1 East Anglian Newsletter January 2018 — Issue 250 Andrew Grant. telephone: 07931 357078 or 01638 741433 email: [email protected]Sunday 26th November saw the Group AGM and Prize Presentation at the Holiday Inn, Ipswich. The AGM was quorate, just, with apologies from about 380 non‐ attenders which had obviously and unfortunately gone astray in the post, deemed to have been received. Guest of Honour at the presentation lunch that followed was Wendy Dorling, London East CTT General Secretary, CTT Director and ace timekeeper of the great and the exceedingly fast (Alex Dowsett’s ‘‘44’’) as well as most of the rest of us. Right, that’s the commercial break over. We now have an excellent new web site, courtesy of our new webmaster, Noel Toone. It is capable of much more than the previous version and I am hoping and intending to make it the principal vehicle for recording and publishing Group news so that, in the course of time, a separate newsletter will become superfluous, with a print‐out of a screen grab doing the job for those members still not on‐line. I shall, of course, still want articles and contributions, so please do keep sending them. Another feature of the digital upgrade is that all Group officials now have group e‐mail addresses. The major advantage of this is that if, as happened twice this year, someone has to change their personal e‐mail address, the Group e‐mail address can simply be redirected, without having to let the entire membership know about the change and crucial communications should no longer get lost in the ether. It’s been a successful season for the Group, as you will see below, and on most measures, East Anglia can claim, with some justice, to be the strongest and most successful Group in the Country with a number of championships to our name and several national records. One unwelcome record, however, was set by John Golder (below) for the highest number of National VTTA 25 championships organised in the same year. Exemplary as John’s legendary NuGGet productions are, he could have done without this, brought about as it was by the accident to a competitor which caused the abandonment of the original event and the need to re‐run it. That accident was one of an unusual number of serious and high‐ profile accidents, some of them, sadly, fatal, which began to look like a pattern and shone a spotlight on some popular courses and the times and conditions at which we race on them. I know riders who will not race on the Etwall course, and there were times this year, indeed, when the traffic on the E2 frightened me. London East’s decision to further restrict the dates and times when the course can be used seems to me prudent, even if not all have welcomed it. In consequence, our schedule of Group events has something of a new look this year. Doping is back in the news again (when is it not?) and the new president of the UCI has declared it his mission to eradicate mechanical doping, which most of us think is a myth in any case. If we’re honest, the most widespread examples of “mechanical doping” occur in UK time trialling on dual carriageways on any weekend of the season, with passing traffic supplementing our Just a minute ! ADVERTISEMENT As things stand, that could be the Group’s last presentation of awards. Tony and Sue Clarke, long‐serving Group Recorder and Awards Secretary and Group Age Records Secretary, respectively, have stepped down and were deserving joint recipients of the Gordon Irons Memorial Cup for outstanding services to the Group. Their combined roles have been re‐sliced, with Ken Platts taking on the number‐crunching Recorder and Records Secretary jobs, leaving us with the need to recruit an Awards Secretary. This is largely an administrative job that can mostly be carried out in the warmth and comfort of your own home. Better still, for most of the year you have nothing at all to do. It all happens in October and involves liaising with organisers and the Recorder/Records Secretary to make sure the right people are united with the right trophies; that those trophies are correctly engraved and that the right medals and certificates are ordered and suitably inscribed. If that isn’t inducement enough, taking on the role absolves you of the requirement to volunteer for marshalling duties. It has been pleasing to see new volunteers coming forward to organise Group events. This is another job that is vital to the Group (if we’re to have anything to show for our exertions) so I hope that among our 400 members there will be at least one who will put him or herself forward. Group Officials for 2017 President: Peter Horsnell Tel: 01245 237283 Chairman & Newsletter Editor: Andrew Grant Tel: 01638 741433 email: [email protected][email protected]Secretary: Merv Player Tel: 01438 814154 email: [email protected]Treasurer: Keith Dorling Tel: 01371 831175 email: [email protected]Time Trial Secretary: John Golder Tel: 07709 328113 email: [email protected]Recorder & Records Secretary: Ken Platts Tel: 01223 870963 email: [email protected]Webmaster & Group Administrator: Noel Toone [email protected]Press Secretary: Mary Horsnell Tel: 01245 237283 Luncheon Organiser: Ian Mackenzie Tel: 01702 204550 email: [email protected]Awards Secretary: Situation Vacant See page 8 for details wattage to the point where we can all ride as fast as Tom Dumoulin. A return to Sunday mornings may not only be healthier, but may restore some necessary perspective. Happy New Year and here’s to a fast and safe 2018. Andy
Transcript
1
East Anglian Newsletter January 2018 — Issue 250
Andrew Grant. telephone: 07931 357078 or 01638 741433 email: [email protected]
Sunday 26th November saw the Group AGM and Prize Presentation at the Holiday Inn, Ipswich. The AGM was quorate, just, with apologies from about 380 non‐attenders which had obviously and unfortunately gone astray in the post, deemed to have been received. Guest of Honour at the presentation lunch that followed was Wendy Dorling, London East CTT General Secretary, CTT Director and ace timekeeper of the great and the exceedingly fast (Alex Dowsett’s ‘‘44’’) as well as most of the rest of us.
