The Testing Times - September 09

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 1

Reports Reviews Legends Cranks Riders Kit Old Skool Carbon

September 2009

In this issue:

Meet the team - page 2

Old Skool Series:

Seamons 25 - page 4

Team Sanjan 10 - page 19

Gambling On..

the Press - page 8

Frankly Franklin:

In the dark - page 10

Peter Whitfield - speaks to

John Woodburn on page 12

Eurobike 2009 - pages 14 - 17

Britain’s Smelliest Testers:

continues on page 18...No 3!

September’s Unsung Hero -

Keith Carlton - page 22

Steve Kish’s favourite course -

page 24

Wilko’s 12 - page 26

NOB OFF to page 30

Records broken in Old Skool event... With £500 on offer for the

first rider to break either

Colin Sturgess’s or Alf’s

Old Skool record, compe-

tition became ultra hot at

Team Sanjan’s recent 10

mile held in Cambridge-

shire - so much so that

there was talk of records

being broken. Event

organiser Stuart Tarry

and his band of merry

men were not to be

disappointed - neither

were Old Skool series

sponsors Planet X as no

less than nineteen riders

entered...which is without

doubt a record.

Only two more events remain: the

Kent Valley 10 on the competition re-

cord course at Levens and Wre-

kinsport’s event over a similar distance

on the World’s fastest course between

Sambrook and Newport in Shropshire

(well let’s face it, it’s the only course

between Sambrook and Newport...so it

must be the World’s fastest course there

…..mustn’t it?).

“The Power” Parkinson - Number 1?

…...only time will tell.

EUROBIKE 2009

Dave’s juicy bits +

‘Special’ centre page pull-out

Testing Times - Issue

number Nine and still

going strong ...just

The final overall winner is not yet cer-

tain. While it looks like “the Power”

Parkinson is running away with the com-

petition it will only take a middling 15

minute 10 for Gavin “good man” Hinx-

man to usurp him from the top spot. If

the likes of Chris Worsfold and Stan Mills

can pull off even faster rides than that,

we’re certainly in for a fantastic end of

season. Be there...and be square...right?

Meet the team Starting this month: meet the first of the

individuals responsible for ensuring Testing

Times arrives in your inbox. Put faces to

names….etc etc.

First up ...Dave Loughran... the Boss (left…the larger of the two!). Don’t be

fooled by that innocent “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth” smile. Dave (I

hope you don’t mind me calling you Dave … Mr Loughran Sir?) is a hard

ruthless businessman who won’t stand crepe from anyone likely to prevent

him gaining total control of Carcroft Enterprise Park...and beyond (rumour

has it that eye is now firmly set on Doncaster).

‘Nudge nudge wink wink’ Loughran as he has become known in the trade

wears his heart on his sleeve “You get what you see lad - and that’ll cost thee

a tenner... reet?”

Loughran couldn’t sleep one night last winter and ‘dreamt’ up Testing Times

while he was tossing and turning between the sheets. The rest of us haven’t

slept since. He’s the one to blame...honest!

In a word….fair1 • adjective 1 just or appropriate in the circumstances.

2 treating people equally. 3 moderately good (in Dave’s case...VERY

good!) • adverb 1 in a fair manner…

Ian Frankly Franklin (right) needs therapy. He is presently on

medication (like most of the rest of us) but is let out to mix and mingle

with the public at regular frequencies (urm…unlike most of the rest of

us). Naturally he’s tagged so that his whereabouts can be constantly

monitored by his carers. The general public is assured however that

no-one is at risk …although he should be approached with caution if

copies of Cycling Weekly are likely to come into eye-shot. If Ian ever

decided to relax a bit and not take life too seriously it would certainly

be to Testing Times’s loss.

In a word…dependable • adjective trustworthy and reliable. -

derivatives dependability noun dependably adverb.

Probably the only sane one amongst us, Peter Whitfield (left), as you

might have already guessed, likes his Martinis shaken not stirred. Misled

by the smooth talking of the Editor, Peter has taken regular time out from

writing works such as ‘The Condor Years’, ‘Twelve Champions’ (highly

recommended...chapter 10 is brilliant!!) and ‘If I’d been 10 years younger

I could have been the next James Bond’ to head up the serious side to

Testing Times. His laid back approach to interviewing and ease in which

he teases out all the nice little nitty gritty juicy bits we all like to read

about, is second to none. A valuable asset to Testing Times and one

which would surely be missed if he ever realises he’s been duped and is

never EVER going to make his million out of the sad sorry state of a

project this has become.

In a word….gentleman • noun 1 a courteous or honourable

man. 2 a man of good social position, especially one of wealth

and leisure. 3 (in polite or formal use) a man. — DERIVA-

TIVES gentlemanly adjective.



Severe weather warnings

couldn’t deter the enthusiasm

of the Old Skool cult. For the

few regulars, this was

becoming more than a fad, in

fact by round nine, more of a

way of life. There are many

testers that travel the country

in search of fast courses on

float-days; unfortunately this

event was going to be neither.

Eight riders had declared their Old

Skool intentions on their entry forms,

but by the start-line 50% more than

that (that’s 12 for those of you who

preferred cycling to maths at school)

had come out of the (alpaca jersey)

closet.

What a lovely village Goostrey is,

tucked away ‘up north’. On arrival, us

southerners thought that they must

still drive around in steam powered

vehicles up there as traction engines

were everywhere, until we spotted the

‘Steam Festival next left’ sign in the

village.

This event was a ‘last chance saloon’

qualifier event for the Old School

Series for several of the riders. Old

Skool regular Tom Woolard

(Northover Vets), who had missed his

start in the fast a3crg event due to

traffic problems, decided to travel up

the previous day. “I just couldn’t

afford to take the risk” Woolard

said, “there is just too much at stake,

my whole season is based around a

top 5 finish in the series.”

Other regulars Gavin Hinxman

(Welland Valley Wheelers) & Stan

Mills (Yorkshire RC) were also both

relying on this event as one of their

qualifiers. “I’m taking four spare tubs

with me today just in case” Mills

admitted, following his first puncture

before he’d even left the HQ carpark

for the start.

A crowd had gathered around Testing

Times (August edition) Paul Gittins

(Retrobike.co.uk). His bike was

complete with a 50-year-old watch

(they sell nice digital watches these

days Paul) but the centre of interest

was focused on the PMP ‘L’ shaped

cranks - full 80’s bling or what???

For info:

1981: PMP, a small Italian firm,

bursts on the scene with the

revolutionary ‘bent’ crank, featuring

a 90-degree bend in the crank arm.

The "L-shaped design increases the

pedal's propulsion power and lessens

energy dispersion on the

downstroke”, according to the manu-

facturer's literature.

1981: The British magazine Cycling

issued a set of PMP cranks to an

unnamed first category Surrey road

man for road testing "Whatever the

theories, in practice our roadman

tester felt the PMP cranks offered an

advantage and surely that is the true

criterion," Cycling reported. The

roadman himself said,

"At low pedalling speeds, dead cen-

tre seemed to be removed.”

1982: PMP cranks are the talk of

the New York trade show. Not many

orders, but lots of talk…

The event started without issue, the

forecasted rain held off but the wind

was certainly blowing.

Seamons CC rider Malcolm McAllister

was the first of the retro-fans off. “I

was determined to crack that 90 minute

barrier today” he said after crossing

the line, finishing in exactly 1-30-00,

the 68 year-old’s sprint finish letting

him down in the last seconds.

John Burston of Pendle Forest CC was

determined to be the first Old Skool

finisher, off #19, “I thought I could

reel Malcolm in today & cross the line

first” Burston explained.

Unfortunately for Mr Burston, Planet X

Old Skool Series - Round 9 -

Seamons 25 by Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman

Mark Lovatt flying the PlanetX flag en route to a race winning 59-16.


had played their own trump card,

entering Mark Lovatt on his lovely

carbon road bike (The rules state

no tri-bars, funny hats or aero wheels,

no mention of carbon, so Mark was in

the clear with the scrutineers). Lovatt

had passed Burston before the first

junction & with it the dream of the

chequered flag gone for Burston.

Lovatt was really loving it “This is a

proper roadman’s course and I am a

proper roadman” he said. “I had to

ride Old-Skool today, the boss told

me as (Ian) Cammish wasn’t around. I

have the Stealth in the boot of the car

and did consider a sneaky change but

knew someone would tell tales”. As it

was, Lovatt rode just as he would in a

solo break, & blasted round in 59:16, a

time that would take some beating.

Manchester Wheelers were represented

by Richard Weltman, in his second

year as a veteran. His 1-09-03 slotted

into second place at this stage

Woolard was next to finish, struggling

around in 1-08-02, and a far cry from

his sub-hour old-skool ride on the U46

earlier in the series. A walk in the

northern hills on the Saturday morning

didn’t prove to be ideal race prep. “At

63, I should know better,” he said.

Complete with woolly jersey, ex-

BBAR and National Champion Bob

Porter - Hounslow and District CC,

masqueraded under the pseudonym of

Robert Porter GS Surosa and clocked

an impressive 1-09-41, “Who needs

lycra” he said afterwards. Porter de-

nied reports that a late BBAR bid was

scheduled for 2009 but did admit that

he had missed top flight cycling and

was pleased to be part of it all once

again.

David Wilson of ABC Centreville,

would maybe prove to be the surprise,

with no entrytime. “I had no-idea what

I’d do today, I have been training for

40 years for this so I hoped that it

would be good one.” Wilson was

pleased that he took a break from

running his successful building

company for a day or two to record a

satisfying 1-12-14.

Gittins was reported to be flying, those

cranks making huge gains on the hills

& flat sections. Another woolly jersey

clad rider, this time, a 40-year old

jersey picked up from the 1959 Skol

Six-day (that’s true), 1-13-46 would be

Gittins’ finishing time, the event was

proving to be a close run thing.

Hinxman was next up, the 1980’s

Vernon Barker (formally MB Dron-

field) would hopefully be back to

(near) winning ways. It was not to let

the Northamptonshire ‘boy’ down,

slotting into an eventual second place

with 1-05-47, albeit a distance from

Lovatt’s time.

