Veteran Leaguer - LVRC

TheVeteran LeaguerSummer specialResults - Advice - Rider Intervews - Book ReviewsPoints of view and commentariesThe official newsletter of the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists Summer 2011

The Veteran Leagueris the officialNewsletter of theLeague of Veteran RacingCyclistsNewsletter EditorAndy Barrett,7 Willow Way, Wing, Leighton Buzzard, Beds, LU7 0TJTel: 07771 508671email: lvrceditor@ymail.comExecutive Committee 2011Chairman: Don Parry, Castle Farm Cottage,32 North Street, Rothersthorpe,Northampton NN7 3JB(01604) 831969 donparry_1@hotmail.comSecretary: Peter Wilson 52 Knoll Drive,Southgate, London, N14 5NE.0208-368-0698peter260wilson@btinternet.comTreasurer: Ian Booth, 1 Arden Leys,Aspley Heath Lane, Tanworth-in-Arden,West Midlands. B94 5HU.(01564) 742002 iboothaug@btinternet.comRegistrar: Michael Cross, 27 SpringfieldCrescent, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 2PP(01403) 250012 reg9reg@hotmail.co.ukEvents Co-ordinator: Barrie Mitchell, HollyCottage, 15 High Street, Marton, Nr Rugby,Warwickshire CV23 9RR(01926) 632948 RIDERMARTON@aol.comPress Secretary, Percy Stallard EventsCo-Ordinator and Social Secretary:Mick Ives (02476) 304009mick@bikeking.wanadoo.co.ukEditor The Veteran Leaguer andAdvertising manager: Andy Barrett,7 Willow Way, Wing, Leighton Buzzard,Beds, LU7 0TJ07771 508671 lvrceditor@ymail.comStock Controller: Steve Watson, 49 TreadwellRoad, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5JR(01372) 752687 steven.watson@wsatkins.co.ukCo-opted non-executive membersOne representative from each regionPresident: Alan RushtonICF Representative UK: Peter Ryalls(01246) 413515 ryalco@btinternet.comICF Representative Belgium: Graham Webbwebbworldwide2000@hotmail.comWebmaster: Jim Golden, FoxgloveCottage, 18 The Village, Keele, Staffs(01782) 624631 mail@jimgolden.fsnet.co.ukWebsite: www.lvrc.org.ukYou can see The Veteran Leagueron the website in full colourEditorialThree months have passed by since the last edition, in which timewe have been treated to some fantastic racing action in races thatwould make a fit 30 year old suffer.Due to other things getting in the way of cycling I have decidedto take a bit of a back seat on the racing front for a while. I amriding my bike though as I will probably do so until well into myelder years, much to wife's annoyance no doubt.I hope you enjoy this edition as I feelit contains a good balance of results,letters, book reviews, coaching articlesand general articles.Please feel free to send me any articlesthat you would like to see published.I would also like any good qualityracing action photographs in a 300dpiformat if you can manage it. You mayeven find your image on the front cover.I hope you all have a successful middleand end to the season. Enjoy yourracing and above all stay safe on theMe racing last summerroads when you are out training as theroads seem to be getting busier these days and the cars appear tobe getting faster.See you up the road.Front cover picture shows action fromthe evening series at Milton Keynes Bowl.Adrian Cox leads Spencer Turnbull andSimon Parks.AndyPage 2 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

From the ChairDon ParryBy the time you read this we will allbe in the middle of another successfulLVRC racing season. The calendar hasabout 140 events listed plus the trackchampionships and cyclo cross towardsthe end of the season providing five yearpeer group racing for the over 40’s. Noother organisation in the UK is able todo this across most of the range of cycleracing. It is something we should be veryproud of. As I write I have just returnedfrom a hugely successful Seaside SpecialTwo Day three Stage Race at Fowlmeadin Kent. Thanks to all involved there.Electronic TimingOne of the areas that many membersask for progress on is electronic timingfor more races. Your regions and thecentre are committed to investing inthis area for the benefit of all members.The main blocker at the moment isthe need to find somebody who will‘own’ a system in a similar manner tothe way Steve Watson does for Region9 and other major LVRC events. Oncethis is achieved then the rest will follow.If anybody is interested then pleasecontact your region or any member ofContentsthe executive. It is not an onerous taskand training will be available.Relations with British CyclingA meeting with BC finally took placein April this year. Those attending wereJonny Clay from BC and me. My objective,agreed beforehand with the executiveteam was to secure recognition for usalong the same lines as BC recognise CTTand British Triathlon for example. In ourview once this was achieved we wouldthen be able to cooperate on a unifiedVeterans National Championships, haveaccess to the National Escort Groupand it would probably open the doorto other developments. We would alsosee ourselves contributing to the 'KeepRacing on the Roads Campaign' alongside BC.BC acknowledge the leading role theLVRC plays in providing competition forthe over 40’s but they are not preparedto formally recognise the LVRC withoutus becoming a fully integrated part ofthe BC organisation. This we are justnot prepared to do as we believe it willdestroy everything that the founders ofthe LVRC and their successors foughtso hard for and our members seem tovalue so highly.The BC rationale is based on theirview that their members subscriptionfees should be invested in cyclinginfrastructure and facilities for thebenefit of their members rather thanthe members of other organisations.What they seem to fail to understandis that many members of the LVRC arealso their members as well so all thosedual members have just as much rightto access those facilities as other BCmembers.They also believe we will be driventogether at some date over the nextfew years as the potential legislativeand health and safety demands placedon organisers of road races becomecost prohibitive for a purely voluntaryorganisation like ours. This remains tobe seen.The meeting was held in a friendlyand professional atmosphere but endedwith us agreeing to disagree on mostmaterial issues but we will continue tokeep talking as and when appropriate.Editorial 2From The Chair - Don Parry 3Announcements, additions, amendments 4International Racing 5Region News 6Les West Retirement 7Results - February to May 2011 8-12Results - 2011 Percy Stallard Series (to May) 13The Lactic Acid Myth - Chris Davis 14Still Riding at 90 - Charlie Betteley - by Jim Golden 17Book reviews - Dick Selley & Gordon Daniels 18-19Mick Ives's News Roll 19A Little Story from Byegone Days 20Letters 22Point of View - Tom McCall 23The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 3

Announcements, additionsand amendmentsObjective of the LVRCThe provision of a programme of competitive and social cycling events for maleand female members of 40 years of age and overTo all contributorsWe welcome all contributions from anyone - letter, comments, results, articles,reports, pictures, anything as long as it’s not just personal abuse - we can allget plenty of that at home.Our favourite way of getting material is by e-mail, but we’d much rather haveit handwritten than not at all. If you can type it or supply it on disk we’re evenhappier. Word, .rtf, or ASCII are all fine.If supplying pictures, please leave them separate from the document(s).Preferably, photos should be in jpeg format.Deadline for next issue: 30th September 2011LVRC WebsiteThere will be a demand for the Veteran Leaguer for a long time yet, and even whenpeople are on the internet they still like to have hard copy. But the VL is a quarterly,whereas the website can be updated instantly with current news, results, changes ofdate. Whatever you’ve got, webmaster Jim Golden wants it. Contact him on 01782-624631 or mail@jimgolden.fsnet.co.ukLVRC PublicLiability InsuranceFor the over 40s this is withoutdoubt the best value on themarket. It covers members forboth social and competitivecycling at all times in UK andall European countries exceptSwitzerland. Limit of Indemnity:five million pounds. All free withLVRC membership!However, as the nameimplies, this insurance ispublic liability only. If youwant personal cover, you’llhave to arrange your own.Stop PressFollowing the meeting of your ExecutiveCommittee on 13th March there will be aproposal to increase annual Membershipfees to £20.00 to reflect the significantlyincreasing insurance costs. The coverwill be market leading for the UK cyclingenvironment from 1st March 2011. Theadditional costs will be covered by centralLVRC funds for 2011. The new membershipfee will be effective 1st Jan 2012. Theexecutive committee will seek approvalfor this at the 2011 AGM.Bienvenue!A warm and sunny welcome awaits you.Lewis, Mandy & family have opened to everyone their 18th centuryProvencal Maison in the medieval village of La Colle sur Loup, situatedfifteen kilometres from the airport of Nice on the Cote d’ Azur, South ofFrance.Our aim is to offer a training facility for the competitive cyclist.The superb terrain and climate allows you to prepare for the seasonsevents and sportifs such as the Etape. This area is very popular with theEuropean Pro Teams, Astana, AG2r and Cofidis to name but a few are heregetting in those all important base miles in ideal weather conditions.For those that want to combine training and leisure, the Paris-Nice andMilan-San Remo are two classics not to be missed, right on our doorstep!The house offers internal garaged safe-keeping for your bike, tools andbasic spare parts are readily available.We will be reducing our room tariffs for group bookings, please call fordetails or visit our website: www.lacentenaire.com - regarding availability,your catering requirements and preferences.We hope to see friends old and new very soon!A bientotLewis and Mandy TealFor more information please contact:0033 (0) 4 93588635Email: lewisteal@fsmail.netwww.lacentenaire.comPage 4 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

