As you can see from the photos above, 3 PZ Wheelers made it to the start line. Where were the rest of you hard-riders who've been pretending to be racers all winter? No wind, no rain, dry roads and a full field of 98 riders meant a even faster than usual opening to the racing season.
Good solid racing and through-and-off led to a gradual merging of the 6 handicapped groups. The fast boys making the final junction halfway round the final of the 3 laps. So it was a large bunch that hit the foot of the mile long drag up to the finish, including all 3 Wheelers Mark Haynes, Tony Farnell and Nick Joyce - job done, with some useful high end training in the bank.
Special congratulation to Nick, who performed really well in his first ever road race, particularly as he's been ill since the club dinner. Also well done Chris Opie, winning with a powerful sprint at the end against some premier calender opposition. Chris seems be building on his success of last year and appears to have made another big step up this year.
[Tony Farnell]

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The TT season is looking good for PZW if yesterdays race is anything to go by. Although Paul Friday was cruelly deprived of a first place by a puncture he rode on for several miles with a flat to take 2nd place. PZW did however take the team prize and John Payne won the Vets prize showing fine form. Sandy Gourley had a noteable ride contributing greatly to us winning the team prize. [John Fazakerley]

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What a great race! Once again John Trott and his team gave us a memorable day's competition - a sunny day, 109 entries, a sprinkling of professional riders, a new course record, a T-shirt, a pasty and sore legs.
For me, the outstanding ride of the day was a record-breaking, no record shattering, ride by Sean Childs. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later, he was just pipped by 37 seconds by Australian Rapha Condor professional Darren Lapthorn, who gave a very gracious and positive acceptance speech at the prize giving - a credit to his country and his team. Last year's winner James Smith also broke the old record in 3rd place. As far as local riders were concerned, Gary Fouracres of St Austell Wheelers was the pick of the bunch with an impressive 5th place. Netherlands based Chris Opie returned to gain a fine 7th, and Cyclelogic's Chris Lobb did a storming ride for 10th, after competing in a road race in Somerset the previous day.
The other big stories of the day were about punctures. Ex PZW and current Rapha Condor professional Tom Southam punctured for the second year running, and top PZW rider Paul Friday endured his second puncture in consecutive races.
PZW had a fantastic turn-out - 18 riders - and competition is getting pretty tough. Top finisher was Alex Gourley in 13th place, continuing his recent fine form from the St Austell Wheelers race in March. Not far behind, on his new TT machine, was Mark Haynes in 16th. John Payne showed a welcome return to form and fitness after his dreadful accident in last year's race, finishing 20= with Tony Farnell, so we had the unbelievable situation of 2 PZWs sharing the top vets prize!
Thanks again to the many officials and helpers who made the day such a success, although I'm going to have to have serious words with John Trott on Tuesday morning about persistant ageist remarks at prize givings.[Tony Farnell]

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OK update from Ilton today.
A big field of 70 riders set off in the 3/4 race. The sun was out and there was nothing more than a breeze. The agenda was 1hour plus a lap of the Ilton circuit. From the off the attacks came thick and fast, the pack were not willing to let anything go. Everytime somebody fired off the front the pack would ramp it up to reel it back in. If something did make it away there was a reluctance to do too much work.
Andy Ellis riding for Cycleogic was riding strong as was Gary Chambers. Andy was doing alot of closing down gaps, and even had a go at getting away to no avail.
The pack carried on around for a few laps when a large number of riders went, including Gary and Andy I bridged accross to this but unfortunately this lasted no longer than a few minutes before it all came back together. After a break established a 20sec or so gap Gary went into hot pursuit but unforunately nobody wanted to work together to reel it in, so Gary rolled back into the bunch, with the break being caught shortly after.
With 2 laps to go a few riders had a go and I saw my chance and immediately jumped to go with it, sadly as with the reccuring theme we lasted less than a quarter of a lap before we were caught. A bunch sprint was definately on the cards.
I moved up through the field on the last lap, and made sure I was near the front, everybody had the same idea so fighting for position was tough. Going into the last corner I was in the top 10, sadly coming out I was about 20th. During the corner myself and Gary got boxed in, Gary went accross the grass and I had to break and take evasive action. This was just as the sprint was starting. I jumped out the saddle but due to being slower I had already lost alot of ground. I made a few places but ended up rolling in around 15th.
Still good training.
Forgive my rubbish writing, and thanks to Andy Ellis for the lift today. Saved me from going on my own.[Nick Joyce]

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What a sensational morning - blue sky, sun shining, and no wind. Lets hope it's a sign of things to come this summer, after two racing seasons of being lashed by rain and battered by wind.
Times were very close at the sharp end. Great ride by Gary Chambers, especially as he'd done a crit up in Somerset yesterday, as also had Andy Ellis. Paul Friday rode well for 4th, and Sandy Gourley put in another stunning performance for 5th. What will this Wheeler do when he gets to know the courses and accumulates a bit more experience. Tony Farnell and John Payne took 1st and 2nd in the Vets race, and PZW narrowly snatched the team prize from Cyclelogic after a protest and last minute recalculation. John Fazakerley turned in another solid performance, building on his improvement from the last few seasons. Competition is going to be tough for those team time trial places!
Many thanks to George, Dave and the other St Austell helpers who made the race so successful.[Tony Farnell]

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Excellent early season weather with some sunshine, not much wind, and a nip in the air to make sure you rode fast to keep warm. It was good to see a record field of 39 riders taking starters orders.
Great performance by Gary Chambers, who won by miles. Well done to young Melissa Kemp, finishing her first race despite a lengthy delay resulting from a badly behaved chain. Also to Dave Tigwell, the first rider I can remember riding on a recumbant.
It was also pleasing to see several new PZW members making successful debuts on this course. Most improved performance must go to Pendle Hill - the Spanish training week is obviously having an effect. Also there were strong performances, with big improvements, from some of the Mounts Bay Harriers.
The organisation was creaking a bit with so many entries. Future organisers please note - with these kinds of numbers, you need at least 3 officials to handle the start and finish, as well as 2 marshalls out on the course. Thanks to Mark Haynes, Matt Southam and Damian Ayling for officiating on the evening.
Can riders please remember to keep well in to the side of the road when waiting to start, and not to congregate around the start and finish officials and distract them while they are timing and recording.
Next PZW race is the Open 19 miles time trial on Thursday 30th April (2 laps of the same course). You need to enter in advance by Friday 24th April. Send your entry fee of £6.50 (cheques payable to PZW) together with a completed CTT entry form (download from the CTT website) to Mike Tonkin at The Cottage, Plain-an-Gwarry, Marazion, Penzance, TR17 0DR at least 10 days before the race date[Tony Farnell]

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It was a Women Team Series race, if you didn’t have a team they put you in one. I was in Impsport Team A. We wore pink tops, it looked very smart! :-) There were teams of women from all over the country. The race was near Loughborough, 42 miles long. Beautiful countryside, flatter than here!
We started at the headquarters and rode to the start, by the time we got to the start, the pace was already quite hot! We came to the first hill (a small one by Cornwall standards!) I was sliding backward but managed to catch them up on the down hill; at this point a lot of riders were behind me.
The girls from the BC Development Squad (talent team) were attacking the race all the way through. I was always sliding backwards, but when the pace ease off a bit, I would cross to the other side of the road and ride back to the front of the pack to get ready for the next attack! After 10 miles my legs kind of froze up and the main group just slid away before my eyes! :-(
Michelle Buck (Steve Lampier’s girlfriend) told me that I was with the group for the hardest part of the race as after 4 laps the race ease off quite a bit!
Four of us raced together, on the last lap no one would do any work the pace was crawling so I attacked on a small hill and they stayed with me. And all 3 beat me to the line!
60 riders entered for the race, some didn’t start, some got dropped out after first lap, I came 36th. But hey we won the prize for the best team! Roll on to the next Women Team Series.
[Gail Aspden]

