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2021 – The Year of the Beast

2020, I got fit, raced twice (did ok), then the world fell apart. The END! Roll on 2021.

2021 is going to be a pretty big year for me as I turn 40 in April. I know you all thought my grey beard was premature, but I really am that old!

Having got myself fit and with my race specific goals shifted to 2021 I started thinking of a cycling related challenge to mark my 40th year and was drawn to the Yorkshire Beast (Again). I have looked at this previously but have been put off by people’s reactions to riding 200 miles in 1 day with 16,000 ft of climbing, over 100 times up West Kirby hill! No more being put off though, 2021 is the year and I am signed up for the 19th June. Please see link below for more info.

Yorkshire Beast

Obviously, this is going to take some planning and hard work to complete as you must complete the ride in 16 hours or be captured by the ‘BEAST’, a fancily painted van! To help me with this and my Cat 2 racing ‘dreams’ I have enlisted the services of Scott Maclean at Kinetic365 to plan my training and keep me focussed. Scott will also stop me from reading about training when I am not training so I do not completely neglect me family and grinding myself into an angry, fatigued mess like I turned myself into in 2019.

One advantage of making this crazy decision is that I will have to get (unfortunately not another bike but I will have to get my carbon frame fixed after finding a very untimely crack in it), some more quality gear from Blake Pond and team at Nopinz, look how happy it made me last time.

On a more sombre note I also want to use the ride to raise awareness (Possibly some money too!) for charities supporting MS & Dementia. My wife Rebekah and I have both had family members effected by these conditions and both are truly devastating.

My plan is to document my journey to the Beast as well as the day itself so hopefully it will not be too bumpy a ride and supply some good stories/pictures along the way.

Stay safe in these crazy times

Dave

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Riding with the NWV as easy as ABC

Last Sunday saw the NW Velo ride out in 3 groups, tailored to different abilities and distances.

The A group of big hitters went out into Wales to smash the climbs and generally hurt each other.

Group B also ventured into Wales and had a scenic ride up the Horseshoe Pass from Llangollen. A tough ride, but kept together at a generally sensible pace.

B group on top the world in Wales!

The C group took a more sensibly flatter route out through the Cheshire lanes to Tarpoley with a coffee stop at the Old Fire Station cafe.

During the week, the evening rides were similar, Tuesday was the social spin, a steady 25 miles around the lanes ending up at the @thethatchraby for a welcome pint and a natter in the outside courtyard. Fantastic service as ever!

Also on Tuesday 4 of our members entered the BNECC evening 5 mile TT on the Clatterbridge Road. All turned in excellent times:
Mike Stanley 12:22
Mark Donaghy 12:57
Andy Chung 12:55
Robin Hennessy 11:17

Mike Stanley in TT action

Well done to the TT lads, we hope to see a few more trying it next week!

Thursday was the “chaingang” ride, with a great workout for those looking to improve fitness and hone bunch riding skills. A bit of tractor drafting went on but generally it was a well drilled squad flying around an 8 mile circuit averaging mid 20’s mph.

If you are interested in joining us on any of these rides, then please get in touch!

Ride safe

OB1

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Getting back to getting back?

It’s been the strangest of times around the globe. Life has been all but on hold for the last 3 months or so. But, gladly, it seems we are starting to see a glimmer of normality return to day to day life.

Pubs and restaurants reopened last weekend and British Cycling has already lifted its sanction on club rides (as long as it’s done in accordance with the Government guidelines on social distancing etc).

From cycling’s point of view, the pandemic has had a positive influence both from Government support for the sport but also the number of people taking it up as a form of commute, exercise or pastime. (why should it have taken a global health crisis to sort that?)

The club has been receiving a high volume of enquiries and the membership level is now the highest it has been since 2000 (and possibly longer). We have started some small group rides and have had lots or interest for people wanting to join these.

Currently we have 3 organised rides per week and split them into groups of 6 riders (we can’t wait until we can all ride together once more!). For further details please contact the club via our social media channels or email hello@nwvcycling.club

Stay safe and enjoy the ride

Scott

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COVID-19 Update

In light of the government’s recent advice on social distancing and gatherings, the club has taken the decision to suspend all official club rides until further notice.

Our primary concern is the health and well being of our members, their loved ones and the general public, so we are taking responsible action to do our part in preventing the spread of this awful disease.

Numerous studies have found that cycling keeps your immune system strong. A strong immune response is absolutely crucial in the fight against coronavirus, which is why young people usually have very mild symptoms.

Therefore, it seems like cycling is an advisable activity to do. It could also help us keep our sanity and lift our spirits during this pandemic. However (!), it is important to do it in such a way that you will not put yourself or others around you in danger.

Rest assured, that the club is only in temporary hibernation and will be back out as soon as it’s advisable to do so. In the meantime, our members will be taking all precautions, riding solo or in very small groups and using turbo trainers to stay strong!

We hope the worst is over quickly and some sort of normality can be restored to all aspects of daily life.

And hey, let’s be careful out there

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Get Ready to Party!

No hair or jacket required

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.

See you all next Saturday…..

OB1

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NWV 2019 Club Dinner

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!

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Help for Steve

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.

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Iron Man and the Shells

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.

Richard Chambers – Iron Man Fund Raiser

What a lad, Rich is literally made of iron. Even though that is grossly inefficient and he could easily rust.

Elsewhere Scott has managed to get more members to sign up for the Seashell Sportive below even though it made Colin cry last year. Good luck all.

Colin having a cry because he got a damp in the Seashell Sportive 2018

For further details…

http://www.seashelltrustsportive.org.uk/

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NWV TT Action

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.

Ride safe everyone!

Dave C

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NWV Photo Competition

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

Good luck and shoot safe!

OB1

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