NORTHERN NEWS
Number 153
April 07
ASTON CANTLOW as seen by Frank Patterson.
Visit this
Warwickshire Village on one of the Saturday Rides
at the
Heart of England Rally, 12th -13th May
NEXT COPY DATE – TUESDAY 5th JUNE.
HON SEC’S JOTTINGS
by John Bedford
Just a Reminder that, on the insistence of the CTC
Insurers, all group riders must have fully-paid up membership. New
participants are allowed 5 rides (after signing a disclaimer) on which to
determine whether they wish to become members, or cease riding with us.
Whilst membership can be as little as £12/year
for students, the maximum rate only equates to 65p/week – cheaper than a cup of
tea.
For this you get a good magazine every 2
months, £5m third party insurance, cycling related legal claims advice, free
touring and technical information. Committee members do have application forms.
You know it makes sense!
Club Audax. Very many thanks to all who assisted
with the organization of this major event in our calendar, and in particular to
Geoff and Enid for masterminding the whole show. Having organized the event for
twelve years I can very much appreciate the amount of time and effort that is
involved.
There were 235 entries all together and 210
started. Thirty-one rode the Castleton Classic, 78 the Derbyshire Dales and 101
the Staffordshire Lanes. The youngest rider was only 13 years old and completed
the Staffordshire Lanes in 7 hours, 14 minutes.
Staffordshire
Potholes. Ring
01785 277 452. Raikes Lane, between Chesterfield and Lynn has been reported for
excessive sand, mud etc on the road.
Evening Rides Geoff Howle is hoping to organize a
series of evening rides starting in June. If interested give Geoff a ring on
308 0138.
Heart of England Rally. This is the next big event for us.
As some events need prebooking please ask myself or Beryl for the full
programme, and give yourself an enjoyable weekend, not too far from home. The
location is Meriden and the dates the 12th & 13th
May.
Daffodil Rides. The Northern came home with the
painting of The White Horse, which is awarded to the Section with the most points from
‘Members x Miles’. We didn’t strictly win it, but came second.
The Edgware Section have won it for a number of
years, and I think they have become weary of carrying it backwards and forwards
to events.
SATURDAY MORNING GUIDANCE
1. Please
try and arrive at least 5 minutes before 10am so that we can make a prompt
start to the ride.
2. The
3 or 4 Rides Leaders should get their groups together, spreading the groups
around the meet area so the groups can be readily identified. Try to aim for
consistent group sizes, with a maximum of 12 riders in each group.
3. Leave
the meeting place in order of ability – Fast, Intermediate, Improvers, Slow. This should avoid overtaking other
groups.
4. So
that riders are not put under undue strain, it is suggested that the ‘ideal
condition’ riding speeds be:
Fast 15+mph, Intermediate 13-15mph,
Improvers 11-13mph, Slow 8-11mph.
This
should be a useful guide for new riders.
Nevertheless,
leaders should always keep in mind the ability of their slower riders.
5. When
parking at the coffee stop, (or elsewhere for that matter) please ensure you do
not block any disabled access, exit etc.
6. At
the coffee stop it is suggested that the break normally be no longer than ½
hour. This may of course depend very much on the speed of the service. Many
riders wish to get home early in the afternoon.
TABLE TENNIS
by Beryl Bedford
If anyone would like a change from cycling (and
has the time!), there is a table-tennis club at Wyndley Leisure Centre every
Wednesday,
10 -12am, using 6 tables.
You can go for one or two hours and the cost at
present is £1 an hour, plus a modest yearly subscription. Dennis Bowcott and I
go regularly – come and join us!
