Wigmore Cycling Club

Cycling News

The Evening Time Trial season has started.
Conditions so far have not been ideal, but don't let the weather put you off.
Come along to a TT and set a time.
These are the times so far. See if you can do any better.

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Cyclo-cross round-up - November

Late autumn and early winter is mostly about cyclo-cross racing. Paul Buckley and Dave Bishop have been having some close races.

Round 7 of the London league was held at Hillingdon Circuit near Heathrow (actually it is closer to Hillingdon and Paul’s university days with Hillingdon Cycling Club and Mal Rees’ cycle shop). A record 184 entries crowded into the start area and it was some time after the start that the backmarkers started to move. Four abreast round the first few corners and Dave was pulling away from Paul. Even with the crowding at the start it was not necessary to unclip from the pedals anywhere on the course. Two railway sleepers made a daunting looking obstacle but quite easy to ride slowly one wheel at a time (front wheel, Chain-wheel and Rear wheel). It would have been quicker, for anyone good at hurdling, to take them at full-speed - but on foot. A little further round the course there were a few spectators at the bus-stop. After two laps of the bumpy course, Paul caught Dave and then took another 20 seconds per lap to beat Dave by just 1’30 to finsh 42nd and 54th veterans respectively.

Round 9 was at another familiar venue - Gunpowder Park near Waltham Abbey. Another bumpy, grass-land course was made greasy by the fog (the closest to mud in the first half of the league). A more normal entry of 100 fitted on the course quite easily and Dave made another good start 30 seconds faster than Paul on the first lap. Paul crashed on an early adverse-cambered corner and never got to grips with the greasy terrain. Nevertheless he still made 5 to 10 seconds a lap and caught Dave with less than a lap to the finish. A finish made even closer by Paul stopping to let the leader through to avoid an extra lap !! Darren Barclay, Paul and Dave all crossed the line in less than 4 seconds.

After competing in 7 of the first 9 races Paul is a pleasing 18th of 90 veterans in the London League. As the league is based on best 8 results, Paul is already close to quota while other riders still have more events and points to come.

Only 4 more regular races (and 2 team events) left this season so you need to get in there soon.

December
18 Herne Hill velodrome (11)
27 Footscray meadow (12)
January
1 Herne Hill MADISON
22 Wilmington School (13)
February
5 Herne Hill (14)
12 TEAM RACE

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Cycling Report on 12-11-11

The second race of the series at the new Gravesend Cyclo Park was held on Sunday 6th November on a chilly but dry day. With an entry of 85 riders from all over the South East there was an air of excitement as the riders took to the circuit, to begin racing in an anti-clockwise direction this time. The racing proved to be hard and fast with 19 starters failing to finish.
The Elite, 1st and 2nd category riders started first with a 1 minute advantage over the 3rd and 4th category group.The faster riders from each group soon broke clear resulting in a race consisting of various groups spread around the 2.9km circuit.
A break of 6 riders, which included Wigmore C.C. Keith Walker went clear. Walker put in a lot of work at the front to help them stay clear and contest the sprint finish.
On lap 15 a £10 prime was donated by Tony Mack the gentleman who’s idea it was to have a cyclo park on this spare piece of land. This was won by Ashley Holding (G.B.MS Tina), who then went on to win the finishing sprint for 1st place. Chris Snook (Banjocycles) was 2nd and David Seager (Kingsnorth International) 3rd. After all his hard work Walker took a well deserved 4th position with club mate Jason Nind 13th.
The 3rd and 4th category race saw local riders in the thick of the action with Jason Guibarra (Medway Velo) finishing 11th., club mate David Bellinger 20th and Tyler Lemmon 43rd. Wigmore’s Ian Creasey finished in 39th place. The winner was Rhys Clegg (Kingsnorth International), with William Pratt (Dulwich Paragon) 2nd and Josh Parkin (Artic Premier) 3rd.

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Cycling Report on 31-10-11

Although the new cyclo Park at Gravesend does not open officially till next year the South East Road Race League have been given permission to organise a series of races during the winter. The first event was held last Sunday and attracted an entry of 80 riders. The circuit is 2.9 klm in length and 6 metres wide with some tight bends to negotiate giving the riders a testing course and ample room for racing.
The event was split into two races with the 3rd and 4th category riders starting 2 minutes in front of the 1st and 2nd catergory riders. The first group set off at a fast pace and eventually two riders went clear and stayed in front to sprint for the top two places. The winner was William Pratt (Dulwich Paragon) 3rd cat, covering the 1 hour + 5 laps ( 36 miles) in 1h 24m 28s. In 2nd position @ 2s was Harry Godding (Sprocket U.K.) junior, with his team mate Phil Webb 3cat another 30s in arrears. The 1st and 2nd cat group had only managed to cut the 2 min gap by half with Martin Ogrray (Team Toachim) taking the honours.
Local riders were in the thick of the action with 3 Wigmore C.C. members in the 2nd race. Best placed was Keith Walker 9th, Jason Nind 11th and Luke Anderson 13th. In the 1st race Medway Velo’s Jason Gurbarra finished 27th with Ian Creasey Wigmore C.C. just behind. The verdict from the riders was that it is a great circuit for racing on and should attract many clubs to promote events during the coming year.

