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DE LAUNE CYCLING CLUB FOUNDED 1889
Sponsored by EVANS CYCLES (UK) Ltd. & SPECIALIZED CYCLES
"James and Ross on the Men’s Pairs podium at SITS 24hr" "Photo courtesy of Joolze Dymond"
October
2005
THE PRESIDENTS REPORTS IS HE TO BUSY RACING TO WRITE A FEW WORDS? BELGIUM NIGHT FRIDAY 28th OCTOBER Belgium night is only a few weeks away so I spoke to my suppler in Belgium Hans Winters, what have you got for me Hans you know what this English people are like so hard to please give me something different ah duck legs white beans Belgium chocolate cheese truffle sweet baby bananas new potatoes. Hans told me he had two guys from England come over for the beer for Belgium night went by the name Kav & Stax crazy English men drink, drink, drink they buy enough beer for six Belgium nights sounds like Kav & Stax I hope their will be some beer left for Belgium night anyway here goes for the menu. Cliff Steele
Don’t forget to reserve your place for this Special Gastronomic Experience - Phone Dot Fuller 01689 851241 CLUB RUN – 4th September The run had an all right turn out there was only 6 riders myself, Ross Fryer, David Haggart, James King, Sam Fensterheim and Harry Corbett who went around on his mountain bike bless him. I had been to Richmond Park a few weeks back on a Saturday morning their must have been about 40 London Dynamo riders going round with about 40 riders joined in with them. They were split into 3 groups fast medium and slow it was well organised and very friendly and very impressive this is what I would like to see our club do on a Sunday morning but talk is cheap we need riders to come to Richmond on Sunday morning. It did look good a bunch of De Laune riders going around in their De Laune strip and we did get noticed but if we could get 10 De Laune riders going round on a Sunday morning then we would get other riders to link up and hopefully join up we could then start to do some rides out to Box hill or were ever so the next date for our club run at Richmond Park will be at Roehampton gate at 9am Sunday 16 October I would like to see a least 10 De Laune riders there, it will not be a fast ride just a steady one so please make time it will be worth it. CLIFF STEELE The Chairman’s Report
I keep getting asked “Kav what are we doing with all this money we have in the club?” Good question, so let me explain. I will not talk about amounts as our DLN is on the web and read by a lot of non-members. We are now starting to get interest from our Building Soc. So after we take off 25% of that interest (to keep the fund built up) and the tax due, we are allowed to take the remaining interest for the benefit our club members. So how do we all benefit I hear you all ask? Well, we no longer have a Time Trial Sec but have a Time Trial Manager. We no longer have a Road Race Sec, but a Road Race Manager etc. At the beginning of the year each manager is asked by the committee what he needs to promote his section and of course to encourage new members. Within reason, he is allocated money. For instance, we allocated money to Bill Wright our Youth Development Manager/Officer. This has allowed him to take his group to championships, subsidise clothing and of course to encourage new young members. We have an off-road section, which we have subsidised to enter events, as they are not cheap and are held all over the place. When I asked Harry Corbet how much he wanted allocated to his Triathlon section he said “Nothing. Just the honour of riding for the De Laune” Bless him. “What about the benefits to the non-racing group?” I hear you say and quite rightly so. We have a Social Manager, Cliff Steel who, as we know, is the king pin for our Belgium Night. Where can you get a four-course meal and all the wine you can drink for a tenner? We are hoping to get that cost down as well. Do you remember in the old days the visits with the club to the Theatres? The trips down the Thames listening to Jazz? We can do it again but Cliff cannot do it all, so if you have an idea and are willing to organise it let us know the event and the rough cost. Talking about the Belgium night, have you let Dot know if you are coming to our OMA/BN, which is on the 28th of October? From what Dot tells me two-thirds of the seats have gone already. On the Sunday the 2nd October we have our Down Hill competition at Tilburstow Hill, Godstone. First man down 11am. If you remember last year the champion was our Howard Coulson who nearly went over the top to Godstone and if I remember he fell off at the bottom doing it and damaged his ribs! I know he is getting old but perhaps Terry Deeley will come out of retirement to challenge! October is the month of the Hill Climbs with our big guns Mat Goods, John O’Brien, and Ben Neville looking for wins. If you fancy yourself as a hill climber why not ride the club hill on White lane/Titsey Hill on Sunday the 9th October. How often have you said I would love to go out on my bike with the club run but I am not fit? Well you can now! Cliff Steel has organised a club run around Richmond Park on Sunday the 16th October. (9am start) You can do as many laps as you like (I think about 4 miles per lap) and if you feel knackered you can drop out and join the club run on the next lap! Just up my street. If I do not see you at the above events I will hope to see you at the Belgium Night at the end of the month. Kav. PS if you remember a few years ago I organised a trip for the men to a place where woman had hardly any clothes on and you could drink as much as you liked for £3.00. I am doing it again. Maidstone Swimming Baths! PSS We have a rider in the club who is winning club events who looks the business in his De Laune strip but has hairy legs! I wonder who that is.
