CC Hackney fund raiser success

By the end of last Friday evening's club auction session, an amazing total of £1823.50p was raised to go towards financially safe guarding the club against overheads and any unforeseen costs going into 2013.

The auction side of the event was coordinated by our Fergal Byrne who had put in a lot of work gathering offers from sponsors and supporters. Offers included a hand made quilt, four nights in a Devon cottage, the cyclist breakfast for two and a uni-cycle. All went under the hammer. Committee member Patrick Field did a sterling job on stage as the auctioneer, doing well to raise the stakes and seal many good deals.

A big thank you must go to Giuliana Molinari and Paul Monks from Core Arts who provided us with their venue for the night and to all those who made bids and put their hands in their pockets. A special mention is due for Anna Hart too who had created and donated a CCH flag and bunting to set the scene.

Cheers!

Eastern Cyclocross Championships

CCh were well represented in the South Eastern/Eastern  Cyclocross champs held at Bethlem Royal In Bromley Kent 0n Sunday 9th December 2012... 

The course was set up by VC Londres and they made some great improvements from the course on which they had staged some early season races. 

The conditions differed from semi-dry in the forest to boggy on the meadow section this made for a good race and riders needed to pick their lines and route with accuracy.

Those who entered were:

U12's Artie = 11th place

U16-14's Louis Byrne = 30th

              Frank Moore = Dnf

              Ned O'Regan= 23rd

Vet 50's Harry Moore = 15th

             Andy O'Regan = 6th

Full results and report here.

CCH Belgium visit Gent Six 2012

Aminur Islam and Tyrrell Greaves talking with Gent Six rider Nolan Hoffman

 

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:09:43 +0000

Dear Keir,
I'm writing to tell about our fantastic trip to Belgium. Firstly I loved the Eurostar as it was my first time in it. It was really fast this made the journey time shorter. I also loved the Van Gogh youth hostel we stayed in. There was good accommodation, delicious breakfast and a nice chill out room where we could play pool. We ate the best Belgian quality chips for lunch and along with that we ate a baguette with salad and chicken for the next day. For dinner we ate a big chicken sandwich which had salad in it with chips and a drink, it was mouth watering.
In Brussels we went to bike shops where we were promoting other people to join us to come to London to see what cycling in London is all about. It was really fun to speak French to people in Belgium.

Finally it was the last day where we went to a velodrome in the Flandrian city of Gent, we watched dernie racing and lots of madison racing. This was really inspirational. The best part in the whole trip for me was to meet a pro cyclist by the name of Nolan Hoffman, he rides for South Africa. Nolan gave me tips and advice about track cycling.

Thank you Keir, Jason and Dodi for taking me, I had a really good time in Belgium – it was great!

Aminur Islam

 Our group leaving the Van Gogh youth hostel after a good night and on the road for a day tour of Brussels

 Brussels city hall in Grand Place

Keir Apperley, Jason Evans, Tyrrell Greaves, Aldray Butler, Aminur Islam, Henry Boeteng & Nodi Abull
CCH promoters - Super Track Race 01.06.13

Few sparks on display in the mud at Gunpowder park

Andy after paying close attention to the ditch

The boys were out riding in the London League last weekend for a change - it made sense as the race was up the River Lea at Gunpowder Park near Waltham Abbey. The rain that has been flooding the rest of the country must have been paying particular attention to this part of the Lea Valley making this the wettest cross of the season so far and thats without rain actually falling during the races.

It's fun really- no really

The wetness meant the mud wasn't so grippy more slippy - in fact it was like riding through a lake of clay slip. This meant if you held your line in theory you should stay upright. Frank Ramsay and Artie O'Regan handled it well in the U12s race coming in a very creditable 5th and 8th. Ned O'Regan and Louis Byrne rode in the Youth race both hanging in there on the relentless grind of a course to finish 22nd and 27th. 

Harry with mud attachments

 As is usual with the London Cross League a huge field started the senior race and surpringly given the conditions only 13 riders failed to finish mostly due to broken bikes, like our good friend Stephen Adams  whose top ten finished seemed assured until his cranks realigned themselves. Having snapped a rear derailleur here on previous race I was keeping a good eye on mud build up - this wasn't so much of a problem as the amount of standing water meant the bike got washed off two or three time a lap. Still it took about an hour to clean my bike properly afterwards. Andy finished 66th, Harry 93rd and I came in 81st or 25th, 43rd and 35th in the vets.

I'm smiling as this means that's one less time I'll have to go through that particular 100 metres of torture

Full results here.
More photos here.

London Paris Brussels Amsterdam

LPBA - Pre-flyer ready

This weekend a small group of Hackney cyclists (youths & adults) are going to work in Brussels & Gent in Belgium. They will be visiting local bike shops there to promote CC Hackney's Super Track Race on 1 June 2013; London - Paris - Brussels - Amsterdam. 

On Sunday the main attraction will be the 'Gent Six' professional track racing event, for which they have tickets in hand. 

The start-up for this project is funded by Hackney Council via the Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) 

Mid Winter Festive Party Friday 14th Decenber 2012

Dear CC Hackney and Interlinkx CiC memebrs, supporters and associates

See the invite above and go here if you want to reserve places for our fund-raiser jam.