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A fine evening on a revised course due to continuing bridge work. Toilets facilities were at Tresillian Village Hall, but signing on and results were in the lay-by at the foot of Probus hill. The course starts at Ladock village, goes through Trafalgar round-a-bout, over the A30, and turns at Fraddon round-a-bout, retracing to finish at the cattery sign about 1/2 mile after passing back through Ladock. Good turn-out by PZW. Whoever forgot their PZW top, Tristan now has it.[Tony Farnell]

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I think the weather had a major role to play with that very strong wind and unpleasantly low temperatures.
Obviously Jake Durant and Matt Ewing dominated the E/1/2/3 race with a small chase group trying to keep them in sight. It was a very close
sprint for first place won by a tyre width by Durant.
Chris Lobb did really well in the 3/4/W race as he also had quite a crash. Mark raced with the leaders for ¾ of the race before tiring and going back to the chasers but rallied to take third place.

Results

E/1/2/3

1 Jake Durant Mid Devon.
2 Matt Ewing Pendragon/Kalas
3 Polychronis Tzortzaris Mid Devon
4 James Smith Somerset RC
5 Gary Chambers Cyclelogic
6 Mark Barlow Dales racing Team
7 Pete Johnstone Tor 2000
8 John Hollier Pendragon/Kalas
9 William Hornby CS South Hams
10 Stuart Pickering Cyclelogic
11 Dave Bentley Somerset RC
12 Keith Lilley Private
13 Andy Ellis Cycelogic
14 Alan Dury Mid Devon


3/4/W

1 Chris Lobb Cyclelogic
2 Phil Coad Torq Fitness
3 Mark Haynes PZW
4 Steve Davis Guercotti JJ Coach
5 Nick Harwood Guercotti JJ Coach
6 Adam Bright Guercotti JJ Coach
7 Richard Fowlds Mid Devon
8 Thomas Cann Shred Racing
9 Mark Bird RNRMA
10 Andrew Currie Devon and Cornwall Police

(I hope these are correct as the result sheets from the finish line where slightly mixed up. this is not a complaint, as it is a hard job and for some it was the first race they have covered)
Two woman also raced in this race Gail Aspen and Fiona Telfer Brunton both of whom finished.
Could you also place a big thank you to all the people who helped out with the organization and Len Pascoe and Ron Peters the Comms.

The Go ride races took place on a flat one mile circuit based on the main runway at RAF Portreath. The wind was blowing a gale down the half mile finishing straight.
We had thirteen youngsters racing covering all age groups, all of them raced really welll in the very unpleasant conditions and every one of them should take great credit for that.
The overall winner was James Trott from One and All in his first ever road event.

U16

1 George Vincent
2 Jane Powell.

U 14

I James Trott One and All
2 Melissa Kemp One and All
3 Nathanial Olson One and All

I also hope they all return in June for the next race and that we can encourage more youngsters to race.
[Matt Southam]

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First of all, what a great race. Well done and a big thank you to Mike Tonkin and his team of helpers for putting on such a successful race, and to George Smith from St Austell Wheelers for handling the timekeeping so calmly, especially as some riders were shouting out their finish numbers as they passed the finish at the end of the first lap and others did not have their numbers pinned in the right place. Even the weather was kind to us.
Not only were PZW organising the race, but also with 21 riders, we provided nearly half of the start list. I cannot remember a race with so many wheelers taking part.
Magnificent ride by Chris Lobb to win the race, despite injuries sustained in a crash at the road race at Portreath last Saturday. Also a fine ride by his dad to claim 3rd place. However, the record of Steve Lampier is safe for another year.
Competition is certainly hotting up amongst the wheelers. Good performances abounded. A great 2nd place by Paul Friday, despite the handicap of starting first. Tony Farnell and Dave Henderson took 1st and 3rd Vets prizes respectively, but unfortunately Cyclelogic managed to snatch the team prize away from us this time.
Sandy Gourley had another great ride for 4th (or was it 3rd=?), Tristan Harris and Shane Williams made big steps forward, and Jason May had an astonishing ride, holding off his 2 minute man, Mark Haynes. John Fazakerley confirmed his improved results this season, gaining some significant scalps in the process, while there were good solid performances from Mark Haynes, Peter Jory, Phil Walker, Peter Blackshaw, John Payne, Hari Slade, Ed Joslin, Damian Ayling, Anthony Bryant and Steve Cox. PZW latest recruit - he joined just before the race - Phil Coad, also had an impressive ride. It was good to see new members James Varah and Kay Kershaw making an impact on the racing scene.
There are 14 wheelers on a start sheet of 65 riders for the Camel Valley Open 10 on Sunday morning, the first PZW championships of 2009. It looks like a real battle for the prizes. [Tony Farnell]

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Despite the strong NW crosswind, there were some fast times recorded. Another win for Gary Chambers, beating some good riders in the process and confirming his improved time trialling as well as road racing. Also a fine ride by PZW Paul Friday, who was the only other rider to dip under 22.
The 2009 PZW 10 TT Championships was a fiercely fought affair, with medals hard to come by. Nobody can afford to relax as a few seconds decided many of the placings. In the Seniors it was (1)Paul Friday (2)Sandy Gourley (3)Mark Haynes (4)Tristan Harris (5)Damian Ayling (6)Shane Williams (7)Peter Jory (8)Hari Slade. The Vets were (1)Tony Farnell (2)John Payne (3)Jason May (4)John Fazakerley (5)Phil Walker (6)Ed Trezona-Phillips.
The next PZW championships is the 25 TT on Sunday 7th June in conjunction with the Truro CC Open race. Remember to get your entry in.[Tony Farnell]

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Start delayed by 45 minutes due to mist. Mysterious breeze makes two times up the drag seem like hard work. Such a relief that everyone else felt the same. Astonishing ride by Sean Childs. Paul Friday first from PZW. Pete Blackshaw rides a blinder. Jason May nearly cracks the hour on his first 25. Tony Farnell and John Payne take first two Vets prizes.[Tony Farnell]

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Despite a little drizzle during the race, it was quite a reasonable evening for time trialling. A convincing win for Sandy Gourley and some close tussles elsewhere. Many thanks to Pendle Hill and Matt Southam for stepping in to organise the race after we were let down at short notice, and to the other helpers on the night - Mr and Mrs Hill, Pete Jory, Mike Tonkin and Tony Farnell.
This seems like a good opportunity to remind all PZW riders that you ought to have contacted an organiser by now to offer your help for one or two races. The list of organisers and races is on the home page of our website. Tristan Harris has volunteered to take over the role of organiser for the next race on Thursday 28th May.[Tony Farnell]

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Shane Williams did a all time pb on the 102/10. He beat his old pb by about 20 secs. He was very pleased as it was quite windy and was a hard day. He also finished 2nd overaul to graham lobb.[Tristan Harris]