OMA 10 10/09/05 Short course due to road works approx 6.6 miles - damp, not cold & not windy.
Nick unfortunately does not qualify NOT OLD ENOUGH! / has not been a club member for 10 years. But if he had qualified he would have needed to have got round in 11.50. to have won! Thanks to Tony Peachey for calculating the standard times to 6.6 miles. Malcolm. Autumn 25 18/09/05
VETS BAR 2005
The above shows the current position, however still awaiting other claimants please contact me if you qualify:- Two ‘10’s and two ‘25’s and 40 years or over. All claims by 31st October. Malcolm Adams Tele 01227373045 or e mail jazzymalc@aol.com
To obtain a Record the claimant must beat the Standard/Record of the person who was the same age or the next eldest as shown on current list. Records to be claimed by the 31 October each year. * Denotes that these records were the accepted bests at the time of the lists creation on 31 December 1994. Interbike RR - 2/3/4/J - 109km 28 August 2005 Sam and Myself decided to travel up to Essex to tackle our first ever road race. Over 6 rolling 18k laps.
Our legs were feeling rather fresh considering the 11 hours of training we did in Hastings on Thursday and Friday. Probably thanks to Granny’s cooking.
With riders already away, the pace was electric for the first lap. On the third lap Sam attacked off the front of the group with four riders on his wheel. Two more quickly bridged the gap and a strong break was away. The lead groups advantage quickly tumbled under the weight of Sam’s group. Falling from 2mins to 40sec after 1 lap. Unfortunately for Sam, disaster struck on lap four when his chain snapped. “Bollocks!” The race continued with the two breaks drawing away from the main pack, creating a lead of 5minutes. James had been reserving himself in the pack during the race, and on the last-lap attacked 5miles from the finish with two other riders. Holding on to a slender lead of around 15 seconds, the small group worked well until one rider blew up and was swallowed by the chasing bunch. In sight of the finish line James jumped away from his now weary companion to claim somewhere in the region of 18th-20th place (the organisers have been rather sketchy recording and publishing results). Sam Fensterheim and James King Just a Reminder
Male 65 – 69 Years - 500m Time Trial - Result Male 60 – 64 Years - 500m Time Trial - Result Bush Healthcare Scratch Race - Male 60+ Years - 5km – 20 laps Male 65 – 69 Years - Sprint - Final - Results Male 65 – 69 Years – Sprint - 200m Qualifying Time Trial - Results Male 65 – 69 Years - Sprint - Round 1 - Result Round 2 - Result Male 60 – 64 Years – Pursuit 2000m – 8 Laps - Qualifying Time Trial - Result FINAL Results - Male 65 – 69 Years - Points Race - 10km – 40 Laps – Result Male 65 – 69 Years – Pursuit - 2000m – 8 Laps – Finals Results Mens Points 30–34 Christophe Nicolle of France took the Gold medal when he finished with 21 points. The Silver medal was won by Daniel Rudd of Great Britain when he finished with 20 points and Ray Clarke of Ireland won the Bronze medal with 18 points. Pursuit 65–69 Otto Altweck of Germany won the Gold medal when he crossed the finish line in 2.37.929 minutes. Victor Possee of Great Britain took the Silver medal with a time of 2.43.292 minutes. The Bronze medal was won by Brian Dacey of Great Britain when he completed the Pursuit in 2.41.526 minutes beating James Kloss of U.S.A who finished with a time of 2.43.490 minutes. Muratti Cup 10 Mile Scratch Daniel Rudd of Great Britain brought the 2005 World Masters Track Cycling Championships to a close when he won the Muratti Cup. He finished the 65 lap race in 19.49.646 minutes. Shaun Wallace of Great Britain came second and Mario Nell of South Africa was third. Final Medal Table Gold