D-DAY 6th JUNE 2007
MARKET
BOSWORTH CAR-ASSIST + EARLY EVENING MEAL
JOIN ME IN THIS ASSAULT ON THE LOVELY LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE
3 COURSE PLUS COFFEE & MINTS £12:50
BOOKINGS NOW BEING TAKEN
DETAILS :- ALAN DODWELL 0121 308 1619
KISSING THE ROADSTONE
by Alan Dodwell
(With
apologies to Val Jones and The Pope for the title)
On what was to be the warmest day of the year
so far, a group of ‘The Northern’ had left the National Arboretum after coffee
and were en-route to Linton. Attempting to make a right turn into Croxall Lane,
Val Jones lost her balance and crashed to the road, sustaining nasty injuries. The Guardian Angel soon
arrived on the scene in the form of Detective Constable Rob Trow who, by
chance, was traveling that road on the way to Burton on Trent. He quickly took
command of the situation and, after assessing Val was as comfortable as
possible, took over control of the accumulating traffic. Within minutes the
ambulance arrived (congratulations to Staffordshire Ambulance Services for
their swift response!) and Val was dispatched to hospital. Before doing so,
Chris indicated he wanted to go with her, but what were we going to do with
their two cycles? D.C. Rowe immediately offered to take them all the way to
their home in Streetly, but it was then realized a better idea would be for him
to take them to their daughter’s home in Alrewas, and after some juggling to get
them into his car they were duly delivered.
The point of this story, apart from notifying
any unaware members of Val’s accident, is also to thank D.C.Rowe for his
kindness and attention. We are perhaps all guilty at times of complaining of
various police activities but let them have their ‘bouquets’ when they deserve
them! I have spoken to his Sergeant at Lichfield of the incident and he stated
that he was not surprised at his D.C’s good work. A letter has been sent to his
Chief Superintendent at Burton in anticipation it will reflect on his records.
I am sure you will all join me in wishing Val a
speedy recovery.
INTO
THE PAST
by Val Jones
On being laid up for a while I decided to read some of my old favourite books starting with Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson. She was born in Oxfordshire in 1878 in relative poverty in a small hamlet called Juniper. The book records country life in the 1880s and 90s and was published in the 1940s.
At the age of fourteen she went to work in a village post office a few miles from where she was born. One of her evocative descriptions relates to the first Cycling Clubs and the growth of cycling for all. I’d like to share parts of it with you………
“Sometimes, on a Saturday afternoon, the call of a bugle would be heard, followed by a stream of laughing, jostling young men who would press into the tiny office to send facetious telegrams. These members of the earliest cycling clubs had a great sense of their own importance and dressed up to their part in a uniform composed of a tight, navy knicker-bocker suit with a red or yellow braided coat and a small navy pill-box cap embroidered with their club badge.” I think we, by comparison, are fairly restrained in our dress even if it does include lycra and bright colours!
Flora goes on to describe how quickly the cycling craze grew. “Soon, every man, youth and boy whose families were above the poverty line was riding a bicycle. For some obscure reason, the male sex tried hard to keep the privilege of bicycle riding to themselves.” Many were outraged when an intrepid female appeared on a bike. “The wife of a doctor in Candleford town was the first woman cyclist in that district. ’I should like to tear her off that thing and smack her pretty little backside,’ said one old man grinding his teeth with fury.”
However soon many women appeared
riding “in long skirts, it is true, but with most of their petticoats left
in the bedroom behind them…… And oh! The joy of the new means of progression.
To cleave the air as though on wings, defying time and space by putting
what had been a day’s journey on foot behind one in a couple of hours.”
Flora writes that eventually nearly everyone was awheel and for those too poor to buy a bike one could be hired for sixpence(2 ½ p) an hour. Men began to accept the inevitable although there were several comic rhymes about :-
Mother’s out upon her bike, enjoying of the fun,
Sister and her beau have gone to take a little run.
The housemaid and the cook are both a-riding on their wheels;
And Daddy’s in the kitchen a-cooking of the meals.
“And very good for Daddy it was. He had had all the fun hitherto; now it was his wife’s and daughter’s turn. The knell of the selfish, much waited upon, old-fashioned father of the family was sounded by the bicycle bell….”
Extracts from Lark Rise first published in 1939, Over to Candleford in 1941 and Candleford Green in 1943. They were issued together under the title Lark Rise to Candleford in 1945.