Leek’s John Green recorder a

respectable 1-11-44, holding off Chris

Worsfold (API Metrow) who finished in

1-06-54. Worsfold sported an

immaculate Cinelli machine, c/w

drillings everywhere a weight-wheeny

could possibly want them. The bike

picked up the prize for the sexiest bike,

putting the modern machines to shame.

Ever-regular Stan Mills completed the

course with no-more punctures, to

qualify for the BAR with 1-10-11.

A great event, apart from the wind &

road surface. Great tea, cakes & hospi-

tality, thank-you Seamons CC Happy

61st birthday.

Results: Mark Lovatt (Planet X) 59-16 Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley CC)

1-05-47 Chris Worsfold (API Metrow) 1-06-54 Tom Woolard (Northover Vets) 1-08-02 Richard Weltman (Man Whls) 1-09-03 Robert Porter (GS Surosa) 1-09-41 Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) 1-10-11 John Green (Leek CC) 1-11-44 David Wilson (ABC Centreville)1-12-14 Paul Targett (Pendle Forest CC)1-13-27 Paul Gittins (Retrobike.co.uk) 1-13-46 Malcolm McAllister (Seamons CC)

1-30-00

16.

Former BBAR Bob Porter

returning to top-flight

competition with 1-9-41.

Chris Worsfold and his retro

Cinelli.

Photo by www.mrshinxmanrulestheroostok.com

Paul Gittins - superstar of the 60s, 70s

and 80s takes on the 21st century.

Photo by:

www.mrshinxmanbakesnicecakes.com


Richard Viney (Addiscombe CC) wasn’t

fully aware of precisely what he was

letting himself in for when he agreed to

product test a number of items which

recently arrived for Testing Times to

review.

The first was the super-new ultra-stiff unbranded P155 -

U5ele55 TT frameset which bears a remarkable

resemblance to a number of those already available in the

UK under various difference brand names and numbers.

(What’s wrong with Planet X’s ‘Stealth, Cinelli’s ‘Laser’ or

Indurain’s ‘Blade’? Why christen bike frames with

indiscreet non-sensical numbers FGS?)

Viney road tested the frameset together with the latest in

ultra slick tyres produced by a small group of former

Wankebar employers from the (former) Eastern Block. The

more ‘mature’ readers may recall the name Wankebar (not

too sure about the spelling there!). In the late 70s,

Wankebar manufactured seamless tubular tyres similar in

construction to today’s Tufos. UK teams riding such races

as the Berlin - Warsaw - Prague (the Peace Race) returned

with suitcases full of their wonderful products - the main

attraction no doubt being the price which amounted to

somewhere in the region of £1-10s-00d...PER TUB.

Legend has it that Glenn Longland rode most of his

BBAR events on Wankebars and Ken Platts is said to be

considering retiring from competitive racing if his stock

ever runs out. What further testament is there to the quality

of the product?

The latest offering produced by the Company will

certainly be of interest to British testers. Their new tubular

tyre is said to have the lowest rolling resistance ever

achieved in independent tests. The super slick silica-

injected green bean and carrot-cake compound used for the

ultra smooth tread has been found to outperform EVERY

other tubular tyre currently available on the market.

Viney fully supported the results of the tests and claims of

the manufacturers.

An element of some grip would however be useful if users

intend to deviate in any way from straight line riding. The

initial run of tyres are highly recommended for use by RRA

record aspirants or for time triallists renowned for ‘dnf’ing

with excuses like… “I was on Comp Record at the turn but

crashed heavily when negotiating the roundabout…”

Testing Times thanks Richard Viney for putting himself

at risk and would like to point out to readers (if there are

any) that no animals (including Viney) were harmed during

the carrying out of this important research. We appreciate

that the road testing of bikes and equipment does not

always meet with everybody’s approval but in order to

provide a service to the keen and conscientious British

tester we consider it our duty to provide you with the latest

updates on cycling technology...so we may be back!

Oh yes….and the pair of Marigolds on test proved

conclusively that blue ones grip better than black ones.

Testing Times road tests…. new unbranded P155 – U5ele55 TT frame and ultra slick testing tubs.

Photo from Mike Anton’s vast archive.

Have a ‘goosey’ here...

http://www.mikeanton.com/

...tried and tested!


conclusively that blue ones grip better than black ones.

“

“


a national cycling magazine. The

proprietor was treated for penstabs.

“An MP has called for a ban on Tony

Doyle racing abroad.”

“Pitiful racing in London. The inter-

national cycle race in the centre of

London was marred by an unsporting

incident, caused by national champion

Phil Thomas shouting ‘You can’t be

serious’ at an official who disqualified

him for elbowing Aussie Shane Sutton

into the sixth row of the grandstand.

Thomas then insulted the chief judge

with “You are the pits”. A fine of

£1000 was imposed and he was warned

as to his future conduct.

“His manager said: ‘He is

misunderstood by authority and has

become a target. They are trying to

take the competitiveness out of

criteriums. Anyway, that judge is the

pits.’ Thomas was recently warned for

landing a blow on the bell.

“An MP has tabled a motion for the

cancellation of city centre races to

prevent war with Australia..”

“British Team condemned! In the

world championship 100-kilometres

team time trial the British team was

condemned for attacking the Iceland

tram, who had caught them by three

minutes. The Icelanders com-

plained that they were unfairly tackled

as they passed and riders body-checked

them from their machines and then

stamped on their wheels. Two needed

stitches in head wounds and their team-

mates received treatment for groin inju-

ries caused by abrupt raised knees.

Firemen worked for two hours to free

handlebars wrapped round the neck of

the Iceland coach, after he lodged a

protest.

“British manager, Jim Hendry, said

‘Let's get this in perspective. It was a

minor accident caused by the excessive

speed of the Icelandic team and their

coach had his head trapped in the bars

before the race even started. Bloody

foreigners.’

“An MP has demanded an apology

from the Government of Iceland.”

“Straps row as only two girls finish

in women’s road race. After

confusion at the start, when all but two

girls found their pedals strapped to

their cranks, the race was won by

Margaret Herety and her sister

Catherine Swinnerton, with a tie.

Neither had the strap problem. Two

officials interviewed them behind

locked doors for three hours and later

said ‘The sisters were innocent’.”

“More Time Trial trouble! There

was havoc on our roads at the weekend

when allegations of race fixing and

mechanical failure faking was directed

at tester’s folk hero Ian Cammish, after

he retired from a 100-miles race on the

A1, with three punctures, two collapsed

wheels and a straightened crank. In a

wet and windy Suffolk, ex-champion

Martin Pyne was reported for a two-

fingered salute at a timekeeper, who

greeted him with ‘Good morning’.”

Cycling is often referred to as a

minority sport and receiving Cinderella

treatment from the national press, so

probably the projection of our sport is

all wrong. Clearly, cyclists are too

pure and their supporters too well-

behaved to achieve attention from the

media.

To compete with football, tennis and

other major-covered sports, perhaps our

image should be less clean and more

controversial, thereby claiming the in-

terest of he Fleet Street scribes. Some

reputations must be tarnished for the

benefit of cycle sport, with activities on

the following lines and reported by the

national dailies.

“Thirty in jail as fans head home!

England’s shameful army of cycling

hooligans were in a Belgian jail last

night. The arrests came as fans

returned to their coach, after burning

Ghent Velodrome to the ground,

minutes after British ‘Wall-of-death’

star Tony Doyle was unfairly

eliminated from a ‘devil’ race. Doyle,

himself, was locked up, after

wandering through a shopping precinct

in a skinsuit, claiming his clothes had

been burned.

“One man, who left a trail of

destruction in a cycle shop because the

owner could not speak English, was

later identified as a correspondent with

GAMBLING ON….the Press.

Mick Gambling contributed

around 5000 articles, race

reports, interviews etc for

Cycling Weekly, formerly

Cycling. They encompassed a

40- year period, 1965 – 2004

and half that period, to 1985,

included light-hearted pieces.

Many were topical for the

period, although some are still

relevant to the present time. A

taste of these will be produced

on a regular basis. Mick is

still alive and pedaling in

Norfolk.

Spare space….for your

story or details of your

unsung hero.

[email protected]

(The size of the space shown

here is not in any way repre-

sentative of the space we can

ultimately make available!!)

Is it:

A) the “Pocket Rocket” - Steve Joughin….Manchester Wheelers’ ace roadman/sprinter of the 80s

B) Natalie Soens - Manchester Wheelers dynamic track star of the same era

C) Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman - Manchester Wheeler wannabe

If you chose c) Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman, well done, you’re correct and you’ve qualified to proceed to round

two of the competition. To continue participating, you may now pop round to your local corner shop and treat

yourself to a National Lottery ticket. Winners will be drawn on Saturday. You could be on your way to a

million. If you are successful, kindly remember where it all started! :-)

This week’s competition…. with a first prize of

(possibly) many millions of pounds.

WHO IS THIS?


SEE MORE AT WW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 10

My club, the A5 Strangers, like

most traditional cycling clubs,

organizes an all-night ride once a

year. They cheat a little bit because

they always hold it on the shortest

night of the year. I’ve never had the

pleasure of riding one of these because

my experiences of riding in the dark

have never been terribly pleasant.

Indeed, if you’ve ever wondered why a

mile-eater like me has never ridden a

‘24’, then the answer is explained

below. I did once try to persuade the

Mersey to run their ‘24’ in daylight

hours only, but, for some reason best

known to them, they declined. But

I promise to ride if they run it in three

daily 8-hour sessions over a bank

holiday weekend.

As usual it’s the hard core that attends

these club night rides. You know them

– they are the folk who combine the

jobs of Treasurer, Chairman, Secretary,

CTT delegate, BC delegate, local

association delegate, timekeeper,

course measurer, pusher-off, event

organizer, tea maker and, of course

night ride organizer. Gosh, I almost

forgot, they are usually the same person

who risks life and limb to retrieve your

punctured inner tube from the thorny

hedge where it has just been slung. The

rest of us don’t bother to patch and

repair – we just use a new inner tube

each time we puncture.

