30/9 A first go at H25/2 on 29/9 produced a poor time. The next days outing in the Bath 25 is best forgotten, a social pace would be a fair description! In the absence of a ride on the weekend saw me out with the chain gang on Saturday morning, why can't I ride at their pace in a race?

Mon 17th Sept. Given events in New York which will affect us all it cannot be said to have been a good week.

However courtesy of a Chippenham & District Wheelers member I now have Look pedals,cleats and shoes,Thank you. Having heard stories from other Chippenham members about what happened when they set off using cleats for the first time I was extremely nervous. The nerves translated into a PB for the year on U18R, 25 miles, which was quite pleasing and a narrowly missed cat on U27 on Sunday.
I am still nowhere near achieving a qualifying time for the Hillingdon 25 but with another two 25's to go there is always hope even if very little chance!


Mon 10th Sept. Not a bad weekend. Was towed around in the 'Gentlmens 10', an under 40 hopefully paces an over 40,to my fastest time on the course this year of 28.06, down on last year at 27.51 but then I am now a year older.

Sunday 9th was a learning experience, apart from buckling my wheels on a partly seated manhole cover I also 'bonked'with 15 miles left of a 100. I eventually finished but I needed ALL the carbo supplements I carried to do it and my time was ............! As the last to finish the time keeper took pity and gave myself and my bike a lift back to HQ. It was a windy day, a headwind on an uphill section of the course reduced my speed to below 10mph where I normally achieve 18-20 mph depending on the weather. Put it all down to experience.

Mon 3rd Sept Quite an interesting weekend, not as planned but are they ever!

A club competition 25 was postponed because we all apparently 'forgot' to hand in our entries making it impractical to run a handicap competition, I rode out with the Saturday morning chain gang instead. It was worthwhile noting that one of participants was 'warming up' for a 12 hour ride the next day by taking part in this 'casual 40 miler'! Going for the soft option I did a 50 mile TT on Sunday, set a new personal best and Teamhummingbird record. It was nice to collect my first open competition prize for 2nd place on handicap which paid for lunch!

I started with a blood sugar of 17 moll and finished with 4 moll, the widest range yet, which does not look good for next Sunday's 100 if I cannot work out why I dropped 13 on a 50!

The journey was worthwhile to see the Trotting Horses preparing for their Sunday morning 'race' on the A449 while I drove around the course, no getting 'lost' like last Sunday!

Thurs 30th Aug. Just received my copy of Active News, WELL DONE Janice, worth the wait since the last issue,whens the next one?
I am constantly told by a racing secretary to 'ride my bike'. The consequences have been a PB 10 on U40 and overal, a PB 50 and a DNF on a 25 despite passing the finish and not leaving the course! The next 25's have to wait until September, hope I do better.


Mon 30th July My results, well I went on a club run on Sunday, grabbed at a new front brake and went over the handle bars into the ditch! Fortunately or unfortunately I had already slowed considerably so those with a good view said it looked good in slow motion, invitations to give a repeat performance were declined, the landing was soft because the verge was well covered in stinging nettles! Apologies to those behind who came off out of shock!


Thurs 19th July.Best excuse for not updating site, I have been cycling; a 25,10,10 and 100 mile TT since last posting.

Rode the Macclesfield Wheelers 50 yesterday. I pulled my back wheel round twice in the first 800 yards which added to my time a little and without which I may have improved on my 50 mile time for the season despite the wind! The course was good and my time indicates that it is comparable with the Oxford By Pass drag strip, oh for a day with a favourable wind. A more honourable reason for making the journey is that I was warmly welcomed and ,for those interested in such things,may be combined with a visit to Jodderel Bank Observatory. A word of warning though, they appear to be hungry so and so's, do not expect much cake to be left if you are a late finisher, perhaps they would say that this provides the incentive to go faster!
July 2nd What a grand day for cycling Sunday was. What could go wrong......? At my second attempt to complete the Chippenham Wheelers club 200km audax all looked well to start with. However shortly after leaving Longleat my bike developed a loose crank, no doubt caused by being mounted on a worn out bottom bracket. After a temporay fix by Eric Fletcher I made it to Amesbury where A1 Car parts in the shopping centre very kindly provided the use of a 14mm socket spanner. All seemed well and I enjoyed the tea and cake in the Friar Tuck cafe all the more as a consequence. However by the time I made it to the Crofton Beam Engines, more tea, the crank had worked loose again. Reluctantly I had to let everybody go on when this repair failed after approximately 3 miles. I eventually got home via Pewsey, Bishop Cannings and Calne cycle path, what a day, 119 miles out of 125 miles and still the audax remains uncompleted. A new route is promised for next year perhaps that might bring a change of luck.

Enjoy the weather, remember the consequences of dehydration, I carried 4 water bottles, had one refilled on Sunday and was grateful for every drop.

Wed27th June The result sheet for Sundays 100 mile TT arrived today and brought the news that the event may not be possible to hold next year as a consequence of inconsiderate parking by participants and others. This will be a tragic and appalling loss to the sport as a result of the actions of a minority of individuals. Courses are hard to find, excellent courses like this one are impossible to find, that it maybe lost because instructions printed on the start sheet were ignored is beyond belief. The promoters have the ultimate option of disqualification, how they must wish they had used it.

PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS WHEN PARTICIPATING IN EVENTS, FAILURE TO DO SO COULD MAKE IT YOUR LAST.

