Welcome to VC Meudon News pages

Need a new challenge for 2011? Triathlon anyone?

Or more precisely an Ironman. Ben Greetham wonders if anyone would like to join him down in Wales:

"September the 11th 2011 is the inaugural Ironman Wales which is being held down in Pembrokeshire. The course looks awesome with a mass beach start swim from Tenby. The bike leg is taking in 180k of the Pembrokeshire National Park and the marathon is a 4 loop course heading around Tenby Castle, the town itself, the surrounding countryside and finally finishing back on the seafront.

The organisers have already separately ran a marathon over the run course, a sportive over the bike course and a long swim around the wet bit and each have had heaps of spectators turning out so the big one should be a pretty good day out.

I’m already on the start list as a VC Meudon representative. I thought if a couple more folks fancied it we could get a VCM contingent grinding out some of the training miles together and heading down in September.

The event website is www.ironmanwales.com "

If you don't have Ben's contact details get in touch through us at the website.

MTB ride @ The Lookout - 11/12/10 - updated

Meeting for a MTB ride at the Lookout (Swinley Forest Bracknell)
Fantastic tracks with plenty of swooping and whooping!

Meet in Car Park ready to ride from 10am on Saturday 11th December for 2.5hrs -3hrs
Cafe stop at end of ride.

You will need a day pass which is £2 and will be the best £2 you've ever spent. If you let me know you're coming I will buy the passes in advance to cut down the time spent hanging around.

Bob Moore

For more info contact Bob directly or email us through the website and we'll pass it on.

Slow - Care Children Playing (Chalk Chase pics)

These are Angie's photos of the chalk chase. Temperature: -2, chasers: 13, hares: 2, number of minutes Wilson late to set course: 40. House is Wilson's new manor. Generations of Meudon kit on display: 4.












FOUR4TH LED lights

Need lights for winter? The FOUR4TH LED is available as a helmet mounted light (XPE) or a bar mounted light (XPG), in a range of colours and with different lens and battery options. With 1560 lumens of light you’ll have no problems seeing, or being seen.




Order direct from the website for £195, or email Del for a special VCM price of £175.

www.four4th.co.uk
sales@four4th.co.uk

"...these are incredibly high powered LED units which literally put similarly priced big brand lamps into the shade." (FOUR4TH user)

“The head units are masterpieces of design and engineering and look pretty much bullet proof and the connectors and switch have been well thought through.” (FOUR4TH user)

“You’re getting a lot for your money here and a product that will perform and offer reliability over time. 9/10” (Cycling Active review, Oct 2010)

The Calshot Experience

vcmeudon - The Calshot Experience from Colin Addison on Vimeo.

On a cold, dull november evening on the south coast of England riders from the VC Meudon cycling club take to the track at Calshot.

(soundtrack is "sunday" by Moby courtesy of mobygratis.com)

Ben and Micheal ride the Wessex League Cross

New boys Michael Guilford and Ben Marx report back from the latest round of the Wessex League cross race:

Michael:
"Needless to say it was cold, and wet. Pedal On had done an excellent job of setting up the course, despite one person ending up in A & E...
A small field of 30 seniors turned up. The start was long and wide so the group quickly split up, Adrian Lansley leading straight away. I kept thrid position and in sight of adrian for ~2 laps, but the two leaders gradually stretched a big gap from the main field. It was down to a following group of about five of us, which i was leading on and off. A few slips lost me time, in particular the one slippery steep climb that was nearly impossible to run and three(!!) sets of hurdles (i didnt get unclipped in time). I eventually finished in 8th place, which was a bit dissapointing after a good start, but serves me right for thinking I could get away with only shorts, jersey and no specs. The onslought of moderate hypothermia, and the organisers nearly calling an ambulance rammed home some the need for race preperation!"

Ben:
"Had a good ride on Sunday with only a couple of spills and a bent front wheel courtesy of Hargroves ride. I dont know what happened to Michael after the race, he was wrapped in a blanket and was being taken to a hot shower. He rode well though and finished 8th.

