Gravel n Grog

Another Stella Tuesday evening off-road ride. It’s supposed to be a relaxed, social ride but SPOND don’t lie and one look at the attendees line-up and you knew it was going to be pacy. It was and many of us surged into the top 10 on the g’n’g Strava segment. Despite the unadvertised and for some of us unwelcome pace we made it back to ‘the clubhouse’ together for a couple of well earned ales. Such a good time was had by all, that I feared we were approaching the world of the ‘rowdy’. Luckily my lift arrived on time and I was able to make my excuses and leave before the conga-line around the garden manifested.

Saturday Club Ride

A smaller than usual turnout this week. When asked for volunteers to ride in Group One this week there was a mass step backwards so rather than be a group of one, Robert joined the stiffs in Group Two this week. He was recovering from a mighty ride through Wales so probably a good idea all round. We had a carefully planned route to avoid the sportive and the drift in the forest which went to plan. We headed south then made our way northwest to Chettle. On the way we picked up Phill B who when he found out there was a chance of another Homity Pie from the Chettle Stores picked up the peloton in Alderholt. The 115Km route was quite lumpy which may or may not be the reason for Smithy’s absence this week.

Sunday Club Ride

Sundays group one regulars had made better plans this weekend and so it was a motley crew of 9 that set out on a rather chilly but fair morning. Joined on route by Andrew B and a late, directionally challenged Peter N we made out way North west to Burley. In my attempts to avoid the cycle event I unfortunately planned a route that passed straight through one of the Drift round-ups and then more surprisingly a long distance running event. Luckily no harm was done and apart from some of the hate filled stares that could have peeled the skin off a rhino we made it through unscathed. Alan W managed to reach the cafe despite losing his rear gear cable and seems somehow to have made it home. Not much to report other than a pleasant early Autumnal morning spent in good company.
– Phil H.

Wessex Cyclocross Rd.3: Southampton

A more local race for the NFCC cyclocross enthusiasts this week, with six riders making their way to Southampton to race in club colours. The course at Southampton starts with a sprint race around a cricket field – Joe Shepherd was right at home – before getting stuck into a series of tight, twisty bits between the tapes, punctuated with long drags, dark woodland, and a fast-flowing descent or two. Earlier in the day, for the Masters 40-49 race, the course was potentially still a bit slippery after Saturday’s rain, with Jay T taking a spectacular dive around one of the off-camber grassy bends when battling his way through the pack, after choosing to start at the back of the bunch. Jay managed to fight his way through to third place, and Matt Knight, who was also in the race, reported having a solid race and crossed the line in 25th.

The course dried out well as the day went on, and by the time the senior women were on track, the racing was fierce. Emma Shepherd found the first half of the race a bit of a challenge, but grew in strength and confidence as the race went on. The final lap saw “The battle of the Emmas” with NFCC’s Emma out sprinting Sotonia’s Emma for third place. Later, the whistle blew for senior men, and three NFCC riders were in attendance. Phill Brown and Joe Shepherd were gridded well after strong performances at the previous rounds, and Brown capitalised on his positioning to take the lead of the race in the first lap. The lead didn’t last more than a few corners before Brown settled into 4th place and rode the same position all the way to the line.

Henry Lloyd-Williams was positioned towards the back of the starting grid but used his strength and superior warm-up to fight his way through the pack and finish in 10th place. Joe had a strong start to the race and had been clocking excellent lap times before the unmistakable ping of a spoke giving way in his rear wheel almost put a premature end to his race – managing to make it back to the pits, a kind bystander loaned Joe their bike and he continued to finish in a solid 20th place – the second time in 3 races! Kudos to Henry Lloyd-Williams, who rode to the event from his home in Milford-on-Sea – a casual 43km warm-up in a headwind nobody needed.

NFCC Away Day – IoW

Several of the Sunday regulars fancied a long overdue ride around the Isle of Wight. Nine riders made it across, with Rich B making it his ‘Virgin’ island ride. On Freshwater Bay’s steep sprint segment he couldn’t contain his excitement and launched an early watt bomb to the top, leaving most of us for dust apart from Phil G who was in hot pursuit. We couldn’t work out if he was rising to a challenge or just coincidence of wanting to jump in a bush for a photo opportunity. Probably a bit of both!

Get Involved:

If you find yourself out and about representing NFCC, don’t forget to jot down a few words, snap a few photos and send them over to press@newforestcc.co.uk.