‘Half term and a long weekend in the new forest, and finding a race 15 minutes away- well, it would have been rude not to.  A really fun race, and a beautiful day. I had a pretty grotty swim as it was just one wave and those pesky boys were rough.  Also not swim training over the off season is not a clever move… but the massive 1k run to transition helped me pull back a couple of places. 

I managed to catch up a bit on a beautiful but hilly and very windy bike course.  The run was a beautiful route, but my legs just couldn’t catch the third lady so ended up 4th overall and 1st veteran, 1st in age group.   22nd out of 100 counting the boys- always good to chick a few!  Pleased with that as a pretty dodgy off season (complete motivation issues….) and injuries mean I’m not really race fit.  Must stop being such a wuss on bike descents- definitely would have been third as where she overtook me every time.   Well recommended for a friendly race if you happen to be local.’

As raced and reported by Lucy Owen.

Black Rat Cyclosportive 2016

 Mediofondo 22 May – 120km, 1552m of ascent

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7672071

‘A very challenging ride. I did this ride back in 2014 and came in 5^th overall so I was keen to go faster this year. Although this was a slightly different route to the previous and slightly longer I found it most enjoyable /challenging and it really tested my fitness/stamina to the max.

There were two main climbs both long and pretty tough going, the weather was also very unpredictable making it difficult to know what to wear in the beginning of the ride. As we left off in glorious sunshine it began to get gloomy as we crossed the bridge into Wales and the rain began to fall as we entered the Wye valley. Within 20mins it was absolutely pouring down making visibility limited and the roads very slippery.

Descending from the valleys the rain stopped and the roads were dry which meant I could pick the pace up a bit although very very cold by now and so the cramping set in. By the time I had returned across the bridge I was getting cramp in both legs which I think was due to hot/cold conditions and not enough electrolytes/fluids.

I managed the cramps as best I could to limp across the finish line with a print out time of 4:53:07 (14^th). The  results sheet is not quite right as there were a few riders that had signed up to do the Mediofondo and had decided on route to do the shorter Piccolofondo which messed up the timing chip data!

Overall I thought it was a really well organized and enjoyable event with a really friendly bunch of riders taking part. If I am not doing the Velothon next year I can strongly recommend doing this as an alternative.’

As raced and reported by Paul Hoad

Adam Buck, Andy Curran, Dan Ellis, Andy Tolson, Lyndsay Fitzgerald and Seb Potiriadis ventured out to Wales last weekend to tackle the mighty Velothon. The 6 Viceroys cycled in two mini teams – Dan recounts the experience of himself, Adam and Andy C:

‘It was a truly great experience and would thoroughly recommend it to all Viceroys.

The course is a great closed road event and the locals really embrace the day, cheering you on and seeing you over the line.

My advice would be, as with any challenging sportive – plan your ride i.e. Know your limits, when the fuel stations will be, climbs etc.

We had kept an eye on the weather forecast all week and the truth is, be prepared for quick changing conditions whatever the forecast – for this reason I went with my four season tyres and alloy rims wheels which paid dividends on the recents.

The first 50 miles is pretty flat and early starters sets off at a rapid pace. Then comes the real fun with the infamous Tumble climb (approx 2.8miles at 8.3%). After this climb you can enjoy great views and undulating roads until the final climb at 80 miles. This climb is short in comparison, but I think I had seen a sign with 16% ouch… From there on its pretty swift and plane sailing to the finish line. 

The three of us worked hard as a team throughout, which received some nice plaudits along the way and we crossed the lined together with a sub 5 hour finish (18.8 avg)

And finally, if your team is playing in the FA cup final the night before, be warned the beer is cheap and hard to resist.’

Lyndsay too echoes this great experience: ‘Just wanted to say what a fantastic day in (sort of) sunny Wales for the velothon today. Massive thanks to Seb and Andy for dragging me round the first 100k, can’t say I enjoyed the last 40 anywhere near as much!! Great closed roads event, can thoroughly recommend it for next year.