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Cycling Report on 21-10-11

With road works at Charing roundabout the Kent veterans 15mile time trial course had to be changed. With the start near Charing and going to Leeds roundabout and back it was really the same roads but in reverse directions.
With heavy rain falling before the start many riders decided to stay in bed resulting in nearly half the entries non starters, leaving 36 brave souls to start.
Wigmore C.C. rider Keith Walker is still holding his form so late in the season and had a very successful ride. Recording a good time of 34m 16s to claim 4th position overall and 8th place in the veterans category.
Sally Smith (Medway Velo) was pleased with her time of 43m 23s, which was good enough for 2nd fastest lady. Fastest lady was Bronwen Ewing (Rye & District) with a time of 38m 11s.
The winner was Kevin Tye (Datateam Allstars) in 31m 55s, just beating 2nd & 3rd placed riders Michael Barnes (Colour-Tech R.T.) 32m 11s. Barnes is a junior and a name to remember for the future, he is a very classy rider, and Will Manger (In-Gear Quickvit) 32m13s.
The cyclo cross season is now in full swing with local riders begining to try their luck at this demanding side of cycle racing. Last week saw the San Fairy Ann organising the latest London League event at Chainhurst near Yalding. The course consisted of mainly farm tracks which suited the speedy guys rather than the skillful ones.
In the under 10 year old event Cameron Coxon (Wigmore C.C.) in only his 3rd race rode well to finish 8th from a field of 19.
The main race which included seniors, veterans, juniors and ladies had 125 starters. Best placed local representative was Jacob Kennison (Medway Velo), finishing in 64th place and 7th junior position. Club mate Tyler Lemmon wasn’t too far behind to claim 11th junior position. Sandwiched between these two riders were the two Wigmore C.C. riders, Paul Buckley & Dave Bishop. Bishop had a fast start and was well ahead of Buckley at first, but experience told in the end and Buckley eventually overtook Bishop and is yet to be beaten by him.

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Cycling Report on 3-10-11

On Sunday the Wigmore Cycling Club promoted their 36th annual open Hill Climb on what was probably the hottest day they have had for this event.
With an entry of 61 riders ready to tackle the tough 1200yard climb of Hollingbourne Hill the bright sunny morning attracted a large number of spectators many of them cycling out to the venue.
With a prize list of over £400-00 plus a bonus valued at £250-00 if the winner finished inside 3 minutes many people expected to see a new record set on what appeared to be perfect conditions.
When Alan Thynne (Rye & Dsitrict) off number 12 recorded 3m 31.7s it certainly looked as though the bonus prize would be taken by the later starters.
This time was unbeaten for 34 minutes until Joe Harris (Reading C.C.) took the lead, arriving in 3m 16.8s. It was left to the last 4 riders to try and win the top prize.
Will Manger (In Gear) got close with 3m 17.4s, eventually finishing in 3rd place.
The last 3 riders were all veterans and produced very good times with Steve Hopkins (Ashford Whls) 3m 31.4s for 5th position and Kevin Tye (DataAllstars) 4th with 3m 20.9s.This left the last starter Peter Tadros (In Gear) who won in 2009 the only rider capable of taking the top prize. Although he made a gallant effort it wasn’t quite good enough and he had to be content with the £50-00 prize for 1st place with a time of 3m 7.7s.
Local riders were amongst the prize winners with Wigmore’s Keith Walker finishing in 8th place with a time of 3m 39.3s He also took 4th prize in the veterans category, the Medway Towns Trophy and won the Wigmore hill climb championship. Other Wigmore riders times were Dave Bishop 5m 0.4s, Ian Creasey 5m 4s, Vlad Sologub 5m 18.2s for 7th jun position and Jeremy Deakin who is still recovering from his 760 mile Paris-Brest-Paris ride, 6m 6s.
Deborah Percival (34th Nomads) claimed 2nd ladies award with a good time of 4m 14.7s. Medway Velo performed well with young Jacop Kennison their fastest rider with a great ride of 3m 57.4s to finish 4th in the junior catergory. Other Medway Velo times were Adam Mumford 4m 6.4s, Andrew Collyer 4m 35.8s, and two ladies, Louise Mason and Deborah Hope with 5m 0s & 5m 3.7s respectively. Their times also placed them 6th & 7th in the ladies competition.

Last minute changes to the Kent Cycling Association 12 hour time trial course due to the sudden appearance of traffic lights created great problems to the organisers and competitors. With 14 roundabouts to negotiate in a 12 mile section of the course, it wasn’t surprising that some of the riders went off course. This has resulted in a long delay before a provisional result could be announced.
Amongst the 56 entries were 10 ladies which is probably the highest number of lady riders for this event and included 3 from the Medway Velo Club. Unfortunately Louise Mason was a non starter having been involved in an accident the previous week. The other 2 lady’s Deborah Hope and Sally Smith who were both riding their first 12 hour event did very well.
With the course completely different from last year, the organisers had cut out most of the hills, riders were expected to improve on last years distances.
Starting from Bethersden at 6am the weather conditions were very good, warm and calm. After covering 20 miles the course took the competitors to Romney Marsh where the conditions began to change. Firstly the wind began to pick up and about noon it started to rain hard which lasted about 2 hours, making it extremely difficult for the riders. When the riders had reached the finishing circuit with abour 2 hours left the wind was now at it’s strongest and even the favourite Andy Miles (V.C.Elan) was finding the going tough. The 2 local girls battled on to the end of their 12 hours to record very good mileage. Hope finished 2nd best lady with 207 miles whilst Smith was 3rd lady recording 196 miles.
The winner was Andy Miles with 267 mls, 2nd tom Glandfield ((Lewes Wanderers) 256 mls, and 3rd Shay Giles (V.C.Elan) 251 mls.
Although the time trial season is nearly finished it hasn’t stopped Wigmore’s Keith Walker from recording some good times. In the East Sussex C. A. 25 mile T.T. he finished 17th with a time of 1h 00m 44s on a windy day, which didn’t appear to bother the winner Peter Tadros (In Gear) who romped round the course in 52m 24s.
The following week he rode a vets event on the same course and recorded his fastest ride this year with a time of 58m 02s to claim 3rd prize. The winner was Iain Brogden (Eastbourne Rovers) 54m 32s , 2nd David Pollard (In Gear) 55m 00s.
Club mate Ian Creasey decided to travel to Hampshire and ride the North Hampshire R C. 25 mile T.T. and was pleased to finish with a time of 1h 7m 30s. the winner Martin Williams (London Dynamo) did a superb ride only taking 50m 54s, with Andrew Bryson (Sotonia C.C.) 2nd in 53m 11s and 3rd place going to Henry Latimer (Zappi’s C.C.) with 54m 47s.