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A bright sunny morning with little wind made for some good times on the new course, involving 2 laps of the Victoria-Lanivet interchanges, with half of each lap on the new road and half on the old road.
PZW came out of it pretty well. Caroline Chesterfield was the 1st woman, Paul Friday stormed to 2nd overall, despite technical problems with his new number fastening system, and another fine ride for Sandy Gourley in 4th place. On a roll, PZW also took 1st team prize with Paul, Sandy and Mark Haynes, 1st Vet 50 with Pete Blackshaw, and 1st Vet 60 with Tony Farnell.
As if this wasn\\\'t enough, there were more pbs for Shane Williams (his second this week), Jason May, and Damian Ayling. There might be other pbs that I have missed - if so, let me know. Remember you need to get your entries in for the Truro 25 and the Camel Valley 50, both PZW championships and coming soon.
Finally, a special mention for James Trott, the youngest person in the race, in his first season of time trialling, smashed the 30 minute barrier for the first time, and for Fiona Telfer-Brunton, regular Tuesday morning trainer, also in her first season of cycling and racing, a new pb.[Tony Farnell]

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It was a great evening for time trialling, and a healthy turn-out of 33 riders took starters orders. Outstanding performance of the night must be Jason May, who hacked a couple of minutes from his pb on this course. Also riding impressively were Mike Tonkin and Hari Slade, benefitting from all those hills of the PZW spanish training week, John Garwell, well under the 30 minutes on his road bike, and new member Mark King, who seems to be moving up the results list.
Many thanks to Tristan for taking on the race organisation at short notice, and to Pendle Hill, Shane Williams and Phil Walker for marshalling and starting the race. It is important to remember that without PZW members volunteering to do these jobs, these popular races would not take place.
Next PZW club race on this course is on Thursday 11th May. Next PZW open time trial is on Wednesday 17th June on the Goonhilly course, for which entries must be submitted in advance on a CTT form with cheque for £7 made payable to Penzance Wheelers, and sent to Tony Farnell at 3 Lambs Lane, Falmouth, TR11 2JL. [Tony Farnell]

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How civilised! Sunny and warm with a 10.00am start. Having taken part in these races for a few years, I would recommend you to have a go. The course is out-and-back, starting on the outskirts of Callington and turning just short of the A30, on country roads with some ups and downs, as well as some really fast stretches. St Budeaux organise three of these per year, so there are still two to go if you fancy having a go.[Tony Farnell]

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A lovely warm sunny evening. Perfect for a good thrashing by an Olympic and World Championships medal winner. Also lots of close tussles between PZ Wheelers.[Tony Farnell]

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The event ran out on a fine sunny and warm evening and went smoothly.
The new start and finish worked well but a very small number of riders went through the finish lay-by despite flag, a marshal and correctly positioned finish sign. The course description clearly states that riders must remain on the dual carriageway at the finish.[John Payne]

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A brisk SW breeze meant some assistance up the long drag from Indian Queens, but the rain that started mid-race did not help at the turns. Nevertheless, it was quite a fast day and some keen times were recorded. Jason May dipped under the hour for the first time and I believe other Wheelers recorder PBs (Damian Ayling, Hari Slade, Ed Joslin). Paul Friday had his usual good ride, and there was a welcome return to form for John Payne and Phil Walker.
However, there was an unprecedented catalogue of misfortune in this second PZW championships of 2009. Sandy Gourley and Tony Farnell succumbed to punctures, and Shane Williams had chain and big ring problems - so three DNFs!
As far as the championships: in the seniors 1st PaulFriday, 2nd Mark Haynes, 3rd Damian Ayling, 4th Peter Jory, 5th Hari Slade, 6th Ed Joslin; in the vets 1st John Fazakerley, 2nd John Payne, 3rd Jason May, 4th Phil Walker, 5th Dave Henderson; in the womens 1st Caroline Chesterfield.
Next PZW races are the TT this coming Thursday 11th June at Leedstown and the crit RR at Portreath two days later. Next PZW championships is the 50 TT next Sunday on Goss Moor. [Tony Farnell]

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The race started with some attacks coming from the start, as has been the way over the previous races nothing was really allowed to get away.
The race continued and every time an attack was launched a plethora of riders leapt to get onto the wheel, this kept the pack together much to the annoyance of the potential breakawayees.
I was quite happy to sit within the bunch and let the chasing be done (having been off the bike for the past 2 weeks with the man flu, I had felt better). As I got used to the change in pace again things started to settle down with a few frisky movements which would always get pulled back on the start/finish straight.
I asked Hari if he was going to have a go for the prime, but sadly he got caught out and wasn’t in contention although I am certain he is now picking up tips on positioning, as it was only his 3rd race. I decided to sit it out as I had my eyes on the win, however it wasn’t to be.
When the bell lap came, I was in a pretty comfortable position but got caught ‘napping’ and then had to move back up to the front wasting valuable effort. Just as I got to the front a strong kick came from 3 riders into the headwind, and they got a small gap.I continued to ride around 3rd or 4th wheel watching and as the gap was being maintained I was happy that they would get reeled in. As it turned out they maintained a gap of around 5 bike lengths all the way to the finishing straight.
It was at this point that I decided that if I wanted to win I would have to reel them in myself. Sadly in doing this I took 3 other guys with me who sat behind me until about 50m from the line and when I kicked again for the sprint they came around me.
Was disappointed I didn’t win and am convinced I got 5th or 6th. I am yet to see any official results but this now takes me into my 3rd Cat licence which I am happy with having only done my first road race 4 months ago.
Hari did well finishing in the bunch, he had a flourish off the front but seemed comfortable to tap it through.
In the 3rd Cat race, Richard Edmond took a cracking victory attacking on the last lap and soloing to the finish with a good 10 bike lengths to 2nd place and a further 10 bike lengths to 3rd. Phil played a good team role for Rich blocking for him both on his breakaway and on Rich’s victory in the prime. Phil rolled in with the bunch happy with a good race.[Nick Joyce]

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E/1/2/3
The race was dominated by the first three who broke away early and stayed away. The two team mates tried time and again to drop Pond in the closing stages but failed to do so, finally loosing out to him in the sprint.
The others chased hard but could not close the gap. Chris Lobb finally tried to bridge on his own but ran out of miles and came in alone for fourth place.

1, Blake Pond Southfork racing.co.uk
2. Rob Willcocks Somerset RC
3. James Smith Somerset RC
4. Chris Lobb Cyclelogic
5, Gary Chambers Cyclelogic
6, Dave Bentley VC St Raphael
7, Mark Barlow Dales Racing Team.
8. Alan Dury Mid Devon.
9, Andy Ellis Cyclelogic.


3/4/W/J
In this race the bunch stayed together for virtually the whole race. Individuals attacked and occasionally stayed away for a lap or two before the bunch closed them down. Finally with a big bunch sprint beckoning Adam Bright attacked and managed to force a gap and then stayed out on his own to solo to victory.
The bunch came in some twenty seconds adrift the sprint being taken by
Westwell and Sussex.

1. Adam Bright Guercietti
2.Micheal Westward RAF.
3.Mark Sussex Guercietti
4. Drummond Masterdon. PZW
5.Steve Davis Guercietti.
6. Tony Farnell PZW
7. Ricci Pascoe One and All
8.Phil Walker PZW
9 Richard Edmund One and All
10. Richard Hudson One and All.

