CYCLE CLUB BEXLEY

Sunday 6th. December .

The day of the Tricycle Association SE Region Annual Luncheon dawned bright and clear and all riders enjoyed a dry run down to he venue at "The Royal Wells Inn" at Tonbridge. No that is not a fairy story! For the first time for some years wehad pleasant weather and the gents toilets at the "Wells" was not a heaving mass of bodies extacating themselves from sopping clothing. The CC Bexley was well represented again with Chris Bramwell picking up most of the prizes.

Sunday 30th. November.

Roy Canning rode down on his tricycle to Rhodes Minnis in Kent to represent the Tricycle Association SE Region at the inauguration of the memorial seat in memory of Jim Catt. Brian Richards and Owen and Carol Harden were also there being members of both the CC Bexley and the Tricycle Association. Unfortunately Roy was the only one who rode there by trike, but many members of the Potterers CC and the Fellowship of the Kent and Sussex Cyclists arrived on two wheels to make up for it. Chris Bonsall officiated with Florrie, Jim's widow, and the rest of his close family in close attendance.

The seat is located next to the Lord Whiskey, once a pub which in Jim's time was one of his favourite watering holes but which is now a café. The café is run by the Animal Sanctury nearby. it is well worth a visit in the summer months.

Sunday 16th. November.

The Kent Cycling Association Annual Luncheon was held today at the Village Hall at Egerton, Kent. A bright sunny morning but only Roy rode down. Pete and Joan Holbrough, Bryan and Anne Heasman and Ian and Clarice Masterson also represented the club. Michael Hutchinson was the Guest of Honour.

Sunday 2nd November.

What a disaster for the first Kent Cycling Association Reliability Trial organised by Paul Meopham. First of all the start sheets were all posted out just in time to catch the postal strike. Working hard on Saturday morning he rewrote all the start sheets just in time to catch the worst downpour for several months on the day. On top of this the main start point, the pub a Cock Street, was closed that day for a wedding. Poor Fred Jones turned up to marshall there to find out that he could not spend the morning supping ale while checking everybody through.

There were many non-starters, but those that did start battled on. It was wet but it was not cold. CC Bexley had half a dozen riders, but Roy Canning was the only starter and finisher.

Weekend 26th - 27th. October .

Tricycle Association members of the CC Bexley went up to Warwick to attend the National Dinner and the national AGM. Bill Finch, Bryan Heasman, Roy Canning and Chris Bramwell enjoyed a very good evening with much hilarity and cros toasting brightening up the evening. The Guest of Honour was Dave Duffield, the commentator from Sky Sports, and himself a past member of the Tricycle Association with many notable rides to his name. Bill and Bryan took their wives Chris and Anne who had a tour of Warwick the next morning as the others attend the AGM. The AGM was very productive with no contentious points delaying closure and delaying our journey home.

Tuesday 21st October.

A special club night tonight as we challenged the Gravesend CC to a competition on the rollers. We aimed to make a good social evening of it and many members brought down some food to give a bit of a party atmosphere. It all started with the usual setting up of equipment, finding that the pedals on the bikes were not suitable with the ensuing search for those suitable on the bikes of those who rode down, tyres that did not stay up resulting in more scavenging from those who rode down, and general lack of the correct spanners to adjust bars and seat tubes, etc.

Once we got started though things settled down. A few practise runs and we were away. Mick Morris rode twice in each session as the CC Bexley were one rider short. Gearing on the two competition bikes was more or less even, but one bike was definately easier to handle than the other. This is demonstrated by the fact that as the teams swapped bikes in the second run, so the fortunes swapped also. It was all a case of positioning with resulting comfort and transfer of energy. Only one blow out and one falling off. Don't worry Mick, the rollers don't count for the Stabiliser Trophy.

Results were as follows:-

First Run

Second Run

There followed much eating, drinking and chatting with a general agreement that the event was a tie and a return match should be arranged. Many thanks were extended to those who set up the rollers, timed the event and provided the food.

Sunday 19th October.

A club run to the Catford CC Hillclimb at Yorks Hill was on the agenda today. Roy and John Coster rode down on their trikes to meet Deb who had driven to Wrotham. A pleasant run with much wheezing and puffing along Back Lane saw them arrive at 11pm just in time for the start. There they met newlyweds Brian and Anne, had driven there,and Tom and June on the tandem trike and Ray Appleby on his solo. Only 32 riders today, but they all got a cheer from us as they struggled up the hill.

