August 2007 News. A few racing reports to be added from our few "Roving reporters" Dave Chittenden, Steve Avery, Dave Ricketts etc. But generally its been a quiet August. Best wishes to Dave Ricketts who had an "off" in Abingdon a few weeks ago, obviously it prematurely ended his season just as he started to compete against Clive Thomas for the Tout Le Mond trophy. Our last evening event of the season had to be cancelled, due to very heavy rain - yet again. July News. With the wettest July on record (and still a week to go to the end of the month), the motion tabled to change the name of the club from "Cycle Racing Team" to "Canoe and Rowing Team", has been duly noted, and is under consideration. The usual racers have been competing against one another and the other local clubs. Clive Thomas (now 1st Claim OCRC - boo hiss) has been firing out a string of 22 minute (and even a 21 minute 10), other riders have been recording PB's, namely Martyn Brown, Mark Robbins and Dave Ricketts. 24 Hour specialist Andy Sherwood, had a bad lead up to the event, getting knocked off his bike twice in as many weeks, unfortunately for Andy the injuries sustained in these incidents, made finishing the 24 impossible, and he pulled up after 10 or so hours. We wish Andy a speedy recovery in time for his hill climbing antics, and perhaps enough time to still record a 21 minute 10. Meanwhile on the Road Racing front you can read Dave Chitts report here and Dave Ricketts report here. For those wondering about Ian Watson's epic Lands End to Jon O Groats Expedition (read as moment of madness) the report is here. June Racing News. The third club 10 of the season reverted back to the Southmoor course. Some blistering times were recorded, as Dave McGaw OUCC smashed the course record yet again with 20.32. Good news from Dave Ricketts, finally managing to procure some Tri Bars added them to his steed and recorded a 22.55 for over a minute improvement in his PB, Andy Sherwood took the 10 points in the Points Comp followed by Clive Thomas with 22.47. The Competition is now fierce and the winner will surely be dependent upon who races which events. Clive Thomas has a commanding lead, but if Dave Ricketts continues to improve (borrows some aero wheels a pointy hat and a skinsuit) and Andy Sherwood battles out the final club events - things could be very tight indeed... MEANWHILE Ted - not wishing to be "Out-tedded" by Ian Watson, has quickly retalliated by issuing his write up on the Unofficial Fred Whitton Challenge as undertaken by a fool-hardy lot of Midoxon riders. You can read it here With a lack of "tedness" about the site recently, Ian Watson has taken on the mantle of club rambler (we're not sure whether thats a biking rambling or talking/writing rambling) but anyhow here is his latest ramblings on rambling - here Continued Racing News.. Midoxon's Second Club 10 of the season looked like it might be rained off, however the rain disappeared in the nick of time, to give near perfect conditions. Mark Jones knocked the competition out of sight - to take 10 points in the Tout Le Mond competition, and Clive Thomas, put his new OCRC skinsuit to good effect for a near 1 minute course improvement over last year, for 7th position overall, but second Midoxon for eight points. Winner of the first promotion and previous series leader Andy Sherwood was absent, passing the competition lead over to Clive Thomas, now clsoely followed by Mj and AS in joint second on 10pts. Results here and points table here. Dave Chittenden avoids the pile up at Chertsey, read his report here. Clive Thomas has continued flying the Midoxon flag most weeks on Wednesdays and the occasional Tuesday, assisted by Lesley, Marion, Kevin, Steve  and new racing convert Martyn Brown. Whilst its all been "Racing" talk for a few weeks, The summer also brings a likely list of Sportives and longer Club-Runs for the less "eyeballs out" members of the Club. You can read Teds latest ramblings about White horses and Steep Hills here , whilst looking forward to more of the same as we move into May and June. Dave Ricketts continues to race on both sides of the fence, or perhaps all three, Sportives, Road Racing and TTs... STOP PRESS Dave Ricketts finishes in 38th place, results here
Midoxons First (promoted) Club 10 of the season was run off on the Southmoor 10 course, probably the fastest course around here now. Dave McGaw from Ox Uni CC won the event in a new PB and course record of 20.59. Fast times were the order of the day with PBs from Martyn Brown, Marion Rickman, Mark Robbins (no tri bars), Dave Ricketts (no tri bars), Kevin Gleeson, and Andy Sherwood who was the fastest Midoxon rider on the day, closely followed by Clive Thomas.
The second club 10 - Its becoming a habit - the first two club 10's of the season have been won by Midoxon riders. Clive Thomas won the first event on the new Oakley course on Wednesday (04/04/07), in a course record time of 24.59 - full results here. As we go to press - Clive could still be seen smiling, as he pondered his first win and first Course Record. All bodes well for the fast event on Saturday.
The first club 10 of the season was run off on the "not so new-but still newer than most" Hardwick course, where no less than NINE midoxon riders faced the timekeeper - in very windy conditions. An exceptional ride by Andy Sherwood [ pic ] won the event in 23.59 for a ride that was scarily close to a pb, on a hard day, on an average course. We expect Andy to get a lot closer to a 21 minute ride this year - if he sets his targets on shorter distance stuff. Clive Thomas was "cheery" with his fourth place in 25.07. Further down the pecking order, was Marion Rickman [pic] with 27.25. Martyn Brown [ pic ] recorded a very creditable 28.25 for a PB, which again in those conditions was excellent. Martyn however has spent the winter tailoring one of his many road bikes into a precision TT machine - equipped with sub 21 minute handlebars (thanks DM). Kev Gleeson, Lesley Parry-Jones and Steve Avery were all in 29 minute territory and new boys Andrew Berry  [ pic ] and Mark Robbins 30 minute rides.. I'm sure we'll see some massive improvements from these guys in the next couple of weeks.
On the eve of the 2007 Season , an apt picture of Clive Thomas, Tout le Monde Series winner 2006 receiving the trophy. And looking very attached to it	Secret Training.....ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED.......... I have a most serious issue to report. Whilst out on my bike about 1 hour ago I spotted another rider also out. It turns out that said rider was Marion of all people, who has been noticeable by her absence of late, this must contravene the only apparent Mid Oxon rule, that any rider wishing to undertake secret training must inform other members of the club as to where and when this is to take place. Of course you all er... understand that I was only out to errr.. um.. catch members infringing this rule. So I thought a fitting punishment was to force Marion to do the Hardwick 10 with me, we managed the course in 25:35. Let this act as a warning to other members. regards Clive After all anyone else secret training - might be trying to take his trophy off him...
THE RACING SEASON HAS BEGUN, Peter Larbalestier is our first racer (again). Brill Hilly............Could it be only a year ago that I.................more click the link to find Lesleys report....
The Didcot Phoenix Roller Racing Competition - 22nd February 2007 The Didcot Phoenix roller racing evening was a clamber of riders & turbo's.  Some turbo's it has to be said that are well beyond their best & spewed the kind of noise that would have pre-empted a WW2 air raid.  Less than ideal in a small community centre, & something of a drain on the focus of the strong team of Mid Oxon CRT.  We were a proud 3 rider team in a 5 rider competition, but none the less gave it all.... me & Mr Pan on the cameras, with Avery, Sherwood, & Warburton on the bikes. An early benchmark was set when one rider posted a short 41 seconds.  Avery was our 1st competitor, & posted a very respectable 49 seconds, & clearly was in considerable pain as his time moved past 40 seconds.  Lactic of course is the enemy of the rider, & very quickly kills leg speed, even though you're spinning at 150-170 RPM on the 108" gear.   Sherwood's ride confirmed the value of a fixed wheel, confirming the trend of the night that using a standard road machine is far less efficient, & thus getting 56 seconds.  Warburton was last out of the block, & riding Avery's machine also crossed the kilometre line at 49 seconds Avery attempted a 2nd ride, & clocked the fastest Mid Oxon ride of the night with a more measured 48.  Combined time for the team was 3 minutes 23, for a scratch side. A great night for those that have not tried it before & thanks should go to Didcot for organising the session. Video footage for those with strong stomachs ....SA here Warby here and Sherwood here
The Unofficial Fred Whitton Challenge  (UFWC) June 8, 9 or 10 (weather dependant...) Three members Ian W, Ian T (Ted) and Martyn (He'll have to change his name to Ian to avoid confusion...) are attempting the UFWC on a sunny Friday morning in June - the actual event is extremely popular and unless you have friends in high places (Marion) or live nearby you don't get in.  So there is nothing for it... a unofficial all Mid-Oxon attempt!  The route is a tad challenging and includes all the major passes in the lake district culminating in the fiercest two, Hard Knot and Wrynose.  The official website describes it as follows "Starting & finishing at Coniston, the route includes Ambleside, Kirkstone Pass, Patterdale, Troutbeck (north),Keswick, Borrowdale, Honister Pass, Buttermere, Newlands Pass, Braithwaite, Whinlatter Pass, Loweswater, Ennerdale Bridge, Gosforth, Eskdale & finishing with the brutal Hardknott & Wrynose Passes.  112 hilly miles in total with 3800m of climbing!" Check out the profile Any other members fancy the challenge would be most welcome. Due to the lack of points in the bank we will be taking our other halves for a long weekend in the lakes (subsequently to break it to them that they are actually the support party...staying in a B&B in Ambleside - any interested parties give email Ian W.	Lands End to John O'Groats June 20 - July 3 Route details available here The other individuals mentioned are members of the Wanborough Vets cycling club and as you can see people are joining the ride at different points and riding for one or two days - if anyone is interested in cycling for one or more days - please just let me know.  There is a particularly spectacular 2/3 days west of Glasgow via the Isle of Arran and up the west coast...  Ian   PS Oh yes... and finally having just read Ted's Product of the Year review, I would just like to add a rival to the title. Product of the Year - Pete Ryder's Sidi Genius road shoes with built in crank extractor.  These shoes are extremely versatile - as well as being able to propel large weights at high speed without compromise, the shoes also have an in built crank extractor.  This is extremely useful when the Shimano Hollowtech (yes Colin, we know you told us so...) slips on the splines and the softer metal of the crank starts to wear rapidly.  Usually deployed with the full brute force of a Powerful Pierre - worried looks from the proud owner of a new bike Mark, as PP really gives it some welly!  So apart from the vague smell of camembert this product gets my vote for product of the year...