Silver Bronze DANNY RUDD Dan Rudd started his season well by winning both Eastway rumbles and then going on to win Hillingdon crit in April. He went on to a win at Crystal Palace in May and 5 more wins at Eastway finishing 2nd in the league. Then on to Herne Hill with a 2nd in the Roadmans 25. Daniel's next win was the national masters points title (30-34) then followed that with a silver in the scratch race. Finally to Manchester in September for the WORLD MASTERS gaining a silver medal in the points race missing the gold by one point. The last day of racing in the grand finale saw Daniel winning the champion of champion’s race for the coveted MURATTI CUP which he took in convincing style. Francis Rudd Sleepless In The Saddle 24hr Mountain Bike Race Catton Park, 24th-25th August 2005 Pics courtesy of www.singletrackworld.com and Joolze Dymond
What with it being the end of summer, the night time hours are much longer, from around 8.30pm until 5.30am, which calls for some serious lighting power. Unlike SSMM, SITS has a Pairs category which Ross and I had entered. Cliff Steele was there too; he was racing solo (see his separate write up). We arrived on Friday afternoon and set up our campsite in a prime spot right next to the race circuit then headed off to pre-ride the lap. Ross and I had both raced the EnduroPlus at this venue back in May but the course was substantially different, longer at 6.7 miles but with a lot of fireroad and tracks round the edges of fields to allow for overtaking. There were only 2 climbs of note, one off-camber grassy climb out of the arena and then a tight steep singletrack one towards the end of the lap. There were however numerous undulations that would tire the legs out over the course of the race and a total of 600ft of climbing per lap. Saturday dawned grey and overcast but it was warm and dry and good conditions for racing. The track was rock hard and also very bumpy, it was the sort of course that would favour lightweight short travel full suspension bikes such as my team S-Works Epic. I had volunteered to do the Le Mans style run at the start and lined up along with several hundred other riders as the start time of 2pm approached. Also there (riding in the ‘retro’ De Laune colours) was former member Pete Brown who now lives in Scotland. He was also racing as a Men’s Pairs team and would be competing directly with Ross and me. The horn sounded and the race was on, an 800m run to the bikes up the first hill with riders pushing and shoving their way through the melee as they ran round following the lead quad bike. I got a reasonable start in the run and got out onto the course up in the top 100 or so. It was difficult pacing myself, I’m used to doing these type of events in a team of 4 which allows decent recovery time as well as the ability to ride harder each lap but with it just being the 2 of us, I knew I couldn’t go charging off. I started by doing a double lap then Ross went out for a double. After that, we swapped to doing triple laps, which took just under 2 hours; this was to allow the non-riding team member time to recover. We kept this format right through the night as it allowed time for the lights to be recharged. Our consistency paid off…we had started the nighttime stint in about 8th place in the Men’s Pairs but by dawn we were up into 4th. The course, although not particularly technical, was making for some great racing with beautiful flowing singletrack sections combined with some fireroad and grassy climbing and always with someone in sight to race against. The night dew made things a bit more interesting with some of the grassy corners becoming treacherously slippy and causing the tires to spin as they scrabbled for grip on the off camber climb out of the arena.
