The Chairman’s Page
June 2009
I have just received my copy of The Veteran magazine which is printed
quarterly. It occurred to me that most of our competitive members are
over 40 years of age and therefore are 'veterans' in cycling lingo and
yet few of them understand the standard system based on age. This is
laid down by the Cycling Time Trials (CTT) organisation – the governing
body of the sport in UK. As you can see from the table they have
standard times for all distances and all ages. The whole point of the
table means that all 'vets' can compete against each other – no matter
how old. For example if Jim rides a 10 mile time trial in 24.42 at age 46
he has a plus of 2 minutes as the standard time in the tables for age
46 is 26.42. In the same event if Jack (age 53) does 25.12 he has a
plus of 3 minutes because the standard time for his age is 28.12.
Hence, Jack beats Jim by 1 minute allowing for their different ages. If
you think about it this system also allows you to compete against
yourself year on year as the standard times increase as you age.
Incidently if you join the Veterans Tine Trial association (VTTA) a
plaque is presented at the annual dinner provided a rider beat his
standard in any four of the seven events. If anyone is interested and
would like to know some more contact me for the if, where and when.
March 2009
You may remember that we had an enquiry via the web site a few
weeks ago regarding Billy Lane - Harold starts his latest piece with his
memories of the man.........
I Remember Billy Lane
Circa 1947 Billy Lane was National Grass Track Champion over 880
yards and competed regularly on Leigh cinder track with success. He
rode regularly with another trackie - Charlie Halliwell who also lived in
Wigan. He had a cycle shop in Hindley High Street but I think he moved
abroad later. However, about 1985 (I think) I called at a newsagents in
Lymm, Cheshire and the chap behind the counter recognised my Wigan
Wheelers jersey and introduced himself as Billy Lane. After that I lost
track of him. I believe his sister lived in Ladies Lane, Hindley, Lancs.
Origins of the Littler Cup
I had a phone call from Bob Williams (01942 517729) who is also
looking for some information re one of his relatives – Thomas Sherratt
(cicrca 1915). He was born in 1883 and died in an accident at Bryn Hall
Colliery in 1920 aged 37. Mr Williams knows he won many cycle races
and would like any information we could provide. I referred him to
'Cycling' magazine and the CTT but can anyone help further?
Incidentally, I find that Mr Sherratt's family sold a very large cup to Syd
Littler. It was a cycling cup won by Mr Sherratt. I believe this is our
Littler Cup. The family have a medal 'Irish Cycling Association – 3 mile
sprint' and believe he used to come up from the pit and ride to
Queensferry and back regularly.
New member
We have a new member 16 year old Brian Britch whoi has been out on
two club runs and is obviously a fit and very capable rider with good
legs.
Early Season Time Trials
On Saturday March 21st Alan Winstanley rode on the Levens 10 mile
course and recorded a time of 26.45. Jim Harrison, now in his mid 70s,
did a 27 minute ride. On the same day Ian Hughes rode on the J2/9 25
mile course and did a 1.01.06 on his new Cervelo machine. Second
claim member Richard Handley also rode the 10 at Levens in an
impressive 20.16 to finish 5th overall. Richard followed this up on the
next morning with a 9th place overall in a road race with 5 of the 8
riders in front being from the Halfords and Rafa/Condor pro teams. A
successful weekend for the club was topped off by 13 year old Chris
Lawless who won his 15 lap race around Southport Park – his second
win on consecutive weekends.
Club runs and other news
As the weather starts to improve our regular Sunday club runs are
attracting a healthy 10-12 riders each week. In fact the social ride to
Delamere Forest on March 15th brought out 14 riders – thanks to Ian
Hughes for organising the latest of these popular rides.
The Wednesday and Friday turbo sessions have been very well
supported over the last 6 weeks with 6-8 regularly turning up. I have
no doubt this will pay off in the racing season. In fact I feel confident
that this year we will have competition for all of the B.A.R trophies
(best in club, seniors and vets). Also, at least 3 rides are entered for
various sportives so I reckon if they can ride over 100 miles in hilly
country a 100 mile time trial should be well within their ability.
