The first event of the week was the Godric CC 10 mile time trial. Five riders headed over to Earsham to sign on. Conditions were not perfect, with a strong headwind on the outward leg making it difficult to gain speed. The roads, however, were dry and fairly clear. Johnny Quinn improved on his personal best, completing the course in 26:03. Jan Smith finished the course in 28:11, only 5 seconds off her personal best that she set the week before. An excellent ride considering the conditions. Steve Konrad was the fastest GYCC rider of the night with a time of 22.16.
The event was won by Harley Matthews in a time of 21:00, with Mark Richards a close second in 21.02.
On Wednesday, five GYCC members took part in the Lotus Race: Mark Nickerson, Rob Anderson, Clive Julian, Chris Thornton and, in his first race, Andrew Ketts.
The race started well with four GYCC riders staying in the top 10 and Rob, Mark and Chris trying breaks off the front and then closing down any attack. The race settled down, and after the 30 minute mark, Rob tried a break with another rider, while Clive, Mark and Chris tried to slow down the peloton. The break got to about 200 metres before, after a few minutes, being closed down.
With 2 laps to go, the bunch closed up and Rob, Mark, Clive and Chris got boxed in, but going into the turn, with just under 1km to go,Chris and Mark were forced wide. Coming out of the corner, Andrew came around the outside and started a long sprint. Chris and Mark locked onto Andrew’s wheel and he took the three to the front of the sprint. On the last corner, Andrew’s efforts faded and Chris sprinted across the line, with Mark 2nd and Andrew 3rd.
Clive came 11th and Rob 15th after being bowed in on the sprint.
Thursday saw 27 riders turn up for the club 10 TT. Weather conditions were good, although there was a persistent wind. Louis Julian was the fastest GYCC rider of the evening with a time of 24:10. Johnny Quinn improved on his previous time by 23 seconds with a time of 27:13. Jonny Hawes also improved on last week’s time by 2 seconds, finishing in 25:02.
Harley Matthews won the event and at the same time set a new course record, beating the previous course record of Mark Richards by 4 seconds with a time of 22:06. Mark took second place with a time of 22:20 and third was Zak Coleman with a time of 22:22.
Sunday saw a number of events take place.
GYCC held their Open 25 Mile Time Trial. 54 riders in total rode the event, 44 solo and 10 2-ups. Weather conditions were not perfect as rain had affected the road surfaces.
Steve Konrad took 5th place with a time of 58:44, making him the fastest GYCC rider of the day. Jenny Anderson was the club’s fastest lady of the day, completing the course in a time of 1:09:02. Tom Moore, who was riding his first 25TT, finished ina time of 1:16:54.
Mark Richards (VCB) won the event, his first Open win, in a time of 56:54. Steve Gorbutt of Diss & District CC took second place with a time of 57:14 and Jim Hardwicke of Plomesgate CC took third with a time of 58:35. Stowmarket & District CC rider, Verity Smith, completed the course in 1:03:26, making her the fastest lady of the day and also beating the previous ladies course record of 1:04:23 set back in 2009 by nearly a minute.
GYCC rider, Ian Sandall, won the Handicap event with a time of 42:27. Iceni Velo riders, John Swindells and Paul Groombridge, completed the course in 57:05, giving them the 2-up win.
Ian Freel and Chris Wrycraft took part in the Boudicca Sportive on Sunday: a 100 mile route starting off from the World Horse Welfare Centre in Snetterton.The circular route took them north through the West Norfolk countryside until they joined the picturesque North Norfolk coast where they turned back toward the finish. Three feed stops were provided on the way: the first at the West Acre Theatre, passing by Houghton Hall to the second at South Creake’s village hall. The third stop was at the village green/cricket club at Bradenham. They completed the route in 6 hours 43 minutes, with an average pace of just over 15mph. An excellent time and a new experience for Chris who completed his first century.
Club members Darren Adams and Sean Newbury left their bikes at home and took part in the Chase the Train. It was a tough 9 mile course that went from Aylsham to Wroxham, running along a trail by the side of the rail tracks. Darren and Sean completed the course together in a time of 1:36:09.
Jamie Mordecai took part in the Stradbroke Tri. It was a sprint distance triathlon: 160m swim, 17km bike and 3.1km run. He didthe swim in 4:21, the bike leg in 34:39 and the run in 16:20, completing the whole course in 57:10 and finishing 60th out of 175.