Mike Bretton, the VC Baracchi king of the hills

Velo Club Baracchi’s two hill events were blessed by good weather for Mike Bretton’s double win, by which he proved his abilities both down hill and up.

The club run went first to the downhill freewheeling venue, Jays Hill at Sotterley, where the riders were marshalled by Paul Bedford, who explained the rules of the competition, including “no pedalling, no lunging” and so on.

The object was to set off individually from a standing start at the top of the hill and carry the momentum the furthest beyond the point when the gradient ceased to help.

This has always been regarded as a relatively light-hearted event for which no athletic ability is required, but nevertheless quite a lot of skill and luck in varying proportions are needed.

For some, as they emerged from the trees towards the bottom of the hill, the stiff gusting headwind challenged the pull of gravity.

All eleven riders came to a stop beyond the hump-backed bridge in the valley and a short way up the other side, with Bretton the undisputed winner.

The ride continued to Brampton, Redisham, Rumburgh and through the Saints to Homersfield and to nearby Dove Hill in Station Road on the north side of the A143.

Here, seven of the riders competed in the hill climb and the times were very close, especially between the winner, Bretton, and the second-placed Mark “Titch” Richards, a new VCB member.  These two could only be separated by a small part of a second.

The times (in seconds) were Mike Bretton 48.79, Titch Richards 49.10, Darren Newman 50.65, Paul Dennington 57.41, Karl Brady 57.90, Steve Summons 59.24 and Richard Hill 1:06.59.

Bretton has declared his intention to take part in next year’s time trial events and will be one of the riders to watch.

The club AGM is on Monday November 11 at the Tramway Hotel in Pakefield, starting promptly at 8pm.