 (see….he IS a Jammy sod!) over ‘the Bismarck’s superb 22-50. Hemming edged into 5th place with his 24-12 and Phil (‘you might catch me but you won’t get past’) Young held Cammish off to finish in 25-46. The event was generally heralded as a 100% complete success and credit must go to Stuart Tarry and his Team Sanjan crew. A good day’s sport. Thanks. Oh...and the supporting event (with all the aero gizmos) was won by Richard O’Rourke (Flitch Chrono) with 2022.
Result Ian Cammish (Planet X) 22-47 Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) 22-50 Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) 23-37 Chris Worsfold (API – Metrow) 23-59 Jonathan Hemming (Addiscombe CC) 24-12 Michael Hennessy (Southend Whls) 24-33 Ian Markham (Team Sanjan) 24-42 Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) 25-09 Phil Young (Herts Whls) 25-46 Steve Williams (Essex Roads CC) 26-02 Christopher Walker (Herts Whls)27-28 Brian Swallow (Maldon & Dist CC) 27-29 Richard Reade (Mildenhall CC) 27-37 Colin Holmes (Icknield RC) 27-52 Brian Foran (Lampard RC) 27-59 David Crane (Beds Road CC) 29-47 Richard Moule (Bossard Whls CC) DNS (Apol) Anthony Purnell (Cambs CC) DNS (Apol) David Sullivan (Beds Road CC) DNS (Apol)
Old Skool bike of the month...not white but a nice Guerciotti nevertheless. White ones, black ones, green ones etc available here http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Guerciotti_Record_Strada_Road.html S EE
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KEITH CARLTON who luvs ya baby?
by Clare Ella
In last month’s Testing Times we asked if you, the reader, knew of any unsung heroes in the sport so we could give them all nice little pats on their backs for their efforts. Well we were inundated with just ONE email and that sang the praises of a certain Keith Carlton of the Lincoln Wheelers. Keith is obviously loved and well thought of…..so is August’s unsung hero Gordon Hart even though he wasn’t prepared to ‘swing’ the result of Team Sanjan’s Old Skool 10 in favour of the Ed…but then he didn’t need to in the end! What a selfish insular bunch you are! Do you really think you’d be doing what you’re doing today, or be where you are, all on your tod? Go on…make someone’s day…they deserve it! ian@planet-x-bikes.com So what makes Keith such a ‘good egg’? The lovely Clare Ella tells us... Keith Carlton has been involved in cycling in the Lincoln area since he was 16 – some 53 years ago. He joined the Lincoln Wheelers in 1956 and is still an active member today (having had only a few years in the late 60s as a member of Velo Club Lincoln). His name and face are familiar to many who have competed in time trials and road races in the area over the last 50 years – as apart from racing himself, Keith has always supported both younger and older members of his club, fulfilling various roles including crit organiser/ handicapper/ steward, lead car driver at local TLI events, helper staking out the club cyclo-cross course, reliability ride host, course measurer, marshall and a valued timekeeper at local opens and every week at club events. Keith had a bad accident during a club off-road ride in 2007 when he suffered serious upper spine injuries – but thankfully, although he still suffers some neck mobility problems and headaches, he has recovered
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sufficiently for him to continue to enjoy some of the club activities – and to be called upon to help out with timekeeping duties again! Keith is a great source of cycling memories and will happily chat to newcomers and old-timers about his experiences. Sunday club runs were the full day events in the late 1950s and early 1960s – with dinner and tea stops (which included a kickabout with a football in winter!). He recalls riding home shattered. In the summer months the club run would sometimes ride out to an event where clubmates had competed – to ‘help them home’. The club runs were good base training for the club tours:- in 1959 they took the overnight ferry to Vigo and rode back through Spain and France to LeHavre, in 1962 they took Southern Ireland by storm and in 1963 there was a tour up to Scotland when, on the fourth night, they couldn’t find
