There was a time when we wondered if we'd have enough content to keep this newsletter going every month, but with so much going on in the club that's certainly no longer a concern. All the club's main activities are again covered, plus a brief preview of the Tour de France, a reminder of our next quarterly meeting, a bit about our website, some important club ride information and a review of the Silverstone 9 UpTT and the recent Women's Tour.
Please send any comments, ideas or proposals regarding the contents of the newsletter to the Press Officer.
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All previous newsletters are available to view on the club website and can be viewed by clicking on this link:
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It's summer time and thoughts generally turn to a trip to a relaxing trip to the seaside, perhaps a paddle in the water, followed by a walk on the pier with a candyfloss and seagulls trying to steal your bag of chips. But not for Barry Duplock who successfully completed the coast to coast event, covering 148 miles from the Irish Sea to the North Sea taking in the Lake District and then the North York Moors National Park. And if that wasn't impressive enough, Carmen Hancock covered over twice that distance in 27 hours, from Aberystwyth to Dunwich in Suffolk, an incredible 311 miles. Well done to both of you.
Back to more mundane matters now and that's club rides and in particular the need for a collective sharpening of skills and etiquette. Whether you've ridden your bike for a month or a lifetime you can always pick up new skills and when riding in a group it's vital you up your game. The article below talks about this in more detail and I hope it has the desired effect.
For me, the highlight of June was taking part in the 9-up time trial at Silverstone and in particular the first time we've ever entered a complete women's team who totally immersed themselves in the occasion, finishing as a complete group and still smiling at the end. Having picked up the bug for group suffering, they then went on to put two teams into the Bicester Millenium CC 4-up, there's no stopping them now!
We've got a club quarterly meeting coming up in July and I'd like as many members as possible to come along, it's your club and you've all got a part to play in building it to achieve even more.
Paul
PS as I write, we've now exceeded our highest-ever membership total which is an incredible achievement.
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We're well into our weekly TT season now with excellent entries and some course records being broken. The Manners Cup, our only handicap event and held on the 25 mile course, was won this year by Pete Belsey. A last minute change of course was required due to road works on 13th June so the reserve Tysoe 10 course was used, which our favourite visitor Jon Simpkins won. Jon then went on to win and break his own course record at the 30 mile Edmunds Cup TT, but Simon Kisley retained his hold on the Cup as the fastest club member. The month was finished off with the tough Hilly 15 and the two ascents of Edge Hill. Again Jon Simpkins won, but the real action took place amongst the women where Naomi de Pennington just beat Jess Sleight by 3 seconds. Both riders finished well inside the existing record which Naomi set last year.
Our resident time keeper, Keri Williams, is off to the French alps for the next two weeks, but Oli Wright has kindly agreed to man the watches.
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Our photos show Simon Kisley (Edmunds Cup winner) and record breaker Naomi de Pennington, both climbing Edge Hill during the Hilly 15 TT.
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2018 Ovo Energy Women's Tour
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Club members took the opportunity of the 2018 OVO Energy Women's Tour visiting our region on stage 3 to lend their support to the riders at the top of Edge Hill and then at the summit of Burton Dassett. The Men's Tour of Britain is following a very similar route on Wednesday 5th September - get that sickie excuse ready!
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Banbury Star welcomed 5 new members into the club during June:
Krzystof Marszal, Terry Dawson, Basil Churchyard, Rick Budd and Jacqui Harper
Renewing is now done via the website at the following link:
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The 17 year old Land's End to John O'Groats record was finally broken last month. Michael Broadwith completed his ride in a time of 43 hours, 25 minutes and 13 seconds, knocking almost 40 minutes off the previous record set by Gethin Butler. He rode the 841 mile distance at an average speed of 19.4mph/31.2kmh.
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* The UCI recently annouced that following their trial period, disc brakes will now be permitted in all UCI sanctioned events. Something British Cycling had already ageed to on 1st January.
* On Thursday last week at the HSBC UK National Road Championships in Northumberland Hannah Barnes and Geriant Thomas won the women's and men's time trial events. Today (Sunday 1st) the road races take place and both can be seen via live streaming on British Cycling's website and Facebook.
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Tour de France 7th - 29th July
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With the exception of just 15 km in Spain, the 105th edition of the Tour de France this year remains solely on French soil. Comprising 21 stages, the grand tour has 8 flat stages, 26 mountain climbs, 1 individual TT and 1 team TT, plus 27km of cobbles. This year the tour has a record 22 teams, with each team now comprising 8 riders, making a total entry of 176.
Both Eurosport and ITV4 will feature live TV coverage, plus an evening highlights package. The link below takes you to the official Tour website which has full details of every stage.
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Quarterly meeting - Tuesday 17th July
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The summer quarterly meeting takes place at Wroxton Sports Club on Tuesday 17th July at 7.30 pm. A full agenda will be issued prior to the event.
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Club rides - your responsibilities
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As we've continued to grow, the number of club rides has increased to cater for the demand. It wasn't that long ago that only one ride per weekend was run, we are now up to five and they are often bulging at the proverbial seams, a nice problem to have!
With this increase in numbers comes a broadening of the skill base which places pressure on the continued safety of the group and other road users and following one or two recent events we are using the newsletter to give a timely reminder for all riders, no matter of ability, of the obligations you take on board by joining a club ride.
