Results: Club 10 mile TT, P128 – 4 June 2015

Pos Name Club Time
1 Joseph Andrews Eden Veranda 21.57
2 Andrew Lockwood SURC 22.05
3 Chris Goodwin/Paul Edmonds STC (Tandem) 22.33
4 Dan Edwards Sotonia CC 23.14
5 Jon Hall Sotonia CC 23.16
6 Phil Connell Sotonia CC 23.26
7 James Peckham Sotonia CC 23.28
8 Phil Wilks Sotonia CC 23.29
9 Neils Langhout Sotonia CC 23.43
10 Nick Austin Sotonia CC 23.43
11 John Hyndmann Sotonia CC 23.44
12 Nick Buck NFCC 23.5
13 Stuart Martingale Sotonia CC 23.52
14 Rob Tomlinson Sotonia CC 24.01
15 James Dick Tri Team Wessex 24.2
16 Mark Dancey Hardley 24.22
17 Pat Lafford CCC 24.32
18 Adrian Kenkins GA Cycles 24.35
19 Jon Legg Sotonia CC 24.49
20 Darren Sell Sotonia CC 24.57
21 Dave Baxter Sotonia CC 25.04
22 Jon Wren Sotonia CC 25.15
23 Ian Sherin 3C 25.37
24 Graham Vale Sotonia CC 26.05
25 Martin Balk 3C 26.05
26 Claire Newman Crabwood CC 26.14
27 Ellie Penketh David Lloyd Tri 26.53
28 Steve Cripps Come & Try 27.43
29 Adam Court GA Cycles 27.52
30 Tom Bates Come & Try 28.09
31 Chris Summers Sotonia CC 28.14
32 Sandy Bell Sotonia CC 28.41
33 Norman Harvey Sotonia CC 28.49
34 Donna Lovelock STC 28.51
35 Chas Mills NFCC 29.26
36 Pete Baker Sotonia CC 32.16
37 Mary Corbett Sotonia CC 33.44
Officials, Timekeepers, Marshals:

Ian Stewart, Dave Crocker, John Dudley, Colin Witt, Graham Vale, Bob Young, Andy Bishop, Janet Burnage, Phil Godfrey, Ted Knowlton, Wendy Knowlton and Martin Napier.

I would like to thank all who rode for their support, & to the eleven members who so ably assisted in running the event.  Also to Phil Connell who collected some signs after riding the event, in preparation for the next event.

Martin Napier

by jez

Sotonia win at Winchester Park and Ride criterium

Sotonia was the best represented club in the 4th Cat race at the Winchester Park and Ride on Sunday 31st May with Paul Ransom, Jonathan Wren, Chris Moody and Ed Slot eager to get stuck in despite the slightly damp conditions.

By the end of the first lap Chris had already managed to open up a sizeable lead on the bunch and was setting a high pace for the others to try and match. This caused the rest of the field to split up, with a few riders spat out the back and Jonathan leading a chasing group who were lapping about 5 seconds behind the main bunch.

Slowly Chris was reeled in and things settled down a bit. It was great to see Paul, Chris and Ed on the front for a few laps dictating the pace and working well as a trio. Paul was looking strong but managed to find a metal staple on the course and punctured so had to retire.

About 20 minutes into the 40 minute race Ed launched what would turn out to be the winning attack and went off the front of the bunch. Chris did an excellent bit of soft pedalling to help him get away, and by the time the others caught on and started to chase, Ed had opened up a huge 20 second gap. Despite a few hints of cramp Ed dominated the rest of the race and increased his lead to over 30 seconds (half a lap) by the end of the race to take a very well deserved first place.

Sotonia had three riders in the slightly longer 3rd Cat race which was also rapid from the start. About seven riders broke away early with James Peckham, Ben Scott-Munden and Phil Wilks in the chasing group. James and Ben put in some very strong turns on the front, but it became apparent that the breakaway was not going to be caught.

Phil was nursing a knee injury and got dropped from the group after about 40 minutes and decided to retire. Soon after, two riders overcooked the bottom corner sending themselves into the bushes, fragmenting the chasing group. James finished a very fine 10th place, picking up his first points as a 3rd cat rider, and Ben finished a couple of places behind.

Many thanks to the organising club VC Venta for an excellent day’s racing. Photos by Phil Wilks are all of the 4th cat race.

