News Archive
Taken from the front pages of the website we had too much good news to simply lose!!!
EARLY SEASON HONOURS AT 2UP TIME TRIAL This weekend (02 March) saw RNRMCA riders on winning form. With 2 teams entered into the CS Dynamo 2 UP Time Trial the pressure was on to pick up where last season ended. The race was organised by Ann Owens (Our very own lady of the lens) and dispite being busy officiating she still managed to purloin Andy Tombs into filling her boots to provide us with some pictures of the event. Satch and Steve finished a creditable 3rd only 23 seconds behind the race winners (JJ Smith & Adam Holmes). Also on top early season form were Bob Richards and Stu Cox finishing in 17th position out of 42 teams entered. Well done all.
2007 CSBAR CHAMPION UNVEILS SECRET WEAPON RNRMCA rider and winner of the prestigious 2007 Combined Services Best All Rounder title Aran Stanton has been spotted training in the hills surrounding Portsmouth. Early season races had resulted in some minor spills for the club rider so he has employed 22 years worth of engineering skill to great effect in order he can maximise his potential during the 2008 season. Riders wishing to emulate this stroke of genius by the self confessed lord of time should beware. Stan has applied to the intergalactic patent office.......
HMS QUORN RNRMCA MEMBERS RAISING MONEY FOR POPPY APPEAL. A team of 5 (4 riders plus support) have completed a 500 mile route starting in Holland and finishing in Normandy raising money for the Royal British Legion en-route. Full Report HERE. Well done gents we salute you.
ALL ABOARD THE RNRMCA TRAIN IS ABOUT TO LEAVE THE STATION.
photo by kind permission of Dennis Sacket from Newbury Sportive 2007 Website
Even casual observers can't fail but be impressed with the way the RNRMCA has developed over the last few seasons. This is in part due to a small resurgence in cycling in general but also due to lots of hard work, dedication and commitment from the clubs members and officials. 2008 stands to be another great year but we can't do it alone. We need to know all the clubs members and officials are pulling in the same direction with the same ultimate aim "to cycle at the very best of the individuals ability allowing for maximum enjoyment and satisfaction" So before you all begin the long slog of winter riding and dark, dank rides join us for one more recap of 2007 and listen to what's in store for 2008. The clubs AGM will be held at RNAS Yeovilton on Thursday 29th November. Full details have been issued by e mail (copied here) so put the date in your diary now and contact Sean or Andy soonest to confirm your attendance. It's our club we need it can't run without us....ALL of us.
THE ONLY WAY IS UP October 07th saw 5 courageous RNRMCA riders take the challenge in the final round of the clubs annual championships. Round 6 consists of a hill climb and the only way really is up. The race was won by newcomer Nick Keast who has a strong background of running. Welcome to the club Nick we hope to see more of you n 2008.
Full race report plus some photo's can be found HERE
RNRMCA RIDER TAKES TITLE AS VICTOR LODORUM CHAMPION 2007 With the official results posted RNRMCA rider Eamon Masson has been crowned as Victor Lodorum Champion 2007. Described as a challenge rather than a race the concept of a Sportive is to ride the fastest time against a standard time set by the organisers. Eamon finished the ride 48 minutes ahead of the standard for his age group and some 3 minutes in front of the next rider. With the RNRMCA Taking the Combined Services Prize several other riders are in line for awards from the race sponsors Vodafone (Newbury):-
Overall Race Champion Eamon Masson
Combined Services Champions 115 Mile
Ken Bowditch
Andy Plewes
Andy Phipps
Andy Brookes
David Evans
Eamon Masson
Combined Services Champions 75 mile
Daron Gardiner
Hugh Wrightson
For Full Official Results follow this LINK
RNRMCA RIDERS EXCEL AT
COMBINED SERVICES SPORTIVE
Just when you thought
the season couldn’t get much better the RNRMCA fielded a team of 49 riders at
the Combined Services Sportive. Some amazing individual efforts gave the RNRMCA
riders the edge leading to an overall victory at both the 115 and 75-mile
distances. For a full report including an idea of what riding a sportive is all
about follow the link below.
