Banbury Star Cyclists' Club

October 2019 newsletter

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

Summer may be a receding memory but that doesn't mean the end of cycling with winter spent hibernating, to the contrary we continue to run a series of exciting events for you all to come and take part in. Autumn cycling can be very enjoyable and with the Cotswolds on our doorstep we've got one of the best backdrops this country can offer. And it's to the Cotswolds we head for the Autumn Reliability Ride next weekend, please do come along and enjoy a social ride, remember, it's not a race!

Congratulations go to Tobi Ng and Luke Sherlock, Tobi for taking a well-deserved first place in the recent Cat 3/4 Warwick Town Races which have been re-launched after a long break. In doing so he secured promotion to Cat 2 in his first year of racing and Luke Sherlock for setting a new club record in the hill climb event.

Usually October sees time trial bikes being tucked away for six months, not to see the light of day until the next season. However this year we're going to do something different which is to run a series of time trials on Saturday afternoons - details below.

Please do come along to the AGM - it's your chance to not only hear from the committee on what we've done this year but also to collectively set out our direction for 2020 which will be an important year for cycling.

Finally, my thanks go to Rob Christopher for leading many gentle cafe rides over the last few years. Rob is moving away from the area after contributing so much by introducing new members to our club and the joys of group riding. He's been a great Star ambassador, thank you Rob!

Paul 

2019 Club AGM - Tuesday 22nd October

The club's Annual General Meeting will take place on Tuesday 22nd October at 7:30pm at Banbury Chestnuts Bowls Club, The Shades, West Bar Street, Banbury,  OX16 9RS. Please arrive by 7:15pm to ensure a prompt start. There is parking for approx. 10 cars, however we are also able to use the Aplins Car Park on Westbeech Court.

This is a new, more centrally, located venue and we have the use of the bowls club bar. As the club has now moved to only two general meetings per year, so it becomes more important of a good attendance so that we can all debate how our club moves forward. 

If you have any items for the agenda please send them to Rich Collier, the Club Secretary, before Sunday 13th October, via the link below. The agenda will then be sent out around Tuesday 15th October.

Map of Bowls Club location
email Club Secretary

Annual Dinner and Prize Giving

The club's annual dinner and prizegiving event will take place on Friday 29th November at the Hook Norton Brewery - yes, we prove the rumours are wrong and the club CAN organise the proverbial!

The dinner is open to all members and partners and is a way of celebrating another year of cycling as we hand out gongs for those who've excelled out on the road representing the club.

Last year we were entertained by the excellent Steve Abraham who regaled us with his tales of the trials and tribulations he suffered when attempting to ride 76,000 miles in a year. This year we go one better with our special guest.

It's not every club who can draw on the services of someone whose year includes winning a National Champion jersey, who's competed in the U23 version of a Grand Tour, been signed by a professional team whose riders include Richie Porte and then taken part in a UCI World Championship race. We are proud to announce that Charlie Quarterman as the 2019 speaker.

Tickets will go on sale during October and a mail will be sent out to all members with the details on how to secure a place at an event that will sell-out quickly. The club is also looking at providing transport from Banbury out to Hook Norton.

Autumn Reliability Ride - 6 October

The shortening days and cooler nights not only signify the end of summer but also the approaching BSCC Autumn Reliability Ride which will be on Sunday 6 October.

As always the ride will have 3 start times and use Woodgreen Leisure Centre as the ride's HQ.

It's only £2 to enter and the proceeds will go to charity.

Reliability Ride information

2019 Membership

A warm welcome to our newest members who joined during September: Simon Medicott, Rhys James, Davy MacLachlan, Ross Donovan, Scott Robertson, Peter Herd and Sam Herd - by joining now you're club members right up to the end of 2020!

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

Having now moved entirely to online banking 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

Leiden Plaque - Report

We just had time last month to confirm that Banbury Star had won back the Leiden Plaque – here are some more details. The club sent a team of five men - Dave Pittman, Marcus Edmunds, Rob Paul, Martin Kelly and Mike Kirby and five women - Katherine Daniels, Mery Wolke, Katie Pamphlett, Helen French and Jane Holton to Oxford for this annual 25 mile club time trial competition, to try and reclaim the plaque from current holders Bicester Millennium.

Organised this year by Cowley Road Condors, this is a handicap event held on the H25/17 course running up and back along the A420. This annual competition has been running since 1951 with links to the Dutch racing team Leiden Swift, and has been won by Banbury Star several times over the years. Dry and sunny conditions greeted the riders on this rolling course, but they were met with a strong cross headwind on the way out, before making the turn at the 13 mile mark to return with the assistance of a cross tailwind for the remaining 12 miles.

