Reading Cycling Club press report, week ending 22 August 2010

English demolishes club 12-hour record; Tour of Dorset; New Forest
Rattler.

Eastern Counties Cycling Association 12-hour time trial

Nick English secured an excellent second place in the ECCA 12-hour time
trial with a huge total mileage and in doing so updated a long-standing
Reading CC record. Both English and Veteran Barry Quick were relieved to
complete a 12-hour event after the disappointment of the CC Breckland
event being halted a fortnight ago.

English reports on a long day in the saddle: "I needed to get a 12-hour
in to qualify for the British Best All-Rounder competition so I put in a
last-minute entry for the ECCA. We got up at 4:30 on Sunday morning to
the sound of thunder and then the rain came for the start so the first
bit was rather soggy. In the first circuit I was being slowly caught by
Ken Platts who was my main rival for the win. I wasn't too worried
though as the Breckland event had a similar pattern with people closing
early on. The next circuit was on lanes and somewhat hilly and it was
disappointing to see my average speed drift away! I went through 100
miles in 4:05 against Ken Platts in 3:57, however I was confident he
must start to fade. In fact it was me who now had a bad patch and Platts
finally came past me on the road. I was glad when we moved off this
hilly circuit onto the 3rd 12-mile circuit which was flatter but also
had a headwind section. At 8hrs in I was feeling good again. I pushed on
and did a solid lap and took 2min out of Platts, unfortunately the price
for this was a bout of cramp in both thighs which lost me most of the
ground I had gained. Onto the finishing circuit which had a couple of
turns at roundabouts so I could take time checks myself. I had closed to
1.5min down on Platts on the road. I pushed on but suffered another bout
of cramp and realised that I wouldn't overtake Platts and it was
important now to protect my second place. Despite this being a slower
course than the CC Breckland event I was still hoping to got over 280
miles but didn't quite manage that. Anyway it was good to get a solid
ride in for the BBAR and take the club record after last year's near
miss." English's 277.06 miles updates a previous club record of 261
miles set by Clive Pugh in 1978.

Barry Quick was happy with his ride: "I was keen not to repeat the
punctures my bike suffered in last week's 100-mile event and was
successful in this on roads that were in a good state of repair. Nick
English's wife Liz was on hand for feeding and support duties and did a
remarkable job in juggling Nick and my varying schedules to always be at
the right place at the right time with the right thing. I recorded 218
miles which I was pleased with as it was my best 12-hour for many
years."

ECCA 12, Selected results (35 finishers):
1 Ken Platts Cambridge CC 280.67
2 Nicholas English Reading CC 277.06
3 Jonathan Shubert Verulam CC 274.92
19 Barry Quick Reading CC 218.02

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Photo Caption: Nick English deserved his cake after riding 277 miles in
the ECCA 12-hour time trial
Photo Credit: Barry Quick

Tour of Dorset Road Race
Joe Harris, Steve Bale and Paul Elcock of GS Henley were among 90
starters in this weather-affected Dorset stage race. Bale was a victim
of an early crash that forced him to abandon to receive stitches in a
cut elbow. Harris reports on a difficult race: "The first stage was a
3.5 mile prologue time trial into a very strong headwind with persistent
rain. We all left the prologue thinking we'd had a good ride. I was
pleased to catch my minute man. Tom Stockdale won the prologue in 9.02,
Paul was 14th with 9.38, I was 40th in 10.08, and Bale finished 49th in
10.15. We tried to dry off a bit and eat before the afternoon's 70 mile
road race. I started actively trying to get off the front but it became
clear the bunch were letting nothing get away so I opted to wait for the
bunch finish and only later found out Bale had crashed and was at the
hospital getting treatment. The next day's stage had a sharp kick to the
finish line that should have suited me but as the race started so did
the rain. The road surface was shiny and like ice, when I tried to get
out of the saddle the wheels spun. I got into a three-man break, I knew
we wouldn't stay away but I thought it would be safer than riding in a
bunch on the slippery flooded roads. With three laps to go another small
group got away and they got a minute on our bunch by the end. After this
stage I moved up to 23rd in the overall classification. Elcock was in
8th overall after making it to the break. On the last stage on Monday I
was feeling tired and sat in for a bunch finish and that was the end of
the race. I would have liked to get a bit more involved in the race with
a better prologue time or get in some of the stage winning breaks but
when it mattered I didn't seem to have the legs."

New Forest Rattler Sportive
Andy Briggs took part in the New Forest Rattler, a 79 mile ride in the
New Forest: "The route was fairly flat with a few undulations, with a
couple of climbs towards the end, including Blissford Hill, a 20%
monster which thankfully was only about 150 yards long. The morning
started off fairly damp, which resulted in wet, muddy roads, however low
winds assisted some faster times. I found a group fairly soon after the
start which held together for most of the route, before breaking up
about 15 miles from the end. I finished with a time of 4 hours 19
minutes, 11 minutes inside a gold standard time."

Sunday clubrun
All groups leave Reading Market Place at 9am on Sundays.

Roderick MacFadyen
Reading Cycling Club