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Club winter runs have now finished (Leaving Martyr's Memorial, St Giles at 9 a.m. every Sunday morning). Link to list here What's on locally in the summer? Here's a guide: MONDAY: not much, although Reading Track league runs n this night, if that tickles your fancy. See Reading CC's website for details. TUESDAY: 40km Chaingang. Starts 6pm prompt from the corner of Marston Ferry Road and Banbury Road in North Oxford. Map of meeting point here. Two groups, the slow going out first, and the fast 5 mins later, for a loop around Otmoor. The fast aims to catch the slow and then ride thew last few km back together into Oxford. Bicester Millennium CC organise a Tuesday TT night around Weston-on-the-Green aerodrome (it's just off the A34 north of Oxford). Look for their website for details http://bmcc2000.com/ WEDNESDAY: Oxford City RC/Oxonian CC/Mid Oxon CRT, club TT night. A good place to catch up on all the local gossip and meet people in the area. Various club courses (10's and 25's, and the occasional 'hilly') around Oxfordshire. See the club programme for details. THe Oxonian CC website also has details of the same thing Oxonian CC. The old Oxo website gives a flavour of what's taken place http://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/. Mid-Oxon CRT also have their results up on this website. There's a complete listing of all West London TTs on the http://www.lwdc.org.uk/ website, including our club events (just search for Oxonian CC/Oxford City RC/Mid Oxon events) THURSDAY: Didcot Phoenix CC's TT night. Various courses, all in south Oxfordshire. Details here http://www.didcot-phoenix.freeserve.co.uk/. Also, Milton Keynes Bowl is within easy reach for 1 hour's handicapped crit racing at 7pm. E1234 cats, but handicaps usually quite generous so it's not too bad for the lower category racers. The circuit has recently been slightly re-designed, associated with Wimbeldon FC's move there, although I've ridden there, and there's not much change. (If you're a vet, they've got vet's racing "King of the Bowl" on Tuesday nights) follow the link to http://www.mkcacyclesport.org Also, out to the west, there's the Cotswold League. Mostly Thursdays, but occasionally Wednesday, Tuesday, or even Friday. Handicapped road racing on circuits out in the hills, or at Castle Combe motor circuit. There's a current listing here. FRIDAY: rest! WEEKEND: proper racing! I attempt to keep the Oxford City website up to date throughout the season with what's going on, but a good source of information is the Oxford-Cycling email list. Reading track in winter Fed up with slogging away on the 'turbo' in the evenings? Here's the cure! Two sessions a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, between 8:15 and 9:45pm, under the floodlights at Palmer Park track (I hesitate to call it a 'velodrome', though). The sessions are loosely organized by Prime coach Dick Poole (ex end-to-end record holder), and cost £2.95. You ride your own road bike, and most people take their 'training' bikes down, as a fair bit of sand gets thrown up on to the track from the long-jump pit - not good treatment for those fancy nine-speed transmissions! Two groups usually form up, out of the need to get a bit of discipline in the riding more than anything - we have seen anything up to 80 riders there. The slow group ride around the blue line in pairs at about 20mph (sounds fast compared to our club rides, but you're on a track with no hills, so it's not that bad). The fast string follows the red sprint line and keeps up a steady 24mph, until someone decides to make everyone work hard for their money by doing a lap or two at 28/30mph. Quite a few riders like to swap in and out of the fast line when they can't keep up with the pace, adjusting the session to suit their own fitness. We've seen mountain bikers and even a tandem there. A few familiar faces from the summer chaingang have also been spotted getting in a few fast miles. Don't forget to dress up warm - the temperature drops rapidly after dark! |