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Cycling Report on 12-09-11

Fifty year old Jeremy Deakin of the Wigmore Cycling Club has just completed the longest event he has ever entered, the Paris-Brest-Paris ride.
Earlier in the year he decided to enter the Paris-Brest-Paris audax, which is held every 4 years. Before being accepted you must complete a 200, 300, 400 and 600km audax, which he did. Not for Deakin a £2000 light weight carbon frame bike with 20 + gears, he stuck with his old faithful 1982 all steel 12 gear Appollo bike. The biggest worry was if it would get past the scrutineers.
The course started at St Quentin en Yvelines on the outskirts of Paris and went west to Brest and back, a total distance of 1230km with 11500 metres of climbing and a time limit of 90 hours.
Starting on Sunday (21-8-11) at 8pm he rode 160km to Mortagne-au-Perche where he stopped for coffee and a chat, then on to Villaines-la-Jukel, arriving at 5-50am and here he had breakfast.
It was on the way to Fougeres that he broke a spoke on the drive side of his wheel and upon reaching his destination left the bike with the mechanics and had elevenses. Upon returning to his bike no repair had been done because nobody had the correct tool to remove the block. This meant riding the rest of the way with a buckled wheel. At Tinteniac he had lunch before setting of to Loudeac, arriving at 8pm and time for another coffee, then continued to St-Nicolas du Pelem through a thunder storm, arriving at 10-45pm. Having now covered 490km he decided to have a sleep. Waking at 4am he had breakfast and continued on his way to Carhaix-Plouguer where he had another coffee before continuing over the highest part of the route to Brest, stopping for elevenses on the way at Sizun. It is now 39h 40m since he left the start, leaving him 50h 20m to get back
Fortunately the weather conditions were generally good and with a westerly breeze helping the return journey he was fairly confident of beating the time limit.
On the return journey he had some knee problems and had to take some pain killing tablets. At midnight Tuesday just before Tinteniac it was time for another sleep having now completed 840km.
Once again he was up at 4am, had breakfast and set off to Villaines-la-Jukel where he decided to visit the medical centre and get his knees examined. A massage eased the pain and he was on his way to Dreux arriving at 11pm and only another 64km to the finish and 15 hrs to do them in.
The temptation of a nice cool beer, warm shower and another sleep stopped him from continuing through the night. Up at 5am he had breakfast and a leisurely ride to finish just after 9am. Total time including the stops, just over 85hrs.
His next event will be a lot shorter than the 1200km, it will be the Wigmore hill climb on 2nd October up Hollingbourne Hill and is only 1200 meters long.

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Cycling Report on 3-09-11

During the Bank Holiday weekend Wigmore Cycling Club had two teams riding in the 12 hour mountain bike ‘Torq in your Sleep’ event.
Held in Surrey at Minley Manor, a military training ground it comprised of an 8 mile course through the woods.
The event was open to solo’s, pairs or teams of 3 or 4 riders taking turns to complete an 8 mile lap.
Starting midday on Sunday and finishing at midnight the riders needed powerful front lights to negotiate the tough and technical woodland course during the hours of darkness.Their lights are very bright giving off 2500 lumens. ( apparently a bright office is usually about 400 lumens).
With many of the 700 competitors camping during the week end there were plenty of Barbcues Saturday Evening resulting in a late night.
Sunday was a bright morning for a practice ride around the course before the start at midday.
Wigmore’s 1st team comprised of Luke Anderson, Richard Masters, Dave Bishop and Graham Coxon. They decided to complete 2 laps each before changing and set off at a fast pace. Unfortunately after his 2 laps Masters had a migraine attack and spent the next 15 hours recovering in his tent.
Meanwhile the 2nd team consisting of Simon Allum, Richard Hoyte and Jim Whenman were travelling at a slightly slower pace but not much slower. After 6 laps (48 miles) the team times were 4h 28m and 4h 55m. By now it had started to rain and the course was very slippery in places and the lap times were increasing by 5minutes or more. By now it was dark and the riders had their lights on. After 10 laps ( 80 miles) the team times were 7h 56m and 8h 32m.
On his next lap Allum managed to buckle his front wheel and struggled to complete the lap. He managed to borrow a wheel from club helper Clin Maisey and was able to ride another lap of the course.
Fireworks lit the sky when the 12 hours was up and the race finished when all the riders reached the finishing line.
The end result was that both Wigmore teams completed 14 laps ( 112 miles). The 1st team was placed 36th in 11h 59m 58s, and the 2nd team 40th in 12h 42m 01s. There were 73 teams in their catergory, and the winning team completed 19 laps ( 152 miles).
After the race there was entertainment till 2 am before everyone retired to their cosy tents.