I discovered recently that such cyclists

also exist in Thailand – so I guess it’s a

worldwide phenomenon – except they

don’t organize anything here which is

why there are no time trials. But they

do collect odd bits of bicycle that drop

off – old tyres, punctured tubes, spokes,

the odd nut and so on. My Italian friend

André collected 32 wrecked inner tubes

from a cycle shop dustbin last week

and repaired the lot. But I digress.

Every now and again I break my rule of

a lifetime and I wander out in the dark

on the bike. Here in Thailand it gets

dark at about sevenish every day. On

this particular occasion last week, I was

on a rare late evening run minding my

own business and trundling down one

of the numerous concrete roads when,

all of a sudden, an object hurtled

through my front wheel sending

me crashing to the ground.

In Thailand we have three animal

problems – little black chickens,

numerous stray dogs and snakes. So I

knew the culprit would be one of these.

I got up quickly, shone my light at the

guilty object and sure enough

discovered that it was one of these

horrible little black chickens. After its

encounter with my front wheel and fork

it was now headless with blood pouring

out from where its brain should be. I

was more annoyed than stunned, so in a

cruel act of frustration I picked up the

remains of the little bastard and threw it

over a hedge. My front wheel was

The Dubious Pleasures

of Night Cycling by Ian Franklin

Frankly Franklin and his friends on one of his more memorable

24 hour bike rides - a brief overnight stop to check their

tackle. Photo courtesy Frankly Franklin’s box Brownie.

Don’t be left out in the dark like

Frankly - it’ll soon be winter. Have a

look at these (above). Only 89

smackers!

200 Lumen LED includes:

Helmet and Bar Mounts

2 Cell 18650 Li-Ion Battery

Charger

Size: Head: 6cm x Ø3.5cm

Weight: Head: 120g, Battery: 150g

(2cell li-ion/protection circuit)

Run Times:

High Setting: 3 hours

Medium Setting: 6 hours

Low Setting: 22 hours

Charge Time: 4 Hours ..here

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Airbike_P4_Smartlight.html

OR EVEN MORE LUMENS (as used

by Cammish et al).....last few left at

only £124-99 go here

http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Airbike.html


wrecked, my fork bent and I sported

just a few cuts and bruises. A great

deal of this blood had squirted over my

club jersey and when I eventually

arrived home Mrs Frankly Franklin

was, quite frankly, a bit concerned. “No

I haven’t murdered anyone, this is what

happens when you decapitate a chicken

with your front wheel” I explained.

It reminded me of an occasion, some

fifty years previously, when I was

riding in the dark lanes of the North

Downs just above Folkestone. These

are fantastic little lanes – just about the

width of a car – and because of the high

banks and hedges they are very dark. In

those far-flung days bicycle lights

didn’t have the power they have now.

I used one of those Ever-ready lights

that took a special double battery and

were held onto the handlebar with a

cleverly adapted ‘Terry’ clip. You

couldn’t see very far ahead with these

lights, especially when the battery had

used half of its power.

There I was, minding my own business

whilst poodling along on my BSA

Sport, when suddenly there appeared in

front of me a monster-like creature,

breathing steam and snorting. I was

petrified. My heart was pounding.

Remember – I was only 12, it was pitch

black and my Never-ready light was

useless. So, shaking like a leaf in a

gale, I turned around and fled, but as I

did so the monster announced its

presence. “Moo”, it called, “Mooooo”.

Of course the ruddy thing was an

escaped cow. I sheepishly turned back

and continued somewhat

apprehensively to the safety of my

mummy and a nice warm bed.

A few years later – I must have been

about 16 – I entered a CTC 24-hour

reliability trial with the task of covering

230 miles in that time. I know the

Andy Wilkinsons of this world cover

more than twice that distance but our

ride was done at a comfortable pace

with regular stops for tea, mending

punctures and consulting the route

map. There were no marshalls to help

us along. However, I recall that at one

point a largish group of riders were

travelling downhill spread across a

winding lane, when a driver started to

hoot impatiently as he tried to pass us.

Eventually he succeeded but further

down the lane he stopped and blocked

the route with his car. We screeched to

a halt whilst he ranted and raved,

insulted and threatened us. I was a bit

scared but one by one we squeezed past

while the two biggest lads held him off.

Under cover of darkness, two of his

tyres mysteriously deflated whilst

one brave person leaned into his car,

grabbed the keys from the ignition and

threw them into the roadside hedge. We

all managed to escape safely and I

never did find out what happened to the

maniac and his car! I don’t think that

particular event ignited a passion for

riding all night and it was definitely a

first and last!

Sometimes, riding at night is

unavoidable. A few years ago I had

ridden back to the UK from Paris in

two days. Arriving at the Boulogne

ferry port, I was dog-tired and eager to

get on the boat only to find that it was

delayed and they weren’t boarding. I

hung about for two to three hours in a

somewhat anxious and agitated state

and eventually got onto the boat. Any

hopes of sleeping were dashed as the

boat jumped up and down on an

extremely stormy sea. Arriving

in Dover, I only had to do the 9 miles

or so (without lights) to Folkestone and

back home but I could hardly keep my

eyes open. Somehow, I fell asleep

while riding and fell off onto the grassy

verge where I woke about two hours

later.

I could smell something quite nasty but

couldn’t see what it was in the dark so I

just carried on home carrying the

stench with me. Finally I arrived. I

turned on the light and to my horror

discovered that I had been sleeping in a

pile of dog poo, a big dollop of which

was firmly attached to my Lutz cycling

jacket. That didn’t endear me to cycling

at night either.

One of the pleasures of daytime cycling

is to look at the countryside. I guess I

must be a tourist at heart because I’ve

always done that whilst riding time

trials. Hutchy and Tosser type

speedsters don’t do that, do they? Their

eyes remain glued to the tarmac. But I

enjoy the views, the birds fluttering in

the breeze, the corn lazily growing in

fields. With their eyes glued firmly to

the tarmac, the only wildlife seen by

Tosser’s mates are those who

themselves are glued to the tarmac – in

other words, road kill. To me the same

applies to night riding. What do you

see? Stars? You can’t exactly look

upwards while trying to avoid potholes

and keeping to the edge of the

road. The only stars you’ll see are the

ones inside your head if you look

upwards too often.

On a typical night ride you spend half

the time being blinded by the

headlights of onrushing cars. Or you

are insulted by beer-swilling revelers

who also don’t see the point of night

riding, or riding at all for that matter. If

that’s not enough you’ve got the drunks

to avoid as they wander all over the

road on their crooked way back home.

You get black cats, black chickens and

black potholes. What is the point of

riding at night when there are 12 or

more perfectly good daylight hours in

which to ride and look at the

countryside? You certainly don’t see

much at night time and Sir Nob of Two

Ghiblis tells me that there are better

things to do in bed when it’s dark!

Who’s Hot in the very

very small world of do-

mestic time trialling:

Wilko - the Ed’s always rated Wilko!

Always! The best 25 times BBAR

there’s never been. 302 miles + ...on

an MTB…..and 2009’s BBAR if he

fancies (but he might not!). Absolutely

white hot!!!

Philip Graves - shame there’s no

money in testing cos Graves would be

worth a mint. VERY impressive

100s ;-)

Julia Shaw….again! Three comp re-

cords at the three BBAR distances. No

odds are being given on the BBAR

win. Incredible!

Roger Iddles - World champion tester.

How do you sum up fifty years of racing

in a couple of pages? You can’t. So here

is the man himself speaking for ten

minutes, off the cuff, giving us the

essentials.

How long have you been riding time trials?

55 years – with a couple of years out here and there.

How many races do you think you’ve ridden?

2000, give or take a few.

Do you get sick of people asking you this – how long you

have been doing this, as if you were some kind of freak?

No. I accept that it’s something very few people can

understand, but I love it, it’s my life. And before you ask,

I’m not planning to stop. As long as I can move and see

what’s in front of me, I’ll keep riding, and as long as I can

ride, I’ll keep racing.

Why you do it, what’s at the root of the cycling obses-

sion?

I suppose I’d say cycling is switching off from normal life,

it’s more real and more personal. Some of the people I used

to work with, they wanted to spend their whole life smoking,

drinking and watching television – do you call that living? I

call it throwing life away.

Out of all those 2000 races, what do you reckon was

your best ever?

It has to be the National 25 Championship, 1961. That’s the

gold standard, the one they all want to win. And Griffiths

never won it, did he? Mind you, he usually says anything he

never won wasn’t worth winning anyway.

So the 25 is better than the End to End?

Yes because it’s so competitive. The End to End is a battle

with yourself; the 25 Championship is a battle against

everyone else. Because I broke the End to End record, a lot

of people got the wrong idea about me. It’s speed that really

interests me, and riding at 19 mph for two days isn’t really

my idea of racing. I did it as a challenge, and to say thank

you to my sponsor, but it wasn’t really me. If you take on

the End to End, it dominates your life for a year – or more.

Who do you think could get the End to End record now?

I’d like to see Wayne Randle try it, since he’s the hardest

thing in England on two wheels – that would be interesting,

especially if he did it on an Old-Skool bike.

What was the biggest disappointment of your career?

Probably not getting Cromack’s 24 record in 1980 – I

missed it by a mile and a half. I rode the National 12 the

weekend before, and that must have made the difference. I’ve

thought about this a lot over the years, and it annoys me

because it was a stupid thing to do. I didn’t even win the 12, I

came second after crashing.

What are your best 25 times in the last two years?

This year I’ve done a 56:26, last season it was 54:21.

But twenty or thirty years ago, if anyone had said a man

of 72 could ride a 54- or a 56-minute 25, people would

have said “No, that’s simply not possible.” How can you

explain why you still go so fast?

First, if someone my age started from scratch, obviously he

couldn’t do it, it would be totally impossible. But I’ve never

stopped, I’ve been on a kind of plateau for years, and never

come down from it. Second, bike technology is a major

factor, I’d never dispute that. I couldn’t achieve those times

THE ESSENTIAL WOODBURN by Peter Whitfield


on a steel bike from the 1970s, I’ve no illusions about that.

But mostly, it’s because I still want to win. I can’t really

explain it, but there must be something inside me, something

that I’ve still got to prove. I still get annoyed if I don’t come

out on top.

Do you still push your-

self to the limit?

