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I can't believe that we're into April already! Years ago the winters seemed to go on forever and it seemed an eternity between the end of one season and the beginning of another. There's no doubt the improvements in lighting and clothing technology have helped. Well it definitely doesn't seem as dark as it used to be - neither does it seem as cold. I've wittered on elsewhere about Dinotte and Airbike SL 1 lights, and I've also extolled the virtues of Zerowind tops (many times). In fact I've been so completely mesmerised by how much everything's improved over the years that I haven't realised that another winter's now all but over (hopefully!!) and it's time to start thinking about racing yet again. This season will be my 36th consecutive one without a break! In fact it could be more than that because I only started keeping training Diaries in 1973 and that's what I've based that figure on. (I've often wondered if I'd spent as much time training as I'd spent writing about it, would I have been twice as good!) I've been asked many times what keeps me going - strangely enough that's a question I often ask myself too! Well…. I'd be the first to admit the good rides get fewer and farther between the older you get. It's a bit like Newton's "for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction" or Einstein's supposition "that distance and time are not absolute". Yep…"the good rides get fewer and farther between the older you get"..Cammish's
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Old Skool
WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE: Speling misteaks (wouldn’t be the same without ‘em!). Grammatical cock-ups. A bit of subtle pi55-taking (toned down for the benefit of our “knockers”!)
This is me….the Ed! Cammish. To55er. (OK...so we’re scraping the barrel with the pics..but that nice Mr Kimroy-silk wanted payin’) theory of ..urmm…well I'll think about that one! BUT…it only takes one good ride every now and then and it's all worthwhile. Hopefully there'll be one or two (for me) during 2009 - failing that, there's a major change in direction coming in the form of the old skool series. If nothing else, that should be good fun. So, if you don't like pressure and are fed up not being able to do personal bests any more, join me and other equally unfortunate "retro"bates (that's a made-up word by the way!!) and go old skool - read on for further details.
Bike Reviews ...DVD sales ...Adverts……NOT! No Sportives...honest! Dungworth’s double double. Instone and Webster. Gambling on….. ...AND….. ...the latest (i.e. the VERY latest) on Planet X’s old skool series.
Be there AND be square!
…..and...FREE IN THIS ISSUE..... extra pages! S EE
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xOLD SKOOL SERIES….. IT’S HERE (ALMOST!) Good Friday is rapidly approaching and as you are no doubt well aware (because you'll have already entered it in your diary…haven't you?) that marks the start of Planet X's old skool series. Entries for the first event closed on Tuesday 31 March so if you haven't already entered it's too late and I'll be moving up at least one place in the results :-) . The opening event is the City Road Club Hull's 10 on the superfast V718 course. If you missed this one, don't worry there are plenty of others you can miss too. Full list of events—see below!
Be there…be square! A thought recently crossed my mind like they often do when you're watching paint dry…well not actually watching it dry…more applying it to the skirting boards in Jack's bedroom. That's another story though and one which has absolutely noth-
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ing whatsoever to do with the Planet X's old skool series but still gives me immense pleasure simply because it helps fill a bit of space in this "piece" (do you know how hard it is to make everything fit "exactly" on a page? Desperate measures indeed!) and also winds the boss up a bit because he likes us "getting on with it" and "sticking to the point" (he's a fine one to talk!). The thought then? It might make things a bit more "spectacular" to have the Boneshaker Brigade (courtesy madbiker48) all compete as a group don't you think? No, I don't mean actually starting as a group. If we wanted to do that we'd be riding Sportives, and if we rode Sportives we probably wouldn't want to be riding the old skool series….horses for courses and all that! Maybe best to have us "sectioned" from the other starters then? Hmm …"sectioned" seems quite appropriate there don't you think? So
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…what if those wishing to take part in any of the old skool events express their desire to go "old skool" by marking their entry forms with a nice big fluorescent "X" in the top left hand corner so that the organiser can then group us all together…if he feels that way inclined. Of course there'd be no obligation on the organiser to accommodate us like that - indeed, if he doesn't receive the email I'm about to send he might well wonder what the significance of a big yellow "kiss" on my entry form is. (I'm a happily married man by the way, and don't wish to influence any organisers, male or female, into giving me a late start by demonstrating any inappropriate sign of affection such as this might suggest - just to put the record straight OK?) The intentions could of course be misconstrued even further if I'm the only one intending to take part! Well let's face it, noone else is going to be bothered to
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enter are they …. especially when these are on the fastest courses in the country..and there's £500 on offer to beat an old skool record…and you don't have to shell out on a disc…or wear silly pointed hats…or anything! Just turn up and ride and enter
STOP PRESS—UPDATE: Yes we have– see page 16!!! However, Dave's wife is reputedly clearing out his bottom drawer and at this very moment (he's away in Taiwan) and is stealing away his treasured collection of High Karate and Brut "smellies" (best if no-one mentions to him…ok?). The Ginger Aven“...on the fastest courses this ger has kindly offered to donate a in the country with £500 number of his ABBA and Beach LPs …on the understanding he on offer for the first rid- Boys doesn't receive an acceptable bid for ers to beat an old them on eBay in the meantime (tight sod!) and Andy's son has told him to skool record..” lighten up a bit / chill out / get "with it" by replacing his current wardrobe into the spirit of it..that's all. with more modern gear (I noticed a Hey….hang on this is beginning to seriously retro line in maroon flares look remotely appealing! In the time-honoured Planet X tradition being modelled by Andy in the warehouse over the winter so someone's we haven't sorted out prizes yet (why in for a real treat!). Not sure what isn't anyone surprised?).
the final overall prize list will be, but (I'm told) they'll go down to 20th…..if that many take part! In addition we'll throw together something for each event. So grow your sideburns (ladies too if you want…you might even win a prize), get out the silk and wool gear (Nob's just nodded off…he's more a leather, latex and rubber sort of man!) and see just how slow you can go without actually falling off! Keep an eye on the site to see if Wayne has left anything that fits the old skool criteria in the warehouse - chances are with all the "bag-ratting" that's taken place over the years only the Huret Sveltos and GB Randonneurs will be left. Going to be quite interesting to see if we can cobble together a bike for one of us to ride!
