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Another windy afternoon saw the Steve & Paul complete the course in 1:04:16.

According to the weather forecast, it would start ok and then progressively worsen.  And so it came to pass.  The outward bound journey was fine but upon returning to the fresh air after the refreshment break.......!  It was cold and very wet - ie foul.  Needless to say that there were more punctures than usual although with the numbers out today this probably was not a surprise.

Two Wheelers rode in the ECCA 10 last Saturday.   It was a favourable day for a change on the Six Mile Bottom course - cool with a slight cross-wind.  Merv managed to equal his time from three years ago with a 24:26 while Phil Young did a 22:19.  

Tony M rode the Shaftesbury CC road Race. This was a 117 km event based around a 25 km loop near Roxwell. The pace was quick from the start with 8 riders escaping and staying away till the end - 6 of these contested the final sprint.
Tony managed to finish in the second bunch in 32nd place out of 60 starters. This was his first open road race for 22 years! Ironically the 2nd placed rider this year had been racing in that earlier event. Tony was well chuffed to have finished such a long, fast race - the average speed was 25mph!

As we currently do not hold our own 25's, the Revenge Cup is incorporated into the Norlond 25 held on the A1.  On a breezy morning, Merv retained the trophy with 1:06:50.

Another huge turnout as people make the most of the good weather.  Eleven easies took off to Buntingford and seventeen meds followed Steve to Royston.  This did not leave many for the faster ride - in fact there was only one taker!

As this race was rearranged from an earlier date due to an accident on the course, more than half the entrants could not turn out due to other commitments.  However on a pleasant but breezy afternoon Peter and Merv were both able to put in an appearance and recorded 25:00 and 25:53 respectively.

On a windy day, Paul & Steve clocked 30:35

On a bright, warm and sunny morning about 30 riders\organisers\spectators gathered at Letty Green for the final club TT of the series.  This came as some surprise to one or two of the more established racers as they had never seen so many HWCC riders out together.  Afterwards many went on either of the two club rides to Hitchin or Whitwell.  Back in Ware, Danny also led out a fair sized group, and three riders took on the fast\med.

Nick Cramer rode this event . The course was just under 60 miles and involved 5½ laps that took the riders through Newport, Clavering, Rickling Green and back to Newport. Nick was on his best behaviour , "no attacking, chasing, leading or anything else that would waste energy ". He made himself stay at the back for 3½ laps, which was hard - not in effort but in self-discipline! The finish line was along a narrow lane.

An excellent turn-out of club members on a glorious sunny morning - why can't all Sundays be like this?
Tony continued in dominant form and there were solid performances from several newcomers.

Despite it being yet another windy afternoon. Merv rode this event on a new course west of Bedford.  His time was 26:13.

Nick Cramer took part in the Easterley CC " Falling Leaves Road Race " on 2nd September. This is involved a 50 mile, 7 lap circuit, on a course he had ridden earlier in the year. Nick reported " The circuit took us riders past the smashing Audley End House but then terminated into an awful hill that big riders hate! "

Last week it was one short of thirty.  This week it wasn't.  Eight set out on the fast\med, thirteen on the medium (and one more joined later) and eight on the easy.  Another four set out in the afternoon - actually it only counts as three as one had been out in the morning.  You don't get double points:- you know who you are!  A warm, fine day only punctuated by the slightest of showers.  

On a windy day that made the return much faster than the out, Phil continued his excellent form with 22:13 whilst SteveW did 24:20, Peter did 24:36 and Merv completed the set with 25:15.

The rain stopped but it was cool and breezy at Panshanger. This is a tough course combining some steep hills and tricky surfaces - congratulations to the four riders who braved it!

Nick Cramer rode the London Phoenix Grand Prix (cats 2,3 and 4) - the latest round of the Eastern Road Race League. He reports a return to form after a couple of disappointing results.

One short of thirty turned up at Hertford in order to divide into the three groups.  Seven went careering of Roystonwards and another twelve made a more benign journey to Whitwell.  The remaining ten soon became nine as one disappeared off the front in order to catch up with the zippees.  There was only one major problem for those heading for Shenley - an uncharted lake across the road which required some cross country antics in order to find a detour.  And some hills!

An excellent evening at Cole Green; warm enough and with a very light breeze.
There was an excellent entry with two riders - Michael Jewis and Mark Tappenden - making their debuts. Both were comfortably inside 30 minutes so there is obviously more to come. Chris Wells also had a good ride with a PB for the course. Mike East had a less happy evening as he had a mechanical problem on the first lap.
At the top Tony Marriott was comfortably ahead of his rivals with Alex Powell, (his form honed in the Pyrenees?), just pipping Nick Cramer for second place.

Despite it being billed as an 6:45 start, there were still a few who turned up at 7.  So two groups made the ride, both going in roughly the same direction, with about ten riders five minutes ahead of the following seven.  On a good sunny evening both groups made the most of the remaining light and had good rides.