VC Baracchi riders in the Norfolk Nips Audax

With the time trial season now well out of the way, three Velo Club Baracchi riders took part in the Norfolk Nips 1 102.6km  Audax on Saturday from Hellesdon.

They were Mike Rainton, Steve Cone and John Thompson.  Rainton was accompanied by local rider Denis Glasscock and Cone by his son Glen.

The distance worked out at 63.8 miles, on a route that incorporated a first leg to an info control at Weybourne and then along the coast road through Sheringham and  Cromer, returning inland to the main control at Southrepps, then to an info control near Wood Dalling and finally to Helleson via Reepham.

Thompson said, “I got round in ‘bang on’ 5 hours, which I was pleased about, and I ‘kept up my tradition’ by starting to go off route!  I hadn’t gone far before realising but otherwise I would have been inside 5 hours.”

Rainton and  Glasscock and got round in about 5 hours 40 minutes, but they had suffered a couple of punctures and also stopped to help someone in difficulty.  Steve Cone and his son followed a few minutes later, also having been delayed by mechanical trouble.

There seemed to be little wind as far as Southrepps, but the route included a number of Norfolk’s more significant hills, particularly when the riders turned off the coast road to Southrepps.

Thompson said, “These were a few new roads for me and one of them had a steep climb on it, which took many of us by surprise.  The wind got up in the afternoon but wasn’t particularly troublesome although it did make the final 10 miles or so from Reepham quite hard.”

On Sunday Thompson went to the ‘Yarmouth’ hill climb at Bramerton Woods End and after watching the event he had lunch with them at the pub in Rockland St Mary. 

He added, “I rode back with them as far as Thurlton, where they went for more beer in the Queens Head.  Being extremely disciplined I carried on via Haddiscoe and St Olaves home!”

The club run from the Cotmer Road roundabout at 8.30am on Sunday was fairly well attended and after a ride down to Halesworth via Uggeshall and Blyford most of the riders set off through Wissett to Homersfield and then into Norfolk, with most of them then visiting the Pulhams before cutting back to the Bungay café on the way home.

Blissfully it stayed fine during the morning so everyone was happy, especially with the tailwind home.

VCB members were very pleased to hear that their club-mate Joe Skipper, who is a professiuonal triathlete, secured a stunning tenth place in the Florida Ironman in a finishing time of 8-17:27.  Skipper, when riding pure cycling events rather than triathlon, takes part on behalf of Strada Sport but he maintains his second-claim membership of VCB.

•  The VCB annual general meeting is on Monday November 11 at the Tramway Hotel, Pakefield, followed on Saturday November 16 by the presentation evening at the Railway Bowls Club in Carlton Road and the Chairman’s Breakfast ride to Bungay the following morning.

N.B. The photos with this news item were taken on the recent VCB hill events Sunday except for Joe Skipper, taken at the Baracchi Trophy two-up time trial in September.