September 2017 newsletter
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September is now with us and that means unfortunately our popular weekly Wednesday evening time trials are coming to an end with just one left, the "Come and Try" 5 mile event on 6th September. However, the weather always seems to improve a bit when the kids go back to school, so let's hope that's the case again and we can all enjoy some great autumn cycling.
Again we have a full newsletter packed with news, information, results, events and show details.
Remember, this is your newsletter, so please send any comments, ideas or proposals regarding its content to the Press Officer.
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All previous newsletters are now available to view on the club website and can be viewed by clicking on this link:
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My tomatoes may have fallen foul to August's sometimes inclement weather but that hasn't stopped a bumper crop of cycling activities this month.
I wanted as many members to come on one of two special rides to help celebrate my 50th birthday, almost 40 came along choosing either a 50 km or 50 miles ride with both routes meeting up at the Star's adopted pub; the Chandlers Arms in Epwell. My thanks go to all of you who came along and especially John Tustian and Bill Ord for giving up their usual intermediate Sunday ride and also for creating the routes and sorting the details with Assumpta at her pub.
The club's BBQ enjyed typical BBQ weather with a most impressive downpour sat right over the town centre for most of the evening but this didn't dampen the enthusiasm of those members who were on the beer and burger training regime as part of their preparation for the annual downhill freewheel competition the following day. More on that is below, including the shock dethroning of the multiple champion Tom Giddings.
The team of fourteen who entered the Leyden Plaque successfully defended our 2016 victory, demonstrating once more the strength and depth of capability we enjoy in the club. Well done!
Doing simple maintenance tasks such as changing an inner tube after a puncture is something many of us take for granted but there's always room to learn new skills which is why Bill has started a series of practical demonstrations to help those who are maybe new to cycling or just need a bit of help. Please see the club's Facebook group for more details.
September is now here and that can offer some stunning cycling with the trees turning colour. Enjoy your rides!
Paul
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PS we are still in need of a volunteer to fill the role of Treasurer which is vacant. Please contact me if you are interested in helping the club.
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Many of you will have seen the recent Facebook post by Mark Boyles regarding his hopes and plans for the future racing element of club activities. As not every member uses Facebook we want to make sure that everyone is aware of Mark's message, which is as follows:
"Striking whilst the iron is still a bit warm I want to start thinking about BSCC and racing for next year. This includes open TT races and Road/crit races.
For various reasons we've lost the racing element of BSCC and I feel it is time to put the foundations in place for a race squad in 2018, to inspire hopefully the next young generation of BSCC racers.
I want to combine both TT and Road racers into one squad. At the end of the day it's all about putting BSCC boots on the ground and shirts in the road. All abilities are welcome, no waistline, age, speed and height will be discounted.
We now have a clean sheet and an open book on how we progress this but I'd like to gauge people's interest".
A number of members have already confirmed their interest to Mark either directly or via Facebook. If you're not on Facebook then you can still confirm your interest by emailing Mark via the link below
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The above is a great example of how you can use Members corner to have your say, or perhaps make a request, on any cycle or club related subject. Names can be withheld if that's your preference. The link below is your contact.
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The club continues to grow rapidly with new members joining frequently, a warm welcome to the following who've joined in August:
Simon West, Josh Blackburn, another (!) Marc Holman and Matthew Sleath. Tony de Maillet and Barry Duplock both return to the club too.
We are now at a record membership: 157!
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The hottest August Bank Holiday recorded saw fourteen Banbury Star members taking part in the annual Leyden Plaque, an inter-club competition which is a 25 mile handicap time trial first started in 1951. Didcot Phoenix hosted the 2017 event which also drew teams from Bicester Millennium, Oxonian and Cowley Road Condors racing on the A420 at Cumnor near Oxford. The handicap times of the fastest four riders from each club were added together and after a re-count Banbury Star emerged victorious to successfully defend our 2016 title.
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Ian Maconnachie winner of the Trinders Trophy
Will anyone be able to beat the reigning downhill champion, Tom Giddings this year? That was the question we asked in last month's newsletter. Step forward Club Secretary Ian Maconnachie who raced down Hempton hill like a bullet and beat Tom by around 8 metres.
