Season 2006: Mostly good, a little bad but always agreeable

[Conor Cormican]

Better late than never!

Goals: Do a few more sportives in 2007 and maybe some mtb riding.

Training Approach and Philosophy: Hilly rides on my commute and trying to last as long as possible in the faster groups on the club run.

My Best Ride: London to Brighton and back at the end of April, 106 miles averaging 17mph.

My Worst Race/Ride: Too many to mention one in particular.

Best ACC Road Racer: ?

Best ACC TT Man and Woman: Sean & Tamar

Most Impressive Riding I witnessed: Brian Nolan & Jon Hemmings in the Etape du Dales. Jon cycled seven miles to and from the start but in between did seven or eight hours in the bad weather conditions. Brian started with me and finished two hours before me again in the worst of weather.

Favourite Club Riders: Everybody mentioned so far and a few others.

Seasons Low Point: The four cyclists killed in Wales and the drug scandals.

Best Racing Debut: The Shadow.

Most improved Club Riders: Too many to mention.

Favourite ACC event: Saturday club run.

Best Forum Bits: Huw's accounts of his many epic rides and the sportive reports from other club members.

Racing/Riding Could of's and Should ofs: Not doing more sportives and letting my family life interfere with my cycling.

Best seasons Quotes: I'm sure there were many but the memory is not up at the moment.

The 'Blingiest' rider: Brian Robinson always dressed in the best and bike shining.

Kings of Pain: Brian Nolan & Alan for all the sportives they took part in.

Who do we look out for next year? The boy Stu.

[Stu Merckx Man]

ill try not to dissapoint anyone who says i should be looked out for next year!

i have to say im rather flattered tehehehe (girlish giggling)

cheers,
stu

[siwickm]

Marco, are you going to start chanting soon, maybe you can set up a new meditation group on Tuesdays, entering the spiritual world of love and peace within the agreeable world of Addiscombe Cycling Club.

I love you man. On that Magic MTB ride, did you happen across some mushrooms of the magic variety?

Cheers

Marek....

[Grahame]

Goals at the start of the year Continue to enjoy riding.

Training approach and philosophy You can do training? Nah, don't believe you.

My best ride That "magic" mountainbike ride with Marco, Sylvain, Aoden, Ciad, Simon, etc.

My worst race/ride Trying to ride at 11500 feet in Colorado with a chest infection was pretty bad. But, a bad day on the bike is still better than an average day in an office.

Most impressive riding I witnessed Jim. Still going strong.

Most impressive riding I didn't witness but came to hear about: Jim at the GP Des Gentlemen.

Favourite club riders Hard to say. Probably Jim for his "Survived another week" endless optimism.

Season's low point I'll join the mob and say the incident in Wales was pretty awful to hear about.

Favourite ACC event Our Beastway round. The look on the singlespeed racers faces when they were presented beers at the finish line was great.

Best forum bits The great mudguard debate and Ajays use of the Excusatron 2000 after each Hillingdon race.

Riding could haves and should haves Eaten less and ridden harder to make the hills easier

Best season's quotes "Strap it on" from a guest before one of the multitude of singletrack descents in Colorado.

Kings/queens of pain Marco for his continued battle with the knee injuries.

Goals for next year Continue riding and enjoying it. Have a go at this racing lark without getting as obsessed about it as I was when racing mountainbikes.

Who to look out for next year Jim.

Blingest rider Jim again - a new bike in your 80s. Well done sir!

[Ian A4size]

Goals:
Have fun and enjoy my riding

Training approach.
Once again Plan B worked

My Best Ride/ Race
Holidaying in the Dolomites- awesome
Evening 10 Jack and Jill , 4up TTT i have never worked so hard in my life on a bike

My Worst Ride
Too many to mention
One that stands out is a "gentle sunday ride" out to westerham cafe-Huw turned up I did the 4 up the day before-i was in great pain for 3 hours.

Best ACC Road Racer:
All the guys who put the time in, plus the great reports after- stand up Marek, Toks, Matt, Bomber Harris,The now alchy Adam.

Best ACC TT Man and Woman
Its gots to be Tamar for the ladies, and the gents.... well names that stick out are Jon H and Rich V, Tel, all out there week in week out knocking their plums out also. You always get a race report- all are a true inspiration. Gots to big up the snoopster for having a go at nearly all the distances.

Most Impressive Riding I witnessed
I think it has to be stage 17 TDF and Landis' breakaway simply awesome- even if it was drug fuelled (or not) it was edge of seat stuff.

Favourite Club Riders:
I get on with most- even the riders who just fail to come thru and do a turn- its not a race FFS


Seasons Low Point
Tendonitis after a 700k week and a bit in Majorca- oops must have upped me mileage that week ops


Most Improved Racers: Tim, Sylvain, Keiran, Matt, Jack, Jon, Rich and Tamar

Best Racing Debut: Steve The shadow - winning his first race ever at Hillingdon and Adam the sprint machine ( now sponsored by Tennants)

Most improved Club Riders:
Sean

Favourite ACC event:
Jack and Jill

Best Forum Bits
Power reports from the little match boy, Mareks tales of woe, WORLD CUP thread, how do "our heroes" do it for the money - never even saw a bladder kicked

Racing/Riding Could of's and Should ofs
Coulda raced a bit- shoulda dieted a bit more!

Best seasons Quotes
Huw to Andrew Green and Pa about the redmon 2up- we are gonna have a piece of you- we want you so bad we can taste it. ( check the results! i think huw is still out there somewhere DNF)


ACC's 'Blingiest' Riders:
Tim, Yohan and Brian- all young gifted and have all their own hair.