any accommodation and slept in a field outside Inverary in their capes. The next day they only rode to Oban as they needed to make sure of a good night’s sleep in a bed! The last 4 days they rode from Inverness down to Lincoln with a headwind all the way. Keith’s main competitive focus was road racing but he enjoyed the longer TTs. He rode the LRRA 12 hour, which was on a mix of flat Fen roads (which were not easy when it was windy) and rolling roads, a total of four times, finishing third twice, second once and a first. His furthest distance of 243.84 miles just missed the LRRA individual record at the time – by a margin of less than half a mile. A puncture after 11 hours had cost him 3-4 mins and the record! He had a little consolation though in that he and his clubmates broke the LRRA team record. The general view of the conditions that day was that it was a baby’s day - wet & windy! Like many of the longer local events, falling numbers saw them left out of the calendar – the last LRRA 12 hour being held in 1968. As well as riding 12 hours, Keith watched a few too. The first one he saw was when the club run went to see the finish of the Broad Oak event in 1958. “On the finishing circuit Owen Blower was lapping at an incredible speed to smash Ray Booty’s record of 266 miles by almost 6 miles to record 271.80. Ray was watching too and not only saw his record beaten but also the end of his 3 year reign as BBAR. “Nine years later while supporting club mate Ellis Smith in the Otley 12 in Yorkshire I was to see Owen Blower’s record broken in a dramatic way. Two riders were locked in a day long battle – Mike McNamara and Beryl Burton. McNamara started in front of Beryl and it was not until late in the event that she caught him and went on to record her unbelievable 277.25 miles – bettering Blower’s ride by 5½ miles. She set a
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pace which none of us watching thought she would be able to maintain – but she did!” National Champs occasionally grace the Lincolnshire courses, and in 1960 the Mens 25 Champs, won by Gordon Ian of Nottingham Wheelers in 56:35, were lucky to have Keith in charge of finding accommodation for riders who needed to travel the day before! No mean feat as at the time he was on crutches with his leg in plaster. Keith recalls that the then comp record holder, Alf Engers, pulled his wheel over at the start. In 1962 Lincoln – with Keith acting as start marshall - hosted the Womens’ National 50 – won by Joan Kershaw of Liverpool Eagle CC in 2:09:45 which ended Beryl Burton’s run of 4 wins. Keith also provided transport for some of the local juniors to attend events further afield. One of the local young stars was Tony Radley. By the age of 16 (in 1964) he did a 57:08 on the Blyth course when Baz Breedon set a new comp record of 54:23. Tony concentrated more on road races, and Keith often took him to events where there were junior and senior events run on the same day. Tony had further success in TTing too – in 1965 the National Junior 25 Champs were at Loughborough, and Keith took Tony and another local junior, John Harrison, to ride. Tony was off at number 60 and it was cold and misty as he did an excellent ride, coming home in 58:02 the fastest time on the board at that stage. Typically the sun broke through just after Tony finished and it was a tense hour as Keith stood on the line with the then editor of Cycling Weekly, Alan Gayfer, seeing Tony’s time stay at the top until seeing top seed Dennis Brown of Portsmouth CC, off at 120, come into sight and then counting down the time until he stopped the clock at 57:52. So close! Keith also took Tony to the National RR champs at Ormskirk where Nigel Dean showed great class to ride away on his own to hold off a frantic group of chasers (including Tony in 7th) to secure a great win. One of Keith’s less enjoyable duties
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Keith in the LRRA 12 hour in 1962 not far from the end making his way back towards Sleaford from Threekingham.
