One of our fellow white and black jerseys, Ian Sherin, has been out racing on our local P164 circuit. This is especially important for Ian as he was knocked off his bike by a car 4 weeks ago, so its fantastic to see him back racing so quickly.
Ian placed 4th out of 25 riders in difficult conditions (a headwind for the first 5 miles).
Well done Ian!
A small reminder that one of our members is doing the epic Sani2C later this year! More details can be found here:
http://3ccycle.club/news/2017/2/20/charity-ian-campbell-rides-the-sani2c
If you do wish to sponsor him on his epic adventure, please use the following just giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/Ian-Campbell-riding-the-sani2c-2017
Good luck Ian!
Alas, all good things must come to an end! The weekly turbo sessions have been a fantastic addition to winter training, with all participants commenting on the gains that have come from weekly sweating!
Now that the clocks have changed, the sessions have finished and we all should be out riding on the roads.
Thanks very much to Martin for organising and running the sessions. Here is to a flying start to the TT season.
We will be moving from winter to summer ride schedules with the clock change on Sunday 26th March.
This means that any rider wishing to participate on the Sunday road ride on the 26th will need to be at the shop for 8am sharp.
The summer is nearly here, lets get those black and white jerseys out on the roads, gravel and mud of the forest to show the club in full force!
Weekly times for the summer schedule can be found HERE
One of our members, Ian, will be riding the sani2c and representing 3C as the first member of the club to race abroad in South Africa! Please see a message from him below and give him all the support you can with his challenge!
On the 9-11 May I will be riding the sani2c, (www.sani2c.co.za), a three day MTB stage race in South Africa. The race runs from Underberg, near the Lesotho border, down to Scottburgh just south of Durban. In total about 300kms. There are three races run along the same route each starting one day later. I will be doing the Trail; the Adventure runs from 10-12th May, and the Race (containing many of the South African pros) runs from 11-13th May. It's a team event, two to a team, and my partner, who is English, lives in SA.
I plan to try and raise as much as I can for the Minstead Trust. This is a school, based over in Minstead, near Furzy Gardens, that provides support for young adults with learning difficulties, helping them to take their place in society. I've copied a section to show their Vision, Mission and Values and think that the work they do is fantastic and deserving of support.
Our Vision: Adults with learning disabilities are able to achieve greater independence, lead fulfilled lives and live as full citizens in our society.
Our Mission: To provide training for adults with learning disabilities to enable them to develop new skills, lead fulfilled lives and achieve greater independence. We do this at a pace tailored to the individual, in an inspirational setting and with a dedicated and experienced workforce who value the potential in everyone.
Our values:
Putting Students First – we act in the best interest of those who attend or live within the Trust, whatever their background, skill or disability.
Being inspirational – We look towards new ways of providing and delivering experiences. We enable success through encouragement and praise.
Achieving Success – we always focus on how we can improve and raise the standard of the services and experiences we offer. We put the interest of those we work with before ourselves. We have high professional standards for ourselves and those we work with.
Behaving with Integrity – We work without fear or favour, listening, responding appropriately, not afraid to provide support and challenge.
Valuing Difference – We promote the principles and practise of equalities and take action to ensure all are able to engage effectively to achieve their potential
Working Together – we work together by living and being in a community, putting our shared welfare above personal and Departmental interest and supporting each other to ensure we are meeting the needs of those entrusted in our care.
The Trust has a Christian foundation and our values are based on the belief that all people deserve care and respect and that we should care for others as we would want them to care for us. We celebrate the main Christian events of Christmas and Easter. We are not an evangelising organisation and welcome people of all faiths and none, aiming to serve whatever personal and spiritual needs people may have.
I'd be grateful if you could circulate this amongst the members to see if we can get some support amongst them by way of sponsoring me on this ride. I don't plan to go through any website fundraising such as Justgiving, as they tend to take a fee and I want all funds raised to go to the school. I will create a simple sponsor sheet and leave it at the shop in Hythe, and if anyone wants to contact me direct with offers of sponsorship they can contact me via my email; do please pass it on.
I do have an added incentive and that is that any funds I raise will be doubled by Barclays bank up to £750. As a pensioner of Barclays I still participate in these schemes.
Really appreciate any support that I can get. I've attached a couple of photos from last years event as well.
All the best,
Ian
This is a really big challenge and we wish all the best to Ian with his ride. If you can help with donations, please do reach out to him on his email
2017 has rolled around and everyone has the feeling that they might just be slightly plumper than before christmas reared its head! Time to hit 2017 hard and get ready for the start of the new season.
