Willesden Cycling Club

See Willesden Reliability ride

The club AGM will this year be held on Sunday 6th December 2009 at the Stables, Ruislip starting at 2.30p.m.

If you would like to come along please do so as it will give you the chance to have your say for the running of the club in 2010.

New WCC member Rick Carpenter admits to getting his Cyclo-cross and Cross-Dressing a bit mixed up on a recent event. It seems he wasn’t the only only one a bit bewildered by the dress code (See http://bit.ly/3Ae7A).

Rick is clearly very comfortable with his new look and has entered a full 24 hour Cyclo-cross. Rick’s very concerned about this race – he’s unsure what length heel should wear during the early evening.

If you would like to know more about his event, “The 24 hours of FSX”, then goto to http://www.fifthstreetcross.com/. I’ve no idea where on earth it is except that it is somewhere in the USA, probably on the eastern or western side?

Miles Back
11 Nov 09

The Westerley Cycling Club requests your presence at the 85th Annual Dinner and Prize Presentation to be held at the

After last year’s success, the dinner will again be held on a Saturday 28th November 2009 7:00 for 7:30 pm. Guest speaker: Gordon Wright, World Cycling Championship coach.

Ticket price: Still only £20
RSVP Roland Collicott
01753 885997 or 07909 681661
Dress: Formal or smart casual
rcollicott@chalpharm.com

Stewart Birnie has asked “What are the club records? Is there a list of these?”

This is a very good question and I think all records and trophies should be detailed on the web site, however most of us do not know what they are.

Can Any one help? Can any one tell me what the club records are and what trophies are up for grabs. It will all help with motivation for 2010.

John Davies
10 Nov 09

Ray Kelly has just taken delivery of a new batch of Willesden CC kit.

This includes Long sleeve tops and bib shorts only – sorry no gillets at the moment.

Vast arrays of stock will be available to purchase on Tuesday evening at the Club House or contact Kit-Kelly directly via WillesdenCyclingClub@yahoo.co.uk

Miles Back
09 Nov 09

Stewart “Hippy” Birne has posted a win riding for CS Grupetto at the Hounslow and District Wheelers hill climb. Hipps says his time was “1:47 on a slightly shorter course than the other week”.

I’ve crapped the following full story has off his blog http://www.thehippy.net/nucleus/

Hounslow and District Wheelers HHC011 Hill Climb

1st place in 1:47.

Today’s weather wasn’t looking good and I almost stayed in bed. I’m glad I didn’t though. I usually do better in bad weather since all the actual fast people are all scaredy bed wetters. 😉

I finally left the house and rode 30k to Windsor Hill. At the top of the hill there were a few people milling around but I assumed the sign-on was at the bottom and rode down. Nope. Doh! So I had to ride back up to the top of the hill and sign-on. Extra warm-up for the win. I met mitre_tester from lfgss here and he pinned my number on. Cheers!

The course was maybe 100m shorter than the last time I rode it, starting after the bridge. This worked to my advantage since I had wasted time on the flat start last time spinning too fast. This time I would be geared higher and take off on the actual hill. It also meant the ride would be shorter, so it wouldn’t really start to hurt until half way up.

I was #12 and got the countdown from 30 seconds.. 5..4..3..2..1 off strongly (in a good gear this time so no faffing with changes). Around the first corner ok and now the breathing starts to get ragged. There’s some photographers on the right and I get out of the saddle and grind on for a bit further, getting a little wheel spin here since the roads were damp but nothing too serious. Back in the saddle and now the real misery is all systems go. I feel like I’m moving at 1kph, my legs are like wet bags of concrete and breathing is gasps. I get out of the saddle approaching the finish and think what a waste of time this was, coming back here only to finish so slowly.

I’m over the line and roll to a stop almost immediately, lying over the bars and gasping for air. I have an ice cream headache. I think the blood that was supposed to be going to my brain has been directed to my legs (no change there, some of you will think). I have the same wobbly legs as last time but I make an effort to get the bike moving again and slowly roll down the road a bit, drop the gears down and spin a bit before returning to the finish to be congratulated for a good ride. Really?! What time did I get? “1:47, the next guy is 15 seconds down on you”. “Wow”, I’m thinking to myself, that’s pretty odd since it felt like I was riding through treacle. “Not the record, that’s something like 1:32, but still a good ride”. Also met clubman from lfgss after the ride. Had to skip the cafe stop for some xmas shopping but a big thanks to the Hounslow Wheelers for running this.

The S-Works even got washed after the event and now has (almost) white bar tape again. This will probably be the last ride it does until well into next year so it’s only fair. It has served me well this year.

