Cycling: Clubs round-up

Jun 24 2011 by Lizzie Smith, Kilmarnock Standard

THE second open event in CTC Ayrshire’s ‘Cycle into Summer’ series took place last Sunday at Eglinton Country Park, Kilwinning.

Despite the grey day and an indifferent forecast, around 30 cyclists gathered for an Irvine Town Trail tour. The event had been targeted at family groups, and the organisers were pleased to see a good turnout of adult riders. The aim of the series is twofold - to encourage cycling at any level but, more specifically, to introduce riders to the CTC and its relaxed and sociable style of bike riding.

The ride leader was Philip Richardson who came up with a route which flowed well considering the number of cyclists involved and the complexities of some parts of the Town Trail.

This Sunday, the group are opening one of their monthly 25-mile easy rides to all-comers. Starting at Troon’s Walker Hall car park at 10am, the ride will head eastwards for a mid-ride coffee stop.

The trip will be supported by CTC members who will be on hand to make sure riders don’t get lost and the group will, as usual, split into smaller groups as participants find their own comfort zone in terms of speed.

As an open event, newcomers will need to sign in for insurance purposes and so should turn up a little earlier. They will also learn more about the trip and get to know the group - plus it’s free, having been given support by the Big Lottery Fund.

The main thrust of the CTC’s ‘Cycle into Summer’ campaign is to encourage cycling, but more specifically, to encourage non-competitive group cycling. It’s a good way to pick up tips, learn new routes and to cycle in a supportive atmosphere.

The club are keen to extend this kind of easy-paced, social cycling, particularly in their ladies ride section. A significant effort is being made to highlight the ladies rides and encourage newcomers as part of the summer project.

The first outing is on Saturday, July 2, at 11am, with cycling starting from Troon swimming pool. The distance will be about 15 miles with a welcome coffee and snack break along the way.

Those interested in taking part may well see posters and leaflets on the ladies section in a variety of places. The information is also shown on the CTC website - www.cycleayrshire. co.uk - or can be accessed by phoning the club secretary on 01290 550276.

SOME super close times were recorded in Walkers Cycling Club’s latest TT event on the A77 course last Tuesday night.

Eighteen riders participated in this 12-miler which was the third of five in a series limited to club members.

Neil Walker, Kilmaurs, was first back in 27 minutes, 15 seconds. The next three all finished within 30 seconds of each other, just over a minute behind Neil.

Catherine Logan, Irvine, was in flying form after posting an impressive time in last month’s TT at Eaglesham Moor. She just squeezed into Tuesday’s top 10, crossing the line in 31 minutes, 36 minutes – one minute ahead of the only other female rider, and club colleague Laura McFarlane, Kilmarnock.

Times before handicapping: Neil Walker 27:15, Darren Wood 28:37, Scott Kerr 28:50,Treymayne Hodge 29:06, Bryce Gillan 29:35, Peter Forsythe 30:08, Calum Ridout 31:20, Paul Holdsworth 31:22,

Tommy Gribbon 31:23, Catherine Logan 31:36, Martin Kuhn 31:38, Russell Mowat 32:05, James Goldie 32:09, David Belding 32:24, Laura McFarlane 32:36, Scott Russell 32:37, Darren Ridout 33:56, Gavin Turnbull 34:05.

Timekeeper was Harvie Millar, Stewarton, and the next club TT is on the Chapeltoun course on Tuesday, August 9.

GLOOMY skies and frequent rain showers dampened the usual enthusiasm for the Saturday morning road ride from Walkers Cycling in Kilmaurs.

Only four turned up and, such was the lethargy, that they chose the shortest distance yet for a weekend cycle, arriving back at the start point within two hours.

The small group stayed well within their comfort zone, sticking to flat roads on a familiar route via Cunninghamhead, Drybridge and Dundonald.

Coffee stop was at Langholm Farm, a favourite of the Saturday morning group who clocked up 25 miles and avoided the worst of the downpours.

On Saturday, the trekking twosome were at Loch Doon, initially following the water’s edge on tar to the old castle and venturing off-road onto Forest Drive to look for a “hidden” boardwalk which takes fishermen from the path to Loch Macaterick. The quarter-mile of planking was easier than ever to locate after the tree fellers had been at work in this eerie, featureless corner of the Galloway Forest.

The constant rain, and gritty trail surface, played havoc with brakes and gears, but a round trip of 25 miles was achieved and another part of this amazing forest explored.

The leisure section of Walkers Cycling Club had 15 out, including two tandems, on Thursday night’s easy-paced ride was from Kilmaurs to Fenwick and back via the Grassyards Road into Kilmarnock.

Anyone who wants to try a cycle of around 15 miles over two hours should contact Walkers Cycles for details. The number is 01563 544488 and the contact is John Walker, an experienced rider who often leads the group on some of Ayrshire’s quiet and scenic roads. The start point is the bike shop in Kilmaurs and riders should assemble for 7.30pm.

FIVE mountain bikers from Walkers CC took part in a competition held at Cathkin Braes, the course for the off-road cycling events in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Sunday’s activities at the country park near Carmunnock formed round four of the Scottish Cross Country series.

Weeks of rain had made many of the descents treacherous, with gloopy mud denying riders a good grip on the corners.

Anna Walker had a successful and uneventful race, finishing unscathed, and winning the female open category. Pete Forsythe was fifth in the Grand Veterans section, completing the course not entirely unscathed after one high speed “off” and a puncture in the last lap. Howard Vincent had a good showing in the open category.

In the afternoon, Charles Vincent had a good race finishing fourth in the sport category while Gareth Barnes, racing in the Masters, unfortunately suffered a broken rear mech and had to run the final 500m to finish in fourth place, conceding a certain podium place. The Masters and Sport categories are highly competitive and so these were still excellent results for the two XCers.