Bill and Ian Finch were over in Essex marshalling in an ECCA event, thus fulfilling one of our commitments to them.

Sunday 12th October.

Roy Canning was in jovial mood this weekend so he went down to sign on for the CTC West Kent DA "Rough Stuff" which started down at Wrotham Cricket Club. For those who have not ridden this event let us say - they have missed some fun. Twenty five miles of mostly off-road riding just to come back to where you started. It was a bit more civilised this year because of the lack of rain in recent weeks. Usually parts of the course can only be described as a quagmire. Bikes and riders get utterly plastered with mud and tumbles a plenty occur on the slippery paths. This year the problem was flints, jarring the bike and backbone as speeds were higher than normal. Roy got round ok and enjoyed the sunny day as well as the natter with some old friends.

Sunday 28th. September.

Just when we thought the season's awards were all cut and dried, Ian Finch comes up with a winning "25" clinching the Speedwell Trophy at the last minute. An excellent 58 min 52 second ride on the F1B/25 in the Team San Jan Design CC has snatched the trophy away from Mick Morris unless he can pull a better ride out of the hat at the last, last minute.

On the same day Bill Finch and Richard Boxall rode the ECCA 10 on the E34/10. Bill managed to win 3rd handicap even after going off course (in a "10" - I ask you!) with a 29 min 38 sec ride on his trike. Richard managed a 32 min 43 sec ride in an attempt to get under evens this year. Never mind Richard - there's always next season!

Sunday 21st. September.

A cool but still morning for the last SE Region Tricycle event on the year on the Chilham course. Eleven riders entered but Paul Ansell of the CC Bexley did not start due to work comitments. Mark Vowells of the San Fairy Ann CC won the event with an excellent 1 hour. 06 min 17 sec ride, showing us all how it's done, and on an older trike with all the conventional gear also. Makes you think what sort of times he will do when he has learned to ride a trike! Of the CC Bexley riders, Ian Finch was second with 1 hr 09 min 01 sec, Chris Bramwell was third with 1 hr. 09 min 38 sec, Bill Finch came in with 1 hr 14 min 52 sec, Roy Canning, 1 hr 17 min 00 sec and Tom Wakefield, 1 hr 17 min 23 sec.

Sunday 31st August.

The Club Championship 50, delayed from June was held in with the KCA 50 on the Harrietsham course. No bike riders entered, probably all sharing the sentiment of Mick Morris when I asked him why he didn't ride.

"I'm *!..*.! if you think I'm going to ride twice round that +**!... course. Its bad enough in a 10.

Four trike riders did elect to ride twice round that +**!... course however as it was also the TA SE region 50. It was a cold start, but the sun rising did warm things up a bit. The cold air was a shock to the system, but there was a short recovery time between this and when the legs started screaming "No more" at the umpteenth climb. Most found this point was reached after the last turn when you had to ride back to the finish anyway.

Chris Bramwell won the (TA) event with 2 hr 32 min 29 sec. Roy Canning recorded 2 hr. 45 min 58 sec, Tom Wakefield 2 hr 47 min 51 sec and Bill Finch, 2hr 48 min 44 sec

Monday 25th August.

Mick Morris recorded his best "25" for the season in the Essex Roads CC 25 on the E71/25 with a time of 1 hr. 00 min 09 sec. Tragically there was a fatality and no more riders were sent off following this. Mick was given a finish time however.

Monday 25th August.

Bill, Tom and Roy went up to Suffolk/ Norfolk this weekend to ride the TA East Region "50" on the B50/17B which is along the Yarmouth Road around Bungay. Two circuits of what seems like an easy course, but when the wind blows up there.....

We booked digs at a B&B near the start, which turned out to be the old Post Office. More importantly it was a few yards away from the pub. Not too hectic a night though with a "50" in the morning. With the start at 7:00 pm we wondered whether an early breakfast was possible, but Mein Host was willing so we agreed to a 5:30 am full English.

We knew that was a mistake after the start. One mile to the first turn then 13 miles of constant climb against the wind to the next turn. Full English breakfasts are good value for money when you can feel them returning for a second mastication!

We managed to keep breakfast down however with Bill managing 2 hr 39 min 20 sec, Roy 2 hr 40 min 09 sec and Tom 2 hr 45 min 34 sec. It was pleasant to ride on relatively quite roads with a good surface for a change. The only hazzard was a flock of chickens at one of the roundabouts

Sunday 10th. August.