The Velothon was the longest ride I’ve done to date, my second sportive and first closed roads event. So a race plan of trying to keep up with Seb and Andy for as long as possible was probably a bit daft! Through the Newport flats and out towards the dreaded Tumble we had quite a train behind us, with Seb acting a little like the Pied Piper on the front! The rain started at the bottom of the climb but tree shelter helped on the way up. The descent was wet, cold and quite wiggly at times but we had the rest stop ahead to look forward to. This was where some guy laughed at the state of my face, which I took as a complement to my drafting skills learnt on our Viceroys group rides! By this point we were about 100k in and my legs started to hate me, I struggled to maintain pace and there was a consistently subtle but deadly incline and I could easily have had a hissy fit! But then the guys waited and we were soon in Caerphilly ready for the mountain ahead. Except my legs weren’t. I skidded to a bit of a halt with the worst hamstring cramp I’ve ever had, and the then my quad joined in. A lovely local offers to hold my bike whilst I was hopping around on the pavement (after assuring me he wouldn’t pinch it!), I must have looked a right sight! As soon as it came it went and thankfully not a peep on the climb, which was viscous. From the top it was a lovely ride back into town with fantastic local support… Quickly followed by cramp at the end! Did I go off too fast to keep up with the guys? Probably. Would I do the same again? Definitely! I didn’t have a clue what to expect time wise as it was only my second ride over 100k so was pleased with 5:04 and 71st female, sub 5 next year!’

This weekend saw Jen, Lara, Colette, Colin, Pete competing in the ITU World Champs Sprint Qualifier at Eton Dorney – the first draft legal race for our contingent. As Colette recalls:

‘I had no idea what to expect from my first draft legal race this morning. But I’m glad to say my 3am premonition of causing a mass pile up on a corner did not happen. Pleased with 5th in age group and 17th female overall. This should secure me a place at the Worlds (AG winner already has a PQ). But lots of areas to improve on, must get my swim faster so I don’t miss the lead bike pack again… Don’t get stuck in your wetsuit in T1…. Push harder at the start of the run….’ Well done Colette.

Colin too really made the most of ‘draft legal’ and he too came out with a great result:  ‘I really enjoyed the format, once I had caught up with the lead group – albeit the catching was up was hard work.  Riding in a group of 7 made for a quick time and after a swift transition, I was first onto the run.  Despite nursing an achilles / calf injury I was delighted with 4th in AG – securing qualification for Cozumel.’ Well done Colin.

Jen admits being: ‘pretty nervous given that the bike leg is generally a bit wobbly for me at the best of times.  But I dusted off the hefty old road bike and having removed the extra bottle carrier, speed sensor, basket from the front, etc, Chris Clay helpfully suggested I should remove the dust covers from my valves too…. I mean, in the grand scheme of things!?

Luckily for me, fellow Viceroy Lara Clay was in the same wave, so after a quick briefing before the swim start, we plunged into the rather bracing Dorney Lake with the idea of trying to keep each other in sight.  This was easy for me, as I just had to follow a heavily strapped ankle!  Fair to say I was a bit off the pace on the swim and the front pack seemed to be extending a pretty decent lead by the time it was time to exit the water.
Onto the bike and Lara and I tried to work together to chase down a few stragglers – this mainly consisted of me taking about a 3 second turn on the front before Lara came past to once again take most of the heat!  We picked up another rider on the second lap which really helped and started to switch out pretty well (I was still massively benefiting from sticking with two way stronger riders).

Into a pretty hectic transition and out onto what seemed like a never ending out and back run….. but it did finally end and I managed to cross the line 5th in AG.’ Well done Jen.

‘All in all it was as great race and a massive thanks to Lara for providing a much appreciated back wheel – before then going on to complete the run, against doctors orders!! Legend.  Who said Triathlon wasn’t a team sport?’

Lara too reflects on an astounding race (considering…): ‘I was told Monday by the surgeon not to run at Dorney or Lisbon. I’ve ruptured my peroneal tendon and have tears in my Achilles. I haven’t been able to run since March but my ankle was feeling a bit better. I decided instead, seeing as it was draft legal, to see what racing this format would be like and also see if I could work hard on the bike with the aim of helping to save Jens legs a bit for the run.

Jen and I came out of the water together, not planned, just worked out, and we set about making the most of drafting. Another girl joined us so we could share the work some more. We were pretty evenly matched. I didn’t take my pre-run gel on the bike in the hope that would stop me from running, but we overtook so many on the bike I got into transition and thought I may as well try and run a slow 5k to see how my ankle held up before Lisbon. Needless to say it was slow, my legs were wondering what was happening after not running for over 2 months! But I’m glad I completed it and now know I can run in Lisbon, even if it is slow!’

