Eagle Road Club

The wild Wales Challenge

Have you ever been on a 90 mile ride in extreme weather conditions and thought it was a challenge? Then think again until you have rode a Widle Wales Challenge!!

Over the last x years some of us Eagles have driven the 200 mile trek up to Bala in North Wales to ride this very challenge.

So what is it all about?

Well, the Merseyside DA of the CTT organise this event that takes place on the Sunday over the August bank holiday. And, as its name suggests it is a challenge not a race. Around 500 cyclists of all levels of fitness from around the country descend upon Bala taking residence in all the B & B’s, (so we need to book early). But for us Eagles I have a jewel in the crown of a B & B called Fron Ddrew (pronounced Fron da rue, in welsh language it means Old Great Oak Tree of the forest). Fron Ddrew within its garden overlooks the town & has spectacular views of Bala Lake & the Berwin mountains across the water.

We arrive from 11’ish onwards on the Saturday with Paul & veronica the proprietors greeting us with a warm welcome. Veronica now days just gives us our room keys & lets us get on with settling in as we are return guests from numerous previous visits. The rooms are well decorated, cosy, warm, & the beds very comfortable with hot showers en suite. The country house also has a relaxing lounge & airy dinning room, along with bike storage facilities. But instead of me trying to explain, go to their web site www.frondderwhouse.co.uk & take a look for your selves. Having checked in we assemble our bikes, kit up & take a 15 mile spin around Lake Bala in order to stretch our legs before the big day. It’s also a chance to see that your bike is working o.k. At this point I can not stress enough that prior to this event you should overhaul your bike to tip top condition. Checking brake & gear cables, break pads, chain as there is a considerable amount of steep climbing & descending, so check your tyres as well. This is a seriously hard days riding so you should seriously consider ditching your racing cassettes in favour of very small gears to assist you in climbing. I have been lucky enough to have ridden some of the Pyrenean climbs used in the Tour de France, and whilst they are tough what makes them tough is the sheer length of them as opposed to their steepness. For example including the foot hills from Lourdes to the top of the Tormalet (2115mtrs) is about 27 miles long with gradients between 8 – 12%. But, with the many switchbacks makes for a steady comfortable climb. Whereas in Snowdonia it’s a case of there’s a mountain lets go straight up & over it  with gradients as steep as 1 in 3 at times, don’t say you have not been warned! So with our warm up ride in the bag the rest of your day is at leisure to enjoy a walk along the lake, maybe a visit into the town or just grab a few hours’ kip.

Saturday meal arrangements are left to your choice. But normally we stay together & enjoy a carbo loading meal of pasta & pizza in the pizzeria & a couple of beers back at the house with a reasonably early night to bed. I like to get my bits & pieces sorted that evening for the big ride so it leaves me just an early rise at 7am for a hearty breakfast. O.k. you entered a couple of months or so ago & a week or two prior to the day you received your rider’s booklet/check card. This gives a little write up about the event, but more importantly it details the route & has your rider number & check card. With breakfast eaten we ride to the sports pavilion to have our check cards signed & timed for your start, energy bars & tea are handed out free of charge. It’s at this stage you can see & feel the anticipation of those that have not rode a challenge before & of what lays ahead of them. Then it is a mass exodus as 500 cyclist’s filter through the control & onto the route. You need settle very quickly into a rhythm because the route will soon direct you off the main road into very narrow lanes. And guess what? Yep, they climb up like a stairway to heaven!! But what goes up must come down & you will blessed with some tricky descents to say the least, & riddled with wandering sheep, loose boulders as well as the road surface at times being slippery with moss and sometimes mud. My advice is unless you have the bottle or just crazy or both then you should exercise extreme caution. You will soon learn that this up and down trend is the order of the day & your average speed will be between 9 -12 mph come the end of the day.  O.K. so the terrain is extremely tough but the reward is breathtakingly spectacular with scenery of colourful  Heather filled moors, pine forests, quaint Welsh villages amid valleys, waterfalls, & craggy rock formations.  For your safety & to make sure you complete the course your route card will direct you to control points along the way typically at 25 & 65 miles, where it will be signed & timed & where light refreshments are available free of charge. Over the years we have not gone short on refreshments since we have had our own back up vehicle. Gerry & Ivy Lumsden, Albert Ayton, & Pete & Rita Beresford have met us along the road side carrying our dry clothes, bike spares, hot & cold drinks & buns.