Right, that’s the commercial break over. We now have an excellent new web site, courtesy of our new webmaster, Noel Toone. It is capable of much more than the previous version and I am hoping and intending to make it the principal vehicle for recording and publishing Group news so that, in the course of time, a separate newsletter will become superfluous, with a print‐out of a screen grab doing the job for those members still not on‐line. I shall, of course, still want articles and contributions, so please do keep sending them. Another feature of the digital upgrade is that all
Group officials now have group e‐mail addresses. The major advantage of this is that if, as happened twice this year, someone has to change their personal e‐mail address, the Group e‐mail address can simply be redirected, without having to let the entire membership know about the change and crucial communications should no longer get lost in the ether.
It’s been a successful season for the Group, as you will see below, and on most measures, East Anglia can claim, with some justice, to be the strongest and most successful Group in the Country with a number of championships to our name and several national records.
One unwelcome record, however, was set by John Golder (below) for the highest number of National VTTA 25 championships organised in the same year. Exemplary as John’s legendary NuGGet productions are, he could have done without this, brought about as it was by the
accident to a competitor which caused the abandonment of the original event and the need to re‐run it. That accident was one of an unusual number of serious and high‐profile accidents, some of them, sadly, fatal, which began to look like a pattern and shone a spotlight on some popular courses and the times and conditions at which we race on them. I know riders who will not race on the Etwall course, and there were times this year, indeed, when the traffic on the E2 frightened me. London East’s decision to further restrict the dates and times when the course can be used seems to me prudent, even if not all have welcomed it. In consequence, our schedule of Group events has something of a new look this year.
Doping is back in the news again (when is it not?) and the new president of the UCI has declared it his mission to eradicate mechanical doping, which most of us think is a myth in any case. If we’re honest, the most widespread examples of “mechanical doping” occur in UK time trialling on dual carriageways on any weekend of the season, with passing traffic supplementing our
Just a minute !
ADVERTISEMENT
As things stand, that could be the Group’s last presentation of awards. Tony and Sue Clarke, long‐serving Group Recorder and Awards Secretary and Group Age Records Secretary, respectively, have stepped down and were deserving joint recipients of the Gordon Irons Memorial Cup for outstanding services to the Group. Their combined roles have been re‐sliced, with Ken Platts taking on the number‐crunching Recorder and Records Secretary jobs, leaving us with the need to recruit an Awards Secretary. This is largely an administrative job that can mostly be carried out in the warmth and comfort of your own home. Better still, for most of the year you have nothing at all to do. It all happens in October and involves liaising with organisers and the Recorder/Records Secretary to make sure the right people are united with the right trophies; that those trophies are correctly engraved and that the right medals and certificates are ordered and suitably inscribed. If that isn’t inducement enough, taking on the role absolves you of the requirement to volunteer for marshalling duties. It has been pleasing to see new volunteers coming forward to organise Group events. This is another job that is vital to the Group (if we’re to have anything to show for our exertions) so I hope that among our 400 members there will be at least one who will put him or herself forward.
Group Officials for 2017 President: Peter Horsnell
wattage to the point where we can all ride as fast as Tom Dumoulin. A return to Sunday mornings may not only be healthier, but may restore some necessary perspective.
Happy New Year and here’s to a fast and safe 2018. Andy
2
A Glimpse of Barrow-nial Splendour “You should try anything once—except incest and morris dancing.” Oscar Wilde
Most people would agree that, had Oscar known about time trialling on a tricycle, he would have added it to his list, but Gavin Hinxman is not most people. A glance at the age record table on page 5 will be enough to suggest that in 2018, he was finding it all a bit too easy on a bike and needed a sterner challenge. Here he writes about his campaign to re‐write the trike records.