A big thank you to everyone for their Good Wishes, Cards, Flowers and Visits after my accident on April 5th. Burton Hospital patched and plastered me up very well although it was not a pretty sight. Two more breaks to add to my collection but hopefully the plaster will come off on May 16th. I am now managing to walk around with a stiff leg but can’t go far. We hired a wheel chair and Chris valiantly pushes me around. Our first day out was to Shugborough on a glorious day and it was great to get out in the fresh air again However, I think I must give up these Extreme Sports. Many thanks
MALLORCA, 16 – 30 MARCH 2007
by Mary Evans
This
year it was decided to change the hotels. We stayed at Hotel Daina, Port de
Pollenca for the first week and at Cala Gran Hotel, Cala d’Or for the second
week.
Well, Fawlty Towers comes to mind when we think
of Hotel Daina. Birmingham group stayed
in the apartments round the corner from the main hotel. On arrival we found a group of men,
(electricians and plumbers) fixing the electricity and dismantling the
pipes. The place looked completely
unfinished or badly in need of repair. There was no room in the lock-up garage
for all our bikes, so we carried our bikes up and downstairs for the first
day/night. This was very unsatisfactory
so we left them in the foyer/lounge of the apartments.
There was no hot water; no heating; lift didn’t
work; water ran brown when the tap was turned on and the apartments were very
cold!
On our first morning, we woke up to a free
shower in the vestibule of the apartments.
Water was gushing out of the ceiling and the plumbers were standing
looking very perplexed and didn’t appear to know what to do.
The next day John and I returned from a ride to
find the ceiling over the sofas about to collapse with water pouring onto the
furniture and floor. We moved all
seating out of the way and watched the disaster unfold! All the pipes in the building were corroded
so there was a lot of work to be done before the season started!!
However, the staff were very friendly and
helpful and provided us with extra blankets when requested. The food was excellent! I’m sure the waiter’s name was Manuel!!
The weather was disappointing this year. The first week was so windy – gale force at
times. It kept us awake at night,
howling around the narrow streets and rooftops and it prevented us from
enjoying some of the glorious rides in the north of the island. It was also very cold so there was very
little relaxing done in cafes after a very satisfying day’s ride.
Rob Garnett (Bournemouth) did a magnificent job
of leading the slow group every day during the first week and for that we were most
grateful. We were kept to the lanes for
the most part because of the strong winds.
On a particularly windy day, five or six brave souls ventured forth and
climbed Formentor but found it very dangerous when descending. The ride to Lluc Monastery was cancelled
because of the wind but later in the week, the stronger riders decided to
go. However, they were again thwarted
because both roads to Lluc were closed owing to a car rally.
Many of our rides were repeated which couldn’t
be helped. I heard Pete and Colin
(Bournemouth) mutter “not Muro and or Campanet again!” The Southern Wheelers who were part of our
group chose to do longer and harder rides and managed to reach places which we
did on our second week last year! The
weather certainly did not deter them!!
Val and Chris Jones and Colin and Audrey
Howkins joined us mid-week for rides.
They were staying at Hotel Port de Pollenca for 10 days.
My finest hour was with John (who retired half
way up the mountain) and Jim and Margaret Muir. We climbed Formentor on the best day of the week. We felt very proud of ourselves!!
We transferred to Cala d’Or on the Saturday,
cycling across the island on a cold, dull day. (48 miles). John (Evans) and Reg Elliot went with the
coach and by the time we arrived at the hotel all luggage had been sorted by
them and the Bournemouth ladies and placed in our rooms. All except the Porters’ luggage but you had
better ask John about that!!
This week was damp and cold. Routes were there to be discovered as nobody
had been before. There seemed to be
more main roads and fewer lanes.
However, Rob, Tom and John found two very good rides; each one led to
delightful bays and beaches. The
terrain was quite hilly in places but had wonderful descents. (We never did
find the elephants in the Erotic (oops, sorry) The Exotic Park.
John was to lead a ride to a lighthouse the
next day but the wet, stormy weather put paid to that.
