Paul's Holiday Photos

Hi Lisa,

Please could you add this link to the blog for me. It is for my cycling holiday in Hungary, Slovakia and Poland earlier this month. The last time I did this it was too long for the page.

Paul's Photos Hungary/Slovakia/Poland

Also could you add the following link:

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/helmet_camera_video.html

Its a website full of videos of people mountain biking in Wales and Mid - North England. Perhaps us mountain bikers could start doing some adventurous rides.

Broadband connection recommended as the files are quite large.

Thanks,
Paul

Done!

For Paul and everyone else - the trick is to make the name of the link reasonably short, then select the word or phrase and click on the button at the top of the edit window with what looks (just) like a chain link & a planet. Paste the full link to the item in the pop-up box and then it should all work. If all else fails, put up your post warts and all and wait for me to see it and edit it to tidy up..........

Cheers,
Lisa

Mersey Roads 24 hour

Firstly I would like to start off by offering my deepest congratulations to both Stuart and Ben for completing the Austrian Ironman in such impressive times. Truly an outstanding acheivement for you both.
Back to the title subject. I was amazed at how much preparation is involved in the weeks leading up to an event of this nature. Advice was sought from club members some of whom had done this event before and to who I am most indebted. Never having even been to such an event let alone helped in one was a huge handicap for me. My main concern was if things turned nasty how would I inspire Chrystal to carry on or should she even carry on! Pete M's advice was especially helpful " Don't let her pack just talk to her, let her rest, then try to coax her to ride for just a bit longer".
Then we had to decide what food to take along. We bought soft white bread rolls (easy to digest) with various fillings. My mum made some rice pie with lemon (a bit different). I spoke with Keith Butler whose son Gethin has ridden it before. He said Gethin ate cold sausages in long events as they have a high fat content which provides the body with a good source of slow release energy. Energy drink with protein and the obligatory bars, gels and coke were also packed. The most invaluable product, though, was the Lavazza arabica coffee which even keeps me awake!
The bike was prepared by Rohan at Cycles Dauphin who checked it over adding new transmission, tyres and tri bars.
We talked Ann Bath into joining us for the journey and Rachel C came along as co helper. The four of us and four bikes (a spare each) set off on the saturday of the race at 6.30 am. There had been thunderstorms and heavy rain during the night which didn't bode very well, but when we arrived at the Farndon HQ it was hot and sunny. Sign on, tyres pumped final bike check, final bits of advice and before you knew it it was time for the off.
Ann off first with Chrystal following about 30mins later. The course comprises two circuits, Quina Brook (12miles) and Prees Island and back (40 miles). They started off on the longer circuit which gave me and Rachel time to pitch Ann's tent (thank god for Rachel, I was never a boy scout) and put her supplies into it, buy a bucket, sponge and soap which we had forgotten and have something to eat. From a helpers perspective you think you will be kicking your heels most of the time but in truth you're always thinking 'do they need us' so you are driving around most of the time. Including the journey there and back we drove over 700miles.
We found Chrystal about 3 hours after the start and pulled in to replenish fluids and take on food. "I'm knackered already!" were her first words. Not good but she looked in good spirits. Clouds had drawn in obscuring the beating sun which was a relief for everyone. Within an hour the clouds had darkened and it belted down for a spell , water lying on the road surface made going hard. We passed Ann who raised a troubled hand, we stopped further down the road to find that her righthand gear cable had snapped. A quick change of bikes and she was on her way again.
After 6 hours they changed to the shorter circuit, much easier to keep track of them. Chrystal stopped at about 8pm for her first change of clothes, wash, bike check and off. I don't think the whole process took longer than 10mins.
Back on the long circuit after about 10 hours. 40 miles of largely unlit road proved very challenging. Both ladies brought along powerfull lights, an absolute must. They stayed on this circuit throughout the night. We saw Chrystal at various points but Ann only twice as she had supplies in the tent. It was very hard to recognise anyone on the dark roads. Ann stopped for a sleep at some point. She lay by the side of the road near the feed station and someone threw a blanket over her. Strong coffee came into play for both of them during the night and for the helpers too. I slept for about 2 hours and Rachel for not much longer.
Daybreak and it almost felt cold, there were a few clouds in the sky but no threat of rain. More coke, food and water. Chrystal looks to be struggling a bit, I try to raise her spirits "The worst's over you can do it now!" but she doesn't seem to be responding. More Coffee. Ann going well.
Transfer back to short circuit. Rachel takes car to check progress while I prepare porridge for Chrystal. She returns, news is not good, She doesn't seem to recognise Rachel. My phone rings Chrystal has stopped she is struggling badly, wants us to go to her. I tell her to get back to us and rest here. Me and Rachel are worried, how bad is she? I take Chrystal's spare bike from the car and send Rachel to her with an energy gel. Ann going well. Chrystal arrives after 15mins very tired. She has porridge and more coffee and I tell her to just spin low gears and coast down hills. After only 20mins rest feels able to carry on. When we see her again she has found a new lease of life and I worry that she will blow.
Transfer to finishing circuit. I leave Rachel to pack up the tent and other things and follow in the car. Chrystal is going like a train, Ann begins to suffer. I pass food up to Chrystal, Ann stops for fizzy water and strawberries and rice pie. Not long now. I return to pick up Rachel and the things so we can both watch the girls finish. However, I have miscalculated how far away the finishing circuit is from Prees island where we pitched the tent and it takes an age to get there and back.
We return and find Ann almost immediately and watch her finish triumphantly. Get her into the car, bike racked and off to find Chrystal. Fifteen minutes later we still haven't found her but we know she has finished. At the HQ there she is bright as a lark(does that sound right?).
Chrystal has ridden 339.11 miles and Ann 335.47 miles (if only you'd had another cup of my coffee Ann). Both girls rode superbly and I congratulate them both. There are no winners or losers in an event such as this, just making it to the finish is a great acheivement!
I felt greatly involved in the race throughout the whole 24 hours! I think from a helpers viewpoint it was the most enjoyable event I have ever been to and consider myself priveliged to have assisted Chrystal and Ann.


