DLN Sep 2002

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

I have just finished reading last months DLN and at first I thought I was reading a report of the Catford 24 with De Laune riders taking part. No, I thought, that cannot be. Then I read on and it was all about The Red Bull 24 hr Mountain Mayhem.

I thought, does Alan Rowe know about this event and who are these people riding in De Laune vests and doing the club proud?

I was reading about 'LeMans style run to the bikes' 'Rolling drop-offs' 'Technical descents' 'Jumps and berms' and 'Getting air off the whoops' this is a new to me. I have just got to get the bike out again.

Out of 188 teams entered, the De Laune came second. Well done lads. If this is the way of cycle racing on closed circuits, with fields of 1700 riders, so be it. I know that Bill Wright, who is involved in mountain bike racing at Eastway, gets over 200 riders entering on the line each week. I know a lot of us older members will say that it is not like our day, the roads are dangerous. Well this could be the answer. I do not care if the rider is on a track bike, mountain bike, road bike or single wheel trick bike; as long as he is wearing a De Laune vest it is OK by me.

As we know, it was agreed at the last special AGM for your committee to put our club room out to tender and this we have done. It is very sad to see a 'For Sale' sign outside of the club. We have all agreed that the club room was not being used and dose not warrant the bills that go with it. Your committee can tart the place up for special occasions like social evenings etc., but when intended members come down to the club room they see a lack of people and a club room that needs an urgent face lift, hence we never see them again.

Your committee has agreed that this has got to stop if we are going to survive as a cycling club. Believe me we are getting people through the web but are we keeping them?

As from Thursday the 5th of September we are going to try our club night at Herne Hill Cycle Track. We will be using the social room complete with canteen and bar (I hope) Members should have no problems parking and bikes should be safe. To encourage new members we are offering advice on training, bike handling etc. Another idea to encourage new and old members to come to the new track club room is free Derny Pacing on the track until the end of the year (while the evenings are light on the track)

Another problem we have is that some intended new members are new to riding a bike and when they do come out with the club lads they get shot of the back and we do not see them again! James Peckham came up with a great idea. He would take novice riders and club members for a ride to Richmond Park which has a 4 mile traffic free circuit. This is not a race but just riding a bike. I will let you know how he gets on.

Talking of races, poor old Malcolm Adams could not win. Malcolm was running the Fred Peachey open 25 on the 7th July. First of all he took a lot of time getting Kent riders to ride the open. The course was at Chilham. You could say it is a sporting course and not a drag strip so you have to encourage good riders with a good prize list.

Days before the event, he was informed that the road would be closed due to road repairs after he had sent out the start sheets and booked the village hall. Not to be out done our hero organised the event on the Ashford road with changing rooms at the Harrietsham. Guess what? They put road works on this course at the last minute. Again our hero would not be out done. He made it a 16 mile event. It could have been worse Malcolm; we could have ended up with an open free wheel contest.

On Friday the 25th of October your committee will be presenting 'The Belgium Night' the format will be the same as last year. A three course meal, cooked by our own Cliff Steel, lots of free wine (if you are not driving) and roller racing and all for about £10. Cliff informs me that he can manage about 40 places so it will be first come first served. Remember it was a sell out last year and it could be the last time we use the club room for a social. Please contact me for tickets.

We had another successful OMA lunch at Brighton on Sunday the 11th August, thanks to Dot Fuller and Pat Burns. I know that Dot will have a report in this issue but again, thanks ladies.

By the time you read this you should have had your notification of the Special AGM at the club room on the 19th of September. Hope to see you all there.

It seems that every time I promote this event, road works appear. Therefore, I was not surprised when I overheard about road works on the Ashford road. Several phone calls and plenty of time to arrange an alternative course, thank God no last minute panic. I should have known better and on the Thursday evening before the event, I had a phone call from Graham Strugnell (of Tekno Fuel fame) telling me about the temporary lights at Lenham. Now I'm panicking!!! Thanks, Tony (Peachey) for ascertaining the situation the next morning. A decision was made and the event was run, starting and finishing the other side of the traffic lights, reducing the distance to 16 miles.