was marshalling the turn on the Tillbridge Lane 10 course that started near the top of the hill close to RAF Scampton, went down the hill on the straight A1500, through Sturton-byStow towards Marton – with a dead turn to retrace back to the bottom of the hill. One of his worst memories was marshalling that turn when a rider approached him without checking to see if it was safe to make the turn. “He made
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the turn in front of a very fast moving car coming up from behind, which had to brake sharply to avoid running in to the rider – resulting in some choice language from the driver. The rider went on his way – he was a vicar and I can only presume that he had some sort of protection from above! I for one was very glad when U-turns, and especially that course, were banned.” PAGE
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H25/6 – a most special course. by Steve Kish We all have our own favourite courses - and for different reasons. Some like them flat and fast...others prefer more rural options. Steve Kish has been around so long he’s probably ridden every course that’s currently listed in the Handbook so he’s as qualified as anyone to tell us about the course he considers to be the most scenic ever used for domestic time trialling. Of course, if you know any different... Now sadly no longer in use, the H25/6 could never have been classed as a fast course, whichever way the wind was blowing. Even a sudden change in direction wouldn’t help, as it went north to south, east to west and all points in between. Four climbs over both the M25 and M3 motorways were tiresome and even the road surface was nothing to write home about. All in all, it was a pretty ordinary and relatively rarely used single-carriageway course (mostly for South West London Combine events) but it did have just one small plus point. In its 25 miles of out-and-back mediocrity, it passed through more scenic beauty spots than any other course that I know of. From the start on the B388 close to the M3/M25 junction, it ran parallel with the M25 for a while before it climbed the M3. From this spot, the (then) newly constructed Thorpe Park pleasure ground was visible, situated in the middle of the lake that hosted
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the World Water-skiing Championships in the 1980s. Immediately opposite this on the B388 is the scenic beauty spot of St. Anne’s Hill, the trees gently masking a favourite rambling spot with walkers. On the right, the Thames is clearly visible ….
From here, a short trip to the left turn at the A320 rose, this time over the M3 with another view of Thorpe Park, long since finished and now the regular haunt of teenage white-knuckle riders everywhere.
….. and just out of sight on the far bank is the famous Ankerwyke Yew, reputed to be the actual place where the historic charter was signed nearly 800 years ago. On the left, the sloping tree line of Cooper’s Hill Slopes just shows the top of the Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial with it’s wall of remembrance showing over 20,000 names in memory of lost airmen in WW2.
A fairly uneventful ride to Staines Bridge followed with occasional glimpses of the Thames on your right before the road transforms into the A308 and continues to Runnymede, home of the Magna Carta, signed in 1215 by King John and arguably the document that first started constitutional law throughout the whole English-speaking world. To enter Runnymede, the course passes between two kiosks and piers designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, probably best known as the designer of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, seen on TV every Remembrance Sunday.
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Beneath this, and clearly visible below the sloping fields, are the Kennedy Memorial, (the land on which it stands PAGE
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actually being part of the USA. and dedicated as such in 1965) and the pillared Magna Carta Memorial.
famous 3-mile ‘Long Walk’ with views of Windsor Castle and on the opposite side in the far distance, the equestrian statue of George III on top of Snow Hill. From where the course crossed it, the Walk distances about 800 metres from the Castle and 2600 metres from the statue.
wipe the floor with all opposition. However, one evening, it seems that they had the surprise of their lives when they were actually caught and passed by two riders riding a two-up in the same event. Much to their surprise, they found out that Alf Whiteway had asked the two riders to start a minute behind them and see what they could do. The two riders were Tony Doyle and Danny Clark!
On the far side as the course leaves Runnymede, there are two Lutyensdesigned memorial lodges and piers, one of which is now the Magna Carta tearoom, home of many Polytechnic club-run refreshment stops. Again, the course passes between them – the tea room is the one on the left.
HARRY HILL Mick Gambling recalls a memory of Harry Hill, who died in February. The tribute piece, by Peter Whitfield, was very good. Perhaps I may share with you an anecdote about the great man. I had known Harry a number of years, before the occasion our roads crossed in Spain. He was descending a mountain, which I was attempting to go up. We stopped and I noticed that he seemed to have put on a lot of unsightly weight. 'These lumps and bumps are oranges,' he laughed. 'I picked them off a tree further up. Must be about thirty of them, all nicely tucked in.'
From leaving Runnymede, within a few hundred yards, you pass the famous Bells of Ouseley pub with its river view …. The far turn was almost exactly half way and a matter of a few yards later, just before the busy part of Windsor itself. From this, the castle is also clearly visible. Return journey was a full retrace and finish a few yards short of the start.