ERR Duathlon 11/02/07 By Clive Thomas Hillingdon Crits By Dave Chittenden Product of the Year By Ian Tedeschi Whilst most of you were enjoying a leisurely Sunday morning ride, 4 Mid Oxon members went along to a well attended and excellently organised (by Lesley and Robbie Phillips) Duathlon hosted by the ever popular Eynsham Road Runners. The event comprised of a 3 mile run, 11.5 mile cycle (picking up the old Eynsham 10 TT course) and another 3 mile run, in which almost 40 people took part. What turned out to be an excellent day with refreshments for all at the end, was marred by the "Cyclists Friend", the ever growing population of angry, impatient, road raging Motorist who often vent their anger on cyclists and runners alike. Unfortunately one of the Marshals had to endure some nasty verbal abuse whilst trying to carry out her important task of ensuring safety for all at the cycle turn point. So impressed was the angry motorist of the ability of the Marshall to multi task and not be distracted in her duty, that she even took photos of Kathy and her Car. Fortunately no one was injured during this time. Three of us competed in one of the 4 relay teams, whilst we let the Tri specialists do their stuff. Myself, Marion and Lesley teamed up with three of the Eynsham Road Running Ladies, Steve Avery meanwhile decided after competing in an event on Saturday that the use of his large lungs at the Sutton roundabout would be better use of his time, I for one had my spirit lifted both times as I passed Steve and his  verbal support. Lesley was paired with Kate, Myself with Hildy and Marion with Shiela. Marion and Sheila proved too strong and with good runs by Sheila and another excellent ride by Marion took the honours in the relay race, this was followed 2 1/2 minutes later by the 2 remarkably well matched teams who were separated by only 2 seconds with Kate and Hildy sprinting for the line. I can recommend this as an excellent day out and a good alternative to the Sunday club run if you fancied something different, I am sure if anyone wanted to take part next year, whether to enter the whole deal or doing a relay as I did, they would be made very welcome and a running partner could be found if required. Thanks again to Lesley And ERR. Results can be downloaded from the Eynsham Roadrunners website www.eynshamroadunners.org.uk Worthy of note - Clive actually produced the fastest bike leg of the day closely followed by Marion DM Having woken up Saturday morning and decided that I really need to determine how I am progressing with my training, I thought it would be a good idea to head for Hillingdon! Within hours I had a number on my back and was on the start line for the E/1/2/3 race, poking fun at the Ploughman Craven Team who had decided to wear light pink and blue jerseys! (quite fetching if you're a girl but not so flattering if you're a bloke!) (Dave is a new(ish) member so is probably unaware that Midoxon's previous strip was in these colours...Ed) This may have been the first crucial mistake! Within 30 seconds of the race starting someone launched an attack and a few of the Ploughman Craven bunch helped it along. (In fact one of them helped it along that much the main bunch was eventually lapped!)  Unfortunately both my lack of fitness, strength and aggressiveness in the bunch led to my demise, so after 15 minutes of racing I realized I was not going to stay on (heart rate last seen at 198!) so I launched a searing attack (out of the back!) and didn't see the bunch until the next time they came around!   I spent the rest of the race hopping on (and off!) the back of the bunch whenever I got lapped and also riding around with a few of the other stragglers! Saturday evening I was so sore it felt like I had been beaten up! But all in all a good experience! Unfortunately there is only one photo of me as evidence of me racing and you can barely pick that out! (DGS photography website, Page 6, second row down, third photo along, I'm at the back in the red and yellow with the blue hat! Dave C Now, the Mid Oxon CRT membership does not have a product of the year review, why should we?  There are many magazines, experts and web sites that can far more adeptly provide a detailed review of how a product has performed over a protracted period.  However, I feel compelled to report that I have not had a single puncture since early January last year, even though the Oxfordshire roads are strewn with debris and detritus (just like that of any other county) .  Ian will certainly be able to confirm that. The daily commute is where most punctures for me occur, and there is nothing worse than having to take a wheel off in the dark, cold and rain.  I decided that I would look for a way to sort this for my winter riding, and came up with the well established solution offered by "Slime".  After a spate of punctures, I purchased a pair of Slime liners for winter use.  It has to be noted that their use is stated to be for 28mm tyres and above, but I was looking for a solution that would stop the unerring regularity of the hiss of a puncture, so dug deep for the £7 purchase price regardless.  So very early last year I installed the tapes (that sit between tyre & tube) into my Gatorskins, and set off for our regular (this time last year) Saturday chain gang.  I noted immediately that the tyre was slightly less sure over road furniture (drains etc), but I very soon got used to that fact, and have been happily cycling with these inserts ever since.  Two weeks ago I decided to have a look at the tyre condition, and pulled out 3 bits of glass that might have easily penetrated the Kevlar protection, and made their way to the vulnerable rubber of the tube.  However, the inserts prevented that, so no puncture stops have ensued. Clearly these inserts affect the way that the tyre flexes, but otherwise they are a very good solution for an irksome problem for those slower winter rides. However, the slime tape is just a shortlist item for my "product of the year".  The real winner took me a few years to find.  We all (I'm sure) have experienced the pains of saddle sores, and no matter how much regard you give to hygiene, and ensure that shorts are washed after each ride, we still all suffer in the summer.  A number of people and websites had stated that a good prevention was the use of Sudocrem.  Sure enough, I've had no nappy rash since.  Excellent stuff, and enough said I think. Nuff said Ted.... DM New member - new news !! New second claim member Marion Rickman, politely asked if anyone else fancied tackling the "Poor Student Audax" on 7th January. Unusually, since Mid Oxon like to partake in this sort of thing, the foul conditions were enough to put the rest of our membership off, but Marion was not to be deterred.   Marion's Report of the Poor Student Audax Well 200k is a long way particularly at that this time of year.  Weather on Sunday not too bad and set off at 8am from Pear Tree Park and Ride.  I deliberately kept with the fast boys (and well outside my comfort zone) up cumnor hill so that I was in the front pack of about 10 on the flat, into the wind down to Shrivenham.  It was slightly faster than my comfortable pace but I doggedly stayed with them to Shrivenham as per plan.  After Shrivenham on the first slope they were gone and I was alone.  I paced another bloke who also had dropped off the back, about ¼ mile behind, all the way to Malmesbury.  I decided to stop and take off my windproof to reduce the wind effect and it promptly started pouring.  So back on with the wet weather gear. Into Malmesbury and a stop just for water.  I then picked up 2 more from the fast group who had dropped off the pace.  They were 2 fit young army lads and we rode together to Chipping Camden, up some unpleasant hills.   While they were very fit and doing an absurd extreme race this year in Scotland, they were not bike fit and started struggling into Chipping Camden.  They wanted to stop for tea and cake.  I wanted to get as near home as possible before it got dark.  So again just a water stop and on alone.  Kept up a good pace and had the wind behind on the last stretch.  Needed lights but was able to see the road still which was good as road surfaces rubbish after all the rain and lots of oil slicks etc. Anyway finished back at Pear Tree at 16:42, so 8 hours 42 mins which is significantly faster than I have done the ride on previous years.  Probably 5 or 6 (men) in front of me so well pleased, but very stiff and sore today.  Why do it?  Not sure at the time but feels like a good achievement today and it gets miles in the tank. Next up will be the Marlborough connection next month.  Any takers for that one? Marion Rickman   All eyes on the new Time Trial Program ? Last year we had a magnificent turnout for our first event on the H10/18 Hardwick course, as designed by Dave Miller and Clive Thomas. Eleven riders contested the honours with a high turnout from City and Oxo's too. This year's first event at Hardwick is on Saturday 31st March 3.00pm and run by the Oxonians, it would be good to get a few more new names racing, as well as the "old hands". Midoxon's first event is the following Saturday on the H10/17R course starting and finishing on the A420 near Southmoor. This is altogether a faster course and should see some quick times. Pencil it in now!! And here starteth the rumour mill.  Martyn Brown (famed world-over for his dog training) has decided to leave the dogs alone this year and concentrate on his racing. He is already preparing a race specific bike, on which he will contest the Tout Le Mond series.. Racers beware - Martyn can turn the pedals quickly, with or without a canine snapping at this heels... Additional Xmas rides write-up ******************************************************************* To offset the onset of the festive season gluttony, Mid Oxon organised 3 extra curricular rides over the Xmas period.  The weather was not at its best, but none the less a few of the club hard men braved the conditions/dirt to put some distances into the legs.  The 1st ride failed due to the very cold and wet, but numbers were much better for the flat ride to the South on the "Southern Softie" route for the 28th.  This was followed by a much harder and very windy ride up and round Bicester two days later. In addition to these planned rides, it's been said that other club members took the opportunity for some "secret training".  Clive Thomas was seen out and about, and there were murmurings of outings by Mark Robbins and Dave Ricketts.  To ensure that we all felt good about ourselves, Nanu Grewal, Dave Pan and Colin Currill all sent their best wishes from their sunny, warm locations (Australia and Florida). I think it's always good to know how much colder it is here than it is on other continents! ********************************************************************* Ian Tedeschi.... Provisional 2007 Full Club TT program added here.  Winter club runs list has been added.  You are advised to sign up to the email list, for possible notification of amendments. The racing season has now passed as we move into winter mode. Club runs have started for the Winter venues and have generally been very well attended, recently we had fourteen at the "tea stop". When was the last time we had 14 racers. Perhaps we should consider becoming the Midoxon Tea-Stoppers. The minutes to the recent club meeting at the Bricklayers Arms can be found here. The talk of "next year" has already started, Ian Watson is organizing a "trip" to Jon O Groats - only downside is that you have to leave from Lands End, by bicycle, any members interested  in supporting or riding should contact Ian.

