The Testing Times - July 2009

Reports

Reviews

Legends

Cranks

Riders

Kit

Old Skool

Carbon

JULY 2009 I’ve always had the utmost respect for Paul Sherwen...I believe he’s a closet “Tester” you see! I know that for a fact because he was always first in the queue for a seat in the Raleigh team car on my RRA record attempts during the 90s. He’s a good chap! Because of that, I always follow the Tour de France on Channel 4 (where he provides the commentary with Phil Liggett)…..after I’ve watched it, of course, on British Eurosport (which is headed up by Testing Times readers David Harmon and Sean Kelly). I know we all have our faults (ok?) but I wish the dynamic Sherwen / Liggett duo would stop referring to rider’s performances as being “unbelievable” - because last year, on most occasions, they were! First Piepoli ….then Schumacher...then Kohl - all truly unbelievable performances and not surprisingly so under the circumstances!

Dare we hope that what we see this year is all done on pasta and passion rather than pills and potions?

Good to see it (the TdF) started well anyway. Wiggins’ superb third place in the prologue dismisses some pundits’ views that Continental Pros would knock out 16 minute “10”s on Levens - be interesting to see what they could do all the same!

MANY thousands of “hits” of Testing Times on ISSUU and only a couple of

In this Issue: Old Skool Series - Rounds 6, 7 and 8 (if we can’t spell we can count) National 25 Champs Peter Whitfield on Cromack and Bowen Gambling Frankly Franklin SHOCK...HORROR…

A little bit of this…

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

A little bit of tha….

responses to June’s plea for contributions (not money ….although that would be nice of course…. but for articles / photos etc to brighten likeminded individuals’ days!). I never cease to be amazed!

More moans and groans.

Who’s Hot...Who’s Not… Who Cares?

Still no Sportives….

Still no improvement…..

Well we ain’t going away and we’ll continue to strive to meet our original self-stated objective (remember ….regularly irregular blah de blah nonsense?) until, and unless, the more critical amongst you are prepared to do something about it!

So..you’ve been warned…ok?

Now Nob off!

INSIDE - Injection of new blood (very topical with the TdF upon us!!) - Steve Kish and special guest appearances of new Old Skool reporters.

This week’s SPECIAL OFFER - this Month’s TESTING TIMES absolutely FREE...BUCKSHEE...GRATIS!

Anyone got any good gossip or nice pics? Don’t be shy - send ‘em to ian@planet-x-bikes.com in the strictest confidence (of course). ;-)

You get what you don’t pay for.

S EE

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TESTING TIMES.

WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM

A nice bit of blue!

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OLD SKOOL SERIES - ROUND 6 HITCHIN NOMADS 25 Planet X’s Old Skool Series hit the Border Counties (Bedfordshire / Cambridgeshire) on 7 June when Richard Bland and his merry men from the Hitchin Nomads CC hosted Round 6 of the Country’s premier season long time trialling competition.

The event clashed with the CTT’s National 25 mile championship and riders clearly knew where their priorities lay. Despite this, Bland was still graced with the presence of the competition’s front-running riders. Colin ‘The Power’ Parkinson (South Western RC) was returning to the competition after a short break which had been used (apparently) to “hone” his speed.

Word had quickly spread of the Jammy Dodger’s (i.e. Ian Cammish Planet X’s) sub-hour ride in the Team Swift 25 but ‘The Power’ was having none of the hype and declared his intention of doing something equally as spectacular despite the atrocious conditions which were forecast for the event.

The version of the F1 course being used on this occasion is considered by local experts to be the shortest - initially going south to turn at Sandy before going north to turn again at Buckden for the final 10 mile run-in to the finish at Tempsford.

Eight Old Skool riders were down to ride and several of them were seen milling around the HQ deciding whether or not the heavens were likely to open (as forecast!). Despite the uncertainty, it must be said that condi-

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David Sullivan - Bedfordshire Road CC set the early pace.

Photo courtesy of Dave Jones tions were looking pretty good when the first riders crossed the A1 on their way to the start. Bland had grouped most of the Old Skool riders together - others who didn’t want to get their best bikes dirty were able to go Old Skool at the last minute such is the beauty of the competition.

The first rider to take advantage of the competition’s relaxed approach to bike racing was David Sullivan (Bedfordshire Road CC). It is unclear whether his choice to ride with lights was as a concession to his early time of start or that he had doubts about being able to complete the course before dusk. Rumours of Gordon Hart and

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Eileen Cray (the official timekeepers) deliberating whether or not a calendar would be a more appropriate means of timing Sullivan are completely unfounded.

Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) was the next Old Skooler to commit to 25 miles of purgatory and was surely destined to accelerate into orbit as he blasted away from the start on his fixed gear. On current form Rose must be considered a serious contender for overall honours—a recent sub 2 hour ride for 50 miles must place him as a major threat should he choose to chase the Old Skool events.

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Seemingly oblivious to the reputation Rose is very quickly gaining, the Press’s and crowd’s attention was focused on ‘The Power’ Parkinson.

Bookies were giving odds at 2-1 on a win which was shortened drastically when it became apparent that the Jammy Dodger had thrown his toys out of his pram and wasn’t going to play. Attending to photo-calls and interviews, ‘The Power’ left it late to leave the race HQ for the start but arrived in time to collect his thoughts and set about a ride which he hoped would be “comfortably under”.

He was closely followed by Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) who, in the changing rooms before commencing his warm up, had stated his intention of a high overall placing.

Several other Old Skoolers including the Jammy Dodger and Michael Richardson (Icknield RC) had inadvertently got drawn into all the pre-race psyching out rituals and were later seen to be heading off to their respective cars where each sat in splendid isolation no doubt dwelling deeply on the seeds sown by their opponents.

Richardson - “My Barum PBWs have never been wet...and they’re not ever going to get wet” - followed Cammish’s lead and also chose not to start.

So with Chris Worsfold (APIMetrow) joining the fray the race was on, and the five warriors set off south down the A1 into battle.

Amateur timekeepers were found parked in virtually every lay-by around the course—each giving checks to their favourites. ‘The Power’ was living up to his name and was gradually pulling away from his rivals as they neared the second turn at Buckden. As they approached the “Southoe Bell” (that’s a former Pub—stopped off there for a quick pint one afternoon and was told not to sample its delights in the sun garden because cars had a habit of over-shooting the bends and often ended up re-arranging the borders!!) events took a turn for the worse for all the Old Skool riders with the exception of Sullivan and ‘The Power’ (although he would tell us otherwise). Cambridgeshire Police called a temporary halt to proceedings while emergency services set about recover-

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ing a vehicle which had ….urm....overshot one of the bends and ended up in the central reservation (which makes a pleasant change from The Bell’s front garden I’m sure!).

Hinxman, Worsfold, Uncle Tom Cobbley and the Paper-boy all got held up, but spurred on by Planet X’s generous prize list were undeterred, and the race continued as soon as the road was reopened.

‘The Power’ did not let his fans down and shot across the line in 1-00-14 “Without the 8 minute stop at The Bell I’m sure I’d have crept under - I think it was the ploughman’s that screwed me up...the chutney kept repeating on me.

It was nice enough the first time, but the second and third time were a bit hard to swallow!”.

Rose slipped in almost un-noticed with a superb 1-1-58. Surely one to watch in future rounds if he has any serious aspirations for National recognition.

Planet X’s Old Skool spot prizes and so gathered his Nomads (had to be careful with the spell-check there!) to ensure Cobbley made it safely back to the HQ to collect his prize.

The conclusion of the Nomads Hitchin 25 leaves the overall competition wide open. The scene is set for another intriguing battle in David Collard-Berry’s a3crg promotion later in the month. Testing Times will be there...so you’ve been warned! :-) Full Result: NOMADS HITCHIN 25 F1 7 JUNE 2009 C Parkinson (SWRC)

1-00-14

G Rose (Icknield RC)

1-1-58

G Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) 1-8-52 C Worsfold (API)

1-11-32

D Sullivan (Beds Road CC)

1-36-09

Worsfold is reported to have lost a wheel at the start of the Eaton Socon bypass - “The paper-boy was kicking through. I told him to keep it together but he was having none of it. I can’t handle all that stop/go stop/go nonsense….he kept saying something about having a job to do...well I’ve heard all that before from other full-time bikies and it makes me sick!”.

WHO’S HOT IN THE WORLD OF DOMESTIC TIME TRIALLING THIS MONTH…..

