Bourne Valley Reliability Ride report, 7 November 2021
A beautiful day and a fantastic turnout at RBS (Romsey Bus Station). Other clubs were well represented, including Braishfield, Nieuw Bos (new to me!), Southampton CTC, and eight of our Fareham friends (FWCC) were there to support us. The weather couldn’t have been better: dry, sunny and not too cold for the time of year.
Although the times were (as usual) on the fast side, with over half in the “Gold” category (16 mph or better), the average speed of participants ranged between 13 and 18 mph, and most enjoyed the company of others riding at a pace similar to theirs. (Domestique-of-the-day awared shared between Paul Whitaker and Leon Kuzmicz!)
Thanks to Café Fresh for courteous catering, and serving as headquarters.
Bill.
GOLD (16+ mph)
Richard Burch
Joffrey Carlier
Gregson Corbin
Simon Greenway
Jon Legg
Nick Malbon
Alistair McNiece (Nieuw Bos)
Stuart Rann (FWCC)
Chris Rastray (guest)
Steve Reed
Bradley Robinson
Lee Shirley
Nigel Sign (FWCC)
Rich Stephens
Don Stubbington
Paul Witcombe (Braishfield)
Colin Yeates
SILVER (14–16 mph)
David Barnes (FWCC)
Nigel Hughes (FWCC)
Steve Orriss (FWCC)
Wayne Prevett
Chriss Saunders (Southampton CTC)
Bruce Tandy (FWCC)
Jane Tandy (FWCC)
BRONZE (12–14 mph)
Serena Baldwin
Leon Kuzmicz
Paul Whitaker
Round 7, Miche Wessex CX League, Romsey
Be careful what you wish for they say, well mud lovers got a bit more than they bargained for at round 7 of the Miche Wessex CX league in a return to the New Forest Care Outdoor learning centre, near Romsey.
It was time for mud, a LOT of mud. Enough of the brown stuff in fact to make it a favourite for the runners as heavy rain in the days before gave us a super heavy course that cut up in the early races as the grass soon disappeared in the soup-like ground conditions. Kudos to hosts VC Venta who battled rain and gale force winds to set up and repair storm damage that even managed to blow the timing tent away!
Special mention for our growing women's team, many of whom are new to cyclocross this year and are handling some tough and technical courses brilliantly. Of our five riders, Gemma Wilks was top senior woman finisher in 6th place. In the v40 men, Tom Budden went one better than last week, storming to second place.
By the afternoon, the v50 men’s race was greeted with driving sideways hail as Jon Hall was our top finisher in 7th, riders now forced to run the majority of the course. Finally, in the senior men’s race Chairman Phil Wilks secured his best result of the season and a series leaders jersey is heading his way!
Round 6, Miche Wessex CX League, Andover
Redenham Park, near Andover was the venue for round 6, hosted by Andover Wheelers who laid on a great spread and plenty of refreshment options for hungry riders and support crews.
The course on the country park estate, a mix of grass meadow and twisting, woodland single track with a short tarmac section and a couple of imposing bomb holes. Heavy mid-week rain failed to dampen the course save for a few squirrelly wood sections and the race pace was fast again. The bomb holes certainly played their part though in detonating the race action, claiming a few victims to the steep crater walls!
Back to back wins for Tom and Tilly in the u12 and u10s, Freddie on the u8 boys top step, joined by Samuel in 3rd. Tom and Niclas third and fourth u14 boys with Miles breaking into the top ten as a first year u16.
Tom Budden was back in action after injury in the v40 men, onto the podium in 3rd place and ex-Sotonia youth rider, Max Darnton (Nova RT) took his first win in the Junior men.
In the v50 men, Jon Hall took an early flyer but was pegged back by the eventual winner. Chairman Phil Wliks continued his fine run of top tens with 8th in the senior men. Gemma Wilks 7th Senior woman.
Well done everyone!
Photos: Pitchside Paul
Action from the Men's v50 race courtesy of Julian Gee:
Round 5, Miche Wessex CX League, Southampton
Dry conditions at a bone hard and dusty Southampton Sports Centre, witness to so many total mud baths over the years. Not this time for round 5 hosted by Sotonia, who laid on a ripping fast, flowing course full of banks and off-cambers that was high on adrenaline, low on trips to the pits.
Over 450 happy cross racers and a youth field of almost a 100 entries - possibly the largest in the country and so many glowing comments about the event!