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Cycling Report on 22-08-11

Some riders can concentrate better in the rain whilst others detest the wet weather, and thats what happened in the final event of the Medway News evening T.T. competition.
With plenty of rain ½ hour before the start many riders decided not to compete and left it to the few hardy souls to get wet.
When the first rider started the rain had stopped and the conditions didn’t seem to bad, unfortunately it only stayed that way for about 15 minutes before it started raining again. This didn’t deter Wigmore’s Richard Masters who won the 10 mile event with a time of 22m 38s. This was his 11th ride inside 23minutes for the competition this year and shows how consistent his rides have been this year.
Two other riders that didn’t mind the rain were 2nd placed Ian Creasey with a PB of 25m 59s and 4th placed Paul Monaghan who posted his 6th PB of the season in a time of 26m 33s. Sandwiched between these two was Steve Bishop in 26m12s.
The rest of the riders took a dislike to the conditions with Dave Bishop recording 27m 20s which is nearly 2minutes off his best.
It certainly was not the best night for your debut at time trialing but 16 year old Vlad Sologub decided to have a go. With club coach Luke Anderson riding a few yards behind him, making sure he didn’t do anything wrong he battled against the elements.
First he complained his shoes were getting wet then his socks, but Anderson just told him to keep going and he finished in 33m 04s, a time he can now aim to beat next season. He wasn’t the slowest competitor, Nick Howlett who hates the rain after spending 6 months in sunny Spain, finished 17 secs slower.
After 18 events which had 23 competitors the final league position is:-
Richard Masters 100pts
Keith Walker 93 pts
Jason Nind 89 pts
Steve Bishop 77pts

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Cycling Report on 12-08-11

Although Wigmore’s Richard Masters finished 5th in the Kent Cycling Association 100 mile T.T. he was disappointed with his time. On a windy morning starting near Ashford the complicated course took the riders onto Romney Marsh for 75 of the 100 mile distance. Apart from the wind the riders also had to endure heavy rain about 3 hours after starting. Masters finished in 4h 14m 36s which is nearly 14m slower than his best.. He wasn’t the only unhappy rider when the finishing times were announced. On form Andy Miles (V.C.Elan) produced an amazing ride averaging 26.239 mph to improve on last years time and also beat 2nd placed Nick Wilson (Rye & District) by more than 19 minutes, with a time of 3h 48m 40s. Wilson finished in 4h 7m 53s just beating Adam Broyad (G.S.Invicta) by 30 secs.

Other local riders times were Wigmore’s Steve Bishop 5h 9m 28s which is a PB.
Medway Velo Robert Sapp 4h 44m 08s and Louise Mason riding her first 100 mile event took the 2nd ladies award with a very good time of 5h 4m 13s. Unfortunately not being familiar with the roads Mason went off course in the first 15 miles and did an extra 1 ½ miles, ruining her chances to beat the 5 hour mark, which she certainly would have done.

At the same time as the 100 mile T.T. 60 riders were getting ready for the South East Road Race League event at Woodchurch. Open to 3rd, 4th, ladies and juniors the bunch set off in clear blue sky conditions which didn’t last for long.
With 10 laps of the Woodchurch-Appledore- Kenardington circuit it wasn’t long before a group of 7 went clear and working well together they managed to stay clear for the whole 60 mile race. Not long after the start the heavens opened making it difficult to stay upright on many of the corners, consequently there were numerous crashes which whittled the chasing bunch of 50 riders down to just 17.
The sprint finish was won by Manuel Ravilla (London Dynamo) from Rhyls Clegg (Kingstone Intenational) with Stephen Swindle (Adalta C.C.) taking 3rd place.
The remaining bunch of 17 riders came in 2 ½ minutes later with Wigmore’s Jason Nind winning the sprint for 7th place. Nind now has enough points to move from a 3rd to 2nd category rider.

In the penultament event of the Medway News evening T.T. competition fast times were recorded on the Harrietsham – Charing course on a bright evening and fairly good conditions. Wigmore’s Jason Nind recorded his 3rd win in the competition with PB time of 22m 10s, beating the reigning champion Richard Masters (who was still recovering from his 100 mile event) by 30secs. Another PB was set by Bob Turner who finished 3rd in 24m 00s. Other Wigmore times were Steve Bishop 25m 02s, Dave Bishop 25m 26s a seasons best, Bill Spellman 26m 24s and another PB, his 5th this year by Paul Monaghan with 26m 36s.

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Cycling Report on 5-08-11

South East Road Race League had their main event of the year last Sunday, this was the Toachim Grand Prix with a prize value of £2300-00, including a winners prize of £1000-00.
Normally held on the Chilham circuit but because of road works the Tenterden course was used. With 6 ½ laps of a 12 ½ mile circuit comprising of a fast down hill stretch towards Appledore before the long drag back to Tenterden to complete a circuit.
With the race open to elite, 1st, 2nd and 3rd category riders it was obviously going to be a hard race for the 2nd & 3rd cat riders. The 62 starters set off from Woodchurch and the elite riders were soon at the front setting a fast pace. It took two laps before any break could gain more than 30 secs. On lap 4 a crash split the main field leaving about 25 riders in front with the rest sorting themselves out before organising a chasing group. Unfortunately Wigmore’s riders Luke Anderson and Jason Nind were both in the chasing bunch. Anderson put in a mighty effort to latch onto the leaders but once they reached the hilly section he lost contact.
With 2 laps remaining Tom Copland (Sigma Sports) sprinted clear and was joined by Wotciech Sziachta ( Pasta Montegrappa-Zheroquadro) and Chris Macnamara (Team Corley Cervelo). Working well together they stayed clear of the chasers and 2 miles from the finish Sziachta attacked and managed to stay clear and win by 10 secs. Copland took 2nd place with Macnamara 3rd. There were 41 finishers, but both the Wigmore riders found the pace too fast and failed to finish.

