A crisp cool morning saw 11 Leek CC riders meet up for a slightly earlier than normal start, for the ride out to Congleton, to join the host club for their first reliability trial of the year.A fairly brisk pace over the Bridestones soon saw riders warmed up, and ready for the start of the trial.                                                                                                             After signing on, we were joined by “Team Coates”, who had opted for the less taxing option of driving out, due to racing the previous day. A unanimous decision to ride conservatively, but quick (18mph target) was taken, and we would all ride together for as long as possible. With Andy Magnier, “human satnav” Phil Gayes and Rich Coates doing the majority of the early donkeywork, the pace was pretty constant, and no one was left behind as we went around the outskirts of Macclesfield, and towards Alderley Edge. A slight separation occurred as riders split to allow an ambulance past, but by Warford, and Ollerton we had all regrouped, and the Leek CC train was in full flow again, with most people doing a turn or three on the front, successfully fighting the headwind all the way down from Toft and Peover, to Middlewich.                                                                      Leaving Middlewich, we entered back into the lanes, heading for Warmingham (Not the Dad’s Army setting!!), and into the outskirts of Crewe, where a diversion added a mile or two onto the correct route.At Winterley, we were back on track, and back into the lanes through Betchton, Smallwood, where we had our first casualty, as Phil Gayes decided his legs had done enough for the day, and was left to cruise the last few miles back into Congleton on his own.All our riders made the 18mph target average speed, and were greeted at the Congleton CC clubhouse with a well earned brew and biscuits ready for the, second trip of the day over the Bridestones.A great mornings riding had by all, and most eager for the 65 mile trial on the 18^th of Feb.

Written by Club Rider Phil Gayes

On Remembrance Sunday four Club Members represented the Club, in laying a wreath at the Nicholson War Memorial in Leek during the Remembrance Day Service and paying our respects to the people who have died in Two World Wars and in combat.

A group of 20 Club Members enjoyed a night watching the pro’s at the Manchester Veledrome on the 25th of November. The event was part of Revolution Series and was called the Champions League which saw a number of world class riders racing Including British Olympic Team Pursuit Champions Elinor Barker and Ed Clancy. Thanks to Jamie Jeffery and Jordan Hill for organising the evening.

A group of 26 Club Members enjoyed the annual Leek CC Christmas Social on the 5th of December. Starting off in Den Engel, they then tucked into a meal at the Leek Bar & Grill. Followed by more drinks at the Earl Grey afterwords. Thanks to Dan Noble for organising the evening.

On Saturday the 17th of December the Club were joined by two Journalists from Cycling Weekly during a hilly and scenic Club Run. They joined us so that Leek Cyclist Club will feature in a upcoming edition of Cycling Weekly in their ‘Ride With’ feature. Make sure to keep a look out in future editions of Cycling Weekly so you can buy a copy. Thanks to Andy Bain for organising.

On Saturday the 17th of December, there will be a Saturday morning Club Run, where we will be joined by members of the Cycling Weekly Staff who will be featuring the Club in their “Ride With” feature. The ride will be around 40 miles long taking in Gun Hill, Flash and Grindon with a cafe stop in Longnor and then drinks after in Den Engel. The ride will start at 9:00am outside Den Engel. Hope to see you there.

Throughout September and October a number of our members have been entering various Hill Climb Events in the local area, below is a quick roundup of how they fared.

– Tony Cope took part in the Long Hill Hill Climb on the 4th of September which was ran by Buxton CC. With cold conditions and a cross wind Tony finished 5th in the veteran category and 23rd overall. Well done Tony

– With the Cat & Fiddle Hill Climb which is ran by Weaver Valley CC sadly clashing with our Legbreaker Sportive this year. We only had one member enter with Tony Cope finishing with a brilliant time of 21:40 finishing 2nd in the veteran category and 16th overall out of 90 riders. Well done Tony

– Tony Cope took part in the Glossop Kinder Hill Climb which took place on the 25th September, and produced a great ride finishing 12h overall and 2nd in the Veteran Category.