The club has issued a group riding booklet which can be found at the link below and it’s essential you understand and practice the etiquette of group riding. In particular:
- arrive in time for and listen to the pre-ride briefing, it’s done for a very good reason
- do not overtake the ride leader unless you get permission to, e,g. on a hill
- never ride more than 2 abreast
- keep to the left of the road
- always slow right down for horses and give a warning when approaching from behind
- maintain a close formation as a group and make the effort to close gaps
- point out and verbally shout “hole” to notify the presence of a pothole ahead. Some members still do not do this which is simply unacceptable given the terrible state of our region’s roads.
By following these simple rules our club rides will be even more enjoyable and most importantly, safer.
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We still see members asking questions and seeking information on club events etc via Facebook, when the answer is almost always on our website. It is now updated several times a week with race and TT reports and results, and club ride information. There is a full calendar of our TT season with start times, marshal roster and course maps. A calendar of all our club rides can also be found together with the appropriate Garmin route map. Details on club kit and main contact emails are there as well.
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Situated on Chesterton Road, just off the B4100 past Gaydon, this gem of a coffee shop, tea room and restaurant is fast becoming a club favourite. At this time of the year it's great to be able to sit outside on the terrace and grass and maybe even watch a game of cricket. Open between 07.45 and 16.15 every day, cyclists are always made to feel welcome.
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The race squad are so active now, both at weekends and midweek, that it's become difficult to keep track of everything. We've had numerous riders entering the four June rounds of the ART Summer Crit series, with Lee Heron 5th in round 3 and Simon Bull 6th in round 4, both earning points for their licences. The Silverstone 9up TTT, saw 27 riders making up 3 teams, which included our first all women's team. Two teams of 5 riders entered Didcot Phoenix CC's Ben Owen Memorial 10 mile TTT, with our A team finishing 8th. Oli Wright and Mike Kirby ventured south to compete in the Open Hemel Hempstead 25 mile TT. Then last week, two men's and two women's teams entered BMCC's 4Up TTT at Weston on the Green.
Don't forget the Monday Chain Gangs are still running and more details relating to the above events can be found on the news page of the club website.
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Rising Stars - youth section news
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The month of June saw the club running two further very successful and well attended Rising Stars sessions. What is particularly encouraging is that on one session, the girls out numbered the boys and some of them are very competitive. We've also started to introduce them all to time trialling thanks to the great effort put in by Lee and Katherine in particular.
Our next session will be on Saturday 7th July, starting as usual at 9.30am at Banbury Rugby Club.,
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Don't forget, if your child joins the club as a junior member, for just £5, then they get a free Rising Stars T shirt as worn by these new members above.
If you have any queries, or would like to register your child for a session then please contact Lee Heron via the link below.
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Next club kit order - Important update
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Following the announcement in last month's newsletter, not enough orders were received by Dave Speck to warrant a new order being placed. Dave advises that the order is still open and will be placed as soon as the minimum quantity is reached.
If anyone is not sure of the procedure for ordering new kit, then please contact Dave Speck via the link below.
Dave still holds a small stock of the short sleeved Classic jersey, priced at £54.18.
The available sizes are Small, Medium, Large and XLarge.
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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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Silverstone 9up team time trial review
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What a great turn out for the club, 3 teams, totalling 27 riders, which included the club's first women's team. All teams completed 3 laps of the GP circuit, totalling approximately 11 miles.The men's A team time was 24.07, the B team 26.12 and the women 32.46. A more detailed report is on the website, as is a gallery of photos.
How about making it 4 teams next year with the addition of a mixed team entry?
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Fancy riding around Silverstone without breaking into a sweat? Here's the full video taken from Paul's bike:
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Don't forget if you still want to ride around the 3.7 mile Formula 1 circuit, but at your own leisure, that's still possible. The circuit is open to the public to ride around on 23rd July and 29th August. The cost is £5 and bookings can be made via the link below:
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Five weekend club rides are now available, please make sure you pick the one to suit your ability and speed.
Have a look at the club's website and Facebook group for details of the rides, all of which have downloadable Garmin maps:
10am Saturday: easy café ride: 25 miles, 12-14mph
10am Saturday: intermediate café ride 35 miles, 15-16mph
9am Sunday: fast non-café ride 50 miles 18mph*
9am Sunday: intermediate non-café ride 50 miles 16-17mph*
10am Sunday: intermediate café ride 35 miles 15-16mph
All rides will start at Broadribb Cycles, meeting 15 minutes before the departure time.
* may be quicker depending on who is riding
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Banbury Star CC social evenings
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July's social night is as usual at the White Horse on Thursday 5th July at 7.30pm. Supporting the White Horse is a great way of saying thank you for their interest in the club and their continued sponsorship of our road race in 2019.
All members and friends are welcome.
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Chain Gang - 6.45pm, every Monday, Ludlow Drive
Wednesday night TTs, all start times 7pm and this month the Russell Memorial Bowl on 4th and AMG Interclub on the 25th
Social night - White Horse 7.30pm Thursday 5th July
Rising Stars session - 9.30am Banbury Rugby Club Saturday 7th July
Summer club quarterly meeting - Tuesday 17th July
Silverstone Cycling evening - Monday 23rd July
Club BBQ - Saturday 4th August
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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