We’d ridden a total of 39 laps (261.3miles), which included 23400ft of climbing in an overall time of 24.11.18 putting us 6 minutes clear of 3rd place and 12 minutes clear of 4th place. The winners had managed an amazing 41 laps and had been way out in front from the start. By 3.30pm we were stood on the podium and received not only our prizes but also a word of congratulation from Carole, Specialized UK’s Marketing Manager who was delighted by such a strong De Laune team performance. The effort had taken its toll on us both though; for 2 days afterwards neither of us could actually ride our bikes! However, there’s now a month of recovery time before Ross and I face our next challenge, the Dusk til Dawn nighttime mountain bike race held at Thetford Forest. We managed 4th here 2 years ago, let’s hope for podium this time round. Huge thanks go out to De Laune CC for paying our team entry fee, Carol Steele who not only supported Cliff in his solo racing but also found time to cook fresh pasta for us at all hours of the day and night and provide us with moral support…Carol, we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks also to Evans and Specialized for the sponsorship and providing us with the team bikes and to Patrick Adams, the organiser of not only SITS but also most of the other enduro mountain bike races on the UK calendar. James Lyon
Event Results by Singletrack Magazine SLEEPLESS IN THE SADDLE 24HR MTB RACE CLIFF STEELE I had decided to enter the SITS 24 hr as a Solo rider to put some ghosts to rest. I had enter the Redbull 24hr as a solo rider last year as I had based my whole years training on it with high expectations, I had never trained so hard and with a little baby on the way I would make this excuse to wet the baby’s head and with the club paying for my entry fee the pressure was on. Well it was a disaster bad weather, flu, working 14hrs the day before the race, over trained I had said never again. Fast forward 14 months and here I am I was feeling a lot better this year and I had prayed that their would be no rain I had taken the week off work leading up to the race, did not do any training that week so by Saturday afternoon at 2 O/Clock I was more than ready. I was looking forward to doing the 24hr when I was standing on the start line a little strange anyway I had my wife Carol with me as my support team I had my tent right beside the course and with Ross Fryer and James Lyon doing the pairs team I would have plenty of support. It was Le Mans start with a 800metre run to our bikes, I did a steady jog and tried to stay as relaxed as possible my first few laps were hard with every rider going fast it was a little hard not to go with them but these were not the solo riders (mad bunch). Lap 3 my chain snapped no not the one around my neck the one on the bike and I had to run about 6 miles to my tent to get it fixed thank you James. I was doing good steady laps and I was in the top 30 riders but when night time comes that is when it really counts, I had a couple of 10min breaks got some good hot food into me and decided at 2am I would stop and have a change of jersey and shorts and a good hot meal and rest for a half hour. My wife Carol said to me have a rest on the bed and she would wake in 30min how sweet that sounded unfortunately Carol fell asleep as well so 30mins ended up 2hrs 30min as always night time is make or break for you, anyway it was back out on the course and I was feeling really good it was starting to get a little lighter so morning was not far off which is always a good feeling. The course was little wet from the dampness of the night so I slowed up for a few laps, I was doing around 50min laps with course being about 6.7 miles long around 600feet of climbing it was not a very technical course but their was a few fast down hills and two hard short climbs which after 15 laps I started to walk up. At last it got to 12 O/ Clock midday as tired as I was I new their was only 2hrs to go and finished, my poor wife Carol was not looking to good bless her I could not thank her enough I did 25 laps 18th in the solo event the winner did 36 laps I think he was on a motorbike or had a twin brother to swap with every lap. I was hopeful that I would finish with doing these 24hr solo races but it gets under your skin and I want to do it next year please don’t tell the wife. Mad solo rider. Cliff Steele More photos of this event can be found at:- http://singletrackworld.com/gallery Herne Hill Omnium Track meeting - 3/9/2005 Round 1 of 4 'A' Cats Omnium 1st Bryan Taylor 2nd Steve Gower 3rd Simon Warren 'B' Cats Omnium 1st Brian Randall 2nd Stewart Jardine 3rd Sam Fensterheim 'A' Cats Devil 1st Bryan Taylor 2nd Steve Gower 'B' Cats Devil 1st Sam Fensterheim 2nd Brian Randall Herne Hill 100 - Round 1 1st Bryan
Taylor - 10pts 2nd Steve Gower - 9pts 3rd Philip Riley
- 8pts 'A' Cat Primes Bryan Taylor 3 laps Steve Gower 1 lap Philip Riley 1 lap 'B' Cats Primes Sam
Fensterheim 2 laps
Brian Randall 1 lap Eric Martin 1 lap Herne Hill Omnium Track Meeting - 10/9/2005 'B' Cats
Omnium WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THEM ?????? KAV, BRIAN, MIKE ??????
