The East London club for all kinds of sports cycling

Driving Cyclists Off The Road

The Driving Standards Agency has begun a public consultation on a revised draft of the Highway Code.

The Code ought to play a key role in the Government’s efforts to create safer conditions for cycling. Unfortunately, despite CTC’s recent efforts to make it easier for cyclists to claim injury damages from drivers who hit them, the revised draft of the Code seems set to take us in exactly the opposite direction…

Read the rest of the article at the link below, and follow the easy steps to email your MP showing your support for the campaign:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4303

Reminder: LVCC Prize Evening

Don't forget our annual dinner and prize presentation takes place this Saturday!

Tickets are still available, but we DO need to know you are coming.

Full details here.

To reserve your place, call Ed Ward now: 020 8558 3605

It's Saturday success for Scarlett



Scarlett Parker came in the top half of the field, in the Cat-4 San Fairy Anne criterium at the Eastway on Saturday 18th February.

Members of Lea Valley Cycling Club were on hand to cheer Scarlett on, following their own 35 mile ride to Navestock and back.

Scarlett kept towards the front of the bunch throughout the 20 mile race, but on the final straight got pushed by agressive riders towards the far outside and onto the verge.

While racing past 15 riders in the final 50 meters, after recovery, he didn't manage to catch the head of the peleton, or Richard Simmonds (London Dynamo) who had attacked two laps earlier and managed to hold fast to win in 52 mins, 6 seconds. Scarlett came over the line three seconds later.

All in all, Scarlett was pleased with his performance, and saw it as an early training opportunity to improve upon, particularly since he fell sick with winter flu just hours after completing the criterium.

Well done Scarlett!

Tuesday Tens

A quick reminder about the last Tuesday Evening Time Trails (as we know them!)

Evening 10 Mile Time Trials, 2006 will be held at Eastway Cycle Circuit, Quartermile Lane, Stratford, E10 from May 2nd - July 11th 2006 on Tuesday Evenings from 7pm.

Tuesday July 11th will be a farewell to Eastway BBQ.

As well as our normal last night of racing, lap record attempts and prize presentation

Event Secretary: Don Keen,
43, Chingford Road,
Walthamstow. E17 4PW.
Tel No. 020 8531 4822


Click here to download a poster, for your sports club, workplace etc.

February Clubrun Report

This month's clubrun saw the group splitting into 2 main rides - although there was plenty more splitting later on. Ed and Gabriel (a brave man without gloves) went on a leisurely jaunt up to High Beech, leaving the rest of the group to zoom down the hill from Woodford towards Chigwell. A little later, after Scarlett's customary blast up the first notable climb, Les departed to put in a few hours of overtime at work. That left Sean to lead the main group, which consisted of Scarlett, Dervila, Gideon (puncture-meister extraordinaire), Armin, Wally, Dave & Anna.

Feeling the need to test out his newly adjusted position and flirt with his lactate threshold, Armin was soon timetrialling off the front, with most of the group in hot pursuit. Scarlett and Dervila found themselves way back in nomansland with Dervila carrying a cycling boutique's worth of accessories in her pannier, and they soon realized that it was a throwback to last year's February clubrun on which they were the only 2 riders. A chorus of ringtones from their jersey pockets rang out as Sean phoned them to pass on navigational instructions.

Once everyone had regrouped ready to tackle a stretch of the busy A113 to Ongar, Armin was instructed to buffer the wind at the front and keep a steady pace, but he soon drifted out into a timetrial fantasy world of his own. Scarlett went off to reel him in, but then discovered his idea of steady pace-setting on the drag up into Ongar meant he drifted out into a mountain stage fantasy of HIS own.

North of Ongar, a special cameo appearance was made by Trevor who was out on his own due to Derek languishing in bed in hangover hell. He joined the group for a while (shortly after passing a tangled mass of Crest CC riders in the middle of the road), chastising Scarlett for being on a slow ride, who in turn pointed out he'd already done 150miles that week and was entitled to a recovery ride. He left the group somewhere after Matching Green, but was then seen on the road side having made a very charitable stop to help a lone rider who'd decided he didn't need to carry spare tubes or patches.

The weather was fantastic, and perhaps a little too mild for some who were wearing particularly insulated layers, and thankfully no-one came a cropper on the slightly greasy road surface, especially at the healthy pace the bunch was moving round the bends. It was great to see new members making an appearance, and Dervila didn't fail to notice the ease with which Anna romped up the climbs. Maybe the club could have a shit-hot women's 2-up timetrial team this year...

For those who made it all the way back to the townhall, it ended up being about 50miles averaging around 15mph.

If anyone has ideas/comments/suggestions about future clubruns, the website forum is a good place to be heard (and of course the club nights at Eastway), and things may take on a different form as racing members are otherwise occupied in the near future.

Roll on March.