THE OLD SKOOL SERIES COMETH! The great Frank Southall in the early 1930s—courtesy Bernard Thompson’s Cycling Archive DVD S EE
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THE DOUBLE DOUBLE TOP by Peter Whitfield
In most time triallists’ eyes, only one thing could outrank winning the 25 championship, and that would be to go out again three weeks later and take the 50 championship as well, the magic double, the incontestable proof that you are the best. Only eight riders in sixty years have scored this double-top, so it’s obviously a rare feat. But what about doing it two years running – the double-double-top ? In the 1990s this was achieved twice, first by Chris Boardman and then by Richard Prebble, but before then, the elite doubledouble-top club had only one member in nearly fifty years: Sheffield’s Dave Dungworth, who triumphed in 1966 and 1967. Those two years saw an amazing purple patch in Dungworth’s career after he switched from road-racing: he won his four championships, broke the 25 record twice
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and the 30 record twice, and was rarely beaten in any race. Slight in build – he weighed just over nine stone – he seemed to have disproportionately long legs, so that he looked like a big spider crouched down over his machine. He had a restless, nervous energy and an intensely competitive streak that made him difficult to be with in the buildup to a big race. Dave was possibly the only champion rider to suffer the embarrassment of having his Mum interviewed by the cycling press. “Oh yes,” said Mrs. Dungworth, “he’s really moody on the morning of a race, drawn right into himself, he never speaks to us. That day on the Boroughbridge course last September we knew you were going to be beaten Dave, you were too relaxed, listening to the radio, talking to us, you were almost pleasant to be with." Another unusual thing about Dungworth was that he had a coach, a rare beast in the mid-60s. Lol Dodds was a trackie, a former champion on the grass and a noted hillclimber. “Lol was not a coach in the modern sense,” says Dave. “He never wrote out schedules, or measured my pulse or power output or that kind of thing. He was more of a guru, an inspirational figure, like the more famous Eddie Soens. He would set out training with me, then towards the end of the run he would send me off for a flat-out bash to the finish. Afterwards we used to sit drinking tea and talk cycling for hours. Lol built up my enthusiasm and self-belief, dreaming up wild schemes about how I could take on Anquetil !” Fantasy it may have been, but Lol’s influence on Dave’s racing career was a crucial one.
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Back in 1965 Dave didn’t even contest the 25 championship and he was fifth in the 50, but the following year, at the age of 22, he burst onto the time-trialling scene like a bomb. After a string of early-season wins he started in the 25 championship as the clear favourite, and he didn’t disappoint: he took the gold medal in a championship record time of 55:08, more than half a minute faster than Trev Morgan of the Barnet. Maybe Dave had one lucky break that day when Paul Bennett, reportedly flying as fast as Dungworth, suffered a wheel collapse. A week later Dave took a massive two minutes off the 30 comp record, with 1:5:21, then stormed home in the 50 with another championship record of 1:51:48, beating Pete Smith by almost two minutes. In September he broke the 25 comp record with 53:18, then right at the end of the season he took it down still further with a searing 52:28. Such was the impact of Dungworth’s riding that year that in the winter Lol Dodds hatched a plan for Dave to travel to Milan to attack Riviere’s world hour record. This incredible plan revealed the faith that the coach had in his protegé, and it was enthusiastically supported by his club, the Rutland CC. A few wiser heads looked askance, knowing that the gulf between 28 mph in a road time-trial and 29 mph on the track was a massive, impossible one, and they were proved right. A few pursuit matches in the spring of 1967 soon brought Dave and his mentor down to earth. A try-out hour ride on the Fallowfield track ended inconclusively when he punctured around
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18 miles, and the ambitious plan was quietly shelved. In September that year, Anquetil himself would add just 146 metres to Riviere’s figures, only to find his ride disallowed because he did not take a dope test. Putting the unrealised dream behind him, Dungworth set about making the 1967 season an uncanny mirror-image of the previous one. Victory over Morgan again in the 25 championship was close – only four seconds in it – but it was still victory. Again there was the 30 record one week later, trimmed down to 1:4:56. Then apparently there came a setback: in the special international 50 on the Bath Road early in July, Dave was well beaten by Pete Smith when Smithy set his comp record of 1:48:37. “There was a simple reason for that defeat,” Dave recalls. “The 50 championship was one week away, and Lol convinced me that the championship was more important, and that I must hold back in the international.” Revenge came in the clearest possible form in the championship, with a near three-minute beating of Smith. Dungworth had retained both his championships, and become the first and only rider to achieve the double-double top.
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But those two years had taken their toll. The pressure of short-distance time-trialling at this level is intense and draining, and Dave felt he had to get out, find new cycling targets. He was a selfemployed painter and decorator by trade, and the idea of making some money out of his cycling talent was an appealing one. His thoughts turned to a pro career and when 1968 opened he had signed for Sun-Truwel, part of the CarltonRaleigh empire. In talks with the boss Gerald O’Donovan, the targets they discussed included the hour record – again – and rather bizarrely the End-to-End record. Neither attempt materialised, and instead Dave found himself riding alongside team-mate Pete Chisman in the pro bunches, competing against people like Porter, Lewis and Metcalfe. Ironically Dungworth turned professional the year that Alf Engers was finally reinstated as an amateur, so these two great 25-mile champions never came up against each other when they were at their height. But the road-racing adventure didn’t really work out. He won the Llangollen-
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Wolverhampton race and was fifth in the Tour of the South-West stage race, but he still wasn’t a full-time rider – he couldn’t afford to be – and the move up from 25mile time trials to 125-mile road races was a tough proposition. The pro career lasted just two years before he packed up racing, married, and settled down to building up his business. But there was to be an amazing postscript to Dungworth’s career. In the mid 1980s he came back to racing and was soon putting up some pretty fast times, culminating in a time of 50:50 in September 1989 - this was when he was 44 years old. It was a minute and half faster than his own comp record set 23 years earlier, and it was still in the pre-tri-bar era. It was a phenomenal time, proof of his intensely competitive urge. He was incapable of just racing for fun, he had to push to the very limit. But even this wasn’t enough for him: he became determined to get inside 50 minutes, and maybe even grab back the comp record that Engers had taken from him. But this was another dream that was not to be. The following winter he came down with a viral infection that knocked him sideways. It left him with ME-type symptoms that blighted his life for four years. Eventually he started riding again, but he had to admit that the story of Dave Dungworth, champion and record-breaker, was finally over. Today Dungworth lives in Nottingham, in an immaculate house that is ample testimony to his skill as a decorator. His wife Jean says that even now when they are driving up the A1, the car mysteriously seems to get faster as they approach the old finish at Blyth. And the business Dave runs is called “Midas”, a fitting symbol for a rider whose career had that golden touch.
