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DE LAUNE CYCLING CLUB

FOUNDED 1889

Sponsored by EVANS CYCLES (UK) Ltd. & SPECIALIZED CYCLES

Tony Peachey making the presentation of the
FRED PEACHY MEMORIAL TROPHY to PAUL MILL

 September 2004
No. 867 -75th Year

www.delaunecc.org

THE PRESIDENTS REPORTS

Well not a lot to report this month due to members being away on holidays etc. I know that Mark wants this article for the DLN early this month as he is off to South Africa to play golf. How he manages this on the state pension I do not know! (I am not away till the end of September and if you have friends at BA then it is easy on my pension, Ed).

What is the world coming to I ask? Bill Miles, our oldest member, who is 92, was followed home by a mugger and forced his way into his home with a knife. Bill used his head and gave him his wallet and got rid of him. Well-done Bill. Keep your chin up. That’s another thing, Bill fell off of his bike at about the same time and has got a big bruise on his chin.

On Sunday the 1st of August we had our open 25 on the Chilham course. This was run like clockwork by our ‘Val the Peach’ She covers every aspect, including going around the course before the event giving every marshal food and drink to see them through. I love it!

Talking about marshalling, I was on the first roundabout with Tich Shambrook and one of our old members Mick Hartley. Three of us all wearing florescent jackets with florescent pointers to cover the three exits. Into the roundabout comes our own Howard Coulson, and guess what! He finds his own exit down a lane to a farmyard. Oh, Howard, what are we going to do with you?

I know that Val will be giving you a full report and results in this issue so I will not go on but I would like to say how pleased I was to see two new young members riding. Sam Fensterheim and James King (remember his dad?) Well young Sam won the Johnson Trophy for being the fastest junior.

He was presented with the cup and when Stax asked for the cup back so that it could engraved he said “ No I want to take it with me now, to show my mum” Bless him.

Well-done Val. I would also like to thank that little man who helped you. Tony something!

On the 11th of September we have got our ‘Old Members 10’ open to all members on the fast Ashford road course Q10/22 The event starts at 12 noon. I know you are saying where is the Q10/22! (See full details in Notice Board)

Let me tell you. The start is at Harrietsham on the A20. You will find the start approx three quarters of a mile east of the railway bridge that goes over the A20 at Harrietsham. (You will find a car park behind the petrol station for you to change) The course goes out to the turn at Charing roundabout (Approx 5 miles) you then retrace. As Alan after his accident is not up to full speed yet, please let me know if you want to ride.

On Sunday, the day after the 10, we have our club track championships at Herne Hill. Again if you want to ride or help contact Jeremy White Tel (020 8244 4768)

If any of you fancy your chance at skiing next Feb at Alp D’Huez let me know, as we might be able to get you in the team!! It is all go in this club you know!

Kav.

Fred Peachey Open 25 Mile Time Trial

Well, what can I say except a great big thank you to all those who helped in any way for this years’ promotion. I thought it might be a hard task to follow Malc’s excellent organisations over the last few years, but no, you all responded admirably to my pleas.

The day dawned perfect. A little misty but clearly promising to be fine and dry which is what we got. We had a little panic as road works had appeared on the course for the previous weekend promotion for the Ashford Wheelers, but some sweet-talking to the contractors ensured all were cleared away for our event.

True to form my marshals appeared as if by magic. Some were put to work immediately by transporting equipment from the car into the hall, but they didn’t grumble. Linda and Pat soon arrived and organised the ‘T’ bar and had the kettle singing, their dulcet tones quickly rendering the wonderful words of ‘who wants a cup of tea’. Brian Saxton brought an easel on which to place the newly acquired result board, making life very much easier for writing up the results on the day, rather than trying to balance a wobbly board on a table and chairs! This new board is a great asset, quite how Brian got it to our place on the top of his little white van without taking off along the M.20 I shall never know, best not to ask.

I had enlisted the help of Kath and Paul Mepham from VC Elan to officiate as timekeepers; they were no doubt entertained by Roy Savery pushing off. Roy came well prepared with chair and coffee, probably had the candelabra in his car but forgot to get it out.

I toured the course in front of the first rider with Ann Hartley in the car with me. I wanted to make sure everyone knew what way to send the riders – though I understand despite being directed, one rider in De Laune colours (??) was desperate to go off course at Thanington, insisting he wanted to go up a dead end road – Kav put him right.