Will I promote this event again? Best ask my wife, Lyn, for whilst this was all going on she was trying to finalise the arrangements for our daughter's wedding the following Saturday. I had assured her that the promotion would not be a problem!!!… I'm still keeping my head low. Yes, the wedding was great, no last minute hitches.

I would like to thank all my helpers - Alan Rowe for arranging the neat row of cars at the HQ and for his recording and printing of the result board. To Brian Saxton for cleaning the trophies and ensuring we had numbers, signs, marshal jackets, etc, plus being pusher off. Roy Savery for assisting Brian in pushing off and rushing back to the HQ after I forgot the marshalling jackets. Marshals, Brian and Barbara Waller, Brian "Tich" Shambrook at Charing RAB, our President John "Kav" Kavanagh at Orchard Heights RAB.

Thanks Ron and Pam Ives (34 Nomads) for running the tea bar. Barbara, Pam, Jean (Rowe), Pat (Kav) and my mother-in-law (as Lyn had other things on her mind) for providing the cakes. To the Thanet RC for the loan of their tea urn. Dave Mastin (Thanet RC) for doing the photocopying. Tony Peachey for working out the revised age standards, thus saving me further aggravation.

The club made a loss of £30.00, which I feel a bit disappointed about as we only required some support from our own club riders (only Jeremy Briggs and Peter Jenn rode) to have broken even.

The winner was Ian Silvester (San Fairy Ann CC - Tony Peachey's son-in-law) in a time of 37 min 23sec (he holds the Fred Peachey Memorial Trophy for one year); Karl Strugnell (Jim Walker RT) won the junior award in a time of 37 min 59sec (he holds the Johnson Cup for one year). Tony Peachey was fastest Vet on age standard +8.10 (42 min 43 sec). Peter Jenn was 2nd on standard +7.26 (40 min 53sec). Jeremy didn't finish.

Congratulations to Lennie Brown (old member, now 2nd claim) for his 10th place with a total of 207.5 miles. He was also 3rd counter in the winning Gravesend CC team (and he only entered because he thought Alan, Terry and myself were riding again this year).

The Club Track Championships were held on Sunday 4 August, but, unfortunately were rained off following the Sprint Final and Minor Final. In winning the Final Alan Male demonstrated the subtle art of "hooking" in fending off Matt Goodes and Brian Dacey.

We are hoping to complete the Championships on Sunday 22 September at Herne Hill starting at 15.00 hrs and are sharing the venue with Bec CC, which means you will have a chance to catch your breath between races.

The remaining events will include 500m Handicap, Pursuit and 5mile Club Championship.

Please come along, bring a picnic and support the event, as pushers will be needed.

Russell Williams and Dave Creasey coach "kids and carers" on Friday evenings between 18.00 and 19.30 and track bikes are available to borrow.

The same coaching is available Saturdays between 9.30 and 10.30 but novices are also welcome, this is followed by the serious training which starts at 10.30.

CYCLING WEEKLY

It has been decided that the back numbers of Cycling Weekly, which I believe were collected by Ken Hill, are to be disposed of. They are from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s, and are mostly in binders.

If anyone would like this collection, which, I must add, is a small vanload, please call me on 020 8290 1013.

If I have had no response by the end of this month, an advert will be placed in Cycling Weekly, after which, if they have not been off-loaded, the Boy Scouts of Maidstone will be given the opportunity of collecting some cash for re-cycling.

Brian Saxton Hon Club Archivist

We made it! The 18km climb to 2115 metres was completed in 1 hour and 50 minutes. The girls (Judith and Rachel) led all the way up to the top encouraged by the French in holiday mood shouting for Les Filles. Local rider Graham Gilbert, knowing what was to come, stopped for a recuperative drink just past Bareges. Gary and Jeannie had already made it to the top having given themselves a headstart on the peloton. Super domestiques Aidan and Adam caught Judith and Rachel with 5kms to go and handed up new supplies of water provided by top soigneur Gareth Glynn (also photographer and driver extraordinaire).

At 3kms from the top the relentless climbing started to bite and Judith cursed the climbs of England as mere molehills in comparison to the mighty Tourmalet. Rachel was muttering about "the things I do for you Charlie". Rachel found a bit of extra strength to sprint for the line once she had been told it was only a few feet round the corner and crossed it slightly ahead of her brother and the others. Claire, Alex, Naomi and Daniel were at the top cheering them on.

