DLN Nov 2004

MATT GOODES RIDING TO THIRD PLACE IN THE WIGMORE RC HILL CLIMB.
Photo with the kind permission of Paul Wright

OFFICIALS
PRESIDENT JOHN KAVANAGH 40 Beverley Road Barming Maidstone Kent ME16 9JP 01622 726959	SECRETARY PETE HARRIS 91 Ashbourne Road Ealing London W5 3DH 020 8997 7852	TREASURER JAMES LETT 102 Park Road Kingston Surrey KT2 5JZ	CLUB NIGHT First Thursday of each month HERNE HILL STADIUM Burbage Road London SE24 9HE

Do you know lately I seem to be always apologising on behalf of our committee to our members. So here I go again.

I apologise for the behaviour of one of our committee members who came down Tillburstow hill in the free wheel competition clad only in under pants and a pair of Wellingtons. This man is approaching his seventies and should know better, especially as we have young riders in the club. What will they think? (See report of “Saxonus” in this issue).

When I confronted this member he said he was pushing the sales of our new designed club under pants in chocolate and blue. The lettering in chocolate of course!

It was a good day out and not to be missed, especially with the antics of the above. We made the event an inter club with the 34 Nomads and we smashed them and without Terry Deeley (he has now taken up hill climbing), our new champion is our very own Howard Coulson. Yes Howard, who will go off course in any event but knew he would be safe in the downhill. Well he thought he would be safe. When he finally came to a halt (and nearly in to Godstone) he could not get his feet out of the quick release pedals and of course keeled over and damaged his ribs. Oh Howard what are we going to do with you?

Other good glides came from Mike Peel (after about five goes down the hill!) who came third. Good glides from the kids, Nathan Palmer and Sam Fensterheim. It was good to see we had a club run-out, thanks to Bill Wright.

After the event it was into the pub for a few glasses of the Lunatics Broth and a natter. You know how it goes “I remember the time when….”

I did not attend the club hill climb but was told by my friend Saxton that it was another good turn out for the club. When you get old De Laune legends out such as Don White and Mark Ballamy out it must be a good day.

As Mark was the timekeeper (no it was Jason Ed.) I hope he has put the full result in this edition. Thanks Mark. It was nice to see that Matt Goods was riding and winning the club hill climb, as I know he has been under the weather lately and sorting out his new business. Did you notice young James King in the list again? He is so keen, he rides everything.

The name I was so interested in was Terry Deeley; I knew he had been carrying out specialist training for this event. From what I could glean out of Terry, it is called ‘The Climbing Technique ‘ You climb out of bed every morning and climb back in again at night. Interesting.

On Sunday the 17th of Oct. The inmates from the De Laune old peoples home came out in force to support our riders in the Catford and Bec hill climb. Guess what? No one turned up from the club to ride. I have since heard that John O’Brien’s little lad was under the weather, we hope he is better, and Mat Goods finally came down with glandular fever. We wish you all well.

Now for some important dates for next month. Sunday the 21st of November will be our church service at Newnham to remember our club members who fell in the first and second world wars. Dot Fuller will be arranging lunch at the George Inn after the service. If like last year the Inn gets packed, you will want to get your name down for a lunch as soon as possible. If you require more details, phone Dot. 01689 851241. Another important date. Remember, Remember the 5th of November. No it is not Guy Fawkes night but the club’s Belgium night combined with the OMA at the Blackheath club room. Again a sell out. All tickets gone. The cost will be £12 per person and for this you will get a dinner to remember thanks to our club chef Cliff Steel. You will also get French music while you sip your French wine or drink your Belgium beer. You will also get waited on hand and foot by specially imported Belgian waiters. And all this for twelve quid! Please pay Dot on the night.

I must point out that we will have plenty of wine for you but please remember, do not drink and drive. The time will be 7.30 for 8pm. At: Blackheath Club Room 56 Bourne Way Hayes Kent

TWO weeks ago we reported on 66-year old racing cyclist Brian Dacey's campaign to defend his World Masters Championship titles.

The moment of truth for the Herne Hill-based De Laune Cycling Club and Evans Cycles-specialised rider came at the Manchester Velodrome, home of Britain's successful Olympic cycling team.

