arrivee 119 february 2013

ArrivéeArrivée

the Long Distance Cyclists’ Association

www.audax.uk.net Number 119 Winter 2012

Andrew Marshallnear Ribblehead

Billy Greenon the Old Coal Road

Michael Loughramon Shaking Moss

Richard Leonardon Buttertubs Pass

Mike Thompsonnear Gayle

Chris Wattson Fleet Moss

Robert Porterin Swaledale

Dales Delight 20018th March 2012next year’s event:12th May 2013Photos: Andy Corless, the organiser

February 2012

ContentsOrgNews 4

Official News 6Minutes of the 36th Audax UK AGM 6

Just a Minute 7

AUK Strategic Plan 8

Events Strategy 10

Official’s Reports 2011/12 15

Accidental Information 16

Correspondence 18

Rocco Memorial Ride 19

Snow Roads 300km 20

An Ideal First SR Series 22

The Castleton (Spring) Classic 24

David Lewis - a statistical and romantic cycling and Audax history 26

RRtY Roll of Honour 30

The First National 400 31

Easter & Summer Arrows 31

20th Dartmoor Devil 32

AAA 12 points and over in 2012 34

Ken’s Autumn Colours 100 km 35

Through the Gates of Timur 36

Korea’s First 1200 km 42

A La’al Lakeland 100 44

Wild Flowers from the Saddle 47

Route des Grandes Alpes 48

2011 Mileater Diaries 52

New Randonneurs 53

2012 Randonneurs 500 54

2012 Randonneurs 1,000 55

New Super Randonneurs 55

Audax UK Permanent Events 56

Audax UK Calendar 59

Front Cover, White Peak 100Photo: Francis Cooke.

Sheila

Arrivée is the free magazine of Audax United Kingdom, the long distance cyclists’ association which represents the Randonneurs Mondiaux in the UK. AUK membership is open to any person, regardless of club or other affiliation, who is imbued with the spirit of long-distance cycling. Details in the Handbook.

HOW TO CONTACT US:

Membership Enquiries: Mike Wigley (AUK Membership Secretary), Higher Grange Farm, Millcroft Lane, Delph OL3 5UX [email protected]

Membership Application Form: www.aukweb.net/memform.php or Ian Hobbs (New Members), 26 Naseby Road, Belper DE56 0ER. [email protected]

Membership fees: Renewal: £14 or £56 for 5 years (price of 4) New/lapsed members: £19 (inc £5 enrolment fee) or £61 for 5 years (price of 4) Household member: £5 or £20 for 5 years - no enrolment fee for new household members. Life member’s Arrivée: £9.

February Arrivée and Handbook Editor: Sheila Simpson, 33 Hawk Green Rd, Marple SK6 7HR Tel: 0161 449 9309 [email protected]

May & August Arrivée Editor: Tim Wainwright, 4A Brambledown Rd, Sanderstead, South Croydon CR2 0BL. Tel: 020 8657 8179 Fax: 020 8651 4515 [email protected]

November Arrivée Editor: n/a

ARRIVEE

Extra current Arrivée copies, if available, £3(UK), £4(EEC), £5(non-EEC) from Mike Wigley (address above)

Contributions - articles, info, cartoons, photos, all welcome. Please see page 7 for useful uploading information.

Members’ Private Sales, Wants, Event Adverts: free.

Views expressed in Arrivée are not necessarily those of the Club.

Produced by AUK: editing, typesetting, layout, design and scanning by Sheila Simpson.

Printed & distributed by: Headley Brothers Ltd, Invicta Press, Queens Rd, Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH

Distribution data from: Mike Wigley and the AUK Membership Team

MAY EDITION CONTRIBUTIONS: To Tim by 15th March

Our web site: www.audax.uk.netTo subscribe to an AUK email discussion list, send an email to: [email protected] Note this group is not monitored by the AUK Board, who should be contacted directly with matters of concern.

Audax UK Long Distance Cyclists’ Association (Company Limited by Guarantee) Reg Office: Timberly, South Street, Axminster, Devon EX13 5AD, England. © Arrivée 2013

It’s London-Edinburgh-London year again and the 2013 event will be the biggest yet - bigger and better controls and a much larger field. Entries opened on January 5th and the event filled immediately but you can still take part and savour the international atmosphere by helping at event headquarters or one of the controls. To volunteer go to:

www.londonedinburghlondon.com

Our editor Maggie Lewis has retired this year, having produced November Arrivee for 10 years, during which she has became an author herself and acquired increasing workloads elsewhere. So we are now looking for a third editor to join Tim Wainwright and myself. We use the Adobe publishing suite (InDesign, Photoshop and

Acrobat), which are quick to master using the Sandee Cohen Quickstart Guides, and would welcome enquiries from enthusiastic potential editing / design / layout artists. Our grateful thanks go to Maggie for all her years of good work.

We have a larger than usual Official section in this edition. Unwelcome serious reading, perhaps, but it is important that the whole membership has a chance to study and comment on our club’s strategic plan and events strategy. Note these are definitely ‘work in progress’ rather than the finished article.

My one comment on the plan is that AUK’s future may not be as cash-filled as the past, since volunteers are rapidly becoming thin on the ground and AUK may have to buy in increasing amounts of professional help.

Concerning events, I agree with John that it is time to distinguish between our international, national and more local events and between those organisers who are running events primarily for LRM or AUK or CTC or their own local club or group of friends. The original documents, in larger print, can be downloaded from the AUK website. Have a good cycling year

Arrivée February 2013 3

Events

200k Vale of BelvoirNew Event from Lichfield, Staffs

Sunday 10th MarchControls at: Stonehurst Farm (CTC listed tearooms), Gonerby

Services and Donnington Services.

Also

Charnwood Forest 100kFollowing the 200k riders as far as Stonehurst Farm.

Further details and entry forms available at www.audax.uk.net or enter with PayPal. Note: you do not need to have a Paypal account

to use the facilities of Paypal.

Closing date for entries –5th March 2013

Yorkshire Riders and visiters:

The Garden Centre at Epworth will now serve cyclists again after a many years ban!

John Radford

Medals & BadgesSome of you may have already noticed that we’ve now got some new medal designs. These are featured on the calendar pages for your events and will be available in the New Year as both medals (£2 each) and cloth badges (£1 each).

The new prices also apply to Grimpeur medals, so all medals are now £2 and cloth badges £1. Date bars have been discontinued due to the low demand, although the Recorder still has stocks for previous years if required.

2014 - National 400 / 1000kAs you’ll have already read in the November Arrivee, the National 400 will be held in the South West next year.

Whilst it may seem like a long time away now, the Events Team are already starting to look ahead to 2014 & 2015. The aim is for the National 400 to be held in the North of England in 2014, and then in the South East in 2015.

We’re also looking for a 1000k (or longer!) for 2014 to fill the “grand randonnee” slot between LEL and PBP in 2015.

These events need planning 18 months or so in advance, so it’s time to get your thinking caps on. Please get in touch with the Events Secretary if you’re interested in either.

Event Planner UpdatesA couple of useful update to the Events Planner…

Emergency Contact Details have been added to the online entry process. These will be include in your notifications from PayPal, and are also available when downloading your Start/Finish List to Excel. From your Start/Finish List just click “Download List as Excel (Includes Addresses)”

You can now also download your finishers list to Excel after you’ve submitted it for validation. Useful if you need to print labels to return your brevet cards.

And if you’re struggling with mail merge and label printing in MS Word, there’s now an option to print labels directly from your start list – just click on “Create Labels”. This is currently in the prototype stage and only supports 1 label format (Avery J8161) – your feedback on its usefulness and any other label sizes you’d like to see is welcome.

Instant ValidationDuring 2012 the Validation Team have been trialling a process of offering “instant” (i.e. at the finish) validation to selected organisers, and this is now available to all organisers for 2013, providing you meet a couple of conditions:

Your event is 200km or less (and not BRM)

You use the Start/Finish List to submit your results online, and

You have a record of prompt and accurate submission of results.

How does the instant validation work?…

Shortly before your event, email the Validation Team requesting the facility and the number of validation stickers you’ll need.

You’ll receive your validation stickers in the post

At the finish of your event, you can simply record the rider as finished, attach a validation sticker and hand their brevet card back to them.

Submit your results as normal using the online Start/Finish List

This process won’t work for everyone – you do need to be organised at the finish and have the facilities (and manpower) to deal with the brevet cards there and then. And of course you don’t have a pile of cards to be able to check through afterwards, so you do need to ensure you get your finish list right first time as the riders finish. If you want to offer this service, please get in touch with the Validation Team

2013 Event Publication Deadlines

~~~If your event is

before:1st June ‘13

It must be ready by1st Jan ‘13

To be published inFeb ‘ 13 Arrivee

~~~If your event is

before:1st Sept ‘13

It must be ready by1st April ‘13

To be published inMay ‘ 13 Arrivee

~~~If your event is

before:1st Dec ‘13

It must be ready by1st July ‘13

To be published inAug ‘ 13 Arrivee

~~~

Please remember to check your events regularly for news and updates from your Events Team Delegate

4 Arrivée February 2013

from John Hamilton

OrgNews

Events

Saturday April 6 from Eureka Cafe, WirralEureka Cafe has been sheltering, supporting and serving cyclists for over 80 years. It is so famous, it has several documentaries to its name giving an outline of the history of the cafe and some of the many personalities associated.

The last Audax rides leaving Eureka Cafe, to our knowledge, were 20 years ago when the now defunct Sunspot Cafe and the Llandegla Moors were on the 200k route.

Eureka cafe is still used as an audax uk ride control point. However, a group of local CTC and audax riders believe that the cafe really should have its own rides starting and finishing in the cafe. So here we go in 2013.

“Eureka Excursion” 200k This ride is based on the Peak Audax “Eureka” ride---but starting at the Cafe itself and visiting the beautiful village of Ellesmere at the southern point. A generally flat ride with many interesting lanes.

“Two Mills Tour” 100k rides out to Bangor on Dee and then returns to Eureka Cafe via Bunbury and the Delamere Forest.

“Two Mills Twirl” 60k is an introductory ride visiting Hildegard’s Cafe in Holt followed by a return to the Eureka cafe through Delamere Forest.

Saturday June 8 from Corwen “Barmouth Boulevard” 200k. This ride takes you along the east side of Lake Bala to a control at Llanuwchllyn and then over the Trawsfynydd mountain road to Harlech. The tremendous scenery of lakes, sea and mountains continues as you ride on to Barmouth , the estuary causeway and then the Bird Rock road to Abergynolwyn. Then follows another mountain road through the Dyfi forest from Corris to Mallwyd and a further climb up to the last control at Cross Foxes above Dolgellau. The return route is now very straightforward through Brithdir, Bala and Llandrillo to Corwen. Tremendous scenery on this ride.

The brand new and challenging “Vyrnwy Variant” 200k follows “Barmouth Boulevard” to Mallwyd---then breaks right at Dinas Mawddwy to climb Bwlch y Groes, descend to Lake Vyrnwy and ascend the Hirnant pass to rejoin the original route near Llandrillo. An even higher standard of scenery and climbing!

“Brenig Bach” 100k. The return of a Graham Mills’ classic. Only available as a permanent the last few years, this ride has now returned to the calendar. The route heads out from Corwen to visit the remote Cwmpannaner before returning to civilisation and a cafe control at Pentrefoelas. You then continue up through Nebo to Llansanan, the reservoirs and Llyn Brenig. The last 20k is all down hill. A superb and challenging 100k ride with remote roads and stunning scenery.

“Bala Parade” 60k. An scenic, slightly hilly, introductory ride to Audax which circumnavigates Lake Bala. 1000m of climbing in total, so bring some low gears.

Further details and entry forms for these good value rides (free cuppa at start included) at www.audax.uk.net

Audax rides in Cheshire/N. Wales 2013

Audax is undergoing a renaissance in Ireland. After long years where audax seemed close to extinction, activity has returned to levels last seen in the 1980s and the calendar is packed with new events. The prospect of fresh audiences for their hoary war stories is dragging old lags out of the woodwork. Flushed with the successes of their first SRs, the new blood are starting to venture overseas, lowering the tone of events across Europe, from Scotland to Bulgaria. The time seems ripe to invite you to cross the water and see how we do things over here.

In many ways, Ireland is ideal cycling country. The hills (of which there are many) are gentle. The scenery can be stunning, ranging from misty bogs to wave-lashed cliffs. Drivers are usually courteous. If hunger strikes, you are rarely more than a few miles from the nearest village. Spars and Centras are ubiquitous, open late, and have fresh sandwich counters. Rigorous drink-driving enforcement has sent the country pubs into decline, but the roads are considerably safer in the small hours as a result and there are still plenty of oases for the thirsty traveller. It would be a brazen lie to claim that it doesn’t rain, but it probably doesn’t rain nearly as much as you imagine.

Above all, it’s a small country. Fleche routes involve tremendous contortions; the record for Mizen-to-Malin (our end-to-end) stands at under eighteen hours. Hardened randonneurs will have no difficulty getting where they need to go by bike. From the UK, the main ferry routes to Dublin run from Liverpool and Holyhead, while the Pembroke ferry will take you to Rosslare and the Stranraer ferry sails to Belfast. The rail network is basic, but there are regular services between Dublin and the other cities and there’s rarely a problem getting your bike on the train. If you’re arriving by air, Dublin is your main option; the west of the country is served by Cork, Shannon and, for certain devoted souls, Knock.

You can find the calendar at:

http://www.audaxireland.org/calendar/As you’ll see, the majority of events start in and around Dublin but those further west are well worth investigating if you want to see the most beautiful parts of the country. Among the classics: the REK 400, visiting the monuments to our greatest racers, Roche, Elliott and Kelly; the Quiet Man 300, taking in the magnificent Killary fjord; the grimpeurs favourite, the Mick Byrne 200; and the end of season knees-up, the Dying Light 200, with Jaegermeister and bratwurst at the finish. True masochists may enjoy the Brown Stuff 400, so called because you can trace the route by getting out a map of Leinster and looking for the brown bits.

Despite the recent growth, Audax Ireland remains a small, social group. We ride together because we enjoy it, and anyone who cares to join us can expect a warm welcome. There has rarely been a better time for visitors from the UK to travel to Ireland. Hoteliers are desperate for your business, sterling is strong against the euro, and cask ale is making a reappearance in select pubs after a forty year drought. We look forward to seeing you next year.

Eoghan Barry

Celtic Revival

Approaching Mount Leinster on the Dying Sow 300. Photo: Aidan CreanerLake Bala


Official

Just a Minute

Official News

There was a full house in Llandrindod at the meeting to keep AUK in trim.

About 16,000 Brevet cards were produced over the course of the last season with too many events attracting minimal numbers, an issue to be addressed by the strategic plan. The season’s results were submitted and received promptly in almost every case and the same efficiency has been evident at the start of the new season. Card validation where offered at the end of an event is welcomed by riders and organisers alike despite needing greater care to prevent errors. The latest badge designs are popular and the impression is that the quality of recently received ones is improved. Membership has now reached 5117. As most Auks are motorists as well as cyclists, some rear window stickers to raise the club’s profile will be produced and sent out with the next Arrivée. The problems with the late

Minutes of the 36th Audax UK AGMHeld at the Hotel Metropole, Llandrindod Wells, 17th November 2012


After Allan Taylor’s illustrated address detailing the Board’s strategic plan, the meeting started at 14:34 with Ian Hennessey welcoming all to the meeting, thanking Allan for his presentation and asked for as much feedback as possible to be sent to him. He mentioned that due to difficulties at the printers the latest issue of Arrivée containing the AGM Agenda was distributed late resulting in insufficient notice being given, though it was available on the website and suggested this meeting went ahead with an EGM in June. Chris Crossland commented that we should ratify it anyway while Roger Cortis suggested we undertake to respect this meeting. Keith Benton suggested the meeting be validated at the next Board meeting for which Ian was duly grateful.

1) Those present were asked to add their names to a list of attenders being circulated.

2) Apologies for absence had been received from Peter Bond, Sonya & Colin Crawford, Rod Dalitz, Chris Davies, Dave Lewis, Maggie Lewis, Keith Matthews & John Pearce.

3) Those present were asked to approve the minutes of the previous AGM. Keith Benton wanted the Treasurer’s recommendation of no change to the subscriptions recorded. After the Secretary’s agreement to this minor addition, approval was proposed by Keith Benton, seconded by Rob Webb and carried nem con.

4) There were no matters arising.

5) Officers’ Reports were either published alongside the Agenda in Arrivée 118, or were available at the meeting in printed or verbal forms and these will be published elsewhere in Arrivée.

Sheila mentioned her report differed from her original intentions. Publication of Arrivée had been proceeding smoothly but Headleys did nothing with it for 14 days, then raised a query on the delivery date, making late publication of the AGM Agenda inevitable. Maggie Lewis has now retired as an editor of Arrivée, so we are seeking a successor for the autumn issue and she gave brief publishing details. Finally she thanked Maggie, Mike Wigley Pete Coates and magazine contributors for all their efforts during the year. Paul Stewart enquired whether the editors were responsible for liaison with the printers: Sheila confirmed they were and the schedule had been agreed.

Peter Marshall reported a quiet year, explaining he had seen a full workload in previous years, but ACP had migrated to electronic entry for the latest PBP, which had been successful, making him (PM) superfluous. Also, details of international events are now widely available on the internet and as he was very busy at work, this seemed a good time to stand down. Ian, who is well known to the ACP committee, will take on the Correspondant duties. One change in his area was noted: in future, applications for the French Brevet 5000 will not need a sae, as AUK will be billed for the total.

Linda Johnson confirmed her recommendation that the level of all subscriptions and charges be unchanged. Chris Crossland queried details of the amounts received for temporary membership. Linda thought the amount was approximately £10,000 being similar to the previous year and after checking her records advised the actual figures.

Martin Malins wondered whether the club should discontinue physical DIY Brevet cards and after Ian had given some background details Louise Rigby expressed a great preference for the current system. Paul Stewart, as new SE DIY organiser complained that he had not been able to obtain these cards because of printing problems and an imminent new design and asked when he would receive them. John Ward confirmed there had been issues but a pack of old design cards were already in the mail to him. Henry Bye wondered how the system would work without these cards and Ian conformed

there was no desire to eliminate them. Dave Minter commented that Brevet cards could be downloaded in the USA while Andy Clarkson argued against them. Roger Cortis requested the Treasurer’s report be kept separate from the other Officers’ Reports. Approval of all these latter reports was proposed by Peter Coulson, seconded by Roger Cortis and passed nem con. After a suggestion from David Matthews that the meeting approve the auditors of the Annual Accounts Jackie Popland proposed approval of the Treasurer’s report, seconded by Robin Wheeler. This was again carried nem con.

6) Sheila Simpson introduced the proposal to adopt the revised Regulations and Appendices (which replaced Guidelines) as printed in Arrivée 118 saying that many alterations were needed and without overall revision, the existing Regulations and Guidelines were no longer fitted to our current activities and possible future requirements. A particular concern was they imposed on the Board duties outside its control. Accordingly a sub-committee was set up to devise a new structure with the aims of simplifying and generalising the Regulations. Appendices would typically be numbered to link with the Regulation which they supported. While Regulations could only be amended at an AGM, Appendices could be amended by the Board mid-term, with such amendment being subject to ratification at the following AGM.

Roger Philo mentioned a multiple negative in App 9.9.5(i) resulting in the wrong meaning and Sheila promised to amend it. David Matthews commented that the sentence “Routes should be interesting.” In Organisers’ Guidelines was subjective. Chris Crossland complained that Regulation 1.4 was not rescindable while Jackie Popland thought some re-numbering was needed. Heather Swift commented it would be perverse of the Board to make change to Appendices unlikely to be approved at an AGM.

Richard Phipps summarised the position, pointing out that under the current structure the Board could change Guidelines without any recourse to the membership and urged members to accept the proposed rules. The proposal was approved with 56 members in favour and a single dissenting one.

7) ELECTION OF OFFICERS: Dave Minter enquired whether an official dealing with two jobs would have two votes and was told that would not be the case. Paul Whitehead proposed that all officers be re-elected en bloc. Once seconded by John Radford it was approved nem con. The bulk election similarly was approved nem con

8) There was no other business to discuss

9) Pam Pilbeam suggested the next AGM & Reunion weekend be held on the same weekend in the year (15 – 17th Nov 2013) asking for suggested venues. York was mentioned (though the Racecourse Centre is now in the process of being redeveloped.) Peterborough and Coventry were mentioned as well as Cambridge despite subsequent price concerns. Edwin Hargraves was happy with the current venue while Danial advocated Scotland. A straw poll of the alternatives was held (with its attendant concerns) after the Chairman had reminded everyone the result would not be binding.

10) The meeting closed at 15:33

Official

distribution of the last Arrivée caused by problems at the printers were discussed and while moving our business to another firm was considered, that industry suffers from a high casualty rate, so for the moment, there are no plans to change. Coincidentally, Maggie Lewis has retired as editor of the autumn issue and an ad for a successor will appear elsewhere in these pages.

LEL organisational activity is getting busier. The entry system is now virtually finished and after an advance test in December, entries will open on 5th January 2013. Danial has been using banner advertising on internet forums as a less pricey alternative to an advert in Cycling Plus and an article has been arranged for the CTC mag, Cycle. The mailing list has 2200 members so not all of them will actually be able to enter. Much work has gone into logistics and bedding will be kept in storage after the event until the next one in 2017 but should be available for other events, if required. Finances are continuing to look healthy with updated projections and the hope and expectations are for the event to make a profit to fund 2017. The entry fee has now been fixed at £219.00, which is all inclusive, so an attractive price for a five day holiday.

The strategic plan has generated much interest on internet forums. Allan Taylor will give a presentation before the actual AGM to update members and hopefully to answer question before needing to rush off to attend a competing engagement. He will welcome feedback, though it will take time to collate and analyse the responses.

As mentioned in the last JaM, there is a price reduction on some new badges, but existing stock and those designs which cannot benefit from quantity discount will remain at previous prices so as not to incur a loss. Allan, as the guy most involved with such sales will be reformatting the relevant Handbook page to make prices clear and it is hoped to be able to sell the item via the website. Date bars will no longer be available.

The domain name “audax.co.uk” has been offered to us on payment of just under £500 but the price seemed excessive, so “www.audaxuk.info” and “www.audaxuk.org.uk” have been purchased instead for a year at a total cost of £10.97.

Pam is planning to have the outsides of the Brevet cards redesigned and will also look at the same time at a possible new jersey design.

Once again, best wishes for your cycling to be safe and enjoyable (I don’t need extra work for the stats elsewhere in this issue!)

As ever, full Minutes will be available from me on receipt of a sae or on the website in due course.

After a long session discussing a strategic plan to reverse the decline

in numbers of riders on events, the committee returned to more routine concerns.

Mike reports the number of members is virtually 5,000, so that trend is continuing upward at least. There were a few problems with reports of missing AGM booking forms; hopefully they were not discarded too hastily and now is the time to check your membership renewal form on the reverse of the address sheet has not been thrown away prematurely. He has tidied up the membership data in advance of the renewal season and any members renewing with unchanged inadequate Standing Orders will have their membership suspended.

John Ward has validated 2623 Perms, with approximately half being DIYs. Some 200 attracted AAA points while ECEs remained a relatively niche activity at around 100 rides. On the Calendar side, Sue & Keith have approved 13,953 Brevets, an increase of 5% on the previous year. No doubt that number would have been greater, had this year’s weather been better. The on-line start and finish lists have been wonderful and you will have noticed how much more quickly results are appearing on the website. Sadly organisers returns have been very prone to error, and are very time consuming to correct. New medals sporting the latest logo have been ordered and are due for delivery any time now. New Grimpeur medals are also on order and all of these will be sold to successful riders at £2.00 each. New distance badges are due to be ordered very soon and will be priced at £1.00. Both prices are significant reductions. Woohoo! And thanks to Sue & Keith for their killer deal making. Continuing with the insignia theme, the same validation stickers will be used on both Calendar and Permanent Brevet cars, featuring the new red / blue logo.

LEL arrangements are progressing well and Danial will have written an update elsewhere in this issue. The meeting was very favourably impressed with the update presented and the design of the LEL jersey.

Don Black has stepped down from the Membership Renewals team, Bill Carnaby has retired from his job assisting with organisers’ returns and Sheila Simpson has left the events team and is succeeded by Nigel Hall. Many thanks to all of those for their past assistance and hope they can enjoy more cycling (though Sheila isn’t entirely jobless yet.)

I trust your 2011/2 season lived up to previous plans and extend best wishes for the season just begun. Safe riding and I hope to see as many Randonneurs as possible at the AGM and Reunion weekend.

As ever, full Minutes will be available from me on receipt of a sae or on the website in due course. Richard.


WANTEDA third Arrivee editor

to join Sheila Simpson and Tim Wainwrightand produce the annual November issue

For each quarter the editor concerned is responsible for producing Arrivée in the form of press-ready files

using the Adobe publishing suite (InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat)

which, if necessary, Audax UK will providePrevious experience of the publishing suite is not vital as it is quick

to master using the Sandee Cohen Quickstart Guides

The resulting pdf files are uploaded by the editor to Headley Brother’s Headstart site

We welcome enquiries from potential editing / typesetting / layout / design /artists

Details: [email protected] or [email protected]

Arrivee ContributersYou can send files to the editors quickly and easily using our cloud repository.

Just follow the simple steps below:1. Go to AUK website2. Log in as a member

3. Go to Arrivee Magazine4. Go to Upload Photos

5. Drag & drop photo &/or article files from your file manager

6. Type your name and any useful info (event, time, place, names) in the Description box

7. Use the link to check your files have uploaded.8. Email the relevant editor to notify that there is

something new in MediaFile.

Even quite large files upload quickly so there’s no need to reduce or crop photos.

OfficialAudax United Kingdom

Long Distance Cyclists’ AssociationStrategic Plan

For 2013 to 2015Prepared on behalf of the Board of Directors by Allan Taylor

Executive SummaryArising from consideration by the Board of Directors and comments from the membership, the Board determined that a Strategic Plan was required to ensure the surplus funds being generated were utilized in accordance with the Memorandum of Association of the company. The Board has formulated a Mission Statement which has the aim of increasing the number of participants (in Audax events) year on year, with an emphasis on longer events. Various measures and targets for the plan years have been set out and the means by which the targets will be met and the objective achieved have been allied to the budgeted finance and the financial targets. Expenditure of a maximum of £25,000 for the year 2012 -13 and £82,000 in the years 2012 to 2015 is included in the plan. The Board will continue to review the plan and develop the strategy and will actively seek comments and suggestions from the membership.

Revision Status

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions or ideas in connection with the plan please send them to [email protected] or use the Contact Form on the web site to send your message to the Recorder: http://www.aukweb.net/contactus/

IntroductionThe history and background of Audax UK can be found at http://www.aukweb.net/aboutauk/history/. Audax UK in its present form as a Private Company Limited by Guarantee and not having a Share Capital was established in 2006. The company structure is set out in the Articles and memorandum of Association which are also available on the web site (http://www.aukweb.net/official/07auk_mem_and_arts.pdf )Since incorporation in 2006 Audax UK has operated with a surplus of income over expenditure. The latest publicly published accounts (Arriveé No. 114) show a balance sheet of £102,595 with a further £45,181 of reserves. The accounts for year ending 31st August 2012 show a surplus of income over expenditure of £27,790 with a balance sheet of £129,385 with a further £45,806 of reserves. See also Appendix 1.Paragraph 8 of the Memorandum of association is as follows:-“The profits or other income and gains of the Company shall be applied in promoting its objects and no dividends or distributions of any nature (whether income or capital) shall be paid to its members”The Board of Directors and the members at the AGM in November 2011 therefore consider that a strategic plan is required to utilise the anticipated future surplus funds in pursuance of the Companies objectives.

Creating a Strategic PlanThe Directors held a special meeting (see MoM of 28th February) to consider the creation of a strategic plan. An outline methodology for creating a plan was agreed and one of the Board members was charged with preparing a document for approval by the Board. The initial step in creating the plan was to create a “Mission Statement” i.e. a short statement summarising what Audax is and what it wants to achieve in the future. This was undertaken by the board as a group exercise followed up by individual opportunity to “fine tune”. The resulting statement was considered as “final” for the present time. (We should review this statement on an annual basis).The next step was to ask each board member to suggest four things that could be measured which would indicate whether we were achieving the goal as set out in the Mission Statement. The measures would ideally have a target and a time frame. From the responses the four highest rated measures were selected and targets established.At subsequent Board meetings the “means” were then considered and actions agreed.While considering the strategic plan the Board also took the opportunity to review other issues which had been raised in relation to corporate governance and the structure of the Board.

Mission StatementThe agreed mission statement is :We are the internationally recognised long distance cycling association, promoting, facilitating and organising events throughout the United Kingdom, giving members and all cyclists the opportunity to challenge themselves and win awards.We aim to increase the number of participants year on year, with an emphasis on longer events.The Board have considered the “Do Nothing Different” option and while there may be merit in maintaining the status quo (which seems to satisfy the majority of members) this will not deal with the financial surplus being generated or necessarily secure the long term future of the company.

Measure of SuccessThe four most highly rated measures were:- • The numbers of calendar events • The number of participants in rides • The quality and success of organisers • The number of and age/sex profile of the membership. These are considered in more detail below.

Financial performanceFinancial Performance would be measured as: Utilise year on year surplus funds to achieve our aims while maintaining an agreed minimum net asset figure on the balance sheet.of £100,000, maintaining the reserves at £40,000 or such other figure as determined by the Treasurer and agreed by the Board

The Numbers of Calendar EventsThe general view was that we need to increase the number of events available at longer distances. In particular we should ensure that there are at least two events each year >600K while ensuring that the number of events from 300k to 600k is maintained or increased. Additional events should be in areas where there are currently no such events or the events are oversubscribed.

The Number of Participants in Rides

The Number, Quality and Success of OrganisersThe quality and success of organisers must be increased if we are to generate more calendar events of the distance and quality we require.

The Number and Age /Sex profile of the membership

Means of Achieving the Objectives of the Mission statementCorporate Governance

The Board are aware of comments /concerns from the membership that the constitution of the board is very different from that which might be considered the norm in a commercial organisation. Members of the Board also considered the issue of Corporate Governance:“Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate governance”The Board concluded that there were no issues relating to Corporate governance, of which it was aware, that were of concern or were not being addressed by the current structure.


OfficialIn considering the comparison with a commercial organisation the Board noted that all the Directors were “part-time” and unpaid. The Memorandum and Articles place tight control on the authority of the Board and require a approval by the members of any significant change. This is unlike a commercial organisation where the Board have executive responsibility and authority to implement change on a far wider basis. The Board meet four times a year under normal circumstances. According to the Audax UK Guidelines : “The Board is responsible for the day to day running of AUK. All board members are officials with particular areas of work, most of which require some technical skills, at the very least the ability to use a computer for word processing.”The meetings allow the members to discuss and solve problems in the running of the organisation. The Board members bring a mix of skills, knowledge and background which a smaller Board would not posses. The Board utilise committees and sub-committees, as set out in the Articles of Association, to undertake specific tasks and assist the Board in it’s work.The Board were also aware of the difficulty of finding willing candidates for positions and felt that the increased individual responsibility which would be felt by members of a smaller Board would be a deterrent to future recruitment.The Board concluded that change to the Board structure would not assist in delivering the Strategic Plan or improve the “Corporate Governance” of the Company at this time. The Board will review this on an annual basis, prior to the AGM.

Financial TargetsThe accounts for the year ending 31st August 2012 show a surpus of £26,789.The Board therefore considers that in planning for delivery of the Strategic Plan in 2013 commitment can be made for a maximum expenditure of £25,000 without compromising the financial stability or balance sheet of the company. Expenditure for subsequent years will be reviewed by the Board, however the plan is to continue to utilise the surplus funds generated while maintaining the balance sheet at the target figure. The planned maximum expenditure over the three years is £82,000.

Publicising the Audax “Challenge”The Board will consider placing suitable adverts in appropriate cycling and outdoor publications with the aim of:• Increasing awareness of AUK, possibly in conjunction with LEL in 2013 • Attracting new members, younger members and female members who respond to the challenge of riding “Long Distance” Events• Increasing membership and hence rider numbers in events (more members = more riders?)The Board intends to have a presence with a suitable stand and display at the NEC Bike Show in 2013.This will require preparation of material for the stand, acquisition of suitable display equipment and arranging of personnel to be present on the stand during the exhibition.The Board will also look to enhance the existing web site by adding a “more dynamic” front end to the site. In particular the site should be modified to give “new” viewers a more exciting view of the challenging and varied nature of Audax riding. The site must be attractive to first time viewers and become the “shop window” for Audax rides. Vistors to the web-site should be invited to register and the use of social media feeds on the site will also be considered.The Board will also consider “personalising” the web site view for logged in members by showing them automatically the events in their area (by postcode In relation to the “new” logo the Board will encourage the use of the words “Long Distance Cycling/ Cylist’s Association” in conjunction with the logo to increase “brand” awareness. Mudguard stickers, car window stickers / fridge magnets etc will be used to help increase awareness of the Audax brand.The Board will sanction expenditure of up to £5,000 on publicity, £4,000 on creating a prescence at the NEC (or other suitable exhibition0 and £5,000 on re-engineering of the web site. (Total budget £14,000)

Increasing Quality of Events and Number and Quality of Organisers

The Board recognise that without organisers (and helpers) the system of calendar events could not be maintained. Encouragement for new organisers, particularly in areas where there are currently limited numbers of events (but a suitable population) and for existing organisers to move up to Level 3 and take on the longer events is critical to the plan.

Organiser will be encouraged to add additional information to enhance the quality of the rides including mapping and GPS support with downloadable type files.To achieve this objective, the Board consider;• Underwrite costs for first time organisers of events Ask existing Level 3 organisers to bid for financial support for 600K events up to £1,000.00?? per event – organiser to show how he will use this money to improve event and rider numbers? (up to five events)• Seek bids for >600K events from organisers with £2,000.00 available for two events to support against a budget• Organise a workshop for organisers to help in the development process.• Consider implementation of the Events Secretary Strategy for events.• A budget of £9,000 for increasing quality and numbers of longer events and assisting organisers

Increasing the Number of Calendar EventsThe measures to increase organiser number and levels above will of themselves lead to an increase in calendar event numbers.However to increase awareness of events changes to the web site (as above) should be implemented.The Creation of a “National Series” of events at 300,400 and 600K distances would be a part of the bidding process as outlined above for organisers.

Increasing Number of “Permanent Rides >= 300KWhile calendar events are the mainstay of Audax UK, the economic climate, cost of fuel, awareness of green issues etc. all make members more reluctant to travel to events. Permanent rides are a way by which members can truly embrace the spirit of “independence” and provided that the validation of such rides is maintained the Board would welcome increasing numbers at longer distances. The approval by GPS system should be maintained and improved where possible to make the system attractive to newer (younger) members joining from the sportive type of background. The system of Permanent rides on the web site should be improved so that• Start location for rides should always be given• Controls should be indicated (or as a minimum) the furthest point from the start• Additional web site information should be providedAny other ideas?

Changing the Age Sex ProfileImproving the Web Site? Publicity? Any other ideas??

Simplifying the Rules and RegulationsTo a new comer to Audax, the language and terminology can be confusing and hard to understand. The Rules and Regulations have developed over the years and are, in some places, confusing and contradictory. The Awards descriptions are duplicated and wordings are not coherent which leads to confusion. Any changes to the rules and regulations must be approved by the members at AGM. The Board have formed a sub committee to review the Rules and regulations with the intention of simplification and clarification. This will be an ongoing process. The Board will consider having a summary of the regulations on the web site suitable for “first time riders” and visitors.

Other IssuesAnything else we should do?

SummaryThe Strategic Plan is built around the Mission Statement, the Measures of Success and the Means of Achieving the Objectives of the Mission Statement. The plan is a “work in progress” and will be subject to continual review and development. The plan is underpinned by the financial targets, which are dependent on the continued successful operation of Audax in it’s present form. Any significant financial event will be evaluated by the Board of Directors and the continued implementation of the Strategic Plan will be reviewed. The implementation of the plan will require significant effort from the Board who will be seeking assistance from the membership wherever it is appropriateThe plan will be made available to the membership and comments and suggestions will be welcome. Arrivee, the AGM and the web-site will all be used to make the contents of the plan known to the membership.


Official

1. IntroductionThis report aims to present a strategy for the development of AUK calendar events to meet the aims of the AUK Mission Statement.The Mission Statement has a single aim – to increase the number of participants riding Audax UK events and specifically the longer distance events. In order to construct a strategy we must first consider the means by which this may be achieved and define some objectives based on these:The strategy presented in this report is based on increasing rider numbers, over a 5 year period emphasising longer events through the following: • Promoting a range of quality events across the country • Supporting organisers and their helpers in organising these events • Reducing administration and simplifying organiser procedures • Enhancing the rider experience by encouraging modern technology where appropriate The Mission Statement emphasises longer events, and as the current position of Randonneur and Populaire events is significantly different the strategy considers them separately in sections 2 and 3 respectively.

2. Events Strategy2.1. Randonneur EventsBefore we look at a future strategy it is instructive to look at the past records of the numbers of events and validations. One of the first things that is immediately apparent in any analysis is that activity levels on 300km+ events show a marked increase on a 4 yearly cycle coinciding with Paris-Brest-Paris. So to gain more meaningful conclusions I’ve considered PBP years and non-PBP years separately.The first thing to look at is the number of events1, which are shown in the graphs below:

This shows that there’s been a clear trend of increasing numbers of events over the past 15 years, with randonneurs today having roughly twice as many events to choose from as their counterparts in 1995. AUK policy over this period has been to encourage more events, on the basis that having more events will give more choice to riders and thereby encourage greater riding activity levels. If this was true then we’d expect to see a similar increase in validations over this period. However as the graphs below show, this has been anything but the case and indeed riding levels have been roughly constant over this period.1 For the purposes of these figures I have only counted those events which actually took place and had 1 or more validated finishers. Arrows, Darts, overseas events and similar are also excluded so the figures represent standard UK randonneur events.

The only significant increases during this period are between 1995 and 1999 PBP years (1999 saw a significant increase in UK interest levels in PBP), and between 2009 and 2010 (which can be explained by the introduction of a pre-qualifying requirement by ACP for the 2011 PBP)

So with ever greater numbers of events, and more or less stagnant numbers of validations, it doesn’t take too much mathematics to work out that today’s events must have far smaller fields than in the past. And indeed this can be seen in the following graphs.

Events Strategy – The Way ForwardPrepared on behalf of the Board of Directors by John Hamilton


OfficialOn 200km events (right) there is little significant increase during PBP years, but the same trends are visible to a smaller degree on 200km events. The number of events has steadily risen since 1995, but validations initially decreased during the late 1990’s, then increased in line with the number of events up to 2007. Since 2007 the number of events has stabilised, accompanied by a decrease in the number of validations. The overall effect of this is again being that field sizes have steadily decreased.

Of course averages only tell us so much, and there are very few events which would fall into the classification of “average”. The following series of graphs show the spread of riders across individual events in 2000, 2010 and 2012.

These graphs show a clear trend as event distance increases towards a small number of well supported events, with all the other events having much smaller fields. This trend is most extremely illustrated at 400km and 600km distances where two events (the Brevet Cymru and Bryan Chapman) dominate. So not only are average field sizes falling, but the distribution of riders is polarizing towards a few large events with the majority experiencing an even greater fall in numbers.Finally, we’ll take a look at the number of events ridden per rider. The table below shows the number of riders completing a 600km event in both 2000 and 2012. From this it’s immediately obvious that the majority of riders ride only a single event of this distance – the number of riders riding multiple events is very small indeed. It’s also noticeable that the number of riders completing multiple events is unchanged, despite the marked drop in overall validations. This suggests that the “hard core” of riders is relatively constant and the variation over the years is down to the

number of riders. i.e. it’s not that the same people are riding less but that there are simply less people riding.

ConclusionsSo what do all these statistics tell us? • The number of longer events being ridden is independent of the supply (i.e. the number) of events. So to increase the number of events ridden then the focus needs to be on increasing rider demand rather than on increasing the number of events being organised.


Official • Demand for events is most clearly influenced by external factors. The most obvious of these is shown in the 4 yearly cycle of increased activity in PBP years. Another example is the pre-qualifying requirements in 2010 which had a clear influence on the number of validations that year. The challenge therefore is to find methods within AUK’s control to increase demand by stimulating rider interest. • At longer distances riders increasingly gravitate towards well organised events with good facilities. Shoestring events attract shoestring fields. To attract riders therefore we should look to encourage and support ‘premium’ events and organise events which will create demand. • The majority of riders ride only 1 long event of each distance per year. Increasing the number of events ridden therefore means increasing the number of individual riders rather than getting the same people to ride more events. So the strategy needs to focus on attracting new riders outside of the existing randonneur community.

The Future of Randonneur EventsAs shown above, the current trend is towards greater numbers of smaller more basic events. However these events are failing to attract significant fields which in turn creates an ever decreasing circle: more events spreads the riders more thinly and reduces the size of the field; the smaller field results in the event becoming financially unviable and organisers reduce facilities as they can no longer afford them; which in turn leads riders to move towards the few remaining fully supported events and reduces the field size still further.The current policy towards the calendar is very much a ‘laissez-faire’ approach – it’s up to individual organisers to decide what they want to run and AUK publishes it regardless. This is clearly not working at producing the type of events required to attract more riders. Instead AUK should move towards a more structured approach, focused on creating and supporting ‘premium’ National and Regional events, which are attractive to riders and in themselves create a demand for more basic Club and X rated events.

