Plan B racing

Patrick,Steve and myself turn out at Darley today to see if we can get placed in Richard Clarks final event of the year. Steve currently on the same points as last year, a very impressive 61 looking to go past last years total. Patrick requiring only 6 points to gain his 2nd cat license which would see him move from 4th to 2nd in 1 season.As for myself, well I was looking to gain some confidence ready for my difficult season ahead where i will be looking to retain my 2nd cat license in the illustrious company that Steve rides week in week out.
As usual the conditions were windy which made the race very hard. Within 2 laps the field split quite dramatically and i found myself in the wrong side of the split. But with Steve up the road i wasn’t about to look to bring it back together but instead looked for another rider who i felt wasn’t prepared to let the race ride away from him. On this occasion that turned out to be Ben Eddy who put in a big effort down the back straight to bring it all back together.
After about 5 laps 4 riders shot off down the road, this included 2 riders from Langdale who we knew were dangerous as well as Neil Beasley. Looking around for Steve I quickly realized that he wasn’t going to get with them so i waited patiently for another rider to go off the front so that i could look to work with and perhaps get across to the leaders. Two laps later an Ashfield rider put in an effort from the front, I followed closely behind fully expecting to turn around & see the peleton lined out, but to my surprise we had pulled out quite a gap so i wasted no time whatsoever in going to the front and working with my fellow breakaway rider.After about 4 laps we were joined by one other which at this point i was grateful for as it would enable me to have slightly longer recovery before my turn on the front. With 11 laps to go i seriously thought i wouldn’t be able to hold on in the break but somehow i dug deep enough to see it through to the end. As the laps ticked down I allowed myself to think about how i could possibly beat my two fellow riders in the sprint. Both were stronger than me but as it slowed up towards the final chicane and with a head wind i decided to try and catch them by surprise by going 1st, for a brief moment I thought i had done them only for both of them to come flying past me and beat me comfortably by 3 or 4 bike lengths. After the finish i had time to turn and see Steve take 2nd place in the bunch sprint. This gave me 7th place and Steve 9th which enabled him to move past last years total of 61 points.
We were fortunate to be supported by our Junior Hill Climb champion Rhys and his dad Simon, Andy who had just returned from the World Duathlon championships where he had secured 13th place within his age group and also Patrick (who i thought was suppose to be racing with us).

Saturday morning saw a turn out off 8 riders for the Junior Club. All off them totally unaware of what was ahead of them. With Andy away on Duathlon World Championship action and Ann preparing for the clubs 30m TT i had a chance to push the kids to their limits.
Today was going to be all about climbing and we would finish with a TT up the hill to decide who is the Junior Hill Climb Champion.
I’m afraid Lewis picked a bad day to return to the club after a 8 week lay of due to a broken ankle but as always he gave me his best and was more then prepared to give it ago. During the coaching activities Craig gave me everything but when we discussed the subject of weight i feel he took it a little too far when he decided to “puke” at the side of the circuit, to the amusement of the other riders.
After 45 minutes of drills and trying different techniques up up the hill it was time for the championship.
Pre-Race favorite Rhys went 1st climbing well on his Isla bike and putting down a marker of 35:52 secs. Off they all went at 1 minute intervals, Sam on his new tires courtesy of his tombola win at Catton park, Tom shouting & singing all the way ( obviously not trying hard enough ). Craig recovered from his sickness to give it ago, Lewis with only 1 good leg,Callum and Charlie both grinding their way to the top and Kiesha determined as ever showing the ladies how its done.
Well it couldn’t have been any closer. Kiesha took the Ladies Championship with her brother Rhys just edging Sam by 35 hundreths of a second to claim top spot. Full results……
Rhys 35:52
Sam 35:87
Craig 46:11
Charlie 46:98
Callum 51:06
Tom 52:39
Keisha 55:19
Lewis 1:08:08 on one leg.
Well done to all off you, excellent efforts all round.

Saturday September 4th
This 30 mile time-trial takes place on Saturday on the Etwall course starting 2pm.
HQ is the usual Frank Wickham hall, in Etwall village.
Any help you can give would be brilliant, or come along to give the riders a shout or just come along for a cuppa !
Anne 07713 266000

Andy Day from Plan B Racing has today become the Police National Road Race Champion. Well done Andy. We look forward to reading your report from the race.