International Racing 2011ICF Road Race ChampionshipsSunday 7th August 2011 - Hoofdplaat, HollandOn the coast due North of Eeklo, BelgiumFrom Calais/Dunkerque follow E 40 to AaalterThen North on N44, N5860+ start 9am; 50+ 10.30; 40+ 12.30Entries on the line will be accepted.Peter Ryalls will do a block entryEntries on LVRC form (by 5 July please)with sae and £8.00 to: 11 Devonshire Close, Dronfield, Derbyshire S18 1QYTel: 01246 413515 Email: ryalco@btinternet.comDate of birth required as condition of entryUCI Masters Championships, St Johann AustriaWorld Cup Races:World Masters Races:20-24 August25-27 AugustInformation from the website: www.masterswm.orgor from: Harald Bauman, A-6380 St Johann in Tirol, Postfach 77, Austria.Entries on the line accepted.UCI abandons Masters RacingFollowing 2010 events at St Johaan it was announced that in future the races would no longer be UCI Masters Championships. The statement from St Johaan was that UCI had abandoned Mastersracing, UCI have continued to deny that this is the case.The facts are that UCI have made changes and Masters Racing no longer features on their web site and is now subsumed in “cycling for All” This follows from a meeting held in Birmingham England inJune 2010.“The UCI Management Committee approved a new concept in the development of cycling for all. Cycling for all, fully in line with the philosophy of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), aimsto encourage as many people as possible to take part in cycling, whether as a competitive sport, for leisure or as a healthy and environmentally- friendly means of transport. The new concept mainlyconcerns establishing a series of mass-participation events allowing qualification for a final round, both on road (UCI Gran Fondo and UCI Masters Road World Championships) as well as mountainbiking”Since this announcement there has been no evidence that any National Organisation has volunteered to promote any of the events which would make this concept a reality. You would have to stretchthe imagination to believe that it will ever happen.St Johaan has always been a major European event and ran successfully before UCI involvement.. Bob Maitland and Dave Orford were both World Champions in the days prior to 1992. All thathappened with UCI involvement was an increase in prices, a change of Championship Jersey from the traditional hoops on white background to hoops on blue background and finally insistence onmembership of national UCI body (BCF) )Previously for world cup races any licence was accepted (LVRC TLI), for the masters world championship a UCI licence was required but this could be purchased as a “Day Licence”Arrangements at St Johaan for 2011 are still unclear, particularly the licence issue. The web site indicates that they are forming there own “World Masters Cycling Federation”Announcements will be made on www.masterswm.orgThe 2011 Annual General Meeting of the LVRC will beheld on Sunday 9th October 2011 at 2.00pm. VictoryClub, Napton, Warwickshire, CV47 8LT after the TTchampionships. Buffet Lunch at 1.15pm.Hi all Riders, Helpers and SupportersThank you for taking part in the Phil Cooke Challenge ride this October onwhat was not one of the kindest days of the year!!!!I think all of you are to be congratulated and all the participants proud tobe able to compete the ride in the foul conditions on the day!I have attached the official letter from "Marie Curie Cancer Care" charitytelling me that the ride has raised £2,302 which in view of the expectednumbers being down due to the inclement conditions is a fantasticachievement, so thank you all for your support for this worthy charity!!!My plans for next year are to run the Phil Cooke Challenge Ride again atthe normal winter slot on 20th February and to repeat this autumn rideon a date in September (trying to avoid the BHF event) calling it the "TwoCounties Charity Cycle Ride Challenge" ( in aid of Marie Curie CancerCare), the details of these rides will be appearing on the website www.challengingtimes.org.uk as will the opportunity to enter.So have a good Christmas and New Year celebration and be prepared toburn it all off on 20th February 2011.Best wishes and once again thank you for your support.Best Regards Martin HackleyThe Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 5

Region NewsRegion 2Some races seem to go ahead with no problems, someneed slight modifications to the circuit, other events arecancelled. Because Yorkshire is so large we have differentpolice authorities and various councils to deal with andnone seem to have a coherent policy at the moment.The T.L.I. National Championships were run on theBoroughbridge circuit in North Yorkshire, but the organiserhad to pay a considerable amount of money to have twosets of temporary traffic lights installed for that day.To all organisers and helpers who have persisted againstthe odds a big thank you.Alan Edmondson, our previous secretary andquartermaster for Region Two, and a prolific organiser ofevents on the aforementioned Boroughbridge circuit, isrightly very proud of his grandson, Josh Edmonson, whowas placed fourth in the Junior World Road Race in Italy.We will follow his career with great interest.Very glad to report our Chairman, Derek Smith, is nowback home after his accident at Manchester Velodromein June, where he suffered a broken pelvis socket. He toldme that the riders in the bunch that day acted in textbookfashion and reacted instantly they heard Derek’s puncture,which left him a space to fall resulting in no other fallers.We have seen a decline in members attending our AGM.with only 12 members plus the committee attending in2009. With a membership approaching 250 we should beexpecting more! Please make an effort.Our AGM was held on Wednesday 10th November 2010at the usual venue of Otley CC Clubrooms. There was a totalof only 14 member present from aRegistered membership of 214. There were 36 newmembers recruited in 2010. All existing committee membersagreed to continue in their respective roles.On line membership was discussed but is was agreed tocontinue as we are for 2011.As always the main talking point of the evening was thedifficulty of promoting races and the disparity betweenpolice authorities and councils. One of our members isSteve Davies who is also the chairman of the B.C. North EastRegion and he confirmed that racing in Northumberlandis not a problem, Durham allows no racing and NorthYorkshire allows some but not all. However, we are hopefulof 8 events for 2011 and Richard Booth hopes to include anevent at Hartlepool also.Members are a tad resentful of the ease of organisingEtapes and in a bit of a throwback to BLRC days, asked if itwould be a good idea to have “turn up and ride/race”. Justa thought.It is with regret that we report the death of Arthur Durham,a former member of the Bradford club “Velo Club Cruz”.A date for your diaries in 2011 - Derek Browne will beorganising the 10th annual classic bike display on Sunday17th April 2011 between 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.Location - Wadehouse Community Centre, Halifax Road,Shelf. (on the A6036, opposite the Interface Factory). Parkingavailable on Interface’s car park.Main Theme - A collection of Lightweight and HistoricRacing Bikes from the era of the British League of RacingCyclists. 1942 to 1959.An Auction - In aid of the Dave Rayner fund, to supportyoung riders in their ambition to race in mainland Europewill be held at 1.00 p.m. Donations of old equipment,clothing, etc. will be gratefully accepted.A short ride on period bikes will be run around the ClassicB.L.R.C. “Beacon Grand Prix” circuit. Leaving the CommunityCentre at 11.00 a.m. Refreshments will be available from12.00 noon.Organiser : Derek Browne - Tel: 01274 674693. E-mail:hdjmbrowne@talktalk.netDave S HamiltonRegion 9The long dark days of winter have passed and heart feltexpletives can be heard again being screamed amongstthe pelotons across the land. A new season has begun.34 attended the Region’s lunch at Stapleford Tawneyback in February where they enjoyed the food and the indepth conversations covering many subjects includingastrophysics, topiary, ironing and a bit cycling. Theargument about who ate the largest amount of potatoesbetween Lesley Everest and Ken Evans is still unsettled.Mike Cross reports the Region’s membership has reached ahealthy 500. Fifty two road and circuit events are scheduledfor the season - so something for everyone. Pete Wilson, ourNational and Regional Secretary is promoting the NationalABCD Crit Championships in June at Hogg Hill as well as 2Wednesday midday Merchant Bankers Club events again atHogg Hill. There may be more of these if decent numberssign-on. The Region is blessed with six closed circuits torace on - excluding the Gravesend Cyclepark coming onstream with a trial race scheduled for October. We arealso blessed at these circuits with being able to enjoy anessential tea and cake before, during or after the events.There is a circuit in another region I know where thesedelights are not available.Can you believe it! Fred Little reported on his verysuccessful Spring Series at Hogg Hill with an average of55 riders starting in each of the five events resulting in£1,100 worth of prizes being distributed amongst all thecategories. Fred and Trevor Maddern missed out, due tocancellation on a Manchester Revolution Meeting as athank you from the Region for all their efforts for us. It ishoped that they will enjoy the rearranged trip to the newOlympic Velodrome for the inaugural try-out meeting.Another of our Region's stalwarts, Steve Watson, wasnominated for this treat, by Fred, but he was rejected bythe National Committee as he sits on this committee andthey did not want to seem to be favouring their members.Bad luck Steve but I’m sure either or both Fred or Trevorwill be pleased to tell you all about it. I have been askedwhy, in earlier reports, I implied that Spit Godbeer’s parentsnever married – well it’s because he keeps beating me – theB…… Early season crash victims, witness by yours truly atHogg Hill, involved Peter Jones and Ian Summerfield, boththankfully are recovering. Peter finished with a brokencollarbone and the race by sliding gracefully across the linestill clipped into his pedals. It is understood the chute wascaused by Ian's pedal disintegrating during the sprint. Nota good thing to get your pedals from the Pound Shop. I alsounderstand tickets are selling well for the eagerly awaitedrematch between Dave Burwood and Terry Devine but todate the venue has not been agreed on - although the AlbertHall is a possibility. Both their managers are confident theirboys will win inside three rounds. See Fred Jeffcoate for thelatest odds. Have a good one.Richard WallPage 6 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

