September got off to a wet and windy start at the Sportzmad 10 on the R10/17 Course between Abergavenny and Raglan. Nadine Cannon was fortunate to have the first five miles dry but the rain and wind arrived for her return five. Despite the unfavourable conditions Nadine posted a PB of 23:56.
Neale Lewis, with a later start, had to contend with the poor conditions in both directions. His advice to members racing is to “pray to the sun god”. In the end Neale posted a very respectable 23:23.
Taking no time off for a rest this month Nadine Cannon was again on the R10/17 Course to compete in the Cardiff 100 10m TT. The weather was a bit wet at the start but she did see some sun towards the end of the ride. The conditions certainly suited her and she used her knowledge of the Course to come in 3rd Lady and post a PB of 23:24. It seems every time Nadine enters a 10 she is posting a new PB.
Also riding this event was Club member Neal Lewis, he was targeting a long 22 in the wet conditions and eventually posted a 23:01. This seems to complete Neale’s racing season as his target now is to “get fat and unfit over the winter then struggle to lose weight and get fit for May”. He looks to have used this training programme before.
The third Club member to enter this event was Jeff Rees, leaving home in quite pleasant conditions he arrived in Raglan in the mist and rain. This would be Jeff’s last TT of the season as he moves to the CX circuit. His recent rides had been a mix of roads, CX, MTB and a heavy roller session. Hoping for a finish between 23:30 and 24 he was a little concerned about the mixed build up, however, they appeared to have made no difference to his riding as he posted a 23:52. This is his 6th event on this course this season, which have all resulted in times between 23:48 and 23:53.
Two days later and Nadine is racing again, now with the carrot of two weeks in Benidorm in front of her. This time it was the PTW 25 on the R25/3H Course based at Hirwaun. Taking advantage of the unusually perfect weather conditions, sunny and very little wind, Nadine posted yet another PB. In finishing as 4th Lady she finished in 57:01. Nadine’s first three 25’s this season were all just over the hour but as a result of hard work and determination she went under the hour at the end of July and has now posted four sub 1 hour 25’s.
Simon Kinsey really mixed up the distances during September, after his WCA 100m efforts he dropped the distance down to 30 m.. This was a VTTA(South Wales Group) event on the R30/7 Course, you guessed it, based on Raglan and Abergavenny. Conditions were ideal, warm with a little wind, and Simon reckoned he could complete in around 75-80 minutes, but quietly hoped to be in the lower part of the range. Simon’s PB over this distance was 1:29:38 two years ago on a much tougher course, so his expectations were high. In the end he posted an excellent 1:14:05 to put him the Club Standards range. Simon would recommend this distance to other members who are regularly competing in 25’s as it is only a small increase and this new course is much quicker than the Bynea course.
