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Newsletter - Summer 2000
Hi everyone, now we're in the full swing of the season I thought it was about time to put together a newsletter to see how everyone's getting on and to tell you about a few up and coming events. My season is just about to start since I have been putting all my energy into trying to help Aberdeen FC avoid relegation this year. As you probably know AFC did finish bottom of the league but avoided relegation thanks to Falkirk's ground being unsafe for Rangers and Celtic fans to travel to. … What has this got to do with cycling I hear you shout? Well, all sport is about competition but not everyone can win, Like Aberdeen you have to find your own level and try to win at that level. It's no use setting your sites on a 19 minute 10MTT time if you've only ever done a 30 min PB. At work we have use a Japanese management tool called "Kaisan", basically this means that if you want to make big steps in improvement you must beak these big steps down into small achievable steps which, when all these targets are met you find you've taken the big step. Easy really. At the moment however all my personal cycling steps seem to be big ones - in the wrong direction, much like AFC. Colin
Forthcoming Ythan CC diary dates for 2000 are: 18th June - Guides and Scouts run along the railway to Udny Station and back- Jack Grant and Lorna are organising this. Please try to help out at this and encourage the YCC members of the future. 25th June 0800 hrs 10 mile TT (Bob Hill). This is on the fast Balmedie to Aberdeen course, in the morning and then to... 25th June - 11am There is a charity fun run in Ellon in aid of the Meadows sports trust. The trust is currently £100,000 in debt and is raising money by various charity events and the sale of some of it's land. I would expect a big turnout of YCC riders for this event to promote the club and local cycling. The Meadows facility is a great boon for sport in Ellon and it needs all the help it can get at the moment. 2nd July - The great Inverurie Bike run. This is the most popular charity cycle run in the North East with well over 1000 riders taking part. The run is 25 miles over the Garioch country side - Starts at 1200hrs. 13th -16th July - World Corporate Games. 3rd September 1000 hrs 25 mile TT (Colin Allanach) ++ 17th September - Ellon Fun run (this is a "run" run).
1st Simon Smith (Falkirk BC) 2:12:35 Ythan CC had a new course this year for their road race - a 16 mile circuit which riders had to round for 3.5 laps. The weather was nice and warm with an easterly breeze. On the second lap Robert Wilson and Graham Barclay tried to make a break, but it was not until the 3rd lap that four riders made a significant lead with Simon Smith (who won the prime), Raymond Reidy, Jonny May, and Peter Seely gaining over a minute on the bunch. During the last lap the leaders were being caught by the bunch. The lead of Simon Smith and Jonny May was cut back to 40 seconds, whilst the other members of the breakaway group ended up back in the bunch. Simon Smith made a final push for the finish line to finish 17 seconds ahead of the 2nd placed rider, Jonny May. There was then a bunch finish, and 3rd place went to Mark Silver. However, a special mention should be made of Steph Forrester. She cycled at the back of the bunch for most of the race and then on the last climb (2 miles from the finish) put in a spirited attack to finish 9th overall. Steph is now on her way to the 2000 Olympics to compete in the Ladies Triathlon, Ythan CC and all participants in the Road Race wish her every success.
Gillian Sowden is hoping to make the British Olympic team. It has been an eventful season for Gillian. Starting with a good early season she has produced time trail performances among the best in her ski school history, which is of some merit considering the school has produced both Olympic and world Champions. Unfortunately she fell victim to the flu virus in early January - a critical time for any biathlete. This forced her to miss her debut in the world cup and generally resulted in poor mid season form. Due to the long term effects of the virus , combined with the constant racing and travelling, she was never to recapture her best early season form. Despite this she still put in credible performances. At the junior world championships, she was the only British skier to qualify for the pursuit competition. In Germany Gillian competed with other members of the British ladies team and beat all the male teams in a field of approximately 50 competitors to win the British Biathlon challenge.. A first in the history of the competition. On returning to Norway, Gillian became double bronze medallist in the Norwegian cup, up in Northern Norway she had the opportunity to perform with her ski school in the opening ceremony at the World Championships in front of the King of Holmenkollen. As well as winning two district championships, Gillian was delighted to be sharing accommodation with her idol, current Olympic champion, Ole Einar Bjorndaelen, for the duration of the Norwegian senior championships. Despite the slight loss of ski form caused by the early season bout of flu, Gillian has been gratified by her performances in the shooting department, where she consistently performed well during the season. Gillian is now a regular member of the Great Britain ladies Biathlon team.