To date I have rode eight Wild Wales & of the eight, four of them have basked us with blue skies, sunshine, & the need of sun factor cream. Riding in shorts, jersey, & sunglasses makes an enjoyable days riding with warm muscles. The need to keep your water bottles topped up was paramount to assist the body in keeping cool while you attacked these beasts of climbs. Two of the eight have been overcast while the remainder just abysmal, 10 minuets into the ride & the heavens opened up with gale force bitterly cold winds. Driving rain drops stung your face as they battered you at near 90ó angle. The harsh weather drained your body of energy, making riding & road conditions treacherous, these elements left you feeling vulnerable on top of the open moors. The weather finally began to break seven hours into the ride around 3.30pm, by which time the challenge had taken its toll on many of the riders who abandoned. But that is what makes this challenge challenging!! For the hardy that made it back to the Pavillion to have their cards signed off, they received a plaque of Welsh slate depicting a scene from the days ride to commemorate their hard graft, along with a welcome cup of piping hot tea & a ploughman’s, although food is probably the last thing on your mind. It can be an overwhelming feeling in the pavilion after you have finished one of grate achievement & one of exhaustion & anticlimax. My advice is not to sit around for too long & get cold for the Wild Wales Challenge has one last sting in its tail that awaits you! The ride from pavilion to Fron Dderw may only be just over half a mile but it is incredibly steep. It doesn’t matter if you ride or walk it, it is still steep. But dig deep & turn those pedals just a few more revs & your soon be enjoying a soothing hot shower & a warm relaxing lounge to snuggle into & treat yourself to a few very well deserved beers.

Dinner is served in house this evening with the delights of Paul’s culinary skills to satisfy your taste buds, whilst we recite the day’s tales of glory & woes, high & lows. And, if your weary fatigued body is up to it, after dinner you can slope down into town for more drinks or just relax in the lounge with a night cap.

Monday honours a lay in with breakfast served around 9 – 9.30am, then we pack our gear & yes pay our bills then say our goodbyes to Veronica & Paul usually with the words never again, only for me to book our digs a year in advance for another challenge.

So my friends, this weekend is open to all, yes that includes Wag’s. Officially Fron Dderw can accommodate 14 guests, but at a push I can squeeze in 15. I will allocate rooms on a first come first served basis for which I will require a £50 deposit per person, the balance to be paid by you as you leave. The Sunday evening meal will cost £24.50 per person. Unfortunately the proprietor’s policy is no children under the age of twelve.

Don’t be put of that this challenge is too hard, I won’t lie & say that it is easy, but out of the eight I have rode I have only not finished one. This was due to an error in reading the route card and not that it was too difficult. We had missed out a loop of the route & the thought of having to climb a very steep narrow technical climb against the on coming riders along with who we had just descend was enough for Brad, Derny & I to pack. But, by contrast it will definitely be one of your most rewarding one day rides in your life!

Secure your place now; I have had an email from Paul & Veronica asking me for a deposit to secure the country house so may I ask you all to have serious think about riding this Wild Wales Challenge & let me know asap. Please note that the clubs funds do not support your deposit or the balance due. So can you please make cheques payable to Alan McArdle & send to me at 42 Arbor Road, Chingford, London, E4 6LJ or pay me cash in person so that I can forward this to Fron Dderw on your behalf.

You will be able to download Wild Wales Challenge entry forms a little later this year from there web site. Just type in Wild Wales Challenge & follow the links. Your also be able to checkout some past photos of the scenery & riders. And guess who is in one of the photos flying the Eagle RC kit? Well why don’t you log in & find out for yourselves!

Cippo
Social Secretary                

What's going on?

What's the story behind this photo?

Sign up to the Eagle group on facebook and you can find out more. Mick O'Malley has.

Clubrun from the Clubhouse this Sunday

There will be a clubrun from our clubhouse this Sunday.  We will leave at 9:00 am for a 2 hour or so ride through quiet Essex lanes.

Hope to see you there

Tony

Eagle 85th Dinner - a view from Chip O'Malley

Alan has asked me to scribe a few words covering our 85th dinner dance held once again at the police grounds in Chigwell. This is my first report for the Eagles which I sincerely hope meets the previous standard & also that I don’t bore the pants off people. I wasn’t actually sure where to begin, so I thought I’d start on the morning of the day.

