The Chairman's Review of 2009

I don't know if anyone has summarised a year in the life of the club but I think this is about the time of year to do it – so here goes.

The Club Dinner

January, and probably the second worst time of the year to be riding a bike. The festive season is over and there is only dull weather to look forward to so we have the Club Annual Dinner and Prize Presentation at Wigan Cricket Club. Usually we have a good buffet and disco but in 2009 we celebrated our 90^th year so dinner was a sit down meal and very good it was too! Our guest of honour was Sarah Storey – an excellent speaker and top paraplegic cyclist. So good in fact that she went on to become World Champion on both the road and track in the summer of 2009. Sarah regularly rides in our summer 10 mile time trial series on the Rainford bypass as part of her training. She presented prizes as follows:

Maurice Jones Cup 10 m h'cap Cec Hopkinson

Liptrot Dewhurst Trophy 25 m h'cap Ian Hughes

Fletcher Cup 50 m h'cap Ian Hughes

Cavey Cup 25 m h'cap Mike Preston

Cutler Cup 10 m h'cap Mike Wink

Holden Cup 10 m series Ian Hughes

Littler Cup Open 30 m John Morgan

plus, of course, the 2^nd and 3^rd place medals for each event.

At the annual dinner the racing lads meet up again after a few weeks of rest or light training, swap notes, and this sparks of the training runs for the coming pre-season weekends. These rides complement the twice weekly turbo training at Orrell scout hut on Wednesdays and Fridays. After the dinner attendance at the turbo sessions usually picks up as the lads start to pile in the miles so necessary for competition. It is a hot and rather sweaty way to gain fitness but provides good results when done in a progressive and structured way. At this point it is apt to thank Chris Black who has organised these evenings for the last 4 years. The training program is set out by Peter Read who is recognised in cycling circles as one of the best British coaches. Anyone is welcome if they can provide their own turbo.

The Racing Season

I think it is fair to say that the racing season starts proper in March when most riders start by riding the 10 mile time trials up and down the country, then graduate to 25 mile events. This year was no exception. It is not uncommon for riders to be 2-3 minutes down on their summer times in March but they soon improve.

And so to glorious May. Glorious because several of us now go to C'an Picafort on Majorca early in the month. This year they were myself, Ron Lysons, Rod Jenkins, John Williams, Tony Handley, Gary Taylor and Ian Woodcock. We share a hotel with 80 or more cyclists mainly from the North of England. The hotel is 300 yards from the palm fringed bay and has all the necessary amenities for evening social activities within a short walk. Picafort is set in a fairly flat area with good, well surfaced, roads but is only 15 miles from the high mountains. The temperature this year was the usual 70 degrees or higher - very pleasant and ideal for cycling. With good company, considerate motorists and a full belly what more could any self respecting two wheeler want? I managed to get in 560 miles over the 10 days. This is a social holiday and not a training camp however it can be what you want it to be and some riders find their form over there. Others choose to potter along the coast or head a few miles inland. If anyone wants details of this holiday don't hesitate to contact me (01942 717804).

Going back to April Dave and Eileen Brabbin promoted our annual cycling weekend with the 10 mile time trial on Saturday afternoon and a 30 mile event on Sunday morning. Incidentally, the winner of the 30 mile event holds the M^ccurdy Cup for one year – one of the largest trophies in cycling.

In early September we again promoted the usual 25 mile time trial on the Garstang circuit. Later that month Eileen Brabbin promoted the annual 10 mile time trial on the Levens course. This has now become a classic since Bradley Wiggins set the national competition record of 17 mins 58 secs in this event in 2006. This year over 300 riders entered and it was won by Mark Holton in 18 min 48 secs. The second fastest was our own Richard Handley, a second claim member who now rides for Kuk Kinesis, only 30 seconds slower. In 2009, at the age of 17, he was National Junior 25 mile Time Trial Champion and also National Junior Best All rounder. By the end of the season he had ridden 10 miles in 19 min 04 secs and 25 miles in 50 mins 03 secs. He also achieved high placings in top class road races and spent part of the summer racing in France. He has signed for the new professional Raleigh Team for 2010.

