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THE PNE FARTHING

The Quarterly Newsletter of Portsmouth North End Cycling Club JULY 2015

Portsmouth North End Cycling Club is affiliated to British Cycling, the CTC, and has attained In This Issue

Clubmark  Start Line

 PNE En Pavé

 Div Champs

 PNE RR o  PNE Open TT

 Record Breaker

 Cingle Du Mont Ventoux

 Easter Tour SPORTIVE

 Isle Of Wight Randonee

 Blast form the Past

 Doing the Double

 Eddington Number

 Youth Racing

 Charity Riders

 PTTL

 Quiz Night

 Revolution

 Contact Us MTB CYCLO CROSS En Pavé By Alan Collins Twelve cyclists, hailing from the Portsmouth North End Cycling Club, recently embarked on a weekend excursion to the Continent, in an attempt to emulate the professional peloton that compete in an early calendar series of races, called the Spring Classics. These prestigious races are run in March and April each year, and are iconic 'monuments' in the annual cycling season, hosted in the countryside of Belgium and North Eastern France. School Photo—SMILE! Agricultural cobbled roads, which are a product of the hard labour sentences passed down by the penal system many years ago, weave their way up the Bergs and across the fields of Flanders, and are still used today by local residents for getting from A to B. Some are poorly maintained though, hence only tractors dare use them …. Oh, and cyclists too! Races such as the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix have been organised in the region since 1896, utilising these 'roads' to create a challenging course in an effort to promote a Belgium sports newspaper, in the case of the Tour of Flanders, and in a bid to promote the newly built Velodrome at Roubaix. Both races have been run every year since, pausing only for the World Wars. The pavé has often proved decisive when Le Tour de France has visited the area. It takes a special kind of person to compete in such events, with Pavé strength, stamina, and downright dog- ged determination being very high on /ˈpavéɪ/ noun the list of attributes required. The in- cessant pounding of the body parts in 1. a setting of precious stones placed so closely together contact with the bike requires a certain that no metal shows. "a solid diamond pavé" pain threshold, notwithstanding en-

2. a paved street, road, or path. during the pain in the leg muscles caused by the need to propel the bike forwards at speed, whilst contending Sett with the varied mixture of extreme weather conditions that this time of /sɛt/ noun year can conjure up. A lottery of conditions including strong winds, rain, hail, 1. The earth or burrow of a badger snow, sunshine, heat and dust can all have an influence on the result. In- 2. a granite paving block tense concentration is required, as one A sett, usually referred to in the plural and known in some places moment of inattention can put your as a Belgian block (known in Belgium as a Kassei ("Causey"), is a wheel into a gap in the cobbles and re- broadly rectangular quarried stone used for paving roads. Setts are often inaccurately referred to as "cobbles": a sett is dis- sult in the rider being thrown off into tinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regu- the ditch beside. It seems bizarre to a lar shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally- non-cyclist that anyone would want to rounded rock. endure such pain and suffering to earn a living, never mind do it for pleasure and enjoy- ment! But many, many fellow cyclists are attracted to this kind of punishment, and flock to Flanders in pilgrimage. Prior to the trip, the participants had carefully prepared their bicycles for the tough experience to come. Fat '28's' tyres had been levered onto the wheels with wider ratio cassettes; unnecessary My bikes in there … somewhere! items were removed; robust bottle cages installed; bolts tightened; and some had even added extra thick handlebar tape to cushion the vibra- tions transmitted from the road through the frame. Extra padding and chamois cream had reportedly been packed too.

DAY 1 The weekend started with a Rendezvous at Mark Williams’ house, with Pain au chocolate and coffee on offer to create a continental ambience. Everyone's bikes had been dismantled and protected with a fraction of the miles of pipe insulation that had been pro- cured by Paul Giles. The complex jigsaw of fitting 12 racing bike frames, their associated wheels, riders, luggage, and other paraphernalia into the interiors of four cars was quite a challenge, with the distinct possibility it wouldn't all fit in. What, or who, would have to be left behind? As it happened Patrick Jones tried to gain some legroom in his car by leaving Tom Goodyer behind in the confusion of getting the Flanders bound procession started, and parking other cars in the vacated places to reserve the spots for unloading on our return. Once the error of his ways had been realised, he returned to collect poor Tom who'd been left on the pavement. With a very excited Peter Mac leading the convoy, it wasn’t until the M25 that Patrick eventually caught up. Despite all the chaffing at the bit, in an attempt to get an advanced departure, an earlier technical problem on the Chunnel meant we still had to wait for our scheduled train. Starbucks eased the pain of the wait, but we were 'sur Le Continent' soon enough after a smooth crossing. A sprint along the motor- ways saw us arrive at the Hotel in Kortrijk with plenty of time to check in, unload, and prepare for dinner and the days ahead. Room-mates had been randomly allocated by the Ho- tel, but everyone was happy with their drawn lot, each secretly hoping that there would be no snoring issues. The "Annex", in which we told we could securely store the bikes, turned out to be a large conference room beside Reception. This was soon turned into a mechanics workshop with bike parts, tools and packaging strewn around, as the bikes were rebuilt, having been carefully extri- cated from the back of the cars. The smell of oil permeated the atmosphere in the hotel, as each rider prepared his steed for the brutal punishment anticipated to be received in the coming days. Finishing touches of "PNE - Tested en Pa- vé" stickers were lovingly applied to frame tubes. The converted workshop. Has anyone seen the Allen Keys?

Supper consisted of Bockor Beer and Burger in the Hotel Bar, during which a game of 'Spoof' was played to determine the winner of the honour to wash the team kit the following evening. The Fina- le was between Rhys Lippiatt and Mick Malone. The coins were not kind to Mick, hence he was crowned 'Widow Twanky', before more beer was consumed, and we eventually retired to bed. “Spoof” for Laundry duty

DAY 2 The early breakfast spread was magnificent, although it dealt a blow to those hoping to steal stock up on a certain yellow fruit, high in potassium levels, to sustain them throughout the journey ahead, as they weren't on offer. Even so, a generous amount of croissants, cereal, fruit, meats, cheese, omelettes and the obligatory coffee was downed.

Weatheroptimist.com gave a forecast for the day of 10% chance of dry, sun and warm – but in reality it was still good enough for us all to wear for shorts, and didn't rain on us too much.

Vichte Cemetery The flat landscape surrounding Kortrijk is a patchwork of ploughed fields. These were the scene of such horrendous atrocity one hundred years ago. It was therefore poignant that the group paid its respects to one of the fallen heroes of WW1 at a War Commission grave- yard at Vichte. Amongst many other Hampshire regiment graves lies Frederick ‘Victor’ Scales who is listed as being from North End Grove, Portsmouth. Living so close to what is now our home of the Mountbatten centre track, he may have seen, or even known, the founder members of our club riding near his home before setting off to defend the country and make the ultimate sacrifice just a month prior to the cessation of hostilities. Unfortu- nately our club records for that time are not available to be able to de- duce if there was a link between Vic- tor and the PNE, however we are all of course thankful for his actions in this period of remembrance for the great war. A simple message was left in the visitors book from PNE, in case any of Victors relatives might have occasion to read it. I'm not a war his- torian, and could find scant details on the internet, however, it would be interesting to know if he has any living relatives in the Portsmouth area.

Before the peloton left the hotel, ‘press’ obligations had to be fulfilled and a team photo was taken with the group resplendent on the commemorative special edition jerseys created for the trip. Distinctly PNE with a Flandrian twist and some riders had coordinat- ed accessories such as Yellow and Black ‘Flanders Li- on’ Socks and Ass Savers. “Prik!” …. as they say in Dutch! The group set off together through the streets of Kortrijk, amazed by the courtesy afforded to us by car drivers, but only managed to do 1.28km (0.78 miles) before the dreaded cry of 'puncture' sounded out. This worried us as it did not bode well for the 80 odd miles to come. Quickly fixed, we continued on our way, with fingers crossed. As is now ‘de rigueur’ in the Pro peloton, we'd all stuck a nicely prepared route guide to the top tube, showing the distances to the main features of the planned ride. Morning Coffee and Lunch were the most eagerly anticipated, but there were a few Hellingen (hills) to overcome beforehand, and a visit to a War Cemetery on the outskirts of Kortrijk (See separate panel) No one in the group had ridden the cobbles before, hence it was with some anxiety and trepidation that we approached the first of the Belgium ‘bergs’ having only been able to draw comparisons with the local climbs of Portsdown hill using the profiles given on the cyclists website called Strava - 19% for 1km on cobbles could mean anything! Imagining twice the steep part of Mill Lane (at the back of Portsdown hill) combined with the cobbled streets of Old Portsmouth gives you a better idea of what to expect.

