Club run and JT’s reliability ride, with a time trial in prospect

The Velo Club Baracchi club run was well supported on Sunday and riders are anxious to train.

George Kerridge, Nicki Hawkes, Chris Womack, Mark Richards, Joe McDonald and John Dupen pressed on through Halesworth to Dunwich via Peasenhall and Saxmundham.

Swanbury, Cooper and Wood ready to ride home

John Swanbury stopped in Halesworth and met up with Mike Wood, John Cooper and Paul Clarke and the four of them rode on to Homersfield and into South Norfolk near hardwick, before returning through Woodton.

They stopped at the café at Hedenham and returned from there through Kirby Cane, Beccles and Ellough, a total of about 60 miles.

John Thompson, the club’s reliability trial enthusiast, rode the Godric CC 50-mile one from Broome, to which he rode out, electing on arrival to join the 3.5-hour group.

The route was through Bungay to Homersfield and Wortwell, then along the lane to join the B road at the lakes, through Metfield to Halesworth, then Blyford, Shadingfield, Beccles, Gillingham , Haddiscoe, Hales and back to Broome.

Thompson stayed with the group for about 8 miles.  It was headwind to begin with and then a strong tail wind for quite a long way to Halesworth and through Blyford to the A145 just north-west of Blythburgh.  Thereafter it was mixed but on the return, turning left to Hales for the rest of the way in the headwind it was “as good as one could do to just keep the cranks turning.”

Thompson finished in about 3 hours 44 minutes but considering the wind and that he was on his own he wasn’t disappointed. He enjoyed the food prepared by John Pugh and his wife and rode home with tired legs and a tailwind, a total of about 75 miles in all.

This Saturday both Richards and Womack are riding the CC Breckland 10-mile open time trial. There are 72 riders entered and the likely fastest may be David McGaw of Cambridge CC and Jim Burgess of Anglia Velo, though others will be in with a shout.

Richards is a senior rider, whereas Womack (aged 68) is the club’s outstanding older veteran rider, usually riding with a good chance to win a prize in his category, though the way this event is set out he has only a very outside chance of that.

Entries for Beccles Cycle for Life on May 10 promoted by the Rotary Club of Beccles are now being accepted and it looks as if the usual last-minute rush will happen again, though the organisers point out that there is a lower price to enter in advance.

With distances of 7, 15, 25, 40 and 50 miles to choose from, it is an event for all. See www.becclescycleforlife.org for entry on line and also entry forms for postal entry.

East Anglian Air Ambulance and the Rotary club’s charitable trust will benefit from the fundraising and riders are invited to raise sponsorship.

This year the prize for one of the sponsored riders will be a bike worth £400, put up by Norfolk & Suffolk Financial Services Ltd with assistance from Life Cycles, who will supply it.

Bernard King, the Rotary club’s event organiser said, “We welcome riders of all abilities to this 14^th annual ride and feel sure you will have a good time, as hundreds of others have had in the past, even last year when for the first time we had some real rain!”