The descent back to Luz St Saveur took Rachel and Judith 24 minutes. Adam descended like a demon and beat them all back. They arrived back in Gaillac to a fantastic party laid on by Alex and Claire with about 80 French and English locals, many of whom had read about the Charlie challenge in the local paper, Depeche du Midi. Thank you all for your support.

For those who haven't already paid their sponsorship money you can either wait to see Judith or Rachel, or send a cheque made payable to RoadPeace to: Rachel at 51 Therapia Road, London SE22 0SD or Judith at 55 Claverdale Road, London SW2 2DJ

Thank you.
Rachel Hedley
rachel@rhpost.demon.co.uk
Tel: 020 8291 3450 Fax: 0870 0513754 Mob: 07710 280757

There are now only a handful of members who will remember Geoff. He joined the club on April 4th 1940 and at that time was living at No 15 Stonehouse Street, Clapham, SW4. He was still a member when he lost his life on the 22nd May 1944 at the age of 22 whilst serving with the RAF.

You may remember a few months ago Kav mentioned in the DLN a Louis Michiels, who lives in Belgium and had been surfing the internet for the name of Hinde and, of course, found Geoff's name on the club website.

Various E-mails have been exchanged between Kav and Louis, one of which gave the name and address of Wing Commander Jack Harris (Ret'd) and details of a planned visit by him and members of 550 Squadron to the Schoonselhof Military Cemetery.

I wrote to Jack explaining that it was too short notice for members of the De Laune to join the visit but sent him a couple of copies of the Club History and two identical photographs of Geoff in RAF uniform. This photograph is the only one we have of him in the club photograph albums and was a result of Ken Hill getting as many members who were serving with the forces at that time to send a photograph of themselves in uniform to him for the records.

Many thanks for your letter and two books which arrived this morning. I have not had time to study the History in detail but I have skimmed through certain parts including the reference to the death of Geoff Hinde who was a Flight Sergeant pilot on 550 Squadron.

When I first looked at the front cover and the picture, I thought that De Laune might have been the make of a very early and very superior bicycle. I now realise that it was a very worthy young man's club that took up cycling and cycle racing seriously. I note the origins in S E London, was it Kennington and Peckham? I was born in Gillingham, Kent in 1920. When I was in the 10-14 age bracket, we used to walk each Sunday evening along Watling Street, which is the main A2 road from Chatham to Gillingham to Rainham and on to Sittingbourne, Faversham and the Kent coast. We used to see large groups of cyclists coming back towards London. It could not have been the easiest ride because a very steep Chatham Hill had to be negotiated. It could have been popular in that the Kent orchards were attractive and offered "scrumping" opportunities.

My wife and I go to Belgium on Friday 17 May and will be staying at the Hotel Geerts, Westerlo. I have not got the final detailed programme for our visit but the outline said that we would be going to the Schoonselhof Military Cemetery at Antwerp at 2 pm on Saturday, 18 May. I presume that Louis Michiels will meet me there and I will hand over to him the book and the photograph and the write up on Geoff Hinde. This raid on Duisberg was a bad one for 550 Squadron. 18 aircraft took off and 3 did not come back. All 21 air crew, 7 in each plane, were killed.

Geoff Hinde's Lancaster came down on a farm on the outskirts of Westerlo. There was a tremendous explosion, possibly one or more of the bombs were still on board, and the farmhouse was burned down. The family of the farmer whose house was destroyed gave a piece of land on which a Memorial Stone to the Flight Sergeant Hinde crew was built. Companies in the local area, the Town Council and individuals in Westerlo all contributed funds to enable the stone to be built and to invite about 20 people over from the UK for the Dedication Service in 1998. We go to Westerlo every two years and the Belgians come to our annual reunion at North Killingholme every July. We have not found any relative of F/Sgt Hinde but we are in contact with the daughter of the bomb aimer, Sgt Sharland. She never knew her father, as her mother was 4 or 5 months pregnant when her father was killed.