Ok here we go with Kev Potters take on the recent Tour of Dorset…
Day 1 Stage 1 Hilly Time Trial
Due to torrential rain and pour visibility the start was not only delayed by 45 minutes but the course was shortened. This took the main climb out of the Time Trial which suited some riders and not others. Steve Locke being one who was pleased to receive the news and actually decided to give it his best shot. With the course now down to 3.5 miles Kev commenced his warm up with him being the first of our 3 riders to start. The TT was completed in rain & windy conditions with everyone coming back totally demoralized with their times.
Kev Potter 33rd at 10.01
Andy Day 55th at 10.22
Steve Locke 83rd at 11.19 ( good job he tried! )
Day 1 Stage 2 67 miles
We started the afternoon stage in good spirits in the knowledge that this was to be the flattest stage of the race and should give us an opportunity to get placed. The plan was for Steve to switch roles from sprinter to domestique to lead Kevin (me) out for the Win. So much for the plan. Two laps in and Andy was out with a puncture. The race picked up pace with 3 laps to go and i decided to stay with my faithful domestique to help save energy for the sprint. Approaching the finish line on the bell lap Steve then raised his arm to signify a puncture for himself. At this point he had no chance of getting back on and so i was left to fend for myself. At the finish 2 riders had broken away to gain a healthy 55 second lead on the bunch. Strong teams then proceeded to go to the front to lead out their sprinters…at this point i was happy to finish safely amongst the peleton with us all being placed at 14th.
General classification at the end of day 1…
Kev Potter 30th at 1.18
Steve Locke 56th at 2.36
Andy Day 76th at 1.01.17
Day 2 Stage 3 77miles
We awoke to more rain, no surprise as the forecast had gave out severe weather warnings. Todays plan was just to stay with the main field as long as possible then try and get away in a small group towards the end if i had anything left. The pace was fast from the start and on the 2nd lap up the hill the field had split dramatically with Andy Day being in the wrong half and Steve climbing of his bike at the foot of the hill. Torrential rain then continued to batter us every inch of the way with more and more riders getting dropped each time up the hill. At the finish 8 riders finished in front of the main field which finished 1.30 down. I dropped of the bike into the hedge bottom at the end, relieved to have finished the hardest stage with the main field. I quickly changed into a dry set of clothes and sat in the car waiting to watch Andy finish the stage.
GC after Stage 3
Kev Potter 21st at 2.31
Andy Day 46th at 1.24.10
Steve Locke 67th at 2.02.19
Day 3 Stage 4
Starting the day in 21st place 11 seconds down on 15th place i needed to get in a small break to have any chance of moving up. Decided to sit in for the first hour and then look to get away on the hour mark. But oh had Sunday taken its toll on the legs with even Steve Locke giving me a helpful push up the hill to the lap board the 2nd time up. I also had an annoying clicking noise coming from my left hand pedal which i thought was being caused by my cleat. On further inspection i found that the left hand crank was working its way loose and was knocking against the frame. As a team we decided that my best bet was to change bikes with Andy and for Steve to help pace me back onto the bunch. At this point the pace had picked up dramatically which was making it impossible for us to change bikes. On the bell lap a small gap had opened from myself to the main field and when i turned to Steve to close it i found myself staring into the eyes of a beaten man. A big effort saw me back in the bunch with Andy and me moving to the front ready to change bikes. We pulled over and as we were changing bikes the bunch raced by to leave us looking like fools as we were on different pedal systems. A quick remount and a desperate chase up to the back of the mechanics car saw me rejoin the peleton. I must admit at this point i was smiling to myself and thought that i wouldn’t see Andy again but unbeknown to me the mechanic had dropped back to Andy and helped pace him back up to the bunch. Oh how we laughed as we saw each other. We then finished the race in the main field as young Tim Allen sprinted to a cracking stage win.
Final GC for the Plan B boys…..
Kev Potter 20th at 2.31
Andy Day 45th at 1.24.10
Steve Locke 52nd at 2.07.29
So then, whose up for it next year. Ray has already volunteered for the mechanic. Tracy will continue to feed us with banana bread and handing up bottles. Just need 4 or 5 competent riders which are all up for the crack.

http://new.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/10753/WXCRL-Dorset-Tour-3-Day
This weekend sees 3 of our riders compete in the Tour of Dorset. Andy Day will be making an appearance on behalf of the Police Racing Team while Steve Locke and Kev Potter will be doing there best to fly the colors for Plan B. All 3 riders have competed in this event before with Steve retiring with 1 stage to go last year, Kev Potter finishing 16th in 2007 and Andy finishing 1 place in front in 15th also in 2007.
Good luck lads.

“I’ve really had it with my dog: he’ll chase anyone on a bicycle.”
“So what are you going to do – leave him at the dog’s home? Give him away? Sell him?”
“No, nothing that drastic. I think I’ll just confiscate his bike.”

Today at Darley our riders were greeted with blue skys “as good a day as your gonna get at Darley Moor” were the words from the organizers mouth. Plan B had 4 riders in the race and the general idea was to either get 1 guy in the break or if it stayed together then we were to do our best to get our sprint man Steve Locke into a prime position.
An early break of 6 riders went down the road of which 3 soon dropped of the back. The peloton soon picked these up with good work from the team to lift the pace and set about bringing the front 3 back. As the next attack went off the front Patrick managed to get into the move which included Ben Edy. Unfortunately for Patrick this soon came back together only for Ben to persevere and get away in a large 2nd group of 11 riders. This then took a huge effort from Patrick,Andy and Kev to pull back as once again we had failed to get a rider into the break.
With 5 laps to go the peleton had come back together with the exception of the 3 leading riders and a group of 3. Onto the bell lap Andy moved to the front to keep the pace high with Potter 2 wheels back.Going into the last corner Potter had the shout from Steve to inform him that he was on his wheel. Patrick then appeared from no where to lead Potter and Locky around the final bend and up towards the chicane where Locky unleashed the power to gain 2nd place from the bunch sprint giving him 8th overall and Potter 13th.

Steve Spinter Locke

A tandem rider is stopped by a police car. “What’ve I done, officer?” asks the rider.
“Perhaps you didn’t notice sir, but your wife fell off your bike half a mile back . . .”
“Oh, thank God for that,” says the rider – “I thought I’d gone deaf!”

Our core 6 members turned up for todays session where they were introduced to our new up and coming coach Andy Day. Andy delivered the 1st of 6 go-ride sessions, this mornings session was aimed at helping the riders to have a better understanding of gears.
Our 6 riders finished the session with 2 individual Time Trials. The 1st in their lowest gear with Sam and Regan pedaling at a cadence of over 110 rpms and the 2nd where each rider was allowed to start in their most desired gear and were encouraged to change as and when required.
1st TT Results 2nd TT Results
Ashlin 1.18 1.20 (didn’t change gear)
Rhys 1.08 0.55
Tom 1.09 1.07
Regan 1.22 0.59
Keisha 1.22 1.10
Sam 1.12 0.54
An improvement from all riders. A special mention to Keisha & Sam for 100% focus throughout the session. Excellent 1st session from Andy.