Results 2011SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY – REGION 7EARLY SEASON LVRC 2-UP & INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIALINDIVIDUAL1. Conor 0'Brian A 43.39, 2. Richard Howes C 46.52, 3. RichardColeman D 47.07, 4. Barrie Mitchell E 47.51, 5. Paul Jennings B 48.02,6. Greg Ashley B 48.47, 7. David Williams E 49.41, 8. Mike McGannD 49.50, 9. John Gabriel E 51.17, 10. Adrian Kirby A 51.55, 11. JohnGrumbley F 53.14, 12. Brian Gale C 53.17, 13. Clive Faine E 56.05, 14.Ian Howell E 56.32.ON STANDARD1. Barrie Mitchell E + 30.292 UP TEAMS1. Jason Gurney and Stewart Wilson AA 43.48, 2. Pete Smith and LesLiddiard CC 45.22, 3. Warren Giddins and Nick Giles BB 46.32, 4. MikeAmery and Ian Cowan CC 48.32, 5. John Beckett and Pete TrotmanBD 48.53, 6. Russell Perry and Paul Mann BB 49.28, 7. Richard Lewisand Andy Webb BB 49.51, 8. Don Parry and Paul Freeman EC 49.54, 9.Martin Hackley and Howard Baker EF 53.42.ON STANDARD1. Pete Smith and Les Liddiard CC +27.38SUNDAY 13th MARCH – REGION 7NENE VALLEY RRRace 1 was dominated by a very impressive near race long breakby Jim Moffatt of Virgin Active who increased his lead to over threeminutes by the end. His initial pressure split the bunch into twoand then he rode away. The remains of the break of about 12 riderssprinted out for the placings with Campbell Noon also Virgin Activetaking second and Phil Rayner Welland Valley third.Race two was aggressive but nothing split the bunch of about 25although many riders proved to be not quite as fit as they thought andgot shelled out early on. It ended up a sprint with Andy Hicks makinga really long effort from a long way out and holding everybody elseoff. Andy is 66 and a very strong rider. Strong man Barrie Mitchellfrom Team Jewson was 2nd and Wayne Thomas from Reading third.Overall a damp cold and wet day gradually improved with a risingwind allowing the riders to finish in the dry.Race 1 ABC1 Jim Moffatt Virgin Active C, 2 Campbell Noon Virgin ActiveA, 3 Phil Rayner Welland Valley B, 4 Ian Cooper Planet X A, 4 JonStephenson Team Jewson B, 5 Paul Caton Anders TMG Horizon B, 6Simon Cannings Team MK A, 7 Tom Caldwell St Ives CC B, 8 Karl MoselyStourbridge Velo B, 9 Steve Wharton Finchley RT C, 10 Paul Stewart IOptix RT B, 11 Mark Farrar CovRide.com.uk A, 12 Jason Gurney BainesRacing A, 13 Andy Culliane Finchley RT B, 14 James Heaton Leisurelakes A, 15 Mike Amery VC Sevale C.Cat A - 1. Campbell Noon, 2. Ian Cooper, 3. Simon Canning.Cat B - 1. Phil Rayner, 2. Jon Stephenson, 3. Paul Caton.Cat C - 1. Jim Moffatt, 2. Mike Amery, 3. Phil Evans.Race 2 DEFG1 Andy Hicks South Western RC F, 2 Barrie Mitchell Team JewsonE, 3 Wayne Thomas Reading CC D, 4 Steve Watson Epsom CC D, 5Ralph Keeler Wheels in Wheels D, 6 Colin Summerfield Cyclist VechiE, 7 John Hughes Coventry RC D, 8 Pete Ryalls Sheffield Phoenix G, 9Pete Trotman Daventry CC D, 10 Cliff Dixon I Cycle D, 11 Kevin WilsonSolihull CC E, 12 Derrick Woodings Team Jewson G, 13 Paul MasonAudlem CC D, 14 Pete Jeans Swindon RC E, 15 Graham Sims StratfordCC D.Cat D - 1. Wayne Thomas, 2. Steve Watson, 3. Ralph Keeler.Cat E - 1. Barrie Mitchell, 2. Colin Summerfield, 3. Kevin Wilson.Cat F - 1. Andy Hicks.Cat G - 1. Pete Ryalls.SUNDAY 13th MARCH – REGION 9CICLOS UNO HOG HILL SPRING SERIES (EVENT 1)56 riders took part in the two races with 40 in the first race and 16in the older riders event. They were over 1 hour + 5 laps ofthe lowercircuit.ABCD Race1. Martin Ryan, Ford CC A, 2. Matt Gallagher, Crest CC A, 3. MarkAbela, Kent Cycles A, 4. Dave Dickie, Finchley RT D, 5. Martin Meades,API B, 6. Nick Faint, Finchley RT B, 7. David Farrow, Eagle RC A, 8.Trevor Ormes, Interbike RT A, 9. Tony Wilkins, Mareterra BT D, 10. ChrisEdwards, Gateway D, 11. Steve Murrell, East London Velo A, 12. GrantVenter, Finchley RT A, 13. Mark Conroy, Dulwich Paragon B, 14. RichardKemp, Redbridge CC D, 15. Sean Bolton, Eagle RC B, 16. Stav Socratous,Finchley RT C, 17. Steve Green, Ciclos Uno B, 18. Richard Fraczek, EssexRoads CC D, 19. Peter Arden, Victoria CC A, 20. Andrew Baker, VeloSchils B, 21. David Churchill, Bigfoot CC C, 22. Bill Fitzgerald, GS AvantiA, 23. Andrew Ecutos, Eagle RC A, 24. Gareth Welch, Dulwich ParagonA, 25. Mark Walter, LVRC B, 26. Paul Daniel, Medway Velo C, 27. Paul Bird,Glendene CC C, 28. Tim Pettit, Essex Roads CC B, 29. Mark Earl, DulwichParagon B, 30. Cliff Pace, Eagle RC C, 31. Steve Sibley, Inverse Racing C.Primes Nick Faint 2, Dave Dickie 1EFG Race1. Dave Rowe, 34th Nomads F, 2. Roly Crayford, San Fairy Ann CCG, 3. Peter Jones, Hillingdon CC E, 4. David Smith, GS Avanti F, 5. DaveBurwood, Kings North International F, 6. Ken Beecham, VC Elan E, 7.Ollie MacPherson, Dunfirmline E, 8. Veron Thomas, VC Elan, F, 9. FredJefcote, Victoria CC G, 10. Ged Coles, Wolsey RC G @ 1 lap, 11. KenEvans, Ciclos Uno G @ 2 laps, 12. Brian Scarboro, Gemini BC @ 2 laps,13. Greg Downing, LVRC E @ 2 laps, 14. Del Stacey, Glendene CC G @2 laps.Primes Dave Rowe, 2, Roly Crayford 1.SUNDAY 20th MARCH – REGION 9GLENDENE MARCH MADNESS RRABC1st Trevor Burke 48 miles in 1.59.45 ( Winner for 2nd successiveyear), 2. Simon Hine @ 7 seconds, 3. Martin Meades @ 30 seconds, 4.Martin o'Grady same time, 5. Martin Hulbert ST, 6. Malcolm Jeffries ST,7. Edgar Medellin ST, 8. Dermot Kealey ST, 9. Andy Ballentyne ST, 10.Stefaan Van Poucke.Cat A 1. Jeffries 2. Kealey 3. Van PouckeCat B 1. Burke 2. Hine 3. MeadesCat C 1. 0'Grady 2. Hulbert 3. MedellinDEFG1. Pay Palin 38 miles in 1.42.15 (Brilliant solo victory from openinglap), 2. Paul Cackett @ 15 seconds, 3. Dave Dickie ST, 4. Mick Lane ST, 5.Tony Wilkins @ 25 seconds, 6. Colin Summerfield ST, 7. Terry Devine ST,8. Phil Cooper ST, 9. Richard Williamson ST, 10. Barry Jones ST.Cat D 1. Cackett 2. Dickie 3. LaneCat E 1. Palin 2. Summerfield 3. DevineCat F 1. Jones 2. John ParksCat G 1. Fred JefcoateFine sunny weather, light breeze. Excellent racing and refreshments.SUNDAY 20th MARCH – REGION 5FLECHE WALTONNE RRREPORTS ON AB RACE from first time LVRC racers from StoneWhsRichard BarnettHad a dig on lap one, got chased down and sat up, went again on thedrag on the back section on start of lap two joined by two others. Fiveminutes later saw teammate Paul Belfield between us and convincedgroup we would have more chance with with four as it was reallywindy. Paul joined us, then at start of lap three, about seven morewere chasing. Finally with 30 miles to go we had a group of 10 which Ihoped would guarantee we stayed away. We did and finished severalminutes up on the bunch.We settled down to through and off. Last lap people started gettingtwitchy while I hoped for a sprint. Paul went with 500 metres to goand split the group into five and four. With 200 metres to go sprintstarted as I was getting sandwiched, braked and came round the twoby a bike length in the last 100. That second kick really hurt!Paul BelfieldAfter Richard attacked at the start of lap two after a sharp corner anda small kick in the road. I decided to try and bridge on a very rollingsection of road (making sure I didn't tow anyone up) before the startfinish straight, as getting across into the headwind would have beenimpossible. Richard convinced the others to wait, seven others gotaway and so we had a decent group. I went for a long finish whichfailed miserably and Richard finished it off by a nose.REPORT ON CD race from Steve Johnson, Birkenhead CCAll credit to Nick and his club for finding an excellent replacementcourse at late notice. The long undulating climbs and exposedcrosswind sections produced a hard fought race. Within a mile of theflag dropping, Steve Macklin jumped away. He may have thought(quite rightly as it happened) it was a bit early for such rashness butPage 8 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