This is the new "National Bike week" organised by the CTC from 17th to 25th June 2000. Besides the usual things there is a Ride the Net event taking place locally. It is based on the "National Cycle Network" and the event will be registered and insured by Sustrans. Locally a ride is proposed from Cullen to Parkhill. Enthusiasts can complete the whole run while others may only want to do part.
One pair Zipp 530 aero wheels. Clinchers with Shimano 8/9-speed Hope compatible hubs. Excellent condition, with tyres, tubes and skewers. These wheels WILL make you faster. Only £350.00. Shimano cassette available in 9 or 8 speed if required at no extra cost. One pair race wheels. Hope titanium hubs (32H) on Fir Isidis rims (tubular), fitted with Michelin Service Course tubulars. Shimano 8/9-speed. These wheels are very light and have seen only light use. The tubs are in excellent condition. £150.00 (the rear hub alone costs £135.00 new). All items are for sale from Malcolm Cooper. His phone number is 01779 476029.
Ross Henderson has developed a cycling database for use to record all the data you ever needed to know about your training and racing. In my case two words - TOO SLOW. The database which is an absolute must for any cyclist who does any form or level of competition. It has been designed primarily to assist with filling in those SCU entry forms. It keeps track of all the events you have completed. When you come to enter a time trial, it will tell you your best time at the distance your entering in the past 3 years. For road races, cyclo cross and mountain bike races, it will tell you the number of points you have gained this year and last year along with you best placing in both years. And the advantage is that all you need is a computer with MS Word 97 installed, which you need to run the read me file. It is so easy to use, as all the functions are available through forms which Ross has developed to be completely idiot proof. Does that sound like a must?? And the even better news is that it's available from Ross for a mere £10.
Garioch sports centre have purchased 15 "Spinning Bikes". This is equivalent to aerobics on bikes. Stewart Gordon, the manager is the organiser. The club will contact Stewart to arrange a social night where club members can strut their funky stuff on a bike. There are sessions on Tueday evenings, Thursday evenings and Friday evenings. Cost is £4 per session.
Aberdeenshire council have obtained funding for a Mountain bike route at Rhynie off the Rhynie - Cabarfeigh road. Toilet facilities are being built and the routes will be signposted by the end of March.
Bob and Lorna have passed a comprehensive first aid course which deals mainly with cycling/coaching type injuries. The club is also funding a much more comprehensive first aid kit, as Lorna and Bob have advised us that the one we have is woefully inadequate.
