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NEWS
29/7/10
NEXT CLUB NIGHT : WILL BE ON THU. 12 AUGUST at LEIGH SPORTS VILLAGE 8-30pm
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY :
Tue 17 August : Three Sisters Cycling Spectacular at the Three Sisters Circuit in Ashton in Makerfield.
Something for all the family & the serious rider.
Sun 22 August : The Geoff Thomas Sportive starting in Congleton. 75 miles with 4000ft of climbing, including Wincle & Gun Hill
Sun 5 Sept : The Knutsford Great Race - the unique Penny Farthing race held every 10 years
Sun 5 Sept : The Cumberland Challenge 105m Sportive starting in Brampton, North Cumbria
Sat 11 Sept : Club ride out to watch the first stage of the Tour of Britain
Sat 18 Sept : In Ambleside - the Kirkstone Struggle Hill Climb Time Trial - some of you have done it before - you can do it again !!!
Sun 3 Oct : The Cat & Fiddle 55 mile Challenge starting from Brian Rourke Cycles in Stoke on Trent
Sun 10 Oct : Warrington RC Invitation "Gentlemans 2up Time Trial" in Memory of John Helms
Sat 27 Nov : Club buffet & prize presentation at Astley & Tyldesley Miners Welfare,Gin Pit Village

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP DATES 2010
Tues 25 May 10m, Inter Club event D10/1 Rainford
Wed 16 June SPOCO, Blackburn & Dist CTC L111 Bashall Eaves
Tues 29 June 25m, Inter Club Event D25/3 Rainford
Sun 11 July 100m, Manchester & District TTA J2/18 Cheshire
Sat 17 July 50m, Manchester & District TTA J4/16 Cranage
Sun 22 Aug 12hr, Cheshire TTCA D12/1
Sun 17 Oct Hill Climb, Weaver Valley CC Cat & Fiddle
..... CHECK OUT the latest club news on line at the leighpeople website.

26/7/10 CLUB 25 MILE RECORD GOES AGAIN !
A new club 25 mile recordhas been set for the second time in a month (see this page News 28/6) by
Simon Bridge in a time of 50m 48s.
Simon took nearly two minutes off his previous time, set on the same course , in Saturday's Derby Mercury event on the A25/11 at Uttoxeter. Simon finished 7th in the event behind the winner Andy Bason who recorded 49-07.
It looks as though the "bar has now been raised" for the first Leigh rider inside 50 minutes !
Sadly, I can remember when the bar was at 60mins !! (Bill)

26/7/10 CHESHIRE PEAKS & PLAINS 100ml SPORTIVE
On Sunday, John Galimore, Simon Lowndes, Ken Dodd, Rob Aston & Graham Voss all took part in the second running of the "Cheshire Plains & Peaks Sportive", starting in Warrington for the St Rocco's Hospice.
They managed to cruise around the plains & survive the peaks, each with a story to tell at the finish !

4/7/10 MANCHESTER TO BLACKPOOL CHARITY RIDE
New club member Kate Lamb successfully completed the 60 mile Manchester to Blackpool ride in a time of 4hrs 30min. Unfortunately the recent good weather broke on the day of the event, giving riders a good buffeting on the exposed roads into Blackpool. Kate's family were there in force to welcome her over the line.
Kate at the finish

28/6/10 NEW CLUB 25 MILE RECORD FOR SIMON BRIDGE
Simon Bridge set a new club 25 mile record on Saturday in the Derby Mercury 25 mile time trial on the A25/11 course near Uttoxeter. Simon recorded 52m 40s to take over a minute off the previous record set by Paul Feeney in 1993. Simon was placed overall 10th in the event behind winner , multi National Championship medallist, Matt Botrill who recorded 48-54.
Not satisfied with that result as a weekend's work, Simon went on to finish third in the in the 55mile Lyme RC TLI RR on the Swynnerton circuit the following day. Simon was 5sec down on the leading two at the line, winning the sprint for 3rd & 4th after the break split to pieces due to the attacks on the last lap.
Check out all the latest Results.
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Simon in time trial mode (left) & leading the Lyme RC Road Race on Sunday (right).

31/5/10 NORTHERN WHEEL MAGAZINE
The latest Northern Wheel Magazine is now available at Geoff Smiths, with the usual club section. Sadly this may well be the last edition of the mag, as editor Graham Trunks has been suffering ill health & is having to relinquish the job after producing it for "umpteen years". He is hoping someone will come forward to take over.

24/5/10 CONGRATULATIONS TO ...
Andy Chamers qualified for the Age Group European Triathlon Championships to be held in Athlone, Republic of Ireland on 3 July. Hopefully, he will have better weather than he did in the World Triathlon Championships in Vancouver.