For Pete Bell, this was his first race since September last year: ‘I was definitely rusty and had forgotten the pain involved in pushing myself to the max. I had an okay swim leg – got a bit battered and my goggles completely fogged up so I really struggled to see the buoys and the exit but I came out close enough to the leaders to keep me in contention. On the bike I was fortunate to come out of transition with one other racer in my AG and we worked together for the first 2 laps. But then my legs died and I drifted away from his back wheel…a very painful 3^rd lap on my own before I managed to jump on the back wheels of a couple of fast racers from the next wave that got me through to transition. Despite feeling exhausted on the bike, I actually felt like I had some running legs after T2. The first 2.5km was into the wind and my km splits were a little slow for my liking. On the turnaround I upped the pace and managed to pass a group of 3. Just ahead of me was another group of 4-5 racers in my AG and I gave all I could to try and catch them. Unfortunately the line came too soon and I ended up just at the back of that little pack. 11^th in AG but just 13 secs away from 7^th. If only I’d managed to push that little bit harder…’

Viceroys Simon Pratt, Tim Ferguson, David Hegarty, Richard Singleton and Mark Thompson all travelled to Hampshire for the Swashbuckler middle distance triathlon. Mark celebrated a top ten place overall and was 2^nd in his AG (04:31:47.40), and Richard was 8^th in his AG (04:55:23.95)– new dad Simon tells us about his race experience:

‘I have to admit I viewed the approaching Swashbucker with some apprehension; the arrival of William 16 weeks ago ensured my training hours roughly matched my sleeping hours – almost zero! This topped off with a two-week bout of the dreaded man flu (you girls just wouldn’t understand!) and my expectations were downgraded to “survive”

A chilly 6am start on the morning meant that the 16 degree Beaulieu River was actually welcoming! As for the swim – I survived – enough said!

Onto the bike from a very empty transition and the legs certainly weren’t going to help me enjoy the lovely new forest sights. I guess the writings on the wall when the local paper boy on his BMX passes you!! Still, after the usual dodging of a few horses, cows and donkeys I was back into transition with the sobering thought of the 14 mile run to follow. And we do this why?

The run was to be honest more of a hobble, with some sobering moments none more than begging for a gel from a fellow (very kind) competitor when the tank had gone passed empty (is that even legal?) Still there was a bright moment when on my first lap fellow Viceroy Richard blasted past me on the way to the finish with a cheerful hello and no sign of having broken a sweat! (He was so quick he couldn’t hear me cussing him for being so happy!!)

Anyway – into the finishing chute just past the 6-hour mark and I’d achieved what I’d set out to do – Survive! After all, the Viceroys motto of “never show weakness” does not allude to any time constraints!

Afterwards, as well as seeing my amazing support crew of Suze and William, it was great to catch up with fellow Viceroys Mark and Richard who’d posted amazing times and Tim who’d just completed his first half.’

Welcome to Viceroys Stuart Simms: ‘Having been always into sports, including rowing which I took quite seriously for about 15 years, I took a well earned break from competition when my lovely 3 daughters came along in quick succession. Now they are at an age where their running and swimming is getting close to being better than mine I thought I had better take up a new sport and show them what their old dad is capable of (?)… I have always run reasonably well and enjoyed mountain biking so triathlon seamed a natural step. I have been training on and off for a couple of years and fancied training with a club to get more structure as well as have more fun! So fso good, the Sunday rides have been brilliant and shown me what cycling in a group is really like – awesome:-) 2016 is about building a base fitness / strength that will enable me to compete more seriously next year, Viceroys feels a perfect club in which to do both.’

and Kirsty Kothakota: ‘Hello fellow Viceroys!

‘I am a newbie Viceroy and very much a novice triathlete.

I live close to Bushy Park in Teddington and love running there and I am now looking forward to trying cycling and lake swimming too.  (Thanks for the beautiful bike, Mel) I’ve done a couple of baby distance triathlons before but nothing recently.  I will be doing the free triathlon at Walton Excel in the morning – so should perhaps head to bed now before an early start!