Local triathlons have been organised for the following dates: Summer Series Aberdeen Standard Triathlon Sunday 30 July
I received this message from a chap in Seattle who was so inspired by the Millennium challenge he did 4,000 miles last year, and this year he's doing a tour of Scotland with a wee visit to see us thrown in: Greetings from Seattle. If you remember, when I first discovered your web-site at the beginning of last year I was intrigued by it due to the fact that I spend my early years on a farm (Wards of Boyndlie), located between Fraserburgh and New Pitsligo. Also, I was motivated by your Millennium Challenge. As a result, I crossed the 2000 mile mark in June and finished up doing over 4000 miles by the end of the year. I have visited the site on numerous occasions, kind of like a crook returning to the scene of the crime. I guess that somewhere in the back of my head, my brain was slowly and quietly working on a nefarious scheme to quit screwing around with virtual images of Scotland and Scottish Cycling. The plan is fairly simple: Get off my rear-end, and go to see things up close and personal, in the flesh. So, the challenge I have set myself is to do a ten or eleven or twelve day bicycle tour around my old cycling haunts in Scotland. Included in this is a visit back to the farm and the two room school I attended, to see if they still exist and to see all the changes that have taken place since I left in 1943. I would like to come and visit the Ythan Cycling Club and thank you personally for giving me the inspiration to do this. So, I have planned my trip so that I can be in Ellon on Tuesday 6th of June when you have your 10 mile TT. I could then meet some of the characters who appear on, and contribute to the unique qualities of your web site. My plans are to start from my sister's home on the outskirts of Glasgow and got to Tyndrum, to Fort William, to Mallaig, to Skye, to Inverness, to various places in Banffshire and Aberdeenshire, to Stonehaven, to Brechin, to Auchterarder and back to Glasgow. I don't know if my brain has communicated the details of this plan to my legs yet, but we will soon find out. At the moment I've been getting up early in the morning and riding on some quiet roads, practicing riding on the wrong side of the road. As if it's not bad enough having to remember to disengage from clip-less pedals before the bicycle comes to a stop, now I have also to remember to ride on the other side of the road! Too much for an old guy to cope with! I'm really looking forward to this trip connecting me with my past dull and uneventful as it was, and at the same time having the opportunity to meet with some of you. Regards, Alex turned up at our time trial and did a very good 34:10. The club presented him with a YCC top as our oldest and most travelled competitor.
Alex receives his YCC top before tackling an evening 10 with us.
The confined TTs are well under way. Numbers are slightly down on previous years but the enthusiasm of those taking part more than makes up. There were even a few brave soles who rode in possibly the worst conditions for years - all to get those precious two points. This year we have decided to allocate marshals for all the events. Your name has been carefully chosen (by Sean) to marshal on the following dates. If you cannot manage then please try to organise someone to take your place. Results and the latest league positions can be found on the Confined TT page.
At the AGM it was decided that the proposal for a new Ythan kit was not viable since most members had spent some considerable amount of money on t heir kit and would not want to splash out further. When asked about any upgrades to the kit it was mooted that the Yellow arm should be on the right hand side rather than the left so that this would show up against traffic. Minor changes to brighten up the front may be considered.
The world corporate games are being held in Aberdeenshire on the 15th - 16th
July 2000. The cycling events are: 15th am - Time trial: Inverurie - Daviot 16k
(Steve's favourite Sunday run) Volunteers are being requested to help Marshal these events. If the district association supplies enough marshals £1,000 will be added to the association coffers.
Mountain bike runs have so far been few and far between. If anyone is interested in organising a mountain bike run please give myself a call to help organise it.
Anyone interested in trying out a kingcycle test to find your maximum heartrate and help find those optimum levels for training should contact Bob Hill on Ellon 722449. Bob will put you through a series of tests to help you towards a more structured approach to training.
Have you ever watched "TimeTeam", a fly on the wall documentary made whilst on a historical dig? From the remains of a wall, they jump to conclusions about what a castle or church would have looked like. Can you imagine in two thousand years time on an archaeological dig, the conclusions that could be drawn about us? The following is a guesstimate of how a report might read. It would appear that two thousand years ago, life was not as it is today. Tribes mostly composed of males lived in vast granite caves called "houses". The tribe on which we will concentrate was commonly known as YCC, pronounced "Yuck". The leader of the tribe was known as "Prez" more correctly referred to as "chief yuck". The tribe members or "cyclists" lived vast distances apart but communications were maintained by jungle drums called "phones" or occasionally over "the Internet". Their friendly neighbours were members of the DTCC tribe, pronounced "De-thick". The two tribes often quarrelled and this would culminate in battles known as "TTs" or "RRs"; these were frequently violent, bloody encounters evidenced by the number of broken bones most tribe members had suffered. The Yuck tribe was not a healthy bunch. They suffered from an illness which struck on a weekly basis, usually on a Sunday morning, known as "the Training Runs". Whilst suffering from the illness members would babble nonsense uncontrollably, shouting about "football", "the pub" and "Scalextric". After a bout of illness, members were sometimes mentally and physically exhausted and would spend the rest of the day asleep. There is a little confusion over their staple diet. It would seem that everyone announced that their staple diet consisted of a high carbohydrate substance called "pasta" or "rice", this is evidenced by writings in publications called "cycle mags". But judging by body composition and blood specimens their staple diet actually consisted of fatty foods known as "fish & chips". Hunting for their food was a particularly arduous task. They would wear protective clothing in case of attack from wild beasts. They would dress in colourful clothing to frighten other animals and in order to give a warning that they did not taste good. Then they would set off in search of their "chipper". They would embark on the hunting trips carrying their spears or "bikes" between their legs. This must have been extremely uncomfortable and after long hunting trips they could hardly walk and would often stoop as if in pain.
