St Leonards Reliability Ride, Sunday 23rd Feb 2020
February's reliability trial is a 65 mile / 105km ride to St Leonards, organised as usual by Bill Drabkin.
The ride leaves Romsey Bus Station at 9:30am on Sunday 23rd February and finishes at Costa's in the town centre, by the Cornmarket.
Please arrive 15 minutes early, to sign on. There should be plenty of parking at the bus station.
Due to recent severe weather there is a fair chance of flooding, debris, fallen trees, potholes etc. so please proceed with due caution.
Note that the route has changed since the last reliability to St Leonards three years ago.
Reliability rides are traditional winter or early season non-competitive events which test your ability to ride a given route within a set time. You can choose from one of the following standards: Gold 16-18 mph, Silver 14-16 mph or Bronze 12-14 mph. Please use the links below to download any materials you need to navigate your way round the route:
Download the route sheet (PDF)
View the route and download other GPS formats on RideWithGPS
Newton Tony Reliability ride - 26 January 2020
The first Reliability Ride of 2020 will take place on the last Sunday of the month, 26 January. We'll start from Romsey Bus Station and head north to NEWTON TONY (near Cholderton) before returning via Porton Down and West Winterslow, finishing at Romsey World of Water.
Start time: 9:30; please arrive 15 minutes early, so that everyone can sign on in good time for a prompt start.
There is free parking on Sundays at RBS but there's a large running event on at Broadlands on the 26th, so if you're driving over please allow time to find a space.
The route is 42 miles (67 km) long; there's just a moderate amount of climbing, and only one place where the gradient reaches 10% (West Winterslow).
(If you've done the Newton Tony RR before, please ensure that you use the attached gpx file or route-sheet, as the route no longer starts and finishes at Carlo's Ices.)
Reliability rides are traditional winter or early season non-competitive events which test your ability to ride a given route within a set time. You can choose from one of the following standards: Gold 16-18 mph, Silver 14-16 mph or Bronze 12-14 mph. Please use the links below to download any materials you need to navigate your way round the route:
Download the Route Sheet (PDF)
View the route and download other GPS formats on RideWithGPS
Founders Day - Sunday 5th January 2020
The 2020 Founders Day meal will be held at the clubhouse at Wellow Golf Club on Ryedown Lane on Sunday 5th January.
This informal get together is a longstanding club tradition held on the first Sunday of the year to celebrate the founding of the club in 1967, and all club members and their families are cordially invited to call by for lunch or just to say hello and raise a glass if you are pressed for time. The clubhouse restaurant/function room will be open from 11am-5pm and we suggest you aim to arrive between 11:30am & 1:30pm to coincide with other members.
Some (if not all) groups on the clubrun will be calling in at Wellow on the way back from rides; if you are planning to join the clubrun but have to get back for a family meal, why not get your family to meet you at the golf club for lunch instead?
Results: Bourne Valley reliability ride, 24 November 2019
A big thank-you to all 31 of you who took part in our Reliability Ride through the Bourne Valley on Sunday. A magnificent set of results, too: 25 Gold, 5 Silver awards, all of which were well within the time-limit (14mph average).
Are these rides too easy? Or is cycle technology improving our times? Perhaps the surfacing of Hampshire's minor roads has been improved. You're all winners.
In alphabetical order (with F = Fareham Wheelers, B = Braishfield, I = independent cyclist; all others are Sotonia)
GOLD (16mph or better):
| Richard Burch | Martin Cole | Steve Durkin (F) |
| Chris Edmond | John French | Stuart Hansford |
| Marianne Holt (F) | John Judd | Charlotte Keeler |
| Jo Kitley (I) | Jon Legg | Nick Malbon |
| David Neale | James Peckham | Wayne Prevett |
| Andy Robertson | Ben Scott-Munden | Lee Shirley |
| Nigel Sign (F) | Martin Smith | Patrick Stumpf |
| Bruce Tandy (F) | Jane Tandy (F) | Jason Thomas |
| Will Weynberg | Paul Witcombe (B) |
SILVER (14–16 mph):
| Janet Burnage | Leon Kuzmicz | Carl Lawton |
| Darren Strickland | Paul Whitaker |
Bourne Valley Reliability Ride - 24 November 2019
Our next reliability ride will be held on Sunday, 24 November, setting off from ROMSEY BUS STATION at 9:30am and finishing at Romsey World of Water.
The Bourne Valley is a popular route, not too long (circa 54 miles, or 86 km) and not too hilly.* There is some riding on the A30, but the traffic should be relatively light on a Sunday morning. The lanes around Chilbolton and Longparish are attractive, as is the cycle-friendly B-road through the pretty villages in the Bourne Valley.
The ride will leave from Romsey Bus Station at 9:30 and finishes at Romsey World of Water on Greatbridge Road.
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start to sign on and receive a copy of the route sheet.
Reliability rides are traditional winter or early season non-competitive events which test your ability to ride a given route within a set time. You can choose from one of the following standards: Gold 16-18 mph, Silver 14-16 mph or Bronze 12-14 mph. Please use the links below to download any materials you need to navigate your way round the route:
*NOTE: This ride is different from the "Bourne Supremacy", a much hillier extended version, which last ran in March.