Joe B.

Majorca 2007

Gary Smith says ; We are planning to stay at Hotel Uyal again. Maximum of 30 bikes on plane! so book early.
The cost will be £350 to £400 plus £45 for bikes on plane.
Dates will be between 22nd and 26th April depending on flight schedules .
If you want to come i need post dated cheque for £150 asap made out to Gary Smith.

I have the form from Gary and will hand them out soon. Let me have form and cheque back soon and I will send them all to Gary asap. Jake

Bec 25 - Phil O'Connor's photos

Index: all riders http://www.philoconnor.com/gallery2/thumbnails.php?album=12&page=1

The Phoenix riders:

Andy
Florence
Jake
Pete
Lisa

ECCA 12 hour campsite!!

For anyone needing camping accommodation for the 12 hour near Cambridge on 19th August.

I've located a site at Fowlmere, which appears to be actually on the course.

Check out their site on www.appleacrepark.co.uk it's only £5.00 per night for a standard tent! Blimey....

Update: assuming the same course as last year, Fowlmere is on the afternoon circuit.
Lisa

Festival RC midweek road race

Thought I'd post a request for marshalls for the Festival's road race next Wed 2nd August.

Start is 1pm at Alfold Crossways. Brian Staples is in need of marshalls, you can contact him on 0208 337 4331, if you are able to help. The race is expected to end around 4.15pm.

Austrian Ironman Report

Is hard to report on how a race of that duration went, as over such a long time you're bound to have many high points as well as many low ones. In a nutshell (will probably still go on a bit, but I'll try and keep it brief) here's my first Ironman...

Location - Klagenfurt is in SE Austria, right on the border of Slovenia (actually we flew into SL). It's in the eastern alps and is really spectacular. The city is very pretty, with wide pedestrian streets and beautiful buildings - defo worth a holiday there. The race is centred around Lake Worthersee, which is a stunning turquoise lake with unbroken mountain backdrop.

We were lucky to get into a hotel very near the race start, on the side of the lake (I booked over a year in advance). Only downer were the trains that ran right passed the door, but you gradually heard them less and less :-) The balcony view of the lake + 500m walk to race start were defo a bonus.