Well actually things started for me the night before with a restless nights sleep brought on by a bit of nerves pending this “biggie”. However on the Saturday, I was up @ about 6ish starting to get pieces together & load up the gear. Myself & Pete arrived on site to set up @ about 10o/c. Alan breezed in shortly after, trophy bags & other bits in hand, (hair immaculate as always). About 11ish, three of the young cabaret performers arrived for a sound check. It was @ this time I had my first panic attack when I realised I had purchased the wrong link connector (a vital piece to enable the cabaret quartet to utilise the mixing deck). However, as my heart rate rose & beads of sweat appeared on my brow, Pete kept a cool head and we managed to get things patched up – (phew!!!!), thus enabling the sound check to go ahead. Sound check duly completed & everyone happy we left Alan alone to lay out his pieces. First bit over.

By the time I arrived back with my family in the evening, people were already milling around the bar area. Trust me when I say you could feel the anticipation in the air – it was electric. Alan, as organiser, was socialising amongst various parties and attending to last minute glitches looking so dapper in his white tux (only Alan!!!!!!).

It seemed like minutes before the hall was full, the noise level appreciably louder now. People as always made good use of the bar, while others either just stood chatting swapping stories catching up with news or milled around admiring items on the various tables (trophy, cake & dinner), everyone looking so elegant.

The sight of the decorated tables was to behold. The name tabs and programme for this bash too, had been given special treatment by Alan & Co., the culmination of many months of hard work. As I admired things, I wondered if anyone would really appreciate just how much effort had put in for this very special occasion.

After a brief delay I got the go ahead from Alan to call people to their tables for the start of the evening – the brakes were off & in the words of McFadden & Whitehead “there was no stopping us now”.

Peter (our president) proposed a toast to the Queen and Alan as MC, did the other honours with introductions & welcoming of the guests prior to a brief resume of the evenings entertainment. He also reminded us to remember those who couldn’t attend or indeed had sadly passed on; one of these being Cliff who used to provide the music @ the club dinner prior to myself & Pete taking on the task. Toasts duly done dinner was served, the clinking of cutlery on china clearly heard above the lower level chat.

Although I tried to get some piano music set up to play in the background the volumes presented a problem (an issue which I don’t remember encountering last year). Then, just to add to my woes Alan proposed cross toasting which was picked up by a number of tables.
With cross toasting occurring frequently I found myself up & down like a bloody yo yo adjusting the music volume – well they do say there is no rest for the wicked.

Dinner finished and coffee served Alan introduced the speakers. We were honoured to have a fine external speaker, Terry Anderson & 2 of our own Chris Baldwin & Damian Foy. All three, regaled us with stories & news snippets from their personal archives. We learnt during Chris’s speech of the misfortune that saw him lose his wife @ a young age but left him with a beautiful daughter – a treasure indeed. During his speech he donated a cheque to the president to enable the club to have a new trophy dedicated to the memory of his late wife – a wonderful gesture.
Damian was unpredictable as ever, & @ the end of his speech, asked for audience participation & got everyone to stand & sing along to the first verse of “can’t help falling in love”. Different, it certainly was.

Onto the cabaret & another mixed bag but no one knew just how diverse it was to be…. There were four pieces on the agenda with a young lady, Eloise, the first to perform. During sound check she was OK, but as Damian noted during his speech, looking out @ 100+ faces certainly puts you under pressure. Eloise was notably nervous but overcame these nerves to deliver a wonderful rendition of Moon River. Our second act was a quartet (2Bs/2Gs) who covered the song anything you can do (I can do better). No apparent nerves with this quartet who delivered another fine rendition which too was well received. The two boys then covered the Eric Clapton tune Tears in Heaven. A minor tech glitch temporarily stalled things but soon it was all systems go. Once again the audience was most appreciative to the talents of the lads. So, onto the final piece titled, “by jove crackers”. This was delivered by yours truly and our MC Alan Mc. We had kept this quiet from everybody so it really would be a surprise. Singing wasn’t part of our act (as neither me nor Al can sing. Actually, we can’t cycle too well either). However actions to a song were very much on the agenda. While I did a little spiel Al brought out an effigy of Rob (Windsor), a charismatic chappie who affiliates himself to The Eagles but actually belongs to London Velo (formally Economic Energy). Unfortunately, Rob couldn’t make the 85th as he was on a training camp in Spain with Trevor Madden, (Cyclos Uno) however I’m sure he was with us in spirit – actually his ears must have been on fire & would have been so for the week previous too.