Download the Route Sheet (PDF)
View the route and download other GPS formats on RideWithGPS
Results: Autumn Hill Climb 2019
A drizzly start and a forecast of heavy rain to come didn't deter 7 riders from entering the club's Autumn Hill Climb on Sunday 13th October, including a new member riding in trainers and flat pedals who came over to support and decided to give it a go.
Justin Menhennet won convincingly with a time of 2:28, and having also won the spring HC in February, he takes the Hill Climb Trophy. A small group of supporters rode over from North Baddesley to provide much needed encouragement, while Justin brought his own support, pictured below.
Organiser: Ted Knowlton
Time Keepers: Martin Napier, Ian Stewart, Dave Crocker.
Marshals: Wendy Knowlton, Julian Wherrett,
Pusher off: Jon Chapman
| Pos | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Menhenet | Sotonia | 2.28 |
| 2 | Scott Blackman | Hants Hogs | 2.53 |
| 3 | Lee Shirley | Sotonia | 3.07 |
| 4 | Craig Smith | Sotonia | 3.12 |
| 5 | Greg Vint | Sotonia | 3.41 |
| 6 | Gemma Herbertson | SRAM CC | 4.00 |
| 7 | Jane Fidgeon | Sotonia | 5.52 |
Results: Club 10 on the P101, 15 September
A small field of 9 riders made it to the start line for a club 10 at Fawley on a misty September morning, although we were pleased to see three new "come and try" riders joining the fray and hopefully they enjoyed it enough to come back for more.
Organiser: Dan Edwards
Timekeepers: David Crocker, Norman Harvey, Ian Stweart
Pusher off: James Peckham
Marshals: Richard Burch, Jon Legg, Julian Gee, Jon Chapman
| Pos | Name | Club | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuart Peckham | New Forest CC | 26:40 |
| 2 | Scott Blackman | Come and try | 27:20 |
| 3 | Brian Coupe | Crabwood (Sotonia 2nd claim) | 27:25 |
| 4 | Martin Leach | Come and try | 28:33 |
| 5 | Adrian Deverill | VC Hampshire Hogs | 29:25 |
| 6 | Ted Knowlton | Sotonia CC | 30:01 |
| 7 | Wendy Knowlton | Sotonia CC | 30:20 |
| 8 | James Dixon | Come and try | 33:04 |
| 9 | Martin Napier | Sotonia CC | 33:47 |
Photos courtesy of Julian Gee
Chalke Valley Reliability Ride - 29 September 2019
The first autumn Reliability Ride of 2019 goes out to the CHALKE VALLEY. It is under 60 miles in length (about 95 km) and features the magnificent 14% ascent of Bowerchalke Hill, which leads up to the Wiltshire/Dorset county border before dropping gently down to Sixpenny Handley. The ride starts from Carlo’s Ices and Tearooms on Sunday 29 September, at 10:00 am. (Note the later start: 10:00, not 9:00.)
Reliability rides are traditional winter or early season non-competitive events which test your ability to ride a given route within a set time. You can choose from one of the following standards: Gold 16-18 mph, Silver 14-16 mph or Bronze 12-14 mph. Please use the links below to download any materials you need to navigate your way round the route:
Download the Route Sheet (PDF)
View the route and download other GPS formats on RideWithGPS
Results: Club Championship 25 mile TT, 11 July
A small but select group took part in the Club Championship 25 mile TT on the P128, which was won by Ant Gritton with a cracking time of 53:36, not far off the course record.
Organiser: Graham Vail
Timekeepers: David Crocker, Norman Harvey
Pusher off: Jon Dudley
Calling numbers at finish: Mary Corbett
Marshals: Julian Gee, Nick Vail, Evan Jardine-Skinner
| Pos | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ant Gritton | 53:36 |
| 2 | Jonathan Hall | 58:10 |
| 3 | Graham Harman | 58:47 |
| 4 | James Peckham | 59:35 |
| 5 | Tony Maschid | 1:00:06 |
| 6 | Tim Cooke | 1:02:59 |
| 7 | Chris Summers | 1:15:32 |
Video courtesy of Julian Gee
Autumn Hill Climb - 13 October 2019
The second leg of the Hill Climb Championship is being held on Sunday 13 October on Dean Hill (short course).
Start time: 10:30am, Sunday 13 October 2019
Start location: Ashmore Lane near West Dean, to the north of the hill.
Make sure you arrive at the HQ in plenty of time to sign on and collect your number. Anyone under the age of 18 must bring along a completed Parental Consent Form.
If you are thinking about taking part in this type of competition for the first time you may find Time Trialling for Beginners a useful guide.
Competitors are strongly advised to wear a helmet that meets an international safety standard during this event. All riders under the age of 18 must wear a properly affixed helmet which must be of hard/soft shell construction and should conform to a recognised standard.
Please take care if you descend Dean Hill after the event, particularly as you approach the bend.