Events Calendar Structure • International EventsAudax UK’s flagship event(s) on the international stage. International events will have full facilities, a large field (750+) and be promoted to and attracting significant overseas interest. Our International event is of course London-Edinburgh-London.At present there is no need for additional events of this calibre, and indeed we’d be pushed to do so given the work involved in organising events of this scale. Instead the priority should be to build on the foundations being established by LEL2013 to ensure continuity and that the event continues to grow in the 2017 edition, avoiding the issues of previous events which have had to start almost from scratch each time. • National EventsFlagship domestic events, commissioned by and organised on behalf of Audax UK. National events will: • Have fully manned controls wherever possible, including sleeping facilities at overnight controls. • Have dedicated event websites (with hosting provided by AUK) and online entry facilities. • Provide event merchandising and memorabilia such as jerseys, medals etc. • Be supported by AUK funding for publicity & marketing campaigns, website hosting, merchandise procurement etc. • Be organised to BRM standardsThe calendar only needs a small number of these events, which would be the highlights of the season for most riders:1. A 1000km (or longer) event in non PBP/LEL years, to encourage progression beyond the 600km/SR level. Targeted at 100+ entrants. We’ve got the makings of such events in the likes of Dave Hudson’s South Coast 1000, the Mille Cymru, and Mille Alba. The priority now is to ensure these events are continued and developed to fulfil their potential.2. A 400km event. The long-distance threshold as the first distance that involves riding through the night. Targeted at 250+ riders and moving around the country each year. The National 400 has an established history and is now back on the calendar again. The

priority for the strategy will be to fully establish and grow this event from its current position to being a regular fixture attracting 250+ riders.3. A 200km event. The basic Randonneur distance to encourage riders to step up to Randonnees. This would ideally be a big “festival” event along the lines of Australia’s Audax Alpine Classic or the big European Sportives. There is no current event along these lines so the strategy would be to establish this as a new event with a target field of 500+ riders. • Regional EventsA collection of AUK’s top level ‘premium’ events. Regional events will: • Use quality commercial establishments or manned controls, although overnight controls would be manned and sleeping facilities provided. • Be targeted at a field of 100+ riders (this is about the maximum number that can be accommodated by most commercial controls). • Offer online entry facilities • Be supported by AUK with priority on dates, financial underwriting and assistance with publicity etc. This support would be in return for a commitment from the organising clubs to scheduled dates for several years in advance. • Be assessed by AUK prior to being granted Regional status to ensure quality standards are maintained. • Provide a path to the SR award across the country on well supported events. • Be organised to BRM standards.Examples of existing Regional standard events would be the Dorset Coast, Brevet Cymru, Snow Roads and Bryan Chapman. Other current events may have the potential to be grown to this standard with suitable support and encouragement.The strategy will be for the Board and the Events Team to identify suitable candidate events (or events that have the potential) with the aim of establishing (for example) 4 x600, 5 x400, 8-10 x300 and 12-15 x200km events across the country, starting with 300km+ events and subsequently expanding to include 200km events. • Club EventsThe standard Audax UK calendar event. Likely to be commercial controls with few home comforts provided. Club events provide the “bread and butter” rides week in, week out throughout the year.Existing arrangements would continue to apply for club events, with no particular priority or support given by Audax UK. • “X” / DIYBare bones, self-sufficient events for experienced riders wanting an extra challenge, or to fill in the gaps between full calendar events. Whilst the strategy focuses primarily on supporting and promoting ‘premium’ events there is still a need for the smaller scale event. Some riders prefer these, for others they offer opportunities that can’t be met by calendar events.The “X rated” event sits at the bottom of the calendar structure to fill this need. The strategy expands upon and replaces the current “X” event with elements of “DIY Permanents” to create the “DIY Calendar Event”: • Organising a DIY Calendar event would be open to all members provided they had ridden the distance to be organised. There would be NO requirement to register as an organiser. • DIY Calendar events would be published solely on the website, allowing shorter lead times than that dictated by Arrivee publishing deadlines. • Generic Brevet Cards would be used, as for DIY Permanents. Eventually the Brevet Card could be made “self-service” for the rider to print off themselves once entered – a truly “DIY” event. • The organiser would only be responsible for designating the control points to be used. Route sheets would be optional and controls would be ‘open’ with riders obtaining proof of passage from any suitable commercial establishment. • A standard Risk Assessment would apply, with no requirement for the organiser to carry out a Risk Assessment of the route (as there would be no specified route) or event. Some additional clauses may be required on the standard RA, and the Entry Form.


Official • Rider numbers would be limited (e.g. to a maximum of 20). If an event proves popular then it could be upgraded to a full calendar event in subsequent years with all the additional organiser responsibility that entails. Organising a “DIY Calendar” event shouldn’t be seen as a short cut or lazy way out avoiding the organiser’s responsibilities.This style of event would effectively provide a formal but low paperwork way of organising smaller, basic events (e.g. in areas of the country with little representation on the calendar) within the AUK event framework, provide a route into organising for potential full event organisers, for trying out new events, or to replace current informal “group permanents”.Many of today’s events with smaller fields would be likely to convert to DIY Calendar events, with the result of producing a smaller and more focussed calendar of “full” events.2.2. Populaire EventsWhilst the mission statement and the strategy emphasises longer events, Populaire events will continue to play an important part in AUK.Analysis of the calendar/validation data for Brevet Populaire events paints a different picture to Randonnees. The graph below shows a steady growth in both numbers of events and validations through to a peak in 2006, after which point the number of events has dropped then stabilised whilst the number of validations has remained relatively stable. During the whole of this period the average number of finishers per event has remained remarkably steady at just under 40.

Brevet Populaires 1995 - 2011

Based on this evidence it would initially appear that there’s little argument for doing anything other than continuing with the current approach when it comes to Populaire events. However, the last few years since 2008 are showing signs that Populaires too may be starting to stagnate.The “do nothing” approach would also be a waste of a potential opportunity to increase rider numbers by broadening the appeal and audience for Audax UK even further by expanding the range of events offered beyond the traditional randonnee format.The strategic objectives would in my opinion be best served by re-inventing Populaire events as a more open format of event which would both accommodate the current “mini-randonnees” and also other styles of event.The term “Populaire” has become almost universally associated with a shorter version of the traditional randonnee format. So I also suggest a re-branding to “Brevet UK”; positioned as a separate and distinct category of events apart from Randonnees (as opposed to the current BP rules which are a modification of the BR standard). “Brevet UK” events would be defined as any Audax UK validated event: • Events would be subject only to a minimal set of rules governing entry, eligibility, insurance, publishing, results etc. These rules would not define any specific event format or style. • Events may be of any distance, with no “standard distances” • A minimum and maximum speed (or alternatively time limits)

will be required, but may be any value – no restriction on maximum speed to 30kph. • Some form of proof of passage will be required to prove the rider has completed the “event”. But as there’s no validated “standard distance” there would be no requirement for a minimum distance between control points.This generic standard would accommodate many different event formats (e.g. traditional “mini-randonnees”, Imperial, Raids, Touriste events would be some examples but the range would be limited only by the imagination of the organisers) using the existing regulation which permits additional classifications and event rules to be defined.2.3. Organiser SupportThe approach to events outlined above will require organisers of sufficient calibre to organise the National and Regional Randonneur events, so developing and supporting organisers needs to be central to the strategy. This may be done in a number of ways: • Providing financial support to organisers to invest in National & Regional events. A key deterrent to organising large scale events is the financial risk involved with diminishing (and uncertain) fields. Organisers are reluctant to spend money on facilities when a small field can easily lead to being out of pocket. National and Regional events would be financially underwritten by AUK. AUK would provide funding for National events towards publicity, merchandising, website hosting etc. (the added extras that make the event a ‘National’ event) AUK would provide start-up funding to help establish or develop Regional events to that standard (e.g. to uplift an existing event to a Regional standard). • This financial assistance will be to invest in events, growing them to increase capacity and provide events which generate rider demand. It will not subsidise otherwise unviable events – this would be using income generated from the large number of Populaire riders to subsidise the riding of a small minority of members.After money, probably the next most significant concern for anyone organising a large event is manpower – finding the volunteers needed to run round the clock controls. To provide more support for organisers in this area the strategy will: • Encourage networking and team working between individual organisers. Rather than being run by a single “do-it-all” organiser, National and Regional events lend themselves to being organised by a team of organisers. This already happens to a small extent but needs to be encouraged further. • Increase the emphasis on organising and helping on events within the culture of AUK, which tends to be dominated by riding exploits. The achievements and work of organisers and their helpers should be more visible and rewarded.Practical means of achieving this might include the formation of regional organising clubs, additional awards and exposure for organisers and helpers, the creation of a volunteers register, and an organiser’s start-up pack.2.4. Administration & Organiser ProceduresThe strategy will also give priority to measures that will streamline the administration processes for organisers and AUK officials e.g. • online ordering of brevet cards, • online organiser returns and payment of event fees. • Simplification of the event fees structure, combining Brevet Card and validation fees together into a single payment, and removing the additional validation fee for BRM events.2.5 Rider ExperienceToday’s riders increasingly expect a slick and professional experience, from entry all the way through to validation. And this is an area where AUK is often perceived as lagging behind the times. mproving the rider experience is therefore an important part of the strategy to attract more riders, through: • Increasing the number of events offering online entry (currently just over 50% of the total in 2012). There is clear evidence that providing online entry increases field size (and makes things easier for both organiser and entrant). Cont...


Official • Simplifying the postal entry process by removing the requirement for the entrant to provide SAEs (which are increasingly irrelevant as electronic delivery and instant validation takes over). • Increasing the number of events providing GPS support • Speeding up the validation process by extending the ”instant validation” trial

3. PublicityWhilst this strategy concentrates on the development of events, and the processes surrounding them, a great product is nothing if no-one knows about it so the mission statement will remain unfulfilled without an effective publicity strategy. A full publicity strategy is outside the scope of this report but there are a few key points to take from the events strategy. • The “Audax message” needs to be reach riders outside the existing randonneur community to attract new riders. • Publicity should be focussed around specific “premium” events, using those to generate demand and draw riders in to the wider Audax UK scene. • Publicity has to focus on branding and routes to market, both us to riders and riders to us. Branding includes our logo, our style guide, some headline and subheadline words about who we are, and the careful choice of the people who we allow to represent us. • Our route to market should be principally online. Twitter and Facebook have proved potent channels for LEL. Press advertising could leverage coverage if used strategically, but should always promote events, not the brand. The brand sits in the background, looking appealing. • Organisers (and/or organising teams) will need to build in the capacity to do some of their own promotion. Audax UK can support local promotion with ideas of where to go, what to say, sample press releases, images banks, logos, headlines and so on. • The AUK website will be central to our publicity approach. It’s our shop window and needs a compellingly-designed site, with LOTS of pictures, photos for sale, fresh content, and a super-easy way for people to enter rides.

4. Appendix: Events & Results Data

Dartmoor Devil 2012 - report on page 32.


Official

Validation SecretariesIn spite of the much vaunted “poor summer,” numbers held up very well this year on calendar events, and there was a noticeable post-Olympic effect on BP events .

The total number of validations in calendar events in the 11 months to 30.9.12 was 15848. Since 2012 was an 11 month season, it’s difficult to compare numbers directly with past seasons. The table below shows numbers of validations from previous years re-jigged as October to September seasons. This shows a reasonably healthy 9.73% increase over the 2008 season, which is the comparable year in the 4 year audax cycle.

Season Validations

2012 18079

2011 18276 PBP year

2010 16846

2009 17919 Inc 413 LEL

2008 16476

2007 18973 PBP year

2006 18032

2005 17231 Inc 243 LEL

From the 2012 season, organisers are required to submit results online. This has enabled one notable enhancement to the results system in that, thanks to our great IT Manager, provisional results are now visible to riders as soon as the result sheet is uploaded. In general, organisers have responded brilliantly to our request that they use the online system, with only a handfull of exceptions.

We look forward to introducing an online payment system in the coming season, so that we can continue our drive towards a paperless results service.

Sue Gatehouse and Keith Harrison

(continued from November Arrivée)

Official’s Reports 2011/12

Permanents SecretaryThe year on year growth in Permanent Events continues, although at a much slower rate. The proportion of DIY events has remained fairly constant increasing from 44% to 47%. Perms to extend Calendar Events have continued to be ridden in small numbers

Events completed for the 2010/11 Season compared with previous years:

75% of Permanents ridden were BR (or ECE) events and 25% were BP events. Proportionally the number of shorter (mostly 50km) BP events ridden has again risen compared with BR events.

The spread of event distances for BR events (previous year in brackets) was:

The spread of event distances for BP events (previous year in brackets) was:

Organisers awards for having most (non-DIY) entrants this year has been contested by the same three organisers who were top of the leader board last year. Having occupied the top spot for three years running Mike Wigley now has a self-imposed handicap for 20011/12 because he has handed over the Marple Grimpeurs to a new organiser (Chris Keeling-Roberts):

1st (124) Mike Wigley

2nd (96) Steve Poulton

3rd (72) Dave (el Supremo) Hudson

Rider podium places for most Perm brevet cards validated this year has been driven partly by the Steve Snook on a quest for AAA points as much as number of events ridden or distance covered.

1st (75) Steve Snook

2nd (61) Peter Turnbull

3rd (49) Marcus Yeo

Permanents AAA prize of the year for the most AAA points scored in a single Permanent Event might well have been shared by Mark Tapping and Marcus Yeo - who both completed the Mille Cymru, - in a normal year. However, Marcus then went on to complete his own (unlikely to be repeated?) “Marcus Yeo Extravaganza”, which on its own scores 43.25 AAA, making him once again the runaway winner for this prize. Overall, 18 Permanent Events scoring more than 5 AAA points were completed, with Shawn Shaw’s Wessex Series and Colin Bezant’s Cambrian Series predominating.

The longest event of 2009/10 was Marcus Yeo’s Extravaganza epic ride, which covered over 3,400km. Marcus also completed the 1,500km “Eightsome Reel”, and El Supremo’s 1000km event. One 1,400km randonneur version of the End to End was completed, as were two End to End rides completed as 7x200km events. Other successful long events included one 1,300km “Round Scotland”, two “Mille Cymru” and one 1,400km “DIY”.

Only 15 ProFs were completed including one multi-stage event, but for the second year running no long continuous overseas Perm events have been finished this year. PBP was an obvious overseas attraction this year and the pound to euro exchange rate has not been favourable to those of us with UK cash, but is there anyone eager to cycle to Trafalgar, Brindisi or Nice next year?

John Ward

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Official

Accidental Information (see opposite)

Andy Wilkinson, guest of honour, centre right, and award winners at the AUK annual dinner, 2012. Photo: Stephen Poulton.

Auks will by now be familiar with the post-season tabulation of incidents occurring on Audax events and for relatively new members I’ll just explain that as part of the effort to maximise riders’ safety a report is filed for all accidents and incidents on these events with a view to take steps as far as possible to prevent a recurrence. Organisers should send such reports to the validation team with the Returns form. If not already personalised, these should carry details of the event, distance, date and organiser to enable us to ensure we have a complete picture.And so to the interesting, or gory, bit – last season’s tabulation. To protect the innocent, the organisers’ names and start place are not shown. Please also note that the summary of what happened is my own précis from others’ versions of events, so, being, at best second-hand information, may not be used as evidence in any legal context.So what does that show? Firstly, and disappointingly, although the number of events is unsurprisingly down on the previous (PBP) season, the number of incidents is slightly up with the general severity of injuries in approximately the same proportions. As an overall average, the distance travelled per incident is reduced from approximately 1 per 42,500km to 1 per 29,000km. Again the main bulk of crashes is due to skids – either as a result of excessive speed, or damp or gravelly road surfaces. Snow and ice were absent this time, though it seems to have been the wettest season in memory. The other usual cause is wheels touching in the bunch, so more attention is needed there. Happily, there were no yob attacks but animals featured on a couple of rides (we cannot insure against acts of dog!) However, in a greater number of cases than before, other motorised road users were involved, and even if the drivers are not malevolent, the relative chances of injury will be obvious. It must be stressed that the events are for the riders to have a good time, not do a good time and if the points are at all important to you, then you will only earn them if you complete the ride.Many members will be aware that AUK insures those members, who are normally UK residents, for 3rd party liabilities during events, subject to an excess, but for your peace of mind it may be advisable to take out insurance to cover personal injury or damage to your cycle. This is something to be negotiated on an individual basis.With best wishes to all for an enjoyable and above all a safe 2013 season. Richard Phipps