I introduced myself & Alan as The Court Jesters (most appropriate I felt), Pete hit the play button & with the audience still in suspense the dulcet tones of Rolf Harris “The Court of King Caratacus” filled the air. The look of shock on peoples’ faces as we went through a routine of moves to the song was to behold. As the moves added & the song speeded up the audience really got into it clapping & cheering. The performance wasn’t faultless but from the applause @ the end you wouldn’t have thought that. It certainly lifted the mood.

The presentations followed – congratulations again to all those who won & especially to Liz our first lady champion (& no Alan your efforts cannot be taken into consideration for these trophies – let’s face it you’d still lose!!!).

Onto the raffle - lots of lovely prizes – thanks to all those who donated goods. Although we had the main raffle, Alan had also arranged a raffle for all the younger people who had assisted him with the main draw. The prize was a lovely cuddly tiger which was won by Matthew Farrow. The lad’s smile when he saw Alan bring out the prize was a large as himself. I don’t think he let go of it all evening.

All proceedings finished Alan rounded things up prior to inviting our president, Peter  & Rita onto the dance floor for the first waltz – (Alan, being our new president, you’ll have to do this next year – better get practising now!!!). Peter & Rita were soon joined on the floor by more couples swaying to the gentle tones of Engelbert Humperdink Les bicycles de Belzise. A couple of waltz tunes later my colleague Pete joined myself on stage to start the disco – Chip & Spin ready to go – it was now all down to us. A bit of easy listening prior to hitting the throttle and within minutes the floor was a mass of dancing people enjoying the tunes.

It is fair to say the 2½hours just flew with melodies from all eras. As the witching hour approached people started to drift, leaving things to the die hards. Just prior to the end I called upon those remaining, (still a good number, I have to say), to make two lines down the hall,  before announcing that we wanted them to have a go @ - yep you guessed it - The Court of King Caratacus. It caused much hilarity as people realised it wasn’t quite as easy as myself & Alan made it look – YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!. This led us nicely into the final tune of the evening & following in tradition it was Frank Sinatra with NY NY.

Rob’s effigy, (with flashing light), appeared on the floor many times during the evening, the most notable however was @ the end when Howard took it upon himself to hoist Rob up in the air, swinging him in gay abandon like a conductor’s baton as Frankie sang.

The birthday over, I drew proceedings to a close by offering thanks to all the people who made the event possible and to all those persons who by attending this bash had made the evening so special. With the formalities over, some people chose to linger for a while, just relaxing, chatting & finishing off their drinks prior to braving the freezing weather outside.

There was however to be no stopping for me & Pete as we got down to dismantling the set prior to its collection some hours later.

Sunday morning bright & early, I turned up @ 8o/c to pack away the gear, the ambience of the room serene following the events of the previous evening; those events now committed to peoples’ memory. I had to smile as I recalled things through the night that had made me laugh. Yep, I decided, it was good.

As I finished the packing, the aroma of fried bacon & other goodies wafted into the room which was my lure to go to the canteen for a nosebag & cuppa prior to going home to unpack the car & pack all the gear away. Who said this music lark was easy!!!!.

In closing, there are a few people who although may have been mentioned in the report, I feel, need a final thank you. It also gives me a chance to add a few names to the list. So, in no particular order, they are :-

•    Peter Beresford – President (why - just because he is the President)
•    Rita Beresford – Donation of vase & floral display on every table
•    James & Audrey McArdle –  cake ingredients, icing & stands.
•    Alan McArdle –  cake maker
•    Chris Baldwin  – Donation for a new trophy (t.b.a.), in memory of his wife.
•    Paul Baker – Eagle ensign with date (which we used as toppings for the cakes).
•    Paul De Ritter – Transfer of Eagle ensign onto high quality photo paper (done @ very late notice)
•    Speakers :- Terry Anderson, Chris Baldwin & Damian Foy
•    The cabaret acts:-
Eloise Grace – Moon River
Meredydd Cheesman, Sorrell McArdle, Camella White & Alastair Hill
Anything you can do (I can do better)
Meredydd Cheesman & Alastair Hill – Tears in Heaven
•    All those who donated raffle prizes
•    Karen & Holly – assistance to Alan with programmes & name plates
•    Pete my long suffering colleague

Last but not least
(already mentioned numerous times but what the hell)
The one, the only – he’s gonna be a tough act to beat
ALAN McARDLE

If I’ve forgotten anyone please accept my apologies but any contribution you made to the do was appreciated.