My first foray into cross riding can only be described with one word, muddy. Following a very wet week the course that was laid out on Park land that was very greasy and proved to be very technical. From the start the pace was fast and two riders Adrian Lansley (Pedal On) and Duncan Jamieson (Leisure Lakes) got away after a couple of laps.

After a couple of laps of getting settled into a decent pace I found myself fighting it out for tenth place. With four laps done I decided to part-company with my bike a couple of times and slipped back though the field finishing 19th overall.

Things to remember for the next race:

Warm up. Don’t sit in car because its raining. A pressure washer ( I think I was the only one that went home with a muddy bike).
Don’t ride off camber corners at full speed and expect to be upright at the exit."

Rob's early season cross report

After a successful first road season, Rob McCarthy is now taking on his first cyclo-cross season. Here's Rob's report of how it's going:

26th September Wessex league Swindon (7th place)
A reasonable start to the season

Results
1st Jody Crawforth Hargroves Cycles
2nd Stuart Bowers Hargroves Cycles
3rd Crispin Doyle Swindon RC
4th Mike Cotty Cannondale
5th Andy Hargroves Hargroves Cycles
6th Scott Chalmers Dream CC
7th Robert McCarthy

3rd October Blenheim Cross (3rd place)
Blenheim was my first good result of the year, the course held up well despite the heavy rain, and only moderately muddy.
The course consisted of as many corners as the organisers could fit into two fields, the highlights of the course were two tight spirals that put everyone’s slow speed bike handling to the test, I had to work my way through field due to a poor gridding but I had to be reasonably pleased with 3rd place

1st Stuart Bowers Hargroves Cycles
2nd Crispin Doyle Swindon RC
3rd Robert McCarthy

10th October Wessex League Newbury Showground (3rd)
Newbury was a difficult race after cold conditions the week before, the course was baked with sunshine, I got a reasonable start, but my legs felt like I had overdone the training leading up to the race, With no real long drags or power sections it was never going to be my favorite course, I spent a lot of the race battling with Peter Kench for 2nd place but in the end he got away. I was not that satisfied with my performance knowing how well my training was going.

1st Matt Macdonald Hargroves Cycles
2nd Peter Kench GWR
3rd Robert McCarthy

24th October Wessex league Bill Higson Memorial Cross Prospect Park Reading (5th)
I have always liked racing at Prospect Park, ever since my cross-country running days. The course is a fairly technical, on the side of a hill covered in woodland with greasy muddy corners and lots of camber. I got a great start following Jamie Newell line through the first muddy hill, then pushed hard to the front of the field, after about 1.5KM a group of five formed with Jamie Newell leading up the steepest hill section, riders who were unable to ride the hill quickly fell back. l followed by Stuart Bowers, Crispin Doyle, Adrian Lansley, me, followed by Duncan Jamieson and Mike Cotty.
As the race went on gaps started to develop, I continued to ride as hard as could and finished a hard earn t 5th, I was happy with the way I rode, technically and with my fitness coming on.
1st Stuart Bowers Hargroves Cycles
2nd Jamie Newall Corley Cycles
3rd Adrian Lansley Pedal on
4th Crispin Doyle Swindon RC
5th Robert McCarthy
6th Duncan Jamieson Leisure Lakes
7th Mike Cotty Cannondale

31st October National Trophy Series Chantry Park, Ipswich (25th
I had no national ranking points so I had to start at the back end of the field. I got into the cleats straight way, sprinting into the first corner, trying to avoid any pile-ups.
The first lap was eyeballs out, trying to gain as many places as possible, as the race went on I settled into a good rhythm and kept making up places finishing 25th,
The pace was a lot faster than any regional races I had done, With 4 Belgian racers taking part, a top twenty in the National Championships is defiantly my aim.

Ottershaw 3/Hillingdon Winter Series - updated

And the winner is?

Out undercover reporter writes back again from the Ottershaw series:

"On today’s cold but bright morning 40 riders signed on for the final round of the Ottershaw series this week held over 80k on a combination of Staple Hill and Valley End circuits. Included in the field from the Meudon were last week’s winner and overall leader Ashley Holding, Jason Edwards, Ben Marks, Mike Knight and Martin Hulbert.