Hinxman, using all his years of experience easily outsprinted Uncle Tom Cobbley to take third position with 108-32. He was full of praise for his compatriot’s efforts - “He came through nice and steadily and shared the work 50:50 - incredible for an old boy like that. It looked like he was just out for a tootle at first, but boy oh boy what talent!”

Hutch - reportedly now holding down a 9 to 5 job and still able to annihilate the World’s best part-time cyclists.

Back at the HQ Uncle Tom Cobbley was later seen to be in a state of severe shock. “I was off on my way to the allotment when this tall skinny guy came past so close my braces got caught up in his handlebars - I only finally got dislodged at Tempsford when he put in a tremendous effort which catapulted me to the other side of Stevenage”. Fortunately, that hadn’t escaped the attention of Richard Bland who believed the rider’s 1950’s attire warranted one of

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Bradley Wiggins who, despite using a Zipp 1080, (which was met with more than a bit of controversy on the TT Forum.....Britain’s leading TT Forum!), recorded a 18-00 “10” on Levens. Year’s fastest…..so far!

Simmering and coming nicely to the boil..Nik Bowdler..on track for a second BBAR? Julia Shaw - pretty dammed hot!

Managing to stuff (in the nicest possible way) the majority of the Men’s field in the National 50...walked the women’s event by a couple of miles!

Alex Royle—schoolboy extraordinaire!

And RED HOT…..

...once a “creep” - always a “creep”!

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ROY CROMACK: THE 24-HOUR HISTORY-MAKER …WHO PREFERRED 10’S ! by Peter Whitfield Turn the clock back exactly forty years this month, and you reach one of those truly historic dates in time-trialling history: July 1969, which saw Roy Cromack become the first man to crack the 500-mile barrier for the 24. Those were the days when there were still four 24hour races every year, but that year’s championship in the Mersey Roads event was one of the most dramatic ever seen, and Cromack’s superbly-judged ride set up an awesome record that was destined to last for no less than 28 years.

So much about that race was unusual, starting with Cromack himself. A 29year old maths teacher from York, he had never ridden a 24 in his life. Instead he was a roadman who had finished in the Peace Race, and a trackman fast enough to set national records. He had been a member of the team trial squad at the Mexico Olympics, along with John Watson and Pete Smith, fellow members of the Clifton CC. He had won the 1967 12-hour championship, and he was sub-four-hour 100-miler, but he refused to be pigeon-holed as a timetriallist, and had no desire to join the small group of specialist 24-hour men, like Nim Carline, Eric Matthews and Cliff Smith, all of whom were due to line up against him in the 24-hour championship. Carline was the current record-holder with 496 miles, and expectation was high that the 500-mile barrier was now destined to be broken.

But the real excitement in the field was Beryl Burton, who was known to be determined to beat all the men and to write her name in the history books as the first to reach 500 miles. Cromack himself was watched with interest, but he wasn’t the favourite – how could he be when he had never ridden this distance before ? The same was true of

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Beryl too of course, but two years earlier she had set her incredible 12-hour record of 277 miles, beating the entire field and the men’s record too. Obviously she was planning to do the same thing again and make history once more, and few people were prepared to bet that she couldn’t do it.

One of those few however was Cromack himself. He was a shrewd, determined rider with very clear-sighted ideas of what he wanted to do and how he could do it. His background as a mathematician probably had something to do with his image as a ruthless calculating machine, and perhaps that image had an element of truth to it. What no one knew was that his 24-hour plan had been maturing quietly in his mind for a very long time indeed.

“When I was 14 or 15,” recalls Cromack, “I used to do a lot of long rides on my own and always enjoyed them. I had no serious thoughts of racing then, but I knew about the 24-hour, and somehow I became convinced that

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I’d be capable of 400 miles when I was older, so I suppose that was when the ambition took root. However I did nothing about it until I won the 12 championship in 1967, three miles outside comp record on a foul day, and that was when I realised that I could ride a serious 24. It sounds big-headed, but I thought I could beat Nim Carline, because I believed he went about things the wrong way, with his all-out start to smash the opposition, then hanging on to the finish. In his record ride, his splits were 262 and 234 miles, which just can’t be right; to my mind an even-paced ride has to be the answer. I wasn’t too worried about Beryl, because I had ridden against her many times and she had never beaten me. I also suspected that, because she was Nim’s friend and training partner, she would imitate his style, and start like a bomb, then crack.”

His only concession to the threatening distance was a couple of long rides, one of them a night ride of 170 miles The most unusual thing about Cromack was that his 24-hour preparation was exactly the same as his normal training: very fast and very hard, but rarely more than 60 miles at a time. His self-belief was such that he felt he had achieved the necessary physical condition already, while the crucial thing was the mental approach, to form a plan and stick to it. His only concession to the threatening distance was a couple of long rides, one of them a night ride of 170 miles, just to experience the darkness and the sleepdeprivation. Otherwise it was his normal roadman-style of training, “All on

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and no messing,” as he puts it. He worked out a race schedule that aimed at 501 miles, with 258 as the 12-hour target. The race itself started at 5 pm on 26 July, in light rain which soon stopped, but not before Cromack had lost a little time with a puncture.

“….I was determined to keep the gears down to the mid-80s for the first half of the race..”

“I knew from the outset,” says Roy, “that the key to success was to ride my own race, and not be panicked by whatever Nim or Beryl or anyone else was doing. I knew the times I had to hit at all the checks, and I was determined to keep the gears down to the mid-80s for the first half of the race.

Nim started before me, so I guessed he would draw away early. Beryl was off last, and I was prepared for the fact that she would probably catch me.

When she passed me just after the 100mile mark, she called out cheekily, “What’s been keeping you Roy !” She was churning a huge gear and sounded full of confidence. I let her go. My 100 time was on target at 4:24; hers was 4:11, and at that rate she was going through the entire field.

“It’s a cliché that everyone has a bad patch at some time in a 24. I had two, one as early as 125 miles, and another around dawn between 240 and 250 miles. The second one was worse, but it didn’t become a crisis: by changing down the gears and maintaining my cadence, I came through it. I then had a scrap with Carline for quite a few miles before he gave best, and climbed off soon afterwards. This was when Beryl had her maximum lead over me, around 27 minutes at the 270-mile point. After that I started to gain steadily on her. When did I feel I could win the race ? It was at the 300mile mark I think: Carline was out, Beryl was coming back, Matthews was 20 minutes behind me and I was feeling OK, sticking to my schedule.

When I re-passed Beryl, I must admit I was ungentlemanly enough to repeat her earlier remark to me: “What’s been keeping you Beryl !” Soon afterwards I got the news that she had stopped. I called for ice-cream at that point, but it

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wasn’t really in celebration: I had always enjoyed an ice-cream in a 12.

“The big psychological moment for me came when I got onto the finishing circuit, and I had almost five hours left to do 95 miles: that was when I knew the 500 was on. It was getting hard now – hot and quite windy, but I managed to keep riding smoothly. When I came up to the 500 miles though, I got a bit carried away and put on a quite a sprint, which was a big mistake, even though it looked good. I really paid for it, and slowed up badly after that. There was still twenty minutes to go, but I had a job to last out, and they tell me I actually came to halt and sort of flopped onto the grass with 10 second still to run. It was 507 dead – in both senses of the word ! My Dad and brother had been helping me, and they were as shattered as I was. We had a quick pint on the way back to York, but they were falling asleep, so I sat talking

to Mum about it all until midnight.

“I never rode another 24. I never had any intention of doing so once I got the 500 record. I put a lot of effort into the pre-race planning, and stuck rigidly to the game-plan. I told anyone who would listen that that was the way to do it, but it was Wilko who really listened to me when I advised him in 1997. I was with Andy that day when he got the record, and I had to fight back tears, but they weren’t tears of disappointment. I had never imagined my record would last that long. I believe a number of riders were physically capable of breaking of it, but

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they didn’t approach it properly. I never discussed the race with Beryl to get her perspective. It was only later in both our lives that we started to get on really: I think we were both a bit bloody-minded, and wouldn’t make

any concession to each other.

“I made an End-to-End attempt in 1974. The conditions were good and I was going well, when I crashed near Exeter while taking a feed. I clouted my knee hard, and started to lose time, and had to stop at Whitchurch. I didn’t race after that. It may sound strange but I didn’t really think of myself as a long-distance man: believe it or not, the 10 was my favourite distance! I also really enjoyed Madison racing on the track, partnered by Trevor Bull.