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PLANET X’S OLD SCHOOL SERIES CAUSES CONCERN FOR THE CYCLING PRESS
Our little mole tells us that Cycling Weekly is monitoring the progress of Planet X's old skool series very closely. Having noted that we are indeed still seriously intent on pressing ahead with the competition and that it wasn’t just "hot air" fuelled by Asda's porky-burgers and Pepsi-Max, Cycling Weekly's bigwigs brought the matter to the top of their agenda when they called an extra-ordinary meeting at their Sutton Head Office recently to consider what measures need to be taken to ensure that any coverage of the events is kept to the absolute minimum.
“..the series will immediately become an unprecedented success..” Robert Garbutt, (Cycling Weekly's editor) is reported as having not said, "We've been doing all we can to suppress coverage of time trialling in the country and then the old skool series comes along and raises its ugly head. If anybody other than the old silver fox of time trialling turns up, the series will immediately become an unprecedented success. How awkward a position will that put us in? We might even have to consider carrying a report….with text and pictures... of a time trial in.. ahem..Britain's biggest selling cycling magazine! Quite unexpected and totally irregular something I've never experienced in all my years of editorship and certainly not in my brief here at Cycling Weekly! …. Ok!"
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Planet X's own independent panel of cycling experts believes there has recently been a minor upsurge in articles related to time trialling, and in particular to "old skool" related material, in the cycling press. However, this is considered to be a "blip" influenced by seasonal trends that arise whenever such illustrious cycling periodicals like Time Trial Weekly and Testing Times come on to the scene. Cycling Weekly shareholders need not get too concerned however because their editorial team has everything under control.
cling Weekly's hierarchy, involve brain as well as brawn. "Riders will have to give much thought to where they plan to go to cover as many courses as possible within the given timescale. Obviously, they will have to be fit to achieve the objective too!"
“We find Time Triallists generally come out on top…...”
Planet X (always one step ahead) is already running something very Rather than totally ignore time similar…although bikes aren't intrialling in the coming months, one volved and the characteristics necyoung and enthusiastic member of essary to stay the course need nurtheir editorial team Simon Smythe turing over a number of years to ("fresh" from a fortnight's all exmaximise the individual's full popenses paid stay at Barnsley Royal tential. We meet, more often than Infirmary following his recent Bognot, as soon as the Fish and Duck in gle Hole shoe-ing experience) put Adwick le Street throws open its forward a proposal to "play Planet X doors. We then work our way round as many different pubs as at their own game". possible, drinking a pint at each, until closing time .. or until the last We understand that panic measures are being taken to put in place a man's standing. The winner is the one who's consumed the most pints. new competition to take on Planet The organiser Dave Loughran (well X's old skool series in a no-holds known on the drinking circuit for barred head to head challenge. Alhosting such events) was thinking though the reports have yet to be of saying "Those taking part don't confirmed, we understand that the need a brain in their head. We find new competition will involve riders attempting to cover as many different time triallists generally come out on top surprisingly outdrinking hardCTT courses as possible within a ened roadmen two to one! Northgiven 12 hour period. Riders will each be issued with a Garmin moni- erners seem to figure quite highly in the results too!" toring device (to verify the claims) and set on their way. At the end of the 12 hour period, the rider who will We will endeavour to keep you have ridden along the greatest numupdated as to what further progress ber of the courses listed in CTT's occurs but you can rest assured that handbook will be the winner. The you'll hear everything that's worth competition will, according to Cyhearing here in Testing Times first!
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GAMBLING……..on rules 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 lighthearted 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. The RTTC has been using a vehicle to check on the extent of rulebreaking and the first report has been submitted to the National Council:In accordance with the terms of reference advised at the March meeting, our first six-monthly report is undernoted. Some difficulties arose in setting up the system and we detail these to avoid repetition as the scheme expands. The recommended van had been used previously for similar work and was very suitable. Initially, however, there was a little unfortunate public relations when parking in suburban streets. It was evident that people in nearby houses were turning off their television sets and pulling curtains, to give the impression of being out.
Will Townsend’s brainchild….circa 1975 side of the van which read “GPO Detector Van.” Our first event was the Cwmcarn Ross-Shire Poly CC Mountain 33 1/3 miles time trial, but we stalled on the first hill and were pushed backwards with unnecessary enthusiasm down a 1 in 8. A breakdown lorry was summoned to lift us from the ditch and repairs delayed checks by a fortnight. The next assignment involved the Belle Vue Jubilee Wheelers “25”. It was decided to patrol the course and take photographs of riders transgressing the rules of racing.
Six men gave themselves up, admitting they hadn’t a TV licence. Two of them claimed their sets were never turned on and four said their sets were in their wives’ names.
Pictures taken at this event are enclosed, marked one and two. The quality is indifferent, due to heavy rain on the windscreen and part of a thumb appearing on the negatives. It is not, therefore, possible to determine the number of the rider colliding with the police car.
We then removed the sign on the
Although print three will be irrele-
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vant to the committee, it does show what the Kodak Brownie can do in the right conditions. This shot was taken through the side window of a stationary car in which a lady competitor was changing. You will notice the emphasis on the contour, with the subtle contrast between light and shade. There was a little camera shake. We regard this as useful research but were persuaded to discontinue by the male occupant of the next vehicle who became aggressive with a pump. In May we attended the St. Bognor Velo Club “50” which attracted a full field. It was considered that with good riders upon which to concentrate there would be considerable rule-breaking. Our impressions would have been confirmed if the pictures had come out. A girl at the chemists supplied the opinion that the camera must have been dropped from a great
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height. More probably the damage was caused by the gentleman with the pump to whom we will present the repair bill of 75 pence. His name is unknown but we will recognize him again when undressed. The next race was the Bon Amis San Fairy Ann CC “30”, which translated means “Good Friends Couldn’t Care Less.” The reason this was selected at random was because the title indicated a free and easy attitude to regulations, likely to attract the more rebellious rabble of the metropolis. In fact, the very first man we saw was tucked in behind a ‘bus to the turn (rule 49). It transpired in a rather heated conversation that he was a marshal, but it did indicate to us the potential rule-bending of this itinerant event.
Later, a competitor was seen to have his head down and proceeding in a dangerous manner (rule 48). He was then observed to ride into a parked furniture van. Before we could intervene two men closed the doors and drove off. The identity of the rider is not known for certain but the event secretary did receive a postcard from Inverness a dew days later, asking if a pile of clothes had been found at the finish and could they be sent on a north-bound train urgently. Another rider cruised at 30 mph for seven miles into the wind behind a caravan. He later complained it delayed him. It also appears that one competitor sent a decoy moped in front of a rival, who followed it off course and did double the distance.