….whilst struggling along the bumpy road surface through Old Windsor where you suddenly find the better surfaced and straighter Albert Road. This sudden improvement is no real surprise, as it’s the piece of the A308 that divides Windsor Castle from Windsor Great Park ….. had time trials been allowed to start any later in the day, riders would have been queuing behind open-topped buses full of tourists happily snapping away at the
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So, that was the H25/6, scenic course, but average in all things non-scenic …….. with the possible exception of one ‘urban legend’! The 10-mile version (H10/6) started and finished at the same place but turned at Staines Bridge. The story goes that in the late 1980’s, the dominant tandem team of Ray Hughes and Mick Kearney used to ride the late Alf Whiteway’s Clarence Wheelers club tens on the H10/6 some evenings for training and as expected, used to
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We chatted a while, then he cheerily swooped away. A couple of minutes later, a police car came down and skidded to a halt. The occupants jumped out and searched me, explaining there had been a report of a cyclist stealing oranges. Then, they asked if I had seen a cyclist. 'Yes,' I replied, 'he went that way,' pointing to another road at right angles to Harry's escape route. The police sped off in pursuit. A few months later, Harry came to the Cycling Weekly stand at the Harrogate Cycle Show, where I was announcing. I told him the story and he was very amused. Next day, he popped in with an orange and declared, 'You can have the last one!' Mick Gambling PAGE
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National Championship 12 hour – 16 August, 2009 Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man by Alan Roberts
Wilko in the final hour. Photo by Alan's friend Caroline Green With a field of 70 riders, double the normal turnout due to the hardware on offer in the form of Championship medals, the above mentioned associations combined forces to help continue the promotion. In doing so, they keep their own District Championships alive, which in turn creates added drama as individual battles ensue. Not to be outdone, the Merseyside Ladies
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also had a trophy, for the greatest distance covered. Hotly contested, 9 ladies entered, and as usual in long distance events, they produced the highest percentage finishers, with all 9 completing the course on this occasion. Women these days will do anything to get out of domestic duties! On first sight of the start card the gen-
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Sunday 16 August, 2009 will go down in history, not just because it was my birthday but as the day when Andrew Wilkinson confirmed what most of us already knew. He is not just one of the all time greats of long distance time trialling, he is THE great of long distance time trialling. This particular event promoted by the West Cheshire TTCA, assisted by Liverpool TTCA and the Manchester & District TTA, holds a lot of special memories for me. As a 17 year old back in 1974, I was encouraged to ride as part of the local BAR. Not knowing what to expect I managed to win the event by 1 mile, with 248.449; this gave me the belief and passion for the BBAR, which I still have today. So to celebrate my birthday and witness a new competition record by a very close friend, on local roads, completed a memorable occasion. eral opinion was that this would be a close affair between Wilko and Bason, with Julian Jenkinson, Carlos Riise, Brian Walker and Dean Lubin fighting it out for bronze. As for the ladies, Christine McLean, Shetland Wheelers, looked favourite, hardened by the tough roads of Scotland. However, she faced strong opposition from local rider, Rebecca PAGE
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Leaper, who was looking to improve on the 225 miles she did in last year’s Welsh Championship. These predictions were pretty much right, however what takes the enthusiastic onlooker seconds to predict, has taken competitors months to prepare for, each with their own obstacles to overcome. With a course which, at best can be described as tough, and at worst, bloody tough, high mileages seemed remote and anyone looking to get one over on absent BBAR competitors were likely to be disappointed. Before last season’s event, no one had gone over 280 miles, and only a handful had gone over 270, so competition record was never an option. Or was it?
tion was only completed in time to ride the Chester RC club ‘10’, just three days before the big day. In this, he did 21.57, his best time around that particular circuit, complete with mudguards and pannier rack still attached! This proved to me, that despite his own misgivings, he was in very good shape physically. We discussed what might be possible mileage wise and what he would need to do to win; 290 miles was the answer, so I produced the relevant schedule.
Turning the clock back to August, 2008, Wilko had turned up totally relaxed, there to support his club mates in their first attempts at the distance. With hardly any racing miles in his legs, on a very windy, cool, showery day, bandana flapping in the wind, he produced 283.12 miles. From the sidelines it looked effortless; however he finished legless and spent almost an hour laid out in the back of my van recovering. This ride in my view was very important. After such a long time away from racing, let alone 12’s, he proved to me that he still ‘had it’. I said to him that this was a better ride than his existing record. In 2009 the event would be a Championship, and it would be an ideal opportunity to become a National Champion once again.