Wigmore’s Richard Masters produced his fastest ride in the Medway News evening T.T. competition this season to seal another win with a superb time of 22m 04s on the Harrietshan-Charing 10 mile course. With an average speed of 27.19mph he was only 7sec outside his best time last year and would certainly have improved on that time if he had not been held up behind a line of traffic trying to get past a slow moving tractor. On a good evening many riders recorded season P B, but 2nd place rider Jason Nind was 8sec outside his best with 22m 39s .Steve and Dave Bishop (not related) both improved with times of 24m 55s and 25m 56s respectively. Alex Pollock recorded 27m 20s just beating Paul Monaghan’s 27m 38s. Adam Grassby was well pleased to beat the ½ hour mark for the first time with 29m 56s and Ian Ward, who has very limited time to train improved by 2m 19s and win the Hcp award with 33m 22s.
With their best 10 placings to count and only 2 event remaining Masters retains the Medway News Trophy with a maximum 100 pts. In 2nd position is Keith Walker on 93 pts but could improve to 95pts and 3rd is Nind on 87 pts with a possibility of reaching 91 pts.

If you would like to raise money for the Kent Air Ambulance Medway Velo are organising a charity ride on Bank Holiday Monday 29th August. There are two distances 18 miles and 62 miles both starting from “The Iron Room s” Boughton Aluph Village Hall, Nr Ashford.
For more details contact Mark Simpson on 01634 668520.

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Cycling Report on 30-7-11

In the recent Veterans T.T. Association 50 mile T.T. both local clubs were represented amongst the 77 rider entry.
Despite a strong wind blowing across the Romney marsh there were still some fast times recorded.
Andy Miles (V.C.Elan) who appears to be the top contender for the Kent Cycling Association Best Allrounder Championship finished 1st with a very fast time of 1h 50m 21s. This was well clear of 2nd placed rider Andrew Meilak (Datateam Allstars) who finished in 1h 52m 42s, which was just 13s Quicker than 3rd placed David Wheeler ( InGear Quickvit). In 9th position was Wigmores Richard Masters who was disappointed not to beat the 2 hour mark, finishing in 2h 00m 15s. Best placed Medway Velo rider in 24th position was Robert Sapp with a time of 2h 9m 22s.Their two lady entrants Louise Mason and Debrah Hope recorded very respectable time’s of 2h 16m 05s and 2h 35m 37s respectively.

After 3 weeks since his last win in the Medway News evening T.T. competition Richard Masters produced his fastest time in the competition this year. In far from ideal conditions with a strong head wind on the return leg from Charing to Harrietsham he covered the 10 miles in 22m 21s, averaging 26.846 mph.
2nd placed rider Keith Walker was disappointed to be 45s slower with a time of 23m 06s, just in front of Jason Nind in 23m 17s. Other Wigmore times were Dave Bishop in a seasons best time of 25m 56s, Bill Spellman 26m 48s, Alex Pollock 28m 18s and Adam Grassby 30m 59s which was a 46s improvement on his first ride last week.

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Cycling report on 23-7-11

Due to road works last Sunday’s Gravesend C.C. 25 mile T.T. had to be moved from Chilham to the tough A20 Leeds – Ashford course.
On a cool morning with a fairly strong side wind conditions were not ideal for fast times.
Wigmores Keith Walker was well pleased with his ride finishing with a time of 58m 50s to claim 6th position, this was also good enough to win the group B award.
Medway Velo were represented by two ladies, Louise Mason and Deborah Hope.Mason had a very good ride and won the ladies prize with a time of 1h 7m 34s.Hope found the 25 mile distance a lot tougher than the 10 mile event she has ridden and did well to finish in 1h 19m 03s.
The winner was Seith Kay ( Data Team Allstars) with a fast time for this course of 55m 01s. In 2nd place was club mate Andrew Meilak 56m 30 and
3rd from V.C. Elan Andy Miles with 56m 36s.

Wigmore’s Jason Nind claimed his 2nd successive victory in the Medway News evening T.T. competition. He improved on last weeks winning time by 23s to finish in 22m 31s. Not far behind was the leader of the series Keith Walker with a time of 22m 45s. just 3s slower than his seasons best. Steve Bishop took 3rd spot with 25m 46s just beating Ian Creasey who recorded a seasons best of 26m 01s. Stuart Martin had a PB with 28m 02s, whilst Adam Grassby who has just got involved in competitive cycling recorded 31m 45s in his first event.

So far 22 riders have competed in the competition this year, this is a big increase over recent years.
The leading positions are as follows,
Keith Walker 93 pts from 10 rides,
Richard Masters 89 pts from 9 rides,
Jason Nind 86 pts from 10 rides,
Steve Bishop 73 pts from 10 rides.

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Cycling Report on 16-7-11

Last Sunday the Kent Veterans association organised a 10 mile T.T. on the fast Thanet Way course. The riders start near Reculver and travel East to St Nicholas and then turn right to Monkton and then retrace. On a good morning the organisers were expecting some fast times to be recorded and they were not disappointed when 22 riders finished inside 23 minutes.
The winner was Andrew Meilak (Datateam Allstars) 20m 45s, just beating Andy Miles and Phil Bull both from (V.C.Elan) whose times were 20m 54s and 21m 03s respectively. Local Wigmore rider Richard Masters was well pleased with his time of 21m 42s to claim 6th position from an entry of 69 riders.

In the latest Medway News evening competion things didn’t go so well for Masters..
With Keith Walker on marshalling duties he was the favourite to win the 10 mile T.T. having won the previous 8 events he had ridden in the competition.