I’m pleased that these show bigger power numbers than the last attempt. Even if it didn’t feel like I’d worked as hard or was going as fast, power doesn’t lie (much). 🙂
Distance: 551m
Time: 1:47
1114W max
620W avg

Some reports on unprovoked attacks on cyclists in Slough (and other) areas. See http://road.cc/node/10759

Miles Back
05 Nov 09

The Willesden have gone International !.
Paul Doel, a 2nd claim Life Member of the club went to Majorca to ride in the Vuelta Mallora, a week long International Masters event.
In the 4day event consisting of road racing and a time trial Paul was placed 5th, 7th, 11th and 19th finishing in 12th place overall and was the 1st placed English rider. Riding in the 2 single day road races as well meant he finished 5th in his age group (50 plus) for the week.
The attached photo shows him with the trophy he won when placed 5th in one of the road stages. Paul is the 2nd on the left in the front row..
At home Pete Cookson finished his racing for this year in the Brighton Mitre 25 and in very windy conditions recorded 1.08.16.

Background information for you!
Paul is the manager of The Bike Shop, North Harrow and they have a club called Team Quest, The Bike Shop. However, his racing licence shows he is a member of Willesden C.C, and he was listed on all the start sheets as a Willesden rider. He is also married to my daughter Susan!
Nepotism?

Cheers ,
Gladys.

Mike is recovering from his broken hip but hopes to be at January’s Dinner and Dance to show off his legendary 1970’s dance moves.

I have been in touch with the ever cheerful Mike and here is his update.

“The recovery going as well as can be expected and expect to be fit
for D&D. Got withdrawal symptoms about not being able to ride the bike.”

The bone-heal time is supposed to be around 8 weeks so I should be
able to start putting some weight on the leg by now.
Keeping my fingers crossed.

In any event I don’t expect to get back on the road until the new year.
Got to go slowly to make progress quickly.

May be able to make November monthly meeting depending on results of
next appointment.

Should definately make the AGM. “

Mike’s accident happened in Douglas on the Isle of Mann. A good place to break a hip as I guess, as they are good at patching up bikers there. Here is Mike’s account of his accident –

“The promenade in Douglas has got tram lines. Now, we all know how dangerous they can be so I was being extra careful.

A chap went to open the door of his parked car. When he saw that it would block my path he immediately closed it and stood in close so that I would not be obstructed. As I moved out slightly to give more room I waved to thank him, and in the instant I took my eyes off the road it happened.

As you will appreciate I went straight down with no chance to do anything about it. I think my injury was more unfortunate than predictable. After all many riders fall off but very, very few break a hip. I landed on just the wrong point of the greater trochanter and it produced just enough force to snap the bone. Had my body been a couple of degrees either way I would probably have escaped with road rash and bruises. These things happen.

I have now been discharged from the fracture clinic but still have to attend physio. The prognosis, as I understand is general for broken hips, is that I can start to put weight on the bad leg but should expect it to take a further six to eight weeks before I can get off the crutches altogether.

I have been given the go-ahead to ride a trainer bike because that is not a weight-bearing exercise although I have been told to take it easy and do most of the pedaling with the good leg. Fun, fun, fun!

Under these circumstances I do not contemplate getting back on the road until the new year and then only in good weather, at least for the time being. I want to get in as much healing time (bone-hardening time) as possible before risking another fall.

Give my regards to anyone you see in the meantime.

Mike”

It’s great to hear from Mike and we wish him a speedy and full recovery.

Miles Back
31 Oct 09

I’m not in the market for a Winter bike! But if I was, I would seriously consider the Santos SRR05. With a Rohloff 14 speed hub gear and a belt drive it means no mess and simple maintenance.

The bike is just a proof of concept exercise at the moment and I understand that it isn’t in production yet. I believe Santos are considering marketing this very sensible machine as a Sportive bike. I think this could be a mistake as it ‘s not mainstream and sexy enough to appeal to sportive riders.

However a set of m/guards (it has eyes) would transform this into a perfect Winter bike or even an Audax machine. It’s only draw back is the rather awkward looking gear selector mounted at the bar end. This is a compromise as Rohloff gear selectors are not designed for drop bars.

I’ve no news on price, but a Rohloff hub costs £840 alone, so £1500+ would seem to be the likely point for the complete bike.

A more detailed write up on the Santos is available on Road CC’s web site at http://bit.ly/3YEIbe

Miles Back
31 Oct 09

SATURDAY, 21st NOVEMBER 2009
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Hillingdon Cycle Circuit
Minet Park,
Springfield Road,
Hayes,
Middlesex,
UB4 0LF

Open to 3rd & 4th Category & Novice Male & Female Riders.
BC membership/licence not required

An ideal opportunity for riders who are planning to compete in
Road or Circuit races or Team Time Trials.

