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Sunday 2nd October sees the 2022 Hill Climb Championship. First rider will start 9.01am.

We're using the Bow Brickhill course, meeting in Bow Brickhill at the bottom of the climb (there is limited parking, and please avoid disturbance of the residents. Entry is £5.50 online. Maximum number of riders 40, and there will be no entry on the line. Please enter via the ResultsBase website.

You'll need a mechanically sound bike and a bike helmet. A protective helment and both front and rear lights are mandatory.

Make sure you have familiarised yourself with the course, and remember that time trials are held on open roads - take care and be observant of other road users!

Start opposite war memorial at bottom of Bow Brickhill.
Proceed up the hill, once the climb flattens continue up into the woods
Where you will Finish at large tree opposite car park.

In the event of roadworks or other problems, we will use the Three Locks course.

The results of this time trial will be posted online shortly after the event has been completed. These data include riders’ Names, Club, Category and their Result.

Results

The five riders were greeted by a pleasant mild autumn morning as they gathered at the bottom of Church Road, Bow Brickhill climb. With all the parents, timekeepers, and indeed a few spectators, there was a good buz at the start and finish. Fortunately we had no trouble with traffic while the event was running (cars diverted from a nearby road closure). Personally I felt very much the old man at the event, but anyway it was good to see the banter between the younger riders. In the end though, nothing prepares you for being caught by your minute man!

So congratulations to Ethan for the win, with Chris only a minute down. I trailed in last, but I suppose as the only NBRC rider, that means I am NBRC Hill Climb Champion, with what must be the slowest time!

I'm expecting some photographs to add to this report, but so far I have a historical item supplied by Dick (see after the results table).

Many thanks to Dick for signs, Katka, Geoff and Steph for timkeeping, and to the riders (and spectators).

Pos	Number	Name	Club	Time	Cat	Sex
1	2	Ethan Fowler	Elite Cycling Junior Team	00:02:08	J	M
2	5	Chris Bradbury	TeamMK/BCG	00:02:09	S	M
3	1	Zachary Metheringham	MKRC/TeamMK	00:02:17	E	M
4	4	Luke Marshall	TeamMK	00:02:23	E	M
5	3	Robert Saunders	NBRC	00:03:29	V	M

 

Dick sent me the photo below. with this description:

Our venerable President, Dick Selley, who put the signs out and marked the start and finish lines, took great delight in showing the riders a photo from 24 years ago when he and Gordon Batcock rode the hill as part of stage 3 of the DLB Veterans Tour of North Bucks ( a real race!).   Questioned more closely it transpired he finished “Lanterne Rouge”, and is currently writing an illustrated book about the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(As a side note, we're pleased to hear that after his hip op, Dick's back on the bike. Perhaps next year we can have a hill climb vets competition!)

This morning saw the last time trial of the 2022 NBRC Club Event Calendar. Well, except for the Hill Climb on 2nd October.

We've had a complicated season, with events impacted by roadworks, and by low attendance compared with last year. The club continued its partnership with ResultsBase, which has enables us to stop handling cash on the day. This has been very helpful, especially with different club member staking the lead on events, and was originally introduced in 2021 as a measure against Covid.

We've found that the smartphone timing app that ResultsBase use is well-suited to our events, and it's pretty useful to have the results go straight online, from where we can download the data for sorting out league tables and veteran standards.

While our first post-pandemic (though we note that covid is still with us) series of events was by and large well-attended, rider numbers have dropped back in 2022, and we're planning how to raise the profile of the time trials. Email us with any bright ideas.

One aspect that was mentioned this morning was that events such as the Team MK series still offer entry on the line, meaning riders can just decide on the day to take part. We're looking now at how to continue working with ResultsBase and move closer to the old 'Entry On The Line' which often brought riders out at relatively short notice, but still using payments via ResultsBase.

The North Bucks Road Club is a long-established MK area cycling club established in 1952 at a meeting in Bow Brickhill. 70 years on, we are seeking the redefine our club for coming decades.

In common with many other social and sports clubs, the North Bucks Road Club has been severely affected by the Covid pandemic which has restricted social gatherings and seriously limited competitive cycling through 2020 and early 2021. We are keen to rebuild our membership and to diversify our activity, particularly in the areas of social rides, road racing, MTB and gravel cycling, and sportives.

We are offering an opportunity for motivated cyclists to join us in these developments and be part of a dynamic community of active cyclists.

We can offer expertise and advice in many aspects of cycling:

• Maintenance of bicycles
• Riding in groups, both in social and competitive rides
• Cycle touring
• Gaining fitness
• Starting racing – we are affiliated with British Cycling and Cycling Time Trials