THE

Yeovil Cycling Club April 2017

As many of you will know Dave Pitman Hill road race • Tour of the Peak,• Plymouth sadly died at Christmas. Martin Wills kindly GP •Western Divisional champs • King of the put together some information for the funeral mountains in the ‘Pernod Star Trophy’. As eulogy... well as stage race wins Dave knew a lot of Dave Pitman in • The Wicklow 3 day people, and a lot of people • Gabra 2 day •He also knew Dave or knew of him, came 17th in the The but few of us were fully Tour of Ireland . aware of his outstanding Locally, Dave won athletic achievements over both the Ham Hill road his life time. race and the John Fortunately, he Andrews memorial Road meticulously recorded his race when to used the ‘life in sport’ in a number Babylon hill circuit. of journals. The following Dave was a keen is taken from them and and committed cyclist, gives credence to the idea racing 3 or 4 times a that ‘he was quite a good week often cycling long cyclist’ distances to an event, I first came across riding the event and then Dave in the 60s when he cycling home again. beat me in the Monsal Several summers Dale hill climb by 2 secs!! were spent racing on the I didn’t know this until a continent, recording a conversation we had, soon after he started number of wins which enabled him to live on work at Yeovil College some 30 years later! the proceeds! Including the 66 mile criterium In 1966 as a 17 year old apprentice at at Liseux, as part of the twinning visit with Rolls Royce he competed in his first time trial, Somerset Road club. recording 24 mins and 11 seconds in a club In the 70s Dave spent time at Mercian 10 mile event. In the remarks column of his Cycles in Derby learning and developing his journal he wrote “suffered all the way, what frame and wheel building skills, which he a start”. used to benefit others. Apparently, on a tour His first road race win was in May 1968 of Nova Scotia in later years he spent a whole the South Pennine RC road race, a sum of £3 evening rebuilding a rear wheel for a tour 10 shillings his prize money. This was the start of an illustrious career in cycle racing. Membership Cards Over the next 30 years Dave won over If you have not had your membership 25 cycle races many of them top prestigious card yet it should be enclosed with events including Runner up twice in the this newsletter, so please check the National Hill climb championships • The Gun envelope before you recycle it. YEOVIL CYCLING CLUB @Yeovilcycleclub member, no easy feat in a hotel room! Robin Hoods Bay, backpacking, not the easy Support your club 1983 was the last year of serious B&B way!! Bike boxes competition for Dave, but his time for the He regularly walked on the moors and By the time you read this the Time Trial Series At the time of going to press the details New Forest 25 mile TT reflected how good a mountains of Britain but his walking and will already have started and the first of our have yet to be agreed but provided rider Dave was, achieving 56min 16seconds, cycling also took him to exotic parts of the major road races is only a few weeks away. there is sufficient demand it is the but also recording in his log that he “had to world A trek to Everest Base Camp • Cycling The club needs your support, we have intention to buy two Bike Box Alans.