19/5/10 CTC "WILD WALES CHALLENGE"2010 - BAD NEWS
I spotted this on the Merseyside CTC website. It seems that after umpteen years of succesful promotion the 2010 edition of the CTC Wild Wales Challenge has fallen foul of the dreaded health & safety culture.
13/5/10 MALLORCA LEFT TO RECOVER FROM LEIGH PREMIER VISIT !
The club's first cycling week in Mallorca was declared a success by the riders taking part , with the general concensus being "roll on next year" !
Highlight of the week was the final 70 mile day, with 6300ft of climbing, including the "killer climb" of La Colobra.
The low point was definitely the unprecedented storm on the Monday which saw 8 inches of rain in 24 hours. The continuous torrential rain, thunder, lightning & gales reeked havoc across the island with widespread flooding & road damage. Worse still, it cost a day and a half's riding !
Rides also included another mountain trip up Sa Batalla & the Lluc Monastry, the lighthouse on the Formentera Penninsula and inland to the old town of Sineu.
Thanks to Simon Lowndes for organising the trip. A Photo gallery is now on the website. .
"This cycling is hard work !"- relaxing at Sa Batalla summit.........Not so relaxing - The climb of La Calobra........

19/4/10 MARK "UNDER THE HOUR"
Mark Tickle has joined the growing list of twenty Leigh riders to have beaten the hour for 25 miles.
Mark did it the hard way, recording 59-53 on the "sporting" J2/9 in Saturday's Manchester & District TTA event.
All the weekend's results are on the results page

12/4/10 SIMON BRIDGE 6th IN "CIRCUIT OF THE DALES"
Simon Bridge finished in a superb sixth place in yesterday's Nelson Wheelers 50 mile "Circuit of the Dales" time trial, clocking 2h-9m-16s. Richard Maughan also had a fine ride finishing 32nd in 2-23-52.
The event, one of the oldest in the calendar, is probably the toughest 50 mile time trial in the country.
All the Easter time trial results are on the results page

2/4/10 LAKES TRAINING WEEKEND 26-28 MARCH
The Patterdale based training weekend organised by Mark Tickle (incl our club members & Manchester Tri), certainly stretched the legs of all those taking part.
The group that rode up on Friday, including Mark & Andy Chalmers, clocked up 115 miles over Shap, fully loaded with panniers.
For the following days 80 mile ride Mark & Andy were joined by Mike Neary. The route included Wrynose Pass, Hardknott Pass, Kirkstone Pass (twice including "the struggle") & Becker Fell. I understand that a recovery vehicle was called into use, to ensure everyone's safe return !
On the Sunday, to round off the weekend, the group did a 9 mile hill run on Helvellyn. Wow !!

1/4/10 CHESHIRE CAT SPORTIVE
Gary Adamson was our only representative this year in the Cheshire Cat Sportive last weekend.
Gary opened his season by completing the long 100ml course in 6h 45m 22s.
This year's event started in Crewe, with the 1 in 3 Mow Cop climb coming after just 15ml to warm you up !

15/3/10 CLUB RUN RIDERS PUTTING ON THEIR BLUE SUEDE CYCLING SHOES !
Club run riders were "All shook up" about the first time visit to the Elvis cafe stop at Tarvin, which proved an instant hit. There may have been a few "Suspicious minds" as we threaded our way through the lanes around Alvanley, but were soon "Way Down" to Tarvin, & it was "Burning love" at first sight as soon as we arrived !!
...

15/3/10 PARBOLD DUATHLON
Mark Tickle & Andy Chalmers took part in the Parbold Duathlon, finishing 15th & 72nd respectively. Mark, taking part in his first Duathlon, would have had a top ten finish, if he had not incurred a two minute penalty for crossing the white line.
       
2/3/10 CTT NEW TIME TRIAL RECOMMENDATION FOR 2010
You may wish to note that a new safety recommendation will appear on all time trial start sheets (together with the existing recommendation re Hard Shell Helmets) as follows :
"It is recommended that a working rear light, either flashing or constant, is fitted to the machine
in a position visible to following road users and is active whilst the machine is in use."

2/3/10 WEBSITE STATS 2005 - 2009
Believe it or not, the website has now been up and running for over five years.
You can now visit the Website Stats page to view an updated comparison of annual results.
The site has now had over 60,000 visits & been viewed been viewed in 96 different countries.

2/3/10 JOHNNY HELMS MEMORIAL TIME TRIAL
An event definitely worth going out to watch later in the year, on October 10th, is the Warrington Road Club Gentleman's 28 mile 2up. The course for the event has now changed, & will be held on three 8 mile laps, starting at Marthall, then Knutsford (Gough Lane) - A50 - Whipping Stocks - Marthall. The event has big prize list which will be donated to various charities, by the riders concerned.
Many great names of the past are already confirmed as riding, including Vin Denson, Sid Barras, Les West, Dave Lloyd, Martyn Roach, Phil Griffiths & Alf Engers to name but a few ! I am also told that Sean Kelly is likely to ride.
More details on the Warrington RC wenbsite.

26/2/09 YORKSHIRE DALES RIDE
Unfortunately, for various reasons there were no takers for the ride in the Yorkshire Dales, whilst I was staying up at Hawes. The day we had planned turned out to be a beautiful "blue sky" day, though very cold & icy early on.
In the afternoon, I decided to try & do a circuit from Hawes, returning over Buttertubs Pass.
The climb out of Askrigg on the way out had a 1 in 4, followed by three 1 in 6 stretches on it. I struggled to the top at over 1600ft, with snow either side of the road slowly closing in ! Three bikies came over the other way & shouted that the north facing descent (they had just come up) was icy. I therefore decided to turn back (to be honest I was bolloxed anyway !!) & never got over Buttertubs.