September 2006     Hill Climbing Action. Dave Chittenden was the only club representative in the OCRC Hill Climb at Shipton under Wychwood. Dave after racing the previous day, and securing his 3rd CAT License, recorded a creditable 9.26, full results can be found here, and pictures here. The following week Dave was unavailable for the Club Champs, and in wet conditions (although drying out) Ian Tedeschi won the Hill Climb Trophy, recording a swift 5.15 for a 15 second improvement over last years time. Winner was Richard Pettinger in 4.15, warming up for his assault on the National HC competition, and hoping to improve from his 11th place last year, on the short "Rake" course, which Rich tells us is not suited to his "climbing". But it was not all plain sailing, Oxford University Rider Dave McGaw, punctured with about 250m to go, and finished on a completely flat front tyre, McGaw recorded 4.18 and was left wondering what might have been, had his front tyre not blown out on the second to last bend. More pictures can be found here   Ted in action near the summit   National Trike Championships   Steve Avery partnered daughter Angela to compete in the National Trike Champs. Steve and Angela recorded 28.10 to finish for the bronze medal in the 10 mile Competition, but then went two better to win gold in the 25 Mile Champs, recording a fantastic 1.15. We await a brief report from the duo, the clubs only national champions. STOP PRESS - Clive Thomas records a new PB on the Andover course, 22.20. Steve and Angela Avery at the Nationals September saw the final Mid Oxon club event in the Tout le Monde series. Whilst most members were in the "sun sea and sangria" mode in Italy, we took the opportunity to promote the last Saturday 10 of the season on the new H10/17r course based around Southmoor and the A420. Marshalls were thin on the ground, so a special thanks to Eddie Luckett (Pusher Offer) Peter Larbalestier (Start Timekeeper), Dave Pan (Turn Marshall) and Cameron Miller (Finish Timekeeper). Clive Thomas and Dave Ricketts both turned up to marshall if necessary, but we managed to accommodate them into the field.. The event was won by Pete Oliver in a fast 22.22 with Clive Thomas the fastest Mid Oxon and consolidating his win in the season long Tout Le Monde competition. The following week the Club 10 Mile Champs were run off on the new Hardwick course, Howard Waller won the event overall with a stunning 23.00, meanwhile, Clive Thomas, Kevin Gleeson and Dave Chittenden battled out for the Club Champion Honours. It was a shame to have a lot less contenders than last year, but c'est la vie, and Clive Thomas came out the victor.  Dave Chittenden had the "came 3rd in a road race this morning" excuse - safely tucked up his sleeve. Well to quote him he actually said, "I managed to grab 3rd place after a blistering sprint on Saturday morning at a 4th cat race at Chertsey MOD. There don’t seem to be any photos about unfortunately. But I'm hoping this explains my snail like attempt at the Hardwick 10 in the afternoon – the legs were going round but there was no power!" Meanwhile I think Steve Avery was off representing the club in the National Trike Champs - hopefully some picturess and news to follow on that one.. All eyes now on the Club Hill Climb Champs Sunday 24th September at Watlington... August 2006 As the racing season comes ever to closer to a close, Clive Thomas has already wrapped up the "Tout Le Mond" points trophy with an event to spare. What started as a little shaky, ended in a sprint, as Clive's lead became permanent and unassailable after the Chesterton event on the 16th August. We now look forward to the final Midoxon event of the season, on the new highly thought of H10/17r, where lots of riders will be hoping for new PBs.  A few riders have been waiting all year for September and October to show their hill climbing ability, last year our highest turnout was for the hill climb on Watlington.  Some riders are prepped and ready to go, already having held themselves back and dieted all season. We await with baited breath....  July 2006 Racers to the fore, Clive Thomas has continued his TT assault, breaking PBs at both 10 & 25 miles and now leads the season long points competition, from Mark Jones. Kevin Gleeson recently smashed his 10 PB and is now looking at new equipment to get him ever closer to Clive. The club run business is getting serious as numbers swell, whilst everyone has the forthcoming Italy trip on their mind. Meanwhile Steve Avery has taken up running and throwing sponges at passing cyclists, odd I know - but the picture below shows how true this really is. This is the sort of treatment you get when you defect from Midoxon to F&C cc, Steve ran 415 miles to keep throwing sponges, water bottles the odd banana, and even a sausage sandwich at Andy. Picture kindly donated from Dave Taylor, club photographer.     June's Objectives