3C are offering structured turbo sessions running every Wednesday night at 7PM right through till the final session on the 29th March.
The sessions are held at the QE2 Hall Backfield - The hall will be open from 6.30pm for you to set up and be ready to start at 7pm. Sessions are £5 payable on the door.
Minimum equipment needed : Bike, turbo trainer, a mat to protect the floor, heart rate monitor, drink bottles, towel and food (during and recovery)
Other recommended equipment : Speed / Cadence sensor and a device to monitor them and an extra towel to protect bars from sweat!
Lots of members have commented on the gains they are already seeing from these sessions, it really is a great opportunity to increase your speed, stamina, power output and ability to recover.
The next session is Wednesday 11th Jan starting sharp at 7PM.
See you there!
To any members who have seen the email from Martin Balk (Club Chairman) and are trying to renew their yearly membership, we are currently having a few technical difficulties that might prevent you from doing so.
Do not fear! This should be fixed in the next few days at which point we will send another email to let you know that you are able to renew.
Apologies for the inconvenience and looking forward to seeing you at the next 3C session.
Update - 7/1/16 - This is all now resolved and you should be able to renew. If you have any issues, please do let us know.
Its that time of year, Christmas is looming and some people over-enthusiastically start singing christmas carols on the first of December, whilst others 'bah-humbug' until January rolls around.
3C have always been organised and came together on Saturday the 3rd to celebrate and be merry together. There were lots of bemused faces as people started arriving in attire that wasn't lycra; apparently its very hard to tell people apart when they don't have their bikes, who'd have thought it!
That being said, apparently 3C are a good looking bunch who scrub up well and the merriment soon started when Careys Manor brought out the first round of prosecco. There was extra celebrating as our club secretary (Martin Balk) had the fortunate luck to be born on the same day - Happy birthday Martin.
The evening was filled with drinking, eating, joking and of course, dodgy dancing! 'The Morning After' the brave few who decided to tackle the hangover head on, met at the shop for a 10am ride down to Lepe beach and a much needed full english breakfast!
On behalf of everyone who attended, a big big thanks goes to Em Warner who organised the whole evening, it was fantastic!
Last Wednesday, club members started a structured winter training session on turbo trainers. Getting super fit before the next season is a difficult challenge when training solo, so a big group session with structure and encouragement is exactly what you need to push you just that little bit further. All members attending felt the session was very worthwhile and a great kick-start to winter training.
More info about the sessions can be found here if you wish to join in: http://3ccycle.club/news/2016/9/29/info-structured-winter-turbo-sessions
3C will once again be running weekly structured turbo sessions throughout the winter months. Martin Balk will be running the sessions which will start on Wednesday 2nd of November at 7pm (ready to ride).
These sessions are structured in such away that they will help you get next season off to a flying start, improving your cardiovascular response and increasing your power output. As well as improving your ability to suffer!
Group turbo sessions are much more fun and a great way to stay motivated during the winter months as many members who participated last year will attest too!
Minimum equipment needed : Bike, turbo trainer, a mat to protect the floor, heart rate monitor, drink bottles, towel and food (during and recovery)
Other recommended equipment : Speed / Cadence sensor and a device to monitor them and an extra towel to protect bars from sweat!
Location QE2 Hall Backfield - The hall will be open from 6.30pm for you to set up and be ready to start at 7pm
Block one 2/11/16 to 14/12/16
Block two 4/1/17 to 29/3/17
The cost is £5.00 per session payable on the night.
Or in advance block one £28 saving you £7
Block two £52 saving you £13
If you would like to pay in advance, or if you have any questions about the sessions, please contact Martin B
See you all there!
There are two types of people in the world. Ones who turn up on time and ones who don't. Luckily Ian is one of those people who operates his timing with military precision, so when he said he would pick me up at 15:30, he really meant it. Luckily I had been ready and sitting on the sofa itching to leave for the last half an hour - it was all far too exciting for a Saturday afternoon!
The plan was simple, head to Dover on Saturday afternoon, Sleep, Get up early and jump on a boat to France, ride in France all day, then get back home for dinner time.
After picking up the various club members we switched into convoy mode and started the journey towards the port of Dover. Typically, the traffic couldn't have been worse, but after lots of banter, some laughing and a well-picked diversion to avoid the M3 we ended up in the seaside town.
After 4 hours in the car, it was a welcome break to carry our bikes up 4 stories, although we believe the hotel was playing a trick on us as every new set of stairs got smaller and smaller until the final flight up to the 4th floor with a comedy-sketch style maneuver in the middle. As hilarious as that was, we all agreed that it was the lift we'd be taking the next morning.