The first set of marshals in action, resplendent in yellow marshalling jackets and brandishing the new CTT arrow boards were Kav, Tich and Mike Hartley at the Thanington turn. Next came Jeremy White and Geoff Sinnett turning the riders out to Ashford where the rowdy crowd of John Geoghgan, Lenny Brown, Brian Saxton and Brian Waller were scattered around Spearpoint roundabout sending the riders back to Chilham and eventually to the finish. It was nice to see Mark Ballamy ‘snapping’ away at the finish and in the hall, thanks Mark.

Away from the officials it was great to see so many Club riders and, to have a winner in the guise of Sam Fensterheim who was the fastest Junior on the day with a 1.12.28, and takes the Johnson trophy for one year. Sam was hastily followed by James King (son of Dave) in 1.15.07. Well done both of you, and welcome to the Club. Other club riders were Nick Butler in 1.2.58 for 22nd place, Howard Coulson in 1.7.47 in 29th place, and Malc Adams in 1.10.51 in 37th place. Well done.

You can’t expect me to forget the ‘other’ club riders i.e. Tony who started number one just in case anything went wrong and finished in 1.6.6 taking 2nd vets award, lead the winning vets team home and took one of the lottery prizes. After riding he, returned to the hall, had a quick change and then proceeded to write up the board. Mike Peel had volunteered for this job but had unfortunately found himself in hospital in Dar es Salaam at the end of his holiday with gastro enteritis and although home was clearly not well enough to come out on the day. Get well soon Mike; you can make up for your absence next year! Daughter Claire rode her first and last event of the season to clock up a 1.11.59 to take the second ladies award and son in law Ian came in 59.22 to back up the ‘Fairies’ team and also take one of the lottery prizes.

Oops, nearly forgot to mention the worthy winner, same as last year Paul Mill, in 54.13. An excellent ride on the day, which as I said was warm, dry and sunny, but was also a bit ‘sticky’. We will definitely see Paul again next year; he likes the event, the course and the friendly atmosphere of the Club.

See you all again next year – Val the Peach.

  Team - Team Edwards 2:48:22

San Fairy Ann CC ‘10’      7^th August   (78 Finishers)

Winner                 Steve Castle         GS Invicta             20.53
                             Brian Dacey          De Laune              23.45.          3^rd   Vet on standard
                                                                                                               3^rd   Best improvement
                                                                                    (exactly same time as his fastest last year)
66                          Malcolm Adams  De Laune              26.52

Gravesend CC  ‘25’ 15^th Aug
                              Malcolm Adams  De Laune         1.10.02

VETS BAR
As the season is drawing towards a close (at least for me it is ) I thought I would give the current situation in this competition.

Unfortunately, with Alan out of action only I (to my knowledge) have completed all qualifying rides. (Alan only needed 1 more ‘25’ )

I am hoping that other Vets may contact me with their results. Peter Jenn usually keeps his rides close to his chest until the last minute, let’s hear from you Peter. Also David Haggart I believe should qualify, let me know Dave.

Some of our newer club members may not be aware of the competition, so if any of you are 40 or over and have competed in two ‘10’s and two ‘25’s (not private TT’s) please let me know.

Alan Rowe broke 2 club Vets records before his accident. 10miles. 22.57. He also did a 1.03. ? for 25 miles (I will have to confirm the seconds) Well done Alan. (don’t forget to claim them)

LET ME KNOW YOUR RESULTS MALCOLM ADAMS. Tele; 01227 373045. E Mail: jazzymalc@aol.com

MALCOLM ADAMS

           10 Miles.      25.33.
          10 Miles.      26.52.
           25 Miles.   1.10.02.
           25 Miles.   1.10 51.                           Average Speed   22.1019 MPH.

 VETS STANDARD (AGE 65)
             10 Miles.     31.00.
             25 Miles.  1.19.30.                            Average Speed   19.1702 MPH. 

             +2.9317  MPH   on standard

ALL THE RACING RESULTS

Rankings of the Sigma Sport/Integra SP South East Series after 7 races.

1        John Ibbotson         Pacific Racing                   241
2        Rob Enslin              prestigevc.com                   200
3        Steve Gowar           Pacific Racing                   182

64      Steven Price         De Laune CC              2
67      James Lett            De Laune CC              1

Crystal Palace circuit races
Alan Male

Despite thunder & rain seemingly hitting most of London the racing at Crystal Palace, on Tuesday August 3, saw not a drop

3/4/W/J
Three riders pulled clear from the race in the early stages; Alan Male (De Laune CC), William Thompson (Pacific Racing RT) and Sean McKibben (Dulwich). The three established a 20 second lead, but the pace was too hot for McKibben, who lost contact.

The remaining lead two's advantage began to fall as the pack chased. Male and Thompson were finally caught, but there was life still in them.