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Climb out of Askrigg .......................................................Time to turn back !

It is a great area for biking though !
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Two views on the outskirts of Hawes

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Two familiar views (above) for anyone who has ridden the Circuit of the Dales Mountain Time Trial (Nath & Richard rode last year - see pics further down this page). The magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct is on the left, & the other view is from the same spot, looking out towards Ingleborogh.
If you fancy riding a "man's event" the Circuit of the Dales is on Sunday 11 April this year !.........................Bill

5/2/10 ANDY & MARK IN THE SUN
The only two club members to benefit from January training were Andy Chalmers and Mark Tickle, who had the foresight to book a week's holiday at Club La Santa in Lanzarote with the Manchester Tri Club.
Andy used his time to work on all three disciplines in preparation for World Championship trials in May, where he hopes to qualify again for a age group place in the GB team.
Mileater Mark meanwhile concentrated mainly on the bike covering 380 miles in the week which included 25k feet of climbing.
They both rode the 100 mile Lanzarote Iron Man triathlon course, but didn't really feelup to running a marathon when they got back ! Maybe next year ?
Andy took part in a Club La Santa duathlon the following day – phew !

28/11/09 CLUB ANNUAL PRIZE PRESENTATION
The club celebrated another succesful year of cycling, at the annual buffet and prize presentation, held at the Miner's Welfare at Gin Pit Village.
The club welcomed special guests for the evening, Dan Guillemette, a long time club member now living back in Guernsey, who made the long journey, to present the prizes.
 
Simon Bridge was the club's most prolific winner this year, collecting four of the main prizes. Simon's superb run of form enabled him to take a hat trick of short distance time trial trophies, by  winning the 10 mile, 50 mile and the SPOCO (Sporting Couses) time trial championships.
Simon also demonstrated his all round racing ability by winning the Road Race championship for the first time since 1998.
  Nathan Turnbull, who has dominated the championships in recent years, again took his first share of the prizes, winning the 25 mile championship & the gruelling 12 hour championship. Nathan covered 241 miles at his first, and, in his own words, possibly his last try at the event.
The shortest event on the championship calender, the hill climb, was won for the first time by Mark Tickle, with Mark Turnbull and his brother Nathan, making up the one, two, three on the fearsome 1 in 4 climb of "The Rake" at Ramsbottom.
Mark Tickle also displayed his promising abilities throughout the season, and was rewarded by winning the "Bateson Trophy" for the Most Improved Rider.
  The other long distance championship, the 100 mile event, was won by Martin Sackfield. Martin also won the club "Best All Rounder" competition based on average speed for a 25, 50 & 100 mile time trial.
The "Veterans Best All Rounder" competition based on a riders times against an age related standard over 10, 25 & 50 miles, was won by Bill Fairhurst, with Martin Sackfield in second place.
The keenly contested 10 mile points championship, based on a series of fifteen Tuesday evening events throughout the season, was won by first year rider, Rob Aston . He was pushed all the way by another first year rider, Colin Reynolds, with last year's winner Andy Chalmers in third.

15/10/09 CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Officials were elected for the coming year.
Chairman - Vacant
Secretary/Treasurer - Martin Sackfield
BCF Sec - Nathan Turnbull
Time Trials Sec - Bill Fairhurst
Committee members - Andy Chalmers, Rob Aston, Colin Reynolds
Organiser of Open 10 TT for 2010 - Bill Fairhurst
Organiser of Open 10 TT for 2011 - Andy Chalmers
Organiser for club dinner 2010 - Martin Sackfield
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
A disappointing turn out !
(1) The chairman's position was left unfilled.
(2) Organisation for the Open 10 for 2010 will be undertaken by Bill Fairhurst & for 2011 by Andy Chalmers. Date for 2010 event will be Sat 24 April. The event has been submitted so as to receive "on line" entries for the first time.
(3) A sum of £325 is currently held in the club funds to go towards the promised minimum £500 prize list for the 2010 event. This money was held over from part of the entry fees received for the cancelled 2009 event.
(4) Club clothing will continue to be subsidised for 2009/10. The subsidy will be reviewed again at next year's AGM.
(5) Club annual subscriptions will now be raised to £10, with 2nd claim & under 16s £5.
(6) As a result of the increased "turn out" for the club championship 10m since it has been held in theTuesday evening series, consideration will be given to holding the 25m club champs in one of the Tuesday evening 25s in 2010.

12/10/09 CLUB HILL CLIMB CHAMPS ON "THE RAKE"
A new name will be added to the club hill climb trophy this year after a hard fought three way battle in the Lancashire RC event on the infamous "Rake".
The final result saw less than six seconds separating all three riders.
Winner was Mark Tickle in 3m 03.9s, from Mark Turnbull with 3m 05.2s and brother Nathan in 3m 09.6s. The three riders also finished 16th, 18th & 19th in the event.
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Thanks to sportsunday.co.uk for the pics. Check out more pics at : http://www.sportsunday.co.uk/#13.172
http://www.sportsunday.co.uk/#13.60 

15/9/09 CLUB RUN TO "TOUR OF BRITAIN" STAGE
The now annual run to watch the "Tour of Britain" was fortunate to have some great weather once again. Andy Chalmers, Mark Tickle, Simon Lownes, Kevin Cook, Bill Fairhurst plus Darren, Daryl & Carl from Warrington RC, headed to the dizzy heights around Ribchester, Longridge & Waddington, to watch the "Blackpool Stage". The Leigh Prem jerseys of Andy & Mark made an appearance on the ITV4 TV coverage - they haven't received any offers for a show biz career as yet !!
Read Carl's BBC blog about the ride. Pics below from Simon.
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Waiting for the Tour !...................... Here they come now!