With a head wind back from Charing to Harrietsham it was going to be a hard ride and Masters was slower than 22m for the first time this year, recording 23m15s.
The surprise winner was Jason Nind who has been riding well in the local road races. He recorded a PB for this season with an excellent time of 22m 54s, giving him his first win in the competition this year.
Steve Bishop took 3rd place in 26m 26s and Dave Bishop 4th with 27m 19s which was his best for this year after an operation in April. Riding his first race was Stuart Martin who should be pleased with a time of 29m 48s on a tough course and hard evening. Both Ian Creasey and Nick Howlett were non finishers due to having punctures.
Leading Positions in the competition are as follows.
Keith Walker 93 pts from10 rides
Richard Masters 89 pts from 9 rides
Jason Nind 76 pts from 9 rides
Stephen Bishop 69 pts from10 rides

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Cycling report on 9-7-11

Last Saturday Wigmore’s Luke Anderson along with another 100 competitors went to Herne Hill Velodrome in London to race before work starts on a new track surface on Monday 18th July, and will take 6 weeks to complete. The track was originally built in 1892 and is the last surviving structure from the 1948 Olympics. After many years of uncertainty the velodrome looks much more secure now a 15 year lease has been obtained for the track. Anderson had a fairly successful afternoons racing. In the 12 lap scratch event he gained 6th place from 30 riders, and another 6th position in the 2 lap sprint event. The points race covering 12 laps , with a sprint every 2nd lap he managed one win and two 2nd places to finally finish in 5th position.

Sunday’s South East Road Race League event had 3 Wigmore riders among the starters. The course was on the undulating eleven and a half miles Horsmonden-Marden circuit, which had to be covered five and a half times. With the race open to elite, 1st 2nd and 3rd category riders it was going to be a hard race for many of the competitors. There were plenty of attacks throughout the race, including Wigmores Luke Anderson on lap 3 and Keith Walker on lap 4 trying their luck. None of these efforts gained more than 30 secs before the main bunch reeled them back. With riders jockeying for the sprint finish, a few crashed on the sharp left bend before the finishing straight. James Jackson (RG active RT) claimed 1st place , a bike length in front of Billy-Joe Whenman (White Bikes). A further 3 lengths behind was Mathew Theobald (GS Grupetto) in 3rd position. Wigmore riders were well up in the finishing order with Anderson getting 5th place, Jason Nind 15th and Walker 17th. It was a hard race averaging 24 mph and only 37 from 53 starters finished the event.
The league now have a 3 week break before the next race. This is because many riders and officials go to France to see the ‘Tour’.

The latest Medway News Competition had the riders covering the unusual distance of 15 miles. The start was on the A20 near Leeds Castle and went to Charing and back. It was a tough evening with a head wind return from Charing. Once again Wigmore’s Richard Masters was the winner, his eighth win in eight rides with a time of 34m 21s. He was closely followed by Keith Walker in 34m 44s, and Jason Nind 3rd with 35m 37s. These three riders set two new club records, They are for Veterans team and Senior team records times of 1h 44m 42s. Other Wigmore times were as follows, Paul Brett 35m 51s, Steve Bishop 39m 57s, new member Ian Creasey 40m 46s, Dave Bishop 41m 28s and Nick Howlett 45m 52s.
The riders top 10 placings count in the competition and the leading positions are as follows,
Keith Walker 93 pts from 10 rides,
Richard Masters 80 pts from 8 rides
Jason Nind 66pts from 8 rides,
Steve Bishop 61 pts from 9 rides.

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Cycling Report on 4-7-11

 Wigmore’s Richard Masters recorded the 5th fastest time in the Kent Vets 25 mile T.T. on the Ham Street by-pass last week. The weather was warm and with a tail wind over the 2nd half of the course helped produce some fast times. The winner was Andy Miles (V.C.Elan) in 55m 06s, well clear of 2nd placed rider Tim Bayley (Arctic Premier) 57m 02s and Ian Sutton (San Fairy Ann) 57m 04s. Masters was just a little slower finishing in 58m 00s, from an entry of 81riders.

The 17th South East Road Race League event was held on the tough Benenden-Sandhurst circuit and was open to elite, 1st 2nd and 3rd catergory riders. Despite facing 6 laps of the 11 mile circuit there were plenty of attacks from the very beginning. Soon after the start there was a long down hill stretch which saw the racing speed reach 40 mph. Unfortunately you can’t keep going down hill on a circuit and the riders eventually had a long climb to Benenden to complete their 1st lap.
On the 4th lap 9 riders went clear causing the main bunch to split into 2 groups. Wigmore’s Keith Walker found himself in the back group but with a determined effort bridged the gap to the leading section of the main bunch. Gradually they reeled in the 9 leaders, making a bunch of 18 to contest the sprint finish.Elite rider Andy Betts(La Fuga Sigma Sports) had other ideas and powered clear to win by 18s. In 2nd position was Mathew Pilkington (Progressive Cycle Coaching Development Squad), just in front of Rob McCarthy (Cycle Kingdom R.T.).Walker was well pleased to finish in 10th position, this gave him enough points to move from 3rd catergory to 2nd catergory rider. A bunch of 15 riders finished a further 1m 20s later bringing the total of number of finishers to 33. The race was ridden at an average speed of 24.3 mph.