The next round will be in Perth on Sunday, July 31, and the final round, and Scottish Championships, will be at Drumlanrig on Sunday, September 4.

THE satellite branch of Dales RT club had their second English-style run at the weekend.

Having just relocated from Weymouth to Bournemouth, there wasn’t time to organise and meet up with the lads from Bournemouth Arrows. The word is they cycle much like the Red Arrows - in pretty formations with coloured smoke coming from behind when “flying” down the hills.

As he wasn’t sure of the local roads, the Dales man picked a road number and headed off. Therefore with the sun high in the sky and a temperature of 19 deg, it was off up the A35 towards Boscombe and Christchurch. It soon became clear this was a mistake as the A35 was a bit of a race track with the locals and tourists fighting to get to next set of lights or roundabout first.

Once on the A337 it became more enjoyable, passing through the picturesque villages of Everton and Lymington before heading deeper into the New Forest and Brockenhurst. Here, it wasn’t rabid dogs or suicidal chickens that the riders had to be aware of but wandering ponies and donkeys as they seem to rule the roads in this part of the world.

After successfully negotiating the numerous obstacles left by horses on the road, it was back to Bournemouth, completing a very enjoyable 42 mile run.

Congratulations to Gary Maher on his top ten placing in the Lothian Flyer Road Race last weekend, finishing ninth out of 44. Gary, who is in his first year of racing, is starting to record some excellent results and his colleagues are certain it won’t be long before he is on the podium.

Dales results from the Inverclyde 10m TT were - Alex McPhee 23m 01s, Val Martin 23m 23s and Frazer Grant 25m 36s.

Results from the Thursday Interclub 10m TT were - Alex McPhee 23m 47s, Alan Mooney (Royal Albert) 24m 01s and Val Martin 26m 18s.

After their success last year, Dales are pleased to announce that their ‘open’ 10m time trial - The Dales Flyer 3 - will be held on Sunday, July 24. Entry fees are £8 (TLI member) and £10 (non member). Full details can be found on the Braveheart website.

HARRY Fairbairn-sponsored Ayr Roads Cycling Club soared to victory in the Lothian Flyer.

Paul Torrance battled strong opposition and the elements to win, helped by a strong team performance. Michael Robb claimed fourth place behind Torrance on the tight uphill finish.

Winner Torrance described the race as a “great team performance” with hard work on the front by John-Paul Baxter and Robert Kelly to strengthen Ayr Roads position.

This second win of the season provides Torrance with the points to move on to a third category licence.

Elsewhere Robert Kelly showed a return to form in the Inverclyde 10 Time Trial, posting a personal best time on the course with 22:59, his second fastest time.

Lewis McGibbney recorded a first time on the weekly club 10 course at Loans on Thursday with 30:51, a very respectable debut performance.

Other returns that night were - captain Mark Skilling, 23:03; Paul Gibson 23:18; Robert Kelly 23:46; Neil Campbell 23:52; John McKie 24:38; Michael Robb 25:00 (PB); Christopher Johnson 26:10; Paul McGhee 27:11.

FULLARTON Wheelers are running free coaching sessions on Wednesday evenings from 7pm at the old Volvo site in Irvine. The aim of the sessions is to work on skills relating to bike handling and riding in a group, concentrating on technique rather than speed or fitness.

If you’d like to take part, simply turn up on Wednesday with bike and helmet. Alternatively, you can contact the club via their website if you’d like more information. Please note for under-16s, the club needs parental consent. The website is www.fullartonwheelers.com

Four Fullarton riders travelled to Bishopton to compete in the Inverclyde Velo 10-mile time trial on a fine Sunday morning. Results were (from field of 50 riders): 8th David McLellan, 22mins 12secs; 10th Gordon Stead, 22mins 16secs; 13th Chris Staples 22mins 24secs; 17th Jim Ryland 22mins 32secs (a new PB).

With four Fullarton members racing over at West Ferry on Sunday, a smaller group of six met at Irvine Cross for the weekly club run. An early puncture put paid to a sharp getaway, but the group were soon rolling along lumpy, muddy B-roads towards Torranyard.

From there, another rider joined the posse and the magnificent seven was complete. The group continued to ride steadily and had soon passed Stewarton and Dunlop. Just outside Lugton, two riders split from the main group and headed off on a shorter route.

The remaining five cyclists carried on, at quite a fair gallop, towards Uplawmoor. By this point, the rain showers had ceased, but there was still no sign of summer sunshine in the dishwater grey sky. The group then departed Uplawmoor and stuck to mostly minor roads on the way home via Beith, Dalry and Kilwinning. Total mileage was around 35-40 miles.

Some 24 riders turned out for Monday’s club night, 16 of them electing to ride league event six, The Corraith Hilly Time Trial over 17.63miles. This is a real testing course, taking in an ascent and descent of Dundonald Hill. The result were: 1 Davy McLellan 44:19, 2 Gordon Stead 46:27, 3 Willie Stephen 47: 38, 4 Gordon Graham 48: 56, 5 Kevin Brown 49: 12, 6 Richard Sykes 53: 20, 7 Steve Hillbourne 58: 09, 8 Adam Lennox 59:00, 9 Jimmy McCallum 59:14, 10 Stan Morgan 60:11, 11 Natalie Hunter 65: 11, 12 Jim MacMillan 72: 17. OFF course: Peter Beukelman, Colin Brown. DNF (punctures): Steven Cassidy, Chris Staples. Timekeeper: Jim Ryland. Pusher off: Henry Hunter.