Race Report Organisers Site (results Tables)
CSBAR RESULTS UPDATED The weekends racing has added some results to the CSBAR Standings. Follow the link below to check out the results. The Individual Championship looks as though Aran Stanton (RNRMCA) is going to take the honours at the final hurdle after he improved his current seasons best by over 1½ minutes in the 25 Mile TT from Sunday's race. It almost certain that the Navy will take the team title. The competition closes on Oct 8th so get your results in to Sean Childs now.
RNRMCA TT RESULTS (updated 02 Oct)
INTER SERVICE RESULTS POSTED The full results sheet from the 10 & 25 mile event are now posted follow the link below.
ROYAL NAVY RIDERS TAKE TOP HONOURS AT INTER SERVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS. It's been a long, long season but the RNRMCA riders have hit pay dirt...........April saw a group of 20 something riders getting together in Wales, they rode HARD and LONG and spent the evening talking about the season ahead and for what??? to excel at the inter Service Championships.
Held over 2 days the competition saw a great turnout from all 3 services. Saturday's 10 mile TT saw 60 riders from the services and a fantastic testament to the fact that Cycling is alive and kicking in the armed forces.
Full results now posted here. Top honours must go to Sean Childs for winning Saturday's race, JJ Smith's was close behind giving a Navy 1, 2 and the Army's Gary Kristennson came in third. Sean and JJ's efforts coupled with Aran Stanton's excellent time guaranteed a team win and day 1 was in the bag for the Senior Service.!!!!!!
Sunday saw the squad competing at 25 miles. The conditions were perfect, no wind, good course the scene was set for Royal Performance worthy of Earls Court.
In the end the squad from the Royal Navy did the business. With another majority on the start sheet RNRMCA riders of all abilities, from all backgrounds fought and won against their own personal targets. Countless personal best targets were broken and the squad was elated. Then came the nervous tension as the times came in!!!!! A great course, great conditions, Sean couldn't resist....... Another first, Second place Stan, could have had him if not for the leg rub!! JJ Smith rode a great time giving us enough for the team prize 2 days running and proof complete that the RN retain dominance in the time trialling discipline.
From the nucleus that was borne at the training camp the RN now have a formidable squad.
Plaudits must go to the Army for a well organised weekend. Congrats to Jon Surtees from the RAF for dominating the Vet category and while we are at it well done for everyone who turned up. Please everyone, don't let the 2007 be a peak. Get your training partners out now lets make 2008 the biggest year for Services Cycling ever.......
CHARITY RIDERS RETURN. A Group of RNRMCA members recently completed an arduous journey raising money for charity and also raising the profile of the Senior Service at the same time. Well done guys see you at Newbury. Here's the dit written by Ron Allen.
"A small team of RNRMCA members who are also retired Fleet Air Arm Field Gunners from the 1970s, took on a 450 mile cycle challenge recently covering approximately 90 miles a day average over five days from, "Carnoustie to Coventry" to support charities highlighted by the family of a recently departed friend and former colleague, "Paul Dunn", who not only ran three FAAFGCs in the 1970s but also Captained the FAA, RN & Combined Services Rugby teams during his career. Macmillan Nurses, The Pancreatic Cancer Society and St Dunstans Summer Camp HMS Sultan will all benefit from the £4500+ raised.The FAAFGA Committee authorised and supported the cycle challenge throughout, together with the RNRMCA, Navy News, Portsmouth Command & Devonport Command Field Gun Associations plus many individuals raising interest and donations to make this cycle challenge the success it clearly was. Thank You to all who assisted."
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SEE SOME PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY THE TEAM
RNRMCA SPONSORED NAVY WEEKENDER RESULTS. Sean Childs with the help of many South West based members really pulled off a great weekends cycling last week. The team have received many appreciative comments on the professional and thorough way in which the event was run. We wouldn't expect anything else from the Guys/Girls in the SW Area. Well done to the team and all friends, partners and other loved ones who helped make the event a success.