No 0004 stop for a pee” tours of Morocco • Venezuela • India • people willing to lead and organisedate these events These will be available to club YC Awarded to D 1 9 2 8 No 0001 CYEOVIL LISHECYCLING CLUB July of that year Dave retired from cycle Newfoundland • New Zealand, the tour leader butESTAB they cannot do it alone. date members to hire at a much lower YEOVIL CC YC Awarded to £2 WeVOUCHERFOR SUPPORTING need YOUR CLUBtwo, tiples of five occasionally racing (almost). The thing is you can't just stop of that tour had planned an end of tour 2 8 E D 1 9 Collect 5 vouchers and get £10 off your club YEOVIL LISHCYCLING CLUB rate than the commercial hirers are CAB iry date. Redeemable in mul EST membership or club clothing Not transferable. No exp YEOVIL CC Thank you three helpers eachNo 0005 week for someone as active as Dave! highlight for the group to take the legendary tiples of five charging. £2 VOUCHERFOR SUPPORTING YOUR CLUB date Collect 5 vouchersry anddate. Redeemableget £10 offin mul your club membership or club clothing Not transferable. No expi Running was the answer, achieving victory TranzAlpine train from Greymouth over the Thank you theY timeAwarded to trials: a pusher-off C8 A typical hire cost is about £100 D 1 9 2 No 0002 CYEOVIL LISHECYCLING CLUB ESTAB date or high placings in hill events such as the Southern Alps back to Christchurch but, Dave (whoYEOVIL CC can also ride), and of five per week in peak season. We hope to Awarded to YC £2 VOUCHERFOR SUPPORTING YOUR CLUB 2 8 E D 1 9 Collect 5 vouchers anddate. Redeemableget £10 offin multiples your CYEOVILABLISH CYCLING CLUB EST club membership or club clothing •Grizzly • the Wellington Monument race • and a friend decided to cycle. When the train one or two Thankmarshals. you Not transferable. No expiry Neither task is YEOVIL CC reduce that to around the £30 No 0006 es of five £2 VOUCHERFOR SUPPORTING YOUR CLUB date Collect 5 vouchers anddate. Redeemableget £10 offin multipl your the Charmouth Challenge • Crewkerne Mini stopped at the one intermediate station, particularlyclub membership or club taxingclothing and only takes an hour at Not transferable. No expiry mark. Thank you Y Awarded to C8 D 1 9 2 No 0003 CYEOVILABLISHE CYCLING CLUB EST Marathon • Karrimor Mountain Marathon in there was a hand written note at the station most. If you candate help with these please contact Keep your eye on the YEOVIL CC

Awarded to es of five YC £2 VOUCHERFOR SUPPORTING YOUR CLUB 2 8 H E D 1 9 Collect 5 vouchers anddate. Redeemableget £10 offin multipl your CYEOVILABLIS CYCLING CLUB SueEST Chesterman. Scotland "See you in Christchurch - Dave" a typical club membership or club clothing website and Facebook Not transferable. No expiry YEOVIL CC Thank you

es of five He was regularly running 10 miles under understated comment from Dave. £2For VOUCHERFOR the SUPPORTING road YOUR CLUB races we need a variety of Collect 5 vouchers and get £10 off your for more details date. Redeemable in multipl club membership or club clothing the hour and a half marathon time of 1h 18 This summer he had booked up to cycle help:Thank youmarshalsNot transferable. No expiry for a few non-critical sites which mins, a very good club standard. the length of France from Cherbourg to will not be covered by the official Accredited In 1990 another new activity emerged, Montpelier on the Med. Marshals, help with the catering, setting out Triathlon and once again he did well in In 2008 he had a serious fall from his bike, and retreiving signs, judging and car drivers. If events, again taking 1st or 2nd on several which left him with life threatening injuries. you can help on 30th April please email Nick occasions. Dave's skull was badly fractured and he spent James. Contacts or both are on the back page Dave took part in an early ‘Etape du Tour’, a long time on life support in intensive care. It As well as the warm glow of having 'put across the Alps, with several Chard Wheelers, was a long recovery but recover he did, helped something back into the sport' you will be memorable, as he completed it on a mountain by being very fit, a great driver in his will to rewarded with a club voucher. Each voucher bike, on the frame he built himself in his lunch recover was the determination to get back on will be worth £2. They can be redeemed in breaks at work. his bike. multiples of 5 (£10) against either your club The new millennium brought a surge of Dave was always happy to spend time to membership, club clothing or even the hire of a activity, with Dave returning to bike racing at share his experience and knowledge of cycling club cycle box. the age of 51 with several top ten placings in and bikes, he was a great believer in the Night racing in Bath The three weeks of competition will also Vets races. ‘cycling club’, always being a club member, feature eight women’s events for the first 2002 culminated in Dave's last ever race, supporting and encouraging where he could. The ninth edition