The North Wirral Velo’s annual club dinner/prize presentation is on this coming Saturday (16th November). It’s a night to celebrate the past 12 months of the club’s success and gives both of the non-follicly members a chance to let their hair down. As for the rest of us, we’ll just get drunk and do dad dancing.
As well as the prize presentation and buffet, there will be (of course) the world premier of the latest much anticipated NWV movie. The lucky attendees get to see it before it’s public release (probably a DVD in the bargain bucket at Aldi). But more importantly there will be a talk from our guest speaker, Helen Bridgman. She was one of the very talented and courageous Internationelles team that rode the entire Tour De France route one day ahead of the race.
Thanks to everyone who has supported the club over the last year, we continue to grow and continue to introduce people to cycling and riders to racing.
The annual North Wirral Velo club dinner and prize presentation is taking place this year on Saturday 16th November at the Nelson Hotel, Grove Road , Wallasey.
After the success of last years event, tickets are selling fast, especially as the night includes the much anticipated premiere of the 2019 NWV Movie. It’s a evening of celebrating the clubs achievements over the year and to recognise the club champions for 2019.
What a lot of people won’t realise is the significance of the venue. The Nelson served many of the original NWV members back in the 1950’s and 60’s. There is even a story that the idea of forming the club was originally conceived by an indirect descendant of John Kemp Starley, the British inventor of the “safety bicycle” in the 1870’s. A design that bicycles have been based on ever since.
During a particularly rowdy, alcohol and drugs fuelled evening, a couple of chaps who had ridden on their bikes to the Nelson decided to meet on the next Sunday, 8am sharp outside a small shack at the end of what’s now the Chester High Road. That small shack ended up being the Glegg Arms and the NWV still meet there every Sunday to this day. From that initial ride to sure those founding fathers hangovers, the rides grew in popularity so they decided to start a cycling club.
Initially the club was to be named the Bicycle Club of the Northern Part of the Wirral. However, someone pointed out that it would be hard and costly to fit all those words on the jerseys. After much debate and beer, the name North Wirral Velo was finally agreed and the club was born. Incidentally, the club colours of green and yellow were chosen from the pallor of some of the members from those early morning Sunday rides.
Tickets for the club dinner are £20 and available by emailing hello@nwvcycling.club. We look forward to seeing you there!
At the end of August, NWV member Steve Woods was riding near Preston when he stopped beside an HGV at a set of traffic lights. What happened next was truly horrific. The lorry turned left and crushed both of Steve’s legs under its wheels as it turned the corner.
Steve, from Wallasey, who is self employed, is in Preston hospital following an emergency operation to save his shattered leg. Despite the trauma and immense pain and suffering, Steve has kept a cheery outlook and managed to keep a smile on his face.
Steve, keeping positive in hospital.
His son Rory has set up a GoFundMe page to try ro help his parents out whilst his dad is off work and not earning. Donations have flooded in from fellow cyclists and kind hearted friends and strangers.
If you’d like to donate (and we hope you can spare a few quids for him and his family) then please go to his GoFundMe page here
We wish Steve a very speedy recovery and hope its not too long until he’s back in the saddle.
This weekend is going to be a busy one for NWV as our resident ‘man’ Richard Chambers is heading off to Tenby to become an Iron Man. Although a relatively new (and most competitive) member of the club Rich has already had a big impact and his dedication to his training is both impressive and inspirational. Good luck Rich, we all wish you the very best of luck! Follow the link below for his fundraising page.
Today was a pretty memorable day for NWV with 4 people entered into the Liverpool Phoenix 10. Club ‘Dad’ Michael Hurworth has inspired a new wave of Testers to hit the road and today Andrew ‘It definitely is a TT bike’ Woodside, Lee ‘Wire showing through tyres is ok, right?’ Holmes and Pete ‘Doesn’t like roundabouts’ Clarke took the plunge with him.
All four of them threw themselves into it and loved the experience.
Lee was first off for us and smashed the road bike category by finishing 2nd. Just over 25 mins was a superb ride on the ‘roadie’. Lee looked super strong and shows climbing all those mountains is great training! I can see another Canyon being added to the stable!
Next up was Pete and surprisingly he was the first finisher of the whole day! Unfortunately for Pete his 17 min course record wouldn’t stand for long as some confusion on a roundabout meant he had missed a few miles off the course. A predicted time of 25 mins shows he was going well and I must admit it was very funny to witness (Sorry Pete).
