Velo Club Baracchi looking forward to the New Year

 Velo Club Baracchi riders entered in the CC Breckland 10-mile time trial on New Year’s Day have received their start sheets and find there are forty riders.

Six are first claim riders of VCB (John Dupen, who was not mentioned last week has entered, as well as the club secretary Nicki Hawkes, who rides first claim in 2014 for CC Velopro).

The top-seeded rider in the event is Paul Jay, also of CC Velopro and CC Breckland’s hugely successful junior Declan Davis also has high billing.

VCB’s former member Nick Esser is also down to ride.  The current members in the event will be Dupen, George Kerridge, Steve Summons, Chris Womack, Paul Dennington and John Swanbury.

The event takes place on the usual A11 course between Besthorpe and the Mulbarton roundabout turn.

A rider on the “Wrinklies” ride organised by Mike Horne from Carlton Colville church last Friday had a minor spill on ice. 

This gave pause for thought and it has been decided that in January and February these rides (on Tuesdays and Fridays) will not start until 10am to give more of a chance for any overnight frosts to lift.

Friday’s ride was cut short, which allowed for an extra cup of tea in Posh Pigs at Ellough.  One of the riders who was a bit late to catch the others and took a different route also slipped over on black ice.

He had just stopped at a shady corner after seeing a parcels van skid into a field near Brampton but it was too slippery to stand up safely.

Not realising that the others were on their way back to the café (where he met them) the lone rider completed the usual distance, about 45 miles. 

Any riders who are available on these occasions will be welcome to join in.  Those who take part also call themselves the “Over the Hill Gang,” perhaps to emphasise that it is not a formal club.

John Thompson, who sometimes joins the Wrinklies now he is retired, rode last Sunday to Worlingworth to get some information for one of the “info controls” on the audax ride he is organising.

He said, “I had a strong headwind and a short heavy shower for the ride out via Hulver, Uggeshall, Halesworth, Wapole, Peasenhall and Dennington, to turn through the lanes via Maypole Green.

Having noted that strong winds had blown one of the signposts round he managed to maintain his intended route home, which included Redlingfield, Horham, Stradbroke and Laxfield.