First up was the Oude Kwaremont, one of the most renowned climbs of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen race (RVV for short) aka The Tour of Flanders. It was also used in the 2015 edition of the ‘E3 Harelbeke’ and is where Geraint Thomas launched his race winning attack to blow the peloton apart and take just Peter Sagan and Zdenek Stybar with him. The approach was recognisable from the TV race coverage, with the exception that the hoards of spectators and advertising banners and beer tents were missing. At the base of the climb we merged with a few local riders who were taking part in a sportive, and as the initial shock of hitting our first cobbled ascent subsided, our group fragmented as each rider settled into their own pace, but still overtaking the Sportivers, showing them the strength of the PNE. The official sportive pho- tographer captured the grimaces as we toiled up the incline, whilst rapidly learning the techniques required to maintain momentum. There was a slight respite as the road passed through the village and the temptation to stop at the sportive feed station was strong, but no, onward and upward we rattled. Tom Morris took the honours at the top, followed by Matt Linham and I. The remainder of the group arrived in dribs and drabs with Tom Goody- er starting a fashion of walking up the days sharp inclines, having been forced to dismount for part of the climb. We exchanged anecdotes of our experience as we waited, but once together we moved on toward the next on the list, only a few kilometres away. This climb steepened the further the distance climbed. Again the group fragmented at the foot of the climb due to its severity, cobbledness and overgearing. Trying to keep traction proved very difficult on the cobbles, however the road was equipped with an emergency escape in the form of a concrete drainage channel on the left hand side. You might have seen the Pros using this in single file on the TV, although this years RVV placed spec- tator barriers in the gutter to prevent it from being Aim for the gutter! used. Traction restored, three of the group made the ascent in one hit, with Matt taking the honour this time. The rest of the group had been forced to dismount and walk up the hill, which was a difficult feat in itself. Comical re- launches were witnessed with the aid of fence posts and eventually we assembled at the top, ready for a taste of more cobbles named after a fashionable flavoured cider drink.

The weather took a slight turn for the worst, and the roads had become ‘mildly moist’ as Clarkson might put it on Top Gear. As the climb steepened to 22%, traction vanished on the wet smooth setts, and the momentum came to an abrupt end with a wheel spin, a rapidly unclipped pedal, sharp No shame in walking up here—the Pros do it too! application of brake and a gingerly executed dismount, to prevent sliding backwards down the slope. A restart was impossible, and a line a spectators quickly formed to cheer on those riders still on two wheels, seeing who could get the furthest up the slope. There was a car following us which, having stopped to avoid running over the cyclists littered across the cobbles, struggled to get going again, wheel spinning and sliding backwards and side- ways. There was no shame in walking up the steepest part of the slope, as it emulated many of the Pros from the bygone editions of the RVV. The race stopped using the hill in its parcours because its condition got so bad, the riders refused to go up it until it had been repaired. A bit further up the slope flattened enough to allow a remount and so the group were able to crest the top by bike. Except Tom G who made rude Cider anyone? - OH NO! different gestures towards us as he walked up the slope. spelling! We’ve got to go up there!

With 3 Bergs done, the passing weather front started to dump water on top of us, so we ended up very soggy on our onward journey to the café stop. I had a close call by nearly repeating my Nana Award winning manoeuvre on a downhill bend. Disaster was averted though, with some instinctive actions, but confidence in the tyre choice in the wet was se- verely dented, especially as I wasn't doing anything silly! At a route checking stop in the village of Wennagem Lede, it all went a bit wrong. The wet pavé streets were as slippy as ice, as were the kerbstones. This resulted in four riders hitting the deck in almost identical circumstances, as we attempted to stop the bikes in the inevitable confusion caused. The group eventually figured out which way to go and set off across a long section of flat pavé. At the other end we realised that two of the party were no longer with us, and a phone call revealed that Patricks mishap had resulted in his rear mech casting fracturing, rendering it useless. Martin Randle had waited with him, but had also suffered an off, hence was sporting a grazed and blooded knee. A return trip across the cobbles allowed us to assess the situation and so as to prevent the showstopper stopping the show, it was decided to send Patrick on his way to nearby Oudenaarde in search of a bike shop, whilst the remainder of us continued around the route. The team mechanics made the best of a bad job and converted the bike to a single gear by shortening the chain. Having escorted Patrick to the main road and sent him off ‘straight on for 6km’, spinning his only gear, 11 of us went in search of coffee. With so much time having been lost to repairs, the schedule would prove impossible to recover and so we headed for the next available town, Zingham, but not before Martin had another excursion into the hedge, and Peter did some one legged running along a banking, caught out on a downhill section of wet pavé. With the 2015 edition of the Paris Roubaix race being marred by the televised mass disregard for a rail- way level crossing by certain members of the peloton with a high speed train approaching, it was iron- ic that the barriers descended in front of our group. We avoided the need for a UCI investigation by pa- tiently waiting for the train to pass. No UCI investigation required! The locals in the bar chosen were amused at our exploits and joked about the weather worsening for tomorrow, so were even more bemused as to why we would be attempting the Roubaix route the following day. The plan for covering all expenses by card was scuppered with a "Non", but fortunately enough euros were being carried by some members of the group to pay the, it must be said, very reasonable refreshments bill. To cut our losses, we abandoned the planned route and headed straight down the river towpath, pushing an almighty headwind, to Oudenaarde to rendezvous with Patrick for lunch. Mobile phone communication proved difficult with us unable to contract the missing person, so we had lunch at the Centrum Ronde Van Vlaanderen Museum (See separate panel) and waited for news. The restaurant was certainly run by cyclists due to the mas- Centrum Ronde Van Vlaanderen Museum The RVV Museum is housed just off the main square of Oudenaarde. It has a range of interactive displays detailing the history of the RVV race, with many cycling relat- ed artefacts showing how the race and the sport have evolved over the hundred or so years that the race has existed. It starts with a movie, viewed from benches uphol- stered with classic team jerseys. Details of the famed Hellingen are displayed, and the attributes of the ideal RRV rider are conveyed. Well preserved bikes and clothing from the different eras through which the race has been run, and even a team car from the early 70's make this a must see attrac- tion. There is even an 'shrine' to Fabian Cancellarra due to his winning the race on three occasions in recent times. Veteran Spring Clas- sics racer Freddy Maertens is the museum curator, and there are details of his achievements in the race in the 70's. as there is for each of the 'hero' race winners, including the only British winner Tom Simpson back in 1964. All the displays are described in an English Audio Guide, given via a handset. Despite the warnings, guess who set the ear piercing alarm off by going too close to the exit door with the handset? Answers on a postcard please. The Brasserie within the centre serves cyclist sized portions of grub with Spaghetti Bolognaise a speciali- ty, as well as copious quantities of the local Belgium beer. It also has bar stools con- sisting of saddles and cranksets! Visit the Museum website: www.crvv.be Bottomless Spag Bol?!?! —Where do I sign? sive, almost bottomless, portions of spag bol, served with chips and at a large round table that Fabian Cancellara, and other Classics heroes, had signed in the centre. Meal consumed, we toured the RVV museum, and eventually established contact, and were reunit- ed with Patrick and his repaired steed. He'd found a bike shop that initially said that because they couldn't effect a repair, they would hire out a bike for the weekend. That is until 'Roubaix' was mentioned, and the offer was quickly withdrawn due to the risk of damage, which sounded ominous to say the least. Who'd have believed that 4 year old Shimano 10 speed Di2 is obsolete on the continent, having been replaced by 11 speed versions. The shop owner, Luc Asfra, then went beyond the call of duty and rebuilt the smashed mech, using parts from two scrap ones he had in his workshop. For €100, the weekend had been saved. Ku- dos well deserved, and service highly recommend- ed if you are ever in that area. The added delays incurred waiting for the repair meant it was too late in the day to attempt the rest of the planned route, so the quickest route back to Kortrijk was entered into Matts Garmin, and we set off alongside the main road at a fast pace, strung into a line on the long straight flat road. The route took us down the road leading to Harelbeke, and so A magician at work! €100 to save the day. we were able to follow in G's wheel tracks from the E3 race. Arriving back in Kortrijk, at 80 miles covered, was a relief for many, and the curtail- ment of the planned route was deemed a wise decision. The delays had meant we'd missed out on doing more of the famed Hellingen such as Molenberg, Volkegemberg and Wolfenberg, but that gives us an excuse to return to do them at a later date, should we wish to do so.

