Steyning AC

A reminder that SAC has an hour pooltime booked on Sunday evening from 19.30-20.30. This is open to anyone, and is reasonably free format. There are coaches there – if you want advice, or just do your own thing. £3.00 per swim (optional 60p for homemade goodies supplied by Sarah!).

Southwater lake is (hopefully) now warm enough to swim in. We shall be there on Monday – 18.00 to 19.30. £10 per person per year. You need a wetsuit and a yellow hat (I’ll bring a supply of hats). If the weather is good I’ll be cycling up – leaving shortly after 17.00. Let me know if you want to cycle with us.

Thank you to all who have given SAINSBURY’s Active Kids tokens for the Steyning Stormers to buy equipment.

The offer is now finished, so please bring any spare tokens you have either to the club or to Tuesday night training at the Primary School as soon as possible, so we can send our order off by the first week of May. We are also now collecting TESCO’s tokens for schools and clubs, so please consider donating some to support our junior members, who are doing so well for the club in the Fun Run League. With over 40 junior members and more wanting to join, you can be sure any new equipment gets well used.

The tokens are available in store until Sunday, 20th May, so help us to beat last year’s total, especially in Olympic Year.

There is Charity Fundraising Evening at the SAC clubhouse on Sunday 13th May at 7.30pm. Please see attached poster for details.

Tickets are available from Angela on 07747 840738 or from Steyning Bookshop.

Sussex Cycle Association, SCA 28.5 m 2up TT

Getting up at 5 past 6 on a Sunday morning to have a small breakfast knowing that it is raining
and only 5C is not the most motivating way to prepare for a time trial, so I  left it till 6:20.

Breakfast done and at least 3 different combinations of cycle gear,

1. Verycold and very wet.
2. Cold and wet.
3. 21C,dry (bottom of the pile.)

I set off, 6:50, to collect Moyra the other half the team.

Moyra seem to be working onthe same kit choices as me, apart from No 3.

Race HQ was at the villagehall Washington. We collected our numbers, 5 and 6, signed our names on the start sheet and it was still only 7:20.

Our start time was at 8:06 at Wapingthorn, 4 miles away. So with the final kit choice made we set of,
7:40, riding along at a sedate pace with frozen hands and feet, have I really
got enough on? I had my doubts but kept this to myself,

‘’Yes of course we will warm up Moyra when we start’’

Arriving at the start line with 2 minutes to go, perfect timing, my glasses steamed up and the cold and
damp started to creep inside my kit.

5  4 3  2  1  GO all negative thought disappeared and I had my race face on – rain what rain? At
Partridge Green and 4 miles in all was warm apart from my hands.

At the turn on to the A24, average speed was 22.5 mph, we soon found out why, as we battled into a slight head
wind. At Washington round-a-bout this dropped to 21.4, but I could feel myhands again thank goodness.

Back along and past the start for our second shorter lap and the finish at Rock Road.

Moyra took the lead and pushed the average back above 22, putting in a big turn on the front, which meant I
could have a cold shower courtesy of her back wheel.

We swapped the lead all the way back and down the 24 to the finish line, riding across side by side, like a
well drilled squad. A quick look at the time and it looked very likely that we had beaten our standard.

Standard time is the combined rider’s age, veterans only, so 83 and 21(yes Moyra really is 21) divided
by 2 gives 51 then using a table gives the standard time for your average age.

A slow ride back to the village hall by two knackered riders and into the warm and dry clothes, tea and cake – why
else would you do this on a wet Sunday morning?

The results came in, more tea was drunk and rain and cold forgotten, as we waited to see if we had retained
our title from last year and yes we did going under standard by 24 sec.

The sunday after the clocks went back we held the first of the summer multi-sport series events. The course was a full 5k run to start,  two laps of the bypass on the bike (12k) and then 2k over the traditional 1 km loop around leisure centre.

After getting over the initial shock of Lee turning up – not only on time (almost) but stripped down to the bare minimum of a trisuit – the eight competitors set off  in what were pretty cold conditions.

Tom Coates, recently back to fitness, had dusted the cobwebs off his bike only the night before and slightly concerned about the bike section, flew off at a sprint down into Steyning. His efforts were rewarded as he returned in the lead by just over a minute, ahead of Lee in second place and Adrian - another minute behind.  Despite the low profile cycling of Adrian, John and Lee, down on their tribars, Tom, sitting tall, still managed to keep the competition at bay and regained his minute advantage by the end of the race, winning in just under 47 mins (46. 53). Lee remained in second place  (47.59) – showing he can do this ‘multisport thing’ and Adrian, who had closed the gap, 3rd in 48.13.

Adrian can console himself with the fastest bike time (19.31) although John B put in an equally fast performance (19.39) with his newly retired slimline look.  Chris ‘the Headmaster’ wins the award for fastest combined transitions – all important – showing room for improvement among others.

Lydia, Amanda and George all put in solid performances and everyone looked everybit the real duathlete.

Apologies to George for not paying attention and letting him ride into transistion!

Finally, a round of applause for our top class timekeepers  – Barbara, Martin, Jeremy and Sue –  who also rose early to support the event and without whom, we could not provide such comprehensive results!  

 Full results below. Sorry no photos! Next time……. 

Trisuits have already been ordered as you know (along with running vests). Steyning AC requires payment NOW, therefore the following people I have down as NOT paid, so can you please arrange payment in the next few days if possible ?

Mark Ansell
Simon Turk
Lee Oxley
Carol Killock
Amanda Oxley
Sue FD
Peter Lane
Brian Mason
Adrian Brown
Moyra
Mark Tyler
Lisa Jones

People who have paid are;

John Brook
Chris Lee
Rob Walton
Joan Lennon
Shane Bridgman
Nigel McAllister
Mike Miller
Jon FD
Gary Brind
Graham Parsons
Richard Coatsworth

I will not be at any SAC training sessions for another 2 weeks (business / other sports stuff), so could I please ask if you post a cheque (payable to Steyning AC) to my home address. Which is 15 Canons Way Steyning BN44 3SS.

Thanks!!