Three trike riders in the De Laune CC Fred Peachy Memorial 25 on the Chilham course this week. It was a warm morning, and later in the day the temperature topped 100°F so an early start and finish was appreciated. Bill Finch recorded 1 hr 16 min 05 sec, Roy Canning 1 hr 16 min 43 sec, and Tom Wakefield 1 hr 17 min 38 sec. Paul Mill of Team Edwards won the bike event with a course record of 53 min 48 seconds.

Weekend 2nd-3rd August.

The weekend of the KCA 12 Hour. Three trike riders entered the event which is, strictly speaking, entries in the TA SE Region event, but the two events are now tied together in many respects.

The three riders were Chris Bramwell, Roy Canning and Tom Wakefield. It was a fairly hot day, the start of a long heat wave lasting about two weeks where temperatures eventually topped the 100°F. Chris arranged his own helpers, but Roy and Tom were well assisted all day by Brian Heasman, Anne Morris and June Fowler. We must not forget to mention many other members of our club who manned (and womaned) the only official feed station at 70 odd miles, and the numerous members of other clubs in Kent who came out to marshall, provide drinks and sponges and generally gave up their time to make the day a success.

A new course had been mapped out which included the current 100 course involving two laps of the Camber circuit. While things went reletively smoothly in the 100, the added traffic resulting from the recent commencement of the school holidays caused a few problems in the "12".

First off was that the trikes, apart from Chris Bramwell, were turned at Brooklands instead of completing the second circuit of Camber. Trouble is our helpers had to find this out for themselves leaving us without support until they found us on the Ivychurch circuit. Late closure of the Ivychurch circuit left Roy doing another circuit while the help went off to Ashford. One lap of the Ashford circuit and then Roy was sent off early to the finishing circuit just short of his support van.

Chris, along with the solos, completed the second circuit of Camber, but his help was stuck in the traffic on the circuit. Chris was without assistance for many miles, was gasping for a drink, and his ride suffered as a result. He did manage a respectable 210.222 miles which is still a good trike milage.

Roy suffered badly on the finishing circuit. At one point he was riding at about 7 mph, hot, with legs, backside and back aching and feeling really finished. then came a puncture. Not feeling the least inclined to repair it he found a shady spot at the roadside and called it a day. Along comes the "Good Samaritan" on his bike.<\p>

"Got a puncture? That's ok, Ill mend it for you."<\p>

Roy was then picked up and sent on his way. Who needs enemies?

Roy then rode round painfully to Brian's van where he joined Tom for a cup of tea. the tea revived Roy a bit but Tom, after suffering and trailing Roy at the 100 mile point found new strength thanks to a tin of rice and peaches. He passed Roy and went on to complete 178.264 miles. Roy finished with 170.632 miles.

Weekend 26th-27th. July

Saturday afternoon saw Mick Morris as our sole rider in the Kent CA 10 mile time trial on the Q10/33. he recorded a 26 min 11 sec ride in an event won by Stephen Castle with 22 min 17 sec.

Apart from this it was a leasure weekend with five of us and three Velo Club Elan members travelling in style (First Class no less) on the Eurostar to watch the finish of the centenary Tour de France. Kath Mepham had to endure a lot of stick from Roger Bunnet when she admitted that she had not been through the tunnel before. I wondered why he handed the hostess flippers and snorkels and a ten pound note when he boarded the train. It was raining in Paris when we arrived at the Gare du Nord but after a wet walk through to the Champs Elysees (or near there at least) we parked ourselves at a bar and watched Lance Armstrong win his fifth-in-a-row tour.

We tried to make contact with Malcolm Strickland who had managed to get into the Centenery Randonee that rode the course of the last stage which arrived in Paris at about 8.00 am, but as he had left the uk before anyone knew he successful in getting a ride we could not make any arrangements.

Weekend 19th-20th. July

This weekend we had riders in the VTTA Kent Group "10" on Saturday afternoon on the Q10/30 and on Sunday morning in the Ashford Wheelers "25" on the Q25/8 (Chilham) course

In the VTTA event Mick Morris recorded 24 min. 20 sec. and Pete Holbrough 31 min 10 sec. The event was won by Reg Smith with a 20 min. 47 sec ride.

In the Ashford event Chris Bramwell on his trike beat many bikes again with a 1 hr 08 min 07 sec ride. Brian Debonnaire did a 1 hr. 09 min. 57 sec. and Bill Finch, chuffed that he gained his goal by beating evens for the first time for a few years, did a 1 hr. 14min. 36 sec ride on his trike. Roy Canning was a bit upset with his 1 hr. 18 min 41 sec. but Malcolm Strickland punctured about 4 miles before the finish and "gracefully retired". Martin Taylor won the event with 55 min. 20 sec.