It is unusual to have such big bunch sprints but with the aid of modern cameras the finish was filmed, scutinized and finally all the finishing places were correctly sorted out.

A big thanks to all the support and help from willing Wheelers, partners and friends to set up and run the event. To Len and Ron for being the Comms.
[Matt Southam]

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A bright and sunny morning with a light southwesterly, which was just enough to help on the long climbing easterly legs of the 3 lap S100/50. The best overall time was set by Sean Childs, which was astonishing when you consider that he won a 100 mile time trial the day before. Paul Friday pulled out a fantastic time to come second. John Fazakerley was really moving whilst remaining relaxed and with enough puff to shout encouragement to other PZ wheelers as he overtook them. John Payne won the 1st Vet and Caroline Chesterfield was looking very smooth as she raced under the iron bridge towards the finish line to win the 1st Lady.
Camel Valley C&TC organized the event brilliantly with a fantastic selection of cakes and rolls back at the HQ. Well done to all the PZ wheelers that entered and for competing in this PZW Championship race. [Jason May]

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After a day of rain and wind I was starting to worry that we were going to have a repeat of last year’s horrible conditions. However, the Met Office forecast was correct, the rain stopped, the clouds rolled away, and we had a glorious sunny summer evening, albeit with an annoying breeze that made the ride to the turn quite hard work. I was pleased with the number of entries. It’s interesting to note that 41 were either PZW or One & All Bike Chain Ricci. It was also gratifying to see a significant number of novices and younger riders. When organising the awards, my intention was to allocate prizes to categories in proportion to numbers of riders in each category and to try to encourage newcomers and youngsters to continue to race. Congratulations to Gary Chambers, who demolished a good class field, to win by over a minute, to Sandy Gourley, the first PZW to finish, for his fine second place, and to Paul Friday in third, an excellent ride only three days after his stunning ride in the Camel Valley CTC ‘50’. Finally, and most importantly, a big thank you to everyone who assisted with the event. Richard and Carole Hope carried out the timekeeping with their usual quiet efficiency, Ed Joslin effectively took control of marshalling the turn with the help of Steve Cox, Jon Pullen’s back stood up to pushing-off 44 riders, Audrey and Vanessa Farnell masterminded the catering, and the Friday family and Caroline Chesterfield provided us with a sumptuous array of cakes, even managing to produce a birthday cake for me, complete with candles. Thank you everyone.

The Winning Ride
\"After a couple of disappointing results I was hoping for a good result in this time trial to get back on track before the Kalas Cup at the weekend. However I woke up to rain beating against the bedroom window, this continued all day causing myself and I suspect several others riders to think that a ‘DNS’ might be a good option!!
Thankfully the weather brightened up by the evening and the roads started to dry out. The course itself is not a fast one, with several draggy climbs, some sharp bends and some sections of poor road surface, however 51 riders made it to the start line. I was second to last off and had seen some of the favourites such as Chris Lobb, Paul Friday and Graham Lobb flying along the course, so I new I had to ride well to win this one.
I started very hard and was quickly up to race speed, catching two riders by the half way point. As I approached the finish line, a quick look at the watch told me that I had done a quick time, a minute and 30 seconds quicker than my time of last season. My time in the end was 22.01, which gave me the win by well over a minute on the night.
Chris Lobb (Cyclelogic) also had a very good ride taking 4th overall and winning the espoir prize with a long 23. Young Dean Fuller (Camel Valley) won the junior prize with another cracking ride, he looks like he has a promising future ahead of him.\" [Gary Chambers]

Pos No Name Club Cat Time Award
1 50 Gary Chambers www.cyclelogic.co.uk M 22:01 1st Senior Man
2 10 Alessandro Gourley Penzance Wheelers M 23:17 2nd Senior Man
3 20 Paul Friday Penzance Wheelers M 23:30 3rd Senior Man
4 45 Chris Lobb www.cyclelogic.co.uk MEsp 23:36 1st Espoir Man
5 35 Dean Fuller Camel Valley CTC MJun 23:51 1st Junior Man
6 40 Tony Farnell Penzance Wheelers M60 23:58 1st Vet 60 Man
7 5 Graham Lobb www.cyclelogic.co.uk M40 24:01 1st Vet 40 Man
8 21 Shane Williams Penzance Wheelers M 24:03 4th Senior Man
9 15 Andy Ellis www.cyclelogic.co.uk M 24:06
10 25 Mark Haynes Penzance Wheelers M 24:19
11 31 John Fazakerley Penzance Wheelers M40 24:20 2nd Vet 40 Man
12 51 Tristan Harris Penzance Wheelers M 24:31
13 46 Andrew Smith One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 24:47 3rd Vet 40 Man
14 47 Peter Blackshaw Penzance Wheelers M50 24:58 1st Vet 50 Man
15 36 Damian Ayling Penzance Wheelers M 24:59
16 41 John Payne Penzance Wheelers M60 25:09
17 42 Peter Jory Penzance Wheelers M 25:23
18 49 Mark Hooper One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 25:29
19 6 Hari Slade Penzance Wheelers M 25:39
20 26 Phil Walker Penzance Wheelers M40 25:46
21 16 John Trott D & C Police Bike Chain Ricci M40 25:48
22 48 Richard Hudson One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 25:57
23 11 Lee Fuller Camel Valley CTC M 26:14
24 14 Mark King Penzance Wheelers M40 26:47
25 24 Adrian Hennessy One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 27:06
26 29 Anthony Bryant Penzance Wheelers M40 27:23
27 12 Dave Henderson Penzance Wheelers M60 27:25
28 37 Chris Pascoe Penzance Wheelers M 27:42
29 1 James Varah Penzance Wheelers M 27:45
30 18 Mark Taylor One & All Bike Chain Ricci M 27:49
31 44 Matthew Trevail One & All Bike Chain Ricci M 28:01 1st Novice Espoir
32 4 Nick Joyce Penzance Wheelers M 28:10
33 2 Fiona Telfer-Brunton One & All Bike Chain Ricci W 28:22 1st Senior Woman
34 19 Kevin Hooper One & All Bike Chain Ricci M 28:40
35 8 Dan Hathway One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 30:12
36 34 Scott Buckmaster One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 31:00
37 39 Melissa Kemp One & All Bike Chain Ricci WJuv 31:13 1st Juv Woman
38 13 Sam Tonkin One & All Bike Chain Ricci MJun 31:27
39 3 Matt Lane One & All Bike Chain Ricci MJun 31:34
40 9 Alison Galloway Trilogic W40 32:36 1st Vet 40 Woman
41 7 Tracy Hooper One & All Bike Chain Ricci W40 34:04
42 17 Rachael Tyers One & All Bike Chain Ricci W 34:06 1st Novice Woman
43 27 Rose Buckmaster One & All Bike Chain Ricci WEsp 34:25 1st Espoir Woman
44 28 Hannah Kemp One & All Bike Chain Ricci WJun 34:53 1st Junior Woman
Pendle Hill PZW MEsp DNS Apologies
Anmar Al-Shawi One & All Bike Chain Ricci M40 DNS
Gary Fouracres SAW M40 DNS Apologies
Ian North SAW M60 DNS Apologies
David Timms One & All Bike Chain Ricci M50 DNS Apologies
Michael Beadel One & All Bike Chain Ricci M50 DNS
Kernow Bascombe One & All Bike Chain Ricci MJun DNS[Tony Farnell]