Looking back, I take a lot of pleasure in what I see as a well-crafted ride, but not an inspired one. I don’t think it’s in the same bracket as Ray Booty’s or Alf Engers’ records for example. I think people were in awe of it because it was like riding from London to Aberdeen or something like that, so they could relate to it.”

Roy Cromack is a man who is very sure of himself, very certain of everything, but here one has to disagree with him: it was an inspired ride, something he had been building up to for years, something no other rider of his time could match, or for decades afterwards. 27 July 1969 is one of those special time-trialling days that will be talked about as long as bike racing exists, and Cromack is without doubt one of the history-makers of the sport.

Photos from Bernard Thompson’s archive.

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H OW

TO BE A ‘S CRATCH -M AN ’ Part one – before you sit on the bike

(This two-part article is loosely based on one of the most humorous pieces that I have ever seen in ‘Cycling’, circa 1966. I’m unsure of the author and have been unable to trace the article, but feel that it is right to document that although I have updated this from over 40 years ago, the original idea is not mine.

S O , W I T H G R AT E FU L

hatch - bike and bag in the back of a battered 20-year old Ford van will immediately undo all your good work.

Finding and selecting a ‘day-slave’ (allround personal assistant) with such a car to drive you will probably be your best decision of the week. Unfortunately, this may be ‘hand in pocket’ time.

Make sure you arrive very early. Park a little way away from where others would park but obviously still well within what will be sight and sound of all other competitors and spectators.

The Bike – This must be immaculate and look as if it weighs somewhat less than a £10,000 carbon fibre one. The actual weight is not important, as nobody will be allowed to touch it.

THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TO THE UNKNOWN AUTHOR …)

If it doesn’t look carbon-fibre-ish, no H OW TO BE A ‘S CRATCH -M AN ’ (Part one – before you sit on the bike) Firstly (and for the avoidance of doubt), let me define the terms:The ‘Scratchman’ is the rider with no handicap, usually the fastest in the field, in superb race-honed condition and probably the race favourite.

A ‘Scratch-Man’ is someone who for all intents and purposes generates the aura of a ‘Scratchman’ but achieves this through appearance and clever manipulation of circumstances, thus avoiding the tiresome discipline of actually having to train or exert himself by riding hard!

In effect, he creates an atmosphere of mystique around him that makes his spectators (and if done properly, he will have lots of spectators) reach for cameras and autograph books.

Here are the secrets:Arrival – Hire / borrow / scrounge a nice big car with a giant boot or estate

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matter. If anyone asks, it’s made out of an experimental material, partly boron fibres, partly magnesium and partly titanium. If successful, it will relegate carbon fibre into history.

Golden Rule 1 – Never ever prepare your own bike, insert the wheels or even pump up your own tyres! Your ‘dayslave’ / chauffeur / assistant will do this for you while you stand around inspecting the wind direction and running a finger across the road surface.

Tyres will take about 5 minutes each to pump up with at least 4-5 readings of what seems to be a pressure gauge to confirm that they are (say) 130psi – loudly tell your ‘day-slave’ that -1psi or +1psi will not do!

Another good feature here is to use a ‘King’ Alf / Alan Shorter ploy of the 1960s by wrapping crepe bandages around the handlebar tape and only removing these immediately before you get on the bike. Pristine white tape underneath when exposed may cause temporary blindness to the slowlyassembling crowd as they utter a slow ‘aaah!’ upon it’s unveiling.

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Your Appearance – Do not wear a tracksuit when you arrive. Adopt the ‘sporting playboy’ look with an expensive-looking open-necked shirt, creasefree casual trousers and some deck shoes (not trainers!). No sponsor owns you and anything given to you (like the bike) is done without your having to parade your grovelling thanks by advertising on your clothing. In short, try to look like James Bond on his holidays!

Now, at this point, there is a definite hurdle to overcome – your details on the start sheet! In all probability, you will not be one of the fancied ones so once again, help will be needed.

A restrained moan at your ‘dayslave’ (at just the right volume to be overheard) about how the organiser has misread your current fastest time should follow with the eventual outcome being that your forgiving attitude to this small mistake means that you won’t take it any further – announce this in a subdued manner.

Another bout of sky and tarmac inspecting by you then follows.

Change into your immaculate race warm-up clothing and t h e n …………………………………… …………………………………..

(It’s at this point that you will eagerly await the second part of this article, exclusively in next month’s ‘Testing Times’, of course!)

Lots of love….STEVE KISH

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CLASSIC ARCHIVE STUFF (AKA MATERIAL).

Frank Southall was the most famous cyclist in Britain in the years between the two world wars. Multi-champion and record breaker, he won the first four BAR titles after the competition was set up by Cycling magazine in 1930. He then turned professional for Hercules and set a crop of new RRA records. He later managed other riders such as Ken Joy and Eileen Sheridan during their pro careers.

This picture is just one of a much larger group that will be published later this year in a joint collection called “Southall and Joy: Two Cycling Legends”. Peter Whitfield has a hand in it so it promises to be good! Watch out for it.

Southall receiving the very first BAR champion’s award in 1930 from Roland Dangerfield, owner of Cycling magazine.

"Thanks for these pictures to the Norwood Paragon archive and Alan Bristow."

And...something else worth reading if his first book, “The End to End Story—100 Years of Cycling Records”, is anything to go by…...John Taylor digs out the pen and ink again to tell us about the “24”. John has been involved in 24 hour time trialling and record breaking for over 50 years, either as a rider, observer or helper. This left him with a burning passion to preserve the unique history in a second book “The 24 Hour Story” - now available direct from John at www.btownbikes.com at £29.95 + £7.00 p & p or for the IT numpties try 01922 411180. (Haven’t read it myself yet but the End to End Story was great! - That’s still available too BTW!!!). If you can’t get through to John send me a hundred notes and I’ll get you sorted. :-)

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NATIONAL 25 MILES CHAMPIONSHIPS A personal look at the National Championship 25 miles

by Mick Gambling The winners of the National 10 miles repeated their feats at the longer distance. They were Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT), Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com) and junior Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC).

There were amendments to the remainder of the other medal positions. Chris Newton (Rapha Condor) easing Andrew Tennant (Halfords Bikehut) into third place, Sarah Storey (VC St. Raphael) replacing Lynn Hamel (Team NCA) in second spot and Lynne Taylor (Walsall Roads CC) promoted from fifth to third, compared to the 10 miles.

In the junior result Tom Yeatman (GlendeneBiketrax CC) and Jack Green (Westmead Team 88) may have benefited from the nonentry of Conor Dunne (Hemel Hempstead CC), because both shifted up a notch to second and third respectively.

Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC) - above - resplendent in his National Champion's jersey‌ ...and Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com) - below - on their way to respective Championship wins. (Excellent :-) ) photos by Sarah Brooke Photography www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk

The women awoke the cockerels around rural Attleborough at 6.19am, give or take a minute or so, for Norfolk does have a flexible time variation. The dual carriageway of the A11 was quiet.

Last of the 57 entries, Shaw rode as if powered by her sponsor's Yamaha engine, into the headwind to half distance and used small sprockets back to finish on 55:18 (27.125mph). Looking 15 years younger than the published 43, Julia was wearing a skin-tight all-black minimal outfit, with contrasting yellow numbers and a cute little white helmet to match the frame decals.

Fast finishing Sarah Storey came a fine second on 57:13 and Lynne Taylor was next with 58:01. Taylor reflected 'All those years I have specialised in long distance competition but have just found out I can do short races.'

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Hutch - Quick Gear Innit - made it look all too easy….again. Photo by Sarah Brooke Photography www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk

Kerbside critics were most impressed by the overall standard, with 9 women beating the hour and 29 under 64 minutes.

Another onlooker, a rustic local man, with his dog, observed the well-furnished lycra flashing by and enthusiastically enquired 'Will they be here again next week?' Then the dog took him home.

So, he missed the juniors and the brilliant riding to 53:07 by 18-year-old Joe Perrett, with clubmate Tom Yeatman on 54:16 and Jack King, third with 56:13.

Rob Yeatman, 15, younger brother of Tom, completed the team with his 1:1:21. Six youngsters were under the hour. Best girl was Emily Davis (CC Breckland), despite being 13 years, riding her first 25, and granddaughter of organiser Don Saunders. (Must watch my step here – he is my club chairman.)

