It’s the last Go Ride session of the summer term this weekend coming and as we have done in the past for the final session, we are off to Fineshade Woods near Corby. It is a 5 mile family cycle trail starting and finishing at the car park suitable for all levels, even parents.
Previous session
At Hinchingbrooke we held one of our rotating sessions, where James , Simon and I took a different activity and the groups moved from one to the other. James worked on bottle passing between riders, TdF peloton style, Simon worked on braking and balance in a stop box, and I was on limbo duty, the limbo pole getting lower and lower as riders successfully navigated through using a variety of different styles to get low on the bike.
In the afternoon session at Alconbury we looked at optimising pedalling cadence where we found that sometimes you can actually go faster by pedalling in a lower gear. The group found that between 80 and 90 pedal strokes a minute worked well. We also looked at getting into more aero positions on the bike to minimise the effort required and finally we looked at gear restrictions, how to measure them and how to adjust the gears on a bike to block off disallowed gears. Youth riders are restricted to lower gears (actual restriction depends on age) in racing to ensure that the riders do not injure themselves. The surprising thing we found was how many bikes had inappropriate gears for youth riders!
Mountain biking
Round 5 of MSG last Sunday was at the Secret Nuclear Bunker, Kelveden Hatch. A really technical course for U14 and above, so the team did really well. Podiums went to Molly (1st – Youth Female, setting some blisteringly fast times), Holly (2nd – U14) and Sophie (2nd – U12). Sam Trotter is continuing to move steadily up as his experience grows and took 6th place in a closely fought battle with Colin Mantle of Mildenhall CC. Full results are on http://www.timelaps.co.uk
The next round is on Sunday 4 August at our very own Hinchingbrooke Park. It is set to be a belter, so get booked in at http://www.mudsweatgears.co.uk. If you book early enough U12s will get a coaching session before the race too! You don’t need to be experienced in racing to have a go and all of our regular riders would be able to complete the course.
We are also looking for additional volunteers to help marshal on the day so please get in touch if you are available. These events are extremely difficult to run without adequate support and the more marshals we can get the better. There is very little involved other than to be posted at key points on the circuit to ensure it runs safely and we don’t end up with walkers / dogs / bikes in one big pile. This is the first time that St Ives CC have hosted MSG so it would be great to be able to show the other clubs attending how much support we get!
Track racing
Sophie and Sam H are now both competing regularly in the Friday league at Welwyn track. Last Friday Sophie took second place in the 4 lap handicap and a third place in the 3 lap handicap race so is steadily moving up there!
The remaining sessions for Block 2 Superclub are July 28 and August 11.
If you are interested in being nominated for Block 3 Superclub, commencing in August, let Mike Hoy know. 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. This year the indoor winter sessions will only be open to the riders who have attended a Welwyn superclub so if you want to ride the velodromes at Manchester or Newport over the winter, you will need to have attended Block 3.
The block 3 dates are – 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th September with sign on at 1pm for the session between 2pm and 4pm. Mike needs to nominate riders by August 12th so please let him know if you want to attend
Club Time Trials
Ridiculous headwinds on the way out last week so times were a bit slower than usual. All recovered last night though with PBs dropping all over the place , everywhere except mine, that is! Full results will be on the club website shortly.
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. Club TTs run weekly through to September to the end of the season followed by a Hill Climb at Barham.
Next session
We are off to Fineshade this week. The address is Fineshade Woods, Corby, Northants, NN17 3BB and being 30 miles from Hinchingbrooke is not too far away. It is definitely worth the trip as in addition to the family trail, there are a number of short technical sections alongside the main route to test your skills on berms, rocks, etc
No charge this week but you will have to pay for parking. There is a cafe there and a bike shop (Fineshade Cycling is part of Grafham Cycling so St Ives CC club members get their discount there too)
And finally
Kimbolton triathlon is this weekend. Good luck to all riders competing and please let me know how you get on!
The next round of the XC National championships are being held at Glasgow this weekend. Molly Williams will be looking to maintain her form on yet another super difficult course and we all wish Molly the best for the race on Sunday. Molly keeps a great blog where you can read all about her exploits on her bike here.
Next weekend, Sunday 28th July 11am -2pm, is Hinchingbrooke Sports Festival in the Park. There will be a number of clubs represented in many different sports for you to try and St Ives CC Go-Ride plan to be there again with our short technical course probably including the limbo, see saw, etc. Last year we had over 60 riders come along trying to set the fastest time. Why not come down and try something new, and then see if you can set the fastest time on the technical course?
Grass track racing with Malcolm Jacklin’s Fenland Clarion on Friday nights has one session left this year. The racing is held at the South Bretton playing fields (Postcode PE3 9SH) on Friday 16 August. For more information, contact Malcolm on helen.malc@ntlworld.com.
Holiday sessions: We may rest over the holidays but those lovely people at British Cycling don’t! There are a number of courses schedule over the holidays in Peterborough, Chelmsford and Redbridge so I will circulate an email separately on that.