King and Queens of Pain
the 12 hour boys, and the sportive crew special mention to Connor and Huw and Adrian.

Who do we look out for next year
Slimline me?
Domonic on the TT front- racing tip all the new comers Stu- not met him yet- : but boy is he keen, women and beer will probably be his downfall
Most of the training group if they can keep it up.

All in all i have had a good year, done some 28/30 clubruns, plus a lot of off piste stuff as well.

[ajay khandelwal]

Goals: Training Approach and Philosophy

To be 3rd cat - not achieved. Training Philosophy - none - failed again. Main ride was club run.

My Best Race/Ride: Riding Hard in the sleet over the cobbles in the Tour of Flanders. Riding back from Hillingdon with the ACC crew after a good evening summer racing with Mathew Ives, Day and George, going faster than the actual race on our way back to South London. Maintaining a tradition started with Rob Fallon in 2003.

My Worst Race/Ride: Riding around short circuit on Palace on a wet day and being overtaken by the e12 group every 2.5 laps. Having to dismount my bike on the Tour of Cotswolds on Bishops Cleeve because I just could nt do it.

Best ACC Road Racer: Its gotta be GEORGE. The man rides races with a smile as big as 60 tooth chain ring. He rode Hillingdon with pannier racks on a borrowed bike and would attack from lap one. The guy is fearless, he went through gaps in the pack that didn't exist.

Best ACC TT Man and Woman: Richard Viney for his 45 races and heroic performance against BWiggins and for organising events for the club. ACC woman - definitely ninder for riding around Mallorca on a tandem with me and then supporting the ACC team in our orbital ride of the whole island.


Most Impressive Riding I witnessed: Paolo Bettini's breath taking ride away from the pack a few days after his brother's death in the end of season Tour de Lombardi on Eurosport and Boonen attacking over the Muur in the Tour de Flanders - live. John Hemmings come back from injury this season - phenomenal !


Favourite Club Riders: Toks -he's an ambassador for the club and the sport ! Monty - he is visionary that makes the club run such a success. Paul Tunnell - he entered John Hemming's race up a hill ! The man can't ride up a hill ! What a good sport.


Seasons Low Point: Waking up at 5 am on a Sunday morning, driving for 3 hours getting lost and arriving after the TT we had entered for was over. Hearing Richard Viney coming past me in another TT like a space shuttle...VVOMMMMMMMMMM....and disappear.

Most Improved Riders: I don't know as they're all down the road. Must say Mr Malarkey has come on leaps and bounds though - as he tells me about it later. Lets dope test him on the CR when he comes back from his mystery mission to South America. Sean Hogan - this man practically halved his TT time !

Best Racing Debut: Steve The shadow - winning his first race ever at Hillingdon


Favourite ACC event: Mallorca Orbital. We stayed in a stunning Monastery in the moutains in Luc half way through.

Favourite Comic moment : Following Mark Leedham up a hill and watching him bounce his booty !

Favourite Quote

Mark McL and David Lombari after returning from a training ride on last day of Mallorca trip - 'We rode hard, we saw a pro, we rode behind him, and them we just blew him away. We looked over our shoulders and he was gone'

Connor advising us about housing buying at the Beer Circus 'Never buy a house on a hill'

Huw 'The Club dinner is no place to take a lady'

Marek 'We're just going to take it easy - about 15 mph average'


Best Forum Bits: Anything by Toks that is about burning his matches. Richard V's race reports. Huw and his fabulous unpublished novel and his report from his Italian Fondo.

Best ACC junior: Youngest ACC member on waiting list to join club - due date Jan 11th.

[Toks]

Wow Super that was a very long season! When does your winter training begin?
[quote]Its gotta be GEORGE. The man rides races with a smile as big as 60 tooth chain ring. He rode Hillingdon with pannier racks on a borrowed bike and would attack from lap one. The guy is fearless, he went through gaps in the pack that didn't exist.

[Andrew G]

[quote]Its gotta be GEORGE. The man rides races with a smile as big as 60 tooth chain ring.

[sid_day]

Goals: Finish in top 3 overall in Single speed class at Beastway.
Finish an Open University course with a view to studying a sports related course at University.

Achieved: First overall in Single Speed at Beastway (my second ever podium of any sort)
Got a distinction in my OU course.

Training Approach and Philosophy: Commuting to work a few days a week. More riding with my girlfriend; stay relaxed.

My Best Race/Ride: ACC mtb ride led by Marco, Sylvain and Aodon. Lasting memory is seeing deer skipping through a golden wheat field in the sun.

My Worst Race/Ride: None to report.

Best ACC Road Racer: Sorry I'm a bit out of the loop on this

Best ACC TT Man and Woman: Richard & Tamar.

Most Impressive Riding I witnessed: A bloke called Graham Pentney at Beastway coming 5th overall on week on a single speed.

Favourite Club Riders: Grahame, Marco, Sylvain: the enthusiasm just keeps coming.

Seasons Low Point: A sh1t long runnning cold which has stopped me getting into the CX season.

Most Improved Racers: Sorry dunno

Best Racing Debut: Sorry dunno

Most improved Club Riders: Sorry dunno

Favourite ACC event: ACC marshalled Beastway where I got to give out beers to all finishing Single Speeders (thanks Grahame). Would have been 'cross at Crystal Palace. It would make such a good venue.

Best Forum Bits: Marco's reports.

Racing/Riding Could of's and Should ofs: Should have come swinging into the CX season. Should have run a smaller gear at Mountain Mayhem on my Single speed.

ACC's 'Blingiest' Riders: Sylvain: "I must have more titanium".