"It didn't start well," Dacey explained, who has spent most of his life living in south-east London. "The week before the World Championships I found I had an abcess under a tooth. I didn't want to risk my performance being affected by taking antibiotics, so I had to put up with it."

On the first day of competition, Dacey was not feeling 100 per cent and was only sixth in the 500-metre time trial and fifth in the sprint.

Dacey's first world title defence was threee days later, in the 65-69 age group points race.

In this 10km race, points were awarded to the first three riders across the line on the 10th, 20th, 30th and 40th (final) laps.

Riders start in a pack and race inches away from each other on lightweight track bikes with a single gear and no brakes it's not for the faint-hearted.

Although he still wasn't feeling good, Dacey's morale was boosted by club-mate Peter Jenn's bronze medal in the 60-64 age group pursuit race, the previous day, and he dominated the race.

He won the first three sprints and, having already secured victory, took second place in the sprint on the final lap to beat Uruguayan Luigi Fabbri comprehensively, 18 points to 12.

Dacey covered the 10km in 14 minutes 24.635 seconds an average speed of more than 41 kph, almost 26 mph.

"I was pleased, and a bit surprised by how well I went, especially after my lack of form in the earlier races," said Dacey.

On the sixth and final day, having recovered from his efforts two days earlier, Dacey lined up for the 65-69 age group pursuit race.

The pursuit is an all-out effort where you can't use tactics to compensate for a lack of speed or power the two riders start on opposite sides of the track and attempt to catch each other or complete the race in the shortest time.

Dacey qualified fastest, covering the 2,000m in 2 minutes 37.919 seconds, then took his place for the final against the second fastest rider, British friend and rival Roland Crayford.

Once again, Dacey put in a convincing performance, covering the 2km in 2mins 38.999 seconds (45kph or more than 28mph) and winning by 4.242 seconds.

As well as the pleasure of earning their individual medals, Dacey and club-mate Peter Jenn had the satisfaction of contributing to Great Britain's second place in the final medals table with 18 golds, 14 silvers and 23 bronzes against 18, 18 and 11 respectively for the United States.

The UK track and road-racing season is drawing to a close and Dacey has no plans to enter any cyclo-cross or mountain bike races.

He prefers his racing to be on solid surfaces rather than mud and grass instead he plans to prove his all-round ability by moving from Manchester Velodrome's indoor track to a week of road racing in Majorca.

The European Masters Criterium Championship takes place there in October, on a circuit through a town near Palma and along its promenade.

"It will be quite a hard race as it is open to riders in the 60-70 age group, so I'll be racing with equally fit riders who are five years younger, although a separate championship is awarded for the 65-70 age group.

"After the Criterium Championship, there's a road race in the mountains a big difference from the track racing I've been concentrating on recently.

"Finally, there's a three-day stage race, open to riders from 50-70 years old, so that's going to be tough 15 years age difference is a lot to have to bridge. Last year, I was one of only two riders over 65 who finished the whole race."

And after the Majorca week? "I think I'll relax a bit before Christmas and start training again in the New Year," said Dacey.

"The World Masters Games, held every four years, take place in Edmonton, Canada, next July, and I plan to compete in both road and track events and if you want to be successful you can't take it too easy."

I would just like to tell you that Mick & I are the proud grand parents of baby Michael Leon Goodes, born on the 14th May, also the reason why you have not heard or seen Matt for most of this season.

Michelle gave birth to Michael in May prematurely by caesarean section at 31 weeks. Again through IVF treatment, Michelle became pregnant towards to the end of last year. It was confirmed that Matt and Michelle were expecting twins in July of this year. Unfortunately one of the twins died in the womb and Michelle had to carry it until the birth date. It was not an easy pregnancy for Michelle as many times she had dizzy spells and fainted on a couple of occasions so spent many periods in hospital. At 18 weeks her waters broke but was able to hold on until 31 weeks.

