Clarion Easter meet 2010 Photos

Race results

Clarion riders have been out in force racing over the past few weeks, some riding open events for the first time, Congratulations to all

Duncan Macgregor Super 6, Race B: 11th April
Jonathan Buckley rode to 15th place in his first road race since returning to competitive cycling. Jonathan said "I Really enjoyed the whole experience, great weather, course and fellow competitors. Learned a hell of a lot too, so with that in mind and better preparation who knows next time..."

Royal Albert 10 TT
Three West Lothian riders rode the TT on the Cambusbarron course. Well done to Sadiq Mir, Steven Fraser, and Allan McCrimmon, all managing new pbs

Sadiq said "The weather stayed good and the conditions meant it was a tougher outward leg and a speedy return. I managed 24.08... I made the mistake of pulling up 20 metres from the finish due to a misunderstanding regarding where a marshal was placed...still a PB so happy enough. With a mile to go I was convinced I was going to get my first 23 something but the finish just didn't come quick enough!"

Steve said "Well run event and thoroughly enjoyed my first time on this deceptively flat and fairly smooth piece of road. As someone who tends to ride on the hoods all the time it was a personal first to actually ride 10 miles on the drops."

Times:
32 Sadiq Mir: 24.08
52 Allan McCrimmon: 26.15
66 Steven Fraser: 28.44

Mackie Tankard 25 TT
Steven Fraser and Neil Fraser entered their first 25TT on the 11th April. Steve said "The downhill start was excellent - even better for the guy starting in front of me who had the added benefit of tractor passing just as he was pushed off. Throughly enjoyed it and felt okay despite being out with the active group on saturday morning and kept a fairly steady pace all the way round. An excellent time for Neil - he started 7 behind me and was a few hundred yards shy of catching me at the end."

Neil said "I never saw anyone in front of me except all the folk that started behind me and cruised past! Was feeling quite grumpy with myself at the finish but after a shower and a bit of lunch I felt a bit better. It was only my first 25 and I learnt a few things from it."

Times
42 N Fraser 01:09:46
48 S Fraser 01:16:03

Up the Cleuch April 11th

Julie Dominguez and Steve McCaw rode their first TTs of the year in the Gala CC promoted event. Neither riders would call themselves climbers but both competitors put in good rides on the demanding course.

Steve came 8th, a first top 10 finish for a West Lothian Rider in a TT and Julie was third Woman, narrowly missing out on 2nd place

8 Steve McCaw 44.21
37 Julie Dominguez 56.58

Stirling Duathlon
Angus Gallie entered the 'age group' qualifier for the world championships being held in Edinburgh in September. Angus said "On the face of it, I've not made the 'cut' for the World's. I was 9th out of about 18 in my category. However it depends on what happens in the remaining qualifiers (if the standard isn't high enough they might look at the Stirling results again). Also I've entered the last qualifier down in Cambridge at the start of May. So I might as well give it another shot."

"I've got to be philosophical about it, it was only my second Duathlon (my first at the 'full' distance) and I can tell you it's harder than I could have imagined. My calf muscles started to go into spasms towards the end of the bike ride and I thought that I wouldn't be able to run the last leg!"

"I am sure it definitely takes a few years to build up the capability to 'perform' So maybe when I'm drawing my pension I'll be no too bad at it!"

A big welcome to Paul

Paul Hammond joined up before Easter after trying out a few club runs

Paul says "I am a complete newcomer to road biking but have done a bit of mountain biking and general cycling. My most memorable ride to date is the West Highland Way which I did last year - 15 hours riding and 4 hours carrying!"

"I have just bought a Specialized Allez road bike and I also have a Giant XTC mountain bike and an old Revolution Courier which I use for my muddy commuting rides."

"My cycling plans for 2010 are just to get out as often as I can, build up my mileage and learn some new routes, although I am tempted to give the summer TT series a try."