London - Edinburgh - London

1400 km on 28 July - 2 August 2013Has a full complement of riders

Plus a waiting list open until 31st May

But if you were an LEL helper in 2009, and would like to enter, you can apply for a guaranteed place!

~~~

WANTEDHelpers for LEL 2013

to join to team of 500 volunteers enjoying the international atmosphere of the longest and largest UK amateur

cycling event

2013 helpers are offered a guaranteed place in

2017 LELDetails:

http://www.londonedinburghlondon.com

Official

Changes:*More emphasis on cattle grid dangers

** Possible event warning signs for motorists?

*** Specific warning on route sheet

****Route to be changed to avoid junction

*****Encourage bunch riding at night

****** Change route to avoid this corner


Greetings from RussiaDear friends randonneurs AUK!

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and may this festival bring abundant joy and happiness in your life!

May All your Dreams Come True!

It would be desirable to see you and your randonneurs on our brevet 2014 “Volga-Don 1200”.

Valery KomochkovPresident of Russian Randonneurshttp://russianrandonneur.ruhttp://orionvelo.narod.ru/mailto:[email protected]

This & That

AUK Strategic PlanInteresting to see the Board’s ‘Strategic Plan’ for AUK, which was published online in November.

I was a member of Committee back in 1995 when we had a similar bout of soul-searching, and after an afternoon of to-and-fro discussion decided, and I quote from the Minutes, “to keep things as they are”. This time, there seems to be a clear determination by the Board, to find ways of spending money.

There is a disconnect though, between the sums being bandied about, and the small incomes that AUK deals in - £1000 to support a prestgious event - that’s 500 temp membership fees - or if you like 5000 validation fees. To attract how many new riders? Do we have any organisers who can handle events with hundreds of starters?

The biggest sums mentioned in the Stretigic Plan are reserved for what might be generally described as ‘marketing’. £5000 to turn the club website into something that is attractive to non-members. Even ignoring the fact that £5000 might well not be enough - that is 355 full membership fees spent. But membership already increases by 100 or so a year, without any marketing drive. And there is no real indication that more members equates to more people riding events.

I’m worried that these funds are headed for a black hole.

Francis Cooke

Letter from New ZealandWe have now been in Cambridge, New Zealand for a little over three weeks. Last weekend we went to a book fair in the Cambridge Town Hall, where there were literally many thousand books on sale.

Would you believe that on browsing through the second book that I picked up, I found myself looking at a photograph of John Chadwick, from New Mills. The book was a collection of photographs which were taken by the British public on the same day in 1987.

I met John on my first Audax 200 in 1978, this was followed by many more miles/km together. Paris-Harrogate in 1978, Chepstow – Lizard 1000 km with Malcolm Jones in 1983, and many rides in between.

John also completed Cambridge – Aberdeen with Nick Rosenthal.

We have lost touch over the years, I hope that he is still around and perhaps someone will pass on our good wishes to him.

Kind regards, Neville Holgate

‘Spectator, Tour of Britain Race’ Photo: Rosalind Bramley 10.45 am, Buxton, Derbyshire

New Wheels for the Winter/Audax Bike.As I spend quite some time on my Winter/Audax bike I decided to treat myself to a new set of wheels that would feel a bit faster than your average hack bike wheels. Also with the Exposure Revo dynamo light being due out in the Autumn I thought it would be a good opportunity to go for a battery free option.

http://www.exposurelights.com/product/000098/revo-dynamo-mk1-(new)/

For many years I have used a Schmidt dyno-hub so despite the expense decided this would be the best option. They have recently updated their units to cope with the latest LED lighting so I chose the Son-delux.

http://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/sondelux_en.html this unit has a very low “off” drag is like riding up a 1/50 (0.5%) when giving it’s full 6W output. I read somewhere that’s about one digestive biscuit per hour! (I think I can manage that)

After a quick chat with Jonathan at Strada Wheels in Lancing I decided to select some Velocity Aerohead Rims (similar in width to others I may want to use on this bike)

http://www.velocitywheels.com/store/product.asp?pID=17&cID=18 these are very light at 425g so with some Sapim CX-Ray spokes I was hoping for some light’sh hoops. He suggested we lace them 2 and 3 cross so that if needed I could replace a spoke at any time and supplied a couple of spares free of charge.

Being a fan of Chris King components I decided to try out his new R45 Hubs.

http://chrisking.com/hubs so far I am not disappointed. (love the “buzz”)

Being a “light-weight” I was able to choose 24 spokes for the front and 28 for the rear this has meant that the back wheel is 800g and the front is 950g (if you remove the extra 290g for the Dyno-hub) you get a wheel set weight of 1460g which should give a pretty lively wheel.

On the road they feel very quick and you can certainly accelerate back up to your nominal speed with ease. They feel solid and there is no obvious flex from side to side when out of the saddle. The wheels were absolutely true and arrived on time and well packaged so would definitely recommend anyone in the market for some new wheels give them a try. http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/dynamo-wheels-customer-review/

I rode a 200Km the other week and had to spend around two hours in the dark and can confirm the new light performs fantastically. It gave a wide spread beam with two of the LEDs and a nice spot with the other two. When you stop two go out and the other two remain on for a long time gradually dimming. You can certainly ride at speed with confidence that you can see most obstacles. Even stayed on while riding for a distance of about 200ft in 18” of water (great fun).

Only time will tell if they can stand up to the rigours of a winter on our roads but here’s hoping. Colin James

Found, a pair of Bloc Stealth glasses, at Fairburn after the events. Contact John Radford 01484 851480.


This & That

CTC ToursLand’s End to John O’Groats

18 May - 05 Jun 06 - 24 Jul 31 Aug - 18 SepCycle from the bottom to the top of Great Britain. This very scenic tour uses good quality hotels and hostels and is mostly half board. With a longest day of 80 miles and many hills it is designed for the more experienced cycle-tourist.Luggage carried £1695

France, Haute Provence 16 June - 23 JuneThe hills of the Baronnies and the plain of the Rhône offer quiet roads, beautiful scenery, orchards, vineyards and olive groves, gorges, cols and, a ‘must-do’ for the Audax rider, Mont Ventoux. Very pleasant hotel. Choice of short or long rides with vehicle support on the longer rides. £569Chris Ellison & Karen Stone:01246 250 647 [email protected]

See more details and download the booking forms at:www.cyclingholidays.org

aka Bog Standardor Pinner-Brecon-Pinner (PBP)

As a fond memorial to John “Rocco” Richardson, a select group of long distance cyclists gathered early on Saturday 18th August. Their aim was to follow a route established by Rocco himself from Willesden territory to Brecon in SE Wales and back for a distance of over 500 km; a good fast route on major roads with a few hills to test the legs and descents to test the nerves. Add a tandem into the mix to speed progress on the flat and all the essential ingredients were in place, even the summer made a re-appearance.

The ride was completed in true Rocco Rocket style with the group remaining together for a very sociable weekend awheel.

Rumour has it that the route will be established as an Audax UK permanent event so that others can ride in the future.

Rocco Memorial Ride


Merckx 525Hardcover 336mm x 241mm, 224 pp Published by VeloPress, Boulder, Colorado £42 available direct from www.cordee.co.uk or good bookshops.

The title says it all: 525 victories – probably a total that will never again be achieved by a racing cyclist. This is a very large, weighty and visually stunning tome, the only biography authorised by ‘the Cannibal’ Eddy Merckx himself, containing many never before seen photographs from his career. Alongside the 126 full colour photographs are countless classic monochromes restored from private collections and archives giving that full nostalgic look that only monochrome can do. These incredible images come from various periods of his career and show us his victories, pain, anguish, elation and smiles, along with photographs of his rivals of the day including Simpson, Anquetil, Gimondi, Maertens, Poulidor and many others, together making a beautiful coffee table book.

The well written and informative text throughout gives short accounts of his highlights (and disappointments) for each season along with a table of victories.

This book should be in every fan’s collection.

Tim Wainwright

This & That

Ghostly HappeningsSought on Dartmoor

Join us for the Dart-Moor-Ghost-Dart or the Dartmoor Ghost at the solstice, when the days are long, and the nights short, two slightly different ride concepts are presented for your delectation.Memories of the earliest days with the Torbay and Plymouth CTC groups: we would head out late on a summers night and attempt to cycle through to breakfast, though bus shelters, or even a fish market provided a place to lay weary heads. It was through the discovery of Audax that these annual nocturnal ventures came to an end, for night riding then became just part of the longer Audax events that we began riding periodically. The idea for the solstice in 2013 is quite simply is to return to the night ride concept but with certain exciting twists.

Before the Ghost is unveiled, a few words on the Dart. This is a calendar event that incorporates the night ride within the total Dart distance, therefore you can ride the first half of the Dart during the day on Saturday, the night ride provides for companionship, and all being well a hall at mid-distance, then the return Dart is during the day on Sunday. The solitary section thereby avoiding the dark hours as would normally be the case on a normal ECE. Minimum extension to the ghost will be 55km to bring the distance up to 200km, but beyond that it is a matter of quantum - that is fitness, time availability, and your distance from Bovey Tracey.

Now to the event, the Ghost. The ride departs from Bovey at 10.30pm, it has cunningly been placed on the night before the full moon, which will have risen well before nightfall, and will remain a constant companion until after daybreak. There is a magnificent ethereal beauty to Dartmoor under the full moon, and the route includes a complete traverse from south west to north east. The total distance is only 145km, so most will complete it in time for a jolly good nosh at breakfast.

But why the Ghost - Dartmoor is a land of myth and legend, many of which have grown around tales of ghoulish origin. The route is cunningly arranged to provide predominantly main roads, or better lanes, but passes many of Dartmoor’s haunted locations, so you will need to keep your eyes peeled, and if of nervous disposition, ride in pairs. On the way you will pass:

Birchanger - on the boundary of Ilsington, the location of the gallows, the neighbouring house is said to be haunted.

Jay’s Grave - a tragic tale of yesteryear where a young expectant mother hung herself in disgrace, she was buried on cross roads at boundary of villages to ward off spirits. To this day fresh flowers have appeared on the grave every night.

Okehampton Castle - mary Howard travels every night to the castle on a carriage made of the bones of those she is accused of murdering, there she picks a blade of grass in penance for the deed for which she is wrongly accused.

Lydford - quite a gathering site for ghosts, it is said to the the most

haunted place on Dartmoor with sightings in the roadside castle, adjacent pub, Lydford Gorge, and at the old gallows, you may even see black spectral pig, or feel the chill of the ghostly bear.

Hairy Hands - have attacked unsuspecting folk on numerous occasions, grabbing the steering wheel of motorists, or the handlebars of cyclists, causing an inevitable crash in to the moorland undergrowth.

More information will be forthcoming for entrants so that riders can make their way round the course with full knowledge of all the ghostly sites that will be passed.

Whilst mostly on main roads, there are some lanes near the start, and for a few miles approaching mid-distance. Two sections of paved cycle route are to be included as they are very special, although road alternatives will be available.

So do come and join us on either Ghost or Dart-Ghost. And for the sake of temptation some distance examples. Start in Exeter, do the return Dart via Dawlish and you will have a 200km under your belt, Bridgwater area will give you a 300km, and Bristol area a 400km.

And finally a note of apologies for the clash with the Dartmoor Classic on the following Sunday. Full moon weekends are very busy through the year, and whilst a clash this is also an opportunity, if you are coming down for that event, why not ride both! The Classic is now fully subscribed, so we are not competing for entries, and we will be well out of the way of the Classic riders, as they head out after our return.

Kevin Presland


This & That

expecting you – and if you are late you’ll have to catch him up to get your brevet.

Llanfair 400 Another fairly flat ride into Wales, this ride follows the North Wales coast to Holyhead and back, using the excellent cycling facilities of the Chester Greenway and the Sustrans paths avoiding the A55 Expressway - if only all other off-road cycle paths were built to this standard.

Overnight navigation on this ride is as easy as it gets, as you simply follow the A548 all the way from Abergele to Shotton, which we have almost entirely to ourselves, and it even has stretches with street lights. Food isn’t a problem on this ride, with 24 hour stops at Abergele and Chester Motorway Services for the overnight ride, while during the day there is no shortage of cafés eager to satisfy your every need. If you need a nap, you should be able to find an empty shelter along the coast in places like Rhyl and Colwyn Bay, made even more comfortable if you bring a light-weight sleeping bag with you.

We start at 9am from the coffee shop in Poynton and finish as soon as you can manage it. Make sure you take a nap before driving home, as the Police take a dim view of anyone behind the wheel of a car having had insufficient sleep.

To Holl and Back 600 The start of this event is 6am from Poynton where I’ll have tea or coffee waiting for you before the off. Expect to be out all day, all night, and most of the following day, but I’m hoping to have the Horsebox Café available at Colsterworth (350km), serving hot drinks, hot soup, and perhaps even providing floor space for a quick nap – so bring that light-weight sleeping bag or a bivvy bag.

If you want a really luxurious 600, you could even try booking a room at Colsterworth Travelodge, aiming to arrive before midnight; don’t forget to set an alarm as you’d need to be off again by 6am in order to reach the next control in time.

Prepare for London-Edinbugh-London

with Peak Audax

An Ideal First Super Randonneur Series

Malpas Church, Chirk 200. Photo: Francis Cooke

If you’ve not yet ridden a full SR series, here’s an easy place to start; a series of flat rides across the Cheshire Plains. On the other hand, if you are an experienced rider but looking for a good build up towards LEL, there’s something here for you too.

All rides start from Poynton, near Stockport, which is handy for trains to Stockport. If you need accommodation, you might try the Travelodge at either Adlington or Manchester Airport. There is free car-parking at the ride starts, where we’ve been leaving cars for overnight rides for years without any difficulties.

Chirk 200 An event initiated and run by Sheila Simpson, this easy 200 is now to be run by Darryl Nolan. The ride is built around meal times, with elevenses at Poole Craft Centre who open especially for us, lunch at Chirk Milk Bar, where they’ve been looking after Audax riders for many years now, and afternoon tea at Tattenhall Ice Cream Farm.

Plains 300 If you’ve not done an overnight Audax before, this is the one for your first attempt. We start at 11pm so there’s every chance you will have company throughout the hours of darkness while you gain confidence with your lighting. We aim for Newtown in Wales where a breakfast of coffee and porridge is taken at McDonald’s. The route out includes a stop at a 24 hour petrol station in Whitchurch and at Dinky’s, a 24 hour roadside Diner, now legendary within AUK circles. (We often mix with Shrewsbury clubbers here, who really can’t get their heads around what we are up to, nor we them).

The return journey makes a second call at Dinky’s and the café at Radway Green Garden Centre – there’s no need to go hungry on this ride!

The Plains 300 start time makes this an ideal candidate for an Extended Calendar Event – why not ride out to the event from home and make it into a 400? You have to enter your “extra” distance with Martin Malins (click on DIYs on the AUK website for further details of how to do this) and you need to make sure you get to Poynton before 11pm. Organiser Peter Hammond is likely to be riding, so if you let him know of your ECE plans, he’ll be

There is one big climb on this ride, the ascent of Saddleworth Moor, but we tackle this near the start while your legs are still fresh. It is very similar to Yad Moss, long but not particularly steep, so would be a good preparation for LEL. After that, it’s flat all the way – flat except for some small lumps after Uttoxeter, but you’d hardly notice these if you just take it steady.

Again, like the 400, the overnight navigation has been made deliberately easy, as you trace your way from Boston (late-night McDonalds), Donington (M1 services) and Stone (M6 services) on straightforward but quiet roads.

While there are few facilities on this event, it’s an easy 600 (if there is such a thing) with no challenging climbs, there are good cafes at Askern (100km), Gainsborough (215km), Donington (415km) Prees Heath (529km) and elsewhere, so this isn’t necessarily a “tour of the petrol stations”.

Full details of these rides can be found at www.PeakAudax.co.uk together with the rest of the Peak Audax schedule of events. These include the excellent John Perrin rides from Broken Cross, the new Mam Tor 200 from Winsford, and the Wednesday One hundreds from Marple.

Mike Wrigley


This story starts with two thoughts that went through my mind, whilst taking part in Sheila Simpson’s 600k event, on 5th June 2010. The first was, “ I should be in Builth Wells for tea in about fifteen minutes.” The second being, “I think I am being scraped off the road by an ambulance crew.” Sadly the latter was confirmed as I had been pushed from my bike, victim of someone’s idea of a laugh. The vehicle did not stop and sadly no-one witnessed the event so the “joker” is still out there.

However, from that moment on it became apparent that for every idiot there are many decent people. Their support made the recovery from a severely fractured pelvis, broken collar bone and concussion easier to deal with.

In the fog of the immediate aftermath not only was I dealt with brilliantly by the ambulance crew but voices of Auks reassured me that many things were under control. I didn’t have to worry about my bike it would be, and was, taken home by another riders support crew. Messrs Farrington and Palmer took the time to make statements to the police which have formed the basis for claims which the CTC solicitors are helping with.

I remember little of the journey to Hereford hospital. Once there I was stabilised, put in traction and cared for by a great team on the ward, whilst a specialist surgeon was sought to rebuild my pelvis. During the 10 days I was strapped to the bed a local Auk, who had heard of the incident, came to visit because he thought my visitors would be limited. Sorry I cannot recall your name, but the fact

you took time to call was much appreciated. The flow of texts from colleagues, and cycling friends unable to make the journey helped the hours go by.

Eventually I was transferred to Wrightington Hospital, nearer home. Signing the consent form here, for the first time, I began to get an undertstanding of how lucky I had been. I have no idea exactly how many people at the hospital were involved in putting me back together from theatre team, x-ray, nursing staff, to blood donors but again to all concerned I am indebted. They all put the chav to shame.

Nearer home the support of family, friends and the cycling community really kicked in. I was forced in to isolation because I had

tested positive for mrsa. Fortunately, there were no complications but it meant hours in a room where the only views were roof tiles or a blank wall. The steady flow of visitors, wearing plastic aprons and rubber gloves, kept me sane. There were the Auks, Dave Colley, Peter Hammond, Winston Plowes and Mike Wigley. The Weaver Valley CC represented by Alan Silver and Kevin Campbell and long standing school and university friends, Howard Matthewson, and Andy Ebben, all helped to relieve the boredom during the month before I was allowed home.

Once out of hospital I was limited to no weight through my left leg and, with collar bone damage, could not use crutches. I received an email from another Auk who had suffered a similar trauma. The information it contained helped me too.

I got back on wheels thanks to Andy Ebben , who lent me his old wheelchair for pavement riding and for more adventurous, off road outings a chair with knobbly tyres, provided by Howard who kindly took me out every week. We tested the tracks of Delamere and Marbury when my arms had had enough he pushed. Then there was the coffee and cake – almost like being a cyclist. The change of scene from the four walls of home helped keep my sanity.

I was not allowed to forget that I was an audax rider. Mike Wigley took over my Dark Peak event and thoughtfully got everyone who rode to sign a card. Peter Hammond and Winston Plowes combined to complete one of their many rtys using my home as a control. This was not an exciting route, for them, as it involved 10 loops of a 21km circuit. It served as a reminder that one of the reasons I ride is for the banter and camaraderie. Peter also invited me to control at The Eureka for his November ride. Whilst I was still some way off riding an event, it was

Randonnées

Chav Attack to AAARtY1, RtY5 and SR

Derek Heine

Pete Hammond Derek Heine Winston Plowes and Dave Colley at Keighley Tarn on “Leap into the Aire Perm”

(Seen here on Mandelson)


great to see all the usual suspects and play a small part in the day.

October saw me reach another milestone thanks to the physios. I got on an exercise bike. I detest riding inside but that twenty minutes was particularly emotional as I then knew that I was going to be able to ride again. The plan, formulated in hospital, was to ride 200km by the anniversary of the accident and the challenge was at last underway. Daily turbo sessions started and time spent on a stationary saddle slowly increased. After 2 weeks of going nowhere I took up the offer of a trike from Dennis Hornby, a Weaver Valley clubmate.

The first outing, accompanied by Peter Hammond was a round trip to the Station Café at Delamere, a mere 17 miles. Well, much hilarity was had. I thought that I would be able to clip in and not have to worry about unclipping in a hurry, a task which at the time was impossible. I did stay upright but, as this was my first trike ride since the age of 3, I did not understand the handling characteristics and the machine had a mind of its own. Several times the machine veered left of its own accord. On one occasion, I required Peter’s assistance to pull me out backwards from a soft verge. By the end of the ride the trike became “Mandelson” because of its leftie tendencies. It took nearly an hour to get to the cafe but I had, and I was a cyclist again. Despite me almost knocking him off, Peter still bought the tea. The return fuelled by cake was 5 minutes quicker. By December, using the turbo and trike the weekly mileage had grown to 50.

In the New Year, I was still only working reduced hours and that allowed me to build up the mileage, doing some trike or turbo miles daily. The next step was to have a flat diy gps 100km to aim at.

The third week in February saw home as the start/ finish control for my trike 100k. The support team of Dave Colley, Peter Hammond and Winston Plowes arrived, had the prerequisite brew and off we went. In the excitement of doing a proper ride I forgot to press the start button until we were past Kingsley but I wasn’t going back. We pedalled out to the Eureka Café with much merriment. I particularly enjoyed the cries of disgust when two of the support team were “hogging” my backwheels and I went through a puddle. As we approached home, and the gps was reading the high 90s, we took a detour to ensure the logged distance was as required. Eventually the ride was validated and I was able to believe I was on the way back.

March saw a return to two wheels and Oliver Wright’s Stannage Surprise, hilly 100k event. It seemed like the logical next step. It was, with hindsight, a little ambitious. I was comfortable for 80k but the last section proved tough. I finished and in time. Following this I had to moderate my plans but the belief of the right 200 could be done within the twelve months became stronger. By the end of the month I had completed a 150 gps diy to Chirk.

The weekly mileage kept growing and another challenge was set, AAARTY. I had one month in the bag and short climbing events and perms were available. To make month 2 of aaarty I went Hebden Bridge, to be supported by Winston Plowes on the Widdop 50 perm. Whilst I laboured slowly uphill and down dale working up a sweat at snail’s pace he nearly died of exposure, waiting patiently in the hissing rain. April 2011, also saw the Moneyash 105k event and my confidence and endurance returning. I entered the Solstice 200km event.

For the May Solstice I had the pleasure of Dave Colley’s company. Two things stick in my memory from this ride. The first was an incident outside Whitchurch where I slowed at a roundabout anticipating an approaching car would go quickly through and I would not need to unclip. I was wrong. Balance lost and Dave heroically tried to break my fall which was, as Murphy’s law dictates, to my injured side. His front wheel took the sting from my fall and it was buckled. We trued the wheel as much as we could and rode on. Back at base I remember I could not lift my leg over the seat or crossbar I was physically drained. I had to find a high bit of pavement to get off the bike. But I had achieved the objective of 200k before the anniversary.

Over the following months the rides towards the various targets of AARTY, RTY were planned and completed in the often in company of one or more of the “Chuckle Brothers” ( Dave Colley, Pete Hammond and Winston Plowes). A new award was also created, The Hammond Trophy. This was to be given to the person who had ridden the most kilometres in Mr Hammond’s company, during an audax year. Points for this were to be given at the rate of one per 100 kilometres.

During the rest of 2011 I kept plugging away at a variety of rides which would contribute to the targets I had had set. The 200s started to include AAA and the full support team completed MikeWigley’s Full Monty 300 in August. The toughest ride was undoubtedly the Pistyll Packin Momma’s 200.

The winter months saw me ride the Holt permanent several times. It wasn’t going to be a pretty RTY but it was going to be completed. The shorter AAA perms were picked off on good days, at the weekends.

In February 2012, the first target completed was the AAARTY when the band of brothers “Leapt into the Aire”. It was probably the slowest 50km done during the recovery process. I was awarded of the inaugural Hammond Trophy, a pair of ear plugs, at the first café stop. Further delays were necessary to take the attached photo and a second café stop.

By March my fifth RTY had been completed, after a delay of 22 months. Most of these were local events and Mike Wigley’s perms. After each event I felt more of the endurance returning and began to believe that an SR series was possible, especially as I had already completed a 300 in the previous year.

7hrs and 30 Minutes of Light(A 200k Solstice DIY Permanent)

Casting into the darkto the canal’s icy creaks.Reflections of a sickle mooncradling the Evening Star in its arc.

The sky floats off the hillsdeveloping the dawn.Red corpuscles of brake lightssiphon through the valley’s veins.

Each frosted breath taken downcarves lungs to stone.Burns you from the inside,hands set in glass on the bars.

A whole day of half-lighttaken by the patient push.A cold sun’s weak blinkcasts a shadow of a man.

There’s a rhythm to the painthat cuts a ribbon through the frost.Numbness swallows the duskstill 50k’s from home.

© Winston Plowes 2012

The choice of 300 (The Plains) and 400 ( Llanfair PG) wasn’t difficult as these were local, relatively flat events. I completed The Plains with relative ease. I was comfortable on the outward leg of the 400. A group of us formed for the return through the night and the company was great. I did, however, find the pace a little quick so by dawn I began to struggle. Again the consideration and support I received from the members group was tremendous and they patiently waited when I was dropped and encouraged me all the way back.

Having been challenged with the 400 I thought hard about the choice of the 600, settling on the Two Coasts from Mytholmroyd. Despite having a few hills, this had the advantage of a good place to sleep and broke the trip into one leg just short of 400 and the other just over 200. The trip out to Bridlington was wind assisted but then there was a headwind all the way to Blackpool. Fortunately it kept up for the return and the mission was completed with an hour to spare. I would like to thank Dave Jackson, Peter Bond and John Radford for their company. I won that weekend even if Cav didn’t. I felt a huge weight lifted as the chav had finally been beaten.

To all who have helped on the road, organised and validated events I have ridden a heartfelt thank you. Also an enormous thank you must go to my wife, Alison, and daughters, Kathryn and Claire who put up with my frustration when I was immobile and my extreme “days out” on the bike as my strength returned.

Randonnées


RandonnéesI really struggle to nominate my favourite Audax event but admit to having a particular affection for some rides that, for me, carry a Classic status: the Sunrise / Snowdrop Express, Over the Malverns, the Cheltenham Flyer, the Elenith, the Brevet Cymru, and the Brian Chapman. They mark the build-up of the new season and increase in distance as the days lengthen. I think of them as equivalent to the North European Pro Tour level “Monuments” and I call them the West Midlands “Spring Classics”.

The similarity is not just confined to their place in the calendar, we share similar weather with Belgium, Holland and Northern France. Some years early season events are blessed with balmy spring sunshine - but most of us live on the legend of battling through the worst the elements can throw at us: hail stones the size of marbles in the 2008 Elenith, hurricane force winds during the 2004 Cheltenham Flyer.

Certain sections are similar. One minute the riders are on wide open main roads, the next they take a sudden dive into the confines of narrow, poorly surfaced lane. This is usually to take in a particular legendary climb. The conditions under our tyres are likely to be just as muddy but we are spared the dreaded pave that the Pro’s have to endure.

Roy BishopThe Castleton Classic fits into this category. The ride starts from the Northern Section’s cosy club room at Shenstone, in benign farming country, and heads northwards through Lichfield and across the wide flood plain of the River Trent to Abbotts Bromley.

Having left Abbotts Bromley behind, after the third rise and dip, an “easy to miss” (e.t.m.), aren’t they all? left turn into Holly Lane marks a change in character from A and B roads to narrow, hedge-lined country lanes.

The next section reminds me of the Liege – Bastogne - Liege Spring Classic. After a quick left and right at the A518 west of Uttoxeter, a fast descent to a level crossing is followed by a draggy climb to Bramshall and more lanes.

A tricky zigzag descent soon brings you to another main road section through Upper Tean and on to Cheadle. Following a climb out of the town and a right fork, the Peak District’s southern escarpment, which has soon to be scaled, forms the horizon. A couple of undulations prepare you for what is possibly the toughest climb of the ride. After briefly merging with the fast A52, a left hand sweep onto the B5053 confronts you with what looks like a wall of tarmac. It rears up to cross Froghall tunnel, the terminus of the Caldon canal.

The climb reminds me more of Alp d’Huez than a spring classic. It falls short of the 21 hairpins of the real thing but can boast three sharpish S-bends and is definitely steeper

than the Alpe at 1 in 6 in places and drags on, levels out, and then kicks up again through the village of Ipstones where a left turn by the Post Office soon takes you to the first Control in the village hall. This can be a quick “splash and dash” or a more civilized hot drink and assortment of cakes.

On returning to the B5053 for stage 2, you discover that the road still tilts upwards. However, it does get you going again after the stop. A short descent followed by a flatter stretch is a welcome breather but also reveals that there is still some more height to be gained. After crossing the busy Leek to Ashbourne A523, the climbing continues. Then, at what appears to be the summit, a half left turn takes you onto Morridge, a long whaleback with stunning views.

The jagged peaks of the Roaches, so beloved of rock climbers, are ahead on the left. The ribbon of road meanders between occasional farms, sometimes dipping but generally still gaining height and ever wider views. A substantial stone building on the left is the Mermaid Inn (a Pub no longer). A final short 1 in 6 kick up and this climb is conquered. The Roaches, to the left ,now look far below. It’s almost worth riding the whole 200 K just to experience this panoramic view and the feeling of being on the roof of the world.

Next, you are looking for the second right fork where long views to the east open up, if you have time to look that is and your eyes aren’t streaming from the speed of descent. Your next objective is the little village of Longnor and the B5053. This climbs steadily to a narrow traffic-lighted descent. At the bottom is a tricky S-bend over a stone bridge spanning the infant river Dove and the hamlet of Glutton Bridge.

From here, somehow the road finds its way between limestone out-crops to climb out of the valley. Then a fast, straight descent takes

An early season 200 km minus the cobbles

This is Paris-Roubaix country after Walton on Trentand below

The long pull heading south up Bradwell Dale

you to a brief right and left on the fast A515 Ashbourne - Buxton road, first laid down by the Romans. In another 4 K is a similar but slightly longer stretch on a major trunk road radiating from Buxton. This time it’s the A6. Unless you want to end up in Matlock, Derby or eventually London, take the second left on the B6049. This drops you into the delightful Millers Dale and under the disused Buxton - Matlock railway line, now a cycleway. Tideswell soon follows where you pass the imposing parish church of St. John the Baptist, known as “The Cathedral of the Peak”.

Immediately after crossing the A623, just north of Tideswell, is a really tricky e.t.m. left; you need to pass in front of the Anchor Inn. This lane leads through Little Hucklow, and after an entertaining, steep little descent and climb on a sharp S-bend, watch out for another e.t.m. signed Castleton. This lane takes a sweeping, climbing loop round an

The Castleton (Spring) Classic


Randonnéesextensive quarry to your right. As the road drops, another spectacular vista, of Castleton and the Hope valley, opens up. Beyond is the ridge of Hollins Cross, the Edale valley and the dramatic change to the Dark Peak rising towards Kinder Scout.

The steep twisting descent drops you into Castleton “via the back door” past the quaint village green and to a right at T onto the main road. It’s quite a culture shock to emerge onto the busy high street after the peace and quiet of the last few miles. Castleton is one of those towns that have the atmosphere of an inland seaside resort. So watch out for motorists in search of parking places and pedestrians who treat the busy A625 like Blackpool promenade.

On a spring Sunday, the cafes are not short of customers so there is no fixed control at this, the half way point. Take your pick of the pubs and cafes or the useful Peveril Stores on the right just after the sharp S-bend. Three K down the main road is another refreshment option in the village of Hope. Care is needed here as you turn right just before Hope parish church, cross a bridge and fork first left up a short but steep wooded climb.

The descent takes you into Bradwell and turning right on the B6049 heads back south and would eventually return you to the Anchor Inn cross roads. However, after a long exposed drag, which always seems to have me grovelling, pass lefts to Great Hucklow and Foolow (don’t go there). Just over the top turn next left by Grundy House Farm. Turn left at the A625 and in less than 1 K fork right on the B6465 to Little Longstone.

Another steady pull through Wardlow leads to a long, fast descent with more expansive views to all sides. It’s worth slowing at the crossroads about half way down to glimpse the elegant arches of Monsal Head viaduct where it spans the Dale and River Wye. The old railway tunnel has recently been re-opened to walkers and cyclists.

At Ashford in the Water, turn right and then left onto the A6. The River Wye is just to your left. Soon the Mecca of Bakewell offers more opportunities for refreshment. Third exit at the small roundabout in the centre keeps you on the A6, still gradually descending and keeping company with the Wye. Continue past Haddon Hall, a honeypot for trippers.

Take the B5056 on the right, just before the A6 becomes dual carriageway. This briefly follows the valley of the River Lathkill. However, don’t miss the next e.t.m. left, confusingly again signed the B5056, and more reassuringly Ashbourne. This is the start of a long, steady Alpine-like climb by-passing Birchover and Winster, only returning you to habitation after the descent to Grange Mill. The mill pond on the right heralds the approaching junction with the A5012.

We continue straight across on the B road for the last steady Peak District ascent past a quarry and stone crushing plant. Your descent is another delight with fast, open sweeping bends and more long views, particularly if the prevailing south westerly isn’t hindering your progress.

Unless you fancy trying Tissington ford for depth, stay on the B road where it becomes confined through the narrow valley of Bradbourne Brooke.

You emerge on to the A515, our old friend the Ashbourne - Buxton road. Another little kick up is followed by a straight, steep run down into Ashbourne. There are some more conveniences on the right at the top of the triangular, sloping, and cobbled Market Place. Turn left at the bottom to follow the one-way system, advice not followed by every HGV driver. The buildings facing you have acted as buffer stops for more than one lorry with poorly maintained brakes. Right at T and right at the traffic lights brings you to the next tricky junction. Immediately after the lights, turn left in front of the buildings facing you to ride up the narrow one-way street. We are now back in European Classics country and, to me, this is like the Mur (wall) de Gramond. The road widens to become two-way before the climb starts in earnest. The “Wall of Ashbourne” is the best tarmac impersonation of cobbles I know. Traction can be a problem if the surface is wet and I don’t recommend sitting back in a low gear while pulling on the centre of the bars, unless you are good at controlling wheelies. It’s quite short with an abrupt summit, such that you look along the flat section beyond at eye level before you reach the top, rather like arriving at the top of an escalator. Straight on at a couple of mini-islands, an exhilarating swoop under the Ashboune by-pass and a right at T brings you to the very welcome Wyaston border sign. Welcome because on the left, just past the village sign, is the last Control in the well appointed and provisioned village hall.

For the last stage we could be back in the lanes of northern Europe. A long, generally descending stretch runs down to cross the busy A50 dual carriageway on a flyover. This takes you on to the line of the old A50 which used to be part of a fast single carriageway 25 mile time trial course before it was “improved” in the 1990’s.

Turning right at the lights by The Salt Box cafe points you south again. Crossing the bridge over the River Dove (much wider now than when you last made it acquaintance at Gluttton Bridge) you may catch the smell of coffee from the near-by Nestle factory.

Second exit and round an S-bend is the wide Tutbury High Street, unfortunately cluttered with parked cars: they do so spoil the view. The partly-ruined Castle is not far to the right. Straight on at the next mini-island followed by a steady ascent between well tended gardens and you’re out in the country again. Just after a sharp left hand bend look out for yet another e.t.m. left, signed Anslow. Turn right at T in Anslow and take the next (e.t.m.) left.

Just for a change the next junction is straight on signed Tatenhill. You are now back in the wide, flat Trent flood plain. At the top of a short rise and to the left can be seen (and heard), the busy A38. Turn left at the T in Barton under Needwood.It’s another busy

high street but you soon leave it behind after an irritating pinch-point. Cross the A38 on a flyover and, shortly, the River Trent on a traffic-lighted Bailey bridge. After turning right at the T in Walton-on-Trent, the river is very close at hand on the right. Right at the next T takes you over another river bridge but this time it’s the Tame.

Next is Arboretum Island. Taking the first exit deceives you by appearing to be a wide-ish B road but after only 500 yards and a gravel works, the road narrows to less than the width of a car and a cyclist. This is Paris – Roubaix country. The pan-flat fields are unfenced and there’s a series of right-angle bends. Again, there are no cobbles or crowds but it’s definitely reminiscent of “the Hell of the North”. Towards the end there is even a stretch between trees like the dreaded Arenberg Forest, one of the worst sections of cobbles in the real thing and known as The Trench. Our more refined lane pops you out at a “difficult to miss” left at T, (effectively SO), and shortly into Whittington.

About half a K after the steep little bridge over the Coventry Canal, turn right into Back Lane, just as the road slopes down before the village centre. Continue on Back Lane over a Give Way sign then turn right at T heading for Lichfield. An angled junction brings you on to the busy A51, another A38 over-bridge and a SO at traffic lights. Turn left at the next off-set cross roads into Cricket Lane. You are now following the wheel tracks of chariots as they rumbled along the Roman “Ryknild Street”. Go straight on at the next A road, as the Romans would have done on their way to their (still preserved) encampment at Wall on Watling Street; the A5 to you and me. Turn left on the A5127 and shortly, next right, (avoiding a large, fast, double island where the A5, A38 and M6 Toll converge). Left at the next cross-roads in Wall village and you’re re-tracing the outward route back to Shenstone, and Arrivee at Richard Cooper Hall with some more well earned refreshments.

There is something for everyone in the Castleton Classic. Ever changing landscapes decorated by a profusion of daffodils and the satisfaction of reaching a distant destination - plus excellent refreshments.

The route has changed over the years. John Bedford, our Club Chairman, ran it for over ten years and moved it off long stretches of A road. Geoff Findon, in his 5 year tenure, devised the variation through Millers Dale. He also introduced “The Hell of the North” Paris-Roubaix finish.

If you are new to the event, don’t sprint up every climb, some are quite long and more hills keep on coming until the last Control at Wyaston. Despite having over 2,600 metres of ascent, none is just gratuitous AAA bagging. Each has its own character and rewarding views.

For keen followers of the European Spring Classics, see how many other similarities

you can identify. The next 3 Shenstone events will be held on Sunday 21st April

2013, I hope to see you there.


Dave Lew

is. Photo: John RidgeRandonnées

Aged 28 now, I was becoming more aware of the need to keep fit, but it was running that I first turned to, especially after three of us at work dared ourselves into entering the Civil Service, Post & Telecoms half-marathon in Windsor Great Park in aid of the RNLI. I made the respectable time of 1h35m (would have been good to have got under 1h30m). It may not come as much surprise that I tended mostly to long-distance running, regularly training by running 10 miles or so with my dog Hannibal on paths though Cardiff’s ‘green lung’ of parkland, woods and other open space extending along the River Taff from the Castle in the city centre to Tongwynlais to the north-west.

In the mid-eighties I ran another half marathon in Cardiff, then the Cardiff Marathon in 3h44m. I then entered the 1988 London Marathon, aiming to go under 3h30m. I was certainly prepared for it and on the day was on course until after about 15-16 miles I started to develop some sort of injury. St. John’s ambulance strapped up my leg for me and I cautiously walked a mile or so, then started to pick up to a bit of a jog. After about 23 miles my injury was worsening, but by now I was in central London near the finish, so staggered and limped down the Mall and past Buckingham Palace, finally hopping across Westminster Bridge and collapsing immediately after the finish for a time of 4h07m.

