Untitled Document

9 December: Club time trials for 2012. The committee agreed to run our 25, 30, 50 and 100 events within the 32nd Association 25, 30, 50 and 100 events.

4 December: Christmas Lunch at Fox, Matching Tye. A lovely venue and lovely 3-course Christmas lunch too. Well-attended and featuring the raffle and the prize presentation (Road Race: Simon Keen, 10 Mile Time Trial Series: Julian Thorpe, Crash Trophy: ). Thanks to organisers Derek and Glynis Smith.

30 November: Dazza’s Eastern Cyclo Cross League Update (all vets races)

Essex Road, Basildon (8 Oct): a new course, largely on rolling open parkland with nothing that technical. The blasting wind and very steep hills make the course difficult. On the 5th row at the start but on one of those miserable days when you’ve got nothing in the tank. The 40 mins seems a lot longer and I seem to get passed by everyone. I re-catch a couple near the end but only manage 52nd. Oh the shame.

Amis Velo, Colchester (16 Oct): a popular event and over 80 vets with the women’s race run separately starting 30 seconds behind. On the 7th row of the grid which is the last with a big group massed behind. A lap around the field first and I get an ok start and manage to avoid one guy who wraps himself up in the tape and another who puts his wheel in a rabbit hole and comes down. A short out of saddle effort up a rise is followed by a long sweeping run through the forest. Some one drops it exactly where I did last year but I miss him as well and get into a reasonable rhythm. No mishaps although my remounts after the two run up sections are not looking too polished. I pretty much ride my own race and pick my way through the field to finish 46th. A bit better.

Davy Down, Thurrock (Ford CC), (23 Oct): On the 5th row at the start so 32 riders in front, another 7 on the same row and the usual mob behind. Once again the grass sections are rock hard, so hard in fact that a Suffolk Wheelers rider cracks his hip when he comes off. The shaded wooded sections are dust. I like the course though and even with two separate sets of steps it’s pretty fast flowing. Good legs today and I keep it in the 46 ring for most of the lap. I steadily pick riders off and only make one mistake when my shorts gusset catches in the saddle nose. Fortunately that’s all that catches and I’m soon back on again chasing an unattached rider who’ been dangling like a carrot in front of me for most of the race. I can’t catch him though but I’m well pleased to have moved up through the field and finished 26th.

Colchester Rovers, Mistley (30 Oct): Not everyone likes the course and arguably it would be better ridden on a light MTB. I don’t have a light MTB though and I find the concentrating on not falling off helps to distract from the searing pain in my chest. Only 4 rows at the start, so no grid position for me and I start right at the back. There’s a 50 metre straight charge before a sharp narrow left hander into the forest. At the back it all slows to a crawl, then the bottle neck clears and we surge ahead. Bang, someone’s down, feet, pedals everywhere. I lean on one fella then on the one on the other side and pop I’m clear and on the tail end of a group of riders I’m evenly matched with. The race is a real blur and it’s a struggle to remember what order things occurred. Due to the dry conditions the course if mostly rideable but only just in some spots. It’s very easy to drop it especially in the leafy dusty corners.

On about the second lap I put in a decent attack and get the gap on a group of similar ability riders but the next lap is terrible trying to get my breathing back under control. An Eagle rider gets back to me but I keep the gap on the others. We have a good scrap over the next couple of laps but he puts in a dig through the finishing straight and I don’t see him again. On the last lap I’m in no mans land, comfortably in front of the group behind but not close enough to the one in front to catch them or so I think. A few hundred metres to go and Paul from Ciclos Uno looks like a possible catch. In front of massed crowds of two dozen people we sprint it out. I can’t quite get him and he holds onto a bike length. That was a laugh and I’m really pleased to have finished 31st after starting at the back.

Richie Muchmore rode as well and despite having not ridden for two years was grided on the front row! This is quite rude. Also despite being requested before the start not to beat me he finished 7th. Frankly this is downright ill mannered.