Ride the Trossachs Ton 2010

Club member Malcolm Wake is helping out with the Trossachs Ton Sportive again this year and has sent in these details:

Sunday 20th June 2010 will see the second Trossachs Ton (100mile) cycle takes place in Scotland starting and finishing in the shadow of Stirling castle. The Trossachs Ton is a 100 mile circular charity ride aimed at cyclists of all abilities and will raise funds for Action Medical Research. This year we have introduced a new shorter 100km circuit.

This challenging event has been organised by an enthusiastic team of cyclists and will take in some stunning scenery that only Scotland can offer; there will be lochs, glens, monuments and castles. Oh, and there will be the odd hill or two, but what goes up, does of course go down too! We’ll provide you with everything you need to complete the ride apart from a bike and the legs! This fully supported ride includes feed stations, lunch, sweep vehicle, bike mechanics and helpful crew.

The registration fee for the ride is £25.00 which covers the cost of the event and a further £25 is requested in support of the charity.

More details are available on the event website at www.action.org.uk/trossachs_ton where online entry is now open.

Action Medical Research is dedicated to touching people’s lives through funding the very best medical scientists and researchers to help babies and children suffering from disease and disability. Through our Touching Tiny Lives appeal we are researching the causes of premature birth and pregnancy complications. Very often, however a particular disease or disability needs that bit more help – a push for more awareness, more support, and more action.

Scottish MTB XC reports

The Clarion was well represented in the first race of the Scottish MTB XC series, David Mason sends in this report and Jonathan Buckley follows up with a report on his own ride.

David continues: Top results for Budding Clarion Kids in Scottish Cross Country Mountain Bike Race Series!

Stage 1 of the 2010 series at Kirroughtree ended with Jamie and Cameron Mason placing first in their respective categories !

The main race is approximately 9km of fast flowing singletrack, technical descents and lung bursting climbs. Over 80% of this years route was on singletrack with a mix of demanding natural trail and smooth swoopy bermed track.

Jamie (12) had just moved up from the Primary Schools Races to Juvenile Category which meant a full lap of the very testing "adult" course. Despite that he achieved a first in the "beginners" Category and walked off with a trophy and bag of goodies too.

Cameron (9) also had a successful day in the woods on the specially adapted skills course which was 90% singletrack with "rock features". He successfully held onto an early lead on the very tight technical course and also gained top podium position!

I managed a reasonable position (19th after a stewards enquiry and trip to marriage counselor) in the open category race (2 laps) after a "mechanical" on the first lap when my saddle disappeared into the seat tube, blame the mechanic!

Our other Clarionista, Jonathan Buckley, had even more trouble in the Masters (4 laps). With a good start leading to a high placing in 1st couple of laps, his chain then snapped on lap 3 bringing to an end to his dreams of glory.

Bring on Contin in April where we'll hopefully be flying the Clarion colours!

Jonathan continues:

The Conditions were perfect, sunny intervals and around 10 degrees meant the shorts had their first outing this year!

The course was approximately 6 miles per lap and my category (Masters) was 4 laps. Terrain was a mixture or short steep rooty climbs through the forest, quite technical and the second half was fast singletrack where passing would be difficult.

The race started well, I managed to get to the front and hold my position but a wrong turn just before the start/finish line meant I was passed by 2 riders. After 2 laps I was running 3rd and going quite well but the furious pace was beginning to take its toll on me and the bike.

Every time I got out of the saddle my chain would slip and selecting a gear was becoming difficult, two thirds round the penultimate lap, I had to get out of the saddle for a steep section and my chain snapped.

It must have been fatigue but I just couldn't repair the chain - eventually having to ask for help and thus disqualifying myself from the event, I had lost around 11 minutes and dropped back to 11th on completion of the lap and then retiring.

A disappointing result but I thoroughly enjoyed my day out and it gives me a good indication of where I am fitness-wise for the next race in April at Contin, Inverness.

A big thanks to the organisers for a great course and well run event.

