There have been lots of Wheelers in action over the past couple of weeks, taking in a wide range of events.
Paul Hopkins has been carrying his excelllent tt form over to mountain biking, competing in the Southern XC Championships in the Masters section. Round one saw him finish fifth, round two second (both rounds in Hampshire) and then he scored a win in the third round held this weekend in East Sussex.
At a recent Somer Valley club 10, Charles Rees continued his good form to record a 23.13 while Sarah Roberts got under 30 minutes for the first time this season with 29.47…
Alan Smith was 58th (24.51) out of 107 finishers at the Sotonia CC 10 held on the Andover course…
The latest EDCA round was the Bournemouth Arrow 25, Vince Hounsome was disappointed with his 1.02.13 (seems pretty good to me!), William Wilson was just behind with 1.03.02 and Chris Mullett was 37th with 1.13.12…
Frome Wheelers Open 10 was held in very hot weather and saw Grahame Reed as fastest Gillingham rider, 24.47 good enough for 12th place. James Chant was 14th (24.56), Steve Way 20th (25.38), John Phillips 29th (27.25) and Sarah Roberts came home in 30.09…
Crabwood CC held a 10 mile tt on the Andover course this Saturday, Don Tanner finished in 25.10, Alan Smith 26.44 and Vince Hounsome a very fast 22.59…
The following day saw Don in action again at Corinium CC’s 25 tt near Ashton Keynes. Despite a pesky South Easterly wind, he recorded a good time of 1.02.10 with James Chant a minute slower on 1.03.11…
Several Wheelers took part in the recent Tour of Wessex sportive. This three-day event is notorious for it’s tough and hilly nature, with each day being over 100 miles in length. Rob Gale took part on Day One, a 102-mile route taking in Somerton, Stourhead, Wells, Cheddar and Glastonbury, and finished in 6 hours 54 minutes. Mark Geddes tackled Day Two, a slightly longer 112 miles from the Somerton HQ down to Wareham and back via the coast roads and Cerne Abbas. Mark managed to complete this in a pretty rapid 6 hours and 15 minutes. Stuart Kerton did both of the first two days in 14 hours 51, while Henry Harris and Simon Barfoot were both foolhardy enough to take on all three days. Day Three took the riders West, across to Minehead and over Exmoor before returning to base after another 106 miles. Simon only just missed out (by 8 minutes) on a gold medal time with a total time of 17 hours 38, and Henry was only a little further back, finishing in 18 hours 26. Well done to everyone who took part in this gruelling event.
Finally, as if three days of the ToW wasn’t enough, two days later Simon rode up Mont Ventoux in Southern France! His ascent of 1 hour 41 will give something for John and Maria Phillips, James Chant and Chris Mullett to aim at when they have a go at this iconic climb in July.