31/8/09 COLIN ON THE MONEY !
Colin Reynolds hit the jackpot in his first open event by winning the £50 1st Handicap prize on offer in the VC Melyd 10 mile time trial at St Asaph. Colin recorded a pb 27-07. The teas are on Colin on next week's club run !!

21/8/09 AWESOME LONG & SHORT RIDES !!
Congratulations to Nathan Turnbull who recorded 241.91 miles in the National 12 hour championships in Shropshire, finishing in 17th place. Nath also of course won this year's club 12 hour championship, which was incorporated in the event.
The event was won by Andy Wilkinson of Port Sunlight Wheelers who recorded an amazing new competition record of 302 miles.
At the other end of the distance scale, Simon Bridge finished in second place in the South Pennine CC 10 mile time trial at Etwall, near Uttoxeter, in a remarkable personal best of 20m 27s. Simon was within a whisker of a 30mph average ride & was within a minute of Nathan's club record 19m 37s, set in 2002.

19/8/09 ROB WINS THE CLUB 10 MILE POINTS COMPETITION
The club's 10 mile points League Competition was once again only decided in the final event, with long time leader Rob Aston finishing just 24 points ahead of Colin Reynolds. The competition was so close that a PB for Colin in the final event would have won it for him. This is the first time that two riders in their first year of racing have occupied the top slots. Congratulations to both. Andy (third this year) is now polishing the cup for the last time !!

20/7/09 SIMON BRIDGE 3rd - TLI NATIONAL ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP
Simon Bridge finished in third place in the TLI National Road Race Championship in Wales last Sunday. Two riders escaped early on, & despite Simon's efforts to chase, no one was willing to work to bring them back. Simon managed to slip away in the last 3 miles, and then hold off the bunch gallop by about 15secs.

15/7/09 POSSIBLE NEW CAFE STOP
I picked up this little snippet on the TLI website - it also confirms what we had previously mentioned about an Alderley Edge by-pass. I'm sure it will all become clear eventually !
Dobbies, a leading high quality Garden Centre is proposing to build a new state of the art Garden Centre at Monks Heath
They will be working with S.E. Matthews and seeking to draw on the approved planning permission for relocation of the original Matthews Garden Centre & Cafe on the opposite side of the road. The new site will be at the new roundabout for the new A34 Alderley Edge By-Pass. 13/7/09 CLUB 50 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Simon Bridge produced a superb 1-54-40 on the tough Chelford based 50 mile course to continue his dominance of this year's club championships. The time was the fastest 50 by a Leigh rider for 30 years & the first inside two hours since 2002.
Simon also finished third to Mark Lovatt in the event promoted by Cheshire RC.
The main club time trial championships have now been decided, & have resulted in probably the tightest ever finishes. Simon Bridge took first place from Nathan Turnbull in the 10 mile championship, with a winning margin of 6 seconds. Richard Maughan finished in third place. The event was well supported with 10 members taking part.
A month later, in the 25 mile event the first two placings were reversed with Nathan winning by a 4 second margin from Simon. Mark Tickle finished in third place. Check out the full results.

THE KNUTSFORD GREAT RACE 2010 !!
OK, I know it is a bit early to put the Knutsford Great Race in the "coming up" section of this page, but it's worth making a note in your diary. Time to dust off your "boneshakers" or "penny farthings" & start training now - or, of course, we can just have a ride out to spectate !!

17/5/09 COLNE VALLEY MOUNTAIN BIKE CHALLENGE
Martin Sackfield took on the challenge, last weekend. Check out his "ups & downs"on the following links, with the happy riding pic & then the not so happy pics !!

11/5/09 CANCELLATION OF THE OPEN 10
As most of you will be aware, we were forced to cancel the club's annual "Open 10m Time Trial" on Saturday 9 May.
The club has now decided that the event will not be re-run for 2009. In accordance with CTT guidelines covering the situation & also from feedback received from a number of competitors, we have decided the following.
The residue of the entry fee money will be split. It will go towards next year's event prize list, which will be a minimum of £500 & in addition we will also make a donation towards the CTC "Cyclist Defence Fund".  
I hope this is a satisfactory outcome for everyone. 
For those of you not aware of the reason for cancellation, it was as a result of the complete dual carriageway  between the East Lancs Rd traffic lights & the M58 island, being "coned off" to one lane on both sides, for grass cutting.
This happened on Saturday morning, but frustratingly, the cones were actually cleared by 3pm when I left the layby.
We did manage to contact most people, with only eight competitors turning up, not having received a message.
I understand that the DC are going to look at the possibility of setting up some chain of communication with the council. 

7/5/09 EARLY SEASON ACTION
Check out the results page for the club's first win of the season by Simon Bridge.