We did put together a team, of sorts, for the Circuit of The Cotswolds, but the rider (left) got lost or was missing, there have been reports that he has left the cycling fraternity, but this pic clearly shows him astride a bicycle, even if not his. Noticeably, most of the other "volunteers" were there, most spotted on the shorter 100k version.  En route were, Dave Chittenden (ala maiden), Dave Ricketts, Clive Thomas, Mark Truby, Andy Johnson & Kevin Gleeson riding swiftly as a 5 man team. Martyn Brown riding alone on the big ring, Pete Ryder and Colin Currill enjoying the countryside. We have assumed that madness ensued for Ted and Ian - when the route split for the 100 mile version, that they took the long route on purpose. We may be being overkind, recently Ted has taken over the mantle as club navigator and has certainly got the hang of getting lost, Miller obviously was a good teacher in this respect, and today proved his reputation in this field (and a few other fields...) The following weekend looked tougher on paper for some, the much respected "dragon Ride" tackling most of the most fearsome climbs in South Wales, on a 100 mile plus route, taking in amongst  others the "Shepherds Track"....Ted was well up for this one and was joined by Ian Watson & Martyn Brown. As usual Ted has written his detailed account of both events, which can be found here.

May / June 2006 Another event - another PB - Clive Thomas and Peter Larbalestier do it again. Wednesday June 7th provided ideal conditions for the club 25 on the Burford Lechlade course.  Less than four days after his 10 mile PB, Clive considerably improved his 25 PB to 1.03.03, Peter Larbalestier recorded a creditable 1.12.xx for his first attempt - it didn't go unnoticed though, that Peter was astride his new steed (oooh er).  The stage has been set for more fast times ahead with club 10s on the fast Witney course Sunday (11th) and the Cumnor course Wednesday (14th). We await with baited breath. The racing season is now upon us in earnest. Fair weather has come and gone and today (Junes first event) has returned again. Both Andy Sherwood and Clive Thomas have been setting the roads alight with PBs. Andy shows a preference to ride the Didcot events, trying to keep his progress secret from his Mid Oxon team mates. In May(03/05/06) he recorded a creditable 24.22 on the bumpy stadhampton course, results here. Then tapering his training for a whole four weeks managed an improvement to 23.40 on June 1st on the much faster H10/17 course at Cumnor. Meanwhile Clive Thomas has been making a quiet run towards improving his PB below the 23 minute barrier. Clive has been recording consistent rides for the last two months and today on the fast CC235 broke 24 minutes for the first time with a creditable 23.55. Expect more from Clive shortly. Clive Thomas and Dave Miller battle it out on the weston Airfield, on 9th May. Miller recorded 23.50 for his best performance of the season and Thomas 25.15. April 2006

Wednesday 29th March, saw the Evening Series of Time Trials kick off with a new event on the Mid Oxon designed "Hardick" 10. No less than Eleven Mid Oxon riders contested the honours, with second claim rider Mark Jones winning, and Clive Thomas coming second, the rest of the points were picked up by, Anton Blackie, Dave Ricketts, Lesley Parry-Jones and (new racer) Ian Watson. We expect more of the same from these riders and some notable improvements in April. Full resultshere.

Another day - another hilly. Saturday 18th March, saw some windy cold weather for the Oxonians Open Hilly based around Brill again. Andy Sherwood and Steve Avery couldn't resist a second outing up Brill Hill within a week. Full results on the Oxo's website, but Andy came 14th with 1:32:50 and Steve 2:10:06 riding his trike.

The racing season is upon us already, well some of us. New member Peter Larbalestier, has been off racing around the dales for his first experience of time-trialling, you can read his account here. Quite an epic start to the timetrialling fore. Meanwhile more locally (but perhaps no less hilly) the first club event of the season saw an excellent start for the Mid Oxon Riders. Andy Sherwood came a close second in the Brill hilly 16, in cold conditions. Andy Johnson, Kevin Gleeson (another new member) and Steve Avery backing him up. Excellent to see four midoxon riders so eager to start racing with a few more waiting in the wings for drier brighter weather for their new steeds....(see below). Full results here

More readers bikes coming out of the wood work, Martin Brown has released pictures of his 2006 Time trial bike here

A new Season - a new bike - but to whom does it belong more pictures here (and its still not mine)

Already January is behind us, base training has stepped aside in favour of speed training, for those serious contenders in the club. No less than five members have new bikes on order, carbon monocoque time trial and other ex(r)otica will soon be paraded around for all and sundry to drool over. Because of this we have decided to create a members bikes page (it was going to be a readers wives page - but common decency prevented us from proceeding on that course). Never one to be out done Dartaignon is the first to submit his entry here.  Steve Avery has joined the game - you can see his track bike here. DM's dirty wheels here. We hope to see some better examples soon....

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A new year is upon us, which means subs are now due, First Claim £10, Second claim £5, Cheques as usual to Pete Ryder, new members can download a membership form above. This Year 2006 will see a slight modification to the season long Mid Oxon Points Series Competition, for the Tout Le Mond trophy sponsored by Excel Dry Cleaners. Details an be found here, but in short you will need to be a first or second claim member, to qualify for the competition.

The details of the midoxon foreign tour for 2006 have now been announced. "The Italian Job" will be a seven day tour of the Marche Region, based in a cycling specific Hotel in Riccione. For those who wished for hillier (read more mountainous for Stelvio fans) terrain, take a look here, for some route profiles. Route number 10 looks interesting with the additional climb of the Cippo Carpegna an additional 500m of climbing in approx 7km (ouch). Feast your eyes on the possible routes and then decide.

The Saturday Chaingang is becoming more heavily subscribed, funnily enough, Xmas Eve and NY's Eve have attracted the highest numbers so far. Albeit only around 5 or 6 and the pace has been modest, so far only about 18-19 mph. We are trying to entice further members to join in, and perhaps now that the festivities are out of the way, members minds may now firmly be on this years cycling events and races.

Steve and Holly Avery working overtime on Boxing Day, where they recorded a creditable 28.55 in the Didcot Fancy Dress Club 10. A shame they couldn't have done it in fancy dress.

December has all but arrived, and already thoughts are turning to next years events. Whether you see yourself as a Road-Racer, Timetrialler, Trackie, Crosser, or Etapper, now is the time to start planning your next year. Obviously "The Italian Job" will be high up the agenda for some of you (us?) and after last years coverage of the Mid Oxon peloton in the Dragon Ride, how could we miss that. The annual BT Trip to the Isle of Wight, had a strong Mid Oxon presence last year, perhaps we could invade that again, and there has been talk of the Isle of Man, although that is a lot further away.  Really the possibilities are endless, there has even been talk of a day out in Exmoor and the ascent of Porlock Hill. If you've not heard of it look here, its quite a brute and relatively close by, and a trip there would offer lots of routes throughout Exmoor. Meanwhile the cyclosport website has lots of other British Cyclosportives for the "etape set", and those who like a moderate (or harder) challenge. If there is any cycling event you would like to do in the company of other Midoxoners, please feel free to email me at david@midoxon.com so I can include it here.

The new clothing page is here.....

Winter training has started (for some more than others). Sunday club runs have been well attended despite the poor weather, and the number of members struggling with fitness, injuries, old age and even poor excuses (Miller).

The new Saturday Chaingang has started meeting each Saturday at 12 noon at the Swan pub car park Islip, for a controlled run around the lower (flat) Otmoor loop. The second week saw the numbers double from the first week, and the average speed o both occasions was in the 18-19 mph area. We hope to get even more members interested in this, but accept that this might not be until after the Christmas festivities, when some members will need to burn off the extra calories consumed in the name of Christmas.

The Hill Climbers Season and Cyclo Cross Season starts here.

James Barnes returned from France to show some startling Climbing form, to win both the Didcot Phoenix Hill Climbs. First at Crays Pond, Barnes recorded 5:11.08,beating the next placed rider by almost half a minute. The specialists then moved on to Streatley, where Barnes again won recording, 2:36.04 beat our own Andy Sherwood into second place with 2:46.02. Sherwood must have been happy with his time, his main aim this year has been to get under 3 minutes, which he did comfortably. In the accompanying Open eveny promoted by Reading CC, Steve Avery won the trike section with 5:29.1, and its worth note that James Barnes time would have been good enough for a fourth place, amongst some seasoned Hill Climb Specialists, like Rob English, Danny Axford and Justin Hoy. Sherwoods time would have put him close to the top 10, Arctic Shorter Rochford won the team prize, but Midoxon could have run them close if another rider, such as Miller had ridden too.

Inaugural Mid Oxon Cyclo Cross results here, "A Grand Day Out"

Watlington Hill, Reading CC, 25th September 2005 Mid Oxon attended their 2nd assault of the dreaded Watlington Hill time trial on the 25th September.  There were 6 representatives from the club (Miller, Sherwood, Avery, Thomas, Tedeschi and Matt Hart [2nd claim]) All were vying for honours and were looking forward to improvements since the previous outing two weeks ago.
Due to a shortage of timing marshals, Steve Avery acted as impromptu starter and being on his trike was trusted to set off on his own as the last man (requiring no-one to hold his bike upright). Sherwood, Hart and Miller headed the Mid Oxon field with 3:35, 3:42 and 3:46 respectively, whilst Tedeschi 4:18, and Thomas 4:22 showed significant improvement this time out. Steve Avery had a hard fought 6:32 on a 30lb steed, for a 30second improvement on his PB, and we think it only fair that we multiply his time by two thirds seeing as he had three wheels...
The field was 10 strong for this Reading CC event, so it was very heartening to see that Mid Oxon represented half the triallists.  It was also very good to see support at the half way point from Colin Currill, whom for some reason seemed reluctant to take the challenge head-on himself.
PS: Clive Thomas stated "never again", but we all know how powerful a lobbyist Dave Miller can be!    