– On the 2nd of September, three club members took part in the Congleton CC Hill Climb, which took place on Ganny Bank just outside Biddulph. On a sunny and clear day, Rob Howson came second overall finishing with a time of 5:38, Rich Coghill produced a strong ride to finish 4th with a time of 6:30 and John Green produced a strong ride also to finish 8th with a time of 7:28.

– On the same day as Congletons Hill Climb, Tony Cope headed over to Monsal Dale in the Peak District to take part in the famous Monsal Hill Climb which is ran by Sheffrec Cycling Club. Tony produced a great ride to finish 3rd overall in the Veterans Category and 38th overall out of 154 riders with a time of 01:36. Great effort Tony.     

– On the 16th of September on a cold and wet day. Three Club members entered the Beeley Moor Hill Climb which is ran by Chesterfield Couruers. Tony Cope finished 21st with a time of 10:24 and 2nd in the veteran category. Rich Coghill finished 40th with a time of 11:17 and Jordan Hill finished 44th with a time of 11:26. Well done everyone

– On the 22nd of October, Tony Cope took part in the Riber Hill Climb and the Bank Road Hill Climb which are both ran by Matlock CC. Another great ride from Tony saw him finish 2nd in the veteran category with a time of 4:06 on Riber, and 3rd in the veteran category on Bank Road with a time of 2:12. Well done Tony.

– On the 29th of October, Tony Cope and Rob Howson took part in the National Hill Climb Championship which took place on Bank Road in the centre of Matlock. With a large crowd and a great atmosphere Tony and Rob produced strong rides finishing 86th and 101st respectively out of 238 riders with Tony finishing 5th in the veteran category. Also friends of the club Jo Clay and Alex Coates produced strong rides with Jo finishing 3rd in the Female Category and Alex 5th in the Juvenile category. Well Done everyone

           Jordan Hill, Rich Coghill and Tony Cope after the Beeley Moor Hill Climb

                             John Green during the Congleton CC Hill Climb

                            Rich Coghill during the Congleton CC Hill Climb

                  Tony Cope during the National Hill Climb Championships in Matlock

               Rob Howson during the National Hill Climb Championships in Matlock

the top photograph is courtesy of Tony Cope, thanks Tony

and the rest of the photograph’s were taken by Mr Ken Norbury “© Ken Norbury”. To see more of Ken’s photograph’s click on the link. http://spinloose.co.uk/wp/ken-norburys-photo-gallery/

A very good turn out in sunny conditions saw 22 riders compete in the Leek CC Club Hill Climb Championship 2016, which is held on Gun Hill three miles outside Leek. The overall winner was Rob Howson who is Leek CC Hill Climb Champion, Rob was followed by Tony Cope, only 65 hundredths of a second behind, in second place. Rich Coghill was sixth overall and completes the Leek CC podium. Well done & great effort to all the riders who competed and thank you for supporting the event, there was certainly some very close times with a number of riders separated by very small margins. Also big thanks to everyone who supported and helped out (especially Kathy for the cakes!). The event was followed by a Club Run with a well deserved cafe stop in Longnor.

Also click below to see a video of all the competitors as they fight up the steep climb. Thanks to Jon White for letting us use his excellent video.

Results

1 Rob Howson 5:36.64         Leek CC
2 Tony Cope 5:37.29             Leek CC
3 Jon Bourne  5:53                Rourke CC
4 Jordan Hill 6:11
5 Alex Coates  6:14               Lyme RC
6 Rich Coghill 6:17                Leek CC
7 Darren Owen 6:26             Black Horse Velo
=8 Nick Avins 6:30                Leek CC
=8 Rich Whalley 6:30           Leek CC
10 Rob Hanson 6:31            Leek CC
11 Mark Allen  6:33               Congleton CC
12 Barry Riley 6:40               Leek CC
13 Chris Wilcox 6:41           Lyme RC
14 Lee Wood 6:59               Congleton CC
15 Chris Meir 7:07               Leek CC
16 Tim Washington 7:29     Black Horse Velo
17 Jamie Jeffrey 7:30          Leek CC
18 Justin Barker 7:37          Black Horse Velo
19 Andy Barker 8:01           Black Horse Velo
20 Steve Lord 8:14              Black Horse Velo
21 Steve Sladin 8:15           Congleton CC
22 Polly Wilding 9:20           Congleton CC