Full results can be found at http://www.sxc.org.uk/

Corrieri Classic 10TT results

1: Arthur Doyle (Dooleys Cycles) 20.14
13: Matthew Ball (West Lothian Clarion) 22.34
44: Sadiq Mir (West Lothian Clarion) 24.27

Many thanks to Tommy Glendenning and Denny Road Club for organising a great event.

As well as two riders racing another West Lothian member volunteered. After attending training in January, Tobias Bauer took on the commissaire role for the first time at the TT.

Many thanks Tobias.

Women's Lake APR road race report

Women's Club TT champ, Julie Dominguez, rode her first road race at the weekend. The Lake APR event was a handicapped race, where women were seeded into different groups depending on their ability. The groups were set off at intervals with the faster riders in the last group and the slower ones in the front.

This was the first women-only race, of recent years, in Scotland and organising club Glasgow Nightingale should be congratulated for putting on such a well run event, which also included a men's race

It appears the seeding was unbalanced with some very fast riders managing to creep into the first group because they hadn't informed the organisers of their previous racing results.

Julie's continues:

My legs still hurt from Sunday's baptism of fire, It was a mega fast start, downhill, tailwind, top triathletes and roadies dragging me down the road to the first turn.

That was that, never saw them again!

It turns out that the seeding of competitors was obscured due to riders not pointing out their past achievements. I was in the first chasing group... chasing world class triathletes and Scottish talent team riders who were in the group in front.

A few of us straggled along a long winding road. I tried to get a girl onto my wheel but as I pushed on, to catch the rider in front, she couldn't hold on. I then couldn't catch the girl in front of me, so I cycled on, on my own, what a mess!

I rode with my hands over the bars, in a time trial pose, trying to claw back as much ground as I could. I had a moment of elation when I spotted a yellow number in front, I easily caught up, then pushed on - they couldn't keep up with me either.

After a 15 mile time trial I decided to stop (to be honest, I was getting bored with riding on my own). After a while a girl I had passed earlier appeared, so I decided to jump back on the bike and we rode together towards the finish.

We had a good chat about the race, about life, about sore legs and kept each other going. Suddenly we heard riders in the men's event catching us up - at last, a race!

I joined in with the guys as they shouted to get on their wheels. It was windy now, the road took a sharp left and then woosh! - downhill. This was my chance to shine, I can descend quickly, so I scared a few as I over took them. They jumped onto my wheel and followed me down hill, what a rush!

It made the earlier 15m TT worth it just for this! We were only a few miles from the finish, another descent and then a short sharp rise to the finish. I was happy again!

If I hadn't had a 'tea break' with 6 miles to go I would have finished in the middle of the 'girlie' pack. Instead I made a great pal, Anne, and experienced proper racing with the guys at the finish.

The organisation was great, can't fault it and YES I will be racing again!

Sunday ride report

Allan was at the Cross in Linlithgow to lead the Sunday ride as usual, here is his report:

The Sunday gang is gaining in numbers and this week we had three new faces too. 9 riders set out, the regulars: Col, Eve, Neil, Dennis and I, plus newbies Andrew, Lindsay and John plus returning regular Steve.

We set off on the Blackness Road to Champney, then turned and followed the road to S. Queensferry via Old Elizabeth Yard. Then on to the Dalmeny Estate, Barnton, Gogar, Ratho, Newbridge, Winchburgh, Faucheldean, Ochiltree, Kingscaval Brae and back to Linlthgow.

The weather was great, although there was quite a tough headwind on way back. I think everyone had a good ride and the group stayed together pretty well. We rode about 40 miles at an average of 15mph.

I hope to see everyone again next week and maybe even more members will come out, now the weather is improving.

Col said "Good run today. I thought the new riders did really well, hope to see them again!"