It was back in the late 80’s, as a young, keen junior that I tried a trike for the first time. It was Frank Taylor’s trike, outside his Egon Ronay starred Fish restaurant in Market Harborough. I asked for a go; he obliged. I steered it into the kerb; I gave it back; and that idea was forgotten for 27 years.
Max Scott lived near me. He was at Rothwell, number 3. He liked threes. His email address was trivelo and I think that was the name of his house too. I lived at Desborough. We were both members of Kettering CC. Before Max retired, he used to work in an industrial unit in the same courtyard as me back in the 1990’s. I knew Max pretty well.
I also knew Pete Etheridge. Pete also lived quite locally and I remember him racing his trike from a few years ago. He also rode it in the Frank & Joy Sheppard 10 that I organise annually. I knew Cliff Tremaine, but not that well.
I have been racing time trials since the mid 80’s. For me, form and speed improved with age and technology / training enhancements and as a 47‐year‐old I was beating my all‐time pb’s. I was now riding for Kettering CC and had beaten all of the solo men’s TT records from 10 to 100 miles.
We had a section of records for tricycles. I was regularly doing 19 min 10’s on the TT bike whilst the club trike record, held by local trike legend Cliff Tremaine, sat at a mid “24”. I thought, “that must be beatable – it’s an extra wheel but apart from that…” (clearly forgetting about my ‘Titanic’ maiden voyage attempt many years ago).
I spoke to Pete about borrowing his racing trike back in 2014 and he was clearly not super keen on letting a 2‐wheeler loose on his pride and joy. The conversation went quiet – I therefore had to think of other options on borrowing a 3‐wheeled racing machine. I was in conversation with Max at the time about the N&DCA lunch that he was organising – I recommended a new venue and we got chatting.
I told him of my ambition and he suggested calling up to have a go on one of his less‐preferred trikes! I got on it, made no
set‐up changes and rode it up and down his road, with U‐turns, straight lines and totally in control. I had passed the first stage of the driving test. I recall Max saying that it was most unusual that a 2‐wheeler could just get on a trike and ride it like that. He compared me to the Tremaine brothers – which I took as a huge compliment.
I believe that Max must have called Pete to say that I had ‘passed’ as it wasn’t that long afterwards that Pete dropped me a mail to say that if I ever wanted to borrow the trike, that was fine.
It was mid‐season 2016. I had highlighted a KCC club event to ride the trike on. The course was decent. Pete’s trike was a relatively modern machine, he had it built in the late 80’s I think. It was a red lugless lo‐pro, with 24” wheels all around. It was hanging in his shed when I went over to collect it and the tyres (they looked like the originals too!) were perished. He had a wrapped‐up spare but when I unwrapped it, the casing at the folds was cracked and I decided to leave the tyres as fitted.
I went for a short ride, got to the bottom of my drive, hit the adverse camber and the trike went in the opposite direction. Max’s road didn’t have any significant cambers!
I got off, walked back from the grass to the path and rode up there. Apart from cambers – I was ok. This trial was the day before the race, so I continued and did a couple of miles without falling off or crashing. My son and wife told me afterwards they saw me fighting it down the High Street.
I got to the race early and rode the course including the two small roundabouts. Again, I was ok.
The trike had tri bars but I stayed on the drops. A few people commented that they were going to catch me for the first time ever and I’m pleased to say that only one person did. I did a mid “25”, I was a minute slower than the record – I had work to do. But at least I now had a PB
I had highlighted a “slowest 90” event on the fast V718 in Hull and entered it on the trike.
I made a few changes to the trike too. I
added disc wheel covers to the rear wheels, bought new 24” tubs to replace the worst, added new bars and tri bars (bike shed spares!) and lifted them to replicate my TT bike position and then re‐cabled it so the brakes and gears worked better.
I had been for a ride on it round the local lanes but the cambers were horrible so decided to wait for the dual carriageways of the race. I rode the event including the 3 miles ride to the start, it was fine. The race went well. I smashed the record with a mid “22”. I loved it too and was the fastest KCC rider in the event.