O.M.A. E-MAILS & NEWS THE BARNARD STORY Cont. This is a copy of a letter written by Les Pyne to Dave McMeakin (ex Member) in December 2004 – Dave is a collector of Bikes. I have sent a copy to Alan Barnard, Ed. Dear Dave, Thank you for your card , I will try to let you know a bit about Percy & Bert Barnard as you may know they had a shop in Station Road Brixton under the railway arches I don’t know how many years they were there for I got to know them when I first joined the De Laune which was around the mid thirties, The work that the two of them turned out was very first class old Percy was the Frame Builder and Bert was a first class Finisher, they could do anything that came along, Tandems, Ted Pinchen had one, Wheel Building, Track Bikes and At the back of my mind I am almost certain he made bikes for the Actors who Lived In Somerlation Road, Brixton, Uni Cycles and the like for their Stage Work. One thing that stands out in my mind Barnard could never be rushed into getting a bike done KEN WHITEROD drove him mad phone in up every afternoon to see how his new bike was coming along old Barnard said to him it is all done good, said Whiterod did you paint my name on the cross bar yes said Percy it looks fine KEN WHITENOB. Barnards was well known in Brixton Market for the Parafin oil Lamps which they let out to the Stall Market Traders every one was clean and polished to perfection and the Market Men would call in the shop to collect them, they all looked handsome walking down the street with a pair of twin lamps one on each shoulder. Fire Work Day was another day to look forward to we would all stock up with all the bangers Bert could muster at half price after Guy Fawkes Day, I don’t know where they all came from he must have had an open market for them. We would load up with them on the Friday and Saturday before our visit to Newnham and make for the green hills of KENT the Hot Spot for this event would be Hollingbourne Hill and there would be a sprint to the top of the hill for a prime position and then let the lot go at the rest coming up Bangers Galore, this would last for half an hour or so then we would wander off to Newnham with a finishing sprint to the pub. CLUB CLOTHING We recently had a delivery of club clothing comprising bibshorts, jerseys, overshoes, skinshorts, skinsuits and tights, together with an invoice for £2,457.33 which includes a 15% discount for prompt payment. This clothing was ordered on March 7th this year and is the first order with Impsport since 2003 (with the exception of the triathlon clothing). Impsport increased their prices in 2004 and again this year, thus our prices will have to be increased. We originally changed suppliers from Pro-vision to Impsport as Impsport accept smaller orders and have a shorter delivery time; however, as this delivery of clothing was received on the 9th August, five months is not exactly quick! You may remember that in last November’s DLN, I reproduced an extract from a letter from Impsport explaining that, although they had increased their monthly output by almost 20%, their lead times were the longest for three or four years. This was mainly due to the withdrawal from the market by a number of manufacturers, and they had to order new machinery and take on additional staff to cope with the increased orders. Nevertheless, I think it best to stay with them for the next year and hope that things settle down as their products appear to be of good quality. I am afraid, guys, you will be cold this winter if you are relying on club winter clothing being supplied – at least your top half will be. Unfortunately because we did not have sufficient funding to include tops in the March order, these will now have to be the subject of a separate order, hopefully, before the end of the current year. Below is a list of stock, with prices. These prices just cover the actual outlay and we have no intention to profit from these sales. Bibshorts £50.00 Tri Shorts £30.00 Jerseys £37.00 Tri Trunks £25.00 Overshoes £12.00 Tri Vests £30.00 Skinshorts £40.00 Skinsuits £60.00 Tights £50.00In addition to the above, we have a few items from last winter, ie two thermo-dry training jackets (one extra large and the other large) at £55.00 each, ideal for winter wear. Also four gilets (two small, one large and one extra large) at £45.00 each, which have a warm lining and rear pockets but, of course, no sleeves; these are ideal when worn with a long-sleeved jersey for extra body warmth in winter conditions. In stock, too, is one pair of arm warmers (large) at £10.00, four pairs of knee warmers (two large and two medium) at £15.00 and two pairs of leg warmers (one large and one small) at £17.00 – all in black. Looking