Clifton CC Discussion Board

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by timj Sun Jun 29, 2014 6:47 pm
Firstly i would like to thank Phil for his efforts to bring a great day for the club and the helpers.Also well done to Nigel for the afternoon race.The LVRC race for me in the A/B group with RichD,JohnS and MarkD.John broke a spoke earlyish on in the race but swapped wheels and finished.All the Clifton riders were trying to make something stick and were having a right go,but nothing stayed.Rich saw an opportunity with R Binks and a few others and stayed away coming in second A rider,that is a top effort on what is a tough course made even more so by the cross wind on the long straight on moxby lane.We tried to kind of foil the organised chase and were getting a bit of grief along with Martin and another from Chevin and eventually they gave up which i found a bit strange as the break was only about 15 secs up the road.A really enjoyable race with myself and Mark coming inwith the gallop for the line.Not sure where i came but really enjoyed it .55 mlies @24.1mphav and riding home later in the afternoon my legs knew they had had a race for sure. Many thanks everyone and to the ladies for a great spread..
by PhilBixby Mon Jun 30, 2014 8:05 am
It's that's emotional "without whom none of this would have been possible.." time again. Many, many thanks to Nigel for taking on organising the BC event and did a great job, and once again thanks to Cath (and Muzzy) for sorting out the excellent catering, and Lisa (and RichD) for help in the kitchen on the day. Thanks to the vets race drivers (Muzzy, Cam, Melly and Andy Tannahill) who all did a thoroughly professional job, and to AndyM, Dave I and Craig for working with the TM blokes to keep the junctions safe. Thanks too, to Graham M and Tom F who kept the traffic in order at the two slightly dodgy bridges, and to Mel D for officiating at signing-on and doing traffic duty too. Plus Martin who rode up to help at the finish line, and anyone else who I've forgotten who contributed to the morning running smoothly. Thanks also to the NYCC Highways crew for fixing the worst of the holes on Moxby Lane (and who will be resurfacing the entire length of road over the winter) and for not digging up the Farlington bridge that weekend.

Your efforts were much appreciated by the riders (110 of 'em) - Graham was on the return route from the finish and got "well thanked" - and emails are coming in now with stuff like "It was a great event and i really enjoyed it", "Excellent organisation and marshalling. Excellent course, superior in my opinion to Boroughbrdge course" and "thanks very much to you and your team of helpers for organising today’s LVRC race. It was a great race, well marshalled and a good course. Well done" in 'em, so you all done good. Thank you all - I hope it was fun to be part of. I'm sure Nigel will have a similar group hug to dish out for the afternoon event!
by nigelt Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:15 am
Yup- I think you've covered most people Phil, so I could just cut & paste!

Seriously- thanks to everyone who helped out- Andy Tannahill, Melly, Dave C and Fraz for driving, Dr Dave for doing a superb job sorting the sign-in and remembering to turn the lap board every time the bunch went past ('cos I kept forgetting!). Phil and Dr Dave for filming at the finish line which made sorting the bunch placings much easier. Mel B for helping out at the finish line (and scribbling numbers furiously at the finish). We also had John Mac's Dad (a Clifton stalwart from days gone by) waving the chequered flag at the finish, which he apparently really enjoyed!

Thanks to the marshals- The 2 University CC marshals (whose names I don't know), John S, Graham M, Tim J, John Mac / Dave I and Craig. Once again Community TM worked really well managing the junctions- I had a few comments from riders about how safe they felt cornering at the junctions knowing the roads were clear.

I also need to thank the NEG who provided 5 outriders for the price of 3- they did a great job working with the drivers to keep everyone safe.

Julie and Neil- the Commissaires were also really good- very helpful and very sensible (only 3 licences held back at the end so they could 'chat' with riders about their road positioning). After the issues in the last few races they seemed happy with the conduct of the riders thankfully!

Thanks to Cath and Lisa (again) for sorting out all of the hungry riders pre and post-race, your efforts were definitely appreciated.

Finally, thanks to Phil for guiding me through the race organisation process- without Phil's continual help I wouldn't have known where to start.

As with the vets race, I've had loads of positive feedback through comments on the day, emails and tweets (we really ought to have a club twitter account). Riders found the circuit suitably testing and clearly enjoyed the racing.

If I've forgotten anyone I apologise. I greatly appreciate those who gave up their day to put something back into the sport. Time now to get ready for next weekend's race- I suspect their logistics may be a little more complex than ours!

Here's to next year :D :D :D
by GrahamMartin Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:58 pm
Hello,

Big thanks to everyone who did so much to make it a great day, even just as a marshal. Congratulations to Messrs Sharp and Pape for contributing much desired points to both my club and shop - Cycleworks RT are now 5th in the region and Clifton 7th! Also, thanks Sharpie - I'd been going round saying my money was on you. Someone run a book next year so I can cash in, OK?

I believe that means Rob Pape will be getting some silverware at the end of the year, too. He leads Martin Hinchcliffe 28-13 on the internal leader board and holds "Highest placing by a Clifton rider in a club road race promotion". Not long till 2nd cat now...

