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Reports Reviews Legends Cranks Riders Kit Old Skool Carbon

I’ve always had the utmost respect for

Paul Sherwen...I believe he’s a closet

“Tester” you see! I know that for a

fact because he was always first in the

queue for a seat in the Raleigh team car

on my RRA record attempts during the

90s. He’s a good chap! Because of that,

I always follow the Tour de France on

Channel 4 (where he provides the com-

mentary with Phil Liggett)…..after I’ve

watched it, of course, on British Euro-

sport (which is headed up by Testing

Times readers David Harmon and Sean

Kelly). I know we all have our faults

(ok?) but I wish the dynamic Sherwen /

Liggett duo would stop referring to

rider’s performances as being

“unbelievable” - because last year, on

most occasions, they were! First Piepoli

….then Schumacher...then Kohl - all

truly unbelievable performances and not

surprisingly so under the circumstances!

Dare we hope that what we see this year

is all done on pasta and passion rather

than pills and potions?

Good to see it (the TdF) started well

anyway. Wiggins’ superb third place in

the prologue dismisses some pundits’

views that Continental Pros would knock

out 16 minute “10”s on Levens - be in-

teresting to see what they could do all

the same!

MANY thousands of “hits” of Testing

Times on ISSUU and only a couple of

responses to June’s plea for contri-

butions (not money ….although that

would be nice of course…. but for

articles / photos etc to brighten like-

minded individuals’ days!). I never

cease to be amazed!

Well we ain’t going away and we’ll

continue to strive to meet our origi-

nal self-stated objective (remember

….regularly irregular blah de blah

nonsense?) until, and unless, the

more critical amongst you are pre-

pared to do something about it!

So..you’ve been warned…ok?

In this Issue: -

Old Skool Series - Rounds 6, 7

and 8 (if we can’t spell we can

count)

National 25 Champs

Peter Whitfield on Cromack

and Bowen

Gambling

Frankly Franklin

A little bit of this…

A little bit of tha….

More moans and groans.

Who’s Hot...Who’s Not…

Who Cares?

Still no Sportives….

Still no improvement…..

Now Nob off!

INSIDE - Injection of new blood

(very topical with the TdF

upon us!!) - Steve Kish and special

guest appearances of new Old Skool

reporters.

Anyone got any good gossip or nice

pics? Don’t be shy - send ‘em to

ian@planet-x-bikes.com in the

strictest confidence (of course). ;-)

This week’s SPECIAL OFFER - this

Month’s TESTING TIMES absolutely

FREE...BUCKSHEE...GRATIS!

TESTING TIMES.

You get what you don’t pay for.

A nice bit of blue!

JULY 2009

SHOCK...HORROR…

UNBELIEVABLE!!!

OLD SKOOL SERIES - ROUND 6 -

HITCHIN NOMADS 25

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 2

Planet X’s Old Skool Se-

ries hit the Border Coun-

ties (Bedfordshire / Cam-

bridgeshire) on 7 June

when Richard Bland and

his merry men from the

Hitchin Nomads CC

hosted Round 6 of the

Country’s premier season

long time trialling compe-

tition.

The event clashed with the CTT’s

National 25 mile championship and

riders clearly knew where their priori-

ties lay. Despite this, Bland was still

graced with the presence of the com-

petition’s front-running riders. Colin

‘The Power’ Parkinson (South West-

ern RC) was returning to the competi-

tion after a short break which had been

used (apparently) to “hone” his speed.

Word had quickly spread of the

Jammy Dodger’s (i.e. Ian Cammish -

Planet X’s) sub-hour ride in the Team

Swift 25 but ‘The Power’ was having

none of the hype and declared his in-

tention of doing something equally as

spectacular despite the atrocious con-

ditions which were forecast for the

event.

The version of the F1 course being

used on this occasion is considered by

local experts to be the shortest - ini-

tially going south to turn at Sandy be-

fore going north to turn again at Buck-

den for the final 10 mile run-in to the

finish at Tempsford.

Eight Old Skool riders were down to

ride and several of them were seen

milling around the HQ deciding

whether or not the heavens were likely

to open (as forecast!). Despite the un-

certainty, it must be said that condi-

tions were looking pretty good when the

first riders crossed the A1 on their way

to the start. Bland had grouped most of

the Old Skool riders together - others

who didn’t want to get their best bikes

dirty were able to go Old Skool at the

last minute such is the beauty of the

competition.

The first rider to take advantage of the

competition’s relaxed approach to bike

r a c i n g w a s D a v i d S u l l i v a n

(Bedfordshire Road CC). It is unclear

whether his choice to ride with lights

was as a concession to his early time of

start or that he had doubts about being

able to complete the course before

dusk. Rumours of Gordon Hart and

Eileen Cray (the official timekeepers)

deliberating whether or not a calendar

would be a more appropriate means of

timing Sullivan are completely un-

founded.

Gareth Rose (Icknield RC) was the

next Old Skooler to commit to 25

miles of purgatory and was surely des-

tined to accelerate into orbit as he

blasted away from the start on his

fixed gear. On current form Rose

must be considered a serious contender

for overall honours—a recent sub 2

hour ride for 50 miles must place him

as a major threat should he choose to

chase the Old Skool events.

David Sullivan - Bedfordshire Road CC set the early pace.

Photo courtesy of Dave Jones

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 3

Seemingly oblivious to the reputa-

tion Rose is very quickly gaining, the

Press’s and crowd’s attention was fo-

cused on ‘The Power’ Parkinson.

Bookies were giving odds at 2-1 on a

win which was shortened drastically

when it became apparent that the

Jammy Dodger had thrown his toys

out of his pram and wasn’t going to

play. Attending to photo-calls and

interviews, ‘The Power’ left it late to

leave the race HQ for the start but ar-

rived in time to collect his thoughts

and set about a ride which he hoped

would be “comfortably under”.

He was closely followed by Gavin

Hinxman (Welland Valley CC) who,

in the changing rooms before com-

mencing his warm up, had stated his

intention of a high overall placing.

Several other Old Skoolers including

the Jammy Dodger and Michael

Richardson (Icknield RC) had inadver-

tently got drawn into all the pre-race

psyching out rituals and were later

seen to be heading off to their respec-

tive cars where each sat in splendid

isolation no doubt dwelling deeply on

the seeds sown by their opponents.

Richardson - “My Barum PBWs have

never been wet...and they’re not ever

going to get wet” - followed Cam-

mish’s lead and also chose not to start.

So with Chris Worsfold (API-

Metrow) joining the fray the race was

on, and the five warriors set off south

down the A1 into battle.

Amateur timekeepers were found

parked in virtually every lay-by around

the course—each giving checks to

their favourites. ‘The Power’ was liv-

ing up to his name and was gradually

pulling away from his rivals as they

neared the second turn at Buckden. As

they approached the “Southoe

Bell” (that’s a former Pub—stopped

off there for a quick pint one afternoon

and was told not to sample its delights

in the sun garden because cars had a

habit of over-shooting the bends and

often ended up re-arranging the bor-

ders!!) events took a turn for the worse

for all the Old Skool riders with the

exception of Sullivan and ‘The

Power’ (although he would tell us oth-

erwise). Cambridgeshire Police called

a temporary halt to proceedings while

emergency services set about recover-

i n g a v e h i c l e w h i c h h a d

….urm....overshot one of the bends and

ended up in the central reservation

(which makes a pleasant change from

The Bell’s front garden I’m sure!).

Hinxman, Worsfold, Uncle Tom Cob-

bley and the Paper-boy all got held up,

but spurred on by Planet X’s generous

prize list were undeterred, and the race

continued as soon as the road was re-

opened.

‘The Power’ did not let his fans down

and shot across the line in 1-00-14 -

“Without the 8 minute stop at The Bell

I’m sure I’d have crept under - I think it

was the ploughman’s that screwed me

up...the chutney kept repeating on me.

It was nice enough the first time, but the

second and third time were a bit hard to

swallow!”.

Rose slipped in almost un-noticed

with a superb 1-1-58. Surely one to

watch in future rounds if he has any

serious aspirations for National recogni-

tion.

Worsfold is reported to have lost a

wheel at the start of the Eaton Socon

bypass - “The paper-boy was kicking

through. I told him to keep it together

but he was having none of it. I can’t

handle all that stop/go stop/go non-

sense….he kept saying something about

having a job to do...well I’ve heard all

that before from other full-time bikies

and it makes me sick!”.

Hinxman, using all his years of ex-

perience easily outsprinted Uncle Tom

Cobbley to take third position with 1-

08-32. He was full of praise for his

compatriot’s efforts - “He came through

nice and steadily and shared the work

50:50 - incredible for an old boy like

that. It looked like he was just out for a

tootle at first, but boy oh boy what tal-

ent!”

Back at the HQ Uncle Tom Cobbley

was later seen to be in a state of severe

shock. “I was off on my way to the al-

lotment when this tall skinny guy came

past so close my braces got caught up in

his handlebars - I only finally got dis-

lodged at Tempsford when he put in a

tremendous effort which catapulted me

to the other side of Stevenage”. Fortu-

nately, that hadn’t escaped the attention

of Richard Bland who believed the

rider’s 1950’s attire warranted one of

Planet X’s Old Skool spot prizes and

so gathered his Nomads (had to be

careful with the spell-check there!) to

ensure Cobbley made it safely back to

the HQ to collect his prize.