I didn’t ever run again for fitness, but started to cycle more. As well as utility riding and commuting, I would set off at weekend on trips of 40 miles or so around the Vale of Glamorgan. In 1989 a notice at work invited staff to join an End-to-End ride for charity, based on a fairly circuitous CTC route for a total of 1100 miles (including for myself an extra 50 miles or so extension to and from Cardiff to celebrate my then-girlfriend Diane’s birthday). This was very ably organised by Rob Wormald from Sheffield. Seven of us rode, with a support van, riding from 70 and up to 150 miles a day over 11 days. Along the way there was much talk of what was then to me the somewhat mysterious world of audax long-distance cycling.

In 1990 I was asked by Diane to join a group from BT (for whom she worked) on a London to Brussels ‘Bikeathon’ for the NSPCC. On this, one Timm Frenzell among others talked not only of Audax but also the 1200km ‘Paris-Brest-Paris’. I thought to myself that I could certainly ride that sort of distance having ridden the End-to-End, but had little idea of the time-limits involved and put it to the back of my mind. That year I also rode my first ‘Brevet Populaire’, the 100km Brecon Beacons Brevet, but had yet to join audax.

1991:Early this year there was more talk in our cycling group of the PBP due to take place that year. I investigated what was required to qualify for and ride this. In March I rode the 125 miles from Cardiff to Gloucester and back in just over eight hours including one ten minute stop for food (this was to become the basis of the Cardiff Byways ‘Dr Foster’s Winter Warmer’ 200km audax event). Having found I could ride 200km within the time limit, I joined AUK and realisid there was just one 200km event I could ride within the PBP qualifying period, the ‘14th Dorset Coast’ on 7 April, which I entered and completed, followed by ‘Tour of the Welsh Borders’ 300 on 20 April, Cheltenam 300 on 27 April, ‘Brevet Cymru’ 400 on 4 May, ‘Mid-Wales Desert’ 200 on 18 May, then ‘Bernie’s Long Flat One’ 600 on 15 June. In the space of just ten weeks I had gone straight from Audax virgin to ‘Super Randonneur’ (and ridden with several well-known AUK faces of the time). Can anyone beat this?

I’d qualified for and duly entered PBP. Did I have any idea what I was letting myself in for? If you’re interested in the full answer to that, the I refer you to my account of ‘Paris-Brest-Paris 1991’ in Issue 49 of Arrivée (Summer 1995). By far the most memorable point of the ride occurred a few kilometres after Tinteniac on the outward leg where on slight climb I was caught by and first met the female British cyclist who has been described by Jim Churton among others as one of the most elegant and stylish cyclists they have seen. This of course was Anne Learmonth, who was later to become not only a wonderful cycling companion, but most important, the love of my life, partner, and for the last 5½ years, my beautiful wife. It wasn’t long before I punctured and she rode on, but we later rode more together, at the finish exchanged addresses, and occasionally met at events over the next couple of years.

David Lewis - a statistical and romantic cycling and Audax history

I was born on 30 December 1955 have been riding bikes of various sorts and for various reasons since since about 1960 when I had my first toddler bike with stabilisers. Once I could ride on my own or with friends, probably aged about 8-9, we’d take off on great voyages of discovery around the extensive Poulter’s Park onto which backed our house in Morden, Surrey, then along the River Wandle even as far as Carshalton, perhaps as much 2-3 miles away. I then went to Sutton Grammar School for Boys aged 11, and after a couple of years my dad invested in buying me my first full-sized bike so I could ride the two or three miles to/from school (clearly this would soon pay for itself through the saving on bus fares).I went to university in Cardiff and acquired a Peugeot bike to get around and once graduated stayed to live and work in Cardiff. In my early twenties I continued to ride a bike for utility purposes and to ride to and from work, but at that age had little idea of developing and maintaining any fitness – we all thought we were immortal at that age. In 1983 I started work for the Employment Service and would sometimes ride the 7-8 miles to and from my first office in Barry, then in 1984 started regularly riding 11 miles to and from my next office in Pontypridd.

Dave wrote this article for us 7 weeks before his death on January 16th 2013


Randonnées

1992:By the end of 1991 season I had ridden another 400 and 200, so was now a double SR and Ancien du PBP, with a grand total of 36 AUK points. After that first big year in I had a relatively quiet 1992 amassing another 25 points and completing another SR. At this time Robert Fry and Liz Creese were the dominant force as 1990 & 1991 ‘AUK Champions’ (now politically correctly know as ‘Individual Award’ – see below).

1993:Liz was probably expecting to repeat her success of 1992, having also been the ‘runner-up opposite sex’ in 1990 & 1991, but some upstart appeared from nowhere to upset the apple cart. I can’t remember whether I decided myself to have a go, or was encouraged by audax ‘friends’, or both, but I amassed a total of 159 points, riding 37 200s, six 300s, six 400s, five 600s and the 1300 London-Edinburgh-London, to give me six more SRs and add AUK Champion to my ‘palmares’. Liz was again ‘runner-up opposite sex’ with 122 points. Although I was now AUK Champion, LEL was the real highlight of the year, because I rode it all with Anne and after this we became life partners as well as cycling companions. On top of all this Anne was the year’s AAA runner-up opposite sex.

1994:I rode 29 200s, seven 300s, two 400s (including an Easter Arrow, in which Anne, Rod Hollands and myself were the winning team), one 600, the Great Eastern 1000 and 2900 Trafalgar to Trafalgar, to give me another two SRs and a total of 132 points, riding all the biggest rides with Anne, who had taken to riding fixed wheel and became runner-up opposite sex in the very first ‘Fixed Wheel Challenge’, as well as the AAA runner-up opposite sex for a second year. Anne also shared the Ladies Merit award with Suzie Gray. This left me as AUK Champion runner-up opposite sex as Liz reclaimed the Championship with 157 points. The cycling highlight was the ride from Trafalgar Square – 200km a day is a great way to ride. After completing at Cabo de Trafalgar, we spent another week touring wonderful Andalucia to visit Cadiz, Seville, Ronda, and fly home from Malaga. I thoroughly recommend such a wind-down after such a big ride – life is so much more than just Audax!

1995:I rode 26 200s, six 300s, four 400s, two 600s, the Great Eastern 1000 and PBP ‘deuxieme fois’ to give me 120 points and another 4 SRs. This again made me Audax Champion runner-up opposite sex as Liz reclaimed the Chamionship with a record breaking 222 points! Anne & I rode PBP together, to make this the PBP I most enjoyed – Anne rode on fixed wheel to become the first female British rider to do so (and elicit many admiring comments from French and Spanish riders). Anne also rode her qualifying series on fixed (including Brevet Cymru 400 and Bryan

Chapman 600), was again FWC opposite sex, also AAA runner-up opposite sex for the third year running.

1996:I only just made the 50 point mark (now known as Randonneur 5,000) this year, riding 12 200s and two 300s, two 400s and two 600s to give me another two SRs. Together with Ian Hennessey, Matt Rawnsley and Andy Williams I was a member of the winning Easter Arrow team to give me a fourth consecutive year in the ‘AUK Hall of Fame’, whilst Anne again claimed her third opposite sex FWC.

1997:I topped 100 points again (now known as Randonneur 10,000), riding 31 200s, seven 300s, two 400s, one 600 and the LEL 1400 to give me another two SRs and 111 points. I rode LEL with Anne again, who rode on fixed wheel, the only female rider ever to do this (although in 2001 Fenella Brown rode the hillier northern 800 section of LEL on fixed), and gained her fourth opposite sex FWC this year.

A lot of my rides this year were very hilly – I fancied a go at the Audax Altitude Award. I amassed 97½ AAA points, more than any previous AAA champion, but this was not enough to surpass Sandra Shaw who became AAA champion with a magnificent 98¾ points. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed trying. Riding LEL meant that I missed out on a couple of big AAA rides on at the same time, so I then spent three weeks in late August & early September on a meticulously planned logistical campaign to get the maximum available number of AAA points from in Scottish permanents and ‘PRoFS’ in the Italian Dolomites, Swiss and French Alps.

Although Audax is officially non-competitive, riders would often try to ‘keep their cards close to their chests’ when going for what were then known as the Championships. Sandra was living in Cardiff at the time, we would often share lifts to events and she and I were then (and are again now) good friends, but whilst she had made it no secret that she was going for the AAA, I had tried to keep an element of surprise on my side. There is nothing in the rules to say that riders must declare their intent in ‘going for it’, but I do recognise that as a friend I should perhaps have been as open as she was. After the week in Scotland, where Sandra rode the same permanents but not together, once I got to the Alps I did let her know what I was doing. Sandra was clearly not best pleased, but spiritedly rose to the challenge by then going to ride most of the same PRoFS herself to restore the balance in her favour. Even using my last three days leave at the very end of October to glean another few points in the Alpes Maritime was not enough – Ian Hennessey who accompanied me referred to this last attempt as ‘tilting at windmills’!

It is perhaps no coincidence that not long after this that AUK members voted to abolish use of the term ‘Championships’ and instead

call then ‘Individual Awards’, but this still couldn’t totally stop riders from trying to conceal their plans.

1998:I again topped 100 points – 33 200s, three 300s, five 400s, three 600s and the Crackpot 1000 gave me another four SRs and 123 points. Again a lot of these rides were very hilly and despite amassing ‘only’ 52 ¾ AAA points, this made me AAA champion, with Anne the runner-up opposite sex for a fourth and final time, also FWC runner-up opposite sex for the fifth and final time. Anne achieved both of these in what was only part of a season for her, as in August she went off to Sri Lanka for two years to undertake VSO as a Speech and Language Therapist for children there, working with teachers in local schools and clinics. I clearly threw myself into audax at this point, riding four 200s, a 300, 400 and 600 in August to complete an SR series in two weeks, then another six 200s in September and four 200s in October.

1999:I spent six weeks over Xmas/New Year 98/99 with Anne in Sri Lanka, started back to Audax riding a couple of populaires in January and February, then from March to October rode 22 200s, four 300s, four 400s, two 600s and PBP ‘troisieme fois’ to give me another three SRs and 96 points. I also rode two ‘Fleches de France’ (Cherbourg to Paris 400 and Paris to Le Havre 200) with Jim Churton and Matt Rawnsley – nowadays these count for AUK randonneur points, but didn’t then, so it’s a moot point as to whether I was Randonneur 10,000 again – I personally feel I was, but am only listed as Randonneur 5,000 in that year’s handbook. I was also a member of the winning Easter Arrow team with Rose Almond, Jim Churton, Bob Johnson and Ritchie Tout, so a seventh consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

2000:Over Xmas/New Year 99/00 I again went to Sri Lanka for five weeks to celebrate what was, depending on how you regard this, either the start of the new millennium of the start of the final year of the 20th Century – call me a pedant, but to me a century starts at one and ends at a hundred, whilst a millenium starts at one and ends at a thousand, so the new millennium started in 2001, but most people weren’t prepared to wait a year. Whatever, I had bought two Expedition Touring bikes from Thorn Cycles, took them to Sri Lanka with me and Anne & I undertook a three week bike tour of as much as the island as was accessible at that time.

My own 2000 audax randonneur season effectively ran from February to August during which I rode 14 200s, three 300s, two 400s, two 500s and one 600 to give me another SR and 65 points for Randonneur 5,000. (Several 500km events were run that year so many of us were able to qualify as ‘SR 2000’ as a one-off for that year.) This brought my tally over a decade of Audax riding to 913 points and 27 SRs.


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Randonnées

I was also a member of the winning Cardiff Byways Summer Arrow team to give me an eighth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

Anne had been planning to extend her two years VSO in Sri Lanka until the end of the year, after which we were planning to undertake a cycling tour in southern India with our Expedition bikes, but in August Anne was effectively evacuated from Sri Lanka as a medical emergency. This was the result of a form of breakdown and the start of a mental illness which left her in a state of considerable anxiety and among other things virtually prevented her from riding her bike at all for some time after this. After some years this was diagnosed a bi-polar disorder for which Anne now receives proper effective treatment and takes medication to control. In recent years Anne has returned to riding some Audax again and even successfully completed PBP for the third time with myself and five other Cardiff Byways members in 2007.

2001:I rode 15 200s, four 300s, two 400s, one 500 (Summer Arrow) one 600 and the 1300 LEL (my third) to give me another two SRs and 74 points for Randonneur 5,000. Again I was a member of the winning Cardiff Byways Summer Arrow team to give me a ninth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame. Anne was not able to ride LEL, but after finishing I caught a train to Cambridge where I met her and we spent the weekend at the Cambridge Folk Festival before catching another train to King’s Lynn and setting off on a week’s tour around the Norfolk coast.

2002:For the first time, I rode events or permanents of 200 or above in every month from November 2001 to October 2002 – 21 200s, two 300s, two 400s, two 500s (Easter & Summer Arrows) and one 600 to give me another two SRs and 72 points for Randonneur 5,000. This brought my tally over 12 years to 1059 points and 30 SRs. Liz Creese had been the first rider to pass the 1000 point barrier a couple of years before (unofficially recognised as Brevet 10,000). Now Steve Abraham and I had both made this mark. A while after this Steve and I had a discussion as to who had the most AUK points ever – Steve reckons that he soon passed Liz’s overall total as she was riding so

much less now, but that I also did shortly after and then went on to overtake him. This may make me the most prolific audax rider ever. By 2007 I’d topped 1,500 points and reckon I now have a total of 1805 points in 22 years. I’d be pleased to hear if anyone can challenge or exceed this.

February saw the completion of my first Randonneur Round the Year (I haven’t officially claimed these until now). I was a member of the winning Easter Arrow (with Ritchie Tout and Rob Milsom) and Summer Arrow (with Ritchie Tout and Neil Williams) teams – so my tenth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

At this point most of my winter randonneur rides were permanents. A small group of us (Jim Roberson, John Hayes, Tony Pember, Andrew Dade, Peter Lee, Andrew Johnson, the improbably doubly- double- barrelled J-P Lamb-Horth and myself ) were mostly members of both CTC and Cardiff Byways. Between us we completed many ‘Cambrian Connections’ rides as well as other events and permanents in 2002.

In 2000 the rules had been changed for the CTC DA (now ‘CTC Riders’) so that it was the six highest-scoring members who now counted, ending the stranglehold of Bristol DA who’d won this every year 1986 to 1999 by virtue of being the biggest DA. So in 2002 Cardiff & South Wales became the third different DA to win this.

In August Anne & I also found time to ride the ‘Raid Pyreneen’, permanent ride which crosses most of the big, famous passes on the French side of the Pyrenees. We wouldn’t normally choose to do this in the hottest month and peak holiday time, but were planning to ride with Jim Churton & Rose Almond (as she then was). I say planning because as it turned out Rose went down with food poisoning the night before we were due to set off, so we went on anyway to secure our pre-booked hotel rooms and put the reservations for Jim & Rose back a day. So Anne & I were able ride this spectacular ride together and at the end meet Jim & Rose a day later.

2003:I again rode events or permanents of 200 in every month – 31 200s, four 300s, one 400, two 600s and PBP ‘quatrieme fois’ to give me another two SRs and 102 points for Randonneur 10,000. John Hayes won the Individual Award with 212 points and five other members of Cardiff & South Wales DA and Cardiff Byways, including myself, stacked up the points and we won both the CTC Riders and Club Riders Awards, giving me an eleventh consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

2004:I rode 29 200s, three 300s, two 400s and two 600s to give me another two SRs and 87 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was again a member of the Cardiff & South Wales team which won the CTC Riders Award for a third and final time, to give me my twelfth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

2005:I rode 38 200s, four 300s, four 400s, two 500s, one 600, a fourth and final LEL 1400 and the 2,600 ‘Calais-Brindisi’ giving me another three SRs and 160 points for Randonneur 10,000. This also gave me my second ‘Individual Award’ as they are now known. I didn’t think anyone was anywhere near me, but as previously mentioned, the change in terminology couldn’t totally stop riders from trying to conceal their plans and in October a huge number of points were posted on the website for Peter Turnbull for permanents he’d ridden in the previous few months – it looked like he might just overhaul me. The boot was on the other foot this time. In a frantic last three days of October I rode 1,100km of permanents (recorded as two 400s and a 300) to just pip Peter (who went on to gain the Individual Award himself the following two years). Somehow I managed to take a couple of hours off in the course of this to attend a pre-booked music gig with Anne at Pontardawe Arts Centre, then get a few hours’ sleep at her house in Morrison before resuming the ride.

I was also a member of the winning Easter Arrow (with George Hanna, Judith Swallow Ritchie Tout and J-P Lamb-Horth) and Summer Arrow (with George Hanna, Judith Swallow Ritchie Tout) teams – the AUK Hall of Fame shows that I was only in the Easter team and that J-P was in the Summer team, but in fact J-P was in the Easter team and I was in both – could the record please be set straight on this?

Whilst gaining my highest Audax total ever in 2005 I still managed to take a Sunday off in September to ride the Welsh 12-hour time trial. During the ‘Noughties’ I was time trialling a fair bit as well as audaxing, including several 12-hour and Mersey Roads 24-hour events. These are I believe are natural sister events to Audax and a motion proposed by Jim Roberson and myself to make 24-hour time trials count for AUK points for the distance covered does seem to have encouraged increased participation in those events from Audax riders which has helped support these events in recent years.

Anne was back to riding in a big way now and rode most of the rides I did to gain 116 points and the Individual Award – opposite sex for the second time. Late in the season she did a couple of rides without me to maximise her points total and seal this; the Sunday after riding the Chiltern-Cotswold event Anne rode a DIY permanent from Ealing to Cheltenham, intending to catch a train from there back to Swansea to be ready for work the next morning. It turned out to be a bus replacement service and she was only able to get as far as Cardiff where she


Randonnéesstayed at my place and had to go straight on to her work meeting next morning wearing a pair of my knickers!

Easily the highlight of the year though was riding the Calais-Brindisi together in 12 days, a fantastic ride, after which we spent another 11 days touring around the Salentino Peninsula (the heel of Italy) and then across to Rome for a final romantic couple of days before flying home.

2006:I rode 21 200s, two 300s, two 400s, two 500s and two 600s to give me another two SRs and 78 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was a member of an Easter Arrow which rode 560km, but we were just pipped by the VC167 boys who notched up 564km! George Hanna, Judith Swallow, Ritchie Tout and myself did however win the Summer Arrow award – a fourteenth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

One of my 600s this year was the Mersey Roads 24, in which I rode 411 miles to make third counter after Paul Robinson (462 miles) and Mike Pain (440 miles) in the Cardiff Byways team that won the team prize to became RTTC national 24 hour team champions and so give us each a National Champion’s medal.

Cardiff Byways were also given the AUK Organising Club award. I had started organising events for the club in 1993, first the 100km ‘Trefil Travail’ grimpeur, then the even more demanding and infamous ‘British’ 200, also a mega hilly event. Fearing I was getting a reputation for hard rides, I then devised the Transporter 200, which traced on the map appears to cover similar ground to the British, but actually has only two big climbs; the first takes riders over from the first pancake-flat (yes in Wales!) 50km through the coastal Wentloog and Caldicot Levels over to the Usk Valley, then the second watershed climb, the ‘Devils Elbow’ (which features on the British) connects the upper Usk to the head of the Cynon Valley – riders follow this to its confluence with the Taff Vale and on down to the finish. Soon I had devised several more events from Cardiff: Dr Foster’s Summer Saunter and Winter Warmer, the Malmesbury Mash, Ferryside Fish Foray, Gower Getter and Monmouthshire Meander 200s, the Peacocks & Kites 300, Teifi Traveller 400 and Marches & Mersey Roads 600. Several of the 200s were based on routes which John Hayes and Jim Roberson had planned on the Cambrian Connections permanent grid when they were both points chasing and were looking for ‘lines of least resistance’.

One Sunday in the summer of 2006 I rode a morning time trial and Anne was marshalling on the Swansea Wheelers’ Road Race. We met later at the ‘Ancient Briton’ one of the finest ale houses in Wales (only 14 hand-pumps). Real Ale and cycling are two of my great loves (often the two seem to go together), but on this occasion I turned my attention to my greatest love of all – after being together but living apart for 13 years, in the garden of that fine establishment, I

proposed to Anne that we should marry and live together. I’m sure you know that Anne accepted, and so 2007 was to be not only one of our biggest years in Audax, but certainly the biggest year of our lives together ….

2007:I rode 17 200s, two 300s, three 400s, two 500s, three 600s and PBP ‘cinqieme fois’ to give me another three SRs and 86 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was also a member of the winning Easter (with Jim Churton and Judith Swallow) and Summer Arrow (with Andrew Dade, Andy McKay and Tony Pember) teams, giving me a fifteenth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

But now for the really big stuff. Anne and I set our wedding day for 30 July at Llandudno Town Hall (her parents had lived near there in Penmachno and now in Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley). Earlier that year at the end of a walk above the Swansea Valley we noticed a house for sale with a commanding view of the valley. What’s more we ended our walk a few hundred yards down the road at another fine ale house, the Butchers Arms in Alltwen. The house was perhaps slightly above our price range, but we had fallen in love with it, eventually had an offer accepted and in May were able to sell both our houses in Morriston and Cardiff and move in. The house had been named ‘Rorke’s Drift’ after a Zulu War engagement involving as South Wales regiment. We didn’t want that for ourselves and renamed the house ‘Roc Trévezel’ after the highest point in Brittany and of course not so far from the point where we had first met on PBP 1991.

Our wedding day 30 July turned out to be one of the few really fine days of a very average summer. The following day we set off on our honeymoon which was to consist of several components. We started with a cycling camping tour (of course), the first day to Newborough Warren which is close to Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn), the home of Saint Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers. The next day we continued to Holyhead, caught a ferry to Dublin and train to Galway from where we spent two weeks touring the NW coast of Ireland from Connemara, and then onwards and into Northern Ireland, finishing wih a couple of days in Belfast, then train to Dublin, ferry back to Holyhead and train home. After three days we set off for France, where we spent the next part of our honeymoon with five other blokes – Andrew Dade, Jim Roberson, Tony Pember, Mike Pain and Peter Lee, all of Cardiff Byways – to ride PBP together (except the last 150km from Mortagne where the others went on and Anne & I were able to complete the event ‘alone together’). You can’t say I don’t know how to show a girl a good time! Anne & I then set off to spend a few days recuperating at Nik Peregrine and Jennifer Goslin’s gite in Brittany.

2008:I rode 15 200s, three 300s, a 500 (Summer Arrow) and a 600 to give me another SR and

50 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was a member of the winning Summer Arrow team with Andy McKay, Tony Pember, Judith Swallow and David Young – giving me my sixteenth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

2009:I rode 16 200s, one 300, one 400, two 500s (Summer Arrow & Mersey Roads 24 hour) and a 600 to give me another SR and 55 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was also (you guessed it) a member of the winning Summer Arrow team with Tony Pember and Judith Swallow – so now had my seventeenth consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

2010:I rode 18 200s, two 300s, two 400s, and a 600 to give me another SR and 56 points for Randonneur 5,000. I was yet again a member of the winning Summer Arrow team (with Judith Swallow and Dave Minter) for my eighteenth (and last) consecutive year in the AUK Hall of Fame.

In late September Anne & I took the ferry from Plymouth to Santander and set off on an 18 day cycling tour through Cantabria and Asturias, across the Picos de Europa to Leon, then Pontevedra on the Galician border from where we caught a train to Ourense and continued cycle touring down the Rio Minho and followed the coast of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria back to Santander to complete a wonderful tour together.

Then in October I joined Peter Marshall, George Hanna, John Barkman and Martin Lucas on Peter’s series of six 200km permanents from Cherbourg to Perpignan – this is a superb route which I’d highly recommend anyone to ride, the only downside being that Anne wasn’t able to ride with us!

2011:

I rode 12 200s, two 300s, three 400s, a 600 and PBP ‘sixieme fois’ to give me my last two SRs and 60 points for Randonneur 5,000. For the first time in nearly 20 years I didn’t make the AUK Hall of Fame.

2012:I have ridden just nine 200s this year and certainly won’t be riding any more Audax in the foreseeable future, if ever.

My audax years may be going out with a whimper not a bang, but in 22 years I have amassed 1805 points, 47 SR series, 11 years of Randonneur Round the Year, six PBPs, four LELs and 18 consecutive years in the AUK Hall of Fame. Can anyone beat this? If not now, then I’m sure someone will one day. Go for it!

Much more important than any of these statistics, I have thoroughly

enjoyed my years of cycling, making many good friends along the way, and then of course intertwined with all this

is an absolutely unquantifiable amount of romance ….


Randonnées

Randonnée Round the Year Roll of HonourJohn ABREYStephen AGNEW x 3Geoff AIRD* Paul ALDERSON* Martyn ALDISJeff ALLENReid ANDERSONRhisiart AP GWILYMChris BAILEY* Rob BAIRD x 2Dave BAXENDALL x 3Mark BEAUCHAMP x 3Geoff BELL x 3Ross BENTLEY-DAVIESMartin BERRYRichard BERRY x 2Mark BERTONIMel BETTSMark BIGAMDavid BISSETDon BLACKMike BLOOMPeter BOND x 3* David BRADSHAWTony BRAMAHMartin BREWSTER x 2Tony BRIGGS x 2Richard BRITTONGarry BROADMark BROOKING x 2Anton BROWN x 4Julian BROWN x 2Steven BRYCERob BULLYMENTStephen BULMER x 2Christopher BURTONRobbie CALDERJohn CAPELLKevin CASSINGHAMGary CATLOWMatt CHAMBERSAlfred CHAMINGSKevin CHAPMAN x 2Patrick CHERRYJohn CLARKERoy CLARKEAndy CLARKSONLinday CLAYTONJohn CLEMENSSharon CLIFFORD x 2David COLLEY x 3Michael COLLINS* Michael CONWAY* Rachel COOKE* Elliot COOPERAndrew CORNWELLAndy COX x 2Mark COX x 2Colin CRAWFORDSonia CRAWFORDChris CROSSLAND x 2Philip DANIELSStephen DARTTom DEAKINSRudolph DEL-PRADOGordon DEWAR x 3Emma DIXONJonathan DIXONNeil DIXONMary DOYLE x 3Jonathan DUCKWORTHPaul DYTHAMDominic ELLISJohn ELLIS x 4Richard ELLISGeoff ERICSONDaniel ERSSER

Peter FAULKS x 4David FAWCETTDavid FENN x 3Ian FINCHRobert FINNNicholas FIRTHEric FLETCHERRichard FORRESTSimon FORTUNEMark FOSSARD x 2Jason FRASERNorbert GAJDA x 2David GALLEJon GAMMAGEPeter GAWTHORNE x 3Steve GINTY x 4Steve GLOSTERJulian GOUGH x 3Tony GREENWOOD x 2Shaun GREGORY JNRShaun GREGORY SNR x 2* Jim GRESTY x 2* Simon GROVEMatthew HAIGHNigel HALL x 2John HAMILTONBernie HAMMONDClive HANDYGraham HANLEYAdrian HANSON-ABBOTTRichard HARDING x 4Lee HARGRAVESGeorgina HARPER x 3* Ben HARRISJohn HAYES x 2Malcolm HEATHCOTEAidan HEDLEYGerald HENDERSON x 2Mike HENDERSON x 3Ian HENNESSEY x 2Andy HEYTING* Rob HIDDERLEY* Mark HIGGINS* Martin HILBERSInnes HOGG x 3Peter HOLDENNeville HOLGATE x 2Kevin HOPEChris HOPKINSONIan HORNEBrian HOWEDave HUDSON* Ade HUGHESMike HUNTINGRichard HURLEYDon HUTCHISONTrevor HYDEPeter IBBOTSON x 3Michael IRONSIan JACKSONTom JACKSON x 2Marcus JACKSON-BAKER x 2Ralph JAMES x 2* Mark JARVISMiles JEFFERSONBob JOHNSONChris JOHNSON* Pete JOHNSONDavid JOHNSTON x 3Linda JOHNSTON* Ray JOINER* Justin JONES* Joe JORDBarry JORDANDavid KAHN x 3Ray KERRIDGENic KETLEY x 2

* Garry KINGMel KIRKLAND x 2Richard KITSON x 2Tom KNOWLES x 2Graham LACEY x 3Neil LANCASTLEDave LARRINGTON x 3Ron LAWRENCE x 2Dave LAWRENSONAnne LEARMONTH* Maggie LEWIS* Pete LEWISKa-Wai LIDave LIDDYTerry LISTER x 3Ian LLEWELYN* Heather MACKAYAlan MACLEAN* Graeme MAIRBrian MANN x 4* Ann MARSHALLArchie MARSHALL x 4Chris MARTENJohn MARTINPeter MARTINDave MATTHEWSArabella MAUDEJim MCCORMICKGraeme MCCULLOCHBob MCDOWALLDick MCTAGGARTLucy MCTAGGART x 2Jim MCCORMICKWendy MEARSJo MILESStuart MILLERChris MISON* Stuart MOOREKevin MORELANDDuncan MURRAYJoe NAYLORJack NEALMartin NEWSTEAD x 3Tiho OBRENOVITCH x 3Ian OLIVERJohn OWENRoger PADDEY x 2Paul PALMERGordon PANICCADavid PARKESDuncan PARKESAlan PARKINSONAlex PATTISON x 2John PERRINMargaret PHILLPOTTS x 3* Stephen POTTS* Andy PRESTONPaul PRICERichard PRIDDYBrian RAINBOW x 2Paul RAINBOW x 2David RANDERSONAlan RAYNER x 3* Andrew REGISTER* Paul REVELLDavid RINGERMike ROBERTS x 2Paul ROBERTSAndrew RODGERSStephen ROGERS x 4David ROWELL* Mark RUSBY* Jeremy RUSSChris RUTTER* Jonathan SAVILLEPeter SCOULAR x 2Terry SEANOR

Jasmine SHARPRob SHAWShawn SHAW x 2Bill SHELDONSheila SIMPSONAndrew SINCLAIR x 2James SINGLEHURSTDave SMITH x 3Gerald SMITH x 2Jane SMITH x 2Peter SMITHRon SMITH* Tim SOLLESSEMarjorie SOUTHPeter SOUTHMike SPENCER x 2Simon SPOONERDavid STACEYJonathan STAINTON-ELLIS x 2* Robin STEVENSJohn STONE x 3Peter STOTTJudith SWALLOW x 4Justin SYKESMike TATTERSALLBruce TAYLORTim TAYLORRichard THOMASMike THOMPSON x 3Martin TILLIN x 2Mike TILLOTSONRobin TOMES* John TOMLINSONChristophe TRACEYBrian TROKE x 2Chris TURNERMary TURNERPhil TURNERStephen UNDERWOODJutta URENJAK x 3Andy UTTLEY x 2Els VERMEULENBen WADDINGTONIvan WADDINGTON x 2Patrick WADSWORTHGraham WANLESS x 2John WARDRichard WARNER x 4Mark WATSONRobert WATSONRobin WEAVERDanial WEBB x 2Tony WEBSTERWilliam WEIR x 3Leo WELLSPeter WESTONRichard WHITEPaul WHITEHEADMark WHITEHOUSEWerner WIETHEGE* Chris WILBYKen WILSON x 2Alan WITHERS x 2* Honor WOODMichael WOODPeter WOOD* Stephen WOODRob WORMALDGraham WYLLIEAdam YOUNG x 2Armorel YOUNG x 2Matt ZORN

347 riders at 31/12/2012

* indicates new this year: 39


Randonnées

An alternative viewJuly 24th 1982. Anne and I in our early 30’s had been riding time-trials for a few years, touring on holiday, and generally living for and on our bikes, but never ridden a randonnee. Watching the finish of the National 24hour Championship on local roads at Blyth seemed to inspire Anne to tackle the ultimate tester’s challenge, and preparations began.Memory is hazy at this distance, I think she first rode a “12” in 1981 but it could easily have been ’82. Long fast rides, usually alone, and time-trials were the training staple, with limited roadside assistance from myself, usually by bike. We only obtained our first motor vehicle around 1980, and were still unwilling to use it frivolously for things our legs could do just as well. We were hard core!Our experience of night riding was limited to our daily commute, winter rides to club night, and occasional visits a bit further afield, say 25 miles away. We must have seen the National 400 advertised in the CTC magazine and Anne realised it would provide the experience she was missing. Neither of us was bothered by the distance, Anne had done 225 miles in a “12” and I’d done 180 supporting her by bike, zigzagging about the course with food and bottles in a saddlebag, returning to the VW Van to rest and refuel myself. As I said, we were hard-core.We drove out to Charterhouse school from my parents’ home in west London. The place was alive with cyclists! Bikes were checked, full mudguards were obligatory and lighting was the standard kit of the day; Ever-Ready front and rear. Spare batteries, food (Mars bars!); probably a race cape and a few tools and bits were in my bar-bag, with the route sheet on top. A spare folding tyre, repair kit, and inner tube in a tub-wrap under the saddle, with a couple of water bottles each completed the essentials. At 2pm we rolled out in biggish groups in a sort-of south-westerly direction, no need to look at the route sheet, we just followed the crowd. As our normal touring speed was usually about 18mph we found ourselves at the sharp end of things quite soon, and what with the difficulty of following the

route sheet as it got darker we got a bit lost around Corfe Castle, probably other places too, but miraculously made all the controls.I can now only remember sitting in a café at or near Swanage at 11pm, eating, the endless stream of front lights approaching as we retraced the outward route towards Upton, the rear lights we caught and rode with for a while. The sun coming up and we kept on riding towards it. Around 6am sitting at the roadside eating (probably a Mars bar, we didn’t know any better) with maybe a dozen other weary souls; someone retrieving a Cornish pasty from a rear pocket, “I forgot I had that!” between mouthfuls. Shortly after I’d had enough and went to sleep under the shrubs on a roundabout near Havant, sending Anne ahead to finish the ride, with instructions to drive back and rescue me after she finished.Needless to say I awoke refreshed (sort of ) and could have ridden on to complete, but I’d made a plan and needed to stick with it. Anne rode on to finish and drove back to collect me from the steps outside Havant rail station. I was that far beyond rational thought that it never occurred to me to take a train back to Godalming and save her the journey. I had no map and no idea how far away it was, so I slept and rested. Needless to say Anne was well tired when she arrived early afternoon, and slept all the way back to London.I went back to time-trials, then to marathon running, and supporting Anne’s long-distance racing. After we migrated to Scotland in 1992 cycling dropped off the agenda a bit, but eventually there was a renaissance. I now ride a handful of Scottish 200’s and 300’s each year, and one down south with my brother in Worcestershire. Anne went on to do nearly 399 miles in her first “24” in 1982, and over 412 the following year, then switched to marathons and now rides a handful of populaires and an occasional 200km annually. All thanks to the inaugural National 400, which continues to gnaw at me as unfinished business. Maybe next year?

Alan Rogers

The First National 400 Easter ArrowsSummer Arrows

Last year (2012) there was significant confusion, for the first time on my watch, regarding what was right and what was wrong, and the teams’ understanding of the rules, timings and details on the cards.I have written this article so that we do not have the same problems in the future and there are fewer delays - though there will, no doubt, be some delay in getting the cards / certificates back!I now have the current ACP Rules Summary (published in the 2013 AUK Handbook - Ed) so there are a few changes.Having said that, what a great turnout, the event took an enormous leap numbers wise.Originally 18 team names were on the table, in the event 16 teams, 66 riders had their cards sent for validation. All this and some not so great weather, so well done all. I believe 16 teams may be a record.The climax, a word not used lightly, was the finish at Wetherspoons, an after-ride social to beat all, albeit short lived for some - trains to catch and things. It was great to see the smiles of happiness on teams’ faces as they realised they were successful. To hear the laughter, as riders told the tales and took the mick was amazing, as they downed every thing from a full English, cereals, porridge, pancakes and then washing it down with tea, coffee and of course beer.In the main an Arrow is like any other Audax, the same criteria applies, there needs to be a considered route, normal AUK entry forms and insurance covers apply, the cards made out in the normal way by the team captains, and definite proof of passage obtained.As soon as the Captain has a team and their agreed route in mind for the Arrow he/she needs to contact me and I can email the information sheet and the blank route sheet that gives me the team details.On receipt the Captain can fill in all the information on the route sheet and return the route sheet to me along with all the AUK entry forms for the team at the same time.Use the correct sized, stamped, sae for the return of cards, medals and badges.When the Certificates arrive I will ask Captains to send me an sae for their forwarding. On the route sheet please give a definite location, for example Bristol Temple Meads Station not just Temple Meads as I would not necessarily know it is in Bristol.The proof of passage should also reflect that, you must get stamps, receipts, ATM slips, car park tickets or other printed items that give time date and place at all those locations.When the cards are written up, prior to the ride, fill in all the rider details plus emergency contacts and medal / badge requirements and then put in the distances and estimated control times - as the ride progresses fill in the actual ones.Bear in mind that if a route is initially planned for 365 k for example but if on the day all is well and you go for 401k this could be factored in on the initial form or decided on the day, but do bear in mind the 22 and 24 hr control requirements, you do need to get your stamp/receipt etc at those 2 locations.Three of the five team members have to finish together, this is a team event.Bear in mind distances can now be plus or minus 20% of announced mileage and rest stops no longer than 2 hours per stop, so please double check the rule sheet and form prior to entering.

Any questions ring me. John Radford


Populaires

20th Dartmoor Devil 100 km

Elizabeth dyson, Clive Long, and Mark Lilley on Hind Street

photos by Graham Brodie

Sunday 20th October 2012Out from the start ,within a few hundred yards you’re climbing the first hill, surprisingly everyone of the 9.00 starters made it to the top this year to then ride down the bypass and work their way past the villages of Liverton and Bickington.

Now the climbing really begins with a 750 foot ascent all the way up to the Info control at Cold East Cross. Getting into the lowest gear and slowly pushing my way to the top I’m joined by another rider. This one has been observed at times riding a bike built about the turn of the 20th century and wearing a French berry and supporting a couple of strings of onions. The bike he was using today was somewhat newer than that and he wasn’t selling any onions, the rider was Drew Buck.

A quick bite of a piece of cake and a drink and we were both off, dropping down for the first visit to Widecombe in the Moor and joining others for the climb out of the village to skirt Manaton and, after a series of ups and downs, arriving at the foot of the infamous Pepperdon Hill. About half a mile long, this climbs nearly 600 feet with three gradient arrows shown on the map. It’s narrow, covered in Dartmoor mud, leaves and of course, the odd tree branch just to add to the difficulty of getting up there, I’ve never seen anyone make it to the top on their bike.

Over the common, around one of the Dartmoor tors and a couple more hills and I’m in the first control at Bridford, being manned this year by long time audax

member, Pete Luxton who comments that it’s about time I gave up this lark, I must admit that with all the climbing in this first section, and the way I was feeling, I was beginning to agree with him.

Things were a bit easier for a while after that, down a series of narrow lanes finds you in the Teign valley, with a flat couple of miles before starting another series of climbs up from Dunsford to get to Whiddon Down. It was climb after climb along here, you drop down to the river, climb up then it’s down beside the river again and so it went on all the way to the control. I commented to the marshal that this section seemed to be none stop climbs, he said, “Strange, that’s what everyone else is saying”.

Didn’t stay too long, the weather was taking a turn for the worst with spots of rain on the helmet, typical Dartmoor Devil weather.

I thought that by not wasting too much time at the control I could catch up a few minutes as I was running close to the closing times. Well, that all fell apart. As I crossed over the river Teign to start a long climb up Meldon Hill, I come across a herd of cows. Nothing else for it but to get off and walk behind them the whole way to the top. I must have lost a fair bit of time, being now joined by several other riders who had taken the extra time at the control.

Back on the bike to tackle the Jurston set of hills to get up onto the main Princetown road. Drew led me up the first hill and I took the front for the second but as we arrived at the cattle grid a car coming down got in the way so we both had to walk the rest of the hill.

This event is no walk in the National Park. About 70 miles of hard riding with a least a dozen steep climbs totalling 2500 metres, riding lanes covered in mud, leaves and the odd tree branches. With these thoughts in mind I found myself at the Cromwell Arms in Bovey Tracey to start my 11th Dartmoor Devil.

Geoff Sharpe

Mike Steer on his 20th ride

Paul Whitehead


Populaires

As we got up onto the high moor the winds were picking up and blowing quite strongly, so it’s 11 miles of main road to Princetown with the wind in your face and there’s no hedges along this road to shelter you. Arrived at the control with less than 10 minutes to spare.

It had been hard going but now that I turn for Widecombe, with that wind on my back, things improve. Must have been doing 25mph as I pass Prince Hall hotel and nearly 40 as I drop down to cross the Cherrybrooke, using the whole road there, fortunately nothing coming the other way to slow me down and in quick time I’m at the foot of Dartmeet hill. You come over a narrow bridge, keeping an eye out to the car park to check there’s nothing coming out, and you hit the start of the hill. It’s 1 in 5 at the bottom and it’s like hitting a wall, you’re franticly trying to get down the gears with your speed dropping off so fast that you’re about to lose balance and this is just the start of the hill. A series of walking and riding the less steep bits got me to the top and then down to start the next climb out of Ponsworthy. This one’s not too bad and you can do a bit of recovering afterwards as you drop down to arrive back into Widecombe to start its infamous hill, which killed off Tom Pearce’s old grey mare in the song ‘Widecombe Fair’.

Well, obviously it didn’t cause my demise and after a few more miles I’m in at the finish to chalk up my 11th Dartmoor Devil and what seemed to be one of the hardest routes.

Thanks Kevin for a seriously testing ride over Dartmoor, but we could have done with one or two fewer hills.

The 21st Dartmoor Devil is planned for the end of October next year and I suppose you’ll find me lined up with the 80 odd other 9.00 starters to try and make it a round dozen - after that I may take Pete Luxton’s advice.

Don Hutchison about to get wet feet

David Horsler and Tom Dunn at Princetown control

Niki and Toby Sharp, near Whiddon Down


AAA 12 points and over in 2012 334 riders

Congratulations to 2012 AAA champion, Louise Rigby, the first female AAA champion since Sandra Shaw in 1997. She aimed to score more AAA points than Sandra, allowing for the conversion from ‘old’ to ‘new’ points, and did so comfortably, achieving a new record for a female champion despite it being an 11-month year. Steve Snook

Louise Sheran RIGBY 184.25Ann MARSHALL 115Martin MALINS 103Robert BIALEK 96Justin JONES 89.75John CLEMENS 86.25Mike LANE 72.75Mary-Jane WATSON 72.75Chris CROOKES 67.75Andrew PRESTON 64.25Tim SOLLESSE 59.75Martin LUCAS 59.5Simon GROVE 58.75Ben TAYLOR 58.75Peter BOND 56Jonathan WARNER 55.5Daniele CASSISA 50.75Peter TURNER 49.75Chris KEELING-ROBERTS 48.5Paul REVELL 48.5Peter JOHNSON 48.25Stephen ROGERS 47.5Neil FRASER 45Colin WEAVER 44.25Adrian HUGHES 42.5Julian WILLIAMS 42Mark HUMMERSTONE 41.25Richard PRIDDY 40.75Martin FOLEY 39.5Peter MASTENKO 39.25James COLLEY 38.5John BARKMAN 38Richard BERRY 38Duncan JOHNSTON 37Nicholas FIRTH 36.5Andrew MARSHALL 36.5Martyn PEGGIE 35.75Chris WATTS 35.75Tony GREENWOOD 35.25Jeremy NASON 35.25Mark WALSH 35Jonathan SAVILLE 34.5Bruce DUNBAR 33.75Kevin RAE 33.5Mike KELLY 33Paul WHITEHEAD 32.25Mike WIGLEY 31.75Richard JENNINGS 31.5Adam KINSEY 31.5Russell CARSON 30.75Marcus JACKSON-BAKER 30.75Mike TATTERSALL 30.75Graham MERRINGTON 30Alan PARKINSON 29.75John PERRIN 29.5Stephen POULTON 29.5Simon WHITEHEAD 29.5Roy BISHOP 29.25Mark RIGBY 29.25Arvid DE JONG 29Dave BARTLETT 28.75Aidan HEDLEY 28.75Scott SLATER 28.75Kevin FIRTH 28.5Adam SHARPE 28.5Rob WOOD 28.5Mark HIGGINS 28