I was a Flight Lieutenant pilot on 550 from August 44 to Feb 45. I did 37 ops but life was a bit easier in that period compared to May 44.

I will bring back for you photos of the Memorial Stone in Westerlo and of the graves in the Antwerp Cemetery.

I am very much aware that younger members of the club may not find the above of great interest but, hopefully, some of the older members will.

A good number of members and friends attended our annual Brighton 'Do', on August 11th we all gathered first for our 'elevenses' at Pats p1ace where we were a1l made very welcome in her lovely new abode, at last we were lucky with the weather, and the sun shone on us !

Eventually we were all on the road again for the short journey to the Golf Club; from that point high on the Downs we were - for the first time - able to see the sea! We then met up with others who were unable to get to Pats place.

It was nice to see two young faces there - Claire & Ian Sylvester (Val & Tony's' daughter & son-in-law) they are members of the San - Fairy - Ann C.C., hope they enjoyed their day with the 'crumblies'. Two other guests came along with Beryl & Don, then were Diane & Malcolm Darroch - brother of John our member in Phuket, I hear that the four are off to John's Wedding in November have a great time, what an experience that will be, a little different than an English wedding I would think, you'll have to tell us all about it Beryl & Don when you return!

I think everyone enjoyed the Buffet Lunch and of course meeting up for a good old chat once more. We missed our 'Old Mate' Harry Thomas, who as you all know was due to come over for his first trip back here since he was a £10. POM in 1961. You will have read his letter in the August DLN explaining his reason for not being able to come over after all, we hope that next year will see him fit and healthy once more and able to make the journey, we all look forward to seeing Harry & Sylvia then.

Also good to read was Harry's 'How I came to join the DLN article, good to see his name appear on an article in the DLN again, I know that he used to write often in the 1950's, having held various official jobs in the Club. Any more interesting stories Harry! We raised our glasses to your health Harry (our glasses were kindly filled with wine - provided by George w.) Cheers George - again.

Advance notice - ANNUAL REMEMBERANCE SERVICE AT NEWHAM - 17thNOVEMBER and afterwards lunch at The George - as usual. So, I will need to know the numbers to book our room, phone me early November, unless you want to chat to me before that!! Wel1 - that's all F0LKS, Bye. DOT. 01689 851241

Since I cannot be with you today I am hoping that someone will volunteer to read this short message.

Thailand I believe is seven hours in time ahead of England. I am estimating that you will be commencing your luncheon at around 1-PM so that makes the time here 8-PM in the evening. I will be sitting with a nice glass of something to toast you all. Firstly Jead and I still think of that party Don and Beryl put on at their house last September, it was really a most memorable occasion and great to see so many friends in person once again.

I was not intending to mention names today lest I forget someone, however I would like to mention just two. First it was great to see Bill Miles again, now ninety, what a great old gentleman, "Cheers" Bill. Secondly I would like to mention our President, Kav, from what everyone has told me and from what I read in the DLN he is doing a simply fantastic job, well done Mr President, you are a great guy. Kav and I correspond fairly frequently so I know quite a bit of what is going on in the Club and it sounds very good indeed.

I am often asked what it is like living in Phuket so am taking this opportunity to try and describe our way of life for you. I would ask that you close your eyes, relax and visualize what I am about to describe. Imagine a picture postcard tropical island, covered with lush green vegetation. Imagine some hills about 200 metres in height; these hills are covered in thick green jungle foliage. From a small lane you walk along a narrow pathway and up a slope, soon you see a clearing. In the centre of this clearing stands a house, single story and built on stilts. The main construction is using large bamboo poles; the walls are woven bamboo strips ingeniously sewn together to form panels. The roof is Thai style and made of thatched palm leaves carefully lashed together using reeds from the river. A short ladder/staircase is also made of bamboo and leads to a veranda and the front door. We call our house "green" for all materials are taken from the surrounding jungle, there are no artificial materials used, we are very environmentally conscientious.

Under the house pigs grunt as they forage for food, chickens cluck as they strut about, a mule is tethered to one of the main house supports. Close by two buffalo graze under the shade of coconut palms. On mounting the steps to the Veranda and looking in at the front door you will see are two rooms, a bedroom and a living room, both about 3 metres square. Furniture can best be described as "simple" coconut mats on a woven bamboo floor, a rickety bamboo table and some neatly folded blankets. Electricity is by way of a small pedal generator located in one corner of the living room. Jead pedals this generator as she says that she wants to stay slim and healthy.