[gdl_gallery title="venta-winchester-crit-31-5-15" width="186" height="130" ]

 

by jez

Results: ME Awareness 10 mile TT - 14.5.15

Position Name Club Time
1 Jonathan Hall Sotonia CC 24.25
2 James Peckham Sotonia CC 24.27
3 Jahan Hunter Sotonia CC 24.29
4 Phil Connell Sotonia CC 24.41
5 Adrian Jenkins GA Cycles 24.55
6 Colin Yeates Sotonia CC 25.10
7 Rob Tomlinson Sotonia CC 26.15
8 Ted Knowlton Sotonia CC 27.49
9 Ian Wall Sotonia CC 28.24
10 Anya Lancaster New Forest CC 29.29
11 Simon Hall Andover Wheelers 30.09
12 Laura Bailey Hargroves CC 30.14
13 Martin Ward Sotonia CC 30.35
14 Sarah Hickman C&T 32.44
15 Mary Corbett Sotonia CC 36.35

 

Marshalls and timekeepers

Mark Compton
Martin Napier
Dave Crocker
Dave Davenport
Julian Wherrett
Peter Baker
Stuart Martingale
Wendy Knowlton
Ian Stewart
Gawain Young
Norman Harvey

by jez

Ben Scott-Munden in the points again at Thruxton Circuit

Ben Scott-Munden continued his strong start to the year with a fine 9th place in the 3rd cat race on tuesday evening for the Behind The Bikeshed Summer Series at Thruxton race circuit. Following on from a brilliant 3rd place at the Castle Coombe Spring Classic in April in a field of almost 200 riders.

It was very windy evening at Thruxton. So windy, the races were almost cancelled. The 3/4 race was splitting up from the start in the tough conditions and by the end, there were several groups of riders. Ben took 9th in the bunch sprint after a break of two stayed away to the finish.

In the E1/2 race, Will Weynberg finished 16th in the bunch after another good showing and valuable racing experience at a higher level.

by jez

Bumper crowd for May Family Fun Ride

The May bank Holiday saved its best weather for monday and just as well because it attracted a whopping 19 kids and their families to this month's Family Fun Ride - welcome to all our newcomers from Nomansland and other areas. We opted for one big group to tackle the shorter six mile loop of forest trails around Stockley, followed by a skills coaching session with Phil and me and with a little help from Haribo, the kids all did really, really well. Thanks to everyone who came and shared such a fun day with us.

See you all next month!

[gdl_gallery title="may-family-fun-ride-2015" width="186" height="130" ]

 

by jez

Sandie Radford Road Race goes wild

Strong winds and sunshine for the 2015 edition of Glenn Longland’s Sandie Radford Memorial Road Race yesterday saw four Sotonia riders line up in the field of 60+ riders including local boy Phil Wilks, Rich Stephens, Tim Cooke and Richard Burch.

It was a sporting course based around Nomansland of 35 miles, which may sound short but featured barely any flat and four laps, the last two going up the notoriously steep Pipers Waite climb to the finish.

The race itself had en eventful start with a group of deer leaping across the road taking out Ed Rowe (wearing number 13) in the process. This part of the forest seems to have more than its fair share of road going wildlife (it was cows last year). Luckily there were no real injuries to riders or deer but it did split the bunch and Tim was left to ride alone having checked all were ok.

There was one break of note on lap two of a couple of riders but they soon tired in the strong wind. Phil and Rich Stephens looked comfortable in the main bunch and on the final ascent to the finish, both looked to have secured impressive top 20 positions (13th for Phil). In Rich's case, a blowout on the climb forced him to ride the last steep section on a flat tyre! Brook Elgie, riding for Rock'n'Road was top club member, finishing a fine 7th.

Ride of the day goes to sixteen year old Charlie Cooper, an accomplished junior cyclocross rider who came second for Eden Veranda in his first ever road race.

[gdl_gallery title="sandie-radford-rr-18-4-2015" width="290" height="240" galid="2" ]

[vimeo height="height" width="WIDTH"]https://vimeo.com/125349595[/vimeo]

 

[vimeo height="height" width="WIDTH"]https://vimeo.com/125385716[/vimeo]

 

by jez

Sotonia Family Fun Ride returns to the Forest

familyfunride_12.4.15_group_crop

The popular Sotonia family fun ride returned this weekend for 2015. Held on New Forest trails, nine keen youngsters and their parents joined us on a sunny day for a choice of 5 of 12 mile rides in beautiful Denny Wood near Brockenhurst. The ride was followed by an enthusiastically received skills session held by one of our new youth coaches - Phil Connell. It was also great to see club stalwart, Stuart Martingale back on his bike after his injury last year.