NAVY CYCLISTS PUSHING THE BOAT OUT IN AID OF CHARITY With summer leave already a distant memory for some several groups of RNRMCA riders are hitting the roads in aid of charity.
HMS LANCASTER has a team with a varied background of skill/experience riding from Portsmouth to Liverpool. Headed up by the CMEM the guys aim to raise money for the ships charity CANCER CARE and raise the profile of the RN on the way. Well done guys have one for us.
MCTA PORTSMOUTH a team of 6 shall cycle from John O' Groats to Land's End starting Saturday 8th September. Aiming to achieve this within 14 days by averaging 80 miles per day and currently stand to raise a significant amount of money for the Cancer Charity (FORT) http://www.fort-cancer.org.uk/about.asp. For more details of their progress and lots of steely photos of the guys in their RNRMCA shirts follow this link http://mctacharitycycle.blogspot.com/. You can also donate from here if you wish.
Falklands Veterans Ride. Graeme Ross is making a solo effort from Lands end to Ramsgate. Starting today (13 Sept) Graeme, a recent addition to the RNRMCA team aims to raise money for the Falklands Veterans Charity. Graeme will be passing most of the major RN establishments on the south coast during his ride and would welcome some company on the way. He can be contacted via this E-MAIL link for more detail. Keep it up Graeme.
Good luck to all riders and we look forward to hearing all about your trips when you return.......
FULL RESULTS FROM THE SOUTH WEST BAR COMPETITION ARE POSTED. With many of the clubs events being held in the South West District (our affiliated district) riders are well represented in the standings. Follow this link now and check it out.
CHILDS CROWNED AS SOUTH WEST DISTRICT & RNRMCA 25 MILE TIME TRIAL CHAMPION. The Sun shone brightly as the RNRMCA held round 5 of the RNRMCA championship competition. An impressive 19 riders turned up for the event on the A38 in Devon but no-one could match the performance displayed by Sean Childs as he romped home in 52:26 a minute in front of the second placed rider and almost 3 minutes in front of Steve Kelly who posted an impressive 55:13 to gain second place in the championship round. Third place was won by Scooby Drew which considering he has been off the bike for much of the season following a sea draft is again testament to his ability. Lee Sanderson also competed well to win the vets category. Pictures from the event and all riders times can be viewed by following this link
RNRMCA RIDERS IN ACTION BOTH ON AND OFF ROAD Sunday 22cnd July saw a busy day for the club with riders both on and off road representing the club. It was round 3 of the 2007 club championships a 50 mile time trial competition. Follow the fixtures-results links to read the race report alternatively follow this link now for the report including links to the overall standings.
MTB XC racing also this weekend in the West Country saw a trio of RNRMCA riders doing battle and scooping prizes in the open event let alone considerably improving their own standings within the Combined Services competition. Full report available HERE..
RNRMCA TAKE THE NATIONALS BY FORCE With 4 teams entered the RNRMCA was the best represented club at the National Team Time Trial Championships held in Wales today (01st July).
Still Smiling after their race despite some technical difficulties the Ladies team L to R Rachel Clay Mhairi Muir & Lucy Norman.
PB's SMASHED, NEW RECORDS SET AS RNRMCA RIDERS DO THE BUSINESS AT THE NATIONAL 50 TT CHAMPS 17th June saw 4 RNRMCA riders representing the club at the National 50 TT Champs. The field was strong on what proved to be a fast course. The race was won by Doc Hutchinson in a time of 1:42:22. Of the Navy team Nutty Edwards (pictured below) showed the most improvement knocking a whopping 6 minutes off his previous PB at the distance. Nutty an attendee at this years spring training camp puts his new found speed down to the extra training and alternative therapy treatments (Gardening, Decorating & Sunbathing) he has enjoyed since returning from deployment. The fastest Navy rider was Sean Childs finishing in 1:48:57 to retake the club record that had only recently been set by the second fastest rider Aran Stanton. Stan had closed the gap on Sean to just 2 seconds finishing in 1:48:59. Nutty's finishing time was 1:59:40. Also knocking 2 minutes off his previous best was Mark Gorman. Mark our newly qualified BCF coach was pleased to have shown the improvement particularly as it had been a "cold day" and his early start hadn't allowed him time to ever effectively thaw out his time of 2:04:15 is still a great testament to the standard of rider we have time trialling this year.