In early May, Michelle was losing fluid from the second twin, and the hospital advised bed rest etc., but not an easy situation with a 21 month little girl still demanding attention. They also received the keys to their new house on the 4th May so a lot of physical work was required to make the house habitable. In the meantime Michelle was spending 3 or 4 days at a time in hospital hoping that the baby would go as far into July as possible.

In the last few days before Michael was born, Michelle was again in hospital when baby 1 came along just before midnight on 13th May. All seemed ok but within 2 hours the doctor's advised Michelle that there was no fluid left for baby two so a caesarean section was organised straight away. Michael was born early hours of 14th May weighing 3lb 6oz. He was placed in an incubator, on a ventilator and was very ill. He had to have two blood transfusions, a collapsed lung, also the e - coli bug. Matt & Michelle spent hours by his bed side. Michael was in hospital for 8 weeks, 4 of those in the incubator. Michelle herself had to spend another 2 - 3 weeks after having a kidney infection in hospital when Michael was born. She actually had many infections including the e - coli bug.

The staff in the Neo-natal unit in Queen Mary's hospital were wonderful. Michael pulled through and was taken home in the middle of July. He is now 5 months old, weighs 14lb and is a beautiful bouncing baby boy. In the middle of all this trauma and heartache, Matt had to close his bike shop and had the worry of finding new premises. He is now back trading in Strutton Ground, Victoria much to his relief. He is also back to racing and hill climbs etc., to finish the end of the season, so watch out.

I am sorry that this news has reached the DLN rather late in the year, but the initial statement got mislaid so thought I had better send another. We will try to get along to the Belguim Night this year so hopefully the 4 of us will see you there.

Best regards Rosie P.S Since writing this letter Michael has spent another 24 hours in hospital with Bronchitis but is on the mend at home although on a nebuliser until his chesty cough is better.

Pos	Rider	Club	Time
1	Pete Tadros	In Gear Racing Team	03:23.5
2	Justin Hoy	Evans Cycles Racing Team	03:23.7
3	Matt Goodes	De Laune Cycling Club	03:24.4

I did (not sure I want to see this in print) 1.11.13 in the KCA '25' won by Phil Bull 55.43. (no I was not last! far from it)

1             MATT    GOODES                            2:08:29
2             ALAN MALE                                     2:36:11
3             CHRIS GORDEN-CROCKER         2:38:35
4             JAMES KING                                    2:50:37
5             TERRY DEELEY                              5:05:02
PTT        ASHLEY RUSSELL                          2:26:65 (Matt’s brother in law)
               ROY INSTRALL                               3:23:57 (Morden & Bec CC)

Well at least someone remembered to book the hill this year, but a poor turn out there were more spectators than rider. Brian Saxton was soon at work not with a broom this time (although the hill was covered with loose stone most of the way) but with his club hammer putting up signs at the top and bottom of the hill saying cycle race in progress.

We all expected Pres. Kav to turn up but it seems that he may have got or was detained returning from a week in Greece, with Roy Savery doing the pushing off and Mark doing the 5-4-3-2-1 the event was soon underway and Jason Ballamy at the top with the watch.

Terry insisted he wanted to be first off as he did not want to keep the timekeeper waiting, however there were a few complaints at the finish as those following were having a job to get past him due to the amount of overhang on each side of Terry’s saddle which was taking up almost the width of the road.

For the spectator we had, Dave King and wife- Mick Valentine - Don & Beryl White -Steve Carter-Smith and family - Mike Peel - Terry’s wife – and a few more whose names I cannot remember, sorry, but you may find them in the photo

This sounds more like a Ski Jumping event only they just glide down the hill take off land and come to a gentle finish, these guys take off with the help of a push struggle all the way up and then full off at the finish. October 16/17 saw the start of what is going to prove to be a real hill climb championship challenge. Traditionally the Bec CC and The Catford CC have held their events on the morning and afternoon of the same Sunday. This year Brighton Mitre joined them with two events on the Saturday.

16th October Brighton Mitre
Steyning Bostal 1672yds ----- Course record Matt Goodes 4.17.5 (2003)

16th October 14:00 Brighton Mitre
Mill Hill Shoreham 4682yds ---- Course record Tristan Court 8.22 (2003)

Bec CC Hill climb
Held on October 17 on White Lane, off Titsey Hill. A nasty climb!