                                                             Rob Howson

                                                              Tony Cope

On Sunday the 18th of September the Club’s Legbreaker Sportive was held for the forth year running, a very good turn out saw 34 riders complete the ride which is held in memory of Club Member Paul Derbyshire. With great weather once again and the challenging 80 mile route, which takes in many of the toughest climbs the Moorlands has to offer, it made for a tough but rewarding ride. Well Done to all the riders who completed the ride & thank you for your support, it was great to see alot of local riders from various local Cycling Clubs. A special thank you from the Club must go to Chairman Andy Bain and everybody else who helped to organise and run the event. Hopefully next year will be just as successful.

             The riders signing on just before the start of the ride in the centre of Leek

               Riders enjoying the rewards of the excellent feed station at Ecton

        & then everybody enjoying a well earned drink afterwards at Den Engel in Leek

On Sunday the 15th of May 2016, Fourteen Club members took part in the annual Douglas Macmillan Hospice Charity Bike Ride. The 110 mile ride which started at the Michelin Athletic Club in Trent Vale took the riders to Llangollen in Wales & then back to Trent Vale taking in a lot of scenic lanes. Well done and great effort by all our riders for raising money for a very worthy cause.

On Tuesday the 17th of May, two club members took part in the Clubs 10 mile TT Championships which took place on the Gawsworth course just outside Congleton. On a clear and sunny evening a strong ride from Rich Coates saw him come out the winnner with a time of 26:34, followed by John Green in second with a time of 28:03. Congratulations to Rich and well done to John. A thank you from the Club must go to Congleton CC for hosting and marshalling another excellent  event. The next Club Championship is the Club 5 TT which will be held on June the 6th on the Rushton to Leek Course.

Results

1. Rich Coates     26:34
2. John Green      28:03

Rich Coates during his winning ride

John Green during his strong ride

These photographs were taken by Mr Ken Norbury “© Ken Norbury”. To see more of Ken’s photograph’s click on the link. http://spinloose.co.uk/wp/ken-norburys-photo-gallery/

Well done to all our Club Members who travelled over to Flanders in Belgium at the start of April, to take part in the Ronde van Vlaanderen Cyclo. All our riders enjoyed the Ronde van Vlaanderen Cyclo which is a tough and challenging 82 Mile ride which takes in all of the tough cobbled sections that professionals race on during the Tour of Flanders. During the trip the group were lucky to stay in the same hotel as Team Sky for the two nights, which was a great insight into what goes on at the top level of professional racing. The day after the ride the group watched the professionals during the Tour of Flanders One Day Classic, seeing the riders race up the famous Oude Kwaremont cobbled climb three times. A great weekend and recommended to any keen cyclist.

                                           All the riders after the tough ride

                          Team Sky Mechanics preparing for the Big Race

         And watching the pro’s at the bottom of the Oude Kwaremont on the Sunday

On Sunday March 13th, Leek Cyclists Club once again held The Paul Derbyshire Memorial Reliability Ride. A record turn out, on what was dry and sunny day saw 51 riders complete the tough 55 mile ride through the Peak District. The route took the riders through Bradnop, Onecote, Grindon, Milldale, Parwich, Longcliffe, Grangemill, Winster, Youlgreave, Lathkill Dale, Monyash, Crowdecote, Longnor & Thorncliffe. After the ride the riders and friends enjoyed a well deserved buffet at The Den Engel Belgain Bar in Leek, which was then followed by the Clubs Award Presentation(see the Events page for the winners).  Well done to everybody who rode and thank you for supporting the event. The club would also like to thank everybody who helped to organize the event.

               The riders just before the start in the Market Place, in the centre of Leek

  Club Chairman Andy Bain presenting Clubman of the Year, Dave Magnier with his trophy