St Ives CC, Grafham Water (13 Nov): A largely flat not very technical course apart from three excursions onto the beach. These are ridable if you can pick the right line and keep the power on. Today’s problem is the rock hard ground and abundance of ruts and divots. I get a start on the 5th row but we’ve had house guests over from Northern Ireland and I’m not feeling that sprightly. After 40 mins of bouncing and banging around I’m happy to come in 35th. Richie Muchmore riding for Suffolk Wheelers has a good day and comes in 4th.

East Coast Riders, Hempton Cross, Fakenham (20 Nov): A long drive out to this one but the course is great. Lovely and technical with swooping ups and downs, slippy corners, hurdles, sand, gravel, low branches, roots, etc. The only surface it doesn’t have is tarmac. 5th row on the start and it’s a bun fight straight into the narrow stuff. It takes a lap or so for things to settle down before I find myself in a group of the usual suspects. The group whittles down until it’s me and a Diss & District rider. The Eagle rider from the Mistley race comes into range and after a bit of spirited downhill through the forest I get across to him. He has the courtesy to fall off on a loose corner but not take me out. I focus on keeping the gap and try to ride smooth without too much wasteful braking.

It’s all going lovely until I come round a corner and find a rider bent over his bike and blocking the path. I ride through a bush to get past and collect a tree in my back wheel doing so. When I stop to do some gardening I get passed by a few riders including the big fella from the Eagle. Last lap and I drag myself back up to them and with about 200 metres to go get on Mr Eagle’s wheel again. Then he drops it in front of me again but I have to dismount as well. We run for a bit, remount and onto the heath land again. Coming into the finish I’m right on his wheel but he easily pulls away. Well pleased with 25th, my best of the season.

Richie is 3rd today which is still quite rude but he buys me tea so I’m still talking to him.

Diss & District, Redgrave (26 Nov): A flat windy course although its subtlety more technical than it looks. Greasy dead turns and off camber sections can catch you out. A set of double hurdles and a double short run up/down assures the pulse rate is kept enjoyably high. Due to the wind there is real benefit on sections of the course to being on a wheel which is not always the case in cross. I start on the 4th row but I think it might not really suit me today. The Eagle rider from last week is in front and I decide to go as hard as I can at the start and try and hang onto him. The whistle goes, I get a pretty good start and coming out the first corner I’m on his wheel. Then disaster and my chain comes off at the hurdles. Have to stop to get it back on and loose a load of places. Now it’s a case of trying to pick my way back to a decent position. On a good day though and manage to pick off and drop a succession of riders who are my sort of level. Spinning a smaller gear into the wind seems to be working well and I nearly manage to get across to the next group.
The guy from the Eagle is well out of range though but I’m happy with 25th. If only the chain hadn’t come off. I think I can get a top 20 finish but there are only two counting events left now. I’m 31st in the vets league overall which is the position I finished last year. I think I need a top 20 finish to get in the top 30 overall and I really, really want to beat the guy from the Eagle (Just in case he reads this, it’s nothing personal just nice to have a target).

1 October 2011: Baldock Cross. Darren writes: "The thermometer in the car says 27 degrees. I thought this was supposed to be a winter sport? It's a fairly flat, not too technical course. One set of hurdles, a steep dusty bike-on-shoulder run up and a hill which can be ridden if you hit it with enough speed and avoid the dusty line where there's no traction.

Fifth row again and not a bad start. I manage to stay upright when there' s a first lap pile-up. Keep it in the big ring and ride the first two laps really hard but I can't keep it up and have to throttle back a bit and lose a few places. I figure that's better than blowing completely though.

Holding position ok for a couple of laps perhaps in the first 30 and then I mess up the sprint up the hill and lose the back wheel in the dust. Straight up but loads of riders go past me while I straighten my brake lever up. In hindsight I should have left it. Claw some riders back and salvage things a bit only to drop my chain and slip back again. Bugger!! 39th over the line, shattered and with a nice lump growing out of my thigh. Pretty annoyed with myself as without the slipups I might have got into the first thirty. Hey ho, that's sport and next week is another go."

25 Septembert 2011: The Crest CC's Two Counties Tour Off-Road Sportive was a success. Please see Two Counties webpage (see links on left) for a full report.