1.       William Bell            Gemini BC                        1.55.1
2.       Rob English            21st Century Airports        1.56.7
3.       Justin Hoy              Evans RT                          2.00.4

There was a large contingent of De Laune members out to support our riders but they were all more than disappointed as it seems that Matt and John’O were on the start list but failed to start.

I can se from the photo that the following were all lined up on the hill – Pres. Kav, Mike Peel, Roy Savery, Brian Saxton, Steve Carter- Smith, Debbie Valentine, Terry Deeley a few more faces that are hidden in the crowd and I can see Gordon Gibbons (29th Wheeler) a keen De Laune supporter, Mick Dongworth (SFA).

1	45	Michael Dongworth	San Fairy Ann CC	46.53	39.41	7.12
2	50	Phil Bull	Gemini BC	40.41	34.52	5.49
19	32	Malcolm Adams	De Laune CC	46.30	45.14	1.16

The 2nd round of the 2004/05 London Cross League supported by Mosquito Bikes and USE, held at Eastway on October 10 and hosted by the Lee Valley Youth CC.

1.       Ian Field               San Fairy Ann CC
2.       Matt Holmes          Arctic/Shorter Rochford      @0.50
3.       Alex Atkins            Evans RT Junior                 s/t

The 3rd round of the 2004/05 London Cross League supported by Mosquito Bikes and USE, held at PORC on October 17 and hosted by Addiscombe CC.

1        James Dear            In-Gear RT                      58.30
2        Matt Holmes           Arctic RT                         @45 secs
3        Nick Ainsworth        James Hay RT                  @ 1.10

Youth
1.       Peter Mitchel l         VC Jubilee
2.       Adam Gent             Preston Park Youth
3.       Kurt Warner            Team Darenth
6.       Sam Fensterheim De Laune CC

Roller racing? - Place bike on rollers and let rip, simple - a road to nowhere, but with plenty of socialising and shouting to go with it.The first round held at Herne Hill track and hosted by De Laune CC on October 14.

The lyrics from a song by The Primitives wandered slowly through my dazed mind as I lay on the ground hurting. Other thoughts drifting around went along the lines of “Oh f***”, “How’s the bike?” and “What have I done, this hurts more than normal”. Two minutes earlier, I’d been riding my mountain bike down a hillside in Verbier, Switzerland, it was the last day of a guided riding holiday with some friends I knew from the Singletrackworld mountain bike website. I was last in the line of riders except for the guide, Will. I don’t know what caused me to fall off; I wasn’t doing more than about 15mph but it was a rough, narrow single-track descent. I landed hip first on a big root at the side of the trail, the bike slipped a few feet down the slope with no damage at all. Will arrived a few seconds later; his first thought was that I was unconscious. I could move though (albeit painfully) and I got myself right side up and semi sitting with a bit of help from Will. My right hip was agony, I couldn’t move my leg independently either.

Will got on the phone to one of the other guides who arrived 10 minutes later, meanwhile some of the people I’d been riding with had walked back up the hill to see what had happened. I reckoned I’d be able to walk soon but then I started feeling very sick and just wanted to go to sleep. Even in my drowsy, pain-soaked state, I realised that this was the last thing I wanted to be doing and will got on the phone again to call the Swiss Air Glacier rescue helicopter. I got my GPS out of my backpack and got a grid reference and altitude reading and 15 minutes later the red Gazelle helicopter was landing in a convenient clearing 30 yds down the slope from me. The paramedics were excellent, they both spoke reasonable English and they got some morphine into me then set up a drip. It took about 20 minutes or so for them to get me onto a stretcher and transferred to the helicopter. I couldn’t see anything during the 7or 8-minute flight to hospital except the spinning rotor blades and the blue sky; I was locked into the stretcher.

At the hospital, I was wheeled straight into casualty and assessed thoroughly by a lovely doctor who then took me through to X-ray. It was done very quickly, the plates were developed in less than 10 minutes and I was shown the 3 cracks in my right iliac crest (the “wing” of my pelvis, roughly where a belt sits). The doctor explained that she couldn’t do anything with it, it was simply a case of resting and with that she wheeled me up to the Orthopaedic wing and left me in a little ward.