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It was a warm and sunny evening, but a nagging breeze hampered riders somewhat to the first turn and a proliferation of tractors lead to some agricultural language from some riders.
A good win for John Fazakerley, his first in PZW colours I believe. A fine ride also by Tristan Harris, who seems to be riding into some form.
Thanks you to Nick Joyce for organising the event, Matt Southam for timekeeping, and Sandy Gourley and Dave Henderson for marshalling the turns. Next PZW race is the final criterium race at RAF Portreath on Saturday 4th July, which is also the PZW road race championships for 2009. The next PZW time trial is on Thursday 9th July at Leedstown - Pendle Hill is the organiser. Please make his job easier by volunteering to help.[Tony Farnell]

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Meanwhile back on the S6 some other PZ Wheelers were racing. Report eagerly awaited.[

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It was a beautiful hot evening on the S40, but just a hint of a breeze springing up on the return leg to the finish. The slightly revised course gives much better start and finish locations, but I believe lengthens the course by a few seconds.
Julius was the only rider to dip under 21 minutes, for yet another win. There were only two PZ Wheelers present. John Payne was somewhat handicapped by fatigue from the Dartmoor classic of the previous Sunday, but Tony Farnell managed a seasonal PB, the first time under 22 minutes for a couple of years, and took the vets prize. Made the long drive worthwhile. The cakes were good, but were completely upstaged by the magnificent display behind the counter. For more details you will have to ask me, as I couldn't possibly explain on this family website, but I'm already looking forward to the next Tamar CC race. [Tony Farnell]

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E/1/2 Cat Race

This race only ignited around half way when James Smith of Somerset RC attacked on his own and set about riding to a solo victory. Until this point the group had seemed to be watching Chris Opie who was on a visit back to Cornwall from his base in the Netherlands.
Once James Smith was away Pete Johnstone Tor 2000 attacked in an attempt to get up to him. He was later joined by Smiths team mate Robert Willcocks who out sprinted Johnstone to take a 1-2 for the Somerset club.
Gary Chambers Cycelogic 4th was the first local rider home having attacked the remains of the main group in the final laps. Chris Opie Pendragon won the sprint to take 5th.

1st James Smith Somerset RC
2nd Robert Willcocks Somerset RC
3rd Pete Johnstone Tor 2000
4th Gary Chambers Cyclelogic
5th Chris Opie Pendragon
6th Mark Barlow Dales Racing
7th Adrian Clode Guerciotti
8th Chris Lobb Cycelogic
9th Micheal Westwall RAF
10th Dave Bentley St Raphael


3/4/W Cat Race

A good sized field of 28 mostly local riders set off in the 3/4/W race.From the start it was dominated by one man Adam Bright of Guerciotti. He was the winner of the last Crit attacking half way through the race and holding out to win on his own. This time he went one better, attacking from the first lap at first with local rider Phil Walker and then ploughing on on his own. Some spectators thought this was an unwise if not suicidal move but as the laps went passed Bright maintained his rhythm and steady increased his lead over the rest of the field and stayed away to win on his own. A feat not witnessed
before at a Crit.
Behind him things started to change around the mid way point when a group counter attacked and set off on a chase of the lone leader. From the group Mark Haynes PZW counter attacked with four laps to go looking to secure the PZW Road race Championship without having to risk a sprint finish with the two other Wheelers in the chase group. He was then caught with one lap to go by Phil Coad Torq Fitness who went on to out sprint him for second place, whilst Mark rolled over the line as the PZW Champion.

1st Adam Bright Guerciotti
2nd Phil Coad Torq Fitness
3rd Mark Haynes PZW 1st PZW Champs
4th Richard Edmunds One and All Bike Chain Ricci
5th Paul Friday PZW 2nd PZW Champs
6th Tony Farnell PZW 3rd PZW Champs
7th Graham Sheldon
8th Matt Loake Southfork
9th Richard Pascoe One and All Bike Chain Ricci
10th Sandy Gourley PZW 4th PZW Champs
11th Andy Ellis Cycelogic
12th Richard Hudson One and All Bike Chain Ricci
13th Ed Joslin PZW 5th PZW Champs
14th Lee Bradley Guerciotti
15th Micheal Corke London Dynamo
16th Graham Lobb Cyclelogic
17th Darren Manser One and All Bike Chain Ricci
18th Mark Hooper One and All Bike Chain Ricci
19th Nic Joyce PZW 6th PZW Champs
20th Phil Walker PZW 7th PZW Champs
21st Damion Ayling PZW 8th PZW Champs
22nd Paddy Hall NW
23rd Harri Slade PZW 9th PZW Champs

[Matt Southam]

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With a carnival blocking the road at Praze, we had to resort to the revised course, starting on the outskirts of Hayle and finishing at the entrance to Clowance Estate. Although that meant a long slog uphill to the normal start, we did at least have a following wind blowing us all the way down to the turn at Sithney School.
There was another good win for Sandy, and lots of riders only separated by a handful of seconds. Many thanks to Pendle for organising the race, to Matt for timekeeping, to Mr and Mrs Hill for helping with the start and finish, and to John Fazakerley for marshalling the turn.
Next PZW race is on Thursday 23rd July, organised by John Payne.[Tony Farnell]

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Over 60 riders entered to race 6 laps of an 8 mile circuit road race, for a total of 53 miles. This was the 5th National Women Team Series so far this year for me! I was putting on my new Squadra Donne team top, it’s a blue-and-white stripes with Luciano Cycle written all over it. It was too big but I got it sewn up to fit me!! They’re my new team for the rest of Women’s Team Series this year.

Fiona (from O and A club) and I rode around the course to warm up, it was a nice course in the rural countryside east of Oxford, it was sooo flat! Just one little bump, a bridge over the motorway! We checked out all the road hazards, keeping in mind her broken bike at Stratford after she was attacked by a pothole! Now back at Oakley Village, we quickly took off our jackets and gave them to Steve who was driving Squadra Donne’s team car.

Rode up, down and finally to the start line, I was feeling quite relaxed. I had a disastrous race at Ilton (no.6) on Thurs evening in the really windy weather with a small group of 13 women riders. The group split up after about 25 minutes leaving several of us time trialling to the finish line. That night my legs felt like they were made of lead; I was praying that my legs would be working properly today!! As we rolled out of the village, there was lots of clapping from the local people because the bike race was also part of the Oakley Village Fete Day. A couple of stops and starts in the first mile, we were finally on our way! As the road were little narrow sometimes, we took over the whole road. Riders at either end of the pack would often yell ‘CAR!’ and we scurried off to the side. It was little unsettling at first then I got into the rhythm of the race.

The bunch was speeding along over the bridge, along a false flat and then sprinting out of the sharp corner with a lot of shuffling, heading back towards the start/finish line. There were two sprinting primes on the 2nd and 4th lap though Oakley village with hundreds of people clapping! I was just hanging on for the first prime and was in the mid-bunch for the second one. I was losing track of how many laps we did but a quick look at the computer reset my memory!