The team assembled in the local italian and 'carbed up' with lots of pizza and pasta, before having a much needed night-cap and hitting the hay.
"Beep Beep" "beep beep" "BEEEP BEEEEP" - The alarm sounded. 4:30 in the morning had rolled around far too quickly for some in the group, but it was up, kit on and ready to go.
30 mins later, we were signed on and waiting at the dock to board the ferry. Its a very odd feeing being surrounded by so many riders before the sun has even risen. A nervous energy flowed through the group whilst we waited, but we were soon boarded and eating coffee and croissants on the 2 hour crossing.
The boat ride went very quickly and we were soon disembarking on French soil. It was about to begin! Crossing the start line we were all thinking "Couldn't have been luckier with the weather", nice and warm and no rain in sight - superb!
All members of the group were riding the 'EPIC' route - 76 Miles of perfect tarmac, beautiful climbing and fast decents which could easily have been mistaken for sections of the Tour de France. Rolling fields with beautiful scenery was the norm, with lots of riding time spent observing the view!
5 Hours later, it was all over as the team cruised back into Calais. A well needed protine bar and a 2 hour sit down on the ferry was just what the doctor ordered. Lots of smiley but tired cyclists!
We rolled off the ferry at dover and after dispatching the cruel climb to the car-park the team bundled back into the cars and headed for home - a very, very good day out!
Thanks to Ian for organising transport and very well done to all riders!
"Hah, we could always do 50 off-road miles after work"
"Sure, I'll take you up on that - How does next week sound"
Everything stupid we've ever done has usually ended up with a conversation like this taking place and this ride was absolutely no exception.
The standard Monday MTB rides usually ride out at around 6:30, pottering through the enclosures sampling some of the forest's hills, single track and gravel paths before heading home a few hours later. This was no ordinary Monday. The gauntlet had been thrown down the week previously and in a hurry to complete the challenge before the winter months set in, Phil G had already plotted a route and assembled a gang of idiots stupid enough to try. The mission was simple - 50 miles off-road in the forest after work on a Monday - job jobbed.
Early Monday morning rolled round and an earlier-than-usual alarm meant only one thing - lay out all of the Mountain bike kit in a line, check you have everything and get prepared for the evening ride. After 15 mins of staring at the large pile of lights, food, gels and equipment, it was time for work. 8 dull hours passed by, with not a moment of distraction from the epic evening challenge. The second the clock ticked to 5pm, it was out the door in a rush and back home to get out on the bike.
The group assembled in the shop as per the normal Monday protocol, but this time, people turned up with their game faces on! After fitting some test lights (The excellent Lupine Pico R7) to the bikes, the group headed off into the forest to start racking up the miles.
A quick pace was set on the starting loop "Brock and beyond", the idea being to get as many miles in before the light faded. Whilst the sun sets there is around an hour where the brain tells you to leave the headlight off to conserve power - even though its far too dark to ride. This was a route that needed all the juice in the batteries - so the brave adventurers plowed ahead chewing up the miles.
The weather in the previous two or three days had been rather wet, causing some extreamly boggy sections along the route. Most of the riders were on fatbikes which LOVE to glide over the mud, making it a pleasure to ride on rather than a chore.
Just over half way round and the group stopped in Brockenhurst for a quick top up of water bottles. 5+ grown men in lycra covered from head to toe in mud walking into Tesco at 11pm must have looked rather strange to some, but given they were doing 50 miles on a Monday night, i'm not sure they cared too much!
After a quick refuel it was back in the saddle to complete the last 20 back to the starting point at Cyclexperience.
Rolling down shore road at the end of the route at 1AM on Tuesday was a fun but eeery feeling. No finish line or hordes of cheering supporters, just a few big grins and the silence of a job well done.
Excellent work to all riders and another big challenge in the bag.
Whats next?
Its been a little while since our news section was updated and to the outside eye it might seem that 3C have not been riding too much. I assure you this is not the case and in reality its rather the opposite, there have been so many things going on and our members have been so busy riding their bikes that there hasn't been enough time to write it all up!
Today a large group of 3C riders descended on Calshot's velodrome to enjoy an afternoon on the boards. The session catered for three groups, from novices up to track pro's and the tropical nature of the hanger today made for some very quick riding!
The drills got increasingly harder as the afternoon went on, from team pursuit to the infamous "take a lap", causing everyone involved to give it their all to catch up with the group. The session ended with some flying laps, with the group setting some fantastic times.