Denis said "I really enjoyed the ride with a record 9 Sunday riders! But the head wind on the way back was a bit tough"

All the club run information can be found here: www.westlothianclarion.co.uk/clubruns

Saturday ride reports

East Calder Crew
Neil Greer was on the East Calder ride on Saturday and sends in this report:

In addition to myself, 6 other riders out made it for the EC Social Ride with Debbie, Keir, Grant, Ken, Neil L. and Stephen (Henley) completing the group. Due to time constraints we elected to do the shorter Carnwath loop via Auchengray & Woolfords before taking the back road that links directly to the Lang Whang.

Conditions were just about perfect - sunny, dry and very little wind - and Keir and Neil L. (both in shorts!) were vying for the knobbly kness competion (it was declared a dead heat...).

There was a lot of feedback from last week's Rad in the group and the banter was good. At the Whang junction Neil L. and Ken (who is keen to get the miles in in preparation for the Sky team's attempt at the Etape du Tour) peeled off towards Carnwath to do a longer (61 miles) loop around the Pentlands (for which they managed a healthy 15 mph).

The rest of us took the loop back via the airfield to come into Kirknewton village where our stats showed 39 miles at 13.5 mph; all in all a cracking Spring ride.

Linlithgow crew
Andy sends in this report about the social ride:

Another great run and turnout today. Thirteen riders turned up at 9.00am on Saturday morning. We split into social and active groups, I went on the social group along with Donald, Neil, Dick, Ross, Melwyn and Lesley. The active group consisted of Craig, Jamie, Simon, Steve, Paul and Neil.

we rode the Lang Wang route, so we set of to Bridgend, Faucheldean, Winchburgh, East Calder, Kirknewton, LangWang, Harburn/West Calder and over through Blackburn and Bathgate. The weather was fantastic and certainly not what was forecast and hardly any wind too. Melwyn must have been putting in some secret training as there was no holding him back and he hung in well on the ride. Hope there will be many more rides like this one as we head towards the better weather.

Steve said "It was nice to meet up with the guys and ride in the active group, the weather was nice despite the forecast so took the summer bike out for a shake down with the new equipment. All good."

Jamie, who also rode in the active group said "I'd like to thank Craig "Tow-Truck" Marshall for getting me around the 'Whang, I felt ok till Kirknewton Airfield then fell apart like a cheap suit!".

All the club run information can be found here: www.westlothianclarion.co.uk/clubruns

Kingscavil on Google Streetview!

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Club Photo 2010

Linlithgow Palace, Sunday 14th March 2010

La Marmotte 2010: A novice's diary

Club Treasurer Michelle Gregory (and winner of our women's open hill climb) has entered the Marmotte Sportive in France, follow her progress on http://michellemgregory.blogspot.com/

Ride the Scottish MTB XC series

This Sunday sees the start of the Scottish MTB XC series down in Dumfries at the 7 Stanes Kirroughtree trail centre. The series consists of 7 rounds accross the country and is open for male and female riders of all levels and this year even includes the World cup circuit at Ft. William for the Scottish championships in June.

Club member Jonathan Buckley will be entering... anyone else going to give it a go?

The dates and venues are as follows....

Round 1 - Kirroughtree 21st March
Round 2 - Contin 25th April
Round 3 - Aberfoyle 23rd May
Round 4 - Ft William Scottish Championships 13th June
Round 5 - Perth 8th August
Round 6 - Laggan Wolftrax 29th August
Round 7 - Drumlanrig Castle 19th September

Entries can be made on the day but also online at www.entrycentral.com. Jonathan plans to race all rounds if possible (This season is his comeback year!) but if anyone requires any further info or would like to see a friendly face at the race, please feel free to contact the club at secretary[AT]westlothianclarion.co.uk

The official series website is www.sxc.org.uk.

RadTour: a fantastic day out on the bike

The club held its second annual RadTour on Sunday 14th March. This time we were able to open entries up to non-members and almost 40 riders gathered in front of Linlithgow Palace. The weather was some of the mildest of the year and, although there was a brisk westerly, the excitement of taking part in a big season-opener after such a long, hard winter was evident.