As the E/1/2's came through the race, Male and Thompson jumped across the gap to the end of the line and no one reacted.

Despite some protest from the pack, the two hung onto the shirt tails of the E/1/2's, and soon pulled out a minute plus lead. The pack almost seemed to give up as no chase was organised. With a few laps left Jonathan Gormley (McQuaid Tyres) and McKibben went onto the offensive and soon a 20 gap had been created to the bunch and reducing the lead to 1.10.

Male and Thompson went wheel to wheel for the win and the decision went to Male, but it took a keen eye to separate them.

Gormley in turn had the edge over KcKibben and Max McCalla (VC Londres) led in the rest.

1        Alan Male                        De Laune CC
2        William Thompson             Pacific Racing RT     s/t
3        Jonathan Gormley             McQuaid Tyres        @ 1.10

Crystal Palace circuit races : 10/8/04
Alan Male (De Laune CC) and Hayden Brooks (Catford CC) in particular were forcing the speed of the chase and Jones was eventually brought back.

In the final laps, Jenn's put in a massive effort and he gained a few seconds which he held for 3 laps, before the bell lap saw the race together.

Out of the last turn Alan Parkinson (SWRC), had got to the front and was fighting hard to keep Max McCalla (VC Londres) at bay. Parkinson shouted a celebratory cry (a bluff he said afterward, to make sure the judges got it right) as he crossed the line a tyre ahead.

Male in turn was just off McCalla's wheel, with the rest breathing down each others necks.

Youth Event
A small field, but nonetheless one that gave us good racing. From the start Simon Lewis (VC Londres), Louise Mahe (Sutton CC), Joe Dunbar (Addiscombe CC) and Sam Fensterhein (De Laune CC), pulled away.

The four leaders became 3 when Fensterhein crashed out. (a few cuts and bruises, and he was smiling). With just a few laps done, Lewis attacked and pulled out a winning lead, Mahe attempted to bridge the gap and in turn pulled clear of Dunbar

Crystal Palace circuit races : 17/8/04
3/4/W/J.
A very close finish that went to Hayden Brooks (Catford CC), with the rest hard on his heels.

1        Hayden Brooks        Catford CC
2        John Cannings
3        Alan Male              De Laune CC

Crystal Palace circuit races – youth -24th August
Brian Randall (Sutton CC), Alex Aldham-Breay (Ciclos Uno), Simon Lewis (VC Londres) and Nathan Palmer (De Laune CC) went clear after the opening lap. The 4 were still together on the final lap and on the hill, Plamer lost contact to take 4th, whilst Lewis, Aldham-Breay and Randall went head to head. By the slimmest of margins the race went to Randall.

1        Brian Randall                    Sutton CC
2        Alex Aldham-Breay Ciclos Uno
3        Simon Lewis           VC Londres
4        Nathan Palmer      De Laune CC @10 secs

ANERLEY BC 50 mile TT
Howard Coulson
Sorry I do not have any times for this event. Ed.

The “Saab-Salomen Mountain Mayhem” 24hr Mountain Bike Race 2004

That time of year again…the February rush to get a team entry in for the 7th edition of the most popular mountain bike event in the UK, the hassle of trying to get a team together, people dropping out, people unavailable, a final team line-up, logistical considerations and finally, arriving at the all new venue of Eastnor Castle in June in order to ride round and round for 24 hours.

De Laune this year had one team consisting of team captain Ross Fryer, James Lyon, Chris Fitzer (who’d raced with the B-team last year) and a mate of Bill’s called Christian Rudolf who had raced in the first ever UK 24hr race at Trentham Gardens back in 1998. James Lett had been forced out through illness, James Peckham had family commitments so it was decided with this team that we wouldn’t be trying for a top 10 place, we’d just go out, enjoy ourselves and see what happened.

I’d arrived at Eastnor on Friday afternoon in the glorious sunshine and pre-ridden the course: - 10.5 miles long with 3 big climbs and numerous ‘undulations’ totalling 1500ft (460m) per lap. It was fast, dry and dusty, basically perfect conditions. There was a lot of twisty swoopy singletrack too, a proper mountain bike course rather than the pretty much flat, non-technical circuit of Sandwell Park which is where the race has been held for the last 5 years.

ChrisF arrived later on Friday evening, Ross and Christian both arrived on Saturday morning but our team area was up and running pretty quickly. By Saturday however, the weather had changed from hot and sunny to grey and rainy and the course had changed accordingly from fast, dry and dusty to a slippery mud bath with vast amounts of grass mixed in with the mud to give the most bike clogging combination possible.