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(ABOVE LEFT) Andy Chalmers in action, passing under the railway arches at Newton, on his way to 14th place overall in the Newton le Willows triathlon.
(ABOVE RIGHT) Simon Bridge sampling the delights of the J2/9 25 mile course.

6/4/09 NATHAN 7th IN "CIRCUIT OF THE DALES"
Latest Results. Nathan Turnbull finished in 7th place from a full field of 120 riders in Sunday's classic 50 mile "Circuit of the Dales" Mountain Time Trial. The event, organised by Nelson Wheelers is based on a tough course around Hawes & Ingleton & has been run for over 60 years. Richard Maughan also produced a fine ride finishing 35th.
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Nath (left) & Richard (right) captured on one of the many climbs !

29/3/09 CHESHIRE CAT SPORTIVE RESULTS
We eventually had nine riders completing the Cheshire Cat Sportive on the 29 March.
The weather was superb, but the course was still hard, & everyone had their own tale of to tell !
102mile Results : Mark Tickle 6h-22m, Martin Conroy 6-29,Gareth Hinde 7-03,
John Crook 7-11, Andy Chalmers 7h-51
66 mile Results : Bill Fairhurst 4-59, John Gallimore 5-12,
Rob Aston 5-34, Michael Karski 5-54, Ken Dodd DNF
K.Cook, Simon Lownes, Rob Dyson DNS
Full results are available on the Kilotogo website.
Photos taken of everyone during the event are available to view on the
Phil O'Connor Photography website

23/3/09 CLUB RUN IN THE LAKES
The club run up in the Lake District on Sunday 15 March was a real success.
We had 8 members turn out for a 72 mile ride, in good weather, over three big Lakeland passes, with a total of 2070m (6800ft) of climbing for the day. The ride took us over the Kirkstone Pass (up "the struggle" from Ambleside), Whinlatter Pass & the Honister Pass. The eight mountaineers were Gareth, Kevin, John, Mark, Martin C, Martin S, Bill & Carl.
Check out the new photo gallery of the ride which iis now on the website.

"Give us more hills !" - too early in the day for a drink at the Kirkstone Inn (1489ft) !

1/3/09 CLUB RUN ON "CHESHIRE CAT" ROUTE
Nine riders were out on the club run (1/3) covering the "Cheshire Cat Sportive" route from Langley through Macclesfield Forest to Bollington, Pott Shrigley & Mottram.
Mark, Gareth, Andy C, Robert, Martin, Kevin & Bill did the full round, with Ken & Ian deciding to return via the Buxton-Macc road.
The 1 in 4 climb in Macc Forest was declared "a wall" & its gradient was confirmed on Kevin's "all singing, all dancing" computer at 25 % !!
Following the earlier climb of Mow Cop, it is going to be a real challenge on the day.
Nice cafe stop at the "Coffee Tavern" in Pott Shrigley.

18/2/09 CYCLISTS CAFES IN THE UK WEBSITE
Check out this Cyclists Cafes' in the UK website for an excellent guide to cycling friendly cafes country wide. It has obviously been a real labour of love for the compilers of the site - a great site to visit before you set off anywhere on the bike ! I have also set up a permanent link to this site from our Links page.

7/2/08 HELMET RULING - FROM CTC NEWSLETTER
I thought it was worth copying this extract from the CTC weekly newsletter, as it concerns everyone.
"ON YOUR HEAD BE IT - A High Court judge has concluded that cyclists who suffer head injuries when not wearing a helmet may not be entitled to full compensation if it can be shown that a helmet would have reduced or prevented their injuries.  He then awarded cyclist Robert Smith full compensation, ruling that his particular injuries (which arose from a collision with a motorcyclist) would not have been prevented by a helmet.  However, the judge’s general conclusions are alarming, particularly since they were reached without hearing any of the contested evidence about the overall effectiveness of helmets.  CTC will seek legal advice  on how and when we can best challenge his finding."
Also, a reminder that the club recommends all members should join the CTC (particularly if not a member of "British Cycling"), as it will ensure that they are covered sufficiently by insurance whilst on the bike & also entitles them to legal advice & representation.
The CTC is also the only cycling body that is equipped to take up & protect the rights of cyclists in cases such as above.
 
8/1/08 BECKY & CHRISTOPHER IN MACC SUPER CROSS
Becky & Christopher Sackfield are again taking part in the North West Cyclo Cross League events this season. Pictures show them lining up at the start of the recent Macclesfield Cross & after the event with their special Macclesfield Wheelers commemorative Diamond Anniversary mugs.
Becky is currently lying 14th & Chris 17th, in their age group, out of 94 competitors.
Dad, Martin is also flying the flag & is currently 27th out of 201 in the Seniors series.
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19/12/08 NEW NATIONAL VETERANS RECORD
I don't normally include non-club news on the website, but I have just received my latest Mersey Vets Newsletter which I think contains an item worth sharing.
On 20 September, Dennis Milsom of the Mid Shropshire Wheelers set a new National Veterans Age Record for an 80 yearold of 59m-15s in the Stone Wheelers 25 on the J5/8. Not satisfied with that, the following day, 21st September, Dennis took part in the Port Talbot Wheelers 25, improving 2 seconds to 59m 13s !
To put the record into context, the previous record for an 80 year old was a 1-5.
If they aren't the most amazing rides of this year, I'll "eat my hat" !
It is also worth pointing out that Cycling magazine hasn't even given them a mention.