I then entered a TA 10 and was fastest in that one. That event was on back lanes with cambers and turns – I was getting better though ‐ and this time rode the whole course beforehand. It was at that event that Andy Newham said that I could beat the Trike 10 comp record set by Barry Charlton at 20.51. I thought about it and agreed that it was possible.
I returned the trike to Pete as he wanted it back, then I got a call from Pete Hopkins over the winter ‐ he had heard that I was after a trike and he was looking for a buyer for his 1960’s Higgins.
I went over to see it, purchased it and took it away for the sum of £900 I think with some spare wheels. I changed a few components on it, selling the L‐shaped cranks, pedals, seatpin and saddle recouping recouped some money meaning that the trike had now cost me around £500.
I had all the bits that I needed to build it back up. It was heavy but aero‐wise looked good.
I was now riding for aero experts drag2zero so had asked if they minded if I rode a trike while representing d2z and wearing d2z‐emblazoned kit. Simon Smart (the boss) thought that it was a great idea and he and Mark Jones (my coach and fellow d2z rider) helped me with a few aero ideas.
My first go on the trike this year was a return to the V718. I was scratch rider but Adam Duggleby was also down to ride, having borrowed another Hopkins Trike! I did a mid “21”, a minute faster than the year before and now less than 30s short of the record. UNFORTUNATELY, Adam did 19.30 and blew the record out of reach (for now…) I still had that original target though and was back at Hull two weeks later. I recorded 20.49 – beating the previous figure and setting a new vets national record. I was chuffed.
I rode the TA Nat 50 on a course north of Shrewsbury and was within 30s of a 25mph ride, beating the event and course record so I decided I should continue to mix the season up a bit with TT and trike events as I was really enjoying the mix. I took the trike to Wales and did a 56 for a 25 on a course with too many roundabouts and I was losing too much time going around corners, so I took it to the E2/25 (one roundabout) and did a 53.17, beating the comp record.
continued on next page
Gavin demonstrates the similarities between riding a trike and sailing a dinghy.
3
26th November 2016
There has been a steady flow of new members joining the Group this year, although the numbers are down: 64 compared with 71 last year. Unfortunately members leaving the Group exceed those joining; 33 have allowed their membership to lapse and 32 have resigned; a total of 65. These figures exceed those of 2016 when 24 did not renew and 27 members lapsed their membership; a total of 52. In 2015, 40 resigned, lapsed or died.
Membership now stands at 400 with 378 Individual members and 22 partners. Membership in 2016 was 385 and 24 partners: a total of 409.
During the year, three members were granted Honorary Life Membership, these being Bob Bush, Brian Swallow and Patrick Sheppard. A further two members will
Llewelyn Ranson Llewelyn celebrated his 100th birthday on 28th November, two days after the Group AGM. He is pictured right with his daughters Ann (left) and Judith, being presented with a certificate on behalf of the Group. He now lives with Ann and her family at Toux Farm, Mentlaw, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, AB42 4LX and would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to catch up. Telephone number is 01771623544.
Meanwhile, Peter Tibbitts (pictured with Llewelyn right) has revealed an unexpected hinterland shared by him and Llewelyn, to both of whom, “TT” signifies more than just time trialling. They are pictured on 25th October 2017 at the Annual Luncheon of the (Isle of Man) TT Riders Association, held in the National Motorcycle Museum, Birming‐ham. More details of the TTRA can be found here http://ttra.co.uk/ttra‐history.htm. It’s a pretty exclusive club. To join, you needed to have started in an Isle of Man TT race. To
qualify as Honorary Life Members next year. They are Geoff Allum and Ron Back. The granting of Honorary Life Membership now depends on contributions made to the running of the Group by the member reaching 80 years old. The total HLMʹs in the Group now stands at 41. This year 153 Members paid their Subscription by Bank Transfer, a great saving of time spent processing cheques, for which Iʹm most grateful to Keith for making this method available. 186 continued to pay by cheque.
One of our members, Llewlyn Ranson, was 100 years old on the 28th November 2017. We are arranging for a suitable certificate to be produced and presented to Llewlyn on the day (see below. Ed). We hope that photos will be taken to put in the Veteran at a later date.
start, you were required to qualify within a certain time for your class of race. To enter the event, you needed the highest level of motorcycle road racing licence. (Suddenly, riding a pedal cycle up and down the A11 begins to seem a bit tame.)
