Nomads News – 31st January 2018

Dear Nomads

There are a few news items to draw your attention to this week, but firstly, well done to all those who took part in the Lewes Wanderers Reliability Trial on Sunday.  Despite the messy roads, the hills, the punctures and the muddy faces, the Nomads arrived back at HQ smiling.

A write up on the event can be found here: https://www.leweswanderers.co.uk/lwcc-reliability-trial/

To all those Nomads reading this newsletter that have still not renewed their membership (and believe it or not, there are quite a few!), please do so ASAP.  Remember that not only do you need to pay your subscription fee, but you also need to fill out the membership form on the website so that we can make sure we have the most up to date information for you.  So far we have had people paying, but not filling out the form. Some people have filled out the form, but not paid.  Others have paid and filled out part of the form, but left some of the boxes blank. Then there are all the people who have done nothing about renewing at all.  Poor Derek doesn’t need this stress!  Also, if you renew within the next 2 weeks, you will receive a rather fabulous 40th anniversary commemorative mug. What better incentive do you need??

Now on to some racing news from our Racing Secretary, Steve Noake:

Preston Park – Cat 4:  I’m afraid I didn’t see a lot of this race as I was warming up, but I did see the last couple of laps. We had 2 riders in the 4th Cat race, Kev Witton, and Ben Griffin. Ben finished comfortably in the bunch, whilst Kev finished 5^th. It had obviously been a fast race with an average speed over 25mph and a quarter of the bunch getting pulled from the race before the last laps.

Preston Park Cat 3

Myself and Ross McCracken raced in the 3rd cat race. one of the most exciting races I’ve ever been in to be honest. I was in a defensive role for the team, chasing down breaks and (attempting to) control things at the front of the race, whilst Ross was in breakaway mode. 

Ross bridged across to a solo Blazing Saddles rider who had escaped my clutches and the pair were away for a good while before they eventually broke up. Ross came back to the bunch and lead a final surge for the bell lap, ensuring his breakaway ‘frenemy’ was passed before the line. Considering how active we had been up to that point I didn’t expect much but I got a very lucky 9th place out of it, and Ross came 8th. Mark Day GPCC, came off Ross’ wheel and put in a very canny sprint for 1st place.

As you can see, a fantastic racing effort from the guys, so a massive well done to them and great to see the Nomads picking up some BC points.

Next up some news and information from Steve Ratford, our Club Run Secretary:

Sunday Club Run

This week the Sunday Club Ride is a circular loop back to Ditchling
Garden Centre with a longer route of 30 miles and shorter route of 20
miles. So for those that like a longer day out you will need to plan
your own add-on.

Other Cycling Events

The Sussex Nomads website calendar includes details of other cycling
events that are taking place in the area such as; Sportive, Audax,
Reliability Trial and Randonnee which you might be interested in
riding.  For those new to cycling as a generalisation the difference
between them is as follows:

Sportive:  Typically run by a commercial organisation (Evans Ride It,
Wiggle etc.) which has a selection of courses which are timed. These
are currently very popular but are costly to enter, £30+. They are
fully supported, in that you can get assistance with punctures and
mechanical issues and the course is available as a gpx and is signed.
A transponder is issued to each ride to ensure that they have taken
the prescribed route and accurately record the time achieved.

Audax UK is a non-profit organisation that runs long-distance cycling
events. For each course a minimum and maximum time is stipulated.
Though a time is recorded the emphasis is more on completing the
course.  An Audax typically costs less than £10. A gpx is issued
together with a route sheet describing in detail how to navigate the
course. The route is not signed and control points are used to verify
that the route has been ridden.

For a Reliability Trial the rider designates a target time to complete
a course and to be considered a success the recorded time must be
within – 10 mins of the target. The route is not signed and no
mechanical support is available. A gpx and a route sheet are issued
and control points used to verify that the course has been ridden.
Entry to Reliability trial is typical about £5.

A Randonnee is very similar to an Audax.

The links for each event are provided on the Nomads website. Also look
out for information on the forum such as a number of Nomads are
interested in the Isle of Wight Randonee – Sunday 6th May.

Lastly a heartfelt message from Alex Beyfus

Alex writes: I’d like to use this space to make a public apology to Yuriy who I inadvertently offended in an earlier edition of the ‘Nomads News’ (8th January 2018). The ‘joke’ was at his expense and was very upsetting for Yuriy to read, and I acknowledge that it was an inappropriate comment for the club’s public newsletter. I apologise to Yuriy for any upset it may have caused and to any other club members who were upset by my comments.

That’s all for now, except to say good luck to our newly formed cyclo-cross team (Alex, Helen, Gemma, Gary and Tobias), who are riding in the London CX League this weekend.

If you have any comments or feedback, or any news you would like shared in future newsletters then please get in touch.

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a great weekend!

Sally