Sunday 6th July

Many members went down to the "The World's Wonder" pub at Warehorne in Kent today for the annual Presidents Run of the Fellowship of Kent and Sussex Cyclists. The webmaster did not go this year due to domestic commitments, but no doubt Arthur Coleman on his motorised trike, or on the back of the modified tandem trike, led the groups round the marshes and up the hill to the Isle of Oxney for tea and biccies at Chris Bonsall's place.

After the customary donation to the Lions competition organised by Mrs. Bonsall the ride no doubt proceeded at a slightly quicker pace back to the pub for the riders to re-fuel and partake of the ploughmans lunch that Chris organised. As soon as I meet any of those who did attend I will update on this commentary if necessary

Our webmaster (Roy Canning) did go out for a ride however by getting up early and going out for a training run. This was cut short when struggling up One Tree Hill near Sevenoaks he found his chain was about to snap due to a broken link. Luckily he had his link extractor with him so he managed to remove the offending link and get back on the road. He found that mending a chain with the bike at fourty five degrees on a hill was not easy. He went on to meet John Coster, Ray Appleby and Wayne Herron at the Aero Cafe. Back home by midday Roy was able to deal with his domestic matters.

We did have some good news on the racing front today as well. Mick and Dave Morris riding the Essex Roads CC "50" on the E72/50B. Dave did a 2hr. 08min. 56 sec. ride winning his group. Mick did a 2 hr 10 min 40 sec. ride. The winner of the event was Alex Higham with a time of 1 hr. 51 min 43 sec.

Sunday 29th June

The day of the KCA "100" on the new course mapped out in Kent which consisted basically of two loops around Appledore, Rye, Brooklands ; two loops around Brooklands Rye and Camber, and an out and return from Ashford through Ham Street Hill. It was a breezy day however, with the wind in the rider's faces through Camber thus sapping the energy in the closing stages.

CC Bexley did not, unfortunately, have riders in the KCA event, but three trike riders entered the TA SE event which was run in conjunction. Chris Bramwell, Roy Canning and Tom Wakefield all finished and it was a noteable event. Chris Bramwell broke his own club record for the trike 100 leading Roy and Tom to break the long standing trike 100 team record set in 1966, the first racing season of the club's existence. Chris' record ride was 4 hrs. 43 min. 25 sec. Roy did 5hrs. 49 min. 37 sec. and Tom 6 hrs. 8 min. and 32 sec. setting a team record of 16 hrs. 41 min 34 sec. which shaved just over 8 minutes only off the old record set by Pete Reynolds, Brian Heasman and Alan Timms back in 1966.

Saturday 28th June

Conditions down at Thanet must have been a fast as Mick Morris recorded a personal best 10 and Pete Holbrough became our latest "fast man" by beating evens and gaining himself (subject to ratificaton) the best plus he can record. Dave Morris also recorded a record ride. The event was the Gravesend CC "10" on the Thanet Way (Q10/20). Times were ; Mick, 23 min 39 sec. ; Dave, 24 min 03 sec. ; Pete, 29 min 58 sec.

The event was won by Peter Tadros with a 20 min. 20 sec. ride.

Wednesday 25th June.

The evening of the club bar-be-cue has come round again. Tom Wakefield, ably assisted by June, donned his chefs hat and pinnie. Brandishing tongs and spatula he commenced to demonstrate that he was worthy of a job either at the restaurant or the crematorium. We are again into their debt for organising all the food and wine (or soft drink if you would rather) preparing it and bringing it down. The weather was a bit threatening in the afternoon, but the clouds rolled away and gave us a beautifully sunny evening. It became a bit chilly as the sun went down however, but that did not stop most of us retiring to the bar and enjoying a few ales. Thank you to all those who came down and supported us. We hope you enjoyed visiting us as much as we enjoyed entertaining you.

Saturday/Sunday 21st/22nd June.

Roy went off to Blackheath on Saturday afternoon in response from an invite from Guy Little to his bar-be-cue. It was hoped that he would be part of a CC Bexley contingent attempting to forge a social relationship with other clubs in the area. Alas, Roy was the sole ambassador on a wonderfully sunny afternoon with good food and drink provided by mien host. All I can say is my clubmates missed a good do. Thanks for the great time Guy & Helen. Connex South East (or Network rail) did put a bit of a damper on the evening by organising rail chaos in my attempt to get back to Bexleyheath afterwards, a fifteen minute journey. (I gave up after an hour and took the bus) However, I did get up ok the next day for the VTTA "25".