of The Tour Series has a time, as the Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series at the European Masters Championships on He was a good frame builder, an expert revamped calendar; with all ten meetings of expands with thirteen teams. the Isle of Man, where he took the lead on mechanic and wheel builder. Some of us are the competition taking place in May, and will Seven professional men’s teams will line a hilly section of the TT course, only to be fortunate to ride frames and wheels he built. include three brand new events. London’s up at the 2017 edition of the Tour Series, caught by the bunch and finally coming in Dave was a modest and private person, Wembley Park, Northwich and including defending champions JLT Condor 10th. a talented cyclist particularly where hills will each host a race and ONE Pro Cycling. Dave continued riding, but not were concerned, he was always dependable, whilst the grand finale competitively, he regularly covered over 8000 prepared to listen and help. Above all he loved will take place on return along with miles a year, including long distance Audax riding his bike and being in the outdoors. the 29th May, Bank Team Raleigh GAC, events. Dave loved the outdoors; I rode He is already sadly missed by all in the Holiday weekend, in Bike Channel Canyon, several Polaris MTB challenges with him in the cycling world and we all hope that he is Stevenage. Metaltek Kuota and Lakes and Wales, where he was always a good enjoying his ‘next great adventure, he is The Tour Series will Series debutants tent mate, although I can’t remember him probably building his new bike as I speak’. also feature Saturday Morvélo Basso. ever washing up!! The club donated £50 to his nominated night races for the first Highlights of He also enjoyed walking and helped out charity and work is underway to add an time; a brand new circuit in the heart of Bath every round of The Tour Series will be shown with the Yeovil college Expedition group archive of all his press cuttings and journals to playing host on May 20, before the iconic on ITV4, with programmes also available on helping train the Ten Tors teams. He our website. Durham circuit hosts the penultimate contest demand via the ITV Hub. 2 walked the Coast to Coast from St Bees to on May 27. 3 Club Clothing Club Colours Club runs It is great to see so many riders out in club You can now buy some club branded clothing, colours these days. There have been some sweat shirts, with or without hoods, and Below is the planned itinerary for the next three We will be running the 100 mile club run groups on the Sunday runs where every rider casual jackets. They come in a variety of months, occasionally we have to make a change again this year, but to avoid a clash with the has been clothed in green and black! colours from local supplier YellowBox. They are to the planned route, or even the destination, races and the riders doing the Lands End to In stock we have short and long sleeve located on the Lufton trading estate, directly so please check on the club website and for the John O'Groats ride it will be on 20th August. tops, (male and female cuts), plus bibshorts. opposite the football ground. If you want Garmin users make sure you have the correct So make a note in your diary and start planning Some skinsuits and club mitts. some just pop in and see them and you can route loaded. some long rides to get you ready for it! See back page for contact details. try out the sizes. Pick your colour, pay and they will be April ready in a week. 2 Shearwater Med Lakeside Garden Centre Contact: Jack Baker at Yellowbox, 11/12 Stalbridge Short Dikes Supermarket Cafe Lufton Heights, Boundary Way, BA22 8UY Tel: 9 Wells Med Twentyone Cafe and Kitchen 01935 477777. Wind proof casual jacket @ £35, sweat Godney Short Double Gate Farm Cafe. shirts £20. 13 Shearwater Long 16 Langport Med Short Either Kitchen at the Wharf or Kelways 23 Charmouth Med Beach Cafe Old mountain bike? Oathill Short Cafe If you have an old mountain bike lurking in a 27 Beer/Seaton Long shed why not donate it to a local charity that 30 No Club Run – John Andrews Road Race Long Sutton will ensure it goes to someone that would really May 2017 appreciate it. 7 Weymouth Long Preston End Cafe Prodigal Bikes is a new charity starting this year Dorchester Med Poundbury Garden Centre in Somerset. They collect unwanted mountain bikes, overhaul them, then ship them in Cerne Abbas Short Abbotts Tea Rooms containers 150 at a time to Africa, where they 11 Burrow Farm Long are given to people needing transportation. For 14 Maunsel Lock Med Short Canal Centre Cafe example, many kids face walks of over 10 miles 21 Moreton Med Old School Rooms Cafe to school each day, and a bike makes this so Wincanton Short Otter Nurseries much easier for them. 25 Lytchette Matravers Long 28 West Bay Med Beach Cafe Broadwindsor Short Craft Centre Cafe June 2017 4 Wellington Monument Long Willowbrook Garden Centre Chard Med The Barley Mow Chard Short Potting Shed Cafe 8 TBC 11 No Cub Run – Ham Hill Road Race Edgar Hall Somerton 18 Burnham Long Corner Cafe Westhay Med Sweets If anyone has an old mountain bike they 18 Glastonbury Short Abbey Tea Rooms no longer require that they would like to donate, please E-mail Anthony Raybould on 22 TBC Med [email protected] and he will arrange 25 Shaftesbury Med Gillingham Garden Centre Cafe collection. See their website prodigalbikes. Cerne Abbas Short Abbotts Tea Rooms 4 co.uk for more details. 