A truly accurate record
of what happened on the night!
Yellow shirts
Dave Bennett Karl
Colebrook Mark Costello Stephen Evans
Chris Haresnape Trevor
Jackson Alan Little Chris Robson
Steve Taylor Mark
Tipping Barry Watson Dave Wilson
Guests
Steve Copeland Guest
of Bazza Kev Timmons Guest
of Trevor
Andy Wallace Guest
of Bazza Adrian Walker Guest
of Trevor
Yellow stripes Gary Bowyer Iain
Bramwell Mike Brown
Jonathan Cowie Martin
Cuss Iain Evans Nigel
Forrest
Chris Franks Tim
Hall Dave Holmes Bob McGowan
Mark Scale Neil
Welcome to the Thunderdome Velodrome
Mad Max Trev did himself proud with his last event of the
Table Year.
All were very keen and of
course we all knew everything about cycling. We were issued with a flimsy
lightweight bike and a funny helmet and ventured out to the track. It was quite
intimidating with all the real cycling fanatics still about with full Lycra kit
and looking waiflike and ultra fit. So Adidas shorts, Bikeathon T-shirts, Jeans
and particularly Trev’s suede shoes looked a bit out of place!
Finding out the bikes had no gears, no free-wheel and NO BRAKES
was quite a shock!
After a few tentative steps we built up the courage to let go of the
barrier! Oh so many bad memories of that first Ice Skating trip came flooding
back! The first skill to learn was how to stop without your bum lifting up!
Riding on the slow flat became riding on the slight slope, and then when
confidence kicked in, riding up the banked sides past the red line and beyond
the blue line!!!
Drinks stops were every five
minutes due to fatigue, old age, and a general absence of fitness. We coped (or
not) with various exercises and learnt new skills. This resulted in much
puffing and panting. Some Tablers would not resume.
So on to the challenges. First the one-lap sprint.
|
|
|
|
TIME |
|
|
|
|
TIME |
|
|
|
|
TIME |
|
1 |
Steve |
Copeland |
21.19 |
|
6 |
Chris |
Haresnape |
22.57 |
|
11 |
|
|
25.69 |
|
2 |
Steve |
|
21.36 |
|
7 |
Trevor |
|
22.57 |
|
12 |
Karl |
Colebrook |
25.87 |
|
3 |
Kev |
Timmons |
21.76 |
|
8 |
Alan |
Little |
22.82 |
|
13 |
Mark |
Tipping |
26.51 |
|
4 |
Dave |
Bennett |
21.77 |
|
9 |
Barry |
Watson |
23.50 |
|
14 |
Dave |
Wilson |
|
|
5 |
Andy |
Wallace |
22.30 |
|
10 |
Stephen |
Evans |
25.13 |
|
15 |
Mark |
Costello |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
16 |
Chris |
Robson |
|
It was noted that Chris Boardman's record lap time was 15.89 secs. The
only difference to us is that he did that time every lap for an hour!!! I think the problem was that most of us based
our technique and style on Stan Boardman! He of course had a pointy helmet!
The one-lap sprint caused us
all to sound like obscene phone callers! More excuses to stop.
Legitimate excuses
for stopping for a rest:
My legs have
gone wobbly
The draught
on the straight is too strong
My backs gone
I feel sick
Unworthy excuses for stopping for a
rest
I’m tired
cos I went snow-boarding last week
My helmet
is the wrong shape
I’m going
scuba diving next week
The leapfrog excise was fun, a few close calls with desperate shouts of,
“move - I can’t stop!”
After yet another drinks
stop, and round of aches and pains and excuses, another race.
Five riders were invited to a 5-lap race and MAMBO
won by a mile. He actually lapped all the other riders! He must have popped out
to McDonald's on his
qualifying round. Apparently it always takes him a while to get up to
speed, but once the blue touch paper is lit, lock up your daughters!!!
Then the final event, a 10-lap race
with everybody else. This was
closely contested with Kev going out to the front from the off, but with AndyW,
SteveC, SteveT and our Bazza keeping a close eye on his bum!! Fatigue set in
and many fell away and the front group pulled away. Kev kept Bazza at a safe
distance (always a wise move) and took the trophy (if we’d had one).
At
long last, it was off to the pub to compare injuries, excuses and degrees of
unfitness.
ANOTHER TOP NIGHT. A good one to finish with. Thanks for a GREAT YEAR Trev!!
© Bazza