Special kudos must be given to Chris, Lee, Em and Beccy who are now no longer Velodrome novices and a big shout out to Rich B who set a blistering time of 9.6 Seconds for his flying lap
A big thank you goes out to Nick for organising and coaching and for Martin for helping out on the day - it's greatly appreciated by all involved.
The next 3C Calshot Velodrome session will be on 25th November so keep your diaries free.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks whilst our members remember how to use their keyboards to type up the summer antic!
3C’s Faith Fisher competed at the Women’s Masters Road Race on Sunday, competing against some of the strongest riders in the country only one week after winning Rider London.
Starting in the village of Quainton, North of Oxford, the 100km windy, lumpy course took its toll on the 96 starting riders with the main group shrinking to around 30 by the finish. Faith’s from the outset was to cover every break, and when an early break went in mile 8 she went for it. However, with only her and one other, the break lasted for 15 miles before rejoining the group.
In the closing miles of the race Chanel Mason went off the front alone, winning the race with well over a minute lead on the main bunch with Michelle Lee a little way behind. The main bunch sprinted for the finish up a gruelling hill with Jennifer George winning the sprint to come 3rd Overall. Faith sprinted to 11th and secured her 2nd Category race licence.
With only a season’s experience of bike racing and Ride London in her legs, Faith’s result is a massive achievement. Go Faith!
Doing what she does best, Faith powered to an incredibly quick time in this year’s Ride London of 4 hr 15 mins taking 30 minutes off her time last year.
Those officially racing Ride London start in a start pen at the front of all the mass participants. As these riders finished, the race organiser assumed the first women across the line would have the winning time, awarding the podium spot, but as the times came in it became apparent Faith, starting 40 minutes behind the racers, had beaten the racing women by three minutes.
What a crazy few weeks its been for 3C riders! In the heat of the summer sun, our members have been out giving it all on their bikes.
Martin Balk has once again set a PB for 25 mile TT, breaking his previous record by nearly 5 seconds, amazing results for the veteran rider.
Jo Payne showed that our members can run and swim too, smashing her time for the Southampton NOC Sprint triathlon and securing her victory as fastest lady. This is an exceptional result given that she was halfway down the pack in the same race the previous year.
Lots of white and black jerseys descended upon London on the 31st of July for the yearly Prudential RideLondon 100mile classic. For many riders this was their first solo sportive, so was a good exercise in mental grit. Every single meter of the 100 mile course is on closed roads, which makes the course very fast - the feeling of riding on a closed three lane motorway is one every serious bike rider needs to encounter! All participants pushed themselves extreamly hard, but special mention needs to be made to Rich Bradley who raised £1066 for Beating Bowel Cancer and set a phenomenal time in the process - an effort to be truly proud of. Other riders also set fantastic times:
Fath Fisher - 4hrs 14 mins
Rich Bradley - 4hrs 22 mins
Rich Carter - 6hrs 58 mins (Including ride delays)
Steve Lane - 5hrs 04 mins
Dan Offord - 7hrs 25 mins (Including ride delays)
Caroline Cooil - 5hrs 46 mins
Thomas Penrose - 5hrs 16 mins
On a more somber note, our thoughts are with Robin Chard's family, who sadly lost his life on the course on Sunday whilst raising money for Cancer research UK.
And to top the last few weeks of results off, Em Warner and Ian Sherin raced on the P164 10M TT yesterday (3/7/16). A brutal headwind added a strong difficulty factor which was compounded by horses in the road! Not excellent conditions for a TT, but Ian came away in the number 1 position well over 25 seconds clear of his next challenger. Chapeau sir.
That concludes this weeks round up - keep your eyes peeled for more results soon!
5 riders braved the hot summers evening tonight (10/7/16) to take on the classic P164 TT starting in Lyndhurst and what an incredible results they had!
4 riders (Rich, Ian, Martin and Em) came away with PB's and Dave came away with his first ever TT result.
Awesome work to all riders, some pictures to follow taken by Ant, Tom and Thomas cheering from the sidelines!
4 3C Riders another county, 3 personal bests and a broken saddle. Thats right it was mixed fortunes for the 4 3C riders who braved the high end competition presented to them in West Sussex.
The A27 Fontwell course hosts only one open10mile time trial per year and always attracts top riders from across the South. Indeed Tour de France stage winner and renowned professional power house Sean Yates is amongst previous winners.
This time around it was the turn of prolific time trial winner James Copelandto take the honours in a blistering time of 19 mins 25secs no mean feet on a far from perfect evening.
