Randall on the right track

Velo Club Baracchi member Gary Randall tried his hand at track riding at Newport Velodrome at the weekend.

Gary and Freda Randall holding the Ernie Randall Memorial Trophy at this year’s presentation evening.  Later John Thompson received it.

He enjoyed a 3-hour session on Saturday and another on Sunday. He said, “These are structured sessions with a coach working through skill sessions, track etiquette and speed sessions.”

“Ultimately there is formal accreditation to aim for if you are keen in track cycling,” which he likened to a driving test and he added, “I have been a few times before and it is good to do something very different. The speed session are hard and particularly good for winter fitness.”

Mark Richards reported that he, Liam Gentry and Jay Lingwood rode out for a 60-mile loop taking in Mutford, Beccles, Bungay and, Woodton which is where Lingwood left them to get back earlier, after setting out earlier too.

Richards and Gentry then continued on to Hempnall to meet Joe Skipper, but failed to find him. Their loop carried on to Norwich through Trowse then headed back to Haddiscoe on the back roads over the dam and back to Oulton on the Somerleyton road.

Lingwood will soon be joining the VCB ranks to road race with the club’s new road racing team, which will include Gentry, Richards and Skipper when he is available.

Skipper, who is a professional triathlete and came thirteenth in the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii this year, will be also be continuing in that discipline

Jenny Anderson of Gt Yarmouth CC, who also belongs to VC Baracchi, we completed a Billie Fleming tribute ride on last Sunday week, with three other GYCC ladies. They covered 45 miles, having had to shorten the ride as they ran into snow, slush and ice.

The roads were not too good as they reached Loddon, so the route they took was, St Olaves, Haddiscoe, Thurlton, Norton Subcourse, Hales, Loddon, Stubbs Green, Ditchingham, Earsham Hall tea rooms, Bungay, Ellingham Mill, Geldeston, Gillingham, Beccles, Henstead, Mutford, Carlton Colville, Oulton Broad, Camps Heath, Blundeston, Somerleyton, and back to St Olaves.

Billie Fleming, who died in May 2014 aged 100, has a unique place in the history of cycling. In 1938, she cycled every day and set the women’s world record for the greatest distance cycled in a single year, 29,604 miles.

John Thompson of VCB spent a long weekend cycling, based at Danbury. On Saturday his 55-mile ride went via South Hanningfield, Wickford, and Rochford to Great Wakering.  Disappointed to find that he was not entitled to pass a checkpoint onto Foulness Island, his original objective, he doubled back but still managed to explore parts of Essex that were new to him.

On Sunday he rode to catch his train at Witham by a very devious route.  First, he retraced Saturday’s ride, into the strong headwind, to just after South Hanningfield, and then to Billericay, to ride some pleasant lanes – through Mountnessing, Blackmore and Cooksmill Green, detouring accidentally to the Walthams and then via Terling to Witham, another 55 miles in all.

He commented that from Little Waltham to Terling, nearly all the signposts needed are the ones that were missing.  A roaring tail wind helped him to make up time and catch his train.