One of Hitler’s less well known war crimes
A Glimpse of Barrow-nial Splendour
continued from previous page
I had already beaten the 15 comp record
with 33.41 so the 50 attempt should be next
for the hat trick.
My first attempt was on the A50 Etwall
course, a TA event. It was great again to ride
with other trikes. I was heading the field
after 5 miles and had a lonely 45 after that. I
thought that I had done it as I had made a
note of the average speed required and had
matched it. Unfortunately, I missed Glen’s
record by 12 seconds.
On return home, I searched the
handbook, made a few changes to my race
plan and entered a 50 that we used at
Teeside for the CTT 50 champs this year. I
knew the turns would be slow but there
were only 3 of them. It was 2 laps and I was
1mph up on the record at half distance and
maintained that to the end to finish in
1‐49‐08. This one meant a lot as it had still
belonged to Glenn Longland who, with Ian
Cammish, was and is a bit of a hero for me.
Glenn also held the record for 25 years.
I decided to enter a 100 on the trike; I
had wanted to ride the E2/100 earlier in the
season but with no trike pb – I couldn’t get
in. The course was decent, 4 x up and downs
of mainly single carriageway roads. Again –
1mph up at half distance with a 1‐54 for the
first 50. I then punctured a rear tyre at 59
miles and the attempt was over. Will try
again next year.
The TA guys and girls are a great bunch
– super friendly and have really welcomed
my wife and me to ‘the club’. The National
50 was a super event – people were
camping, the village hall was used for
evening activities and all the old records and
history books were available to see. I have
joined the TA Midlands region, but there are
many great TA regions to pick from
depending on where you live.
I have since learnt that there are four old
trike owners in my town (old trikes and old
owners). Frank Taylor is two miles away and
still has his. I wish that Max had seen my
results before he passed away.
I do keep Pete Etheridge informed. Pete
unfortunately has to sell his trike due to ill
health. I get some great comments back from
Peter Hopkins about how pleased he is to
see the orange trike being put to good use.
I’ve made some new friends this year and I
hope to continue to ride both my TT bike
and trike until either stop going faster which
will eventually come but until then…
LEJOG trike record holder Ralph
Dadswell has suggested that I have an
attempt at his trike record. I will do a 100
and may do a ‘12’ but as for the other 600 or
so miles, maybe not, but thanks for thinking
of me.
4
Very few readers of Essex Countryside will have heard of Doomers Hall unless they are, or were, members of one of the many cycle racing clubs who use the A11 Newmarket road beyond Stansted for their time trials. In 1894 cycle racing on Britainʹs Road was made illegal but the racing fraternity, determined not to lose their sport, devised a
system of time trials against the clock at 25, 50 and 100 miles, with riders starting at one minute intervals over a carefully measured course, marshalled at danger points by helpers, and with checkers at the turning point, with an equal distance out and home. The timekeepers were highly qualified and their watches had to have Kew certificates; their accuracy was recognised on the occasion of the first Schneider Cup races for aircraft around Britain, when B. W. Best, one of our Essex timekeepers, was chosen to officiate.
There were over one hundred clubs
affiliated to the Eastern Counties Cycling Association, most of which were based on east and north‐east London and the adjacent Essex suburbs whose local course was on the A11 north of Epping. As traffic started to increase after the first world war it was deemed desirable to move further north, so the 32nd milestone on Stansted Plain became
the focal point A further motive was the need for secrecy as the law still frowned on cycle racing. All start and results cards had to be marked ‘‘Private & Confidential’’ and competitors had to wear inconspicuous clothing so black tights and alpacas on flying wheels greeted any early morning villager who happened to be abroad. These dawn starts, just over 30 miles out of London, meant that riders would either have to cycle to the
start before daybreak, a daunting prospect before a testing athletic event, or else stay overnight near the start. The latter eventually became established practice and in the 1920s and 30s, inns in Bishop’s Stortford, Stansted, Ugley and Quendon were packed with cyclists every Saturday night in the racing season, The demand for accommodation grew so great that quite a number of cottagers in the villages, sensing the chance of a little extra pocket money in those lean days, went in for the bed and breakfast trade and many lifelong friendships developed as well as a number of romances between cyclists and village girls. The A11 out of Woodford became the most cycle‐crowded road in Britain, both for evening training rides and the Saturday afternoon trek northwards to the 32nd
milestone area. Marshals, timekeepers, helpers, racing men, girlfriends and parents all helped to swell the ranks and literally hundreds passed through Epping, Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford every weekend. It became obvious that eventually some bright club committee would hit on the idea of having permanent quarters near the 32nd
milestone and it was left to the ladies of Rosslyn Ladies CC to pioneer the idea when, in 1929, they established themselves in a quiet spot in country quarters which remained their private and secret domain ever after. Male clubs were slow to catch on, but in 1934 the Upton Manor CC an all‐male racing club, acquired a Canadian log cabin from Barnet Football Club, who in turn had obtained it from the British Empire Exhibition in 1924 at Wembley.