Three riders who did not go to the BBQ were Mick Morris, Dave Morris and Malcolm Strickland. They rode the GS Invicta 10 on the Q10/22 recording 24 min. 35 sec., 25 min 44 sec. and 28 min 46 sec. respectively. The event was won by Reg Smith with 21 min 04 sec.

In the VTTA (Kent Group) 25 held on the Harrietsham (Q25/20) course, Roy Canning recorded a 1 hr 19 min 05 sec ride on his trike achieving a plus 1 min 00 sec on his standard. Malcom Strickland did 1 hr 18 min 04 sec., but Brian Debonnaire did not start as he was still suffering from back problems. The fastest time was 56 min 26 sec by Martin Taylor who is not a Vet. The fastest vet on standard was Eric Marsh who recorded 1 hr. 04 min 40 sec with a plus 19 min 42 sec on his standard.

Saturday/Sunday 14th/15th June.

This is the highlight of the trike year with the St. Marsault weekend in France. This year only Dave Heighway showed the flag for the CC Bexley, and I understand the time Trial was held in very hot conditions . I will contact Dave for some results.

On the home front the only time trial result I have is Mick Morris' 1 hour 4 min 48 sec ride in the Norwood Paragon "25". Brian debonnaire did not start as his back is playing him up again. Some of us kept the flag flying at the Aero Cafe with 4 of us turning up including a surprise visit from Jimmy Powell. Nice to see you again Jim!

Saturday/Sunday 7th/8th June.

We had riders on Saturday afternoon in the Thanet Road Club 10 on the Q10/30. Mick Morris did a 24 min 08 sec and Brian Debonnaire a 25 min 25 sec ride. The winner was J Millard of API bikes.com with 20 min 12 sec.

Sunday saw our Club Championship "50" rained off. which also encompassed the Tricycle Association SE 50. After getting up at 3:00 am and trecking down to Romney Marsh it soon became clear that it was not clear. Very dark still at the start time (6:00 am) and lashing down with rain, the start was delayed half an hour. No better at 6:30 and many riders not showing up or stating they would not feel safe and did not want to start. Things were not much better at 7:00 am and with the danger of surface water on the road the decision was made to cancel. Bill would be seeking an alternative event for the club championship and TA event, probably 31st August. Roy used an excuse for being at a party the night before fo not getting down there, but learned in the evening that he had not escaped the event.

Sunday 1st June.

Chris Bramwell and Roy Canning both entered the Thanet Road Club "25" on the Q25/8, and both recorded their best 25 trike times for the year. Chris did a very respectable 1 hr 05 min 38 sec and Roy did a not so respectable 1 hr 16 min 38 sec ride. At least it was a plus 3 min 27 sec on his standard, and he would have beaten Chris's time on the old Q8 in the late 1960's - before the advantage of the downhill start we have now (on his bike though) I think it is somthing to do with "getting old". Malcolm Strickland entered, but did not start due to a double booking he had made. the event was won by Martin Taylor of the VC Deal with a 55 min 57 sec ride. This pleased Roy as he was his minute man, and having been caught before reaching Chilham Fork, about 2 miles into the event consoled himself with the thoughtthat this was an exception. Roy would not have bettered this time in the late 1960's even with the advantage of a downhill start if it was there then!

There were riders in other events but details are not to hand at the moment.

Holiday Weekend 24th/25th/26th. May.

Oh what a disaster for the trikes. Roy and Bill were looking forward to attending the Bruce Kingsford weekend in Shrewsbury with all the partying that goes with it. Unfortunately Roy had had a day trip in France on the previous Tuesday and brought back a dose of food poisoning. (Salmonella as it turned out) As he had not recovered by the weekend he had to cancel the trip. Just as well because from the result sheet it appeared to be a hard day! Roy would recommend that you take sandwiches and not buy a "cooked" breakfast on the ferry!

Bill trundled up to the Aero Cafe on Sunday surprising John Coster who thought he would have the place to himself.

We did have some riders at the weekend however. In the Shaftsbury CC 25 on the E72/25 on Sunday Mick Morris recorded a 1 hr. 2 min 23 sec ride. His best this year and still nursing the injuries from his fall in the Club Championship a fortnight previously. Perhaps the injuries to his wallet for his new rim were bothering him more! Brian Debonnaire did a 1 hr 4 min 28 sec ride, and Dave Morris recorded 1 hr 6 min 47 sec. Well done all three.

