Time Trial Latest

If you have any results featuring Yorkshire Road Club riders please send them to Dave Stone for inclusion in this section.

John Colman interview - Interview

2009 - The year so far

John Colman took 2 wins in 2 weeks, both in Bridlington CC events. The 7th June saw John produce a 0:58:20 on the V433 (25 mile TT course) to take his first win of the season. The course was a slow course with a fair few potholes to negotiate! The next three positions were taken by Bridlington CC riders and then saw James Atkinson came in fith with a 1.00.50. John commented ‘I was faster than last year even though it was harder conditions, there was nasty headwind on the return leg.’

The following weekend saw John take another win in a hilly 10 on the V415. John was the only rider to break the 24 minute barrier with a 23.42. ‘After a leisurely walk along the sea front prior to the event I realized I felt pretty good. The course was lumpy and technical, taking in some great scenery. Last year I got beaten by an 18 year old, luckily he didn’t ride this year!’

Isle of Man TT 2009

What a fantastic event the Colin Nelson memorial tt was, held by Manx Road Club. This time trial is run on the exact same course as used by the motor cycle tt and consists of a lumpy twisty circuit of 37.73 miles....read all of John Colman's report

Having Manx blood in my bones and relatives a plenty on the island I'd spent many a childhood summer on the Isle of Man. I only took a bike over there 2-3 years ago for the first time and rode the TT circuit ....read all of James Atkinson's report

Clifton CC Time Trial - 9/5/9
John Colman rode the Clifton CC 13 mile TT on the V362 around Sherrif Hutton. The course is on quiet, rolling country roads and a little technical in places. John opted to ride round the course first but forgot his sunglasses, after several incidences with flies, he opted to ride back to get them and almost missed the start. Although this panic, obviously produced a good adrenaline hit and John took second place with a time of 31:38.

VTTA 30 - 10/5/9
Many from Yorkshire RC embarked upon the VTTA 30 starting at Kirby Hill. John Colman came in seventh, for first Yorkie, followed by Mark Johnson. Steve Smith took third Yorkie and twenty-third overall with a pb (1:10:59). Steve explained after that it was just part of his ‘sprint training’ for the Marmot. He knows his main competitor Peter McGowen (Seacroft Wheelers) is renowned for going for the finish a long way out (30+ miles) and the competition is hotting up! One place behind Steve was James Atkinson who also took third in the handicap. Stan Mills took second on standard in the over 55’s category. John Baines and Steven Woodrup also did good rides.

Seacroft Wheelers Hilly 11 Time Trial – 30/4/9
The hilly circuit around Thorner saw a one, two for Yorkshire Road Club. Dave Meakin who was twitching to race from November, 08 won the event with a 28.13 followed by his team mate Steve Smith who was just behind him with a 28.19. Steve has put his surge in good rides this year down to our master coach and Yorkshire Road Club advisor Mike Dixon, ‘I’ve been working closely with Mike all year and we seem to be getting the balance just wright – Mike tells me when to sacrifice the Stella for Vino to improve my blood circulation prior to the event.’

More Records tumble!

Photo by Martin Purser

This weekend saw Carl Saint further stamp his authority on the trike world! Carl had set his sights on the North and West Home Counties Road Records for both 10 and 25 miles on a solo trike. Using a CTT approved courses near Newark, Nottinghamshire, Carl first attempted the 10 mile record on Saturday evening. On a slow course in blustery and damp conditions Carl did a 22.09 to establish a new time for the N&WHCRRA ’10.’ Carl then went back to Martin Purser (event organiser and following car provider) for some sleep.

Up at 5.30am on the Sunday morning to prepare for the 25 mile record attempt, Carl set out on his second time trial in 13 hours. Carl was attempting to beat Tom Morley’s time of 1.04.21 (1971). Enjoying a warm and calm morning, Carl smashed it with a 55.52! Most ‘normal folk’ would of opted to climb into bed after these attempts, Carl was spotted later that day watching the Lincoln GP having ridden there….

Carl wanted to thank Martin Purser and the marshals for all their support!

Yorkshire Road Club Hilly
The YRC hilly opened up the season for the ever growing twitchy time trialists to see what they had become after a winter in the saddle. With nerves mounting there was as usual a blunder from the CTT over the start sheet, causing some competitors having to reschedule their porridge intake for breakfast by a few months to ensure full digestion.