On the days building up to the race we had a brief dip in the lake which was lovely and left me feeling confident for the swim. Also the transition and race finish were all built during this time so we were able to familiarise ourselves there. The finishing strip is quite a sight and we walked the last 100m, but none of us would cross under the timer (ie: through the finishing gantry) for fear of bad luck.

The final day was for race briefing, racking of bikes, preparing the tonne of race food & drinks and generally trying to keep occupied :-). Race night I didn't really sleep at all, which was pretty much expected, but I was confident that I'd be ok as I'd slept fine the night before.
The hotel opened brekky at 4am, and there were a number of us waiting at the door :-) I managed to get down some muesli, yogurt and power bar before returning to our room for shower, sun cream and Vaseline. Heart rate monitor on, timing chip on, tri-suit on and down to the start with swim bag and last bike bits.

We got to the transition around 6am and it was buzzing with activity. Everyone had their last minute checks to do: Pump tyres, food and drinks on bike, check bike over. Drinks & food in run bag. Wetsuit on, and down to the beach (the freshwater lake had a nice beach from which we were to start.) The sun was rising over the lake and it was going to be a beautiful day. The atmosphere was really building - 2,500 athletes, swim hats on, goggles in place, 10's of thousands of supporters making an unreal racket, music & the p.a. system blaring out, 4 helicopters buzzing overhead, 1 hot air balloon, 1 turn buoy over a mile in the distance, 1 cannon and.... boom we were off.

Swim - 2.4 miles (3,800m): 1:15:01
We swam out between piers crammed with supporters, it's a mess of white water and noise, the best plan is to swim fast and straight, and to hope you don't get swum over or kicked too much. I followed a pretty good line and stuck with a solid group of swimmers to the first turn buoy. Sighting towards the next buoy was into the rising sun and many of us struggled with direction for a bit, I was sticking to the plan of keeping loads-a-swimmers of the right and loads-a-swimmers on the left. This seems to work pretty well and after a while my shoulder started to ache - a sure sign that we were getting close. Sure enough, a last buoy pointed the direction of the Lendle canal: The swim in Ironman Austria has the unusual attraction of finishing it's last 900m along a canal. Although this is shallow and narrow, resulting is more congestion, it's worth it as the crowds line both side and the bridges over - a great boost. Finally the finishing ramp arrived and the helpers dragged me out, tired, but happy that I'd soon be on my bike.

Transition1 - 0:02:49
I had planned for slow steady transitions, as it's a long day and the last thing you need is to make a silly mistake here. In fact I was pretty slick, considering that you had to... run from the canal into change area, grab bike bag from the bag racks, into change tent, wetsuit, hat & goggles off, number belt on, helmet & sunglasses on, stuff bag, run to bike racks, find bike, push bike to mounting point and away.
Yet again the support here was astonishing, I did hear my name against the din but failed to look high enough to spot Amanda & Nic on top of the huge framework they'd climbed to give us all a shout :-).

Bike - 112 miles (180 kms): 5:22:28
I was off onto the bike and was looking forward to regaining some off the time & positions I'd lost in the water. The link to the main roads wound through several hundred meters of paths which were lined solid with supporters. This was fun but slow, so I used the time to slip my feet into my cycle shoes. Finally we were onto the road and I could get up to speed and start what was to be a stream of overtaking.

The bike is a 2 lap course. The first 25k of the lap are very fast, flat roads along the side of lake Worthersee, then a loop over the mountains past another small lake, this joins a larger loop, back over the mountains and back round to the start. The roads are all smooth, running through many lovely villages. Support again was astonishing with all the villages turning out onto the roads. With the roads closed for the day, many villages had taken the opportunity to have a street party and the sound of music was very encouraging. The 2 big climbs were an experience in themselves - spectators filled the road only parting as you approached them ! And the roads themselves were covered in messages of encouragement.

I rode a little harder than planned over the 1st 90k lap, (2hrs 31mins), and had to slow a bit over the 2nd lap. The climbs felt easier than expected the first time round, but I think a lot of that was the atmosphere, as they were a lot bigger the 2nd time !! By the end of the ride I was struggling and was quite uncomfortable. Although I'd eaten about my planned 350 cal/hr, I was having trouble digesting the food and was starting to get some pretty bad stomach cramps. I was also having the expected shoulder and back pain from being tucked on aero-bars for five and a half hours. Basically, I was really looking forward to getting off the bike, even if it was to run a marathon!!