The kids showed some real bike handling skills for our slow bike races and balance practice, especially young Tom - our "Cyclist of the Day", aged just four years old!

Next family ride will be mid May. We're also planning regular coaching sessions in Southampton over the Summer - keep an eye on the website for details.

Please drop us an email if you want to learn more about our youth coaching opportunities!

 

[gdl_gallery title="spring-family-fun-ride-12-4-15" width="186" height="130" ]

 

 

by jez

Behind the Bike Shed Spring Classic, 12.4.15 - Report

tom budden thruxton_12.4.15_crop

It was the first race at Thruxton of the 2015 last sunday and held in super windy conditions (even for Thruxton). The 4th cat race had a brilliant turnout of seven Sotonia riders entered in a big field of 100 riders. Rob Tomlinson put the hurt on early and punished everyone from the start, which resulted in a quite few riders going out the back.

Unsurprisingly, nobody wanted to do much work down the back straight into the headwind and the main bunch stayed together for the duration with Tom Budden taking some big turns on the front in his first road race and showing great positional awareness, never far from the sharp end of things.

Tim Cooke and Mark Edwards were unlucky to get separated behind a split on the uphill back stretch. They made a group of five that worked together to the end.

There was a crash on the last lap chicane, which Tom was in front of and Chris Moody just missed but it held up Paul Ransom's dash for the line. Tom finished 10th, with Chris Moody 16th and Paul Ransom 19th - great results in the conditions and with such a big field.

In the 3rd cat race, we had Ben Scott-Munden and Edward Wu. Ben also got caught out by the conditions, but Edward Wu managed to stay in touch till the last lap. Thanks to everyone who came to watch and support the team!

[youtube height="380" width="620"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU-jWU4eoAk[/youtube]

 

by jez

Coaching Session Report - 28 March 2014

Coaching28.3.15_4903

It was the second session of rider coaching on Sunday for new coaches Phil and Jez as they concentrated on cornering skills. We had six riders taking up the challenge, with two new faces - Richard Woods and super keen thirteen year old, Kit joining the gang. Lots of growing confidence in cornering techniques and competitive spirit - Katherine in particular looked very assured by the end of the session. Well done everyone! Session number three is in two weeks on Saturday April 11th (the University is closed for Easter). Hope to see a few more of you then!

Also coming up this month is the return of our monthly Family Fun Ride in the New Forest on Sunday April 12th

by jez

Spring Hill Climb Results, 22 March 2015

Position Name Club Category (Sotonia Points) Time
1 Andrew Lockwood Southampton Uni RC 2.10
2 Brook Elgie Sotonia CC Senior 2.14
3 Will Weynberg Sotonia CC Senior 2.15
4 Jahan Hunter Sotonia CC Senior 2.17
5 James Peckham Sotonia CC Senior 2.18
6 Dan Edwards Sotonia CC Senior 2.18
7 Jonathan Hall Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.19
8 Cameron Taylor Sheffield Uni CC 2.19
9 Josh Oldfield Southampton Uni RC 2.26
10 Harry Chamberlain Southampton Uni RC 2.30
11 Sean Holehouse Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.34
12 Dave Davenport Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.34
13 Tm Cooke Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.38
14 Jelmer Cnossen Sotonia CC Senior 2.39
15 Gawain Young Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.40
16 Richard Burch Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.41
17 Ed Rowe Sotonia CC Junior 2.50
18 Eli Chen Southampton Uni RC 2.57
19 Nick Malbon Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 2.58
20 Ben Watkinson Southampton Uni RC 3.01
21 Jon Legg Sotonia CC Senior 3.01
22 Graham Vail Sotonia CC Veteran 40-59 3.03
23 Paul Ransom Sotonia CC Junior 3.14

Sotonia Time Trials are organised by Club members – this event could not have taken place without:
Ted Knowlton (Organiser)
Dave Crocker (Timekeeper)
Martin Napier (Timekeeper)
Ian Stewart (Timekeeper)
Wendy Knowlton
Rob Tomlinson
[gdl_gallery title="sotonia-hill-climb-22-3-2015" width="186" height="130" ]

Event video: https://youtu.be/vnAf6lR6_hU

by jez