Finally, don't forget that the weekly Wednesday club 10's start on April
15th at 6.45 on the Rainford course (HQ on the slip road next to the
Wheatsheaf pub).
June 2008
Firstly, I would like to thank Paul Stupples for activating our web site
once again. While our chat line for club members has been buzzing the
club web site has lain dormant for some time. Thank you Paul.
The summer season is now well underway for both the racing and
touring fraternity. Several club members went to Majorca in May. The
group was myself, Rod Jenkins, Gareth Y, Ron Lysons, Gary Taylor,
Tony Handley and Kevin Cook. Usually we get 14 days of wall to wall
sunshine but this year it rained on 3 separate days, which is more rain
than I have seen in all of the previous 5 years. However, the company
was good (120 cyclists in our hotel) and we rode over 650 miles in 12
days. The mountain rides are spectacular and very satisfying (when
you have finished them). This is an excellent quality and value for
money holiday so if anyone wants any info please contact me – it is
now an annual event.
Still on the touring theme, the Sunday club runs usually have 6-12
riders, depending on the weather. They are run off at an average
speed of 13-14 mph and cover 60-80 miles. For any new members, or
anyone who would like to join us, we meet at the Cherry Gardens Hotel
(Wigan) one week and Ashton Library the next. Always starting at 9
am with 2 café stops and home about 4 pm.
Also, the veterans section are out every Tuesday and Thursday –
leaving Ashton at 9.30 am and getting home about 3-4 pm. We usually
go into Cheshire on Thursday and round the Lancashire lanes on
Tuesday. Contact me for more info (01942 717804).
If anyone wants a ride out on Friday contact Lionel Lea on 01942
254157.
So much for touring. On the racing front we still have turbo training
sessions on Friday (7 pm) at the scout hut in Orrell. The 10 mile time
trial series held on the Rainford bypass (headquarters Wheatsheaf
Hotel lane) is well underway, and as the weather gets better into
summer, the times are coming down nicely. Looking through the start
sheets I would say we have about a dozen racing lads taking part with
times going from 21 to 30 minutes.
Ian Hughes recently rode a 25 mile time trial in 57 min 47 secs, though
he had never gone faster than 1 hour before. That’s the upside! The
down side is that he pulled a hamstring playing football the following
week. Well, I suppose you can’t win ‘em all. Eddie Farrell is still trying
to beat the hour and with a best ride of 1 hour and 2 secs it surely can’
t be far away. Keep pulling away lad. Unfortunately John Griffiths’ rides
are limited at the moment (his wife is poorly). We all hope she recovers
soon John.
Cecil Hopkinson, Paul Stupples and Alan Winstanley are all doing
consistently good rides while Derek Lockett and Mike Fulford seem to
be getting faster now they are getting the hang of it.
I can’t let this section close without mentioning 17 year old Richard
Handley. Although his racing team is ‘Max Gear’ he still considers his
club as Wigan Wheelers and this season he was 4th in the national
junior 10 miles time trial (80 starters) and then went on to win the
junior national 25 mile time trial with a time of 56 mins 39 secs. His
previous best ride was 55:00, but last weekend he rode an event near
Carlisle and did 54:27. Apart from his solo rides he won an
international event in Saudi Arabia in February, was 2nd in the
Manchester div. Championship and has had 3 or 4 placings (in first 3)
in senior events. All these were road races often against senior, more
experiences riders. With the season only half way through I think he
will have more surprises for us before the end of he year. Stop Press –
he is down to ride the Tour of Ireland and the national junior road race
championships.
And how is this for a racing footnote! Jimmy Harrison recently rode a
25 mile time trial and did 1 hour 9 mins and 50 secs. So what you say.
Well Jim is 76 years old and the standard time for that age is 1 hour
26 mins and 17 secs – giving him a plus of 16 mins and 27 secs. In
fact it is a new Northern age record. Congratulations!
By the way, the club run last Sunday to Southport Botanical Gardens
and organised by Ian Hughes was a very good social event – 24 club
members turned up. I think everyone enjoyed it. In fact we should
have a similar event, probably in October, when the racing season is
finished but before winter sets in.
Well folks – that’s your lot. So I will sign off and report back in a few
weeks time. May your wheels go round and stay round.
