Alan McLean

I was working so could only spectate. Lovely fresh weather and dappled sun lit up the classic autumn course.
A great turnout from Jets and the more mature gentleman riders but I only saw Davie entered in the seniors.
 
The first races did not cross the ravine of doom so the parcours was very fast with surprisingly little mud given the recent rain.
 
The best vantage point was the top of the big berm, about 25m of 30% muddy grass. I joined the layabouts cheering the very few who could ride to the top and commiserating with the riders who ran out of steam one pedal stroke from safety.
 
Big chapeau to James who has given up all pretence of attending races as his son's helper and is now a full on cross racer. We are expecting carbon tubs to appear soon. He also had the best clipped in slo-mo fall!
 
The recent CX events have been stuffed with riders aged from 8 to 80 and are a brilliant day out. It was particularly good to see a field of around 30 women racers with really close action.
 
Hoping to get a couple more rides before xmas.
 
Alan

Lots of Jets but I only counted me, Davie and Mike in the older races.
 
Lovely sunny weather, racing in summer kit but can't be long until the clag descends.
 
Great course with twisty singletrack, couple of bonkers climbs and fairly dry.
 
Alan

Lots of mighty Jets and wheelers this week.
 
Iain and Danny were totally at the sharp end in the B's. Expect promotion soon chaps.
 
I was up against our very own U16 and U14 Jets in the C/D race and had 90 laps of hard racing. The Jets rode suberbly but spent too long in the wind allowing yours truly to sneak past.  But in a few months they will be screaming past me heading for the B group.
 
Mr Hazle is now podiuming all the time in the youth group and is another Jet who will soon be riding with and beating the seniors. Well done Adam for hard work and great results.

Lots of mighty Jets and wheelers this week.
 
Iain and Danny were totally at the sharp end in the B's. Expect promotion soon chaps.
 
I was up against our very own U16 and U14 Jets in the C/D race and had 90 laps of hard racing. The Jets rode suberbly but spent too long in the wind allowing yours truly to sneak past.  But in a few months they will be screaming past me heading for the B group.
 
Mr Hazle is now podiuming all the time in the youth group and is another Jet who will soon be riding with and beating the seniors. Well done Adam for hard work and great results.

Lots of mighty Jets and wheelers this week.
 
Iain and Danny were totally at the sharp end in the B's. Expect promotion soon chaps.
 
I was up against our very own U16 and U14 Jets in the C/D race and had 90 laps of hard racing. The Jets rode suberbly but spent too long in the wind allowing yours truly to sneak past.  But in a few months they will be screaming past me heading for the B group.
 
Mr Hazle is now podiuming all the time in the youth group and is another Jet who will soon be riding with and beating the seniors. Well done Adam for hard work and great results.

Bucketful of medals for our youth riders in our own National Track Scratch Championships.
 
Hamish McLaren was Gold in Youth C (is this a formal national title? someone will tell me)
 
Danny M got Bronze in Youth A
 
The Youth A girls got a clean sweep in a very close race, the podium was flooded with blue and yellow.
 
Gold Jess Millar
Silver Luisa Steele
Bronze Gemma Penman
 
fantastic performance by the riders and we also have more great youngsters coming through.
 
Other highlights included the endless food and drink supplied by the Millar/Steele/Hazle Catering Co. Thanks, still recovering
 
A special mention also for Sarah Bradford who was representing Scotland this weekend at the School Games in Manchester and was a phenomenal second in the Madison with Rhona Callander and fourth in the scratch race against the very best young riders in Britan and several Olympic hopefuls (probably including her now. Ed.).
 
Alan
 
 
 
 
 

Bucketful of medals for our youth riders in our own National Track Scratch Championships.
 
Hamish McLaren was Gold in Youth C (is this a formal national title? someone will tell me)
 
Danny M got Bronze in Youth A
 
The Youth A girls got a clean sweep in a very close race, the podium was flooded with blue and yellow.
 
Gold Jess Millar
Silver Luisa Steele
Bronze Gemma Penman
 
fantastic performance by the riders and we also have more great youngsters coming through.
 
Other highlights included the endless food and drink supplied by the Millar/Steele/Hazle Catering Co. Thanks, still recovering
 
A special mention also for Sarah Bradford who was representing Scotland this weekend at the School Games in Manchester and was a phenomenal second in the Madison with Rhona Callander and fourth in the scratch race against the very best young riders in Britan and several Olympic hopefuls (probably including her now. Ed.).
 
Alan
 
 
 
 
 

Bucketful of medals for our youth riders in our own National Track Scratch Championships.
 
Hamish McLaren was Gold in Youth C (is this a formal national title? someone will tell me)
 
Danny M got Bronze in Youth A
 
The Youth A girls got a clean sweep in a very close race, the podium was flooded with blue and yellow.
 
Gold Jess Millar
Silver Luisa Steele
Bronze Gemma Penman
 
fantastic performance by the riders and we also have more great youngsters coming through.
 
