Harj at Tour of California TT

As we have no May event, I thought I'd blog about the Tour of California. Today, I rode out to Metcalf Road in San Jose, and took some snaps and videos. I was on the uphill final climb, about 700m from the finish line. It was a brutal climb. First up is a photo of Lieuwe Westra who finished 2nd on the day: 

For the climb, some riders chose to change their TT rigs to lighter road bikes at the foot of the final hill, as did Michael Rogers in the video here:

And here, all in green, is The Riddler*, Peter Sagan:

*ha ha, yes I mean the Batman villain - which may be why The Fuzz was out and about....

Julie Dibens, the only GB competitor in the elite women's event:

Cyclocross powerhouse Katie Compton gives it some wellie:

A more bouncy approach by Lauren Stephens, guest riding for Tibco:

Nathaniel English in his 5HR kit looked great on the bike:

And, I wondered if winner of the TT and race leader Tejay Van Garderen was so fast today because he was continuously fanned by the helicopter hovering above:

I hope you enjoyed these. I'll post some more when I get time.
Harj

Club Event, 6 April 2013

Here are the results of Saturday's event. The weather was bright but very cold (just about freezing) and the wind was fairly strong.

Harj sends his regards from sunny California. He says it's a bit chilly there - he had to wear a gilet over his short sleeve jersey for most of his ride yesterday. Some photos from him below.

Rider	Club	Time	Points
Michael Kennedy	South Bucks RC	30:11	8
Owen Brunsden	South Bucks RC	31:53	7
Michelle Ayres	Bath RC	28:11	10
John Sullivan	Westerley RC	24:03
Ian McVallys	Westerley RC	24:59
Peter Cockbain	South Bucks RC	28:37	9
Nic Stagg	Hounslow & DW	23:12

Club Points Trophy (SBRC Members Only)

Rider	Points
Michelle Ayres	10
Peter Cockbain	9
Michael Kennedy	8
Owen Brunsden	7

Photos from Harj. Wide open roads.

Surfers at Golden Gate Bridge. If it makes you feel better, they ARE wearing wetsuits.

Club Hill Climb Event, 3 November 2012

It was a beautiful autumn morning, crispy cold with sunshine glowing through golden leaves. What better way to spend it than hammering it like the clappers up a steep hill?

Here are the results of today's hill climb event on the Wash Hill course HHC026* :

Rider	Club	Time	Points
Joy Payne	South Bucks RC	3:27.8	8
John Payne	South Bucks RC	3:18.3	9
Robert Cable	South Bucks RC	4:18.4	6
Michelle Ayres	South Bucks RC	3:42.8	7
Paul East	Reading CC	2:14.6
Harjinder Obhi	South Bucks RC	3:01.9	10
Jill Bartlett	Hounslow and D. W.	3:39.1
Jamil Gaida	Rapha Condor CC	2:00.4

Club Points Trophy (SBRC Members Only), Final Standings for 2012:

Rider	Points
Harjinder Obhi	59
Joy Payne	47
Michelle Ayres	42
John Payne	36
Peter Cockbain	19
Robert Cable	12
Michael Kennedy	11

* HHC026 course description
Start Line: Next to the "Wash Hill" street name sign post, which is located next to the playing fields car park in Wooburn Town
Finish: Near a small sign labelled "The Park Wash Hill 1-6"
Length: ~0.5 mile
Max Gradient: ~10-15%

South Bucks Road Club AGM 2012

At last night's Annual General Meeting the following officials were elected:

Chairman                       Peter Ayres
General Secretary          Alan Hodgson
Racing Secretary           Alan Hodgson
Treasurer                       Anona Stevens
CTT Reps.                     Alan Hodgson/Peter Ayres
WLC Rep.                     Tony Pell
Auditor                          Audrey Hughes

Club Events 2013
These will be held on the first Saturday of each month from April to September with the exception that no event will be held in May.  In addition a Hill climb will take place on Saturday 2nd. November.

Affiliations 2013
Cycling Time Trials (CTT)
West London Combine (WLC)
West London Cycling Association (WLCA)
Road Records Association (RRA)


Prize Winners 2012                   

Men's BAR                    Not Awarded
Men's Trophy                Not Awarded
Ladies BAR                   Not Awarded
Novices Cup                  Not Awarded
Points Trophy                Harjinder Obhi (Unless something extraordinary occurs in  the forthcoming Hill Climb)
12 Hour Cup                 Not Awarded
Mannheim Trophy        Not Awarded

Michelle will attempt to book the Road Club Lunch for Sunday 13th. January at Birds Hill Golf Club.

                                                              

Club Event 1 September 2012

For a change, it did not rain on us on the Maidenhead Thicket H10/2 course. One could even describe it as pleasant, at least to the extent that 15*C is reminiscent of summer. In contrast to our recent events, the morning started dull, gradually became warmer and the sun was even glimpsed, but only after the event was over, of course. Alan had no problems with damp timing sheets. Congratulations to the three SBRC members who set personal bests today.

Rider	Club	Time	Points
Michelle Ayres	South Bucks RC	25:46	9
Bhodi Morrison	Unattached	27:41
Ian Brodie	Maidenhead & D. CC	25:18
Joy Payne	South Bucks RC	27:19	8
Robert Tinn	Maidenhead & D. CC	23:43
John Grr. Payne	South Bucks RC	27:43 (PB)	7
Paul Bucknall	RAF CA	23:45
Harjinder Obhi	South Bucks RC	25:14 (PB)	10
Michael Kennedy	South Bucks RC	29:26 (PB)	6

Club Points Trophy (SBRC Members Only)

Rider	Points
Harjinder Obhi	49
Joy Payne	39
Michelle Ayres	35
John Payne	27
Peter Cockbain	19
Michael Kennedy	11
Robert Cable	6

Club Event 4 August 2012

Yet again, the warm weather was absent. To cap it all, the rain started a few minutes into the race. Now, where have I heard that before? Oh yes, at the last event! Once again, it was "soggy scoresheets" time on the line. Let's just call it "enthusiasts' weather".

Rider	Club	Time	Points
Joy Payne	South Bucks RC	27:10	8
Michelle Ayres	South Bucks RC	25:57	9
R. Wilcox	Bath RC	24:34
N. Stagg	Hounslow & D. W.	21:56
S. Aukins	Maidenhead & D. CC	23:12
C. Grant-Riach	Maidenhead & D. CC	24:11
M. Woods	Maidenhead & D. CC	25:59
Jo Wells	Hounslow & D. W.	28:58
D. Tinn	Maidenhead & D. CC	23:53
R. Tinn	Maidenhead & D. CC	24:14
Harjinder Obhi	South Bucks RC	25:33	10

Club Points Trophy (SBRC Members Only)

Rider	Points
Harjinder Obhi	39
Joy Payne	31
Michelle Ayres	26
John Payne	20
Peter Cockbain	19
Robert Cable	6
Michael Kennedy	5

South Bucks at Olympics TT

We had a fabulous day out in Weybridge, Surrey, with the South Buck CTC, cheering Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome to Gold and Bronze respectively. To give you a flavour of the day, here's a video of the road race Gold medallist Alexander Vinokourov in his colourful TT outfit. Note the young lad with vuvuzela and Wiggo Sideburns at the end of the video (no, not Alan!). I would have put up a video of Wiggins and Froome, but was just too busy cheering.

Gustav Larsson, with the interesting looking Swedish team aero helmet (alien life form?):

And here is a mobile phone picture of Froome and Italian Marco Pinotti: