Sri Chinmoy Cycling Challenge 2018

Events:

International Month of Cycling - June 2018: 264 cyclists participated in 25 countries around the world and cycled together 95,000 kilometers.
27-Hour Cycling Relay, August 10/11, 2018: In honour of Sri Chinmoy's 87th birthday anniversary.

For information on events, contact Vandaniya at [email protected]

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Race stories - more articles

The British Time trial championship was held Thursday 26th June at Cadwell Motor Park, Lincolnshire.

Winner of event - Alex Dowsett (Movistar)

On the start sheet were some of the top names in British Cycling including Alex Dowsett, Geraint Thomas and Steve Cummings - though last year's winner Sir Bradley Wiggins was absent. It was a race which had mix of full time professionals and domestic amateurs. The riders took a challenging 28.7 mile circuit which included a lap of the motor racing circuit and three laps on closed roads.

With a couple of big names not starting, Tejvan Pettinger of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team finished in 7th place with a time of 1.06.07. This was his highest position in the British Time Trial Championship. The men's elite UCI race was won by former world hour record holder - Alex Dowsett (Movistar)

Tejvan said of the event:

"It was a great event. It is quite a change to ride on closed roads and a motor racing circuit. The race itself went quite well. There were one or two short hills, which were good for me, but it was quite a balanced course with a mixture of terrain and quite a few sharp corners towards the end. I was pleased to get in the top 10."

Men's elite Top Ten

1 Alex Dowsett Movistar Team 01:00:11.13
2 Edmund Bradbury NFTO 01:03:42.25
3 Ryan Perry SportGrub KUOTA Cycling Team 01:04:02.28
4 Matthew Bottrill www drag2zero.com 01:04:31.50
5 Lloyd Chapman Richardsons – Trek RT 01:05:43.02
6 Ashley Cox CC Luton 01:05:52.70
7 Tejvan Pettinger Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team 01:06:07.64
8 Jason Bouttell Velopro 01:06:15.57
9 Josh Williams Revolutions Racing 01:06:23.50
10 Gruffudd Lewis Pedal Heaven RT 01:06:31.07

More at Cycling News

ECCA 100

Earlier in the week (Sun), Tejvan won the ECCA 100 mile time trial in a time of 3.41. The previous week he also won the Paul Bennett memorial 25 mile TT organised by Hemel Hempstead.

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ExtremeMan, Nagyatad, Hungary, July 26, 2014

Himadri, Purnendu and Prasannateyu participated at ExtremeMan Triatlon (3.8km swimming, 180km cycling, 42.2km running) on July 26 in Nagyatad, Hungary. All three set their personal best times:

Himadri C. Kavai (1981): 12:34:02

Purnendu D. Knezevic (1969): 14:15:55

Prasannateyu D. Kakonji (1968): 14:26:57

Himadri and Purnendu finished an Ironman-distance triathlon for the first time. Congratulations!

Prasannateyu had his first successful trial a year ago on the same event (ExtremeMan Nagyatad 2013). This year in his second attempt he improved his result for 13 minutes.

Teleki (l.) and Kakonji (r.), two runners from Subotica, Serbia. Both finished ExtremeMan two times, in 2013 and in 2014.

Nagyatad is a little city in south-east Hungary that hosts ExtremeMan since 25 years. This year's race had a record number of participants: 700 individual and 300 relay athletes.

More than 700 participants at the start of ExtremeMan 2014.

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May 31, 2015, Belgrade, Serbia

Seven members of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team took part in the 21st Belgrade Triathlon (half-Ironman distance: 1.9km swimming + 90 km cycling + 21 km running).

Cimmer (l.), Bozhinov, Kavai, Knezevic, Skenderovic and Kakonji (r.). Arsic behind the camera.

Start of the race.

With the result 4:34:42, Himadri C. Kavai from Budapest, Hungary, won the first place in the category 30-34.

Kavai (m.), Riling (l.) and But (r.), winners in the 30-34 category.

Namitabha A. Arsic also won the first place in the category 50-54 with the result 4:42:30.

Ekalabhya Bozhinov took the second place in the category 45-49 with the time 5:21:04.

Bozhinov (l.), Bradic (m.) and Linta (r.), winners of the 45-49 category.