With such a close margin between the leading three in the series then this was always going to be a tactical race and this was reflected in the early action as the attacks were not getting more than a few seconds gap before the Meudons or the WyndyMillas chased them down in support of Ashley and WMs Alex Higham. Lone riders, and overall contenders, Lewis Atkins and Martin Smith were also in close attendance as the race moved with 30k to go onto the smaller Valley End circuit and its long drag through the finish each lap.

Valley End offers better opportunities for breakaways as a 10 second lead means you are out of sight for most of the lap and this turned out to be the case as two of the most experienced riders in the race Colin McDermott and Paul Holdsworth sneaked away together with under 20k left quickly pursued by 5 others including Martin Hulbert, and then the bunch with the top 4 still watching each other. Unfortunately Ben Marks punctured at this point and despite getting a WyndyMilla wheel he had little chance of regaining the fast moving bunch

It looked like the leading two would be caught by the chasing 5 with 10k left but they kept working doggedly with each other and as they took the bell they still had a good 20 sec lead over the chasers and that is how it finished with Festival RCs Colin McDermott getting the better of Hounslow’s Paul Holdsworth in the sprint. The next 5 came in some 20 secs behind and then all eyes were on the bunch gallop which would decide the overall and it was a close finish that the judges were still pondering over when I left.

So full results to follow via the Surrey League website all though good to report that all 5 Meudoners finished."

Update:

November 7, 2010 - Twickenham CC - Ottershaw Series #3 - E/1/2/3 - 60 miles


Pos Name Club/Team Cat Time
1 Colin McDermott Festival RC 3V 02:18:00
2 Paul Holdsworth Hounslow & District 1V
3 Paul Edwards Lighweight 0:35
4 Andy Davies Fit-For 1
5 James Stuart Norwood Paragon CC 2
6 Martin Hulbert VC Meudon 3V
7 Stephen Dring Team Echelon Spiuk E
8 Jake Martin Onelife Fuga Racing Team
9 Lewis Atkins Orbea-For Goodness Shakes E @ 0:44
10 Alex Higham WyndyMilla E
11 Martin Smith Army CU EV
12 Ashley Holding VC Meudon 2V
13 Allan Ridler Cycle Kingdom RT 2
14 James Jones Beeline Bicycles RT 2
15 Nat Spurling Finchley RC
16 James Wakelin Sigma Sport RT 2
17 Nigel Stephens Finchley Racing Team 2
18 Mark Spindler Twickenham CC 3
19 Chris Batch Redhill CC 3V
20 Bill Butterworth Team Quest 3V
21 Scott Merrilees Wyndymilla 3
22 Alex Pantelides Twickenham CC 3J
23 Robert Cranstone Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA 3V

24 Luke Merrilees Wyndymilla 2
25 Jason Edwards VC Meudon 1V
26 Angus Macaw
27 Simon Henley Team Corley Cycles 2
28 Henry Furniss WyndyMilla 1
29 Neil Edwards Private Member 3

Overall after 3 rounds Pts
1 Lewis Atkins Orbea-For Goodness Shakes E 15
2 Ashley Holding VC Meudon 2V 17
3 Alex Higham WyndyMilla E 22
4 Jake Martin Onelife Fuga Racing Team 24
4 Colin McDermott Festival RC 3V 24
6 Martin Smith Army CU EV 27
7 Allan Ridler Cycle Kingdom RT 2 29
8 James Jones Beeline Bicycles RT 2 36
8 Andy Davies Fit-For 1 36
10 Paul Edwards Lighweight 37
11 Stephen Dring Team Echelon Spiuk E 40
12 Paul Holdsworth Hounslow & District 1V 41
13 Mark Spindler Twickenham CC 3 62
14 Neil Edwards Private Member 3 63
15 Bill Butterworth Team Quest 3V 71
16 Chris Batch Redhill CC 3V 73


Its not the end of the road season….Starting Dec 4th the Hillingdon Winter series starts with races for all categories throughout the winter months. For full details see; http://www.imperialracingteam.com/imperialracingteam/index.htm

Chalk chase - Sun 28th Nov - updated

Craig and Terry's chalk chase - Ronde Pittance Hill - the unofficial VC Meudon off-road champs is the 28th of November (a Sunday) leaving Seale Tea Rooms at 9:30. This is an off-road ride!