Results 2011this formed the springboard for a group of four riders to hance theirluck. For 30 miles Dave Cuming, Keith Middleton, Mick Davies and Iworked well togehther, however the bunch never allowed too muchdaylight between them and the break. With two laps to go it was alltogether again. Pete Turner, Derby Mercury showed good early seasonform and spent almost a full lap on his own before being joined firstby Cuming and I with Davies riding strongly, he soloed across to formwhat turned out to be the winning break. I led out and held Daviesoff by the narrowest of margins to win the C's with Cuming wrappingup the D's. In the bunch gallop Middleton had enough left in his legsfrom the earlier break to hold off the bunch.EFG raceIt was a cold,dry day with a rising wind on the new course which hadbeen forced on the Welland Valley organisers due to road works. PeteJeans, Swindon RC took off on his own after just over one of the 5 lapsof 10 miles. He was chased down by Don Parry, Team Corley, Cervelo,Mike Allen, Pro Cycle Hire Majorca, Barrie Mitchell, Team Jewson, PhilETches, WithamWhs aqll E's and Brian Sunter, Condor RC an F catwho went very hard second time up the small climb at Welford. BobRichards in his new colours of Renault Rotor Colbert was there brieflybut could not quite hold the pace as this group worked really hard toestablish the break.Behind a chasing group formed with Richards, G cat DerrickWoodings, Team Jewson, F John Ginley, Condro RC and E DennisKnabe, Lichfield City but they were never going to catch the wellorganised and fast moving front break.This remained the pattern of the race with everybody workingwell in the break until the finish where Parry won an extremely closesprint from Allen and Mirtchell. This was another very well organisedand marshalled event by Nick Barnett and all his friends at WellandValley Whs.Derrick Woodings' view from the G'sThe race took off on the 2nd ascent of the only climb on the course.I was back down the line and decided to wait for some reactioninstead of trying to solo across (big mistake). John Ginley made thefrist effort and made a small inroad into the gap holding the break at100 metres., this was followed by no. 19 ( name later) I then decidedthat it was the time to go and quickly latched on to those two andwe started tochase holding the gap but not closing. We then caughtBob Richards, who was unable to work for sometime. We pressedon losing sight of the break but drawing away from the depletedbunch. We eventually chased in team time trial mode (memories ofthe 60's!). Ginley won the sprint in our group from Richards and me.I must mention the sterling work put in by no 19 who contributedmuch of the effort in our chase. I must say the race was extremelywell organised and marshallws. The course was much more forgivingthan the original.RESULTS AB Race1. Richard Barnett, Stone Whs A, 2. Paul Bell, Peak RC A, 3. PaulStewart, CC Luton B, 4. Stephen Ellis, Rutland CC B, 5. Paul Belfield,Stone Whs A, 6. Steve Ferris, Daventry CC B, 7. Paul Miller, MapperleyCC A, 8. Campbell Noon, Virgin Active A, 9. John Hall, LVRC B, 10. KarlMoselely, Strourbridge Velo B, 11. Giles Pidcock, Epic Cycles A, 12. PhilRayner, Welland Valley B, 13. Andy Parr, Revolution Fitness A, 14. IanHolmes, Virgin Active A, 15. David Bates, LVRC A, 16. Chris Phillips,Abercynon RC A, 17. Andy Webb, Kenilworth Whs B, 18. Sean 0'toole,VC Sevale B, 19. Mark Humphreys, Rugby Velo B.CD Race1. Steve Johnson, Birkenhead CC C, 2. Mick Davies, Pedal Power C, 3.Dave Cuming, Team Kuota D, 4. Pete Turner, Derby Mercury C, 5. KeithMiddleton, VC Lincoln C, 6. Mike Amery, VC Sevale C, 7. Steve Taylor,Sherwood Pines C, 8. Pete Trotman, Daventry CC D, 9. Alan Hamshaw,Dinnington RC, 10. Steve Macklin, Star Bikes D, 11. Phil Astfalck, TeamJewson/ MI Racing C, 12. Ian Cowan, Solihull CC C, 13. Phil Evans,Coventry RC C.EFG Race1. Don Parry, Team Corley Cervelo E, 2. Mike Allen, Pro Cycle HireMallorca E, 3. Barrie Mitchell, Team Jewson/ MI Racing, 4. Phil Etches,Witham Whs, 5. Brian Sunter, Condor RC, 6. Peter Jeans, Swindon RC E,7. John Ginley, Condor RC F, 8. Bob Richards, Renault Rotor Colbert RTF, 9. Derrick Woodings, Team Jewson/ MI Racing G, 10. John Buxton,Cycling Bargains.com E.SATURDAY 2nd APRIL - REGION 5BARTON WHEELERS AUSTRALIAN PURSUIT.REPORT FROM PETE RYALLSA fine and windy day saw six of us in theF/G group with a one minutestart on the E's with only Richard Booth a danger. The main threat tous looked likely to be the D's at four minutes with strong men AndyDonaldson, Gaz Hill and Mark Robinson. We had power of our ownwith Brian Sunter and Rob Stones, who from the start engaged ina two up with the rest of us hanging on. The finishing straight intothe wind had a prime on the line each lap, keenly contested by ourdynamic duo and as the race progressed closing them down afterthe line really strung us out. With three laps to go, no chasers in sightbut by it was obvious Brian and Rob had decided it is time to partcompany with the dead wood! Sure enough on the climb to Burnhamcross roads the hammer went down. Brian led out of the left handcorner on to the main road then Rob took over, the speed graduallyincreasing. Suddenly Brian cracked and Rob started to ride away. I wasthe only one to spot the danger and closed Rob down, who was nowchurning a 53/11 at 35 mph. On the line with two laps remaining wehad a gap and our main danger now was likely to be from the fastergroups closing in. We held on with all credit to Rob, the remains of theF?G group came in at 30 seconds just holding off the rest of the field.1. Rob Stone F, 2. Pete Ryalls G, 3. Bill Cotton F, 4. Brian Sunter F, 5. JohnGinley G, 6. Jeff Hardy F, 7. Mark Robinson D, 8. Richard Booth E, 9. PaulWakefield C, 10. Steve Marrows C.Points Competition1. Stone; 2. Sunter; 3. Ryalls; 4. GinleySUNDAY 3rd APRIL – REGION 6SOLIHULL EARLY SEASON CIRCUIT RACEThe first LVRC race on the Solihull Tudor Grange Cycle Circuit tookplace on Sunday 3 April. The weather was good if a little fresh with areasonable south easterly breeze making the legs into the finish andround the turn into the rising part of the track fairly challenging tothose on the front.The A,B,C race stayed together reasonably well throughout therace until Phil Blacker and Peter Georgi managed to get clear towardsthe end of the hour. There were a few rider “tumbles” during the racewith the last occurring in the bunch dash to the line when a tub rolledoff one of the riders' tyres. The riders who came off were generally OKexcept for varying degrees of road rash. Peter Georgi went over theline first to win the race.The D,E,F,G race split into three groups fairly early in the race. All ofthe riders worked hard to try and either keep away or close the gapsdown but in the end a group of three including Mike Allen managedto keep everyone at bay with Mike Allen winning the sprint for theline.Overall winner of A, B, C race – Peter GeorgiOverall winner of D, E, F, G race – Mike AllenA Cat results1st Phil Blacker, 2nd Vince Page, 3rd Andy Parr.B Cat results1st Peter Georgi, 2nd Fred Easton, 3rd Sean O’Toole.C Cat results1st Mike Amery, 2nd Ian Cowan.D Cat results1st Pete Trotman, 2nd Mick Day, 3rd Andy Jones.E cat results1st Mike Allen, 2nd Ray Palin, 3rd Clive Pinfold.F Cat results1st Bill Cotton, 2nd Harry Morgan.G Cat results1st Derrick Woodings.SUNDAY 3rd APRIL - REGION 4STAFFORDSHIRE OATCAKE RREFG RACE REPORTStarting off in welcome bright sunshine for just three laps of thispopular but demanding circuit this was a fast hard race right from theneutralised start to the finish. Various early attacks came to nothingand then at the end of the second lap the bunch huge genorositywhen Weaver Valley's Alan Kemp punctured and was allowed someleeway off the front in the hope of getting a wheel change at theThe Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 9