29/11/08 CLUB PRIZE PRESENTATION
The club celebrated another succesful year of cycling, at the annual buffet and prize presentation, held at the Miner's Welfare at Gin Pit Village.
The club welcomed two special guests for the evening, Mike Howard, a club founder member who presented the prizes, & Jimmy Wright from the Preston Wheelers, winner of the club's 2008 Open 10 mile time trial. Jimmy received the special MHA Trophy from Mike Howard, who donated the trophy three years ago on behalf of his company, MHA Ltd.
Nathan Turnbull took the club's Road Race Championship award for the third consecutive year. Nathan took another hat trick of short distance time trial trophies by also winning the 10 mile, 25 mile and the SPOCO (Sporting Couses) time trial championships.
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10 mile Championship prizewinners(L) & Open 10 winner Jimmy Wright (Preston Whs)

Nathan then turned his talents to hill climbing at the end of the year, winning a fifth championship despite a fine performance by first year rider, Mark Tickle, in second place.
Sadly, for only the second time in 40 years, the club had no qualifier for the 100 mile & BAR championships.
The keenly contested 10 mile points championship, based on a series of fifteen Tuesday evening events throughout the season, was won by Andy Chalmers, after finishing runner up the previous year. He was pushed all the way by Mark Tickle in second place.  
The 'Bateson Trophy' , awarded for the rider making the biggest time trial improvements from the previous season went to Bill Fairhurst from Andy Chalmers.
Bill also took the Veterans Best All rounder competition based on national age standards over 10, 25 and 50 miles, with a plus on age standard of 46m 14s over the three distances, from Martin Sackfield

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25 mile Championship prizewinners(L) & Martin with Guest of honour, Mike Howard

13/10/08 CLUB ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Officials were elected for the coming year.
Chairman - Vacant
Secretary/Treasurer - Martin Sackfield
BCF Sec - Nathan Turnbull
Time Trials Sec - Bill Fairhurst
Committee members - Andy Chalmers, Kevin Cook, Gary Adamson
Organiser of Open 10 TT for 2009 - Bill Fairhurst
Organiser of Open 10 TT for 2010 - Andy Chalmers
Organiser for club dinner 2009 - Martin Sackfield
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION
A relatively quiet night !
(1) The chairman's position was left unfilled.
(2) Organisation for the Open 10 for 2009 will be undertaken by Bill Fairhurst & for 2010 by Andy Chalmers. Date for 2009 event will be Sat 9 May.
(3) Club clothing will continue to be subsidised for 2007/8. Minimum subsidy will be 20%. The subsidy will be reviewed again at next year's AGM.
(4) The club rule book is in the process of retyping & printing. The opportunity was taken to delete a number of now obsolete rules.
(5) Club night will now be once a month. It will be on the second Monday in each month. The committee will look into the possibility of meeting at the new "Leigh Sports Village". Dates for the club nights will be listed on the News page of the website. Members will be notified of the time & venue of the first meeting, which will be on Mon 10 November.

5/10/08 CAT & FIDDLE CHALLENGE
Gary Adamson succesfully completed the Cat & Fiddle 55 mile Challenge Sportive in 3h 29m. The weather was pretty appalling throughout, but didn't seem to slow him down. Gary had even better news after he finished - he has won the raffle for the framed, signed, characature picture of Sean Kelly.

14/9/08 CLUB RUN TO SEE "TOUR OF BRITAIN"
The final stage of the "Tour of Britain" was "on our doorstep" this year, starting in Blackpool & finishing on a circuit in the Liverpool City Centre. A 70 mile club run with 12 riders, watched the riders go past, as they joined the A59 near Tarleton. The run set off via Up Holland, Douglas Valley & Newburgh, before meandering the narrow lanes around Burscough & Tarleton. Dinner stop was at the Rendezvous cafe in Croston, followed by spectating at the Tour, before returning via Mawdsley & a grovel over Ashurst Beacon !
Riders out were Gary Adamson, Andy Chalmers, Ken Dodd, Bill Fairhurst, Paul Fish, Gareth Hinde, Simon Lownes, Mark Tickle, Graham Voss, Derek Unsworth & visitors from Warrington RC, Darren Topping & Carl Johnston.

ToB line up : Andy, Graham, Gary, Mark, Bill, Paul, Ken, Derek, Simon & Gareth

11/9/08 MANCHESTER 100
Gary Adamson and Kevin Cook completed the Manchester 100 on Sunday 7 September in an overall time of 6h 15m. There actual riding time was 5h 44m.
The weather was a bit showery (as it was on the club run to "Summertrees Cafe" on the same day). The worst of the rain happened during the food stop and had virtually stopped by the time they left, with only one further brief shower somewhere on the way back.  1/9/08 WILD WALES CHALLENGE
Mark Tickle & Dave Burgess completed the "Wild Wales Challenge" on the 24 August. The annual challenge event, starting & finishing in Bala, was organised by the CTC covered a number of minor mountain roads on an 86 mile loop out to Barmouth. Mark was among the first riders back covering the route in 6h 35m.