Fourteen riders turned up for this fun event, held on a quiet downhill section of road in Hempton. The trick with this event is trying to get enough speed on the first section to be able to crest the mid, slightly uphill, section, something which around half the field didn't quite manage.
So, Ian wins the coveted Trinders Trophy from Tom, with Paul Dean in third, who just beat Dave Pittman by a small margin.
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Chris Bull winner of the Durran Cup
An excellent 27 rider entry took part in the club's annual hill climb, up the relatively short, but painful 700 metre Burton Dassett hill. Former member and now a pro-cyclist Will Fox, whose 2009 record stood until Peter Dumbreck finally broke it last year, was determined to get it back in Peter's absence. This he did, with an amazing 59 second outright record climb. However, the first club member and therefore the winner of the coveted Durran Cup was Chris Bull with a time of 1 minute 12 seconds. Peter still holds the club record of 1 minute 4 seconds.
The above two photos clearly illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of rider weight.
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2017 OVO Energy Tour of Britain
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We were fortunate earlier in the year with the women's tour passing along some of our favourite roads - the men however, don't come quite as close. Their tour runs for 8 days, between 3rd and 10th September, with Stage 7, Hemel Hempstead to Cheltenham being the closest to the Banbury area on the Saturday. It passes through Stow on the Wold and then Moreton in Marsh, with a Cat 3 climb at Bourton on the Hill shortly after. The link below will help.
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Last month was particularly busy on the club time trialling scene with an array of differing events, plus success for members competing at other club events. We've had both solo and 2Up TTs, a downhill freewheel event and a hillclimb, plus our successful team entry in the Leyden Plaque. All these events have seen record entries, with many new members trying time trialling for the first time. It's also good to see members from other clubs coming along to join us, as well as a few local pros who continue to support the club.
All this of course wouldn't happen without our time keeper extraordinaire, Keri Williams, to whom we offer our sincere thanks. His dedication is not just about recording times, but taking entry fees, collating and seeding the entry, putting out the signs and then publishing the results. Thank you so much Keri.
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Club members at the Silverstone 9Up TT event in June
As mentioned last month you may have picked up on Facebook, or in the Banbury Guardian, a number of members regularly compete at other TTs throughout the season, enjoying some good results. Suzy Patience took a dominant win at North Hampshire CC's TT and Simon Kisley, Lee Heron, Mark Boyles, Keith Barcock, Oli Wright and Geoff Hewitt in particular have been setting good times on the local and national TT circuit.
As usual full results of the season to date can be found by clicking on the link below. Race reports on all the club's TT events are also available on the "News" page of the club website.
It doesn’t matter what level of cycling you aspire to, or what road bike you have, please come along and have a go.
Your last chance this season is now on Wednesday 6th September at 6pm. This is the popular "Come and Try" 5 mile time trial from Gaydon to Kineton and back.
For more information, including downloadable course maps, results and the all-important marshal roster, please follow the link below on the club’s website:
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Whilst not a Star member, Jessica Rhodes-Jones has competed in several of our Wednesday night TTs this season. Obviously this was great training, as on 24th August Jessica won the 19-34 category of the UCI Gran Fondo World TT Championship in Albi, France. Well done Jessica.
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The Swan Hotel, Banbury Road, is right in the centre of Kineton and a relatively new addition to our list of coffee stops on our regular weekend club rides. However, it hasn't taken long, due to the warm welcome and generous offerings we receive from the friendly team at The Swan, that it's already become a firm favourite.
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Cycling UK recently put an interesting article on their website relating to the above subject and it's worth a read.
As the article explains there are a lot of "should" and "should not" rules in the Highway Code
This is the ink for those interested.
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The above show, billed as the biggest show of the year, takes place at the NEC Birmingham at the end of the month. There will be over 300 exhibitors, with 500+ brands represented.
A special addition to this year's show is the Pirelli Supercrit Race, with men’s and women’s elite races taking place on the afternoon of Saturday 23 September.
Tickets can be purchased in advance using this link.