Wilko comeback from his only defeat at the ‘100’ distance? Never one to walk away, and with a difficult run in, he analyzed the situation and set about getting to the start line in the best condition he could.
The seed was sown, and after taking the winter to convince himself, he started the season with the ‘12’ and the Anfield BC ‘100’ as the two races he wanted to win, everything else was preparation. With a wedding to Jill to fit in as well, life was always going to be more complicated than normal and training would have to be more specific. This all adds pressure, which from the outside he seems to thrive on. However, he recognises the opposition has talent and never takes anything for granted. After a close battle with Andy Bason in the Anfield (which went better than expected, winning and taking the event record), the tables were turned in the Shropshire CCA ‘100’. With just 4 weeks to go before the ‘12’, the psychological advantage was reversed and despite both doing excellent rides, 3.42.00 to 3.43.50, the pressure was on. With little racing in his legs since the Anfield, apart from evening ‘10’s at Saighton, could
His choice of machine always seems to attract attention, not least from Wilko himself, with many hours spent keeping it in good working order, because, after all, he does go to work on it! Joking aside, a lot of people seem to be critical or maybe just bemused by his choice of bike, however a great deal of thought goes into equipment and his position, and when riding, they become one, poetry in motion. Come race days and Wilko’s machine is always immaculate; for this event, modifications were made to become even more ‘aero’. The traditional bars with thumb shifters were gone, replaced by a USE Carbon set-up, both lighter and more aerodynamic. This change gave him a huge boost. Combined with a new Royce titanium bottom bracket, BBB chain rings, new chain and Veloflex Record Tyres, the transforma-
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Julian Jenkinson - UTAG Yamaha.com on his way to the bronze medal with 282.81 miles. Photo by Alan's friend Caroline Green
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The day itself dawned dry, and warm, with a light SW wind for the first couple of hours, which increased to become more of a hindrance as the day progressed. From the start at Prees Heath the riders headed north to Broxton, then continued to do varying laps between there and Boughton RAB , before heading back to Prees Heath at 72 miles. These early miles were not easy, mostly single carriageway with regular undulations. From there, it was on to Shawbirch, up to three times for the top riders. This particular stretch is very open, nowhere to hide and with the road surface unforgiving, only the best would survive. As is normal with these events, there are numerous optional detours, which invariably cause problems with schedules based on distances taken from the full route. No such confusion for the top men, Wilko leading the way at 100 miles, some 8 minutes up on his 290 target with 3.45.43 and already 9 minutes up on Bason. Wilko was on a mission! Fuelled by hourly rations of 750ml of PSP Go, along with an odd jam butty, he powered through the field, using his gears wisely, 53 x 16, 17 on the inclines, returning to his favourite 12 and 13 sprockets for the flat sections. Julian Jenkinson went through the ‘100’ checkpoint just 2 seconds over 4 hours in third spot, looking equally smooth and certainly a threat to Bason for the silver medal. The former British Ironman Champion and record holder, was showing that the distance wasn’t going to trouble him at all. Along with Wilko, he seemed to be in total control and untroubled by the course. At this point all bets were off; the first three were PAGE
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sorted and the fight was on for the minor places between Riise, Walker, Neil Skellern and New Brighton’s novice at the distance, Andrew Allan. Ladies favourite Christine McLean was feeling at home, being some 11 minutes up on Rebecca Leaper at around the 100 mile point, though Leaper was looking unruffled and up for the fight. Wilko continued the onslaught and it was only a matter of time before Bason’s capture. At 185 miles the catch was completed, the 20 minute starting advantage eroded. Bason shouted to Wilko ‘you can do 300’ as he passed, a thought which hadn’t been discussed at any point leading up to the race, and one which was instantly dismissed, as the wind continued to hamper progress. However, on reaching TK1 on the finishing circuit, 202.194 miles covered, there were still 4 