Ekalabhya Bozhinov in action.

Below the official results:

Men results.

Women results.

Men teams results.

Mixed teams results.

Results for men, age 18 to 24.

Results for men, age 25 to 29.

Results for men, age 30 to 34.

Results for men, age 35 to 39.

Results for men, age 40 to 44.

Results for men, age 45 to 49.

Results for men, age 50 to 54.

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Thank you for participating!

Rules:

From June 1 to June 30, 2015, you can ride wherever you like most, with whomever you like best. Ride in soulful and joyful consciousness. Be happy! Measure or estimate the distance crossed. Send your name, place where you cycled and the distance to Vandaniya, Zurich, by SMS (+41 77 444 55 65), email ([email protected]) or skype (dejan_maksimovic).

Final results June 1 to June 30 (pdf) - 60,005 km (37,293 miles), 176 participants
Separate results of: Men Women

With our individual distances we together encircled the Earth (40,075km on equator) one and a half times !
We transcended the distances of all previous years. The number of participants grew from 159 last year to 176 this year.
We have cycled in 21 countries in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and for the first time in Australia.
Big THANK YOU to all participants! See you all next year (June 2016 - International Month of Cycling)...

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Photo gallery:

See below the photos we received from the participants.

On June 14, 2015, six members of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team participated in the MTB Marathon, the largest mountain-bike race in Macedonia, that was held in the national park Mavrovo. They cycled 93km in the mountains with over 2000m elevation change during the race. Ekalabhya Bozhinov took the 9th place and Bojan Mitrovski took the 10th place. Congratulations!

Bojan and Ekalabhya placed 10th and 9th in MTB Marathon (93km) Mavrovo 2015.

MTB Marathon Mavrovo 2015, the 93km route in the National park Mavrovo.

On Sunday, 28 June 2015, 13 cyclists from Vienna, Austria, organized themselves for a Joy Ride. They cycled together a 88 km round through beautiful nature. See below the photo we received from Mananyu Siffert.

Joy Ride participants in Vienna on June 28, 2015.

In Nis, Serbia, a group of cyclists did a 27-hour cycling event. Eleven participants crossed total of 1160 km. Below the photo from the start with some of participants.

At the start of 27-Hour Cycling, 27 June 2015, Nis, Serbia. From left: Dragana, Ekanansa, Dragan, Nikhad, Goran, Ayojan and Mirjana.

Ekalabhya Bozhinov sent us the following photo of his cycling adventure with another four Macedonian cyclists. They cycled around Ohrid Lake through Macedonia and Albania, climbed a 2600 m high mountain and did total of 160 km in two days (6/7 June 2015).

Vlatko (left), Sashko, Zoran, Bojan (right) and Ekalabhya (behind the camera) on 2600m over Ohrid Lake - Sri Chinmoy Peace Blossom.

Ilvaka Nemcova and Tirtha Voelckner organized for themselves a Bayern cycling tour. They crossed 345km in 3 days and immensely enjoyed their journey through the beautiful landscapes of Bavaria, Germany.

Tirtha (left) and Ilvaka (right) at the start of their cycling tour.

Ilvaka Nemcova in Bavarian countryside.

Tirtha Voelckner cycling through Bayern.

Dr. Aklanta Raabe from Mannheim, Germany enjoys mountain bike racing. In June he did only a few hundred kilometers of distance, therefore more than 6000 m of elevation.

Aklanta Raabe in a MTB race.

Sashko Josifoski sent the photos from the lake Ohrid in Macedonia. Ohrid is at 700m above see level and has cool weather conditions.

Motobecane mountain bike and swan family on Ohrid lake.

Ideal day for cycling either on the lake...

... or on the nearby mountains.

Prabhata Schrader is cycling in Ottawa, Canada and he sent us a few photos:

Peaceful cycling on Rideau river in Ottawa, Canada.

Prabhata in sunny Ottawa.

Prabhata took this photo on the border between Canada and USA, looking over St. Lawrence river into the USA.

Morrisburg, the border city.

Prabhata Schrader cycling in Morrisburg, Canada, on June 27, 2015.

Prabhata after finishing his cycling on June 30, 2015.