The conclusion of the Nomads

Hitchin 25 leaves the overall competi-

tion wide open. The scene is set for

another intriguing battle in David Col-

lard-Berry’s a3crg promotion later in

the month. Testing Times will be

there...so you’ve been warned! :-)

Full Result:

NOMADS HITCHIN 25 F1

7 JUNE 2009

C Parkinson (SWRC) 1-00-14

G Rose (Icknield RC) 1-1-58

G Hinxman (Welland Valley CC)

1-8-52

C Worsfold (API) 1-11-32

D Sullivan (Beds Road CC) 1-36-09

WHO’S HOT IN THE WORLD OF

DOMESTIC TIME TRIALLING

THIS MONTH…..

Bradley Wiggins who, despite using

a Zipp 1080, (which was met with

more than a bit of controversy on the

TT Forum.....Britain’s leading TT Fo-

rum!), recorded a 18-00 “10” on

Levens. Year’s fastest…..so far!

Hutch - reportedly now holding down

a 9 to 5 job and still able to annihilate

the World’s best part-time cyclists.

Simmering and coming nicely to the

boil..Nik Bowdler..on track for a sec-

ond BBAR?

Julia Shaw - pretty dammed hot!

Managing to stuff (in the nicest possi-

ble way) the majority of the Men’s

field in the National 50...walked the

women’s event by a couple of miles!

Alex Royle—schoolboy extraordi-

naire!

And RED HOT…..

...once a “creep” - always a “creep”!

ROY CROMACK: THE 24-HOUR

HISTORY-MAKER …WHO

PREFERRED 10’S ! by Peter Whitfield

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 4

Turn the clock back exactly forty years

this month, and you reach one of those

truly historic dates in time-trialling his-

tory: July 1969, which saw Roy Cro-

mack become the first man to crack the

500-mile barrier for the 24. Those were

the days when there were still four 24-

hour races every year, but that year’s

championship in the Mersey Roads

event was one of the most dramatic ever

seen, and Cromack’s superbly-judged

ride set up an awesome record that was

destined to last for no less than 28

years.

So much about that race was unusual,

starting with Cromack himself. A 29-

year old maths teacher from York, he

had never ridden a 24 in his life. Instead

he was a roadman who had finished in

the Peace Race, and a trackman fast

enough to set national records. He had

been a member of the team trial squad

at the Mexico Olympics, along with

John Watson and Pete Smith, fellow

members of the Clifton CC. He had won

the 1967 12-hour championship, and he

was sub-four-hour 100-miler, but he

refused to be pigeon-holed as a time-

triallist, and had no desire to join the

small group of specialist 24-hour men,

like Nim Carline, Eric Matthews and

Cliff Smith, all of whom were due to

line up against him in the 24-hour

championship. Carline was the current

record-holder with 496 miles, and ex-

pectation was high that the 500-mile

barrier was now destined to be broken.

But the real excitement in the field was

Beryl Burton, who was known to be

determined to beat all the men and to

write her name in the history books as

the first to reach 500 miles. Cromack

himself was watched with interest, but

he wasn’t the favourite – how could he

be when he had never ridden this dis-

tance before ? The same was true of

Beryl too of course, but two years ear-

lier she had set her incredible 12-hour

record of 277 miles, beating the entire

field and the men’s record too. Obvi-

ously she was planning to do the same

thing again and make history once

more, and few people were prepared to

bet that she couldn’t do it.

One of those few however was

Cromack himself. He was a shrewd,

determined rider with very clear-sighted

ideas of what he wanted to do and how

he could do it. His background as a

mathematician probably had something

to do with his image as a ruthless calcu-

lating machine, and perhaps that image

had an element of truth to it. What no

one knew was that his 24-hour plan had

been maturing quietly in his mind for a

very long time indeed.

“When I was 14 or 15,” recalls

Cromack, “I used to do a lot of long

rides on my own and always enjoyed

them. I had no serious thoughts of rac-

ing then, but I knew about the 24-hour,

and somehow I became convinced that

I’d be capable of 400 miles when I

was older, so I suppose that was when

the ambition took root. However I did

nothing about it until I won the 12

championship in 1967, three miles out-

side comp record on a foul day, and

that was when I realised that I could

ride a serious 24. It sounds big-headed,

but I thought I could beat Nim Carline,

because I believed he went about

things the wrong way, with his all-out

start to smash the opposition, then

hanging on to the finish. In his record

ride, his splits were 262 and 234 miles,

which just can’t be right; to my mind

an even-paced ride has to be the an-

swer. I wasn’t too worried about

Beryl, because I had ridden against her

many times and she had never beaten

me. I also suspected that, because she

was Nim’s friend and training partner,

she would imitate his style, and start

like a bomb, then crack.”

The most unusual thing about

Cromack was that his 24-hour prepara-

tion was exactly the same as his nor-

mal training: very fast and very hard,

but rarely more than 60 miles at a

time. His self-belief was such that he

felt he had achieved the necessary

physical condition already, while the

crucial thing was the mental approach,

to form a plan and stick to it. His only

concession to the threatening distance

was a couple of long rides, one of

them a night ride of 170 miles, just to

experience the darkness and the sleep-

deprivation. Otherwise it was his nor-

mal roadman-style of training, “All on

His only concession to the

threatening distance was a

couple of long rides, one of

them a night ride of 170 miles

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 5

and no messing,” as he puts it. He

worked out a race schedule that aimed

at 501 miles, with 258 as the 12-hour

target. The race itself started at 5 pm

on 26 July, in light rain which soon

stopped, but not before Cromack had

lost a little time with a puncture.

“I knew from the outset,” says

Roy, “that the key to success was to

ride my own race, and not be panicked

by whatever Nim or Beryl or anyone

else was doing. I knew the times I had

to hit at all the checks, and I was deter-

mined to keep the gears down to the

mid-80s for the first half of the race.

Nim started before me, so I guessed he

would draw away early. Beryl was off

last, and I was prepared for the fact

that she would probably catch me.

When she passed me just after the 100-

mile mark, she called out cheekily,

“What’s been keeping you Roy !” She

was churning a huge gear and sounded

full of confidence. I let her go. My 100

time was on target at 4:24; hers was

4:11, and at that rate she was going

through the entire field.

“It’s a cliché that everyone has a

bad patch at some time in a 24. I had

two, one as early as 125 miles, and

another around dawn between 240 and

250 miles. The second one was worse,

but it didn’t become a crisis: by chang-

ing down the gears and maintaining

my cadence, I came through it. I then

had a scrap with Carline for quite a

few miles before he gave best, and

climbed off soon afterwards. This was

when Beryl had her maximum lead

over me, around 27 minutes at the

270-mile point. After that I started to

gain steadily on her. When did I feel I

could win the race ? It was at the 300-

mile mark I think: Carline was out,

Beryl was coming back, Matthews was

20 minutes behind me and I was feel-

ing OK, sticking to my schedule.

When I re-passed Beryl, I must admit I

was ungentlemanly enough to repeat

her earlier remark to me: “What’s been

keeping you Beryl !” Soon afterwards

I got the news that she had stopped. I

called for ice-cream at that point, but it

wasn’t really in celebration: I had always

enjoyed an ice-cream in a 12.

“The big psychological moment for

me came when I got onto the finishing

circuit, and I had almost five hours left to

do 95 miles: that was when I knew the

500 was on. It was getting hard now –

hot and quite windy, but I managed to

keep riding smoothly. When I came up to

the 500 miles though, I got a bit carried

away and put on a quite a sprint, which

was a big mistake, even though it looked

good. I really paid for it, and slowed up

badly after that. There was still twenty

minutes to go, but I had a job to last out,

and they tell me I actually came to halt

and sort of flopped onto the grass with 10

second still to run. It was 507 dead – in

both senses of the word ! My Dad and

brother had been helping me, and they

were as shattered as I was. We had a

quick pint on the way back to York, but

they were falling asleep, so I sat talking

to Mum about it all until midnight.

“I never rode another 24. I never had

any intention of doing so once I got the

500 record. I put a lot of effort into the

pre-race planning, and stuck rigidly to

the game-plan. I told anyone who would

listen that that was the way to do it, but it

was Wilko who really listened to me

when I advised him in 1997. I was with

Andy that day when he got the record,

and I had to fight back tears, but they

weren’t tears of disappointment. I had

never imagined my record would last that

long. I believe a number of riders were

physically capable of breaking of it, but

they didn’t approach it properly. I

never discussed the race with Beryl to

get her perspective. It was only later in

both our lives that we started to get on

really: I think we were both a bit

bloody-minded, and wouldn’t make

any concession to each other.

“I made an End-to-End attempt in

1974. The conditions were good and I

was going well, when I crashed near

Exeter while taking a feed. I clouted

my knee hard, and started to lose time,

and had to stop at Whitchurch. I didn’t

race after that. It may sound strange

but I didn’t really think of myself as a

long-distance man: believe it or not,

the 10 was my favourite distance! I

also really enjoyed Madison racing on

the track, partnered by Trevor Bull.