It was great to see the course so full with happy kids in the autumn sunshine with bags of determination - Tilly and Eva ripping it up with a thrilling 1-2 in the U10 girls, Billy 3rd in the boys. Freddie and Luke both on the U8 boys podium. Niclas 7th U14 boys and Iz defending her series lead with a second place in the U14 girls. Emma and Miles our best u16s.
In the adult races, top finishers were Jon Hall 4th in the v50 men, Gemma Wilks 4th senior women. Cross newbie Ian Crocker racked up an impressive 7th in the V40 men, and James Peckham climbed to 8th in the senior men - both having started near the back of the grid.
Once again, big thanks to Jez and Tom for putting the event together, the Sotonia CX riders (all 61 of you), the helpers, marshals and supporters - you're all legends and we couldn't have done it without you.
Round 4, Miche Wessex CX League, Reading
After three dry September rounds of the Miche Wessex Cyclocross league, the Gods of Cross decided enough was enough and the heavens duly opened in early October ahead of round four with hosts, Reading CC, working hard to lay out the course early on race day. Riders faced the classic parkland parcours and twisting single track of Prospect Park. In the sunshine however, it was to be no mud bath as the ground dried in most parts with a high pace to some cracking race action.
Luke Hammond won his first race in the U8s and as his dad Roger used to ride a bit, maybe a taste of what's to come? Tom Wilks was also on the top step in the U12s with Billy, Tilly, Eve and Jaya all top 5 in the U10 races, Sophie second in U12s. In the U14s, Izzy proudly wore her series leader jersey and finished a fine second place,
In the women’s race, Gemma Wilks also got to don the leaders jersey for the first time, finishing 5th senior. Husband and Chairman, Phil also bagged a well deserved 8th in the senior men, having held 6th for most of the race.
Jon Hall said he wasn’t "feeling it" before the v50s race but his legs clearly had different ideas as he stormed to a 3rd place!
Special mention to the noisy bunch of Sotonia kids who cheered team riders racing later in the day as they struggled up "Hilly McHillFace" - it certainly put a smile on our faces!
Photos: @Phitchsidephoto
Results - Club 10 mile time trial P164 - 12 September 2021
The final club time trial of 2021 saw a big field that included an special appearance by ex-pro and celebrity, Jens Voigt who came along and rode "stoker" on a tandem trike with Mary Corbett as part of her Tandem Tart Challenge. Ever the professional, Jens was very happy to chat, mingle, take selfies with members and hand out signed photos.
Jens described their ride: “I haven’t had a better Sunday morning in a long time. We were blessed with the weather, friendly people surrounding us and I was able to put my muscles back in place. We were lucky enough to see all sorts of animals, donkeys ponies and cows.
Mary and me, we put our pride into not getting caught and we succeeded. We crushed one soul by passing him on his bike. I worked hard and did break a sweat. Mary was a fantastic pilot and I have never felt safer in my life.
I highly recommend to anyone reading this to try out the experience of riding a tandem trike.”
Thanks to Stuart Grace who kindly organised Jens to attend, our marshals, time keepers, organisers and friends who kindly came out to support the event.
Another big thank you goes to the magnificent photographer Paul Hammond whose photos can be found here
Results
| Pos | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neil Towns | VC Venta | 22.55 |
| 2 | Liam Kemp | SURC | 22.59 |
| 3 | Graham Harman | Sotonia CC | 23.49 |
| 4 | Malcom Cox | VC St Raphael | 23.57 |
| 5 | Craig Smith | Sotonia CC | 24.07 |
| 6 | Sherif Attia | SURC | 24.12 |
| 7 | Stuart Barrow | Sotonia CC | 24.13 |
| 8 | Alex Asher | Unattached | 24.23 |
| 9 | Ian Sherin | 3C Cycle Club | 24.25 |
| 10 | James Peckham | Sotonia CC | 24.27 |
| 11 | Jeremy Hubbard | Sotonia CC | 24.31 |
| 11 | Rui Simpson | SURC | 24.31 |
| 13 | John Sibley | UTAG | 24.58 |
| 14 | Alex James | Neuw Bos | 25.15 |
| 15 | Mary Corbett/Jens Voigt | Sotonia CC/Guest | 25.37 |
| 16 | Lee Shirley | Sotonia CC | 25.40 |
| 17 | Brendan Gregson | Sotonia CC | 26.18 |
| 18 | Jon Legg | Sotonia CC | 26.49 |
| 19 | Colin Yeates | Crabwood CC | 26.51 |
| 20 | Mike Stevens | Fareham Wheelers | 27.07 |
| 21 | Erica Fogg | UTAG | 27.18 |
| 22 | Richard Burch | Sotonia CC | 27.14 |
| 23 | Nigel Sign | Fareham Wheelers | 27.41 |
| 24 | Brian Coupe | Sotonia CC | 27.57 |
| 25 | Corbin Gregson | Sotonia CC | 28.43 |
| 26 | Phil Hoacham | Unattached | 29.32 |
| 27 | Rob Hutchinson | Sotonia CC | 32.03 |
| 28 | Mark Parkin | Unattached | 36.51 |
12 Hour Time Trial Championship success for Mary and Norman
Congratulations to veterans Mary Corbett and Norman Harvey on the massive achievement of riding 183 miles on their trike in the CTT National 12 Hour Championship in early August.