PROGRAMME

• Sprinting, Echelon and Fast Group Riding,
• 2-Up & 4-Up Team Trial
• Specific Fitness Sessions
• Talks on race related subjects
• Content will be chosen to suit the majority of riders attending.
• Training provided by BC Qualified Coaches
• Light refreshments available

Helmets must be worn, no mudguards or Tri-bars.
Fee £12
(A limited number of places will be available for youths 12 -16 yrs at £8)

To register for the event or for further information contact David Lambourne at lambourne2@talktalk.net

Over the past two Sundays we have had enough riders to form two club runs.

I joined the “Tourist Pace” club run to Wendover Woods today with Vyv, Kel, Wrighty, Sue, and Yoshi. It was a steady run up there where we joined a long queue for food. The “Training Pace” Club Run put in a large loop and arrived around the time we did. That group was well supported with around a dozen riders present.

So the two runs are are working well, allowing riders the flexibility of doing a Training pace ride out to the cafe and a Tourist run back if they should want to.

Hoping to see even more members out on the Club runs in the future.

Miles Back
25 Oct 09

Many of us in the Willesden know Mark Doel. Ian Why has written in to announce that Mark has been appointed by British Cycling as their Regional Event Officer for the Central region.

Mark (pictured above in the white shirt in the centre of the group) is one of nine freshly minted REOs for British Cycling. Over the next few months, the officers will carry out an audit of their regions to assess current event structure, identify gaps in provision and areas of opportunities. Working with regional boards, British Cycling will develop individual event programmes tailored to the regions, aimed at growing capacity and improving the quality of events.

Each programme will be supported by training courses for volunteers, race officials and commissaires that will equip them with new skills and improve their experience of hosting competitive cycling events. As more and more people are attracted to recreational cycling events such as Skyride, the appetite for competitive cycling will grow. The REOs are there to make sure British Cycling can meet this demand and to establish exciting competitive events across their regions.

So we will expect to hear a lot from Mark in the future and how he can help us stage and run our events.

Miles Back

25 Oct 09

If you are interested in how the website is going, please see the attached pdf.

It looks like the site is getting between 40 – 100 visitors per day.

If you would like any further information please let us know.

Richard & Rich.

Wow, the Willesden communication lines are cracking today!

I’ve just received the following update on the Hill Climb from one of the Willesden All-stars, Simon Wicks. Simon says three Willesden riders finished in the top six. He went on to say that

“We three finished within a few seconds of each other and not far shy of the winning time. The winner was 1.58; Hippy second in 2.02; two guys tied on third at 2.04; me 5th at 2.05 and Tom London 6th at 2.07. A little further back, Pete Dixon rode a 2.12 and Richie Jerome a 2.19. Lance, sadly, didn’t make it to the top!”

“It was absolutely freezing – Windsor Hill is a real frost-pocket – and we were all shivering madly before the start. The climb itself was fairlly gruelling and I just wanted to climb off the bike from about halfway but kept going purely because I would have been too ashamed had I stopped. But I’d pretty much given up by the time the finish line came in sight! My legs were like concrete at the top. Horrible.”

“The guys did really well and we should be right proud – anything around 2 minutes is a good time for that course, apparently.”

Simon is dead right – well done one of the club’s best performances in a long while.

Miles Back
19 Oct 09

Hippy’s report, featuring assorted Willesden riders is now available on his blog. The Hill climb has done him a power of good as he can know tell his Ron from his Jumbo…..Jumbo is now a very relieved man!

The full pedal stroke by pedal stroke report, including pix on –
http://thehippy.net/nucleus/?itemid=1380

Miles Back
19 Oct 09

Ian Why emailed me to say that planning permission for the new Hillingdon Club Room has been granted.

This is subject to an ecology report and the CCTV being of a standard suitable to be connected to the council system The proposed club house will be painted with anti-graffiti paint.

The next stage is a meeting on 5 November to revue the tenders and assess what can be achieved within the grants available.

The velodrome will be subject to a separate planning application in the future.

Miles Back
18 Oct 09

Hippy finished in 2nd place in today’s West Drayton Hill Climb. His quote on Twitter was worth a million dollars – “Take that sober, skinny people”. Excellent result Stewie.

Brian Moon appeared on the club run after taking part in the Hill Climb, saying that there was a good WCC turnout.

Continuing with Hippy news, he has updated his blog with news of a powertap upgrade to his Condor Pista fixie commuting bike, see- http://bit.ly/rMuKI
for all the detail.

Miles Back
18 Oct 09

Our apologies for not seeing our Willesden mates this summer.

Trace and I have missed our WCC friends and plan to
rectify that next year. We leave for our winter in the US
this Friday (me) and 29 Oct. (trace).

We want to be involved again with WCC and and have missed you all.

We are fine, just had a very busy summer here. I worked
most weekends which made things more complicated.

sending love,

Diane and Trace