25 September 2011: Springfield Cross. Darren writes: "The course doesn't look much but it's a right gutbuster with three flights of steps per lap. There is a tricky mound which can just about be ridden but it comes straight after a sharp left hander which is at the bottom of the steep dive down from the third set of steps. It's difficult to get clipped back in quickly enough.

Fifth row again and I get a more aggressive start but so does everyone else. After a blast round the football field, it's single file through the hedge. It's Harrods January sales time getting through the gap and manners have to be sacrified. Things settle down a bit and the running/walking I have been doing lately seems to have worked and I'm not getting into too much of a state running up the steps though I lack power into the wind on the flat and struggle to hold Sue Wood (Maldon CC).

Three laps to go and I'm locked into a group with a North Road, West Suffolk Wheeler and a Lea Valley Youth vet (how does that work?). Two to go and the LVY guy and I have a gap on the other two. Then I drop my chain and get passed by them both. Really annoyed with myself so the last lap is a blur. I manage to catch and pass them again but can't regain the LVY guy. Shattered afterwards and only 42nd! This is hard! "

11 September 2011: Eastern Cyclo Cross Writtle: Darren writes: "Not a very technical course with only one set of hurdles per lap. On 5th row at the start but with over 80 signed-on for the vets'/womens' event there was a big mob behind. I was a bit nervous and didn't get a good start, losing placings in the initial melee. Paced myself pretty well though and didn't make any soppy mistakes. Picked some riders off on the last lap and finished 36th. Okay but can do better."

4 September 2011: Tour of the Cornfields off-road sportive. Darren reports: "No real problems except despite all the August rain, the ground was astonishingly hard. Mine was the only Crest jersey on show although about halfway round, I did come across Richie Muchmore and his mate who was making a bit of an event out of fixing a puncture.

His self-adhesive patches had dried out as had the slime in his tubeless tyres. I lent him my proper glue and patches and pushed on. The rain that had been threatening for most of the ride really belted down for the last hour or so. With just a few miles to go, Richie and his pal caught up with me and we helped out another puncture victim whose sticky patches had lost their stick.

At HQ people were pouring water out of their shoes and the floor was awash. Good event despite the weather and discovering I'd forgotten my towel and clean pants when I went for a shower."

30 August 2011: Crest CC's Tandem Getaway saw four intrepid couples (Derek and Glynis, Mick and Cheryl, Alan and Julie, Andy and Lorraine) go on a mini-East Anglian tour over the Bank Holiday weekend. Starting from Epping, they made their way to Matching Green, Essex. On Saturday the route took them through NW Essex and into Cambridgeshire, stopping at the lovely Orchard TeaRooms in Grantchester where dossing all afternoon in a green deckchair underneath the fruit trees is an option. Sadly not an option for our mile-eaters who then found their way via mature tree-lined lanes and past the American Cemetery at Madingley to the newly-opened St Ives to Cambridge Guided Busway which features an endless (18km!) straight, parallel tarmac bridleway for riders, cyclists and walkers. Into St Ives, over the centuries-old stonebuilt Town Bridge and onto the Willow Guest House at Hemingford Grey where they met Sue and Will for dinner at the Cock (which happened to have live music and a beer festival that night!). Sunday Sue and Will accompanied them across the flatland villages and ex-airfield around the top of Cambridge to Notcutts Garden Centre Cafe at Horningsea. The tandems then continued via bridleways and lanes to the racehorse-breeding/training areas around Wood Ditton for lunch, then through pretty wooded and arable valleys and twisting roads to Clare for Sunday night. Monday they retraced via a vicarage for tea (friends of Andy's) where George and Karen met them and George found the quickest cake-stealing dog he's ever seen...to Halstead. A lot of very pretty and different countryside seen in four days, and some aching legs and sore bums too!

24 July 2011: Youngsters Make a Splash - spot Crest CC jerseys in the Lea Valley Park newsletter's youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1KRWgLgV-s

Tony Harvey and Mike Beasant got to chat with MP Kate Hoey and Park Authority CEO Shaun Dawson, emphasising the need to get the Eastway replacement correct for the Olympic legacy.