Pete riding continental stylee (around roundabouts)
Andy then came on flying down the start on his 999th and newest ‘definitely a TT’ bike. After seeing him ride off strongly into the distance it was somewhat of a surprise his minute and 2 minute man beat him to the halfway point. Just as the crowd where deciding whether to go and investigate a possible puncture he appeared and was going well, finishing strongly with a 26:32 official time. When the press caught up with him he sheepishly admitted to a detour along the M58! Robin, i really am not making this up!
Andy, who went so fast he had to use a motorway.
Last up was Mike on his new TT machine. Looking more and more the TT expert every time I see him he put in a solid ride to finish just over 27 mins in the strong headwinds. Knowing Mike he is going to dial that position in over the winter and that time is coming down in chunks next season.
Club dad, Mike Hurworth in full flow
With the OB1 magic mystery tour for probable syrup covered waffles on Sunday (this statement is unverifed at the time of print) it is a great weekend for the NWV.
Latest reports of Mike Hornsby dancing on tables in Hoylake to celebrate the spotlight moving from him and his bollard to Pete/Andy and their roundabouts are again unconfirmed.
As an addition to the awards on offer at this years Club Dinner, we are having a NWV Photo Competition! This is open to anyone that adhere’s to the rules below.
A fan takes a photo in front of the peloton in the 2014 Ghent-Wevelgem
Rules are simple: Entrants must attend club dinner on November 16th Photo must include a clearly visible NWV jersey Photo must be your own work and taken in the last 12 months. Only one entry per person per category No flaps shots or panhandles
Categories: Best action shot Best scenery Funniest photo Overall winner.
Prizes given at the dinner. This will be judged by an independent panel of non experts.
Closing date for entries Friday 8th November 2019. Send all entries (along with your name and contact details to hello@nwvcycling.club
The summer months may be behind us for the year, but there is still plenty of action happening in the North Wirral Velo!
The past few weeks have seen the club in several different sportives and loads of time trials and the beginning of the hill climb season.
The bank holiday weekend saw club rouleur and aging hipster Andy Woodside fly the NWV flag in the extremely tough Wild Wales ride, taking in some spectacular, if not tough, climbs around North Wales. As ever, he made it look too easy…
Andy, with his trade mark pistol, copied by Alberto Contador when he won the Tour De France (and other grand tours)
Midweek action in the local 5 mile time trials continued with Robin Hennessy coming back from an enforced lay off (holiday) to record a second place with 10 minutes 49 seconds. Stalwart time trialist Mike Stanley consistently keeps producing great times in the 12 minutes region. He has now switched to hill climbs for the rest of the season and long with Margaret McNelis, our lastest lady member, they are racing long into October with a full hill climb program. Best of luck to the our super climbing duo!
Mike in action on one of the road bike only events
The Clatterbridge Cancer Challenge ride was last on last week too. We have a few members riding and raising money for the worthy cause.
Chris, Liam and Chris
Further a field Lee Holmes has been ticking major French cols off his bucket list, including the Col du Tourmalet, Croix de Fer and the Col De Pyresourde (sticker about to be added). Chapeau Lee, tough terrain in hot conditions!
Lee’s bike box trophy wall
Next big outing for the NWV will be the Seashell Trust Sportive on September 15th starting and finishing in Cheadle Hulme. It’s a hilly loop through the Peak District for a very worthy cause. Please see their website for more details on how to get involved.
And of course, the lads have enjoyed the spell of hot weather in the last week, no ride is complete without a decent refreshment stop!
Sun, cycling and ice cream…
Hope you enjoyed the summer and let’s hope the weather stays clement for Autumn (at weekends at least!)
Finally, the NWV Annual Club Dinner and Prize Presentation has been confirmed for Saturday 16th November at the function room, The Nelson, Grove Road, Wallasey. For tickets and info please email hello@nwvcycling.club we would love to see you there!
But before all that hopefully see you out on the road!
A large contingent of the club were in action at the annual Tour De Mon sportive on Anglesey at the weekend. A strong showing of 14 riders (despite 2 DNS’s) turned up early on Sunday morning for the 106 miles Mawr event, with winds gusting up to 40 mph for the whole day.
Despite an overly enthusiastic pace set early on, the club stayed together (mainly) for the whole ride. However, we lost two riders at Beaumaris who were suffering, one from illness, one from a back injury. Fortunately a team car was on hand to pick them up and get them back to base.
