Reading Cycling Club

Summer weather has finally arrived and Reading CC members have been
taking full advantage of it in a variety of events.

Road and Circuit Racing

Rob King and Gavin Spiers raced at Eelmoor on Wednesday night, with King
taking a very satisfactory win. King reports, "This was the first race
in the summer series. We were in the 3rd and 4th category race, setting
off about 30 seconds after the E/1/2 race being held at the same time.
Second claim rider Darren Parker attacked early on and I went with him.
Eventually we formed into a 5 man break and quickly built up a good lead
on the chasing bunch. With 5 laps to go we were far enough ahead that it
was clear that the bunch were not going to catch us and we were racing
for the win. This prompted the first attack from another rider. This was
chased down and after that the pace dropped as we watched each other for
the next move. A couple more attacks went and came back. I chose the
last lap to make my move and attacked on the back straight. Darren
Parker let a small gap appear, so just one rider came with me. The other
rider led around the final bend and headed for the line, I stayed on his
wheel until the last 50 meters and sprinted past him for the win. Darren
Parker led the others home to take 3rd place."

Photo Caption: Rob King can't stop grinning after his win at Eelmore
circuit race

Wayne Thomas Reports
Having recovered from a recent cold, Reading's Veteran racer Wayne
Thomas competed in four events last week, clocking up over 160 miles of
racing. On Tuesday at Hillingdon circuit he finished in the bunch in the
E/1/2/3 race. On Wednesday he lined up for a League of Veteran Racing
Cyclists 32 mile event, again at Hillingdon. He comments, "Within the
first three laps, aggressive intentions were clear when Colin Roshier
broke away with two others, followed by another 5 man group. Both groups
subsequently lapped the main bunch. I finished well up in the bunch
sprint, followed by Fred Hale and Richard Pike. John Snead had retired
with mechanical problems."

On Saturday the action moved to MOD Chertsey for a 45-mile 3rd cat race.
"Brilliant sunshine, a benign wind and no competing events meant an
enormous field of over 115 riders - with 93 finishers. Reading were
represented by myself and Gavin Spiers. Whilst there were regular
breakaways, including one by Gavin, with such a large field maintaining
a high speed, no-one was able to sustain it. In the long finishing
straight I managed to move up well on the left hand side to finish in a
delighted 15th place with Gavin 53rd. This was my best result ever at
Chertsey.

On Sunday Wayne was in a 3rd/4th cat 55 mile road race. "Another superb
day, another large field, and an unknown 17km circuit. On a long
neutralized section before the race proper the field was stopped
following a significant crash. I just managed to avoid falling off and
was not injured although had to make some quick repairs. The race then
progressed without further mishap. There were two pressure points in
terms of uphill drags on narrow lanes, the last being less than a mile
from the finish. In a frenetic bunch sprint I finished 35th." He added,
"With a 9 mile ride back to the changing rooms, and including pre-race
warm up, a 55 mile race became a 75 mile ride!"

Time Trials

Saturday was a day of spectacularly good weather for racing.

Reading's Paul Taylor took a close second place in the Bossard Wheelers
10. "It was good to come second although there was not top competition
there. I could have done with more rest as I have trained 1,250 miles in
the last 4 weeks on the chance of getting into the national 10-mile
championship." Selected results:
1 Ross Clarke Verulam CC 21:20
2 Paul Taylor Reading CC 21:27

Steve Bale and Nick English were in action on the Andover 10-mile
course. Bale rode to a 10-mile best ever time. "All went nice and
smoothly. The gears didn't behave but no great problem and I crossed the
line in 21.31. I'm very happy to have ridden a PB after last week's
accident." Nick English recorded a season's best 20:43.

Rod MacFadyen competed in the Farnham RC 10 on the A31 at Bentley,
recording 23:39 in an event won by Agiskoviner's James Boyman in 20:26.
"I'm pleased. It's the first solo TT I've completed this season and I
expected to be slower. The conditions were very kind."

Reading was represented on Sunday in the Oxonian CC 25-mile event at
Oxford. Selected results:
Nick English 56:13
Peter Graham 59:09.
Steve Millward 59:14
Dave Gaida 1:14:30
Graham commented,"I did a fitness test on Friday which told me I wasn`t
very fit. So didn`t expect a great deal and didn`t deliver a great deal.
But I know what to do to improve." Stephen Millward was more content,
"That was a new PB by 1.5 minutes and my first time under an hour. I was
well rested, had my new Reading kit and the conditions seemed perfect."

RCC Tuesday evening time-trial, Swallowfield bypass, results:
1 Nick English 22-03
2 Clive Alderson 22-52
3 Trevor Bradbury 23-05
4 Simon Notley 23-32
5 Tom Bowlby-Pearson 23-51
6 Ian Richardson 23-58
7 Julian Dale 24-30
8 Simon Markham 25-35
9 Paul Cooper 26-01
10 Barry Quick 26-10
11 Ross Fitheridge 26-56
12 Nigel Charlton 27-05
13 Colin Bates 27-21
14 John Thurgar 28-32
15 Gary Henwood 32-17 (punctured)
16 Graham Ide 33-34 (went off course)

Sportives

Greg Woodford, Nick Crocker and Dave Ivory were among those who rode the
Forest of Dean sportif. Woodford was pleased with his ride: "It was a
great course, 85 miles up 14 climbs. The continual steep climbs were
very energy sapping. I worked with Nick Crocker until the fourth from
last climb where Nick's greater training told and he managed to drop me,
though I was feeling good. However some 10 miles later I passed Nick who
had stopped to mend a puncture and so I went on to finish first out of
the Reading Cycling Club members." Selected results (491 finishers):

1. Jason Catley, 4:17
18. Greg Woodford: time: 4.52
24. Nick Crocker: 4.54
63. David Ivory, 5:16

New member Paul Ohsan Ellis took part in the 100km version of the
Dartmoor Classic at the weekend: "Although struggling with the heat I
completed the course in Bronze time of 5 hours 28 minutes."

Clubrun
Social, medium and fast groups leave Reading Market Place at 9am every
Sunday.

Roderick MacFadyen
Reading Cycling Club