CCH cross riders getting deeper into the mud / season

Bart about to hit the beach at Grafham Water.

 The Cyclocross season is now in full flow and its been a while since I wrote up any of the races CCH has been at, and there have been a lot of them - and a lot of rain. Whilst the rain hasn't been falling too heavy during the races its been doing its best to soften up the courses and riders. This was most evident last weekend at Grafham water - the St Ives CC round of the Eastern Cross league.

Bart negotiating a ditch at Grafham

 The course had more than its fair share of Somme like landscapes - perhaps appropriate the day before Remembrance Sunday - and included two sections of beach, with many riders making use of the reservoir to clean their wheels on the move.

Andy and Harry after their visit to the spray booth

Sometimes you can be too busy racing to enjoy the view

Andy and Harry both had good races in the vets race followed by Stanley, Harry G and Frank R in the U12s. Ned, Frank M, Louis B and Logan then rode in the youth race. All the races had big fields with many racers coming down from the midlands to compete and London Leaguers looking for a race as they didn't have one on last weekend. Unfortunately for yours truly and Gary this meant our 80 mile dash following Saturday morning training was in vain and we didn't get a start despite arriving before the half hour cut off time and being league members. To say we were less than pleased would be an under estimate. Still at least we didn't have to spend the rest of the day cleaning our bikes and kit. Bart had to ride in the over subscribed senior race by himself Results here.

Logan at the Rapha Super cross before he got coated in foam.

The weekend before Harry and Frank took part in the Cross by the Sea near Llanelli in South Wales, both of them enthused about the sandy nature of the course and did pretty well in their races. The day before this Gary, Harry G and Stanley were racing on the opposite side of the country at the Mistley Cross near Manningtree - results.

Honestly I haven't just nicked that guys bike....

The weekend before this the whole crew were out at Davy Downs near Lakeside on a tight little course that had more than its fair share of technical sections - two flights of stairs, ditches, muddy forest sections and a wooden bridge that was extremely slippy in the drizzle. I'm not sure if any rider ended up in the pond or the river that followed that section but I saw some come pretty close. Results here.
This however was the second race of the day for myself and Logan as we had hot footed it over to Lakeside from High Beeches where we had taken part in the Beacontree Wheelers/ ELV Hill Climb at Mott Street. Possiblt not the best warm up for a cross race. A fair number of CCH riders took part and watched as we made this the 2012 CCH club Hill Climb championship - the results were 1st Keir at 2min 47 seconds, 2nd Daichi at 2.52, 3rd Mostyn at 2.57, 4th Neil at 3.00, 5th Logan at 3.31, 6th Alan Wood at 3.40, 7th Henry Stewart at 3.42 and 8th Tyrell at 3.53 with a puncture. I'm sure we've all gone up Mott Street quicker than that in training but the results stand so lets see more out there giving it a go next year. Personally I put my poor time down to forgetting to take the bell off my bike ....

Sadly this was the only photo Robbie took
of the racers at the ELV Mott  St Hill Climb

Be Safe

Track selection going out to Wiggy and all threatened cyclists on the road, this one's you:

Lulu James - Be Safe

Lulu James

Tao is 2012 Hackney Under 25 Sports Personality of the Year

The Hackney Empire became a full house last Wednesday evening 7th November. The great, good and not so good had all come to see Hackney's sporting individuals, teams, volunteers and staff achieve recognition for their excellence, dedication and commitment to their sport in 2012. MC and funny guy Kat B hosted the event while the guest of honour was Olympic boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
Many awards were presented including the volunteers medals for which three of CC Hackney's coaching team were called to the stage; Isobel Siddons, Prosper Watts and Harry Moore.

Our own Mostyn Taylor Crocket was on stage to collect his Hackney Sports Fund envelope. The last trophy to go out was the 2012 Hackney Under 25 Sports Personality of the Year shield. And the winner was...Tao Geoghagan Hart - yay, well done Tao!

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins: 'Kids from Kilburn aren't supposed to win the Tour'

Guardian interview - here

Tao Geoghegan Hart - nominated Hackney Young Sports Personality of the Year 2012

 Tao riding for GB in the 2012 Junior UCI World Championships

CC Hackney's long time member; GB International Tao Geoghegan Hart (born and raised in Hackney) has been nominated for the 2012 Hackney Young Sports Personality of the Year. This is being held on Wednesday November 7th at the Hackney Empire. Given his achievements this year and the palmares I can't see anyone else from Hackney matching him unless... 

Also expected in the house will be fellow GB international, and another young Hackney cycling ace; Alex Peters. He is bound to find a warm welcome at the Empire, Alex is a proud former CC Hackney cyclist and winner of this prestigious award in 2010. Riding for Mosquito Bikes in 2012, our lad is said to be joining a new professional racing team for 2013.

