Sunday 7th March

As mentioned last Sunday, the Wayfarers Wheelers went off to do different events this week.

The weather was the best this year so far with clear skies but still very cold - about minus 3 degrees C, warming up to only plus 5 degrees as the day went on.

All of the group had a late night the night before with Pete, still recovering from his knee operation, gloating as we left our Murder Mystery party that he would be reading the Sunday papers as we left very early to get to our respective venues.

Steve went on the Evans "Ride it!" event at Watlington, near Oxford with a route around the Chilterns and came in just over 4 hours for the medium 60 miles route.

Chris and Simon took part in the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists 19 miles 2-up team time trial at Napton in Warwickshire. A real "baptism of fire" for the two of them but a lesson in how fast they will need to go to be contenders at their level. They recorded a time of 1:05:30 compared to a winning time of just over 46 minutes. It had started so well with smooth changeovers between the two of them but a strong easterly wind and prolonged climb had its effect, particularly on Chris as they battled to turn in a respectable time. Simon remained strong to the end and there were some fast bursts in the last few miles but overall the field was a good 5-8 mph faster over the distance! The duo did however beat their "standard" time for their ages by 3 minutes 25 seconds and are keen to do another!

Back to a group ride next week and more hills no doubt but with a mind to the need for greater speed!