On the table is a radio, crystal type, runs off an accumulator. I spend hours in the evenings "tickling the crystal" to get some music which is a bit "crackly" Lighting is by way of large candles, we don't light these candles for too long once it is dark as they attract hordes of mosquito's. The bathroom/toilet is also basic, comprises a sentry box hut made from bamboo. At the appropriate time one crouches down inside over a neatly dug hole. Every week it is my task to move the hut to new ground, I usually try to accomplish this when the wind blows for if the air is "still" it is a bit "heavy"

Our kitchen comprises a metal bucket, a sort of Thai Habatchi bar-be-que. Fire is provided from chopped bamboo logs; Jead is able to cook some amazing meals on our "stove" Our water is "piped" via hollow bamboo poles from a little stream near the house, this water is fed into a tiny reservoir and used for washing and cooking.

Parked under the house is my road bike, the only item from modern civilization. I still ride my bike each morning to stay fit. We do occasionally have visitors but usually only once, for some reason they don't seem too enthusiastic to return. Maybe this is due to the pigs grunting at night; probably keep our guests awake for visitors sleep under the house, as we do not have a spare bedroom.

Some people talk behind my back, I have heard them say that I have "lost it" whatever that means. I can tell you one thing, my living now is very cheap, I could even manage on my Army pay of 28/- a week if I had to. In keeping with my surroundings I have decided to change my hair style again, something simple this time. I am leaning towards a "Mohegan cut" Jead suggested it should be coloured with orange on one side and black the other, I think this is too bright, favour something less flamboyant such as violet. Anyway for those coming out in November I will keep you guessing1

To close; Jead and I wish you all a very good lunch, lots of good conversation and above all a good laugh.

Hi,
I would be extremely grateful if you could pass the info attached to your club members about my forthcoming Derny Crits at RAF Wittering on Sunday 15th September 2002.As I am trying to get some interest going. For what will be a very exciting day of racing.

The last race in the MTB National Points Series took place at Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire on 11th August and James Lyon and myself made the journey to take part. To get an overall series position you have to start all four races in the series with your best three results to count. The course was fairly difficult due to the previous week or so of heavy rain but after a quick change of tyres I was ready for the off. I had a relatively good start and raced a cautious race until the last lap when I attacked to finish 19th on the day. This was enough to give me an overall position of 12th in the Masters category for the season which is encouraging for my first full season racing in the National Points Series and the aim next year has to be for a top ten position overall. James Lyon suffered a mid-race loss in form and retired but with three results in the bag all ready he ended up with a solid series position of 24th in the Expert category.

There is something about Beastway that sets it apart from any other race series I have participated in. Although it is fiercely competitive, it is also extremely social and it is great to see the same faces year in year out. The race series spans a 10-week period over the summer and takes place on Wednesday nights. With your 7 best results counting for the series, you have to be consistent and lucky to do well in the overall.

This year was my first in the masters category which is the largest category in the race and is very competitive. I was looking forward to racing with Ross and had high hopes going into the series.

In the first race, I had a mechanical after 300 metres and lost about two minutes, during which time the entire field of around 100 riders had passed me. Ross was absolutely motoring and was looking strong after a period of intense interval training. He was in the lead group of three which stayed together for the race, with Ross eventually finishing 3rd, a great start. I got 9th in the end, not the way to start my bid for overall victory.

From the second race onwards, however, I started to race well and felt particularly strong on the climbs. I had the confidence to attack people and was able to recover sufficiently. I was really enjoying the racing and being pushed to my max. What amazes me about Beastway is that it is one hour's worth of racing flat out, and I had average heart rates of around 175 (max of 187). There is simply no way of replicating this in training and I felt the benefit of this intensity in subsequent road races.

I came first for the next three weeks and was back into contention for the overall. Ross had an off-day in the second race but recovered with another two third places to put him in a good position. It was great to have Ross in the race and for the third round Steve Price joined us. It was looking like a De Laune 1/2/3, however we attacked each other too hard and had to settle for a De Laune win and a third.