Looking back, I take a lot of pleasure

in what I see as a well-crafted ride, but

not an inspired one. I don’t think it’s in

the same bracket as Ray Booty’s or

Alf Engers’ records for example. I

think people were in awe of it because

it was like riding from London to Ab-

erdeen or something like that, so they

could relate to it.”

Roy Cromack is a man who is

very sure of himself, very certain of

everything, but here one has to dis-

agree with him: it was an inspired ride,

something he had been building up to

for years, something no other rider of

his time could match, or for decades

afterwards. 27 July 1969 is one of

those special time-trialling days that

will be talked about as long as bike

racing exists, and Cromack is without

doubt one of the history-makers of the

sport. Photos from Bernard

Thompson’s archive.

“….I was determined to keep

the gears down to the mid-80s

for the first half of the race..”

(This two-part article is

loosely based on one of the

most humorous pieces that

I have ever seen in

‘Cycling’, circa 1966. I’m

unsure of the author and

have been unable to trace

the article, but feel that it is

right to document that al-

though I have updated this

from over 40 years ago, the

original idea is not mine.

SO , WITH GRATEFUL

THANKS AND ACKNOWL-

EDGEMENTS TO THE UN-

KNOWN AUTHOR …)

HOW TO BE A ‘SCRATCH-MAN’

(Part one – before you sit on the bike)

Firstly (and for the avoidance of doubt),

let me define the terms:-

The ‘Scratchman’ is the rider with no

handicap, usually the fastest in the field,

in superb race-honed condition and

probably the race favourite.

A ‘Scratch-Man’ is someone who for all

intents and purposes generates the aura

of a ‘Scratchman’ but achieves this

through appearance and clever manipu-

lation of circumstances, thus avoiding

the tiresome discipline of actually hav-

ing to train or exert himself by riding

hard!

In effect, he creates an atmosphere of

mystique around him that makes his

spectators (and if done properly, he will

have lots of spectators) reach for cam-

eras and autograph books.

Here are the secrets:-

Arrival – Hire / borrow / scrounge a

nice big car with a giant boot or estate

hatch - bike and bag in the back of a

battered 20-year old Ford van will im-

mediately undo all your good work.

Finding and selecting a ‘day-slave’ (all-

round personal assistant) with such a car

to drive you will probably be your best

decision of the week. Unfortunately,

this may be ‘hand in pocket’ time.

Make sure you arrive very early. Park a

little way away from where others

would park but obviously still well

within what will be sight and sound of

all other competitors and spectators.

The Bike – This must be immaculate

and look as if it weighs somewhat less

than a £10,000 carbon fibre one. The

actual weight is not important, as no-

body will be allowed to touch it.

If it doesn’t look carbon-fibre-ish, no

matter. If anyone asks, it’s made out of

an experimental material, partly boron

fibres, partly magnesium and partly tita-

nium. If successful, it will relegate car-

bon fibre into history.

Golden Rule 1 – Never ever prepare

your own bike, insert the wheels or even

pump up your own tyres! Your ‘day-

slave’ / chauffeur / assistant will do this

for you while you stand around inspect-

ing the wind direction and running a

finger across the road surface.

Tyres will take about 5 minutes each to

pump up with at least 4-5 readings of

what seems to be a pressure gauge to

confirm that they are (say) 130psi –

loudly tell your ‘day-slave’ that -1psi or

+1psi will not do!

Another good feature here is to use a

‘King’ Alf / Alan Shorter ploy of the

1960s by wrapping crepe bandages

around the handlebar tape and only re-

moving these immediately before you

get on the bike. Pristine white tape un-

derneath when exposed may cause tem-

porary blindness to the slowly-

assembling crowd as they utter a slow

‘aaah!’ upon it’s unveiling.

Your Appearance – Do not wear a

tracksuit when you arrive. Adopt the

‘sporting playboy’ look with an expen-

sive-looking open-necked shirt, crease-

free casual trousers and some deck

shoes (not trainers!). No sponsor owns

you and anything given to you (like the

bike) is done without your having to

parade your grovelling thanks by adver-

tising on your clothing. In short, try to

look like James Bond on his holidays!

Now, at this point, there is a definite

hurdle to overcome – your details on the

start sheet! In all probability, you will

not be one of the fancied ones so once

again, help will be needed.

A restrained moan at your ‘day-

slave’ (at just the right volume to be

overheard) about how the organiser has

misread your current fastest time should

follow with the eventual outcome being

that your forgiving attitude to this small

mistake means that you won’t take it

any further – announce this in a sub-

dued manner.

Another bout of sky and tarmac inspect-

ing by you then follows.

Change into your immaculate race

w a r m - u p c l o t h i n g a n d

t h en……………………………………

…………………………………..

(It’s at this point that you will eagerly

await the second part of this article, ex-

clusively in next month’s ‘Testing

Times’, of course!)

Lots of love….STEVE KISH

HOW TO BE A ‘SCRATCH-MAN’ Part one – before you sit on the bike

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 6

CLASSIC ARCHIVE STUFF (AKA MATERIAL).

Frank Southall was the most famous cyclist in Britain in the years between the two world wars. Multi-champion and record

breaker, he won the first four BAR titles after the competition was set up by Cycling magazine in 1930. He then turned profes-

sional for Hercules and set a crop of new RRA records. He later managed other riders such as Ken Joy and Eileen Sheridan

during their pro careers.

This picture is just one of a much larger group that will be published later this year in a joint collection called “Southall and

Joy: Two Cycling Legends”. Peter Whitfield has a hand in it so it promises to be good! Watch out for it.

Southall receiving the very first BAR champion’s award in 1930 from Roland Dangerfield, owner of Cycling magazine.

"Thanks for these pictures to the Norwood Paragon archive and Alan Bristow."

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 7

And...something else worth reading if his first book, “The End to End Story—100 Years of Cycling Records”, is anything

to go by…...John Taylor digs out the pen and ink again to tell us about the “24”. John has been involved in 24 hour time

trialling and record breaking for over 50 years, either as a rider, observer or helper. This left him with a burning passion to

preserve the unique history in a second book “The 24 Hour Story” - now available direct from John at

www.btownbikes.com at £29.95 + £7.00 p & p or for the IT numpties try 01922 411180. (Haven’t read it myself yet but the

End to End Story was great! - That’s still available too BTW!!!). If you can’t get through to John send me a hundred notes

and I’ll get you sorted. :-)

NATIONAL 25 MILES

CHAMPIONSHIPS

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 8

A personal look at the National

Championship 25 miles

by Mick Gambling

The winners of the National 10 miles repeated

their feats at the longer distance. They were

Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT),

Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com) and junior

Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC).

There were amendments to the remainder of

the other medal positions. Chris Newton

(Rapha Condor) easing Andrew Tennant

(Halfords Bikehut) into third place, Sarah

Storey (VC St. Raphael) replacing Lynn

Hamel (Team NCA) in second spot and

Lynne Taylor (Walsall Roads CC) promoted

from fifth to third, compared to the 10 miles.

In the junior result Tom Yeatman (Glendene-

Biketrax CC) and Jack Green (Westmead

Team 88) may have benefited from the non-

entry of Conor Dunne (Hemel Hempstead

CC), because both shifted up a notch to sec-

ond and third respectively.

The women awoke the cockerels around

rural Attleborough at 6.19am, give or take a

minute or so, for Norfolk does have a flexi-

ble time variation. The dual carriageway of

the A11 was quiet.

Last of the 57 entries, Shaw rode as if pow-

ered by her sponsor's Yamaha engine, into

the headwind to half distance and used

small sprockets back to finish on 55:18

(27.125mph). Looking 15 years younger

than the published 43, Julia was wearing a

skin-tight all-black minimal outfit, with

contrasting yellow numbers and a cute little

white helmet to match the frame decals.

Fast finishing Sarah Storey came a fine sec-

ond on 57:13 and Lynne Taylor was next

with 58:01. Taylor reflected 'All those

years I have specialised in long distance

competition but have just found out I can do

short races.'

Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC) - above - resplendent in his Na-

tional Champion's jersey…

...and Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com) - below - on their way to re-

spective Championship wins. (Excellent :-) ) photos by Sarah Brooke

Photography www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 9

Kerbside critics were most impressed by the overall stan-

dard, with 9 women beating the hour and 29 under 64 min-

utes.

Another onlooker, a rustic local man, with his dog, observed

the well-furnished lycra flashing by and enthusiastically en-

quired 'Will they be here again next week?' Then the dog

took him home.

So, he missed the juniors and the brilliant riding to 53:07 by

18-year-old Joe Perrett, with clubmate Tom Yeatman on

54:16 and Jack King, third with 56:13.

Rob Yeatman, 15, younger brother of Tom, completed the

team with his 1:1:21. Six youngsters were under the

hour. Best girl was Emily Davis (CC Breckland), despite

being 13 years, riding her first 25, and granddaughter of or-

ganiser Don Saunders. (Must watch my step here – he is my

club chairman.)

The seniors, 145 of them, bent into the worst showers, car-

ried on a freshening wind off the North Sea, but Hutchinson

rode to his normal high standard for 48:23 (31mph). Really

extraordinary considering there were three wet, slow, turn

systems to negotiate.