On one of his biking tours Kedar Misani from Zurich took a ferry over Zurich lake, between Meilen and Horgen. This particular ferry is a Sri Chinmoy Peace Blossom as visible on the photo Kedar sent us.

Kedar Misani on a Sri Chinmoy Peace Blossom ferry Zuerichsee, somewhere between Meilen and Horgen.

Elke Sobotta was cycling every day between Huefingen and Donaueschingen in Germany. Donaueschingen is the source of the great river Danube that connects so many European countries.

Elke Sobotta on her way to the source of Danube river.

Jiri Laza was cycling in Prague and sent us the photo of himself standing on the new bridge over Vltava river. He and his whole family - wife Nadezda and two sons Jan and Jakub - joined the Cycling Challenge this year.

Jiri Laza in Prague.

Solveiga Nelsone was joining the Cycling Challenge from Riga, Latvia. She sent us the photo where she is posing with two runners of Sri Chinmoy Oneness - Home Peace Run conveniently passing through Riga in June.

Solveiga Nelsone and Peace Run runners in Riga, Latvia.

Andrey Vinogradov was cycling in Chelyabinsk, Russia - you know, where the famous Chelyabinsk meteor fell on February 15, 2013.

Andrey Vinogradov in Chelyabinsk, Russia, cycled 1038 km, but did not see any falling stars.

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The Month of Cycling have started!

Have you already cycled? Want to share your inspiration with others? Send the confirmation that you are participating and your current distance to Vandaniya by SMS (+41 77 444 5565), email ([email protected]) or skype (dejan_maksimovic).

The first results coming soon here...

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Events:

The 21st Belgrade Triathlon, May 31, 2015 - Seven members of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team took part, three medals won!
International Month of Cycling - June 2015 - 60,005 km, 176 participants in 21 countries on five continents.
27-Hour Cycling Relay, June 26/27, 2015, Nis, Serbia
Seven members of Sri Chinmoy CT finish ExtremeMan in Nagyatad, Hungary, July 26, 2015
The 1st Self-Transcendence Triathlon, Vlasina Lake, Serbia, August 9, 2015
27-Hour Cycling Relay, August 14/15, 2015, worldwide cycling relay

For information on events, contact Vandaniya, Zurich, at +41 77 444 55 65 or [email protected].

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In the National 50 mile time trial championship, Tejvan finished 4th in a time of 1.48 (just one minute behind a medal)

In other races, he won the ECCA 100 mile TT, in a new club record of 3.34.19 (28mph av).

In the Oxford City CC 10 mile TT, Tejvan came 1st and set a new course record of 19.24 (31mph). This was the course (Witney bypass) used for the Sri Chinmoy CT promotion.

Coming up in July are the National 100 and National 12 hour time trial.

photo Ken Norbury.

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27-Hour Cycling Relay in honor of
Sri Chinmoy's 82nd birthday anniversary

27/28 July 2013

Results (pdf, 288k)

Some of the participants of the 27-Hour Cycling Relay in Zurich, Switzerland. Photo after the finish.

Information:

27-Hour Cycling Relay honoring the 82nd anniversary of Sri Chinmoy's birthday will take place:

From 7:00 on Saturday, 27 July 2013
To 10:00 on Sunday, 28 July 2013

During these 27 hours (local time in your country) you can ride bicycle wherever you want, as much as you want, individually or with friends, even on your stationary bicycle at home if you want so.

Please measure (or estimate) the distance you crossed and send your name, where you cycled and the distance you crossed to Vandaniya, Zurich, per SMS (+41 77 444 5565) or skype (dejan_maksimovic).

Enjoy your cycling!

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April 2013 - the International Month of Cycling

Total of 22,203 km, 86 participants on three continents, in 14 countries. Big THANK YOU to all participants!

Rules:

From April 1 to April 30, you can ride wherever you like most, with whomever you like best. Ride in soulful and joyful consciousness. Be happy! Measure or estimate the distance crossed. Send your name, place where you cycled and the distance to Vandaniya, Zurich by SMS (+41 77 444 55 65).

See below some photo impressions we got from the April 2013 participants around the world.

Viharin sent us this photo from Prague, Czech Republic.

On April 21 our friends from Zagreb, Croatia met together and enjoyed cycling along the Sava river.