Mary: "I've always enjoyed the longer running and cycling events, the 12 hour being one of my favourites. So even when the old body let me down almost eight years ago, I never gave up hope of getting on the start line of a 12 hour time trial again.
Lockdown and a recent trip to see an immunologist gave me enormous insight into what my body can cope with, it taught me how to better manage my M.E. and how to keep the body battery topped up. That and the arrival of our beautiful Bonnie Bagheera at the end of March made the decision an easier one. At last, this was to be my chance.
We chose the CTT National Championship 12 hour which incorporated the VTTA National Championship 12 being held on 1 August. We just love the atmosphere of the National events.
In the build up to the race Norman and I were full of mixed emotions. With only a handful of longer rides under our belt, we would have to rely on our wealth of experience gained from riding many 12's together in the past. Not to put any pressure on ourselves, we chose a target of 130 miles, our vets standard being 128.934 miles. Anything over and above that would be a bonus.
All I can say is that come race day, those bonuses kept coming in. Each additional 10 miles lead to a feeling of ecstatic disbelief and once we had reached the finishing circuit with about 165 miles done and an hour and a quarter to go, I'm not ashamed to say I sobbed with happiness. After downing a tin of rice pudding each, along with some chocolate we pedalled an additional 18 miles where our time ran out at timekeeper number one.
Our official distance has been recorded as 183.30 miles. Not too shabby for an 88 year old super stoker and a pilot who has seen better days. We are tired, elated and still somewhat overwhelmed. I don't think it has quite sunk in yet. Of course we couldn't have done it without the support and cheery faces of our helpers, Penny Cossburn, Bob Damper, Christine Walker and Steve Walker. A massive thank you to you all."
Results – P182 road bike Interclub TT – 15 April 2021
Please find below the results from the Interclub Timetrial held on Thursday 15th April with New Forest CC on the P182 course at Nomansland. Well done everyone - it was certainly a chilly evening! Thanks to all the organisers, marshals and timekeepers.
Men
1 Ant Gritton (Sotonia CC) 23.56
2 Kouros Driscoll (Sotonia CC) 24.49
3 Phil Brown (New Forest CC) 25.12
4 Charlie Hill (New Forest CC) 25.20
5 Phil Wilks (Sotonia CC) 26.01
6 Jon Hall (Sotonia CC, Veteran 50+) 26.03
7 Bobby Buenfield (New Forest CC, Youth) 26.15
8 Andrew Gardiner (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 26.32
9 Jeremy Hubbard (Sotonia CC) 26.52
10= Stuart Barrow (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 28.15
10= James Peckham (Sotonia CC) 28.15
12 Gavin Roberson (New Forest CC) 28.18
13= Ray Claridge (New Forest CC) 28.31
13= Craig Smith (Sotonia CC) 28.31
15= Mike Anderson (New Forest CC 2nd Claim, Veteran 60+) 28.54
15= Jon Dudley (Sotonia CC, Veteran 60+) 28.54
17 Jason Harrison (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 29.04
18 Jonathan Chadwick (New Forest CC, Veteran 50+) 29.21
19 Daniel Gregory (Sotonia CC, Youth) 29.30
20= Arthur Law (Sotonia CC) 29.35
20= Phillip Connell (Sotonia CC, Veteran 50+) 29.35
22 Gawain Young (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 29.39
23 Phil Harris (New Forest CC, Veteran 50+) 29.57
24 John Phillips (Sotonia CC, Veteran 60+) 30.41
25 Hayden Kirk (Sotonia CC, Veteran 50+) 30.43
26 Richard Parker (New Forest CC, Veteran 40+) 30.45
27 Louis Kirk (Sotonia CC, Youth) 30.58
28 Nik Williams (New Forest CC) 31.03
29 Alex Vaughan (Lymington Tri Club, Veteran 50+) 31.16
30 Niclas Olley (Sotonia CC, Youth) 31.37
31 Mick Anglim (New Forest CC, Veteran 60+) 32.37
32 Justin Olley (Sotonia CC, Veteran 50+) 33.04
33 Peter Weaver (New Forest CC, Veteran 60+) 34.47
34 Miles Horner (Sotonia CC, Youth) DNF
Women
1 Gemma Wilks (Sotonia CC) 30.10
2 Suzanne Willis (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 30.46
3 Hannah Griffiths (Sotonia CC) 31.43
4 Sonia Laurie (New Forest CC, Veteran 40+) 31.50
5 Suzy Howick (Sotonia CC, Veteran 50+) 33.18
6 Danielle Thomas (Sotonia CC, Women) 34.15
7 Verity Horner (Sotonia CC, Veteran 40+) 37.28
8 Catherine Pascoe (New Forest CC, Veteran 50+) 37.54
Pics courtesy of Nigel Aiken