The seniors, 145 of them, bent into the worst showers, carried on a freshening wind off the North Sea, but Hutchinson rode to his normal high standard for 48:23 (31mph). Really extraordinary considering there were three wet, slow, turn systems to negotiate.

Chris Newton, surely the most versatile rider there has ever been in this country, with medals at World, Olympic and Commonwealth level on his CV, sprinted in to 49:32. Now age 35, he remarked 'Maybe I can hang on for 2012 Olympic selection.'

At the presentation, third-placed Andrew Tennant, a past World Junior Pursuit Champion, is in the Newton mould,

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and only 21 seconds down on his role model, at the line. 'I would have preferred a more technical course,’ he mentioned.

Then Newton was called up, all devilish good looks and the charm of a twentieth century film star. A lady of my acquaintance experienced a double knee quiver and needed support.

Hutchinson, a contemporary of Newton, was announced as the Champion of 2009. The old pro shrugged, mumbled 'Here we are again' and briefly acknowledged the race organisers and helpers. Irish eyes were not smiling.

It all seemed too tedious for the multi title-winner over this distance and more than a score of other medals, enough to bolster the nation's gold reserve.

Those who worshipped at the cranks of such champions as Booty, Engers, Boardman, Hayles and Cammish may have felt there is now a charisma vacuum.

'I will stop racing when I cannot win any more,' Hutchinson said. His cannon fodder had generously applauded his great ride.

The female award winners were appreciated, Mesdames Shaw, Storey and Taylor strolling elegantly across the raised stage as if it were a catwalk with the winning a3crg team of LesleyAnn Walkling, Danuta Tinn and Sally St. Leger.

Shaw regretted that previous winners, Wendy Houvenaghel and Sharon Laws did not enter. 'I would have liked to measure myself against them.'

CTT Chairman, Sheila Hardy, congratulated everyone, especially the cake makers, to rapturous applause.

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Historical pedalnote. The one mile starting lane was part of the old A11 courses. It witnessed the first 56 minute 25 miles by Ray Barker (Norwich ABC) in 1953 (albeit in a club event) and 50 miles competition record of 1:56:24 by the late Vic Gibbons (Brentwood RC) in 1955.

6: Michelle King (Wyre Forest CRC), 58:41 7: Jessica Wilson-Young (Edinburgh RC), 59:03 8: Louise Dutch (Poole Wheelers), 59:08 9: Lesley-Ann Walkling (a3crg), 59:26 10: Jane Kilmartin (London Phoenix CC), 1:00:04

RESULT MEN

TEAM: a3crg Lesley-Ann Walkling (59:26), Danuta Tinn (1:1:23) and Sally St. Leger (1:4:30) 3:5:19

1: Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT), 48:23 2: Chris Newton (Rapha Condor), 49:32 3: Andrew Tennant (Halfords Bikehut), 49:53 4: Matthew Bottrill (Team I-Ride), 50:06 5: Ben Instone (www.scientific-coaching.com), 50:53 6: John Tuckett (AW Cycles), 51:21 7: Phill Sykes (VC St. Raphael), 51:33 8: Danny Axford (Arctic Premier RT), 51:57 9: Peter Tadros (In-Gear Quickvit RT), 52:09 10: Nik Bowdler (Farnborough & Camberley CC), 52:29 TEAM: Team I-Ride Matthew Bottrill (50:06), Julian Ramsbottom (53:51) and Geoff Platts (53:53) 2:37:50

JUNIORS 1: Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC), 53:07 2: Tom Yeatman (Glendene-Biketrax CC), 54:16 3: Jack Green (Westmead Team 88), 56:13 4: James Bowtell (In-Gear Cycling Dev Squad), 58:50 5: Tom Gosbee (Team Welwyn), 59:19 6: Callum Hill-Smith (Guernsey VC), 59:53 7: Drew Holmes (In-Gear Cycling Dev Squad), 1:00:06 8: Mathew Woods (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:00:26 9: Joshua Teesdale (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:00:52 10: Ethan Conlin (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:1:20 GIRL: Emily Davis (CC Breckland), 1:29:04

WOMEN 1: Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com), 55:18 2: Sarah Storey (VC St. Raphael), 57:13 3: Lynne Taylor (Walsall Roads CC), 58:01 4: Ruth Eyles (Beacon Roads CC), 58:08 5: Lynn Hamel (Team NCA), 58:29

TEAM: Glendene-Biketrax CC Joe Perrett (53:07), Tom Yeatman (54:16) and Rob Yeatman (1:1:21) 2:48:44

Left….always one for Touring the Peaks, Planet X’s very own Wayne Randle admires the scenery with Yorkshire Velo’s Denise Shackleton.

Photo taken at Sheffrec CC’s prize presentation following their Open 10 courtesy Daryl May.

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GAMBLING…...ON REPAIRS 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.

As you are doubtless aware, the practical side of life is a mystery to me.

Anyone who has the ability to use his hands has my deep admiration. He also needs to move smartly to avoid assisting me with my troubles.

For all my years with assorted cycles, I have the mechanical skill of a turtle.

Unfortunately, I have never mastered the intricacies of an eccentric bottom bracket, the building of a wheel or been able to stop a rear light flickering. The latter example was to make you all feel inferior, for who can master the deadly inefficient back light?

When I was a youth, and shaving alternate days, my dad used to help me with a Dayton Roadmaster which I had bought second-hand. It has been held for sale at £35 but not so tightly, the owner wouldn’t let it go for £15.

We was robbed.

It has a maverick Benelux gear like a sinister man-trap. There was a strong spring that had to be contracted and a piece of metal dropped into a slot. It would slip from my impractical fingers, whirl round at tremendous speed and viciously trap a finger between the piece of metal and the gear arm.

My dad would scold me for swearing.

Club mates would gather for despairing eyeball rolling cries of “Sunday Maintenance Man”, and things like

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ing “hurrah” when I drop something.

GAMBLING Hasn’t a hope in hell of completing the following Cytech recognized training module(s):

Gambling’s mechanics is almost as good as the Ed’s “cut and pasting”...but you get the drift? that. (The other things were shorter).

The moderate ones simply gave me pained enamel stares, while the more temperamental displayed a vocabulary straight off a wall.

It wasn’t my fault, however, when the seat pillar broke and the crash destroyed the Dayton, as well as inflicting some wounds on my person, the scars of which can only be inspected when I’m in a good mood.

A succession of modern machines with better equipment has improved my success rate with repairs, but I am still not above siding up to my friendly neighbourhood lightweight shop with an immoveable handlebar stem, or a chain that jumps onto the bottom cog in a crisis.

My lack of experience is so timeconsuming that training has to be fitted in with the mechanical work. My stable is fairly large, consisting of a pursuit model with gears buffed to sunshine, a track iron training bike with rust and a road machine with fixed wheel.

The first two are 24-inch jobs and the latter much larger. In fact, the frame is so big the council tried to convert it into flats. There is also a mobile disaster area called a work-bike, gear ends with fixed wheel, that conveys me two miles each day, except on the occasions when the chain comes off. Then I carry it home rather than get my hands dirty.

It also has an extraneous click that cannot be located and would be missed if it suddenly disappeared.

Saturday afternoon is when I prepare for the race next morning. Tightening nuts, checking position, oiling and cleaning in an old pullover and a pair of trousers in their late twenties. On the odd times that I have worn decent clothes, a bike tips on me, or I back on to another one. The result is a black streak from the chain like the brand of Cain.

Now and again, my head emerges from the shed to check conditions. Will it be another hard day tomorrow? If the wind rises at the right moment Alf Engers might take off.

My hours in there seem to increase every season. Maybe I am, after all, becoming a mechanic at heart. In fact, if you tried putting me in there with a bike, a clutch of spanners and a beautiful girl, you would have to leave my tea on a tray outside the door, for I would be working late.

I cannot operate on bikes with anybody watching. When I’m weaving a spoke into a wheel an observer will say “Over and across, not under”. It is my practice to learn from my mistakes so this sort of advice is as irritating as someone shout-

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OLD SKOOL SERIES - ROUND 7 - DURSLEY RC 25 ...or ...TALES FROM THE WILD WEST

by David Summers Back on the course, and Summers timed his arrival at the second turn to perfection to cleverly manouvre himself past fellow Bath CC rider (John Tooze). Certainly his art of keeping his short cuts hidden is supreme! It took the Jammy Dodger three Old Skool events before he caught one rider and here was Summers taking two already! A quick wave to the marshals, and he was off on his second lap. No time checks though at this half distance stage, as no-one thought to carry a time implement.