They were lucky in having a haulage contractor in their ranks to move it and tradesmen of every denomination to erect it on brick pillars on half an acre of land rented from a kindly farmer in Ugley.
The haulier brought armchairs, beds, Tilley lamps and all the other incidentals that helped to make it home from home.
People living alongside the A11 must have been puzzled at some of the objects carried on cyclist’s backs about this time. There were pots, pans, kettles, radios and odd chairs, and one stalwart rode all the way up with a toilet seat round his neck. The remainder of that piece of the equipment had to wait until the lorry was available again. The reaction of the various other cycling clubs to the enterprise was a mixture of envy and scorn, some declaring that this would be the end of the Upton Manor as a racing entity. They said they were doomed. In that era it was common to go on long club runs, even after a strenuous race, and the thought of a club relaxing in its own quarters seemed so decadent that the
building became known as the home of the doomed ones and was christened ‘‘Doomers’’ Somehow the name caught on and a nameplate on the gate signalled the owners’ acceptance. But in the 80s it ended. The club was given notice to quit and Doomers Hall again pointed the way that others, sadly, would have to follow. There are other club quarters in the vicinity as half a dozen clubs followed Upton Manor’s lead after the war, but, as leases expire their numbers are dwindling, many having outlived the clubs that built them.
The History And Demise Of Doomers Hall (adapted from an article by A. F. Kilby)
Riders familiar with the north west corner of Essex through which flow, in close proximity, the nether reaches of the Cam and the Greater Anglia Liverpool Street railway line may have found themselves in North Hall Lane, where a curious community of huts clusters between the river and the railway bridge. The Group Committee has its meetings in one of these, built by the Comrades CC. The area has a distinct feel of wild frontier about it, an aura of the past, as well it might, for these are the remaining club huts built in the 20s and 30s in the heyday of the famous “32nd course” known to most of us by the less picturesque name of the E1.
Mary Horsnell has unearthed this evocative story of the birth and death of one such hut.
The Shaftesbury CC hut
Cutting-edge inconspicuous Time Trial kit c.1936 modelled by Claude Hutton, Southend & County Wheelers) The Eagle hut, now alas, no more
5
There have been 44 solo men’s East Anglian group records broken this year, an increase of 17 from 2016, 7 of which are National records (N). There are 9 men’s tricycle records, 4 of which are National records, and also 3 men’s tandem records, 1 of which is a National record. I am pleased to report that there have been 7 women’s records broken in 2017, 3 of which are National records.
