May 2010: Brickendon Green Time Trial

The North Road Cycling Club organise a weekly time trial league every Tuesday evening at 7.00pm around a 9.1-mile circuit based on Brickendon near Hertford. HQ is at Brickendon Green Village Hall. The circuit is hilly with several fast flat sections.

This week saw another big turn out and a win for Andy Hastings of Finchley RT. The quickest North Road rider was Marcus Machell who posted a time of 22.34.

Course details: Proceed from outside Brickendon Village Hall down Brickendon Lane where turn left onto the B158. Take the left turn for Robins Nest Hill to Little Berkhampstead where turn left for Epping Green. Left to Bayford where turn right and back to Brickendon.

July 09: Beastway - Race Night 3!

A heavy rain shower hit the race prior to the start and this turned the first lap into a mud fest, but as the race progressed the course settled down and we saw close, fast racing. Dan Oakley (Chelmer) had led on lap one but like a number of others he succumbed to the mud early on.

This week saw a Master and a Vet taking first and second place overall but the winner of the Expert Men was Paul Wilkinson. William Jones had a storming ride to win the Masters race and just behind him was Paul Hudson, winner of the Veteran category.

Full race Report

July 09: Beastway - Race Night 2!

Despite some heavy rain and a sticky surface the second round of the Beastway series saw some fast racing and with another win for a Monkey, this time a younger one!

Alex Baker stepped up from Sport to Expert and took the win from Paul Wilkinson and Nat Jarvis. Alex is in fact a Youth rider, making it an even more remarkable result for the youngster!

Full race Report

July 09: Beastway - Race Night 1!

Beastway was back this week and with over 120 riders turning out at the newly developed Hog Hill the event was a success. The course was bumby and a bit sketchy in places as it beds in but the potential was obvious with many beliving it could even live up to its predecessor, Eastway!

There was some fast racing throughout the night as ever with a Beastway race and shouts of left and right echoed throughout the complex as riders hussled past each other to gain valuable places.

Full race Report

July 09: Beastway is back!

Beastway is back and Hog Hill will be the new home of this popular London based grass roots mountain biking series this summer. The site has recently been seeded so the first race has been delayed to 1 July to let the grass establish.

The format remains as before and the short course races will use sections of the surfaced trails linked together with a variety of established woodland and newly planted areas.

Event Details

July 09: Nissan Sports Adventure Challenge Race Report - Luke Smith

Whyte Racer Luke Smith is a remarkable man. He is away in the wilds of Southern Africa for work and has been racing on his Whyte 19 carbon hardtail out there. Then someone asks him to take part in adventure race. This involves a canoe paddle, a gruelling run, two legs on the Whyte and a rock hopping scramble round an island. It’s the first time Luke has tried any of this – except the biking. And what does he do? He gets second place. Amazing! Read his report here.

Full Race Report

July 09: Welsh Championships 2009 - Information

On July the 4th the Dragon XC series and Welsh XC championship’s come to Pontypool park for the first time since the 90’s for an epic battle on this tough and demanding circuit designed by welsh racer and local boy Anthony O Boyle.

The venue is a classic up and down course with a killer climb pretty much straight out of the arena, this course is one where you will need your granny ring and big block on the back as you gain about 200m in the first 3kms of the course.

Eligibility for the title of Welsh Champion - Welsh born, parentage, residency or racing for a Welsh club/team for 3 years or more.

Full course pictures and description here

June 09: Greetings from Botswana…..

My job brought me out to South Africa at the end of February (I work in the diamond industry) and despite a few weeks of partying and more drinking & red meat than my body has ever known I have managed to keep on top of things and get some quality training in and even some races.

For the last 2 weeks I have been here in Gaborone, Botswana I am due to be based here for another week before returning to South Africa (again).

By coincidence I was lucky enough to be over here for the MTB world cup in South Africa – I was desperate to race however Whyte are not UCI registered so unfortunately it was a nonstarter.

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June 09: New Bikes for the Boars

Bedgebury Forest Cycle Club has taken delivery of a fleet of new training bikes for youngsters.