I was there for the next 4 days…I used the time to sort out my holiday insurance and gradually regain a little mobility on crutches. On Monday (the accident had been on the Friday), I was flown home by private air ambulance, which landed at Biggin Hill airfield after a very bumpy 3 hr flight across France. I was met by another ambulance, which took me straight to my Mum’s house in Dulwich. Thank God for travel insurance! I can walk around with crutches (although stairs are a bit of a problem) but I’ll be off the bike for 2 months or so while it heals up.

VETs BAR
I now have David Haggart’s times, so now there are two of us in the competition. As I said last month, if there are any other Vets with 2 qualifying ‘10’s and ‘25’s please let me know.

Congratulations to Roy Savery for beating two age standard records for a 68 year old.

                               10 Miles.      25.12.
                               10 Miles.      25.33.
                               25 Miles. 1. 08.53.
                               25 Miles. 1.10. 51.                           Average Speed   22.6222 mph.

                             VETS STANDARD (AGE 65)
                               10 Miles.     31.00.
                               25 Miles. 1.19.30.                            Average Speed   19. 1108 mph.

                              DAVID HAGGART
                             10 Miles.      23.24.
                             10 Miles.      23.31.
                             25 Miles.   1.00.56.
                             25 Miles.   1.01.20.                            Average Speed 25.0571 mph.

                          VETS STANDARD (AGE 43)
             10 Miles.       26.06.
             25 Miles.    1.07.30.                           Average Speed 22.6054 mph

Scientists searching for the legendary saxtonus have agreed that the mythical creature does, after all, exist.

They reached their decision at the end of a two-day conference in Moscow devoted to the abominable biker man.

The meeting was timed to mark the anniversary of some celebrated, but controversial film footage, supposedly showing a female saxtonus, shot in California 30 years ago.

The participants were in agreement that the film was genuine and that the saxtonus exists.

Saxtonus looking for his mislaid bike. The BBC's Russian affairs specialist Stephen Mulvey says a steady flow of reported sightings of the saxtonus has helped to keep alive the theory that the animal is more than just a figment of the imagination.

In China in 1993, and in the United States in 1995, there were widely publicised claims of close encounters with the creature.

Earlier this year a well-known Italo-Austrian adventurer, Reinhold Messner claimed to have stood face to face with a saxtonus in the Himalayas. He is writing a book on the subject and has promised to publish photographs.

But to date the most famous pictures of a saxtonus remain the footage shot by Mike Peel at the Delaune downhill,Godstone, 2004.

On the eve of the Moscow conference an American film-maker claimed that the creature seen at Godstone was no more than an actor in a specially-made suit.

However conference participants from America, Canada and Russia all dismissed the hoax theory, arguing that both the anatomy and the gait of the creature were non-human.

The saxtonus is a mythical creature who is supposed to live in Bromley, the most boring town in the world. Although there have been many reported sightings of the saxtonus , none of them have been documented with evidence in any way.

According to the conference organiser, publisher Igor Burtsev, Western and Russian specialists studied the film independently over many years, but arrived at many of the same conclusions.

Downhill all the way – DL’s answer to the “race of the falling leaves”.

I thought it was time the Downhill got an appropriate level of attention in the DLN. Unlike dragstrip time-trialling, wheel-sucking road racing and the gentle strolls in the country that are MTB and cyclo-cross, the Downhill is the real “race of truth” of the pure cycling events (I’m excluding triathlon from the comparison as it includes other factors) - a contest of speed and extreme skill, a true sporting endeavour, undistorted by vagaries such as age, fitness, need to exert yourself/sweat or mud.

This year’s event was a triumph for aerodynamics, preparation and determination. Those of you who have looked at the website will have seen the photographs of victor Howard Coulson and noted the attention to detail on the equipment front. The report also mentions that he fell off at the end. What isn’t mentioned is that this also happened on his trial run and on each of the two runs he took to establish and improve on his winning distance. All this with ribs cracked earlier in the week – that’s the kind of dedication it takes. And don’t forget, before starting each downhill run he had to climb to the top of Tilburstow Hill.