Keith Dorling. New national 15 age record
Tandem men 25 miles Glenn Taylor/Neil Dowie 49/50 49.10 Glenn Taylor/Mark Arnold 46 44.50 (N) Tandem men 50 miles Glenn Taylor/Mark Arnold 46 1.35.02 Tandem men 50 miles Vic Haines/Craig Chappell 54 1.48.13
GROUP RECORDER’S REPORT 2017 Group Best All Rounder (BOS 25, 50, 100 miles and 12 hours) 1st Dave Green Team Velovelocity +82.04 minutes 2nd Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC +70.51minutes 3rd Julian Pegg Hitchin Nomads CC +64.46 minutes Group Championship (BOS 10, 25, 50 and 100 miles) 1st Peter Horsnell Chelmer CC +89.35 minutes 2nd Ken Platts Cambridge CC +73.25 minutes 3rd Jackie Field CC Ashwell +73.04 minutes Team: No team Group 3 Distance Championship (25, 50 and 100 miles) 1st Peter Horsnell Chelmer CC +72.38 minutes 2nd Dave Green Team Velovelocity +59.07 minutes 3rd Jackie Field CC Ashwell +58.04 minutes Group Ladies Championship (BOS two 10s, two 25s and 50 miles) 1st Susan Triplow Essex Roads CC +83.56 minutes 2nd Jackie Field CC Ashwell +81.38 minutes 3rd Denise Hurren Sole Bay Cycle Sport +79.43 minutes Short Distance Competition (two 10s and two 25s) 1st Gavin Hinxman Drag2Zero +77.48 minutes (Bike) 2nd Andrew Grant Cambridge CC +76.44 minutes 3rd Peter Horsnell Chelmer CC +74.18 minutes Group 10 miles points competition 1st Man Rob Young Team Vision Racing 1st Lady Susan Triplow Essex Roads CC
BAR Dave Green 2nd Ladies competition Karen Eaton 7th Group – Insufficient qualifiers (6riders to count) Club Insufficient qualifiers (3 riders to count) 3 Distance Peter Horsnell 1st Ladies competition Jackie Field 2nd Group – 1st (6 riders to count) Club – Insufficient qualifiers (3 riders to count) Short distance Best group rider – Gavin Hinxman 9th Ladies competition Susan Triplow 7th Group – 3rd to Notts & East Midlands (6riders to count) Club –Cambridge CC 4th to North Lancs RC (3riders to count) Comparison with last year Group had 4 qualifiers for National BAR compared with 6 last year. Group had 14 qualifiers for National 3 Distance Championship compared with 18 last year. Group had 11 qualifiers for Group 4 Distance Championship compared with 16 last year. Overall participation is similar to last year. The ability of riders to complete the entry forms is improving but I received very few entries on the correct form for the 4 distance championship. I completed the forms from their entry to the other competitions where possible. This is our last report as we shall be handing the job over to Ken Platts after the AGM. We hope everyone will give him every support in his new role. Sue and Tony Clarke Group Age Records Secretary and Group Recorder
Entries for Standards Awards compared with previous years are as follows
Date Event Course Organiser Sat 14th April Group circuit 25 E33/25 Mick Hodson Sat 28th April Open Ladies BBAR 25 E2/25 Rebecca Murley Sat 28th April Group 25* E2/25 Rebecca Murley Sun 29th April Group 10 * B10/38 Ron Back Sat 26th May Victoria 10 (inc Group 10) E1/10a Christine Yareham Wed 6th June Group 10 * E2/10 Gary Boyd Sun 10th June ECCA 100 ‡ E2/100c John Golder Wed 13th June Group 10 * E2/10 Antony Stapleton Wed 20th June Group 10 * E2/10 Keith Dorling Sat 23rd June Victoria 10 (inc Group 10) E1/10a Christine Yareham Wed 27th June Group 10 * E2/10 Michael Martin Sun 1st July Group 50 E2/50c Mark Arnold (inc Group 50 - 40 EA/80 BBAR) Sun 15th July EDCA 100 (inc Group 100) B100/4 Richard Reade Sun 22nd July Shaftesbury 50 ‡ E2/50c Terry Anderson Sun 29th July Group 25* E2/25 Gary Boyd Sat 28th July Victoria 10 (inc Group 10) E1/10a Christine Yareham Sun 5th August Breckland 12hr ‡ B12/2 Mark Fairhead Sat 11th Aug Group 10 B10/43 Barry Freeman Sun 19th Aug ECCA 12hr (inc Group 12hr) E2/12hr Len Gordon Sat 25th Aug Victoria 10 (inc Group 10) E1/10a Christine Yareham Sat 1st Sept Breckland 50 ‡ B50/18 Martin Badham Sat 1st Sept Group 10 * E2/10 Dominic Whitehead Sat 22nd Sept Leo 30 E2/30c John Golder (inc Group 30 - 50EA/100 other) * Preference to East Anglian VTTA members All the eleven 10 mile TT's shown above go towards the 10 points league, riders need 6 to qualify. The Victoria events also include 2 & 3-up TTT’s and tandem events ‡ These events are just for information.
Group Trophy and Award Winners 2017
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The VTTA’s new editorial team has got the December issue of “The Veteran” out with unprecedented efficiency (i.e. in December) and the splendid new National website is up and running, so everyone should already be up‐to‐date on the results of the 2017 National Competitions and I don’t need to repeat the tables here. Above is a gallery celebrating the Group’s 2017 successes.