Other highlights included the endless food and drink supplied by the Millar/Steele/Hazle Catering Co. Thanks, still recovering
 
A special mention also for Sarah Bradford who was representing Scotland this weekend at the School Games in Manchester and was a phenomenal second in the Madison with Rhona Callander and fourth in the scratch race against the very best young riders in Britan and several Olympic hopefuls (probably including her now. Ed.).
 
Alan
 
 
 
 
 

Heavy symbolism as summer ends, we rode back into the gloom up Georgetown and said goodbye to Gregh. Good luck and we will see you back here soon I am sure.
 
Charlie, suggest you either get a better mechanic or sell off the electric gruppo. I'll give you a tenner.
 
Sunset comes 2-3 mins earlier each day now. Are we out next week?

Hi Jann, I have just found an 18 track cog. Do you still need one? I could leave it in the porch. Alan

Buenos noches, Paul. Greg and Greig are both super fit and defo up to Arran doppio. I will be working so cannot join this latest epic.
 
BTW is there any thread where you have NOT managed to steer the topic round to the double Arran?
 
I am all for enthusiasm but I get the feeling that you are sitting in the dark in your hotel room in Spain with "Sky for Dummies" downloading riders' power files, recent results, Strava achievements and drawing up a grid of potential doublers with SWOT analyses for each one. Perhaps it's just me...

Bishy Hill is the killer for many people. It is a tiny bump but very hard work when the bunch is fresh and climbs at 45kph.
Best plan is to get in the rotation. It is hard but steady work and will suck you over the top to West ferry.
The new roundabouts don't help, you definitely need to be in front half of bunch here as well or else the slinky effect will dump you.
In fact just stay in the front third all the time and you won't get dropped

Bishy Hill is the killer for many people. It is a tiny bump but very hard work when the bunch is fresh and climbs at 45kph.
Best plan is to get in the rotation. It is hard but steady work and will suck you over the top to West ferry.
The new roundabouts don't help, you definitely need to be in front half of bunch here as well or else the slinky effect will dump you.
In fact just stay in the front third all the time and you won't get dropped

Hi Martin, well done for leading on this. I have been away.
 
Re: "Club Support"
 
Our clubrooms are a great focus for training/meetings. They will need a centenary rebuild/facelift. It would be good for SC/new WoSCA to give advice on accessing funding for infrastructure through lottery/grants etc.
 
I think the clubrooms inspire belonging and pride in the club. We may not have the fastest senior riders (apart from mighty Al) but the clubrooms have provided literally a solid base and store for a lot of the Jets work and also shown the parents, coaches and riders that we have history and permanence. The Jets work is a five/ten (twenty?) year project which is producing great young riders and I doubt we could do it without the space in the clubrooms.
 
I enjoy belonging to a club with a real clubhouse and would like to see others being built for our sister clubs. Imagine the total training wattage if there were a dozen Wosca venues with our numbers of youth riders on turbos/rollers in mid-winter.
 
I don't expect new wosca to build us new clubrooms but SC/newwosca will have contacts that all clubs could use.
 
Regards
 
alan

really big bunch tonight of about 35. A bit scrappy from Port Glasgow where a few guys did not wait at top of Clune and split the bunch. Cars then got between the bunches followed by near comedy as a fire engine and police car also got in the mix and the whole convoy, about 300m long, headed to BoW at 30 mph, held up by the small front bunch. Some mental undertaking of cars, those of us with families and jobs stayed back and enjoyed the tow to the final Georgetown habble.

Lochwinnoch-Kilmacolm road resurfaced. Phil's is butter smooth and I think we saw Andy Gumley whizzing down today.
 
Oddly it is still hard work going up.
 
Georgetown is also rideable again and Greenacres to Howood is super smooth and will no longer destroy a TT bike.
 
Might not be exciting to some but these are the highlights of my year so far.

Thanks Kenny, the videos are very sensible and watchable.
 
I like the emphasis on keeping safe and not crossing the central lines
 
Alan

Kenny Steele in his car in Houston last night passing Fox and Hounds. He saw our bikes but missed me waving from the pub door.
 
Lewi Mulhollland heading up the Georgetown 20 minutes after the bogs bunch.

The pressure is relentless,
 
in diary awaiting final confirmation from social secretary

Best "Spied a Wheeler" so far. (What are "football boots"?)

Best "Spied a Wheeler" so far. (What are "football boots"?)

While limping back from my kicking in the bogs bunch I met Jess Millar out solo tonight on Barochan Road getting in the hard miles before Youth Tour of Scotland. Looking super pro on shiny carbon bike.
 
We have four Jets in YTOS, they are all very fast, and I am REALLY looking forward to the race reports.
 
Alan

Very exciting racing tonight especially for the youths with Danny's podium in the B group and Jess and Luisa doing a great job especially in the devil with a 1st and 3rd due to strong riding and great tactics. Pleasure to watch.

Thanks James, too late for me. I scrapped a pair of wheels there last month. I used to know exactly where the holes were below the water but the whole section is dissolving and I was caught out.
 
Concrete has been poured into one of the holes but more have opened up.
 
 
It has been wet for four months and is really a ford!

Easy mistake to make Tom.