Martyn ALDIS 27.25Peter LOAKES 27.25Paul RAINBOW 27.25Richard PHIPPS 27Rhisiart AP GWILYM 26.75Joel BROMLEY 26.5David FAWCETT 26.5Els VERMEULEN 26.25Toby HOPPER 26Stuart MOORE 25.5Steve RALPHS 25.5William WEIR 25.25Mel KIRKLAND 25Ron LOWE 25Colin BEZANT 24.75Rimas GRIGENAS 24.75David JOHNSTON 24.75Paul CAMPBELL 24.25Derek MORGAN 24.25Steve SNOOK 24Martin BERRY 23.25Sean TOWNLEY 23.25Jamie ANDREWS 23Martin STOCKS 23Peter SUMMERS 23Paul TAYLOR 23Graham VARNEY 23Daryl STICKINGS 22.75Bob JOHNSON 22.5Richard KITSON 22.5Geoff MASON 22.25James MEARNS 22.25John STRAUGHAN 22Ian STRAUGHAN 22David KAHN 21.75Julian BROWN 21.5Steven BRYCE 21.5John JACKSON 21.5Peter LEWIS 21.5Chris MARCH 21.5Ceri THOMAS 21.5Don BLACK 21.25Mike STOALING 21.25Paul SUMMERS 21.25Patrick CHERRY 21Peter FORSTER 21Stephen AGNEW 20.75Eoghan BARRY 20.75George HANNA 20.75Luke JOY-SMITH 20.75Chris KULA-PRZEZWANSKI 20.5David STARK 20.5Werner WIETHEGE 20.5Chris BOULTON 20Jonathan ELLIS 20Neil MCDADE 20Mary DOYLE 19.75Mike PLUMSTEAD 19.75Chris CULLEN 19.5Gareth GRIFFITHS 19.25Luke WILLIAMS 19.25Christopher BREED 19Jason BROOKES 19Chris BEYNON 18.75Justin CHAPMAN 18.75Richard PARROTTE 18.75Rob SHAW 18.75

Ian SUTCLIFFE 18.75Fred ABBATT 18.5Paul DYTHAM 18.5Tony DAVIS 18.25John ELLIS 18.25Robyn THOMAS 18.25Dave BAXANDALL 18Simon HOLFORD 18Phillip JURCZYK 18David MATTHEWS 17.75Chris NARBOROUGH 17.75Peter SIMON 17.75Simon GENT 17.5Anthony MYCOCK 17.5Graham HANLEY 17.25Richard HARDING 17.25Jillian HOLFORD 17.25Mike PAIN 17.25Phil TOMLINSON 17Lara DAY 16.75Martin HICKMAN 16.75Joe JORD 16.75Simon PROVEN 16.75Jackie SAYER 16.5Tim TAYLOR 16.5Gareth PHILLIPS 16.25Mike THOMPSON 16.25Jim CHURTON 16Phil SCOTT 16Martin TILLIN 16Philip WHITEMAN 16Ian LLEWELYN 15.75Anthony WHEATLEY 15.75Simon BENNETT 15.5Shaun BONNEY 15.5Andrew CORNWELL 15.5Martin CROXFORD 15.5Derek HEINE 15.5Andrew SINCLAIR 15.5Jonathan BOOTH 15.25Peter GAWTHORNE 15.25Richard LAW 15.25Andrew REGISTER 15.25Richard SHIRLEY 15.25Matthew CLARK 15Ian HENNESSEY 14.5Gary MACGOWAN 14.5Peter COATES 14.25Steven ABRAHAM 14James GUMBRELL 14Tim MITCHELL 14Ian RYALL 14Pete TREDGET 14Findlay WATT 14Mike GRADWELL 13.75David HARRIS 13.75Paul KELLY 13.75Phil DYSON 13.5John RAMSDEN 13.5William GREEN 13.25David LE MAITRE 13.25David ATKINSON 13Les BAUCHOP 13Tim EDWARDS 13David HUSBAND 13Graeme MAIR 13Ryan MCBURNEY 13

David MCHALE 13Steve PRICE 13Steven COOK 12.75Edward T MCCORMICK 12.75Simon TRUMPER 12.75Robert BIRD 12.5Dave BRADSHAW 12.5Roger CORTIS 12.5Niall DIAMOND 12.5Richard EVANS 12.5Tony HUNTINGTON 12.5Robert MCCREADY 12.5Paul O’DONOGHUE 12.5John O’SULLIVAN 12.5Kevin O’SULLIVAN 12.5David PARKES 12.5Clive ANSELL 12.25Peter FAULKS 12.25Louise LANCASTER 12.25Alastair MIATT 12.25Frank PROUD 12.25Matthew SCHOLES 12.25Rob SIMMONDS 12.25David SMART 12.25Marienus STIGTER 12.25Peter TURNBULL 12.25Alberto CONTRERAS SANZ 12Mark GRAY 12Ian HELLAWELL 12Nigel JONES 12Stephen REED 12Chris SMITH 12Daniel HOWARD 11.75Tom JACKSON 11.75Mark LE BRETON 11.75Steven MEDLOCK 11.75Phil NELSON 11.75Jeff ELLINGHAM 11.5Robin HARPER 11.5Adrian LAGAN 11.5Chris WILBY 11.5Simon DAWS 11.25Brian JAGO 11.25Andy TAYLOR-VEBEL 11.25Steve GLOSTER 11Paul HICKEY 11Clive ROGERS 11Janet SHAW 11Jocelyn CHAPPELL 10.75Guto EVANS 10.75Andy HEYTING 10.75Gordon PANICCA 10.75Dave VINE 10.75Mark CHAMBERS 10.5Andy CLARKSON 10.5Mike FARRINGTON 10.5Alex FOSTER 10.5Mike HENDERSON 10.5Greg HYNES 10.5Nic KETLEY 10.5Richard PAINTER 10.5Arnaud RIESS 10.5Neil VEITCH 10.5Alistair WILLIS 10.5Rob BAIRD 10.25Nicholas DAVISON 10.25Alan JONES 10.25

Neil MILTON 10.25John ONIONS 10.25Simon PATEMAN 10.25Trevor WALE 10.25Alan DAVIES 10Tim ERASMUS 10Alex PATTISON 10Alan ROGERS 10Andy STOVELL 10Peter THOMPSON 10John WILLCOX 10George BERWICK 9.75Richard BETTS 9.75Ronnie CHARD 9.75Peter CORFE 9.75Julian WELLER 9.75Paul ANTHONY 9.5Jonathan WALTERS 9.5Wyn EVANS 9.25Steve HEANEY 9.25Graham WANLESS 9.25Andy WATT 9.25John BASTIANI 9Tony BLAIKLOCK 9Roger BURGESS 9Elaine BURGESS 9Julian COLE 9Rebecca MARSHALL 9Neil READY 9Gary ROBERTSON 9Mark BURTON 8.75Neil GOLDSMITH 8.75Stephen GOULD 8.75Stephen MCBRIEN 8.75Jack NEAL 8.75David WALTER 8.75David BROWNING 8.5Malcolm EMSLEY 8.5Tony GALE 8.5David JACKSON 8.5Alan ONIONS 8.5Peter PRICE 8.5Andrew SEAGER 8.5Nicola SIBBALD 8.5Graham TAYLOR 8.5Bob WATTS 8.5Stephen BARNES 8.25Tom DAULBY 8.25Adrian DUNNE 8.25Richard ELLIS 8.25Jason FRASER 8.25Geoff GOODMAN 8.25Graham GORDON 8.25Kevin HINES 8.25Graeme HOLDSWORTH 8.25Nick JACKSON 8.25Mark JARVIS 8.25Ray JOINER 8.25Maggie LEWIS 8.25Ian REID 8.25Ray ROBINSON 8.25Robin TOMES 8.25Graham WARD 8.25Andrew LEES 8Mike ROBERTS 8Richard WARNER 8

Populaires


Populaires

Off at 9.30 for a mile or two down the main road before turning to go through the picturesque Market town of Dunsford with it’s old Market place and it’s castle on the hill (above).

Then it’s on up the long hill up to Wheddon Cross where the whole place was shrouded in a thick mist. I stopped there for a drink and Mars bar and witnessed ghostly images of cyclists suddenly appearing out of the mist. Down the other side, mists clear, but as you start the climb out of Winsford to get back up to the moor you were back in the stuff.

The road from the first info control over Winsford Hill where you climb to over 1400 feet was not to my likening. Visibility was down to less than 50 feet and since this was one of the main roads over Exmoor, rather concerned as cars would suddenly appear out of the gloom and often didn’t see you to the last minute. I would imagine that if it were a clear day I would of been able to witness these Autumn colours that Ken mentioned, but today,not a sign of anything except cars and the odd sheep.

Down a long twisty decent through a wooded valley, care along here as the roads were fairly wet and a lot of leaves about making conditions slippery as you approach the Exmoor town of Dulverton, where a lot of the filming was done for the ‘Land Girls’ a few years back. Leaving the town to follow the river to Exbridge then down the Exe valley route or as it’s known to the locals the ‘Black Cat’ road named after one of the road junctions along there to get to Tiverton.

The supermarket there provided the venue for the halfway control and also the midday lunch stop after 55K.

Back on the bike and feeling your way out of town for the return leg back to Minehead. Past Blundells School to locate the left turn to Uplowman, not easy to spot as I rode past it, then it’s a pleasant ride up the river valley to pick up the minor road for Clayhanger and Venn Cross.

Joining the A361 it’s a gentle roll downhill all the way to Waterow, but then you’ve got the long climb to go over the top and down to Wiveliscombe and the control in the centre of town.

The last 20 odd miles was along the valley between the Quantock and Brendon hills, the locations of the ‘Dunkery Dash’ audax. A lot of twists and turns with short but steep climbs dotted along the route to get to Elworthy Cross. From there it’s a dash down the valley heading for the coast passing through Monksilver and Washford to join the A39 to return to Minehead.

Uneventful ride for the last 6 miles along the main road with it’s fair share of Sunday traffic to contend with before reaching Minehead and, would you believe it, had trouble finding that school again for the finish.

Thanks Pam for a fairly challenging route over Exmoor, shame about the misty conditions, couldn’t appreciate the views up on Winsford hill, also cream tea was very good, hope to see you next year.

Ken’s Autumn Colours 100 km

with Geoff Sharpe

Sunday 21 OctoberI can’t remember how many years Pam

Almond has be organising this 100K event going over Exmoor to Tiverton and back. Always seems to get about

80/90 riders and to round it all off there’s a cream tea at the finish.

Different start venue in Minehead this year, instead of the Rugby club ground, start moved to a school down the road

which in my case took some finding, but facilities there were second to none with refreshments available before the

start and after the finish.


Randonneurs Mondiaux

Through the Gates of Timur

The route follows ancient caravan roads, once part of the great Silk Route. I knew that the area would be very inhospitable, mainly through steppe and desert. And when the organisers advise you to use at least 28 or 32mm tyres you know that the road quality will be interesting. My original plans were to ride the TransRussia, a 3000k raid from north to south in Russia. But due to problems at the Dutch passport offices I had to change my plans and opt for two 1200k events. For all three events I’d choose the same bike from my stable, a 1987 Koga Miyata Grantourer equipped with 28 mm tyres at front and 32mm at the rear, a classic swooping front fork and a silky ride. I swapped the ergopowers for bar end levers. On the long and straight roads of Karelia and Uzbekistan I wouldn’t need quick shifting, durability is more important here.

I arrived in Uzbekistan, more than one week before the start, as the first of the foreign riders. Organisers Rafhat and Daniil gave me a wonderful welcome, making me to feel

Riding the Silk Route 1200 km - with Ivo Miesen

immediately at ease. I decided to do some sightseeing in the main cities through which we would pass, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. During an audax ride you usually don’t have time for that. And it was a good way for my body to get use to the climate and local bugs. I was relieved that most people I met spoke excellent Russian, far better as I do. English was a lot less spoken, so I’d have to rely on my basic knowledge of Russian for the ride, and on the experience of over 25 visits to various states of the former Soviet-Union.

The day before the start I arrived at the start location in the late morning. Most riders were already present for the briefing. A good selection of local riders, Russians and Ukrainians coming from near abroad and 7 westerners, most of them without any local experience. The briefing and distribution of routesheet and ride numbers went fast and informal. After that there was enough time to discuss the ride. The bikes of Robert and Paul raised a few eyebrows. They planned to start

Gone are the days when audax rides in serious distances were only held in

classic cycling areas, where the roads are full of amenities and you are assured of acceptable weather. Nowadays there are audax rides in

nearly every corner of the world, audax rides which offer very

different challenges.

This year I opted for two 1200k rides, one in northern Russia, the other in

Uzbekistan. The 1200k in Russia proved uneventful, I managed to finish very close to the time limit,

riding through an area I had been several times and with a well honed

organisation which pampers the riders. I knew that Uzbekistan would be a challenge. Last year the Uzbek

randonneurs rode this event, because most of them didn’t get a

French visa for PBP. None finished.

The author. Photo: Maria Gritsina



on fixed bikes with aggressive geometry and rather skinny tyres. Most Russians opted for standard racing bikes while the Uzbeks mainly fielded mountain bikes. The German squad mostly relied on cyclocross bikes, a far more sensible approach.

The Uzbeks moved off after the briefing, like most of the westerners who retreated to a B&B in the center of Samarkand. I stayed with the Russians and sole Ukrainian at the start ground and spent the whole afternoon buying supplies. I knew that we would find hardly anything usable on the road.

In the morning we had a good breakfast at the start. The Uzbek riders arrived and we all lined up but had to wait 20 minutes before those staying in the city centre arrived. Finally Shamil held his startspeech and we were off into the unknown.

We cycle through the outskirts of Samarkand at a sensible pace. Only after we passed one of our many police checkpoints (post GAI) the speed goes up and the whole group is reduced to small bands of riders temporarily riding together. I drift to my usual position, at the back of the field but suddenly remark that I’m not the last man on the road. A Kamaz truck passes me at about 40km/hr, one of the Stefans following in it’s slipstream. Not much later I see two other riders behind me. Claus and Hanno slowly catch up. Claus had a bad start due to indigestion. Together with Claus and Hanno I continue. About 50km into the ride we finally leave the Samarkand region. The border, and the post GAI, are at the usual spot, right on top of the pass exiting the Samarkand valley.

We head down towards the lowlands and easily find the turnoff towards the old road through the Gates of Timur. This is one of the most scenic parts of the ride. The old road and the railway squeeze their way through the narrow valley. Back in the Timurid days this was the heavily guarded entrance to the Samarkand region. All traffic going east on the Silk Road had to pass through it. The guards are gone, not even a single police post is visible. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of the ride, relatively good roads and stunning scenery. The only pity is that it lasts way too short. At the end of the valley we enter the city of Jizzakh. On the map it’s not clear that this is a large city with 150,000 inhabitants. But that’s typical of Uzbek maps. No detailed road maps are on sale in the country (and neither in Moscow), the old detailed Soviet maps are too outdated due to new roads constructed to evade the old cut-offs through the neighbouring republics.

In Jizzakh I get a flashback to my time spent in the Baltics in 1992-93. Most urban transport is by the old Latvija minibuses. They look surprisingly new. That although the last I heard was that the original factory in Latvia closed due to supply problems after the end of the Soviet Union. But later I hear that there was a mirror factory producing the same vehicles. In Jizzakh I’m stopped by a police officer. The road ahead is closed and

he answers in Uzbek to my question if I may pass by bike. Only after some locals start translating either from Russian or English he orders me to continue, in faultless Russian. Less than a kilometer later Shamil and Masha stop me. A secret control. Only one rider is missing on their list, Maxim. I can’t help them, Maxim dashed off with the faster riders after we passed the first post GAI.

I leave Jizzakh past the race grounds and enter cotton territory. During the next few hours there’s only one crop in sight, cotton. And huge masses of buses and trucks waiting by the roadside for the workers to return from the fields. At the end of the afternoon I’m passed by several convoys of buses shielded by police cars. All cotton pickers returning from the fields. Tractors pulling several carts full of cotton are a common sight at this time of the day. Most of them riding a conveniet 30km/h. I follow one of them for a while, passing Hanno and Claus. It’s already getting dark. The tractor has some glow in the dark headlights but no taillights. Despite the lack of them the driver uses the left lane far too often. When it’s getting too dangerous I pass him and push on. By now I’ve turned east. The original road continues north, cutting off through Kazakhastan. Most traffic nowadays uses the bypass via Uzbek soil. With a nice tailwind I continue on. Claus and Hanno pass me again when I stop for a call of nature.

Daniil calls me asking whether I’ve seen his brother Maxim. Maxim hasn’t been seen for a long time and he doesn’t answer his phone. I can’t help Daniil since I’ve seen Maxim only near Samarkand. But I promise to keep my eyes open. Only after the by-pass ends I see a small teahouse (choyana) with three bikes. The bikes of Hanno, Claus and Maxim. Claus signals from inside and calls me in. I stop and join them for a cup of tea. Less than 100km to go until Tashkent so it’s time for my first sit down stop. Up till now I’ve been eating from my supplies. Water and cola are easy to get by the roadside. So no reason for a sit down stop. I tell Maxim that his brother tried to call him. Maxim explains that he ran out of phone credit so I hand him my mobile. Whenever I leave the European Union I buy a local SIM-card. Lot’s cheaper than my Dutch SIM card.

When we want to leave Claus asks if I have something to fix his light. He lost the original bolt and now his light is strapped to the handlebars. I hand him a bolt and the needed tools. Maxim fixes the light helped by Claus. Together we continue through the night. It’s dark 12 hours per day now, after all it’s October. And it’s getting quite cold. Maxim’s lights are rather poor. Not that he can buy anything better, there are no decent cycling lights in the Uzbek shops. The only way for them to get some decent lights is using the old French method, fixing a large flashlight to a front rack. We agree on stopping somewhere halfway to Tashkent for hot meal. After we cross the Sir Darya river Maxim points out a roadside restaurant. He expects nothing else after this point so we

Claus, Maxim and Hanno. Photo: Ivo



head towards it. We have to wait a bit until Claus and Hanno arrive. Maxim orders a large tray of fried fish with garlic. An excellent change of taste after all the muesli bars on the bike. We take our time here. We know that we’ll arrive in Tashkent on time.

30km before we reach Tashkent we see the first rider heading back. I’m surprised, I’d expected the first riders to be a lot faster. By his light we identify him as Stefan. Only shortly before Tashkent a small group passes. Approaching the control I see Rafhat returning. So over half the riders are still at the control when I arrive. I immediately receive a tray of food and start eating. Claus and Hanno will sleep here, Maxim is only faffing. I manage to keep my downtime limited and head out into the dark.

Luckily I took a full late autumn kit with me to Uzbekistan. I’d sent it forward in my dropbag and I’m now really glad that I can wear the full kit. Even double gloves are needed in the late night. While packing I had my wooly hat in my hands but put it away. Bad decision, I’d be very grateful for it now. I hope that I’m early enough in Jizzakh to buy one. Swapping my dynohub wheel from my usual audax bike to my Koga was a superb decision. Uzbek darkness is real darkness. I roll along at a passable speed through the night. I have no idea when the others will overtake me. The faster guys will do it certainly. If Maxim, Hanno and Claus will I don’t know. We all had to gamble. Their decision to sleep could lead them to fall behind schedule. And it’s not always certain that sleep increases your speed enough to compensate for the time loss. On the other hand, my decision to push on might lead to a massive loss of speed.

A few hours after leaving Tashkent morning starts. It’s even colder now, absolutely at the limit of my clothes. I wonder how the guys with tiny saddlebags are doing. They must really be freezing since they can’t transport proper winter gear. I see a small restaurant by the roadside opening up for business and decide on a sit down breakfast. The menu is more like standard Russian food, which has more options for a vegetarian. I order rice and fried eggs. A good audax breakfast. While waiting for my food to arrive I see Robert blasting past. While eating I see a Russian/Ukrainian/Uzbek group passing. Just when I want to leave Paul passes. None of them seem inclined to stop. So now only Jamil, Maxim, Claus and Hanno behind.

Shortly after the restaurant I catch up with Paul. We ride on together. He had some problems yesterday with navigation. Between the cities navigation is easy, there usually is only one road. In the cities roadsigns are sparse and streets are not always named. Add to it the complete lack of detailed road maps making navigation without GPS a challenge. Even the GPS maps are not up to date. Luckily the track is excellent, the only thing you can completely rely on regarding navigation.

Together we pass the Sir Darya bridge. Since

it’s light now I can see the very clear signs forbidding any photography. After the bridge it’s finally time to shed some of the warm clothes. About an hour after the bridge we encounter the secret control car with Shamil and Masha. I use the stop to shed yet another layer of winter clothes. We’re still on the same route as yesterday but soon that’ll change. In stead of skirting the Kazakh border we now head further south, for the Kirgiz border. I ride with Paul to Gulistan. He’s clearly having troubles on the rough sections, I can rattle over them with my relatively comfortable Koga, he has to slow down to prevent too much soreness. In Gulistan Paul stops at a shop while I stop a while further on at the busstation for a call of nature. Roadside toilets are rare here and the nearly complete lack of vegetation makes squatting near the road a bit harder.

After turning right near the Kirigz border the road gets even worse. OK, technically speaking it’s still tarmac but there’s nothing smooth about it. For hours I rattle along. This is a real desolate area. Being a border zone now doesn’t do any good to the population. They seem cut off form their old hinterlands. Ocasionally a road turns left towards Kirgizistan. Or better said turned left since it’s now blocked. There are only few border crossings between both countries. Supplies are hard to get. It’s only at the checkpoint marking the end of the borderzone that I finally see salesmen selling basic stocks. Luckily I’ve only just run out of drinks.

Jizzakh announces itself by the sudden appearance of whole flocks of Latviaj minibuses, ferrying commuters back to their villages. They encounter shepherds driving their herds back to the stables. It turns dark just before I enter Jizzakh. As usual I take a quick stop just before the entering any large town when I see two LED headlights approaching. That must be Claus and Hanno. I loose them while negotiating the city traffic. Originally I planned on eating here but I can’t find an appealing place so I simply head on. A few km out of town there is a place looking good. But the owner isn’t, he’s absolutely drunk. I manage to reduce my needs to a bottle of coke and head off again. Later I hear that Claus and Hanno had some more problems escaping this guy. But it must be said, he was one of the very few problematic persons I met during the whole event.

Just before passing the Gates of Timur I stop at a small shop for water and some food. I hear that Paul has passed a while ago. It’s a pity I can’t see the gates now but I can feel them. This place has it’s completely different micro-climate. It’s a lot warmer here and a tailwind just pushes me on. When I get back to the main road it doesn’t turn colder but even warmer. I am back to knee warmers and that in the late evening. With the strong tailwind I feel superb and don’t really feel the need to eat at the long row of restaurants on the climb to the pass. There’s a major road refurbishment going on here, all traffic is squeezed to one side of the road. The other side looks good already so I slalom through



the barriers and ride on perfect smooth tarmac. Still I have to look out for some stray tools and building material though. But it’s a welcome refreshment to the potholes. Just when the road refurbishment ends I’m suddenly stopped by Robert and Paul.

They decided to pack. Robert is ill and Paul simply too battered by the bad roads. I’m not too surprised about this. They are both strong riders but this ride is simply not suited for the light and fast approach they are used to. This is a ride for the slow tourers barely making the timelimits but pushing on. Since both of them don’t have Uzbek phonecards I call Daniil to report him the packing of both of them. Then I try to stop a truck to bring them back to Samarkand. It’s only 50k to the control but they are not up to riding to it. Within a few minutes a Kamaz truck stops and the driver immediately agrees in driving them to Samarkand. A local dashes to his shed and returns with a rope. Their bikes are hoisted up and tied to the roof. I explain the truckdriver the location of the control. Luckily we were equiped with Googlemap prints. The control is right next to the airport so a convenient landmark is available. On the back of the maps are the phone numbers of Shamil and Daniil so the truckdriver has all the info he needs. Paul and Robert board the truck and are off in the dark.

I continue for the last kilometers of climbing and pass the Post GAI without any problems. From here it’s mainly downhill. Mostly on reasonable roads but sometimes large chunks of asphalt are missing. During one descent I suddenly hit a large one filled with sand at speed. Had I been riding a nimble Italian frame I’d have crashed. But my Koga has the typical stable and lazy geometry of a French randonneuse. It plows through the sand and I reach the tarmac again without even a wobble. This part is nearly a dream. I know I reach the control within time, a good headwind is pushing me on. And I know that from this control on the time limit relaxes from 15 to 13,3 km/h. So I get an extra 5 hours for sleeping.

At the control I enjoy a good meal before retreating for 3 hours of sleep. When I’m eating Claus and Hanno arrive. I hear that Rafhat packed and Maxim never even left Tashkent. So we already have 4 riders out, that’s 25% packing even before halfway. The next stage looks very easy. Especially when the tailwind continues. There should even be a rare long stretch of good asphalt since part of the road is a major supply road towards Afghanistan.

I leave Samarkand at sunset. It’s cold but not as cold as the past night. In contrast to yesterday the temperature rises quite fast and at the outskirts of Samarkand I stop to shed the wintergear. Just as I start doing this Hanno and Claus pass me. East of Samarkand the fertile valley stretches on, but to the south it rapidly turns into an inhospitable landscape. Not even 10km from the citylimits it looks bizarre. This is the landscape for filming a Star Wars film, some remote rock

and sand planet. There’s only one colour here, brown. But an immense quantity of shades of it. And even more bizarre, through it leads a magnificent deep black and smooth band of tarmac. And a nice tailwind pushing me on. Althoug it’s barren I don’t get yesterday’s feeling of being on a remote expedition, and I feel no urge to scan the sky behind me for vultures expecting me to fall by the roadside. Ocassionally I encounter Hanno and Claus. We all have roughly the same speed. 50Km out of town I reach the regional border. A huge sign of the Samarkand region is on top of a small rise, surrounded by barren landscape. Except for one lonely choyana. Claus and Hanno are sitting here and I immediately join them for the usual tea and bread. Not long after my arrival Rafhat arrives and joins us, followed by Jamil who was the last man on the road. Jamil orders some meat which arrives on a huge plate. Together with it are 5 other plates as is the Uzbek custom. You never eat alone here.

Seeing that the stop will take longer as planned and not be of any use for me as a vegetarian I leave. I prefer to spend my time photographing the scenery. Somewhat later I stop to shoot a superbly scenic village, nearly completely built from mud. And in front of some of the mud houses are shiny new cars. Again a bizarre sight. The nice tarmac continues. On tarmac like this it’s a superbly enjoyable ride. Magnificent scenery combined with easy cycling.

A few hours later the superb tarmac stops. But what we have now is still passable. When I ride through a little hamlet some boys join me on their old rickety bikes. Not much later Jamil arrives who has taken over my escort. Apart from some local cyclists and a few donkeys the traffic is rather low. Ocassionaly a heavily overloaded truck passes or a few cars loaded with all sorts of goods. Local economy looks to be centred around subsistance farming and livestock. But that can never be enough to pay for the shiny new cars. I discover the answer to this further. The richness of the area is deep under the ground. Oil. At regular intervals I see pumps pumping oil out of the ground. So the area is a lot richer as I was thinking. Not that this translates in lot’s of amenities. I only see very few shops. And the road quality has degraded to the usual Uzbek level. When I stop at a small roadside shop Claus and Hanno pass again, negotiating the usual selection of potholes. We’re back to normal circumstances of this ride, the smooth riding is over.

No changes in scenery after the shop. A mixture of desert and steppe in all shades of brown. But suddenly the city of Karshi pops up. From remote unpopulated territory we’re suddenly thrown into the traffic chaos of Asia. Everyone is driving chaotically and making an enormous noise. I see Hanno and Claus who try to talk with some locals. I tell them that I’m planning to stop at a restaurant here. And just at the crossroads where the route turns right I find a promising restaurant

Jamshid. Photos: Ivo



and park my bike clearly visible from the road. While waiting for my food to arrive I see Claus and Hano. I go outside and call them. They join me for dinner. Hanno is very tired and sleeps while his food is served. A stop like this was absolutely needed. And two sitdown stops per day is enough to keep us alive.

When we leave the restaurant it’s getting dark. We head out into the traffic chaos. Just outside of town I stop, I didn’t put enough layers on in the restaurant so tell Hanno and Claus to continue. A few minutes riding in warm clothes later and I see them by the roadside. Claus has crashed due to an irresponsible cardriver. He is too bruised to continue and can’t hold his bike. So I call Daniil yet again to report another problem. All organisation cars are already in Bukhara, 150km away. So we try to find a car heading for Bukhara. After all, this is the only road between Karshi and Bukhara with no towns of significant size between them.

Last night it was fairly easy to find a suitable car. Now it’s a nightmare. Nearly all cars are either to small, full or heading for one of the villages near Karshi. There must have been something going on in Karshi attracting people from 10-20km out of town. A few inquisitive locals stick with us, not helping us at all. Claus and Hanno are still a bit shocked from the accident, they can’t take care of themselves now. Even telling them that they have to take the reflective jackets off because we look too much like policemen takes time to reach their minds.

After a while we conclude that a normal hitchhike is out of the question, there are simply no cars travelling all the way to Bukhara. An elderly man in a minibus is prepared to drive to Bukhara with Claus. But that’ll cost money, 100 US$ is quoted, a price also mentioned by the men not helping us at all. So Claus agrees and the cardriver promises to return after he has dropped off his passengers. Half an hour later he returns. We load the bike in his minivan and exchange phone numbers. I call Daniil that Claus is on his way and we’ll continue soon. This whole incident has cost us nearly 2 hours. 2 hours we don’t have. An easy day’s ride has turned into a tough section as we don’t know if we’ll reach the Bukhara control before we have to sleep.

Our chances of completing the ride have dropped due to the time (and energy) lost sorting out the accident. OK, we’ll get the extra time accredited. But at this ride the controls are spaced such that you can do the ride in 300km ‘day’rides, sleeping a few hours each night at a control. The next section looks rather desolate on the map, I really doubt if we can find any place at all where we can sleep. And reaching Bukhara before 4-5 am is hardly possible. But still we head on, there’s still a chance we can complete this ride.

For the first few kilometers the road is still quite ok. But all things change in Kasan. We turn left after the railway crossing and the

road returns to the same miserable state as yesterday afternoon. We rattle on. I now know why no-one seemed eager to ferry Claus to Bukhara. Hitching a ride to Karshi and taking the train to Samarkand from there would have been an easier option. For me at least, but Claus doesn’t speak any language widely understood here. So he had to find transport to the next control.

Hanno and I plod on. Ocassionally a car passes, maybe once every 30 minutes. We’re completely surprised when suddenly one of those cars stop. Claus is in it, although he should have been far up the road already. And it’s a completely different car and driver. Aparantly they transferred him and he hardly knows himself what’s happening around him. He asks me to note the licence plate numer of the car. While Hanno talks with him I walk back to my bike, switch on my helmet light and rummage a bit in my pannier. I return to the car drinking cola from the bottle, while checking for the car’s number without the driver remarking it. After the car has gone I phone Daniil. He asks me to send him the phone number of the original driver and the car’s number by SMS. I send him the information and we continue again, a bit nervous about what’s happening with Claus.

Hours later we see a lot of light ahead of us. That might be Muborak, the next settlement of any size. But while we still see the lights, we reach no settlement at all. Is this a night-time fata morgana? Only at home I find the answer, there’s a huge gas factory near the road, very well illuminated during the night. Finally we reach Muborak, hoping to find a choyana. But all choyana’s are locked. The only thing open is a gas station. The attendant doesn’t provide any information but the sole client tells us that nothing is open here, but there’s a choyana some 10-20km up the road. So we continue along the bumpy road. Earlier as expected the choyana appears, right next to the Post GAI. And it’s even open, with a bus standing in front of it. Excellent news, that means that it’s open until at least 4am, when the national curfew for bus traffic is lifted. We enter it and immediately order tea. Bread arrives too. But no hot food except meat available. After a while Hanno enquires if there’s a possibility to sleep. The owner has already seen that we’re very sleepy and tired. He offers a sideroom where we can sleep on chairs. That’s more than comfortable enough so we gladly accept the offer.

I’m very satisfied that now finally someone else is also arranging things. Up until now it was mostly me arranging the stuff for everyone. In fact, it was only Maxim who got things going for me while on the road. We fall asleep nearly immediately. Probably two hours later we awake. The choyana is empty except for the owner sleeping on a couple of chairs. He wakes up. We thank him and prepare to continue. He doesn’t want any money for the use of the sideroom. He opens up his little shop to sell me some water and cola. That should do until Bukhara. When we leave I see that even the Post GAI is deserted.

Claus

Hanno

Bukhara control. Photos: Ivo



The rattling continues for the rest of the night. We’re already near Bukhara when at dawn, relieved that the control is near. Hanno has decided to stay in Bukhara and won’t continue. I plan to continue knowing that my chances of finishing the ride ar less than 50%. But for the moment none of us worry, we enjoy the magnficent scenery of the desert dawn. And sometimes we can even enjoy a short stretch of double wide airstrip grade asphalt. The lines on the road here indicate that’s indeed a spare airstrip.

When we enter Kogan we’re surprised by an enormous amount of traffic. The local cattle market is held on Sunday morning and Uzbek farmers are early risers. We slalom through the cars and cattle and make our way towards the Kogan-Bukhara road. Now I’m in known territory, I was here last week. I lead Hanno straight through the historic centre of Bukhara. Its superb here. The control is even more superb. We stop in a 16th century medressa. This rivals the Eskdalemuir monastry on London-Edinburgh-London as the most beautiful control I’ve ever been. Jamil is still there, as are Rafhat and Daniil. We park in the courtyard and enjoy a nice meal. After the meal I return to my bike to swap some clothes. An elderly controller is explaining to a young guy a lot about Brooks saddles. Their fame has even spread to Uzbekistan. Inside I change my clothes. While changing shorts I see that the old ones are blood-stained. Some chafing spots have grown worse due to the constant rattling and jolting.

The route through Bukhara is one of the most scenic of the whole ride. Shortly after leaving the control I pass the Ark, the old residence of the Emir. It’s under contruction now, a reassuring thought, the bug pit won’t be in use now. I leave the town as the last man on the road. A position I’m quite used to. I could claim about 3 hours time extension due to assisting Paul, Robert and Claus plus the late start. But it’s way past 10am now, there’s still 280k to go and even with the time extensions I should be at the finish at 5am. That should in principle be possible but I’ve had a very rough night and the only night with any serious sleep was the 2nd night on the road. I feel that I need a sleep stop somewhere during the night. I need a faultless run to get back within schedule.

Within an hour of leaving Bukhara I have to stop again. I’m falling asleep on the bike. A welcome choyana provides a shady spot and a pot of tea. I doze a bit for an hour or so before returning to the road. A road that’s much busier than before, this is the main traffic artery of Uzbekistan. Still it’s more than good riding on this Sunday. Asphalt is sometimes passable sometimes rough. But nothing compared to last night. The only problem is that you have to ride a straight line here, so it’s impossible to continue when you’re too sleepy. During the night on the empty stretch between Kasan and Bukhara it was no problem at all to swerve, here I have to avoid it at all costs.

The whole stretch between Bukhara and Navoi is the, by now known, mix of desert and steppe. I’m only distracted by people. Rafhat and Daniil passing in a mini-bus form a welcome distraction. A more unwelcome distraction was just after one of the many police checkpoints. Slumped against the concrete barriers was a man. He was lying completely motionless, car tracks next to him. I stopped, parked my bike and stopped a car. Together with the car driver I walked over to the man. When we were near we suddenly heard a faint snoring. This was simply a sleeping drunkard. Relieved we turned around. The driver assured me that this was completely normal. Normal for some other parts of the former Soviet Union, not too normal for Uzbekistan though.

One advantage this encounter had, I finally woke up. The remainder of the stretch to Navoi I cover at a half decent pace, gone is the plodding. I reach Navoi at dusk. This might be the last sizeable place so I decide to eat here. When I enter the owner even asks if I need a room. This place doubles as a restaurant. While I wait for my food I check the maps and the routesheet. Chances of completing the ride within the time limit have gone. It’s 7pm now and I still have 150km to go. I’ve barely covered any ground during the day, the Karshi-Bukhara road has completely worn me out. It’s still about 2 hours before the Bukhara-Tashkent train passes. No public transport to be expected afterwards, due to the bus curfew the last buses to Tashkent must have passed already. Daniil is not all too convinced that it’s time for me to pack. At the end of the dinner I decide to give it another try. I dress warmly and rejoin the road.

But it’s of no use, I’m back again to snail’s pace. An hour or so later I reach a well lit Post-GAI. This is it. I don’t think that I’ll find a more convenient place to hitch a ride later on. And traffic will be much lower during the night. It’s already quite cold, I’m so tired that I need extra layers compared to the first night. Within 5 minutes I find a suitable van to transport me to Samarkand. The driver and his elderly co-driver are ferrying bags of something to Tashkent. My bike is loaded on top of the bags while I enter the cabin. The price they quote is very good, 20,000 sum (6 euro) for the 150km to Samarkand. That’s a bit different to the 100 US$ Claus had to pay. I call Danill to report my packing.

The driver only speaks Uzbek but his co-driver speaks excellent Russian. He probably hasn’t been to Russia for the last 20 years since he only uses the Soviet names of places. We reach Tashkent without problems and they drop me off at the outskirts of town. We off-load the bike and I cycle down the slope to the control. Daniil is still there and both Stefans arrive shortly. We have a chat about the ride before I head to bed. The 3 others in the room are already asleep, they finished well within time.

Now, two weeks after the ride I must conclude that it is fairly doable for me.

The terrain suits my strenghts and doesn’t test my weaknesses too much.

The survival aspect is excellent.

For the ‘light and fast’ brigade this is a terrible ride; no pampering, no controls every 80km with food and drinks, you’re on your own. It’s more a stage ride with

300k stages and short sleep stops.

The controls are excellently spaced for those riding a 84-88hour schedule but if

you drop behind the 90 hour schedule you’re in big trouble, you’ll arrive at the controls long after you need to sleep. If this happens on the 3rd stage then you are in a bad way. There are hardly any

services on this stretch at night time (even during day they must be sparse).

Packing is nearly impossible since traffic is so light that you need at least an hour

to find transport, if you find any at all. So it’s of no use receiving a time

extension on this brevet, you’ll still be in trouble once you drop behind schedule.

For me the problem was the lack of preparation of other riders. My

preparation was fairly good, though I could have done with a change of

winter clothes and a wooly hat.

My bike behaved superbly but riders with modern cyclo-cross bikes were at their limits; the rigid frames cause the saddle to rattle too much against the

rider. In fact, what you need for this ride is a classic tourer with non-oversized

tubes.

Riding this on a rigid racer or fixie is asking for trouble. Some riders got

through with this approach but others had to bail out and, due to lack of local knowledge and language skills, had to

ask me to help, causing me to fall behind schedule eventually. I don’t

know if Claus’s bike had any influence on his accident. He used a De Rosa with

32mm tyres shoe-horned on.

I can certainly recommend this ride to the more adventure-orientated rider.

But do treat it as an expedition, prepare yourself well, and not only get yourself fit but also know your terrain and use a

suitable bike.

Footnote:16 riders started.

10 completed within time.Next event 1st October 2013



Lother Hennighausen is a German academic, working for the Americans,

based in Chevy Chase when in the USA, and spending 3 months of the year at

the University in Korea researching and teaching Genetics.

He first started training American ex-pats in randonneuring but, once

established, opened up the club to Koreans, masterminding the

randonneuring scene in South Korea, with three Korean PBP finishers.

Together with his Dutch friend Jan Boonstra they have formed a very active club with a growing list of

events.

Korea is well worth a visit, to experience the different culture of western modernisation mixed with the ancient ritual of life. The cost of living is very low with hotels coming in at £25 to £18 and hostels less.

It was a 17 hour flight and very easy to understand the subway to get to my hostel in Seoul. When I arrived I assembled my

folding bike and one of the Korean hostel workers, Gin, introduced himself and showed me his bike. It was a small wheeled (20 inch) bike like mine and in Korea there are many similar bikes sporting dropped handelbars.

He led me on a bike ride along the River Han which runs through the centre of Seoul and has a main cycle path alongside which goes out into the countryside. There are people walking, running and generally using this path as transport or to unwind in an evening. Alongside the path there are training benches and equipment for anyone to get some additional exercise, also cafes and benches. Many Koreans of all ages were wearing face protection and masks from the sun. It was too hot for me to wear long trousers yet many Koreans were wearing long pants, long sleeves, neck and face buffs and I saw some with Ninja Turtle outfits.

The other side of the city was visible showing the richest apartments costing £1m each. The ones on the waterfront are not the dearest because their view was of the freeway situated on concrete stilts above the cycleroute. Its considered a better location for flats situated further back. Many of the road bridges across the river provided shelter and there was entertainment on one night I was there.

Back at the hostel, Gin, my new cycling friend, took me out for a Korean meal. This consisted of very hot noodles and lots of hot side dishes of small salads, like kimchi (fermented cabbage). Sitting crosslegged at a low table was not the easiest way for a westerner to eat and after a few attempts I had to lift one knee into a vertical position. Gin seemed to have no problem sitting crosslegged and leaning forward to reach the noodles with his chopsticks. Meanwhile my chopsticks had to lift the noodles from the table and across my shorts to my mouth, so my shorts had noodle decorations when we got up to go. The rice wine in a small bowl was also nice.

Back at the hostel we also sat on the floor but with back supporting cushions and watched Korean TV. Some films are American with Korean subtitles but they are the worst kind of export giving a very poor impression of life in the US.

Seoul is a very large city but the river helps navigation, knowing which bridge , the 18th or 19th etc to get off and then trying to find the way. I used my GPS to help me around.

Leaving the hostel I rode along the river to cross on the underpass road of the 18th bridge then it was a left to find the bus station. I rode around the block a couple of times before I discovered that the bus

with Chris Wilby

Korea’s First 1200 km

The Organiser

The Country



station was actually behind a row of shops. I had to go through the entrances next to the shops to enter a courtyard where the buses were parked.