Not in every race, no.

Quite often now I just ride

to enjoy myself. But if it’s

a really fast day, or

there’s a special edge to

the competition, then I do

give it everything.

Who is your biggest ri-

val now among the vets?

Roger Iddles in the Rudy

Project series. We’ve

been at each other’s

throats for quite a few

years now. It’s a bit of

needle that fires us both

up. He’s a very powerful

rider, especially on the

faster courses. He’s a few

years younger than me, so

he usually beats me on

actual time, but I usually

come out top on standard,

so I suppose we should

both be happy. That

series has been great for

me, although I sometimes

think it’s mad to be

driving 400 miles to do a

16-mile race.

What about training now?

A couple of hours is enough these days as I’m not often

racing for more than an hour. But I like to keep the speed

up: just riding isn’t training.

How does that compare with what you used to do?

No comparison. When I was riding the BAR distances it was

five-hour sessions, or double sessions in the day.

Have you gone over to scientific training?

No. I did try it out – the pulse and power training – but it

wasn’t for me. I decided if I don’t know how to train by now

I’d better give up. I just follow my instincts about how much

I need to do.

Out of all the people you have ridden against over the

years, who really stands out?

Well Engers was obviously a case apart. You could never

work out what made him tick. He wasn’t unbeatable, but on

the right day he was in a class of his own. Phil Griffiths was

a larger-than-life character, and I’m still friends with him –

I think. Potentially one of the greatest time-triallists – if

he’d wanted to be – could have been Les West. He was a

pure roadman wasn’t he, but the RRA records he set were

really tough. I broke his London-Bath-London record by

only a couple of minutes, and it was one of the hardest rides

of my life. In the 100, Cammish was unbeatable, probably

the greatest 100-miler of

all time.

Do you have other things

in your life, things you

relax with?

I enjoy wining and dining,

secretly I’m a bit of a

gourmet. I like travelling –

Italy and France, the

usual thing – and we’re

going to New Zealand at

the end of this year. I’m

fascinated by steam

engines: if I had time for a

hobby, which I haven’t, I’d

like to mess around with

them.

What about the future?

What’s the big plan?

Staying young…

I sometimes amuse myself

by thinking of the top

cyclists as characters from

Shakespeare: Mark

Cavendish for example is

obviously Henry V,

storming in triumph

through France. But

among the time-triallists you might have Alf Engers as

Hamlet, a neurotic genius with a chip on his shoulder. Phil

Griffiths could be Falstaff: wise-cracking, putting everyone

down, pulling strings, while making sure he comes out on

top. Beryl Burton would be Rosalind from As You Like

It, disguised as a man, taking on the men and outwitting

them at every turn. Cammish was the magician Prospero,

with miraculous powers to defeat all his enemies. Coming

up to date, could Hutchinson and Julia Shaw be Macbeth

and Lady Macbeth, slaughtering all their rivals so that they

can rule alone? So who is John Woodburn in this scheme?

Obviously he must be King Lear, ageing and fearsome, who

has ruled Britain for half a century and is now wondering

who is going to inherit his kingdom. In view of what

happens later in the play, I won’t push the comparison too

far, but Lear spoke of himself as “bound upon a wheel of

fire”, which is a pretty good description of the pain of

racing. And like Lear, Woodburn is refusing to give up his

status as the ageing king, so we are going to have to wait a

while longer before we see him fight his final battle.


Last week we made the trip to

Eurobike. For a bicycle distributor I

should really be saying annual

pilgrimage, but fact is I really don't

like going to shows any more, and

haven't been to Eurobike for a good five

years or so. Not sure what the reason is

- I guess apathy and laziness are high on

the list.

Make no mistake Eurobike is huge, absolutely gionormous.

With a first day objective of walking the whole show, that

would only mean one thing - a sweaty bum crack and a

dehydration headache.

The show consists of five types of stands -

Huge ego-busting us overhyped and over here - the biggest

international stands from the likes of Specialised, Giant,

Cannondale showing a veritable wankfest of every bike

they think we want to buy, global domination and free beer.

The German players - the next batch of huge stands from

the German only brands with weird names like Checker Pig,

Heavy Tools and many more - inevitably huge and usually

feature at least one body painted naked lady, which

depending on your viewpoint is fantastic or disgusting - but

the German bicycle buyers obviously respond well to

brightly painted naked flesh.

The “too cool for school” players - stands that feature

attitude, beer, and an amazing unwillingness to talk to their

customers.

The Italian section - lots of glorious Technicolor,

increasingly looking very like the china section but with

flash paint and Italian flags. Some hidden gems still in here

from the likes of San Marco, and the superb Cinelli stand, a

few still combining tradition, Italian flare and not

everything made in China.

The China and Taiwan pavilions - the smallest stands at the

show, where the manufacturers who produce most things

for all of the above. Spotting the odd ridiculous component

of next big thing is one of the highlights of the show.

And so to my list of the what’s hot and what’s not from the

show, in reverse order, and of no relevance either.

5/ Carbon Tripod stand (above)

Tucked in the corner of Steve Lees’ Gigantex stand -

Gigantex are probably the world’s largest producer of

carbon rims, producing for most of the leading brands.

Steve the boss is good guy, likes dogs, and drinks red wine.

Tucked in the corner was his latest creation, a carbon fibre

camera tripod. Looked very clever to my untrained eye, not

cheap at all. He promised to send me a sample.

4/ Carbon Violin (….that’s Dave on the fiddle...again!)

Another new product from a leading carbon manufacturer -

good product extension and eye catching, a carbon fibre

violin. For anyone interested FOB cost was a stunning 1250

usd. They refused to send me a sample.

Dave’s German ‘jolly’…

aka Eurobike 2009


3/ Classic San Marco (below)

San Marco have relaunched a full line of their

classic saddles - Rolls, Concor and Regal in a

whole variety of colours. The London fixie

guys will love them - they are truly timeless.

Their normal saddle line looks right on the

money as well, topnotch stuff.


1/ Handcraftsmanship at its best (right)

This was truly stupendous. It’s a bicycle

made by a Japanese wood carpenter out of

100 year old Brazilian mahogany. Each

bike costs 20k Euros. Not sure if it’s a

good use of 100 year old mahogany or

what the eco-warriors would think, but it

was a fully functioning bike that rode

beautifully. Hed sold 4 bikes by the

second day, so that’s 100k in his bank, one

year’s work, and maybe one less tree.

2/ Beautiful Cinelli (above)

Sometimes at a show you see a bike that just looks quality.

There’s nothing apparently special about this Cinelli but it

looked right, truly spot on. I rated Cinelli best stand at the show,

a great eclectic mix of real history, true quality with a hint of

quirkiness.

Britain’s Smelliest Testers

No 3 - Corrina Francis Team Sanjan’s events are

rapidly becoming the hot-bed

for smelly cyclists. First Sam

Barker (5th in the smelly

stakes), now Corinna Francis

- Chelmer CC. Thanks to the

beauty of modern technology

and the use of the many TT

forums in operation, word

quickly spread around the

country that Corinna was

down to ride Team Sanjan’s

latest event on the F2A in

Cambridgeshire. Essex,

always proud of its girls,

considers Corinna to be its

own but occasionally, in the

quest for fast times and a

chance to prove she can

‘glow’ with the best of them,

Corinna ventures further

afield.

Crowds at the start had to be cordoned

off from the actual count-down area

and only the privileged few got to

venture within Corinna’s ‘space’.

Dave Creese, 48 minute man from

the middle ages, drew the lucky straw

and claimed to have made bodily

contact with the eloquent enigma as he

eased her into competition. Alan

Crane, pusher-offer of many great

icons of time-trialling missed out on

this auspicious occasion and sat on the

grass verge taking the once in a

life-time opportunity to draw in great

lung-fulls of Ms Francis’s fragrances.

The crowd missed nothing because

there was no missing Corinna’s distinct

clean, pure and contemporary scent as

it drifted across the A428 in the warm

summer breeze. Corinna is often hyped

in the media as being light and relaxed,

with a character that is balanced

between brightness and sensuality - the

same goes for the air about her…..a

scent that is intimate, but that you don’t

need to be too near to smell. Indeed,

Ian Cammish started number 90 and

still claimed to sense a certain air of

‘sexiness’ in the air as he too was held

up at the start by Mr Creese (who drew

the unlucky straw on this occasion).

Alan Crane volunteered the essence of

‘sexiness’ to belong to him but the

other Team Sanjan members were

quick to rebuke his claims

At the subsequent hearing, Crane

admitted that it “probably smelt too

crisp, with too fruity a note to it in the

initial spraying phase for it to be mine.

Corinna had a very crisp clean smell

with more than a hint of all the fruity

notes in it - not to mention the very

slight flowery hint! If the truth was told

my aroma may be slightly more on the

masculine side. Nice though wasn't it?”

Bearing in mind Corinna started off

number 67 there can’t be that many

testers who smell that good...or

bad ...can there? BUT…..we know

different. Watch this space.

Corinna Francis - Chelmer CC adds some brightness and

sensuality to the Team Sanjan 10.

Photo courtesy of David Jones.


Britain’s smelliest testers -

sponsored by...

The very kind Mrs Cammish

let her husband loose from his

self imposed isolation (the

comfort of his darkened

bedroom) to return to racing

after a break of almost three

months. Cammish, aka the

‘Jammy Dodger’, is said to be

on medication and has been

more than a bit ‘off colour’

since the Planet X Old Skool

Series kicked off back in April.

It was hoped that the

programme of events would

make men, not break them.

Fifteen minutes of fame were

promised to all those taking

part...not to mention a very

generous prize list from the

Series' main sponsors Planet X

and its supporters Continental

and PowerBar.

Whilst some riders have fallen by the

wayside as the competition builds mo-

mentum, one of its stars, ‘the Power’

Parkinson, has certainly taken

advantage of every available

opportunity that has come his way -

and who can blame him? Not only has

he secured a lucrative deal with a well

known German tyre manufacturer (see

separate ad elsewhere in this issue) but

he now has an energy bar dedicated to

his name (see yet another ad elsewhere)

we’ve missed the boat somewhere here

folks!!! The man is a phenomenon and

is surely destined to win the Series

overall. What lies ahead for this

powerhouse from Leicester? The

future looks bright for Orange ‘the

Power’? (OK...so I watch too much

TV!)