On the
last day, Colin and Pete, (Bournemouth) who had researched a ride on the
wettest and coldest day, (brave souls) took us to Portopetro and Cala Mandrago
beach which we had to cross to reach a track which in turn took us through
quiet lanes full of flowers which had bloomed overnight, following the storm of
the previous day. A delightful ride it
turned out to be.
What will I remember of Mallorca ’07?
“Did you hand
pick your group” asked a Bournemouth cyclist?
The first thing that comes to mind is the
friendship between the two groups.
From the start we got on very well and
everybody mixed which was very heartening.
Some of the Bournemouth
people were as one put it “bowled over by the
Birmingham groups’ friendliness and warmth.”
So well done our group!
The food was awful at this hotel but there was
one thing that was rather special and that was the professional pianist who
practised in the afternoons in the lounge and it was sublime. Requests were taken!
It was a good holiday for all of us except for
poor John Montgomery who was very poorly for the most part.
Birmingham Group
John and Mary Evans, Ian and Jani Simmonite,
John Griffin
Alex
Burnett, John Montgomery, Tom Moore.
Southern Wheelers
Reg and
Sheila Elliot, Hilary and John Porter, John Bennett and Kate.
From Cambridge
John and
Greta Lumbers
From Hertfordshire
Bob and
Myrtle Norman
GUESTS
Val and
Chris Jones, Colin & Audrey Howkins, Jim & Margaret Muir
There were
22 in the Bournemouth Group.
It is
unlikely that there will be an organised holiday to Mallorca next year.
Sparrowpits on the Castleton Classic Audax
SUB-STANDARD SPIN
by Arthur McHugh
Important decisions need thought. So before I decided to change the route of
my regular bike-ride, I gave the matter careful consideration. For years I’d been doing the circuit
anti-clockwise, so it seemed like a good idea to try it in the opposite
direction. When I mentioned the
project to my friend Davenport, he was all for it, and even said he would pedal
along with me. A fat and lazy slob,
Davenport seldom volunteers for anything; so I accepted his offer with some
surprise.
We set off together one bright but icy morning
in mid-winter. Every exhaled breath
became immediately visible, and it wasn’t long before Davenport started complaining,
first about the cold, then about the short but steep hill we had to face at the
start of the run. For a while he
huffed and puffed in his miserable way, but he soon needed all his energy for
pedalling, and was temporarily silent.
At the top of the hill, where we paused briefly, he said: “The Red Lion’s just along there on the
left…” So what? I thought, but I said
nothing. “We could pop in for a
minute,” he went on. “Hard work makes
you thirsty.”
Actually, Davenport is often thirsty, even when
doing no harder work than wielding the remote-control from his armchair. I pointed out to him that it was not yet 11
a.m., and that we had been on the road less than quarter-of-an-hour. He clicked his false teeth irritably and
carried on without another word.
The early sunshine which had lured us out was
now replaced by clammy fog. We could
see very little in any direction, and this gave Davenport an opportunity to
point out the obvious. (His grasp of
the self-evident is legendary among club members.)
“Can’t see much,” he whinged by way of
introduction. “I was looking forward
to admiring the winter countryside…hoar-frost on the fields, tree-shapes
against a blue sky…all the stuff you mentioned when you persuaded me to come
out…”
This was a bit too much, even for a snivelling
doormat such as myself. “Yes,
Davenport,” said I, “I plotted the whole thing in advance, and specially
arranged the fog just to annoy you…”
But irony is wasted on Davenport. As we bowled along together, he looked
sideways at me and said: “You couldn’t
have arranged the fog. Nobody can
arrange fog. I don’t much like riding
in fog. Anything can happen…..”
How right he was! Hardly were the words out of his mouth, when we heard the murmur
of conversation some way ahead of us.
Very soon it was possible to make out the odd phrase: “Rear mech…Birthday
Rides…1971…panniers…Shimano gears…”
Another minute or two, and we were able to recognise some of the voices,
as a motley crew of cyclists emerged from the gloom. It was the club, on their way home after an early-morning
spin. Normally they would have whizzed
by with a cheery wave; but they were taking it easy because of the visibility,
and Davenport had no trouble flagging them down.
