Weather fails to wreck Beccles Cycle for Life for VC Baracchi riders
The weather had a big impact on cycling last weekend but this did not stop many of the Velo Club Baracchi riders from taking part in the Beccles Cycle for Life charity ride. (There are none of our riders in the featured image of 25-mile riders but the oilskins are great!)
The club’s riders who were not put off by the wind and rain included Will Garrod, Paul Bedford, Steve Grant, Nicki Hawkes, Emma Hewitt and her family, George Kerridge and John Swanbury.
Will Garrod on his fixie
About a third of the riders who had entered in advance thought better of it but about 70 entered on the day in the rain, so there were about 280 riders on the road.
The Beccles Rotary Club organisers gave a big thank you to everyone who rode and contributed.
Waiting for Beccles Mayor, Carol Topping, to wave the flag
The East Anglian Air Ambulance and the Rotary club’s charitable trust will benefit, albeit not quite as well as last year, with takings a bit down.
Steve Grant
It brightened up a bit for a while but the rain returned before the end of the event. Despite the weather, the hardy souls who took part seemed to really enjoy themselves.
A Halesworth contingent
The Wisbech Wheelers 25-mile time trial was called off because of the weather and might be held in September, so John Thompson’s weekend was cut down to just one event on the Saturday.
In Lea Valley Road Club the “middle-markers” 10-mile time trial there was a course change because of road works to a triangular one using the old A11 and old A14 starting and finishing near Six Mile Bottom.
The event was open to those whose best times this year and in the last three seasons were not less than 22:40. Thompson had looked forward to getting a ride on the original, faster course, though with the conditions on the day the change hardly mattered.
He said, “The first 2.2 miles with the tail wind were fast. Indeed, I reached 37 mph on a descent! After that unfortunately it was a different story. The remainder was either direct head wind or side-head and there were times when it was really gusting.”
After all the effort he put in to keep moving into a strong headwind, Thompson came away with the rather disappointing time of 33:31.
The winner of the middle-markers event was Harvey Hall (CC Breckland) in 25:13, a time that on any other day would have seemed unexceptional.
Last week’s Gt Yarmouth CC’s Thursday club time trial was also called off because of the weather.
