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The month of March really marks the start of the cycling season for the club, with lots happening, with both new and traditional club activities to look forward to. Most importantly, the club will become a British Cycling Go-Ride club in April, but prior to that we have a test event on 11th March. After some necessary changes, our first Open Time Trial will still take place on 4th March, we have a trip to Derby Velodrome on 9th March, our Spring Reliability Ride is on 11th March and our weekly Wednesday evening time trials start on 28th March. Add to all this the activities of the Race Squad and the large numbers enjoying our five weekend club rides, 2018 is heading for a busy year on the bike.
Full details of all these events are given below - read on.
Please send any comments, ideas or proposals regarding the contents of the newsletter to the Press Officer.
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All 10 of last year's newsletters are now available to view on the club website and can be viewed by clicking on this link:
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February can be a fickle month of weather and just as you think spring is around the corner a blast of Siberian air comes along to remind you winter isn't quite finished yet. So it's been amazing to see our newly-formed race squad in action already, braving near-zero temperatures at the Abingdon winter crit series. What they've achieved in such a short space of time has exceeded all expectations and a massive "chapeau" goes out to those who've competed.
Our plans for the introduction of Go Ride into Banbury Star continue apace. This will be an exciting addition to what the club can offer the people of Banburyshire and I'm confident it will be a success with all the hard work being put in by Lee and Katherine. Other local clubs have seen their membership expand with the addition of juniors and their families and the possibility of seeing a whole new crop of possible racers come up through the ranks is a great motivator.
March is going to be a busy month what with Hardriders, the Reliability Ride, a new Sunday ride and the start of our 2018 club TT season. As always, our events require a lot of planning and volunteering on the part of many to make them run to seamlessly and I ask all members to help out, no matter if it's only for an hour, by contacting me or John Tustian.
Lastly (honest!), the club is moving forward with the goal of improving the quality of our club rides following the first skills session which will be repeated in the coming weeks. It's not mandatory to attend but the new skills we are teaching will make your club rides safer, advance your own skills and improve your speed and stamina.
I look forward to being able to spend more time on the bike and meeting many of you soon.
Paul
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2018's Time Trial season is almost here...
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The 2018 club time trial events start on Wednesday 28th March with our traditional 5 mile "come and try it" race from Gaydon to Kineton and back again on what is a fast course. The full list of TTs, including the all-important marshal roster has been published on the website which you can see by clicking below. More information about the event will be published on Facebook and the website a few days before each race.
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Group riding skills session
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We have published an online guide to explain to members how we are going to improve our club rides during 2018 with the addition of some dedicated sessions that have the goal of helping riders who want to improve their bike skills.
The first of these took place on 24th February and focussed on group riding, how to do it and what the benefits are. It will be repeated in the coming weeks as we'd like all who come on club rides to become familiar with the expectations and responsibilities.
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Banbury Star welcomed more new members into the club during February:
Rab Saunders, Simon West, Joe Walsh, Ben Bradley, Amy Russell and Helen French
If you haven't renewed it's now time to do so if you want to continue taking part in the club rides and events. We have decided that membership renewals will be done online so as we get up to date records for everyone which are then securely stored in compliance with the Data Protection Act and to also ease the burden on the membership secretary now we have so many members. Please note there is an increase in the price of the time-trial supplement for 2018.
If you are an existing member you can do it by following this link:
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Open 10 mile TT - our first 2018 event
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Our first event of the year takes place this weekend and not, as you all probably know by now, the one we had planned - the 23 mile Hardriders TT. Unfortunately, long term roadworks and traffic lights at Ettington have enforced a changed route. The club had only two options, cancel, or use another route and thanks to the efforts of Race Secretary Mike Hicks we've been able to do the latter. Whilst we have an assortment of CTT-approved courses for club time trials, our only option was to use our new 10 mile course, which was already in the pipeline for Open approval. Some quick work by Mike and a little persuasion, ensured full CTT approval just in time.
We have an excellent entry of 68 riders, including last years winner Jack O'Neil, but more importantly 23 Star members will be taking part. Please note, because of this and the fact that this is the club's first big event of the year there will be no Sunday club rides on the day.
The HQ will remain at Wroxton Sports Club, with directions to the new start. First rider is off at 10am.
As this is an Open event, there are no on-the-day entries and the timekeepers may even look upon you favourably if you bring a cake!
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Time trial tips and training sessions
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With the time trialling season about to start, it's worth a look at some tips from four time British National Champion Alex Dowsett. Click on the link below to Road Cycling UK's feature on Dowsett's top tips.
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Banbury Star Road Race Sunday 27th May
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Planning for the road race is well underway and with entries coming in quickly.
If you are able to help out in any way please contact John Tustian as we need a lot of marshals and volunteers.
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Spring Reliability Ride Sunday 11th March
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The 2018 Spring Reliability Ride is nearly with us. Details of the 100km/61 mile route can be found by clicking on the link below.