Waiting for him a few yards further on, I
wondered why he had done this. The
reason soon became clear: Davenport had
tired of winter cycling, and had decided to return to base with the gang. He called out something to this effect, and
before I could draw breath to reply, I was on my own, with not a cyclist in
sight. Fuming away to myself, I
carried on to complete the route, sometimes enjoying a little sunshine as the
fog came and went.
Relations between myself and Davenport have
been a bit frosty ever since.
SOME CHARITY RIDES
Alzheimer’s
Society. Tel: 0870 417 0192 or
www.alzheimers.org.uk/events
June 20th
– 24th LONDON TO PARIS.
Sept 6th – 9th ALPINE CHALLENGE
Feb 23rd
– Mar 5th 2008. VIETNAM YO
CAMBODIA
CYCLING THE WESTERN FRONT
by John Davis
August 2006
I started this trip at Gravelines, up the coast
from Calais as it is situated on the River Aa.
The journey took me along the banks of the Aa to St Omer and then by the
back roads to Kassel, Poperinghe and on to Ypres. As soon as you leave
Gravelines and find the quiet roads along the river bank you enter a different
world, seeing only the occasional car until you get to St Omer, on its hill. A
picnic on the river bank was lunch and a boulangerie in Kassel provided an afternoon
tea. I stayed at the excellent municipal campsite in Ypres for three nights
and the cycling map of the Ypres Salient is perfect for exploring this part of
Flanders. The next day it was an easy ride back to Poperinghe to visit Talbot
House (where Toc H was founded) and to explore the town. Known to the troops as
“Pops” the town is charming but I
wanted to visit two important places. The first and easiest to find was the
“Hop Store” as the cycle route to Ypres goes past it. Restored to its former use, it is very much as it appears in the
photographs of 1916 when it was used as a field-dressing station. The second, a
few minutes further on took me to
Brandhoek New Military Cemetery to find the grave of Noel Chavasse, the only
man in the Great War to be awarded the VC twice. The next day was a ride north
along the cycle route which passed by Tyne Cot, through Zonnebeke and on to Passendale, where the
Canadian memorial was being restored, 2007 being the 90th
anniversary of the battle of Paeschendale.
From Ypres, I set off to roughly follow the 1916 front line but as soon as you
leave Flanders and enter Wallonia the
cycle path is replaced by the road into Armentières, down into the French pays-noir,
passing close to the great pit heaps of Houdain. I arrived in the pouring rain in St Pol and trying my “best”
French on the lady in the mobile friteur I discovered that there were no camp-sites for miles, a bit like expecting
to find a camp site in Brierley Hill. I set off into the rain and gloom wondering
where I would spend the night when I
saw the magic sign “Chambres d’hotes. It turned out to be a traditional farm
and a chance to dry my clothes. By good fortune it was right next to the start
of a C road to Gommecourt and the northern end of the Somme offensive.
Pedalling along the front brought me to Albert where the municipal camp site
was only 20 euro for 5 nights. As soon as you ditch the car, camping
becomes quite cheap and they rarely turn away
a cyclist. Albert is a superb
little town to explore the front and so over the next few days I visited all
the places associated with British and Empire forces in 1916. It is still quite
a shock to pass the road sign which indicated the front line on July 1st
and then 20 minutes later to find the sign for the front line on November 19th, four miles or so gained in four and a half
months.
Leaving Albert, I followed the Somme to Amiens
to see the cathedral and from there I
took the bike on the train to Compiègne to visit the Armistice clearing.
Unexpectedly, whilst cycling through the forest I came across one of the
saddest places in all France, a small
stone commemorating the last train of deportees to Buchenwald. Leaving Amiens,
and stocking up with their great delicacy, macaroons, it was time to cycle
home. Avoiding the coast I came back through Hesdain, Azincourt and over the
Collines Boulenaise to Guines to be thoroughly disappointed when the tourist
office admitted that nobody knew where the Field of the Cloth of Gold was
situated. So that was that, I packed up, cycled the few kilometres back to
Calais for the ferry and train home, a really interesting cycling holiday of about 1200 kilometres in 15 days.