I felt a little nervous to be in the middle of the bunch as there was so many of us on the narrow roads. Instead I hung off to the side or the back for a little more room, remembering to spin off the lactic acid after changes of pace. My heart rate was quite high at times! By the fourth lap, I could predict when the pace would change, and where riders would try get away but would get caught again after a while! First one was Nadine Spearing (Altura Patterson) and second attack was by Anna Fischer , a German rider I think. At couple of points I was just hanging on or at least I thought I was until I saw a rider next to me with sweat pouring all over her face struggling to stay with the group. I said “Are you ok”? and she smiled! I thought “Gee, if she is suffering more than me, I need to pull my socks up and get back towards the front!”

On the final lap, some riders were fighting to get a good spot in the bunch and trying to save energy, while some were keeping the pace high. Jeanette Caldicott (Max Gear RT), who I rode with in the British Champs, tried to break away but was brought back. After the last sharp corner there was several miles to the finish line, so I took a good line round corner and sprinted like hell up the road. I had to swerve quickly around the white saddle lying on the road and wondered if someone was riding without a saddle?!! I was near the front now waiting to see what would happen next? I hoped the riders in front of me would go faster so the rest of the pack would end up behind, but no, they were coming all around us! A woman from Mischief Card team rode across me leaving me a tiny space in the gutter! I quickly got my line back and followed her wheel. A lot of jostling, I noticed that Iona Sewell from my team was moving up the bunch, I moved to the right to do the same thing.

Suddenly, in front of me, on the right side of the road, two riders crashed and in slow motion you see them going down like dominos, crash, crash and crash!!! Without thinking, I made a quick sharp lean to the left; phew it was close, bikes, bits flying everywhere. I guess all those years BMX racing taught me something! It took me a couple of moments to remember where I was, there was a small group of riders was going quickly ahead, so I chased after them - my legs were screaming!

With the finish line fast approaching, I moved to a bigger gear and told myself ‘you can do it’. I passed three riders including Jeanette (who tried to break away earlier) and finally crossed the line. Gee, what a way to finish, seeing that pile-up of riders! I learnt later that eight went down and a couple of them were sent to the hospital.

A quick cool down and I headed to the shower. Chatted with a couple of women who were involved in the crash and they seemed to be fine, one was washing the blood off her leg and hand like it was a normal everyday occurrence. Nikki Juniper also fell off at the Brit Champ as well (she was the one with the oxygen mask), she hasn’t had much luck staying on her bike; she was shaking her head like ‘can you believe it’!! Outside, there was loud music in the background as people enjoyed themselves at the fete. Dog shows, piano smashing, tug of wars and dance displays, not your average BCF event!

One of my team mates commented to me that she tended to ride at the back at times, as she doesn’t like it where there are large numbers of riders on a narrow flat and fast course; everyone wants to win and crashes are often the result!

Hannah Rich (Candi TV) won the race with Charlotte Colclough (Mischief Card) in 2nd and Katie Fearnehough (Mischief Card) in 3rd place. I finished in 14th place, my best finish so far. Also gained 2 points on my license, hey ho!

We had three Squadra Donne team riders in the top 15 so that was good. We would have got more points if the other riders had turned up! We came fourth in the team score. It was about 2 hrs 15 minutes of racing, averaging over 22 mph. Looking forward to the next one now at Naseby in a couple of weeks time! : -)
[Gail Aspden]

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Another massive entry indicates that time trialling and cycling are definitely on the up in this part of the country. On the morning, we were greeted by a blustery wind, wet roads and roadworks at the Indian Queens turn, so what should have been a 25 miles race was changed to a 10, but at least we managed to get a race. Thanks for the quick thinking Camel Valley. Great win for Olympic Silver medallist Wendy Houvenaghel, beating the cream of the south west male time trialling scene.
Despite the strong wind, there was a plethora of PBs from PZW - Shane Williams rode strongly, without chain mishaps this time, to take some good scalps, Damian Ayling made a significant climb up the rankings, and Peter Jory also cracked it. Not such a good day for John Fazakerley, who managed to include an unscheduled detour, but still had the determination to complete the course and get the training effect. To offset this misfortune, Caroline Chesterfield won the prize for 1st woman, Paul Friday took 4th place prize, and Tony Farnell was king of the wrinklies.[Tony Farnell]

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After being postponed from its original date in July, this race was successfully completed last night. The evening was cloudy, but warm, with little wind.
Wendy outclassed us all again, but PZW had a successful evening, with Paul Friday in 2nd and Shane Williams and Tony Farnell sharing 3rd place. Pete Blackshaw won the Vets 50, Ed Trezona-Phillips won the Vets 60, and Gail Aspden was the first woman.
From other clubs, Graham Lobb won the vet 40, Darren Manser was 7th in 23:55 in his debut TT over this distance, and Andy Smith one of only seven riders to break the 24 minutes barrier in 6th place. We will have to stop these guys coming out on the PZW Tuesday morning training rides, unless they start buying the cakes. Well done also to all the riders from One and All, many of whom are beginners, but performed very creditably on what is quite a hard course.
Many thanks to John Trott for organising this successful and popular race, and to the many officials and helpers, without whom we would not be able to enjoy thrashing ourselves across Goonhilly Downs.[Tony Farnell]

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When a couple of old college friends contacted me a few months ago, suggesting a reunion with another, who we had last seen 40 years ago before he emigrated to Canada, a weekend in Oxford seemed like a good idea. It was some weeks later that I happened to be scanning the BC website and noticed that the National Masters Road Race Championships was just down the road on the same weekend. Having done national championships in track, orienteering, fell running, cross country, marathon, triathlon, duathlon and time trialling, it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.
The race program recommended a minimum gearing of 39 x 23. They were not kidding - I was glad that I put on a 25 sprocket! The course at Long Crendon was tough - mine was the 50+ race, with riders from several different age groups tackling 5 laps of a 10 miles circuit with 3 big hills on each lap, each about a mile long, and with a steep 200-300 metres ramps in the middle, followed by equally steep 45-50 mph descents. Moreover, the roads were pretty rough, narrow in places, with some sharp bends, tricky in the rain and wind.
Lining up at the start, I realised that competing outside the south west, where you are surrounded by fellow riders who you know and race against every week, certainly takes you out of your comfort zone. Apart from Ian Deakin from Mid-Devon CC and Simon Edney from North Devon Wheelers, everyone else was a mystery. But no time to dwell on this as the race started in the middle of an absolute downpour and we rolled out for the neutralised start behind the lead car. By the time the action started, we were all completely sodden and the roads were streaming with water.
Apart from Simon going off the front, and staying there alone for much of the race, eventually hanging on for a truly impressive solo victory, for the rest of us it was a war of attrition. There were no dramatic surges in speed, but on every hill just a slight increase in tempo that shelled a few riders out of the peloton, immediately followed by hair-raising bunch descents dodging the potholes and gravel with the rain and spray driving into your eyes. In retrospect, a few crit races at Portreath probably were not the best type of preparation for a race in this kind of terrain. By the halfway point the bunch had been whittled down from about 60 to 20 riders.
On the penultimate lap, after being prominent throughout, Ian punctured and unfortunately there was no service for a wheel change, so that was the end of his race. Just after this my legs suddenly ran out of steam on one of the hills, and I slipped out of the back. However, once over the top I managed to get back on, but this revival proved to be short-lived. The next hill saw the bunch disappearing into the distance, and left me wondering how many of my age group might still be there and thinking about the prospect of completing the final 15 miles alone. Just after the bell, having survived a back wheel skid on one of the many tricky turns, I was suddenly caught by Dave Rutherford. It emerged he was in the same age group as me, and he said that he thought that we were currently in silver and bronze medal positions. We agreed to work together to to minimise the chance of being caught from behind and maximise the possibility of catching riders in front. However, after feeling quite strong and spinning up the next hill, I looked around and found myself alone. Despite being held up on the following descent by an ambulance recovering a crashed rider, I heaved body and bike up the final climb to the finish and the silver medal position.
The whole event was admirably organised by Imperial RT and I would particlarly like to thank the many marshals who must have had a miserable few hours in the wind and the rain. The awards ceremony was very slick - a podium, flowers, medals, and cash prizes, but sadly no podium girls. Incidentally, during the race I had a chat with another rider - who later emerged as Don Parry, the winner of my age group - saying that he had recently been cycling in the Pyrenees with a PZ Wheeler who was a doctor from Penzance. Small world. [Tony Farnell]