Whilst 'Widow Twanky' took our filthy Jerseys to the launderette (Kit wash and Beer for €7!), the group took advantage of the 4* hotel Spa facilities for some R&R in the swimming Pool, Sauna and Steam rooms. Only Mark braved the post sauna ice cold water bucket, and the screams were heard throughout the hotel! It was here that we lay on the pool side loungers patronised by the Team Saxo and Katusha riders during their stay in the hotel only weeks earlier, and imagined what 2015 RVV winner Alexander Kristoff, would have been saying to his teammates, during a post race swim.

Dinner, and beer, was served at an Italian Restaurant in the town centre, the walk back from which allowed the illuminated architecture to be admired. Back at the Hotel, more beer was consumed, and then the bikes were dismantled in preparation for a quick geta- way in the morning. Doing this after the beer might not have been a good idea, however, all was done successfully, hence more beer was called for. (Do you spot a theme running through this?)

Day 3 Sunday dawned and another hearty breakfast was consumed before completing the complicated jigsaw puzzle again, and decamping to Roubaix. Tom G nearly got left behind again because he disappeared to hand in his room key as we impatiently sat in the cars, ready to depart, with a very tight schedule to keep. The cars were parked close to the famous Velodrome, and the bikes were reassembled on the pavement. The group then set off to find the last 12 cobbled sectors of the 2015 Paris Roubaix race. With several nicknames including the Hell of The North, the Queen of the Classics and A Sunday In Hell, the approaching cobbles garnered some foreboding within the peloton. The tarmaced roads were damp and slippy, so the condition of the pavé would be much worse, wouldn't they? The town of Orchies was reached, and the lust for tarmac was almost granted as the Garmin Sat Nav di- rected us down a Motorway slip road, much to the alarm of passing motorists who stopped and told us, in French, that we should be on the other side of the barrier, on a paral- lel track. Position rectified, we entered Sector 12. The setts were Sat Nav: “In 100 yards, exit the motorway by lifting your bike over the barrier, larger, and laid more unevenly than and join Pavé Sector 12” …... Passing Motorists: “ Cyclistes sanglantes!!” their Belgium equivalent encountered the day before. The crown in the road centre was the place to ride along, trying to keep out of the holes and puddles in the sunken tyre tracks either side. Different techniques were evident– Half of us chose to ride fast, attempting to skim the tops of the cobbles on the crown of the road. Tops, Drops or Hoods? Tight grip and steer?, or loose grip and guide? were also dilem- mas to contend with. The poor surface vibrated the handlebars so much it was a risk to change hand position to change gear, in case you got bounced off your line, and into the gutter, which was wet and muddy thanks to the recent rainfall, and therefore not pleasant. Some riders found that their hands seized into position gripping the bars. Some sectors Riding the crown of the Pavé did have smooth(er) tarmaced gutters, but Kudos was to be gained by staying on the cobbles, after all, that was what we had travelled so far to do. Each rider rode the pavé at their own pace because it was difficult enough trying to stay upright without needing to hold a wheel. Overtaking slower riders, and negoti- ating the many 90° bends was quite a treacherous experience too. Again. we regrouped at the end of each section, and swapped stories of the experience, with the opinion that each sector just done was worse than the previous. Wiggo attacked whilst we were having our team photo taken! A reason why the Paris Roubaix fea- tured highly in the recent cycling news (apart from the level crossing incident) was due to Sir Bradley Wiggins’ stated intention to win the race to complete his palmares before leaving Team Sky, to retire from road racing and concentrate on the track discipline for Rio Olympics. With just over 30km to go, at the entrance to the Templeuve pavé, under the shadow of the 'Moulin-de-Vertain' windmill, he aggressively attacked the peloton with an 'all or bust' effort, on which Sir Dave Brailsford, Director Sportif of Team Sky commented "He gave it a good old crack, like he always does"; which is a very high accolade from him. Unfortunately Wiggos effort was in vain as circumstances weren't in his favour, and he could not escape the clutches of the peloton, as they neutralised his attack. If he'd suc- ceeded he would have been the first Englishman to have won it. It was at this section that the group posed for a team photo in front of the windmill, having used our limited French Language skills to persuade a passer-by to take it. With 6 sectors completed, refreshments were taken on board at the half way point in Cysoing, as we raided the towns Patisserie. With 6 sectors to go, including the notorious Carrefour De l'Arbre and 'Gruesome Gruson' pavé, it was be- coming apparent that some of the group, Mark, Patrick and Tom G, were not enjoying the 'battering' as much as the rest of us, and so their pace dropped off through the sectors as they sought a more ‘comfortable’ ride. Sector 4, Carrefour de l'Arbre, lived up to the speculation, and was indeed the worst surface and the second longest that we encountered. Rough, uneven wet cobbles with tyre width gaps in the pavé, missing setts, large potholes and troughs, coupled with stretches of different sizes of setts from previous repairs, all resulted in a very arduous, bumpy 2.1km ride. It was here that Patrick had another big 'off', but fortunately sustained no damage to the bike today. He was OK too. Talk of splitting up, so part of the group could miss the remaining pavé emerged, but it was decided to stick together with only 3 sections to go, and so we soldiered on, with Tom G being promised that the next sectors weren't so bad, even though we had no way of knowing! Having experienced the parcours in person at a 'leisurely' pace, struggling to maintain 20mph, it is amazing to think that the likes of Pros Cancellara and Terpstra traverse the cobbles at 27mph, having already raced 200Km. Terpstra features in the top 10 of the majority of the segments created on Strava, but our group couldn't get on the Leader boards, as we unknowingly extended our times by stopping just within the timing gates to take photos or wait for the back markers. We could maybeuse it as another excuse to return at a Section Name Length Category Number (in m) later date to put some prop- er times down on the 12 Orchies 1700 3* board. 11 Auchy-lez-Orchies - Bersée 1200 2* On the way to Sector 2 Mick 10 Mons-en-Pévèle[n 5] 3000 5* came a cropper, sliding out on a left hand bend on the 9 Mérignies – Pont-à-Marcq 700 2* wet slippery tarmac. Bike 8 Pont Thibaut to Ennevelin 1400 3* and rider were OK, but he 7 Templeuve l'Epinette 200 1* was very upset about the Templeuve Le Moulin de Vertain 500 2* rip in this jersey, which I 6 Cysoing - Bourghelles 1300 4* suppose makes it more au- Bourghelles - Wannehain 1100 4* thentic for when he remi- nisces about the trip. 5 Camphin-en-Pévèle 1800 4* Whilst the group was wind- 4 Le Carrefour de l'Arbre 2100 5* ing the pace up for the 3 Gruson 1100 2* charge to the finish line at 2 Hem 1400 1* the Velodrome, Jerry Col- lingwood suffered an un- 1 Roubaix 'Espace Charles Crupelandt' 300 1* scheduled deflation incident. As it happened with less than 3 Km to go, he would have been credited with the same time as the winners. Incredibly this was only the second such incident of the weekend, and considering the terrain and surface conditions, we counted ourselves very lucky. With 58 miles covered we arrived to find the Velodrome gates were locked, however a local kid showed us a way in, and so we completed the journey with a couple of laps of the hallowed ground, to emulate John Degenkolb on his victory lap a few weeks beforehand. With time against us, and with lunch to be fitted in before the mad dash for the Port of Cal- ais, celebrations were short lived. The bikes were quickly dismantled again having had the pavé filth removed with industrial sized wet wipes, and stowed in the cars. Mud splattered kit was swapped for normal clothes, and bodies 'washed' with baby wipes. Whilst we had lunch in a Roubaix restaurant an awards ceremony was conducted, with plinth mounted setts being presented to Pat- rick, Peter and Matt for their contributions to the trip, and an En Pavé Nana was given to Martin for his comedy dismount into a hedge. The journey back to the Chun- nel was a very wet one with torrential rain pouring down. How fortunate that it hadn't arrived earlier whilst we were en pavé! That really would have been 'fun'! Driving onto Not quite Degenkolb, but a victory lap nonetheless! the Chunnel Mark struggled with the automatic handbrake hill start mode and we wondered if he would have to get out and walk, as had been done on the Koppenberg. The culmination of the weekends efforts took their toll and Rhys wasn't impressed with having a picture of him fast asleep in the back of the car broadcast via Facetwitbooker. Back on home soil the team dispersed, wondering what he next adventure could be. Watch this space! Mutterings of a something similar for next year are being mooted. It was a fantastic excursion and great thanks is owed to Peter Mac and Mark Williams, for their incredible organisation to bring it all to fru- ition. It was an ambitious enterprise, with a lot to pack into the 3 days, but despite always seeming to be pushed for time, it was very enjoyable and certainly worth the effort. Once the expenses had been divided out, the value for money was self-evident. Less than £220 each -all in- for a memorable weekend away in a 4* hotel, indulging in our passion. Bargain! See where we went! : Tour of Flanders 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=h5oTJYCY0fk K oppenburg @ 45 km to go (2:52:12) ; Oude Kwaremont @ 55.9 km (2:36:47) and Paterberg @ 51.9 km (2:44:14) Paris Roubaix 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M1KpnbDuug Sector #12 @ 60km to go (1:33:00) Le Fin. South Region Road Race Championships by Alan Collins