Lesser mortals haven’t been able to

handle the immense pressure that goes

with competing at such a high level -

one such rider being the ‘Jammy

Dodger’. However, his annoying habit

of doing just enough or being in the

right place at the right time showed its

hand again in the latest round of Planet

X’s Old Skool series held on the

superfast Cambourne bypass during

August.

The event attracted the biggest field

yet, as nineteen of the Country’s

leading old skoolers lined up to do

battle on the ‘Jammy Dodger’s’ local

roads. The man himself later confessed

that if the event had been any further

afield he might well have stayed tucked

up in bed…such is his current sad state

of mind and sorry physical condition.

He is believed to have been so

anxious as to his current state of form

that he is said to have been seen in close

consultation with chief timekeeper

Gordon (unsung hero of August) Hart

shortly before the start possibly trying to

influence the outcome of the final

results. Hart, however is as honest as

the day is long, and despite protracted

negotiations which are believed to have

been responsible for the event being

delayed by ten minutes, would not budge

an inch. A couple of packs of PowerBar

RideShots might well have made the

difference but they have proved so

popular at the warehouse none were

available for Cammish to enter in to the

bargaining negotiations. (Hmm

….anyone else noticed how mega-hyper-

active the warehouse staff have been

Old Skool Series - Round 11

Team Sanjan 10

Ian Cammish aka “the Silver Fox” aka the “Jammy Dodger”

just scraped the win with 22-47.

Lovely jubbly photo (so much better than any that have

originated from the Sheffield area) courtesy of that very nice

lady Sarah Brooke.

http://www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk


lately?).

It must be said that Cammish looked

apprehensive as he warmed up along

the old A428 with the other Old

Skoolers knowing his unbeaten record

in theSeries was at stake (he says the

Catford 10 doesn’t count because it

was a morning event… ???). An

unplanned visit to the changing room

was called for when word started

circulating that Mr 25 miler himself

(Alf Engers) was seen to be warming

up…..the Planet X organizing

committee really thought they’d hit the

jackpot. Whilst there’s no disputing

the fact that the Alf lookalike certainly

had the same impeccable style and rode

a similarly immaculate bike to the man

himself….it was not to be. Instead, the

series had been graced with the

presence of Steve Williams of Essex

Roads CC. ….instead of just a jackpot,

the Planet X organizing committee had

walked away with the Euro-millions!

Although not on his best form,

Williams is by far the classiest rider to

grace the Series since the honourable

Adrian Perkin hit the scene back in

April. Whilst his 26-02 fell well short

of a top placing, Williams rolled off

into the sunset with a pair of Conti

Podium tubs for his style, class….and

nice white wooden soled Duegis.

The competition itself was fierce.

Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) has already

shown good form (his recent ride in the

Nomads Hitchin Old Skool 25 raised a

number of eyebrows) and he was clearly

in a deadly serious “I can out psych

anyone today mood” as he coasted up

and down the start lane on his monstrous

fixed gear. Both Gavin ‘Good man’

Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) and

Cammish (Planet X) were seen quiver-

ing as they made themselves comfort-

able (again…..and not together) behind

hedges as Rose slid by like the Bismarck

cruising into the Denmark Straight to

destroy HMS Hood.

The battles that ensued along the A428

were bloody. Nineteen top-flight

athletes were down to start …..yet only

sixteen of them made it to the finish.

Due to the field placing, several separate

dog-fights were taking place in the

shimmering heat and haze of the late

Summer sun. Ian Markham (Team

Sanjan) avoided the bloodshed by start-

ing first …. and finishing first in a

highly respectable 24-42. The battles

that followed were not for the faint-

hearted. Richard Reade (Mildenhall

‘The Bismarck’ Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) pushing Cammish

so close with his 22-50.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Brooke

Most stylish rider of the day Steve Williams (Essex Roads CC).

Photo courtesy of Sarah Brooke

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE

CC) chose not to get involved but

almost came to grief before even

reaching the dual carriageway. A bit of

jiggery pokery by one of his contenders

at the headquarters (probably) resulted

in him pulling his wheel over as he

eased himself in to competition. Whilst

not the ideal start, it did nevertheless,

ensure he won the “most eventful first

50 metre” prize on offer….and he

waltzed off with a nice Conti wheel bag

(and a pair of greasy hands) for his

efforts … oh...and a 27-37 for the 10

miles.

Gavin ‘Good man’ Hinxman took on

Series regular Stan Mills (Yorkshire

RC) but kicked through unnecessarily

hard (according to Mills) somewhere

on the Cambourne bypass to sprint

home in 23-37. Mills followed shortly

after with 25-09.

Chris Worsfold (API-Metrow) spent

the whole 10 miles trying to chase

down Mike Hennessey (Southend

Whls) and claimed to have had him in

his sights on more than one occasion.

Hennessey however is a seasoned

campaigner and managed to survive the

‘catch’ with 24-33 against Worsfold’s

23-59.

The Battle Royale however must

have been between Jonathan Hemming

(Addiscombe CC), ‘the Bismarck’

Rose and ‘the Jammy Dodger’. Riders

were caught, gobbled up and spewed

out like that horrible pink blancmange

stuff you used to get for school dinners

on a Thursday...it was an awful sight!

Fortunately all survived…. ‘the Jammy

Dodger’ managing to scrape the win

with his 22-47 (see….he IS a Jammy

sod!) over ‘the Bismarck’s superb

22-50. Hemming edged into 5th place

with his 24-12 and Phil (‘you might

catch me but you won’t get past’)

Young held Cammish off to finish in

25-46.

The event was generally heralded as a

100% complete success and credit must

go to Stuart Tarry and his Team Sanjan

crew. A good day’s sport. Thanks.

Oh...and the supporting event (with

all the aero gizmos) was won by Rich-

ard O’Rourke (Flitch Chrono) with 20-

22.


Result

Ian Cammish (Planet X) 22-47

Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) 22-50

Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley CC)

23-37

Chris Worsfold (API – Metrow) 23-59

Jonathan Hemming (Addiscombe CC)

24-12

Michael Hennessy (Southend Whls)

24-33

Ian Markham (Team Sanjan) 24-42

Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) 25-09

Phil Young (Herts Whls) 25-46

Steve Williams (Essex Roads CC)

26-02

Christopher Walker (Herts Whls)27-28

Brian Swallow (Maldon & Dist CC)

27-29

Richard Reade (Mildenhall CC) 27-37

Colin Holmes (Icknield RC) 27-52

Brian Foran (Lampard RC) 27-59

David Crane (Beds Road CC) 29-47

Richard Moule (Bossard Whls CC)

DNS (Apol)

Anthony Purnell (Cambs CC)

DNS (Apol)

David Sullivan (Beds Road CC)

DNS (Apol)

Old Skool bike of the month...not white but a nice Guerciotti nevertheless. White ones, black ones, green ones etc

available here http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/acatalog/Guerciotti_Record_Strada_Road.html

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-

Keith Carlton has been involved in

cycling in the Lincoln area since he

was 16 – some 53 years ago. He

joined the Lincoln Wheelers in 1956

and is still an active member today

(having had only a few years in the

late 60s as a member of Velo Club

Lincoln). His name and face are

familiar to many who have competed

in time trials and road races in the

area over the last 50 years – as apart

from racing himself, Keith has always

supported both younger and older

members of his club, fulfilling various

roles including crit organiser/

handicapper/ steward, lead car driver

at local TLI events, helper staking out

the club cyclo-cross course, reliability

ride host, course measurer, marshall

and a valued timekeeper at local

opens and every week at club events.

Keith had a bad accident during a club

off-road ride in 2007 when he

suffered serious upper spine injuries –

but thankfully, although he still

suffers some neck mobility problems

and headaches, he has recovered

sufficiently for him to continue to

enjoy some of the club activities – and

to be called upon to help out with

timekeeping duties again!

Keith is a great source of cycling

memories and will happily chat to

newcomers and old-timers about his

experiences.

Sunday club runs were the full day

events in the late 1950s and early

1960s – with dinner and tea stops

(which included a kickabout with a

football in winter!). He recalls riding

home shattered. In the summer

months the club run would sometimes

ride out to an event where clubmates

had competed – to ‘help them home’.

The club runs were good base training

for the club tours:- in 1959 they took

the overnight ferry to Vigo and rode

back through Spain and France to

LeHavre, in 1962 they took Southern

Ireland by storm and in 1963 there

was a tour up to Scotland when, on

the fourth night, they couldn’t find

any accommodation and slept in a field

outside Inverary in their capes. The

next day they only rode to Oban as they

needed to make sure of a good night’s

sleep in a bed! The last 4 days they

rode from Inverness down to Lincoln

with a headwind all the way.

Keith’s main competitive focus was

road racing but he enjoyed the longer

TTs. He rode the LRRA 12 hour,

which was on a mix of flat Fen roads

(which were not easy when it was

windy) and rolling roads, a total of four

times, finishing third twice, second

once and a first. His furthest distance of

243.84 miles just missed the LRRA

individual record at the time – by a

margin of less than half a mile. A punc-

ture after 11 hours had cost him 3-4

mins and the record! He had a little

consolation though in that he and his

clubmates broke the LRRA team re-

cord. The general view of the condi-

tions that day was that it was a baby’s

day - wet & windy! Like many of the

longer local events, falling numbers

saw them left out of the calendar – the

last LRRA 12 hour being held in 1968.

As well as riding 12 hours, Keith

watched a few too. The first one he saw

was when the club run went to see the

finish of the Broad Oak event in 1958.

“On the finishing circuit Owen Blower

was lapping at an incredible speed to

smash Ray Booty’s record of 266 miles

by almost 6 miles to record 271.80.

Ray was watching too and not only saw

his record beaten but also the end of his

3 year reign as BBAR.

“Nine years later while supporting club

mate Ellis Smith in the Otley 12 in

Yorkshire I was to see Owen Blower’s

record broken in a dramatic way. Two

riders were locked in a day long battle

– Mike McNamara and Beryl Burton.