Saturday 17th May.

The day of our Dave Ashdown Memorial "10" opened very damp. In order to "get the miles in" I was determined to ride to the start so I donned my cape and, with dry clothes stored on board, caped up and set off on my "barrow" Harrietsham bound

The depressing weather did not let up and I expected a wet day, but as I rode up the hill from West Malling it gradually became drier, and by the time I reached Coxheath there appeared to have been no rain at all.

The event itself was therefore spared the rain, but its threat was always present.

Chris Parlett of the Gemini BC won the event with a 22 min 07 sec. ride. R. Keeble, 34th Nomads CC, won the Vet. standard with a + 6 min 30 sec. The fastest lady (in the bike race that is ) was Deborah Percival of the 34th. Nomads CC with 25 min 31 sec. She also won the David Ashdown Trophy being the rider recording the time nearest to Daves pb of 25 min. 20 sec. The Tricycle event was won by Chris Bramwell, CC Bexley, with a 26 min 25 sec ride with Mark Vowells, San Fairy Anne CC taking 1st handicap with 22 min 55 sec.

Of the CC Bexley riders not mentioned , Brian Debonnaire recorded 26 min 47 sec (+4.13), Dave Morris, 26 min 59 sec, Malcolm Strickland, 29 min 57 sec (-2.50), and Pete Holbrough 34 min 28 sec (-2.28)

In the trike event, Chris Bramwell won the event with a 26 min 25 sec. Bill Finch recorded 30 min 05 sec and Roy Canning 31 min 14 sec. Brian Heasman had a puncture and did not finish. Roy and Bill rode home, Roy splitting with Bill at the bottom of Wrotham Hill where the heavens opened againg ensuring Roy was thoroughly soaked and fed up by the time he got home.

A full result sheet will be posted on the site asap.

Sunday 11th May.

The club Championship 25 saw a few more entries than last year. This was encompassed within the Wigmore CC Bill Philbrook Memorial event held down on the Kent marshes. Brian Debonnaire again became our club champion recording 1 hr. 7 min 44 seconds. We all got the usual ribbing from him about a granddad beating all the younger fast men. Just as well that Chris Bramwell did not ride as we could rib him about being beaten by a trike!

Mick Morris (another granddad) should have won but decided to dismount at speed at the Brookland roundabout. Dignity was only eclipsed by the £200.00 rim write off suffered. (that's more than my trike cost!) Thankfully Mick did not suffer any serious corporal injurys, so lets hope he gets over his soreness and gets back the achieving his "57" this year.

results:-

The event was won by Peter Tadross with a 54 min 42 sec ride

Ken Gardner achieved 9th position overall and 4th position in the "D" Category (55- 59 age group) in the Polhill RC Syd Wightman Memorial event.

Sunday 4th. May.

In the VTTA 30 held on the Q30/12 (Romney Marsh/Ashford) Chris Bramwell and his partner Elizabeth Wadey in the mixed tandem recorded a 1hr. 14 min 28 sec winning the event. Brian Debonnaire entered for the solo event, but was called away as his daughter chose that weekend to present him with a graddaughter. He will have to babysit a lot of grandchildren if he uses that excuse too often! Anyway, many congratulations Deb.

Saturday 3rd May.

Four riders in the Catford CC "10" this morning on the Tonbridge by-pass. Not a particularly easy morning except for the winner, M. Hutchinson, who flew round with a 19 min 33 sec ride. One 20 min 48 sec ride before the main results came in starting at the mid 21's

Roy decided to ride from home, which was just as well as he was off three quarters of an hour before the rest of the club. It's a quiet ride at 04:30 on Saturday morning!

results:-

Sunday 27th April.

After a quiet Easter where no-one rode any time trials, the club entered quite an active phase with the evening 10's starting on the Wednesday evening, 23rd April. A seperate section is devoted to this which can be found by clicking on "Evening 10" below.

Saturday afternoon saw three of our riders in the West Kent Road Club 10 on the Q10/22. (Harrietsham) with Mick Morris recording 26 min 07 sec, Brian Debonnaire 26 min 30 sec., and Malcolm Strickland 29 min 59 sec.

The Kent CA 10 was held on the same course on Sunday morning. The wind generators were switched on over night and the riders faced a brick wall on the way back from Charing

Times were:-

There was a tie for first place, the 23 min 15 sec time shared by M. Goodes and N Marsh.