Transition2 - 0:04:44
A brief toilet break slowed my 2nd transition, but I was still happy to get through without any muscle cramps in the change from bike to run. I was starting the run with some serious worries about my guts & feeding plan, but otherwise very happy to be into the run in just under 6hrs 45m (well inside my time goal of 7hrs for this stage)

Run - 26.2 miles (42.2 kms): 4:04:57
The first few kilometres were really ugly as I tried to carry on feeding at my planned rate, but with stomach cramps worsening, I knew something would have to give. So at around the 10k mark I ditched my electrolyte drinks and switched to water + gels, it took another 10k but this did the trick and by half marathon stage my stomach had settled and I was running at a pretty reasonable rate. The run route is 2 laps, each lap consisting of 2 out and back legs of about 10k. The 1st leg goes along the lakeside and the 2nd follows the canal into the centre of Klagenfurt. Yet again the supporters were out in force, there were over 100,000 spectators over the whole day, and they made so much noise it felt like even more! I ran through the hottest part of the day and was very grateful for the aid stations every 3k (giving out water, coke, energy drink, sponges, oranges pieces etc etc). Between these 3k stations, many of the hundreds of supporters had set up their own support along the route (in the form of sponges, hose pipes and even water pistols!!). The sound of music and cheering along the way made a massive difference to a very very tough run.
I passed halfway in a pretty reasonable 2hrs 06min and very soon I was starting to crumble again, this time a ditched the gel & water plan and moved to coke (great sugar & caffeine boost quickly followed by a massive caffeine and sugar low - or more coke !!). I knew it was a big gamble to switch so early but I felt much better straight way.
At about the same time I met up with another English guy and we ran together at a much improved pace. I was confident that I couldn't maintain this pace to the end, but felt that every mile closer would shorten the walk when my body finally clapped out !! We agreed to walk every aid to ensure that we'd take on sufficient calories and fluid. Getting started again, each time, after just a brief walk, was really hard as my legs were ready to stiffen up for good. Also, the coke hadn't been flattened so I was a bit sick each time I started running again, but we did manage to keep it up and I surprised myself by maintaining the improved pace for the penultimate 10k loop. Every bit of path and every yelling supporter was being passed for the last time now. I knew that we had only the final 10k loop to run before the finish.
It was at this stage that I almost lost focus. I had the sudden realisation that I was going to make it, and at this pace I would be under 11 hours, a quick memory flash of the cold wet Tuesday evening runs, of the 100 mile rides to Bognor in the snow, I had a tear in my eye and could hear the finishing strip. I was heading to the finish and I started to pick up the pace but this was last 6 miles miles of 140.6 and I knew that I had to keep myself reigned in. We had to head away from the finish before we could return for the final time. So no speeding up, no slowing down, at this stage the slightest change could result in muscles seizing up.
The last 10k was a real fight, but I knew I just had to plug on and it would eventually be over. So, cap down, ignore those around me and withdraw into my 'hurt box'. (Sorry to those who receive no reply to shouts of encouragement over this last hour!!)

Finish - 10:49:59
As we turned off the canal for the final time, we had only a km or so to go, the path wound through picnicking supporters all still as vocal as they were first thing in the morning. Now I was vocal too and I was slapping the hands of kids and cheering back. I knew it would be over soon and I was floating on the atmosphere. It sounds ridiculous but those who were there will agree how special the crowds were. Up to the lake and this time left to the finish. Before the final shoot, we ran 100m along the side of the lake; here the crowds were many deep and I high fived everyone as I ran along (even Graham without knowing it!). Last turn and I heard my name over the PA. The clock was straight ahead... 10:49... I couldn't believe it. I still have goose bumps thinking about it now. There must have been a thousand spectators just here, and the noise was amazing. Luckily my cap was there to hide the old 'grit in the eye' - it was over and I was on top of the world.