July racing roundup: Sue realised she needed miles in her legs (she has none) to race a 50 after she crawled round the Shaftesbury CC event in 2.28.29 on a day when everyone else did it in 2 hours.

June racing roundup: Darren Myers extended his racing skills to grass track with 2nd in the 3lap handicap at the Ipswich meet on 5 June. Nearer home, the Hog Hill series saw Simon Keen and Ian Samuel both clock up 6th places in separate events. Adam Norris recorded the fastest times for June in the evening 10 series with 23.13 on 14 June, Derek Smith's fastest being 26.15 and Phil Whitehorn's 27.43.

May racing roundup: Cresties played a small part in the annual ECCA Festival with Geoff Bridger recording 24.23 on the E33 and 26.12 on the E91, and Ian Samuel finishing 6th in the Championship roadrace. Fastest times for the evening ten series during May were Phil Whitehorn 27.45, Julian Thorpe 26.19, Ian Samuel 26.34. The Hog Hill series saw Simon Keen finish 4th. The Victoria 10 on 28th saw 2-up pairing of Darren Myers/Sue Fenwick win the veteran's event with 27.04, while Will Rogers recorded 30.54 in the solo event. Ian and Robert Samuel and Simon Keen also rode the Andrews Trophy road race, all finishing in the bunch.

April racing roundup: Mike Norris and Ian Samuel started their season early with bunch finishes in the Chelmer CC 102km road race on 3rd. Simon Keen and Ron Self then both finished in the bunch in the Fleche Welwyn event. Sue Fenwick finsihed 1st on standard with 1.7.30 in the VTTA 25 at Bottisham and Darren Myers was in the bunch in the LVRC race at Hog Hill. Bunch finishes in the Hainault Road Race for Mike Norris, Jeremy Sullivan and Ian Samuel, in the Inverse Road Race for Mike Norris, the Ken Wright Memorial Road Race for Robert and Ian Samuel, the Castle Combe Circuit Races for James and Ian Samuel, Bill Temme Memorial for Ian Samuel, plus a 20th for Rob Samuel in the Ed Taylor Memorial and a 10th for Darren Myers in the LVRC. The Navestock 5 mile time trial saw James Samuel and Jeremy Sullivan tie with 13.20 each, while Geoff kicked off the ECCA Festival with 24.23 at Bottisham.

Easter tour: nine Cresties had a very laidback, mainly tandem getaway in Norfolk over the Easter weekend. Based at Wells-next-Sea, with runs exploring the tiny and quiet north Norfolk lanes. We enjoyed very much the Sculthorpe Mill Hotel for lunch one day - delicious food and beer, and a perfect setting with watermill, stream, sunshine, garden, and Egyptian Geese doing their Egyptian Walk courtship.

Racing round-up 12/13 March: Simon Keen scored his first win of 2011 in Saturday's 46 miles Spring Chicken Road Race at Hemel Hempstead. Simon stayed out of trouble on the rolling 11 mile circuit with potholed surface, riding in the bunch with teeam mate Mike Norris. A massive crash in the bunch sprint just yards from the finish line brought down 20 riders. Simon avoided the crash and sprinted ahead to win, while Mike was badly baulked but stayed upright to finish 24th.

On Sunday action moved to Hog Hill Cycling Circuit where Matt Gallagher finished 2nd in a hard-fought LVRC (League of Veteran Racing Cyclists) race.

Further afield, Stansted saw the Lea Valley CC's annual 25 mile time trial. Local amateurs pitched their skills against event winner Team Sky's professional Alex Dowsett who set the course record on the shelf for years to come with an incredible 49.40, that's over 30mph on a bicycle!

Crest CC riders were rather slower than that with Geoff Bridger (Ilford) was our only solo entrant, recording 1.05.59. In the supporting pairs event, Crest CC's riders were Dave Giles/Mike Norris (Romford)1.02.28, Ian and Robert Samuel (Woodford Green) 1.03.16, Darren Myers/Sue Fenwick 1.05.16, and Mike Beasant (Walthamstow)/Will Rogers 1.21.48.

Photos courtesy of David Jones below: left Darren/Sue, right Geoff

Photos courtesy of David Jones below left: Ian and Robert Samuel, right Mike/Will.