hours 10 minutes to go. Was it possible? This meant the last 102.194 miles had been covered in a fraction over 4 hours 4 minutes, which is sub 4 hour pace for the second ‘100’ !! That left an average of 23.5mph required to equal the record, around what can only be described as a ‘sporting’ 12.621 mile circuit (I haven’t told him yet that it was put forward by me some years ago!). The combination of main roads and lanes, smooth road and chipped, not to mention the long climb over the Prees by-pass, made for an interesting challenge. Add to that, cows crossing at a couple of points and there was no accounting for how it could pan out over the final few hours. While all the local support focused on the ‘two Andys’, Jenkinson was quietly getting on with the job in hand, gradually clawing his way back to Bason, who at times was looking the worse for wear, his smooth, fast cadence now confined to history. Meanwhile Wilko marched on, off the butties and onto the gels for the last three hours, the feeding regime perfect as he continued to pick up time on the schedule. At the start of lap 2, he was 21 minutes up, lap 3, 22 minutes, lap 4, now 23 minutes. Could the record really go in Shropshire? Another minute gained by the beginning of lap 5, with 252.6 miles covered in an amazing 9 hours 57 minutes, giving an average at this point of 25.386mph. This was then followed by another
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body, he also has the unique ability of being able to suffer, a pain threshold second to none in my book. During the whole of the 12 hours there were no stops or even a foot down anywhere. With the skills attained from his road race days he even pees on the move!
15 year old Joshua Teasdale on the finishing circuit on his way to 205.91 miles. Photo by Alan's friend Caroline Green 25mph lap! Then when we all thought ‘yes’, lap 6 was 33 minutes, only 22.9mph! (Later explained by an aborted pee attempt, while freewheeling down Prees by-pass) So at 277.9 miles he still had 1 hour and 26 seconds to run, 22.4 miles required. The crowds were now going ballistic as word spread around the circuit; barring accidents they were all witnessing a piece of history. At the start of lap 8, 290.5 miles, the finish point of the original schedule there were 29 minutes 15 seconds to spare; surely he couldn’t do another complete lap? Never one to disappoint, he did make it around again with a blistering last few miles, just over running by 1 minute 41 seconds, a 24.4mph last lap! Mission accomplished, 302.46 miles, a new competition record, adding 2.19 miles to his previous one set in 1996. As is usual at the end of such an effort, Wilko had to be lifted from his machine, then left for quite some time to recover flat out in the back of his helper’s van. Anyone who watches him in action and thinks he makes it look easy should see him afterwards. Not only does a lot of work go into the preparation of mind and
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While all the attention was focused on the top three, there were other issues to be decided. Christine McLean, despite stopping to help a fellow competitor early on in the event, was never troubled. Finishing with 236.85 miles, not only did she take the CTT ladies medal, she also won the Burma Cup, presented by the Merseyside Ladies CA. Second placed lady, Rebecca Leaper (North Shropshire Wheelers), continued her improvement at the distance, with a fine 231.76 miles. In the local West Cheshire BAR, last season’s Champion, Dave Williams (FibraxWrexham CC), increased his distance dramatically after having a splendid year so far. However, his 258.69 miles, giving him ninth place on the day, was not enough to retain his title. Persistent thorn in his side, New Brighton’s Andrew Allan relieved Dave of the West Cheshire trophy, with a blistering first appearance at the distance, finishing with 272.97miles, a new West Cheshire record. From Manchester District, Neil Skellern, former winner of this promotion, was untroubled by a strong Warrington contingent, recording 272.33 miles, which was also some 17 miles too good for Dukinfield’s Rob Nelson. Youngest competitor was 15year-old Joshua Teasdale (Westbrook Cycles-Team Scott), all the way from Teeside. Along with Dad Shaun, they did some serious Father/ Son bonding, Joshua even beating his Dad, 205.91 miles to 201.88 miles. No doubt the old ‘I had a late start’ excuse from Shaun will come into play at some point!! The youngster looked very smooth and unruffled throughout the day and always had a smile on his face. Let’s hope he is inspired enough to return in the future.
