RIDE REPORTS

Below we share reports on rides completed by club members that we hope are if interest.

To be Supported or Unsupported, that is the question

Fancy doing a multi day cycle challenge in 2019? Andrew Woods managed two in 2018 that club members may be interested in.

John o'Groats to Lands End
Myself and two friends cycled unsupported the length of Britain in 14 days in May. For most of the 1100 miles we were blessed with sunny weather and not too much wind. It was a great way to see the UK scenery properly, how landscapes change from the North of Scotland through the Heart of England and into the gruelling hills of the Southwest.

We booked our accommodation for each night in advance, so we had to push on every day to get to our stops. One of our biggest problems was finding places that were still open for dinner when we finished each evening. The evolving scenery, friendly people and the changing food added to the interest as well as the 33 coffee stops we visited along the way!

As well as bed and breakfasts and inns we also stayed with friends which was great. The sheer exhilaration of doing such a marathon trip was unforgettable.

Some people questioned why we started in Scotland but I think we made the right choice as by far the toughest hills were the ones in Devon and Cornwall and by the time we reached these we were at our fittest and most hardened up. Altogether we climbed over 18,000 m of elevation during the fortnight, which is more than twice the height of Everest!

If anyone is interested in doing this ride unsupported, I'm happy to give advice as it is a great way to save money.

London to Monaco
In September I went on a supported cycle challenge from London to Monaco via 8 countries in aid of the Blue Marine Foundation charity.

The contrast in support and guidance versus our un-supported JOGLE trip was immense. Over 100 cyclists started from London accompanied by Mike Tindall and Zara Phillips. During the next seven days we were guided skillfully by professional leaders, shadowed by medics and mechanics, nourished by our own team of barristers and foodies and could even have a massage at our lunch stop! On top of this we did not have to carry our own gear which does make a difference.

Some 55 of us did the whole seven days and we met up with some extra people (glory hunters?!) for the last 2 days. Going through so many different countries made the trip more fascinating.

Some highlights for me were cycling over the cobbles of Roubaix, some circuits of the Roubaix Velodrome and cycling 125 miles on my birthday, ending up in Strasbourg via Luxembourg and Germany. The toughest day was going over the Alps from Switzerland into Italy over the Grand St Bernard Pass. The next day we reached the Mediterranean Sea which was a great relief. The climax was cycling into Monaco as a single peleton of 100 with a police escort up to the palace square to be greeted by Prince Albert himself. A superb finish to an exciting week.

It was a great feeling of achievement as it was by far the toughest cycling I have ever done and it was also a great way to meet like-minded people and make some good friends.

If anyone is interested in supporting the Blue Marine Foundation in the 2019 London to Monaco challenge (via the Pyrenees this year) then please follow this link. 

VCC, the largest club at the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships (we think!)

16 VCC members took part in the UCI Grand Fondo World Championships held on closed roads in Varese, northern Italy earlier this month (September). Last year we know that the 18 VCC who participated in Albi, France made us the largest club by far at the championships and, whilst data is not available this year, it is probable that we have repeated this amazing feat.

Around 2,500 participants from across 60 or so nations participated in this festival of long distance racing and time trialling. Males over 60 and females over 50 rode 105 km and younger riders 130 km (1,950m climbing). The course was very hilly and technical with several climbs averaging 7% over 2 to 3 miles along narrow, twisty lanes.

VCC participants riding for TeamGB were:

Aisling Patterson, Alan Swain, Chris Ring, Claire Sharp, Izzy Zimmerman, Karine Jones, Keith Loveman, Laura Moody, Martin Arundel, Matt Moore, Michael Wilkner, Mick Connell, Mike Edmunds (TT), Simon Miles, Tim Coulson, Tina Cockhill 

Several other VCC members qualified but did not travel to the World Championships. Qualification was open to the top 25% of participants in the 20+ qualifying events spread around the world. In GB this was the Tour of Cambridgeshire. No VCC podium positions or rainbow jerseys were achieved but there was much heroic riding - well done Team VCC GB! Unfortunately one VCC rider crashed but he got up and continued racing on the replacement wheels that he'd bought at 19:10 the previous evening!

Despite having the largest representation from any country and there being 17 age groups the only podium position for TeamGB was third in the Women's 40-44 yrs group. Speeds were very high with the men's start measured at an average 32 mph and the competition throughout was fierce. GB had more podium success in the time trial races.

Next year the Tour of Cambridgeshire is again the 'local' qualifying event although entries are already full as the participants in the qualifier is being limited to 25% of a maximum of 200 participants within each age group. However there are waiting lists and it is also possible to qualify via any of the qualifying events around the world, for more information go here. Next year the finals are in Poland and the 2020 championship is in Canada.