L – R from top left:
Sue Triplow, National 3‐distance winning Group Team member
Gavin Hinxman, (2nd from right) Bronze medallist, National 10 championship
David Procter, National 3‐distance winning Group Team member
National 15 Club Team champions; Ken Platts, Chris Dyason, Andy Grant
National 25 and 3‐Distance Champion, Peter Horsnell
National 25 Club Team champions; (Jan Ertner subbing for Andre Dyason,
who’d crashed), Chris Dyason, Andy Grant
Ken Platts, National 3‐distance winning Group Team member
National 30 Group Team champions, Andy Grant, Gavin Hinxman, Chris Dyason
Dave Green, 2nd in National BAR
National 30 Club Team champions, Chris Dyason, Andy Grant, Colin Lizieri
National Ladies 25 champion, 2nd lady in 3‐Distance competition, member of
winning Group Team Jackie Field
National 25 Group Team champions, Jackie Field, Peter Horsnell, Andy Grant
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Date Event Course Organiser Event choice
Sat 14th April Group Circuit 25 E33/25 Mick Hodson □
Sat 28th April Group 25 E2/25 Rebecca Murley □
Sun 29th April Group 10 B10/38 Ron Back □
Wed 6th June Group 10 E2/10 Gary Boyd □
Wed 13th June Group 10 E2/10 Antony Stapleton □
Wed 20th June Group 10 E2/10 Keith Dorling □
Wed 27th June Group 10 E2/10 Michael Martin □
Sun 1st July Group 50 E2/50c Mark Arnold □
Sun 29th July Group 25 E2/25 Gary Boyd □
Sat 11th Aug Group 10 B10/43 Barry Freeman □
Sat 1st Sept Group 10 E2/10 Dominic Whitehead □
Sat 22nd Sept Group Champ (Leo 30) E2/30 John Golder □ I am willing and able to help/I nominate the following to help in the event(s) that I have nominated above.
Name…………………………….……………………………………………………..
Address……………………………….………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Telephone……………………………………………………………………………...
E-mail address………………………………………………………………………...
Club……………………………………………………………………………………
Marshalling List 2018 Below is the list of all the events for which the Group has organising – and therefore marshalling - responsibility. Please specify at least one Group event of your choice at which you are able to help in 2018 by ticking the adjacent box – more than one if you possible can. Send this back to Merv Player, either by email or by hard copy to 18 New Close, Knebworth, Herts SG3 6NU, and he will pass the information to the relevant organiser who will contact you prior to the event. Please note that this is an obligation which may be delegated if you are sufficiently duplicitous manipulative devious persuasive, so feel free to nominate spouses, sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, significant others, having first explained to them what delightful fun there is to be had standing next to a dual carriageway for two and a half hours.
In case you’d forgotten, the following Group rule comes into force from January 1st 2018.
Any member who has not helped with the running of East Anglian VTTA events during the preceding three years may be rejected from entry in VTTA East Anglian events on E2 courses. New members of the Group have an exemption to the end of their first calendar year, but will clearly need to get their volunteering in early in their second year.
You will see from the full “Provisional Events List”, on page ?? that there are other events with which we are associated and from which we benefit (e.g. the Victoria CC 10 series, the EDCA 100 and the ECCA 12 hour) so if you really cannot find a date on which you could assist at a Group event, perhaps you could nominate one of those.
We have an ambitious Group event schedule for 2018, but to sustain this and the supply of organisers for the future, everyone needs to pull their weight. If everyone did so, with a membership of 380+ it ought not to be onerous. If everybody did one duty, each individual would be called on once every five years.
East Anglian Group — Renewal of Membership Keith Dorling, the Group treasurer, has set up internet banking, which will result in bills being paid more quickly as you will no longer have to send cheques, merely transfer directly from your bank. You may also set up a standing order to pay your yearly subscription ‐ again saving a cheque, postage, and the shoe leather of our membership secretary trudging down the post office to pay them all in. To pay by direct bank transfer, please email Keith: [email protected] and Merv Player: [email protected] telling them that you have done so and including any updates of contact details (address, phone numbers or email).
VTTA EA BANK DETAILS: Sort code 09‐01‐55 Account 32258703
You may, of course, still pay by cheque if you so wish, in which case please send this form, with your remittance to: General/Membership Secretary – Merv Player, 18 New Close, Knebworth, Herts SG3 6NU, NOT TO THE TREASURER. Subscriptions for 2018 are: Single membership £15, Couple membership £20, Standard season ticket £10. Please make cheques payable to VTTA East Anglian.
