Hello to all.  We will continue our road sessions for a few more weeks, covering our involvement in the Durham Big Rides. 

The session this week will be about starting, accelerating and stopping, with variations for our different age/ability groups.

Hope that everyone has had a really good Summer!  Looking forward to enjoying the rest of it with the club, so see you all on Saturday.

Tony Hodgson

This Saturday, we've got a few things to do whilst the sausages and burgers are burning (sorry, cooking).  A
bike tune-up session is planned - so coaches should bring tools and
lubes, plus a track pump and turbo trainer or bike stand if you have
them.

Riders will need their bikes (yes) a multi-tool, your "preferred
lubricant" (mine's a pint) - such as WD40 or other well-known product. 
Bring some rags - one for dirt and one for polishing. 

Dear all, details of this session are now attached. Please note that we have some Go-Ride sessions for the youngest as the content of the main session is too advanced for them.  Youngest riders will practise group techniques though! 

Based on feedback from coaches, we will do more work on observing your position in a bunch or a line, negotiating moving around and helping team mates.  Throw in taking shelter and picking up bottles malarkey and we should be busy for most of the morning. We'll use bibs to identify riders.

It's back to cornering this week folks.  Cornering is one of the most useful techniques to get right, because in a long ride or race with a lot of corners, it can add up to a big saving in energy!

Ian Murray has written the session and will be lead coach, with Sarfraz and Alex assisting.  For the advanced riders, I hope that John Davidson will lead a practical ride over to the Lumley circuit to enable our older riders to develop their cornering in a bunch situation. 

Congratulations to all our riders for braving the elements at Hetton today.  It reminded me a bit of our "Splash and Dash" Time Trial session last year.  The TT results are attached. 

Time Trials

On the small circuit, fastest riders in the Sharks/Rockets groups were:

Girls - Imogen - 2mins 55secs & Boys - Roshan 3mins 35s

On the big circuit, the fastest in the Inters was Joe in 3m32s from Finn in 3m 43s.

This Saturday we are putting our road legs and skills to the test with a morning of handicapped races.  Riders will be grouped into age and ability levels and we will hold two basic events - one for the under 10's and one for older riders.  

I am therefore looking for helpers, both on and off the bike, particularly as I would like to be a riding helper on Saturday! 

I am uploading the session plan for tomorrow, as the nearest thing to a computer when Tony H went to school was an abacus!