ahead to next spring, we have seven polo shirts (all extra large) at £15.00 each, and two gilets, unlined and without pockets, (both large) at £30.00 each. Brian Saxton ---Clothing Secretary MEMBERSHIP At the General Committee meeting held on the 8th September, there was a discussion about the lack of communication between club members. It was therefore proposed that a handbook, containing a list of members together with their addresses, E-mails, etc, be published and circulated. It is hoped to have a draft of this handbook for discussion at the next Committee meeting. Also at the meeting it was suggested that, to encourage new members, a flyer or form of “business card” be produced which could be handed out to potential members. With your copy of this month’s DLN, you will find a couple of such flyers, which have been produced by Mike Peel; he is currently working on the cards (actually, he is on holiday!). The Committee would like some feedback on these flyers and any comments or suggestions will be welcome. I think to the quote from Margaret Thatcher that President Roy Savery mentioned in September’s DLN, ie “I do not know anybody who has got to the top without hard work. That’s the recipe. It will not always get you to the top but it will get you pretty near.” should be added another one of Margaret’s quotes: “A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure”. Well, that’s alright then – we’ve all got bikes! Brian Saxton Membership Secretary
I felt it would be appropriate to contribute to this month’s edition of De Laune News with an update on what’s been happening within the new and expanding division within De Laune dedicated to the exciting and growing sport of triathlon! Such members include myself, Harry Corbett, Rupert Walsh, Geoff Heaton and hopefully, longer term, many more members we might acquire along the way given the popularity of the sport. Though we have rarely competed as one unified group this season due to, amongst other things, injury and family commitments, I thought it would be worth providing a brief run down of the events I’ve competed in this season, hopefully with a view to whetting appetites of potential new competitors within De Laune for next year…… Crystal Palace Triathlon – June 19th Swim: 750m, Bike: 25km, Run: 5km. Given the location of this event within the nationally renowned running stadium and swimming complex, this had all the hallmarks of a high profile sporting occasion. This id also an event I would highly recommend given the quality of organization and proximity for most De Laune members. The swim takes place within a 50m pool, used for many professional competitions, followed by 10 laps of a very hilly course, closing with 2 laps of an equally hilly running route which finishes with a plaze of glory with a 400m lap of the athletic track. Despite falling off the bike as a result of my failure to notice a lone traffic cone, this was a highly enjoyable event that I fully hope to be part of next season’s calendar. My Times:- Swim – 17:50 mins. – Cycle – 50mins. – Run – 21mins. Bath Triathlon – July 10th Swim: 750m, Bike: 25km, Run: 5km. Being very much from the South East of England, it was only a week or so before the event that I was made aware that any sporting event taking place in the vicinity of Bath would be nothing short of grueling. Indeed they were right as the 25km bike ride took you down and up 2 sides of a punishing valley face – nothing like what any of us home – counties folk have to deal with! Combining this with tempters of 90Ft, the finishing line was something to savior. Another point of note was the fantastic sporting facilities available within Bath University’s sports complex where the event was held. This enabled a swim section to take place within a pro-standard 50m pool, and a rousing finale within the impressive athletic stadium. My Times:- Swim – 17mins, - Cycle – 55mins, - - Run – 25mins. The London Triathlon – August 6th Swim: 1500m, Bike 40km, Run 10km. Olympic distance. In stark contrast to the other 2 events, this internationally renowned event represents the London Marathon equivalent within the Triathlon calendar. Competitors have the option of entering the shorter sprint event on the Saturday or the ‘proper men’s’ Olympic distance on Sunday, which I hesitantly went for. The swim takes place within ‘open water’ within Dockland’s Victoria Docks, for which a wet suit is compulsory. Though the water apparently conforms to EU bathing standards, this is little compensation for the foul taste of the stuff when entered the airways from time to time during the tempestuous opening few strokes! The bike section takes in an excellent route from Galleons Reach in the far East Dockland to Tower Bridge along closed off A-Roads, to be completed twice. This was by far the most impressive part of the event as fantastic speeds can be attained, particularly beneath the Limehouse Cut. The run is something of a hazy memory and finishes within a spectator packed Expo Centre and a tannoy speaker to all the sense of occasion – Defiantly one for next year’s calendar! My Times: - Swim – 40mins, - Bike – 1hr 25mins, - Run – 45mins. I look forward to myself, Harry, Geoff and Rupert competing together in this years Club Championships at the Thruxton Mass Attack in October along within any other De Laune member up for the CHALLENGE! Sam Baxendale