“Div Champs” 17/5/15

Mark Williams took on the challenge of organising the South Region Road Race this year on behalf of PNE, and in collaboration with Fareham Wheelers. Three races were run on the Owslebury circuit for Juniors, Women and Senior Men categories.

An early start saw the Finish Line constructed, corners swept, signs put out and the village hall prepared for a large crowd of riders, helpers and supporters, A quality field assembled for each of the races.

The Juniors and Womens race were run concurrently, with the hope that the two races didn’t catch each other up on their 7 laps of the lumpy circuit.

Having survived the first lap, there was a crash in the Juniors peloton caused by a pothole on the fast descent. Fortunately only the carbon bikes got broken. There were a few attacks and eventually three riders got away, building a gap of 2 minutes or so to the bunch, with Jack Billyard of RPRT taking the honours in the sprint to the line. Unfortunately the PNE riders, Jamie and Aaron, didn’t make it to the finish.

The Womens race saw Kim Ashton of Casp Racing take a solo win, more than 3 minutes ahead of the her rivals.

The Senior Men had 11 laps to complete, and a break of eight formed at about half distance, and built a lead of over a minute.

The last lap antics gave Ben Stockdale of Sportsgrub Kuota the win, over youngster Tristan Robbins of Madison Genisis, with 85 miles completed.

A big dose of thanks goes out to all those who volunteered to help and make this event such a success and resurrect the Div Champs. With the number of teams that entered, it’ll be PNE’s turn to organise it again in about 40 years time!

http://www.velouk.net/2015/05/18/report- results-south-region-rr-champs/ PNE Summer Road Race 6/6/15

Having done the Regional Road race as a dry run a few weeks earlier, the PNE summer road race on the same course was a doddle, although it was threatened with cancella- tion just days before, as not enough Accredited Marshalls had been persuaded to at- tend, as per Hampshire Police requirements. A commissaire who only remembered he was on duty having read a tweet when he got out of bed that morning, and a missing ambulance which just turned up in the nick of time also could have jeopardised the day/ Even so it turned out a great success, especially with the generous prime prizes on offer from the sponsor http://www.benchmarxkitchens.co.uk/

PNE presence in the peloton was halved on the first lap as the sponsors representative had “a bad day at the office” and dropped out to prepare himself for presenting the prizes. Tom Morris was active near the front of the main peloton for most of the 60 mile race. “Breakaway el suicideo” solo attack lasted for the first 2 laps, and then a break of three swelled to 5 with 4 laps to go. The bunch became negative, and chased down any further attempts to get away, but with the gap on the last lap reduced to a minute, it might have been worth them working together to chase down the spoils.

Jack Billyard took the win in the 5 man uphill sprint , as he had done a few weeks earlier, taking home a large prize bounty. Tom finished in 15th place to earn a BC Point.

Huge thanks to all volunteers who helped make the event happen, and with Benchmarkx interested in continuing their sponsorship we’ll have to do it all again next year!! PNE Open 25 mile Time Trial 7/6/15 The Day after the PNE Summer Road Race saw PNE promote an Open 25 mile time trial on the P881/25 based on the A3 between Liss and Bramshott. Riders came from far and wide to compete on what is purportedly a very fast course. This was proven with the top 47 riders managing to get under the hour, including our very own Rob Panter who achieved this for the first time in his TT career.

Tommy Frampton deserves great accolades for his organisation, as does Yvonne for sourcing some delicious cake! Thanks to all the early rising marshals, timekeepers and other helpers too.

Posn. Name Club Time Posn. Name Club 1 Greg Parker VC St Raphael 52.59 41 Matt Webb Houghton CC 58.48

2 Marc Townsend Neon Velo 53.16 42 Gawain Young Sotonia CC 59.15

3 Alex Napier Blazing Saddles 53.25 43 Paul Morris FWCC 59.18

4 Simon Healey Andover Wheelers 53.47 44 Dave Warne Old Portlains CC 59.21

5 Mike Stafford PNECC 53.51 45 Graham Lenton New Forest CC 59.38

6 Paul Jones Primera Sports 53.54 46 Mark Sterling I-team 59.59

7 Gary Chambers RNRMCA 53.58 47 Drew Hosie a3crg 1.00.03

8 Simon Beronga VC St Raphael 54.21 48 Tom Frampton PNECC 1.00.09

9 Stephen Walkling VC St Raphael 54.53 49 Seb Hall VC St Raphael 1.00.14

10 Nick Andrews PNECC 55.03 50 Andrew Thomas Dulwich Paragon CC 1.00.26 51 James Ayton PNECC 1.00.47 10 Chris Wolton Southborough & Dist Whlrs 55.03 52 Andy Henderson Froome & Dist Whlrs 1.00.55 12 Matt Kuwertz Southborough & Dist Whlrs 55.05 53 Peter Perrin Bournemouth Arrow CC 1.01.06 12 Peter Younghus- Petersfield Tri 55.05 53 Barry Robinson a3crg 1.01.06 14 Andy Langdown Hampshire RC 55.27 55 Andy Page PNECC 1.01.15

15 Ricky Froud Alton CC 55.33 56 Andrew Green BEC CC 1.01.34

15 Richard Gilford In Gear Quick Fit Train Sharp RT 55.33 57 Alan Emmott FWCC 1.01.46

17 Mark Newton Elite Cycling 55.38 58 Alan Cockram PNECC 1.02.01

18 Dave Dawkins PNECC 55.39 59 John Beer Kinston Phoenix RC 1.02.16

19 Mark Denney Poole Wheelers 56.06 60 Ben Fielden GS Stella 1.02.46

20 Rory Barrett Southborough & Dist Whlrs 56.11 61 Philip Chinn FWCC 1.03.12

21 Lee Turner Sigma Sport 56.12 62 Chris McGuire Hampshire RC 1.04.32

22 Paul Byford Crawley Wheelers 56.16 63 Sascha Noyes Mud Sweat & Gears 1.04.55

23 Mark Stafford PNECC 56.18 64 Sarah Wise Central Sussex CC 1.05.21

24 Nick Young Yeovil CC 56.38 64 Alan Robinson Hampshire RC 1.05.21

25 Barrie Watkinson Bournemouth Arrow CC 56.42 66 Paul Beck a3crg 1.06.42

26 Paul Coles Road CC 56.52 67 Yvonne Frampton PNECC 1.07.41

27 Gawie Nienaber Farnham RC 57.14 68 Andrew Grey PNECC ? 1.08.47 69 Martin Whitty Poole Wheelers 1.11.43 28 Cliff Rowe Bournemouth Jubilee Whlrs 57.19 Andrew Wadding- 70 Chris Summers PNECC ? 1.12.25 29 PNECC 57.26 ton 30 Greg Turner Horsham Cycling 57.29 71 Nancie Dawkins PNECC 1.12.42