There were some very fast times across the field, with some good handicap times from the club, with the combined team times enough for Banbury Star to take first place in the standings overall and thus take back the trophy the club last won in 2017. A great effort, which was unfortunately overshadowed by Mery Wolke’s accident, from which she is now making a good recovery.

The other five teams competing were Bicester Millennium CC, Mickey Cranks CC, Oxonian CC, Didcot Phoenix CC and organising club Cowley Road Condors who ran a great event.

Derby Velodrome visit

As you may have seen on Facebook, Dave Pittman and Keith Barcock are trying to arrange another club visit to Derby Velodrome. Already there seems enough interest that this can be arranged - sometime in November, or possibly early December.

However, to confirm a club booking we need to pay a substantial non-returnable deposit up front. Last year's visit unfortunately cost the club money, as there were a number of last minute cancellations or no-shows. So please help the organisers and ensure that this doesn't happen again.

Keep your eyes on Facebook for more news. Velodrome details can be found via the link below.

Derby Velodrome details

Clocks change.....

The clocks change on Sunday October 27th which means an extra hour in bed - enjoy the lie-in!

This also means the bikes we use on club rides from then onwards have to be fitted with mudguards, the reason for this is to prevent the person following behind you from being sprayed with water, mud or worse and also to not upset our coffee stops by members sitting on furniture with wet/muddy clothing.

Now there are "mudguards" and then there are mudguards and it's essential you purchase and fit the right ones:

- "ass-saver" types are not acceptable

- clip-on seat post types are not acceptable

- mid-length types keep you dry but not the person behind and are not acceptable unless the end of the rear guard is long enough to be below a horizontal line drawn rearwards from the hub.

- full-length guards are the best solution and keep your beautiful club kit both dry and clean.

If your guards aren't long enough to stop the person behind being sprayed you'll need to fit an extension flap and the the club now has more stock of these, they are easy to fit, lightweight and give complete protection to the riders behind. They will be available at the AGM for a mere £8.

The only exception to the need for guards is if the weather forecast is good and the roads are already dry.

OVO Tour of Britain

Unlike the Women's Tour earlier in the year, when the weather was cold and wet, the sun came out for the men and attracted large crowds to Burton Dassett. A large contingent of Stars riders were on the hill to watch, some of whom appear on Mark Davis's photo above. The other photo, by Tobi Ng, shows that amazing sprint to the finish by both overall and stage winner Mathieu Van der Poel and second placed Matteo Trentin.

Full results can be found via the link below.

Tour of Britain results

Winter time trials

Following a recent poll which showed a demand for our time trials to continue during the winter months, Oli Wright has done some great work behind the scenes arranging a programme of events with the first race taking place on Saturday 19 October and then every two weeks afterwards. Oh, and keep Boxing Day free too as we've got something planned then to allow you to escape the relatives arguing over the Harveys Bristol Cream.

The format will follow a similar format to our current summer series with the K4/20 course used each time and  the first rider off at 1pm. Timekeeping and marshalling duties will be shared around the club. 

The one major change from the summer TTs will be the mandatory requirement for a strong flashing rear light to be fitted and it's recommended a front light is used too. Aside from that you can use any bike, mudguards aren't necessary and we'll only cancel if the weather precludes safe racing or marshalling.

Entry fees will be the same for the summer TTs so if you've paid the TT supplement as part of membership then there's no charge on the day, otherwise it's £3 for club members.

More details will be published on the Facebook group in the days before the first TT but for now all of the dates have been populated in the website's race calendar:

Race Calendar

2019 Time Trial Season Review

Well the club’s 2019 summer TT season is over for another year – and what a year. If there’s one word that sums it all up, then it’s the word “record”. Another year of record entries for our weekly TTs, with our 15th May K4/20 TT seeing a record and maximum entry of 60 riders entered. We’re also seeing a record number of women members now entering, which is particularly encouraging.

Then there were the course club and outright records that were broken throughout the season. We think it was around 15, but we’re still checking. What we do know is that a very on-form Naomi de Pennington (pictured above) broke no less than six women’s club records on our TT courses, to which you can add four outright records.

Also, surely it’s a club record to have a National U23 champion turn up regularly at your weekly TT and smash three course records along the way. Thank you Charlie Quarterman and of course Dan Bigham for their epic tie on the K4/20 course back in May. Other records were broken by Luke Sherlock, who lowered the club record by one second on Burton Dassett hill and Danny Axford who set a new course record at our Open 10 mile TT last month.