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It was quite a good evening, until there was a downpour just as the race was starting. However, enthusiasm was not too dampened and John Fazakerley recorded another good win, although there were less than a handfull of seconds separating the first four places.
Great ride by Peter Jory, hacking about 40 seconds from his PB on this course, and taking a few notable scalps in the process. Congratulations also to Katie Semmens and Louise Fretwell, two new PZW members, completing their first TTs and performing creditably as well.
Thanks to John Payne for organising the race, Matt Southam for signing on and timekeeping, Mike Hayes for pushing off, and Jane Thurnell-Read and Tony Farnell for marshalling.
Next PZW time trial is on Thursday 6th August at Leedstown, organised by Jane Thurnell-Read, and is the PZW circuit time trial championships for 2009. [Tony Farnell]

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As we warmed up in sun in the car park it became apparent that it was quite a warm and humid evening, albeit with a bit of a breeze. The entry for this usually popular race, seemed somewhat depleted this year, but there was chance to admire a fine set of road rash scabs on Gary Chambers as well as a gleaming new VW T5 team bus for Cyclelogic courtesy of Andy Ellis.
Competition for 3rd and 4th proved to be tight, but a narrow triumph for the Falmouth branch of PZW. Gary Chambers and Blake Pond managed to win despite a detour which involved going the wrong way down a slip road. As both the first two places were composite teams from different clubs, I think the moral victory went to the PZW teams.[Tony Farnell]

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The rain that had fallen all day blew over, leaving a sunny evening with a bit of a blustery wind. It was nice to be back on the traditional S6 course now that the bridge works have been finished.
This was the first of the PZW 4-up training sessions. Although we were a little depleted as a result of illness and work commitments, we still managed to field 2 teams and 4 individuals. Fresh from the Plymouth CCC 2-up last Saturday, the combined forces of Haynes, Farnell, Payne and Fazakerly soon had the legs stinging and the lungs straining, but we managed to work together pretty smoothly and there were no major crises. It was a timely reminder that the hardest part of a 4-up is getting on to the back of the line at after moving back from a turn on the front, but the time was more than a minute quicker than when we last practiced on this course 2 years ago.
The B team of Ayling, Walker, May and Damian's mate, Sasha, also performed well, although they had to complete most of the course as a 3-up as Sasha found that the realities of a 4-up are not to be underestimated.
On the individual front, it was good to see club treasurer Mark Travis making a long-awaited reappearance on the TT scene, his daughter Martha made an impressive TT debut, club stalwart Mike Tonkin had a good ride and new member Graham Bewick performed well.[Tony Farnell]

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Astonishingly it was a warm and dry morning for a change, with the usual little swirly breeze in the Ladock Valley, that seems to blow in different directions on different parts of the course.
It was very tight at the sharp end, only 3 seconds in it for the first three places, with Wendy Houvenaghel prevailing narrowly over the best male time trialists in the south west. After a criterium win on Wednesday, and a 4th place road race finish on Thursday against some elite racers, Gary Chambers showed that there is not much wrong with his recovery, but not quite enough to hold off time trial specialist Julius Jennings. Good ride by Chris Lobb, on a day and a course where it was a real achievement to break 23 minutes.
Another healthy turn-out for PZW. Sandy Gourley was the pick of the bunch, Caroline Chesterfield was 1st Woman, and Tony Farnell, John Payne and Ed Trezona-Phillips dominated the vets with 1st, 2nd and 3rd.[Tony Farnell]

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What more could we ask for? For the PZW circuit TT championships 2009, we had a bright and sunny evening with little wind and a big entry of 39 riders.
The PZW placings were: seniors, 1st Sandy Gourley, 2nd Shane Williams, 3rd Mark Haynes; vets, 1st Tony Farnell, 2nd John Fazakerley, 3rd Ed Trezona-Phillips; women, 1st Gail Aspden, 2nd Louise Fretwell, 3rd Katie Semmens.
Many thanks to Jane Thurnell-Reed for organising, John Payne and Richard Goulden for starting and timekeeping, Mike Hayes for pushing off, Terry Waters, Steve Hunt and Katie's mum for marshalling, and the young woman who I do not know who spotted the traffic at the start. [Tony Farnell]

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Back to the S6, where we were greeted by an overcast but warm evening with the usual swirling Ladock breeze, although getting here was the hardest part, with reported traffic jams all over Cornwall.
The PZW 4-up B Team looked very smooth as they powered along in tight formation, while in (half of) the A team Sandy had me really hanging on at times. Prospective new member Guy Hopson did well to beat 30 mins in his first ever race.
Many thanks to the St Austell team for organising and marshalling.[Tony Farnell]

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PZW used this annual race for some final practice for the big team time trial promoted by CS Dynamo in Devon next Sunday, where we will be defending our Cornish team time trial title and hoping to improve on our overall 4th place of last year.
The A team managed to hold together, just about, with a performance that bodes well for next week. The B team looked pretty good again, with Graham Lobb kindly stepping in for Tristan, who we hope was training hard up in Plymouth. The C team had to ride as a 3-up as Damian was working, but still managed a very respectable performance.[Tony Farnell]

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Gary and Chris left to rue what could have been!
30 riders were brave enough to enter the s4/50, including some strong riders. Julius Jennings, Stuart Hall, Karl Hodson, and Gary Foreacres to name a few. The course is a pretty hard one with several long draggy climbs and some fast descents. Sean Childs is the course record holder with a 1hour 52minute ride.
The alarm clock went off at 4.20am and up I got blurry eyed to pick Chris Lobb, my team mate up and head up to Buckfastleigh for a 50mile time trial on the s4. I would be lying if I wasn’t wondering what the hell I was doing! As I picked Chris up we could see several drunken people returning home from nights out on the booze, things normal people do I suppose!
Both Chris and myself had only ridden one 25m time trial this year and never even attempted a 50m time trial as we have been concentrating on the road so expectations weren’t very high. Chris was race number 37 and myself 55. The start time had been moved from 7.00am to 7.30am, we both assumed that number 1 would be off at 7.30am. WRONG!
It turned out that number 30 was off at 7.30am, this caused both of us to be late, Chris by 18minutes and myself by 7minutes! The timekeepers assured us both that we wouldn’t be deducted any time for this and off we set. With a fairly stiff breeze I could feel my tri spoke catching the wind in sections of the course but quickly settled into a nice tempo and was quickly catching people, this was worrying as I wasn’t sure if I had set off to fast as I wasn’t sure how to pace myself as this was my first ‘50’. However on the second lap I realised that I was still feeling strong and maybe I had judged this just right. I had!
I stopped the clock at 1hour 51mins 36secs. A new course record!
However when the results board come in, Chris and I both had time penalties after all. I was given 1hour 58mins and Chris 2hours 11mins. Chris had actually ridden a cracking 1hour 53minutes which would have given him third place!
We both faced the long drive home completely gutted! Hard to take!
[Gary Chambers]