Adriano from Brasil and ...

... details of one of his trainings: average speed 30km/h, maximum speed 68.8km/h.

S. had a good start. His 1st April's result: 107km.

S. was cycling alone, as you can deduce from his not being in the photo. But his sport bike is there.

And he was visiting landmarks, such as the Sri Chinmoy Street...

With his 1000 km for the first two weeks, Aryavan is on the good way to be the total winner of the event. Aryavan is cycling in New York.

Aryavan posing in Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team uniform.

Flower monument at the entrance of Feldbach village, Switzerland. Toyesa cycling in the background.

Cycling around Zurich lake, Switzerland.

Uphill cycling, Uetliberg, top of Zurich, Switzerland.

Mountain bikes can bring you everywhere and give you a lot of joy.

Toyesa at Uetliberg, enjoying the view of the Zurich city below.

Vera and Biljana going green in Zrenjanin, Serbia...

...Ganmanya (78) in Salzburg, Austria.

< Back <

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The Week of Cycling in October 2012

The Cycling Week in October 2012 was dedicated to the 5th anniversary of Sri Chinmoy’s passing away. Cyclists could join any day and anywhere starting on October 5th and finishing at midnight, October 11th.

Thirtyfive cycling-lovers took part in seven different countries: Switzerland, Italy, USA, Germany, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Serbia and Bulgaria. Total distance absolved was 1515 km.

Overview of participants and results

Vandaniya Maksimovic participated in Zurich, Switzerland.

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A series of cycling events in July/August 2012

Overview of participants and results

There were four major events during July/August 2012. The first was the 27-Hour Cycling Relay on 21/22 July in Serbia. Relay was organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in Nis where nine cyclists ensured that all 27 hours someone is on the track. Cycling started at 7:00 on Saturday and went on over the night and until 10:00 am next day. There were 13 participants, nine of them were cycling in Nis, two in Belgrade and two in Leskovac. Total distance passed was 1246 km and the best cyclist was Nikhad Pavlovic with 288km.

Nikhad Pavlovic did 288km.

The next event, 12-Hour Cycling Relay, happened on August 5, in Sofia, Bulgaria and was organized by Hrishikesh. Four participants were exchanging one another from the midnight to the noon and crossed total of 366 km. The most successful participant was Radko Popinski who cycled 140km.

Hrishikesh Karov, Sofia, cycling through the night.

On the same day there was the third event, the Selftranscendence Triathlon on Divljan Lake in Serbia, organized by Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team Nis. Beside Serbian triathletes, the event attracted quite a few participants from Bulgaria. Total of 19 athletes competed in two disciplines: the olympian (1.5km/40km/10km) and sprint triathlon (0.7km/20km/5km). The winner in olympic category was Igor Jovanovic from Nis, Serbia, in sprint category the winner was Branimir Djuricic from Jagodina, Serbia.

The fourth event was the 27-Hour Cycling Relay on 11/12 August. The main cycling took place in Zurich, Switzerland, from 7:00 am on 11th August until 10:00 am on 12th August. During the same 27 hours there were also cyclists joining in Geneva, Basel, Winterthur, Baden, as well as in Subotica, Serbia. Total of 42 participants achieved all together 1986.5km, with the longest distance being absolved by Nikhad Pavlovic (263.98km).

Some of the participants of 27-Hour Cycling in Zurich after the finish.

In all four events there were total of 69 participants (a few of them participating in more than one event) and the grand total of 3858.5 km was cycled.

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There were two groups of events during 2012:

July/August 2012 Cycling Events
In four events there were total of 69 participants and they cycled grand total of 3858.5 km.

October 2012 Cycling Week
In seven different countries, 35 cycling-lovers took part in this event. Total distance cycled was 1515 km.

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About the author:

Tejvan organises short-distance running and cycling races for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in his home city of Oxford. He is also a very good cyclist, having won the National hill climb championships in 2013 and finished 3rd in the National 100 Mile Time Trials in 2014.