In the latest round of the Medway News Competition Masters did not ride because of ill health, which enabled Walker to increase his lead in the competition to 23 points.
With a head wind finish on the Harrietsham- Charing course it promised to be a hard 10 mile ride. The conditions didn’t slow Walker very much and he won with a very good time of 22m 56s. In 2nd place not much slower was Jason Nind with 23m13s.
A time of 25m 08s gave Bob Turner a P B and 3rd place. Other times were Paul Monaghan 27m 12s and Alex Pollock 27m 41s.
Leading positions in the competition are as follows,
Keith Walker 93 pts from 10 rides,
Richard Masters 70 pts from 7 rides,
Jason Nind 58 pts from 7 rides,
Steve Bishop 55 pts from 8 rides.

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Cycling Report on 19-6-11:

  Jason Nind of the Wigmore C.C recorded his first win of the season in the South East Road Race League’s ( SERRL ) 15th event of the year.
A full field of 60 riders had to cover the 12.5 mile Bethersden- Biddenden circuit 5.5 times. With the 70 mile covered in 2h 43m, averaging 25mph, it was too fast for many of the riders.
A strong wind did not deter the usual early attacks, however none gained more than 30sec before the bunch reeled them back again. Nind was looking very strong and benefitting from the 3 day race he rode during the last Bank Holiday. Wigmore’s Keith Walker and Nind made several attempts to go clear but once they were riding into a head wind they were no match for the fast moving bunch. With a mile to go there were 32 riders jostling for positions for the finishing sprint, and Walker paced Nind to the front of the bunch. Nind then powered his way clear to win by a bike length. After his efforts to get Nind in a winning position Walker tired and finished in 17th place.
Young Adam Mumford of the Medway Velo found the pace a little too fast but kept going to the finish and was placed 36th.

With the longest day of the year almost upon us the latest round of the Medway News competition was the longest event of the competition, a 25 mile event on the tough A20 Leeds- Ashford course.
What should have been a nice bright evening, thanks to the typical British weather turned out to be an awful evening with rain and wind, resulting in the riders finishing in gloomy conditions. Despite this six Wigmore riders braved the elements. Once again Richard Masters was the fastest with a very good time for the conditions. Covering the 25 miles in 59m 16s. 2nd was Keith Walker just a little slower in 1h 00m 17s. The ride of the evening was by 61 year old Bob Turner riding his first 25 mile event finishing in 1h 5m 55s.
Other times were Steve Bishop 1h 7m 16s, Alex Pollock 1h 14m 23s.
Dave Bishop was a DNF due to suffering a punture.
Leading the competition still is Keith Walker 73pts from 8 rides,
Richard Masters 70pts ( 7 ), Steve Bishop 55pts (8), and Jason Nind 49pts (6).

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Report on 13-6-11

The K.C.A. 50 mile time trial on Romney Marsh was another tough windy morning, but it didn’t seem to slow Kevin Tye (Data Team Allstars) very much. He produced another quick winning time of 1h 49m 53s, well clear of 2nd placed Mark Newton (Sydenham Whls) time of 1h 58m 44s and Dave Wheeler (In Gear) 1h 59m 57s.
Local rider Richard Masters ( Wigmore C C ) finished well up the order in 10th place with a time of 2h 1m 56s.

It was another windy evening for the 8th round of the Medway News Competition, but it did not prevent some very good times being recorded in the 10 mile event on the Harrietsham to Charing and back course.
Once again Wigmore’s Richard Masters was the fastest rider, but only just with a time of 22m 41s.He was closely followed by club mates Keith Walker 22m 48s and Jason Nind with a seasons best of 22m 56s. These rides gave them a team time of 1h 8m 25s, only 15s outside the club vets team record.
Other Wigmore times were Steve Bishop 25m 28s , Bill Spellman 26m 05s a PB, Paul Monaghan 26m 40s, Alex Pollock 28m 19s and Dave Bishop in his first event this year after having his appendix removed in April with 28m 48s.
Leading positions in the competition are as follows,
Keith Walker 64 pts from 7 rides.
Richard Masters 60 pts ( 6 )
Jason Nind 49 pts ( 6 )
Steve Bishop 48 pts ( 7 )

One person who is probably riding longer distances than most people in Kent is Wigmore’s Jeremy Deakin. Earlier in the year he decided he would like to compete in the Paris-Brest-Paris ride, which is held every 4 years. It is not a race, more like a feat of endurance having to cover 1200 kilometers ( 750 mls ) in 90 hours.
Before you can enter you must complete a recognised event at distances of 200, 300,400 and 600 klms. Having completed the shorter distances it only remained for Deakin to ride a 600 klm event to qualify for an entry to P-B-P.
He decided to enter the ‘Beast from the East’, which started at Waltham Abbey during the last Bank Holiday. The route took the riders as far west as Taunton with some beautiful scenery to enjoy if they could keep their eyes open. With organised refreshment and sleeping areas for a short nap, Deakin managed to complete the course in 31 hours.
Having now completed all the required distances, he will now have to wait and see if he is allocated a start for this years P-B-P. In August. With 6000 riders allowed to start Great Britain have been allocated just 385 entries. Lets hope all those long rides have not been in vain.

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Report on 5-6-11:

The bank holiday weekend saw the running of the South East Road Race League 4 stage race. The race is run over 3 days with four separate races for the riders to compete in. Two of the Medway Towns riders competed in the event, which is open to rider from all over the country with some travelling from Wales and the Midland for the 3 days of competition in Kent.

Saturday’s first stage was run on the specially constructed cycle course of Fowlmead on the site of the old Betteshanger colliery near Deal. The track was designed for cycle racing. The main circuit is 3.5 kms long with two shorter variations connected by link roads. 61 riders were to start and the first stage was a 5 x 3.5 kms lap ‘Time Trial’ with riders starting at one minute intervals. The weather conditions were sunny and warm although there was a little wind. Nick Hutchings of GS Grupetto a London based team won this stage in a time of 21 minutes 5.6 seconds. Local fortunes were for Jason Nind of Wigmore Cycling Club who finished in a time 24:03 for 42nd place. Steven Smith of Medway Velo Club managed a time of 26.31 for 58th Place.

