Reliability ride riders reliable

The reliability trial organised by John Thompson for Velo Club Baracchi attracted a wide entry of riders and all enjoyed their day.

Those riding included Velo Club Baracchi members, but also others who had travelled from Ipswich and Wymondham.

These pre-season events are designed to test and improve fitness but are also treated as social rides with a small competitive edge.

VCB members who completed the 50-mile ride in three-and-a-half hours were Chris Womack, Mark Womack, Steve Summons, Gary Matthews, Rob Simons, Paul Bedford, Jenny Anderson, and John Thompson, with Steve Willet of Plomesgate CC.

Ray Skipper manned the headquarters and said that the fastest group finished just under three hours.

Three lads from Wymondham, David Attwood, Mark Shearing and James Hipperson, who are not cycle club members, rode the 3-hour group and ended up taking an extra half an hour, having gone off-course on the cycle paths towards Carlton Colville and also spent some time at the Bridge Cafe in Halesworth.

Thompson has arranged 100-km rides for Sunday February 5, again starting and finishing at Oulton Community Centre, starting at 8.30am and with later starts for those aiming to be quicker than 4.5 hours.

Despite all this organised activity the 9am Cotmer Road ride still took place, with four riders.  For a few miles in the Sotterley area they rode along with the reliability trial group, which caught them up and eventually rode on.  The three riders who rode the furthest also completed about 50 miles.

The informal weekday group rides from Carlton Colville church at 9am on Tuesdays and Fridays are also running well.