31 Duncan Fuller Lewes Wanderers CC 57.3 72 Richard Davidson Bournemouth Arrow CC 1.19.42

32 Daniel Edwards Sotonia CC 57.39 DNF Greg Rolfe PNECC

33 Rob Sherrin a3crg 57.45 DNF Ian Austin Alton CC

34 Simon Holder Kingfisher Tri 58 DNF Peter Wilson Bournemouth Arrow CC

35 Stuart Peckham New Forest CC 58.02 DNF Hamish Walker Hampshire RC

36 Lesley Walkling VC St Raphael 58.23 DNS Mike Ford Pewsey Racing Project

37 Tom Cox Northover VT 58.24 DNS Bryn Reeves Horsham Cycling DNS Paul Winkley East Grinstead CC 38 Rob Panter PNECC 58.32 DNS Jonathan Hydman Sotonia CC 39 Darren Lewis Poole Wheelers 58.37 DNS Lesley Wilkinson Addiscombe CC 40 Stuart Thompson VC St Raphael 58.47 DNS Mike Speakman PNECC Record Breaker As Roy Castle used to sing in the theme tune to the 70’s children's TV pro- gramme, “If you wanna be the best, and you wanna beat the rest, Dedication is what you need” . Sir Bradley Wiggins recently broke the UCI hour record, and now Andrew Waddington has broken the Clubs longstanding 12 hour Rec- ord at the Newbury RC event held on the H12/8 course on 14th June. He managed a distance of 262.53 miles, raising the bar by 3.41 miles, and came a very creditable 15th out of 43 finishers. Results can be viewed at http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=99438 Below is his account of his extraordinary feat :

Well, I prefer 24 hour time trials to be honest but my major problem is a complete inability to stay awake. I could drink a gallon of strong black coffee and still be asleep in a bush by midnight. So, this year, around March time March I decided I would have a crack at a 12 hour. My target was 240 miles, a nice steady 20 mph. But then along came the last issue of PNE Farthing and the article from Dave Swaffer about the club record and I began to entertain ideas of getting that. The only trouble was that whereas 20 mph seemed quite comfortable, 22 mph average seemed significantly more than 10% more difficult. I looked at the course well in advance as I wanted to memorise it so that there would be no wasted time getting lost. The course was as follows:

1. Ride up the A31 ; 2. Go around a roundabout; 3. Ride down the A31 ; 4. Go around a roundabout ; 5. Ride back up the A31 . etc, etc, etc Andrew going around a roundabout—again! Well, I thought, even I should be able to manage that. I normally like early starts as it means I can get it over with and go home to do something more useful for the rest of the day but for this one I got a late start just after 8am. As usual I got up about half an hour later than I should have, left myself no margin for error and ended up in a bit of a rush. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem but I had my new Velo- toze Overshoes. These are essentially overpriced rubber gloves for your feet and you need to set aside a good couple of hours to get them on rather than the 3.5 minutes I allowed myself. I managed it, just. Minimal warm up as usual (well, I did have approximately 11 hours 58 minutes to ready my body for the final 2 minute sprint to the line) and off up the A31. 10 minutes into the ride and averaging 39 kph without really trying too hard. Either I had a significant tail wind or I was on a good day. It turns out that I did have a tail wind but fortunately I was also on a good day. I set myself a target of 37 kph average for the first 5 hours. My average speed gradually decreased as I went along but I did manage exactly 37 kph so I was pretty happy with that. I was self supported so just had one stop to get some water and a few more energy gels. I won't bore you with the detail (mainly because I can't remember it) but I split the rest of it down into segments of 2, 3 and then 2 hours with a target average speed for each. Being a boring old bloke who is good at mental arithmetic I can pass many happy hours converting between miles and kilometres and working out the average speed required. Well, you have to think about something for 12 hours on the A31. I ended up stopping 4 times to get more food and water, about 7 minutes off the bike in total. Toileting was done on the move which, on a busy A road on a Sunday morning is probably a criminal offence. Sorry everyone (I wasn't wearing a PNE kit if that makes my crime any less severe?). It was only when I got to about 11.5 hours that I realised that I was going to beat the record. I felt a little bit embar- rassed to be honest as I had all the technology of the 21st century at my disposal whereas Dave and Mike Merchant were, as far as I was aware, riding little more than penny farthings. And they probably had their brakes on because back in those days men were men. The winning distance was absolutely colossal. I don’t have the distance to hand, nor can I remember his name (I'd make a great investigative journalist wouldn’t I?!) but from memory it was 316 miles. How did he do that?? (Ed— Mark Holton (National 100mile TT champ 2013) - 316.74 miles ) Next on the agenda is something that I never thought I would do and that is Paris Brest Paris. 1200km in 80 hours. There will be 5,500 people doing it so I am hoping to sit on wheels for most of it. One thing that I am certain of is that there will be plenty of sleeping in bushes along the way. If I can remember any of it then I will write about it in the next PNE Farthing. d Club Des Cinglés Du Mont-Ventoux by Ben Barron

On the 25th of May 2015 three members of the PNE took on the challenge of climbing Mont-Ventoux three times in one day to raise money for the Rowans Hospice. We are pleased to report that the team completed this task and managed to raise just over £3200 for the Rowans.

The picture on the left is of us at the start in front of the tourist information centre (Tommy. Ben and Joe) at 07:00 smiling before we started the climb out of Bedoin. I have forgotten to mention the fourth member of the team Mike Walker our support driver. Yet again on behalf of the team I would like to thank him and his friends at Crank Cycles for supporting us for this challenge.

The first climb (the TDF climb) was a wake up call for all of us realising what we were about to take on.

So after two hours we reached the summit for the first time. We were looking forward to the descent into Malaucene for a much deserved coffee.

The second climb was a real challenge, it had started to heat up and we were riding into a growing head wind. I think we all agreed due to the weather this was the most challenging climb.

When we reached the summit for the second time the wind had really picked up and we were pedalling all the way to Sault on the decent. Once we arrived in Sault we had some real food (can’t describe how much we all hated ISO gels and Energy Bars by the end of this ride) which was a real luxury, and set us up for the final climb.

As we headed out from Sault the wind was in our favour and the gradient is no where near as harsh as the previous climbs. We ascend- ed so quickly that we caught our support driver asleep in the car which cheered us all up. But the smiles were soon lost as we reached the ex- posed area towards the summit and the wind took its toll on all of us.

We finally made it to the summit for the last time and we only had the descent to Bedoin left. The wind was strong and the temperature had really dropped at the top of the mountain. We all made it down safely even though the cross winds at the top of the mountain made it some what interesting at times.

So after seven and a half hours of riding we all went back to our accommodation for the best recovery meal ever, pizza! Thanks again to our support man Mike for keeping us fed and watered through out the challenge, including ordering in French and col- lecting the pizzas for us. I would also like to thank Tommy for dragging me and Joe up every climb like a machine and keeping us motivated. Easter ‘Tour’ By Alan Collins I accompanied my old club, Oldham Century RC & CTC, for their annual Easter tour. It was a great reunion of old friends, some of us having not seen each other for up to 15 years. Due to the differences in ability that Phototrickery doubled the numbers at Conwy Hostel time had bestowed upon the group, it was decided to stay in one place and have circular rides out from there, with three groups forming, much like our Social, Intermediate and Sporty. Conwy Youth Hostel was chosen in North Wales, although this may not have been a wise choice as it sits atop a steep climb, which is not the best thing to tackle after a hard day in the saddle, or an evening drinking ‘Welsh Pride’ Ale in the pub. However the views across Conwy and Llandudno were spectacular. The first day was a bit grim, but the sporty group still managed a 70 miler The sporty group sporting shorts (at Easter!) over some of the notorious climbs of the Snowdonia region, stopping for lunch and a dry out in the renowned Petes Eats café in Llanberis. The weather improved no end for the remainder of the tour, and two more 70 mile and a 55 Marin Trail Country Photos Mark Healey mile rides were enjoyed in the warm spring sunshine, visiting Caernarfon, Bangor, and Anglesey. No trip over the Menai Bridge is complete without visiting the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. That’s quite a mouthful, as were the delicious Welsh Cakes consumed there. PNE’s mobile rent-a-crowd was on hand to cheer us all up the Sychnant Pass, in the form of Mick Malone who was breaking Rule #11 and visiting relatives in Llandudno, without his bike!!! :-O. Our ‘Rest day’ involved riding up and around a fog bound Great Orme. It was very eerie riding in the mist. Only 10 miles were- done between breakfast and lunch, due to a greatly extended elevensies stop, but it eventually the fog receded back onto the sea, revealing bizarre views back toward Conwy. A competition was entered into by the group to determine who was the fastest to descend the Great Orme Tobogan Run, but with the lack of any accurate timing, everyone declared them- selves the winner, and so the debate raged on during the eve- nings quaffing of Ale at the Pub, with live music too. Sea mist toward Conwy and Mount Snowdon My Brother and I took the opportunity to bookend the Tour with some mountain biking, at Coed Llandegla, and the Marin Trial near Betws-y-Coed, which proved challenging and fun in some breath-taking scenery. See http://www.cycleoldham.org.uk/ for more details about the Oldham Centrury RC & CTC