I managed a second the following week and then won all my remaining rounds and so achieved my objective of winning the series, a very satisfying result. Ross managed 5th in the end which was a good result, although he could have got in the top three had he not suffered a dip in form midway through the series. Overall a great showing by De Laune and with Cliff fast gaining speed, we should hopefully clean up next year!

It never rains, it pours. Looks like there has been a lot of action this month to make up for the last one. Check out the reports to find out who where and when, I think you'll be impressed. Still no news from the serrl concerning the special general meeting despite several attempts at emailing Bill. As soon as I here anything I'll pass it on via email.

If you have not seen it elsewhere you will be glad to hear that we are now doing our own club run on Sunday mornings. They will be in Richmond Park meeting at the Roehampton Gate at 9.30am from 1/9/02. This should enable us to introduce new members without ripping the poor sods to bits on the hills of Kent. Cliff will be the main point of contact should you know of anyone who wants to come along. Although I will not be able to do the first one due to a well earned holiday I should be there after that.

Eurosport Tour Highlights: The green jersey going all the way down to the last sprint - the best man won; Jalabert's polka dot jersey - pure class, he will be sadly missed in this household (retiring at the end of the season); David telling Phil Anderson he is not as pretty as his wife….and, David's constant flirting with Christy Anderson; Rumsas' sneaky breakaway on the champs…(just don't ask him how his wife is. With a medicine cabinet like that his mother in law - "it was all for her, honest guv" - must be built like an outhouse!). I could go on forever, well, at least until next July…. Hew Classics: Oh no, David is on holiday so we have got Mike Smith. He sounds so cheerful sometimes he should be a kids TV presenter! Anyway, Museeuw proves age is no holdback….again. San Sebastian: Jalabert showed his class…..again. Another 'oldie'! Championnat de Zurich: Frigo proves that saline solution is the new wonder drug (he thought he was getting the new epo - never buy flasks off men in dark glasses standing in airport lounges!). NB: From my reports one might get the impression that I have something against Italian racers. I don't (Tafi is one of my favourite riders), its just they've got all the best drugs so it's a bit unfair on everyone else. Still, it beats Eastenders any day of the week. Next up is the Tour of Spain commencing 8/9/02. Coming to a rehab clinic near you soon!

LETAPE DU TOUR 2002 by James Lett This was the big one of the season!! I had looked forward to it for ages, although I wasn't sure what to expect. It was stage 17 of the tour, from Aime to Cluses. I was slightly disappointed by the route when it was first announced due to the absence of any Haut categorie climbs. It was however a tough one with four significant climbs, the first 20k long, second 16k long, third 6k and the Col De La Columbiere at 12k.

We were staying in what we thought was La Plagne, just above Aime, so perfect for the start. However ,although the chalet was part of La Plagne it was in the wrong valley, which meant we would have to drive to the start, not ideal considering we had to get to the start line at 7 a.m.

Monday morning, we were up at 5:45 and set off around 6:30 for the start. The traffic on the main road into Aime was awful and we had to ditch the cars 15k from the start. Worst still it was all uphill!! Getting to the start line was carnage as there were people everywhere. I have never seen that many people before, the line up just kept going and going. As we were late, we had to go to the back of our block of numbers, so ended up starting in 3000th position.

It took us 7 minutes to get over the start line, and I then set about picking up as many places up as possible before the first climb. We hit the climb and suddenly the road became very narrow. People were everywhere and it was pretty frustrating trying to get through. I was difficult to get any rhythm at all as you had to surge through any available gaps. I figured it was worth nailing the first climb to get clear of other riders and I looking down at my heart rate monitor, I was always over 170. I thought we had been climbing for ages and was expecting to see the summit approaching. However I was somewhat shocked to see a 10k to the summit sign and wondered just how I was going to get through the race. When we got to the 4k to go sign, there were switchbacks visible right up to the summit. Mentally these are difficult to deal with as they look steeper than they are and its cruel to have to see what lies ahead!