The riders set off in pace groups on a route that stayed more in West Lothian than last year, the theme of the route being '7 Castles of West Lothian' but made some brief cross-border hops into neighbouring Falkirk, North Lanarkshire and Edinburgh for a full flavour of the local cycling experience.

One of the great highlights of the route was the feed stop at 37 miles, magnificently organised by Neil Greer. Julie Greer and Alison Dourley led the way in laying on a fantastic spread of soup, bacon rolls and home-bakes while son Callum marshalled, making sure that tired riders didn't overshoot on their rapid descent from the highest point of the route, on the Lang Whang. First to arrive were a group averaging almost 18mph, an impressive rate given the sustained climbing over Standburn, Polkemmet Moor and the Whang itself.

The following sections, towards Whitburn and Queensferry were navigationally quite tricky and time-consuming and the final climb of the day, a long drag up to Ochiltree into an ever strengthening wind took a lot of riders well past their maximum effort for the season so far, the swooping descent down Kingscavil and the finish line back at Linlithgow perhaps being a relief for some.

As in 2009, the Rad Tour seems to have generated a great early season buzz - Alan Massey said "I had a great day, many thanks to the organisers and all involved at the feed stop. My longest ride of the year so far (77 miles by the time I got home), and what a fantastic one too" while Bill Young reflected on "great company, great roads and what a great sight to see that the club has grown so much in stature but has still managed to keep the small club feel."

Hope you're all looking forward to 2011 already!

Comments from the participants:

"Just a quick note to say thanks to everyone involved in organising the event today. It was truly Rad! Was also a good chance to catch up with some folk I haven't seen for a while from the Linlithgow end of the operation." Malcolm

"It was a great day out, thanks Tobias, Kerstin and Graham for all your hard work in organising the Radtour. Thanks to Neil and family/friends for your wonderful hospitality. Great weather and beautiful scenery, although we seemed to spend the day looking for a tailwind which never materialised! Eve and I finished around 4pm with an average speed of 12.5mph." Debbie

"Great day today! Thanks to all who organised and gave up their Sunday. Also big thanks to Neil for a great spread and a very warm welcome. THANK YOU! Nice to see such a huge turn out and great to see everyone. Still didnt see any castles though!" Col

"What a fantastic day out on the bike and hats off to Tobias, Graham, Kirstin, Neil and Jules and all the helpers at the feed station :-) The food spread was absolutely amazing and a very welcome site at that stage in the run. Great company, great roads and what a great site to see that the club has grown so much in stature but has still managed to keep the small club feel. Brilliant effort from everyone." Bill

"Great organisation and what a spread of food! I loved the Paradise Cake (might need to get the recipe Neil!). I am a bit shot tonight after 50 miles on Saturday as well as the RadTour ... P.S. I saw two castles.." Mark

"Thanks to everyone - the organisation and the food was first class (guinness cake was superb!), it was a cracking day all round. I was shot at the end, but Alan got me home and I slept really well last night" Ewan

For more images click here

Clarion Open 10 mile Time Trial

Discipline: Time Trial
Classification: Regional C
Date: 16.05.2010
Closing date for entries: 08.05.2010
Cheques Payable To: West Lothian Clarion
Entries on the day: No
Location: Cambusbarron Hall, St Ninians Rd, Cambusbarron
Promoted By: West Lothian Clarion CC
Fee: £10

Race Organiser:
Mr Tobias Bauer
Grange Stables
Linlithgow
West Lothian EH49 7RH
Tel: 01506 840036
Email: president[AT]westlothianclarion.co.uk

Comments:
Change of course to 10/1, the Cambusbarron course near stirling. New HQ venue at Cambusbarron Hall.

Incorporates the National Clarion 10 mile TT championship

To download entry form click here (second weblink on page)

Map of course here: www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Cambusbarron-10

Where to stay in Linlithgow: www.linlithgow.com/stay

Where to stay in Stirling: www.stirling.co.uk/accommodation