Alex Peters Stage 3 during the 2011 Tour l'Ain

Dates for your diary 2012 & 2013

Friday 14th December 2012 - 7pm until late

CHANGE OF LOCATION GO HERE FOR UP-DATE

CC Hackney's mid winter dinner party - Mediterranean/Italian food  
At The Hackney Cut
Tickets for this event will be available in due course (more details to follow)

                               

Saturday 1st June 2013 2pm
CC Hackney super track meeting
At Herne Hill Velodrome 
London * Paris * Brussels * Amsterdam

London


Sunday 28th July 2013
CC Hackney ERRL Road Race
At Matching Green Essex
National B

More details to come

Bike Jam - Monday 29th October 2-4pm

Calling CC Hackney members to come down to Hackney Council's 'Young Hackney' new youth club sports hub launch at the Concorde Centre Kingsmead Way London E9 5PP. This excellent refurbished site is one of five new centres being re-launched in Hackney. The Concorde Centre is looking to provide quality cycling opportunities for members in association with CC Hackney.

Trainee coach Joel Alarcon in the picture

If the cap fits...kit up date

Below is the design of our new cap that is being produced in association with Rapha and our existing main sponsors. These will be available in due course, watch out for the release date. Our next kit order is being set up; arrangements are being negotiated with a supporting supplier. We are aiming to have an on-line ordering process ready to coincide with the re-launch of our front page website - ASAP   

Good turn out for CCH at Hillyfields

Frank Ramsay finished an excellent 11th place in his first cross race of the season.

Harry chasing after  Stanley

Artie in the U12s

There was a good turn out in numbers for CCH at the latest round of the Eastern Cyclocross League last Sunday at the Amis Velo Hillyfields Supacross. It was good to see so many youth riders out in club colours - showing its not just us old vets who like the muddy stuff. The course at Colchester is quite technical in some sections with twists and turns through a couple of woods and some steep little sections and stairs - this is all compensated by the large flat sections in the field where a rider could get there breath back and draft someone. As the photos show - it was a lovely day for sliding around in the mud. Full results here.

Harry in the Vets race.

How to look after your £10k Pinarello

How to negotiate that tricky bunker shot

If you haven't seen it yet - and if you have its well worth another look - check out Martyn Ashton's - Road Bike Party.

CCH out racing last weekend.

Andy sporting some pretty natty yellow gloves at Welwyn.

Saturday 6th of October and it was Welwyn Wheelers turn to host a round of the Eastern Cross League. The early race had Andy and Harry in the Vet 50+ category with Andy getting in the top ten at 8th place. In the U12s we had Stanley Boyd, Harry Gregory and first timer Monty stocker giving it a go.

It doesn't look like much but the mud-patch Louis just negotiated was damn sticky.

 Moving up a category into the U14s youth race we Louis Byrne, Frank Moore and Logan de Monchaux-Irons. The boys all rode well on the fast course with Logan coming a creditable 13th overall and 2nd in his first outing in his U14 age group.

Logan on his way to 2nd in the U14s - note how much a chain flaps around when you ride cross.

 This was followed in the afternoon by the Senior Elite Vet race which was where myself and Gary hightailed it to after Saturday morning training - lets just say we never had time to warm up... Full results here.

Neil and Gary at the start of the Elite Vet race- Whose idea was this?

Sunday and Harry and Frank were at it again this time in the London league at Herne Hill where they had a massive field in the seniors/vets race of around 150 riders....

Frank popping out of the track at Herne Hill.

Meanwhile on another track ... this time the Manchester Velodrome - Keir was taking part in the 2012 UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships. Riding in the 50-55 500m TT Keir came 23rd with a time of 38.580 seconds  averaging 46.656 km/h. Keir will be racing in other events later this week so let's wish him the best.

I also understand there may have been some CCH members racing in the Human Powered Championships at Hoghill on Sunday if so let us know how you got on.

Not Just Drugs and War

Our friend Jawid rode from his home in London to his birthplace, Kabul, to remind the world that Afghanistan is not just drugs and war. He rode a Fahrrad Manufaktur T400 and raised money for the charity War Child (donate here). Covering 9000 km in 3 months, he rode 300 km across Kazakhstan without seeing a single settlement, only desert and camels. See him on Persian BBC

Tao at the worlds

Mr T showing the Hackney style*

For a full report of Tao's experience at the recent road cycling world championships in the Netherlands go to his blog here. Its a very informative piece of writing on what must have been an incredibly exciting and inspiring week for Tao and the rest of the British Junior team - can't wait to see how he gets  on next year....

* - attack!

Wednesday night cross training resumes this week.

An unusual dismount technique as demonstrated in last Sunday's Three Peaks Cyclocross

CCH's Wednesday night Cyclocross training will resume this Wednesday the 3rd of October. Training lasts from 6 -7.30pm meet at the club HQ or find us out on the Downs. These sessions are for mixed youth and adult riders and are good fun and are hard non-stop sessions aimed at improving technique, speed and stamina. Even if you don't intend to race cross this season its a good hard training session which could form part of your winter training schedule. You'll need a cross bike or mtb - wear your helmet, gloves and appropriate clothing and don't forget to attach lights to your bike - the sessions take place in the dark.

CCH are members of the London League and if you want to race in the Eastern League you must join as an individual. News and results are found here.