I eventually reached the summit, grabbed some water on the fly and then headed over the back of the climb. What a descent! Within seconds, the climb had all seemed worthwhile as the scenery opened up and we dropped like a stone towards a beautiful lake. I thought I was flying downhill until a bunch of French loons swept past at an insane speed! It was a brilliant 20k descent until we took a right hand bend and a 16k to the summit sign appeared. Time to change down into the 24 and spin again. Again I found myself well into the 170s and funny enough I started to feel pretty bad towards the top of the climb. At this point I was telling myself, never, never, never, never again!!!

I managed to keep tucking into the powerbars and seemed to recover on the descent and just thought to myself two more to go. By now I was able to pick my line more on the descent as small groups formed. Next up was the Col des Aravis. This was relatively short and I made sure that I was down in the 27 using high revs to save myself for the last climb. Again the switchbacks were torturous and it seemed to take an eternity to get to the next km checkpoint.

Then it was the tough one, Col De La Columbiere. I followed a couple of quick wheels up the first half of the climb and thought I may as well go for it. I was feeling quite strong until the 3k to go sign when suddenly I felt spent. This feeling was not helped by the fact that someone collapsed on their bike through exhaustion in front of me and that the last section was at 10-12%. This was the most painful experience and on the last 200-metre stretch, I covered more like 300 metres, head down and barely able to turn the gears around. Once over the top it was all down hill to the finish and I loved every second of it. The downhill was technical and has some fantastic corners, which you could take at speed. I ended up in a group of 5 of us and we sprinted for the line and finally crossed the finish line. What a race!

I finished 277 out of 7,500 and got into the Gold Medal classification with a time of 5 hours 18. The winner did 4 hours 23 which is unbelievable although Frigo managed to knock a further 21 minutes off this-Frightening!! I was extremely pleased though with the ride and hopefully I will be able to start in the front group next year, which should save some time. Best of all, the event was brilliantly organised and it really was like a stage of the tour. There were thousands of spectators, policeman in the middle of traffic islands and best of all the freedom to pick your lines on the descents using both sides of the road. You also learn a lot about riding in the mountains and I now can't wait to do it again. Top 200 the target next time, anyone joining me?

Having finished l'etape and the mountain biking, I could focus once again on securing my second cat license. Although I was only two points short of the magic 30, I was keen to secure it there and then as I was away on holiday for most of August and had frankly got to the point of wanting to call it a day for the season.

I had ridden the circuit before and remembered that there was a 25% climb just before the finish! The race was fast from the outset with a number of people attacking. I was feeling strong and was keen to get into a break. I got into several breaks during the race but we kept being reeled in. It is strange that it seems to be more difficult to get away in 3rd cat races that some 2nd cat races. I can only imagine that people seem to be happier to chase than to try and get in a break.

On the final approach to the climb, there was a strong attack and the pace was quick on the gradual leading up to the final climb. With the roads being slippery, I was forced to ride the hill in the saddle which was not fun but managed to get 4th, 8 points and at last the elusive 2nd cat licence. So that's it for another season. Definitely my best season to date and with the return of James Peckham as my training partner next year, I am already looking forward to 2003.

Whitewebbs Summer Circuit races, 06/06/02 Eastway 34WJ by Craig Porter
On a quite Saturday with nothing else to do I made the spur of the moment decision to go to Eastway for a race. Almost 50 starters lined up for the 40 lap (60 km) race under cloudy skies but otherwise pleasant conditions apart from a moderate wind that is ever-present at Eastway. From about lap 5, small breakaway groups formed constantly but were never able to establish a substantial enough lead to look dangerous. I decided to have a go at a break myself when a Gravesend rider jumped off the front. I waited a few seconds then jumped across to him and rolled through to do a turn as we crossed the start/finish line with 12 laps (20 km) remaining. Unfortunately my breakaway companion decided at that point that he didn't have the legs for it and promptly sat up! I decided to keep going and see how long I could last by myself. I managed to get a lead of around 25-30 seconds and get just out of sight of the bunch but could manage no more. I got swallowed up by the bunch with about 5 laps to go, lasting just long enough at the front to use up all the energy I had. A mix-up by the lap counters meant that we ended up doing 42 laps and after the 40th lap, one of the Gravesend riders who was looking at his computer instead of the lap counter board, sprinted for the line and threw his arms in the air only to be told that there were still 2 laps to go. Very embarrassing! In the end, all the breakaways came to nothing and the finish was decided in a bunch sprint with me not having the strength left to do anything but sit back and watch. At least I got a decent training ride out of it.