I am a Mum of two fun but exhausting boys (1 and 3) and am actually really looking forward to having a bit of time back for myself – both for the training sessions and the great social side of the club that I have heard about ;-)’

John Mackey says:

‘Hi All

I have lived in Hersham/Weybridge area since 1983. Actually joined VTC cycling last year, but due to family and work commitments only managed a couple of Sunday morning rides. I use my bike to commute to work all year round, but only started entering sportive events over the last couple of years, participated in RideLondon-Surrey 100 for last 2 years. Before cycling I played football in the Middlesex County league until my mid-thirties, at which time knees and calf muscles decided to give up! One unusual football club tradition was entering the Tanners Hatch 30 mile Marathon each year, being a Cartographer by profession I enjoyed the semi-orienteering challenge but not the route which always seemed to include either Box or Leith Hill at around the 17 mile mark!

Looking forward to getting out on more weekend club rides this year.’

And welcome to Dawson Hardiman too:

Having spent 20 years as a not quite good enough hockey player, it turned out my knees weren’t quite good enough either, so I thought I thought I’d try and be not quite good enough at something else. 

I completed a couple of Olympic distance tri’s before moving onto Long course, and have now done The Outlaw, Challenge Weymouth, and IM Austria, with IM Lanzarote, Challenge Roth and IM Weymouth 70.3 coming this year.  

Working away half the time (oil and gas) means a lot of training on my own, so if there are any non Monday-Friday types looking for a training partner when I’m off,  I’m your man. 

Made my first club ride last week, which was good to be part of and to meet some members. The club looks to have a good mix of training committed social types, and made me feel welcome from the off. Looking forward to plenty more training sessions through the course of the summer. ‘

Welcome to VTC Jasmin: ‘After many years in the pool playing and competing in water polo and surf life-saving, I’ve decided to try my hand at something a little different. Since moving to the UK I’ve rekindled a love for running but the challenge of three successive disciplines seemed appealing (!), and a challenge finding the time to train with two young children and a husband who is a keen sportsman himself. We moved to Weybridge a year and a half ago and Viceroys has proved to be the perfect fit – both local and great company.’

Welcome to VTC Paul Hoad:’

Back in 2012 I suffered a slipped disc in my lower lumber of which left me with a bulging disc. This

WBMTH06

took best part of a year to heal and during this time my Doctor had told me that I should stop doing so much running as the impact on my lower discs was making matters a lot worse.

He advised me that cycling would be much more beneficial as its very low impact and it concentrates on the those muscles in the lower back region. I’m not sure how much of this I believed at the time but I had to do something to keep in shape. I have always enjoyed cycling and had done my fair share of Mountain bike racing back in the day so I was keen to get back in the saddle. I was introduced to Viceroys by a fellow member Ian Hope who suggested I come along for a ride and see what I thought.

Having met quite a few of the other club members I now feel really welcome and have really enjoyed getting out for the Sunday rides as much as I can.

Living in Weybridge means meeting at Walton is ideal and so far all the routes we have been out on have been interesting and fun but most of all I have felt safe with the other riders. I hope to continue riding at the weekends and now the longer evenings are here perhaps get out on the odd mid week ride too. I am riding the Black Rat sportive on Sunday 22 May 2016 & the Prudential 100 31^st July I have also signed up to ride the New Forest 100 Sportive on Saturday 24th September 2016 hopefully I will get the opportunity to ride a couple more too this year.

Viceroys has been a really enjoyable club to be a part of and I look forward to many more enjoyable fun rides to come.’

A gloriously sunny day greeted those who rolled into Oxshott for the start of this 86km or 153km event run by SWRC. The 11 strong Viceroys group had a 15 minute puncture stop (Theo the unfortunate one this time just before Staple Lane) and we also had a fairly long stop at the 36 mile mark for coffee and cake (actual moving time was around 3h 30 mins ). While the majority completed the shorter route, a few hard core (Keith Russell, Dan Ellis, Carl Fisher, Lance Kesson) took on the long route.

Pete Kelsey recounts his race experience:

The May Flyer is a well-drilled local event, with chip timing, pre and post-ride snacks as well as a good food stop and simple but effective road markings (as well as Garmin maps for those that like tech).

I am lower than low tech, so no bleeping Garmin map or Di2 for me, as I hate mechanical issues.