And that’s it. It turned into a bit more than a few words for which I apologise but I hope you liked it & it wasn’t so long it bored you.

Chip
Chip & Spin (music providers)
Feb 2009

EAGLES
HAPPY 85th BIRTHDAY

Slight change to eaglerc.org

At the AGM I sensed that a few of our racing members wanted our website to be more racing centric. Or to put it another way, the social news was getting in the way of the racing news.

This website is based on a template - which has the advantage in that things can be developed quickly, but the drawback is that we do not have unlimited flexibility.

To accomodate our racer's need, I have put two options on the top right of every page labelled "Racing News" and Social News".  Clicking these acts as a filter and you will then only see the news you are interested in.

Always trying to please
your webmaster

Club Dinner

Club dinner pictures on Facebok.  Sign up and check them out ?

Antelope 3-up Team Time Trial

Antelope Racing Team present a

Team Time Trial

3-up
over a distance of 50 km

Event sponsored by Cobham Antenna Systems

Incorporated within this Open Event is the BUCS Championships

Two laps of a flattish circuit just south of Aylesbury, Bucks.

It all takes place from 2:00 pm on

Saturday
18th April 2009.

Last year we had over £1000 in prizes, and 75 teams of three.

You give me the entries, and I’ll give you the prizes!

An ideal try-out for the National Championship TTT, or just a bit of fun with your mates!

Using normal paper entry forms is fine, but I’d encourage you to enter & pay online. Just email your completed form to

ralph@dadswell.com
and pay by Paypal. Done!

(see below for details)

Organiser :
Ralph Dadswell, 11 Walnut Tree Lane, Longwick, Princes Risborough, Bucks HP27 9SJ
01844 345 663 or 07808 974 782 or ralph@dadswell.com

Entries close Tuesday 7th April. Entry fee £21 per team. (note the increase!)

If you send entries separately, be sure to list exactly who’s in the team! Each team can have a reserve rider, and entries from reserve riders are free. However, I still need a completed form from everyone BEFORE the

Closing Date. Ask me if you’re not sure.

Electronic entries require a completed CTT form to be sent to me at
ralph@dadswell.com . Please either

make a Paypal payment to the same email address, or wait for me to make a Paypal money request.

You don’t actually need a Paypal account, all you need is a Credit Card or Debit Card.

It’s all safe and simple – visit
www.paypal.co.uk to read about it. (Actually, I’ll still need Parental Consent forms on paper for Under 18s

Spring Lambs Sportive

Dear Secretary,

 

Please let your members know about the Spring Lambs Sportive organised and run by Essex Roads CC. For more information and an on-line entry form please click on www.essexsportive.com

 

Hope to see you there on the day

AGM

Hi all

Well it’s a big hello from your new club president!!!!!!!!!!!!! EL Presidenti Cippo

We held the ERC AGM last night as scheduled, and whilst there were some slightly heated discussions on a few topics, it’s fair to say that the evening ran reasonably smoothly with 26 members attending. But with it came a lot of changes especially on the officers list. As we know Peter Beresford has served his 5year term as the clubs president, and it is the retiring president who invites the president to be to stand on the backing of the clubs members. Peter Invited myself Alan McArdle to stand for which I would like to thank Peter and also to all the members for having their confidence in voting me in. So first and foremost may I thank Peter for serving our club well.

Well as I said last night I joined the Eagles around 33 years ago because I liked riding my bike. And watching the Tour de France on the then World of Sport introduced by Dickie Davis inspired me! I remember Dickie saying and know we go live to the, The Tour de France and watching Eddy Merckx, Lucien Van Impe, Freddy Maertins, and Zoetemelk as they pounded their way up Alpe d’Huez. I said to my dad I am gonna do that one day. And, luckily, as a sports subject in my last school, I along with Tony Meader, Glenn Grant, Martin Waller, and Dave Youell were able to pursue cycling at the Eastway Circuit. It certainly was an eye opener, not really knowing about club cycling. But Ray Fowler took us all under his wing and farmed us into the Eagle Road Club. From here we were then looked after by the likes of Arthur Batty, Gerry Lumsden, Albert Ayton, Peter B, Peter S, Dennis Sale to name but a few. Hang on how on earth I could not mention the lovely Win and Harry Cross. Well they were all much younger then and kept a check on us on the Sunday club runs from Abridge along with overseeing us in the racing scene. We certainly gained a lot of tips and experience from our tutors and they nurtured us along our way.