Nutty Edwards in action at National 50 TT
RNRMCA MOUNTAIN BIKERS MASTER BLASTING IN COMBINED SERVICE XC LEAGUE The latest round of the 2007 Combined Services MTB cross country series took place this week at Hydes Heath with 4 riders in the Masters Cat the RNRMCA were guaranteed success. Matt Craner gained his first win of the season with the normally unstoppable Andy Plewes dropping to 5th place. With a combined total of 192 points Andy remains 46 points clear of fellow RNRMCA rider Shane Lawton in the overall standings. However with 50 points for a win up for grabs and 4 rounds remaining the championships could be won or lost on the availability of the rider!! Congratulations to Stuart Lowe for gaining third place in his first race of the season obviously the spring training camp has paid dividends.
Click HERE for Combined Services MTB XC Current league standings
Updated Combined Services Enduro league results HERE
DO YOU MOUNTAIN BIKE? If so then why not get involved in the Combined Services race scene. It's not elitist, riders of all and any standard will be able to compete and gain from the experience. Want to know more? Contact Wille Milne
RNRMCA WELCOMES NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS The club committee is made up entirely of volunteers so it was refreshing to get three willing volunteers to step up and take a turn in several key roles. Many thanks to James Law, Phil Rogers and Glen Drinkwater for their support during their periods as Treasurer, Kit Manager and MTB Sec respectively. A warm Welcome to Steve Kelly, Keith Satchwell and Willie Milne contact details for all can be seen on the Committee Contact Details link (left).
Training Camp Report The 2007 official club training camp has been and gone but check out the narrative report at the link. If you are aspiring to get up there and start battling with the big guns then read on. The report is aimed at giving all readers an insight into the camp and the amount of preparation required to complete it.
NAVY DUO EXCEL AT NATIONAL 25 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS (03 June)
With distance no problem Sean Childs and Aran Stanton braved the returning holiday traffic to high tail it up North for the National Championships 25 Mile Time Trial race. The start sheet had some truly great names on with a field showing great strength and depth and representative of the best athletes in the country. Both riders really dug deep and produced some creditable results. The race was won by Jason MacIntyre in a time of 49:44 and average speed of 30.161 MPH. Jason pipped the 10 mile champion Doc Hutchinson to second place with a time of 50:01. Sean came in 13th place with a great ride of 53:44. This was the same position he finished in for the 10 mile race superstitious people may say "lucky 13th" Stan also posted a great time finishing in 55:52 giving him 36th place from a field of 103 finishers. These guys really are right up there competing at the highest level. Full Results
RNRMCA WELCOMES THEIR 300th MEMBER (28 May)
With cycling in all forms never more popular the database for
the RNRMCA has grown steadily over recent years. 2007 seems set to continue this
trend with now a whopping 300 members signed up in recognition of their
enjoyment of cycling. The latest of these members Lt Jane Thompson is pictured
here braving the elements at the recent road race championships held at
Merryfield Aerodrome. Jane has a background in triathlon, enjoys time trialling
and road racing and says she would like to get involved in off road activity in
the form of cross country and downhill racing. A warm welcome to Jane and the
best wishes for the rest of the year. Information on how to become a member of
the RNRMCA can be found by following the link on the left.
RNRMCA SQUAD FACE TESTING TIME AT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (20 May)
The qualification bar to get into this race was set so high by the standards of the athletes entering that to get a squad of three riders on the start sheet was an achievement in itself. With some good early season results the riders were confident they would be able to produce creditable times in the austere company that is the National Championships. And produce they did Sean rode 21:14 an average speed of 28.25 to take 13th place overall Aran Stanton produced a quality ride with a time of 21:52 and Mark Gorman came home in 24.29. The race was won by non other than Michael Hutchinson in 19:43. All riders should be proud of their achievement. Well done all three another great day for the RNRMCA
Full results available HERE
MTB
CROSS COUNTRY RNRMCA RIDERS LEADING THE WAY.