Catford Hill Climb - Ide Hill

by R.Pettinger Sri Chinmoy CT

(picture PJW Photos)

The first climb was in the morning organised by Catford CC. It was quite short about 700 yards. The first half was not too steep – about 1 in 6 or 1 in 7. For last 200 metres the gradient rises to 1 in 4. At this point the crowd starts to get very thick, maybe 3 or 4 on each side. When your climbing your not really aware of the numbers of people but there’s a tremendous noise and encouragement. Its a great experience to ride with a big crowd, it really gives you a lift and lessens your awareness of your own pain.

I’m not used to riding these short steep climbs and don’t do relatively as well. I think it tends to suit the short compact climbers who have explosive power. At 6 foot 3 I'm probably too tall. I’m also used to saving myself on the first half of a climb to enables you to go much faster on the second half. However on a climb of 2 minutes you can’t afford to hold back. At the start its probably best to go out hard and then just hang on for the last section up the 1 in 4.

Even descending was quite an experience. On my hill climb bike I put on Dia compe brakes because there lighter than Dura Ace but Dia Compe are pretty useless for stopping. I took my time descending it was also a chance to watch other people climb, it seemed great fun to be a spectator and watch other people suffer.

Its hard to remember anything much about the climb, its painful but mercifully over in 2 minutes.

Jim Henderson won with a margin of 0.1 second. His time was 1.55.1 just ahead of J.Crawford. I finished only 10 seconds down in 2.04.9 but it was so close at the top that I finished in 12th Place.

Bec Hill Climb - White Lane, Titsey

The Bec hill climb in the afternoon was a similar length and slightly less steep at the end, a good course for fixed as the gradient is fairly constant. I don’t have a fixed so was riding a 39 Chain ring using a 19-15 on the cassette. I’m never sure what gear I actually use.

On descending the climb I saw Olympic star Bradley Wiggins going up. He looked to be very strong although his time suggested that he was taking it relatively easy, I guess he has bigger races to win.

Jody Crawford won the event with a superb time of 1.47, he just edged out last years winner William Bell who did 1.48, third place was D.Diguid giving Evans Cycles the generous £900 team prize.

Pre race favourites J.Henderson and Rob English just got edged out of the top 3 places, but I think it will be different at the National Championships next week, the rake is about 30seconds longer which make a big difference.

I finished just outside top 10 in a time of 1.59.99.

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About the author:

National 100 Mile TT Championship 17th July 2005

The national 100 mile time trial was on quite a hilly course between Farnham and Winchester in Hampshire. Hilly races tend to suit me and I had been training quite hard, but the furthest I had raced this year was 38 miles so it was hard to know what to expect.

I almost didn’t get to start at all. When I was waiting at the start line I found my handlebars had come loose, there was no way I could have ridden. Luckily I met someone at the start who had an allen key in his pocket. It really saved the day.

As it was my first 100 mile time trial I took it relatively easy for the first 50 miles.
My split time was 1.53.00, which was encouraging.

The last 25 miles were predictably the hardest as it included the 2nd ascent of the 2-3 mile climb of Four Marks. The weather was also starting to get quite hot. I also lost a bottle it jumped out from behind my saddle going down a hill. I could have gone back to get it but I was going quite quick and it seemed too much to stop. I only ran out of energy with about 5 miles to go, so I finished in a time of 3.55.07. This proved to be quick enough for 4th place which I was very pleased about. It was one of the slowest 100 Mile Championships with only 7 riders below 4 hours. The previous year there were 19.
However my time was still a long way behind the winner, Michael Hutchinson who won with a time of 3.36.38. It was also Michael Hutchinson's 4th National Championship of the year, having previously won at 10, 25 and 50 Miles.

Richard Pettinger

- Sri Chinmoy CT

(Results 2005)

- Photo by Ed Silverton

Top 10 Finishers National 100 Mile Time Trial

Promoted by Westerley Cycling Club
(Provisional)