Results 2011D, 3. David Phillips, Corinium CC C, 4. Ian Cowan, Solihull CC C, 5. PeteTurner, Derby Mercury C, 6. Marcus Walker, Bush Healthcare C, 7.Richard Coleman, Stourbridge CC D, 8. Terry Meechan, StourbridgeCC D, 9. Mike Amery, VC Sevale C, 10. Mike Carty D, 11. John Hughes,Cov.Ride. UK D, 12. Philip Astfalck, Team Jewson MI Racing C, 13. PhilEvans, Coventry RC C, 14. Jon Clarke, Wyre Forest D, 15. Mark Hopkins,Wyre Forest C, 16. Howard Jones, Epic Cycles D, 17. Andy Stovell CSDynamo C, 18. Andy Jones, Wolverhampton Whs D, 19. Bob Tyrrell D,20. Ivor Thomas, Solihull CC D, 21. Paul Spencer, Bush Healthcare C, 22.Christopher Samier, Witham Whs C, 23. Ken Bradbury, Wyre Forest D,24. Chris Harrison, VC Montpelier C, 25. Martin Clissold, Cardiff Jif D.EFG RACE1. Mike Allen, Pro Cycle Hire Mallorca E, 2. Don Parry, Team CorleyCervelo E, 3. John Callaghan, Epic Cycles E, 4. Lance Ravenhill, CoventryCycle Centre F, 5. Ken Haddon, Bush Healthcare G, 6. Gordon Walters,Bush Healthcare E, 7. Derrick Woodings, Team Jewson MI Racing G, 8.Bill Rains, VC Bristol F, 9. Clive Pinfold, Team Jewson MI Racing E, 10.Peter Hudson, Wrekinsport E, 11. Peter Jennings, Dysynni CC F, 12. IanPotts, Wolverhampton Whs E, 13. Peter Money, CS Dynamo E. 14. JohnBuxton, Cycling Bargains.com E.SUNDAY 17th APRIL – REGION 9EPSOM SPRING CLASSICRace 1 A/B/C1. Craig Peter, Cycle Kingdom (A), 2. Ashley Holding, GB MStina (B),3. Craig Wilson, Ciclisti Vecchi/Amtec (B), 4. Richard Hallett, SydenhamWhs (C), 5. Jason Edwards, GB MStina (A), 6. Robin Parker, East GrinsteadCC (A), 7. Ian Leeding, Redhill CC (A), 8. Rob Marcus, Godalming &Haslemere (C), 9. Ben Macland, Ciclisti Vecchi/Amtec (A), 10. MartinHulbert, VC Meudon (C).A - 1. Craig Peter, 2. Jason Edwards, 3. Robin Parker.B - 1. Ashley Holding, 2. Craig Wilson, 3. Andrew Page.C - 1. Richard Hallett, 2. Rob Marcus, 3. Martin Hulbert.Race 2 D/E/F/G1. Ray Robinson, Team Rose Blann (D), 2. Phil Bull, VC Elan (D), 3.Dick Naylor, San Fairy Ann CC (E), 4. Glen Smith, LVRC (D), 5. Ray Palin,Mark Pickford Cycles/Eye Level (E), 6. Ken Ruffell, Ciclisti Vecchi/Amtec(F), 7. Steve Barnsley, Ciclisti Vecchi/Amtec (D), 8. Barry Jones, CyclesDauphin (F), 9. Paul Nelson, VC Meudon/Amtec (D), 10. Colin Bateman,Festival RC (D).D - 1. Ray Robinson, 2. Phil Bull, 3. Glen Smith.E - 1. Dick Naylor, 2. Ray Palin, 3. David Williams.F - 1. Ken Ruffell, 2. Barry Jones, 3. Andy Hicks.G - 1. Roly Crayford, 2. Fred Jefcote, 3. Mick Curtis.SUNDAY 17th APRIL – REGION 9CICLOS UNO HOG HILL SPRING SERIES (EVENT 3)Categories A,B,C&D Overall1st 13 Chris Baldwin Eagle R.C. (C), 2nd 15 Steve Murrell East LondonVelo (A), 3rd 23 Damien Foy Eagle R.C. (B), 4th 10 Martyn Ryan FordC.C. (A), 5th 5 Craig Stevens Ciclos Uno (B), 6th 3 Mark Abela KentCycles (A), 7th 24 Tony Wilkins Mareterra (D), 8th 18 Tony MeaderEagle R.C. (B), 9th 7 Paul Stewart C.C. Luton (B), 10th 16 Darren MyersCrest C.C. (A), 11th 25 Julian Cunnington Condor Cycles (C), 12th 32Mark Simmonds Kingsnorth Int. (A), 13th 8 Steve Green Ciclos Uno(B), 14th 12 Richard Kemp Redbridge C.C. (D), 15th 28 Carlito RendoraEagle R.C. (B), 16th 6 Pete Constable Interbike R.T. (D), 17th 26 PeterHolden Victoria C.C. (A), 18th 9 Paul Burgoine Finchley R.T. (B), 19th 14Terence Sowa West Kent R.C. (C), 20th 11 Dave Dickie Finchley R.T. (D).Primes: David Farrow (1) Carlito Rendora (1) Chris Baldwin (1)Category ‘A’ - 1st 15 Steve Murrell, 2nd 10 Martin Ryan, 3rd 3 MarkAbela.Category ‘B’ - 1st 23 Damien Foy, 2nd 5 Craig Stevens, 3rd 18 TonyMeader.Category ‘C’ - 1st 13 Chris Baldwin, 2nd 25 Julian Cunnington, 3rd14 Terence Sowa.Category ‘D’ - 1st 24 Tony Wilkins, 2nd 12 Richard Kemp, 3rd 6 PeteConstable.Categories E,F,G & H Overall1st 62 Dave Rowe 34th Nomads (F), 2nd 65 Colin MannakeeGlendene/Biketrax (E), 3rd 53 David Burwood Kingsnorth Int. (F), 4th51 Robin Webb API/Metrow (E), 5th 56 Trevor Mills Ford C.C. (F), 6th55 Dave Smith G.S. Avanti (F), 7th 54 Alan French Interbike R.T. (B)O.O.C., 8th 63 Dave Fleming Cycles Dauphin (F), 9th 64 Stuart WaltersKettering C.C. (G), 10th 58 Matt Hume Rochester (A) O.O.C., 11th 60Ken Beecham V.C. Elan (E), 12th 52 Roy Godbeer Southend Wheelers(H), 13th 57 Glenn Grant Eagle R.C. (B) O.O.C., 14th 61 Chas Wilde EagleR.C. (H) Lapped, 15th 59 Norman Bright Kingsnorth Int. (G) Lapped.Category ‘E’ - 1st 65 Colin Mannakee, 2nd 51 Robin Webb, 3rd 60Ken Beecham.Category ‘F’ - 1st 62 Dave Rowe, 2nd 53 David Burwood, 3rd 56Trevor Mills.Category ‘G’ - 1st 64 Stuart Walters, 2nd 59 Norman Bright.Category ‘H’ - 1st 52 Roy Godbeer, 2nd 61 Chas WildePrimes: Dave Rowe (2) Robin Webb (1)SUNDAY 24th APRIL – REGION 9CICLOS UNO HOG HILL SPRING SERIES (EVENT 4)Categories A,B,C&D Overall1st Lee Rowe Finchley R.T. B, 2nd Dominique Gabellini Rapha/Condor C, 3rd Robin Parker East Grinstead A, 4th Andrew BallentineEasterly R.C. B, 5th Livio Nannetti Eagle R.C. A, 6th Martyn Ryan FordC.C. A, 7th Julian Cunnington Condor Cycles C, 8th Graham GalvinEast London Velo A, 9th David Farrow Eagle R.C. A, 10th Tom WilsonEye Level D, 11th Kevin Barker Ciclos Uno A, 12th Andy O’Regan C.C.Hackney C, 13th Bill Fitzgerald G.S. Avanti, 14th Craig Stevens CiclosUno B, 15th Tony Wilkins Mareterra D, 16th Phil Holloway SouthendWheelers A, 17th Damien Foy Eagle R.C. A, 18th Chris Baldwin EagleR.C. C, 19th Kenny Clarke London Dynamo A, 20th Steve GreenCiclos Uno B, 21st Chris Edwards Gateway Cycling D, 22nd Steve SmithRedbridge C.C. D, 23rd Steve Murrell East London Velo A, 24th SimonHeating Eagle R.C. C, 25th Pete Constable Interbike R.T. D, 26th TonyMeader Eagle R.C. B, 27th Andy Roberts Evans Cycles D, 28th ??? B,29th Phil Cooper LVRC D, 30th Carlito Rendoro Eagle R.C. B.Categories E,F,G & H Overall1st Ray Palin EyeLevel/M.Pickford E, 2nd Dick Naylor San Fairy AnnC.C. E, 3rd Alan Williams G.S. Giucci E, 4th Dave Rowe 34th Nomads F,5th Roly Crayford San Fairy Ann C.C. G, 6th David Smith G.S. Avanti F,7th Wayne Thomas Reading C.C. E, 8th Tony Woodcock KingsnorthInt. G, 9th Dave Woods C.C. Luton E, 10th Pete Ryalls SheffieldPhoenix G, 11th Stuart Walters Kettering C.C. G, 12th David BurwoodNicosport/Kingsnorth F, 13th Robin Webb API /Metrow E, 14th JohnLeitch Redhill C.C. F, 15th Stan Franklin Medway Velo E, 16th VernonThomas V.C. Elan F, 17th Terry Whalley Ford C.C. E, 18th Roy GodbeerSouthend Wheelers H, 19th Chas Wilde Eagle R.C. H, 20th NormanBright Kingsnorth Int. G.SATURDAY 30th APRIL – REGION 7TEAM CORLEY CYCLES / ALPHA RC RRA/B/C1 Phil Rayner B, 2 Steve Ferris B, 3 Howard Jeffrey B, 4 RichardGoulding A, 5 Phil Wilkins B, 6 Carl Stukenbroek C, 7 Paul StewartB, 8 Mark Ferrar A, 9 David Mills C, 10 Simon Williams B, 11 TrevorBradbury C, 12 Paul Bird A, 13 Stephen Goodman A, 14 Greg AshleyB, 15 David Haydon A.Category A - 1 Richard Goulding, 2 Mark Ferrar, 3 Paul Bird.Category B - 1 Phil Rayner, 2 Steve Ferris, 3 Howard Jeffrey.Category C - 1 Carl Stukenbroek, 2 David Mills, 3 Trevor Bradbury.D/E/F/G1 Pete Trotman D, 2 Don Parry E, 3 Terry Devine E, 4 Steve Barnsley D,5 Terry Meecham D, 6 Phil O'Dell D, 7 John Hughes E, 8 Barry Jones F, 9Dave Woods E, 10 Tony Woodcock G, 11 Barry Jones F, 12 Jeff HathawayE, 13 Geoff Mosley F, 14 Martin O'Connor D, 15 Gary Weston E.Category D - 1 Pete Trotman, 2 Steve Barnsley, 3 Terry Meecham.Category E - 1 Don Parry, 2 Terry Devine, 3 John Hughes.Category F - 1 Barry Jones, 2 Barry Jones, 3 Geoff Mosley.Category G - 1 Tony WoodcockSATURDAY 30th APRIL - MONDAY 2nd MAY- REGION 6TOUR OF THE ABBERLEYS 3 DAY.AB RESULTS1 Tim Carter Virgin Active B, 2 Mike Jones Paramount A, 3 PhilBlacker Wyre Forest CC A, 4 Conor O'Brien Solihull CC A, 5 SteveDavies Onimpex Bioracer RT B, 6 Phil Mason Climb on Bikes CC B,7 Mike Garth Lichfield City CC A, 8 Jon Stephenson Team Jewson B,9 Johannes Roux Giant CC B, 10 Peter Georgi Giant CC B, 11 StuartGriffiths Climb on Bikes A, 12 Neil Higgins Preston CC B, 13 AndyThe Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 11