I was quite pleased with my 2nd place, a fair reward for the preparation and a stepping stone to assured victory in 2005. (Actually it may have been 3rd, Mike Peel went further in the associated event that followed ours – not sure if it counts or not but a podium place is a podium place. The use of a race bike and appropriately light wheels/tyres rather than a training bike is important, as is correct clothing choice – race kit not baggy training gear. This leads naturally to using a car to get to the start, not riding out and burning off valuable weight. It’s also important to check out the course in advance. There was some adverse comment over the fact that I dismounted on the way up Tilburstow Hill and walked the last part of the climb – the key initial section of the downhill course. There were suggestions that this was due to a lack of fitness, it being the first time I have been on a bike since my crash last year, but no, I was following the example of the likes of Michael Schumacher and walking the course to better understand its demands and possibilities. My facial expression was due entirely to concentration and not related, as it may have seemed to the uninitiated, to any climbing-induced discomfort etc. In fact I should have extended the exercise to include the lower sections of the descent – I braked slightly because the final bend looked like it was going to tighten, though it didn’t, without that I think I could have been pushing Howard harder. Another error was not wearing glasses – a definite loss of aerodynamic effect.

And why am I so confident for next year? Easy – a good base this year, all next season to prepare (no wasting time on time-trials, road races etc – if focus on a single race is good enough for Lance…) some technique improvements (no braking on the final bend) and some aero possibilities (wear glasses, shoe-covers, more aero wheels, tri-bars). I intend to utilise wind-tunnel testing to improve on the technical aero aspects – no, I don’t have the budget for hiring time in a proper facility, but as anyone who has worked in Canary Wharf well knows, the estate has been designed in such a way that it provides a free equivalent. (Try walking outside the shopping mall when there is even a light breeze outside the estate and you’ll find out what I mean…)

I’m also toying with some innovations trialled by “Sax”. He tried to pretend that losing a front brake block was an accident, but I know he was checking out the aerodynamic effect… I feel inspired by this and am thinking about removing the chainset, chain, derailleurs. I also remember a clubmate in the ‘70s who controlled the front brake on his fixed wheel TT machine with a handlebar end gear lever…. Mmm.. “Sax” also pushed the aero frontiers with his very own take on the skinsuit. (See website.) Going as nature intended (except for the DL swimming trunks) was a master-stroke. You might think the goose-bumps would have a bad effect, but “Sax” is in line with current cutting-edge thinking – Zipp’s latest disk wheel, the 909, has been designed on the principle that a dimpled surface is more aero than a totally smooth model. And no-one can deny the aero principles inherent in his ski-goggles and wellington boots (which could also double as air-brakes in an emergency).

Did you know that if, whilst riding your bicycle, a passing car drives through a puddle and soaks you, you can pursue the person responsible under Section Three of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and if that person was found guilty, they could receive a fine of up to £2,500.00; furthermore, their licence could be endorsed by between three to nine penalty points?

Brian Saxton
Hon Club Legal Adviser
(No, I’m not really, I just saw the above in the October/November CTC magazine!)

As the Olympics have now finished and the end of the summer is in sight, it’s time for us at Impsport to send everyone a second copy of our brochure containing all our products.

This has been an exceptional year with regard to the number of orders placed with us. Every time the Olympics come round there tends to be more sponsorship available for teams and this has the knock-on effect of increased orders. We were prepared for this and have made changes to increase our monthly output by almost 20% but this year lead times have been their longest for three to four years. This is due to a further increase in orders placed with us after the withdrawal from the market by a number of manufacturers. Unfortunately, this took us somewhat by surprise as we were not aware of this until orders were coming in. As we cannot change machinery or production practices mid-season, we have pushed on as fast as we can and kept the lead time as short as possible. The wheels are in motion to make some changes and update older machinery in order to make sure this problem does not occur in 2005. Obviously our sincere apologies go to any clubs affected by the long lead time this summer.

The above is quoted from a letter I received from Impsport and I believe lets me off the hook for the late delivery of any clothing orders, especially for the Club Tri-athletes.