Once a Scrubber . . . always a Scrubber The problem with any sports magazine is that by their very nature they feature interviews and analysis of the star performers and then back this up with training advice and tips so that lesser mortals like me can aspire to becoming one of the star performers. The carrot, of course, is that once success is achieved any former scrubber can then be featured in said magazine and will never again have to read those endless training articles. Whether Testing Times will follow this route is written only on the stars around Planet X. The rest of us have no inside knowledge.
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Information was laid that an unauthorised event was to take place which would break regulations 1 to 50, at least. The title, not in the handbook, was the Cape Wrath 12 hours. It was held on a remote extremity of Scotland, organized and timed by a Mr Rex Coley. He also won with 28 miles. There were no other starters. Clemency is recommended here, because he did give us a cheese roll after eleven hours. Also he was kind enough to offer to guide us back to civilisation by riding in front of our van. It was probably an unfortunate error that he diverted us into the sea at Brancaster in Norfolk. Coincidentally, he lives there. May we suggest to the Council that the next vehicle be fitted with three cameras and be amphibious?
by Ian Franklin
Of course, what these training articles miss is that once a scrubber, always a scrubber. Believe me, I know, having been at or near the bottom of the result sheets for the last 46 years.
Tommy Simpson said that he always polished the underside of his Detto Pietro shoes ‘til they shone and, as a naïve teenager, I thought this was the best training advice I had ever heard. So I did it religiously.
“...don’t worry about training, just clean the underside of your shoes”
Shamefully, my 9-year-old who is now riding schoolboy events, has been forced into following the same advice because, I guess, I have not yet learnt my lesson. “No, son”, I say “don’t worry about training, just clean the underside of your shoes”. He thinks I’m mad.
I started the habit of following published training advice when reading Cycling & Mopeds some 40-odd years ago. In an interview,
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In the first three issues of Testing
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in an event I was given number 90. Can you imagine? Me? You’d probably have guessed by now, but numbers 91 to 120 came sailing past me as if I were standing still. It didn’t do my ego much good, especially after being in the queue at the start line with riders looking at me thinking I was some sort of time trialling god. Number 91 must have thought he was on a flyer. Unfortunately at the headquarters he turned round to me and said “I think you should train harder!” Cheek.
Season after season I have judged how well I am going by what I term “negative and positive equity”. Why train? Why follow all that advice offered in every issue of Scything Weakly? Will it make any difference? Take me for example – all my club mates know that I train like a dog, am fastidious about my equipment (including the soles of my shoes) and ride with immaculately shaved legs. My posing extends to wearing one red glove and one blue above which my arms are covered with one blue arm warmer and one red. It doesn’t make a ha’peth of difference.
Ian Franklin—a superb example of “still life” photography - courtesy www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk Times the poor reader heard a lot from the great and the good, but where is the voice of us scrubbers? We are the people who make up the majority of most fields and our entry fees provide the prize money that allows Hutch or whoever to be helicoptered into events. Being in the majority, scrubbers deserve their place in the headlines alongside Messrs Cammish, Dawson, Instone, Engers et al. I often tell those that win events, such as Sam Barker, that if it wasn’t for the likes of me, he’d have no one to beat. Those of us who inhabit that place near the bottom of the result sheets, usually some 20 minutes (or more) slower than Hutch and his cohorts, do so with pride. The people we look to beat are those who live in the same vicinity. We’re easy to recognise providing the event secretary has done his job correctly. We all wear a number 4 or a number 9. On the only occasion that I was chosen as a reserve
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Season after season I have judged how well I am going by what I term “negative and positive equity”. It works like this. If I catch 6 riders but am caught by 8 then I’m in the red. I have to train harder and polish more manically. If however, I catch eight riders and am only passed by six, I’m then in positive equity and I can treat myself to a mint Aero on the way home. (Aero is the chocolate of choice because of its obvious connections with time trialling equipment.) Happily, I have won one event in my life and that will live with me forever. It was the first evening 5 of the season and the weather was foul. Only two riders turned up. Me, with my shaved legs hidden under my leg-warmers, tri-spoke carbon wheels, 19mm tubs, aero helmet – the works. My opponent was on a Dawes touring bike complete with a saddlebag. Her saddle was 9cms too low. It was her first event and I beat her. YES!!! Success at last! Hopefully, the Editor may allow more such musings from the land of 4s and 9s in future issues. You have yet to learn about how to ride a 1-32-01 “25”; what happened when I first got under the hour and why it didn’t count; and how I punctured my own tires during a 25 which saved the disgrace of finishing slower than Fat Freddie.
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WHERE I’M AT AND WHERE I’M GOING….. by Bradley Johnston Off the sun-bed and, for once, not off on his global travels training like a pro to race against us amateurs, Planet X’s latest new-boy on the block Brad Johnston tells us what he’s been up to over the winter and where he’s going in 2009. “At the end of last season which I finished in early October I had three weeks off and started back training on the 1st of November. Then after two weeks of long steady miles consisting of around 10 hours in the first week and 15 in the second week I went to France for 3 weeks . I stayed with a family I know from a local cafe that I go to and who I am quite friendly with and the cafe is very cycling friendly. I was based in
“In those three weeks (in the South of France) I did 88 hours of riding on the bike” the South of France near Bordeaux. In those three weeks I used the heart rate monitor to ride at my fat burning levels on those long rides. These levels were calculated by my close friend and coach Ken Cowdell, with the use of the Kingcycle. In those three weeks I trained at this zone of 125 to 160 Bpm for 4-6 hours per day. In those three weeks I did 88
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hours of riding on my bike. The idea was to stick to a good diet and complete long steady miles and as my friend says they are in the bank now for the year. Then when I came back in December and continued to do long steady miles on the bike of 1525 hours in the saddle depending on work . I work as a fitness instructor at a fitness village not far from me,
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which is ideal for training. Also in December and early January I went to the gym 2-3 times a week and did core work, back and leg weights to improve my strength and core stability. Then on the 10th of January until the 11th of February I went to Gran Canaria with a few other friends who ride the bike, who are at different abili-
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ties. There was a lot of climbing and miles in the saddle again in good weather conditions though. The weather was 20 degrees most days on the coastal roads, however in the centre of the Island at the highest point it could be raining and one day there was ice on the road, this was at 2000 feet. In 32 days of training I did 3800 kilometres, which included long steady riding in my fat burning zone, intervals and sprinting drills.
sprints with 4 minute and 30 seconds off and repeat this 8 times and then the sprints were done. These drills were done because I want to improve my road racing ability due to the fact I've got Rayner funding for Belgium in late May for three months, where I hope to get vital experience on the continent and keep learning and improving my road racing ability which I really enjoy.