13 June 2009 arrived - the sun came out and there was hardly a breath of wind , so hopes were high for the Dursley RC 25 on the U46B course in Gloucestershire and in particular for the Old Skool element which was the centre-piece of Mike Hallgarth’s promotion.

The conditions looked good as the early starters arrived at the race headquarters - not totally calm, but with a light breeze drifting across the course.

With it being a late afternoon event, the conditions were warm. People on their ways back from a day out were also likely to add to the traffic on this relatively busy, almost 100%, dual carriageway course. Would this be one of the days of glory similar to when Alf set the Old Skool record? Certainly hopes were high.

The first Old Skooler to take the start line was Bath CCs David Summers, off number 15 – a seeded rider, so expectations were high. Summers, slightly miffed at hearing of allegations of him taking short-cuts during the earlier Bath CC Old Skool promotion set out at 5:15 like a man possessed keen to establish some credibility quickly passing number 14, and winning the sprint to the photographer at the first turn.

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Tom Wollard from Northover Vets was the next Old Skool rider to take the start. Age and experience put this rider in good stead, and he’s not short of a quick turn of pace – so hopes were high.

David Summers - Bath CC en route to a superb sub hour 25...honest!

Back on the start line excitement was building for the appearance of the next Old Skool rider. Glenn Longland off at number 55. This World renowned “All Rounder” was clearly the favourite, and his love for varied and various weird and wonderful bikes, added to the expectation. What time would he do? Would he get close to Alf’s record whilst staying within the Old Skool rules? Unfortunately the pressure got to Glenn and his allotted time of 5:55 came…... and went ….without sign of the great man. “DNS” was etched against his name on the result board to groans of disappointment from the eagerly awaiting tiffosi.

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Summers was, in the meantime, “flying” and he began passing riders who had just started their first lap.

All this “jiggery pokery” and dubious field placing resulted in Summers passing team mate Tom Ryan as he was starting.

Ryan’s pace was closely matched by Summers, and although there is no evidence to suggest that any drafting took place, first Summers was seen to be leading, then Ryan, then Summers, then Ryan, then Summers, then Ryan, then Summers again. Was this just superb pacing, or an obscured 2-up?

Summers took the exit, and crossed the finish line where the

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packed Grandstand of cycling enthusiasts raised a deafening cheer as his time of 5917 was announced over the pa system.

Summers was immediately surrounded by his family and team of helpers—sponsors eagerly placed their glasses and baseball caps in prominent positions as news of this momentous occasion was beamed live all over the world.

Tom Woolaard (Northover Vets) - returned to Old Skooling to record 1-01-41 and with it took third position. vantage and any rider proven to have used them will be severely reprimanded and disqualified from the Old Skool event.

Mike Hallgarth has agreed to consider them for any prizes that may be due in the supporting event.

WHO’S NOT (HOT!)

MatthewRowley (Oxonian CC) — first time Old Skooler cruised round to a highly respectable 1-02-11

The last old skool rider, Matthew Rowley from Oxonian CC, was off late in the field at number 113, and he took advantage of the favourable conditions to record another remarkable time of 1-2-11.

Were there other Old Skool riders? Confusion abounds here – as organisers were taking Old Skool entries on the line. Planet X’s Old Skool committee is trawling its way through countless newspapers and magazines to inspect photographic evidence before a full decision is made. What can be said is many Old Skool bikes were seen, although most seemed to have strange metal extensions bolted to the bars – these are believed to give an unfair ad-

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Back in the HQ, and the side event seemed to be causing much excitement – where about 50% of the field set PBs. Yes this was clearly one of those float days – when national records are set. The Old Skoolers, rather than miss out on the excitement, just joined in with all the fun that the others were having. However they were left wondering the what-if …. What if , that is, they had ridden an aero bike rather than Old Skool ….

Cancellara and Contador ..for beating Brad in the TdF prologue.

Urm….everyone’s going fast but me!

Nominations for who’s going crap to ian@planet-x-bikes.com please!

Provisional Result: Afterthought!!! Not in domestic time trialling …..but whoever is the first to get “busted” (actually

DURSLEY RC 25 13 June 2009 1) David Summers (Bath CC)

59-17

2) Tom Woollard, (Northover Vets)

….ANYONE and EVERYONE who gets “busted”) in the upcoming TdF gets my vote. Cheating bar stewards!

1-01-41 3) Matthew Rowley (Oxonian CC) 1-02-11 DNS Glen Longland, Antelope RT

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Toe overlap or not toe overlap, that is the question!

by Ian Franklin We don’t have many time trials out here in Thailand except for a stage in the odd multi-day event or the Thai nationals, which appears to be a series of six events throughout the season.

Because I’m always banging on about missing my tts, the locals are entering me for the next round of the nationals some time in August. I’ve been told it’s on a hilly course – so it’s not exactly an English dragstrip and neither is it exactly my sort of thing.

I usually avoid hills like the plague. However, it will provide good copy and some nice pictures for a later column.

I couldn’t avoid the hills last week. Sunday’s run (7:30am Dunkin’ Donuts, Chiang Mai) was a hilly 75 miles out into the hills around Doi Suthep. Now ‘Doi’ is Thai for ‘mountain’ so this was a bit beyond hilly. 14 riders set out – 2 Americans, 2 Lao, 2 Dutch, 2 Brits, 1 Italian and 5 Thais. The two Lao guys are on their national squad, one of the Dutch guys has just ridden the 10-day Tour of Korea, the other Brit was a handy rider with the Arctic team, and one of the Thais has not only won the Tour of Thailand five times but has also won gold in the SEA Games. Throw me into this mix and you know there’s gonna be trouble. And there was.

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One way to overcome toe-overlap!

Of course, I was shelled on the first climb, but they waited. I was shelled on the back climbs through the jungle.

But they waited. I was shelled on the next set of climbs. But they waited.

Then we were back on the flat 20mile route back to town. I hung on and hung on but by the time the pace was 25 miles per hour and rising I was gone. They didn’t wait.

My experience includes penning a few reviews for our club mag – nothing gave me more joy than writing about club colleagues’ steeds. Look around your club and match the bikes ridden to their riders, you could have a bit of fun. It’ll certainly give you something to think about whilst riding a ‘50’ in under two hours, or three if you have my unfortunate physiology.

I may not be much good at climbing or riding tts, but I think I’m quite good at writing bike reviews. ClipClop Weekly’s journalists should eat their hearts out really. I wrote my first bike review back in the mid-60s and it was about one of those new-fangled small wheel bikes which took a whole page in small type of our beloved comic. And a picture in black and white.

It’s best in a fanzine such as this to ensure that any person referred to cannot be immediately identified – fortunately I’m 6000 miles away and so that means that the flak can’t always reach me. But I can assure you that all references to any of my clubmates are entirely false and as I’ll be going back for the club dinner I’ll make sure that for the purposes of these columns I’ll change their names. Just in case.

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The following is a case in point. It’s not often that you find the genuine nobility, the landed gentry in cycling clubs. But it happens from time to time.

And as you may know, the genuine knights of the realm never flaunt it so they take a bit of rooting out. Sir Percy is one of the few as I found out when I was invited to his sumptuous pad.

Now what’s this to do with the technical aspects of cycling, I hear you ask.

Well, rather a lot actually. (Read that last sentence again, but this time with a posh accent.) There is a huge common ground between this doyen of English gentlefolk and the machine that he rides. Think about the natural resemblance between a dog and its doting owner and you’ll see what I mean.

When I walked into his double garage (note the word ‘double’) I realized what the connection was. Sir Percy (or Perky to his friends) is a Colnago afficionado. And in his double garage there isn’t just one of these machines. There are FIVE! What’s more he has one of Ernesto’s classic top-of-the range dream machines – a carbon C40. Well, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and take it down the local ‘5’ course.

But I held back a tad because as any good Clippo Wokley tester will tell you, these machines are not for the fainthearted short-distance rider. Rather, these are full-bloodied Velo-Ferraris that need their throttles opened up on long routes that are both meaningful and challenging. Like the Giro for instance or perhaps the Vuelta for those who want to remain hidden from Italian police raids on cyclists’ hotel rooms.

Such a demanding test course would no doubt tell you what the pros already know. That the Colnago can answer every question asked of it. (What a stupid phrase, but I nicked it out of Sportive Workley, so that should make it cool!) It can corner, it can climb (but not if I’m riding it), it can descend. It is good for the rouleur, the sprinter, the mountain goat and the clock basher. This is a machine that could answer just about every question

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on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Such is the intelligence of its assembly, construction and groupset. It is of noble heritage, perfectly understated just like a genuine English (or Italian for that matter) gentleman.