in world class athletes whilst values of 50-60% are found inuntrained individuals). Using Max. HR the figure is around85%.You can see that, by using the term ‘around’, it is a little hitand miss when using the last two methods but at least it givesyou a starting point. Your average sustainable HR in a decent10 mile TT will help to confirm or question these percentagesin terms of your individual level. Using HR does have it’slimitations in terms of accuracy and repeatability as HR valuesnot only differ in individuals but can change day to day. HRvalues ‘indoors’ (turbo) are more consistent than outdoors thatpotentially has more variables.Most riders of a certain age will have heard of or, indeedtried, the Conconi protocol. It’s effectively a ramp test thatwas meant to detect the deflection point at which Lactateaccumulation rose sharply. Whilst it was cutting edge in itstime, later research shows that it can, in some cases, be soinaccurate that it is no longer a recommended method.So, back to the practicalities and the two types of ‘Lactate’sessions.Sessions to push up your threshold should be ridden at justbelow (but very close to) threshold. Efforts of 2reps x 10 mins(progressing to 20 mins or 4 reps. as fitness improves) with 5and 10 mins. easy recovery respectively between reps. Thesewould effectively be at around 85% of HR Max.(low to midZone 4) or 90-95% of FTP. Be careful not to treat these intervalsas 10 mile TT’s. The effort should be below your normal 10 mileTT pace.It is possible, in some circumstances, to do this sort of workin a group by either working at the front in a slower group orsitting-in in a faster group. You do need some understandingfriends for this to work!Sessions to improve tolerance will be very dependent onyour fitness level.They will be in the region of 4 to 6reps x 1 to 3 mins. at 90%of HR Max.(high Zone 5) or 120% of FTP. The times of recoveryfor these sessions should be in the region of half the effortduration but can vary according to your requirements. Ideallyyou do not want Lactate levels to drop too much duringrecovery. If, for example, you are training for a Crit. or a TrackPoints race you may think about reducing the recovery periodsto better simulate race conditions.An example of a tolerance ‘ramp’ session using HR valuesas a guide would be 10 minutes at 70% Max. HR then increaseby 2% (ie; 72% then 74% etc.) every 4 minutes until you reach90% Max. HR for the final 4 minutes. This will total 50 minutes.You will see advice involving reps. of 30 seconds. In my viewthese will be too short to effectively train the ‘tolerance’ weare trying to enhance. As we have seen, the bulk of Lactateis produced during Fast Glycolysis and that element of ourenergy system has really only just fully kicked in at around30 seconds. But, if you do want to try then a session couldbe 8 to 12 x30 second reps. at 100% effort. Recovery is longerthan usual and should be easy riding for 4.5 minutes whichcoincidentaly makes it easy to keep track of your session with5 minute blocks.Using HR values for the shorter duration reps. isn’t alwayseasy as the HR response to these efforts will take time to catchup. Indeed, for the 30 second reps. HR is academic as they areridden full-on.Remember that these sessions should always be precededby a good warm-up and concluded with a gentle warmdown.You don’t need me to tell you that this type of work isextremely demanding and proper recovery before anotherintensity session is vital for all that hard work to be beneficial.I mentioned earlier the use of Sodium Bicarbonate or CitricAcid in studies aimed at dealing with the fatiguing excessiveacidic state of muscles and blood plasma at high levels ofintense exercise. The thoughts are that the substances, beingalkaline in nature, could help bring the body ph level backin balance thus alleviating the ‘burn’. Results of the studiesand dosing protocols can easily be found on the internet soI won’t repeat them here. All I’ll say is that not only is SodiumBicarbonate pretty foul tasting, no matter how you try todisguise it, but it can play havoc with the digestive system. Bewarned!Creatine is another widely available and marketed substancethat is thought to help in short intense efforts and is popularin the bodybuilding world. Ingestion may help to supplementthe body’s natural store of Creatine which, as we have seen, isa vital component of energy production during short intenseefforts. Again, there’s a wealth of references on the internet ifyou want to further research its use.There is so much advice available in terms of trainingnowadays and it’s always been the case that if you’re out witha group of 10 cyclists you’re likely to get 12 different views onthe same issue! All I will say is that it’s good to question andnot blindly follow.So there you have it, the case for the defence of Lactate. I’msure most of you reading this will already be doing sessionssimilar to the examples above. But at least you now know whythe sessions work and why you endure the pain!Chris Davis is an active LVRC member, a Level 2 BC coach,a British Weight Lifting Association coach and runs a SportsInjury Therapy practice in Bristol.He is happy to deal with individual queries from LVRCmembers particularly in respect of training, stretch and weighttraining programmes.He can be contacted at: cjd.justride@tiscali.co.ukHotel CollingwoodPriory Road Bournemouth BH2 5DFTel: 01202-557575 Fax: 01202-293219www.hotel-collingwood.co.ukAA★★★Superb restaurant, 5-coursedinner, entertainment,indoor pool and leisurecomplex, full size snookertable, bike storage,guaranteed parking.Barrie Clarke welcomes all cyclists, friends and families toHotel Collingwood in Bournemouth Centre. Sponsor for 28 yearsof Bournemouth Arrow CC.Please mention this advertisement to obtain 10% discount (unless already discounted).Website: www.hotel-collingwood.co.ukPage 16 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

Still Riding at 90 - Charlie Betteleyby Jim GoldenCHARLIE Betteley will be out on his bike as usual this weekendweather permitting . That's not unusual for a keen cyclist,except that Charlie was 90 on in November.And it is still not uncommon for the Stafford Road Clubmember, who started cycling before World War Two, to clockup 150 miles during his weekly rides.Remarkably, Charlie only gave up roadracing at the age of 80, but not before veteransracing had given him a new lease of life,which included winning the over-50s worldtitle in the road race championships aroundAshbourne in 1975.The inception of the League of VeteranRacing Cyclists extended his career and hebecame a regular prize winner, collecting fournational titles before his retirement.Former engineer Charlie, who lives in Stafford,close to his son and daughter, grandchildrenand great-grandchildren, started cycling atthe age of 16 and continued riding to andfrom work during the war.He was a founder member of Stafford RoadClub in 1947 – and won the hill climb on theold Weston Hill in their debut year.Over the years he built up a successfulcycling career and finished fifth and sixth inthe Midlands road race events."Cycling has been my life from the day EricJordan got me into it when I started work,"said Charlie."I can remember my first club runs were to Meriden andCastleton and it was not rare for us to ride over to Lake Vyrnwyin Wales. Sometimes, we would ride 200 miles."Things have changed so much. In those days there was notraffic on the road, and it is more difficult for cyclists on theroads these days."I loved road racing and competed with some of the bestriders of the day."Charlie retained his first category road race licence as amember of the old British League of Racing Cyclists wherehe raced against some of the great riders, including the allconqueringViking Cycles team.But, like many league riders, he retired fromracing in 1958 when they merged with theNational Cyclists' Union to become the BritishCycling Federation.Charlie had been banned for life for ridingon the open road with the League pioneers ofroad racing during a power struggle betweenthe two organisations.When Charlie was in his late 60s, the latePercy Stallard set up the LVRC, which gavehim the motivation to race again followinghis retirement from Dorman's Engineering, inStafford."When Percy founded the LVRC I decided torace again. I was second in my first event andwon the next," he said."Before that there was no real chancefor someone of my age to road race and becompetitive. I am still a member of the LVRC."I like to get out regularly with the local lads,but now I just race with them on our rides. Thegroup are mainly between 70 and 80, althoughthere are 'youngsters' of 60 who join us."The length of the rides depends where theclub is going – it can be up to 60 miles. But I often have to cutshort my Sunday rides because my son Peter comes round totake me to his house for lunch."Stafford club member Neil McHugh added: "Charlie is alegend and he regularly leads our veterans on Sunday rides.He is a wonderful example to all cyclists."Our French HomeIdeal cycling country.1 hour south of Bordeaux and Bergerac airports.Excellent wine and food area.Comfortably sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms + more if required on sofa beds.All usual facilities in the property.Region 33 - Gironde, Acquitaine.Special super rates for LVRC members.Visit the website for more details: www.ourfrenchhome.co.ukor contact Russell on 07768 320784The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 17

Book reviewsBy Dick Selley & Gordon DanielsI have just read, somewhat belatedly,it was published 5 years ago, MichaelHutchinson's "The Hour", and enjoyed it.If you also missed it, it is worth getting.The read, like the record, was not easybut Hutch keeps going, through thickand thin, towards his goal. He writesin the style which will be familiar toreaders of Cycling Weekly from hisregular contributions.The many and varied problems heencounters on the way to his recordattempt at the "Athletes Hour" areinterspersed with details of past recordholders and their individual stories.The typically bumbling managementof the record by the UCI is shown in gorydetail. Bike design, riding position andequipment are all discussed culminatingin the last minute pronouncements ofthe UCI official at the track when Hutchwas told to remove 1. the power cranks,2. his heartrate monitor, 3. his digitalwatch! He only just managed to keephis shoe covers and had to wait until thecommissaire finished his conversationbefore he deigned to come to the linefor the start. Amazing.The attempt was not a success, Michaellasted 40 minutes before stopping, wellbehind his schedule. To his credit hemade another more rewarding try a fewmonths later but again missed out.He can reflect on two honest rides insearch of the ultimate cycling record.How many of us would be brave enoughto even think about trying it?"The Hour" is published by YellowJersey Press ISBN 9780224075209Dick SelleyMaglia Rosa: Triumph and tragedy atthe Giro d'Italia by Herbie SykesThe history of the Giro d'Italia is notwell known to English speakers. HerbieSykes has tapped in to a rich vein ofliterature long neglected. Supported byphotographs that will be new to mostreaders, quotes by Gino Bartali bindeverything together.Italy, conservative, traditional andintrospective is reflected in the Giro. Neverable to challenge the Tour de France inwealth and size, it is more representativeof the country and its people. La Gazzettadello Sport organised the first Giro toincrease newspaper circulation andattracted the best italian riders of the day.Giovanni Gerbi, the first pro cyclist, if nottoo bright, sold newsprint in spades. Theearly years were saturated with racers ofoutstanding class. Girardengo and Binda,the campionissimi, and Guerra, perhapsnot as gifted but, with his dark goodlooks, the darling of Italian housewivesand popular with the fascists. Mussolinievidently thought the introduction ofa pink jersey for the leader of the Giroeffemimate.recovery and increased leisure timeconsigned cycling to the unfashionable.Merckx completely dominated ageneration but emasculated cyclingthrough his talent. Nonetheless, whilstthe Giro declined, with the end ofthe Merckx era it regained popularityfollowing the emergence of Moser andhis often spiteful rivalry with Saronni.Recent Giro champions, epitomisedby Marco Pantani, lack the sheen of theirpredecessors owing to the scandal ofdoping and the code of honour thatprevents racers from speaking openlyabout it. In principle they are no moreculpable but their sophistication incheating shows greater cynicism. Somerefreshingly candid observation exposesthe complacency and complicity of theGiro organisation in this regard. However,the Giro has a future owing to its history,status and cultural significance whilstother Italian races have disappearedthrough lack of finance and publicindifference. In this lavish book HerbieSykes has produced something of paceand colour.Maglia Rosa: Triumph and tragedyat the Giro d'Italia by Herbie Sykes.Published by Rouleur. ISBN 978-0-9564233-5-1Gordon DanielsSelley'sSnippet“I have neverfailed a drug test”(in fact I have neverdonated urine)In 2008 I wasstaying at the samehotel as SaunierDuval on the concluding day of theGiro d’Italia by arrangement with agentleman called Graham Baxter.Ricardo Ricco had just finished 2ndoverall and had won the “Best YoungRider” classification (with some help!).This was before it “hit the fan” butwith hindsight his expression seemsto say “why is this old bloke wearingmy jersey? I wonder if he is from theUCI or WADA?”Dick SelleyItalian social, political and economichistory are juxtaposed with the changingfortunes of the race. Fiorenzo Magni'scareer ran in parallel with those of Coppiand Bartali. Tough, uncompromising, anunreconstructed national socialist, herefused to accept their hegemony. VitoAdorni, classy and stylish, Italo Zilioli, thenew Coppi, Carlo Clerici, Tino Colettoand Ercole Baldini, the disappointinghope of Italian cycling, and others,whose names may be unfamiliar, feature PS. I have been using my wife’sin the vignettes.“Golden Highlights” shampoo forChallenged by the upsurge in TV years and this is the only time it hascoverage where people wanted football, really worked!the Giro's popularity faltered. EconomicPage 18 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

