Banbury Star Cyclists' Club

April 2019 newsletter

April - let cycling now begin in earnest - no more mudguards, the first day of Spring is behind us, the clocks have gone forward and our Wednesday night TT season is now underway.

This newsletter contains more TT information, together with a reminder of our road race, race squad news, details of new women's only activities and an important club kit update.

Please send any comments, ideas or proposals regarding the contents of the newsletter to the Press Officer. Copies of all previous newsletters can be found on the club website - About BSCC

email the Press Officer

Presidential ponderings

March is the month when our racing season kicks off in earnest and after the disappointment of the last minute cancellation of Hardriders 2018, it was reassuring to see a large field compete out on the Stratford Road for the 2019 event in conditions rather befitting of the race's name.

After the winter break, our Wednesday night time trials have also started with the highest number of racers on the Gaydon-Kineton-Gaydon 5 mile course last Wednesday. These evening TTs now continue until early September over a range of distances and terrains which will provide a test for riders of any ability.

This is also the time of the year when Open Time Trials are organised by many local clubs. Mark Boyles has done a great job with the Racing Calendar section of the website which now contains many of these and also keep a look out on the Facebook group for further details of TTs which may appeal to members. The Stratford one in particular will be well-attended by BSCC members. You've only got a day left to enter it so be quick if you want to represent the club!

Lastly we've had some great news via Bicester Millenium CC who have been given permission by the RAF to allow U18's back on to the Weston-on-the-Green airfield site. This means junior racing can now be organised and I look forward to seeing some of our Rising Stars under the tutelage of Lee Heron and Mark taking part.

Paul

2019 Membership. Have you renewed yet?

A warm welcome to our new members who've joined during March:

Rupert Rittson, Johanna Elsener, Martyn Stirk and lots of rejoiners from 2018.

Subscriptions and any other payments to the club should now be paid direct to our new Nat West account.

Sort code = 53-61-33

Account = 65953886

As previously advised, we have now moved entirely to online banking and no more cheques will be accepted for membership or payment for club services. 

Please note: The online Membership Form must be completed for all existing members when renewing membership. The joys of GDPR compliance!

Renew Membership

Hardriders TT review

After a week of great sunny weather, wet and windy conditions unfortunately greeted everyone who rode in our season opening Hardriders TT on 3rd March. With strong crosswinds records were never going to be broken, but the first 13 riders all managed to finish under the one hour mark.

Jack O'Neill (Team Jewson), pictured above, retained the Broughton Cup with a time of 53.19, a healthy 49s ahead of Richard Jennings (Army Cycling) in second with Paul Atkins (Kenilworth Wheelers) in third place.

Simon Bull was the first Star rider home in 13th place on 59.11, with fellow club members Suzy Patience (above) winning the Women’s category and Naomi de Pennington finishing third. Along with Helen French, this result also earned them the Women’s Team prize. Roger Foster (BSCC) came second in the Veterans category.

Full results can be found via the link below.

Hardriders TT results

2019 Time Trial season and calendar

Our Wednesday night TT season got underway last week with an excelent 35 rider entry for the 5 mile "Come and Try TT". It again proved how popular our weekly TTs have become with a large number of visitors from neighbouring clubs. A report is on the website news page.

This week (3rd) we return to meet again at Ludlow Drive to compete on the K4/20 course for the annual 2Up Club TT - start time 6.30pm. The TTs on 10th and 17th will also start at 6.30pm and then on 24th we move to a 7pm start until the begining of August.

Please remember to advise TT Secretary Oli Wright as soon as possible if you can't make your nominated Wednesday marshalling night. 

Oli's TT Marshalling guide is now on the club website and all the relevant links can be found below.

The marshal/pusher roster for April:

TT marshal list
email Oli Wright
TT marshals guide
2019 TT results

Spring Reliability Ride review

The Spring Reliability Ride suffered significantly due to very strong winds which reached 45mph at times with most riders taking one look out of their bedroom window,  seeing trees beginning to bend and opted for a lie-in which reduced the starting numbers to only 19 spread over the three time categories.

The weather was to take its toll on the brave starters with some then not finishing within their predicted time. Roll on the Autumn version and hopefully more favourable conditions.

Cycling's Spring Classics

Three of the most famous European one day classic cycle races take place this month. So if you have Eurosport and fancy a Sunday afternoon on the sofa watching some of the best riders in the world put themselves through hell, here are the events and dates:-

7th April  Tour of Flanders

14th April  Paris - Roubaix   (The Queen of classics)

21st April  Amstel Gold Race

BSCC Road Race Sunday 26th May

As mentioned last month, entries are now open via the link below for the club's most important event of the year - our annual road race.

Behind the scenes the planning and organisation is well underway, thanks mainly to the efforts of Mike Gillett, who kindly agreed to take over running the event from Mike Hicks. What is really going to help Mike though, is the support of club members on the day to help marshal the course and carry out other duties. 

This is a great club event, so please put the date in your diary - Sunday 26th May. 