It was only a matter of seconds before my legs seized and I could no longer walk, but that was fine. For about 4 days I really struggled to go downstairs !! The course, the spectators, the venue, the scenery were all outstanding. I've done a lot of triathlons over the last 4 years, but this was leagues above any of them, a completely different race. I'm an ironman now, but it wasn't done alone; I had fantastic support throughout a very long day from my mum & Graham, my in-laws Ann & John, Nic, Mel and, of course, Amanda who not only supported me during the race but also put up with my absence during the 6hr training sessions, long evening runs and 5am swim training, over the last year. (not to mention the incessant ironman related conversation!!)

I'm really please to say that Ben, Chris, Adam & Steve all also finished, which is a credit to the hard work we've all put in, and the respect that we've each had for the race. A respect that was proven to be well founded by the hundreds of serious athletes stretchered into the medical tent while I was waiting by the finish. (looked like something from a war zone). I've heard said that you become an ironman at 5am whilst running in the snow many months before the event. Now I know this is absolutely true, the race day is just the culmination of a year's effort.

We all stayed around to cheer in as many athletes as we could. At midnight the race finish closes and those last few ironmen got the biggest cheer of all - accompanied with the pom-pom girls, blaring PA, flame throwers, fireworks. Anyone who finishes the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run in under the 17 hour cut-off is in no doubt that they are an Ironman !!

Stuart

The Phoenix at Le Tour!

Ready to go from Simon & Jen's in Bonen

Next committee meeting - Aug 06

For those committee members that I have not had a chance to mention this to:

Next Committee Meeting is - Friday August 4th 2006 at mine.

Lisa

Results 22/23 July

Mersey Roads 24hr
Congratulations to Ann & Chrystal on completing the 24hr over the weekend. Finishing is quite an achievement and an ordeal. Their provisional times are:

Chrystal 339m
Ann 335

The full result, currently still provisional, is here

From the provisional result it seems that Ann's distance of 342m from last year has remained untouched, although Chrystal is very close in her first attempt at the distance (never having ridden a 12hr before).

Perhaps either or both of you would like to write an account here for us to read????

Update: Pics from the event here

SCCU 100
Jake 5-5-40
Ray 5-7-16
Andy 5-8-06
Lisa 5-44-57

I understand that Ray was close to the 100 age standard record that he was aiming to beat, but I don't know which side of it he was......

Lisa

Mersey Roads 24 hour

In case anyone has missed it, Ann & Chrystal are both riding the Mersey Roads 24hr (also the National Championship) over the weekend.

Ann is off no. 12 at 13:12 and Chrystal no.40 at 13:40.

Think of them over the weekend, especially as you settle into bed on Saturday night......

Good Luck to them both. Hopefully a cooler day than of late, and a warm night.

Lisa

Eve 10 #7 (26th July) start sheet

02 19:31:00 Tony Tugwell 6:30
03 19:31:30 Ray Dare 3:15
04 19:32:00 Ann Bath 5:30
05 19:32:30 Mark McNamara 7:30
06 19:33:00 Paul Day 3:00
07 19:33:30 Jake Dodd 4:45
08 19:34:00 Heather Basley 7:00
09 19:34:30 Chrystal Sheldon 3:00
10 19:35:00 Pete Mitchell 4:30
11 19:35:30 Lisa Colombo 6:45
12 19:36:00 Andy Avis 1:00
13 19:36:30 Rachel Croggon 4:15
14 19:37:00 Jen Mitchell 5:00
15 19:37:30 Simon Mitchell 1:00
16 19:38:00 Florence Hallett 5:00
17 19:38:30 David Croggon 4:00
18 19:39:00 Joe Bertorelli Scr
19 19:39:30 John Beer 3:30


AWARDS:
1st/2nd/3rd Handicap
1st/2nd Fastest
Fastest Woman

Lisa

Results - 15th/16th July

Updated:

Bec 25:
1:05:32 Andy Avis
1:10:13 Pete Mitchell
1:13:33 Jake Dodd
1:14:26 Florence Hallett
1:19:34 Lisa Colombo
Pics from the morning here, thanks to Mike Anton, East Grinstead CC

National Championship 100:
Ann Bath DNF (off course)
splits:
25 - 1:18:28
50 - 2:40:41

Austrian Ironman Triathlon
2.4 mile swim • 112 mile bike • 26.2 mile run
Stuart Pearce 10:49:59
Swim - 1:15:01
Bike - 5:22:28
Run - 4:4:57
Full splits here

Ben Pearce - 12:18:20
Swim - 1:1:56
Bike - 5:54:08
Run - 5:13:16
Full splits here

That's if you can make head or tail of the "full splits".