Book reviewsBy Dick Selley & Gordon DanielsPedaller Talk – a nostalgic look backto some of cycle racing’s past. ByTony TaylorOne Tuesday evening recently I wasclearing up after one of Ron Day’sevening crits at Milton Keynes Bowlwhen I saw a figure striding towardsme waving a book.It was Don Parry and he said to me“Oi, I want a word with you! The exchairman......”.At this point I thought.....”Blimey!Don has resigned and he wants meto be the next chairman of the LVRCand he is giving me the Associationchequebook! Yippee!As it transpired I was totally wrong,and not for the first time!!!Don had been asked by Pete Ryalls toask me to review a book he had beensent by Tony Taylor called “PedallerTalk”, and would I do it soon for the nextedition of the “Veteran Leaguer”>Of course I agreed to accept thecommission and have since thenenjoyed reading Tony’s paperbackpublication.As he explains in a letter to Pete,Tony was run down from behind bya car in 1996, an all to frequent storyregrettably, and suffered a fracturedskull leading to brain injury. Headstart,that wonderful organisation,recommended that he write about hisaccident as therapy, and this led to himcontributing articles to “The Pedaller”,Yeovil CC’s club magazine. Anxious notto loose these stories, Tony decidedto combine them in a book and thisedition is the result.It is a fascinating series of tales aboutthe early days of road racing in thiscountry from one of the participants.Tony rode for the BournemouthOlympic RC in the fifties and laterbecame the organiser of their EasterStage Race from 1964, one of thechapters is about this race.Other chapters include “the League”,the early TOB’s, British pro teams of thefifties and later. Also featured are theLondon six day races and many moreglimpses into the rich history of oursport.Throughout the book many ridersare mentioned, most of the early pros,including Pete Ryalls, so have a look,you may be one of them!For me one of the delights of thisbook is the abundance of early photos,many of which I have not seen before.Dave Bedwell and Ron Coe fighting itout in the 1962 Archer Grand Prix, the1954 Oats, lots on Ian Steel, a name Iknew but had seen few photos of.Tony brings us up to date withmentions of Chris Boardman,the Downing brothers and MarkCavendish.I enjoyed reading this book and youcan also by ringing up Tony Tayloron 01963 359044 to order a copy for£10 plus £2 P&P. Tony’s sight has beenaffected by his accident with the resultthat he can no longer ride, howeverI am sure he will be delighted toreminisce about past battles, especiallyif you happen to be someone featuredin his book.Pedaller Talk by Tony Taylor ISBN0-9512610-2-9 Dick SelleyMick Ives's News RollCharity RideMick Ives at start of his ride for"Injured Jockey Fund " 150 mls between5 N.H.Hunt Race coursesMick is pictured with A.P. McCoy,16 times National Champion, --BBCSports Personality of Year 2010, winnerof Grand National 2010, along withJon Jo O'Neill , ex Champion Jockey,Champion Trainer and trainer of 2010Grand National Winner, and DominicElsworth, another Top Jockey who ridesfor Jon Jo, outside entrance to JackdawCastle the Racing establishment of JoJo O'Neill, high up in the CotswoldHills.-- which like Mick is sponsored by"Jewson".--A.P.Mc Coy, then dashed offto ride 2 winners at Huntingdon--busyman.Team Jewson Team LaunchMick Ives pictured with the restof his Team Jewson team mates.The team comprises main currentand past LVRC national championsand regular race winners.The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 19

A Little Story from Bygone Daysby Barrington DayIn May 1953 I cycled from my homein Weston-super-mare through EastBrent as far as Highbridge, then tooka left to 'Mark', a very small village onthe edge of Mark Moor. Mark Moor isa very flat lowland type of area, wherethe locals have been digging peat forcenturies. It is criss-crossed by long flat,not very wide roads, each with a deepwide ditch along both sides, the wateralways looked black and uninviting. Italways floods in the Winter and mostof the roads are under water.My reason for visiting this particulararea was because I had read in the localpaper (well my Mum pointed it out tome) that the local club, The Westonsuper-mareWheelers were holding aroad race, it was to go twice round a25 mile circuit. This was the first bikerace that I had ever watched, I don'tthink that there was any bike racingon the television in those days, Justas well as we didn't have a televisionin those days. It was yet the reach thedeep south-west.The race was won by local lad, TimOrgan. I knew Tim vaguely, as heused to be Head Boy at the school Iattended, we talked and I ended up byjoining the Weston Wheelers Club runfor the rest of the day, this includedtea, fortunately I had half a crown inmy pocket and as the tea was twojust two shillings, I was able to pay myown way. After tea and on the wayhome I was told all about peat cuttingby an older member, I was only 15, soeverybody was older than me, thesedays it's the other way around.I arrived home at about 8 o'clock,very excited by the days achievements,but I received the biggest scaldingthat I can remember, apparently I wasexpected home for Sunday lunch, myparents were very vexed and I wassent to my room until the morning.After pleading with my parents toallow me to join the club. I began myassociation with seriously riding a bike,the summer quickly past, I rode theclub runs with the Weston Wheelersevery Sunday, mostly around the 100mile mark. I managed to tackle all thewest country hills, after a while I wasactually looking forward to the bigclimbs, I was soon able to climb themwith the other club members withouttoo much trouble. I only weighed about10 stone in those days. We stayed outall day, stopping for lunch at a pub,to eat our sandwiches and drink apint of orange squash. Then it wason the road again stopping for tea, ata pre-arranged and booked location,this was normal practice, back in the1950's.We now follow on nicely to the nextpart of my story, a very exciting dayindeed.One Sunday during the October,when all the racers had finishedcompeting for the season we were alllooking forward to the Sunday clubrun,but today was to be different, it wasthe day of the annual interclub hillclimb, I seem to remember three clubswere to compete, 'Somerset RoadClub', 'Blackdown Couriers' and the'Weston Wheelers,. It was to be held ona long hill out of Taunton, called 'CorfeHill' yes it was a hill climb, but notas we know it, because it was a BLRC(British League of Racing Cyclists)massed start hill climb. I was told thatI could ride. At the bottom of the hillwe all removed our mudguards andsaddlebags, hoping that somebodywould take them to the top of the forus.I can't remember how many startersthere were, but not many as I recall.Then we were then off, seemed anice steady pace for a while, but thenit started to get steeper, I couldn'tbelieve that riders were droppingback behind me, I could see the twoleaders, Tim Organ (he won it) andJohn Pearce (blackdown Couriers) upahead, eventually, I could also see thetop and still lying in 3rd place, but mylittle legs were really starting to hurt,I was then passed by Bertie Bragg,known as a 'decender most crazy', andI was 4th at the top, and very pleasedwith myself.When it was all over, the saddlebagand mud guards had to be refitted,a kindly older member helped me,informing me that I was using 2BAfibre locknuts and bolts to securethem, I didn't know this, but I expectmy Dad got them from the BAC (BristolAirplane Company). I must have nickedthem from his toolbox.We then cycled about 20 miles toan Inn near Dunster, where we ateour sandwiches and drank a pint oforange squash, we always had a pintof orange squash. Well the youngstersusually did, I think the older ones drankbeer or cider. We then took to theroad again on a wandering route pastTaunton and stopping at the 'CompassInn' in North Petherton for tea.This tea place was different fromall the others in so much that cookedfood was available, there were manycombinations, beans on toast, egg ontoast, mushrooms on toast, tomatoeson toast, beans, egg, mushrooms andtomatoes on toast, with a meat pie,plus all the bread, butter,jam andtea that you could take on board,the maximum price paid, if you hadeverything, and most of us did, thecost was just 3/6d.After tea we began the 25 mile ridehome, all feeling very full, after tryingto eat everything put before us, thisdidn't prevent most of the youngerriders sprinting for every 30mph signon the way. There were not many ofthem as most signs had been removedduring the war, and hadn't yet beenreplaced after the war had ended.Arriving home at 8-30pm, I wasasked if I had a good day and did Iwant something to eat, yes I had avery good day, but I just couldn't eatanother thing. A little different fromthat day in May when I suffered such atelling off. I went to bed and fell asleeplistening to 'Radio Luxemburg 208' onmy crystal set, I was still wearing theheadphones in the morning.The icing on the cake came a fewdays later, when I saw my name in thelocal paper for the first time ever.Page 20