Photo courtesy of Jan Ertner: Dave Giles and Mike Norris

Sunday 6 March: the Crest Spring Road Race was a great success. Thanks to Dave Muir who organises this event each year and all his helpers, friends and family of the Crest. The event on the Littlebury circuit is always oversubscribed, this year with 108 entries for the 60-field limit, of mostly second cats for the 70 unrelenting miles and fearsome hilltop finish. Conditions were dry, calm and cold.

Crest Spring Road Race photos, courtesy of Mark Cozens Photography, and video, courtesy of Dave Giles Photography.

An early break of two riders became four after two laps when Jamie Caldwell (St Ives CC) and Owen Lake (Cambridge CC) broke off the front of the bunch and bridged the gap. Over the next two, the original two riders were dropped, leaving Jamie and Owen to work together for the remaining 55 miles. Jamie's clubmates Lee Desborough and Paul Fielding did great and largely unchallenged work to control the bunch's pace, keeping it so slow that four riders in the bunch were easily able to get back on again after stopping to relieve themselves! This prompted one race official to wonder if those four could chase down the bunch, why didn't they carry on, break through the bunch and chase down the breakaways? By the final lap, Jamie and Owen's 30sec advantage had grown to 2 minutes with Owen fading by the final climb to the finish, allowing Jamie to win by 15 metres.

Results: 1 Jamie Caldwell St Ives CC, 2 Owen Lake Cambridge CC, 3 Alex Peters CC Hackney, 5 Liam Gentry VC Baracchi, 6 Steven Griffiths PCH UK Racing Team, 7 Simon Keen Crest CC, 8 Aaron McCaffrey Virgin Active, 9 Gray Turnock Finsbury Park CC, 10 Daniel Young Glendene CC, 11 Lee Desborough St Ives CC, 12 Paul Fielding, St Ives CC, 13 Sean Dines Virgin Active, 14 John Peters CC Luton, 15 James Fox CC Luton. Team: St Ives CC

Sunday 6 March: Hainault Hilly time trial. New Crest member Julian Thorpe chose a tough early season event for his first competitive outing of the season. He finished a respectable 34th with 1.32.23, exactly 22 minutes slower than the event winner Jason White, Cycle Premier, who had an unbelievable 5 minutes in hand over the 2nd placed rider. Photo of Julian below courtesy of David Jones.

5 March: eight Cresties completed the 100 miles Shaftesbury CC reliability ride, taking in a lovely route through pretty lanes in Herts and Essex. Dave Giles, Ron Crawley, Ron Self, John Togher, Mike Savage, Matt Gallagher, Derek Smith and Phil Whitehorn completed the route in 7.5 hours.

1 March: Gran Canaria 2011, check out Cresties on their training camp.

27 February 2011: North Road Hardriders 19. Darren Myers kicked-off his 2011 timetrialling campaign with 1hr 4mins on this tough hilly course in Hertfordshire.

17 February: With more than 100 entries received for our Crest Spring Road Race on Sunday 6 March and a field limit of 60 riders, we are sorry to have to disappoint around 40 people. This ERRL early-season event is always extremely popular despite the tough course and often-inclement weather.

15 February: we welcome new member Rafael Blanco to the Crest CC.

16 February: Eastern Cross League, end of season Team Event, Danbury. Report by Darren Myers. "The team cross was fun. I had a stinking cold and wasn't going to ride but since I'd badgered Steve and Simon into riding, I had to show up. It was a mixed course with rolling open grassland, some twisty technical work in the forest and a section of BMX track with banked bends which were great fun. No dismounts but a very windy day. 25 teams of four at the start, set off in four separate groups at 30 sec intervals.

"Glen Boreham from Interbike was the fourth member of our composite team. Steve seemed rather quiet before the startt. Turned out it was his first competitive event of any kind! As it was a team event, all sorts of riders were mixed up together from worlds-level juniors to enthusiastic average vets like me. I was off in the first group and there were a lot of tasty riders who went away like rockets, leaving me having a good tussle with Sue Wood from Maldon and District CC. She was the best lady in the league this season and has beaten me in every race she's ridden. She dropped me on the second lap but I got back up to her by lap 6. We swapped lead twice in the last lap and then I managed to get round her at the finish. Quietly, very very pleased.