If you haven't done a chalk chase before, 'the hares' set off with a headstart and lay a trail of chalk cross country and 'the hounds' chase, the first person to catch them is the winner (or something like that).

New Spinning Class at Mint Condition

There follows a commercial message from Nick Mint:

Starts Monday 8th November at 7.30pm. Ginny (AKA Miss Whiplash) at Mint Condition is starting a new group Spinning Class for a limited pre-Christmas run of 5 weeks for £40. The class format will be 50 minutes and will make a valuable off-season alternative to the autumn/winter 'miles'. Ginny also runs a popular Pilates classes running throughout the week, so if you need some core strength and stretch get in touch. Places are limited so book now by calling Mint Condition 01420 590590 or email ginny@mintcondition.net. Mint Condition - Binsted (http://www.mintcondition.net).

Looking for an Italian training camp base?

David Freeman (ex Hastings and VC Bayeux is now running training camps from his home in Le Marche, Italy. Camps will be up and running from next March. If you want to build up a good base for your 2011 season at a competitively priced training camp have a look at www.cycletramonto.com for details.

Ashley wins Ottershaw 2


The second in the Ottershaw series toook place at the weekend, this report just in from VC Meudon's man at the race:

"It was a wet and chilly Sunday morning for round 2 of the Ottershaw series on the Staple Hill and Kitsmead circuits today with the weather prompting a slightly smaller turnout from the bumper field of last week.. Meudon had three brave riders, Jason Edwards, Ashley Holding and Ben Marks, two of whom (Ash and Ben) were in the top 10 overall courtesey of their 4th and 9th places in round 1.

A fast start saw a couple of riders losing contact on the first climb of Staple Hill and once a gap had formed the heavy rain blowing across the top of Bagshot Common meant there was no way back. A couple of laps later evergreen Paul Holdsworth attacked over the top of the climb and held the bunch off for a lap but as he was caught the decisive move went as WyndyMilla’s Alex Higham clipped off the front the same time as a a few more were spat out the back.

Higham never got more than a 30sec gap however as the race moved off the harder Staple Hill circuit onto 10 laps of Kitsmead lane it looked like he could stay away. However three riders bridged across soon followed by another two including another Wyndy Milla making a strong six man group with just 5 laps, 15 miles, to go. The bunch did not give up and was splintering and regrouping all the time as the stronger riders tried to bring the break back, all three Meudons were in the action and with just three laps left another group including last weeks winner Lewis Atkins, Cycle Kingdoms Alan Ridler, Army’s Martin Smith and Ashley powered across to the leaders in under a lap with Ash looking the strongest to make a leading group of 10.

The bunch seemed to give up now as the leaders drove on to take the bell. Colin McDermott took advantage of some nervous looking around and went down the right hand gutter with just over a kilo to go, the break continued to look at each other and as they took the final left hander into the finishing straight Colin still had a 100mtr lead….it might be a small circuit but Kitsmead lane can seem awfully long when you are dangling on your own off the front of a break of this quality; eventually the chase was on and at the 200 mtr flag it was man of the race Alex Higham who was bearing down on McDermott with Ash and Lewis on his wheel…Lewis couldn’t stay with them and as Alex went past Colin, Ash put in a huge finishing burst to take a brilliant win and put him in contention for the series with just one event left.

Full result to follow on SurreyLeague website."

Ladies (m) mtb for sale


Scott Contessa lady specific mountain bike for sale. Five years old but hardly used - knackered knees. Matt black frame hardly marked. Manitou Axel Diva fork with compression and rebound adjustments. Mainly Shimano LX but XT rear mech and Avid rim brakes. Really nice condition. £250 Jim Morris 01428 713935.