16/8/08 FORMER CLUB MEMBER GETTING IN TOUCH - DAVE LE MAITRE
I was pleased to receive the following Email, through the website, from former club member, Dave Le Maitre, still alive & kicking in the depths of North Wales.
Though many current members will not remember Dave, he was club 12 hour champion in 1971 (239 miles) & also the original holder of the club Leigh - Llangollen-Leigh 112 mile Road Record. Dave was a bit of a "mile eater" & did quite a bit of touring including, as I remember, around Northumberland & up to Cape Wrath, Caithness with Colin Fox, Howard Wilkinson, Dave Halsall & myself in 1971.

"I’m presuming that you would be Bill Fairhurst. It is good to see recent pictures of you and Derek still members of the club. I am hoping to start pottering again inspired by finding myself still appearing on the website, which I might add is one of the best club sites I’ve seen. Unfortunately as I now live in North Wales, (a very hilly bit!)  I won’t be rejoining Leigh, but am thinking about Rhyl CC. I’ve got a racing bike put together , but whether its more for nostalgia than competition I don’t know, and have resurrected my aging Dawes tourer in an attempt to get fit and to try to get my grandson into the sport."

19/6/08 ANDY CHALMERS - WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPS, VANCOUVER
See Leigh Reporter article about Andy on "What the papers say about us" page.
For Andy's visit, Vancouver experienced the worst June weather for 54 years, not the best conditions for the World Triathlon championship
Andy's first hurdle was to hire a bike, as his had been crushed by baggage handlers. He managed this from a very friendly and helpful Canadian ex pro rad racer who now owns Pacific Multi sports in Vancouver.
The first leg swim was in very chilly waters with a temperature of 10.8 degrees, which was lengthened to 1100+ metres from the scheduled 750m. Andy finished the swim in a touch under 19 minutes , coming out of the water in 17th place.
After a slick transition (7th fastest), it was out into a raining & cold bike course.
After dropping into the bottom chainring on the first big hill, he found that he could not get back into large ring !
"Spinning hard was probably a good thing, as my legs were now blue to match my shorts !"
The 21km bike leg consisted of 3 laps, before entering transition again. Another good transition (4th fastest this time) put Andy up to 13th place, but with no feeling in his feet.
After the first km his feet were getting some feeling back, & he recorded a respectable run, but dropped the four places he had gained on the bike.
Andy ran across line with a GB flag in 17th place out of 47 starters in the 45-49 Age Group (only 42 finished)
"The cold and wet didn’t matter any more, it was a great feeling running across line as part of a GB team, I warmed up with some soup, and celebrated with a few beers that night !"
. . .
Read the "Leigh Reporter" review of Andy's ride & latest racing news on
What the paper's say page

8/6/08 WHITE ROSE SPORTIVE - GARY's GOLD CERTIFICATE
After a hard hot day in the hills, Gary Adamson completed the White Rose Sportive 80k ride in 3h 7m, to take a Gold Standard Certificate.

29/5/08 STOCKPORT SUMMER CYCLO CROSS SERIES
Martin Sackfield together with Rebecca & Christopher Sackfield (in the Under 12s) have been taking part, with some success, in the summer Cyclo Cross Series at Tiviot Dale in Stockport.
The two events so far have enjoyed contrasting weather conditions with 14 May being dry & dusty & 28 May wet & muddy !
Check out full results on our results page.
Final event is 25 June, anyone interested should contact Martin for further details.

7/4/08 APRIL SNOW !
Dave White was out early yesterday morning after the overnight snowfalls.
As you can see below, he couldn't get further than the Golf Club,
climbing out of Frodsham, before the road was blocked !
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Road blocked !!

31/3/08 "CHESHIRE CAT SPORTIVE" FINISHERS
The club had a good turn out in the 96 mile "Cheshire Cat Sportive" on Sunday 30 March. Despite some problems with direction arrows being removed on the way back from Congleton, everyone seemed to enjoy the ride in (for a change !) the decent spring weather.
Finishers were : Dave White 5h 59m, Derek Unsworth 6-11, Gareth Hinde 6-47, Brian Hollingsworth 6-54, Bill Fairhurst 6-54, Kevin Cook 6-54, Ian Murray 7-09, Simon Lownes 7-35. Ken Dodd also completed the 65m short course in 3-51.
Derek was our only rider to get the award for climbing Mow Cop without putting his feet down. His thighs are now recovering !
Full results are on the Kilotogo website.

21/1/08 ALAN WEBSTER
Sadly I have to report that club founder member, Alan Webster, has passed away after a long illness. Alan was a founder member of the club in 1964, & an active member over a number of years. He was also club hill climb champion in 1967.
Alan's funeral was held at Howe Bridge Cemetery on Fri 25 Jan at 1330, & attended by a number of his old Leigh Premier team mates.
On behalf of everyone at the club, sincere condolences to Alan's wife Carol & all his family.