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Despite the blustery wind, it was quite a fast evening for the final PZW mid-week time trial of the season. A healthy field of 35 riders enjoyed grappling withe the challenging Leedstown course.
Well done to the winner, Ciaran Jones, a Hayle boy, now living in Australia, but over here on holiday. Second, 3rd, 4th and 5th places were seperated by 11 seconds, so not much room for error there.
Thanks very much to Jon Pullen for the organisation, and to John Morse, Mike Tonkin, Sandy Gourley, Terry Waters, Ed Joslin and Pete Blackshaw for timekeeping, pushing off and marshalling. It was good to see Ed back in circulation and on the mend after his recent bad crash in a crit race.[Tony Farnell]

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It was certainly a shock when the alarm sounded at 4.30am on Sunday morning. Setting off in the dark the normal club ride seemed like a preferable idea. However, the PZW team time triallers exchanged the grey drizzle of Cornwall for the sun of Devon on Sunday morning and as we rolled into the car park at Rockbeare things started to look better and the adrenalin began to flow.
We had 3 full mens teams and half of a womans team in the field of 24 teams from all parts of the south west. The course was basically two laps of the Springtime Pursuit road race course, with an extra bit of steep hill added to take us up to the turning point at one end of the course.
Disaster struck the C Team when Jason\\\'s chain snapped just as they were leaving to ride to the start. Quick thinking by Nick resulted in him sacrificing his own ride in the interests of the team by giving his bike to Jason and taking up the role of chief supporter and cheerleader.
By the end of the race all the PZW riders had acquitted themselves really well. The A Team walked away with 2nd place, an improvement of 2 places from last year. About 2 minutes down, a very cohesive looking B Team in 5th place, narrowly missed out on a prize by one place, a massive improvement of eight places from last year. The C Team, despite losing Nick before the start, still managed to break the hour with 3 riders, and finish in the top half of the field. Meanwhile Mel Sneddon and Gail Aspden, together with two guest riders from other clubs, managed to beat 2 of the mens teams. Incidentally, the previous day Mel had won the bronze medal in the National Derny Championships. It was good to see that the organisers had put the emphasis on club teams in the prize list, which in my opinion, it should be. All too often in the past I have been to team time trials where composite teams of riders from different clubs have been allowed to carry away the prizes. Team time trials should be just that - members of the same team/club. If your club cannot manage to muster enough riders, then join a decent club.
So, in addition to dominating the Cornish Cup, PZW remain the undisputed team time trial champions of Cornwall for yet another year.
[Tony Farnell]

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RESULTS FOR THE LAST EVENING RACE OF THE YEAR, RUN BY ST AUSTELL WHEELERS. GUY HOPSON BEATING HIS P.B. BY NEARLY 1 MINUTE.
[Mike Tonkin]

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The PZW contingent was somewhat depleted by Tristan's stag party of the previous evening, and only modesty prevents me from naming the only member who attended both events. Nevertheless, we had a healthy representation and there were some outstanding performances on a rather windy morning.
Jason May ventured deep into previously unexplored territory with a PB and his first sub 60 ride. Mel Sneddon had the timekeepers frantically rechecking their calculations - they could not believe that she could have ridden as fast as she did. Altogether we had 6 PZW riders under the hour.
Organiser George Smith tells me that he is planning to have this race as an open event next year, which will plug the gap that currently exists in this late holiday period. Many thanks to St Austell Wheelers for their efforts in making this such a successful race.[Tony Farnell]

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Unfortunately the race was marred by a bad accident during the race involving John Trott, and a second, seperate accident involving his son James, just as he was finishing the race. Despite this setback, James recorded an incredible time for a 12 year old, confirming his recent good form in the GHS national championships, where he was 1st in his age group. I am not sure about the exact cicumstances of either incident, but do know that John sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital. I am sure that all members of PZW would want me to convey our best wishes for a speedy recovery to both John and James.
The race itself was blessed with a calm morning that resulted is some fine performances by PZW. Jason May cracked his PB by a significant margin yet again, as did Damian Ayling, who smashed through the hour barrier in convincing fashion for the first time. Pete Blackshaw had a stunning ride to haul himself up the PZW pecking order.
Special mention must be made of Andy Smith, who was only seconds outside his PB, but had completed a strenuous quadrathalon - swimming, cycling, running and kayaking - the previous day. Also commiserations to Mark Hooper, who just missed breaking the hour by a mere 8 seconds, in his first season of racing.[Tony Farnell]

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Some of us were rained upon on our way to the race, some of us had difficulty getting out of bed, some of us failed to rise to the challenge of racing, some of us wished we hadn\'t risen to the challenge of racing, some of us realised too late that we should have raced, some of us weren\'t far off the course record, and most of us thought the best bit was the coffee and cakes in the Hells Mouth cafe afterwards.
It was pretty close at the sharp end, with a storming ride by Paul to narrowly beat a rejuventated Nick and champion of last year Tristan. I am surprised that Tristan has so much energy, considering that his days of bachelor freedom are well and truly over next Friday. Elsewhere, there were some commendable performances mixed with end-of-season-itus and holiday legs, but Peter Jory did catch the eye with equal 6th place. Chris Opie did a private trial after the main race in 2:45.
Thanks to Matt Southam for timekeeping, Andy Ellis for starting, and John Garwell and Terry Waters for assisting and coping well even though no organiser had materialised. We are still looking for an organiser for the Boxing Day 10 TT.[Tony Farnell]

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A new champion is crowned. After narrowly missing out on the hill climb championships back in October, Nick Joyce emerged as the winner after a hard fought competition. His winning time was 38.21 seconds. Ed Joslin actually recorded the fastest time of the evening in an earlier round, 38.00 seconds, but was unluckily hampered by technical problems in the final.
Competitors made good use of the free sports massage facilities provided by Louise and her colleague (sorry I do not know your name), many thanks to both of you. Thanks also to Matt Southam, Terry Waters and Gerry Fuller for officiating and helping out.
[Matt Southam]

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A torrential downpour shortly before the start did little to dampen spirits, as a record 37 riders battled to compensate for yuletide excesses.
A sprinkling of 2-up teams enlivened the proceedings and ensured that there was no slacking. No suprise, therefore, when Steve Lampier and Chris Opie zipped around with the fastest time of the day. However, the ride of the day must be new PZW member Gary James in 2nd place, in the first race of his comeback, after several years of eating and drinking too much. Not far behind in the honours list must be Matt Cummins of One & All and the Tuesday Training Group, who clocked 7th place in his first ever race, and also young Luke Pye from PZW, 8th in his debut race, only a few months since his first ride.
Many thanks to Nick Joyce for organising the race so efficiently, Phil Walker and Nicki for starting, and Jason May and Pendle Hill for marshalling.[Tony Farnell]

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