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With the Headquarters at Tilstock packed way back in 1964. on the right course, on the right out for the presentation, it just remained to day, and of course, the right perAwards were presented by former 12 see who had won the team prize, a matter son! One sad note to finish on, hour Champion, Ron Spencer, Warovershadowed throughout the day by indipoor Andy Bason, he tried so rington RC, who took the title in 1963 vidual performances. With six teams in hard, that post race he was sufferand was no doubt rooting for his team with a shout, it was a case of could any of ing from badly blurred vision. throughout the day. The crowd finally them pack close enough together to overWhen I entered the Village Hall for dispersed in awe of what they had come Port Sunlight’s obvious advanthe presentation we exchanged a seen; how long would this record tage. Wrekinsport were fancying few words about the day, then he stand? Could it be another 13 years? their chances, but in the end fell some delivered a killer blow which We obviously don’t know, but after 6.12 miles short of the 769.46 miles accustunned me to the core. He said discussing the pro’s and con’s of the mulated by Wilko’s men. This was a popu‘Are you Wilko’s Dad’? Cheers ride with Wilko, once the dust had setlar and well deserved victory for the Port Andy! I am only seven years older tled, and he had had time to reflect, we Sunlight Wheelers, as Wilko was supported than him………… but I could be both thought that 310 was now possible by lifelong friend, Roy Sumner and Boss, yours!!! Terry Hughes. Roy, a stalwart of the club, has shown great courage to be even Result National “12” 2009 on the bike, let alone racing. Some three Andrew Wilkinson Port Sunlight Wheelers 302.46 days before Wilko’s wedding in June, he 1 suffered the loss of his wife after a 2 Andrew Bason Wrekinsport 283.78 long illness. With the support of the club Julian Jenkinson UTAG Yamaha.com 282.81 and Wilko in particular, they have kept him 3 occupied with this challenge. Roy didn’t let 4 Carlos Riise Shetland Wheelers 275.84 them down either, with a fine effort of 250.5 miles. Terry has not been able to 5 Andrew Allan New Brighton CC 272.97 commit himself to racing as much this Neil Skellern Congleton CC 272.33 year, but despite his lack of events he 6 dragged himself around to do 216.5 miles, 7 Brian Walker Team Swift 267.29 completing a second National ChampionColin Hayes Liverpool Century RC 262.18 ship Team win for the club. This fol- 8 lows on from winning the ‘25’ team title 9 David Williams Fibrax Wrexham RC 258.69 10
Gordon Leicester
Warrington RC
255.83
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NOB OFF…...the back Vellum? Who? Bikes from the Philippines? Yes it’s true! A new kid on the block is quietly creating a stir and gaining a growing reputation in the Far East and in the USA for quality frames. I have the good fortune to be a good friend of the President (teacher’s pet I hear you say…) of this young dynamic company. He is a quiet unassuming gentleman who has the heartfelt passion and design skills to take this brand to a higher level. Meet Mr Miguel Flores, an architect and cyclist who truly loves to design bikes as well as the many stylish buildings he has designed in his hometown of Cebu City. I grabbed a few valuable moments to ask Mike, as he is also known, what Vellum is about and how he sees the future of his company as it breaks into the ever increasing market of quality frames.
President of Vellum, Miguel Flores,third from left at a recent show
when Chris agreed to handle the strategic concerns while I took care of the product and design matters. At the height of the planning stage for Vellum, both Chris and I were still partners in Bike Hub, a high end bicycle shop in Cebu. Having been hands on with that business and being cycling aficionados, we felt that the Vellum concept had a good chance in the industry. After careful thought, we then decided to let go of our bike shop and focus more on the Vellum range. The satisfaction it gave us as partners in owning our own frame brand was very fulfilling. It wouldn’t make sense if we just did it as a hobby. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we were determined. With our background in branding, we somehow had managed to get the right recipe to get this plan going… and more so, we believed that there was room for another brand in the industry.