5 A personal journey by Ian Green Committee Notes 90th Anniversary Last year after fainting and cutting myself above stress scores and compare them with those of The committee meets at the Davis Hall, West Camel. The next meetings are 12th April, 10th May and 14th 2018 will be the 90th Anniversary the eye I found myself, to my surprise, having other riders. The site is still “beta” and it’s very June at 19:30. Members are welcome to attend. of the founding of the Club and an ECG. This led to an echocardiogram, an early days but I think it’s already a useful tool January Treasurer: Membership £540.00, Cheques we are hoping to do something to MRI, a 4 day medical heart rate monitor and for obtaining a balance of fitness and recovery, issued 2015 not presented £417.00. Expenditure: commemerate the occasion. more ECG’s. My cardiologist referred me to and potentially detecting common heart January newsletter £162.90, Envelopes for newsletter It was founded in February 1928 but a specialist sports cardiologist for a second problems at an early stage. We’re adding more £47.97. Membership secretary expenses £21.44. whilst it would be nice to organise Membership 64 renewals including two new. opinion. They concluded that I had symptoms to the site all the time. something on the actual month we are Febuary Treasurer: Membership £735.00. of possible impaired heart function, almost I would emphasise that this is not about Expenditure: Road race registration £64.00. not tied to it if a better time would certainly from too much cycling. They advised riding along staring at a Garmin! In fact, during Membership: 96 paid up members be more suitable to the type of event me to take it easy for six months, giving my the period of detraining I largely ignored my March Treasurer: Membership £477.00. most members would like. heart a chance to heal itself, and then come power meter and rode more on feel than I had Expenditure: Line marker and watch batteries Suggestions so far range from a 90 mile back to be re-tested. beforehand. However, the information that I £8.96. Membership: 109 paid up members. Nick ride, an outdoor buffet of some kind, a Unfortunately, they were no guidelines could see at home after my rides enabled me to Armstrong observed that the present rules do not formal dinner – with or without music – for what “taking it easy” meant – the cardiac keep on top of my cardiac stress and training place any limit on how long anyone can remain or an informal meal after a club run. in the post of Chairman. He wondered if the club impact of endurance sport in fit people hasn’t load. would benefit from setting a limit to this period of We will start a facebook poll on been precisely studied, it seems. Since I have Carolene tells me, quite rightly, that the tenure, say five years, after which a new chairman the matter, but would welcome any no appetite for being inactive I was very keen information available on crickles.org requires should be appointed or be reappointed. suggestions you might have. to try to get to grips with this to get a more some interpretation. I agree with this and definite sense of what I could do. To this end, ideally it would be used as part of a coaching I corralled a group of fellow cyclists who are programme. Nonetheless, I’d urge anyone who Is it time to update the Highway code? active on Strava (including our own Rich uses a heart rate monitor to sign up and give More than 27,000 people have signed a be deemed “very scary”. Norris) and got their permission to let me it a try. More data and more feedback from petition asking the Department The place where walkers - particularly the analyse their heart rate data. I have the maths regular cyclists will help us to keep improving for Transport to create a universal rule for road elderly and parents with children - and those and data skills for this and worked closely with it. users to give way when turning in order create on bikes often feel most vulnerable is when my cardiologist, Mark Dayer from Taunton, simpler, safer junctions. they are crossing junctions. Instead of the who is also a keen cyclist and runner. Whether you are driving or cycling, you 14 conflicting rules in an outdated Highway One of the first things we learnt is that signs would be clearly obliged to give way when Code, let’s borrow the common sense of possible atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia approach used in other European that’s increasingly common amongst