Pos	Rider	Club	Time	Notes	25	50	75	MPH
1	Michael Hutchinson	API-Metrow	03:36:38	31	00:53:19	01:47:49	02:40:09
2	Zak Carr	Team Clean	03:46:40	30	00:58:32	01:54:06	02:49:38
3	Kevin Dawson	Planet X CRT	03:47:57	35	00:53:39	01:49:05	02:44:37
4	Richard Pettinger	Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team	03:55:07	28	00:55:38	01:54:02	02:51:34
5	Graeme Stirzaker	Anglia Sport	03:55:27	38	00:53:59	01:51:22	02:48:43
6	Julian Jenkinson	Primera-Bournemouth.co.uk	03:56:14	38	00:57:03	01:56:04	02:52:22
7	Laurence Harding	www.agiskoviner.com	03:57:57	39	00:56:31	01:54:41	02:52:44
8	Paul Ashby	API-Metrow	04:00:42	A	00:56:40	01:55:51	02:54:26
9	Sean Childs	Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA	04:04:30	34	00:58:22	01:58:39	02:58:19
10	Stuart Lemanski	API-Metrow	04:04:41	29	00:58:06	01:58:12

page created by Tejvan Pettinger — last modified 2007-06-20 05:31 PM

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About the author:

(Half way up the Rake Hill Climb - It's a great view from the top.)

This years national hill climb (2005) was held in Ramsbottom, Bury on the steep climb of the Rake. The event was organised by Lancashire RC. The climb is quite short only 900 yards long but towards the end the climb gets close to 25%. It was used in this years Tour of Britain and was also used for the National Hill Climb Championship in 1999.

Many riders such as Jim Henderson were riding fixed gears, this helps to make the bike slightly lighter but looses some flexibility as you can easily be overgeared for the last part of the climb. I don’t have a fixed bike but use a single chainring 39 with a standard sprocket on the back.

When I arrived in Ramsbottom it was raining quite hard, but fortunately this cleared up by the time I was racing. However it left the roads wet, which meant the road was quite slippy.

The climb starts in the centre of town and is run on closed roads. Being close to many cities there was a good crowd of spectators lining the route especially at the top. Its difficult to remember much from the climb it seemed to be over quite quick. It was the first time I had ridden in the wet this year and had a problem with my back wheel slipping in the wet. When I turned the last corner on to the steepest section there was a great noise from the crowd at the top of the climb. It gives you a real boost just as the climb is getting the most difficult. At the top of the climb there is another 50 yards or so of flat, where you could easily gain or lose a few seconds. There were even marshals at the top waiting to catch you in case you fell off your bike with exhaustion.

Jim Henderson (Southport CC) narrowly missed out on winning a 6th title, he was beaten by a margin of only 0.3 seconds (or 240g as he worked it out) by Ben Greenwood.

Ben Greenwood (Recycling.co.uk) is just 21 and has represented Great Britain at under 23 level. However he has not done many hill climbs so far.

I finished 12th overall in a time of 2.39.1. only 9 seconds off a medal so I was quite pleased.

3rd place was French based David Clarke (Rayon D'Argent ) Rob English had a good ride to finish just outside the medals in 4th place.

1         Ben Greenwood 2:26.5
2.         Jim Henderson    2:26.8
3          David Clarke        2:31.9
4          Rob English          2:33.9
5          Matt Clinton          2:34.2

Team prize went to Arctic Shorter Rochford who had 3 riders inside 2.39.

Next year the National Hill Climb Championships will be Devon and the Hill is twice as long so should suit me more. This was the last race of the season, so will be enjoying a break from racing until March.

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(Roger racing at Weston, Oxfordshire. Photo Credit: Dennis Sackett)

First Timer Time Trialler by Roger Chamberlain

As the newest and least experienced member of the Sri Chinmoy CT, I thought it was time I put pen to paper about my first season of cycling. My background is in marathon running and fell running, and these remain my primary sporting focus, but I was determined to train sufficiently to complete at least one competitive cycling event this
summer and in the event I managed to complete a couple.

It was Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of Self-Transcendence that inspired me to get into sport in general, and running in particular, about 12 years ago. I was drawn to try cycling simply because I wanted to try something new - there's something quite magical about doing any sport for the first time, and I've enjoyed road cycling so much this year
that I've resolved to take up a new sport every few years to keep things fresh. Not sure what's next on the list - possibly cyclo-cross or rock climbing! Anyway, back to the subject of cycling time trials, this is such a 'meditative' sport that it suits me down to the ground.

The countdown to the start is a great opportunity to calm the mind and get focussed, and while riding there's a strong sense of being out on your own, just you and the bike and the road. This simplicity, or minimalism, or whatever you want to call it, is for me the great attraction of time trials - just getting out there to transcend your own limits regardless of what the other riders may or may not be achieving.