From Seoul to the start city of Cheonan it was an hour by bus and about £6. Most transportation between cities is by express bus and bikes are stored underneath in their luggage compartments. Local buses will not normally take bikes.

Leaving the bus I set a waypoint on the GPS so I would be able to find my way back. After a bit of wandering around and asking I found my hotel. However I broke my glasses and so found an opticians where I had an eye test, checked my email on my phone on their free wi-fi, and had some new glasses made for £25 whilst I waited.

At the hotel it was an en-suite room with a king size bed, and television.

Riding in Korea has many benefits. No stopping at lights as red lights signify “be careful” not stop. And Green means Go if clear. Many drivers stop at green lights to check on people coming through on red. I just needed to check it was clear on red or green.

The next day I located the start point which was at a “GS” convenience store – a corner shop with seating open from 7 to 11. The day before I tried to get as much sleep as possible, so much so that the cleaners walked into my room before noticing me still in bed. After some apologising, which I didn’t understand, they decided to come back later. After the bike check at the “GS” store Lothar took us all for a Korean meal. In this case we opted for the chairs and had a good noodle based meal.

The ride started from the “GS” convenience store in Cheonan. Our group included Seatle Randonneurs, a Canadian from British Columbia and other ex-patriots of USA.

At 5.0am 23 riders took to the saddle to leave the city heading coastwards. Travelling in a group is very sociable but a Korean rider took off the front to make a record time so he could return to work early. Audax is young in Korea and has attracted some lightweight young riders with carbon race bikes who are very fast. Hopefully the trend will grow and we will see a strong section of the randonneuring community in Korea.

As we met some hills I made progress ahead of the main group and passed the fast Korean at the first control. When I reached the sea wall a policeman made me ride on the wall cycle path which was much slower than the road. Then the 3 Seattle Randonneurs, who had been chasing in a group, passed by on the road. After the sea wall I got back on the road and then the fast Korean caught up and we made fast progress with me in his slipstream. After a while I dropped off and took a slower pace and we

The Koreans found the extreme survival of randonneuring suited to

their mental psyche. They will fight to the death but not in the randonneuring

world thankfully.

all met again at the next control (cafe stop). I needed a longer rest and stayed until the front riders of the main group arrived.

At the second control the Seatle Randonneurs (Mark Thomas, Greg Cox, Rick Blacker) were having their stop. However I had pushed myself hard and needed to rest a while until Russell Morris (USA) and Jason Ham (USA) arrived with Spencer Klaassen (USA) on fixed.

Leaving together we reached the south coast of South Korea where you could pick your sea life from a tank. They would remove the fish of your choice and prepare it for your plate, no cooking was needed and fresh Octopus pieces are still moving as you chew.

We had a meal of cold noodles, Jan’s favourite.

The Koreans I asked had all had live Octopus. Russell was a US army officer living in Korea and could speak Korean so he found the hotels (no beds) for the second and third nights where we had 3 hours sleep each night. Hotels are very cheap and the budget ones we used on the ride didn’t have beds, there were quilts that you could use from a cupboard in the room. But they were all ensuite with a wetroom.

The weather was hot during the day and mild at night so I was able to do the whole ride in shorts. We had one day of a stormy wet downpour in the mountains, but the rest of the ride was dry.

After the finish we had another Korean meal and I went on a tour to the mountains in the east where I visited Penis Park full of phallic statues and the Unification park to go onboard the captured North Korean submarine and an old US destroyer.

After this I rode across the country and, back in Seoul, visited the DMZ(De-Militarized Zone), and a temple. The DMZ included a visit into one of the tunnels dug by the North Koreans to send their troops to attack South Korea. In this tunnel you could see where the North Koreans had painted the rocks black to claim they were digging for coal.

The Koreans are a very friendly people and I felt very safe on my travels. The cities are very modern and the countryside unspoilt.

http://korea-randonneurs.blogspot.co.uk/

The next 1200 km grande randonnee in South Korea is on June 6th 2013.

Contact: Lothar Hennighausen <[email protected]>

or Jan Boonstra <[email protected]>

The Ride

Info


Permanents

Setting off on a cold Remembrance Sunday in 2012 I was looking forward to doing this ride again, whilst the rest of the North West were down at the Eureka (I’d done the Guy Fawkes, so didn’t need another 200). Near-freezing temperatures and a thick mist in the valleys saw me leave with all my layers on from Backbarrow near Newby Bridge.Avoiding the A590, I crossed the Leven at The Whitewater Hotel, site of terrible flooding in 2009, but now restored completely. This hotel, leisure complex and timeshare ‘village’ is an ex-cotton mill with a rather dark history, which later became the ‘Dolly Blue Works’. Backbarrow was famous for everything, workforce included, being stained blue from the cobalt minerals used in the manufacturing process! Here the river is forced through a narrow rocky gap which has to accommodate the entire outflow from Windermere. During the floods the volume was simply too much to fit through this gap under the road bridge, so the water backed up, went through the hotel pool and health club then across the road into the kitchens, restaurant and newly refurbished bar, before forming a long waterfall along the terrace as it poured back into the river. Needless to say, the business closed for some time. On this day it was pretty lively, but nowhere near the 2009 levels.

Back to the route, the ‘back road’ up the Leven is a far more pleasant option than the 590, it crosses and re-crosses the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway through old coppices, where you can often see a few deer in the early morning, before dropping to Newby Bridge Halt and The Swan Hotel. On rejoining the main road, a short cycle path helps avoid the traffic and delivers you safely to the road up to Windermere.

This road is my commute (when I get the chance) but today’s line is far more challenging and soon turns East to tackle the first big climb of the day, Gummers How. At less than 200m of ascent and a bit distant from the main tourist traps it’s not well known, but it will soon have you out of the saddle and keep you out for most of its length. It certainly persuaded me to remove my outer layer despite the 2°C showing on the gps unit.

The reward for the effort here is that the views open up splendidly. Normally I treat it as a badge of honour not to stop, but on this day I took a few pictures across the mist covered lake and admired the panorama from the Old Man, past Wetherlam, the Langdale Pikes and the Fairfield Horseshoe,

right the way through to the Helvellyn and High Street ranges. The mist was thick over the lake and for some reason I found myself picturing it as the glacier that once scoured out the valley bottom to a depth well below sea-level.

Topping out provides a totally new view towards the Howgills, the limestone of ‘3 peaks country’ and south towards Heysham and Blackpool with the Lyth Valley in the foreground. As the descent gained pace, the hamlet of Bowland Bridge in the lovely Winster Valley showed in the mist below and I could see my route unfold towards Crosthwaite and Underbarrow.

This is great pub-to-pub country for leisurely rides and is also the source of damsons for my gin and fruit chutney (usually to be seen on display in August at the Rusland Show). Undulating roads cross the River Gilpin and pass the two villages, each with their own Punchbowl Inn and I tried to remember, in vain, how the pubs in adjacent villages got the same name – possibly something to do with two brothers.

These musings had to end though, because looming up ahead comes the next climb, Scout Scar. Again, at a tad under 150m of ascent and in a bit of a backwater this is not a very well known climb, but it takes its toll and the top is a welcome relief. More views ensue, but the real reward is the descent, a fast and relatively safe run all the way into Kendal. Here there a number of options to pick up a drink or some food, but on this occasion I nipped straight up the main street (closed to normal traffic but not bikes) and out of town on the Windermere road. With it being Remembrance Sunday there were quite a few police and various uniformed

A La’al Lakeland 100

To keep my AAA RTY ticking over, a DIY gps route that I have used a few times is this hilly 100 km around South / Central Lakeland Paul Revell


and it doesn’t become any more evident as you get closer! In fact the road traverses rather than climbs straight up and it is hidden by a small bank. Just as the climbing starts you are pleasantly distracted by one of my favourite Lakeland views towards the Langdale Pikes, with the clean, smooth Gimmer Crag to the left and the contrasting dark wall of Pavey Ark to the right. The view is soon out of sight and mind as the grind sets in, with the Wrynose saving its most vicious kick till the last 3-400m. If you need an excuse for a rest, there are numerous streams of clean water coming of the fell where you can top up!

The swift descent into Wrynose Bottom, by the side of the young Duddon, gives little time to notice the tops of the Scafell group peeping over the horizon and to recover - and there’s not much to stop for at Cockley Beck before the Hardknott rears up. I stopped to chat with some mountain bikers for a short while here and wondered what this route would be like with a bit of snow lying and some knobbly tyres – maybe another time.

This side of the Hardknott is not as hard as t’other, but its line is pretty harsh, it just goes up the fellside instead of picking a line of weakness and as a result the hairpins are pretty brutal from the start. Resisting the urge to stop and performing the balancing act between lifting the front and spinning the back, I gained the top in one go - but at this point your difficulties are not over. The descent of the West side of the Hardknott on a wet road demands great concentration,

greatly helped by well adjusted brakes and 25 or 28mm tyres. This is a serious descent, not to be undertaken lightly and best done when the visitor numbers are low. Enjoy the new view out over the Irish Sea from the top, but keep your eyes on the road thereafter! Having said that, once into Eskdale the road is a joy and the miles are soon eaten up passing the Dalegarth terminus of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway with its Fellbites Cafe and over the Esk to the Birker Fell road, which starts at the kennels of the Eskdale and Ennerdale hounds.

Having ridden over the Wrynose and Hardknott and feeling fairly chuffed that you didn’t even ‘dab’ might lead to a false sense of security, but I knew there were still tests to come and this ascent is one of them. Birker Fell over to Ulpha is not massively steep, but make no mistake about it – it packs a punch when the legs aren’t fresh – but once the worst of the climb is over, the views around here are fantastic. You won’t see them on any boxes of fudge or Kendal mint cake, this is Lakeland’s back yard, not its shop front, but they are truly impressive and in the winter sunshine the colours are just perfect.

Once all the height has been gained the road gives very fast riding, but all too soon the steep descent to Ulpha and its tiny post office is reached. This steep descent used to be horrendous, but like the main road stretch into Ambleside, past The Low Wood, it has been resurfaced to make it a much more pleasant experience. A nice little stopping place here is the small church dedicated to St John the Baptist found just by the crossing of the Duddon. If you ever pass by, try to find a few minutes to admire the bells, one of which is inscribed and to step inside to admire the artwork from 1793 and maybe have a little wander around the gravestones.

Once over the Duddon, more undulating road leads you on down the valley, a lovely spot, but one that attracts more than its fair share of local picnickers and unofficial campers in the summer months. They come to enjoy the river and the scenery but sometimes spoil what they’ve come for with their fires, vehicles and sheer numbers.

Permanents

participants heading away from the war memorial in the middle of town and before pushing on, I spare a thought for the three great uncles I never knew and the Kendal Pals on that plaque. Poor buggers.

The driving route out of Kendal would normally be along the very fast and busy A591, but even before I was out of town I had turned off on the Burneside road, with Carus Green Golf Course and the River Kent to the right and the railway to the left – a much nicer way. After Burneside and Bowston the route rejoins the main road for a short stretch, but again a good cycle path keeps the traffic at bay, through to the turning for Staveley, a well known base for mountain biking and gateway to the Kentmere Horseshoe.

Here in the Old Mill Yard is everything you need, including Wilf’s Cafe, the (relocated but not renamed) Hawkshead Brewery with its beer hall and tapas menu and the cycle-store of Wheelbase. On this ride, the staff at Wheelbase were extremely helpful. I had done the climbs so far without my lowest gear and no amount of adjustments would persuade it to engage. 5 minutes on the workstand was all it took for the guys to identify the problem and sort it out with nothing but thanks to pay. With this help, I now had a fighting chance of actually riding the passes to come, instead of plodding up them with my ‘push iron’.

Moving on out of Staveley, more flat cycle path leads to Ings and the turning to High Borrans. As long as you can find the correct turn (left, immediately before the wooden finger post to High Borrans), this way cuts the corner of going to Windermere and avoids the draggy climbs of the cycle path, by cutting around the back of Orrest Head. This was the small fell that ‘AW’ ascended in 1930, to see the view of Lakeland that got him hooked, leading to his painstakingly produced guides to the Lakeland Fells. It comes out on the lower slopes of the Kirkstone with a quick right then left down the steep and narrow Sun Hill to Troutbeck Bridge and the short main road bash to Waterhead.

Without actually going into Ambleside itself, the route then heads West, crossing the delightful river Brathay along more flattish road to Skelwith Bridge where, ignoring signs for Langdale, the Coniston road is followed, climbing to the sharp turning clearly signposted for Little Langdale. A short descent leads to the warning signs that you are about to head into the land of 30% gradients, although the worst bits are (thankfully) downhill.

The sharp pull into Little Langdale is soon over and the approach to the Wrynose is largely flat or undulating. A brief stop to say hello to a friend in one of the cottages en route and a photo op with some walkers, soon led me to the climbing. As you approach the Wrynose it is not at all obvious how a road can escape the head of this valley

Now available as an AUK Permanent, with route sheet, controls and cafes - see the Permanent Events pages.


The road does not follow the valley bottom all the way and gets quite steep in places, watch out for the final descent to the A595, as there are one or two tight bends that warrant care if you’re travelling at speed! The main road is not particularly nice, but is soon left after a short but tough climb. Here the route takes the ‘local traffic’ way into Broughton, home to the Manor Arms, a popular stop-off with walkers, climbers and mountain bikers after a hard day on the crags or fells in Eskdale or Duddon.

Having visited Broughton the road soon joins up with the A595 again and, after a short descent to Grizebeck, comes the least pleasant portion of the route. This is the A5902 up Kirkby Moor, well known for all the wrong reasons to the cyclists of the Furness peninsula. The road can be busy and grinding up this it can be a test of mental strength as much as anything else, with nothing but the grey spoil-heaps of the quarry and passing traffic to encourage you on. My approach is to look down and keep pedalling. Mercifully the descent down the other side has a generous road width and gentle bends - it’s quite easy to record your top speed here and as the descent flattens out, the main road is left behind as the final leg approaches.

Turning left past The Farmers Arms ‘probably the oldest pub in the Lakes’, leads to the crossing of the Crake (the outflow from Coniston Water) at Spark Bridge. Rising up the opposite bank, the gradient is not too bad and after Tottlebank the choice is the quick return via the A590 or the nicer route via Bouth. For me it’s Bouth every time, although I do find it hard to pass the White Hart with its delicious (though somewhat expensive) Strawberry Beer. For reference, locals pronounce Bouth with a soft ‘th’ as in ‘their’ rather than hard as in ‘mouth’. (Good eggs for sale inc boxes, 400m after Bouth if you’re carrying a bit of bubble wrap.)

Easy roads cross the causeway over Rusland Pool’s tidal marshes and soon lead to the A590 at Haverthwaite, the start of the local 10 mile time trial to Ulverston and back, and the option to cross the road and snake back through Haverthwaite village and the Angler’s Arms. On this day I was short of time, having spent far too long with the camera out and I bashed up the 590 for a ½mile... only to stop again! The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway had a special visitor in the form of Thomas the Tank Engine. A friend once told me that his little boy almost wet himself with excitement when he stood at

the station and saw Thomas chuffing round the bend – a must see attraction for those with little ones to entertain and an lovely cafe for us older ones. The train links to a little ferry at Lakeside over to Fell Foot Park and back and to see the otters and fish at the Lakeside aquarium. After admiring Thomas, Bertie the Bus and a few of the other characters for a moment I sneaked round the back way, past Backbarrow Stores and back over the Leven to a warm bath and the satisfying feeling of getting back 7 minutes inside time.

So... if your other half wants to go walking, or to spend some money in Hawkshead, Lakeland plc, Hayes Garden Centre or any of the other attractions of the South Lakes, why not agree - on condition that you can take the bike. This is doable in 6 hours (if you don’t keep stopping), is pretty easy to navigate and picks up a few AAA points if you’ve got a gps. (Broughton, Kendal and Dalegarth Station are the main points to pass through on Google Maps). It doesn’t take in my most favourite roads (I save those for short evening rides) but it’s a cracking la’al 100 to test the rider and delight the senses.

Permanents


On tour

Wild Flowers from the SaddleOne of the many splendid things about cycling is that you travel to places you would not otherwise see. In my car I tend to stick mainly to motorways and A roads, for ease of navigation and driving, whereas on my bike I use B roads and smaller lanes. This has taken me through much lovely countryside, both in Britain and abroad. I ride at a moderate speed and enjoy looking around at the flora and fauna. This summer I was struck by the great abundance and range of wild flowers. I set myself the task of photographing and naming at least one for all the colours of the rainbow. I remember the mnemonic about the spectrum from my school physics: “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”. All the photos in this article were taken within a ten mile radius of my home on Hayling Island, in Hampshire, during June and July, 2012. Red: Poppy, a symbol of remembrance of those fallen in wars. Orange: Shepherd’s Weatherglass, or Scarlet Pimpernel (Phillips, 1983). This looks orange, rather than scarlet to me.Yellow: Evening Primrose. Oil from its seeds is used in alternative medicine. Green: Grass. Yes, this can be called a flower, as, like other flowering plants, it has male and female reproductive structures. These are within the feathery parts at the ends of some grass stalks. Blue: Viper’s Bugloss. This was growing in clumps near to Hayling seafront. Indigo: Mallow, very common on roadside verges in Hampshire. Violet: Purple Toadflax, which, according to Keeble Martin (1991), is a garden escape.There was even more variety than the colours of the rainbow. In addition l saw pink and white wild flowers:Pink: Everlasting Pea and Pyramid Orchid. These were on a large roundabout on my commute-to-work route.White: White Campion and Ox-eye Daisy were growing in a grassy area next to a petrol station. During the winter I miss the wild flowers as I ride, but I will be looking forward to spotting my first snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in spring. References:Keeble Martin, W. (1991) The New Concise British Flora. London, Bloomsbury Books.Phillips, R. (1983) Wild Flowers of Britain. London, Pan Books.

Tricia Farnham


On Tour

This inspiring adventure route, heading south from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean through the the French Alps, was initiated by the Touring Club de France in 1911, as a way of stimulating motorised tourism. A major road building programme was initiated in 1913 which culminated in 1937 with the completion of the road over the Col de l’Iseran 2764m, which at the time was the highest road in Europe. The consequent “Route des Grand Alpes” was a great success and is still a popular motor route, especially with motorcyclists. The official cycling “Raid Alpine” organised by the cycle club of Thonon–Les-Bains follows a similar route to the Grand Tour. A medal is available for those who can complete the Raid in 7 days or less.

TrainingThe New Year started well but my training plan came to an abrupt halt when I hit black ice on a short downhill stretch near Bala on January 14 and flew off into a grass bank. Nothing broken, but a twisted groin, bruised hip, two displaced neck vertebrae, bruised shoulder and a crown blown off one of my teeth.

No cycling for the next few weeks. I missed the Chester group’s training camp in Javea, Costa Blanca but fortunately friends from Seamons CC were due in Javea in late March for their cycling holiday and still had room at the villa for me. The warm weather must have helped recovery as by the end of this trip I was able to comfortably ride two of my favourite 100k hilly routes from Altea - the Col de Tudons 1031m and Castell de Castells with the Col de Rates 540m.

At the end of the week, my colleagues left and I enjoyed a day’s ride to Pego before packing up to return to Alicante to fly to Liverpool. All was going well until news came through that the French air traffic controllers had gone on strike. Many flights were cancelled, including mine. This is always frustrating, but especially so as I was carrying a bike box weighing 28Kg, a suitcase and rucksack.

The one glimmer of hope was that a later flight might get through to Gatwick and fortunately I was able to transfer on to it and get home to Chester via Gatwick, Manchester and Liverpool airports, some 24 hours after leaving Javea. Whilst glad to be home, I had strained my back moving my cumbersome luggage - so it was back to fitness square one again.

After two weeks complete rest, the next 2 months were filled with a combination of visits to the physio to sort out my back and shoulder, along with a series of gradually longer, flat rides.

My first hilly effort came when I struggled round the 94k Forest of Bowland Audax on June 10th, just 5 days before we left for the Alps!

Fortunately, the prologue and first two days of the Grand Tour are not too difficult, so I left for Geneva hoping that I could ride myself in to some kind of form. In contrast, Ray and Dr Martin, had been training flat out, including riding such hilly Perms as Dark Peak and Clwyd Gate, and were looking ominously lean and fit.

Dave Pipe had been putting in a lot of secret training to the extent that his knees were giving trouble. So he might be joining me in the “autobus” as the other riders raced up the cols.

These mountain roads have always featured in the Alpine stages of the Tour de France since the turn of the last century

AUK’s David Matthews describes his 700 trip from Lake Geneva to Nice over the ‘Cols Mythiques’, organised by KE Travel ...

Above, approach to the killer climb to Utelle on the last day

Route des Grandes Alpes


On Tour

The prologue (51k, 200m ascent)

We flew out to Geneva on prologue day minus one to ensure that we could be back in the airport at noon next day to assemble the bikes, meet the other cyclists and ride to our start hotel at Thonon-Les-Bains. At the airport we met Stuart, our ride leader, Alex from Canada, Warren from New Zealand, Dr David from the Lake District and Mandy from Chamonix who did a sterling job driving the support van and setting up al fresco lunches.

Once the bikes were assembled and luggage stuffed in the van, we initially followed an aerial cycleway that got us safely away from the airport, then onwards through Geneva City and eventually around the lake to a cafe stop in the beautiful old hamlet of Yvoire. During this initial ride I suffered a front wheel puncture (the first in 20 years cycling in the Alps) which was soon fixed, but an unfortunate omen of things to come. It was a short ride from Yvoire to the Hotel where we met Paul from Aberdeen, the final member of our group.

Day 1 Thonon-Les-Bains to

La Clusaz (79k, 1600m ascent)

Ray and I set off 30 minutes early into the cool but fine morning, so that I could get a head start on the faster and fitter riders. A short way up the Col de Cou (1117m) Ray smoothly surged ahead while I rode a more sedate pace. Just as Ray moved out of sight round a bend, I suffered puncture number 2 - this time in the rear wheel. By the time this puncture was fixed, the others had streamed past and my cunning plan to ride the col in peace had failed.

I climbed the rest of the col along-side Stuart, and then descended to our first al fresco lunch in a lay-by near Bonneville. It was now getting hot so we took the opportunity to get well refreshed before entering the Gorges des Evaux en route to La Clusaz.

The road is fairly steep early on in the Gorges des Evaux and we were surrounded on the climb by a multitude of other cyclists in various stages of suffering, due to the heat and the gradient. It transpired that many of these riders were nearing the end of a weekend sportive that had covered 1000km through the big Alpine cols of the area. Chapeau to them!

Eventually the climb angle lessened to enable us to enjoy a very pleasant ride through the wide upper reaches of the Gorge and eventually arrive at the ski resort of La Clusaz.

Day 2 La Clusaz to Areches (58k, 1600m ascent)

This day starts with an ascent of the Col des Aravis (1486m) which rises immediately from the hotel. Once again I attempted to get a 30 minute start on the younger riders and once again this was thwarted by puncture number 3, which reduced my lead to 15 minutes. However, the Col is relatively easy from this side and I was able to get over ahead of the bunch, to descend for 12 km and meet up with the support van at Flumet, at the foot of the Col des Saises (1650m). This col passed unremarkably, followed by a 16k descent to Beaufort where we all regrouped at an excellent cafe prior to climbing the initial slopes of the Col du Pre (1703m) for 5 km to our overnight in the hamlet of Areches.

Day 3 Areches to Val-d’Isere

(73k, 2200m ascent)The first hard day of the trip started by continuing the climb up the Col du Pre for 7k and 700m, direct from the Auberge at Areches. Dave Pipe and myself left 30 minutes before the others and by a brilliant piece of planning the whole group arrived at the summit of the Col at the same time. All that is except Dr Martin who had obeyed a road blocked sign (ignored by the rest) and climbed 400m up the wrong road to a dead end. He eventually joined us in Bourg St Maurice after a lengthy delay.

We descended from the summit of the Col du Pre with its spectacular views of the surrounding mountains down to the Barrage de Roselend which forms the side of a huge mountain lake. The scenery in this area is truly beautiful and the climb to the Cormet de Roselend summit (1967m) follows an awe inspiring line through huge cliffs to its windy and barren summit. This ascent and the Col du Galibier were, in my mind, the highlights of the entire trip.

The 20k descent from the summit of the Cormet down to Bourg-St-Maurice is a really enjoyable classic on smooth roads with an ideal gradient and lots of interesting bends. Following this exhilarating

experience we regrouped at the van for lunch, prior to the 33k drag, with 1000m ascent, up the main road to the large ski resort of Val d’Isere (1840m). About 5k from Val d’Isere the road goes through several tunnels which are only dimly lit. Whilst travelling with great care through the longest of these (1k) a car swerved in close to me and the next thing I knew was that my front wheel grabbed something and I sailed over the handlebars to a soft landing in a big pile of black muck.

Whilst picking myself up and examining the damage to bike and person, I found that a large, invisible mound of black grit, dirt and salt had built up at the side of the road in the tunnel, consisting of consolidated, dried spray from car and lorry wheels. When the car had swerved, my front wheel had touched this invisible trail of dirt and sent me flying into it.

My bike wasn’t too damaged and I soon managed to kick all the bits back in a straight line again. Likewise my helmet which had

... my front wheel grabbed something and I sailed over the handle bars to a soft landing in a big pile of black muck

Route des Grandes Alpes

14,700 metres of climb in 700 km


On Tour

somehow screwed round my head during the acrobatics. After a couple of minutes to recover from the shock, I managed to ride out of the tunnel into daylight to inspect the rest of the damage, which mostly comprised gouges out of my right knee and elbow with blood trickling out of the liberal coating of black gunge. This looked like a recipe for infection, so I washed the cuts out using my water bottle as best I could and applied a couple of antiseptic wipes that I always carry in reserve.

Soon after my temporary first aid fix, Mandy turned up in the van and phoned ahead to Stuart to expect me to arrive, somewhat battered, at Val d’Isere. Once at hotel, I was wrapped in a couple of blankets, shivering a bit from delayed shock, whilst Dr. D did a star job cleaning out my cuts with antiseptic using a stiff, new toothbrush and then brushing in more antiseptic to prevent infection. I was then presented with a prescription from the good Doctor for liberal quantities of red wine, to be taken internally, by both patient and Doctor.

Day 4 Val d’Isere to Valloire

(108k, 2100m)The weather had been fine up to this point, but ominous black clouds were now gathering over the 2764m (9000ft) summit of the Col d’Iseran. By the time we got to the col, a raging storm had blown

in with low temperatures, mist and lashing rain. Mandy had rigged a tarpaulin sheet over the back of the van which gave us some limited shelter from the storm as we put on every available stitch of spare clothing. We then endured a really challenging descent for 20k into the rain and mist until we reached the sanctuary of the cafe at Bonneval-sur-Arc. Here we all shivered and shook and took on board several hot drinks to try and get warm again.

Fortunately the storm relented after this point, so we gradually warmed up along the road to Bessans and then the long main road descent to St-Michel-de-Maurienne at the foot of the Col du Telegraphe (1556m). I was not looking forward to this col as I have bad memories of suffering here in 2003 whilst riding the Marmotte and have always believed this to be my worst ever col experience. However, the temperature was cooler today and I found the Telegraphe a reasonable climb.

This col is very popular with cyclists so the local authorities have erected large notices at several points advising cars to give the riders 1.5m clearance for safety. So you can imagine how pleased I was when a car raced up behind me and passed so close that the wind whistled between my brake lever and his wing mirror. I was so shocked that I was unable to send a universal greeting to the idiot driver.

There is a short, rapid descent from the Col du Telegraphe into Valloire and our hotel for the night. As I entered Valloire at the bottom of this hill, a car pulled out of a garage straight in front of me without looking and proceeded down the main street erratically at 20kph whilst crashing and banging in and out of low gears. I needed my medical prescription for shaky nerves as well as the grazes!

Day 5 Valloire to Guillestre

(106k, 2500m)What a day in prospect - the Col du Galibier (2642m) followed by the Col d’Izoard (2360m) with its famous Casse Deserte.

The weather had cleared up and the Col du Galibier road was in prime condition. The road had only just been opened following the winter snows and the snow banks were melting across the road as we gained height giving us spectacular views of the snow lined road and surrounding peaks.

Once over the crowded and lofty summit of the col, which gave ever more spectacular views of the Dauphine Mountains to the south, we dropped steeply down to the cafe on the Col de Lauteret. Following a restful brew served by a friendly Irish waitress, we made a rapid descent of the Lauteret through Briancon and onto the lower slopes of the Col d’Izoard.

I had been looking forward to climbing this col for many years, ever since a map reading error near Embrun in 1989 caused our party to visit a housing development, rather than the col itself. The reputation of this col is enhanced by the rugged landscape of the Casse Deserte near the summit, often seen on TV as the Tour de France heroes ride past. However, our 1100m ascent was up the huge,

The author on Galibier

The road had only just been opened ... ... and the snow banks were melting across the road as we gained height

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On Tour

but rather boring north side which wends its way endlessly through trees; the only disappointment of the whole trip. But I can always go back to ride the spectacular south side - maybe?

We embarked on a 30 km descent from the summit to our overnight stop in the town of Guillestre. I arrived in the town ahead of the last group and checked for directions to the hotel from a group at the town centre cafe. I wanted to make sure that I got this right as I was in no mood to get lost. The locals showed me where to climb back up to the road marked on the route sheet and I then followed this road up a further steep hill - but no sign of the hotel! To cut a long story short, 30 minutes later I arrived back in the town centre to establish that the route sheet was hopelessly wrong and I had been 100 metres from the hotel where I started! Yet again ample reason to partake of Dr D’s prescription.

Day6 Guillestre to Auron

(97k; 3100m)According to the KE route sheets this was to be the last of the really hard days, including an ascent of the highest paved road in Europe 2802m (9500ft) over the Col de la Bonette. We started straight out of Guillestre onto an early morning ascent of 21k and 1100m up the beautiful Col de Vars (2108m). I consider this to be one of the most scenic roads on the trip, with a lovely small lake enhancing the view near the summit.

Once over the summit we followed a long descent alongside the river Ubaye before arriving at a cafe stop in Jausiers (1213m) run by a rather dodgy looking character sporting a pigtail. Just outside the cafe the road turned left by a prominent signpost - Route de la Bonnette; La plus haute d’Europe; Alt 2802m; 23k. A lot of climbing, but the post also gave encouragement with our first sign to Nice at 143k distant.

As with the Col du Galibier, the Bonnette had only just opened after the winter and was probably in the best possible condition for a cycle ascent. The snow melt was filling the rivers which rushed downhill in spectacular fashion whilst all the surrounding peaks were picked out by their snowy ridges. Once on the col itself at about 2700m, there is a final loop road to the summit cairn and plaque at 2802m. This loop was still blocked by huge snow dams in the road which prevented access to

cars and motorbikes - but it was just possible to drag a cycle round.

Beyond the summit we enjoyed a 25 km descent with 1700m drop down to St Etienne de Tinee in the valley far below. The descent was enlivened when a car came screaming round a blind bend at me on the wrong side of the road going uphill with the its right front suspension in the air and mostly out of control. Fortunately I had become wise to the dangers of these descents and was tucked in to my side of the road sufficiently to avoid this maniac. Soon afterwards I heard a scary hiss of air from my front tyre, and gingerly braked to a halt with puncture number 4. Thanks to Warren who stopped to help me change the tube.

Down in the valley we enjoyed a brief cafe stop at St Etienne de Tinee before following “a final gentle climb” to our hotel in Auron. Once again the route sheet fooled us as this gentle climb turned out to be a gruelling 400m ascent. Yet even more reasons to follow the good Doctor D’s prescription in the evening!

Day 7 Auron to Castagniers

(114k; 1400m)There was an “end of term” feeling in the air as we left the hotel for a fantastic 50k descent alongside the river Tinee on the D2205. Surely the hardest parts of the ride were over now and we could promenade all the way to Nice - we were mercifully unaware of the difficulty of the climb to Utelle!

Following this long, exhilarating descent we turned left off the main valley road to ascend 400m to the ancient and picturesque hill village of La Tour. On this winding and hot ascent I kept thinking how much this road reminded me of hill climbs I had previously ridden in Provence - until I realised that I was on a hill climb in Provence!

La Tour (603m) is a village lost in time with a cobbled main square and an ageing population. After making some enquiries from a couple of pensioners, I found that to leave the village centre it is necessary to dismount from the bike and carry it down some steep cobbled steps. The steps eventually return you to the narrow motor road which by-passes the town and leads onwards to the next hill village Utelle.

Beyond La Tour the road descends steeply with several twisting bends

and drops far enough to give the impression of returning back to the river Tinee in the lower valley. However the road eventually levels out into a narrow, tree lined passage before exiting into open spaces guarded by the adjacent sign “Attention; Chaussee Etroite sur 5 km; Sans Glissieres ni parapets”. My rubbish French took this to indicate a narrow road with little protection from the drop below.

The climb to Utelle (1174m) turned out to be the “sting in the tail” and I suffered more on this than any of the better known cols. The road was heavy and narrow for the 800m ascent, the gradient registered a fairly constant 14% and the temperature rose to around 40C. The one redeeming feature is that the last 100m of ascent over a sharp ridge is avoided by a short road tunnel cut straight through the hill. What a relief to gain the village and meet Mandy who had prepared yet another excellent al fresco lunch.

After lunch we enjoyed a steep 900m, 15 km descent to St Jean la Riviere where the road joins up with the D2565 leading directly downhill to Nice. No such joy for us though as after 500m we turned left off the main road to climb a few hundred metres and 12 km more to the hill village of Levens. Whilst initially groaning at the thought of more hills, this road turned out to be a real highlight. It follows a spectacular route way above the main valley floor with great views and, for once, moderate gradients. Beyond Levens we followed more, narrow hill roads towards Aspremont, before descending to our last overnight stop at Castagniers and a well deserved celebration meal.

Day 8 Castagniers to Nice (14k; 100m descent)

Day 8 was intended to include a short climb back to Aspremont followed by a short descent to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. On this occasion most roads in Nice and the Promenade had been closed for the Nice Ironman Triathlon. We had no choice but to descend 14k down the main road direct to Nice Airport, where we packed up the bikes and caught our various planes home.

Especial thanks to Stuart and Mandy of KE for leading and looking after us so well.

(all distances and heights are best estimate)

... we were mercifully unaware of the difficulty of the climb to Utelle!


Mileater

2011 Mileater Diaries and Mick Latimer Trophy

Writing this after one of the wettest year’s on record it’s difficult to remember how 2011 actually was. I started my own RRTY campaign in the autumn and by the end of the year had begun to feel the chill of the cold, dark nights. Once again my annual mileage failed to get anywhere near the winning number but I did manage to be ‘above average’!Peter Baker was the 2011 entrant with the highest recorded mileage of 24,304 miles and so wins the Mick Latimer trophy, followed by Tricia Farnham on 8,178 miles (the opposite sex winner). Three riders recorded over 10,000 miles in 2011. The average number of miles recorded was 6,516 miles, an increase on the 2010 average. Although 2011 was a PBP year the number of entrants to the Mileater again fell although Peter Baker recorded an annual total that is within the top twelve totals of the previous twenty one years of competition. In response to the declining number of entrants to the Mileater the AUK committee have decided to reduce the entry fee to £4 which will include a diary but not a medal, see the announcement below.

Some diarists’ comments from 2011:“Now back riding again after broken leg in 2010, completed PBP.” JR“Traditional New Year’s Day ride ... a grey day and cold. Feeling a little fuzzy to start with. As many miles today as I did in all of January last year” MC 1st Jan“... shocking puncture, I never puncture but a ½ inch nail went right through armoured tyre and through top and bottom of slime tube and into the rim.” RC 15th Jan“Car to Paisley. Black ice on cycle path - I fell, Eric fell - about turn - back to Paisley on main road. Some damage to bike. Holes in wind jacket and tights. Knee hip and elbow damage. A lovely sunny day.” CH 19th Jan“Full blown ‘flu, guess I shouldn’t have ridden on Saturday.” CL 24th Jan“Nearly got T-boned by a taxi on way home; his defective headlights clearly didn’t help his ailing vision/concentration.” SC 28th Jan“Started cycling - legs felt like porridge, wheels and body felt musty - how had I got so unfit?” KK Feb“Car shunt - damaged rear mudguard. Reported to Police - no witnesses and car driver (keeper) disputed involvement therefore not proceeded!” DS Feb?“A gusty (gutsy) ride down to Llandudno, talk about the wind (and that was just me!).” DP 1st Feb“(After Cotswold Corker) on the way crawling home over-taken by 2 mountain bikes!” KK 12th Feb“Round trip of 1.2 miles on the old hack with a trailer full of garden tools - smiling while passing the garage and observing petrol up again to £1.309/Ltr.” GC 24th Feb. [Will it ever be that cheap again?]

“Went reasonably well, felt much stronger in the last 30 miles managing to push up the pace thank goodness for ‘fig rolls and rice pudding’!” KK 12th March“Tar and gravel brigade out ruining the roads.” SC 15th Mar“On the way to work when a motorist shot out of Coleridge Street. He took out my front wheel & forks which spun me round. I remember my left hand side slamming into the side of his car. The next thing I remember is coming to, face down on the tarmac in tremendous pain. Driver’s insurance company admitted liability. Driver not prosecuted - sent on a ‘driver’s awareness course’. ” DS 15th March“Morning spin. Got flagged down by another cyclist for a chat. He told me that the field next to where we were standing was where Fauston Coppi was held as a prisoner of war! Why can’t there be a plaque?” MC 1st April“Where have all the rabbits gone?” KK 28th April“Another rest week! I’ve heard rest and recovery is as important as the ride itself.” PW May “Running late - some idiot had put his lock through my rear carrier. I put bolt croppers through his lock in the end.” EW 5th May“West to Midhurst - Got caught up with 7 horse drawn carriages at Coldwatham - v. effective traffic calming.” SC 6th May“... spin up to Gronant Dues (?). Met Alan walking his dog on Rhyl sea front, he recognised the bike not me, as I passed him he called me back, typical cyclist. DP 8th May“Such a relief not to have to ride a bike.” KK 25th May“Tour of the Cotswold ... set off at 6 but chain snapped on first slope ... a batch of bad chains?” PW 9 June“Basking in all the praise & glory of completing PBP it’s like the returning hero.” PW Aug“(after a week off) How on earth can cycling fitness diminish so rapidly?” GC 17th Aug“Fell on ice and fractured elbow.” PW Dec?“Cracked rib after fall in summer, back on now”. SOSome informal (non-prize winning) awards:Bad driver, car magnet award: DS (see above)Most near misses reported: SCMale birdwatcher of the year: SC for “Owl, Kestrel, (bat!), Buzzard, Barn Owl, Blackbirds, Peewit”.Puncture Queen and female birdwatcher of the year award goes to: TF having reported seeing Heron, Egrets, Buzzards, Woodpecker and Ostriches.Most detailed diary, smallest writing and most accomplished pensioner’s Mileater award goes to RT.Noel Simpson, the long time organiser of the Mileater reported that he had not been

