Last week
Seems like a long time since the last session, which of course it is. The last formal session was the third Saturday in March, as 6 April was in the holidays and we don’t generally run formal sessions outside term time.
In the second March session, we split the group into three and set up three different small circuits in the woods, mainly working on cornering and inclines, but also ended up on how to remove significant amounts of mud from your drivetrain – Hinchingbrooke mud seems to be the stickiest mud in the world. Those with narrow tyres tended to do the best here as not as much mud stuck to them. I guess that is why so many French farmers used to use Citroen 2CVs……
On 6 April we had a family ride around Grafham Water, with 19 riders plus parents in 2 groups! Weather was great and everyone enjoyed it. My group rode across the dam in 2 teams, practicing their changes in a “through and off”, but the girls couldn’t resist the need to sprint at the end!
Rider of the week
Charlie, Charlotte and Lottie won rider of the week this week for some very good cornering
Mountain biking
First round of MSG at Tunstall Forest and what can I say! St Ives had podiums in U9 (Harriet), U12 (Sophie, Sam), U14 (Holly) and U16 (Molly, Charlotte). Sam T had a great first race with a 9th position and I think he has definitely got more to show. Full results are on
http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=233TunstallForest17/03/2013
This weekend sees Round 2 at Codham Park http://www.mudsweatgears.co.uk/images/msg_eastern_codham_preeventinfo2013.pdf. Good luck to all the riders (and parents) entered on that. We will see you there!
Congratulations to Molly and Sophie for gaining places on the last MSG Aspire session, held at the Olympic MTB venue of Hadleigh Farm. They were both buzzing when they got back, keen to practice their new skills!
Track racing
8 riders went down to Newport velodrome recently for the last indoor session of the winter and found that not all velodromes are the same! After a few tumbles, the riders settled down and came away with grins on their faces.
Sophie and Amber even got a go on some bike rollers, notoriously difficult but very good to practice on for balance. We are going to save up for some sets in Go Ride, unless anyone wants to donate some?
Now we move on to better weather, the track riders move to Welwyn Superclub, which if nothing else has the advantage of being a LOT closer! I will be nominating a certain number of riders so don’t forget to let me know this week if you would like to be considered for the May block. You need to be able to commit to a block of sessions held on Sunday afternoons roughly weekly over a 4 – 5 week period to get the most out of them and I need to have seen your abilities on the regular Go Ride sessions to consider your nomination.
Road and Time Trial
I have now secured a fantastic facility at Alconbury Airfield and ran a number of trial sessions in the holidays there with 8 of our regular riders. They all enjoyed it and a number have signed up to a series of Road and Time Trial sessions run by Mark Wyer and myself over 5 weeks commencing next Tuesday 23 April, 19:00 – 20:15. Numbers are restricted but if you are interested, please contact Mark on markwyer@britishcycling.org.uk, but please cc me so I can keep up to speed.
Ideally you will have a road bike, but it is not mandatory. We have a few available for riders aged 12+.
The last session on 21 May will comprise Go Ride Racing so even if you don’t ride, come and support the riders and check out what we are up to.
Finally, congratulations to Holly who completed her first ever time trial last week on the club course at Sawtry, finishing the 10 mile course in just over 38 minutes. 12 is the minimum age to time trial on the road so Holly holds the record for the youngest club time trialist in St Ives; I hope we will start seeing other young riders on our course in the coming months.
Next session
Session starts at 10am (finishing at 11.30) at Hinchingbrooke Park, please be there a little bit early if possible. Please remember to bring a drink. We are continually stepping up the pace now and it is important to stay hydrated. Don’t forget your helmet (although I do have a few club helmets if you do forget). Sessions are £3 per person.
And finally…
St Ives is hosting its 10 mile time trial on the Sawtry course this Saturday, starting 2 pm. Riders go off at 1 minute intervals so why not come down and see what its like!
