December 1999

Track Championships

Firstly, and with apologies, we start with the results of the Club Track Championships that were held way back in October, and should have been reported on last month - oops!

Anyway, from a field of 11 riders Geoff Brandt took the title with a commanding performance, winning each of the 3 events: a flying 200m, a points race and a scratch race (although the scratch race was deemed a dead heat with Dave Parry).

For full results, see the results page.

All Hail The Mountain Bikers!

Not just hail, but bitter cold and a biting gale force wind greeted the off-roaders for the club mountain bike race on Saturday 4th December. It was a wary group of souls who set off from the Mills, already swapping tales of adverse conditions they’d encountered in just getting this far. Mike Garner kept us entertained on the way out with the tale of how he’d nearly wiped out the previous Wednesday’s club run on the Capenhurst road with his car, but we all arrived at Delamere in one piece, even the road bike-mounted Chris Byrne, despite his continuous attempts to ride in the right-hand gutter on a public road.

The course was a repeat of the previous year’s event: a flattish loop which was all rideable, the surface being a mixture of hard-packed sand, gravel, and worn-down grass, with a few muddy puddles thrown in for good measure. The handicapper wasn’t up to much as usual, not giving me anything like enough of a start! And any hopes that Chris’ road wheels would prevent him fizzing round the course were unfounded, although the first race went to Mike.

The second stage was the same course in reverse, and the handicapper hadn’t learnt from his mistakes in the first race - tsh! Clive’s flexible approach to the rules ensured that when Mike and Chris came round to lap him and I, they were faced with two bikes riding side-by-side, doing quite an effective blocking action. Quite whom we were blocking for I’m not sure, but it must have held them up for at least twenty seconds! The temptation to send Chris into the ditch when he came past was quite strong, though! But round two went to Mike as well.

After the race we all headed to The Rigger for the traditional hot pot lunch, which was most welcome. Whether we were most welcome, given that they had to put out sheets, blankets and towels for us to sit on, is another thing! However, it felt quite nice being able to wipe my muddy backside on a Man Utd duvet cover!

Christmas Turbo Training

Many of you will be aware that the club has been looking at buying a set of replacement competition rollers. However, the price quoted for such an item is quite high indeed, and so a compromise solution is being sought. One such solution is to buy a computer-monitored turbo trainer, such as those made by Cateye or Tacx. To gauge the expected take-up for this, on Thursday 16th December the club night will be a turbo training session followed by a Christmas party. Please bring bikes, any turbos you may have, and any party food you’d like to consume afterwards.

Wanted - Turbo Trainer

Geoff Brandt would like to buy a turbo trainer, preferably a fold-up magnetic one. If you’ve got one you’re thinking of selling, then contact Geoff on 652 0217 in the evening, or 263 8921 during the day. Or email him on m00m6i00@mcmail.com

The Millennium - a look back

You may not have realised this, but this is actually the last newsletter of the millennium. A time of great significance, with a chance to look back and see where we’ve come from.

And a time to discover new things about the past. Received wisdom has it that Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the bicycle in 1839, applying "treddles" (a form of pedal) to a previous variation known as a draisine. But a draisine was obviously just another form of bicycle. So, how far back can we go to find bikes?

Well, given everything else he invented, it should be no surprise that Leonardo da Vinci had an inspiration for a bicycle, as shown below in one of his early works. We see here the classic features of the old High Ordinary, with a nice springy saddle as well.

Any suggestions that Leonardo’s bike may be the reason for the enigmatic smile on the Mona Lisa’s face are quite unfounded.

What else? Recent restoration work on the Sistine Chapel revealed that the piece known as The Creation Of Man was actually hiding an early example of neutral service, as God appears to be handing Adam a spare wheel.

Looks like Adam could probably do with a spare pair of shorts as well!

So, how much further back can we go? Well, an example of the early take-up of the bicycle in France is actually shown in the wonderful Bayeux Tapestry. Here you can clearly see that William the Conqueror used bicycle-mounted soldiers as well as cavalry.

One in the eye for King Harold, then.

So there you have it - bikes have been around for ever. Indeed, there are reports that when Hannibal crossed the Alps with the elephants (c. 210 BC), one of them was wearing a red-and-white spotted jersey. But that’s another story.

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