SOME MORE CHARITY
RIDES
Sept 9th
STRATFORD, 25, 50, 63 miles. MacMillan Cancer Support.
www.macride.org.uk
Sept 12th
-16th LONDON TO PARIS.
Conductive Education
Tracey Goodwin 0121 449 1569
tgoodwin@conductive-education.org.uk
Oct 11th
– 21st CYCLE INDIA Women
for Women
Tel: 0845 408 2698 or events@actionforcharity .co.uk
Nov 10th
– 18th CYCLE THE NILE. The Trust for Sports Tetraplegics.
Tel: 0845 408 2698
or events@actionforcharity.co.uk
DAFFODIL RIDES
by
Jill Drake
This was held on March 24th – 25th near Ross on Wye and organised by the Ross
club. A good number of North Birmingham went on this weekend,
staying in various hotels and bed and breakfasts around the village of Walford;
there were also at least six members from Lichfield, all known to us of
course. Never have I seen so many daffodils in three days, they
lined the M50, the verges around the villages, the woods, the gardens and even
fields of them, a bit of sun would have been nice but at least it did not
rain. On the Friday we arrived early and cycled gently into Ross
with Beryl and John, while Sue and Dave climbed the hills to Monmouth,
finishing up with a meal in our hotel which was very nice.
Saturday morning saw us at the village hall
where the leader of the leisurely ride of 50 miles was introduced.
We did not see him again and I spent the morning trying to see where they had
gone, while keeping an eye on Bill and the unofficial back marker in my
mirror. Eventually at l8 miles eight of us got left behind so out
came the precious route sheets and we made our own way to lunch.
After 26 miles and no coffee stop, lunch of hot soup and beans and bacon,
followed by apple pie was very welcome and very well done. We set
off after lunch with Beryl and John and had a most enjoyable ride back,
stopping to look at fields of daffodils on the way; a tea stop at Linton with
superb cakes was much appreciated. We did 42 miles.
Early
in the evening there was a power cut! This took the whole area and
as our supper was being cooked in the village hall we were a little anxious,
however it came on after about an hour and we had a fine supper of sausage and
mash and ice cream and fruit. There followed a slide show of cycling
in Romania, the same one we had last November at Erdington. When we
returned to our hotel the power was still off so we were given candles to go to
bed with instructions not to use the upstairs toilets in the night!
Fortunately it came on again during the night.
Sunday morning saw Bill and I at Goodrich
Castle, while the rest of the group went cycling. We all met up for
lunch at the village hall at 2.30 and had another lovely meal of roast pork and
apple pie. Audrey, who organised the food, said they always bought
local produce, as did the hotel we stayed in, and it was certainly of superb
quality. My memories of this weekend, as you will probably have
gathered, are of daffodils and good food.
NEXT YEAR the White Horse Weekend will be hosted by the Chippenham Wheelers on 4th- 6th
April. Make a note in your diary now so we have a good Northern representation.
GOLDEN BEECHES WEEKEND, 27- 28 October 2007
based at Great Kingshill, near High Wycombe
1) Led (or
self-led) rides on both days for all kinds of rider, including a Sunday
off-road ride – route sheets provided.
2)
Alternatively, for a bit of competitive fun, you can ride a DATC event – on
Saturday test your navigating skills, and on Sunday free-wheeling/pace judging
3) Light
refreshments at HQ, plus a cooked meal after both days’ rides
4) Saturday
evening slideshow
5) Local
sites for tents, caravans, campervans – plus B&B list available soon.
See www.southbuckscycling.org.uk or send sae to
Cilla
Gosnell, 40 Sixty Acres Rd, Prestwood, Gt Missenden, Bucks HP16 OPE
Please put
the date in your diary. Booking forms will be available in August. Let’s have
another large contingent from the Northern at this
event.
LOCAL AUDAX
Beacon
Cotswold Audax, 10th June, 108, 150, 202 km. Starts Wythall.
cotswoldaudax@beaconrcc.org.uk