Final placings in the Mid Oxon Time Trial Series. A very commanding win from Oxford City rider Mark Jones, winning seven from eight events.

1st Mark Jones             70 points.
2nd Pete Oliver             26
3rd Howard Waller       22
4th Paul Granger           18
5th Vince Walker          16
6th Dave Miller             15
 

Two PBs in as many weeks for Clive Thomas, first recording 24.28 on the Weston Airfield in a Bicester Millennium club 10, and then 10 days later 24.23 on the H10/2 Maidenhead Thicket course, on a less than perfect day. We expect more next year.

The Club Hill Climb Championship, raised a lot of interest this year. In conjunction with the Oxonians and Oxford City RC, the event was run off on Watlington Hill. Last year the title was left vacant after no riders contested the race, when many were "assaulting" Le Ventoux. This year was an altogether different story. All eyes were on National 24 hour rider Andy Sherwood, who had been doing specific Hill Climb training for quite a while. Dave Miller turned up on a fully stripped Titanium machine using 38/16 gearing, weighing less than 15 Lbs. Etape veterans Ian Tedeschi and Clive Thomas were also in attendance, "Ted" had been threatening to race for a while, no one was quite sure whether "Ted" could pull the rabbit out of the hat and win the champs in his first competitive event. These four were joined by prospective member  Dave Chittenden, who has been in attendance at a lot of the club runs earlier in the year. It was a cold damp morning and the summit was beyond the cloud line. In the end it was Andy that won in 4.39, with Miller 5 seconds adrift, Thomas and Tedeschi finished on 5.29 and 5.30 respectively and Dave Chittenden, slightly over 6 minutes. It seems that we have an affinity with this event, after barely featuring in the results all season, Midoxon Riders packed the official results, with the assistance of second claim rider Matt Hart in second place, see the results here, courtesy of the Oxonians Website.

This years Inaugural Club Championship was held on the 3rd September on the "slow" Eynsham, Course, CC140.  It was specifically chosen to be a non-midoxon event, to enable as may Mid Oxon riders to participate as possible, without having the added burden of marshalling duties. On the end six riders raced against the clock, the usual suspects, Clive Thomas, Steve Avery, Dave Rickets and Dave Miller, were joined my Martyn Brown and prospective Mid Oxon member Kevin Gleeson. It turned out to be quite a close result with Miller just beating Thomas,  with Thomas breaking a spoke early on and battling against a rubbing back wheel for the majority of the race. Final times were

Miller                   24.29
Thomas                 25.30
Avery (trike)         27.29
Rickets                 28.32
Brown                   28.34
Gleeson                 28.37

All eyes now on next Sunday's Hill Climb, where again we are hopeful of having a good few riders taking part, with in-form Andy Sherwood the man to beat. (No Pressure Andy)

Mid Oxon to the fore at Mildenhall Rally, in the form of Steve, Holly, Angela and Rio Avery.
Holly won the girls' 14+ duathlon, even after injuring her shoulder after a trip on the second run.
Angela was 5th girl in the 11-12-13 category.
Rio was 2nd girl in the 5-6-7s.

In the cyclo cross Rio was 2nd again, Angela took 5th and Holly and Steve took part in the Madison cross and came 23rd (Steve admits to slowing up Holly).

There are some pictures and more details here

The timetrialling scene is hotting up. Regular racers Steve Avery and Clive Thomas, now have regular competition from Dave Miller, Dave Rickets, and National 24 hour rider Andy Sherwood even put in an appearance on the 10th August. Mid Oxon filled five places in the event billed as either 2up or singles, but unfortunately failed to make a pair. Dave Miller teamed up with Oxonian's Mike Wilkinson to record 24.16, some way off the winning time of Mark Jones/Howard Waller of Oxford City in 22.18. Best of all was Steve Avery's pairing with Geoff Booker both riding trikes, where changing on the front was like a military manoeuvre. Andy Sherwood recorded 26.17, which is in fact a PB, and Dave Rickets, 27 minutes dead, still choosing to ride without the undoubtable benefit of tri bars. August 17th sees Midoxon promote the event on the CC260 course based on the A4095 and B430 near Chesterton. Miller, Thomas and Avery will again be battling for the dubious honour of being the fastest Midoxoner, while Andy Sherwood has turned his attention away from endurance and has already started his hill climb training.

HOT NEWS - Andy Sherwood represented the club in the National 24 hour race. He successfully finished the race (a feat in itself) and clocked up just over 400 miles in the allotted time. Andy finished in 16th place, in the vent which was won for the second year running by second claim member, Nik Gardiner. Read Andy's account here.

Steve Avery silver medal at the Trike Worlds again......read the write up here.

The Time Trialling scene is hotting up with regular appearances from Steve Avery, Clive Thomas, Dave Miller and Dave Ricketts. Results to the last event in July, on a wet Wednesday night at Eynsham can be found here. Other members are becoming more interested in racing, watch this space for more results and new racers.

Results to the first 10 of July here, on a very windy night, where Mark Jones, destroyed the opposition in a time of 22:27.

July was the main aim for nearly half the members of our club, all of the recent training, long hard Sunday club runs, all of the winter miles were done with one thing in mind The Etape du Tour. Latest news from our boys on the continent, is that all went well. Reasonably well anyway, all finished with official times, and Nanu completed his life's ambition to puncture in this most famous event. He did have a lot of practise for this one particular aspect though, so really we shouldn't be surprised. Clive Thomas led the contingent home with a real time of 7:40:06, closely followed by Powerful Pierre (Pete Ryder) in 7:40:26. Tedeschi and Taylor were close on their heels, in times of 7:51:18 and 7:52:39, with Taylor wondering what effect it would have had on his time, if he had got the elusive 70 mph off the Aubisque.  Martyn Brown was next home, 8:40:58, pondering whether he could have changed off of the big ring and the lack of dogs on the course.....Puncture man was next, followed by Richard Baskerville, who is still considering his membership options, and must surely now realise that most of the Midoxon's are barking if not mad.  John Warburton followed these two, their times respectively, 8:50:02, 8:51:10, 8:55:05. Jon was still looking for his sunglasses, then he could have descended without the added worry of flies to contend with - on top of the obvious....Nanu puncturing. A thankful end (I'm sure) for Mick Ferrett, Eddie Luckett and Steve Avery, 9:40:13, 9:52:15 &9:56:04. You can read an account here, a "Ted's Eye Tale"

Altogether an epic performance from the lads in red/yellow, even if the armwarmers hadn't arrived.

Also you might have just seen a few of our members in this months cycling plus magazine, where Nanu's magical puncture exploits were boldly underlined.

Thursday 30th June - The Bicester Millenium 9up Team Time Trial at Weston on the Green. We got nine riders (just). Last years five finishers (counters) David Miller, Pete Ryder, Clive Thomas, Steve Avery and Dave Taylor were joined by new member Mark Truby, club dog trainer Martyn Brown, Consistent Time Trialler Dave Rickets and national 24 hour entrant Andy Sherwood. It wasn't very smooth. It all started to go wrong when Martyn found a dog to train on the starting straight. This caused a couple of riders to miss their pedals and gaps to appear in the echelon. We regrouped on the downhill, momentarily, perhaps it was just three groups of three as I tried to tow up the tail enders to the main group (perhaps fast group might be a better description). It was here where things got worse....Dave Rickets and Martyn Brown (sans chien) finally lost the wheel and were never seen again (at least not until the finish). As seven we pressed on and caught the A5/Oxo Composite group pulling hard into the wind down the back straight...it was here that Andy Sherwood dropped off the back....and then there were six. We finished lap one as a group of six, at about 5.50 pace, Mark Truby was the next to lose contact, on the fast section into the turns before the long back straight, this almost went unnoticed at first, Mark had been very strong in the early section and perhaps in hindsight we would have been better off waiting. Down to five and only five top count...The five that were left were the five that finished last year, you might think that we were safe with these five. You would be wrong.....things started to go wrong at the end of the second lap. Taylor had a "stitch" and couldn't shake it off, we sat up and waited for recovery - allowing him to get back onto the back of the group....meanwhile the A5Oxo's had caught us back with just four riders...we gave chase but couldn't afford to push too hard with a passenger. DT did a sterling job of holding on for another lap or so - still taking turns on the front to keep the fluidity of the group. Just when you thought it could get no worse, SA missed a wheel at the back and a gap opened....we still had a lap to go and had another rider in difficulty. We eased up momentarily to give him a breather. Stve had crashed earlier in the week at Reading Track, he was still having difficulty with his arm which was badly bruised/ grazed. With SA and DT both struggling we pressed on as best we could, both were still taking turns at the front to keep the rotation smooth. We had finished our fourth lap a couple of seconds behind A5Oxo had finished their fifth - so we knew we had to beat 5.58 for the lap to beat them. Could we do it.....no we couldn't - we did a 5.58 and drew with them for fourth with 29.48. Less than a minute behind Bicester Millenium in 3rd. We've learnt a few lessons - about starting, pedals, dogs and weston on the green. Not sure we will be any better next year....All eyes will be on Pete Ryder making a return to flat out testing on the witney bypass on 6th July and Clive Thomas chasing a PB. There is even a rumour that DM might put in an appearance again....I wouldn't believe that though. There are a few pictures here

Sunday 26th June - Anthony Nolan Charity Ride. Serious members of the etape (PR, CT & MB) squad opted to do both the 35 mile ride and then follow it up with the 65 mile ride, DT & DM did the kiddie ride (15 miles) and then made the serious etape squad suffer on the 65 mile route by having fresher legs, along with Dave Rickets. Having 3 Daves in 6 riders caused a lot of confusion.

