Titch takes second place in Sheringham Duathlon

Jim and Titch

Mark “Titch” Richards of Velo Club Baracchi combined his cycling and running skills to good effect with a second place in the Sheringham Duathlon.

Jim Burgess of Anglia Velo took the win. It was a 3km run through the woodland of Sheringham Country Park, taking the competitors over sealed paths and onto dirt tracks. Towards the end of the lap, Heartbreak Hill awaited them.

Titch hops on

This lap was either side of a 17km bike leg, which took them down the hill to Sheringham town centre and then to Weybourne, returning towards Bodham on the small hilly country roads.

Before rejoining the A148 where there was a compulsory “foot down” at the junction and then back to the country park for the transition to the last running leg.

The prize!

Richards said, “It was a tough day with a very early start. But a good warm up to the Diss Duathlon in a few weeks’ time.”

Titch in pursuit (duathlon photos by courtesy of Jack Payne)

John Thompson rode the Shaftesbury CC Springtime 162km audax. The start and HQ was the Shaftesbury CC’s hut at Ugley in Essex.  After only about 35km Thompson had a soft tyre. He took his time changing the tube to inspect the tyre very carefully, suspecting that whatever had caused the problem was lingering in the tyre.

However, having replaced the tube, the tyre again went soft at around 56km, just before reaching the first control at Coggeshall. His work this time added to the previous delay and he arrived at the control “bang on the time limit.” Though he rode on, it was not with the intention of finishing, and he completed 105km in all.

Thompson added, “At least I had now properly repaired the puncture as it stayed up.” The following day he added around 25 miles through nice lanes through Hatfield Forest and towards Chipping Ongar.

Joe Skipper and Liam Gentry, both entered as Rock Estate riders, rode the Chelmer Cc Hardriders event, shortened by road works to 22.68 miles and starting and finishing near Finchingfield.

On this quite hilly circuit Skipper took third place in 54:45 and Gentry was seventh in 56:10. Felix Barker of Cambridge University CC won in 50:49 from Russell Hampton of Team Polypipe 53:10.

The VC Baracchi club run was supported by five riders and joined by one other before one of the original five turned back.

At Halesworth

After a stop at Halesworth the riders set off again to Homersfield, up the hill by the Dove and in a wide sweep round to Woodton, with a café stop at Hedenham before retuning via Kirby Cane, Beccles and Ellough, about 55 miles from home for most of them.

Near Kirby Cane they came across three other members who had ridden north to Gorleston and put in a non-stop ride, which added some distance to an eventual total of over 60 miles. All eight of them returned together into the headwind.

Near Kirby Cane

Chris Womack was unable to ride the Plomesgate event he had entered and the next time trial that will be well supported by the club is the Gt Yarmouth CC open 10 on Good Friday.