riding due to prolonged recovery from ill-health. I hope a 2012 diary will record that recovery and more French experiences.Many thanks to all of the diary writers who have written such entertaining diaries, without whom this article would be impossible! Apologies for any misquotations or embarrassments, I have tried to maintain accurate copies of quotations but errors may have crept in, all of which are entirely my responsibility! Thanks especially to those I have quoted: CH - Colin Horn, CL - Carl Laver, DP - Darryl Porrino, DS - David Simmons, EW - Ed Woodward, GC - Gary Catlow, JR - John Radford, JW - Julian Williams, KK - Karen Keeling, MC - Michael Calam, MG - Mark Garrat, PW - Pippa Wheeler, RC - Robbie Calder and SC - Steve Cockram, SO - Steve Oram.The annual Mileater awards (Men’s and Ladies’) are made after the year’s Mileater diaries are submitted to the organiser. The individual with the highest total mileage for the year (male or female) is awarded the Mick Latimer trophy. All 2011 entrants should now have their medals, please contact me if you have not received yours. New arrangements for entering the Mileater:Up to now the Mileater entry fee has included a diary and, upon completion, a personalised, engraved medal. Recently AUK had to purchase some new stock of medals which cost significantly more than before. Therefore it was appropriate to review the entry fee to the Mileater to ensure that AUK do not suffer a financial loss from the competition. It was felt that the resulting all-inclusive cost would possibly deter some members from entering the competition. The AUK committee decided to permit the optional purchase of an engraved medal and to reduce the basic entry fee to the competition.The standard entry to the Mileater competition will now cost £4 per year and includes the normal diary. The engraved medal costs a further £10; a black and white impression of the multi-coloured medal can be found in the handbook. Entrants can choose to purchase a medal at the time of entry or at a later date if they wish.The Mileater competition and diary run from January 1st to December 31st each year, diaries must be returned by April 30th of the following year to count in the competition (although a medal will be produced whenever the diary is returned). If you would like to enter then send a cheque for £4 (or £14 if you wish to also receive the engraved medal) and an SAE (Large letter, over 100g postage please) to the organiser (payable to Audax UK): Rob Hidderley, Woodfield House, 417a Stourbridge Road, Catshill, Bromsgrove, B61 9LG.

Rob Hidderley


Randonnées

New RandonneursWe welcome 237 members to the ranks of AUK Randonneurs.

They have ridden 200 km or over for the first time in the 20011/12 season. (NB this list is generated automatically from our records so may be incorrect if you have changed your name, or if you have

returned to riding after a break of 7 years or more)

Ken ACLAND

Dean AMOS

Tim ARMSTRONG

Kenny ATHERTON

Brian ATKINS

John BAKER

Ron BALL

Philip BANKS

Richard BARNES

Amy BARON-HALL

Francis BARTON

Richard BETTS

Pete BIGGS

Tony BLAIKLOCK

Mark BLYTON

Alex BOAKES

Linda BOIZE

Chris BOLTON

Mike BOLTON

Jonathan BOOTH

Simon BOWDEN

Henry BRACEWELL

Gildas BRAINE

Stacey BRAY

Zachary BREDEMEAR

Mike BRENTON

Ian BREWIS

Rosa BRITTON

Rebecca BROADBENT

Joel BROMLEY

Jason BROOKES

Ian BROOKS

John BURGATO

Elaine BURGESS

Roger BURGESS

Mark BURTON

Vicky BYFORD

Alastair CALDERWOOD

David CAREY

David CARPENTER

Alan CARR

Jordan CARROLL

Andy CARTER

Jocelyn CHAPPELL

Ross CHESTNEY

Raymond CHEUNG

Edward CLARK

Nick CLARK

Neil CLEGG

Phil CLIFF

Bob COLMAN

Stephen CONDIT

JessicaCONNER

Derek CONNOR

Jonathan COURTMAN

Phil COURTMAN

David CRAMPTON

Jack CRANE

Phil CROOKES

Chris CULLEN

Robert DALLISON

Brendan DALY

Rob DAVIES

Sally DAW

Stephen DAWSON

Tim DECKER

Allison DEMPSEY

Alastair DENT

Gareth DENT

Andy DEVLIN

Peter DILWORTH

Dave DIXON

Alan DOLAN

Mark DUCKETT

David DYER

Mike EADES

Martyn ELLIS

Miles EMERY

Tom EVANS

Adrian FITCH

Peter FORSTER

Nick FRANCIS

Paul FREEGARD

James GATHERCOLE

Ian GERRARD

Joe GIBSON

Peter GIBSON

NigelGLAZE

Martin GODWIN

Martin GOODHAND

Mark GOODSON

Richard GRAHAM

Mark GREEVE

Malcolm GURNEY

Richard HAGUE

Anna HALLAM

Stephen HALLIGAN

Jenny HARBOUR

Robert HARDIE

Robert HARNETT

David HAZLE

Graham HEALEY

Ian HENDRY

PaulHICKEY

Andrew HILL

Leslie HILL

Jacqueline HOBSON

Chris HODGE

Phil HODGSON

Graeme HOLDSWORTH

Jillian HOLFORD

Simon HOLFORD

Bill HONEYWELL

Dave HOOPER

Carl HOUGH

Dominic HUGHES

Tim JANES

Phillip JANSEN

Bill JARMAN

PaulJOHNSON

Philip JOHNSON

Gordon JONES

Jonathan KINNA

Glen KIRK

Toshihiko KITAGAWA

Stuart LAGUE

Ian LANDLESS

Daniel LAYTON

David LE MAITRE

Richard LEONARD

Mark LISON

Daniel LISTER

Ian LOVELOCK

Ron LOWE

PaulMARKEY

Rebecca MARSHALL

Ian MATHESON

Richard MAY

Stephen MCBRIEN

John MCCARTHY

Paul MCCORMACK

John MCGUIRE

Steven MEDLOCK

David MELLODY

David MIATT

Ian MIDDLETON

Andrew MILLAR

Malcolm MITCHELL

Michael MOAT

Michael MOODY

Jayme MORGAN

Ken MORRISON

Heinrich MUELLER

Jaime NORMAN

Frazer NUTTON

John OAKSHOTT

Stephen ORAM

Henry ORNA

Gil PARKES

Tim PARKINSON

Mike PARSONS

Barry PEACE

Shusanah PILLINGER

Ron PINFIELD

Deane POTTER

Brian POTTERTON

Tim RADFORD

Philip RHODES

Stephen RILEY

Iain RITCHIE

Jan ROBERTS

Lionel ROBERTS

Peter ROGAN

Steven ROGAN

Richard ROSE

Paul RULE

Stephen RUMBLE

Mark RUSBY

Nigel SAVERY

Dale SCARR

Edward SCOBLE

Graeme SCOTT

Neil SHAND

Geoff SHARPE

Mike SHELDRAKE

David SHERWIN

Nicola SIBBALD

David SILL

Gill SIMMONDS

Spencer SKELTON

David SMART

Brian SMITH

Paul SMITH

Mark SMITHIES

Robert STEPHENS

Daryl STICKINGS

Marienus STIGTER

Andy STOVELL

Paul SUMMERS

William SUMMERS

Lesley SUNG

Victoria SYLVESTER

Neil TALBOT

John TAYLOR

Ceri THOMAS

Robyn THOMAS

Peter THOMPSON

Irmgard TISCHNER

SeanTOWNLEY

Pete TREDGET

Sean TURNER

Will TURNER

Anthony WADDINGTON

John WADE

Sam WAINWRIGHT

David WALTER

Jonathan WALTERS

David WALTON

John WALTON

Michael WARD

Matthew WARHURST

Stephen WARNER

Jane WATSON

Steve WHALLEY

Neil WHEADON

Paul WHITAKER

Paul WHITE

Phil WHITEHURST

Richard WHITING

Johnatan WILLIAMS

Luke WILLIAMS

John WILTON

Rebecca WINCOTT

Mark WINKS

Iain WOOD

Philip WORMINGTON

Tony WRAY


Randonnées

2012 Randonneurs 500The Randonneur 500 award was instituted by AUK in 1996 and consists of the series: 50 km BP, 100 km BP, 150 km BP, 200 km BR or BRM All in the same year. A Randonnée year now commences at 00:00:01 on the 1st Oct and finishes at 23:59:59 on the

following 30th Sep. You can substitute longer distances for shorter ones but only rides up to 200 km can be used and you must ride 4 events.

Jacob ABRAHAMLennie ADAMSGraham ALLENClive ANSELLPaul ANTHONYAdrian ARKESDENDaniel AUGERMartin BADHAMChris BAILEYJohn BAKERJulie BAKERKen BAKERPeter BAMFIELDRichard BARNESAmy BARON-HALLJohn BERRYRichard BETTSTony BLAIKLOCKLinda BOIZETerry BOLLANDMartin BRICEDavid BRIGGSRosa BRITTONRebecca BROADBENTJason BROOKESFenella BROWNDrew BUCKElaine BURGESSRoger BURGESSTym BURMANPaul BUTCHERBarry CALDWELLBrian CALLOWJordan CARROLLAlf CHAMINGSJocelyn CHAPPELLRose CHURTONMatthew CLARKGeoffrey CLEAVERNeil CLEGGJessicaCONNERMalcolm COPEDavid COUPEJohn CRIPPSStephen CUSTANCERobert DALLISONAlan DAVIESRoger DAYWilliam DEAN

Ben DENNETTDave DIXONEmma DIXONJonathan DIXONColin DOUGLASThomas DOWNJohn DURHAMDavid DYERPhil DYSONTom ELKINSJohn ELLISMalcolm EMSLEYGuto EVANSPeter. M. EVANSWyn EVANSPeter FANCOURTPeter FORSTERAndrew FRENCHClifford FRENCHTony GALEJon GAMMAGEJohn GARDNERLee GARNERMark GENTRYJoe GIBSONPeter GIBSONRoger GIBSONAlan GOLDSMITHMartin GOODHANDStephen GOULDMike GRADWELLDon GRAYRobert GRAYSue GRAYAnthony GRIMESPhil GROVESJohn HAMILTONDebbie HAMPClive HANDYRobert HARNETTMichael HAYWARDDavid HAZLEMike HENDERSONNeil HENDERSONMartin HICKMANMartin HILBERSAndrew HILLSimon HILLBarry HOBBS

Ian HOBBSGraham HODGESJillian HOLFORDSimon HOLFORDGloria HORNEMalcolm HOWLETTTrevor HUGHESFrancois HUGOTony HUNTINGTONPeter IBBOTSONPhillip JANSENMark JARVISMiles JEFFERSONAlan JONESAlan JONESDewi JONESSimon JONESPaul KELLYRay KERRIDGEGraham KNIGHTChris KULA-PRZEZWANSKIStuart LAGUEIan LANDLESSDawn LAWRENCEDavid LE MAITREDavid LEWISToby LINTERNDaniel LISTERHugh MACKAYBrian MANNChris MARTENGeoff MASONBrian MATKINSLee MAWSONMichael MCATEEREdward T MCCORMICKGraeme MCCULLOCHMaurice MCDERMOTTJohn MCGUIREPhil MILESJohn MILLERRobert MONTEATH-WILSONAndrew MORRISRichard MURGATROYDJustin NEALESEd NEVARDDarryl NOLAN

Alan ONIONSStephen ORAMGordon PANICCARichard PARKERGeoffrey PARKINSONSimon PATEMANDiane PEARTRichard PEARTTony PEMBERBrian PERRYMargaret PHILLPOTTSRichard PHIPPSShusanah PILLINGERRon PINFIELDStephen POTTSPeter PRICESteve PRICEChris PUGHBrian RAINBOWJohn RAMSDENAndrew REGISTERAlex RENDUPhilip RHODESLouise Sheran RIGBYStephen RILEYStewart RILEYBruce RITCHIEGary ROBERTSONSteve ROFFEPeter ROGANDavid ROSSALLMark RUSBYNigel SAUNDERSDale SCARRGraeme SCOTTIvan SCOTTJasmine SHARPDave SHARPEMike SHELDRAKERichard SHIRLEYGill SIMMONDSAmanda SKULLDavid SMARTAlan SMITHPaul SMITHRon SMITHStephen SMITHMark SMITHIESDavid SOUTHIN

Michael SPENCERRobert STEPHENSGary STEVENSMarienus STIGTERMike STOALINGMartin STOCKSAndy STOVELLPeter SUMMERSWilliam SUMMERSLesley SUNGVictoria SYLVESTERNeil TALBOTColin TAMECeri THOMASJohn THOMPSONPeter THOMPSONSeanTOWNLEYChristopher TRACEYGraham VARNEYPeter WALDENPeter WALSHDavid WALTERJonathan WALTERSGraham WANLESSGraham WARDMary-Jane WATSONBob WATTSColin WEAVERRobin WEAVERWilliam WEIRSteve WHALLEYAnthony WHEATLEYBruce WHITEPhilip WHITEMANRichard WHITINGJohn WILLCOXJohnatan WILLIAMSScott WILLIAMSAlistair WILLISBrian WILSHEREDavid WINSLADENigel WINTERHonor WOODStephen WOODMatthew WRIGHTGavin YATES


Randonnées

BAIRD RobBLOOMFIELD IanBOND PeterBOOTH JonathanBROMLEY JoelBROWNING DavidCARSON RussellCOLE PaulCONTRERAS SANZ AlbertoCOOK StevenCROXFORD MartinDECKER Tim

We welcome 36 riders to the ranks of AUK Super Randonneurs. They have ridden 200, 300, 400 and 600 km in 2012.

New Super Randonneurs

GREENWOOD TonyGRIFFITHS GarethHOLDSWORTH GraemeJOHNSON PeterLOWE RonMACKAY HeatherMARSHALL AnnMCBRIEN StephenMCMILLAN RobertMCQUADE SteveMEARNS JamesMELLODY DavidMERRISON Kevin

2012 Randonneurs 1,000The Randonneur 1,000 award was instituted by AUK in 1996 and consists of the series: 100 km BP, 200 km BR(M), 300 km

BR(M), plus another 400 km worth of events (eg 400 km or 4 x 100 km or 2 x 200 km or 100 + 300 km etc). All completed in the same Randonneur year. You can substitute longer distances for shorter ones but only rides up to and including 400 km can

be used. This list excludes those who went on to become Super Randonneurs.

Martyn ALDISRhisiart AP GWILYMJohn BASTIANIMike BATCHELORMichael BATESDave BAXANDALLSimon BENNETTChris BEYNONRobert BIRDMike BLOOMSimon BOWDENDave BRADSHAWSteve BRAWLEYChristopher BREEDAlison BRINDAnton BROWNLucy BUCHANAN-PARKERPaul BULLEN-SMITHFred CAMPBELLPaul CAMPBELLMordechai CHACHAMUJustin CHAPMANRonnie CHARDRaymond CHEUNGJim CHURTONNick CLARKRoy CLARKEJulian COLEMichael CONWAYPaul CONYERSRoy COOKRachel COOKEAndy COXNigel COXCaroline CRIPPSPhilip CRIPPSChris CROOKESChris CULLENRod DALITZDavid DARRICOTTSally DAWPaul DAYPeter DILWORTHMark DOWTHWAITEMary DOYLEMark DUCKETTMike EADESTom ELLISRichard EVANSMark FAIRWEATHERTricia FARNHAMDavid FENNKevin FIRTHTom FOXIan GERRARD

Paul GIBBONSSteve GINTYSteve GLOSTERSimon GOODWINGraham GORDONMike GORDONRichard GOUCHERWilliam GREENJames GUMBRELLAnna HALLAMMatthew HALLAMPeter HAMMONDGraham HANLEYRichard HARDINGRobin HARPERBen HARRISDavid HARRISMalc HEATHCOTEGary HIBBARDRob HIDDERLEYMark HIGGINSPhil HODGSONRichard HODGSONPete HOLLEYAndrew HOODIan HORNEPeter HORNEGrant HUGGINSAdrian HUGHESRichard HULLTony HULLDavid HUSBANDGreg HYNESMark JACKLINDavid JACKSONColin JAMESRalph JAMESSam JONESJoe JORDPhillip JURCZYKNic KETLEYGarry KINGToshihiko KITAGAWARichard KITSONAdrian LAGANLouise LANCASTERCarl LAVERRichard LAWAnne LEARMONTHRichard LEONARDMark LISONTerry LISTERSteve LONGBob MACDOWALLGraeme MAIR

Chris MARCHPaul MARTINSimon MATTHEWSRobert MCCREADYDavid MCHALEAlan MCINTYREStewart MCKENZIEJamie MCLEODLucy MCTAGGARTRichard MCTAGGARTSteven MEDLOCKGraham MERRINGTONIvo MIESENColin MILDWATERJo MILESNeil MILTONJohn MORSEHeinrich MUELLERAnthony MYCOCKJeremy NASONJack NEALJonathan NUNNEYJohn OAKSHOTTHenry ORNAIan PADLEYSharon PADLEYAlex PATTISONJon PERIAMRussell PINDARRobert PITTWinston PLOWESJackie POPLANDDarryl PORRINO

Kevin PRESLANDNeil READYStephen REEDChris REGANJohn RIDOUTPaul ROBERTSAndrew RODGERSStephen ROGERSJohn ROSBOTTOMPaul RULEChris RUTTERNigel SAVERYJonathan SAVILLEJackie SAYERAndrew SEAGERPaul SEARAndy SEVIOURNeil SHANDGeoff SHARPEShawn SHAWMalcolm SHIREScott SLATERAlan SMITHGraeme SMITHMark SMITHIan SPENCERMartyn STAPLETONDavid STARKRobin STEVENSDaryl STICKINGSJohn STONEIan SUTCLIFFEJane SWAIN

Mike TATTERSALLAllan TAYLORPaul TAYLORTim TAYLORAndy TERRYJanet THACKERMartin THOMPSONKen THOMSONAndrew TOLLEYJohn TOMLINSONPhil TOMLINSONDavid TOMPSETTSimon TRUMPERWill TURNERStephen UNDERWOODTrevor WALEJonathan WARNERRobert WATSONAndy WATTFindlay WATTChris WATTSJason WEBBRobert WEBBStephen WHEELERPaul WHITENeville WHITTONWerner WIETHEGEChris WILBYLuke WILLIAMSJon WORTERSAdam YOUNGArmorel YOUNG

POWELL ChrisPRESTON AndrewREVELL PaulROWLEY StevenRUMBLE StephenSHARPE AdamSIMMONDS RobSUMMERS PaulTHOMAS RobynTREDGET PeteWELLER John


Permanent Eventsonline at: http://www.aukweb.net/cal/perms/index.htm

Dist AAA Title Reid Anderson 200 2.75 Fleet Moss RandonneeJoe ApplegarthDIY PERMANENTS SERIES (north east organiser)1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 kmDavid Atkinson 160 2.5 Daves Dales Tour 200 3 Daves Dales Tour Plus 100 2 Daves Mini Dales Tour 200 3.25 Dave’s Dales Tour Plus Mk2 New 100 0 Lucias Vale of York MeanderMark Beauchamp 200 0 A taste of the test 200 0 An anoraks delightRoss Bentley-Davies 200 0 Badby 200 (Cotswolds) 200 0 Badby 200 (Daventry) 400 0 Badby 400 (Knighton) 500 0 Badby 500 (Beverley) 400 2.75 Faffers 4001400 0 Middle Road1000 0 Middle Road 600 0 Middle Road 400 0 Middle Road 300 0 Middle Road 200 0 Middle Road 100 0 Middle RoadGeorge Berwick2260 0 Round the Coast1500 0 The Eightsome Reel2600 0 The Scottish Star 600 0 The Twilight 600Colin BezantCambrian Series100s, 200s, 300s, 400s, 600s, 800, 1000 100 2 Col de Bavella 400 6.75 Col de Sevi 210 3 Col de Verde 600 9.5 Col de Vergio 315 5.75 Col de VizzavoneDon Black 208 4.5 Bowland 200 100 2.25 Bretton 100 115 2.75 Edale 100 200 3.5 Manchester Loop 203 3.5 Round the West Riding 170 3.5 Slaidburn 170 133 2.75 Up and Down the West Riding 110 2.5 Widdop 110Lorraine Brown 400 0 Kingdom ComeBrian Callow 214 0 Bournemouth SquarePatrick Cherry 50 1 Forts and Ferries Grimpeur 129 2.5 The Ibex - Route 1 165 3.5 The Ibex - Route 2 103 3.25 The Ibex - Route 3 110 3 The Ibex - Route 4Geoffrey Cleaver 212 0 Two Battles PermanentAndy Corless 600 8.75 Airborne 600 600 0 Bordeaux - Barcelona 600 9.25 Devil Grimpeur 400 6 Hardknott Grimpeur 600 0 Manchester - London - Manchester 1 600 0 Manchester - London - Manchester 2 600 0 Manchester - Winchester - Manchester1000 17 Maniac Grimpeur 400 7.25 Northern Pennines Grimpeur 200 3 NPS2A Penrith - Ambleside - Rosthwaite - Gosfo 200 3 NPS2B Penrith - Stanhope - Barnard Cas. - Hawe 200 3.5 NPS2C Burnley - Malham - Kettlewell - Keld - I 200 3 NPS2D Burnley - Settle -Tan Hill - Aysgarth 200 3 NPS2E Burnley - Slaidburn - Ingleton Keld - Ay 200 3 NPS2F Burnley - Kettlewell - Leyburn - Dent - 200 3 NPS2F Penrith - Kendal - Gosforth - Rosthwaite 300 4.5 NPS3A Penrith - Hexham - Barnard Castle - Grassington 300 5.5 NPS3B Skipton - Pateley Br. - Leyburn - Alst 300 4.5 NPS3C Burnley - Slaidburn - Keld - Middleton 300 0 NPS3D Burnley - Lancaster - Tebay - Richmond 300 5 NPS3E Burnley - Reeth - Stanhope - Hawes - S

300 0 NPS3F Kendal - Seascale - Seatoller - Alston 300 4.5 NPS3G Burnley - Lancaster - Dent - Barnard C 400 5.75 NPS4A Burnley 400 7 NPS4B Burnley 400 0 NPS4C Preston 400 0 NPS4D Burnley 400 0 NPS4E Burnley 400 0 NPS4F Kendal 400 0 NPS4G Preston1000 0 Prague - Venice1000 0 Preston - Aberdeen - Preston 600 0 Preston - Ayr - Preston 600 0 Preston - Edinburgh - Preston 600 0 Preston - Glasgow - Preston 400 0 Preston - Whitby - Preston 300 4.75 Southern Dales GrimpeurChristopher Crossland 606 1.75 Another 3 Coasts 600 310 0 Buttys Brid Trip 53 1.25 Leap into the Aire 09 50 1.25 Mellow Fruitfulness 60 1.25 Perm into the Aire 110 2.25 Perm into the Dales 100 2.5 Season of Mists 100 2.25 Spring into the Dales 09 607 1.75 The 3 Coasts 600 200 1.75 The Good Companions 109 2.5 The Hebden Bridge Mini-V 405 6.5 The Old 240 202 1.5 The Red Rose Ride 403 0 The Spurn Head 400Alan Davies 600 8 Sea Lovers 600Thomas Deakins 100 0 Boudiccas Revenge 100 200 0 Boudiccas Revenge 200 200 0 Dick Turpins Day OutJohn Diffley 200 0 Manchester Velodrome - Liverpool - Manchester VelodromeJulian DysonDIY PERMANENTS SERIES (north west organiser)1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 kmChris Ellison 100 2 Mont Ventoux (100km)Martin Foley 200 0 Border Hills 200 0 Down to Longtown 206 3 Saltire 200kmRich ForrestDIY PERMANENTS SERIES (midlands & Wales organiser)1000, 800, 600, 500 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 kmTom Fox 100 0 Alfreton - Harworth 100 0 Alfreton - Sudbury New 600 0 Four + Two 200 0 Horncastle 200 404 0 Moors and Wolds 400 200 0 Notts, Lincs & Derbys 200 150 0 Oakham 150 300 0 Skeggy 100 0 To the RacesJohn Fyfe 200 4.75 Wildcat GrimpeurPeter Gawthorne 400 0 Lakeland 400 300 1.75 Southport - Lakeland - Southport 600 1.5 Southport - Scarborough - Southport 200 1.5 Southport - Settle - Southport 200 0 Southport-YorkPete Gifford 400 0 Fishlake 4001000 0 Great EasternSteve Gloster 200 0 Horseshoe Pass New 200 0 Lechlade on Thames New 200 0 Offa’s Byke New 200 0 Vale of Belvoir NewColin Gorton 120 2.75 Steve Coates Memorial Blackdown GrimpeurJohn Hamilton 200 3.75 Barcud Coch 200 3.25 Clwydian Horseshoe200-1400 0 DIY-way to LEL1000 15 Mille Cymru 200 3 Severn & Marches


Permanent Events

200 3 Severn & Wye 400 5.5 The Irish Mail 300 4.5 Wrekin to SeaTom Hanley 400 0 Buccleuch 400 300 0 Cumberland Gap 500 0 Guid Nychburris 200 0 Oot Tae CarrickIan Hennessey 300 0 Blackdowns & Levels 100 2 Coast Roads & Coach Roads 100 2.25 Devon & Somerset 600 0 Exe-Buzzard 600 New 200 3.25 Exmoor and Coast 600 8.25 Kernow & South West 600 300 0 Old Roads 300 New 150 0 Sea & levels 150 200 0 Sea & levels 200 200 4 Valley of the RocksGraham Hines 210 4 Tour of North Yorkshire MoorsJim Hopper 200 3 Peak District PermanentDavid Hudson 200 0 Buckbarn ~ Sutton Scotney 200 0 Daves Dover Dash 2001000 0 ELs 1000 410 0 Els 400 205 0 Hailsham - Folkestone 200 212 0 Hailsham - Liss 200 200 0 Medway Meander 205 0 Pulborough - Reading 200 200 0 Seaford Yalding 200 200 0 Sedlescombe ~ Herne Bay 300 0 The Hailsham 300 611 0 The Hailsham 600Tony HullDIY PERMANENTS SERIES (south west organiser)1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 kmMark Hummerstone 200 0 End to End - 7 x 200km Randonneur1300 0 End to End - Brevet Populaire1400 0 End to End - Brevet RandonneurPat Hurt 200 0 Poor Student 200Linda Johnston 200 0 Brittany Mesh 200 0 Brittany Seaboard 201 0 Carhaix and the Coast 220 0 Hidden Brittany 203 0 Menez - Hom et Roc Trevezel 200 0 Roscoff - QuimperSimon Jones2600 0 Calais - Brindisi1200 0 goumenitsa – Istanbul1405 0 Roscoff - Nice4014 0 The Orient Express 450 0 Tour of Kernow3100 0 Trafalgar - TrafalgarChris Keeling-Roberts 116 2.75 Cheshire Peak 205 4.5 Dark & White Peak 106 2.25 Dark Peak 100 3 Goyt Peak 108 2.5 Mid Peak 100 2.5 Monyash Peak 110 2.75 Staffs Peak 103 2.5 West Peak 103 2.25 White PeakChris Kula-Przezwanski 100 0 North Somerset 100 160 0 North Somerset 160 160 1.5 North Somerset Grimpeur 160 60 1 Over the MendipsDavid Lewis 200 3.75 British 200Cambrian Connections 600, 400, 300, 200, 100 200 0 Col du Wicklow Gap 200 0 Dingle Peninsula 200 0 Doctor Fosters Summer Saunter 200 0 Doctor Fosters Winter Warmer 800 0 Mizen Head - Malin Head 200 0 Mizen Head - Sheep’s Head 200 3 Penmachno - Penrhyn - Llyn 200 0 Ring of Beara

200 0 Ring of Kerry 100 2.25 Trefil Travail (West)Martin Lucas1400 0 The Eiger Sanction 7 x 200kmMartin MalinsExtended Calendar EventsRandonnee + 100km, Randonnee + 200km, Randonnee + 300kmRandonnee + 400km, Randonnee + 500km, Randonnee + 600km100km + 100km, 100km + 200km, 100km + 300km, 100km + 400km 100 1.75 The ReliableIan Marsh 200 0 Dieppe - Foret de Lyons 200 0 Dieppe to the SeinePeter Marshall1250 0 Cherbourg to Perpignan 6 x 200km 200 0 Ouistreham Circuit1100 0 Putting on the Biarritz 5 x 200km (+100km) NewDavid Matthews 200 3.5 Barmouth Boulevard 100 2 Brenig Bach 130 2 Momma’s Mountain View 200 3.5 Pistyll Packing Momma 138 2.25 The Clwyd Gate 200 3.5 The Clwydian 206 3 Tour of the BerwynsKeith Matthews 200 2 Dorset CoastMartin Newstead 400 0 Leeds - Carlisle - Leeds 300 0 Northallerton - Carlisle - NorthallertonRobert Ninnes 200 2 Chester - Bala 200 0 Chester - Dolgellau 200 2.25 Chester to Bala (Backwards) 200 0 Chester to Dolgellau (Backwards)Alex PattisonDIY PERMANENT SERIES (Scotland organiser)1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 km 300 4.75 The Snow RoadsJohn Perrin 200 2 ‘Gollen 200 0 The Cheshire Loops 200 2.75 The Flashy VenetianWinston Plowes 100 2.25 Hebden Bridge Star New 50 1.25 Hebden Bridge Starlet NewJackie Popland 400 0 Youth Hostel Arrow 300 0 Youth Hostel Dart 200 0 Youth Hostel DartStephen Poulton 200 0 Banbury Cross 200 300 0 Central Scotland 3001000 0 Centre Tour 205 0 Cheltenham 2012 Flyer 200 0 Cheltenham Flyer 200 100 0 Cheltenham Flyer Taster 400 0 Cheltenham Irish Sea 200 0 Cheltenham Old Clee Hill Flyer 100 0 Cheltenham The Vale 100 300 0 Cheltenham Wye & Brecon 500 0 Cheltenham Wye & Cardigan Bay 200 0 Cotswold and Thames 300 0 Cotswold and Thames 300 100 1.75 Cotswold Corker 150 3 Cotswold Super Corker 200 2.75 Cotswolds and Mendips Grimpeur 200 New1000 0 Eastern Tour1200 0 England Grand Tour 200 0 Glos & Somerset 200 200 2.75 Gospel Pass 200 200 0 Malvern Elgar Dean 200 0 Midlands Vale 200 500 0 Midlands, SW and Wales Tour 600 0 North East Tour 500 0 Northern Tour 200 0 Pennine Tour 200 0 Severn Bridge High Loop 500 0 Severn Bridge, Gloucester and Cardigan Bay 200 0 Severn Estuary 200km 200 0 South East Oxford Loop 700 0 Southern Tour 600 0 Spa Tour Combination 500 0 Spa Tour Combination 400 0 Spa Tour Combination


Permanent Events 50 1 Stroud 5 Valleys 400 0 SW and Wales Tour 205 0 Thames and Avon 200 100 0 Trossachs1400 0 UK Grand Tour 300 0 Welsh & Borders Tour 150 2.25 YatMon 150John Radford 300 0 Bernies Little Flat One 600 0 Bernies Long Flat One 200 0 Bernies Tiny Flat One 200 0 Doncaster Doddle 100 0 Goodbye Yorkshire Christmas Pudding New 400 0 Yorkshire Dales 300 0 Yorkshire Moors 200 0 Yorkshire WoldsHerman Ramsey 400 0 Asparagus and Strawberries 300 0 Green and Yellow Fields 106 0 Manningtree 100 150 0 Manningtree 150 200 0 Manningtree 200 100 0 The Ixworth FileAlan Rayner 100 0 Denmead - Stockbridge 100 100 0 Denmead - Whitchurch 100 200 0 Denmead 200 300 0 Denmead 300 400 0 Denmead 400 600 0 Denmead 600 200 0 Denmead Coastal 200 200 0 Solent - Hungerford 300 0 Solent - MalmesburyPaul Revell 100 2.25 La’al Lakeland 100 NewMark Rigby 300 0 A rough Diamond 200 1.75 Kings, Castles, Priests and Churches 200 0 Mr Pickwick Goes to Hay in a Day 200 0 Mr Pickwick’s Autumn Outing 200 0 Mr Pickwick’s Crych Cymru 200 1.75 Mr Pickwick’s March Madness 200 0 Mr Pickwick’s Summer Meander 200 0 Sam Weller’s Trip to WochmaJames Roberson 215 0 Cheshire CyclewayAndrew Rodgers 300 4 The Dean 300Shawn Shaw 300 0 Aberystwyth - Poole Diagonal 200 0 Cherbourg - Ouistreham 200 0 Dorset Delight 300 4.5 Hardboiled 600 8.25 Hellfire 200 0 La Transmanche 300 0 Poole - Aberystwyth Diagonal 400 6 Porkers 200 0 St Malo - Cherbourg 200 0 St Malo - Ouistreham 200 0 St Malo Route 2 (East) 200 0 St Malo Route 3 (West) 200 0 St. Malo Route 1 (South)Sheila Simpson 50 2 Alpe d Huez Circuit 50 1.5 Cime de la Bonette 163 4.25 Circuit of Galibier 50 1 Col de Cayolle 100 2 Corniches des Cevennes 105 2 Grande Serre and Col dOrnon Circuit 115 3.5 Mini - Mercantour 50 1 Mont Aigoual 50 1 Mont Ventoux 100 0 Normandy Landings 100 0 North York 200 0 Sea to Sea (Manche to Med) 5 x 2001000 0 Sea to Sea (Manche to Med) 14 day Brevet Populaire1000 0 Sea to Sea (Manche to Med) Randonnee 114 0 Suisse Normande 50 0 York - SelbySteve Snook 120 2.5 Deepdale and Fleet Moss 120 200 4.5 Park Rash and Swaledale 200 100 2 Silverdale and Wharfedale 100 50 1.25 Widdop 50

Peter South 100 1.5 Benidorm PRoF 100 110 1.75 Villajoyosa PRoF 100Paul StewartDIY PERMANENT SERIES (south east organiser) New1000, 800, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 km 200 0 The Boat Ride 200 0 The Ditchling DevilBob Thomas 300 0 The Saintly 300 400 0 The Saintly 400 (Cherbourg - St Malo - C 600 0 The Saintly 600 to Omaha 200 0 The Saints go to C 200 (1) 200 0 The Saints go to C 200 (2) 500 0 The Saints go to C the Normandy BeachesJohn Thompson1000 0 Lowestoft - Arndnamurchan 1000Stephen Underwood 300 0 Wiltshire CyclewayAndrew Uttley 200 0 A Ride Around Ben KlibreckJohn Ward 100 0 Isle of Wight End to End 100 0 New Forest 100 200 0 New Forest 200 300 0 New Forest 300 160 0 New Forest and Wiltshire CenturySimon WardDIY PERMANENTS SERIES (East organiser)1000, 800, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 150, 100, 50 km1200 0 Highland Fling 12001400 0 Highland Fling 1400 200 0 Tour of the Wolds 600 0 York - Cambridge - York 400 0 York - Stamford - York1000 0 York- Oban - YorkMary-Jane Watson 100 1.75 Celts Trams and Castles (Isle of Man) 110 2.25 Three Peaks of Mann (Isle of Man)William Weir 100 1.75 AAA Milne 200 3.5 Around Weald Expedition New 100 1.75 Down to Downs 100 1.75 Glen tae Ben 50 1 Surrey Hills 160 2.75 Sussexy Beast NewPippa Wheeler 100 0 Mad Hatter 100Paul Whitehead 200 0 Summer Saunter to Wantage New 200 0 Wantage Winter Wind Up NewPhilip Whiteman 200 3.5 Montgomery MadnessMike Wigley 207 0 A Mere Two Hundred 150 0 Audlem 200 0 Eccleshall 200 0 Holt 200 0 Holyhead-Prestatyn-Holyhead New 200 0 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 200 400 0 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 400 200 0 Newport 100 0 Radway 200 0 Stockport Eureka 300 0 The Full Monty 600 0 To Holland and Back 200 0 Wilmslow-St Asaph-Wilmslow NewNik Windle 300 1.75 Cheddar Gorge 300 200 0 Marlborough ConnectionDavid Winslade 200 0 The Man of Kent 200 300 0 The Man of Kent 300 400 0 The Man of Kent 400 200 0 Weald of KentOliver Wright 110 2 Grindleford Grimpeur 100 2.5 Hathersage - Elton - RoachesGraeme Wyllie 400 0 Berwick and Beattock 200 0 Fort Navigation 300 0 Half Light 300 0 Mull It Over 200 0 Port Navigation1300 0 Round Scotland


200 02 Feb Tewkesbury Sam Weller’s day trip to Wochma 07:30 Sat BR 203km 2300m [2700m] £4.00 c p r nm t 100 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ100 03 Feb Ashton Keynes, Cirencester Windrush Winter Warm-up 09:00 Sun BP 108km 650m £5.00 LFPRT 14-25kph Corinium CC [email protected] ROA 5000 Peter Holden, 39 Querns Lane Cirencester GL7 1RL100 09 Feb Dial Post, West Sussex Worthing Winter Warmer 09:00 Sat BP £5.00 F P R T 200 (29/01) 15-30kph Worthing Excelsior CC 01903 240 280 Mick Irons, 36 Phrosso Road Worthing West Sussex BN11 5SL200 10 Feb Bedford Burford Bumble 08:00 Sun BR 210km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph CTC Bedfordshire [email protected] Jackie Popland, 48 Haylands Way Bedford MK41 9BU100 10 Feb Chippenham Flapjack 09:00 Sun BP 104km £6.00 F P R T M 150 15-24kph Chip. & Dist. Whs. 01225 708449 Eric Fletcher, 174 Littleworth Lane Whitley Melksham Wiltshire SN12 8RE100 10 Feb Leicester Rutland and Beyond 08:30 Sun BP 102km 1290m £4.00 F L P R S T 100 12-30kph Leic. Forest CC [email protected] ROA 1000 Kim Suffolk, 73 Colby Road Thurmaston Leicester LE4 8LG200 16 Feb Cardiff Gate Malmesbury Mash 07:00 Sat BR £5.00 PRT 15-30kph Updated Cardiff Byways [email protected] Tony Pember, 9 Donald Street Nelson Treharris CF46 6EB120 16 Feb Hailsham Mad Jack’s- John Seviour Memorial 09:00 Sat BP 125km 2450m AAA2.5 £8.00 R F P 50(08/2/12) 14-25kph Andy Seviour Andy Seviour, 13 Blacksmiths Copse Hailsham East Sussex BN27 3XB120 16 Feb Hartlebury, S of Kidderminster Sunrise Express 08:30 Sat BP 123km £5.50 P R T 100 15-30kph Updated Beacon RCC 01562 731606 [email protected] Dr Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terrace Drayton Belbroughton Stourbridge DY9 0BW120 16 Feb Hartlebury, S of Kidderminster Snowdrop Express 09:00 Sat BP 123km £5.50 P R T 100 15-30kph Updated Beacon RCC 01562 731606 [email protected] Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terr Drayton Belbroughton Stourbridge DY9 0BW200 16 Feb Rochdale North-West Passage 08:00 Sat BR £6.00 R T P 15-30kph 120 16 Feb Rochdale mini-North-West Passage 09:00 Sat BP £6.00 R T P 10-20kph W. Pennine RC 01706 372 447 ROA 5000 Noel Healey, 95 Shore Mount Littleborough Lancs OL15 8EW160 17 Feb Honiton Glastonbury 100 Miler 8::30 Sun BP 166km 1440m £6.00 f p r t 14.3-30kph Exeter Wheelers 01404 46993 [email protected] ROA 10000 Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU100 17 Feb Old Town Hall, Musselburgh Musselburgh RCC 23rd Tour of East Lothian 10:00 Sun BP 106km £6.00 L P R T NM (10/02) 12.5-30kph Musselburgh RCC 01506 883 013 Andy Laing, 25 Spottiswoode Gardens Mid Calder West Lothian EH53 0JU150 23 Feb Chepstow Gospel Pass 08:00 Sat BP 2280m AAA2.25 £2.00 X P R (150) 15-30kph Bristol DA ROA 5000 Nik Peregrine, Castle Terrace 46 Bridge Street Chepstow NP16 5EY200 24 Feb Cheadle, Stockport Newport 08:00 Sun BR 201km 750m £6.00 P R T 80 15-30kph 150 24 Feb Cheadle, Stockport Radway 08:30 Sun BP 153km 450m £6.00 P R T 50 15-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] Tim Hughes, 5 Peterhouse Road Sutton Macclesfield SK11 0EN 80 24 Feb Chilham Forts & Ferries 80km Grimpeur 10:00 Sun BP 1330m AAA1.25 £3.00 40 PRT 13-26kph Patrick Cherry [email protected] Patrick Cherry, 28 Barton Road Canterbury Kent CT1 1YQ100 24 Feb Corscombe, near Beaminster The Primrose Path 09:00 Sun BP 102km 1955m AAA2 £7 P L R T 55 16/2 12.5-25kph Arthur Vince 01935 863 429 [email protected] Arthur Vince, 3 Back Lane East Coker Yeovil BA22 9JN100 24 Feb Henham, S of Saffron Walden Victoria C. C. - Brazier’s Run 09:00 Sun BP 106km £6.00 A(1) L P R S T (21/2) 15-30kph Updated Victoria CC Simon Hotchkiss, 1 Sharps Cottages Stanbrook Thaxted Essex CM6 2NN

50 24 Feb Henham, S of Saffron Walden Victoria C. C. - Brazier’s Run 09:00 Sun BP £5.00 A(1) L P R S T (21/2) 10-25kph Updated Victoria CC Simon Hotchkiss, 1 Sharps Cottages Stanbrook Thaxted Essex CM6 2NN200 02 Mar Grazeley, S of Reading The Kennet Valley Run 07:30 Sat BR 207km 1763m £6.50 L P R T 15-30kph Reading CTC [email protected] 02 Mar Grazeley, S of Reading The Kennet Valley 100 09:00 Sat BP 895m £6.00 L P R T 12-30kph Reading CTC [email protected] Mick Simmons, 84 Kidmore Road Caversham Reading RG4 7NA200 02 Mar Hellesdon, nr Norwich The Old Squit 08:00 Sat BR £6 LPRT 15-30kph 100 02 Mar Hellesdon, nr Norwich The Norfolk Mardle 09:00 Sat BP £5 LPRTS 15-30kph NorfolknGood Audax [email protected] ROA 5000 Keith Harrison, 11 Heather Avenue Hellesdon Norwich NR6 6LU200 02 Mar Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick’s March Madness 08:00 Sat BR 209km 2600m AAA1.75 [1700m] £4.0 c f p r nm t 100 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ100 03 Mar Bynea, Llanelli Carmarthenshire Stopper 09:00 Sun BP 102km 1720m AAA1.75 £4.50 C L F P R T 50 12-25kph Swansea DA [email protected] Ian Sharpe, Penhafod Stafford Common Gorseinon Swansea SA4 4HD200 03 Mar Exeter Mad March Coasts and Quantocks 08:00 Sun BR 201km 2725m AAA2 [1500m] £7.00 YH F P R T X 15-30kph 100 03 Mar Exeter Mad March Exeter Excursion 09:00 Sun BP 106km £7.00 YH F P R T 10-25kph Exeter Whs 01404 841553 [email protected] Pippa Wheeler, Rull Barn Payhembury Honiton Devon EX14 3JQ200 09 Mar Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington When I\’m 64 08:00 Sat BR 1480m £5.00 XPRT 15-30kph 100 09 Mar Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington When I\’m 64 (miles) 10:00 Sat BP 572m £5.00 XLPRT 15-30kph VC 167 01325 374 112 Nigel Hall, Finkle Croft Aldbrough St John Nr. Richmond DL11 7TD100 09 Mar Alfreton, NW of Nottingham Three Fields 09:00 Sat BP 104km 1270m £5.00 L P R T 100 12-30kph AlfretonCTC [email protected] ROA 5000 Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP100 09 Mar Catherington, near Portsmouth Lasham Loop 09:00 Sat BP 105km 1500m AAA1.5 £5.00 L P R T 14.3-30kph Hantspol CC [email protected] Jonathan Ellis, 42 Wessex Road Waterlooville Hampshire PO8 0HS150 09 Mar Droitwich Over the Malverns 08:30 Sat BP 159km 1500m £3.00 C P R T M 60 12.5-25kph Gavin Greenhow 01905 775 803 ROA 10000 Gavin Greenhow, 44 Newland Road Droitwich WR9 7AG200 09 Mar Henham, Saffron Walden The Shaftesbury Spring 200 08:00 Sat BR 203km 1856m [1700m] £5.00 L P R S T 15-30kph Shaftesbury CC [email protected] ROA 5000 Richard Parrotte, 23 Mayfield Road Writtle Chelmsford CM1 3EJ150 09 Mar Henham, Saffron Walden The Shaftesbury Spring 150 09:00 Sat BP 157km 1393m [1380m] £5.00 L P R S T 15-30kph 100 09 Mar Henham, Saffron Walden The Shaftesbury Spring 100 10:00 Sat BP 109km 958m [940m] £5.00 L P R S T 15-30kph 53 09 Mar Henham, Saffron Walden The Shaftesbury Spring 50 11:00 Sat BP 500m £5.00 L P R S T 12.5-25kph Shaftesbury CC 01245 421 088 [email protected] ROA 5000 Richard Parrotte, 23 Mayfield Road Writtle Chelmsford CM1 3EJ200 09 Mar Little Kimble,Buckinghamshire, HP17 0XN The Chiltern Hills Brevet 08:00 Sat BR 205km 2650m £5.00 L P R T 150 15-30kph 100 09 Mar Little Kimble,Buckinghamshire The Chilterns Spring Populaire 09:00 Sat BP 104km 900m [980m] £4.00 P L R T 150 12-24kph S. Bucks DA 01494865372 Terry Lister, 4 Abbey Walk Great Missenden Bucks HP16 0AY200 10 Mar Dalmeny Forth and Tay 08:00 Sun BR 208km 2500m £7.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU200 10 Mar Lichfield Vale of Belvoir 08:00 Sun BR 212km £5.00 P R T 15-30kph YACF [email protected] Steve Gloster, 24 Ash Street Bilston Wolverhampton WV14 8UP

Calendar Events


110 10 Mar Lichfield Charnwood Forest 09:00 Sun BP 116km £5.00 P R T 12.5-30kph YACF [email protected] Steve Gloster, 24 Ash Street Bilston Wolverhampton WV14 8UP 100 10 Mar North Petherton, S of Bridgwater Dunkery Dash 09:00 Sun BP 102km 1600m AAA1.5 £6.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Bridgwater CC [email protected] Keith Tudball, 9 Winford Close Portishead N Somerset BS20 6YG200 16 Mar Andoversford, nr. Cheltenham Cheltenham New Flyer 08:00 Sat BRM £6 15-30kph CTC West [email protected] 16 Mar Andoversford, Nr Cheltenham Cider with Rosie 150 08:30 Sat BP 152km £6.00 PRTL 12.5-30kph CTC West [email protected] 16 Mar Andoversford, Nr Cheltenham Character Coln 09:00 Sat BP 104km £5 PRTL 12.5-25kph CTC West [email protected] ROA 3000 Stephen Poulton, Leckhampton Lodge 23 Moorend Park Rd Leckhampton Cheltenham GL53 0LA200 16 Mar Cardiff Gate, NW Cardiff Making Hay 07:00 Sat BR 203km £5.50 YH L P R T 15-30kph Cardiff Byways CC 02920 341768 [email protected] ROA 3000 Richard Evans, 73 Conway Road Cardiff CF11 9NW200 16 Mar Ugley, S of Saffron Walden Up the Uts 08:30 Sat BR 206km £5 A(2) L P R S T 75 15-30kph 100 16 Mar Ugley, S of Saffron Walden Up the Uts 09:30 Sat BP 104km £5.00 A(2) L P R S T 75 15-30kph Squadra UVE 01245 467683 ROA 5000 Terry Anderson, 1 Claypits Road Boreham Chelmsford Essex CM3 3BZ100 17 Mar Otford, Sevenoaks Kent Invicta Grimpeur 100 09:30 Sun BP 1890m AAA2 £5.00 YH F L P R T 12-25kph 50 17 Mar Otford, Sevenoaks Kent Invicta Hilly 50 10:00 Sun BP 945m AAA1 £4.00 YH F L P R T 12-25kph West Kent CTC [email protected] Patrick McMaster, 207 Colyer Road Northfleet Kent DA11 8AT200 17 Mar Pendleton, Lancashire Delightful Dales 07:30 Sun BRM 205km 3600m AAA3.5 £5-00 L P R T 15-30kph Burnley Sportiv [email protected] Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT100 17 Mar Seaham Seaham Sircular 09:00 Sun BP 800m £5.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Change of Date Dave Sharpe [email protected] Dave Sharpe, 3 Elizabeth Street Seaham County Durham SR7 7TP200 17 Mar Winsford, Cheshire Scouting Mam Tor 08:00 Sun BR 207km 2400m £7.00 P R T 15-30kph 160 17 Mar Winsford, Cheshire Edale Run 08:30 Sun BP 167km 2252m £7.00 P R T 15-30kph Peak Audax [email protected] Phil Scott, 59 Hawkshead Way Winsford Cheshire CW7 2SY200 23 Mar Alfreton, NW of Nottingham Roses to Wrags 07:30 Sat BR 212km 1391m £6.00 F P R T 150 15-30kph Alfreton CTC Mark Wilson, 12 Gray Fallow Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 3BQ120 23 Mar Cardiff Glamorgan Glory 08:00 Sat BP 123km £5 P R T F 12.5-30kph Hugh Mackay [email protected] Hugh Mackay, 131 Stanwell Road Penarth CF64 3LL100 23 Mar Copdock, Nr. Ipswich The Copdock Circuit - Spring in South Suffolk 09:00 Sat BP £5-00 7-00 L P R T M 12-30kph CTC Suffolk [email protected] Dennis Kell, 9 Pheasant Rise Copdock Ipswich Suffolk IP8 3LF200 23 Mar Denmead, N of Portsmouth Denmead SR Series 200k 08:00 Sat BRM 202km £5.00 PTRL 15-30kph Communicare ROA 10000 Pam Pilbeam, The Nest Hambledon Road Denmead Hants PO7 6QF300 23 Mar Oxford The Dean 06:00 Sat BR 307km 4000m AAA4 £3.50 YH B P X 15-30kph Norton Wheelers [email protected] Andrew Rodgers, 57 Tennyson Road Sheffield South Yorkshire S6 2WD200 24 Mar Golden Green,Tonbridge Man of Kent 200 08:00 Sun BRM 209km 1425m £6.50 F,L,P,R,T, (120), (21/03) 15-30kph San Fairy Ann CC [email protected] David Winslade, 3 Albany Close Tonbridge Kent TN9 2EY100 24 Mar Lanchester, near Durham Killhope Grimpeur 08:30 Sun BP 103km 1800m AAA1.75 £6.00 L P R T 100 (16/3) 13-26kph Houghton Cycling Club 0191 584 3040 [email protected] Joe Applegarth, 7 Market Cr New Herrington Houghton-le-Spring DH4 7AP

200 24 Mar Long Ashton, Bristol Barry’s Bristol Ball Buster 08:00 Sun BR 214km 2000m £6 F, L, P, R, T, NM 15-30kph 110 24 Mar Long Ashton, Bristol Barry’s Bristol Bash 09:30 Sun BP 116km 1100m £6 F, L, P, R, T, NM 12.5-30kph Las Vegas Inst of Sport [email protected] Marcus Mumford, 12 Gleneagles Drive Henbury Bristol BS10 7PS200 24 Mar Poynton, S of Stockport Chirk 08:00 Sun BRM £6.00 F P 15-30kph Peak Audax [email protected] Darryl Nolan, 5 Grasmere Road Royton Oldham OL2 6SR200 24 Mar Rosewell, S of Edinburgh Dave Harris Memorial 08:00 Sun BR 201km 2900m AAA3 £10.00 F L P R T 50 (17/2) 15-30kph Audax Ecosse 0131 339 3709 Sonya Crawford, 24 Craigmount Terrace Edinburgh EH12 8BW200 24 Mar Whittlesford, Nr Cambridge End of Hibernation 200 08:00 Sun BR 1700m £6.00 LPRTM (45) 15-30kph 100 24 Mar Whittlesford, Nr Cambridge End of Snooze 100 10:00 Sun BP 980m £5.50 LPRTM (45) 15-30kph Cambridge CC [email protected] Terry Dickerson, 6 Ley Grove Cottages Whittlesford Road Little Shelford Cambridge CB22 5EX100 24 Mar Wigginton, N of York Fountains Monk’y-business 10:00 Sun BP 102km £2.00 L P R T 12-25kph North Yorks DA 01904 795 695 [email protected] Gerry Boswell, 5 Invicta Court Acomb York YO24 3NL400 29 Mar Anywhere Easter Flêches to York ::::: Fri BRM £12.00 Fee per Team. 360km+ 7th also 15-30kph Updated Huddersfield CTC John Radford, 11 Westfield Ave Meltham Holmfirth West Yorkshire HD9 5PY200 30 Mar Huntingdon Double Dutch 08:00 Sat BR £3 X 15-30kph Change of Date San Fairy Ann CC 01342 314 437 malinseastg(remove this)@tiscali dot co dot uk Martin Malins, 64 Blount Avenue East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 IJW300 30 Mar Penzance Many Rivers to Cross 06:00 Sat BR 307km 4940m AAA5 £3.00 BXYHC 15-30kph Audax Kernow [email protected] Martyn Aldis, Sundown 25a Kersey Rd Flushing Falmouth Cornwall TR11 5TR200 31 Mar Penzance Four Hundreds 200 08:00 Sun BR 207km 3760m AAA3.75 £3.00 BYHXC 15-30kph Audax Kernow [email protected] Martyn Aldis, Sundown 25a Kersey Rd Flushing Falmouth Cornwall TR11 5TR200 31 Mar Bynea, Llanelli Carmarthenshire Snapper 08:00 Sun BR 202km 2200m £6 C L F P R T 50 15-30kph Swansea DA [email protected] Ian Sharpe, Penhafod Stafford Common Gorseinon Swansea SA4 4HD100 31 Mar Hailsham, E Sussex The WOW (World of Water)100 09:00 Sun BP 106km 950m [1800m] £6.00 F P (500) 15-30kph David Hudson ROA 25000 David Hudson, 151 Middle Road Shoreham by Sea West Sussex BN43 6LG100 03 Apr Marple, near Stockport An Icecream Wensdae 10:00 Wed BP 109km 800m £5.00 P R T 30 (08-04) 15-30kph 100 03 Apr Marple, near Stockport Monyash Peak 10:00 Wed BP 107km 2400m AAA2.5 £5.00 P R T 30 (08-04) 12.5-30kph Peak Audax [email protected] Chris Keeling-Roberts, 17 Lower Strines Road Marple Cheshire SK6 7DL300 06 Apr Chalfont St Peter 3Down 06:00 Sat BRM 3100m £7.50 L P R T 15-30kph Willesden CC [email protected] Ian Oliver, 68 St Dunstans Avenue London W3 6QJ400 06 Apr Coryton, NW Cardiff Buckingham Blinder 05:00 Sat BR £15.00 X 15-30kph Cardiff Byways CC [email protected] Andy Cox, Aberdauddwr Aberffrwd Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 3ND200 06 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Eureka Excursion 08:00 Sat BR 227km £5.50 R L P T 50 15-30kph 110 06 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Two Mills Tour 08:30 Sat BP 113km £5.50 R L P T 50 15-30kph 68 06 Apr Eureka Cafe, Wirral Two Mills Twirl 09:00 Sat BP £5.50 R L P T 50 12.5-25kph Chester & N. Wales CTC [email protected] ROA 3000 David Matthews, Hill View Cott Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG300 06 Apr Poole hard boiled 300 02:00 Sat BRM 4400m AAA4.5 £10 L P M (50) (22/3) 15-30kph wessex CTC Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT

Calendar Events


200 06 Apr Symington, Biggar More Passes than Mastermind 08:00 Sat BR 3000m AAA3 £7.00 F L P R 15-30kph Audax Ecosse 01750 20838 Russell Carson, 21 Ladylands Terrace Selkirk TD7 4BB200 06 Apr Tewkesbury Sam Weller’s April Foolery 08:00 Sat BR 204km 2500m AAA1.75 £4.00 c f p r nm t 100 (19/2) 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ100 06 Apr Trowell, Nottingham Charnwood in the Spring 09:00 Sat BP 103km 950m £5.00 L P R T 150 12.5-30kph Notts DA 0115 932 9978 Mark Chambers, 62 Queens Ave Hallam Fields Ilkeston Derbyshire DE7 4DJ200 07 Apr Crosspool, Sheffield The Sheffrec Full Monty 08:00 Sun BR 202km 4000m AAA4 £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph 100 07 Apr Crosspool, Sheffield The Sheffrec Mini Monty 09:00 Sun BP 109km 2100m AAA2 £5.00 L P R T 12-25kph Sheffrec CC [email protected] Henry Foxhall, Dencot Great Hucklow Buxton Derbyshire SK17 8RG100 07 Apr Porlock Exmoor Spring 09:30 Sun BP £4.00 L P R T 100 10-20kph Minehead CC 01643 704 258 ROA 5000 Pam Almond, 40 King George Road Minehead TA24 5JD200 07 Apr Stevenage (Not the) Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials 08:15 Sun BRM 210km £6.00 P R T 150 15-30kph 110 07 Apr Stevenage (Not the) Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials 10:30 Sun BP 115km £5.00 P R T 150 12.5-25kph CTC Hertfordshire 01438 356 584 [email protected] Paul Boielle, 71 Lonsdale Road Stevenage SG1 5DD 62 07 Apr Stevenage (Not the) Stevenage Start of Summertime Specials 11:00 Sun BP £4.00 P R T 150 12.5-25kph Updated CTC Hertfordshire [email protected] Luke Peters, 86 Skipton Close Stevenage Hertfordshire SG2 8TW200 07 Apr Wareham Dorset Coast 07:45 Sun BRM 207km 2850m AAA2.75 £11.00 C L F R P T M 1/4 15-30kph 100 07 Apr Wareham Coastlet 09:00 Sun BP 102km 1300m £6.00 C L F R P T M 1/4 12-25kph Wessex DA 01305 263 272 [email protected] ROA 5000 Peter Loakes, 1 Church Cottage West Stafford Dorchester DT2 8AB200 13 Apr Ballachulish The Port Navigation 08:00 Sat BR 2650m £10 YH C F L P T S [4/4] 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Graeme Wyllie, 16 Corstorphine House Avenue Edinburgh EH12 7AD200 13 Apr Honiton Valley of the Rocks 200 08:00 Sat BRM 205km 3900m AAA4 £7.00 L P R T 40 15-30kph Exeter Whs [email protected] ROA 10000 Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU110 13 Apr Reepham, nr Lincoln Lincoln Imp 09:30 Sat BP 112km 200m £5.00 P R F L T 10-30kph Lincs. DA Andrew Townhill, 80 Rudgard Avenue Cherrry Willingham Lincoln LN3 4JG200 13 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Two Battles 08:00 Sat BR 209km 2300m £5.00 P R T 50 15-30kph 150 13 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Towering Trees 09:00 Sat BP 157km 1630m £5.00 P R T 50 14-30kph 110 13 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH The Essex Bridge 09:30 Sat BP £5.00 P R T 50 15-30kph 50 13 Apr Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Just a Chuffing 50 10:00 Sat BP £3.50 P R T 50 10-20kph Tamworth CC [email protected] Geoffrey Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth B78 1BY300 13 Apr Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Yr Elenydd 06:00 Sat BRM 305km 4950m AAA5 £10.00 A(2) C F L P R T (100) 15-25kph CTC Shropshire [email protected] ROA 10000 John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF200 14 Apr Congleton, Cheshire Ironbridge 207 08:00 Sun BR 207km 2130m £5.50 P R T 15-30kph 130 14 Apr Congleton, Cheshire Hawkstone 133 08:30 Sun BP 133km £4.50 P R T 15-30kph Congleton CC Rob Waghorn, The Querns Congleton Edge Cheshire CW12 3NB100 14 Apr Falmouth A Cornish 100 09:00 Sun BP 103km £4.00 F L P R S T 12-25kph 50 14 Apr Falmouth A Bunny Hop 10:00 Sun BP £4.00 F L P R S T 8-20kph Falmouth Whs. Adrian Hitchman , 39 Mongleath Rd Falmouth Cornwall TR11 4PN

110 14 Apr Maidenhead 10 Thames Bridges 09:00 Sun BP 111km £3.00 P R T 15-30kph 62 14 Apr Maidenhead Kaf to Kaf 10:00 Sun BP £3 PRT 12-25kph Willesden CC 07763 765 802 [email protected]. Mick Hill, 5 Castle Farm White Horse Road Windsor Berks SL4 4PT100 14 Apr Polegate (Nr Hailsham), E Sussex Hell of the Sussex Coastal Hills 09:00 Sun BP 106km 1893m AAA1.75 £6.00 P F T (500) 13-25kph 100 14 Apr Polegate (Nr Hailsham), E Sussex For those who dont do hills 100 09:00 Sun BP 650m £6.00 F P T (500) 15-30kph David Hudson ROA 25000 Dave Hudson, 151 Middle Road Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6LG300 20 Apr Cirencester Heart of England 300 06:00 Sat BR 307km 2800m £6.00 A(2) L P R T 100 15-30kph Corinium CC 01285 659 515 [email protected] ROA 5000 Peter Holden, 39 Querns Lane Cirencester Glos GL7 1RL200 20 Apr Eardisland, nr Leominster The Cambrian 08:00 Sat BR 208km 3750m AAA3.75 £7.00 L P R T 15-30kph 140 20 Apr Eardisland Village Hall, nr Leominster Cambrian Minor 08:30 Sat BP 2250m AAA2.25 £6.00 L P R T 10-30kph Hereford Wheelers [email protected] Nigel Jones, Croft Barns, Passa Lane Ryelands Leominster HR6 8QB300 20 Apr Manningtree, Colchester Green & Yellow Fields 00:01 Sat BR 305km 1500m £4.00 PT X 10/04 15-25kph Change of Date Flitchbikes CC [email protected] Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA300 20 Apr Musselburgh Merse and Moors 06:00 Sat BR 4200m AAA4.25 £5.00 X P R 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU300 20 Apr Poynton, S of Stockport Plains 23:00 Sat BR 310km £5.00 P X 15-30kph Peak Audax [email protected] Peter Hammond, 3 Dorac Ave Heald Green Cheadle Stockport SK8 3NZ 80 21 Apr Abingdon Freewheeling Spring Ride 10:00 Sun BP £4 T 5/4 13-30kph Didcot Phoenix CC Matthew Chambers, 23 Abbey Brook Didcot OX11 7FY110 21 Apr Bishops Lydeard, NW of Taunton Dustman Dave’s Doddle 09:00 Sun BP 114km £4.50 L P R T 10-30kph 64 21 Apr Bishops Lydeard, NW of Taunton Dustman Dave’s Diddy Doddle 09:30 Sun BP £3.50 L P R T 10-30kph Wellington Whs CC 01823 354 477 Dave Sanders, 34 Blackdown Road Taunton Somerset TA2 8EZ120 21 Apr Box Hill, Surrey Surrey Hillier 09:30 Sun BP 2250m AAA2.25 £6 FLRTP 20/4 (50) 15-30kph 60 21 Apr Box Hill, Surrey Surrey Hills 10:30 Sun BP 1000m AAA1 £6 FLRTP 20/4 (50) 10-25kph Redhill CC [email protected] William Weir, Flat 8 Burlington Court 158 Station Road Redhill Surrey RH1 1JE110 21 Apr Hebden Bridge Spring into the Dales 09:00 Sun BP 2350m AAA2.25 £4.00 L R T YH 12-24kph 53 21 Apr Hebden Bridge Leap into the Aire 10:00 Sun BP 1325m AAA1.25 £3.50 L R T YH 8-20kph W. Yorks DA 01422 832 853 [email protected] ROA 10000 Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF100 21 Apr Merthyr Tydfil Rhondda Traverse 09:00 Sun BP 109km 2100m AAA2 £4.50 P R T 12-30kph Merthyr Cycling Club [email protected] David Jones, 2 Brunswick Street Merthyr Tydfil CF47 8SB200 21 Apr Shenstone, Staffs Castleton Classic Revised 08:00 Sun BR 213km 2963m AAA3 £7.50 F L P R T 15-30kph 160 21 Apr Shenstone, Staffs Derbyshire Dales 08:30 Sun BP 1680m £7.00 F L P R T 15-30kph 100 21 Apr Shenstone, Staffs Staffordshire Lanes 09:00 Sun BP 102km 680m £5.00 L P R T 12.5-25kph CTC North Birmingham [email protected] Terry Dwyer, 5 Damson Grove Solihull B92 9EN110 24 Apr Maidenhead Riverside to Riverside 10:00 Wed BP 118km £3.00 P R T 15-30kph Willesden CC 07763 765 802 [email protected]. Mick Hill, 5 Castle Farm, White Horse Road, Windsor, Berks. SL4 4TP200 27 Apr Droitwich Three Counties Revisited 08:15 Sat BR 201km £4 C P R T M 14.4-25kph Gavin Greenhow 01905 775 803 ROA 10000 Gavin Greenhow, 44 Newland Road Droitwich WR9 7AG