Others who completed the 65 were Colin Curril, Eddie Luckett, John Warburton & Mick Ferret and of course Ian Tedeschi. Ian Watson was also seen on the course. That's 13 members of the club "on duty".

Thursday 23rd June - A team of five competed for the club in the Ben Owen Memorial Time Trial promoted by Didcot Phoenix. Clive Thomas was the fastest Mid Oxon rider in a creditable 24.58, he was closely followed by Pete Ryder, Steve Avery, Dave Rickets and Andy Sherwood all riding road bikes. No surprises for gathering that we didn't win - but we didn't expect to. It has also rekindled Pete Ryders time trialling spirit and he promises to have his Time Trial bike out for the 9up at Weston on the Green next week.

Wednesday 8th June - Macmillan Trust Charity Ride on Silverstone Circuit. Five hardy souls braved the conditions for a few fast laps (and an ice cream).

Sunday 19th June - The 150km version of the Dragon Ride in Wales with over 2300m of vertical climbing. Entry is full - we have a team of 11 entered. Write up here.

Wednesday 15th June A few Midoxon souls faced the timekeeper, for the Club 10 on the Witney By Pass course. A return to racing in Oxford for Kirk Ashley-Morgan, a once regular racer from the region, being welcomed to the club for temporary membership on the night. Both Dave Rickets and Clive Thomas were chomping at the bit, to record PB's on this "fast" course. The weather conditions were far from perfect, but still expectation was high. Even Dave Miller turned up to do his once annual race. Needless to say that his preparation wasn't the best, having to make adjustments to his steed just before the start which involved borrowing three sets of Hex keys from three different people at three different times to make adjustments to a moving brake lever, a loose headset-stem and a saddle which was almost an inch too low. It all got sorted...in the end. Results can be found here....

Sunday 12th June - We elected to miss the Barbury Bash Audax promoted by Didcot Phoenix cycling club, instead doing (getting lost) on a standard but lengthy club run out to Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire.......How many missed turns ? Was it a record ?

Recent Club runs have been very well attended, and we've picked up a few riders who've turned up on Sundays, as new members. We've consistently had more than ten riders most weeks and now the better weather is here we've been tackling slightly longer - more hilly rides without a cafe stop. Some riders are building towards the etape, by getting 100 miles in every Sunday before the "Big Day" and some are staying in bed. Believe it or not - those lists are not exclusive either. We will try to add some reports and profiles to the Club runs page in due course.  On the racing front we've been having four or five riders most weeks. Clive Thomas came second again this week on the new Hilly course at Charlbury, the other main protagonist in this field continue to be Steve Avery (still building up to the World Trike Champs) and another new member, Dave Rickets. Pete Ryder and Dave Miller keep threatening to race one week, but it doesn't seem to be happening at the moment. However, both are penciled in for the Didcot Phoenix Ben Owen Memorial 10 team competition along with Steve Avery and Clive Thomas. Don't forget five for a team - four to count, Miller has offered to opt out if others want to ride....what a generous soul.

 Looking forward, we have now found that the Silverstone Charity Event is on in June this year, Wednesday June 5th, 6.00pm til dusk. The charge is £5 per bike. anyone interested should contact david@midoxon.co.uk . Additionally we have a reputation for fielding a team for the Anthony Nolan Charity Ride. This is on Sunday 26th June and this year has moved to start and finish in Blenheim Park. The route options are 15,35 and 65 miles. Some of the more competitive members feel we ought to tackle the 35 mile route early - say 7.00 and then meet up with the remaining club members who want to tackle the 65 only at 9.00am. This would mean the earlier group get a good 100 mile training ride in to assist in their Etape de Tour training. Can anyone interested in riding any of these distances contact david@midoxon.co.uk , to arrange it. Official entry might be necessary this year to gain entrance to the start and finish areas.

Major goings on in the Midoxon Club. Colin Currill is away training in the US, pictures here and here. Pierre has been testing his track legs with Steve Avery every Tuesday night at Reading Track, after buying an Ex Obree Track Machine. Steve and Pierre have also been riding the odd road race. Finishing in the pack at Castle Combe on his "secret mission" and falling just short of that in the recent outing on the Milton Circuit. Here's Pierre's account;

Clive Thomas has continued to represent the club in the Wednesday Evening Series, opting to ride solo in the Lechlade 2 up, and looking forward to the faster courses coming up.

Although there is no scheduled club runs from now to the winter, we do still meet, most weeks at Carfax at 8.30 am. There are some scheduled events like the Anthony Nolan and Red Dragon Ride that we hope to participate in as a club (club jerseys at the ready) new styleeee arm warmers compulsory !

The racing talk has begun - especially teams for the 2 up at Lechlade coming up shortly. Whoever chooses to partner Clive, with his new found speed and racing form, will be spending a lot of time staring at his back wheel - and admiring the new straight through cassette especially ordered for this years racing season. Pierre will be wondering where Steve Avery's third wheel has gone, and the laughing duo of Miller and Taylor will be doing just that.....laughing at the turn with a camera..

Congratulations to Clive Thomas, second in the TT at Stadhampton on Wednesday, 6th April, this in only his fourth time trail and the first time on the course. We await some very rapid times later in the season.

Unfortunately "Powerful Pierre" has asked to note his apologies for missing this sunday's club run (10th April) due to other commitments. There is however a whisper that he might be doing extra training...we shall have to wait and see.  Good luck to Steve Avery in the crits at castle Combe on the same day, Steve please let us know how you and "Pierre" get on !!

Where did February go ? Well anyway - the racing season is under way. Nice to see a few Midoxon Riders taking part in the hilly's and the first fast 10 of the season on the Cumnor bypass. Steve Avery has taken up his mantle of "most raced Midoxon" already, closely followed by a few new faces. Unfortunately our first event had to be cancelled due to poor conditions on the Eynsham 10 course, due to torrential rain.  

If you fancy something  a little different for your bike. Compact chainsets come highly recommended. Alternatively £3 will get you one of these....highly collectable...highly RED and YELLOW

There may be some more collectors items available shortly...

Steve Avery and the younger members of the team rode the last cross of the season at Oxford School. There were nine riders in the under 12's and four of them were Mid Oxon,  Angela Avery, Rio Avery, Joshua Cox and Jack Osbury,

Angela was first girl in the Wessex League as well. Here's a picture of her with her medal.

To find out full league results go to www.wessexcx.org.uk

Take a look at the cross page for some photos of Steve and Rio in action.

Winter is soon to be upon us, the lightweight racers seem to have been put into storage and the heavyweight winter bikes have come out. Sunday club runs have been fairly well supported, with eight out the week before last and five last week(24/10/04). Best wishes go to Martyn Brown, John Warburton and Dave Miller, who had a small incident whilst trying to join the A34 at Chilton last weekend, thankfully the matter wasn't too serious and thanks to Pete Ryder and Steve Avery for assisting the injured parties. All thoughts of racing / competing, were shelved until the "Etape" route was announced this week. With Eleven Riders pre-registered for the "race" this was highly awaited and looks something like this..

The Marie-Blanque and Aubisque climbs can be seen in more detail here....

Well those of us that went to France came back after conquering a few Cols, and without major mishap. We won't mention the minor mishap on the descent of Ventoux.....unless we're asked by the gendarmes...There will be an update of the mountains page soon, to show a few pics and profiles of the climbs, but in the meantime, these are the ones that were completed by some (if not all) of the party. 

