Paul Hayward rides a fast 25 in VC Norwich event

Paul Hayward of Velo Club Baracchi rode well to finish in 24^th place with 54:02 in the VC Norwich 25-mile open time trial from Larling on the A11 road.

Denise Hurren of Wrentham who rides for Sole Bay Cycle Sport rode brilliantly and broke the women’s course record with 55:57.  Her club-mate achieved 53:44.

Matthew Senter of Team VeloVelocity won in 47:52, with Oliver Stockwell, a Welwyn Wheelers junior in second place with 48:46 and Joe Skipper of Team Skipper third in 48:55.

In the Godric club 10 last week John Swanbury’s time was 25:31. The top ride was by G MacFarlane of UEA Velo in 2134 with Simon Scott of Anglia Velo second in 21:52.

Paul Wright of VCB said it was another fast night at the Lotus Cars Cycle Race League 2 – E1,2,3. He said it was a “real good race once again with the main race splitting almost in two with a gap of 50 sec at the line.  I hung in there amongst the second group, 34th overall out 57 starters.”

Mark Richards of Dap CC too third place in the event with two of Fast Test Racing Team ahead of him by a second or two.

VCB veteran John Neeve, not known to his club-mates for competition, was a surprise participant in the Gt Yarmouth CC club 10 at Lound, with a very respectable 30:05, just missing out on “evens” or 20mph on this difficult course.

Seb Herrod of Team Pedal Revolution was the fastest solo rider in 23:35.

Keith Wink and Alex He at the Beccles Cycle for Life ride

VCB riders supported the Beccles Cycle for Life charity ride at Beccles organised by the Rotary Club of Beccles.  Mike Rainton, Mike Wood, John Haigh, Keith Wink, Alex He and Karl Brady all completed 50 miles, while John Swanbury, with other duties at the event, rode the 41-mile distance and John Thompson acted as a marshal.

Thompson recently returned from a 1,107-mile cycling tour in Scotland, the route of which included Galashiels, Dumfries, Wigtown, Stranraer, Irvine, Gourock, Rothesay (Isle of Bute), Largs (including the “wee” island of Gt Cumbrae), Brodick (Isle of Arran), Campbletown, Whitehouse (including the wee island of Gigha), Craighouse (Isle of Jura), Kimelford (including the wee island of Luing), Inverary, Dunoon (including Trossachs National Park), Helensburgh, Bridge of Allan and back to Galashiels.

He stayed for several days in a number of those places and also rode the “Moffat Toffee” 208km audax.  He said, “It involved a lot of climbing and it was no surprise it was the toughest ‘200’ I’ve ridden.”  He was disappointed to find the toffee shop closed.

He commented, “I usually have a short ‘spin the legs’ ride the day after audaxes.  On this occasion I had no hesitation taking a complete day off!”

Thompson summed it up as a “very pleasing tour, with a number of ambitions realised, particularly with regard the islands he went to and vowed to visit Orkney and Shetland next year.