Graham
by Cam B Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:04 pm
Thanks to Nigel and the crew for putting on the BC race. So much better organised than last year :D . The race settled into a familiar early pattern with about a dozen riders trying to follow Jamie Sharpe’s wheel every time he made a move. As strong as he is it was no mean feat to get away which he inevitably did and small break of 3 (I think) formed which stayed away. I had another ‘solid’ race, i.e. got round in the bunch but got nothing! In fairness I did try but not as race smart as I could be and lacking sheer ‘grunt’ when it’s required, particularly on the uphill when I wasn’t in the mix. But good day overall. Really enjoyed being a driver in the Vets race even if there was a..... ahem...slight mishap when I saw the bunch in my rear view mirror heading toward Easingwold when they should have turned left to come out of Stillington. Thankfully they all reappeared seconds later. It was hard not to resist a chuckle as it was quite comical...even if I was at least partly responsible for the mix-up. No harm done any way as they were all still together. I stayed a bit closer to them after that but not so close as to be within earshot of any likely brickbats...I didn’t hang around at the finish! I gather there were no complaints anyway... All good fun nonetheless .....Roll on next year :D
by RichardD Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:07 pm
Thanks to Phil and Nigel for organising the racing and other members/friends/etc for helping out. Thankfully no crashes this year and everyone I spoke to appreciated the club's efforts. My race in the morning A/B LVRC event went suprisingly well and managed to get in the break that stayed away. Tried to pull away the last time up toward Sherrif but only managed to shed a couple of riders. Too tired to contest the final sprint but a white envelope nonetheless. Thanks to the other Clifton riders who sat near the front of the bunch frustrating the chase. I owe you an equal share of the winnings, which is the princely sum of £3.50 each.
In the C/D's I think it was Andy's last race before his knee surgery(ies). Hope the recovery is as speedy as possible and we see you on a bike again soon.
by paulM Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:37 pm
(I've forgotten my login which shows how often I post....so using Pauls)

Thanks to everyone who put money in the tin, we raised 107.00 for the Air Ambulance.

Cheers
Cath
by dave c Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:28 pm
Just to echo the above. Did the efg LVRC race, great circuit and well run, thanks to all marshals and organizers. Enjoyed myself on the front for quite a bit over the 1st 4 laps.. Got dropped on last lap but enjoyed it anyway knowing that I wouldn't get a place on the uphill finish.

Helped in the afternoon with the BC race, Lead car2, no dramas, a bit hectic through Stillington sometimes. Great organization and marshalling.

Thanks Cath and helpers for a great spread.

Nearly forgot, did the Bridlington cc 10 miler on Saturday, good event on the Burton Fleming course, No pb but a good ride.

Cheers

Dave
by paulM Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:39 pm
Quite a long day for myself and Cath which actually started the day before in Asda buying a trolleyfull of cakes. Coincidently we bumped into Rob O who told me to go from the gun in the 2/3 race - the kind of advice we used to swap a decade or so ago - only in them days it used to work!
It was absolutely bouncing down when I got up Sunday morning but had faired up nicely by the time we set off. Cakes unloaded I then had the relatively stress free job of lead car in the vets race. Nice that all you have in LVRC events is a sign on the car roof and not wired for sound, so just needed to make sure the riders stayed behind me. For a 2 hour race or so its ok watching the race unfold in your mirrors & great to see Rich D get up there in the break.
From the end of that race it kind of dawned on me that I didnt have very long to get something to eat, sign on and get changed for the afternoon BC race. Consequently not the best warm up I've ever had. Waiting in the car park Jamie Sharp was joking he was expecting me in the top 10 because that is where I always finish. Clearly he hasnt seen me race much recently!
How can I describe this race - it started fast and just stayed there - the pace just never dropped for 55miles. I managed to get to the front on the first lap as just wanted to stay near the front for the climb to the finish and through the early bends. I actually managed to get away briefly. Big mistake and it took me the whole of the first lap to recover but at least I can say I almost went from the gun. I had a 26mph average by the end (which I thought for long periods I would never see) which included the neutralised start! Its an ok circuit but the roads are busy and twisty and I'm never sure about finishing a race with everyone thats started it. But it was certainly a workout. But the best riders still arrive at the finish line first! Personally I found every little weakness, ache and pain - probably need to stretch more but been doing too much football watching recently to make the time. I'm only writing this because there's none on tonight!
Great day out though and good to see a few people I havent seen for a while. I'm sure when I was raking in 60 pts a season as a 2nd cat, racing at this level was never this hard but in reality it probably wasn't?
by Dr Dave Fri Jul 04, 2014 10:12 am
paulM wrote:I'm sure when I was raking in 60 pts a season as a 2nd cat, racing at this level was never this hard but in reality it probably wasn't?

Obviously hard to generalise and hard data is difficult to obtain/interpret but as cycling gets more popular the number of talented athletes taking up the sport also rises and so the level might be expected to improve. Less talented riders get nowhere and drop out?

Keep pedalling!

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