Following his driving  “error”  3 years ago Andy Wearing had to be airlifted to hospital, courtesy of the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.  He is now hoping to raise money for the Air Ambulance service  by tackling the UK’s classic long distance cycling challenge:  Lands End to John O’Groats.  Andy has pulled together a team of 6 Kenilworth Wheelers (including himself) to make the attempt and their target is to complete the ride in less than 7 days!!

The team of six are Andy, Richard Lewis, Dave Clegg, Steve Howes, Dominic Harrison & Andy Webb so if you see any of them out training you can check out there fitness (physical and mental). They are setting off on 5th July, so while you are all watching the Tour de France on the TV in the comfort of your home, these six intrepid riders will be heading north in all weathers on the highways and byways of the land.

Sponsorship

The most important thing of course is that they want to raise money.  Andy has therefore set up a site where you can donate through him, so if you would like to sponsor the team just click on the link below  and you can donate as well as checking out the pretty picture of Andy climbing the famous Col du Galibier in the French Alps.

Andy’s sponsorship site:  www.justgiving.co.uk/andyridesthecountry

Once again, a cyclist has been found guilty of taking drugs at world championship level (Davide Rebellin this time) and the reputation of all competitive cycling has plunged even further. It’s difficult to see how it can be stopped when there is so much money involved nowadays. However, one man is trying to do something about it.

Andy Layhe, ex member of  the Kenilworth Wheelers and ex cyclo cross star (he and his brother Chris represented GB at cyclo-cross world championships some years ago),  is asking all levels of cyclists to join in his growing campaign against drugs in cycling. Go to  his new website at  www.bikepure.org to see what he has achieved in a very few months, and see the list of professionals who are supporting his promotion of drug free cycling.

I’m sure you will join me in wishing Andy and his colleagues success in their efforts  to persuade top cyclists to clean up their act.

This year we are starting a ride on Friday mornings for those members who may not work full-time ( or are so old they don’t work at all  ). The ride will meet on the main Warwick Road through Norton Lindsey village at the junction with Curlieu Lane, at 9.30am, the first ride being next Friday, 3rd April.

Lance Ravenhill will be leading the ride, which he assures us will be a “recovery” ride (ie a nice steady pace) to suit all Club members. There will be a tea stop at Hillers Farm Centre at Dunnington each day, so that the total ride distance from Warwick and back will be around 40 miles. If you want to know more have a chat to Lance or simply turn up next Friday.

Monday 30th March sees the start of our evening training sessions for 2009. These Monday sessions will suit newcomers to fast group riding; the pace will be “steady” for the first few weeks to give everyone a chance to learn to “follow a wheel” and to gradually build their speed fitness.

The ride leaves the cross roads in Haseley Knob village at 7.00pm (details on Club Rides page) and all Club members are welcome. For the first few weeks you will be riding home just after 8.00pm and therefore you must fit lights to your bike.

It’s that time of year again when a young man’s (or lady’s) thoughts turn to warm weather and summer kit.  As a result Neil Goodridge, who is in charge of Club Clothing, will be placing another order for kit asap.

If you would  like some new kit for this spring/summer then please get in touch with Neil promptly. He is planning to place a bulk order on our suppliers at the end of the month so club members have until 30th March to get their orders to Neil. Don’t delay if you want your order to be included in this latest batch.

If you are new to the Club, Neil is keen to make sure you have some Club kit to wear. You can check out the kit on the Clothing page but it is important to contact Neil so that you can view his stock of kit and check your size requirements. Please contact him straight away (his contact address is on the Clothing page) and he will advise you on which kit best suits your needs.

In May last year Mark’s wife, Heather,  was diagnosed with breast cancer and she has been going through the usual tough treatment programme including chemotherapy and radiotherapy.  Despite an amazingly stressful and tiring year for Mark and Heather (that most of us can’t begin to imagine),  Mark has actually been seen on his bike on the occasional clubrun,  and he even managed to get over to France last Autumn to ride the famous Mont Ventoux climb in Provence.

He has now decided to tackle the London to Paris (L2P) charity ride to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK’s leading breast cancer research charity.  The ride will take place this June  and take 4 days, the route for this particular trip being over 400 miles.

Mark’s sponsorship target is £1250. I’m sure you will all agree that his cause is well worth supporting and you will want to give something towards his total.  You can contact Mark directly on Mark.Fothergill@galacoral.com or you can sponsor him online by clicking on the link below:

http://www.justgiving.com/markfothergill

You may also see Mark on a few clubruns between now and June,  so you have lot’s of chances to give him a donation.

ChairmanSteve

For anyone who has entered the Dragon Ride, I have booked the house that we all stayed in last year and there are still a few places left if you are in need of accommodation. The cost is £30 each including breakfast and if you talk to members who stayed last year, I’m sure that they will confirm that it is probably the best B&B in all of Wales (for £30 anyway). Last year we arrived mid afternoon and sat in glorious sunshine in the walled garden drinking endless cups of tea (all included in the price). There is secure carpeted bike storage in the house next to the harp in the grand entrance hall.

I intend to book the restaurant again in Wick once I have numbers for the accommodation and of course other members who are not staying with us are most welcome. I will circulate the menu once the booking for the meal is confirmed. It’s pub grub but at least you are with friends!

Please e-mail steve.r.hesketh@ntlworld.com if you are interested in joining us for what has become the annual sportive extravaganza.

The Victoria Park Criteriums are due to take place on Saturday 4th and Saturday 18th April. As always these races can only take place if we have enough volunteers to help on each day. In order for me to judge how many people are prepared to help, I should be grateful if you would e-mail me at steve.r.hesketh@ntlworld.com saying if you are able to commit to either or both of the days and also expressing a preference for task allocation if you have one.

Can I also take this opportunity to remind Club members who intend to race that a completed entry form should be sent to me as soon as possible, together with fees (which will be refunded after the race on the assumption that we can cover our expenses through having enough riders take part) as there are no entries on the line.

The new and slightly improved wheelers forum is back online.

Use it or lose it!

After a long Christmas holiday the wheelers website is back up!