McNamara started in front of Beryl and

it was not until late in the event that she

caught him and went on to record her

unbelievable 277.25 miles – bettering

Blower’s ride by 5½ miles. She set a

KEITH CARLTON -

who luvs ya baby? by Clare Ella

In last month’s Testing Times we asked if you, the reader,

knew of any unsung heroes in the sport so we could give

them all nice little pats on their backs for their efforts.

Well we were inundated with just ONE email and that

sang the praises of a certain Keith Carlton of the Lincoln

Wheelers. Keith is obviously loved and well thought

of…..so is August’s unsung hero Gordon Hart even

though he wasn’t prepared to ‘swing’ the result of Team

Sanjan’s Old Skool 10 in favour of the Ed…but then he

didn’t need to in the end!

What a selfish insular bunch you are! Do you really

think you’d be doing what you’re doing today, or be

where you are, all on your tod? Go on…make someone’s

day…they deserve it! [email protected]

So what makes Keith such a ‘good egg’? The lovely

Clare Ella tells us...


twice, second

pace which none of us watching

thought she would be able to maintain

– but she did!”

National Champs occasionally grace

the Lincolnshire courses, and in 1960

the Mens 25 Champs, won by Gordon

Ian of Nottingham Wheelers in 56:35,

were lucky to have Keith in charge of

finding accommodation for riders who

needed to travel the day before! No

mean feat as at the time he was on

crutches with his leg in plaster. Keith

recalls that the then comp record

holder, Alf Engers, pulled his wheel

over at the start.

In 1962 Lincoln – with Keith acting as

start marshall - hosted the Womens’

National 50 – won by Joan Kershaw of

Liverpool Eagle CC in 2:09:45 which

ended Beryl Burton’s run of 4 wins.

Keith also provided transport for some

of the local juniors to attend events

further afield. One of the local young

stars was Tony Radley. By the age of

16 (in 1964) he did a 57:08 on the

Blyth course when Baz Breedon set a

new comp record of 54:23. Tony

concentrated more on road races, and

Keith often took him to events where

there were junior and senior events run

on the same day. Tony had further

success in TTing too – in 1965 the

National Junior 25 Champs were at

Loughborough, and Keith took Tony

and another local junior, John Harrison,

to ride. Tony was off at number 60 and

it was cold and misty as he did an

excellent ride, coming home in 58:02 -

the fastest time on the board at that

stage. Typically the sun broke through

just after Tony finished and it was a

tense hour as Keith stood on the line

with the then editor of Cycling Weekly,

Alan Gayfer, seeing Tony’s time stay at

the top until seeing top seed Dennis

Brown of Portsmouth CC, off at 120,

come into sight and then counting

down the time until he stopped the

clock at 57:52. So close! Keith also

took Tony to the National RR champs

at Ormskirk where Nigel Dean showed

great class to ride away on his own to

hold off a frantic group of chasers

(including Tony in 7th) to secure a great

win.

One of Keith’s less enjoyable duties

Keith in the LRRA 12 hour in 1962 not far from the end

making his way back towards Sleaford from Threekingham.

was marshalling the turn on the

Tillbridge Lane 10 course that started

near the top of the hill close to RAF

Scampton, went down the hill on the

straight A1500, through Sturton-by-

Stow towards Marton – with a dead turn

to retrace back to the bottom of the hill.

One of his worst memories was

marshalling that turn when a rider

approached him without checking to see

if it was safe to make the turn. “He made

the turn in front of a very fast moving

car coming up from behind, which

had to brake sharply to avoid running

in to the rider – resulting in some

choice language from the driver. The

rider went on his way – he was a vicar

and I can only presume that he had

some sort of protection from above! I

for one was very glad when U-turns,

and especially that course, were

banned.”

SEE MORE AT WW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 24

Now sadly no longer in use, the H25/6

could never have been classed as a

fast course, whichever way the wind

was blowing. Even a sudden change

in direction wouldn’t help, as it went

north to south, east to west and all

points in between. Four climbs over

both the M25 and M3 motorways

were tiresome and even the road

surface was nothing to write home

about. All in all, it was a pretty

ordinary and relatively rarely used

single-carriageway course (mostly for

South West London Combine events)

but it did have just one small plus

point. In its 25 miles of out-and-back

mediocrity, it passed through more

scenic beauty spots than any other

course that I know of.

From the start on the B388 close to

the M3/M25 junction, it ran parallel

with the M25 for a while before it

climbed the M3. From this spot, the

(then) newly constructed Thorpe Park

pleasure ground was visible, situated

in the middle of the lake that hosted

the World Water-skiing

Championships in the 1980s.

Immediately opposite this on the

B388 is the scenic beauty spot of St.

Anne’s Hill, the trees gently masking

a favourite rambling spot with

walkers.

From here, a short trip to the left turn

at the A320 rose, this time over the

M3 with another view of Thorpe Park,

long since finished and now the

regular haunt of teenage

white-knuckle riders everywhere.

A fairly uneventful ride to Staines

Bridge followed with occasional

glimpses of the Thames on your right

before the road transforms into the

A308 and continues to Runnymede,

home of the Magna Carta, signed in

1215 by King John and arguably the

document that first started

constitutional law throughout the

whole English-speaking world.

To enter Runnymede, the course

passes between two kiosks and piers

designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens,

probably best known as the designer

of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, seen on

TV every Remembrance Sunday.

On the right, the Thames is clearly

visible ….

….. and just out of sight on the far

bank is the famous Ankerwyke Yew,

reputed to be the actual place where the

historic charter was signed nearly 800

years ago.

On the left, the sloping tree line of

Cooper’s Hill Slopes just shows the top

of the Commonwealth Air Forces

Memorial with it’s wall of

remembrance showing over 20,000

names in memory of lost airmen in

WW2.

Beneath this, and clearly visible below

the sloping fields, are the Kennedy

Memorial, (the land on which it stands

H25/6 – a most special course. by Steve Kish

We all have our own

favourite courses - and

for different reasons.

Some like them flat and

fast...others prefer more

rural options. Steve Kish

has been around so long

he’s probably ridden

every course that’s

currently listed in the

Handbook so he’s as

qualified as anyone to tell

us about the course he

considers to be the most

scenic ever used for

domestic time trialling.

Of course, if you know

any different...


actually being part of the USA. and

dedicated as such in 1965) and the

pillared Magna Carta Memorial.

On the far side as the course leaves

Runnymede, there are two Lutyens-

designed memorial lodges and piers,

one of which is now the Magna Carta

tearoom, home of many Polytechnic

club-run refreshment stops. Again, the

course passes between them – the tea

room is the one on the left.

From leaving Runnymede, within a few

hundred yards, you pass the famous

Bells of Ouseley pub with its river

view ….

….whilst struggling along the bumpy

road surface through Old Windsor

where you suddenly find the better

surfaced and straighter Albert Road.

This sudden improvement is no real

surprise, as it’s the piece of the A308

that divides Windsor Castle from

Windsor Great Park ….. had time trials

been allowed to start any later in the

day, riders would have been queuing

behind open-topped buses full of

tourists happily snapping away at the

famous 3-mile ‘Long Walk’ with views

of Windsor Castle and on the opposite

side in the far distance, the equestrian

statue of George III on top of Snow

Hill. From where the course crossed it,

the Walk distances about 800 metres

from the Castle and 2600 metres from

the statue.

The far turn was almost exactly half

way and a matter of a few yards later,

just before the busy part of Windsor

itself. From this, the castle is also

clearly visible.

Return journey was a full retrace and

finish a few yards short of the start.

So, that was the H25/6, scenic course,

but average in all things non-scenic

…….. with the possible exception of

one ‘urban legend’!

The 10-mile version (H10/6) started

and finished at the same place but

turned at Staines Bridge. The story

goes that in the late 1980’s, the

dominant tandem team of Ray Hughes

and Mick Kearney used to ride the late

Alf Whiteway’s Clarence Wheelers

club tens on the H10/6 some evenings

for training and as expected, used to

wipe the floor with all opposition.

However, one evening, it seems that

they had the surprise of their lives

when they were actually caught and

passed by two riders riding a two-up in

the same event. Much to their surprise,

they found out that Alf Whiteway had

asked the two riders to start a minute

behind them and see what they could

do.

The two riders were Tony Doyle and

Danny Clark!

HARRY HILL Mick Gambling recalls a memory of

Harry Hill, who died in February.

The tribute piece, by Peter Whitfield,

was very good. Perhaps I may share

with you an anecdote about the great

man.

I had known Harry a number of years,

before the occasion our roads crossed

in Spain. He was descending a

mountain, which I was attempting to go

up. We stopped and I noticed that he

seemed to have put on a lot of

unsightly weight. 'These lumps and

bumps are oranges,' he laughed. 'I

picked them off a tree further up. Must

be about thirty of them, all nicely

tucked in.'

We chatted a while, then he cheerily

swooped away.

A couple of minutes later, a police car

came down and skidded to a halt. The

occupants jumped out and searched me,

explaining there had been a report of a

cyclist stealing oranges.

Then, they asked if I had seen a

cyclist. 'Yes,' I replied, 'he went that

way,' pointing to another road at right

angles to Harry's escape route. The

police sped off in pursuit.

A few months later, Harry came to the

Cycling Weekly stand at the Harrogate

Cycle Show, where I was announcing.

I told him the story and he was very

amused. Next day, he popped in with

an orange and declared, 'You can have

the last one!'

Mick Gambling

With a field of 70 riders, double the

normal turnout due to the hardware on

offer in the form of Championship

medals, the above mentioned associa-

tions combined forces to help continue

the promotion. In doing so, they keep

their own District Championships

alive, which in turn creates added

drama as individual battles ensue. Not

to be outdone, the Merseyside Ladies

also had a trophy, for the greatest dis-

tance covered. Hotly contested, 9 ladies

entered, and as usual in long distance

events, they produced the highest per-

centage finishers, with all 9 complet-

ing the course on this occasion. Women

these days will do anything to get

out of domestic duties!