Chris Newton, surely the most versatile rider there has ever

been in this country, with medals at World, Olympic and

Commonwealth level on his CV, sprinted in to 49:32. Now

age 35, he remarked 'Maybe I can hang on for 2012 Olympic

selection.'

At the presentation, third-placed Andrew Tennant, a past

World Junior Pursuit Champion, is in the Newton mould,

and only 21 seconds down on his role model, at the line. 'I

would have preferred a more technical course,’ he mentioned.

Then Newton was called up, all devilish good looks and the

charm of a twentieth century film star. A lady of my acquaint-

ance experienced a double knee quiver and needed support.

Hutchinson, a contemporary of Newton, was announced as the

Champion of 2009. The old pro shrugged, mumbled 'Here we

are again' and briefly acknowledged the race organisers and

helpers. Irish eyes were not smiling.

It all seemed too tedious for the multi title-winner over this

distance and more than a score of other medals, enough to bol-

ster the nation's gold reserve.

Those who worshipped at the cranks of such champions as

Booty, Engers, Boardman, Hayles and Cammish may have felt

there is now a charisma vacuum.

'I will stop racing when I cannot win any more,' Hutchinson

said. His cannon fodder had generously applauded his great

ride.

The female award winners were appreciated, Mesdames Shaw,

Storey and Taylor strolling elegantly across the raised stage as

if it were a catwalk with the winning a3crg team of Lesley-

Ann Walkling, Danuta Tinn and Sally St. Leger.

Shaw regretted that previous winners, Wendy Houvenaghel

and Sharon Laws did not enter. 'I would have liked to meas-

ure myself against them.'

CTT Chairman, Sheila Hardy, congratulated everyone, espe-

cially the cake makers, to rapturous applause.

Hutch - Quick Gear Innit - made it

look all too easy….again. Photo by

Sarah Brooke Photography

www.sarahbrookephotography.co.uk

Historical pedalnote. The one mile starting lane was part

of the old A11 courses. It witnessed the first 56 minute 25

miles by Ray Barker (Norwich ABC) in 1953 (albeit in a

club event) and 50 miles competition record of 1:56:24 by

the late Vic Gibbons (Brentwood RC) in 1955.

RESULT

MEN

1: Michael Hutchinson (In-Gear Quickvit RT), 48:23

2: Chris Newton (Rapha Condor), 49:32

3: Andrew Tennant (Halfords Bikehut), 49:53

4: Matthew Bottrill (Team I-Ride), 50:06

5: Ben Instone (www.scientific-coaching.com), 50:53

6: John Tuckett (AW Cycles), 51:21

7: Phill Sykes (VC St. Raphael), 51:33

8: Danny Axford (Arctic Premier RT), 51:57

9: Peter Tadros (In-Gear Quickvit RT), 52:09

10: Nik Bowdler (Farnborough & Camberley CC), 52:29

TEAM: Team I-Ride

Matthew Bottrill (50:06), Julian Ramsbottom (53:51) and

Geoff Platts (53:53)

2:37:50

WOMEN

1: Julia Shaw (Utag Yamaha.com), 55:18

2: Sarah Storey (VC St. Raphael), 57:13

3: Lynne Taylor (Walsall Roads CC), 58:01

4: Ruth Eyles (Beacon Roads CC), 58:08

5: Lynn Hamel (Team NCA), 58:29

6: Michelle King (Wyre Forest CRC), 58:41

7: Jessica Wilson-Young (Edinburgh RC), 59:03

8: Louise Dutch (Poole Wheelers), 59:08

9: Lesley-Ann Walkling (a3crg), 59:26

10: Jane Kilmartin (London Phoenix CC), 1:00:04

TEAM: a3crg

Lesley-Ann Walkling (59:26), Danuta Tinn (1:1:23) and

Sally St. Leger (1:4:30)

3:5:19

JUNIORS

1: Joe Perrett (Glendene-Biketrax CC), 53:07

2: Tom Yeatman (Glendene-Biketrax CC), 54:16

3: Jack Green (Westmead Team 88), 56:13

4: James Bowtell (In-Gear Cycling Dev Squad), 58:50

5: Tom Gosbee (Team Welwyn), 59:19

6: Callum Hill-Smith (Guernsey VC), 59:53

7: Drew Holmes (In-Gear Cycling Dev Squad), 1:00:06

8: Mathew Woods (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:00:26

9: Joshua Teesdale (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:00:52

10: Ethan Conlin (westbrookcycles.co.uk/Scott), 1:1:20

GIRL: Emily Davis (CC Breckland), 1:29:04

TEAM: Glendene-Biketrax CC

Joe Perrett (53:07), Tom Yeatman (54:16) and Rob Yeatman

(1:1:21)

2:48:44

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 10

Left….always one for

Touring the Peaks,

Planet X’s very own

Wayne Randle admires

the scenery with

Yorkshire Velo’s Denise

Shackleton.

Photo taken at

Sheffrec CC’s prize

presentation following

their Open 10 -

courtesy Daryl May.

GAMBLING…...ON REPAIRS

Mick Gambling contributed around 5000 articles, race reports, interviews etc for Cycling Weekly, formerly Cycling.

They encompassed a 40 year period, 1965 – 2004 and half that period, to 1985, included light-hearted pieces. Many were topical for the pe-riod, although some are still relevant to the present time. A taste of these will be produced on a regular basis. Mick is still alive and pedaling in Norfolk.

As you are doubtless aware, the prac-

tical side of life is a mystery to me.

Anyone who has the ability to use his

hands has my deep admiration. He

also needs to move smartly to avoid

assisting me with my troubles.

For all my years with assorted cycles,

I have the mechanical skill of a turtle.

Unfortunately, I have never mastered

the intricacies of an eccentric bottom

bracket, the building of a wheel or

been able to stop a rear light flicker-

ing. The latter example was to make

you all feel inferior, for who can mas-

ter the deadly inefficient back light?

When I was a youth, and shaving al-

ternate days, my dad used to help me

with a Dayton Roadmaster which I

had bought second-hand. It has been

held for sale at £35 but not so tightly,

the owner wouldn’t let it go for £15.

We was robbed.

It has a maverick Benelux gear like a

sinister man-trap. There was a strong

spring that had to be contracted and a

piece of metal dropped into a slot. It

would slip from my impractical fin-

gers, whirl round at tremendous speed

and viciously trap a finger between

the piece of metal and the gear arm.

My dad would scold me for swearing.

Club mates would gather for despair-

ing eyeball rolling cries of “Sunday

Maintenance Man”, and things like

that. (The other things were shorter).

The moderate ones simply gave me

pained enamel stares, while the more

temperamental displayed a vocabulary

straight off a wall.

It wasn’t my fault, however, when the

seat pillar broke and the crash destroyed

the Dayton, as well as inflicting some

wounds on my person, the scars of

which can only be inspected when I’m in

a good mood.

A succession of modern machines with

better equipment has improved my suc-

cess rate with repairs, but I am still not

above siding up to my friendly

neighbourhood lightweight shop with an

immoveable handlebar stem, or a chain

that jumps onto the bottom cog in a cri-

sis.

I cannot operate on bikes with anybody

watching. When I’m weaving a spoke

into a wheel an observer will say “Over

and across, not under”. It is my practice

to learn from my mistakes so this sort of

advice is as irritating as someone shout-

ing “hurrah” when I drop something.

My lack of experience is so time-

consuming that training has to be fitted

in with the mechanical work. My sta-

ble is fairly large, consisting of a pur-

suit model with gears buffed to sun-

shine, a track iron training bike with

rust and a road machine with fixed

wheel.

The first two are 24-inch jobs and the

latter much larger. In fact, the frame is

so big the council tried to convert it

into flats. There is also a mobile disas-

ter area called a work-bike, gear ends

with fixed wheel, that conveys me two

miles each day, except on the occasions

when the chain comes off. Then I carry

it home rather than get my hands dirty.

It also has an extraneous click that can-

not be located and would be missed if it

suddenly disappeared.

Saturday afternoon is when I prepare

for the race next morning. Tightening

nuts, checking position, oiling and

cleaning in an old pullover and a pair

of trousers in their late twenties. On

the odd times that I have worn decent

clothes, a bike tips on me, or I back on

to another one. The result is a black

streak from the chain like the brand of

Cain.

Now and again, my head emerges from

the shed to check conditions. Will it be

another hard day tomorrow? If the

wind rises at the right moment Alf

Engers might take off.

My hours in there seem to increase

every season. Maybe I am, after all,

becoming a mechanic at heart. In fact,

if you tried putting me in there with a

bike, a clutch of spanners and a beauti-

ful girl, you would have to leave my tea

on a tray outside the door, for I would

be working late.

GAMBLING

Hasn’t a hope in hell of completing the following

Cytech recognized training module(s):

Gambling’s mechanics is almost

as good as the Ed’s “cut and

pasting”...but you get the drift?

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 11

OLD SKOOL SERIES - ROUND 7

- DURSLEY RC 25

...or ...TALES FROM THE WILD WEST by David Summers

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 12

13 June 2009 arrived - the

sun came out and there was

hardly a breath of wind , so

hopes were high for the

Dursley RC 25 on the

U46B course in Glouces-

tershire and in particular

for the Old Skool element

which was the centre-piece

of Mike Hallgarth’s promo-

tion.