The Alpe d'Huez and Ventoux days were more memorable as every rider wore club kit on those days, which certainly took the photographer on the alpe by surprise...

Well the first news was the "championship 10"...nearly. We don't actually have a championship 10 - but in a bid to get people more interested in Time Trialling, Dave Miller decided that we should have one and promptly assigned the club 10 at Eynsham on 11th August as such....It was nice to see four riders contesting it...Miller (no surprises there) new club member Clive Thomas who did a "storming" 25.42 without tri bars, Martyn Brown in his first time trial and Trike specialist Steve Avery. Dave Miller was the fastest on the day, riding his black "super stealth" 17Bex machine with a single speed gear of 50x16. As previously noted it was Clive Thomas who pushed Miller hardest, and surely the use of his newly purchased tri bars should make up the deficit - in the last race of the season at Eynsham on 4th September.....Even Steve Avery is considering dropping a wheel, and reverting from trike to bike for Saturday's race in a bid to beat Miller......should be a keenly fought battle..

Elsewhere, we had a full compliment of Eleven riders (all fully paid up members) on a recent club run - this must constitute some sort of record....I think people are getting nervous about the impending climbs of Ventoux and L'Alpe d'Huez.....don't know what all the fuss is about...should be a "walk in the park"...

At the Mildenhall Rally.....Midoxon in force....

Rio Avery won first under 7 girl in the Duathlon, Angela Avery was 8th girl in under 11's and Holly Avery was 5th girl in under 14's...picture below..

Bicester Millenium 9up Team Time Trial (TDF Style) was promoted by BM on the Weston Airfield on Tuesday 27th July. Team members; Dave Taylor, Pete Ryder, Ian Tedeschi, Martyn Brown, James Hanson, Dave Hanson, Dave Miller, Steve Avery, Clive Thomas. The distance was set as four full laps - equating to approx 10 miles. Of the six teams that entered, unfortunately we could only muster 5th place, bit only 4 seconds behind 4th placed oxonians, most of whom were fully kitted out with tri bars disc wheels and aero helmets. We pride ourselves on following the letter of the law and were the only team to ride full road bikes. We finished with the minimum five riders, but were quite "together" for most of the distance. I think Didcot Phoenix won with a short 22 minute ride against our 23.52. If anyone in the team wishes to try a time trial solo either at Weston or elsewhere in our TT program please feel free to contact me at david@midoxon.co.uk

The (much awaited - highly sought after) stylish  MidOxon Race Cap  now in stock £4.00 each, as modelled. Still a few left of this highly collectable item......

Professionally modelled by Cameron Miller (the cheques in the post Cameron)

To order either ring  John Warburton on 01865 511773 or e-mail him - warbyexcel@aol.com

Unfortunately we failed to enter a team in the Ben Owen 10 at Stadhampton on Thursday 17th June, too many riders were competing on the continent.

We did send a few mortals out into the sun for the Anthony Nolan charity ride. A group of six completed the 75 mile version and tagged a few more miles on for good measure. John Warburton, Ian Tedeschi, Dave Miller, Dave Taylor, Pete Ryder, Clive Thomas. Pictures can be found on the gallery page....or via this link

We wanted to do the London to Oxford - but the logistics of getting there either by train car or bus was too baffling - so instead we pedalled out to Marlow, and came back via the route. Six of us were out, PR, DT, DM, IT, CT & MB. We left Kidlington at 8am. I devised the route, so tried to make it as flat as possible, out around Otmoor, up Pans Hill through Boarstall, LEFT before right to climb the steepest Brill Hill - the one over Muswell Hill Farm - down into Long Crendon and Thame.  Out to Chinnor (HILL) onto Bledlow ridge and then down into West Wycombe. Back towrds Stokenchurch for a bit before turning left up Chip Hill and up to Lane End before descending into Marlow. Where we stopped to look at the girls for a bit and dry our sunglasses (don't mention the rain) and off we went again. We followed the official route back, through some unclassified roads up the long climg from Fingest through Northend to Christmas Common (what a long steep hill) and then descended into Watlington before have a flat run in to Oxford. Its clear to see from the profile below, the climbs of Brill, Chinnor, Chip Hill, and Christmas Common...

Anybody Interested in doing a few Charity Rides, How about contacting me on as above, so we can attempt to get a team together...Possibilities are as follows, any other suggestions gratefully received.

Sun May 23:  BHF, 50 miles Oxon + Bucks.  Starts from Marston Flyover Area.  COMPLETED

Wed May 26: Macmillan Cancer, Ride at Silverstone GP circuit.  As many laps as you like from COMPLETED

Sun May 27: Anthony Nolan Ride - 75 miles around leafy Oxfordshire (and a little beyond)

Sun July 4: Choose from either London or Birmingham to Oxford...London is shorter but a lot hillier...

Any other ides you are contemplating contact me as above...and we'll include them here

A group of five of us took part in the British Heart Foundation Ride around Oxfordshire last weekend (23/05/04). Advertised as 50 miles, we all managed to do the distance and stop for refreshments too, theres a few dodgy pictures  here.....

We also managed to get a team for the Macmillan Cancer Ride at Silverstone, there were some notable absentees, but still a group of four did a few laps at race pace.

Heres a picture of Steve Avery participating the Trike National Criterium Race at Bungay..

March has arrived, the Spring is here (and the snow it seems). Well the racing season os upon us and the usual names are in action. Last year the main club protagonists, were Steve Avery and Dave Hanson, and this year looks to be similar... Dave Hanson has competed in both the Oxo and the Oxford City Hillies, Steve Avery successfully completed the Oxo hilly on the twisty (very hilly) course on his trike...Results for Oxo here, and The Oxford City event here...Thise of you who are interested in the International Scene, may find James Barnes account of his early season of interest....just click here......

News flying in....Steve Avery and James Barnes competed in the Didcot Phoenix Boxing Day 10....Results here....

Mid Oxon CRT have got a team in the Wessex League for the first time in the senior series and we are in 10th place one point behind Oxonian CC...The team is made up as follows: Neil Johnson, James Barnes, Steve Avery..

Mid Oxon also had two riders in the under 12's southern area champs, Angela and Rio Avery, Angela finished 10th and Rio finished 13th and she is still the youngest rider at five years old, soon to be six. More updates from the Cyclo Cross Season on the 25th January

Clubruns are up and running, take a look at the clubruns page, recently corrected to remove the deliberate mistake that most of you missed...

The rumours have been rife, about Dave Miller, defecting to the running scene, now a paid up member of Eynsham Roadrunners, here is his account of the recent duathlon he entered..

Results can be found here

Well here is the next installment of the cross season. The Mid Oxon numbers are still very healthy, in the second local cross at Bletchingdon there were six. In the under 12s were the usual two of Angela and Rio Avery in 13th and 19th respectfully. Holly Avery was our only representative in the Youths and was 13th and in the Senior race there were three riders James Barnes, Neil Johnson and Steve Avery, James being the highest placed in 11th place (not bad for a roadie) on a bike with rear rack and dynamo.

Its Cyclocross time already.....latest report from Steve Avery......

Well Cyclo-cross season is upon us and the first local event took place on Sunday the 21st and amazingly there were seven (yes 7) Mid Oxon riders.The first event of the day (under 12s) saw four Mid Oxon's take part the highest placed was Joshua Cox 13th, next was Angela Avery 14th and 3rd girl, then came Jack Osbury 16th and last but not least was Rio Avery 18th and youngest competitor. In the Youths race the only representative we had was Holly Avery who was 6th and 2nd girl. In the Senior race there were two riders Neil Johnson who rode to a creditable 27th out of 59 and Steve Avery who after puncturing on the first lap finished the race on his daughters bike in 49th place.

It seems that the A34 will no longer be used for events (Although there is still a small chance of a reprieve). But finally the Midoxon team seem to have more of a presence at local events...There are still a few races left and more Hill Climbs for those that are more masochistic, then we revert to the Sunday club runs, to maintain a level of fitness over the winter months.

Not content with winning one of the sprints in the Weston Airfield "crits" Pete Ryder has furthered his recent run of success. He partnered former Oxford fast man John Bourton to second place in the midweek two up at stadhampton, recording a very creditable 23.55, behind Mike Watson (RAFCA) and whoever was holding his wheel.. After this startling return to racing we hope to see more of Mr Ryder's racing wheels next season !!