First 3C rider to meet the time keeper was RichardBradley. Richard put in a superb effort starting near the beginning of the field to record the clubs first personal best time of the evening for 3C. His tIme of 22:40 was definitely no slouch's ride, and based on training from riding to work and leading club social rides definitely shows potential and a ride to be proud of.
2nd pb of the evening came from Nick O'Hara who confessed his previous best stood from the same event some 19 years earlier.
Someone should point out that if he rode more of these events he may not have had to wait so long!
Nevertheless, O'Hara's time of 20:39 could only give him 11th position so closely was the race contested. Just over 1 minute covering the first 11 riders.
Ian Sherrin gave 3C yet more to celebrate with a personal best time of 22:56. A magnificent effort from the likable and committed clubman. Again showing immense potential and natural ability Ian squeezed this ride in between leading club rides and trips abroad following his passion....bikes! Fantastic effort.
Not enjoying the forray into West Sussex quite so much was 3C's stalwart timetrialist Martin Balk. Riding strongly and looking to complete the set of 3C results Martin narrowly missed injury when his saddle failed and partedcompany with his bike at about 8 miles. No injury just frustration and Martin cagded a lift back to the .HQ with a Marshall....bike racing.
We should spare a thought for the 5th 3C rider Phil Butchers who was forced to withdraw from the event as he is still nursing cracked ribs from a spill racing some weeks ago at Winchester. Come on Phil get well soon!
So a mix of results but no doubt the 3C Cyclexperience riders are putting the club name out there. Excellent work to all riders!
Nick O'Hara once again took to the wooden boards of Newport Velodrome over the weekend 1-3 July competing in the Masters National Track Championships.
Nick is quick to point out that whilst "Master's" May imply older, it should really be a reference to the depth of quality and experience that was in abundance!
In spite of the fierce competition from ex-pros and ex-champions from back in the day O'Hara wore the 3C colours with pride and acquitted himself well.
Nick will be the first to admit he has had a disrupted season with only 5 other race outings to date. That said 6th place in the scratch race could only be hailed as disappointment as Nick sat comfortably in a medal winning position with one lap remaining only to be balked off the track loosing valuable momentum and consequently position.....that's bike racing.... sometimes!!
Running into stiff opposition in the pursuit a PB from Nick could only bring 5th place such was the quality of the field. Although in contention throughout the points race Nick and several of the favourites missed an opportunist move which decided the final outcome.
O'Haras satisfaction only came in the final sprint ably showing a clean pair of wheels to the entire field bar one.....a multiple national and world's medalist .....not a complete disgrace and a confidence booster that O'Hara will be taking forward to his next championship in October.
Don O'Connor 2nd claim to 3C performed well in the pursuit in his age category achieving 6th place. Unfortunately whilst in a favourable position in the scratch race Don took a tumble having been forced to take evasive action as another rider punctured. Fortunately no significant injuries and the experienced O'Connor was able to shrug off his fall.
Another astonishing week for 3C with our members yet again travelling far and wide to race, take part in sportives and even cheer on the pro's!
Monday 27th saw Zoe Taylor giving it her all on the P885 25 mile TT. She walked away as the 3rd female with an excellent time of 1:02:29.
Martin Balk one again showing strong results on his TT bike at the Cardiff 25 mile TT at Usk, setting a time of 1:10:55 in the wind rain and thunder - an impressive 'Rule 5' ride!
Saturday 2nd saw Martin Balk and Nick O'Hara heading over to Wales National Velodrome. More info and results to follow!
Sunday the 3rd started incredibly early for one of our riders. Becky Croton was part of the 'Dawn Raid' cycling 100 miles from HMS Victory in Portsmouth to the Imperial War Museum in London. This epic ride was all done in the aid of the charity 'Help the Heroes' and after 4 punctures within 3 miles, a broken valve and a 2 mile walk to the mechanic she crossed the line. Exceptional work!
Meanwhile across the channel in France, Ian Sherin and Ant Gahr set off on a 100+ mile ride in miserable conditions. Their aim; to cheer on the pro's in the Tour de France. Doing their own stage, they set off to find a good spot on the course and watch the jerseys go past. Good work chaps!
Closer to home, 3C riders took part in the UKCE Wiggle New Forest Conqueror. Teams of riders took to both the Standard and Epic courses in the glorious southern sunshine. Chris S, Chris L, Steve, Simon, Tom, Em, Faith and Sarah all rode, showing the forest how its done!
Chapeau all!