And the C40 in particular? Sadly Sir Percy only has the 2000 model, but it does carry the kudos of being one of the last built with conventional seat stays. All models are now built with those new fangled wishbone stays which means that you receive even less carbon fibre for even more of your money. But provided you train hard enough, you do get increased performance.

When I lovingly stroked this machine I discovered that the down tube is not round, or even oval. Rather it is shaped in a way this is difficult to describe and I was left wondering whether Signor Colnago had taken to squeezing his carbon tubes through a pasta machine.

However if you want to discover this unique tactile world for yourself, I am reliably informed that Sir Percy will let you run your hands along his tubing for the cost of his entry fee. Aah! The nobility have always had an ability to make money!

this exotica just to get away from toe overlap?

“Yes”, he continued, “the Italians never build bikes with toe overlap.

English builders always build bikes with toe overlap. The Italians do not.”

And there it was, pure and simple.

In case you ask, I never did get to test ride that Colnago because I realized that as a Condor devotee, I wouldn’t know how to ride a bike with no toe overlap. Besides it was cold, wet and windy and I had already ridden 44 miles earlier that day. On my Condor. With toe overlap.

“But why Colnago?” I asked my noble friend. I hushed into an unaccustomed silence as I anticipated the response. I know, I know – it’s the smooth ride, the mean cornering, the perfect handling, the funny shaped tubes, the beautiful paint job, the Campagnolo equipment. I imagined further – the instant response, the incomparable performance, the lascivious glances of admiration from the sheep lining each time trial route. It is the attention to detail such as the carbon headset spacers, the computer located near the chainset, the colour of the bar tape. Yes all these and its sheer pedigree. I came out of my trance. “Maestro Percy, why Colnago?”

The answer came back like a bolt out of the blue: “There’s no toe overlap”.

Did I hear right? No toe overlap? All

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MICK BOWEN – DEMON BARBER OF OXFORD by Peter Whitfield Imagine a man who set his club’s 25 record back in 1957 with a time of 57:58, done on an 84-inch fixed.

Imagine that over almost thirty years, he up-dates his own record no less than ten time, bringing it down to 53:22 in 1984. Now imagine that he’s retired from racing, but, more than fifty years after he started on this road, he finds himself still the holder of that club record. Despite all the progress in training methods and bike design, none of the younger club members seems able to wipe that 1984 time off the books. The man is Mick Bowen, the demon barber of Oxford, and stalwart of the Oxonian CC for as long as anyone can remember. Today Mick can look back on a cycling career spent acting as a thorn in the side of many more famous riders. He is one of those time-triallists who never broke competition records or won national championships, but was always up there, right near the very top, making the champions work for their titles and their glory, and always capable of handing them a beating. Over the years the range of the scalps he has taken is quite remarkable: he has beaten Alf Engers, John Woodburn, Roger Queen, Paul Bennett, Derek Cottington, Martyn Roach, Phil Griffiths, and even our revered editor himself, Ian Cammish.

Mick may be the only time-triallist who was a barber by profession: he was the heir to a chain of shops which his father had established in Oxford, and this had quite an impact on his cycling. “I had to work long hours,” he recalls, “including all day every Saturday, and I was on my feet the whole time – not good for a cyclist.

We had five shops to run, and it was my job to keep the business going that dad had built up. As a result, the time I had for cycling was always a bit limited. I could never have trained for the longer distances even I had wanted to,

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Mick at the 1956 National 25 Miles Championship which was won by Mick Gambrill so I concentrated on the 25 and the 50. I really enjoyed track racing too, but the Saturday work meant I could never get too serious about it. Instead I went to the mid-week evening meetings at Reading.

That’s where I met Woody, and I seem

“...I got down to a 56:08 on fixed, then I switched to gears…” to remember catching him in a pursuit, for which I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me – John’s got a very long memory!

“I started racing in 1953, but I was

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called up for National Service in ’54, spent in Germany and Kenya, with no chance of cycling. I came out in spring 1956, which was the year the Oxonian CC were promoting the 25 Championship. I trained furiously for one month to get a qualifying time of 1:0:51, which turned out to be the slowest time accepted. I managed a 1:1 and the race was won by Mick Gambrill. In those days you were asked to offer bed and breakfast to riders from other areas. I remember that Mick Ward stayed with us, and for breakfast he asked for a raw egg, which he swallowed whole – he said it “gave a lining to the stomach”.

Well Mick Ward was a top rider so I thought I should copy what he did: ugh,

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it was disgusting, and I’ve never fancied a raw egg since!

there’s a funny story about that. That was the year Woodburn went for the Endto-End, but he should never have started because he was ill, and eventually he had to climb off. Well Brian Tadman, the joker in the pack, wrote a letter to Cycling ribbing Woody about packing, and he signed a lot of people’s names to it who had nothing to do with it! We thought this was a bit below the belt, so we – people like Paul Bennett, Bob Addy, Clive Pugh and myself – invited Woody out for a meal to smooth things over, and it’s gone on ever since.

“In those early days I tried some road-racing, and I came second in my division championship in 1959. A group of us from the club went over to the Isle of Man several times and rode some road-races and the mountain time trial, in which my best was 1:42 – I was never a great climber. My best result in the 25 championship came in 1960, when I was fourth.

Gordon Ian won it by a fair margin, but Geoff Saunders, Ken Craven and I were all within five seconds of each other. I was off early and I “I’ve always thought of led the results for a long myself just as a club rider. time, then I had to watch as I There was no coaching, no got pushed down to second, science when I was starting: then third, then finally fourth training meant just going out – not a pleasant experience. as often as you could and Craven used to win hundreds belting round as hard as you of events, but always missed could. Yes it would have out on the championship. He been great to have won the knew a lot, and he once gave 25 championship, but that is me a secret tip: before the something very special isn’t old-style medium gear it? I was never too concerned events, they used to check even with my times, I was everyone’s gear by measur- Mick Bowen on his way top 10th place in more interested in who I ing how far the bike moved could beat. I liked it when it the 1981 National 25 in one complete pedal-rev. was a bit hard, lumpy and Ken told me to leave my windy, I thought that would tyres soft while they were slow the fast men down a bit. minute 25, and again Engers’ comp doing this – “That way you can get The club was always central to my cyrecord for the 25 stood at 55:11. These away with a 49 x 18 instead of 48 x cling – travelling together to the races, were all fixed wheel days of course. I 18 !” he said. organising the club dinners, the touring got down to a 56:08 on the fixed, then I holidays, that sort of thing. Most riders switched to gears, like most other rid“1960 was when I first got under are far too busy now for all that: they ers, by about 1962 or 63. I got to know two hours for the 50: my 1:58 was the ride the races, but they never see each the North London crowd – Engers, first ride under in the Oxford area. I other except on the Sunday mornings.

Bennett, Ballard, those people – quite held the club 50 record for quite a A group of us in the club went touring well. I was warming up for a race once while, but Nik Gardner joined the Oxoin Spain in spring this year, in the Siwhen I broke a spoke, and Engers said I nian in the late 80s, and he took it erra Nevada mountains. I never thought could borrow his spare wheel, which down to a 1:50. I rode a couple of I’d ever ride up climbs like that! When was nice of him; but he wasn’t so 100’s, I think I got a 4:14, but I knew I got back I was so fit I even thought I pleased when he punctured during the they weren’t for me. I reckon my bestshould try time-trialling again, but I’m race and of course he had no spare and ever time trial was probably a 30 which still thinking about it.” Now retired didn’t finish!

I won in 1961, when I did a 1:7 somefrom racing – and from slicing hair off thing, which was only around 25 secthe citizens of Oxford – Mick can just “ I belong to a sort of dining-club onds outside Ron Jowers’ comp record enjoy his cycling, and sit back and wait where a group of us meet every year in at that time. That’s equivalent to a 55for someone to finally take the record Amersham. It started back in 1981 and that he has held for 52 years.

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OLD SKOOL SERIES ROUND 7– a3crg 25

by Gavin ‘good man’ Hinxman Following some recent favourable weather, the a3crg Monday evening event on the fast P885 course at Liss in Hants was predicted to be one of the faster Old Skool events.

CONTROVERSY HITS THE SERIES OR...WHAT’S ‘THE POWER’ ON?