Main club TT trophy winners this year were: Manners Cup (Handicap event) – Mery Wolke, Edmunds Cup (30 mile TT) and Russell Memorial Bowl (25 mile TT) – Simon Bull, Durran Cup (Hill Climb) - Luke Sherlock and Trinders Trophy (Downhill) - Ian Maconnachie.

All the above events of course could not take place without the help of volunteers and one in particular, our regular timekeeper Keri Williams. It would be very difficult to hold these weekly summer events without Keri’s help. He not only posts the event details every week on Facebook, but puts all the signs out, collates and seeds the entries, collects the fees, does all the timing and then publishes the full results the same evening. Thank you again Keri.

The full results of all the club's 2019 TTs can be found via the link below.

2019 TT results

Race Squad news

This year has again seen a growth in the number of members taking part and entering cycle competition - ticking all the boxes of Mark Boyles's race squad initiative. At last month's Coventry RC Open 10 mile TT we had the largest visiting club entry of 16 riders, making up around 14% of the total entry. More members are now also entering road races, with the Abingdon and MK Bowl Crit series being favourites. However, the icing on the cake this year was surely Tobi Ng's Cat 3/4 race win at the Warwick Town Races, earning him his Cat 2 licence.

Competition opportunities for TTs and road races this year are not over yet though, as coming up we have the following:

The Richard Kell Memorial Crit Series at Abingdon closed road circuit - an excellent opportunity to learn the art of racing and gain some BC points. This starts on 5th October, with further rounds on 12th, 19th and 26th. 

Thruxton Open TT (11.8 miles) on Sunday 20th October- 5 laps of the closed road race circuit. Entries close on 8th October.

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

Last Silverstone Cycling on 9th October

The last opportunity for families to cycle around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit this year takes place on Wednesday 9th October.

The whole track was recently resurfaced, so why not enjoy the last chance to cycle around the wide, super smooth and traffic free 5.89km Grand Prix circuit. Booking is required via the link below. It's £10 per person with children free.

Silverstone info page

Club kit - Important order update

Oli Wright will shortly be putting details on the Facebook group of the next order for club-branded hoodies, t-shirts and jackets.

Dave Speck posted details of a new Endura kit order for winter clothing on Facebook on 16th September with a closing date on 15th October. Following this up, all members should have received direct from Endura, Winter 2019 order login details around the same date. There is also an open order for Skin suits at £116.40 which closes tomorrow 2nd October.

Don't forget, they require 5 orders for any one garment, regardless of size, or men's or women's fit, before an order can be opened placed.

In the meantime, below is a list of club jerseys which Dave currently holds in stock:

Ladies Short sleeve jersey - Small
Men’s Short sleeve jersey - Large
Men’s short Sleeve jerseys - Medium

Contact Dave Speck
How to order club kit

Insurance and Security

Insurance. Following an accident to a member at the Leiden Plague TT last month, plus Andy Perry’s video clips of some scary close passes by motorists in a hurry, it again illustrates the dangers we cyclists face on our roads. As mentioned before, some clubs now make Third Party Liability Insurance a condition of membership, or at least for members on club rides. This is something the club perhaps needs to debate at the forthcoming AGM, but in the meantime we strongly recommend insurance and all the support you’ll get if involved in an accident, whoever is at fault. The best two ways of getting the right cover are via membership of either British Cycling or Cycling UK – their policies are wide ranging and very similar – plus both offer discounts from High Street retailers. Links to their membership pages are given below.

Security. A member recently drew our attention to the security of bikes left outside our weekend club ride coffee stops. The main concern being, we advertise the routes of our rides via the club website and on Facebook, so a planned theft of an expensive bike is always a possibility. It’s a fair point, but at the end of the day the club believes every member must be responsible for their own actions in how they secure, park or observe their bikes. With winter on its way, indoor coffee stops will become the norm, so security should become even more important.

British Cycling membership
Cycling UK membership

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

Our next club social night is on Thursday 3rd October from 7.30pm, at our usual friendly venue, The White Horse in Banbury, sponsors of our men's road race.

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

Upcoming events in October/November

Social night - White Horse 7.30pm Thursday 3rd October

Autumn Reliability Ride - Sunday 6 October from 9.00am

Winter Club TTs - first one Saturday 19th October at 1pm. 

Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 22nd October at 7.30pm.

Annual Dinner and Prize Giving - Hook Norton Brewery Friday 29th November

Chain-Gang sessions for men and women every Monday from 6.30pm - see Facebook for any updates.

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

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