Thursday 24 February 2011

Ride the 2011 RadTour: The Seven Castles of West Lothian


The club's season opener, our spring reliability trial or Rad Tour, will be on Sunday 13th March.
As with last year’s very successful even, starting from Linlithgow, the RadTour will join the dots, passing seven Castles of West Lothian.

The route this year has been slightly amended to avoid causing disruption to the users of Almondell Park and is 104km long. A full route sheet will be posted on the website once a full recce of the route has been completed and copies will be available on the day to registered riders.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Rad-Tour-2011

REGISTRATION:
• Registration is open from 8:45 to 9:15 in the Vennel car park, which is just behind Linlithgow Cross, which itself is fairly obvious on the town’s high street
• Entry is £3 and is open to non-members
• Entrants must be over 15. Entrants aged over 15 and under 18 must be accompanied by a supervising adult and must wear a cycling helmet. All other riders are strongly advised by WLC to wear a cycling helmet.
• A public toilet is open nearby from 9:15 - ask for directions. There is also a 24/7 ‘Superloo’ at the the Water Yett.
• If you can bring home-bakes for the feed-stop to the start of the ride, that would be great. The logistics of the event would make it very hard to return tupperware boxes etc so paper bags or similar might be better.

GROUPS
• Riders will be grouped according to their expected average pace. There are 3 pace categories so you need to decide which one you want to join:
• 12mph: expected time 6hrs 10 mins (includes 45 mins for breaks). Start time: 9:30am. Target finish time: 3:40pm
• 15mph: expected time 5hrs 05 mins (includes 45 mins for breaks). Start time: 9:35am. Target finish time: 2:40pm
• 18mph: expected time 4hrs 25 mins (includes 45 mins for breaks). Start time: 9:40am. Target finish time: 2:05pm
• Groups/categories will be set off together, though they may be broken into subgroups if necessary for the management of the event.
• This is not a race. The aim of the event is to complete the route at a steady pace and as close to the chosen target time as possible; times will not be published. However, you should not take risks to ‘make a time’.
• It is not expected that the all groups that set off will stay together and there are certainly no ‘group leaders’. We would, however, encourage groups to stay together for support and we would encourage all riders, especially the stronger ones within each time class, to work to encourage the cohesion of their groups where possible. Please be patient when getting through the slightly stop/start section at Hopetoun - your 45 mins of breaks include some consideration for this section so please wait for your group to get back together. Many thanks!

SAFETY
• The route is fairly long (over 100km) and tackles some high and exposed roads. You take responsibility for assessing your own fitness to take part and that of your bike, and you should aim to be self-reliant.
• You must obey road traffic law and the Highway Code throughout the event.
• You must read the risk assessment prepared for the event
• The route sheet highlights only a small number of exceptional hazards.
You obviously need to pay attention to all general hazards, instructions on road signage and markings. Pay particular attention to road surfaces; another hard winter has had a damaging effect on a lot of these.
• Show consideration for others on the route especially on the off-road sections where pedestrians are likely to be encountered eg: at Hopetoun Estate.
• There is one short off-road section within Hopetoun Estate. It is rideable for a road bike, with a little care.
• If the conditions on the day are judged unacceptably hazardous (notably heavy ice or snow) the event may be cancelled. Full refunds would be given.

FEED STOP
• The feed stop is a little past half-way, coming down Leyden Road off the Lang Whang and is being hosted by club members Neil and Julie Greer - many thanks to them. Last year’s participants will remember this as a true highlight of the day!
• The location is highlighted by the route sheet but will probably be marked at the roadside on the day as well
• Neil’s house is in a quiet residential area set back from the main road. Please take care to arrive and leave quietly and avoid disturbing Neil’s neighbours.
• Small donations to club funds can be made for the catering provided, on a purely voluntary basis.

BREAKDOWNS
• You should aim to be self-sufficient. You should certainly be carrying enough food, some money and have the tools to repair punctures and minor breakages.
• The route passes close to several train stations that would allow (via Haymarket) a return to the starting point. There are also lots of shops and cafes on or near to the route.
• If all else fails call Rob Hemesley (number to be given out on the day). Rob will have a car available and can arrange recovery, though this should be seen as a last resort. Rob has recently trained as a First Aider and will be carrying some basic tools for running bike repairs and also a basic first aid kit.
• If you ‘bail’ but do not need recovery please let Graham Foster (number to be given out on the day) know, as he will be handling registration on the day.

FINISH
• Congratulations! Register with Graham back at the Vennel car park and that’s you done.
• The ‘finish line’ will open at 1:50 pm and close at 4:15pm.