SERRL Event 13, 11/08/02 Lamberhurst 234WJ by Craig Porter
Myself and Alan Male were the sole representatives from De Laune for this 80 km race on the Lamberhurst circuit. This was my first race at Lamberhurst and my first race since returning from my trip to the Tour de France last month and I was keen to see if all the riding I'd done in the mountains of the Pyrenees and Alpes had done anything for my form.

As usual, there were plenty of the Gemini lads in attendance which enabled them a fair amount of control over the race. The first lap consisted of the usual nervousness with riders establishing their positions within the bunch. One rider took off right from the gun and dangled about 30 seconds in front of the bunch until almost the end of the lap before finally succumbing, presumably using up any strength he had and taking no further part in the race. An interesting tactic I thought!

The second lap saw a few of the Gemini boys driving hard up the climb at he back of the circuit approaching Wadhurst. I decided I'd better join them because if the break succeeded, then the rest of their team mates may shut the race down. We ended up with a small group of about 8 including 3 Geminis but we never got more than a few seconds on the chasers so after a couple of kilometres we were reeled back in. Shortly after, 2 riders did managed to get away and had a 26 second lead at the end of the second lap. They managed to get out of sight of the bunch due to the twisting nature of the circuit but by the time we got near the top of the climb toward Wadhurst on the third lap, we could see them and they were quickly bought back into the bunch.

Shortly after getting through Wadhurst on the third lap, the motorcycle marshall told us that the race organisers had decided to shorten the race due to road works on the circuit and this would be the last lap. The pace immediately quickened and a few small breaks got off the front but none had more than about 10 seconds lead. With about 10 km to go, 2 riders attacked, then another, then another and since there were 2 Gemini riders among them I decided to join them. We got a few seconds on the bunch but I looked around and the chasers were stretched out obviously working hard to get us back so I sat up and waited for another opportunity. The opportunity came at about 8 km to go when a group of 4 riders had got a gap of around 10 seconds on the bunch as we approached the start of the series of long drags into Bells Yew Green and the finish. I managed to get across and started working with them. One of the riders then attacked the breakaway so I waited for a few seconds to see what the others would do. When nobody chased I went after him myself and we rode together swapping turns. He looked tired and dropped back a little on one of the uphill drags, and with only about 6 km remaining, I thought I'd have a go by myself. I managed to open up a gap of about 20 seconds fairly quickly but the uphill drags combined with a slight headwind were starting to take their toll and by the time I got back to Bells Yew Green I was thankful to reach the final climb with the bunch still just out of sight. On the final climb I could see the bunch approaching but had enough of a gap that I thought I could hold on provided I paced myself properly up the climb. The finish line couldn't come too soon for me though and I eventually rolled over it exhausted with the bunch stretched out and approaching rapidly 9 seconds behind.

So all the riding, or should that be suffering, we did in France must have been worth while. Looking forward to Sevenoaks next weekend.

RRS note:
Congratulations to James Lett on making second cat. I'm pretty sure that makes him the highest ranked road rider in the club. Craig's victory came in the same race that Matt Goodes won (and I came third in) last year. It's obviously a De Laune course! - it must be the thumping great climb to the line. Surely that makes Craig a good candidate for the Hill Climb team. Speaking of which. Yes, that time of year is approaching. The hill climbs. Although they are strictly Time Trials, as an (once!!!) active member of the all conquering De Laune team I feel I should bang the drum at every opportunity. Alas, this year it looks very much like my injury will prevent me from taking part. Gutted does not come anywhere near it! So if there is anyone out there who wishes to take my place (come on, it's only 2 minutes of absolute suffering!) your team needs you. Get in touch and I'll give you all the help I can. A quick note to Johnno - I hope you're making good use of the hill outside your door.

THE LAST DAY FOR COPY TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT ISSUE IS WEDNESDAY 24 September 2002

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MARK BALLAMY
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WARLINGHAM
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