Calendar Events


300 27 Apr Hodsoll Street, near Meopham Oasts and Coasts 300Km 06:00 Sat BR £6 LPTR 15-30kph Independent 01474 815 213 [email protected] ROA 4000 Tom Jackson, 19 Denesway Meopham Kent DA13 0EA300 27 Apr Newton Abbot TQ12 1LJ Chris Bennett 300 06:00 Sat BR 4050m AAA4 £8.00 A(2) L P R T S 15-30kph CTC Devon [email protected] Rod Pash, c/o 53 Regent Street Exeter EX2 9EG 200 27 Apr Whaley Thorns, near Mansfield Lincolnshire Cross 08:00 Sat BR 215km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph Bolsover & District CC 01246 825 351 [email protected] ROA 3000 Matt Connley, 7 Eskdale Close Bolsover Chesterfield S44 6RL300 27 Apr Whittlesford, Nr Cambridge Cambridge 300 06:00 Sat BR [1700m] £7.00 LPRTM (60) 15-25kph New Event Cambridge CC [email protected] Terry Dickerson, 6 Ley Grove Cott Whittlesford Road Little Shelford Cambridge CB22 5EX200 28 Apr Halifax The Red Rose Ride 08:00 Sun BR 2600m AAA1.5 [1500m] £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph W. Yorks DA [email protected] Dave Dodwell, 32 Parkside Avenue Queensbury Bradford BD13 2HQ200 28 Apr High Ham, SW of Street The Nutty Nuns 08:00 Sun BR 201km £6.50 F L P R T 15-30kph 100 28 Apr High Ham, SW of Street The Merry Monk 09:30 Sun BP 105km £6.00 F L P R T 12.5-25kph Bristol DA 01823 690 038 [email protected] Mark Lilly, Applehayes Main Road Middlezoy Bridgwater TA7 0PB110 28 Apr Northmoor, W of Oxford The Harlequin Hack 09:30 Sun BP 600m £5.50 YH C F L P R S T 100 15-30kph Harlequins CC [email protected] Ken Knight, Jordan Cottage Picklescott Church Stretton Shropshire SY6 6NR200 28 Apr Woodham Mortimer, Chelmsford Witham Westerley 08:00 Sun BR 208km £7.00 L P R T 100 15-30kph 160 28 Apr Woodham Mortimer, Chelmsford Witham 150 08:30 Sun BP £6.00 F L P R T 15-30kph 100 28 Apr Woodham Mortimer, Chelmsford Witham Wander 09:00 Sun BP 106km £5.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Cycle Club Sudbury 07752 305 476 [email protected] Ed Nevard, 83 London Road Kelvedon Essex CO5 9AU400 04 May Chepstow Brevet Cymru 06:00 Sat BRM 401km 4900m AAA2.25 [2300m] £9:00 c f l p r t nm z 100 15-30kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ150 04 May Forfar Amulree for Tea 09:00 Sat BP £6.50 C P R T S 15-30kph 50 04 May Forfar, Rugby Club Lintrathen Loop 10:00 Sat BP £2.50 C L T R P 10-25kph Angus CC 01307 466123 [email protected] ROA 2000 David Husband , 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar DD8 1JP 100 04 May Hailsham, E Sussex The Hell Forest 100 09:00 Sat BP 1450m £6.00 P F (500) 15-30kph David Hudson ROA 25000 Dave Hudson, 151 Middle Road Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6LG110 04 May Parkend, Forest of Dean The Lumpy Scrumpy 100 10:00 Sat BP 1850m AAA1.75 £5.00 YH C P T 75 12-25kph Royal Dean Forest C.C. [email protected] Steve Price, 7 Allsopp Close Newnham On Severn Glos GL14 1DP200 05 May Bedford Dassett Dawdle 08:00 Sun BR 213km £6 L P R 15-30kph CTC Bedfordshire [email protected] Jackie Popland, 48 Haylands Way Bedford MK41 9BU200 05 May Forfar Deeside Loop 08:00 Sun BR 2450m AAA2 [2025m] £6.00 C F P R S T 15-30kph Angus C.C. [email protected] ROA 3000 David Husband, 78 Old Halkerton Road Forfar Angus DD8 1JP100 05 May Grange School Pavilion, Hartford Ron Sant Memorial Ride 9::00 Sun BP 106km £5 P R T S 15-30kph Weaver Valley Derek Heine, 10 Whitehall Drive Hartford Northwich Cheshire CW8 1SJ200 05 May Morpeth, Nr Newcastle Chevy Chase 08:00 Sun BR 201km 3000m AAA3 £7.00 F L P R T 60 27/4 15-30kph Tyneside Vag. CC 07897561140 [email protected] Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX100 05 May N1 Golf Centre, Near Morpeth Burma Road 09:00 Sun BP 1600m AAA1.5 £5.00 FPRT 12-25kph Tyneside Vagabonds [email protected] Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX

400 05 May Poole Porkers 400 14:00 Sun BRM 5965m AAA6 [5250m] £10 L P R T M (50) (21/4) 15-30kph Wessex CTC Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT100 05 May Strathmore Rugby Club, Forfar Glen Isla 08:30 Sun BP 102km £5.00 C F P R S T 12.5-25kph CTC Tayside 01575 574 082 [email protected] ROA 3000 Ron Harrow, Edgar Cottage 21 Glamis Road Kirriemuir DD8 5BN100 05 May Ugley The Counties Festival 100 09:30 Sun BP 102km £5 L P R T S 15-30kph 53 05 May Ugley The Counties Festival 50 10:30 Sun BP £5 L P R T S 12-25kph ECCA 01245 467 683 ROA 5000 Terry Anderson, 1 Claypits Road Boreham Chelmsford Essex CM3 3BZ100 08 May Hurst, E of Reading Dinton 100 10:00 Wed BP 103km £3.00 L P R T 60 15-30kph Reading DA [email protected] Mike Hardiman, 7 Somerset Close Woosehill Wokingham RG41 3AJ300 11 May Alfreton, NW of Nottingham Everybody Rides to Skeggy! 06:00 Sat BR 302km 1141m £7.00 L R P T X 100 15-30kph Alfreton CTC 01 773 828 737 [email protected] ROA 2000 Ian Horne, 32 Ashop Road Belper Derbys. DE56 0DP100 11 May Alveston, N Bristol South Glos 100 09:30 Sat BP 106km £5.00 P R T 150 12.5-25kph Bristol DA [email protected] Nick Horne, 96 Ryecroft Road Frampton Cotterell Bristol BS36 2HH400 11 May Chalfont St Peter Severn Across 06:00 Sat BR 407km 3500m £5.00 YH L P R T 70 15-30kph Willesden CC Liam Fitzpatrick, 13 Heron Close Rickmansworth Hertfordshire WD3 1NF300 11 May Honiton Old Roads 300 06:00 Sat BRM 3400m £8.00 LPRT 15-30kph Exeter Whs 01404 46993 [email protected] ROA 10000 Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU400 11 May Manningtree, Colchester Asparagus & Strawberries 09:00 Sat BR 416km 2600m £4.00 PT X 01/05 15-25kph Flitchbikes CC [email protected] Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA400 11 May South Queensferry Berwick & Beattock 07:00 Sat BRM £2 BX 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Graeme Wyllie, 16 Corstorphine House Avenue Edinburgh EH12 7AD300 11 May Wigginton, York Wigginton 300 05:00 Sat BR 302km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph 100 11 May Wigginton, York Wiggy 100 10:00 Sat BP £2.50 A(1) YH L P R T 12-24kph CTC North Yorks 01904 769 378 [email protected] Keith Benton, 127 Greenshaw Drive Wigginton York YO32 2DB200 12 May Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield World’s End 08:00 Sun BR 210km 2450m AAA2 [1930m] £7.50 F L P R T 14.3-25kph Updated Peak Audax [email protected] John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB100 12 May Budleigh Salterton, Devon Jurassic Roller Coaster (East Devon Grimpeur) 08:00 Sun BP 1750m AAA1.75 £6 P R T NM 12.5-25kph 50 12 May Budleigh Salterton, Devon Otter Spotter 09:00 Sun BP [1750m] £5 P R T NM 12.5-25kph CS Dynamo Colin Mathison, 29 Chaucer Rise Exmouth Devon EX8 5SY200 12 May Lymington New Forest Excursion 08:00 Sun BR 204km £6.00 C L P R T 100 (7/5) 15-30kph 160 12 May Lymington New Forest Century 08:00 Sun BP £6 C L P R T 100 (7/5) 15-30kph 100 12 May Lymington New Forest Day Out 10:00 Sun BP 104km [2m] £6.00 C L P R T 100 (3/5) 10-20kph W J Ward 01590 671 205 [email protected] ROA 5000 John Ward, 34 Avenue Road Lymington Hants SO41 9GJ200 12 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden 200km 08:00 Sun BR 1756m [2400m] £6.00 P R T 15-30kph 160 12 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden Century Ride 08:30 Sun BP 1756m [2200m] £6.00 P R T 15-30kph 100 12 May Meopham, nr Gravesend Hop Garden 100km 09:00 Sun BP £6.00 P R T 10-30kph Gravesend CTC [email protected] Patrick McMaster, 207 Colyer Road Northfleet Kent DA11 8AT

Calendar Events


200 12 May Pendleton, Lancashire Dales Delight 200 08:00 Sun BRM 203km 3850m AAA3.75 [4100m] £5 L P R T 15-30kph Burnley Sportiv [email protected] Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT400 18 May Aldbrough St John, Nr Darlington The Lincoln 06:00 Sat BR 411km 1457m £5.00 X L P R T 15-30kph VC 167 01325 374 112 Nigel Hall, Finkle Croft Aldbrough St John Nr. Richmond DL11 7TD600 18 May Chepstow Bryan Chapman Memorial (Classic) 06:00 Sat BRM 619km 8300m AAA8.25 £25.00 BD C F L P R S T Z (4/5) 15-30kph Cardiff Byways CC [email protected] Ritchie Tout, Sunnyside Cottage Mynyddbach Monmouthshire NP16 6RT160 18 May Meriden, Warwickshire Cotswold Challenge 08:00 Sat BP 1300m £6.00 C L P R T NM 100 15-30kph CTC-heartofengland [email protected] 18 May Meriden, Warwickshire Warwickshire Wanderer 09:00 Sat BP 105km 602m [1000m] £6.00 C L P R T NM 100 12-25kph CTC-heartofengland [email protected] Jon Porteous, Tumnus Corner Springhill Gardens Webheath Redditch Worcs B97 5SY160 18 May Messingham, Lincs A North Lincolnshire Century 08:30 Sat BP 169km [1097m] £6.00 C P R T 15-30kph 110 18 May Messingham, nr Scunthorpe Mansgate 100 09:00 Sat BP 111km 711m £5 CPRT 15-30kph Ancholme Leisure Centre 01724 345402 [email protected] Stuart Greenaway, 74 Chiltern Cres Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN17 1TJ100 18 May Washington, W Sussex The Devils Punchbowl 100 09:00 Sat BP 1100m [1200m] £6.00 F P (8/5) (500) 15-30kph David Hudson ROA 25000 Dave Hudson, 151 Middle Road Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 6LG200 18 May Willington Hall, E of Chester Seamons CC ‘Tour of the Berwyns’ 08:00 Sat BR 208km 3100m AAA3 £5.00 L F P R T 100 (12/5) 15-30kph 130 18 May Willington Hall, E of Chester Seamons Llangollen Panorama 08:30 Sat BP 135km 1750m AAA1.5 [1500m] £5.00 L F P R T 100 12-25kph Seamons CC [email protected] David Barker, 221 Dane Road Sale Manchester M33 2LZ160 19 May Carnon Downs, S of Truro The Granite and Serpentine Way 08:30 Sun BP 163km 1670m [1671m] £6.00 C F L P R T 15-30kph 100 19 May Carnon Downs, S of Truro A Lizard Loop 09:00 Sun BP 104km 1100m [1637m] £5.00 C F L P R T 12.5-28kph 51 19 May Carnon Downs, S of Truro Carns and Killas 09:30 Sun BP £5.00 C F L P R T 10-28kph CTC Cornwall [email protected] Martyn Aldis, Sundown 25a Kersey Rd Flushing Falmouth Cornwall TR11 5TR200 19 May Claughton, N of Preston Fleet Moss 212 07:30 Sun BR 212km 3290m AAA3.25 £5.50 P R T 15-30kph 150 19 May Claughton, N of Preston Lunesdale Populaire 08:30 Sun BP 158km 2280m AAA2.25 £5.50 P R T 100 13-30kph 110 19 May Claughton, N of Preston Pilgrim’s Way 09:00 Sun BP 112km 1540m £5.50 P R T 10-25kph Ribble Valley C & RC Susan Harvey, 15 Kingsley Drive Chorley PR7 2NE150 19 May Dorchester Dorset Downs 150 08:30 Sun BP 2552m [2177m] £9.00 F P R T 150 15-25kph 100 19 May Dorchester Dorset Downs 100 10:00 Sun BP 102km 1995m AAA1.75 [1630m] £6.00 F P R T 150 12-24kph Justin Oakley 01305 266798 [email protected] Justin Oakley, 6 Linden Gardens Wollaston Road Dorchester Dorset DT1 1WB200 19 May Elstead, Godalming The Stonehenge 200 08:30 Sun BR 201km 2210m £5.00 F L P R T 15-30kph 150 19 May Elstead, Godalming The Danebury 150 08:30 Sun BP 152km £5.00 F L P R T 12.5-30kph 110 19 May Elstead, Godalming The Elstead 100 09:00 Sun BP 115km £5.00 F L P R T 12.5-30kph West Surrey DA [email protected] Nicholas Davison, The Bield Mill Copse Road Fernhurst West Sussex GU27 3DN200 25 May Carlton le Moorland, Lincolnshire Yellowbelly Tour 07:00 Sat BR £6.00 200,RM,P,R,T,NM 15-30kph 100 25 May Carlton le Moorland, Lincolnshire The Belvoir Bounce 09:00 Sat BP 105km £6.00 100,BP,F.L,P,R,T,NM 15-30kph Lincoln Wheelers [email protected] Richard Parker, 28 High Street Carlton Le Moorland Lincoln LN5 9HT100 25 May Crowborough The Reliable 10:00 Sat BP 1750m AAA1.75 £2 FP 12.5-30kph San Fairy Ann CC 01342 314437 malinseastg(remove this)@tiscali dot co dot uk Martin Malins, 64 Blount Avenue East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 IJW

300 25 May Kirriemuir The Snow Roads 06:00 Sat BR 4800m AAA4.75 £10.00 A(2) C F L P R T S(80) 15-25kph Angus Bike Chain [email protected] Alex Pattison, 1 Angle Park Crescent Kirriemuir Angus DD8 4TJ200 25 May Long Melford, nr Sudbury Edmund\’s Folk go Paddling 08:00 Sat BR 208km 1450m £5.50 L P R T 15-30kph CC Sudbury [email protected] Peter Whiteley, 133 Melford Road Sudbury Suffolk CO10 1JT100 25 May Long Melford, nr Sudbury Edmund\’s Kingdom 09:00 Sat BP 105km 705m £5.50 F L P R T 15-30kph CC Sudbury [email protected] Peter Whiteley, 133 Melford Road Sudbury Suffolk CO10 1JT400 25 May Poynton, S of Stockport Llanfairpwllgw... ...siliogogogoch 400 09:00 Sat BRM £8.00 XP 15-30kph Peak Audax 01457 870 421 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mike Wigley, Higher Grange Fm Millcroft Lane Delph Saddleworth OL3 5UX300 25 May Snods Edge Nr Consett The Mosstrooper 06:00 Sat BRM 3000m AAA3 [2000m] £6 C P T A 15-30kph Tyneside Vagabonds [email protected] Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX200 26 May Apperley, nr. Cheltenham Gospel Pass 200 08:00 Sun BR AAA3 £6 A(1)CPRTL 14.4-30kph 150 26 May Apperley, Nr Cheltenham YatMon 150 09:00 Sun BP 2230m AAA2.25 £6 A(1)CPRTL 12.5-30kph CTC West [email protected] 26 May Apperley, Nr Cheltenham Hoarwithy 100 (2Severn2Wye) 09:30 Sun BP £5 A(1)CPRTL 12.5-30kph CTC West [email protected] ROA 4000 Stephen Poulton, Leckhampton Lodge 23 Moorend Park Rd Leckhampton Cheltenham GL53 0LA120 29 May Chapel-en-le-Frith The Old Lead Miners Trail 09:00 Wed BP 2350m AAA2.25 £5.00 P R T S 60 12.5-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] David Catlow, 9 Friars Close Rainow Macclesfield SK10 5UQ200 01 Jun Bitteswell, Leicestershire Heart of the Shires 08:00 Sat BR 206km £6.00 L F P T 15-30kph Leicestershire CTC 100 01 Jun Bitteswell, Leicestershire Heart of the Shires 09:00 Sat BP £5.50 L F P T 12-30kph Leics. & Rutland DA Tony Davis, 2 The Courtyard Claybrooke Magna Lutterworth LeicsLE17 5FH200 01 Jun Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire nr Glasgow A Fyne Cowal 08:00 Sat BR £10.00 L P R T 15-30kph Glasgow DA [email protected] Graham Hanley, kelton 59 kilgraston road bridge of weir pa11 3dp160 01 Jun Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme Coast to Coast 08:00 Sat BP 1900m [1500m] £6 P R T 12-25kph 100 01 Jun Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme Coast and Back 09:00 Sat BP 1300m [1500m] £6 P R T 12-25kph CTC Devon Roy Russell, 52 Whitchurch Avenue Exeter EX2 5NT600 01 Jun Exeter Kernow and Southwest 600 06:00 Sat BRM 8200m AAA8.25 £15.00 YH L F R Z 30 15-25kph Exeter Whs 01404 46993 [email protected] ROA 10000 Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU300 01 Jun Meltham, SW of Huddersfield Butty’s Brid Trip 06:00 Sat BR 310km 2000m £4.00 X P NM 14.4-30kph Huddersfield CTC John Radford, 11 Westfield Ave Meltham Holmfirth West Yorkshire HD9 5PY300 01 Jun Pontardawe Teifi Traveller 05:00 Sat BR 3700m AAA3.5 £7.00 P R T Swansea DA [email protected] Ian Sharpe, Penhafod Stafford Common Gorseinon Swansea SA4 4HD200 01 Jun Pateley Bridge Dales Grimpeur 200 08:00 Sat BR 215km 4596m AAA4.5 £5.00 L P R S T 15-22.5kph 140 01 Jun Pateley Bridge Pateley Bridge 140 9::00 Sat BP 2000m £5.00 15-30kph Hambleton Road Club [email protected] Paul Roberts, 37 The Close Romanby Northallerton DL7 8BL100 01 Jun Tewkesbury The Silk Run 09:30 Sat BP 800m £3.50 P, T, 12.5-25kph BlackSheep CC [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ200 01 Jun Wem, Shropshire Four Rivers Ride 07:30 Sat BR 215km 3150m AAA3.25 £7.00 F L P R T 50 15-30kph 170 01 Jun Wem, Shropshire Three Rivers Ride 08:30 Sat BP 2200m AAA1.75 [1800m] £7.00 F L P R T 50 15-30kph

Calendar Events


130 01 Jun Wem, Shropshire Two Rivers Ride 09:00 Sat BP £7.00 L F P R T 80 12-24kph Shropshire DA [email protected] Edwin Hargraves, 22 Trentham Road Wem North Shropshire SY4 5HN600 01 Jun York Station York-Langholm-York (YLY) 07:15 Sat BR 608km 5473m £12 F Z T X 15-30kph VC 167 [email protected] Aidan Hedley, 16 The Close Lanchester Durham DH7 0PX200 02 Jun Congleton, Cheshire The Hills & Plains of Cheshire 08:00 Sun BR 210km 2285m AAA1.5 [1500m] £5.50 P R T 15-30kph 110 02 Jun Congleton, Cheshire Just the Plains of Cheshire 09:30 Sun BP 117km 724m £4.50 P R T 15-30kph 110 02 Jun Congleton, Cheshire Just the Hills of Cheshire 09:00 Sun BP 1700m AAA1.75 £4.50 P R T 12.5-25kph Congleton C.C. 01260 271258 Rob Waghorn, The Querns Congleton Edge Cheshire CW12 3NB100 02 Jun LLangefni, Anglesey Anglesey Lanes 10:00 Sun BP 104km 1200m £3 L P R T 12-30kph 52 02 Jun LLangefni, Anglesey Anglesey Wandering 10:00 Sun BP £2 L P R T 10-24kph Holyhead CC [email protected] Jasmine Sharp, 409A Crafnant Ffriddoedd Road Bangor Gwynedd LL57 2GX400 08 Jun Alfreton Moors and Wolds 400 10:30 Sat BRM 404km 2425m £8.00 P R T X 15-30kph 50 08 Jun Alfreton Victorian Post Boxes 50 10:30 Sat BP 669m £3 FLPT 10-25kph AlfretonCTC 01773 833 593 [email protected] ROA 5000 Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP200 08 Jun Corwen The Barmouth Boulevard 08:00 Sat BR 208km 3450m AAA3.5 £5.00 P R T 50 15-30kph 200 08 Jun Corwen Barmouth Boulevard---Vyrnwy Variant 08:00 Sat BR 204km 3650m AAA3.75 £5.00 P R T 20 15-30kph 100 08 Jun Corwen The Brenig Bach 09:00 Sat BP 107km 1920m AAA2 £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph 60 08 Jun Corwen The Bala Parade 10:00 Sat BP 1000m £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph Chester & N. Wales CTC [email protected] ROA 4000 David Matthews, Hill View Cott Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG600 08 Jun Dalmeny The Deeside Lass 06:00 Sat BR 608km 7750m AAA7.75 £10 F L P R T 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Graeme Wyllie, 16 Corstorphine House Avenue Edinburgh EH12 7AD200 08 Jun Great Dunmow, Essex Flitchbikes 200 08:30 Sat BR 218km £6.00 L P R T M (30/5) 15-30kph 100 08 Jun Great Dunmow, Essex Flitchbikes 100 09:30 Sat BP 107km £6.00 L P R T M (30/5) 12.5-25kph 53 08 Jun Great Dunmow, Essex Flitchbikes 50km 10:00 Sat BP £5.00 NLPRTM(30/5) 8-20kph Flitchbikes CC [email protected] Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA600 08 Jun Mytholmroyd, W. of Halifax The 3 Coasts 600 06:00 Sat BRM 607km 5611m AAA1.75 [1631m] £10.00 A(3) L P R T Z YH 15-30kph 600 08 Jun Mytholmroyd The East & West Coasts 600 06:00 Sat BRM 605km 4380m [5380m] £10.00 A(3) L P R T Z YH 15-30kph W. Yorks DA 01422 832 853 [email protected] ROA 10000 Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF600 08 Jun Poole Brimstone 600 06:00 Sat BRM 8150m AAA8.25 £10 L P M (50) (24/5) 15-30kph Wessex CTC Shawn Shaw, 22 Shaftesbury Road Longfleet Poole Dorset BH15 2LT100 08 Jun Swaffham Community Centre The Iceni 100 09:00 Sat BP £5 LPRT 12-30kph NorfolknGood audax [email protected] ROA 5000 Keith Harrison, 11 Heather Avenue Hellesdon Norwich NR6 6LU100 09 Jun Abergavenny Monmouthshire Meander 09:00 Sun BP 1500m AAA1.5 £4.50 YH F P L T 15-25kph Abergavenny RC [email protected] Jonathan Saville, 9 Trehonddu Llanvihangel Crucorney Abergavenny Monmouthshire NP7 8DG100 09 Jun Caton, NE of Lancaster Bowland Forest Populaire 09:00 Sun BP 1800m AAA1.75 £3.00 P R T 75 12.5-20kph CTC Lancaster 01524 36061 [email protected] ROA 5000 Mike Hutchinson, Heatherdene 9 Whinfell Drive Lancaster LA1 4NY200 09 Jun Hertford (Bengeo) Herts High Five 08:00 Sun BR 207km 1634m [1509m] £4.00 L P R S T 15-30kph Hertfordshire Wheelers 07985 019214 [email protected] Graham Knight, 25 Lordship Road Cheshunt Waltham Cross Herts EN7 5DR

150 09 Jun Hertford (Bengeo) Four Counties 150 09:00 Sun BP 157km £4.00 L P R S T 15-30kph 100 09 Jun Hertford (Bengeo) Two Counties 100 10:30 Sun BP 104km £4.00 L P R S T 12-25kph 50 09 Jun Hertford (Bengeo) One County 50 12:00 Sun BP £3.00 L P R S T 10-20kph Hertfordshire Wheelers 07985 019214 [email protected] Graham Knight, 25 Lordship Road Cheshunt Waltham Cross Herts EN7 5DR200 09 Jun Launceston, No. 8 Cafe Tour of the Moors 08:00 Sun BR 206km 3800m AAA3.75 £5.00 L P R T (50) (5/7) 15-30kph 160 09 Jun Launceston, No. 8 Cafe Dartmoor 8 08:30 Sun BP 3300m AAA3.25 [2200m] £5.00 L P R T (50) (7/6) 15-30kph 100 09 Jun Launceston, No. 8 Cafe Moor & Coast 09:00 Sun BP 103km 2200m AAA2.25 £4.00 L P R T (50) (7/6) 15-30kph 52 09 Jun Launceston, No. 8 Cafe Tamar Taster 09:30 Sun BP 1100m AAA1 £4.00 L P R T (50) (7/6) 12.5-25kph CTC Cornwall 01822 860261 [email protected] Jim Wilkinson, Wellspring Chillaton Lifton Devon PL16 0HS200 09 Jun Mytholmroyd, W. of Halifax The Good Companions 08:30 Sun BR 2697m AAA1.75 [1631m] £5.00 A(2) L P R T YH 15-30kph W. Yorks DA 01422 832 853 [email protected] ROA 10000 Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF200 09 Jun Wimbledon Common The Ditchling Devil 08:00 Sun BR 205km 2400m [2700m] £10 200 10/7 15-30kph Willesden Cycling Club [email protected] Paul Stewart, 25 Devonshire Gardens Chiswick London W4 3TN400 15 Jun Tiverton Audax UK National 400 09:00 Sat BRM 407km 3300m £20 flprtcz(200) 15-30kph Exeter Whs Jamie Andrews, Cemetry Lodge Ashill Road Uffculme Devon EX15 3DP 84 16 Jun Stevenage (Fairlands) Bike Week - Stevenage Circular Cycle 10:00 Sun BP £4.00 L P R T (8/6) 12-28kph Stevenage (Herts) CTC 01438 354 505 [email protected] ROA 5000 Jim Brown, 38 Brick Kiln Road Stevenage SG1 2NH400 21 Jun Anywhere Summer Arrow to York ::::: Fri BR £12.00 X 15-30kph Huddersfield CTC John Radford, 11 Westfield Ave Meltham Holmfirth West Yorkshire HD9 5PY350 22 Jun Anywhere Summer Dart to York ::::: Sat BR 360km £5 14.4-30kph Huddersfield CTC 01484 851 480 John Radford, 11 Westfield Avenue Meltham Huddersfield HD9 5PY200 22 Jun Anywhere, (Bovey Tracey) Dart-Moor-Ghost-Dart ::::: Sat BR 1850m £10 FLRT 14.3-28.6kph 140 22 Jun Bovey Tracey, Devon Dartmoor Ghost 22:30 Sat BP 145km 1850m £10 FLRT 12.5-28.6kph CTC Devon 01626 833 749 ROA 3000 Kevin Presland, Hind Street House Hind Street Bovey Tracey Devon TQ13 9HT600 22 Jun Pendleton, Lancashire Pendle 600 06:00 Sat BRM 613km 10150m AAA10 [9000m] £10 F L P R S T Z 15-30kph Burnley Sportiv [email protected] Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT300 22 Jun Portmahomack, IV20 Tongue Twister 06:00 Sat BR £5.00 A(2) C L P R T S (40) 15-30kph 100 22 Jun Portmahomack, IV20 Easter Ross Ramble 10:00 Sat BP £2 A(2) C L P R T S(40) 9-18kph CTC Highland 01862 871 136 [email protected] ROA 5000 Steve Carroll, Creag Charrach Rockfield Village Portmahomack IV20 1RF200 22 Jun Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick’s High Summer Meander 08:00 Sat BR 215km 2500m £4.0 c f l p r t nm 100 (12/6) 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ200 23 Jun Hereford, Leisure Centre Hereford Towns 08:00 Sun BR 210km 3200m AAA3.25 £5.00 LPRTS 15-30kph 100 23 Jun Hereford, Leisure Centre Hereford Villages 09:00 Sun BP 108km 1450m £5.00 LPRT 14.3-24kph 53 23 Jun Hereford, Leisure Centre Hereford Hamlets 09:30 Sun BP £5.00 LPRT 14.3-24kph Hereford Wheelers Maurice Tudor, Apartment 1 Barton West 73 Barton Rd Hereford HR4 0AU200 23 Jun Portmahomack, IV20 Cromarty Cruise 08:00 Sun BR £5 A(2) C L P R T S (40) 15-30kph CTC Highland 01862 871 136 [email protected] ROA 5000 Steve Carroll, Creag Charrach Rockfield Village Portmahomack IV20 1RF

Calendar Events


100 26 Jun Hampton Hill, W London London Midweek Sightseer 09:30 Wed BP £5.00 C L P T 10-20kph Hounslow & Dist. Whs 020 82873244 [email protected] Bill Carnaby, 225 High Street Hampton Hill Middlesex TW12 1NP300 29 Jun Galashiels Alston and Back 06:00 Sat BR 2700m £5.00 PBXDIY(22/6) 15-30kph Gala CC 01896 758 181 [email protected] ROA 10000 Lucy McTaggart, 30 Victoria St. Galashiels Scottish Borders TD1 1HL600 29 Jun Poynton, S of Stockport To Holl and Back 06:00 Sat BRM 3000m £8.00 x 15-30kph Peak Audax 01457 870 421 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mike Wigley, Higher Grange Fm Millcroft Lane Delph Saddleworth OL3 5UX200 30 Jun Awbridge,Nr. Romsey, Hampshire Hungerford Hurrah 08:00 Sun BR 2200m £6.00 L P R T 50 16/6 15-30kph 140 30 Jun Awbridge,Nr. Romsey, Hampshire Hungerford Hooray 09:00 Sun BP 1450m £6.00 L P R T 50 16/6 15-30kph South Hampshire CTC [email protected] Alan Davies, 7 Queens Close Romsey Hampshire SO51 5EG300 30 Jun Bethersden, nr Ashford, Kent Fairies Flattest Possible 300 02:00 Sun BR 304km £5.00 C F L P R T 15-30kph 200 30 Jun Bethersden, nr Ashford, Kent Fairies Half-Flat 200 08:00 Sun BR 201km 1000m £5 C,F,L,P,R,T 15-30kph 150 30 Jun Bethersden, near Ashford Fairies Fairly Flat 150k 08:30 Sun BP £5 C,F,L,P,R,T 15-30kph 100 30 Jun Bethersden, near Ashford Fairies Flat 100k 09:00 Sun BP £5 C,F,L,P,R,T 15-30kph San Fairy Ann CC [email protected] David Winslade, 3 Albany Close Tonbridge Kent TN9 2EY100 30 Jun Easingwold, N of York Mother Shipton 100k 10:00 Sun BP 103km £2.00 L P R T 12-25kph 51 30 Jun Easingwold, N of York Linton Locks 50k 10:30 Sun BP £2.00 L P R T 12-25kph North Yorks DA 01904 795 695 [email protected] Gerry Boswell, 5 Invicta Court Acomb York YO24 3NL200 30 Jun Hampton in Arden A Cotswold Adventure 08:00 Sun BR 207km £6.00 RFPT 15-30kph 150 30 Jun Hampton in Arden Solihull CC mini Randonnee 08:30 Sun BP 156km £5.00 RFPT 15-30kph 100 30 Jun Hampton-in-Arden A Warwickshire Wander ! 09:00 Sun BP £4.00 F P R T 15-30kph SOLIHULL CC [email protected] Richard Law, 16 Vernon Close Leamington Spa CV32 6HH200 30 Jun Milton, Abingdon Barbury Bash 08:00 Sun BR 210km £5 R T P L 24/6 15-30kph 160 30 Jun Milton, Abingdon Barbury Bash 09:00 Sun BP £5 R T P L 24/6 15-30kph 110 30 Jun Milton, Abingdon Barbury Bash 09:00 Sun BP £5 R T P L 24/6 15-30kph Didcot Phoenix CC Ian Middleton, 4 Isis Close Abingdon OX14 3TA200 30 Jun Otley, West Yorkshire Yorkshire Mixture 08:00 Sun BR 203km 2400m AAA1.75 [1750m] £5.00 L R T S 15-30kph 100 30 Jun Otley, West Yorkshire The Two M’s Ride 09:00 Sun BP 107km 1050m £4.00 L R T S 12-25kph Otley CC [email protected] Chris Boulton, 15 Adel Towers Close Leeds LS16 8ES200 06 Jul Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield Knockerdown 08:00 Sat BR 201km 3150m AAA3.25 £7.50 F L P R T 14.3-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB300 06 Jul Crosspool, Sheffield You Cannock be Serious 06:00 Sat BR 310km £7.00 L P R T S 15-30kph Sheffrec CC 07787 502298 [email protected] Henry Foxhall, Dencot Great Hucklow Buxton Derbyshire SK17 8RG110 06 Jul Hulme End, nr Hartington Lutudarum 09:30 Sat BP 114km 1800m AAA1.75 £5.50 C F P T 12.5-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB200 06 Jul Oundle, Northants Reservoir Triple BR 08:00 Sat BR 204km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph 150 06 Jul Oundle, Northants Reservoir Double BP 08:30 Sat BP 154km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph 100 06 Jul Oundle, Northants Reservoir Single BP 09:00 Sat BP 101km £4.50 L P R T 12.5-30kph CTC Northants & M K Richard Daniells, 6 Matson Close Rothwell Northants NN14 6AY

200 06 Jul Scunthorpe, The Pods Leisure Centre Bluestone 200 8.:00 Sat BR £6 PPRT 15-30kph Ancholme Leisure Centre 01724 345402 [email protected] Stuart Greenaway, 74 Chiltern Cres Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN17 1TJ200 06 Jul Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick Takes Flight 08:00 Sat BR 206km 1800m [2700m] £4.00 c f p r nm t 100 (30/1) 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ 69 07 Jul Carharrack, Cornwall Mines and Mineral Railways On-road 10:00 Sun BP 820m £5.00 C L P R T 8-30kph 67 07 Jul Carharrack, Cornwall Mines and Mineral Railways Off-road 10:00 Sun BP 773m £5.00 C L P R T 8-30kph Audax Kernow [email protected] Simon Jones, The Cottage Pulla Cross Truro Cornwall TR4 8SA100 07 Jul Combe Down,, Bath Mendip Transmitter 08:30 Sun BP £5 N.P.R.T 15-30kph Bath CC Robert Mcmillan, 228 Bloomfield Road Bath BA2 2AX100 07 Jul East Finchley, N2 9ED Suburban Breakout 10:00 Sun BP 102km 755m £5 PRT 15-30kph Central London CTC [email protected] Nick Bloom, 32 Fortis Green Avenue Fortis Green London N2 9NA200 07 Jul Edenbridge, Kent Around Weald Expedition 08:30 Sun BR 215km 3500m AAA3.5 £6 R T P (80) 6/7 15-30kph 120 07 Jul Edenbridge, Kent Kidds Toys 09:30 Sun BP 123km 2150m AAA2.25 £6 R T P (50) 6/7 12-25kph Redhill CC [email protected] William Weir, Flat 8 Burlington Court 158 Station Road Redhill Surrey RH1 1JE200 07 Jul Smallworth, Garboldisham, nr Diss Garboldisham Groveller 08:00 Sun BR £5.00 C L P R T 100 15-30kph 100 07 Jul Smallworth, Garboldisham, nr Diss Garboldisham Grafter 09:00 Sun BP £5.00 C L P R T 100 15-30kph 55 07 Jul Smallworth, Garboldisham, nr Diss Garboldisham Grinder 10:00 Sun BP £5.00 C L P R T 100 10-25kph Diss CTC [email protected] Tom Elkins, 6 Marston Lane Norwich NR4 6LZ300 12 Jul Great Dunmow, Essex Hereward the Wake 21:00 Fri BR 301km £8 X R L P T M (04/06) 15-30kph Flitchbikes CC [email protected] Thomas Deakins, 31 The Causeway Great Dunmow Essex CM6 2AA200 13 Jul Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington The Hartside 08:00 Sat BR 210km 3000m AAA3 £6.00 L P R T 15-30kph 100 13 Jul Aldbrough St John, nr Darlington Northern Dales Summer Outing 09:30 Sat BP 1475m £4.50 L P R T 10-30kph VC 167 [email protected] David Atkinson, 4 Borrowby Avenue Northallerton North Yorkshire DL6 1AL110 13 Jul Alfreton In Memory of Tommy 09:00 Sat BP 115km 1050m £5.00 L P R T 12-30kph Alfreton CTC 01773 833 593 [email protected] ROA 5000 Tom Fox, 180 Nottingham Road Alfreton Derbyshire DE55 7FP600 13 Jul Leighton Buzzard The Buzzard 07:00 Sat BRM 5600m £5 X 15-30kph Exeter Whs 01404 46993 [email protected] ROA 10000 Ian Hennessey, 10 High Street Honiton EX14 1PU200 14 Jul Denshaw, NE of Oldham Roun’ t’ West Ridin’ 203 08:00 Sun BR 203km 3650m AAA3.5 £5.00 PRST 40 14.3-30kph 170 14 Jul Denshaw, NE of Oldham Slaidburn 08:30 Sun BP 3550m AAA3.5 [2900m] £5.00 P R S T 40 12.5-25kph 100 14 Jul Denshaw, NE of Oldham Bretton 103 09:00 Sun BP 2250m AAA2.25 £5.00 PRST 40 10-25kph Peak Audax 0161 368 5267 [email protected] Don Black, 18 Cotton Mills Drive Hyde SK14 4TS110 14 Jul Earlswood Lakes, Warwickshire Midlander 100 09:00 Sun BP £6.00 P R T 15-30kph MC&AC Jim Lee, 107 Shustoke Road Solihull West Midlands B91 2QR160 20 Jul Bildeston, Suffolk 100 miles of Suffolk Lanes - Cornfields, Castles,Coast 08:45 Sat BP 168km £5.00 L P R T S 15-30kph 100 20 Jul Bildeston, Suffolk Bildeston Lanes 09:30 Sat BP 104km £5.00 L P R T S 15-30kph 200 20 Jul Bildeston, Suffolk Suffolk Lanes Extravaganza - Castles and the Coast 08:30 Sat BR 209km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph Change of Date Cycle Club Sudbury 01449 741048 [email protected] Robin Weaver, 14 Chapel Street Bildeston Ipswich Suffolk IP7 7EP200 21 Jul Fairburn, SE of Leeds Brimham Rocks 200 08:00 Sun BR 203km 2160m AAA1.5 [1500m] £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph

Calendar Events


100 21 Jul Fairburn, SE of Leeds Wetherby 100 09:00 Sun BP 518m £4.50 L P R T 50 10-20kph Change of Date Huddersfield CTC 01484 851 480 John Radford, 11 Westfield Avenue Meltham Huddersfield HD9 5PY100 21 Jul Musselburgh The Crystal Run 10:00 Sun BP 1600m AAA1.5 £5.00 F L P R 12.5-25kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU200 21 Jul Padiham, Lancashire Tan Hill 200 08:00 Sun BRM 206km 4500m AAA4.5 £5 L P R S T 15-30kph Burnley Sportiv [email protected] Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT100 24 Jul Marple Dark Peak Grimpeur 10:00 Wed BP 106km 2290m AAA2.25 £5.00 P R T 60 (257) 12.5-25kph Peak Audax Derek Heine, 10 Whitehall Drive Hartford Northwich Cheshire CW8 1SJ100 28 Jul Challock, Kent Forts & Ferries 100km Grimpeur 10:00 Sun BP 1610m AAA1.5 £5.00 FLPRT 14-26kph Patrick Cherry [email protected] Patrick Cherry, 28 Barton Road Canterbury Kent CT1 1YQ1400 28 Jul Loughton, Essex FULL London Edinburgh London 08:00 Sun BRM 1415km 11500m AAA2.75 [2750m] £219 CFLPRTSNMZ(750) 12-30kph LEL 2013 ROA 4000 London Edinburgh London team, 11 Heather Avenue Hellesdon Norwich NR6 6LU200 03 Aug Bolsover Clumber to Humber 08:00 Sat BR 211km £5.00 L P R T 15-30kph Bolsover and District CC 01246 825 351 [email protected] ROA 4000 Matt Connley, 7 Eskdale Close Bolsover Chesterfield S44 6RL200 04 Aug Wickhamford, SE of Evesham Neville Chanin Memorial - Over The Severn 08:00 Sun BR 213km 3134m AAA3.25 £7.00 F P R T 15-30kph 200 04 Aug Wickhamford, SE of Evesham Three Counties - Four Leaf Clover 08:00 Sun BR 202km £6.00 F P R T 15-30kph 110 04 Aug Wickhamford, SE of Evesham Three Counties - Two Leaf Clover 09:00 Sun BP 111km £4.00 F P R T 15-30kph 50 04 Aug Wickhamford, SE of Evesham Three Counties - Clover Leaf 09:30 Sun BP £2.00 F P R T 10-25kph Evesham & Dist. Whs [email protected] Pete Hutchinson, Hazelwood Shinehill Ln South Littleton Evesham Worcs WR11 8TP100 04 Aug Wilton, Salisbury The Blackmoor Tour 10:00 Sun BP 1088m £5.00 YH F L P R T 12.5-30kph 200 04 Aug Wilton,, Salisbury West Bay and Back 08:00 Sun BRM 2700m AAA2.25 [2300m] £6.00 YH F L P R T 70 15-30kph AUK Andy Heyting, 5 St Leonards Terrace Blandford Forum Dorset DT11 7PF100 07 Aug Marple, Memorial Park, SK6 Mid-Peak Grimpeur 10:00 Wed BP 109km 2400m AAA2.5 £5.00 L P R T 40 (31/7) 12.5-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] Chris Keeling-Roberts, 17 Lower Strines Road Marple Cheshire SK6 7DL100 10 Aug Aldbrough St John, Nr Darlington Aldbrough Grimpeur 09:00 Sat BP 105km 2305m AAA2.25 [1837m] £5 L P R T 12.5-25kph Velo Club 167 01325 374 112 Nigel Hall, Finkle Croft Aldbrough St John Nr. Richmond DL11 7TD200 10 Aug Bedford Rutland Ramble 07:30 Sat BR 207km £6 L P R 15-30kph CTC Bedfordshire [email protected] Jackie Popland, 48 Haylands Way Bedford MK41 9BU200 10 Aug Cardiff gate, Cardiff Dr. Foster’s Summer Saunter 08:00 Sat BR 201km £6.00 C P R T 50 15-25kph Cardiff Byways CC [email protected] Tony Pember, 9 Donald Street Nelson Treharris CF46 6EB300 10 Aug Tewkesbury A Rough Diamond 06:00 Sat BRM 301km 2500m [3450m] £6:50 c f l p r t nm 100 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ200 10 Aug Trowell, Nottingham The Cheshire Cat 08:00 Sat BR 206km 3630m AAA3.75 £5.00 L P R T 80 15-30kph Notts DA 0115 932 9978 Mark Chambers, 62 Queens Ave Hallam Fields Ilkeston Derbyshire DE7 4DJ120 11 Aug North Petherton, S of Bridgwater Three Towers and Middle Earth 08:30 Sun BP 125km £8.00 F L P R T 15-30kph 100 11 Aug North Petherton, Sof Bridgwater The Two Towers 09:00 Sun BP £7.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Bridgwater Cycling Club [email protected] Keith Tudball, 9 Winford Close Portishead N Somerset BS20 6YG110 14 Aug Maidenhead Boulters Bash 10:00 Wed BP £3.00 P R T 15-30kph Willesden CC 07763 765 802 [email protected]. Mick Hill, 5 Castle Farm, Leigh Square Windsor Berks SL4 4PT

100 14 Aug Marple Memorial Park White Peak Grimpeur 10:00 Wed BP 103km 2310m AAA2.25 £5.00 P R T 60 (8/8) 12.5-25kph Peak Audax 01457 870421 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mike Wigley, Higher Grange Farm Millcroft Ln Delph Oldham Saddleworth OL3 5UX200 17 Aug Belbroughton, N Worcestershire Kidderminster Killer 08:00 Sat BR 211km 3750m AAA3.75 £7.25 F L P R S T (70) (8/8) 14.3-30kph 120 17 Aug Belbroughton, North Worcestershire From Clee to Heaven 09:00 Sat BP 1950m AAA2 £7.25 F L P R S T (65) 13-25kph Beacon Roads Cycling Clu 01562 731606 [email protected] Philip Whiteman, 2 Drayton Terr, Drayton Belbroughton Stourbridge Worcs DY9 0BW400 17 Aug Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire The Old 240 05:30 Sat BR 406km 6400m AAA6.5 £5.00 C F L P R T 15-30kph 400 17 Aug Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire Not Quite The Spurn Head 400 05:30 Sat BR 403km 2450m £5.00 C L P R T 15-30kph CTC West Yorkshire 01422 832 853 [email protected] ROA 10000 Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF100 18 Aug Brigg The Summer Knows 09:00 Sun BP 767m £5 L P R T S NM 15-30kph Ancholme Leisure Centre [email protected] Stuart Greenaway, 74 Chiltern Cres Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN17 1TJ110 18 Aug Shere, Guildford Tour of the Hills 09:50 Sun BP 115km 2300m AAA2.25 £6.50 F L P R T 225 15-30kph West Surrey CTC 01483 810028 [email protected] Don Gray, Greenleas Beech Lane Normandy Surrey GU3 2JH100 21 Aug Marple West Peak Grimpeur 10:00 Wed BP 103km 2400m AAA2.5 £5.00 P R T 60 (16/8) 12.5-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] David Catlow, 9 Friars Close Rainow Macclesfield SK10 5UQ300 24 Aug Mildenhall Cycle Rally Mildenhall Rally Roving 300 04:00 Sat BR 312km £5.00 CPTS (16/08) 15-30kph 60 24 Aug Mildenhall Cycle Rally Mildenhall Rally Brief Brevet 10:00 Sat BP £5.00 CPTS 16/8 10-30kph 200 24 Aug Mildenhall Cycling Rally Mildenhall Rally Randonnee 08:00 Sat BR 206km £5.00 CPTS (16/8) 15-30kph 100 24 Aug Mildenhall Cycling Rally Mildenhall Rally Brevet 09:00 Sat BP 105km £5.00 CPTS (16/8) 12-30kph Suffolk CTC [email protected] Dennis Kell, 9 Pheasant Rise Copdock Ipswich Suffolk IP8 3LF200 24 Aug Newtonmore Forres Foray 08:00 Sat BR 202km £3.00 C YH L P R T 15-30kph 100 24 Aug Newtonmore Grantown Gallop 10:00 Sat BP 104km £2.00 C YH L P R T 15-30kph CTC Highland [email protected] ROA 5000 Steve Carroll, Creag Charrach Rockfield Tain Ross-shire IV20 1RF200 25 Aug Shipton, North of York Tan Hill Audax 08:00 Sun BR 208km 2400m AAA2 [1900m] £4.50 L P R T 15-30kph Clifton CC Steven Roebuck, 18 Riverside Gardens Elvington York YO41 4DT200 31 Aug Bangor, North Wales Sych it and Sea (Gwynedd Traverse) 08:00 Sat BR 210km 2850m AAA2.75 £5 L P R T 15-30kph Holyhead CC [email protected] Jasmine Sharp, 409A Crafnant Ffriddoedd Road Bangor Gwynedd LL57 2GX200 01 Sep Lymington New Forest On and Off Shore 07:45 Sun BR 202km £17.00 L P R T 100 (3/9) Ferry 15-30kph 150 01 Sep Lymington New Forest and Isle of Wight Century 07:45 Sun BP £17.00 L P R T 100 (30/8) Ferry 15-30kph 100 01 Sep Lymington New Forest and Coast 10:00 Sun BP 102km £6.00 C L P R T 100 (3/9) 10-20kph John Ward 01590 671 205 [email protected] ROA 5000 John Ward, 34 Avenue Road Lymington Hants SO41 9GJ200 07 Sep Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Wem, we get there 08:30 Sat BR 208km 1400m £5.00 X P R 50 15-30kph 110 07 Sep Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH Charnwood Challenge 09:00 Sat BP 111km 1094m £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-30kph 51 07 Sep Tamworth, Pretty Pigs PH National Forest 50 09:30 Sat BP 400m £4.00 P R T 50 10-20kph Tamworth C.C. [email protected] Geoffrey Cleaver, 43 Goodere Drive Polesworth Tamworth B78 1BY200 07 Sep Tewkesbury Mr. Pickwick goes to Hay in a day 08:00 Sat BR 205km 1900m £4.00 c f l p r t nm 100 15-25kph BlackSheep CC 01684 292 390 [email protected] ROA 10000 Mark Rigby, 16 Battle Road Tewkesbury Park Tewkesbury GL20 5TZ200 08 Sep Arnside YH Northern Dales 08:00 Sun BR 202km 3000m AAA3 £3.00 YH R S T 15-30kph

Calendar Events


Dales Delight 200 - photos overleaf by Andy Corless, the organiser:Top Left: Andrew Brown in Swaledale Right: Nigel Bishop in Swaledale Middle Left: Adrian Hughes near Outgill Right: Robert Bialek, Old Coal Road Bottom Left: Brian Willis, Old Coal Road Right: Greg Hynes in Swaledale

110 08 Sep Arnside YH Northern Dales Populaire 09:00 Sun BP 1675m AAA1.75 £3.00 YH R S T 100 12.5-20kph VC167 [email protected] Julian Dyson, 5 Duke Street Gleaston Ulverston Cumbria LA12 0UA200 08 Sep Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield The Two Loops 08:00 Sun BR 213km 1700m £7.50 F L P R T 14.3-25kph 110 08 Sep Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield The 1... 09:00 Sun BP 114km £7.50 F L P T 12.5-25kph Peak Audax 01625 614830 [email protected] John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB110 08 Sep Connor Downs, NE of Hayle Golowjy ha Bal 116 09:00 Sun BP 116km 1825m AAA1.75 £4.00 C L P R T 75 12-30kph 52 08 Sep Connor Downs, NE of Hayle Golowjy ha Bal 52k 10:00 Sun BP 863m AAA0.75 £4.00 C L P R T 50 8-30kph Audax Kernow [email protected] ROA 4000 Peter Hansen, Corner Cottage 7 Prosper Hill Gwithian Cornwall TR27 5BW200 08 Sep Musselburgh The Erit Lass 08:00 Sun BR 3000m AAA3 £7.00 F L P R T 15-30kph Audax Ecosse [email protected] Martin Foley, 78 Denholm Road Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6TU110 08 Sep Oundle, Northants Rockingham and Rutland 09:30 Sun BP 114km £4.50 L P R T 12.5-30kph CTC Northants & MK Richard Daniells, 6 Matson Close Rothwell Northants NN14 6AY160 14 Sep Husbands Bosworth Welland Wonder 160 08:00 Sat BP 1675m £5.00 LPRT 15-30kph 110 14 Sep Husbands Bosworth Welland Wonder 100 08:30 Sat BP 116km 1350m £5.00 LPRT 12-24kph 53 14 Sep Husbands Bosworth Welland Wonder 50 09:00 Sat BP 525m £5.00 LPRT 12-24kph Welland Valley CC 01858545376 Mike Vybiral, Logan Cott Grange Lane E Langton Market Harborough LE16 7TF100 15 Sep Hampton Hill, SW London London Sightseer 09:15 Sun BP £4.50 C L P T NM 10-20kph Hounslow & Dist. Whs 020 8287 3244 [email protected] Bill Carnaby, 225 High Street Hampton Hill Middlesex TW12 1NP100 15 Sep Merthyr Tydfil Dic Penderyn 09:00 Sun BP 1900m AAA2 £4.50 P R T 12-30kph Merthyr CC 01685 373 758 [email protected] ROA 2000 Adrian McDonald, 2 Brunswick St Merthyr Tydfil Mid Glam CF47 8SB200 15 Sep Old Ma’s Tattenhall, Cheshire Pistyll Packing Momma 08:00 Sun BR 209km 3400m AAA3.5 £5.00 P R 50 T L (11/09) 15-30kph 130 15 Sep Old Ma’s Tattenhall, Cheshire Momma’s Mountain Views 09:00 Sun BP 137km 2000m AAA2 £5.00 P R 50 T L (11/09) 12.5-25kph 50 15 Sep Old Ma’s Tattenhall, Cheshire Momma’s Leafy Lanes 10:00 Sun BP £5.00 P R 50 T L (11/09) 10-20kph Chester & N Wales CTC [email protected] ROA 4000 David Matthews, Hill View Cott Cross Lanes Oscroft Tarvin Cheshire CH3 8NG200 21 Sep Richmond, North Yorkshire Dales Dales Tour Plus 08:00 Sat BR 3150m AAA3.25 £5.00 C F L P R T 14.4-30kph 150 21 Sep Richmond, N Yorks Dave’s Dales Tour 160KM 08:30 Sat BP 2500m AAA2.5 £4.50 C F L P R T 12-30kph 100 21 Sep Richmond, N Yorks Lucia’s Vale of York Meander 100KM 10:00 Sat BP £4.50 C F L P R T 10-20kph 100 21 Sep Richmond,, N Yorks Dave’s Mini Dales Tour 100KM 09:30 Sat BP 1900m AAA2 £4.50 C F L P R T 10-20kph Swaledale Outdoor Club 07887628513 [email protected] David Atkinson, 4 Borrowby Avenue Northallerton North Yorkshire DL6 1AL110 22 Sep Lower Whitley, nr Warrington The Wizard and the Llamas 08:30 Sun BP 114km 767m £6.50 L P R T 15-30kph North Cheshire Clarion Matt Ellis, 1 Truro Close Woolston Warrington WA1 4LR200 29 Sep Pendleton, Lancashire Last Chance Dales Dance 200 07:30 Sun BRM 3300m AAA3.25 [3000m] £5-00 L P R T 15-30kph Burnley Sportiv [email protected] Andy Corless, 31 Castlerigg Drive Ightenhill Burnley Lancashire BB12 8AT100 05 Oct Bristol Tasty Cheddar 09:00 Sat BP 101km £4.00 P YH 12.5-30kph Bristol DA 0117 925 5217 [email protected] ROA 4000 Joe Prosser, 8 Portland Court Cumberland Close Bristol BS1 6XB200 05 Oct Chalfont St Peter The Anfractuous 08:00 Sat BR 207km 2400m £6.00 L P R T M 75 15-30kph 100 05 Oct Chalfont St Peter The Nyctophobic 08:30 Sat BP 109km 1400m £5.00 L P R T M 75 12.5-30kph Willesden CC [email protected] Paul Stewart, 25 Devonshire Gardens Chiswick London W4 3TN

200 05 Oct Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Beyond Shropshire (Severn & Wye) 08:00 Sat BR 205km 2970m AAA3 £5.00 C F L P R T 50 15-30kph CTC Shropshire [email protected] ROA 10000 John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF120 05 Oct Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury Discovering Shropshire 09:00 Sat BP 1650m AAA1.5 [1545m] £6.00 C F L P R T 100 12.5-25kph 80 05 Oct Upton Magna, E of Shrewsbury A Shropshire Lad 10:00 Sat BP 1030m £5.00 C F L P R T (50) 10-22.5kph CTC Shropshire [email protected] ROA 10000 John Hamilton, 22 Oaks Crescent Wellington Telford TF1 2HF110 06 Oct Blaxhall, Suffolk The Suffolk Byways 09:00 Sun BP 117km 620m £5.00 YH C L P R T (120) 15-30kph CTC Suffolk [email protected] Paul Bass, 21 Thomas Close Ixworth Bury St Edmunds IP31 2UQ100 06 Oct Hebden Bridge Season of Mists 09:00 Sun BP 2555m AAA2.5 £4.00 L R T YH 12-24kph 50 06 Oct Hebden Bridge Mellow Fruitfulness 10:00 Sun BP 1200m AAA1.25 £3.50 L R T YH 8-20kph W. Yorks DA 01422 832 853 [email protected] ROA 10000 Chris Crossland, 14 Stanley St. West Sowerby Bridge W. Yorks HX6 1EF200 12 Oct Broken Cross, nr Macclesfield Venetian Nights 08:00 Sat BR 210km 2750m AAA2.25 [2333m] £8.00 F L P R T 14.3-25kph Peak Audax [email protected] John Perrin, 20 Princes Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 8UB200 13 Oct Blundeston nr Lowestoft, Suffolk The Silly Suffolk 08:00 Sun BR £5.00 FRTP 15-30kph 150 13 Oct Blundeston nr Lowestoft, Suffolk The Silly Suffolk 09:00 Sun BP £5.00 FRTP 15-30kph Velo Club Baracchi [email protected] John Thompson, 136 Dell Road Oulton Broad Lowestoft Suffolk NR33 9NT100 13 Oct Hailsham, E Sussex Winchelsea Tea & Cake 100 09:00 Sun BP 106km 1100m [1500m] £6.00 F P (2/10) (500) 15-30kph David Hudson ROA 25000 David Hudson, 151 Middle Road Shoreham by Sea West Sussex BN43 6LG100 13 Oct Hebden Bridge The Hebden Bridge Star 10:00 Sun BP 106km 2295m AAA2.25 £4 YH F L P T 12-24kph Peak Audax Winston Plowes, P O Box 759 Hebden Bridge West Yorkshire HX7 8WJ100 13 Oct Kirkintilloch, Sports Centre Ivy’s Mid Scotland Meander 9::00 Sun BP 1311m £7.00 L. P. R. T. S. NM. 15-30kph Glasgow Ivy CC [email protected] Richard Barnes, 14 St Columba Drive Kirkintilloch G66 3JN100 13 Oct Wigginton, N of York Gerry’s Autumn Brevet 10:00 Sun BP 101km £3.00 L P R T 12-25kph North Yorks DA 01904 795 695 [email protected] Gerry Boswell, 5 Invicta Court Acomb York YO24 3NL200 19 Oct Corwen, N. Wales The Clwydian 08:00 Sat BR 212km 3200m AAA3.25 [3488m] £5.00 P R T 50 15-30kph 130 19 Oct Corwen, N. Wales The Clwyd Gate 08:30 Sat BP 138km 2250m AAA2.25 £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph 60 19 Oct Corwen ‘The Bala mini- Bash’ 09:00 Sat BP £5.00 P R T 50 12.5-25kph Chester & N. Wales CTC 01745 560892 [email protected] Vicky Payne, Bryn Celyn Penyffordd Holywell Flintshire CH8 9HH150 19 Oct Trowell, West of Nottingham An Autumn day out. 08:15 Sat BP 153km 1135m £5.00p L P R T(80) 15-30kph Nottinghamshire CTC 0115 932 9978 Mark Chambers, 62 Queens Avenue Hallam Fields Ilkeston Derbys DE7 4DJ100 27 Oct Bovey Tracey The Dartmoor Devil @ 8 08:00 Sun BP 106km 2500m AAA2.5 £8.00 F P R T 100 (20/10) 12.5-25kph 100 27 Oct Bovey Tracey The Dartmoor Devil @ 9 09:00 Sun BP 106km 2500m AAA2.5 £8.00 F P R T 100 (20/10) 12.5-25kph CTC Devon 01626 833 749 ROA 3000 Kevin Presland, Hind Street House Hind Street Bovey Tracey Devon TQ13 9HT100 27 Oct Stevenage (Fairlands) Emitremmus Desrever 10:00 Sun BP 101km £6 L P R T (19/10; 360) 12.5-28kph 67 27 Oct Stevenage (Fairlands) Emitremmus Lite 10:30 Sun BP £6 L P R T (19/10; 100) 10-20kph Stevenage (Herts) CTC 01438 354 505 [email protected] ROA 5000 Jim Brown, 38 Brick Kiln Road Stevenage SG1 2NH

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