July came and went without much news, a few of the same old faces turned out for the time trials (Dave Hanson and Nick Strugnell). BUT the real news is that a full team of five riders; John Warburton, Pete Ryder, Steve Avery, Dave Taylor and Dave Miller entered the Bicester Millenium Handicap Road races at Weston Airfield on August 14th. I think most of us decided it was more of a fun event for training and we didn't actually win any of the races, although Pete Ryder took the sprint for the main pack in the first race. In the first two races the scratch group couldn't make up their 3 minute deficit on the front group, in fact the first race saw the scratch group finishing in three separate parts (and they only started as a group of five) and the finish was fought out by riders from earlier groups.  
The handicappers were more generous in the last race and the scratch group duly caught everyone in front of them with a few hundred metres to go, with the race finishing in an exciting bunch sprint of about 30 riders. It looked like Samantha Von Gerbig was going to win until she was caught on the line by James Griffiths and Lee Churchill.
 
Results:
 
Race 1:
1.  Simon Hudd (Bicester Millennium)
2.  Erik Sperling
3.  Veit Schenk
 
Race 2:
1.  Lucy Power (Oxford University)
2.  Stefan Preuss
3.  Rod Hartridge
 
Race 3:
1.  James Griffiths
2.  Lee Churchill
3.  Samantha van Gerbig
 

The month was rounded off nicely on 29th June by a group of about ten riders entering the Anthony Nolan charity ride. The route was slightly different this year which did cause some confusion, especially in Islip where we nearly rode the course anticlockwise instead of clockwise...The weather was fantastic, some of our extremely white legs (mentioning no names miller) got a bit less white and perhaps turned a shade of pink...The event went off without a hitch, the 75 miles were completed without a single puncture or mechanical hitch...Elsewhere Dave Miller entered the Didcot 25 on the last thursday of the month and recorded a "5" not quite his best time ever but certainly his best in the last 6 years. He was noted as saying that he was interested in doing a bit more racing - WATCH OUT!!

It has been reported by reliable means that Dave Miller was seen "racing" in the Bicester Millenium 2up 10 on the Weston Airfield on 17th June. Miller rode with (or behind would be more accurate) Oxonian Neil Pugh, to 24m38s. Miller's first race of the season, and lets hope not his last, considering the amount of time it took him to recover afterwards............He was noted as saying "it never used to hurt that much"

How many clubs can boast a world championships silver medal ? Well done Steve Avery in his second place in the recent championships in the Loire Valley.

Steves Account - "It was based around a village called St Marsault which is south of the Loire Valley, It was 27 kms around four villages St Marsault, La Foret de sevre, Courlay and Jouin de milly. The start is on the top of a hill and it is very undulating and you finish at the top of the hill back in the village. Each rider got a motorcycle outrider and even though the roads weren't closed the traffic slowed up or stopped to watch. There were 30 riders in the Championship and two minutes between each, with the slowest off first and fastest off last."

After not entering a team last year, we have twisted a few arms (and legs) this year to make sure we can enter a full compliment of five riders. Some have been raving this year (that's not a typo - most of then having been raving (mad) for many years) already (Steve Avery), and some have not raced for some undisclosed amount of time. Indeed we could almost claim novice status - for some riders who would not have an LTS time for 10 or 25 miles to put on their entry forms. The team consists of : Steve Avery, Pete Ryder, Eddie Luckett, Dave Hanson and John Warburton. Any rider getting under 25 minutes will be immediately tested for banned substances and scrutinized for turning short.........Best of luck

On Sunday 27th April a few of us rode the Oxford to Birmingham Bike Ride, advertised as 70 miles, but the general consensus of opinion seemed to be that it was about 84 miles. With rain forecast for most of the day, myself, John Warburton and Andy Johnson left Oxford at just after 8am. We picked up with another couple of Oxford riders, Dave Taylor (ex Oxford City RC member) and Warren Wiley (former representative of Mexico in the downhill event in the World Championships). A reasonably brisk pace was kept up for most of the day, and we arrived soon after 1pm, after dodging a few showers. I think we all enjoyed the day out, and shared the intention to ride a few more events of this type this year. We are hopeful of getting a few more riders for the next one in May or June. Possible rides coming up are the British Heart Foundation Cotsold Bike Ride (40miles) on 18th May with a possible ride back to Oxford as well, and the Vale of Aylesbury on the 1st June at 50 miles again with the possibility of riding back. Other possible forthcoming events include the London to Oxford (July) and the Oxford Big Bike Ride (29June). Anyone interested should contact David@midoxon.co.uk........................ 

The news is now flying in !! There has been a resurgence in Steve Avery's cycling activities again. After signing for Mid Oxon this year, Steve has not been content to ride just the odd time trial on his trike. Not only had participated consistently in Time Trials, he has represented the club in Roller Racing and Cyclo Cross and has been following avidly the repairs at Reading Track. Now after many a year (not since he was a sixteen year old) Steve has been participating in Road Racin Again. He finished the Thames Velo Easter road race (Sun 20th). Steve writes "It was my first venture into road racing since I was sixteen, I managed to complete 30 of the 43 miles, because I got blown out the back at Clare hill. The circuit comprised of Gt Milton, Stadhampton, Clare Hill, Tetsworth and then back into Milton. I got together with three other riders to try and chase the bunch down but with the strong winds it was too difficult a job and I packed with cramp in my left leg with 3/4 of a lap to go" 

Great News Steve good luck at your forthcoming outings at Thruxton

Didcot Phoenix Cycling Club have invited our club to compete in this year’s Ben Owen Memorial Invitation 10 mile Time Trial. Recent years the club has lacked a presence in this event, so it would be good to return with a team this year, we have done quite well in some years.

 It is being held on Thursday 5th June on CC118 Stadhampton to Watlington. Start time is 19.00. Teams should comprise 5 riders, the 4 fastest to count. Headquarters are Chalgrove Village Hall, Baron Hurst Drive, Chalgrove. This is the first right turn (coming from Stadhampton direction) off the High Street after the school in the centre of the village. There is limited parking at the hall, so please can you park in the free car park sign posted from the High Street on the right before the school. This backs on to a playing field and the hall is just across it ca. 50metres away. 

If you are interested in representing your club in this local team event, please contact me, david@midoxon.co.uk.

READING BACK ON TRACK
Easter Monday will witness the revival of cycle racing in Reading after 18 months of inactivity at Palmer Park Velodrome due to subsidence caused by old chalk mines in the area. To mark the occasion there will be an 'open to all' racing fixture with an unusual highlight in the form of a challenge to the reigning British Team Pursuit Champions (VC St Raphael-Waite Contracts) by one man. He has the patriotic name of Rob English, he lives in Gt Missenden and has won a World Championship on his HPV (Human Powered Vehicle) which is the sophisticated name for a recumbent bicycle.  He also won the North American HPV Championship at Battle Mountain, Nevada last year, and snatched the 200 metres record from Jason Queally, the man who won the first gold medal for Britain at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, with a fantastic time of 6.7 secs. There will also be a Derny motor paced event when the finalists will have raced through 35 laps of the Reading Velodrome, a full programme of sprinting, endurance and elimination (last man over the line eliminated each lap) racing. Racing starts at 1.30 p.m. and there is no charge for admission. The event kicks off the regular Monday evening track racing season which runs  until September 15th and will embrace British cycling's Central Division Championships as well as the Track League's titles during the season. 

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/news/2003/april/11_reading.shtml

With the demise of our club entry into this years Etape, we have decided to enter a few "more local" activities. This will be kicked off with an entry into the "BikeShow Ride" from Oxford to Birmingham, of 70 miles, on April 27th. We hope to have as many club entrants as possible all kitted out in club jerseys. If you are interested, please contact david@midoxon.co.uk in the first instance. Entry costs are approximately £21.00...

Watch this space for more simlar activities shortly.....

News from France . . . .

Latest info from James Barnes, our boy in France, is that thanks to a good season with some quality placings, including 3rd in the UK Espoirs Championship Road Race, he has been head-hunted and has signed for VS Quimper in Brittany. This is good step in the right direction as VS Quimper is a Div 2 team in an area of excellent racing.  We look forward to reporting on his progress in the future news items.

James has also secured Dave Rayner funding for the third successive year, which will greatly help his cause. In the meanwhile here is a picture taken at the recent Dave Rayner Fund Dinner.

(l to r) James Barnes, Sir Jimmy Saville and David Law, team-mate at VS Quimper, enjoying a quiet moment after the Dave Rayner Fund dinner!!!!! (December 2002)