The conditions looked good as the

early starters arrived at the race head-

quarters - not totally calm, but with a

light breeze drifting across the course.

With it being a late afternoon event, the

conditions were warm. People on their

ways back from a day out were also

likely to add to the traffic on this rela-

tively busy, almost 100%, dual carriage-

way course. Would this be one of the

days of glory similar to when Alf set the

Old Skool record? Certainly hopes were

high.

The first Old Skooler to take the start

line was Bath CCs David Summers, off

number 15 – a seeded rider, so expecta-

tions were high. Summers, slightly

miffed at hearing of allegations of him

taking short-cuts during the earlier Bath

CC Old Skool promotion set out at 5:15

like a man possessed keen to establish

some credibility quickly passing num-

ber 14, and winning the sprint to the

photographer at the first turn.

Back on the start line excitement was

building for the appearance of the next Old

Skool rider. Glenn Longland off at number

55. This World renowned “All Rounder”

was clearly the favourite, and his love for

varied and various weird and wonderful

bikes, added to the expectation. What time

would he do? Would he get close to Alf’s

record whilst staying within the Old Skool

rules? Unfortunately the pressure got to

Glenn and his allotted time of 5:55

came…... and went ….without sign of the

great man. “DNS” was etched against his

name on the result board to groans of dis-

appointment from the eagerly awaiting

tiffosi.

Back on the course, and Summers

timed his arrival at the second turn to

perfection to cleverly manouvre him-

self past fellow Bath CC rider (John

Tooze). Certainly his art of keeping

his short cuts hidden is supreme! It

took the Jammy Dodger three Old

Skool events before he caught one

rider and here was Summers taking

two already! A quick wave to the

marshals, and he was off on his sec-

ond lap. No time checks though at

this half distance stage, as no-one

thought to carry a time implement.

Tom Wollard from Northover Vets

was the next Old Skool rider to take

the start. Age and experience put this

rider in good stead, and he’s not short

of a quick turn of pace – so hopes

were high.

Summers was, in the meantime,

“flying” and he began passing riders

who had just started their first lap.

All this “jiggery pokery” and dubious

field placing resulted in Summers

passing team mate Tom Ryan as he

was starting. Ryan’s pace was

closely matched by Summers, and

although there is no evidence to sug-

gest that any drafting took place, first

Summers was seen to be leading,

then Ryan, then Summers, then Ryan,

then Summers, then Ryan, then Sum-

mers again. Was this just superb pac-

ing, or an obscured 2-up?

Summers took the exit, and

crossed the finish line where the

David Summers - Bath CC en route to a

superb sub hour 25...honest!

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 13

packed Grandstand of cycling enthusiasts

raised a deafening cheer as his time of 59-

17 was announced over the pa system.

Summers was immediately surrounded by

his family and team of helpers—sponsors

eagerly placed their glasses and baseball

caps in prominent positions as news of this

momentous occasion was beamed live all

over the world.

The last old skool rider, Matthew Rowley

from Oxonian CC, was off late in the field

at number 113, and he took advantage of

the favourable conditions to record another

remarkable time of 1-2-11.

Were there other Old Skool riders? Con-

fusion abounds here – as organisers were

taking Old Skool entries on the line. Planet

X’s Old Skool committee is trawling its

way through countless newspapers and

magazines to inspect photographic evi-

dence before a full decision is made. What

can be said is many Old Skool bikes were

seen, although most seemed to have

strange metal extensions bolted to the bars

– these are believed to give an unfair ad-

vantage and any rider proven to have used

them will be severely reprimanded and

disqualified from the Old Skool event.

Mike Hallgarth has agreed to consider

them for any prizes that may be due in the

supporting event.

Back in the HQ, and the side event

seemed to be causing much excitement –

where about 50% of the field set PBs. Yes

this was clearly one of those float days –

when national records are set. The Old

Skoolers, rather than miss out on the ex-

citement, just joined in with all the fun

that the others were having. However they

were left wondering the what-if …. What

if , that is, they had ridden an aero bike

rather than Old Skool ….

Provisional Result:

DURSLEY RC 25 13 June 2009

1) David Summers (Bath CC) 59-17

2) Tom Woollard, (Northover Vets)

1-01-41

3) Matthew Rowley (Oxonian CC)

1 - 0 2 - 1 1

DNS Glen Longland, Antelope RT

MatthewRowley (Oxonian CC) — first

time Old Skooler cruised round to a

highly respectable 1-02-11

Tom Woolaard (Northover Vets) - returned to Old Skooling to record

1-01-41 and with it took third position.

WHO’S NOT (HOT!)

Cancellara and Contador ..for

beating Brad in the TdF prologue.

Urm….everyone’s going fast but

me!

Nominations for who’s going crap

to ian@planet-x-bikes.com

please!

Afterthought!!! Not in domestic

time trialling …..but whoever is

the first to get “busted” (actually

….ANYONE and EVERYONE

who gets “busted”) in the upcom-

ing TdF gets my vote. Cheating

bar stewards!

We don’t have many time

t r i a l s o u t h e r e

in Thailand except for a

stage in the odd multi-day

event or the Thai nationals,

which appears to be a se-

ries of six events through-

out the season.

Because I’m always banging on

about missing my tts, the locals are en-

tering me for the next round of the na-

tionals some time in August. I’ve been

told it’s on a hilly course – so it’s not

exactly an English dragstrip and neither

is it exactly my sort of thing.

I usually avoid hills like the

plague. However, it will provide good

copy and some nice pictures for a later

column.

I couldn’t avoid the hills last

week. Sunday’s run (7:30am Dunkin’

Donuts, Chiang Mai) was a hilly 75

miles out into the hills around Doi

Suthep. Now ‘Doi’ is Thai for

‘mountain’ so this was a bit beyond

hilly. 14 riders set out – 2 Americans, 2

Lao, 2 Dutch, 2 Brits, 1 Italian

and 5 Thais. The two Lao guys are on

their national squad, one of the Dutch

guys has just ridden the 10-day Tour of

Korea, the other Brit was a handy rider

with the Arctic team, and one of the

Thais has not only won the Tour of

Thailand five times but has also won

gold in the SEA Games. Throw me into

this mix and you know there’s gonna be

trouble. And there was.

Of course, I was shelled on the first

climb, but they waited. I was shelled

on the back climbs through the jungle.

But they waited. I was shelled on the

next set of climbs. But they waited.

Then we were back on the flat 20-

mile route back to town. I hung on and

hung on but by the time the pace

was 25 miles per hour and rising I was

gone. They didn’t wait.

I may not be much good at climbing

or riding tts, but I think I’m quite good

at writing bike reviews. ClipClop

Weekly’s journalists should eat their

hearts out really. I wrote my first bike

review back in the mid-60s and it was

about one of those new-fangled small

wheel bikes which took a whole

page in small type of our beloved

comic. And a picture in black and

white.

My experience includes penning a

few reviews for our club mag – noth-

ing gave me more joy than writing

about club colleagues’ steeds. Look

around your club and match the bikes

ridden to their riders, you could have a

bit of fun. It’ll certainly give you

something to think about whilst riding

a ‘50’ in under two hours, or three if

you have my unfortunate physiology.

It’s best in a fanzine such as this to

ensure that any person referred to can-

not be immediately identified – fortu-

nately I’m 6000 miles away and so

that means that the flak can’t always

reach me. But I can assure you that all

references to any of my clubmates are

entirely false and as I’ll be going back

for the club dinner I’ll make sure that

for the purposes of these columns I’ll

change their names. Just in case.

Toe overlap or not toe

overlap, that is the

question! by Ian Franklin

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 14

One way to overcome

toe-overlap!

The following is a case in point. It’s

not often that you find the genuine no-

bility, the landed gentry in cycling

clubs. But it happens from time to time.

And as you may know, the genuine

knights of the realm never flaunt it so

they take a bit of rooting out. Sir Percy

is one of the few as I found out when I

was invited to his sumptuous pad.

Now what’s this to do with the tech-

nical aspects of cycling, I hear you ask.

Well, rather a lot actually. (Read that

last sentence again, but this time with a

posh accent.) There is a huge common

ground between this doyen of English

gentlefolk and the machine that he

rides. Think about the natural resem-

blance between a dog and its doting

owner and you’ll see what I mean.

When I walked into his double garage

(note the word ‘double’) I realized

what the connection was. Sir Percy (or

Perky to his friends) is a Colnago affi-

cionado. And in his double garage there

isn’t just one of these machines. There

are FIVE! What’s more he has one of

Ernesto’s classic top-of-the range

dream machines – a carbon C40. Well,

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it

and take it down the local ‘5’ course.

But I held back a tad because as any

good Clippo Wokley tester will tell you,

these machines are not for the faint-

hearted short-distance rider. Rather,

these are full-bloodied Velo-Ferraris

that need their throttles opened up on

long routes that are both meaningful

and challenging. Like the Giro for in-

stance or perhaps the Vuelta for those

who want to remain hidden from Italian

police raids on cyclists’ hotel rooms.