Last year 9 club riders entered the event, which was a great improvement on previous years. Mark Boyles has been putting a lot of effort into setting up and running the race squad, so hopefully we can get an even bigger entry this year.

A decision was made by the committee to award £100 to the highest placed U23 BSCC first claim member in both the male and female races

Enter road race

More Pilates for Cycling?

Following the success of the two Pilates for Cycling sessions last month there seems genuine interest in continuing this on a regular basis - perhaps fortnightly or monthly. However, we really need 10-12 people to attend each session to make it worthwhile and like all these things, someone to take on the organisation. Mark Boules set the first two up, but as he now has duties with the Race Secretary role which ramps up with the start of the racing season it's over to the membership for someone to come forward.

If you're interested in running this well-received event  please get in touch with Mark via Facebook.

Women's news

February's newsletter mentioned that women's club representative Ila Pearson was planning to organise the start of some women-only rides in April.

So, the club is pleased to announce this will now start on Monday 8th April at 6.30pm with a women's only chain-gang from Ludlow Drive.

This is an alternative to the regular club chain-gangs with a steadier, paced ride aimed at getting riders used to riding and working together, focusing on technique. Numbers and average speed will vary as riders progress depending on who’s out - some weeks will be faster than others - but no-one will be left behind. The sessions will be lead by Star's own Lydia Watts. Lydia brings a wealth of racing experience which she is more than happy to pass along.

Following on from this, every woman is welcome on our new Star women-only rides. The first of which will start on Sunday 14th April at 9am from Broadribb's The 80km routes will take in beautiful countryside and quiet roads stopping after to enjoy coffee and cake. Your Star Champions will post routes a couple of days before each ride on Facebook.

Race Squad news

We've had a few changes recently with new club positions, all of which relate to the race squad. After several years of great service, Mike Hicks, following another successful Hardriders TT, has now stepped down as Race Secretary. Mark Boyles continues his good work on the racing side, and is now the club's new Race Secretary. Meanwhile, Mike Gillett has kindly agreed to take over the running of our annual road race, freeing Mark up so he can spend more time on the race squad. He will also be assisted by Jonathan Ward who will now run and coordinate the Monday Chain Gangs.

Race Bootcamp training sessions will return nearer our road race.

From the 18th April racing kicks off at the MK bowl on a Thursday evening and there are various categories. Book in online, but generally you can just turn up and race.

There are several TT and road races coming up towards the end of this month and it would be great to see BSCC out in force at these events.

27th April Oxfordshire Road Race League - Men's Cat 3/4 and Women's 2/3/4 around the Abingdon airfield circuit.

27th April Redditch Road and Path CC - 10 mile TT on the Alcester course from a few weeks previous.

28th April Westerly CC - 10 mile TT down near Marlow.

Further details can be found via the Racing Calendar link in the following section.

Keep an eye on Facebook for all race squad news and further session dates.

The 2019 Racing Calendar

Don't forget this section now lists the dates of time trials, crits and road races throughout our region for the months ahead. This gives members more information on each event, with a further link on how and where to enter.

Follow the links below to see what we've got planned so far, plus all the CTT Open events.

Racing calendar
CTT Open TTs

Rising Stars - youth section news

With Easter holidays and volunteer availability there will only be one session this month on 6th April.

We are at the moment looking at alternative venues to hold future sessions and hopefully events, which we think will be more interesting for both children and parents. As soon as we have anything to report we'll post it on the Rising Stars Facebook group page.

email Lee Heron

Club kit - Important information

If you're on Facebook you may have seen a recent post from Dave Speck and subsequent comments from members regarding a new clothing order. An email from Membership Secretary, Rich Collier, has also just been sent out to all members on the subject.

If you require new clothing for the summer ahead now is the time to act, so please help Dave by submitting all orders by the deadline ? April with an early June delivery.

As you may know, the club is looking at an alternative supplier, but this is unlikely to be resolved and available until the end of the year.

If anyone is not sure of the procedure for ordering new kit, then please contact Dave Speck via the link below.

New members qualify for a £20 refund from the club when you make your first purchase of kit.

Contact Dave Speck
How to order club kit

The 5 Weekend Club Rides

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

Club rides calendar

Banbury Star CC monthly social evenings

Regale your clubmates with tales of your cycling prowess on Thursday 4th April from 7.30pm, at our usual friendly venue, The White Horse in Banbury.

As usual, family and friends are welcome and food will be available.

Upcoming events

Social night - White Horse 7.30pm Thursday 4th April

Rising Stars next session 6th April - 9.30am 

Race Bootcamp Training sessions - keep an eye on Facebook 

2Up TT Wednesday 3rd April, 6.30pm K4/20 course. TTs on 10th and 17th also 6.30pm, then 7pm from 24th.

Chain-Gang sessions restart Monday 8th April, - watch Facebook for any updates.

First women's only 80km Sunday ride 14th April 9am from Broadribb's

For more details and other events please look at the calendars on the club’s website or Facebook group.

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