Bedgebury Forest Cycling Club (BFCC) – which operates in the Bedgebury National Pinetum & Forest near Tunbridge Wells – has been up and running for nearly three years but this is its first fleet of bikes sponsored by the Sport Unlimited programme, a funding scheme from Sport England that aims to give every young person (5-19 year olds) the chance to take part in sport outside of school hours. This money was secured following a bid by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the Kent Sport, Leisure and Olympic Service.

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June 09: Mountain Bike Theft!

Mountain bikers in Sussex are being asked to look out for a pair of unique bikes stolen from a Whyte cycle engineer’s garage in Eastbourne.

Kevin Izzard – well known product manager with ATB Sales LTD - is counting the cost of the raid on his home which saw the bikes – which are worth thousands of pounds – go missing.

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June 09: New Team DH Bike Goes Well In Canada

Marin’s new downhill bike – the Team DH – has had its first proper race outing at the Canada Cup at Tremblant in Quebec and came away with two wins and a superb overall finish in the pro competition.

The machine, which has been developed by Marin’s Canadian riders and will be ridden professionally by world champion Shaums March next year, is in the final stages of testing.

It is a 220mm travel, alloy FRS bike which will be positioned above the existing Quake model as Marin’s first true downhill machine.

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June 09: Whyte Night Demo evening at Wheelbase

Whether you are an avid Whyte fan, or just interested in understanding what Whyte is all about this is a great opportunity to meet some of the people behind the brand, and to ride for free Whyte’s UK-designed groundbreaking products.

Date for your Diary: Tuesday 30th June from 5pm

Starting with a short technical talk about the technology behind the Whyte products, we will quickly be out on a range of bikes for a 2 hour guided ride around the Kentmere Valley with Whyte’s demo manager and development rider Fin Paton.

We will close the event with a post ride beer and a chat back at Wheelbase.

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June 09: Billy Whenman Wins!

When Whyte Racer Billy Whenman isn’t blasting around the woodlands of the UK on his MTB he relaxes by sitting in and riding with the popular Sport Beans Wilier team. Sitting in? That’s a laugh. He is becoming one of the most feared sprinters in the country and won races in Castle Coombe and in Jersey in the televised series. Here’s Billy’s report...

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May 09: Noon - Moon, Luke Smith in SA

If you are a Whyte racer you can win all over the world! Luke Smith took his carbon 19 to South Africa and rode for a team in a 10 hour race helping them win the event by a staggering six laps. This is Luke's report.

Noon – Moon 10 hour MTB event. Bloemfontein, South Africa.

"Whyte Racing UK Victorious in South Africa

The race was of a similar format to the Dusk til Dawn event which the Whyte Team regularly dominate. For the event I had been asked by Heine & Pieter Lategan if I would join their team to create a three-man squad.

Both Heine and Pieter are very experienced cyclists, regulars in the Cape Epic and can often be found ripping it up in the front group with Burry Stander and Christoph Sauser.

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May 09: Jon Locke joins Sports Bean Wilier

The latest addition to the Sports Bean Wilier team Jon Locke is now in the saddle of his new Cento Uno.

Jonathan Tiernan Locke – to give him his full name – joined SB-W’s Premier Calendar outfit late in the day and was riding one of last year’s Le Roi team bikes because he was not in at the start of the season.

Nevertheless he took his Wilier to first place in the 80 mile Blackdown Grand Prix in Somerset and that ride was enough to persuade ATB Sales boss Derek Farrant to come up with the goods and get Jon on a Cento1.

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May 09: Two wheels on my wagon!

A SEAFORD cycle shop is helping a Sussex adventurer take part in the world’s longest mountain bike race on a Marin.

The Mr Cycles store has provided travel writer Paul Howard with a rare 29 inch wheel bike that will carry him nearly 3,000 miles from the Canadian Rockies to the plains of Mexico in South America.

Paul, 36, from Hurstpierpoint, who is training on the South Downs for his mammoth venture in the saddle, will face bears and wolves in the forests of North America and then rattlesnakes and scorpions in the deserts of the south.

He said: “I’ve never been a mountain biker, so riding nearly 3,000 miles off road will be a real challenge, but the fantastic scenery of the Rockies and, hopefully, the sense of achievement at the finish should more than off set this.”

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