Such a demanding test course would

no doubt tell you what the pros already

know. That the Colnago can answer

every question asked of it. (What a stu-

pid phrase, but I nicked it out

of Sportive Workley, so that should

make it cool!) It can corner, it can

climb (but not if I’m riding it), it can

descend. It is good for the rouleur, the

sprinter, the mountain goat and the

clock basher. This is a machine that

could answer just about every question

on Who Wants to be a Million-

aire? Such is the intelligence of its as-

sembly, construction and groupset. It is

of noble heritage, perfectly under-

stated just like a genuine English (or

Italian for that matter) gentleman.

And the C40 in particular? Sadly Sir

Percy only has the 2000 model, but it

does carry the kudos of being one of

the last built with conventional seat

stays. All models are now built with

those new fangled wishbone stays

which means that you receive even less

carbon fibre for even more of your

money. But provided you train hard

enough, you do get increased perform-

ance.

When I lovingly stroked this machine

I discovered that the down tube is not

round, or even oval. Rather it is shaped

in a way this is difficult to describe and

I was left wondering whether Signor

Colnago had taken to squeezing his

carbon tubes through a pasta machine.

However if you want to discover this

unique tactile world for yourself, I am

reliably informed that Sir Percy will let

you run your hands along his tubing for

the cost of his entry fee. Aah! The no-

bility have always had an ability to

make money!

“But why Colnago?” I asked my no-

ble friend. I hushed into an unaccus-

tomed silence as I anticipated the re-

sponse. I know, I know – it’s the

smooth ride, the mean cornering, the

perfect handling, the funny shaped

tubes, the beautiful paint job, the Cam-

pagnolo equipment. I imagined further

– the instant response, the incompara-

ble performance, the lascivious glances

of admiration from the sheep lining

each time trial route. It is the attention

to detail such as the carbon headset

spacers, the computer located near the

chainset, the colour of the bar tape. Yes

all these and its sheer pedigree. I came

out of my trance. “Maestro Percy, why

Colnago?”

The answer came back like a bolt out

of the blue: “There’s no toe overlap”.

Did I hear right? No toe overlap? All

this exotica just to get away from toe

overlap?

“Yes”, he continued, “the Italians

never build bikes with toe overlap.

English builders always build bikes

with toe overlap. The Italians do

not.”

And there it was, pure and simple.

In case you ask, I never did get to

test ride that Colnago because I real-

ized that as a Condor devotee, I

wouldn’t know how to ride a bike

with no toe overlap. Besides it was

cold, wet and windy and I had al-

ready ridden 44 miles earlier that

day. On my Condor. With toe over-

lap.

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 15

Imagine a man who set his club’s 25

record back in 1957 with a time of

57:58, done on an 84-inch fixed.

Imagine that over almost thirty years,

he up-dates his own record no less

than ten time, bringing it down to

53:22 in 1984. Now imagine that he’s

retired from racing, but, more than

fifty years after he started on this

road, he finds himself still the holder

of that club record. Despite all the

progress in training methods and bike

design, none of the younger club

members seems able to wipe that

1984 time off the books. The man is

Mick Bowen, the demon barber of

Oxford, and stalwart of the Oxonian

CC for as long as anyone can remem-

ber. Today Mick can look back on a

cycling career spent acting as a thorn

in the side of many more famous rid-

ers. He is one of those time-triallists

who never broke competition records

or won national championships, but

was always up there, right near the

very top, making the champions work

for their titles and their glory, and al-

ways capable of handing them a beat-

ing. Over the years the range of the

scalps he has taken is quite remark-

able: he has beaten Alf Engers, John

Woodburn, Roger Queen, Paul Ben-

nett, Derek Cottington, Martyn

Roach, Phil Griffiths, and even our

revered editor himself, Ian Cammish.

Mick may be the only time-triallist

who was a barber by profession: he

was the heir to a chain of shops which

his father had established in Oxford,

and this had quite an impact on his

cycling. “I had to work long hours,”

he recalls, “including all day every

Saturday, and I was on my feet the

whole time – not good for a cyclist.

We had five shops to run, and it was

my job to keep the business going that

dad had built up. As a result, the time

I had for cycling was always a bit lim-

ited. I could never have trained for the

longer distances even I had wanted to,

so I concentrated on the 25 and the 50. I

really enjoyed track racing too, but the

Saturday work meant I could never get

too serious about it. Instead I went to the

mid-week evening meetings at Reading.

That’s where I met Woody, and I seem

to remember catching him in a pursuit,

for which I don’t think he’s ever for-

given me – John’s got a very long mem-

ory!

“I started racing in 1953, but I was

called up for National Service in ’54,

spent in Germany and Kenya, with no

chance of cycling. I came out in spring

1956, which was the year the Oxonian

CC were promoting the 25 Champion-

ship. I trained furiously for one month

to get a qualifying time of 1:0:51,

which turned out to be the slowest time

accepted. I managed a 1:1 and the race

was won by Mick Gambrill. In those

days you were asked to offer bed and

breakfast to riders from other areas. I

remember that Mick Ward stayed with

us, and for breakfast he asked for a raw

egg, which he swallowed whole – he

said it “gave a lining to the stomach”.

Well Mick Ward was a top rider so I

thought I should copy what he did: ugh,

MICK BOWEN – DEMON

BARBER OF OXFORD by Peter Whitfield

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 16

“...I got down to a 56:08 on

fixed, then I switched to

gears…”

Mick at the 1956 National 25 Miles Championship which

was won by Mick Gambrill

it was disgusting, and I’ve

never fancied a raw egg

since!

“In those early days I tried

some road-racing, and I

came second in my division

championship in 1959. A

group of us from the club

went over to the Isle of Man

several times and rode some

road-races and the mountain

time trial, in which my best

was 1:42 – I was never a

great climber. My best result

in the 25 championship came

in 1960, when I was fourth.

Gordon Ian won it by a fair

margin, but Geoff Saunders,

Ken Craven and I were all

within five seconds of each

other. I was off early and I

led the results for a long

time, then I had to watch as I

got pushed down to second,

then third, then finally fourth

– not a pleasant experience.

Craven used to win hundreds

of events, but always missed

out on the championship. He

knew a lot, and he once gave

me a secret tip: before the

old-style medium gear

events, they used to check

everyone’s gear by measur-

ing how far the bike moved

in one complete pedal-rev.

Ken told me to leave my

tyres soft while they were

doing this – “That way you can get

away with a 49 x 18 instead of 48 x

18 !” he said.

“1960 was when I first got under

two hours for the 50: my 1:58 was the

first ride under in the Oxford area. I

held the club 50 record for quite a

while, but Nik Gardner joined the Oxo-

nian in the late 80s, and he took it

down to a 1:50. I rode a couple of

100’s, I think I got a 4:14, but I knew

they weren’t for me. I reckon my best-

ever time trial was probably a 30 which

I won in 1961, when I did a 1:7 some-

thing, which was only around 25 sec-

onds outside Ron Jowers’ comp record

at that time. That’s equivalent to a 55-

minute 25, and again Engers’ comp

record for the 25 stood at 55:11. These

were all fixed wheel days of course. I

got down to a 56:08 on the fixed, then I

switched to gears, like most other rid-

ers, by about 1962 or 63. I got to know

the North London crowd – Engers,

Bennett, Ballard, those people – quite

well. I was warming up for a race once

when I broke a spoke, and Engers said I

could borrow his spare wheel, which

was nice of him; but he wasn’t so

pleased when he punctured during the

race and of course he had no spare and

didn’t finish!

“ I belong to a sort of dining-club

where a group of us meet every year in

Amersham. It started back in 1981 and

there’s a funny story about

that. That was the year

Woodburn went for the End-

to-End, but he should never

have started because he was

ill, and eventually he had to

climb off. Well Brian Tad-

man, the joker in the pack,

wrote a letter to Cycling rib-

bing Woody about packing,

and he signed a lot of peo-

ple’s names to it who had

nothing to do with it! We

thought this was a bit below

the belt, so we – people like

Paul Bennett, Bob Addy,

Clive Pugh and myself – in-

vited Woody out for a meal

to smooth things over, and

it’s gone on ever since.

“I’ve always thought of

myself just as a club rider.

There was no coaching, no

science when I was starting:

training meant just going out

as often as you could and

belting round as hard as you

could. Yes it would have

been great to have won the

25 championship, but that is

something very special isn’t

it? I was never too concerned

even with my times, I was

more interested in who I

could beat. I liked it when it

was a bit hard, lumpy and

windy, I thought that would

slow the fast men down a bit.

The club was always central to my cy-

cling – travelling together to the races,

organising the club dinners, the touring

holidays, that sort of thing. Most riders

are far too busy now for all that: they

ride the races, but they never see each

other except on the Sunday mornings.

A group of us in the club went touring

in Spain in spring this year, in the Si-

erra Nevada mountains. I never thought

I’d ever ride up climbs like that! When

I got back I was so fit I even thought I

should try time-trialling again, but I’m

still thinking about it.” Now retired

from racing – and from slicing hair off

the citizens of Oxford – Mick can just

enjoy his cycling, and sit back and wait

for someone to finally take the record

that he has held for 52 years.

Mick Bowen on his way top 10th place in

the 1981 National 25

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 17

Following some recent favourable

weather, the a3crg Monday evening

event on the fast P885 course at

Liss in Hants was predicted to be

one of the faster Old Skool events.

