Last week
Our biggest turnout to date last week, 36 riders, including 5 new joiners! Thanks to everyone for turning out. In the last session, we worked on ascending and descending the mound and riding the berms and everyone developed their skills, some achieving much more than they thought they were capable of. We plan to reinforce this at this week’s session and see if we can get everyone up and down the harder parts of the mound.
Rider of the week
Riders of the week this week were Adam, Charlotte K and Giselle. Great cornering from Adam, Charlotte surprised herself on her ascending and Giselle, on her first time out with us, was taking an interesting line on the descents, fearless!
Mountain biking
Round 3 of MSG is coming up this Sunday, 19 May. This race series has seen unprecedented interest in the children’s racing this year and as a result, they have reached the maximum numbers, particularly in the U12 as they also have a Go Ride session ahead of the race. If you plan to enter but have not entered yet, please check with the organisers first to see if there is space as it would be a rubbish start to the day to travel to Thetford and then not get in!
See http://www.mudsweatgears.co.uk for more details.
Track racing
We have seen two of the Block 1 Welwyn superclub sessions so far and overall has been very positive. The next block of sessions is a six block series and the dates are as follows:
June 23,30
July 7, 14, 28
August 11
If you are interested in being nominated for the June sessions, let me know and we will see what we can do. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you are able to follow a wheel and be physically fit enough to cycle for 20 minutes at a time to be considered.
Road and Time Trial
Mark Wyer and myself, together with Alison Lilley, have now run four of the five planned sessions at Alconbury Airfield on Tuesdays between 19:00 – 20:15. with an average of 27 riders at each session. Last night was a very wet evening, but we still had a remarkable turnout from our hardy riders. Next Tuesday evening is the last of these sessions and will comprise Go Ride racing for all. If you don’t want to ride and have not registered with myself or Mark, but would like to come and watch, please let either myself or Mark know so we can get you checked on with airfield security. I am confident there will be some exciting racing so will definitely be worth watching.
For more information, please contact Mark on markwyer@britishcycling.org.uk.
Once these sessions have completed, if we have enough interest, I will run the next series of sessions on Go Ride Saturday afternoons (1st and 3rd Saturday of the month) rather than Tuesday evenings as it has been somewhat of a challenge for me to get back from work in time!
Club Time Trials
Alex, CC and Holly are really enjoying their club time trialling and this week was Sam H’s turn to have a go. If you are over 12, you can race time trials on the road. Time trials are on Wednesday evenings, with signing on at 6pm for a 7pm start. It doesn’t matter really how fast or slow you are but is great for testing yourself and trying to set that elusive personal best!
Anyone who is a club member can turn up and have a go for the very reasonable £3. Let me know if you are interested and I will give you more information. This isn’t part of Go Ride as such so parents will need to ensure that the rider is road safe. The club welcomes new young riders and I would recommend a parent ride with them to ensure their safety, either behind as a watching eye or as a two-up (where the two riders take it in turns on the front).
Club membership
A few people have asked about club membership. You don’t need to be a St Ives CC member to come to Go Ride, but as a club member, you can look impressive in club kit (not available to non members), demonstrate your speed in club time trials (if you are over 12) and get discounts at local retailers such as Grafham Cycling. Not only that, but it helps us to run what we run!
Membership is only £4 for the U12s (11 or under on 1 January 2013) and £8 for the U18s and runs from 1 January to 31 December each year. More details are on http://www.stivescycling.org.uk/club-information/membership/
For those who were members last year, please can you check that you have paid this year’s subs as there are a few still outstanding!
We know where you live 😉
Next session
Session starts at 10am (finishing at 11.30) at Hinchingbrooke Park, please be there a little bit early if possible so we can start on time. 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, other stuff coming up soon…
Circuit of the Fens
Tom Caldwell is organising a national A series race that is due to finish in Whittlesey on Sunday 16th June. It will be a great opportunity to see some pro riders and we are looking to organise some Go Ride racing on the day for U12 and U14 to showcase what we do. More information is on the club website.
I appreciate that it clashes with MSG and track racing, but please let me know if you are interested in being part of this.
Half term coaching
Alison Lilley is back coaching youth & junior riders at Peterborough Showground during the upcoming half-term. The day will be led by Level 3 British Cycling coaches. £10 plus online booking fee. There are a limited number of places available. Road bikes are essential & we have some available to borrow free of charge.
For full details & online bookings only follow the link to: http://www.riderhq.com/calendar/28-May-2013
Grass track racing
Malcolm Jacklin at Fenland Clarion has released the dates for the 2013 Friday night grass track racing. Malcolm will be concentrating on junior riders, with some “training races” for any adults who would like to learn what t takes to get involved with doing some track racing. The racing is held at the South Bretton playing fields (Postcode PE3 9SH) on Friday 17 May (yes, tomorrow!), 14 June, 12 July and 16 August. For more information, contact Malcolm on helen.malc@ntlworld.com.