Many club members attended the Fellowship Luncheon at the Hilden Manor, Tonbridge. Several of us rode down and made it in good time despite Tonbridge Council impeding our path by "resurfacing" the road on the final stretch of the old A21. Much cursing and picking off of stones glued to tyres by tarmac followed, but this was relegated to inferior importance once the pub opened and the bar beckoned.

Much drinking and a good feed followed with plenty of laughs. We congratulated John King, one of our members, on his three years as President as he passed his Chain of Office onto Arthur Coleman, the fist person to be elected for President twice.

Sunday 20th April.

Ken Gardner hid his light under a bushel for some time before announcing his Massed Start successes. In the Gemini criterium (Eastiva) he achieved 3rd in the "D" category event (55-59 years of age)

Sunday 13th April.

Chris Bramwell rode the Sydenham Wheelers '25' at Harrietsham this morning along with Malcolm Strickand and Ken Gardner. At long last it had warmed up although there was still a bit of a chill in the air. Not enough to prevent riders from soon warming up however. It proved to be a hard finish, so the long stretch from Ashford to Maidstone had a following wind. Chris did a 1 hr. 08 min 19 sec on his trike with Ken recording 1 hr. 08 min 05 sec and Malcolm 1 hr 19 min 58 seconds.

Roy Canning timed them off, thus fielding another CC Bexley member at the event.

Saturday 12th April.

Roy Canning was our lone rider in the Kingstone Pheonix '10' on the G10/42 at Dorking. He recorded a 31 min. 18 sec ride losing out on his standard by only 3 seconds. He blames this on having to ride through the patchy rain that the met office told us we would not get! There was one other trike rider. John Reynolds recorded 29 min 58 secs, so Roy was glad that he closed the gap on him since last year.

Sunday 6th. April.

Mick Morris, Brian Debonnaire, Malcolm Strickland and Chris Bramwell (on his trike as usual) ventured into the frozen wasteland of the Q8 at Chilham to attempt a polar 25. Two freezing cold showers of rain did not seem to affect Chris as he again beat all our bikies and his time in the TA event on the same course two weeks before. Actual times are not available to me at the moment, and I think the three bikies would like it to stay that way!

A little dickie bird later gave the times as follows:

The event was won by Martin Taylor of the VC Deal with 58 min 19 sec.

Saturday 30th. March.

The VTTA 10 was held on the Q10/28 in which the CC Bexley fielded 4 riders. Chris Bramwell showed the CC Bexley bikies up by beating them all on his trike. The winner of the event was Reg Smith with 22 min 12 sec.

Roy and John Coster kept the flag flying the next day by riding to the Aero Cafe again only to find that it was not open. They had not forgotten to put their clocks forward, they had just had rather a heavy night. All was well as we rode to the Polhill Garden Centre to refuel at their cafe. Unfortunately they missed Ray Appleby and our new member Wayne Herron who also turned up later. Both rode back home with unsatisfied thirsts. Lets hope that Wayne was not put off on his first solo trip.

Sunday 23rd. March

Chris Bramwell, not content with being a sucker for punishment by riding another hilly event, decided to show them all how it was done again by riding the hilly on his trike! he recorded 1 hr. 14. min 09 sec in the San Fairy Anne sporting event (24 miles) Looks as if he will have a good season.

Sunday 16th. March

Some joker decided to set the first SE Region TA event for this morning. We may have hit a settled sunny spell, but driving down to Chilham after first scraping the ice from the windscreen, and surveying the white frosty scenery reminded us that it was still only March.

Donning long sleeve vests gloves with newspapers tucked under vests we all bravely started. By first man off at 8.00 am though the sun was starting to take effect and the ride was not as cold as anticipated. At long last Godmersham hill had been re-surfaced, but obviously the money ran out before they got to the top as we had to climb the last few yards on the old "surface". CC Bexley results were as follows:-

Chris Bramwell 1 hr 08 min 02 sec h/c 1 hr 04 min 02 sec

Roy Canning 1 hr 21 min 30 sec h/c 1 hr 10 min 30 sec

Tom Wakefield 1 hr 22 min 35 sec h/c 1hr 13 min 35 sec

Bill Finch 1 hr 23 min 36 sec h/c 1hr 13 min 36 sec

Sunday 9th. March

There has been little to report in the weeks since the Reliability Trial. The wednesday wobblers have met as usual riding to the Jungle Cafe interspersed with the seasonal punctures thanks to the acceleration in hedge cutting the council seems to carryout at this time of year. The other popular run on Sunday morning the Aero cafe has kept going with the pleasurable addition of Mark Vowells in his attempt to master his new trike. (another TA conscript after Bills co-ertion) Also our new young member Wayne Herron has found his way there, being nurtured by Bill showing him round the local lanes that up to now he did not know existed. Hope it encourages him to go exploring on his own!