The keenest of the neolithic wanabees were all

down to ride, with a fierce tussle anticipated be-

tween Old Skool regular and competition organiser

Ian Cammish and leg-end Colin ‘The Power’ Park-

inson (South Western RC).

Organiser David Collard-Berry had separated off

the 10 Old Skool riders into their own mini race

sandwiched in the middle of the woman’s BBAR

event. Strangely ‘The Power’ was down to ride but

not within the group of early starting Old Skoolers.

Was this a ploy from ‘The Power’ to get a few more

minutes recovery time following the 100 the day

before? [Stop Press: 100 cancelled due to fog…. the

ploy backfired]

Several gloomy faces were noted at the signing on

point - which had nothing to do with the fact that

Old Skool favourite Ian Cammish had phoned in

sick and was noted as a DNS (apol) - but because

the freebie Planet X – Power bar bottles had failed

to put in an appearance too!! Several complaints

later however, they were out & everyone was one

bottle better off, just in time with hot 12-hour events

on the horizon.

Old Skool regulars Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) &

Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley Wheelers) were

amongst the first to arrive, with Mills immediately

over to look at Hinxman’s bike (like a Professional

Car-Booter at a charity table-top sale). “Are you

riding clipless pedals? Are they allowed? Are you

riding with a rear LED?” Obviously for Mills, the

risk of disqualification is not an option in a competi-

tion with so much as stake.

Mills, with non-Old Skooler & clubmate John

Baines, had set off from Yorkshire three days prior

to the event. To justify the 500+ miles round trip,

they had entered two other races ‘down south’ prior

to the important one. They even considered sleeping

OLD SKOOL SERIES -

ROUND 7– a3crg 25 by Gavin ‘good man’ Hinxman

CONTROVERSY HITS

THE SERIES -

OR...WHAT’S ‘THE

POWER’ ON?

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 18

Loveable rogue…’The Power’ Parkinson.

Photo courtesy Mike Anton.

http://www.mikeanton.com/cycling.html

under the local hedgerows but with

forecasts of night-time rain, they

elected for a nice Travelodge.

‘The Power’ arrived sporting a new

(actually old, courtesy of e-bay) 55T

Campag chain ring. He had clearly

done his homework and was wisely

making concessions for the 2-mile ski-

slope start of the P885 unlike GS Eu-

ropa’s Robert ‘Pretty in pink’ Tutt

who elected for a 93” fixed & two extra

pairs of shorts to cushion the bounce.

All riders had to climb up the moun-

tain accent to the start. The ‘real’ Old

Skoolers who sported single rings were

hitting max power & HR before the

race even started (Fortunately they did-

n’t know that as those devices weren’t

available back in the 80’s).

The prize for the best retro bike was

decided at the start, with Robert Tutt

taking the honours on his pink bike

with matching pink skinsuit & spokey

dokes.

Tutt pointing out that bottles on

Hinxman’s & Norman Beaumont

(VTTA Wessex) were not Old Skool,

swayed the judges decision, with Tutt

being a local-boy having no influence.

Beaumont elected to ride a post-war

Holdsworth, complete with aluminium

race number wired to the frame. It was

reported that the aluminium came from

a shot-down Messerschmitt that crash

landed in the South Downs.

With Matthew Rowley (Oxonian

CC), Tom Woollard (Northover Vets)

& Cammish all non-starters, eight

hardy souls launched themselves off

Hill Brow into battle. An eight horse

race - who would have the horse-power

to win? Would anyone threaten Alf’s

record? It wouldn’t be long before we

found out.

The riders set off in 30 second inter-

vals (there were 80 riders to be off the

road before dark). Early reports showed

Hinxman getting the better of Beau-

mont after a mile and a half, that WWII

technology wasn’t helping the VTTA

rider fly now.

Hinxman was flying, picking off rid-

ers one by one with Geoff Newman

(Farnham RC) being collected for 2

minutes by the 6 mile turn. By 10 miles

Mills was behind Hinxman & getting a

good opportunity to see the rear LED

first hand.

Local boy & Joint event Secretary

Paddy Brennan (a3crg), was also on a

flyer. He was determined to celebrate his

31st birthday with a race win. With Hinx-

man being his 30 second rabbit, Brennan

overhauled the Welland Valley rider at

half distance to take the lead on the road.

At this stage it looked to be now a two

way battle between Brennan & later

starter Parkinson.

Disaster struck for Hinxman one mile

later when his FT titanium bottom

bracket lock rang came loose, causing

the left hand side crank to hit the frame

with every revolution. It was to be a

DNF for Hinxman & a walk back to the

HQ.

Brennan took his TI Raleigh to the

fastest Old Skool 25 result of the year so

far, but there was not to be an extra can-

dle on his birthday cake, as 15 minutes

later ‘The Power’ forced his Dave Lloyd

machine across the line to an impressive

55:51, surely the Old Skool champion-

ship was now in the bag for the Mid-

lands rider.

Back in the HQ after the event, the

prizes were duly awarded, with 5th place

going to Newman with a personal best

ride of 1hr 7 mins. 4th place was the fast

pedalling Tutt with a late ‘3’ with Mills

½ minute & one position better. 2nd

place went to Stealth-like Mike Mar-

chant (Southdown Velo) with 1-1-14, no

one had noticed him creeping into near-

top position. Paddy Brennan collected

the top position & accompanying prizes.

……….There had surely had been a

mistake, an oversight by supreme race

organiser Dave C-B? What had hap-

pened to ‘The Power’, had his power let

him down or had fate played its card?

Surely that 55 min ride couldn’t be over-

looked?

The organiser stuck to the rule book

and wouldn’t be shifted, Parkinson had-

n’t declared his Old Skool intentions on

the entry form, so was not categorised in

the competition. ‘The Power’ had

marked it on

the signing

on sheet and

was not im-

pressed but

he hadn’t got

the energy

levels to

question it. .

He knew that

the organ-

iser’s deci-

sion was final

& would live

to battle on.

How does

that leave the

Old Skool

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 19

Paddy Brennan (a3crg ) above -

Photo courtesy Mike Anton

http://www.mikeanton.com/cycling.html ) recorded a superfast 58-13 to “win” the

Old Skool event. Long distance traveler

Stan Mills (Yorks RC) below - stopped

the clock at 1-3-21.

What’s that?

BAR? It’s in turmoil. Cammish has

only one qualifying 25. Hinxman now

needs the J2 to be rolled flat with a fol-

lowing wind all the way around to al-

low him to beat 55 mins. Does that

make Mills favourite?

Fortunately sensibility prevailed &

the Planet X Old Skool committee held

an Extraordinary Meeting on the morn-

ing after the night before & agreed that

‘The Power’ had entered & ridden the

event in the true spirit of the Old Skool

rules & would be credited the time for

the Championship.

Above—left and right.

Robert Tutt (GS Europa) modeling a nice line in pink on his way to a 1-3-

59. Norman Beaumont (VTTA Wessex) cutting as equally a fine picture in

gold and off-white. Photos courtesy Mike Anton.

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 20

Therefore the revised result should be:

A3crg Summer Evening 25mTT

Monday 29th June 2009.

1. Colin Parkinson (South Western RC) 55-51

2. Paddy Brennan (a3crg) 58-13

3. Mike Marchant (Southdown Velo) 1-1-14

4. Stan Mills (Yorkshire RC) 1-3-21

5. Robert Tutt (GS Europa) 1-3-59

6. Geoff Newman (Farnham RC) 1-7-41

7. Norman Beaumont (VTTA Wessex) 1-10-18

Above and far right - Geoff

Newman (Farnham RC) and Mike

Marchant (Southdown Velo).

Pics - thanks to Mike Anton.

WARNING! - TESTING TIMES contains nuts (us!) ..and ..more photos of time triallists than the

Country’s leading Cycling Magazine - FACT! (They’re cracking though—don’t you think?) ;-)

Remaining Old Skool events - places are limited to 120 riders per event. Lots of prizes…..slow times and sore legs guar-

anteed! So enter now!

The road of the Rapier, the ’65 record,

With Paul, Joe and Alan conquering the rest.

The first ‘53’ by Sir Bennett from Barnet

And ‘Bone’ and ‘Li’l Joe’ showing team-work at best.

Ah, I remember the glory of the A127,

The Southend Arterial, my fave of all time.

The first version ridden in the late 1960s,

With me as a scrubber and ‘King’ Alf in his prime.

My start on a ‘one’ behind The King’s ‘zero’,

Sent thoughts of achievement into my young head.

On the concrete I saw him when I was in motion,

But I had on my specs and saw two miles ahead!

The pretender Sir Trevor used this hallowed concrete

To dip ‘neath the magic they called ‘53’.

But demi-God Dungworth did not take this smiling,

And the days second ‘52’ vanquished Sir T.

Yes, the pain of the sixties still brings back the memories

Of rides on the carriageway; some blurred and some clear.

Laindon, Upminster, the ‘onion’ at the Ford works,

But if I may choose to, I’ll forget Rayleigh Weir!

The Unity club tests on new eighties versions

Still held all the charm of this carriageway holy.

Was here that I learned how to push a big gear,

Yet somehow still managed to travel quite slowly.