On first sight of the start card the gen-

eral opinion was that this would be a

close affair between Wilko

and Bason, with Julian Jenkinson,

Carlos Riise, Brian Walker and Dean

Lubin fighting it out for bronze. As

for the ladies, Christine McLean,

Shetland Wheelers, looked favourite,

hardened by the tough roads of Scot-

land. However, she faced strong op-

position from local rider, Rebecca

National Championship 12 hour –

16 August, 2009

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man by Alan Roberts


Wilko in the final hour. Photo by Alan's friend Caroline Green

Sunday 16 August, 2009 will

go down in history, not just

because it was my

birthday but as the day when

Andrew Wilkinson confirmed

what most of us already knew.

He is not just one of the all

time greats of long distance

time trialling, he is THE great

of long distance time trialling.

This particular event promoted

by the West Cheshire TTCA,

assisted by Liverpool TTCA

and the Manchester & District

TTA, holds a lot of special

memories for me. As a 17 year

old back in 1974, I was en-

couraged to ride as part of the

local BAR. Not knowing what

to expect I managed to win the

event by 1 mile, with

248.449; this gave me the

belief and passion for the

BBAR, which I still have today.

So to celebrate my birthday

and witness a new competition

record by a very close friend,

on local roads, completed a

memorable occasion.

Leaper, who was looking to improve on

the 225 miles she did in last year’s Welsh

Championship. These predictions were

pretty much right, however what takes the

enthusiastic onlooker seconds to pre-

dict, has taken competitors months to pre-

pare for, each with their own obstacles to

overcome. With a course which, at best

can be described as tough, and at

worst, bloody tough, high mileages

seemed remote and anyone looking to get

one over on absent BBAR competi-

tors were likely to be disappointed. Be-

fore last season’s event, no one had gone

over 280 miles, and only a handful had

gone over 270, so competition record was

never an option. Or was it?

Turning the clock back to August,

2008, Wilko had turned up totally relaxed,

there to support his club mates in

their first attempts at the distance. With

hardly any racing miles in his legs, on a

very windy, cool, showery day, bandana

flapping in the wind, he produced 283.12

miles. From the sidelines it

looked effortless; however he finished

legless and spent almost an hour laid out

in the back of my van recovering. This

ride in my view was very important. After

such a long time away from racing, let

alone 12’s, he proved to me that he still

‘had it’. I said to him that this was a better

ride than his existing record. In 2009

the event would be a Championship,

and it would be an ideal opportunity to

become a National Champion once again.

The seed was sown, and after taking the

winter to convince himself, he started the

season with the ‘12’ and the Anfield BC

‘100’ as the two races he wanted to win,

everything else was preparation. With a

wedding to Jill to fit in as well, life was

always going to be more complicated than

normal and training would have to be

more specific. This all adds pressure,

which from the outside he seems to thrive

on. However, he recognises the opposi-

tion has talent and never takes anything

for granted. After a close battle with

Andy Bason in the Anfield (which went

better than expected, winning and taking

the event record), the tables were turned

in the Shropshire CCA ‘100’. With just 4

weeks to go before the ‘12’, the psycho-

logical advantage was reversed and de-

spite both doing excellent rides, 3.42.00

to 3.43.50, the pressure was on. With little

racing in his legs since the Anfield, apart

from evening ‘10’s at Saighton, could

Wilko comeback from his only defeat

at the ‘100’ distance? Never one to

walk away, and with a difficult run in,

he analyzed the situation and set about

getting to the start line in the best con-

dition he could.

His choice of machine always seems

to attract attention, not least

from Wilko himself, with many hours

spent keeping it in good working or-

der, because, after all, he does go to

work on it! Joking aside, a lot of people

seem to be critical or maybe just be-

mused by his choice of bike, however a

great deal of thought goes

into equipment and his position, and

when riding, they become one, poetry

in motion. Come race days

and Wilko’s machine is always im-

maculate; for this event, modifications

were made to become even more

‘aero’. The traditional bars with thumb

shifters were gone, replaced by a USE

Carbon set-up, both lighter and

more aerodynamic. This change gave

him a huge boost. Combined with a

new Royce titanium bottom bracket,

BBB chain rings, new chain and

Veloflex Record Tyres, the transforma-

tion was only completed in time to

ride the Chester RC club ‘10’, just

three days before the big day. In this,

he did 21.57, his best time around that

particular circuit, complete with mud-

guards and pannier rack still at-

tached! This proved to me, that de-

spite his own misgivings, he was in

very good shape physically. We dis-

cussed what might be possible mile-

age wise and what he would need to

do to win; 290 miles was the answer,

so I produced the relevant schedule.

The day itself dawned dry, and

warm, with a light SW wind for the

first couple of hours, which increased

to become more of a hindrance as the

day progressed. From the start

at Prees Heath the riders headed north

to Broxton, then continued to do vary-

ing laps between there and Boughton

RAB , before heading back to Prees

Heath at 72 miles. These early miles

were not easy, mostly single carriage-

way with regular undulations. From

there, it was on to Shawbirch, up to

three times for the top riders. This

particular stretch is very open, no-

where to hide and with the road sur-

face unforgiving, only the best would

survive.

As is normal with these events,

there are numerous optional detours,

which invariably cause problems with

schedules based on distances taken

from the full route. No such confu-

sion for the top men, Wilko leading

the way at 100 miles, some 8 minutes

up on his 290 target with 3.45.43 and

already 9 minutes up on Bason.

Wilko was on a mission! Fuelled by

hourly rations of 750ml of PSP Go,

along with an odd jam butty, he pow-

ered through the field, using his gears

wisely, 53 x 16, 17 on the inclines,

returning to his favourite 12 and 13

sprockets for the flat sections.

Julian Jenkinson went through the

‘100’ checkpoint just 2 seconds over

4 hours in third spot, looking

equally smooth and certainly a threat

to Bason for the silver medal.

The former British Ironman Cham-

pion and record holder, was showing

that the distance wasn’t going to trou-

ble him at all. Along with Wilko, he

seemed to be in total control and un-

troubled by the course. At this point

all bets were off; the first three were


Julian Jenkinson - UTAG

Yamaha.com on his way to the

bronze medal with 282.81

miles. Photo by Alan's friend

Caroline Green

because it was my

This particular event promoted

sorted and the fight was on for the mi-

nor places between Riise, Walker, Neil

Skellern and New Brighton’s novice at

the distance, Andrew Allan. Ladies

favourite Christine McLean was feeling

at home, being some 11 minutes up on

Rebecca Leaper at around the 100 mile

point, though Leaper was looking un-

ruffled and up for the fight.

Wilko continued the onslaught and it

was only a matter of time before Ba-

son’s capture. At 185 miles the catch

was completed, the 20 minute starting

advantage eroded. Bason shouted to

Wilko ‘you can do 300’ as he passed, a

thought which hadn’t been discussed at

any point leading up to the race, and

one which was instantly dismissed, as

the wind continued to hamper progress.

However, on reaching TK1 on the fin-

ishing circuit, 202.194 miles cov-

ered, there were still 4 hours 10 min-

utes to go. Was it possible? This meant

the last 102.194 miles had been cov-

ered in a fraction over 4 hours 4 min-

utes, which is sub 4 hour pace for the

second ‘100’ !! That left an average of

23.5mph required to equal the record,

around what can only be described as a

‘sporting’ 12.621 mile circuit (I haven’t

told him yet that it was put forward by

me some years ago!). The combination

of main roads and lanes, smooth road

and chipped, not to mention the long

climb over the Prees by-pass, made for

an interesting challenge. Add to

that, cows crossing at a couple of

points and there was no accounting for

how it could pan out over the final

few hours. While all the local support

focused on the ‘two Andys’, Jenkinson

was quietly getting on with the job in

hand, gradually clawing his way back

to Bason, who at times was looking the

worse for wear, his smooth, fast ca-

dence now confined to history.

Meanwhile Wilko marched on, off

the butties and onto the gels for the last

three hours, the feeding regime perfect

as he continued to pick up time on

the schedule. At the start of lap 2, he

was 21 minutes up, lap 3, 22 minutes,

lap 4, now 23 minutes. Could the re-

cord really go in Shropshire? Another

minute gained by the beginning of lap

5, with 252.6 miles covered in an

amazing 9 hours 57 minutes, giving an

average at this point of 25.386mph.

This was then followed by another

25mph lap! Then when we all thought

‘yes’, lap 6 was 33 minutes, only

22.9mph! (Later explained by an aborted

pee attempt, while freewheeling

down Prees by-pass) So at 277.9 miles

he still had 1 hour and 26 seconds to run,

22.4 miles required. The crowds were

now going ballistic as word

spread around the circuit; barring acci-

dents they were all witnessing a piece of

history. At the start of lap 8, 290.5

miles, the finish point of the original

schedule there were 29 minutes 15 sec-

onds to spare; surely he couldn’t do an-

other complete lap? Never one to disap-

point, he did make it around again with a

blistering last few miles, just over run-

ning by 1 minute 41 seconds, a 24.4mph

last lap! Mission accomplished, 302.46

miles, a new competition record, adding

2.19 miles to his previous one set in

1996.

As is usual at the end of such an ef-

fort, Wilko had to be lifted from his ma-

chine, then left for quite some time to

recover flat out in the back of his

helper’s van. Anyone who watches him

in action and thinks he makes it

look easy should see him afterwards.

Not only does a lot of work go into

the preparation of mind and

body, he also has the unique ability of

being able to suffer, a pain threshold

second to none in my book. During

the whole of the 12 hours there were

no stops or even a foot down any-

where. With the skills attained

from his road race days he even pees

on the move!

While all the attention was focused on

the top three, there were other issues

to be decided. Christine McLean, de-

spite stopping to help a fellow com-

petitor early on in the event, was

never troubled. Finishing with 236.85

miles, not only did she take the CTT

ladies medal, she also won the Burma

Cup, presented by the Merseyside

Ladies CA. Second placed lady, Re-

becca Leaper (North Shropshire

Wheelers), continued her improve-

ment at the distance, with a fine

231.76 miles. In the local West

Cheshire BAR, last season’s Cham-

pion, Dave Williams (Fibrax-

Wrexham CC), increased his distance

dramatically after having a splendid

year so far. However, his 258.69

miles, giving him ninth place on the

day, was not enough to retain his title.