My first cycling race was the Port Talbot Wheelers 10 mile TT in late July at Resolven in the Vale of Neath. My training had consisted of two sessions per week for about two to three months prior to the event - these were on my 'rest days' from running, so they couldn't be too draining. I was going out for two 30-40 minute training rides, one hard and one easier, each week. In view of this modest training mileage I had pretty modest goals for the time trial: 1. to complete 10 miles in under half an hour and 2. not to come last.

I realised on arrival (as 7th reserve in an event accomodating 120 riders) that I was a bit outclassed in terms of the machine I was riding - still, it's a bad worker who blames their tools as they say, and my second-hand ali-framed Trek 1000 was certainly adequate for the task despite not looking as impressive as the array of carbon fibre technology on display elsewhere in the car park.

Luckily, there were enough no-shows among the 120 registered riders to ensure I got a ride - seventh in the field at 6.07 pm. The course began with a short bendy stint out of the industrial estate then I was soon heading down a sliproad on to a flattish dual carriageway. Head down,thighs protesting from the unfamiliar effort (so different from running), eyes on the road. The turnaround involves two roundabouts and I lost some time here as I am not super confident yet at tackling these at speed, especially with unpredictable cars around, but basically the course is pretty rapid.

I eventually came in with a time of 25.52 which I thought was quite reasonable for me - I also managed not to be the last in my category so I was well pleased. The other contestants were all smiles after finishing as we warmed down on the lanes and generally enjoyed the "glad it's over" feeling that comes after any intense sporting effort. Fabulous home made cakes, sarnies and tea were available in profusion back at the start to aid recovery. This was a superbly organised event, as a novice like myself was able to turn up without much of a clue and have no problem with the route etc. Friendly bunch of riders too.

Next race was the 10 mile TT at Weston on the Green near Bicester where I joined club captain Richard P on a 4-lap circuit on an airfield. Great course, but everyone said it was a slow one - not sure why, as you never need to use your brakes on the traffic free loop. Still, with only 48 hours elapsed since the Salisbury 20 mile trail race I'd recently completed, the legs just weren't having it. I gave it everything - by the end I was really dying - but still I came in close to last (not counting vets & ladies) with 26.41 - this despite the addition of tri bars since my last outing. Very disappointing, but not down to lack of effort - just down to not having recovered from the previous event. Next year's target - sub 25! Oh and by the way, Rich won the event and is now the proud holder of the Hardcore Trophy :)

- Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team

- Cycling Articles

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Ed at a young age. Trying out a new type of safety helmet.

Ed sporting Stylish 1970s clothes. The Beetle's pretty cool as well.

Ed with his first proper bike. Looks the part now.

Ed displaying his skills on a unicycle. Unicycling is as difficult as it looks.

My New Low Profile bike for time trialling ('testing'!).

My road bike which is used for most of my training and racing.

Ed Silverton is one of the most versatile members of Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. A former cyclo cross champion, Ed has also displayed great skills on one wheel.

However we are hopeful Ed will see the inherent joys of becoming a tester ⁽¹⁾ and spend his Sunday mornings racing up and down UK dual carriageways. - You get used to the early morning starts after a while!

(1) Tester = Time Trialling

Article by Richard Pettinger

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Ed Silverton cycled to the newsagents this morning and overtook an old lady on a bike.

He told the newsagent that he's pleased with his form and the speed is coming back.

Unfortunately, on the way back the old lady got her second wind and gracefully pedalled up a shallow climb that left Ed gasping for air.

Despite hearing her coming a mile off because of her creaking shopping basket filled with groceries, Ed was unable to counter her smooth acceleration as he watched her bent rear mudguard disappear up the road.

While admiring the sky from his horizontal position in a near by park, Ed told anyone who would listen that...

'I felt good today when leaving the house, but the mileage was just a bit too much in the end. I haven't trained for these distances and unfortunately, the old lady had me on the climb. I think I may have over done it yesterday when I walked the dog for a bit longer than usual. I'm amazed at that woman's speed up hills, it must be genetic, maybe she's Spanish or something... '

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