The Headquarters and ride starting point will again be at Woodgreen Leisure Centre, Banbury, OH16 0HS which will be open from 0830. The entry fee remains the same at a mere £2.
The departure times are:
0900: Leisure pace
0915: Intermediate pace
0930: Fast pace
Please note: For this event, mudguards will not be compulsory and there will be no Sunday Fast Ride
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Another good recent find by Ride Secretary John Tustian, the Rose and Crown is a family run pub in the picturesque village of Charlton. The pub has always been a popular stop for winter hikers and that welcome is now enjoyed by cyclists with good coffee and cakes available. Situated in Main Street, postcode OX17 3DP it is closed on Mondays.
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During February the race squad has competed in its first three events at the Abingdon Winter Crit Series at Dalton Airfield Barracks. With 10 or 11 riders at all events, Banbury Star have been the biggest team competing and our return to road racing has certainly been noticed.
Most of the squad are new to racing, starting as 4th Category riders, yet Michal Wisowski started off with an amazing win in Race 1, with Lee Heron 4th. Race 2 saw Blaine Carpenter, Gregor Kelling and Chris Bull all finish in the top ten and score points. Race 3 saw a couple of riders endure some bad luck, but Jonathan Ward and Reuben Trotter raced well, finishing 4th and 5th and again in the points. The final round of the series is 3rd March. More detailed reports can be found in the news section of the club website.
An excellent start for the squad, the formation of which has also led to an excellent 23 rider entry for our Open 10 mile TT this weekend.
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Above is the new banner logo which we'll be using to launch and promote the club's participation in British Cycling's HSBC Go-Ride programme.
As already mentioned we're holding a tester event on Saturday 10th March from 9.30am at Banbury Rugby Club, Bodicote Park, to which all members children between the ages of 7 to 16 are invited to attend. A number of you have already indicated on Facebook that your child/children will attend, but we could do with more to ensure we are prepared for the launch, Please let Lee Heron know you're coming via the link below if you haven't already done so.
Following this event we'll then start a wide promotion throughout Banbury of the Go-Ride scheme and its launch date of Saturday 21st April.
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The latest order of club kit is now with Endura and we're expecting delivery on or around 26th March. Unless Dave Speck gets a large number of requests for more clothing, the next order window will open around September time.
In the meantime, Dave does now hold a small stock of the short sleeved Classic jersey, priced at £54.18.
The available sizes are 1 x SM, 2 x M, 2 x L and 1 x XL
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New members qualify for a £20 refund from the club when you make your first purchase of kit.
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Lee Heron and Roger Gollicker (above) together with John Tustian recently attended an Opportunities Fair at Longford Park School in Banbury to promote the club and Go-Ride in particular. Armed with a new Rising Stars banner, leaflets and a bike mounted on a turbo trainer it proved a worthwhile experience. We were also able to see how other clubs promoted themselves, but perhaps more importantly we had a very productive conversation with local community radio station, Puritans Radio. Whilst they are very much associated with Banbury United Football Club, they are now keen to cover and embrace the activities and events of all Banbury sports clubs. They've asked for all our race reports and two of the most recent have already been posted on their Facebook page. Watch this space for further developments.
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No club rides on Sunday 4th March
Please have a look at the club's website and Facebook group for details of organised rides, all of which have downloadable Garmin maps:
10am Saturday: easy café ride
10am Saturday: intermediate café ride
9am Sunday: fast ride
10am Sunday: intermediate café ride
March 18th onwards: 9am Sunday: intermediate non-café ride
All rides will start at Broadribb Cycles
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Now come on - first time racers, winter turbo trainers, race squad newbies, time trial regulars, Wednesday Wobblers, weekend ride regulars and alpine climbers - inspire us and let us know your story so far.
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blogger@banburystar.co.uk is waiting to hear from you. Your name can be withheld if that is your preference.
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Banbury Star CC social evenings
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March's social night is tonight - Thurs. 1st
at our usual venue the White Horse pub in the centre of Banbury starting at 7.30pm.
Plenty to chat about with an exciting season ahead. All members are invited.
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Derby Velodrome visit next week
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Twenty three members have signed up for this trip to Derby. At the time of writing most have paid, but if you haven't yet, then please do as soon as possible. We believe we can accommodate a further 3 people, so please contact organiser Keith Barcock straightaway if you're interested.
Keep your eyes on Facebook as Keith will be posting final arrangements etc a few days before.
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Social night White Horse tonight at 7.30pm Thursday 1st March
Race Squad Turbo Training 6.30 to 7.30pm every Wednesday
Open 10 mile Time Trial: Sunday 4th March
Derby velodrome trip: Friday 9th March
BSCC Go-Ride Test Event: Saturday 10th March
Spring Reliability Ride: Sunday 11th March
New Sunday 9am Intermediate Ride: 18th March
Come And Try 5 mile Time Trial: Wednesday 28th March
For more details and other events please look at the calendars on the club’s website or Facebook group.
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Follow Banbury Star on social media
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