For the trip to Gran Canaria I rented a power metre from Cyclopowermetres, a Cyclops wireless power tap. Just before the training camp I performed a test with Ken Cowdell once again but this time to determine my levels and zones when using power and watts. The test was 2 hours long which included various different tests like, for example, some 1 minute efforts, 2 minutes, 5 minutes and to finish a 20 minute test to determine the 7 power zones that I've got for different zones, i.e: recovery, lactate threshold, sprinting zones etc . So on some days I was doing some intervals at a zone called 'sweetspotting' for different durations depending on how I felt and what I had done the day before. Also towards the end of the second week I started to incorporate some intervals of 3 minutes on 3 minutes off at 400-420 watts, threshold work, this was mainly done up a climb I used, which was near a banana plantation near a place called Arguinigain, I would try and do 5 of these but would stop if I was not hitting those levels. As I was getting fitter later in the training camp I was increasing the duration of the intervals. Also incorporated into rides were sprinting drills of uphill, downhill and on the flat sprints. I would practice sprints of all different nature, from 8 second sprints to 30 second
“In 32 days of training (in Gran Canaria) I did 3800 kilometers”
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When I was out in Gran Canaria I trained on my own quite a lot, but there were a lot of cyclists there, and some very good amateurs and professional riders who I would meet up with from various nations, such as Austrians, Germans, Danes and Italians. I rode a few times with the Astana rider Popovik (if that's how you spell it!). This was very hard as we were always climbing and he was about 8 stone. Also I rode with a danish kid who was riding the madison in the Copenhagen 6 day, a Norwegian pro who was going for a test with Team Columbia the following week. More often than not I was either on my own or in small groups, I like to be on the front doing my training and this is how you get better and stronger. Back in in England I train in small groups, with the likes of John Tanner, Wayne Randle, Kevin Dawson, Malcolm Elliot and I also go into the Peak District with the Downing brothers on Wednesdays. Tuesday morning I go on the Rotherham chaingang, which is a mixture of all the above and the best riders in the
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country. This is were we go through and off for around an hour but it is really fast and good training and replicates a road race, which in my eyes is what you need to improve. Mondays, after racing on most weekends both Saturdays and Sundays, will be a recovery ride with some friends and a social, so we go to the cafe for a coffee and catch up, which is nice to after a hard weekend's racing. At the moment I'm doing 15 hours a week plus the racing at weekends, when the nights get light I will do a double session on a Tuesday of an hilly 4 hour ride in the morning and then I will go on the Doncaster chaingang at night for the speed work, which is very fast and consists of all the riders discussed earlier. My objectives are to improve on my road racing, hence going to Belgium and trying to learn my trade more. Early season and late season in England to win as much as I can both in road racing and time trialling. I want to do the BAAR again, so the 50, 100 and 12 hour Nationals, hopefully winning the 12 hour this time. The team prize in all three with the likes of Cammish and Wayne— we should have a good chance. The national 3 up - try and improve on the bronze medal I got last year. Basically, I want to get the best out of myself. I'm a lot lighter this year, 78 kilo's where as last year I was 88 kilo's. So I'm climbing a lot better, going well on the flat and I just need to do some more top end work and I think I'll get to where I want to be, well I hope so”.
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WARNING! DO NOT CHALLENGE THIS MAN. “The Randle” is still on the loose and wreaking havoc throughout the counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire luring unsuspecting team-mates into going out for a gentle "tootle" only for them to find they've unwittingly signed up to have a "Right Royal Rogering" aka “Randlising”. Still ….two wins for the Planet X Randle / Johnston duo… first the Team Sheffrec 2 up 25 which they won by 2 minutes or so with a longish "53" then the Gainsboro Aegir 2 up "10" which they won with a long "21". Really encouraging sprinting form was demonstrated by Johnston at the various town signs encountered during each event and there were excellent examples of the art of half wheeling each and every time a change in pace-maker took-
Randle gives team-mates a “Right Royal Rogering... ” place. Rumour has it each rider only managed two turns each at the front during the 25. There was a tie in the Hot-spot sprint competition but since double points were available in the final sprint the honours (not unexpectedly) went to “The Randle”. Jonhston is already believed to be off his drip-feed and is reported to have been back on to solid foods within four days of the event which just goes to show the character and true grit of the man. He's due to be discharged within the next few days and should be able to return to light training within the week. Share prices in "The Tanning
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Shop" have plummeted since Johnston's been out of circulation. Those for "Instant Tan" have however hit an all time high which is all good news for one leading figurehead at Planet X who, with access to "inside information", has recently invested
Share prices in "The Tanning Shop" have plummeted since Johnston's been out of circulation. heavily in that specific area of the market. He is reported to have said he won't be turning his back on supporting cyclists despite the fact he is well on his way to his umpteenth million - he says he still likes to see grown men cry and, to that end, has pledged a good percentage of his
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new found wealth into lining up some of the country's best cyclists to ride alongside “The Randle”. Those "in the know" will continue to keep out of the lime-light and ride low key solo time trial events which are unlikely to attract the attention of the Sponsor. The more naïve and innocent however will be asked to step forward to satisfy “The Randle's” insatiable appetite for more of the same! He who knows no pain continues in his relentless quest to Randlise the Nation - so you've been warned! Steer clear of Barnsley. More updates on who's blown..who's bonked..and who's been bedbound in the next issue of Testing Times.