middle countries to create one simple aged cyclists, could be detected in cyclists rule that will make junctions who haven’t yet thought to consult a doctor. (I much safer for everyone. should say that most very high heart rates we “This wouldn’t cost the saw were due to Garmin strap errors, which our government money and could analysis strips out from the Strava data.) be implemented very easily We also arrived at a technique, which as far with political will. The Highway as we can tell is unique, for reliably quantifying Code, which has not been fully the cardiac stress of a ride or run. This cardiac The website enables you to gauge the refreshed for nine years, currently stress score can be aggregated and it enabled cardiac stress of your athletic efforts based contains at least 14 rules about me to work out a detraining programme while upon the data captured by your heart rate junctions, often with a different still joining in quite a few club and other rides. monitor and saved to your Strava account. emphasis. This simple rule change I was recently re-tested at the end of the When you train hard, this gives you tools to would bring the UK in line with six month period and (touch wood) all of the guard against over-training and potentially also turning to people going straight ahead. countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands worrying symptoms have now gone. to flag up certain kinds of coronary anomalies if Research led by Dr Rachel Aldred of the and Sweden where walking and cycling is Mark and I have posted information about and as they appear in your heart rate data. University of Westminster revealed that people much safer. all of this online at crickles.org. Please take a The analysis shown on the website is, for who cycle regularly will encounter 25 near Read more, and follow the link to lobby look at it – there’s a link to sign up and if you now, based on aggregate data from all of our misses per year involving vehicles turning left your MP by simply filling in your name and use a heart rate monitor I’d encourage you to participants. For personalised reports please get and right across their path at junctions. Of the address, by searching 'Turning the Corner 6 do so. Then you can see your own cardiac in touch through our Contacts page. 25 average near misses, six of them will likely campaign'. 7 Cycling UK campaign to stop close passes Close passes are an almost daily occurrence. But after years of Government cost cutting They are really intimidating and account for – they need our help! West Midlands Police around a third of all threatening incidents say there should be no excuse for driving too between drivers and cyclists. close to vulnerable road users. But there’s a simple way to stop this At Cycling UK, they say "there should be happening. no excuse for the police to ignore this illegal Last September, West Midlands Police driving behaviour. sent plain clothed officers on bikes to educate Every single police force in England, Wales, drivers who overtook cyclists too closely. Scotland and Northern Ireland needs a safe Those people who drove too close to the officers were pulled over, and through the use of a safe pass mat, officers demonstrated to them what they had done wrong. In the worst cases, drivers were reported for careless driving. Incredibly, driving behaviour in the local area changed overnight, with a 50 per cent reduction of reported close pass offences in less than three months. West Midlands Police's close pass mat is called by Cycling UK the: "Best cyclist road safety initiative ever" Thanks to West Midlands Police, other forces around the UK want to do the same.

ESSENTIAL CONTACTS SECRETARY SANDRA WILLS Rosebank, Lower Odcombe, Yeovil BA22 8TX pass mat like this. By bulk buying, we can cut [email protected] 01935 863870 costs and help police keep our roads safe. That’s why we need to raise £12,000 and MEMBERSHIP are appealing to cyclists across the UK to CAROLENE & DAVID CURSON help us. With this money we will make sure C/O The Berkeley Leisure Group, West every police force can educate drivers how to Coker House, West Coker, Yeovil, BA22 9BW overtake vulnerable road users safely, just like [email protected] 01935 862746 West Midlands Police. It will help make cycling CLUB RUNS safer, not just for you, but your family, friends Martin Wills 01935 863870 and everyone else. CLUB TIME TRIALS SUE CHESTERMAN And with two million cycling every day, we [email protected] 07795 411977 only need 12 hundred people to donate £10 each to make this happen and put an end to ROAD RACES NICK JAMES overtaking that is too close for comfort. [email protected] 07761410053 If you would like to help search online for PRESS & WELFARE MARK FISHER #TooCloseForComfort: the close pass cycle [email protected] 01935 427910 mat. NEWSLETTER & CLOTHING STOP PRESS: the £12,000 was DAVID NOTLEY raised in just 48 hours! Let's hope we [email protected] 01963 440291 see them in use soon!! 8