Unlike other years on the V810 at Addingham, the sun shined and there was little wind. Philip Graves did a storming ride of 24.26 to win it, with Mathew Howitt of YRC taken second place on a standard road bike, although the result is currently going through the high court and I can’t comment further. Second YRC member with seventh overall was John Colman after little training. Positions eight to ten were also filled by YRC members respectively. Ruth Dorrington took first lady with a 30.04.

Hancock 10
The sun continued to shine for the annual Hancock 10. Ian Fairweather produced a very convincing ride for not only the day but the season ahead with a 22.43, with John Colman coming in second and Russel Brown showing his intentions early on in the season with a 23.34 to take third position. Mark Johson won the handicap event and came fourth overall.

Trike-tastic
The trike riders continue to show their force in Yorkshire Road Club with more starting to stray over to the joys of the third wheel. Carl Saint, with his resprayed white beast (looking good Mr Saint!) hit the A10/20 at Tuxford on the 21st April. He enjoyed new road surfaces and speeds in excess of 35mph to do a 22.25 for his first 10 of the season. Carl said ‘The course was lumpy, there were some hard headwind sections but the trike behaved, it’s a good start.’

Carl and the newcomer to the trike brotherhood, John Colman set out on the V718 for Bank Holiday Monday 10. John had been thrown off the beast just a few days before, but this didn’t stop him producing a stonking time for his first outing on three wheels of 23.48, coming in second to Carl. Apparently gasps were made the marshals as John ‘negotiated’ the roundabout. Carl complained of the poor weather conditions, explaining why he had only done a 21.55. Come on Carl, a sub 20 please?!

Carl Saint

2008 round-up

In a year where stocks crashed, banking institutions begged for money and well renowned cycling clubs became no more, the Yorkshire Road Club’s flag flew high! It was a fantastic year for the Yorkies at a regional, national and international level, success being celebrated on both 2 and 3 wheels!

The season began with the usual suspects riding Ron’s Reliability 5. Rain, snow and thick sheets of ice offering to the excitement and chaos of those building up their stamina for this years racing season.

The Hancock 10 opened the official Yorkshire Road Club racing season on a fresh but still day. John Rowland won it and Stan Mills set up the foundations for a year in which he collected an array of trophies in the Vet classes, taken the Silver Standard in this one.

Many of the members had a really good season. Steve Smith upped his game and need for pain, completing his first 50 and doing an impressive sub 2 hour ride. Steve set new personal best times for 10 and 25 miles, getting close on Phil Hurt’s tail in the Yorkshire Cycling Federation short distance competition. Phil continues to show his ability to just keep going what ever the distance, averaging over 26 mph in the short distance event Phil is well known for measuring the courses on his rusty old bike the night before, counting his revs on an enormous gear. When is someone going tell him cars have speedometers?

The man on a mission award has to go to John Colman for putting in some really good times across the board. John won both the Pool Triangle and the Tadcaster League. The Tadcaster League was dominated by the Yorkies, John taken the top spot and all of the top 5 positions being held by YRC members. It was just a pity Russell Brown couldn’t get away from building his new conservatory and Mike Dixon of the sofa, or else we could have taken the top 7 spots.

John was the second fastest man of the year on the legendary course, producing a 28.20, Carl Saint still showing he had the ability to knock out ‘fairly good’ times at the end of the season with a 27.23! My predictions for next year will see recently joined Dave Meakin (This is the guy who rides the fixed with us on a Saturday) from the collapsed Bob Jackson Road club doing sub 30 minutes on the course.

It was a year for the trikes in Yorkshire Road Club, both Carl Saint and David Stone showed their dominance on their beasts. Carl having a reputation of brilliance on 2 wheels fancied a new challenge and opted to race with an extra one. I spoke to Carl about this and he said he had only been out on the trike once before racing it. Anyone who has been near a trike knows how difficult they are to adjust to and indeed stay on. Carl didn’t just stay on it, he tamed it and tamed it well. Breaking competition records for 25 miles that had stood since 1996 with a 54:48 and a 19 year old 10 mile record knocking out a 21:02. For Carl’s training he still played on his 2 wheeled machine coming second in the YRC Short Distance Competition with an average speed of 29.2 mph. Don’t worry Carl, us Yorkies don’t feel too let down by you not winning it.