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BIG BEN’S BLOG “Well my plan to set a new course record at every event I entered this year was thwarted yesterday(Sunday 29 March) by high winds and heavy rain on the Q10/33. Still, 6 out of 6 isn’t too bad I suppose but I did kinda liked the idea of 7 - but it wasn’t to be. For those who don’t know the course it’s not and out and back, but more of a “U” shape with one of the fastest first few miles I’ve come across. It would have been pretty fast anyway with the first 8 minutes being pretty much down hill (not the best surface being Kent - but still fast) and combined with the 30 mph tail wind made it unbelievably quick. 53/11 and I gave up pedalling at 140 rpm near the bottom as I passed my minute man Robin Johnson before I realized that there was a very wet corner coming up. Slight panic and a whole luck of luck got me around that one - then things got really tough. The wind suddenly hit me from the side and trying to stay upright became the main challenge for the next couple of miles (as well as trying not to disappear down the numerous potholes that the roads around here seem to be made of) before it became a dead-on head wind as the road started to drag on upwards towards the finish. Still, I was going pretty well I thought and at least now the wind wasn’t trying to dump me into oncoming traffic. 22 minutes later I was starting to really suffer. In front of me was a very nasty looking climb no one had mentioned. This one was really gonna be unpleasant and I was beginning to get a little fed up so just concentrated on catching the rider I could see in the distance at the top of the hill. I glanced down again at the SRM …..24 minutes! Hang on, I know it’s tough but 24 minutes can’t be right. What’s going on? Mr Tadros is gonna annihilate me at this pace -
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better get a move on! I caught the rider in front just at the top of the climb and asked where the finish was only to be told it was about 2 miles back down the road. Now I’m not happy. I’ve just finished the 12th mile of a 10 mile TT plus an extra nasty hill because the bloke standing next to a car a couple of miles back didn’t have a finish board with him. Normally these things don’t get to me but sprinting up a bloody great hill after 11 miles, unnecessarily, made me a little grumpy for a while but fortunately it took about 10 minutes to get back to the HQ and by then my sense of humour had returned. After a pint of Torq Chocolate/orange recovery I was beginning to feel human again so all
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that was left to do was find out the result. Pete was already inside and was guessing he had done a mid to long 21. He had forgot to charge his SRM before the race so it had died before the start. All I knew was that I had done a 24 minute 12 mile, so just had to eat some home made scones they had laid on for us and wait. Pete’s result came in 21.47 - and then mine… 21.17… phew! Relief, I’d won. My string of CR’s had been broken but I was still very happy until I went back outside to see my bike which looked like it had just done a cyclo-x race. Bl**dy Kent roads! Might be interesting and fun for a while but can’t wait to get back on to nice clean safe DC’s”.
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TIME TRIALLING’S FUTURE? by Peter Whitfield We are always agonising about the future of time-trialling aren’t we, moaning that testers are getting older, that half the riders in any race are over 50, that no youngsters are coming into the sport, and so on. So I thought it would be instructive to talk to the Yeatman brothers, two very hot
riders would be more than happy with times like these, so how long have they been racing, and how did it all start for them? “Neither of our parents were cyclists,” says Tom, “in fact Dad used to race motor-bikes, and he’s got the scars to prove it. It was
almost from the word go. The funny thing is, John said he would stop racing when we could beat him, so when Rob beat him at the age of 14, John retired!” The Yeatmans live in rural North Oxfordshire, and they are not exactly part of a red-hot youth cycling scene. Their school is a big compre-
The Yeatmans don’t see themselves ever wanting to ride 100’s or 12’s: they don’t see the point.
Rob Yeatman—14 year old age category winner in the CTT National Junior 10 & 25 Championships juniors who may or may not represent the future of time-trialling. Tom Yeatman is 17 and he is just about to start a college course in sports physiotherapy. He came second in last season’s Junior BAR, with a 25 time of 53:59. Rob is 15, still at school preparing for his GCSE’s. He was eighth in the Junior BAR with a phenomenal 56:53 – is this a record for this age-group I wonder? Most senior
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Dad’s brother John who fixed us up with bikes and started taking us out. This was when I was about 12 and Rob was 10, and we’ve never looked back, we were hooked. John is a member of the Oxonian CC, and has done quite a lot of racing, so we owe it all to him really.” When did it start to get serious? “Straight away! We were soon riding almost every day, racing cyclo-cross and club time-trials
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hensive in Chipping Norton, where they are the only serious cyclists. Rob said, “A few years ago the others at school hadn’t a clue about bike racing, and thought we were a bit weird. But eventually they started noticing our results, and now they are quite impressed – but they are still not volunteering to join us!” Rob’s highlight of the year was winning the Wessex League under 16 cyclo-cross trophy, with riders from all over southern England competing in the twelve counting events. He also won the 14-year-old category in the national junior 10 and 25 mile championships. Tom was spotted by Nigel Job, coach and talent scout for Glendene CC, the elite junior club headed by Bob Downs. His biggest success of 2008 was being part of the winning team in the national junior 10 and setting a new competition record. With the Glendene he has already travelled to Belgium and raced in kermesses – “The first time I got shot off the back after an hour, next time I lasted two hours!” Rob has
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just started road-racing this spring, and got a second at Hog Hill in his first event. This is the central point: they are brilliant young time-triallists, but they both see their real future in road-racing, with a professional contract as
There are some brilliant young testers like the Yeatmans coming through now, but the numbers involved are tiny – probably less than a hundred in the whole country with this level of commitment and the necessary talent. The Yeatmans are not part
“We both really enjoy timetrialling, but I suppose we see it as a starting-point for other, bigger things. It’s also some thing you can always come back to.”
Tom Yeatman—Runner-up in the 2008 CTT Junior BAR the ultimate prize. “We both really enjoy timetrialling, but I suppose we see it as a starting-point for other, bigger things. It’s also something you can always come back to.” Maybe this is the big difference in attitude: a generation ago, time-trialling could be seen as an end in itself, you could be a timetriallist from the age of 15 to the age of 50 and never want anything else. Now time-trialling feels more like a private hobby, while the big challenges and the big rewards can come only through success in roadracing, or perhaps on the track. The Yeatmans don’t see themselves ever wanting to ride 100’s or 12’s: they don’t see the point. Of course they can say that now, and they have plenty of time to change their minds, but if they don’t, it doesn’t bode well for the future of the BAR does it ?
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of any local cycling network, and they do all their training alone, Tom putting in around 1000 miles a month, Rob about 600. But like most people, the Yeatmans are uncertain about the future of timetrialling. “Not many parents are going to be happy about their kids racing on open roads in modern traffic,” said Tom. “That’s one of the reasons we started off by riding so much junior cyclo-cross – it’s fun and it’s safe. Maybe time-trialling could go more onto circuits. The Blenheim time-trial last October was one of the best events I’ve ever ridden, on closed estate roads. I was fourth overall, behind Hutchinson, Instone and Vincent. What do we need to raise time-trialling’s profile? Well the most important thing would be our own magazine, every month if not every week, for news, views and results: any sport has to have that to build up its sense of identity.” This is something that really needs to be listened to. Time-trialling needs a forum, the races need to be publicised as events that are worth riding: a sport that is hidden, unreported and ignored has to be heading for decline. This level of dedication is very demanding on parents. Mike, their father, reckons he drove 15,000 miles last year getting the two of them to events around the country. Their lives are very different from those of most modern teenagers: no endless hours with computer games or night-clubbing or facebooking, or just hanging around waiting for something to happen. They have their sights set on goals that are a lot more demanding than that, and they and the other youngsters like them are the future of cycling; whether they are also the future of time-trialling has to be more doubtful.
