The East London club for all kinds of sports cycling

How to use this website

Welcome to Leavalley.org, the website of the Lea Valley Cycling Club !

The aim of this site is to inform potential new members about the Club, keep members informed about what is going on, provide news and updates about what LVCC is up to, and to promote general discussion, interest and inspiration for all involved in sport cycling in east London.

It is YOUR website! You'll notice that every story posted here provides the opportunity for you to add your comments. So, if you have something to add, a comment, a question - even just an observation, please go ahead!!

If it's a question, we'll try to answer it online - so everyone else can benefit too.

If you'd like to post a news story, an update or provide a feature or some photographs, GREAT ! Please send them by email to editor@leavalley.org

When submitting features and photographs, or adding comments, all we ask is you follow some basic guidelines:

  • Think, before your put finger to keyboard. It's so easy to write something in the heat of the moment, and then regret it afterwards.
  • All postings should be within the LVCC's stated spirit of openness and inclusivity, so postings deemed offensive, illegal or inappropriate will be taken down.*
  • If you consider a posting transgresses these guidelines, please email editor@leavalley.org

Well... Enjoy. The more articles, photos and news your submit, the better this website will become. We look forward to hearing from you.

* In the unlikely event that a posting is made that is deemed over the top, the editor will (in the first instance) remove it from the site - that protects us all legally, and protects our sanity! The posting will then be circulated to the Captain, President and Chair of the club, for consideration. If requested by them, the editor will post it back up, or edit it appropriately. Their decision will be final.

How to post a comment


This website is for you to use, to find out more about Lea Valley Cycling Club, to communicate with other LVCC members, to discuss and make comments.

That means you can post a comment, in response to anything on the site. Here’s how you do it…

- At the end of any post or feature on the website, appears something like the following line:

posted by Lea Valley Cycling Club at 12:30 AM / 2 comments


If you click on 2 comments, you can read any comments already made by others to this post.

0 means nobody has made a comment, 1 means one person has made a comment, you work out the rest.


To leave your comment, simply type it in the box on the right.

Once you’ve typed your comment, you should click ‘Other’ or ‘Anonymous’ according to whether you want to identify yourself… we’d prefer you to, but it is up to you.

If you click other, it’ll ask you for your name, and invite you to put in a web address (in case you have your own website!!).

If you click anonymous, your post will be exactly that… but that doesn’t stop you from putting your name in to your comment, does it?


Click Publish Your Comment, and it’ll go live.. it’ll take you to where you can see your post.

Please see here for some guidelines about posting comments on leavalley.org



Over the T-Top


Want to make the most of your Time Trialing?

Scarlett Parker offers his 15 top tips, for Time Trial success.

1. Warm-up a bit. The shorter the event, the longer the warm-up. You should arrive at the start with a few minutes to spare, on the verge of sweating.

2. Don't go off too fast - you'll pay later on. With adrenalin in the system, it's easy to think you're being conservative when in fact you're well over your intended average speed.

3. Set an approximate goal, be realistic and work out the average speed. For example, a 25m TT in 1 hour is 25mph - very tough. The higher the speed, the greater the wind resistance. Maybe aim for 20mph average to begin with, I quite like having the average speed displayed on the computer. Having the distance displayed can be a bit demoralising. If you feel fresh with five miles to go, step up the pace a bit. Usually, however, it's a case of clinging on from this point!

4. Try not to get locked in one position. If you're using tri-bars, this simply means shuffling about a little on the saddle or unweighting your rear end from time to time, plus moving your head around a bit. On regular drops, experiment with drops, hooks, hoods and tops (with hands near the stem) to ward off nasty aches and pains in hands, neck and shoulders.

5. If you're gonna use tri-bars or other special aero kit, make sure you ride plenty of miles with it before the event to familiarise yourself with aero positions etc.

6. Eat a nice big low-glycaemic carb meal the night before eg. pasta. Get a decent night's sleep. Also stay well-hydrated the day before. Don't eat too much before the event. A light breakfast up to three hours before the start is fine, and maybe something like a banana in the final hour before the off. Eat too much and all the blood goes to your stomach for digestive purposes.

7. You probably won't need food during a 25. Water should suffice, but you could always mix it up with a bit of fruit juice (say 10%) and a pinch of salt to aid absorption.

8. Remember you're not allowed to draft. If someone creeps past you, let them go. If you're going to pass someone, be committed - this can knock you off your rhythm, but that's the way it goes.

9. Don't be reckless when you're feeling very tired and making decisions on the approach to roundabouts and junctions - assume cars will do the worst possible thing.

10. Ride within yourself until the last two miles, then throw caution to the wind and suffer a bit (more).

11. Keep your cadence (turning the pedals) up. If your lungs hurt you need a bigger gear; if your legs hurt you need a smaller gear; if your legs and your lungs hurt you've got it right!

12. You need mental strength and to psychologically outwit yourself. I usually end up with a song going round in my head or counting pedal strokes. You'll feel great during the first two miles, during about miles 10 - 15, and as you cross the finish line. The rest of the time it's mind over matter... consciousness comes and goes.

13. Don't do unnecessary fettling with your machine the night before the race, or on the morning of the event. Something will fuck up irreparably.

14. Don't believe that max tyre pressure will make you go any faster. Comfort is more important, and a bit of give in the rubber will help the tyre conform to bumpy surfaces anyway. I used to be a 120psi (rear) 115psi (front) person. Now I usually run low 90s (f) and high 90s (r) and I'm much happier. I weigh about 138lbs - adjust accordingly.

15. Share your own ideas. Post your response to my tips by clicking on Post a comment below.

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Did you like this feature? Got one of your own to share?

The web editor welcomes your contributions, advice, race and ride reports, poetry, well... maybe not poetry, but most stuff... Send them to editor@leavalley.org

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