A superbly organised event by Aim High Events on a very scenic course circumnavigating the entire island of Anglesey. The sun shone for the whole day (despite the horrific weather forecasts earlier in the week) which made it all the more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Below are a few pics from the event, thanks to Andy Chung for his contribution as club’s action photographer.
As the country is seemingly on course for a no deal Brexit, the Executive Board of the North Wirral Velo have been putting together plans to mitigate any negative impact it may have on it’s members.
Useless
With uncertainty as to the flow of imports into the UK, the NWV has been stock piling useless essentials ahead of any potential supply chain interruptions. Items that the club has been panic buying include Spokey Dokeys, handlebar plug tassels, inner tube dust caps and those annoying lock rings that newbies still put on the inner tube instead of throwing them away. There is also a large stock of playing cards and pegs (in case anyone wants to sound like a motorbike).
Just one of the items that could be affected by Brexit
Of course the ramifications of a no deal Brexit have potentially much graver and far reaching affects on the economy. Major employers may move their operations into the Eurozone, in sections such as finance and manufacturing, causing job losses. Big concerns as to the flow of imports for items as basic as food and medicines have been one of the main talking points of the whole Brexit debacle
Sniffles
In an attempt to try to combat any issues “down the road” the NWV have started bulk buying medical items such as cold and flu remedies, in case anyone get the sniffles, blister plasters for those new heels and hang over cures for after the Tuesday night social ride.
Getting the sniffles is not to be sneezed at.
Waffle
The NWV have also entered into negotiations with various markets outside of Europe to source suppliers of waffles, bacon and syrup in an attempt to keep their favourite cafe, Cleopatra’s in Holt, well stocked for each Sunday ride visit. A spokesman for the club said:
The centre of the waffle and syrup* loving cyclists universe
*other foods are available
“Cleopatra’s haven’t actually asked for any help, but as a major part of the clubs business is trading in waffles and bacon, we felt duty bound to try and help maintain the high standard of service we receive from the bistro in Holt. We just hope that no other clubs get wind of the stock we have and decide to get in before us and scran it all.”
Dragons
There have been rumours about border control checks on the Welsh-English border as the Welsh have (the same as a lot of English people) changed their minds about Brexit after the 52% leave vote of the referendum. The issue of a hard border with Wales or “Cafe-Stop” as Brussels have labeled it will affect many cyclists on the Wirral and in Cheshire as they ride in search of a few climbs before going for waffles and bacon.
NWV’s test tunnel near the Welsh border
Dig Deep
The NWV Executive Board have been in negotiations with the owners of Cleopatra’s who’s premises are technically in Wales. The Board have proposed an audacious plan to dig a tunnel from the Farndon side of the Dee, under the riverbed, a church, quite a few houses and come up into the back yard of the cafe itself.
Head of projects for the club, Dave Cuthill, has estimated the cost at around £8.3 million and stated, “we may need to put the subs up a bit to cover the cost”.
As we head towards October 31st, nobody knows with absolute certainty what the state of the nation will be after that.
Mike “The Bollard” Hornsby made his comeback ride on the club’s Tuesday night ride. He had been off the bike for 4 weeks after a collision with a particularly aggressive bollard on the Burton Marsh Greenway (BMG).
To mark the occasion, and as a special treat for him, the ride took to the BMG so the club could remember the “fell-offen” with a minutes silence at the memorial bollard.
Mike makes his peace with the bollard
In a moving speech, Mike thanked the club and his long suffering partner Paula for their support though a very painful episode in his cycling career. Despite the shock of meeting his nemesis face to face again, Mike held his composure and spoke with confidence about the future, and his hopes for being able to ride passed this and all other bollards without being drawn in to photograph them at speed before ploughing head long into them. He also thanked Cheshire County Council for erecting the plaque in his honour.
The boys, along with Mike, remember that terrible day and give thanks for not being as daft as him.
The sombre mood was further lifted by the usual stop at the “Thatch” on the way back for a round bought by Mike himself. He really is a team player.
Chapeau Mike, and hope the bruising clears up soon (but not the swelling) and you can launch your Speedos modelling career.
Ride safe!
Scott
Ps Send us your selfie with the memorial bollard on the BMG to be entered into our competition, “Who’s the biggest bollard on the road”. First prize will get two tickets to the NWV annual club dinner and prize presentation in November. Remember to use the #mikethebollard hashtag and follow @nwvcc to qualify.