The return of group rides (March 2021)
We are all looking forward to being able to ride in groups again on 29th March when the lockdown regulations are due to be eased, allowing 6 people to exercise together again. The guidance below is intended to help our members organise rides and meet up in a way that facilitates social distancing. We’ve also included a list of café stops known to be open, closed or reopening on 12 April.
Group size
In line with the easing of lockdown measures, we ask that members to stick to a maximum of 6 people per group for the time being.
Organising rides
Having considered the options, we are asking members once again to organise rides in advance rather than turn up at North Baddesley hoping to join a group.
Some members will be riding with friends or arranging rides via email, but all members are welcome to join our Slack workspace, which we were using to organise group rides with a range of different average speeds and distances before the “Stay at home” lockdown. When you join you won’t see all the available channels and will need to use the Channel browser to find and join channels as follows:
Desktop
Hold the mouse over Channels on the left sidebar; a plus sign should appear to the right. Click that and choose Browse channels. In the Channel browser, hover over a channel to get a Join button which you can click to join the channel.
If you want to organise rides not already caterered for by the existing channels, or create a channel for discussion/chat etc., you can use the Create a channel option to create a new channel.
Mobile*
On the Slack home screen, look for a Channels heading with some channels listed below. Tap on Add a Channel (below the list) to open the Channel browser. Click on a channel to view it, then use the Join Channel button to join.
If you want to organise rides not already caterered for by the existing channels, or create a channel for discussion/chat etc., you can add a channel using the plus sign in a circle at the bottom right of the Channel browser.
*Based on Android but hopefully iOS is similar.
Meeting up
Each group can meet up when and where they want, but if you use our traditional meetup point off Fleming Avenue in North Baddesley, please see the map below. We’ve defined 9 zones to ensure groups stay far enough apart to ensure social distancing and to avoid obstructing members of the public using the shops, car park and recycling facilities.
The plan is for groups to agree on a time and zone to meet up at, and if another group is already using that zone when you arrive, simply use another one. Zones 2 & 3 should be avoided if the car park is busy.
Café StopsThe café stops listed below are currently open for takeaways, followed by a list of ones that are closed. Opening arrangements may be subject to change and we recommend checking in advance if you’re planning to stop somewhere.
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Worthy nomination for Gemma's volunteer work
Congratulations to our very own Gemma Wilks for this month's nomination from the British Cycling South region, as they shine a light on the hugely positive impact of volunteers.
Gemma, a long standing club and committee member has been encouraging women to get involved in racing through Zwift as part of the BC South Region Zwift Community across all categories during the lockdown period, and now has 40 women racing across three teams which race on a Tuesday and a Thursday, as well as the Sunday Sotonia Virtual Club Ride.
Gemma has be championing opportunities to get involved, and also retained a focus on the social side - even in virtual times - with pre-race chats and also meet-ups so faces can be put to names/avatars! As as result, a number of riders are now talking about coming to real world time trials, meeting for real world social riding and trips, and racing cyclocross and track together.
The women also marked International Women's Day on 8th March with the theme “choose to challenge” - very relevant to this group of fabulous women who have really stepped up over the winter to challenge not only themselves but others.
While not championing Zwift-ing, Gemma has also launched her own Wheel Women podcast, interviewing amazing women from the local and national cycling scene.
Well done Gemma!
Link to main article on BC website