Originally I planned on doing the challenge distance of 153 km but that looked like taking up most of Sunday and getting me in the doghouse, again,  so I switched to the shorter route with instructions from my coach Jay McStay of:  ‘go hard on the short course, the training effect is better than a long slower ride’

At the start I met up with Dimi Nicolaides, who Jay also coaches, and off we went. By Cobham I could already feel and hear a brake pad rubbing, and it was getting worse. My limited mechanical skills were called upon to stop & straighten my lop-sided rear calliper and open it out fully. As I said, low tech solutions suit me, besides I have a front brake.

In Sportives a fast time can be dependent on getting in a good group of riders to ‘thru and off’ and share the load. We messed that up and realised early on we were riding as a ‘two’. Size wise Dimi & I are not well matched, with Dimi being a powerful rouleur, and me a little mountain goat. I scuttled up Staples and then waited for him to catch up after descending Coombe, but now we were in his territory of flats and rolling hills. Having agreed minute on and minute off to share the load, I was delighted to see Dimi’s counting skills were on a par with my mechanical skills, as he regularly did 2 minutes of hard pulls. Those big V8 thumpers were Yeoman-esque, and I was pushed to keep on his wheel.  My less impressive power outputs didn’t seem to make as much headway, but we were going nicely as long as we didn’t bonk.

We passed the food stop (without stopping) and were now the lead riders, but as we figured bigger groups would be going faster we kept up the pace, with simple but effective ‘car up’, ‘car back’ or ‘hole’ shouts from whoever was up front. The May Flyer route is beautiful, proper Surrey countryside with stunning homes and Sunday drivers gingerly emerging in their polished E types and Astons. The well planned and clearly marked course rolls really well up lots of testing little risers round towards Shere, and then Coombe looms up ahead.

By now Dimi’s counting skills were starting to hit home, and Coombe meant we backed it off a bit to stay as a two. I then pulled us down Green Dene into Horsley before we were again taking turns. By Cobham Dimi was tucked in and hanging on, but to be fair he had worked harder on the flats & rollers, so I now shuffled us along as fast as we could go, and in no time we were  home 1^st and 2^nd, with him crossing the line closer behind me than he started, and edging me by 4 seconds! To be fair, he earned it, as it was his speed on the flats and rollers that made the difference.

What is great is that the next group back were all Viceroys, and all hitting Gold times, with Kim Bainbridge ‘chicking’ everyone below 3rd for 1^st lady and 4^th overall. In all 15 Viceroys taking part is a strong showing, and having now ridden the May Flyer for the first time I can see why it is so popular, a lovely route, well signed, great facilities and easy to get to. Perhaps more of us should do it in 2017!

Viceroys times:

Peter Kelsey 2:51:45 Gold (2^nd overall/1^st in AG)

Kim Bainbridge 3:03:58 Gold (1^st Lady)

Steve Hobson 3:04:01 Gold (5^th overall 2^nd in AG)

John Kellett 3:05:17 Gold (6^th overall 2^nd in AG)

Bijan Tahan 3:29:42 (25^th overall/6^th in AG)

John Mackey 3:52:18 Silver (94^th overall 27^th in AG)

Lyndsay Fitzgerald 4:09:08 (135^th overall 3^rd in AG)

Steve Metcalfe 4:09:13 (136^th overall 17^th in AG)

Lisa Price 4:10:07 Bronze (142^nd overall 9^th in AG)

Tegwynne Goldthorpe 4:10:13 Silver (144^th overall 7^th in AG)

David Barry 4:10:18 (145^th overall 44^th in AG)

Geoff Read    04:09:36     (140^th overall   43rd in AG)

Nick Christian 4:10:57 (148^th overall 46^th in AG)

Kristie Higgins 4:11:01 (150^th overall 6^th in AG)

Theodore Petronikolos 4:11:35 Bronze (152^nd overall 41^st in AG)

Lilly Morgado 4:12:51 (157^th overall 7^th in AG)

LONG ROUTE:

Keith Russell  5h 56m Gold (74^th  in AG)

Dan Ellis 5:56:31 Silver (73rd overall / 8th in AG)

Carl Fisher           7:16:55 (60^th AG and 129 overall)

Lance Kesson 6:40:05 Bronze (99th overall / 44th in AG)

Well done everyone!