Mon 25th June Well the weather was great, the course excellent and on arrival I even managed to park to park next to another diabetic rider previuosly unkown to myself, what could go wrong? Well after 12 miles a spoke in my front wheel broke leaving me to complete the remaining 88 miles with a buckled wheel and not knowing if another breakage could occur and cause the wheel to collapse at any time. Subject to that it was an enjoyable event and I had
a few problems with remaining seated on the saddle after 75miles. However as soon as I passed the finished line I had to get off and walk, they told me the chairs in the hall were soft, unfortunately I could not bend myself low enough to find out, sitting and eventually laying on the stage, discovering how comfortable bare boards can become when in need. However I did recover enough to sit in the garden of the pub opposite and eat Sunday lunch together with a pint afterwards! Blood sugar levels did not prove to be a problem even though I had not reduced my insulin dose as much as I originally planned to. The time recorded by the other diabetic rider was 5hrs 10 mins 31secs, my time was 5hrs 17mins 49secs which stands as the club record because the other rider is not currently a club member. In order to get an entry for this event next year I shall have to set a faster time on another course.


Sat23rd June The weather promises to be good for tomorrows 100 mile TT, last time I did a long ride, 94 miles, in the forecast weather I hit serious problems 10 miles short of home. However the sun must be better than wind rain and hail.


Wed 20th June Well thats the 25 under the belt, very slow by Time triallist standards but with a 10 tonight and a 100 on sunday is there anything to gain? A slow 25 is better than not finishing. The course rode well enough and if I can get another entry I will be pleased to ride it again.


Mon 18th June The weather stayed fine and Saturday was a good day for me. A steady ride bearing in mind the next day produced a personal best time for U40 and an improvement of 44 seconds,made me wish I had tried harder. Sunday looked good given yesterdays achievement and an entry on H50/14 for a 50 mile TT promoted by Reading CC or in plain english a chance to race up and down the Oxford by pass, cyclings equivalent of finding gold. A 05.44 am start was not a deterrent and the weather was mild when I left home at 03.50am. So yes it turned cold and windy and I suffered, I had to stop twice with unexpected mechanical problems and I had problems sitting on the saddle after 25 miles, result a slower time than my first attempt at 50 miles last year. Finding gold did not pay off but until some one else goes faster the time stands as a TeamHummingbird record for 50 miles subject to ratification. With a 25 tomorrow and a 100 on Sunday there will be times at all standard distances for you to go for as 'All Members' records. No times have been set by household members or first claim TeamHummingbird members, so GET PEDALLING, there must be a record for you to claim.
29th May Does not seem so long since the last update!
Paul Musgrave has set 23.30 as the All Members club record for 10 miles. This was an excellent achievement given the adverse course conditions, the four hour drive to the event and his 'ofcourse' detour during his warm up which meant he made it to the start just in time to see his minute man set off.
Meanwhile the Hon. Sec. managed to keep his speed up enough to win the Line 1 Improvement credit although the prize moeny was given to Paul who had certainly done enough to earn it with his time.

11th May Have put up prize for Diabetics in Chippenham Wheelers 10 on Sat May 26th,you can try to enter if you think you are lucky. Been collecting punctures for fun in last month,is it because my weight has temporarily topped *******!

20th April The best said about my season so far is that most of my ambitions have been abandoned. A trip to the Doctor helped but I am well behind any sensible training schedule for the year. I draw comfort from a new expression to me that is ‘that it takes strength to support the field’.

19th March Off the road due to Flu and generally Foot and Mouth crisis,please be considerate to those whose livelihood is under threat.It is always possible to exercise and keep fit in ways not damaging to others, using rollers or turbo trainers for example.


6th March Well the Grand Prix took and place and everybody had an enjoyable evening.Me, I qualified to ride against the WORLD RECORD HOLDER on rollers and lost, despite hitting my highest recorded speed to date of 54 mph,the photographs show just how painful it was.When the full results are published they will be included on this site somewhere,probably on a page entitled PAIN and GLORY. If after only 18 months cycling and in my first season on rollers I can get to ride against those competitors without too much embarrasment it shows there is hope for most of you,you do not need to have won 5 gold medals to give it a go!
26th Feb I have now trashed another derailler ,recorded my two worst times in 10 mile Time Trials and failed to complete a proper training ride,just the preparation you need in the run up to an event like THE COMPUTER VILLAGE GRAND PRIX above.Never mind, atleast I am entered in a different class to the World Record holder,perhaps there is a god in the new millenium!(WRONG!!!!)
8/02/2001 Why have I put the year in the date,well 2000 was superb,good weather,cups and trohies at home and no serious crashes.2001 started with a crash,I have at the second attempt this year wrecked the back wheel I use for pottering about on training rides and now have a cold which I cannot lose.It can only get better,I hope.


4/01/01 Hope you had a grand Christmas.The New Forest 10 took place on one of the coldest days for a long time.The course was a good one although a little spoilt by having to ride into a head wind on the return leg.Put myself out of circulation by crashing on New Years Day,atleast thats a well founded reason for not riding a 100km Audax on 8th January!

21/10. The WTTA laid on a 50ml tt on sat 21/10/2000 start at 1pm ,the Hon Sec. took part and completed in a time of 2hrs 40mins 29secs.Where were the rest of you?

The Hon Sec started cycling some 18 months ago and has now competed in 10,25 & 50 mile time trials,undertaken personal training rides of upto 100 miles, ridden out with The Bristol Old Time Cyclists and completed Audax's of upto 200km(125miles)in length,none of these rides resulted in any control problems at the time,extra fluids have been required on hottest day of the year(100mls to Oxford and back) and top up carbo's have been enjoyed upto 12 hours afterwards on some occasions.So there you are,it can be done!
The Hon Sec won the Chippenham Wheelers Evening 10 mile Handicap Competition 2000 season(as they said it helps to win if your slow to start with, and was I slow:and as was said by another "a win is a win").