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Alex set the standard for everybody in the First Club TT of the year with a blistering 23:52. The time was all the more remarkable due to the gusting easterly wind and generally cold conditions.

Alex set the standard for everybody in the First Club TT of the year with a blistering 23:52. The time was all the more remarkable due to the gusting easterly wind and generally cold conditions.

Well that's March done with.  Despite the cold and strong wind, we have been getting good numbers out on club rides as people look to increase their winter mileage in preparation for warmer weather (it's got to come sometime).  Over twentysix took to the roads today with most supporting the easy ride.  Fourteen out on that one, with eight on the medium and four on the fast.  The only mechanical was on the fast, but they stuck together and got themselves sorted.

Three Wheelers rode this event; Brian Evans, Richard Clark and Spencer Stratford. Congratulations to Richard and Spencer who both got their first individual open TT under their belts .
Brian did a did a 1:04:17, Spencer a 1:08:48 despite a crash (see below) and Richard a 1:10:31 (on a road bike without TT bars).
Many thanks to Spencer for this account of his ride:

Nick Cramer rode his first "proper" road race of the season on Easter Sunday.
The race, run by Braintree Velo, consisted of 4 x 13.5 mile laps of a circuit just outside Sudbury in Suffolk. Nick likes this course but ice on the road delayed the start and gave him the "heebie jeebies"!
Self deprecating as usual, Nick reports " Did I learn from last years experience? No, it was a repeat performance and I rolled over the line 23rd out of 60 ". Most of us will be more likely to admire his determination to race at all in what passes for "spring" this year!

We were beaten by the weather.

Tony M rode this 18 mile SPOCO TT.
It was cold but, thankfully, not raining - though the road surface was wet in places. The race was on the E20/9 course just outside Maldon. The course was rolling, twisting and with a big hill called North Hill on each lap of a 9 mile loop which was ridden twice.
Tony was hoping to go under the hour and surprised himself by managing 52:57 - so was pleased with that time. He finished 27th out of 59 finishers his first time inside the top half.
Winner was Scott Cousins in 46:05. One Mr Dowsett rode (unofficially) - no time recorded.

About twenty innocent souls met in Ware not knowing what lay in front of them. Had they known, they'd have probably gone back to bed.  Everything started brightly with (for the mediums) a fairly quick, brisk journey northwards to Royston.  Lost two to a puncture, one needed to get back quickly (lucky him) and one was struggling with inner demons, illness and fatigue.  Then it was time to return - into the wind, rain and cold.  Not nice.  Meanwhile the easy was a much jollier affair with no problems reported.

Brian E and  Richard C rode this event on a course near Ugley - Richard's first 25 mile TT. Many congratulations to both of them for racing in such tough conditions. Here is Richard's account of their race.
" It was a day of first's - my first 25 mile TT, my first Open event, my first 2up, and my first time on my new bike....and it was snowing!  

Looking at the facebook page about people racing, doing sportives etc yesterday showed a common link - the cold.  And so it was with the clubriders.  Not a good day for riding enjoyment.  The medium riders had a conflab and decided that Hinxworth was too near the arctic circle to be viable so they did a shortened route.  The easy Hardriders meekly followed the Bob out to Hatfield Heath and managed to arrive before the main throng.  Tea and cake was welcome and at least on the return the wind had the dubious pleasure of chasing them back.  Fortunately there were no mechanical problems, espec

Probably due to the Redbridge visit there were not as many riders out today.  However we still managed over twenty.  A dozen took part in Mike's easy, whilst Barry decided to lead out eight others on a tortuous and circuitous tour of the home counties just to get to Wandon End, losing one and gaining two more riders for the more straightforward return.  Started off cold, warmed up, and then the sun vanished and a cold wind appeared as if from nowhere!  And of course it was a headwind.

Tony Marriott returned to Redbridge, this time for a 4th cat. race.
Given this event was only for 4th cats he was expecting a little less haste! However, the pace was quick from start again, though he found it marginally easier than the ELV Winter Series race two weeks previously - " if you can call that finish line hill easy! ". Tony compared his Garmin data with that from the earlier race and found the speeds were comparable, so he was very pleased to finish with the bunch. He was about 24th and in a photo finish with 2 other riders.

Lots of bods at Hertford, splitting roughly equally between the medium & easy with a couple vacillating between the fast or watching the Hardriders.  The easy took its usual way to Whitwell, whilst Valdis took eleven to Redbourn.  Unfortunately he only promised to get us there........!  It was a very cold day with flurries of snow but apart from the odd puncture it was always a question of trying to keep warm - a feat in itself.

Well we've finally cracked 30!!!  With fifteen out on the easy, twelve on the medium and five on the fast - you do the maths.  All found various parts of their course very icy, with the meds having to dismount in order to walk up the hill at Much Hadham.  Considering the numbers, there were only a couple of punctures although the early Sunday cold weather did account for more than just a few bruises.  The day soon warmed up, providing a stark contrast to recent weeks.

Tony Marriott and Nick Cramer raced at Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycling Centre) on Saturday 16th in the final event of the East London Vélo "Six days of winter" series. This was a circuit race lasting an hour.

It's hard sometimes to wax lyrical about the club runs when the weather is so foul.  Yet sixteen still got out in the rain and made an effort.  Eight took part in the easy, yet I expect that one or two had wished they were on the slightly faster and therefore potentially warmer mediumer.  The five meds decided at the outset that, with snow promised later (it didn't materialise), they would forsake Hinxworth for a briefer journey that took in the wonders of Buntingford.  Whilst at the cafe the three fasties shot by, paused to ridicule our calorific intake before taking off again in self-righ

I got very upset on the medium ride today when I was told that on the return we would be facing the wind.  I thought that we'd been struggling against it on the outward bound.  Apart from the strong wind, and the cold, it wasn't a bad day for riding and again the numbers out proved this.  Over twenty, split between the three groups, saw action this morning with both Alex & Steve making the break from the fast peloton to join the mediums at Clavering Lakes.  No mechanicals on the medium, but a few Val related problems on the easy - or in his case, the not-so-easy!

The majority of today's cyclists opted for the easy ride led by Cap'n Bobster.  With some of the lanes still coated with a layer of ice and many with vast lakes on them, it was never going to get above a crawl - which suited most of those taking part.  We also came across a group that I had managed to mislead in the weekly email.  Hope to meet them again if I can get the basic information correctly to them!  With only four starting the medium (although they found two more en route) and six more shaking out the cobwebs on the fast there were plenty of us on the Hertfordshire roads.

Weather 1 - 0 Clubrun

With temperatures ranging from about 0-2 degrees it was never expected to be a day for mass participation.  Yet 25 were out.  Seems that not long ago 6 would have been a good turnout!  The Easies only suffered one puncture between them, which was caused by someone not adequately checking for any flints in his tyres, before starting!!!  The Fasties worked together in order to chain-gang their way around Hertfordshire.  The Inbetweeners proved themselves "Jack of All Trades" and "Master of None".  Off road, on road, narrow lanes, hills and after the sanctuary of the Cafe they blasted back sou