Adios Amigos
HW
June 2009
I have just received my copy of The Veteran magazine which is printed
quarterly. It occurred to me that most of our competitive members are
over 40 years of age and therefore are 'veterans' in cycling lingo and
yet few of them understand the standard system based on age. This is
laid down by the Cycling Time Trials (CTT) organisation – the governing
body of the sport in UK. As you can see from the table they have
standard times for all distances and all ages. The whole point of the
table means that all 'vets' can compete against each other – no matter
how old. For example if Jim rides a 10 mile time trial in 24.42 at age 46
he has a plus of 2 minutes as the standard time in the tables for age
46 is 26.42. In the same event if Jack (age 53) does 25.12 he has a
plus of 3 minutes because the standard time for his age is 28.12.
Hence, Jack beats Jim by 1 minute allowing for their different ages. If
you think about it this system also allows you to compete against
yourself year on year as the standard times increase as you age.
Incidently if you join the Veterans Tine Trial association (VTTA) a
plaque is presented at the annual dinner provided a rider beat his
standard in any four of the seven events. If anyone is interested and
would like to know some more contact me for the if, where and when.
March 2009
You may remember that we had an enquiry via the web site a few
weeks ago regarding Billy Lane - Harold starts his latest piece with his
memories of the man.........
I Remember Billy Lane
Circa 1947 Billy Lane was National Grass Track Champion over 880
yards and competed regularly on Leigh cinder track with success. He
rode regularly with another trackie - Charlie Halliwell who also lived in
Wigan. He had a cycle shop in Hindley High Street but I think he moved
abroad later. However, about 1985 (I think) I called at a newsagents in
Lymm, Cheshire and the chap behind the counter recognised my Wigan
Wheelers jersey and introduced himself as Billy Lane. After that I lost
track of him. I believe his sister lived in Ladies Lane, Hindley, Lancs.
Origins of the Littler Cup
I had a phone call from Bob Williams (01942 517729) who is also
looking for some information re one of his relatives – Thomas Sherratt
(cicrca 1915). He was born in 1883 and died in an accident at Bryn Hall
Colliery in 1920 aged 37. Mr Williams knows he won many cycle races
and would like any information we could provide. I referred him to
'Cycling' magazine and the CTT but can anyone help further?
Incidentally, I find that Mr Sherratt's family sold a very large cup to Syd
Littler. It was a cycling cup won by Mr Sherratt. I believe this is our
Littler Cup. The family have a medal 'Irish Cycling Association – 3 mile
sprint' and believe he used to come up from the pit and ride to
Queensferry and back regularly.
New member
We have a new member 16 year old Brian Britch whoi has been out on
two club runs and is obviously a fit and very capable rider with good
legs.
Early Season Time Trials
On Saturday March 21st Alan Winstanley rode on the Levens 10 mile
course and recorded a time of 26.45. Jim Harrison, now in his mid 70s,
did a 27 minute ride. On the same day Ian Hughes rode on the J2/9 25
mile course and did a 1.01.06 on his new Cervelo machine. Second
claim member Richard Handley also rode the 10 at Levens in an
impressive 20.16 to finish 5th overall. Richard followed this up on the
next morning with a 9th place overall in a road race with 5 of the 8
riders in front being from the Halfords and Rafa/Condor pro teams. A
successful weekend for the club was topped off by 13 year old Chris
Lawless who won his 15 lap race around Southport Park – his second
win on consecutive weekends.
Club runs and other news
As the weather starts to improve our regular Sunday club runs are
attracting a healthy 10-12 riders each week. In fact the social ride to
Delamere Forest on March 15th brought out 14 riders – thanks to Ian
Hughes for organising the latest of these popular rides.
The Wednesday and Friday turbo sessions have been very well
supported over the last 6 weeks with 6-8 regularly turning up. I have
no doubt this will pay off in the racing season. In fact I feel confident
that this year we will have competition for all of the B.A.R trophies
(best in club, seniors and vets). Also, at least 3 rides are entered for
various sportives so I reckon if they can ride over 100 miles in hilly
country a 100 mile time trial should be well within their ability.
Finally, don't forget that the weekly Wednesday club 10's start on April
15th at 6.45 on the Rainford course (HQ on the slip road next to the
Wheatsheaf pub).