Sychnant Pass Isle of Wight Randonee 2015 by Judah Hurr, 8 Each year there is a big cycle ride all around the Isle of Wight called the Randonee. This was my third time taking part; I think I may have been the youngest person to complete the whole route on my first year. This time I felt a bit more confident thinking about the last two years, but the weather had been sunny; this year it was first rainy then foggy! We looked at the weather forecast the night before so we were all geared up for wet weather but we weren't sure how it would affect our riding. Dad's panniers were very full of spare clothes as well as food! We set off on the 8am ferry with a huge queue of other cyclists all ready for the big day. At that point it was already wet, but we had our waterproof gear on so we were ready. There was a chatty and noisy atmosphere of anticipation on the boat. Lots of people had leant their bikes up on the ramp of the ferry, they had to rush and pick up their bikes before the ramp went down! Off the ferry, and cycling up to the first checkpoint, already going Up through the Freshwater mist Photo Joe up a slight hill, luckily we had already registered on the ferry, and Hurr we didn't have to waste time going to the first checkpoint in Fire- stone Copse. The first leg of the cycle from Wootton was quite hard this year; I was hot in my wa- terproofs, so it was slow going up the hills, and because all the downhills were quite slippery I took my time, to make sure I felt safe. The weather looked quite foreboding, and we wondered what the rest of the day was going to bring. We had quite a few stops to take off layers of clothing as the rain eased off. Because of the conditions, we had already seen lots of people with punctures on the way, but we had been lucky so far. After the second checkpoint at Alverstone it felt like it was all up hill, and my Dad had a puncture as well, adding to our time on the road; I had an early lunch break while I waited for him to fix it. The next stretch was worse however, as it comes to the biggest hill of the whole ride, up Blackgang Chine. This year because it was so foggy, you couldn't see the top of the hill, and it was like just going up an endless slope, however, finally we reached the top. We often met the same people at the checkpoints, and everyone was very friendly despite the weather. On the hills after Blackgang Chine we were caught up by Alan from PNECC, who cycled alongside for a chat, and took some photos of us on the misty ascent towards Fresh- water. After Freshwater the weather improved, and by the time we reached the Yarmouth checkpoint it was starting to get hot. We finally had the wind (mostly) on our side for a little way so we made good time – maybe we would make it round in time for the 4 o'clock ferry? No - at Cowes we had a long wait for the chain ferry, and Dad's 2nd puncture – he didn't discover it until we finally rolled on board, so we had to wait to fix it until after getting off again! We made it to our finish back at Wootton at about 4.30, but were then joined by lots of our Portsmouth friends for a jubilant crossing home. I am looking forward to doing it again next year as it's a brilliant event, and wondering what the weather will bring us! Blast from the Past Part 1 NOSTALGIC MEMORIES OF THE 1950’S By Dick Evans

Whilst browsing through the cycling album I remember local clubs that no longer exist, Artimus C.C. Army C.U. Emsworth C.C. Purbrook C.C. Portchester C.C. Portsmouth Whl. Zenith R.C., Gosport C.C., and Clarion. Southern Clympic C.C., all N. C.U members

V.C. Aquila a member of the British League of Racing later to become,V.C.St Raphael The season started with a 10mile in February, the first evening events started about 1953. The club at that time didn’t recognize any personal times till much later when they became more frequent All clubs had their local tea shop, ours was the Midget café, just outside Fareham, which mysteriously was banned to cyclists for unruly behaviour, not the Northend I hasten to add. Groups of Rides from several clubs, Army boys from RAOC Hilsea the late Charlie Blandford doing his square bashing, under drill instructor Cpl Terry Manny, a northender and Tony Hoar an Emsworth rider who road for Hercules, so we were a mixed bunch of riders, who met at Cow Lane, Western Road, all on fixed gear, to café, in Bitterne. Just unimaginable in the light of present traffic. January being the social season, when all club dinners usually took place, most bikies had no money for a dinner ticket, but could afford a couple of bob after the prize presentation, to see the night out dancing to Bill Haley and the Comets Detached from RAF Colerne to Debden. Managed to cadge a flight in a Anson, luckily for me the pilot was into cycling, so I arrived at RAF Debden with bike. I soon got to know the local cyclist that met near the camp, who invited me on the evening training rides. We set off in a group of about 30 riders, bearing in mind that these riders would be on fixed gear of 65-70 inches. There was some pretty nifty peddling in those days. To ride in one of those burn-ups on a dark night in Epping Forest, was an awesome experience. Particularly as cycle lighting was even more unreliable than it is now, that’s assuming you had any worth speaking of, surprising very few accidents. Passing through Bishop Stortford we ran into more groups to join up, one big peloton, hurtling along the seven miles down through the forest to wind up for a mighty hair- raising sprint for the Alpha Café, probably no longer there. “Was that really over sixty years ago”

Part 2

Inter-Club Cycling Gymkhana – 20th September 1981 By Derek Hayday

With the Portsmouth D.A. acting as the co-ordinating club 4 local cycling clubs the Fareham Wheelers, Portsmouth North End, Hampshire Road Club, and the CTC combined to arrange a social afternoon of fun and games. This being held by kind permis- sion of a farmer in his field at Westbourne with a 2pm start. The heavy rain and gales the night before didn't stop over 100 club folk rolling up to support the event. It was a pleasure to see senior members of the 4 clubs all mixing in to help run the gymkhana. With Ginger & Babs Makepeace (CTC, HRC) donating the refreshment tent. Brian & Jean Gray (CTC, FW) donating the gas for boiling up the tea and supplying the tug-o-war rope, son Keith was a disappointed chief first aider with no one to practice on all afternoon. Sheila & John Martin (PNECC) provided a unisex loo tent which was well supported. Jean with Gwen Harmsworth cheerfully sat under a col- ourful sun umbrella selling programmes and dishing out raffle tickets to the West- bourne locals who had come to watch. Marion Maidwell (FWCC) acted as prize manager dishing out the assortment of sweets including Giant Lollies. The hard working girls in the refreshment tent were Bubbles and Shirley (HRC) Babs (CTC/HRC) Jean (CTC/ FWCC) . Sheila & John Martin (PNECC) were everywhere helping out. Ginger using a whistle kindly loaned from Keith was a great success as the ring master. A great thank you to all those ladies who donated the cakes and to others who helped in any way to ensure a successful event. To sum up... There were no shortage of volunteers to take part/compete. The FWCC showed superiority in the tug-o-war aptly aided by Brian and Keith Gray. The arena, 100 ft diameter marked out with flag poles/rope enabled the 30 + riders to race from 1 to 10 laps. Including slow bicycle, handicaps for ladies, obstacle, and egg and spoon races. (potatoes) The two-up (one a guide on foot) 'blindfold' all comers event, and the backwards cycle race (fixed wheels) gave most entertainment. The idea of a guide was doomed as all the riders went off at the whistle too fast. The straight line start from one side of the field went 'all to pot' as the riders having dropped their guides, failed to keep riding straight, with the winner disappearing into a ditch at the far end of the field. Dan Montgomerie did a mid-air summersault into the flag poles and in doing so lost the 5 lap handicap race by a length. The CTC shared the profits from entry fees( racing and on the gate), refreshments, and sale of programmes with all the participating clubs.