Nob: Mike how was Vellum created? MF: Vellum started as an idea between two bicycle enthusiasts. My partner, businessman Chris Aldeguer and I spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how to put things together. Our first step was accomplished S EE
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Nob: What kind of frames will you be manufacturing and what is your target market? MF: We are focused on penetrating the performance/competition based market. For our carbon fibre frames
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we have an impressive line-up. The Uno is our time trial/triathlon model. Even though it is plain and simple and not too fancy, it performs the way it should. The Fuerza is our integrated post road frame which caters to those who want something out of the norm; the Elemente has been face-lifted, it is lighter than its predecessor and has the one and one-eighth to one and a quarter head tube features; the Terreno is our specialist cross country MTB where looks and performance definitely blend. In the near future we will be introducing our all-performance aluminium line-up. In the planning stages we have the Primero, an aluminium frame specifically for time trial, track or triathlon, the Corso, our premier cyclo-cross entry level model, the Viento is our entry level aluminium road bike, while the Muerte is an MTB cross country frame.
The Primero TT: simple design at an attractive price that won’t break the bank
Nob: What is so different about Vellum from other brands on the market? MF: Vellum was created by cyclists for cyclists. We know what is good for the industry since we have personal experience of racing. It surprises me that people wouldn’t believe that Vellum was conceptualized here in the Philippines. This tells me that we did a good job with our branding and company image. PAGE
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More so, having learned that there are cyclists who aspire to own a Vellum is something very special for us. Nob: Will Vellum frames, especially the TT model, be available in the UK? MF: We are in touch with a possible distributor for the UK, but nothing is finalized. It is still open for now. We would like to have somebody who knows how to bring our brand to a high level in UK. Everybody knows that Britain is a hub for TT specialists; exceptional sprinters and GC contenders are also emerging. We hope to grow our brand in the UK and see Vellum flourish side by side with the other great brands.
Nob: In these tough economic times how is Vellum coping?
the beautiful scenery or even get a good work out. Being located on an island has its perks. All routes are accessible and it’s close to MF: We have had our fair share of impossible to get lost. A big plus coping up with the crisis. The good here is the cycling community. thing is we are still in the process of Most expats I know are very building our name so we weren’t as welcome here and local cyclists are affected as the big guns were. more than willing to show them around the beauty of this island. There is always this feeling that Nob: As President what is your typical you wouldn’t like to leave the place. Local races are abundant, working day? Your dual role as an thanks to our executive cyclists architect and designer must be tough? and our friends who are based MF: Yes, it’s a bit tough. You need to abroad who organize such races; there are always events to get balance your schedule and prioritize our legs spinning throughout the your commitments. I guess the key year. here is that I love what I am doing - I love both jobs. In addition, I was invited by the University of the Philippines to teach a subject for them Nob: What does the future hold for at their Industrial Design Mike Flores himself? Department.
Nob: How does your family cope with the love of bikes within Vellum?
The all new 2010 Vellum UNO looking sleek, fast and ready for action
Nob: How do you see the future of Vellum developing in the next 5 years? MF: I feel that the future is really bright, especially now that the bicycle industry is getting back onto its feet. Thanks to a comeback of a former TdF champion and two Brits who gave a good show during the just concluded Tour de France. I am optimistic that business will grow. We have our best line-up and our new manufacturing plant has the highest standards in building the frames. A well known UK and Australian bicycle brand is being built in the same facility and other up and coming players are also there.
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MF: It’s just a matter of give and take. I make sure that I spend quality time with my family. A big bonus is having a very understanding wife… lucky me!
Nob: What other interests do you have when not involved in the cycling industry? MF: I did a lot of scuba diving before but I am more into playing basketball for cross training nowadays. I have also just got back into triathlon but there is still the cycling part so I guess this wouldn’t count. Nob: We hear you race locally. Any advice on potential visitors to Cebu who may wish to get into the cycling scene?
MF: I still see myself in the design field and the bicycle industry in the distant future no matter what. It’s the pleasure I get from doing this that makes me want to stay in this business. Nob: Thank you Mike for taking time out of your busy schedule to give us some insights into the Vellum brand as it evolves. We look forward to seeing your frames appear in various parts of the UK and wish you the best of luck with Vellum in the future. Contact Vellum on info@vellumcycles.com or sale s@vellumcycles.com. They will have a new website up and running soon as they are currently moving into bigger offices.
Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis
MF: Cebu for me is bike heaven. You don’t need to drive a car to check out
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