NOTICE BOARD
Dear Cyclist, I hope you had a good summer. Lots of biking ? Any cycling trips ? I wrote you an email in the early Spring to tell you about our trip across Switzerland. It was a success, despite the flooding ! In fact, some of the riders had such a great time that they have already given me their deposit for next year. Also, everyone was very impressed by the luxury hotels, meals, new bikes and service. They weren’t expecting to get such a value, but that’s what this tour is all about… keeping things personal and non-commercial. It’s the same great tour every year: 10 nights of luxury hotels, all meals, new high-end hybrid, and quality service. As I mentioned before, we’re just a group of teachers living here in Switzerland with a passion for cycling and showing folks a good time. Anyway, this year I’m hoping to get riders from the UK and France. I’m hoping that you’ll be able to join us this year and so am sending off the dates. August 3rd-13th (almost full) August 17-27th August 31-September 10th. As you may know, all of our riders have been North American. I’m hoping to get riders from the UK and France to join us this year. In order for this to happen, I’ve created a special price for anyone currently living in Europe. The price this year is 2100 Euros. I’m offering the ride for 2000 Euros if you’re able to get your deposit in before the end of the year (Jan 1st). If you think you might be interested, let me know and we could talk. I’d be happy to put you in contact with people from our past tours. In the meantime, take a look at our site. There are links to the site, our brochure and photos below. Best, John 1) www.bikeswitzerland.com Your Trip Day 1: You arrive in Geneva Day 2: Orientation, bike fitting and party Day 3: Geneva – Vevey 50 or 100 km Day 4: Vevey – Château-d’Oex 40 or 75 km Day 5: Château-d’Oex – Interlaken 40 or 100 km Day 6: Interlaken – Lucern 40 or 85 km Day 7: Lucern – Rapperswil 30 or 70 km Day 8: Rapperswil – Sax 50 or 100 km Day 9: Sax – Romanshorn 50 or 100 km Day 10: Return to Geneva with visit in Berne Day 11: Departure www.bikeswitzerland.com
PRODUCED
by MARK & JASON BALLAMY
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The
race began with a 1.8 mile neutralised start. However many riders had
itchy feet and decided to attack during the neutral zone. Further
problems arose when horses turning in the road halted the whole race;
this allowed the break to get a 30 second lead before the race had even
begun! 
Sleepless
in the Saddle (SITS) is the UK’s second 24hr race (after the Mountain Mayhem
held in June) and is a bit more laid back, typically a smaller field and not
quite as competitive but still great fun (as much fun as 24hr racing gets
anyway…) 
Sunday
dawned with a spectacular sunrise although I had little time to appreciate the
scenery as I began pushing harder now that the psychological barrier of
nighttime was over and the dew had dried off the course, making times quicker
again. Both Ross and I had put in some good laps and once we realised how close
to podium we were, we swapped back to doing single laps, as this was
significantly quicker than pacing oneself over 3 laps. Sunday was a glorious
day, it quickly became hot and the course was by now rock solid and quite dusty
in places. The bikes were taking a real pounding; the bottom bracket on mine had
worked slightly loose and was creaking viciously while Ross was suffering with a
sore back as a result of riding a hardtail and not having the luxury of rear
suspension to iron out the constant grassy bumps. We’d each done 2 single laps
when Ross arrived back in the arena for handover with just enough time for me to
go out again. I’d somehow managed to save enough energy to pull out a sub 35
minute lap which combined with Ross’s excellent last lap performance had
elevated us from 4th place at dawn to 2nd place by the finish at 2pm! That last
lap of mine was actually the fastest that either of us managed on Sunday, it’s
always a huge boost to tired legs knowing that it’s that last lap you have to
do! 