"Simon and Steve both said they enjoyed it and I think I believe them. Glen rode strongly too and we finished 16th out of 25 teams so not too shabby. I reckon Steve might even be up for another go!"

25 January: Hazel Millett, a much loved friend of the club has passed away today at the age of 86. Our thoughts are with Hazel's husband Stan and their families.

24 January: Eastern Cyclo Cross League, Round 13, Vets, Mistley. Darren Myers writes: "It's the last round of the league. Overall I'm 31st in the vets' league and will need a good ride to get back in the first thirty. Mistley is a really hard course. There are numerous climbs up through the forest which have to be run, followed by slithering descents. These are connected with a twisty single track, ambushing tree roots and deep rutted corners. I was knackered after two practise laps.

"Tactics were simple. Go hard at the start and keep going. I started on the 4th row and after the opening charge around the football pitch and a bit of argybargee turning into the forest, I was holding position okay. The rest of the race is a bit of a blur.

"I remember getting past Andy Kennedy from Ipswich BC, then picking off a few riders on the runs and finding myself at the head of a loose group. After another lap or two I seemed to be on my own, although slowly closing on a Colchester Rovers rider. He drops it and I get past him. I do a lap on my own during which I lose the front wheel in deep leaf mulch and come off. Then on a single track section I bounce off a tree and give my arm a thorough whacking.

"At last the bell sounds but a different Ipswich rider has caught me. I'm really tired and making little mistakes. The Ipswich guy overtakes and I can't hold him. Out onto the grass for the run to the finish and I find a bit more, catch him. On a sharp corner he sees me and kicks again. I hold him for a bit but he's got more in the tank and crosses the line a few lengths clear. We give each other pats on the back and both cough our guts up. I'm well pleased with finishing 18th, sadly not good enough to lift me up the overall rankings from 31st.

"That's nearly the end of the cross season and I've really enjoyed it and can't recommend it enough. Come and try it. What's the worst that can happen? It's usually a soft landing. The end of season team event is at Danbury Outdoors on 6 Feb. We have a composite team riding: Steve Savage, Simon Keen, me, and Glen Boreham from Interbike. Should be fun."

23 January: welcome to our two newest club members: Mike Beasant, who is a qualified cycle coach, and Matt Gallagher, who rides cyclocross and road.

14 January: Eastern Cyclo Cross League, Round 12, Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich. Darren Myers writes: "so it's my first event of 2011 and my 11th start of the cross season. After the Christmas excesses, the bibshorts are snug.

"The course is a good one, mainly up and down through woods and natural obstacles apart from one pair of hurdles which mean a dismount uphill, nice.

"On the warmup lap I try riding down a steep, loose peaty descent with a sharp righthander at the bottom. I lose it, go over the bars, clear the course tape and land flat on my back, so decide it will be best to run that bit in the race.

"I'm a bit hesitant at the start and after the charge round the open grassland/tarmac section, I find myself behind a bottleneck of riders on a single track section. Someone fluffs the bunnyhop over a small log and I dodge a couple of bodies. I pick off a few riders and can see a Maldon guy I've been evenly matched with before not too far in front so plug away and just before the tricky downhill I latch onto him. We run downhill, then round the corner, up the short rise, hop back on and then on a path which traverses the hillside I lose the front wheel and slide under the tape. A bad place to come off as the next hill is just about rideable if you've got some speed going into it.I decide to run all the way up and at the top I'm puffing and wheezing big time (my pulse meter said 196bpm!) and all the riders I'd overtaken have now gone back past me.

"So I have to get past them all again and with just over a lap to go, am back on the Maldon guy. I'm cross with myself and into the tarmac/gravel finishing straight, I stick it in the big ring and power past him. I get a gap and manage a whole lap on my own without mistakes, holding the gap and over the finish I'm 41st and annoyed for my poor start and mistakes but glad I have some life in my legs. Must just give it the beans at the next one and see what happens."