In stage two, the event moved to the small 1 km circuit at Fowlmead for a ‘Criterium’ this is a massed start event with the riders riding for 1 hour 30 minutes. The race was run at a very quick pace with riders trying to get away from the group, Wojciech Szlachta of the Pasta Montegrappa Team managed to lap the main race for a comfortable win. Nind finished 30th in the bunch an Smith finished 17th.

 Sunday for Stage 3 the race moved over to Frant which is South of Tunbridge Wells, This stage was over a very hilly course taking in Frant, Wadhurst and Lamberhurst 7 laps of a punishing 20 km circuit. The race winner after 3 hours 15 minutes was David McLean again of the Pasta Montegrappa Team, Nind of the Wigmore CC was 27th and Smith was 20th.

Monday for stage 4 moved on to the Kenardington circuit near Ashford in Kent this is a short 10.1 kms circuit that is a quick course with two small climbs each of the 12 laps. The race stayed tightly together to arrive at the finish in a mass sprint for the line. The eventual winner was Alex Ray getting a third win for his team Pasta Montegrappa. Wigmore’s Nind got to the line in 8th place, Smith of Medway Velo Club on 10th.

On Overall classification David McLean of Pasta Montegrappa had completed the 3 days racing of over 200 miles in the quickest time. Nind being 26th and Smith 38th.

Earlier in the week Wigmore Cycling Clubs Luke Anderson competed in the Track League Meeting at London’s Herne Hill Stadium, this was the track that hosted the last Olympic track cycling event in 1948. This track is approximately 500 metres long with steeply banked ends.
Anderson competed in a number of events that evening and gained 2nd place in the Devil Take the Hindmost elimination race and 6th place in the 40 lap scratch race

With the top two contenders for the Medway News Trophy on holiday ( not together I must add ) it gave an opportunity for Wigmore’s Jason Nind to register his first win of the series, but after a hard three days racing over the Bank Holiday week- end he failed to get the win he desperately wanted. On another windy evening he covered the 10 mile course in 24m 02s to finish 2nd to club mate Paul Brett. This was an exceptionally good ride by Brett, who was competing in his first event of the season after suffering a knee injury in an accident earlier in the year.
Brett recorded a P B time of 23m 21s and could challenge the two leaders in the competition by the end of the season, provided he rides another 9 events. There was a close tussle for 3rd position with Steve Bishop just edging it by 1s from Bob Turner with times of 25m 50s and 25m 51s respectively. Other Wigmore times were as follows.
Bill Spellman 26m 08s, Paul Monaghan 27m 06s and Alex Pollock 27m 52s.
Leading positions in the competition are Keith Walker 55pts from 6 rides,
Richard Masters 50 pts ( 5 ), Jason Nind 41 pts ( 5 ) and Steve Bishop 41 pts
( 6 ) rides.

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On Saturday 21-5 Wigmore's Richard Masters entered a 50 mile event in Essex which had to be shortend to 25 miles due to road works. On a windy afternoon which resulted in 16 non starters from an entry of 79, he produced a seasons best time of 54m 37s, to finish 13th. The winner was Peter Balls (West Suffolk Whls) in 51m 17s, 2nd Richard Evans (Chelmer C. C) 52m 20s and 3rd Dean Lubin (P.C.A. Cidos Uno) in 52m 58s.

In the San Fairy Ann C.C. 50 mile event on Romney Marsh the weather conditions were really bad on Sunday morning with pouring rain as well as a strong wind. This resulted in 15 non starters and 5 non finishers from an entry of 62 riders. They say it never rains unless it pours and that must have been Wigmores Steve Bishop must have thought when first his gear cable broke after 25 miles, leaving him with just the front changer to use, then his rear lamp fell off. Most time trialists use a rear light these days, so he stopped to refit it, then battled on to finish with a time of 2h 32m 35s which wasn’t to bad considering his problems and the weather conditions.The winner was Kevin Tye (Datateam Allstars) 1h 49m 03s, (2m 21s outside his course record). 2nd Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann ) 1h 50m 51s, and 3rd Gary Record (VC Deal) 1h 51m 54s.

Wigmore riders Jason Nind and Keith Walker were in great form for the latest South East Road Race event, on the Lamberhurst – Frant course. The circuit is a large one of 13 miles with two longish climbs, which had to be completed 5 times. Unusually for this course the race stayed together, possible due to a strong wind stifling the ability for riders to make any successful attacks. Many attempts were made to break clear, including a couple of efforts by Walker, but all to no avail. With the toughness of the race many of the 60 starters failed to finish but the remaining 37 riders were involved in a hotly contested sprint finish, with Nind powering in to claim 3rd place and Walker 5th. The winner was Phil Lenney ( Active Cycles ) just in front of Josh Laws ( Private ).

The winner for the 5th week running in the Medway News Competition was Richard Masters with the fastest time in the series this year of 22m 29s. Keith Walker was 2nd in 22m 53s and Jason Nind 3rd with 23m 46s, 4th was Steve Bishop in 25m 26s and Alex Pollock 5th with 27m 09s, all these riders were from the Wigmore C C .
Leading league positions to date are as follows,
Keith Walker 55 pts from 6 rides
Richard Masters 50 pts 5 rides,
Stephen Bishop 33 pts 5 rides
Jason Nind 32 pts 4 rides.