Persistent thorn in his side, New

Brighton’s Andrew Allan relieved

Dave of the West Cheshire tro-

phy, with a blistering first appearance

at the distance, finishing with

272.97miles, a new West Cheshire

record.

From Manchester District, Neil

Skellern, former winner of this pro-

motion, was untroubled by a strong

Warrington contingent, recording

272.33 miles, which was also some 17

miles too good for Dukinfield’s Rob

Nelson. Youngest competitor was 15-

year-old Joshua Teasdale (Westbrook

Cycles-Team Scott), all the way

from Teeside. Along with Dad

Shaun, they did some serious Father/

Son bonding, Joshua even beating

his Dad, 205.91 miles to 201.88 miles.

No doubt the old ‘I had a late start’

excuse from Shaun will come into

play at some point!! The youngster

looked very smooth and unruffled

throughout the day and always had a

smile on his face. Let’s hope he is

inspired enough to return in the fu-

ture.


15 year old Joshua Teasdale on the

finishing circuit on his way to

205.91 miles. Photo by Alan's friend

Caroline Green


With the Headquarters at Tilstock packed

out for the presentation, it just remained to

see who had won the team prize, a matter

overshadowed throughout the day by indi-

vidual performances. With six teams in

with a shout, it was a case of could any of

them pack close enough together to over-

come Port Sunlight’s obvious advan-

tage. Wrekinsport were fancying

their chances, but in the end fell some

6.12 miles short of the 769.46 miles accu-

mulated by Wilko’s men. This was a popu-

lar and well deserved victory for the Port

Sunlight Wheelers, as Wilko was supported

by lifelong friend, Roy Sumner and Boss,

Terry Hughes. Roy, a stalwart of the

club, has shown great courage to be even

on the bike, let alone racing. Some three

days before Wilko’s wedding in June, he

suffered the loss of his wife after a

long illness. With the support of the club

and Wilko in particular, they have kept him

occupied with this challenge. Roy didn’t let

them down either, with a fine effort of

250.5 miles. Terry has not been able to

commit himself to racing as much this

year, but despite his lack of events he

dragged himself around to do 216.5 miles,

completing a second National Champion-

ship Team win for the club. This fol-

lows on from winning the ‘25’ team title

1 Andrew Wilkinson Port Sunlight Wheelers 302.46

2 Andrew Bason Wrekinsport 283.78

3 Julian Jenkinson UTAG Yamaha.com 282.81

4 Carlos Riise Shetland Wheelers 275.84

5 Andrew Allan New Brighton CC 272.97

6 Neil Skellern Congleton CC 272.33

7 Brian Walker Team Swift 267.29

8 Colin Hayes Liverpool Century RC 262.18

9 David Williams Fibrax Wrexham RC 258.69

10 Gordon Leicester Warrington RC 255.83

Result National “12” 2009

way back in 1964.

Awards were presented by former 12

hour Champion, Ron Spencer, War-

rington RC, who took the title in 1963

and was no doubt rooting for his team

throughout the day. The crowd finally

dispersed in awe of what they had

seen; how long would this record

stand? Could it be another 13 years?

We obviously don’t know, but after

discussing the pro’s and con’s of the

ride with Wilko, once the dust had set-

tled, and he had had time to reflect, we

both thought that 310 was now possible

on the right course, on the right

day, and of course, the right per-

son! One sad note to finish on,

poor Andy Bason, he tried so

hard, that post race he was suffer-

ing from badly blurred vision.

When I entered the Village Hall for

the presentation we exchanged a

few words about the day, then he

delivered a killer blow which

stunned me to the core. He said

‘Are you Wilko’s Dad’? Cheers

Andy! I am only seven years older

than him………… but I could be

yours!!!

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Vellum? Who? Bikes from the Philippines?

Yes it’s true! A new kid on the

block is quietly creating a stir

and gaining a growing

reputation in the Far East and

in the USA for quality frames. I

have the good fortune to be a

good friend of the President

(teacher’s pet I hear you say…)

of this young dynamic company.

He is a quiet unassuming

gentleman who has the heartfelt

passion and design skills to take

this brand to a higher level.

Meet Mr Miguel Flores, an

architect and cyclist who truly

loves to design bikes as well as

the many stylish buildings he

has designed in his hometown

of Cebu City. I grabbed a few

valuable moments to ask Mike,

as he is also known, what

Vellum is about and how he sees

the future of his company as it

breaks into the ever increasing

market of quality frames.

Nob: Mike how was Vellum created?

MF: Vellum started as an idea

between two bicycle enthusiasts. My

partner, businessman Chris Aldeguer

and I spent sleepless nights trying to

figure out how to put things together.

Our first step was accomplished

President of Vellum, Miguel

Flores,third from left at a recent show

when Chris agreed to handle the

strategic concerns while I took care

of the product and design matters.

At the height of the planning

stage for Vellum, both Chris and I

were still partners in Bike Hub, a

high end bicycle shop in Cebu.

Having been hands on with that

business and being cycling

aficionados, we felt that the Vellum

concept had a good chance in the

industry. After careful thought, we

then decided to let go of our bike

shop and focus more on the Vellum

range. The satisfaction it gave us as

partners in owning our own frame

brand was very fulfilling. It wouldn’t

make sense if we just did it as a

hobby. We knew it wasn’t going to

be easy, but we were determined.

With our background in branding, we

somehow had managed to get the

right recipe to get this plan going…

and more so, we believed that there

was room for another brand in the

industry.

Nob: What kind of frames will you be

manufacturing and what is your

target market?

MF: We are focused on penetrating

the performance/competition based

market. For our carbon fibre frames


we have an impressive line-up.

The Uno is our time trial/triathlon

model. Even though it is plain and

simple and not too fancy, it

performs the way it should.

The Fuerza is our integrated post

road frame which caters to those

who want something out of the

norm; the Elemente has been

face-lifted, it is lighter than its

predecessor and has the one and

one-eighth to one and a quarter head

tube features; the Terreno is our

specialist cross country MTB where

looks and performance definitely

blend.

In the near future we will be

introducing our all-performance

aluminium line-up. In the planning

stages we have the Primero, an

aluminium frame specifically for

time trial, track or triathlon,

the Corso, our premier cyclo-cross

entry level model, the Viento is our

entry level aluminium road bike,

while the Muerte is an MTB cross

country frame.

The Primero TT: simple design at an at-

tractive price that won’t break the bank

Nob: What is so different about Vel-

lum from other brands on the mar-

ket?

MF: Vellum was created by cyclists

for cyclists. We know what is good

for the industry since we have per-

sonal experience of racing. It sur-

prises me that people wouldn’t be-

lieve that Vellum was conceptual-

ized here in the Philippines. This

tells me that we did a good job with

our branding and company image.

NOB OFF…...the back

More so, having learned that there

are cyclists who aspire to own a

Vellum is something very special for

us.

Nob: Will Vellum frames, especially

the TT model, be available in the

UK?

MF: We are in touch with a possible

distributor for the UK, but nothing is

finalized. It is still open for now. We

would like to have somebody who

knows how to bring our brand to a

high level in UK. Everybody knows

that Britain is a hub for TT

specialists; exceptional sprinters and

GC contenders are also emerging.

We hope to grow our brand in the

UK and see Vellum flourish side by

side with the other great brands.

The all new 2010 Vellum UNO looking

sleek, fast and ready for action

Nob: How do you see the future of

Vellum developing in the next 5

years?

MF: I feel that the future is really

bright, especially now that the

bicycle industry is getting back onto

its feet. Thanks to a comeback of a

former TdF champion and two Brits

who gave a good show during the

just concluded Tour de France. I am

optimistic that business will grow.

We have our best line-up and our

new manufacturing plant has the

highest standards in building the

frames. A well known UK and

Australian bicycle brand is being

built in the same facility and other up

and coming players are also there.

Nob: In these tough economic times

how is Vellum coping?

MF: We have had our fair share of

coping up with the crisis. The good

thing is we are still in the process of

building our name so we weren’t as

affected as the big guns were.

Nob: As President what is your typical

working day? Your dual role as an

architect and designer must be tough?

MF: Yes, it’s a bit tough. You need to

balance your schedule and prioritize

your commitments. I guess the key

here is that I love what I am doing - I

love both jobs. In addition, I was

invited by the University of the

Philippines to teach a subject for them

at their Industrial Design

Department.

Nob: How does your family cope

with the love of bikes within Vellum?

MF: It’s just a matter of give and take.

I make sure that I spend quality time

with my family. A big bonus is having

a very understanding wife… lucky

me!

Nob: What other interests do you have

when not involved in the cycling

industry?

MF: I did a lot of scuba diving before

but I am more into playing basketball

for cross training nowadays. I have

also just got back into triathlon but

there is still the cycling part so I guess

this wouldn’t count.

Nob: We hear you race locally. Any

advice on potential visitors to Cebu

who may wish to get into the cycling

scene?

MF: Cebu for me is bike heaven. You

don’t need to drive a car to check out


the beautiful scenery or even get a

good work out. Being located on

an island has its perks. All routes

are accessible and it’s close to

impossible to get lost. A big plus

here is the cycling community.

Most expats I know are very

welcome here and local cyclists are

more than willing to show them

around the beauty of this island.

There is always this feeling that

you wouldn’t like to leave the

place. Local races are abundant,

thanks to our executive cyclists

and our friends who are based

abroad who organize such races;

there are always events to get

our legs spinning throughout the

year.

Nob: What does the future hold for

Mike Flores himself?

MF: I still see myself in the design

field and the bicycle industry in the

distant future no matter what. It’s

the pleasure I get from doing this

that makes me want to stay in this

business.

Nob: Thank you Mike for taking

time out of your busy schedule to

give us some insights into the

Vellum brand as it evolves. We

look forward to seeing your frames

appear in various parts of the UK

and wish you the best of luck with

Vellum in the future.

Contact Vellum

on [email protected] or sale

[email protected]. They will

have a new website up and running

soon as they are currently moving

into bigger offices.

Sir Nob

of Two

Ghiblis

The Testing Times - September 09

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Transcript of The Testing Times - September 09