Currently dominating the Combined Services Cross Country Masters category with a clean sweep of wins Andy Plewes can be seen in action above (race no 1532). Alongside Andy is Shane Lawton (1534 who provided the phot) Shane had some technical problems on the weather beaten course but still finished strongly to gain his first points of the series. Glen Preece and Matt Craner were also in action on the day. All results will be updated once published.
RNRMCA cyclists tested their mettle and proved that Britannia rules the waves Sun 13 May when a team of 14 cyclists braved the atrocious weather to tackle a demanding 100 mile course that was the inaugural Dartmoor Sportive. With growing popularity Sportives offer a competitive challenge to cyclists without the pressures of the formality of road racing. Got a bike? Think you can ride a long way? then keep your eye open for sportives they are a great day out offering the challenge of a tough ride coupled with the companionship of like minded riders. It's great!!!!!
The weather meant all riders covered up their colours with their best weatherproof top (need a RNRMCA Quality rainproof) but even so the RNRMCA easily outnumbered the other services at the event and most enjoyed the day. The ride was tough with some challenging hills the weather made it tougher with torrents of water running down the road but the organisation was excellent marshals stood in the rain for hours ensuring no-one took a wrong turn and food/drink was plentiful at the check points so many thanks and well done to the organisers. Photo's courtesy of Mark Gorman our roving (yes roving) reporter..
NAVY CYCLING IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN'T DO?
Less than a week after competing in the round one 10 mile time trial competition Friday 11th again saw association members and guests digging deep and fighting the elements in 2 stunning hard fought races.
With media attention from SSVC and the attendance of Ann Owens (Many Thanks Ann & Richard for making the trip in that weather) there will be further photos posted once the editorial team return from the Dartmoor Sportive. For now full results are available just follow the link.
Ann has come up trumps again I have linked to her photo album cause there are just too many quality prints to choose from Ann can provide you copies of her work and only asks you cover the costs of production thereafter a contribution to Ann and Richards chosen charity would be welcome.
Open Race Photos Link Here
Novice Race Photos Link Here
Round 1 the 10 Mile TT results now posted HERE A great turn out for the club 15 Navy Blue shirts in a field of 100. Well done to all who made the effort some great times considering the wet n windy conditions.
Coming soon.....I intend to start a charity section on the site with details of all the outstanding work club members are doing raising money for charity and promoting the club and the Service at the same time. Please check back I already have several inputs to get me started.
The Club Secretary has be inundated with enquiries regarding the Government Sponsored Bike 2 Work Scheme. This has been an ongoing issue which we have been enquiring about for the past 3 years. Currently the MOD are not signed up to the scheme. We are, however, about to implement a Salary Sacrifice Scheme for Child Care Vouchers and in theory the Bike 2 Work scheme could be administered in the same way. A decision on whether the MOD will adopt this policy is current sitting in the Centre with SP Pol. Once we have more information on the subject we will post more information.
Details of this years Inter Service Championships have now been supplied and are posted within the Fixtures section. Follow this link for ease. For many of us the Inter Services is the Biggy so check out the memo confirm the dates. Inform the Race Sec and start your preps. It's going to be another big year with the other Services hoping to try to redress the vast imbalance displayed at last years Championships.
Calling all Collingwood volunteers!!!! Collingwood are holding a Freshers Fayre on Tues 04 Sept we have been invited to set up a stall. A Great way to spread the word and recruit some more members. Could be a way for the Pompey guys/girls to get some new training partners!!! Interested??? Drop Andy H a Line.
What a week a squad of over 25 riders are just returning from an outstanding weeks training in the Welsh mountains. They have covered a great many miles in stunning scenery eaten a ton of pasta and been updated in the latest training and racing techniques.... The result a squad with breadth and depth to take on the other services and the country for the rest of the season....Full details to follow soon.............