Anyway, Today saw the opening of the season for two of our riders in the VC Elan Hilly 22 mile event at Charing. Chris bramwell got off to a flying start on his trike to record a 1 hr 10 min 57 sec ride. Mick Morris set his season where he said he will ride a "57" off by recording 1 hr 12 min 39 sec. The event was won by T. Stevens of the 34th. Nomads CC with a 55 min 46 sec. Well done all riders.

Sunday 16th February

We all woke up a bit worse for wear after the annual Club Dinner at the Beaverwood Club, Sidcup on the previous evening. About 63 guests and members sat down to an excellent meal followed by a good speech from Bob Crayford, the Guest of Honour. Mick Morris gave a worthy response with the prize giving and raffle following. The rest of the evening was taken up with many dancing to the disco music.

Sunday 19th. January

In spite of some rather wet weather 60 riders signed on to ride our Reliability Trial.

True to his word, Paul Mepham arrived early to walk Roy's dog while Roy set up shop and took in the entries. Barney (the dog) sat up in his basket and jumped at his chance to escape this alien world of sweaty bikies. Paul was last seen flying out of the door resembling a sideways on superman hanging onto this dog lead, on the other end of which was this canine blur.

However, he must have returned with Barney as he went on to complete the 30 mile course along with many others. Those interested can click on results for the result sheet. This was assembled from the sweaty, soaked, dismembered and in some cases unreadable check cards that were returned at the finish.

A question was asked of Phil Puttick as to the meaning of his club's name CCCP. The reply was that there is no meaning, the name was simply able to be registered as there is no current political connection. However some have been invented, one of the repeatable ones being "Cycling Can Cause Pregnancy". It has been known that cyclists can cause pregnancy, but not cycling itself

All seemed to have a good time however in spite of the weather and enjoyed the food at the finish. In all we raised just over £100.00 for the Demelza House Children's Hospice.including donations. Thank you to all those who rode or helped us in this event.

Thursday 16th January

Mick Morris and Roy Canning went over to the Southborough & Dist. Wheeler's clubroom at Tunbridge Wells to take part in the inter-club roller competition arranged for that night. Unfortunately all other clubs except for the host chickened out leaving a run off between an army of Southborough riders and two Bexley men. Mick & Roy went under with flying colours but enjoyed the beer and the chat afterwards. Lets hope that at least this is a start of the inter-club social roller competition revival.

Tuesday 14th. January

The first clubnight of the year saw a reasonable turnout of about 15 members. Unfortunately the roller competition with Team Darenth was called off at the last minute so an exiting evening did not result. While driving home, many noticed that a pile of rubble had been dumped in the layby at the start of our evening 10 course. Would members please be prepared to bring out shovels and wheelbarrows should it not be moved by the end of April.

Sunday 12th. January

The first Reliability Trial of the season as pooly attended due to the very icy conditions. Some of our riders went down to support the event, but unfortunately Ian Dickenson Standing, one of our past secretaries, came off and broke his hip. Hope you are better soon Ian. Roy and Bill rode up to the Aero Cafe to keep the flag flying there.

Wednesday 8th January

A few brave (mad) trikies went out in the arctic conditions for the first 2003 showing of the Wednesday Wobblers, CC Bexley Group. Much walking was accomplished as the third wheel was sliding on the snow with every turn of the pedal. At least this is a lot less painful than the results of the rear wheel of a bike sliding in the snow. All were glad to get home after riding into the blinding blizzard to be by the fire, although much of the roasting was coming from the wives.

Wednesday 1st January

The new year dawned as the old one left us. Rain rain Winds rain and more rain. After a very heavy downfall 4 trikes (not all CC Bexley) braved the weather and, generating a large bow wave before them, rode down to the new year gathering at "The Bell" at Kemsing. Many club members drove down, and it was good time was had by all, planning activities for the new year. it was good to see Dave Heighway back on the scene after his recent operation and likewise Carolyn Finch, a little depressed as she had to report back to work the next day. lets hope their troubles are now part of history.

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