The keenest of the neolithic wanabees were all down to ride, with a fierce tussle anticipated between Old Skool regular and competition organiser Ian Cammish and leg-end Colin ‘The Power’ Parkinson (South Western RC).

Organiser David Collard-Berry had separated off the 10 Old Skool riders into their own mini race sandwiched in the middle of the woman’s BBAR event. Strangely ‘The Power’ was down to ride but not within the group of early starting Old Skoolers.

Was this a ploy from ‘The Power’ to get a few more minutes recovery time following the 100 the day before? [Stop Press: 100 cancelled due to fog…. the ploy backfired] Several gloomy faces were noted at the signing on point - which had nothing to do with the fact that Old Skool favourite Ian Cammish had phoned in sick and was noted as a DNS (apol) - but because the freebie Planet X – Power bar bottles had failed to put in an appearance too!! Several complaints later however, they were out & everyone was one bottle better off, just in time with hot 12-hour events on the horizon.

Old Skool regulars Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) & Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley Wheelers) were amongst the first to arrive, with Mills immediately over to look at Hinxman’s bike (like a Professional Car-Booter at a charity table-top sale). “Are you riding clipless pedals? Are they allowed? Are you riding with a rear LED?” Obviously for Mills, the risk of disqualification is not an option in a competition with so much as stake.

Mills, with non-Old Skooler & clubmate John Baines, had set off from Yorkshire three days prior to the event. To justify the 500+ miles round trip, they had entered two other races ‘down south’ prior to the important one. They even considered sleeping

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Loveable rogue…’The Power’ Parkinson.

Photo courtesy Mike Anton. http://www.mikeanton.com/cycling.html WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 18

under the local hedgerows but with forecasts of night-time rain, they elected for a nice Travelodge.

Mills was behind Hinxman & getting a good opportunity to see the rear LED first hand.

‘The Power’ arrived sporting a new (actually old, courtesy of e-bay) 55T Campag chain ring. He had clearly done his homework and was wisely making concessions for the 2-mile skislope start of the P885 unlike GS Europa’s Robert ‘Pretty in pink’ Tutt who elected for a 93” fixed & two extra pairs of shorts to cushion the bounce.

Local boy & Joint event Secretary Paddy Brennan (a3crg), was also on a flyer. He was determined to celebrate his 31st birthday with a race win. With Hinxman being his 30 second rabbit, Brennan overhauled the Welland Valley rider at half distance to take the lead on the road.

At this stage it looked to be now a two way battle between Brennan & later starter Parkinson.

All riders had to climb up the mountain accent to the start. The ‘real’ Old Skoolers who sported single rings were hitting max power & HR before the race even started (Fortunately they didn’t know that as those devices weren’t available back in the 80’s).

Tutt pointing out that bottles on Hinxman’s & Norman Beaumont (VTTA Wessex) were not Old Skool, swayed the judges decision, with Tutt being a local-boy having no influence.

With Matthew Rowley (Oxonian CC), Tom Woollard (Northover Vets) & Cammish all non-starters, eight hardy souls launched themselves off Hill Brow into battle. An eight horse race - who would have the horse-power to win? Would anyone threaten Alf’s record? It wouldn’t be long before we found out.

Paddy Brennan (a3crg ) above Photo courtesy Mike Anton http://www.mikeanton.com/cycling.html ) recorded a superfast 58-13 to “win” the Old Skool event. Long distance traveler Stan Mills (Yorks RC) below - stopped the clock at 1-3-21.

The riders set off in 30 second intervals (there were 80 riders to be off the road before dark). Early reports showed Hinxman getting the better of Beaumont after a mile and a half, that WWII technology wasn’t helping the VTTA rider fly now.

Hinxman was flying, picking off riders one by one with Geoff Newman (Farnham RC) being collected for 2 minutes by the 6 mile turn. By 10 miles

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Brennan took his TI Raleigh to the fastest Old Skool 25 result of the year so far, but there was not to be an extra candle on his birthday cake, as 15 minutes later ‘The Power’ forced his Dave Lloyd machine across the line to an impressive 55:51, surely the Old Skool championship was now in the bag for the Midlands rider.

Back in the HQ after the event, the prizes were duly awarded, with 5th place going to Newman with a personal best ride of 1hr 7 mins. 4th place was the fast pedalling Tutt with a late ‘3’ with Mills ½ minute & one position better. 2nd place went to Stealth-like Mike Marchant (Southdown Velo) with 1-1-14, no one had noticed him creeping into neartop position. Paddy Brennan collected the top position & accompanying prizes.

The prize for the best retro bike was decided at the start, with Robert Tutt taking the honours on his pink bike with matching pink skinsuit & spokey dokes.

Beaumont elected to ride a post-war Holdsworth, complete with aluminium race number wired to the frame. It was reported that the aluminium came from a shot-down Messerschmitt that crash landed in the South Downs.

Disaster struck for Hinxman one mile later when his FT titanium bottom bracket lock rang came loose, causing the left hand side crank to hit the frame with every revolution. It was to be a DNF for Hinxman & a walk back to the HQ.

……….There had surely had been a mistake, an oversight by supreme race organiser Dave C-B? What had happened to ‘The Power’, had his power let him down or had fate played its card?

Surely that 55 min ride couldn’t be overlooked?

The organiser stuck to the rule book and wouldn’t be shifted, Parkinson hadn’t declared his Old Skool intentions on the entry form, so was not categorised in the competition. ‘The Power’ had marked it on the signing on sheet and was not impressed but he hadn’t got the energy levels to question it. .

He knew that the organiser’s decision was final & would live to battle on.

What’s that?

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How does that leave the Old Skool

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BAR? It’s in turmoil. Cammish has only one qualifying 25. Hinxman now needs the J2 to be rolled flat with a following wind all the way around to allow him to beat 55 mins. Does that make Mills favourite?

Fortunately sensibility prevailed & the Planet X Old Skool committee held an Extraordinary Meeting on the morning after the night before & agreed that ‘The Power’ had entered & ridden the event in the true spirit of the Old Skool rules & would be credited the time for the Championship.

Above—left and right.

Robert Tutt (GS Europa) modeling a nice line in pink on his way to a 1-359. Norman Beaumont (VTTA Wessex) cutting as equally a fine picture in gold and off-white. Photos courtesy Mike Anton.

Therefore the revised result should be: A3crg Summer Evening 25mTT Monday 29th June 2009.

1. Colin Parkinson (South Western RC) 55-51 2. Paddy Brennan (a3crg)

58-13

3. Mike Marchant (Southdown Velo) 1-1-14 Above and far right - Geoff

4. Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC)

5. Robert Tutt (GS Europa) Newman (Farnham RC) and Mike 6. Geoff Newman (Farnham RC) Marchant (Southdown Velo).

Pics - thanks to Mike Anton.

1-3-21 1-3-59 1-7-41

7. Norman Beaumont (VTTA Wessex) 1-10-18

WARNING! - TESTING TIMES contains nuts (us!) ..and ..more photos of time triallists than the Country’s leading Cycling Magazine - FACT! (They’re cracking though—don’t you think?) ;-) Remaining Old Skool events - places are limited to 120 riders per event. Lots of prizes…..slow times and sore legs guaranteed! So enter now!

S EE

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AN ODE TO THE E31 by Steve Kish aged 131 The road of the Rapier, the ’65 record, With Paul, Joe and Alan conquering the rest.

The first ‘53’ by Sir Bennett from Barnet And ‘Bone’ and ‘Li’l Joe’ showing team-work at best.

Ah, I remember the glory of the A127, The Southend Arterial, my fave of all time.

The first version ridden in the late 1960s, With me as a scrubber and ‘King’ Alf in his prime.

My start on a ‘one’ behind The King’s ‘zero’, Sent thoughts of achievement into my young head.

On the concrete I saw him when I was in motion, But I had on my specs and saw two miles ahead!

The pretender Sir Trevor used this hallowed concrete To dip ‘neath the magic they called ‘53’.

But demi-God Dungworth did not take this smiling, And the days second ‘52’ vanquished Sir T. Yes, the pain of the sixties still brings back the memories Of rides on the carriageway; some blurred and some clear.

Laindon, Upminster, the ‘onion’ at the Ford works, But if I may choose to, I’ll forget Rayleigh Weir!

Just one ‘up’ and ‘down’ gear were all that you’d need.

Day-trippers too were plenty, wagons both full and empty, With the odd caravan, some at just the right speed!