Lisa

More marshals required - Surrey League events

The annual general appeal for marshals - this is not part of the Club's commitment to the Surrey League, but obviously we get "brownie points" if we do field anyone and, of course, the sport won't run without marshals:

Tour of the South (Stage 1) 27th July

Surrey League Revolutions 5-day 18th to 22nd August.

As per usual we are looking for 'volunteers' to assist with the running of these two events. Any unemployed, unemployable or retired people will do!

For the 'Tour of the South' the BC SE Region/Surrey League is promoting the 1st Stage from Crawley to Liphook. The personnel required are: -Two Lead Cars with drivers, Motor Cycle Escorts/Marshals (these have to be experienced), Broom Wagon with driver plus lots of static Marshals.

The course goes through Charlwood, Leigh, Newdigate, Capel, Beare Green, Ockley, Clemsfold, Alfold, Dunsfold, Plaistow, Shillinglee, Lickfold, Fernhurst and Milland. It finishes with a number of laps of the Milland Hill Circuit. Some 24 points need to be covered. All help will be welcomed. Could your club cover any of these spots? Please contact Glyn (glyn@surreyleague.co.uk) or me with your details (we don't need names we just need to know a spot or spots will be covered).

The 'Surrey League Revolutions 5 Day' also need lots of people. Lead Cars, Escorts and Commissaires are, as usual, required. Marshals are needed by the score! The course areas this year are - Stage 1 Ewhurst/Ockley. Stage 2 Handcross, Stage 3 Goodwood/Midhurst, Stage 4 Wivelsfield and Stage 5 Crowborough and the Ashdown Forest. Again contact Glyn (glyn@surreyleague.co.uk) or myself with your offers. Full details of each stage can be found at http://www.surreyleague.co.uk/news/revolution06.htm

In addition I would like someone (or one per day) to act as Marshals Liaison during the event. This entails organising the Marshals on the day, ensuring they know when and where they have to move from circuit to circuit. I provide the master plan but I need someone to make it work. (This is the job that John Cosstick used to do).

Thank you,
Yours in sport

Keith Butler

H25/8 closed for rest of season

Have just seen this on the TT message board:

"I am not sure of this has been mentioned, but! The HUGE hole on the A31 Bentley by-pass that has been growing for a year or two has been fixed.
In fact the whole of the inside carriageway has been relaid between the exit to Bentley all the way to the Bus stop. Lovely smooth tarmac.

The bad news is that a lane will be closed near the finish of the 25 course for 3 months starting Monday 24th July, which means that no more 25's this season. The 10 course is ok though.


--------------------
Regards
Stuart Stebbings"

I am not sure what arrangements will be made for the remaining 25s scheduled for this course - they might transfer to the H25/1 or H25/2 or possibly be held as 10s. Will post here as I find out anything else.

Lisa

Bec 25 - start info

06:37 Andy Avis
07:04 Florence Hallett
07:59 Jake Dodd (not Pete M, as I typed originally)
08:04 Lisa Colombo
08:08 Pete Mitchell

Five entries, qualifies as a Club Event. Hcps to follow.

Lisa

But do we have the necessary 5 for the SCCU 100 - I count: myself, Jake, Andy & Ray; any advance on 4????

I think it's correct now.....
So I know somebody looks at all of this! ;-)

Austrian Ironman Triathlon

Stuart & Ben are competing in the Austrian Ironman Triathlon next weekend.
It looks as though we should be able to follow their progress here:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/austria

http://www.ironmanaustria.at/en.htm

Lisa

Phoenix Clothing

Good news for everbody who have ordered Phoenix clothing and for potential new customers as some is for stock. Simon is in Brittany and will arange a club night for distribution and fashion show soon.