They had a language of their own which we still do not comprehend. Using complex words like "Campag", "Shimano", "Aheadset" and "hub" simply to describe parts of their spears. The tribes' main enemies were the wild animals known as "cars" and "buses". Attacks were frequent and injuries were often very serious. Whilst hunting through vast jungles known as "cities" there were many hazards. A particularly stupid species called "pedestrians" often simply wandered into the tribesmen's path. Singing a number of melodies entitled, "Oottheway", or "areyeblind" could easily scare these off. Other species such as "red lights" could easily be ignored. The Yuck tribe would appear to have been very religious. They didn't believe in only one god but would pray to a number of gods called, "Boardman", "Guinness", "Beck's", "Whisky" and "Vodka" to name but a few. Prayer nights were long and gruelling and may have involved visiting a number of shrines over vast distances, also known as a "Pub crawl". Regardless of the god you prayed to, the ritual very seldom changed. The initial ceremony was known as "the sesh" and involved concentrated prayers to a number of gods. After the warm up ceremony was complete they would then begin praying in earnest, sit on their hands and knees before shrines known as "bogs" and chant in a loud voice, "Huey", occasionally the chant would change to "Oh God", or "Oh f**king hell", (sorry about that bit). The days following a Prayer night were conducted as periods of mourning. Known as "hangovers," they would be quiet periods when talking and loud noise was forbidden so as not to offend the Gods. During these times only a few words or phrases were allowed to be uttered, these were, "Never again" or "I'll never drink that bloody stuff again". Many other tribes have been discovered but it would appear that the Yuck tribe was the most interesting and had the most interesting and most visited web site in the entire world. [At least this last bit is true - Ian].
If a Marshall cannot attend on the date stated, they should arrange for someone else to cover (unforeseen circumstances on the day are a different matter).
The Ythan CC web site at http://www.ythan.dial.pipex.com/ includes the latest newsletter, a comprehensive diary of events, a For Sale section, photographs of club members in action and links to other cycling sites. If you have anything you would like to add to the site please contact Ian or myself. If you have access to a email please send me a note to put you on my mailing list. The Guest List is particularly impressive with cyclists all over the world contacting the site and keeping in touch with what's happening at Ythan CC. Results and photos of all our races are also on the site. Over 5,000 people have now accessed the site since Jan '98. P.S. there is also a link to the Deeside Thistle site if you're interested.
Steve Argo, Mike Harper and Dave Carnegie all finished in the bunch at the Ythan CC road race. Gordon Adams was dropped by the bunch just before the end. This year Gordon is trying hard to reach the standard he set himself in 1999. Abby McHardy reckons the college life is beginning to slow Gordon down a bit. Other results are: Steve Argo was placed 20th at a development series road race in Elgin and 17th in an APR in Dundee. Charlie Allan and Gordon did a 25MTT at Dundee. Charlie got a personal best of 1:03:43 while Gordon finished four minutes later with a 1:07:49. If you have any results please send them through to Graham Ward who is the race secretary.
Club runs currently start at 9am on Sundays from the Community centre in Ellon. Numbers have been pretty poor this year. Perhaps members think that a 9am start is too early? If anyone wants a later start for Sunday mornings please give me a call and I'll put it to the committee.
The next Newsletter will be the September edition and your input is desperately required. Any race reports, items for sale, tips, general chit-chat should be sent to...
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Editorial