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Journalist, television presenter and best-selling author Ned Boulting is at Banbury's The Mill Arts Centre with his acclaimed sell out ride through the world of Bikeology, featuring brand new tales from life in the cycling lane, as well as the inside scoop from his time at the 2017 Tour de France. Ned has quickly become the voice of cycling on ITV4 and is the author of the amusing book "How I won the Yellow Jumper". As we write, tickets are still available - see link below
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Simon Bull at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet as part of his ride along the Pyrenees, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
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It's now time to think about winter kit with the opening of another order window. All club members will receive an email from Endura in the next few days detailing what is available. If you don't receive the mail please contact Dave Speck.
New members qualify for a £20 refund from the club when you make your first purchase of kit.
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Bill's Bargain Basement - a few items left
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Bill Ord still has a few remaining items of old club kit in stock available at knockdown prices. Amongst the items are are couple of medium tops and a small women/child skin suit. Please have a look at the following link to see what's left:
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Banbury Star Retro Ride 10th September
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All members were sent an email flyer promoting this new club event recently, so hopefully it will encourage those with an old bike in the garage to give it a quick service and enter the event for a bit of fun.
As mentioned before, Brian Reid of Golden Age Cycles, our event sponsor, will be offering a discounted bike service before the day.
The ride will be an appropriate and relatively easy 30 miles, with a halfway coffee and cake stop at the Chandlers Arms, Epwell.
There will be a £5 entry fee on the day with the proceeds being given to the charity, Recycle, Bikes for Africa.
Details have been sent to over 20 local clubs, so it would greatly help us with gauging numbers by confirming your entry via this link.
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Ride Secretary John Tustain, with the creative help of Mark Boyles, has put together the above A5 leaflet to promote the club's weekend rides. Copies are on display in Broadribb's and John is actively displaying them at other locations. We have had plenty printed so please ask John or Paul if you'd like some to put up at work/school/wherever.
Please look at the club's website and Facebook group for details of organised rides, all of which have downloadable Garmin maps
10.00am Saturday: easy café ride.
9.00am Sunday: fast ride
10.00am Sunday: intermediate café ride.
All rides now start at Broadribbs Cycles.
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The month of August saw another two great blogs posted up on the club website. The first from Mike Gillett on his first year of cycling and the second, Joby Mullens account of his recent Land's End to John O'Groats ride. We've a couple more in the pipeline, including one from Bill Ord, which will be published shortly. Thanks to everyone for their contributions.
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As usual, please keep the stories, topics, events, rides, opinions and general comments coming. A good photo is always welcome as well.
blogger@banburystar.co.uk is waiting to hear from you
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Banbury Star CC social evenings
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The next social night will be on Thursday 7th September at the White Horse pub in Banbury, starting at 7.30pm to which all members are invited.
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Annual dinner and prize giving
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A date for your diaries: the club's annual dinner and prize giving will be held on Friday 15th December. More details will be available next month but please keep the date free.
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In last month's newsletter we completely missed the fact that La Vuelta (Tour of Spain), the last of the three European Ground tours, started on 19th August in Nimes. The fans amongst you will of course be aware of this, but for those with a more casual interest, there's still plenty of action to watch with the final Stage 21 finishing on 10th September.
Eurosport will again be covering the whole event alive and together with ITV4 will be showing an evening highlights package.
To add to all this, the Tour of Britain (3-8 Sept.) will continue to be broadcast LIVE on ITV4, with 3-hours of LIVE coverage each day, plus a one-hour highlights programme every evening with the best of the day’s action and reaction. Eurosport will also show live coverage. All the highlights will also be available on catch-up via the ITV Player for 30-days after broadcast.
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Social Nights 7.30pm:
- Thursday 7th September
- Thursday 5th October
Last time trial of the season, the 5 mile "Come and Try" on Wednesday 6th September at 6pm in Gaydon.
Tour of Britain Stage 7 nearby 9th September
Banbury Star Retro Ride: Sunday 10th September at 10am.
The Cycle Show, NEC Birmingham 22nd-24th September
Bikeology, The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury 27th September
Quarterly meeting: Tuesday 17th October
Annual dinner and prize giving: Friday 15th December
For more details and other events please look at the calendars on the club’s website or Facebook group.
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