Yes, I lament at the passing of this course that I loved so.

The magic of tarmac and the charm of concrete.

When the High God of Testing created this icon, His work for the day was surely complete.

Sure, the E72 was a road built for romance, With it’s ‘49’ legend by Alf, so well done.

But for yours very truly, with memories of Essex, The best memories are filed ‘E31’. ___________________________________________ The E31 Southend Arterial Road (A127) was where the firstever 53-minute ride (by Paul Bennett) and first-ever 52-minute ride by (Trevor Morgan) were done.

The winning time of 51:16 by Darryl Webster in the National 25 on this course remains his personal best until this day.

That’s Mr Kish below (in his younger days) by the way ...not Darryl Webster! OK? ;-)

The Unity club tests on new eighties versions Still held all the charm of this carriageway holy.

Was here that I learned how to push a big gear, Yet somehow still managed to travel quite slowly.

In the 85th year of the 20th century, This road of dreams hosted Nat. 25 miles.

They said I should ride it; I entered, accepted Even wangled a late start ….. cue; beaming Kish smiles.

Lord Webster rode truly, more gold in his coffers, His fortune amassing in all things of biking.

A new man called Gottrel came out of the ocean And took home some silver; t’was much to his liking.

I rode to my utmost with standard steed ‘neath me, No lo-pro or small wheel to help me along.

Until Dave Hinde arose and rode past me with tattoos, And ‘King Kong’-sized gear …. but with legs twice as strong!

Alas, it was later, just a short time thereafter That my E31 slowly drifted away.

Cautious officials and big blue policemen Chopped ‘E31’ but let ‘A127’ still stay.

How well I remember the rolling undulations,

S EE

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NOBB OFF…..the back My Vacation Stop………… interview with a very well set up Cycle Shop.

Yes! The Philippines does have exciting well stocked cycle shops.

relationships with them over the years.

During my recent vacation in the Philippines I sat down with one of the most likeable bike shop owners you will ever meet Meet Attorney Gregorio Y. Larrazabal. Yes, a lawyer! How is a Lawyer involved in cycling you may ask?

Well ‘Goyo’, as he is known, love bikes & over some Italian Lunch & beer across the road from his shop I asked him a few questions on how his creation came to be.

Bike Town Cyclery’s shop window – note the Parlee TT which is readily available.

Nob: What made you decide to get into bicycle business?

Here I am with Atty Larrazabal right & my other half at his Makati shop. No PVC insight!!

Nob: So Sir Goyo How did your shop come to be & why the choice of name?

Goyo: I have two companies: Pinoy Bikes and Bike Town Cyclery. I started Pinoy Bikes together with my brother, Baba, and our goal was to bring brands we ourselves would want to use. Brands that were previously unavailable, or were priced exorbitantly in the Philippines.

We chose Pinoy Bikes coz it provided us an identity that was not constrained by a person's identity (like some name their shop after a person), while at the same time giving it a local flavour (when you say Pinoy Bikes, you immediately get the impression that the shop is owned by Filipinos). There's the Philippine flavour, Pinoy, but not limited to Philippine shores - local, with a global reach...

Bike Town Cyclery was conceived because we had wanted to emphasize the small town feel and lifestyle of the sport. It's a community where everyone knows everyone and everybody's your friend who shares your love for the sport. I also liked the concept of the old family-owned bike shops in Europe where cyclists know the owners and build

S EE

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Goyo: I've been spearheading the Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival for a couple of years, and everyone seemed to ask me if I could provide several bike items. At first I'd refer them to my friends or known bike shops. But after a while, even the cycle companies had expressed interest in having us carry their brand. It must be because we view what we're doing now not as a business, but something we love doing because we love bikes and wish to promote the sport.

Nob: What are the kinds stuff would you be selling & who is your target market?

Goyo: We sell bikes and parts that we ourselves have wanted to use, but couldn't get it in the Philippines. Most of the frame brands we carry are timeless, and small companies owned and run by people who genuinely love bikes and the sport. We sell production bikes, but we deal more with guys who know their bikes and want the best bikes and brands.

Nob: What is so special about your shop?

Goyo: The shop is the only shop in the Philippines (and I think Asia) that utilizes three fit systems: www.bikefitting.com The Bike Fit System of Paul Swift Bike CAD Pro We just started with Bike CAD Pro & will launch it in the next month. This service is geared towards designing a bike from the ground up, and will allow us to work more

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comprehensively with the custom frame builders we deal with in designing a custom frame/bike. Our belief is that no matter how much your bike costs, the most important aspect in getting a bike is that the bike fits, and you're comfortable on your bike. I tell people that I don't build bikes... I build relationships!

Nob: Tell us why the shop is located in Makati, Manila.

Goyo: Most of the brands we carry are niche, high-end brands. And when we started with Pinoy Bikes, everyone seemed to ask us when we'll open a shop in Manila, where our target market is.

Nob: How do you see the future of the shop developing in the next 5 years?

Goyo: We're opening another branch south of Manila, and beside the shop we're building a pump track, 4X course, a MTB cross country course and a road bike route. The shop will have shower facilities and lockers. (Nob: wow that’s great for the local community!)

Nob: In these tough economic times how is your business coping?

Goyo: We feel the pinch, but we're in this for the long haul. The slump affected a lot of shops, but with our market, to some extent it's insulated. The good thing about it is that more people are aware of the health benefits of cycling and the sport is growing now.

Nob: Any new plans for 2010?

Goyo: We'll again have a presence at the 2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Virginia, USA, and will be conducting several events to promote the sport, focusing on lifestyle events like bike clinics, seminars, etc.

Nob: Tell us how many people work at your shop & what your employees feel like working for a Philippine Branded Company?

Goyo: We have a total of 5 employees. Elaine, our shop keeper, Rey and

S EE

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Jun, our wrenches (mechanics to you & me), Vergel, our in-house painter, and Richard, our messenger. Everyone shares a common desire to help out guys who need assistance pertaining to bikes. In the shop, no matter if you ride a clunker bike in, or drive up in a Porsche, (yep people do have posh cars here) as soon as you enter the door, everyone's a cyclist and we give everyone the attention they deserve.

Nob: As owner what is your typical working day as being an Attorney it must be tough?

Goyo: No matter where I am, I'm usually up at 5 a.m., calling frame builders, suppliers and friends in the US. If I'm in Manila, I eat breakfast with my son, and send him off to school. After he leaves, I go to the shop where I do my paperwork, in between taking to cyclists. I usually leave for home by 6, so I can spend time with my son before he sleeps. I usually put him to sleep. I end at around 11 p.m. after making a few more calls before calling it a day. When I'm out of town for work I'm on-line almost 24 hours a day, and still get calls from cyclists asking for help.

Nob: How do your family cope with your love of bikes?

Goyo: My son love bikes, but is at a stage in his life where he loves to read books (he's 3). My wife's a majority shareholder in Bike Town Cyclery. I guess its okay because instead of spending time going out and partying, I'm usually doing something related to biking, and when in Manila, I'm home early to spend time with the family.

Nob: What other interests do you get up to when not involved in the cycling industry?

Goyo: I am currently the youngest regional director of the Commission on Elections. I run 6 provinces with over 2 million voters. I also help out with the Emeterio Larrazabal Foundation (named after our dad), where we conduct medical missions, and programs for out of school youth. We also do scholarships for deserving youth.

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Nob: We hear you have an international recognised Festival please tell my readers more?

Goyo: Please check site www.tlbf.org

our

Nob: What does the Future hold for Atty Larrazabal himself?

Goyo: I get pretty busy at times, and though there are many challenges in life, I consider myself lucky to be where I am at this point in my life, and look forward to the day where I can do century rides with my son.

Sir Goyo thank you so much for the detailed information for my UK readership as hopefully if they come to Manila they will be in professional hands if they stop by your shop to be handled by your dedicated crew have a few beers & some Italian cuisine.

Goyo can be contacted as follows for any of your needs or visits J Atty. Gregorio Y. Larrazabal, Sr. Festival Director, Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival Phil. Rep., International Mountain Bicycling Assoc.

CEO, Pinoy Bikes COO, Bike Town Cyclery 2240 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City Metro Manila, Philippines 1200 U.S. No.: (+1.949) 940.8081 Mobile: (+63.91) 908.TLBF Tel.: (+63.2) 387.2173 terrylarrazabalbikefestival.blogspot.com www.tlbf.org www.pinoybikes.com www.imba.com

Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis

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