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x ...AND WHAT DO POINTS MAKE? PLANET X OLD SKOOL SERIES PRIZES OF COURSE! Good news! We finally managed to pin the Boss down long enough to talk right through the old skool series prize list! We've often started... but for one reason or another kept getting side-tracked and never managed to get through to the end. But at last …here we have it (best to get it in print before he changes his mind eh?). All entrants to the event will get a freebie when they sign on - courtesy PowerBar. ALL entrants too…not just the Boneshaker Brigade (courtesy madbiker 48). Overall prizes down to 20th position - still sorting out exactly what (come on….getting this far is a major miracle isn't it?)..but first prize will be an all new Planet X retro bike to the value of "about" £1000..no shillings..and sixpence. Every 5th prize will be a cracker (not as in Christmas…well at least I don't think so…I'll find out and let you know later) and 20th prize a pair of Planet X Artisan Chrono Handmade Silk Tubulars worth … well lots! (That alone is sure to make at least 20 enter…won't it?).
Prizes for each event? 1 £50 - Credit with Planet X online + Retro Cycling Cap + Old Skool Jersey 2 £40 - Credit with Planet X online + Retro Cycling Cap 3 £30 - Credit with Planet X online + Retro Cycling Cap 4 £20 - Credit with Planet X online + Retro Cycling Cap 5 £10 - Credit with Planet X online + Retro Cycling Cap
Special prizes (don't know what yet... but "Continental" has chipped in!) for most Old Skool Bike and Old Skool racing Outfit - to be chosen by the event organiser (probably). Don't worry too much about kit eh? No aero hats, no discs or deep section wheels, no tri-bars….anything else is a bonus. Just enter into the spirit of it and have fun. (But the more retro the better!).
AND..of course there's the £500 cash bonus for the first riders to break either Sturgess's or Alf's old skool records. (Might have to check over your bike if you get either of these! Something much the same as theirs and there'll be no problem though!). Should be fun shouldn't it? So…be there AND be square then!
S EE
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PLANET X MECHANICS ON OVERTIME IN BID TO MEET OLD SKOOL SERIES DEADLINE! Mark Minting forgoes his Friday evening track league to cobble together anything and everything that Bag Rat Randle hasn’t yet managed to get his hands on — the old silver fox of time trialling (Cammish) now (just about) has a bike!! Here’s what it looked like with less than 7 days to go.
More pics next time round! S EE
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THE THOUGHTS OF CHAIRMAN MIAOW Modern Bikes and Modern Sport Last month my new Planet X Carbon Road and Stealth TT bikes arrived too late to have evaluated, so before I go any further here's how I've got on. It’s twenty years of improvements in one go and I've been astonished. I’d expected to feel the benefit of losing 4 or 5lb over my 80`s machines but what came as a total shock was the comfort and handling. The road bike handles better than any bike ever owned, precise in steering while retaining a neutral , stable feel. For a nervous wreck of a bike handler like me it just inspires confidence. This is my first experience of Shimano`s brake lever gear changing, my old machine has Huret Friction 7sp levers. I'd always disliked the bulky appearance of the hoods but now I've used ‘em a few weeks I doubt I'd ever want to go back. Not only are they far more comfortable than I’d ever have expected, the change and braking are flawless. Leading on from the brake/gear levers to the handlebars. These are Planet X`s own brand with angular drops and flattened tops. As with the levers, they’re a first for me and not something I expected to feel “right”. How wrong I was!..they’re the most comfortable road bars I've ever used both on the tops and on the hooks.
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The 24/20 spoke wheel set felt fast and light and despite my reservations about so few spokes have remained perfectly true and, as with the frame, inspire confidence. The 172.5 Stronglight carbon cranks are another first both in materials and length ( Previously I've only ridden 170mm on all my bikes) and look awesome as well as being fantastically light. The extra 6 gears
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(prior I was on 7sp blocks) have been most welcomed and I finally managed to climb the very steep and long climb directly outside by door without coming to a halt on the last super steep part. It all adds up to an enormous improvement over my 80`s machinery. The fact is, this is an off the peg machine yet fits me (the only change from standard specification
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was a 12 cm stem replacing the standard 10cm) and handles better than any of the made to measure machines I've previously ridden and at a retail price of just over £1000 is actually cheaper than my 80`s machine would have sold for. Fabulous. Cant wait to try the TT bike!.
“Serious sport is like war without the bullets” George Orwell. I saw this quote on the Time Trialling Forum and it got me thinking about sport in this day and age. The dictionary defines sport: An activity for exercise, pleasure or competition. Many of us might add to this that competition it is conducted in a sense of fair play and good natured conduct, ultimately winning being LESS important than winning at the expense of gentlemanly behavior. To some ( perhaps a lot?) that might sound like the wishful thinking of a bygone age. Others might add that coming from it’s a bit rich given my history and to some extent I accept that criticism . During my career there was no Lottery Funding able to provide
above average incomes for elite “Amateur” riders and very little in the way of training grants and coaching and equipment provision like the BC set up today. Basically it followed that the best we had at each discipline were selected to represent GB at Worlds, Commonwealth and Olympic Games. They'd be the odd exceptional result, the occasional recrimination over poor results and the “Comic” would pick over the bones with a “post World’s inquest “. Did someone die? To be honest, we got the results our investment deserved and with the status of cycling as a minority sport in this nation also probably in proportion to our participation numbers. We winged and moaned and hoped to do better next time. In many ways the approach back then could be said to far more in keeping with that old Olympic ideal of participation being more important than results. We tried our best.