But going back to the day I joined I never ever gave it one thought that 33 years later I would still be with the Eagles let alone being asked to represent the club as its president. I feel it is a great honour and in return for that honour I will do my utmost to promote our club across all aspects of cycling from racing to club runs, touring, as well as to maintain a healthy social programme both at and away from our club house.

While I will set out to achieve what I have said, I can only be as good as our members. So may I start my job by inviting all our members to give me all your ideas no matter how small or big or silly and serious. So that with your ideas we can as a club and a committee take the best from your ideas and implement them into the club and continue to grow our success which we are and have already enjoyed over the last 85 years.

OOe area we need to look into with urgency is the recruitment of a much needed juvenile / junior team to continue our story. So ladies and gents lets start having your views and ideas!

Let’s leave the presidents post for the moment and look back at last night and the changes the AGM brought about. Tony Meader was elected and seconded to become our new Honorary General Secretary. He takes over from David Wright who served around twenty years as the Gen Sec so on behalf of all our members may I cast of vote of thanks to David for a job well done over those years.

 

Phil Hersey takes over my post as the clubs treasurer, but in the short term I will continue to wrap things up my end in order for Phil to take over. Naturally we have to fill out forms of authority from our bank in order for Phil to take the job on.

I have kept my place on the social secretaries job, and as always will promote a similar social calendar as in previous years. Graham Masters has expressed that we should have a family day at the clubhouse arriving for a bike ride on Saturday afternoon with wives, girlfriends, and kids. Then pitching tents up for a camp night with a bon fire and BBQ (obviously with a few beers I would think). So Graham if you want to get in touch we can start working on your idea.

Peter Smith has become our Club Time Trial Secretary. Peter says, “I don’t mind how you send me your entry be it by phone, email, entry form, as long as I receive it at least three days prior the event”. Peter will also be setting out a rota for members to assist in putting out and collecting race signs on the event day, also for volunteers to help with marshalling. So if asked please do the honourable thing and assist without too much prodding. If we all do our turn then we will make light work of it and probably only have to do it once. Let’s remember a little saying that “you only get out what you put in”, and that if it was not for the marshals the racing men would not be able to race, so may I ask you all to bear this in mind when organising your racing calendars?

We have missed the club magazine for a while now. But it will be worth the wait as Graham Masters is the new editor and ready to tackle the job. This will be made much easier for him if we all give him some input. Whilst its great to have cycling related news in the Mag, but if your fancy contributing anything you feel may make an interesting read then pass it over to Graham.

So our four ex-officio members to the committee are; Tony Meader, Phil Hersey, Alan McArdle, and Peter Smith, with Peter Beresford, Mick O’Malley and Dave Youell making up the total of seven committee members.      

The Time Trial rules have been amended and adopted so that we have a separate Male and Female Club Championship to contest for, along with a separate Female club record section.

 

Our Road Race Secretaries job stays with Mark Ambrose as does the Open 50’s job with Steve Hodges respectfully.

Well that’s all folks for the time being, but don’t forget let me have your ideas (email would be good); in the mean time may I once again thank Peter and the members for voting me in as president.  

Kind Regards

 Cippo

Hog Hill Series 8

This week saw a fast start to the 3/4 racet. The first significant attack was launched at 20 minutes and promptly reeled in assisted by strong winds. Chris led the bunch up the Hoggenburg and through the alpine bends with 2 laps to go and looked poised to escape. Unfortunately at the bell lap the sprinters swarmed through and Chris finished 13th.

Liz is continuing to show her strong form, and her 4th overall behind 3rd place finisher Ruth maintains them as 1st and 2nd in the overall series. The bell lap of the women's race was a bit of a mess as the men's 3 4 race met up with Liz and Ruth in their duel to the finish, and what promised to be a sprint finish never materialised.

Phil "Attack Man" Hersey continued his challenging ways in the E123 race. Never letting anyone off the hook, he both attacked and chased down groups throughout the race. His sprinting is picking up steam, and he passed several riders on the finish for a 12th overall.