In the 85th year of the 20th century,

This road of dreams hosted Nat. 25 miles.

They said I should ride it; I entered, accepted

Even wangled a late start ….. cue; beaming Kish smiles.

Lord Webster rode truly, more gold in his coffers,

His fortune amassing in all things of biking.

A new man called Gottrel came out of the ocean

And took home some silver; t’was much to his liking.

I rode to my utmost with standard steed ‘neath me,

No lo-pro or small wheel to help me along.

Until Dave Hinde arose and rode past me with tattoos,

And ‘King Kong’-sized gear …. but with legs twice as

strong!

Alas, it was later, just a short time thereafter

That my E31 slowly drifted away.

Cautious officials and big blue policemen

Chopped ‘E31’ but let ‘A127’ still stay.

How well I remember the rolling undulations,

Just one ‘up’ and ‘down’ gear were all that you’d need.

Day-trippers too were plenty, wagons both full and empty,

With the odd caravan, some at just the right speed!

Yes, I lament at the passing of this course that I loved so.

The magic of tarmac and the charm of concrete.

When the High God of Testing created this icon,

His work for the day was surely complete.

Sure, the E72 was a road built for romance,

With it’s ‘49’ legend by Alf, so well done.

But for yours very truly, with memories of Essex,

The best memories are filed ‘E31’.

___________________________________________

The E31 Southend Arterial Road (A127) was where the first-

ever 53-minute ride (by Paul Bennett) and first-ever 52-minute

ride by (Trevor Morgan) were done.

The winning time of 51:16 by Darryl Webster in the National

25 on this course remains his personal best until this day.

That’s Mr Kish below (in his younger days) by the way ...not

Darryl Webster! OK? ;-)

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 21

AN ODE TO THE E31 by Steve Kish aged 131

NOBB OFF…..the back My Vacation Stop………… interview with a

very well set up Cycle Shop. Yes! The

Philippines does have exciting well stocked cy-

cle shops.

During my recent vacation in the Philippines I sat down

with one of the most likeable bike shop owners you will

ever meet Meet Attorney Gregorio Y. Larrazabal. Yes, a

lawyer! How is a Lawyer involved in cycling you may ask?

Well ‘Goyo’, as he is known, love bikes & over some Ital-

ian Lunch & beer across the road from his shop I asked him

a few questions on how his creation came to be.

Here I am with Atty Larrazabal right & my other half at

his Makati shop. No PVC insight!!

Nob: So Sir Goyo How did your shop come to be & why

the choice of name?

Goyo: I have two companies: Pinoy Bikes and Bike Town

Cyclery. I started Pinoy Bikes together with my brother,

Baba, and our goal was to bring brands we ourselves would

want to use. Brands that were previously unavailable, or

were priced exorbitantly in the Philippines.

We chose Pinoy Bikes coz it provided us an identity that

was not constrained by a person's identity (like some name

their shop after a person), while at the same time giving it a

local flavour (when you say Pinoy Bikes, you immediately

get the impression that the shop is owned by Filipi-

nos). There's the Philippine flavour, Pinoy, but not limited

to Philippine shores - local, with a global reach...

Bike Town Cyclery was conceived because we had wanted

to emphasize the small town feel and lifestyle of the

sport. It's a community where everyone knows everyone

and everybody's your friend who shares your love for the

sport. I also liked the concept of the old family-owned bike

shops in Europe where cyclists know the owners and build

relationships with them over the years.

Bike Town Cyclery’s shop window – note the Parlee TT

which is readily available.

Nob: What made you decide to get into bicycle business?

Goyo: I've been spearheading the Terry Larrazabal Bike

Festival for a couple of years, and everyone seemed to ask

me if I could provide several bike items. At first I'd refer

them to my friends or known bike shops. But after a

while, even the cycle companies had expressed interest in

having us carry their brand. It must be because we view

what we're doing now not as a business, but something we

love doing because we love bikes and wish to promote the

sport.

Nob: What are the kinds stuff would you be selling & who

is your target market?

Goyo: We sell bikes and parts that we ourselves have

wanted to use, but couldn't get it in the Philippines. Most

of the frame brands we carry are timeless, and small com-

panies owned and run by people who genuinely love bikes

and the sport. We sell production bikes, but we deal more

with guys who know their bikes and want the best bikes

and brands.

Nob: What is so special about your shop?

Goyo: The shop is the only shop in the Philippines (and I

think Asia) that utilizes three fit systems:

www.bikefitting.com

The Bike Fit System of Paul Swift

Bike CAD Pro

We just started with Bike CAD Pro & will launch it in the

next month. This service is geared towards designing a

bike from the ground up, and will allow us to work more

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 22

comprehensively with the custom

frame builders we deal with in design-

ing a custom frame/bike. Our belief is

that no matter how much your bike

costs, the most important aspect in get-

ting a bike is that the bike fits, and

you're comfortable on your bike. I tell

people that I don't build bikes... I build

relationships!

Nob: Tell us why the shop is located

in Makati, Manila.

Goyo: Most of the brands we carry are

niche, high-end brands. And when we

started with Pinoy Bikes, everyone

seemed to ask us when we'll open a

shop in Manila, where our target mar-

ket is.

Nob: How do you see the future of the

shop developing in the next 5 years?

Goyo: We're opening another branch

south of Manila, and beside the shop

we're building a pump track, 4X

course, a MTB cross country course

and a road bike route. The shop will

have shower facilities and lock-

ers. (Nob: wow that’s great for the lo-

cal community!)

Nob: In these tough economic times

how is your business coping?

Goyo: We feel the pinch, but we're in

this for the long haul. The slump af-

fected a lot of shops, but with our mar-

ket, to some extent it's insulated. The

good thing about it is that more people

are aware of the health benefits of cy-

cling and the sport is growing now.

Nob: Any new plans for 2010?

Goyo: We'll again have a presence at

the 2010 North American Handmade

Bicycle Show in Virginia, USA, and

will be conducting several events to

promote the sport, focusing on lifestyle

events like bike clinics, seminars, etc.

Nob: Tell us how many people work at

your shop & what your employees feel

like working for a Philippine Branded

Company?

Goyo: We have a total of 5 employ-

ees. Elaine, our shop keeper, Rey and

Jun, our wrenches (mechanics to you

& me), Vergel, our in-house painter,

and Richard, our messenger. Everyone

shares a common desire to help out

guys who need assistance pertaining to

bikes. In the shop, no matter if you ride

a clunker bike in, or drive up in a Por-

sche, (yep people do have posh cars

here) as soon as you enter the door,

everyone's a cyclist and we give every-

one the attention they deserve.

Nob: As owner what is your typical

working day as being an Attorney it

must be tough?

Goyo: No matter where I am, I'm usu-

ally up at 5 a.m., calling frame builders,

suppliers and friends in the US. If I'm

in Manila, I eat breakfast with my son,

and send him off to school. After he

leaves, I go to the shop where I do my

paperwork, in between taking

to cyclists. I usually leave for home by

6, so I can spend time with my son be-

fore he sleeps. I usually put him to

sleep. I end at around 11 p.m. after

making a few more calls before calling

it a day. When I'm out of town for work

I'm on-line almost 24 hours a day, and

still get calls from cyclists asking for

help.

Nob: How do your family cope with

your love of bikes?

Goyo: My son love bikes, but is at a

stage in his life where he loves to read

books (he's 3). My wife's a majority

shareholder in Bike Town Cyclery. I

guess its okay because instead of

spending time going out and partying,

I'm usually doing something related to

biking, and when in Manila, I'm home

early to spend time with the family.

Nob: What other interests do you get

up to when not involved in the cycling

industry?

Goyo: I am currently the youngest re-

gional director of the Commission on

Elections. I run 6 provinces with over

2 million voters. I also help out with

the Emeterio Larrazabal Foundation

(named after our dad), where we con-

duct medical missions, and programs

for out of school youth. We also do

scholarships for deserving youth.

Nob: We hear you have an interna-

tional recognised Festival please tell

my readers more?

Goyo: Please check our

site www.tlbf.org

Nob: What does the Future hold for

Atty Larrazabal himself?

Goyo: I get pretty busy at times, and

though there are many challenges in

life, I consider myself lucky to be

where I am at this point in my life, and

look forward to the day where I can do

century rides with my son.

Sir Goyo thank you so much for the

detailed information for

my UK readership as hopefully if they

come to Manila they will be in profes-

sional hands if they stop by your shop

to be handled by your dedicated

crew have a few beers & some Italian

cuisine.

Goyo can be contacted as follows for

any of your needs or visits J

Atty. Gregorio Y. Larrazabal, Sr.

Festival Director, Terry Larrazabal

Bike Festival

Phil. Rep., International Mountain Bi-

cycling Assoc.

CEO, Pinoy Bikes

COO, Bike Town Cyclery

2240 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City

Metro Manila, Philippines 1200

U.S. No.: (+1.949) 940.8081

Mobile: (+63.91) 908.TLBF

Tel.: (+63.2) 387.2173

terrylarrazabalbikefesti-

val.blogspot.com

www.tlbf.org

www.pinoybikes.com

www.imba.com

Sir Nob of Two Ghiblis

SEE MORE AT WWW.PLANET-X-BIKES.COM PAGE 23