Saturday's Ride

As some of you are aware, a bunch of the Club are off to the cottage in Brittany to see the Tour de France and will be away over the weekend. "Have a great time", to those who are going.

However, not everyone is going and there will still be someone at Horton Country Park at 10am for the morning ride - don't fall into the trap of thinking that everyone is away and no one will be there, this is not the case.

Lisa

Cycling Film Season

As part of the 2006 Cycle Season, East Sussex County Council have been working with Lewes Film Club to prepare for the first Lewes Cycle Film Festival during July. The films will be shown at the All Saints Centre, Friars Walk, in Lewes and the first one is BELLEVILLE RENDEZVOUS tomorrow at 8pm.

The other three films are:

a.. Tuesday 11 July - Jour de Fete (France 1949, U) M. Jacques Tati at his best!
b.. Sunday 16 July - Beijing Bicycle (Taiwan/China, 2001, PG-13) A poetically photographed, powerful film that offers a glimpse at two young men struggling for their place in the modern Chinese society
c.. Sunday 23 July - Overcoming (Denmark, 2005) Behind the scenes of the 2004 Tour de France

SCCU 50 result

2:11:57 - Andy Avis - 1st Place (Club Event)
2:21:52 - Pete Mitchell
2:25:16 - Grant Pyke
2:28:44 - Jake Dodd - 1st Hcp (Club Event) - 2nd Lady in SCCU event
2:34:16 - Florence Hallett
2:47:20 - Lisa Colombo - team shield
D.N.F - Ann Bath - problems with her camel-bak.

SCCU Winner Tim Mardell 1:47:58

After a warm night, we had a pretty good morning with a rising wind and the day warming rapidly. I guess the wind was northerly, as the finish was quite hard work, whilst going the other way was less hard! Florence did an excellent ride in her first 50. I was 1 second slower than the same event last year! Ann had problems with the valve on her camel-bak, and had most of the contents leak away early on, rather than sustaining her all the way round.

Everyone who finished seemed reasonably pleased with their rides.

Lisa

Phoenix Fifteen Phank you & provisional result

A big thank you to everyone who came and supported the event, especially those who marshaled. Congratulations to all the riders that completed the course and double congratulations to Lisa.

I got home and slept after all that running around and those late nights trying to organise the event. It seems that no matter how far you try to plan ahead you still end up rushing around on the day.

Below is the provisional result. I will go through the figures tomorrow and confirm.

1st Steve Dennis East Grinstead 33:05. I think that this is an overall course record.
2nd Keith Coffey Bec CC 33:55. (good luck with your event next week)
3rd Tim Stevens 34 Nomads 34:11 (Winner last year with a 33:28)

Vet
Bob Stapley Epsom CC+7:49

Overall TEAM
21st Century

Womens time

1st Heidi Mason. Hastings & St Leonards 38:48. (well done as Heidi set the new Womens course record and so collects the £50 bonus)
2nd Angela Brown 21st Century Airports. 39:19 (Again congratulations first for breaking the course record...but comiserations for then losing out to Heidi, but also for being part of the winning overall team and winning the £10 bonus for the Womens Prime.)
3rd Joanne McRae, GS Avanti, 39:51

Womens VET
Gill Reynolds Willsden CC +3:50

Womens Team
Hounslow & District CC (BooHiss...Well they were really keen to put a team together so congratulations. I hope that they return next year to defend their title, and that we can get a few other womens teams to have a go. Perhaps we should put up little cup?)


PRIME MEN
Mark Perryman 1.39
Does anyone know how long this bit of road is? A lot of people were trying for this even though they said that they weren't interested. I will put the full set of times on the published result.

Tandems
Andrew Smith & Dave Abbot GS Stella. 34:33. (Commiserations to Mark and Trystan of the Hounslow who actually did a faster time but had a time penalty added for being late. A lot of thought went into this and the rule book studied. They were delayed on the Motorway and would have had to have a time penalty added, the time keepers decided to just round this up to an hour for clarity of the potential result. You wilhaveve to come back next year to prove a point.)

I will hold off printing the result until I get all the split times for the Prime and Halfway check.
Play Safe
Andy