We welcome Topel Kemal from Peckham, London (DOB 26.07.64) who joins as a full member and Edward Bond from Beckenham, Kent (DOB 10.08.89) who, of course, joins us as in the youth category.

Hillingdon winter series : 26/10/04
The Twickenham CC/West Thames winter series begins on December and runs through December with dates in January to be confirmed.

It's surprising just how few races cannot be held in the winter, and last season the racing was popular and leg warming. Note the change of times for the Christmas Eve race and on the 27th.

Venue information The Hillingdon Cycle Circuit, a full road width and just under a mile around. The circuit is also home to a thriving cycle racing programme throughout the year and is also a venue for National Championships. The circuit is in Springfield Road, Hayes, on the right hand side, 600m. from it’s junction with the Uxbridge Road (A4020) and only 2 miles from junction 3 of the M4 via the A312, Hayes By-pass.

I was appointed to the ARIMA board in 2003. I was also a member of the SA chapter executive committee.

I am a chartered secretary, hold a degree in banking and, as part of my progress towards an MBA, have achieved a Graduate Certificate in Management.

Currently, as commercial manager with Home Start Finance, part of the South Australian Government, I am involved in organisational risk management and particularly in developing a risk-smart approach to our practices. This has included the in-house creation of an online risk management system to facilitate good practice. I also oversee the internal audit, conduct a variety of corporate governance functions and manage a team of finance staff.

I moved to Australia in 1996 from the UK where I started my career with Barclays Bank plc. I worked in a range of areas, including internal audit, corporate lending, communications and project management, all of which contributed to my experience in risk management.

As some of the members expressed interest in outings, maybe we should include this in the next DLN (with permission from London Cyclesport and referencing the origins of course)?

Derek Marloe makes his annual trip to the Ghent 6 day track meeting, a trip that we have heard nothing but good things about.

6 Day racing is a mix of cheesy euro pop music Belgian beer and chips with mayo. OH, and exciting track racing. The atmosphere is crazy and somewhat confusing, which only adds to the joy of it. The Ghent 6 is Britain's 'home' event.

The coach leaves Herne Hill at 5pm on Friday 26th Novenber and goes direct to Ghent via the Shuttle arriving at the Hotel at11pm local time. If you are keen you cango to the track Friday night, the racing ends at 2am. The racing on Saturday night starts at 7pm for amatuers and 8.15pm for the professionals and finishes at 2am.

On Sunday the racing starts at 2pm and finishes at 7.30pm. The coach will be waiting outside the velodrome to return directly to Herne Hill arriving at around 11pm.

The cost for a person sharing a room is £145 or £175 for a single room. Price includes return travel and 2 nights bed and breakfast in a 3 star hotel.

The 1st round of the 2004 Gorrick MBC Autumn Series
held at Surrey Hill on October 24

YOUTH - MEN
1        00:46:16    MATTHEW HILL          GT RACING TUCKTON
2        00:47:53    JAY SPETCH                 GT RACING TUCKTON
3        00:51:19    NATHAN PALMER      DE LAUNE
6                  00:57:03    SAM FENSTERHEIM    DE LAUNE

1 01:10:40 ALAN TILLING WWW.SLICKROCK.CO.UK
19 01:23:02 BILL WRIGHT DE LAUNE/EVANS

If you're holidaying in Tuscany, in the Firenze area, here's a restaurant recommendation from Paolo Bettini - if it's good enough for him...

"Ristorante pizzeria l'Tacca": San Ellero (FI) Via Montecristo 2 (Highway A1 Exit Firenze Incisa). I use to arrange all my business lunches and Fan Club meetings. Best to make reservations: phone nr. 055-860146

Diary Social/Club for 2004
Fri 5th November	Belgium Night/OMA
Sun 21st November	Newnham

THE LAST DAY FOR COPY TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT ISSUE IS WEDNESDAY 24 November 2004

THIS SHOULD BE SENT TO:
MARK BALLAMY
41 MAYES CLOSE
WARLINGHAM
SURREY CR6 9LB

Phone & Fax 01883 627809 . e-mail mark.ballamy@virgin.net