Lottery funding has changed all that and produced an Elite team and set up the envy of the world, one that I've absolutely no doubt other Nations around the world are looking and learning from and no doubt some are “investing” millions to find ways to match and beat the BC team come London 2012. The sporting “arms race” gets further and further away from any concern with
lofty ideals of fair play, even handedness and its “the taking part that matters “ ideology into a cut throat all or nothing spectacle that's a million miles from grass root sport participation of the general public. The millions of pounds of public lottery funding spent on a couple of dozen or so cyclist is way out proportion to any benefit grass routes sport might gain and Joe public has every reason to complain that Lottery funding isn't being spent for the benefit of the wider community. So what's it all about?..Is sport being used, like the former soviet block did, to promote their ideology as superior or is sport being used, like it was by the Romans as a distraction from important matters of state and public well being?. Perhaps it’s sport being used by Corporations .. “product” placement, brand identity etc...little more than a soulless media tool worth billions to the likes of Nike, Adidas, Sony etc. In this day and age of a “Global Free Market Economy” the last of these three options probably carries the most credibility but in truth it’s a combination of all three and sport as defined in those old Olympic ideals is the long term looser. Orwell was right .
In Testing Times next month Mandy Jones (maybe!) / Ken Joy (probably) / Instone and Webster (try to keep them away) Cammish's "take" on Cycling Weekly's 2 April "Ride with Cammish" piece Reports on the first of the old skool series events, …..and more….Nob Off S EE
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NOB off the back...introducing Time Trialling to Cebu (doing his bit for the local community!) :-) Sir God Cammish commanded me to write a brief on Cebu 10 mile events & he howled down (Don’t bring me into this!!....Ed) “Do a piece on how time trialling over there compares with tting over here? Where do they get their kit from? How do they enter races? Do they have start sheets? How many events are there a year? Do they have club events? What are the courses like? Are they up to RTTC standards etc etc” (AND keep it short I said!!....Ed) So let’s start in 2006—with 10 yrs of marriage behind me & two daughters later the thought of getting a UK style event was a daunting one. However, having been introduced to the Godfather, Doc J.V. Araneta of Cebu Cycling, who is also a dentist & columnist for one of the local daily newspapers we got a 4 up 46 Kms TTT off the ground. It was so successful I suggested promoting a 10 mile event to focus on shorter individual events.
No one likes cheques here - it’s all cash “Mafia” style so “no pay - no ride” otherwise it’s broken legs time. So using the 1km markings that lay along the main North Highway
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we chose a 8km section of road which is relatively flat—and so the first “10” course was born & named Catmon 48-56-48 (which were the kilometre markings...so accuracy was assured!). After a few beers it was checked using a measuring device consisting of a disc wheel & kilo clicker jobby that you used to use on your front wheel when you were a kid.
to our “Mafia” being close to a warlord clan of powerful Politicians one of whom races - Mayor of Danao City. The organisation has a “Mafia” style approach to getting things done. Wo-betide anyone who knocks off one of our riders (I won’t go there..) during the event as motorists on this Warlords turf really respect cyclists when a race is on even the suicidal bus liners that tear up & down the highway without a care in the
Godfather of Cebu Cycling approved the course as Cebu Cycling is governed solely by one man who has the RECYCLE group which consists of motorcycle riding marshals; two or three time keepers which have CTT approved Seiko watches (care of me acquiring these from dubious
Wo-betide anyone who knocks off one of our riders
sources for next too nothing!!), Pusher off’s, turn marshals & those that actually direct & stop traffic. Yes we also have Police helping due
How do we go about entering? Forget about all that stupid nonsense about entry forms, snail mail etc, we are more environmentally
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world - for anyone or anything.
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aware than the CTT as entries are done by Cell phone & E-mail & all sent to the Godfather . He works with the sponsor (me in some cases) to sort out the start sheet which is e-mailed or texted back to riders. Entry fees are paid at the Criterium event that is held every Saturday at a Reclamation area. No one likes cheques here - it’s all cash “Mafia” style so “no pay - no ride” otherwise it’s broken legs time. As the course is 1hrs drive North of Cebu City we start our races on Philippine time so even if the start sheet say 8.01 first rider its normally 9.01 so there is time to get that last buko juice down your neck or an extra few minutes in the bed to finish off the night time activity! Riders all sign on at the timekeeper area which is the start area also & number is given.
The start area normally looks like this as we get good support from the locals when they see something unusual going on in there area. Looks like a National Championship doesn’t it! Riders are split up into 3 categories. We have Cat B for those that ride train regularly & are under 40. Cat C those who are over 40 & race occasionally & Cat RB which is for the older riders over 50. The Godfather & his RECYCLE group decide who fits in with who as cycling here is a close community so everyone gets to know one another which helps the growth of this type of event. The few snaps of the course show a mixture of cement & asphalt which is lumpy in places.
Ingenious way of getting a bike to the event Finish area is also in the same place hence the need for the traffic directing marshals that take care of the traffic with full authority from the local warlords Policemen.
With regard to competitor’s machine & attire—we ensure that road bike type machine are allowed with good functioning brakes & an approved helmet is mandatory for all Cebu races due to the nature of the suicidal buses, jeepneys & trucks that speed up & down the single lane highway. We allow sleeveless tops but everything else complies to CTT rules. We also allow the use of trade team attire as remember this is a 3rd world country & not everyone can afford club or team kit here. Bottom line... we need to attract riders from all backgrounds to help the sport grow.
S EE
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the riders followed by an awards ceremony which is in the form of cash (which is always welcome by the riders in this part of the world to help feed their families). Events are not preplanned at the beginning of the year but usually suggested by riders themselves or by the sponsor usually 2-3 month before the planned event. Racing carries on throughout the year with no winter unlike the UK where all racing on roads ceases.
Here is the dead turn where traffic can be stopped to ensure the rider gets the right of way
What about Cycle Kit? Well Cebu has the well respected shop http://www.ykkbikes.com/ which has all the latest kit & cheaper group sets both Campagnolo & Shimano so bargains to be had for the UK visitor. :-)
There is also http://www.vellumcycles.com/ home.php whose President I hope to interview for a later edition of this Magazine as things are afoot within this Philippine Company so will learn more later. The other shop Makati based that is also widely used is http://www.pinoybikes.com/ whom helped me get my Parlee TT (another story in another edition) as they are exclusive agents for Parlee & many other well known brands. All in all, Cebu Cycling has grown since I introduced the TT’s as they have helped those new to the sport & provided shops with increased revenues. Everyone appears to be happy that this part of the sport has mushroomed. We have averaged more than 50 riders for the 8 events that have been promoted during the past two years. The next 10 mile ITT event is on March 22.
I’m now called the ITT Godfather. :-)
One of our motorcycle marshals flashes past to ensure safety of the riders out on the course & ready to pick anybody who may have mechanical trouble.
Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis
After riders finish its up to the wonderful Beach Resort of Huna Huna for hot lunch which is free for all
S EE
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