24/11/07 CLUB PRIZE PRESENTATION
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RACING MEN: Derek, Andy, Bill, Mark, Nathan & Darren....... Brothers, Nathan & Mark
(Thanks to Angela for the photos)
The club celebrated another succesful year of cycling, at the annual buffet and prize presentation, held at the Miner's Welfare at Gin Pit Village.
Nathan Turnbull took the club's Road Race Championship award for the second consecutive year, narrowly beating brother Mark into second place. Nathan made it a hat trick of trophies by also winning the 10 mile and the SPOCO (Sporting Couses) time trial championships.
Older brother Mark turned the tables in the club Hill Climb Championship by beating Nathan into second place, on the ultra steep climb of 'The Rake', near Ramsbottom. 

On the time trialling scene, Darren Topping dominated once again, winning the club's 50, 100 mile & BAR championships.
The keenly contested 10 mile points championship, based on a series of fifteen Tuesday evening events throughout the season, was also won for the second consecutive year by Darren Topping, in the closest finish ever to the competition.
The final result went down to the last event, as it had the previous year, with Darren holding on to a narrow points lead from second place Andy Chalmers.
Andy made up for this disappointment, by winning the 25 mile championship, by the narrow margin of eleven seconds from Derek Unsworth.
 
The 'Bateson Trophy' time trial awarded for the rider making the biggest time improvemnts from the previous season went to Derek Unsworth.
Bill Fairhurst took the Veterans Best All rounder competition based on national age standards over 10, 25 and 50 miles, with a plus on age standard of 46m 32s over the three distances, from Derek Unsworth with plus 37m 22s.
  15/11/07 ANDY's NEW ARRIVAL ....
Some more good news for the website. Andy Fox & his wife Judith are now the proud parents of a baby boy. The new arrival named Luke, was born on 20 October 2007, weighing in at 4.12kg. Congratulations & best wishes from everyone at Leigh Premier.

20/10/07 MOUNTAIN BIKE DAY - MARIN TRAIL & MOUNTAIN LAKES AT BETWS Y COED
Could we have had a more perfect day ?
Blue skies, great views, no wind, Autumn colours, 5 hours riding (incl cafe !),
no punctures, no falls (well not really !), 3000 feet of climbing & probably the same descending !
The "off roaders" this year were Martin, Pete, Nathan, Stuart, Graham, Bill & Andy C

"Perfect setting" - team pic at Llyn Parc
(L to R - Pete, Andy, Graham, Nathan, Stu, Martin)

15/10/07 BECKY & CHRISTOPHER IN CROSS ACTION
Becky & Christopher Sackfield are again taking part in the North West Cyclo Cross League events this season. Becky is currently lying 12 th overall & Christopher 14th. in the under 12 age groups.
..


9/7/07 "LE TOUR" LATEST ! - DARREN MEETS THE DEVIL !

Click on the devil to view Darren & Carl's Tour photos from London

28/6/07 GEOFF SMITH CYCLES NOW ON LINE
Geoff Smith Cycles is now on line at geoffsmithcycles.co.uk for you to browse, or you can purchase on line using a secure site.


12/2/07 EARLY 2007 CLUB RUNS
Despite some dodgy Sunday weather in the first few weeks of the year, club runs have been well supported and varied. First run of the year (7/1) went out via Great & Little Budworth, and on to Sunnytrees cafe at Delamere. The following week (14/1)went out to Whitegate, crossed the Weaver via the old wooden bridge & track into Davenham & then on to Cranage cafe. A shorter run on 28/1 went out through Wilmslow & back over the Wizard. Sun 11/2 run turned into an 80+ miler, & a long day over Bosley Cloud & back to Holland GC cafe. Andy C unfortunately suffered a multiple puncture on top of "the cloud" (see Gareth's pics) & things literally went downhill from there (broken spokes/missed turnings) !!
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"What did you say Andy ? - You've got a what ?!!" ..............."Are you going to be long ?!" .............
...
Lots of time to admire the view from Bosley Cloud towards Wildboarclough

REBECCA SACKFIELD, THE CLUB'S FIRST AWARD WINNER OF 2007
First award for the club this year is by Rebecca Sackfield, who for the second consecutive year finished in third place in the "North West Cyclo Cross League" Under 12 girls competition.

3/11/06 CLUB RUNS & STATUES !
The first two club runs of the winter saw a turn out of 10 and 11 riders.
The run on 15/10 went out to the "Eureka cafe" and the 29/10 was a run with a difference, going out to Crosby Sands to look at Anton Gormley's statues on the beach. The artwork called "Another Place" has over 100 statues along the Crosby beach front.


(L) Group on Crosby front ...........................(R) Sandrider !! Darren tests the beach !
1/8/05 TOM SACKFIELD
For the second time in just a few months, I have to pass on sad news on the website.
Tom Sackfield, a founder member, sadly passed away on Thursday 11 August in Bolton Hospital, aged 61. The funeral was held at the Howe Bridge Crem on Fri 19 August.
On behalf of everyone at the club, sincere condolences to Martin and all his family.

30/4/05 NEIL GERRARD
Neil Gerrard sadly passed away on Saturday 30 April.
Neil was a founder member of the club, & those of you associated with Leigh Premier for a number of years will know that few people have done more to support the club since its formation in 1964. The funeral was held on Friday 6 May 1330 at St Richards Church in Mayfield Street Atherton. It was attended by many cyclists, including club members past and present.

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