Touring and social riding

Now for the non-racing and touring scene which is really the hub and mainstay of cycling. I say this because 99% of racers come from the ranks of the ordinary club folk including Richard. Five years ago this rather small young boy was starting out riding with the club folk on Sunday and midweek during school holidays. Every Sunday through the year we have had members out on the club run. The itinerary is one week meeting at the library in Ashton to go south usually into rural Cheshire. Alternate weeks we meet at the Cherry Gardens in Wigan and ride into north Lancashire anywhere between Southport and the Bowland Fells. We always meet at 9 am and if anyone is interested in riding with us please don't hesitate. On these social rides distances usually range from 60 to 80 miles depending on the time of year and the weather with an average riding speed of about 14 mph and a couple of cafe stops. Numbers range from about 5 to 15 depending on the weather. Strange as it may seem we sometimes meet fellow members at the cafe stops as they prefer to ride alone or in smaller groups. For anyone who wants to ride a bit faster we also have a faster group made up of racing lads who are out on steady faster rides – contact Ian Hughes on 01257 278038.

In October the following riders returned to Majorca – John Williams, Rod Jenkins, Neal Berry, Steve Broderick and Mike Preston. Lucky fellows – even though the weather wasn't quite as good as in May I believe a good time was had by all.

Throughout the year myself, Dan Hanson, Barry Jefferson, Les Worthington, Ron Coulsand plus friends Jim Shacklady and John Critchley meet every Tuesday and Thursday (we are all retired) to foray around the Cheshire or Lancashire lanes. Destinations are decided at the point of departure. We always meet a 9.30 am - on Tuesday we are on the motorway bridge at Bryn (opposite Our Ladies church) and on Thursday at Pimblett's Farm gates on Bryn Road, Ashton near the Three Sisters industrial estate. Until springtime we usually cover 50-60 miles at an average of 12-13 mph always with one or two cafe stops. You won't find these down as Wheeler's club runs – more a bunch of cycling friends out for a ride and a natter – oh how we put the world to rights on these rides! Nobody listens though, least of all our all knowing politicians. Steady now Woodcock don't get on that soapbox!

During the summer the president of RC Anjou and his wife came to ride the audax from Brest to Inverness a distance of 700 miles to be ridden in 7 days. Jean Claude and his fellow club members, based at Angers in the Loire Valley, entertained 15 members of our club, for a week, 2 years ago. This year Dave Kirr, Don Hanson, Les Worthington and myself met them near Whitchurch on a very wet afternoon and rode back to Wigan with them., Three days later we entertained them to a social evening when they returned to Wigan on their way home. A very pleasant social interlude.

John Helms

On Friday 13^th myself, Don Hanson and Jimmy Harrison attended John Helms' funeral. At this point I will explain who John was and why he was nationally famous in cycling circles. For 55 years he did the cartoons in Cycling Weekly under the pseudonym of Baz or Honk. His wife Ruth tells us that he did over 3000 cartoons for the magazine. I believe he had one driving lesson many years ago and decided it wasn't for him so rode his bike everywhere, every day to work and back, and at weekends with Ruth. Wherever he is now it must nice to know that every week he made thousands smile and laugh when they saw his latest zany cartoon. John was 85 and remained active until 3 days before his death.

Chris Lawless

Chris is 13 and a second claim member who had a very successful 2009. On the Levens circuit in September he recorded 22 min 21 secs - an average speed of 26.8 mph. In the Cycling Development North West series which included criteriums held at Lancaster, Preston and Liverpool, and mountain bike events he was the overall winner. In the national road series of events for under 14s he finished 2^nd overall. The national madison series on the track for under 16s saw him finish 4^th overall with partner Jake Ragan including a win at the Bradford race. Finally, in the national omnium, again on the track, Chris finished 5^th in the under 14s category.