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!