June 2008
Firstly, I would like to thank Paul Stupples for activating our web site
once again. While our chat line for club members has been buzzing the
club web site has lain dormant for some time. Thank you Paul.
The summer season is now well underway for both the racing and
touring fraternity. Several club members went to Majorca in May. The
group was myself, Rod Jenkins, Gareth Y, Ron Lysons, Gary Taylor,
Tony Handley and Kevin Cook. Usually we get 14 days of wall to wall
sunshine but this year it rained on 3 separate days, which is more rain
than I have seen in all of the previous 5 years. However, the company
was good (120 cyclists in our hotel) and we rode over 650 miles in 12
days. The mountain rides are spectacular and very satisfying (when
you have finished them). This is an excellent quality and value for
money holiday so if anyone wants any info please contact me – it is
now an annual event.
Still on the touring theme, the Sunday club runs usually have 6-12
riders, depending on the weather. They are run off at an average
speed of 13-14 mph and cover 60-80 miles. For any new members, or
anyone who would like to join us, we meet at the Cherry Gardens Hotel
(Wigan) one week and Ashton Library the next. Always starting at 9
am with 2 café stops and home about 4 pm.
Also, the veterans section are out every Tuesday and Thursday –
leaving Ashton at 9.30 am and getting home about 3-4 pm. We usually
go into Cheshire on Thursday and round the Lancashire lanes on
Tuesday. Contact me for more info (01942 717804).
If anyone wants a ride out on Friday contact Lionel Lea on 01942
254157.
So much for touring. On the racing front we still have turbo training
sessions on Friday (7 pm) at the scout hut in Orrell. The 10 mile time
trial series held on the Rainford bypass (headquarters Wheatsheaf
Hotel lane) is well underway, and as the weather gets better into
summer, the times are coming down nicely. Looking through the start
sheets I would say we have about a dozen racing lads taking part with
times going from 21 to 30 minutes.
Ian Hughes recently rode a 25 mile time trial in 57 min 47 secs, though
he had never gone faster than 1 hour before. That’s the upside! The
down side is that he pulled a hamstring playing football the following
week. Well, I suppose you can’t win ‘em all. Eddie Farrell is still trying
to beat the hour and with a best ride of 1 hour and 2 secs it surely can’
t be far away. Keep pulling away lad. Unfortunately John Griffiths’ rides
are limited at the moment (his wife is poorly). We all hope she recovers
soon John.
Cecil Hopkinson, Paul Stupples and Alan Winstanley are all doing
consistently good rides while Derek Lockett and Mike Fulford seem to
be getting faster now they are getting the hang of it.
I can’t let this section close without mentioning 17 year old Richard
Handley. Although his racing team is ‘Max Gear’ he still considers his
club as Wigan Wheelers and this season he was 4th in the national
junior 10 miles time trial (80 starters) and then went on to win the
junior national 25 mile time trial with a time of 56 mins 39 secs. His
previous best ride was 55:00, but last weekend he rode an event near
Carlisle and did 54:27. Apart from his solo rides he won an
international event in Saudi Arabia in February, was 2nd in the
Manchester div. Championship and has had 3 or 4 placings (in first 3)
in senior events. All these were road races often against senior, more
experiences riders. With the season only half way through I think he
will have more surprises for us before the end of he year. Stop Press –
he is down to ride the Tour of Ireland and the national junior road race
championships.
And how is this for a racing footnote! Jimmy Harrison recently rode a
25 mile time trial and did 1 hour 9 mins and 50 secs. So what you say.
Well Jim is 76 years old and the standard time for that age is 1 hour
26 mins and 17 secs – giving him a plus of 16 mins and 27 secs. In
fact it is a new Northern age record. Congratulations!
By the way, the club run last Sunday to Southport Botanical Gardens
and organised by Ian Hughes was a very good social event – 24 club
members turned up. I think everyone enjoyed it. In fact we should
have a similar event, probably in October, when the racing season is
finished but before winter sets in.
Well folks – that’s your lot. So I will sign off and report back in a few
weeks time. May your wheels go round and stay round.
Adios Amigos
HW
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