Derek Hayday. Event Co-ordinator. South Downs Double

As reported in the last issue of PNE Farthing, Tom Morris was going to attempt to traverse the South Downs Way in both directions in one day to raise money for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. Well, after months of training, and one false start, he finally did the 311.2 Km ride on 15th April, raising £1680.00 in the process

He has written a blog about his experience, which has been blatantly and unashamedly plagia- rised, as seen below. Read the whole story about his phenomenal effort at https:// mozzy656.wordpress.com/

All his training enabled him to get a 3rd place podium finish in a recent Southern XC series mountain bike race too!

……. I’d recovered from my ‘training ride’, and with an excellent forecast found myself again at Kind Alfred’s statue in Winchester, at 5:36 ready to attempt the double again.

The rideThe South Downs are beautiful, but this day was clear blue skies, and as the sun rose and mist collected in the valleys the views along the ridge were really the best I’ve ever seen. The initial cold soon lifted with the fog and a King Alfred few hours in I was having a fantastic ride. It still seemed surreal that I was actual- Statue, Win- ly ‘doing the double’. Making good time I checked in to update those following at home and found my- chester, 0536 self comfortably up on even my fastest schedule by Truleigh Hill Youth Hostel, just northwest of Brighton. All my stops had gone to plan, minimal fuss. I knew however, that the eastern end of the Downs was the hardest, as several rivers cut the valleys right down to sea level, leaving long climbs back up to the ridgeline. Despite being ahead of schedule I was expecting to fall back in line by Eastbourne. The climb out of Jevington to the Eastbourne golf courses, approaching the turning point, and this was the first time I can remember being slightly irritable. A tell-tale sign of what was to come. My eating had gone to plan, but I was losing my hunger. I got a puncture up that climb, and dis- mounted to spin my wheel round so the sealant would collect and plug the hole. It took a few attempts, and re-mounting the bike it was starting to feel like a long ride. Normally, the Eastbourne golf courses are a happy place, signifying the end of the ride and I have fond memories of sprint- ing along the tops to final post marker. But this time there was no fanfare or sense of achieve- ment, just the thought that I had to do it all again. I had a brief sit down at Eastbourne, and ate another bar, but this one really stuck in my throat. It was a different flavour though so I just put it down to not being very nice, but looking back this is the first obvious sign I was losing my appetite. I set off from Eastbourne just down on my faster esti- mate, but knowing I still had the reverse of the hilly end to do. I filled a bottle at the church in Jevington, but couldn’t stomach a gel or bar. The real turning point was the tap on the A27 near Lewes. As I stopped I im- mediately threw up; still 120 km to go. My heart rate plummeted. I usually happily plod along at 145 beats per minute at a sustainable effort, but I was struggling to get above 120. Every time I checked my average speed it seemed to drop. I was getting past the worst hills now, but couldn’t pick up any speed. Just at this point Phil Saunders, a friend of Rory met me and accompanied me along the tops to just before the decent to Washington and the A24… next stop Amberley – and half way home! Somewhere between Steyning and Washington I was met by Phil Saunders The section from Washington to Amberley was the hardest, the sun was setting and I was sick a couple more times. I now had- n’t eaten for six hours and had barely drunk. Any hope of getting near the record had gone and my thoughts revolved around strategies for just finishing and then train stations to home. I topped up my bottle at Amberley, put on arm warmers and connected the cable for my head torch. Then, just over the bridge I heard a few shouts. Tristan and Emma had parked up to meet me. The original plan was for them to see me at QECP, but as the schedule slipped they’d bumped the meeting point forward. It was a bit of shock them being there, and like anyone who had been on a bike for nearly 15 hours and not eaten for 6, my only reaction was to slump on my bike and cry. I’m sure many of you won’t have done six hours on a bike not eating or drinking (after all, you are sane), or then done it straight off the back of a century MTB ride. But i can tell you, it’s the worst I’ve ever felt. Ever. Emma asked me if I was stopping. I nodded, stepped off my bike, and sat on the floor. Emma passed me a banana; one bite and it came straight back out. Pep talk and a banana The second bite went down though, hit the bottom of my stomach, and stayed there. Tristan launched in to a motivational speech. I can’t remember the details, but it must have been pretty uplifting as by the end I’d already forgotten my decision to stop, and found myself back on my bike heading out of Amberley. The banana had gone down well. I think the final time I wretched was near Upwaltham. By the time I got to Cocking I was on the up. The heart rate was still low, but the nausea had gone and I was drinking full bottles again. It was fully dark by now. However, there’s something quite exciting about hurtling along with just a narrow tunnel of white light. The banana, the fluid, the adrenaline and knowing that Emma and Tristan would be at regular stops all helped. Climbing out of Cocking I knew I would make it. I could even see the Spinnaker Tower, lit red; a sure sign home is near. …until 10 minutes later when it all came crashing down again in a tractor rut, filled with what must have been the only puddle on the South Downs Way that day. I was drenched, it was cold. I still had three hours to go. QECP: my feet were numb. I stopped briefly to chat to Tim Higgs at the Halls Hill car park before dropping down to the main centre. I climbed in the car for a few moments, wrapped myself in a jacket, and ate a couple of pieces of pizza. I wasn’t in a great place, but my stomach was ok, and from there to Winchester is just thirty kilometres. It was really getting cold now, but with my heart rate rising I could do more to keep warm. I also found out, (as a result of some bad aiming), that by peeing on my feet I could keep them warm. At Temple Valley Damon Roberts, a friend from sailing, had come out to meet me, and cheered me along the final climb and descent to Chilcomb. I sprinted through the final streets, over the bridge crossing the M3, and to the city centre. Rounding the last corner and up to the statue. Emma and Tristan were there waiting, accompanied by Martin Pegler from QECP Collective. I’m not sure what the emotion was of finishing. I know I’ll never for- get it. Part relief, part pride, part just dazed and confused! ………………….

You can still Donate at https://www.justgiving.com/Toms- South-Downs-Double/

18 hours 8 minutes later. Eddington Number By Alan Collins, but inspired by Tim Higgs

In astrophysics, the Eddington number, NEdd, is the number of protons in the observable universe. The term honours the British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington, who in 1938 was the first to propose a value of NEdd and to explain why this number might be important for cosmology and the foundations of physics.

‘What’s this got to do with me?’, you may ask! Well, Eddington is also credited with devising a measure of a cyclist's long- distance riding achievements. The Eddington number in the context of cycling is defined as the maximum number E such that the cyclist has cycled E miles on E days. For example an Eddington number of 70 would imply that the cyclist has cycled at least 70 miles in a day on 70 occasions. Achieving a high Eddington number is difficult since moving from, say, 70 to 75 will probably require more than five new long distance rides since any rides shorter than 75 miles will no longer be included in the reckoning. Eddington's own E-number was 84. You wont really be able to establish an accurate Eddington Number if you haven’t got a record of your daily mileage from the whole of your cycling career, however a good indication can be gleaned from the data you do have. For fellow Stravarians, there is a useful tool on t’internet which calculates your Eddington number instantly using the data available in the rides you’ve upload- ed. See https://swinny.net/Cycling/-4687-Calculate-your-Eddington-Number My Personal result is below, although I reckon my lifetime number would be well over 80, on account of the number of higher mileage rides I did in my youth, decades before Strava existed! The report suggests targets for me to increase my score:-. You need 9 more Rides (of 56 miles or more) to achieve an Eddington number of 56 You need 15 more Rides (of 57 miles or more) to achieve an Eddington number of 57 You need 23 more Rides (of 60 miles or more) to achieve an Eddington number of 60 You need 104 more Rides (of 105 miles or more) to achieve an Eddington number of 105

So, What’s your number? Email it to [email protected] and I’ll publish them in the next edition of The PNE Farthing. DID Youth Racing Our younger members have been showing YOU their strengths in recent circuit races in par- KNOW ticular at Goodwood, Winchester Park and Ride, and Winchester Town Centre Crits.