The race began at 2pm on Saturday with Ross volunteered to do the 800m Le Mans style run to the bike. He had a good start, getting round the lap in 1.08 but that first influx of bikers had changed the course yet again. I was next out, stood in the rain in the transition area in my Gore-Tex, waiting for my turn. The course was now quite rutted and my full suspension Epic was now no longer the ideal bike for the course but I got round in 1.03, weighing about 30lb more than when I’d started due to the mud covering me and the bike. Fortunately, by the time it was my turn to go out again, Bill Wright had arrived (in his role as team helper) bringing my old fully rigid Team Titanium Saracen with him. A swift change to mud tires and I was ready to go out again. Lap times were now stretching out to 1.30 as the mud clogged the bike and parts of the course became lethally slippery and unrideable. Towards the Saturday evening, we had our first mechanical as Christian’s rear mech lost an argument with a big stick and was ripped clean off, bending his mech hanger in the process. Ross had a spare rear mech with him so Bill duly rolled up his sleeves and got on with changing the whole lot in time for his next lap.

The night-time laps passed without incident except for the appearance of thick fog at the top of the course which made things even more ludicrous as riders attempted to pick their way down the mud covered, rutted descent without being able to see more than 5yds in front of them. By the time dawn was lighting the eastern horizon, the weather had improved, the wind had picked up and the course began drying out surprisingly fast. It was still muddy in parts but by the time my last lap came around, I’d swapped back to my full suspension and put in a much faster lap now that things were a bit dryer. I’d started the final lap, determined to get in before the 2pm cut-off and go out for another lap but by the time I reached the final descent and saw all the other riders “lurking” that idea had been shot down in flames. For the first time ever in our 24hr race history, De Laune was lurking, just waiting for the end of the race. I crossed the line with several hundred other riders who had all decided that doing one more lap was merely extending the pain and suffering.

De Laune came 25th overall out of 252 Sport Men teams so being in the top 10% wasn’t bad considering that we hadn’t been aiming particularly high this year. Ross and I both did 5 laps (50 miles) with Chris and Christian doing 4 each.

The weather made this event spectacularly tough and huge thanks go out to Bill Wright who stayed awake most of the night cleaning bikes ready for their next battering while still managing to put the kettle on for us and keep a supply of hot food on the go. We’ll be back for more next year!

Top photo Chris Fitzer, next James Lyon , third Ross and finally James again

DO YOU REMEMBER RIDING THESE EVENTS?

Old time trialist never die they get filed away on the web! See yourself at www.southdc.org.uk  under archives

Malcolm Adams has be looking at the above site at the time of going to print he has got to the year 1956, and found about 40 odd De Laune entries the 1st was a E MAYLAND 2nd June 1935 Regent CC '25' the rest as follows:-

4.09.38 Southampton Whls.
 5.10.47 Portsmouth NE 30
1948 
16th May Ports.C.C.
30th May Gosport CC.
27th June Chichester.
3rd   Oct  Ports NE.
1949  
29th May Gosport.
26th June Chichester
1952   
4th May Wessex RC.
17th Aug Poole Whls
1953   
3rd May Rufus.
3rd May  Wessex RC,.
3th Sept  Solent Dist.
1954 
22nd Aug Poole Whls.
19th Sept  Solent Dist.
1955   
8th May Ports CC.
10th May SCCU.
31st July Ports Whls,
7th Aug VTTA Wessex.
18th Sept Bognor Regis 

www.southdc.org.uk this is where you will find your name and time. HAPPY MEMORIES

The De Laune Northern Contingent Race Reports

Salt Ayre crit, 10/8/04 (by JL)
With JP on holiday, it was left to me to fly the De Laune flag this week. A fair sized field turned and, it spite of the horrendous weather that morning, it was a lovely sunny evening and the circuit had almost dried out.

Not much happened during the race, nothing of any significance managed to get away for more than a couple of laps, in spite of repeated efforts by the same few individuals. With about 5 minutes remaining before the ‘5 Laps To Go’ banner, I punctured and only just managed to get it fixed in time to jump back in the bunch. However, because I was 2 laps down I was not allowed to contest the bunch sprint so tailed in at the back.

25 miles, max spd 33.9, avg 24.7mph

Preston Crit, 19/8/04 (by JL)
No JP again this week, he was busy moving house so I went down there alone. The weather had been pretty atrocious most of the day and the circuit was very wet. A field of just 11 braved the conditions for a shortened race of 20 laps. The flag dropped and, right on cue, the rain started again. In such treacherous conditions and with a howl