FORMER OLYMPIAN HARRY LODGE TAKESBASSO CUSTOM FIT TEST AT SPIRIT BIKESMost of us have set up a positionon a bike and said “That’ll do!”The human body is one of themost adaptable machines on earth andit will work, even if it is forced to work ina poor position.At Spirit Bikes “That’ll do” does notexist. Harry was invited by Chris Parks,Bike Fit Specialist to come along to theirpremises on Rabans Lane in Aylesburyin Buckinghamshire.” From the moment I walked in, I feltreassured that here was a guy whounderstand what correct bike positiontesting was all about………and after35 years in cycling I’ve had many tests.Obviously, I had to bring my currentcycling shoes. I changed into my cyclingclothes and the test began.Chris took a series of bodymeasurements which were fed intothe Spirit Bikes positioning softwareprogram set with the rider’s specificdiscipline – Time Trialling, Road Racing,Track Racing, Sportive Riding or CycleTouring. Each discipline requires adifferent set up requirement to ensurean optimum position. Spirit Bikes havea bank of set ups for all types of cycling.I chose the road racing position, despitenot having raced for several years now!Each leg was measured separately,from knee to ankle and also from kneeto top inside leg – together with eacharm, chest and back length.Chris put me on the custom bikerig and I clipped into the pedals. Mysaddle height was set according to thebody measurements taken. Checks andtests were taken on my leg position atthe bottom of a pedal revolution andat 90 degree power stroke, and kneeposition in relation to this, to make suremy saddle position was an optimumone. I was very comfortable with anear perfect set up at the first time oftrying.However Chris was not satisfied andset about checking my shoes. SinceI stopped racing, I have been verygood at making do, but by insertinga small wedge to raise one side of myshoe cleat the lateral movement in mypedalling arc was eliminated.We then agreed on top tube length,frame size and stem length, handlebarwidth and brake hood setting, whilstmaintaining careful attention to saddleheight and saddle positioning over thebottom bracket.Spirit Bikes has built its increasingreputation for excellence of service bylistening to the requests of its clientsand by accommodating feedback whenfinalising a custom set up.At all phases during my bike fit, Chris,a cyclist of much experience in a varietyof disciplines, listened to what I had tosay, what I had found had worked forme in the past and what hadn’t. Mostpeople in the past had suggested Iused 175mm cranks, but I never got onwith them – this was taken into accountwhen we did the test and I used mypreferred 172.5mm cranks.I came away from Spirit Bikesabsolutely reassured about mynew bike position and had learnedsomething new at the same time. I 'veused this new set up for eight weeksnow and I am very pleased with theresults. I would recommend this testto any cyclist from rank amateur toseasoned professional, and as a musthave for anyone taking this sportseriously.Harry LodgeProfessional Cyclist 13 YrsGreat Britain Cycling TeamSeoul Olympics 1988To arrange a custom bike fit contact Chris at Spirit Bikes on 07780 672053www.spiritbikes.co.uk• PASSION • PERFORMANCE • PRECISION49 Rabans Close, Rabans Lane Ind. Estate, Aylesbury, Bucks HP19 8RS.Chris Tel: 07780 672053 E: chris@spiritbikes.co.ukThe Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 21

Letters PageDear AndyHas Don Parry, our Chairman,seen the light at last regarding theintransigence of 'British Cycling'?When Don took over from PeteRyalls, I did warn him that BC wasnot to be trusted.BC is determined and their soleaim is to swallow up all independentbodies like LVRC and TLI.To add strength to our positionin the cycle racing on our roadscampaign, I believe we shouldobtain support from the timetrial veteran organisation, theVTTA, who have a much largermembership than the LVRC andTLI put together.Dave OrfordDear AndyThe Spring edition of 'TheVeteran Leaguer' has just arrive,and in Don Parry's - From The Chairitem, I see that Don's experiencewith BC Has now reached my ownconclusion formed years ago, whenI first approached the BCF in 1970re veteran road sport, and I hadto apprach the 'Sports Council' inorder to force the BCF to acceptveteran racing.However, my last clash withBC came only a few years ago,when it was announced in 'CyclingWeekly' that BC would organisethe UCI European Veteran RoadChampionships on the Isle of Man.The condition laid down by theBC, I knew from experience, thatit would be a fiasco, as they wereunaware of the political problemcaused in Belgium when in the1970s and indeed until 1995 thatbecause the UCI did not recognisethe veteran category, the BelgianUCI body LVB refused to issueracing licences to any amateur overthe age of 35.This led to non-UCI bodies beingformed all over Europe, includingEngland with TLI and later LVRC.It wasn't long beore the non-UCIworld body ICF came into being.I wrote twice to BC and twiceto the Isle of Man organiser thatalmost all veterans in Europe didnot have a UCI licence! I did notrecieve a reply from either.The championships were indeeda fiasco, and the Isle of Man losttheir sponsor - the Isle of Mantourist board, and that was the endof the Isle of Man Cycling Week,which had existed on the Islandsince the 1930s.I believe the non co-operation byBC with bodies like LVRC and TLIshould be exposed in the NationalPress. Remember Sport England'smotto is 'SPORT FOR ALL'. AndBC is only interested in completedomination!Dave OrfordPage 22 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011

Point of view by Tom McCallI have read with interest in the recentNational Press about the allocationof tickets for next year’s Olympics inLondon. I agree in principle with thesystem they have used, namely that aLottery type allocation is better than aFirst Come First Served situation. Thiswould cause the same problems assimilar phone-in systems, with on-linelog-jams, and thousands of frustratedpeople unable to get connected at all.However, I was slightly surprised to findthat Bradley Wiggins was unsuccessfulin getting tickets for his family. I wouldhave thought it a necessary courtesyto offer tickets to any of our reigningOlympic champions. After all, we wereproud enough of them at the time oftheir achievements. Now, all that isapparently forgotten. This seems prettyshabby treatment to me, and I am surethis would not have happened in anyother promoting country. I notice thatSeb Coe was recently defending theticket allocation system, which seemspretty hypocritical, as he will be there inthe best seats - and on a free pass!The recently completed Giro d’Italiawas marred by the intimely death ofWouter Weyland, but it was also asuccessful Giro for the Brits. We hadDavid Miller in the jersey for one day,then a superb winner of the final timetrial. Mark Cavendish did well with twostage wins considering that there waslittle on offer for the sprinters, but don’talso let’s forget Russell Downing in hisfirst Grand Tour. He came close to astage win, and showed considerablecourage in finishing the race despite afall close to the end that could have haddire consequenses. Chapeau Russell.Contador was an emphatic winner, witha couple of humanitarian acts thrown inwhere he allowed others to win stages.This boosted his standing with the Italianpublic, particularly after the Tiralongovictory. But aren’t we all just holdingour breath waiting for the decision ofthe Court for Arbitration in Sport whenthey discuss his case. The hearing hasnow been postponed till after the Tourde France, so he is obviously allowedto ride. Common logic now says that itwill cause too much upheaval to banhim retrospectively, particularly if hewins another Tour, and I can’t see thathappening. If that does turn out to bethe case, why was this situation pursuedin the first place after his own NationalFederation had virtually exoneratedhim. My feelings on such matters arevery clear. Drug cheats have no placein our sport at all, but I do so hate thesegrey areas. Contador has been testedmany times without a problem, andthat tiny specimen that was found hasproved to be an isolated case, with thespecimen too small to have any affectat all. The UCI’s authority is on the slide,and It seems to me that they have usedthis case as a political issue, and as arear-guard action. Let’s just write thisparticular one off, shall we?On to something much closer tohome now. I will not mention namesto avoid embarrassment to thoseinvolved. We are all aware that we donot have Commissaires in the LVRC -mainly because we are perceived asbeing competent and mature enoughin races not to need one. Most of ourraces have following cars, which inthemselves, provide a buffer for theriders, and we also have a First Aidvehicle at the rear. Some races also havemotorcycle marshalls, which furtherincrease our presence, and our safetyon the road. I recently lined up in oneof the Southern Jersey Series rounds,which seemed to be adequately wellorganised, with following cars for eachrace. The problem we had was that thegentleman driving the car following myrace decided to appoint himself as aCommissare, and then spent most ofthe race with his hand on his car horn.It was constant, and by the end of therace, we were sick of it. I did complain,and so did others, but the deed wasdone by then. We had no more than theusual amount of spillage, and we had noincidents or near-misses with on-comingtraffic, but that did not deter this hornhappyegocentric! I was told, rightly orwrongly, that he was a BC Commissaire.Well, heaven help any riders in a racethat he is in charge of. He has apparentlyno knowledge of the provisions of theRoad Traffic Act - Cycle Racing on theHighways, which allows us to use morethan our own side of the road, providedit is safe to do so, and provided thereare no solid white lines. If you read this,mate, and you are a BC Commissaire, youneed re-training. Come down off yourcar horn and your ego trip. I am a BCNational Commissaire, and I know howa proper Commissaire deals with thingsat a race. If you are officially appointed,you have a pre-race meeting with theriders, and set out the ground rules. Tellthem when you will use your car horn,and in what circumstances. If you overuseit, no one will take any notice, and itwill just breed resentment - you shouldtry racing with that in your ear all theway! If you are not officially appointed,just do the job you are supposed to doon the day - nothing else!On my wanders in the South of France,I found this poor old bike propped upbehind a shed, obviously out of trackand abandoned (see pic). The makewas St Etienne Cycles, and it had steelcotterless cranks, and it had tubs on it. Idon’t know quite how long it had beenthere exposed to the elements, but thetubs were still stuck - just. I often wonderwhat these bikes would say about theirexperiences if they could talk!Some more entries from the CurrysStrange But True booklet.A band-driven bicycle was inventedin 1896 by a Mr Daniel Jones. The rearwheel was specially constructed with adeep groove right round the tread overwhich ran the driving band of catgut.The mind boggles!You can apparently use telegraphpoles as a compass when you are out onthe road, as the cross-pieces are alwayson the side nearest to London!Finally, I have had good and bad timeswhile climbing Alpe d’Huez. If you areon a good day, you feel great, with allthe numbered bends, the atmosphere,and the names of past winners. While, ifyou are on a bad day, it seems to take aneternity, and you are caught like a rat ina trap if you are staying in a hotel at thetop, as you have to get there! On onesuch day, it was close to 40 degrees, andas soon as that first steep section hitsyou, and you lose your road speed, youare in an airless cauldron of heat. It waslike riding into a hair-dryer. Near the top,I thought I was hallucinating when I sawthis snail on the road. (see pic). I thoughtsomeone had drawn it just for me! Snailspace was about right for me on that veryhot day.The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011 Page 23

Page 2 The Veteran Leaguer: Spring 2009Page 24 The Veteran Leaguer: Summer 2011The Veteran Leaguer: Winter 2008 Page 19