????? Jamie Donovan, Elliot Cox, Owen Giles, Ella and Jude Beaton, and Freya, Amber and Grace Richardson, and Felix Barrow have all had wins and/or podium places. In their re- spective age categories.

Look out for the feature in the next PNE Far- thing detailing their successful season. A recent survey said 1 in 4 hills are steep! PNE People Riding for Charity

Click on the pictures to be taken to their Just Giving Page should you wish to donate for their chosen causes. Thanks in Advance

Recent CTT Open Time Trial Results

The following results were achieved by Nick Andrews in his Time trialling endevours earlier this season:

Redmond CC 25 mile 12/4/15 G25/54 Nick Andrews 14th 57:17 Winner J Dewey 51:20.

Charlotteville CC 50 mile 10/5/15 H50/8 Nick Andrews 16th 1:53:31 Winner A.Topham 1:42:18

Newbury RC 25 mile 16/5/15 H25/1 Nick Andrews 8th 55:37 Winner P Cartwright 52:27

Sussex CA 30 mile 25/5/15 G30/91 Nick Andrews 8th 1:09:28 Winner Conall Yates 1:04:39

Send your Results to [email protected] for publication www.pttl.org PNE are part of the Portsdown Time Trial League, PTTL. Club riders earn points for their positions in the individual time trials,thoughout the year, which then contribute to the Clubs total and standing in the league. The events are detailed below:

PTTL 1 – Team Axiom Saturday 7 March on P817. 10 Miles with first rider at 13:00 – Soberton Village Hall HQ PTTL 2 – Hampshire Road Club Sunday 22 March on P845. 22 Miles with first rider at 07:30 – West Stoke Hall HQ PTTL 3 P823 15 mile 19/4/15 PTTL 3 – Portsmouth North End Cycling Club Posn Rider Time Sunday 19 April on P823. 15 Miles with first rider at 08:00 – Wickham Community Hall HQ 8 Dave Dawkins 00:53:59 PTTL 4 – Blazing Saddles Cycles 16 Rob Panter 00:56:47 Sunday 3 May on P903. 10 Miles with first rider at 08:00 – The Spur Pub HQ 20 Andy Page 00:57:34 PTTL 5 – Southdown Velo 23 Tom Goodyer 00:57:41 Sunday 21 June on P914. 34 Kilometres with first rider at 08:00 – Lavant Village Hall HQ PTTL 6 – Fareham Wheelers Cycling Club 32 Jerry Collingwood 00:59:58 Sunday 12 July on P821. 25 Miles with first rider at 07:30 – Wickham Community Cen- 35 James Ayton 01:00:25 tre HQ 39 Alan Cockram 01:01:05 PTTL 7 – Bognor Regis Cycling Club 41 Rhys Lippiatt 01:02:03 Sunday 2 August on P903. 10 Miles with first rider at 18:00 – The Spur Pub HQ 48 Yvonne Frampton 01:07:24 50 Martin Randle 01:09:36 53 Nancie Dawkins 01:10:23 PTTL 3 - PNE - Our Home event was a great success and great thanks goes out to all 54 Greg Rolfe 01:10:51 those who pitched in and helped organise/marshall/cater and clean. Out on the course 12 Nick Andrews DNF PNE’ers put in some good times to earn plenty of PTTL points.

PTTL 4—Blazing Saddles - This event was cancelled at the last minute due to the atro- PTTL 5 P914/34km 21/6/15 cious weather conditions. Posn Name Time 5 Dave Dawkins 00:50:43 PTTL 5—Southdown Velo - A tough course saw 7 PNE riders do well in this not quite so 8 Rob Panter 00:52:52 well attended event, so they all managed a Top 30 position. 14 James Ayton 00:55:40 20 Tom Goodyer 00:57:22 PTTL 6—Fareham Wheelers - Holiday season meant we only had 5 PNE riders in this 21 Alan Cocknam 00:58:16 event, and again they all managed a Top 30 position. 23 Alan Collins 01:00:25 31 Nancie Dawkins 01:08:30 With one event to go, Dave Dawkins sits at the top of the individual leader board, having amassed 580 PTTL points, and PNE are second in the Team Table with 2608 points hav- PTTL 6 P821/25 mile 12/7/15 ing leapfrogged Blazing Saddles on 2557 points by virtue of their low turnout in Round 6. Hampshire Road Club are 1st in the team standings with 2742 points, so it is still mathe- Posn Name Time matically possible for PNE to take overall honours with a strong turnout in the last round. 3 Dave Dawkins 01:00:40 18 Alan Cockram 01:09:42 (Fingers Crossed that our rivals have a poor turnout :-P ) 25 Greg Rolfe 01:14:31 27 Yvonne Frampton 01:18:37 28 Nancie Dawkins 01:19:52 Thursday Evening Time Trials The PNE Thursday evening Time Trials continue to be well attended, with some impressive performances on the sporting courses. View all the results on the website www.pnecc.co.uk/timetrials Quiz Night ??????????????????????????

Save the Date of Monday 7th November in your diaries!

A Quiz night is in the process of being organised at the VIBC.

Their will be a charge for entering a team, with the proceeds going to Sam Moore’s IRONMAN Fundraising Total for EDS.

There will be several rounds of mostly General Knowledge, with a cycling specific round thrown in for good measure. Start swot- ting up now! We might even invite Fareham Wheelers down for the evening to compete with Brains instead of Brawn.

Catering is been organised to sustain us through this arduous evening, and menu details are to be finalised.

Look out for further details on email, social media and the forum. Contact Us

Email us A PNE outing is being organised to the Revolution Series [email protected] Round 3 Evening Session being held at Lee Valley Velo- drome in London on Saturday 14th November 2015 from Visit us on the web at 7pm. www.pnecc.co.uk See http://www.cyclingrevolution.com/ for more details. The trip was initially advertised on the forum, social media Tweet us @pnecc.co.uk and by email, for Track Centre Lounge tickets and trans- portation via a 16 seater minibus, with an approximate cost Facebook of £65 per Adult ; £52 per Over 65 or Under 16, depending Portsmouth North End CC on the division of cost for the minibus. Visit us on Club Night, Limited places and a short deadline on a first come first Mondays from 7.30pm at served basis, didn’t garner the anticipated feverish clamber Victory Indoor Bowling Club, Alex for seats. Therefore, the deadline has been extended to 1st Way, Portsmouth, PO2 9PB August, and alternative options are being offered. Ride with us Comments were received that people were dissuaded by Every Sunday, Assemble price, and not wanting to get dizzy in track centre. So, from 9am, for a 9.15am Grand should people want them, seated tickets are available too. Depart from The George Inn, Prices are as follows: Portsdown Hill Road, Ports- mouth. PO6 1BE. Track Centre Adult £49.50 NOTE: HELMET WEARING IS Track Centre 65+/U16 £38.50 Premium Adult £38.50 COMPULSORY! Premium 65+/U16 £22.00 Standard Adult £30.80 There are usually 3 rides; Social, Standard 65+/U16 £16.50 Intermediate, and Sporty, Ride Restricted View Adult £22.00 distance approx. 30, 40 & 50 Restricted View 65+/U16 £13.20 miles respectively, taking about 4 hours, including a café stop. Transport by minibus is still viable with 16 people, and should provide a stress-free way of getting there and back. It is advised to bring a well main- Approximate cost is £250 divided by the number of people tained bike, a waterproof jacket, travelling, hence if it is full the cost will be approx. £15.on energy snacks/gels and a drink, top of your ticket. tools and spare inner tube, and If there aren’t enough people I’m sure we can arrange to money for the café stop. share spaces in a number of cars with volunteer drivers, Mudguards are appreciated by and divvy up the fuel and parking costs. other riders during the winter months. If you are interested in participating, please respond with your requirements to [email protected] by Saturday 1st August, as the intention is to buy the tickets as soon as possible, so we don’t miss out on the opportunity to rub shoulders with the stars of the cycling world at such a prestigious televised event.

No matter what, there will be at least 4 stalwart PNE repre- sentatives at this event. Those members unable to commit at this time are of course very welcome to join us, should they be able to obtain their own tickets closer to the time.

Send your news and results to [email protected] so it can feature in the next issue of PNE Farthing, due out early October 2015.