What is a Reliability Trial?
A Reliability trail is a non competitive event, effectively a formal club run, open to all comers and can provide an excellent introduction to cycling. No Reliability Ride shall be promoted which requires the participants to maintain an average riding speed of more than 18 m.p..h. ‘Average riding speed’ means the average speed when actually riding.

Thursday 17 February 2011

Next Social Monday 21st - Mid Calder


First Monday of the month
8.30pm The Four Marys on Linlithgow Hight Street

Third Monday of the month
8.30pm the Black Bull, Mid Calder

National Clarion Merit award Winners (Pst, Scotland did well!)

We are really pleased to announce the National Clarion Merit award winners for 2010.

For the third successive year West Lothian have won the Tom Groom trophy for Most Meritorious Section out of the Clarion's 26 sections. congratulations to everyone in the club, you've all done your bit.

Our kids club rider Cameron Mason has won the Harold Lamb award for most Meritorious Junior.

Our Woman's Coordinator Debbie Pollard has won the award for Novice of the Year

Jim Harris form the West of Scotland Clarion won Clubman of the year

Sarah Smith from the North Cheshire Clarion won Clubwoman of the year

Congratulations to all the winners, thoroughly deserved. We've done particularly well North of the border

Presentations will be made at the Champions banquet on Sunday 24th April (Easter Sunday) at the Easter Meet.

Now that we have local heroes and heroines to cheer on book you ticket now for the grand celebration and support our winners.

West Lothian Clarion Featured in Cycling Weekly


A couple of weeks ago Chris Sidwells from Cycling Weekly came up to Scotland and spent a day with our club.

We had a mass club run of 40 cyclists riding through the Carron Valley and Chris spent time chatting to members and taking photos for the feature.

We invited Chris to come up to Scotland so that we could promote our Easter Meet which takes place 22nd-25th April, over the Easter weekend in Stirling.

We are really chuffed with the article, it shows off Scotland really well and covers the history behind the National Clarion, also pointing our how easy it is to set up a section.

The 4 page article is on pages 56-59. Cycling Weekly is on sale, every Thursday, in all good newsagents - Hurry while stocks last!

Friday 11 February 2011

BOOK YOUR STIRLING EASTER MEET NOW!

STIRLING EASTER MEET
Friday 22nd April - Monday 25th April



Bookings are now being taken for the National Clarion's annual cycling celebration. The organisers have planned an Easter weekend jam packed with cycling and social activities for the 116th event. It would be great to get a big turn out from West Lothian

History, culture, and the Highlands in your sight – just three of the many reasons to tempt you to the 2011 Easter Meet in Stirling.

The city is the gateway to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, Scotland’s first national park. Stirling is compact and pedestrian-friendly, with great shopping, both high street and specialist, and easy access to Glasgow and Edinburgh by car or train.

Come along and make Easter 2011 a date to remember!


ATTACHED DOCUMENTS
1. Easter Meet flyer
2. Easter Meet booking form
3. Scottish Cycling entry form for the hill climb and youth championships

Details about the online booking for the 'Gateway to the Highlands' sportive can be found at: www.westlothianclarion.co.uk/gateway

JAM PACKED WEEKEND
1. Gateway to the HIghland Sportive
2. National Clarion hill climb championships
3. National Clarion youth championships
4. Carron Valley social ride
5. Falkirk Wheel social ride
6. Whisky tasting by the Tullibardine distillery
7. Stirling castle tour
8. Easter egg hunt (for the kids!)
9. Observatory tour (the hotel has an observatory!)
10. Grand raffle
11. Ceilidh and buffet on Saturday night
12. National Clarion awards banquet plus speaker on Sunday night

Bring your kids
This year's Meet is child friendly with kids staying for free in the hotel, so we'd like to encourage all the Clarion youngsters to come along, take part in the kids races and make new friends with the kids from other sections.

EASTER MEET LEVY
The organisers have tried to keep the cost low, the West Lothian Clarion have raised nearly £600 to fund the ceilidh and whisky tasting

Friday, Saturday and Sunday £41
(under 16 £20.50)

Saturday only £18
(under 16 £9)

Sunday only £22
(under 16 £11.50

YOUR HOTEL
Rooms will be allocated on a first come first served basis with a B&B rate of £80 per room for Friday and Sunday, and £100 for Saturday, based on 2 sharing.
Single occupancy rates are £60 and £80 respectively. 
Family rooms are available (at no extra cost; children pay for breakfast only)

Please contact reservations on 01786 272725, quoting booking number 8647824.

ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION 
IN STIRLING
Stirling’s Youth Hostel is five minutes from the Meet HQ : www.syha.org.uk 
Telephone: 01786 473442

There are a variety of hotels, B&Bs and pubs in and around Stirling:

ANY QUESTIONS?
email Matthew Ball at secretary@westlothianclarion.co.uk or call 07989 597175

SEE YOU IN STIRLING!