Charnwood Primavera Sportive – May 2017

A full turn out for the Senior Team and their WAGs for a pleasant ride in South Notts and NW Leicestershire.

Pretty villages, plenty of rolling hills to keep us engaged and, for once, decent road surfaces. And the weather was kind!

Views into south Derbyshire

Alberto recounting his walk up the last hill ;-)

What a fit looking bunch of chaps. At the finish in Sutton Bonington.

Surprisingly good views from the Beacon Hills into Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire were enjoyed, and the team managed most hills with aplomb, Alberto 'I don't do hills' Johntador dismounting just once and Heyddie proving himself an able athlete despite a woeful lack of real road miles over the winter. It should be noted at this point that the ageing President managed to outsprint him on one hill...a first...and probably the last. And Jan quietly soldiered on all day, with his usual dry wit to keep us all in our place.

Of course, the weekend was enriched by fine food (thank you Mrs Colincellara), copious quantities of local ale, and the odd bottle of red wine.

No doubt, we'll do it all over again soon!

Not another bloody hill said Alberto...

Tour de Yorkshire Sportive - April 2017

A challenging little ride, which four hardy souls from the club completed in fair weather, thankfully with no rain, although blustery winds made some of the descents rather interesting. 

Alansandro made good speed despite training injuries during the winter. Stewie defied all expectations by finishing the circuit having missed his winter training programme completely, proving that playing golf is just as good for sportive preparation. And Jan proved that all those spin classes over the winter worked well for him, having not broken sweat all day. 

It's fair to say that there was no flat riding over the whole course, the organisers saving the most brutal tests to the last 25 km, but overall a great day made all the more palatable by the tremendous support of the Yorkshire folk as we passed through the towns and villages north of Sheffield. Chapeau!

The stats: over 2,300m of climbing in 100km, plus a brutal climb back up the Côte de Pea Royd Lane to get back to the car park at the end of the day!

The team: Fabian, Stewie, Jan and Alansandro