Rye & District Wheelers

Rye & District Wheelers Providing information on our Clubs activities to our membership and non members.

Ashford Wheelers Cycling Club charity 10 1st July, go along if you can, it's a great event
11/06/2026

Ashford Wheelers Cycling Club charity 10 1st July, go along if you can, it's a great event

05/06/2026

The previous fortnight has been quiet on the time trialling front for the club with only Dave and myself riding the Ashford Wheelers Wednesday club event. Dave is quickly finding his legs with two 25+mph rides (23:35 last Wednesday). I’m still to venture into the 23’s this season on Q10/1 with a 24:04 being the most recent!
Today (Sunday 31-May), I got up at 04:00am to travel to East Sussex for my first 50 of the year and with my form being not up to last season, I really did not know how I was going to fare. Spindata predicted a time of 2:08:20, three seconds faster than what I achieved last year, which was a bit optimistic!
The weather was thankfully cooler than it has been and was perfect for time trialling. My time was 06:50am and there were over thirty entrants. The course is rolling and involves two laps of the A22, the first five miles being quick and I recorded 11:51 - over 25mph! The next was 13:20 as the slight uphill sections were tackled and halfway, my time was 01:04:16 and only a six seconds out of my predicted time. The second half was a disappointing 01:05:48, giving me a time of 02:10:04, but a reflection of my form this season.
Back at the HQ, I met a former Rye Wheeler, Damien Foord who was a protégé of Pav Brian and was quickly a good rider before he stopped to concentrate on his business. Damien is back and now rides for Hastings and is training for an Iron Man in August and is still in touch with Pav who is also doing well. I was surprised to have won £25 for second place in the Road Bike category despite being the oldest by far - not too bad!
Also, chapeau to Andrew Meilak, who is a second claim club member. Last week he competed in the National VTTA 100 and was a clear winner on age standard with a time of 03:41:00, despite oppressive heat. He also won in 2021, so this horrid event appears to be his forte!
My next open ride will probably be the southern counties 50 in a fortnight on the tough Washington course - hopefully, I will win some more prize money!
Report from Mak A.

05/06/2026

Unfortunately it has been decided to cancel tonight's Club TT due to roads in Woodchurch. Kent Highways state they are there till the 8th.
We intend to reschedule to later in the month.
Thank you to all who have volunteered for marshalling or intended to ride.

Report by Mark Amon. Saturday 9th MayToday saw a 10-mile event on our course, the Q10/33 run by the popular Southborough...
11/05/2026

Report by Mark Amon. Saturday 9th May
Today saw a 10-mile event on our course, the Q10/33 run by the popular Southborough Wheelers club run at a much more palatable time of a 14:00 start. The Rye contingent consisted of the Wilsons, myself and Dave who had procured a late entry and the field was refreshingly large with over twenty on road bikes.
I cycled to the event and clocked up 31-miles by the time I reached the start line - sadly, I had seen Rebecca at the bottom of the golf course hill, during my warm up, off her bike with a rear puncture to her disc wheel with no chance of fitting a replacement in time - such a frustrating thing!
This was my third ‘10’ in a week following a 22:47 (VTTA National 10) and a flat 24:00 on Wednesday on the Q10/1. As soon as I set off, my legs felt bereft of power and soon my head followed my legs and went south and it was mental torture until the finish - a time of 25:57 being way outside my predicted 24:28, a time I have never achieved on a road bike. The legs were going round and the bike was going forward, but that was about it!
Meanwhile, Nick had an even more horrid ride, having to stop after three miles due to feeling faint and nearly passing out whilst Dave put in his best ride of the season with. 24:30 on a slow day - an excellent ride Dave!
Back at the HQ, the mood was three quarters sombre but the cakes were excellent and I indulged with an apricot slice, a chocolate and vanilla brownie and a chocolate and nut protein ball!
We all went our separate ways and by the time I reached home, I had cycled 76-miles in just over four homes and was a bit pooped! Better luck next time for the Rye TT Riders (apart from Sir Dave of course!).
Photo of DG, courtesy of Barr313.

06/05/2026

From Mark Amon.

Whilst Lord Greenwood of Lenham Manor was tackling a proper time trial course on the A20, I was in Herts/Bucks on the A41 for the National VTTA 10 on the quick F11/10 course.
There was a full field of 150 riders plus reserves entered with just five Kent VTTA members making up the numbers. There were around fifteen people on road bikes and as there were no seperate awards for ‘the roadies’, it was very much an unfair contest with time adjustments being the same regardless of what machine was being ridden.
Spindata had prediced a time of 22:38 for myself, a single second slower than what I achieved on the same course last year, but a daunting task given injuries hampering my training this year.
The weather was overcast with a little wind, but with no rain that was predicted, I set off #67 and made my way down the appallingly surfaced slip road to the madness of the busy A41. My average speed was soon in the 25mph bracket and before I had reached five minutes, I was onto the slip road and heading towards the double roundabout that goes under the dual carriageway before rejoining the other way - sadly, I had to fully stop for a car and that cost me a little time. Back on the A41 for a couple of miles at which point the road goes down (and down) in a subtle gradient but the next two miles went by in a blur and I was now averaging 26:5mph and bang on for my forecast time. Turning again, and I put everything into the last two miles, but came up a little short at 22:47 - an average of 26:41mph.
Back at the HQ, there was the best selection of cakes I had seen at an event, so I tried three! I was pleased to have come second amongst the road bikes on age standard with the fastest rider timed at 20:10 (he was in the 40-44 bracket). The open winner was in the 55-59 category and did an 18:13 on a TT bike, whilst the Ladies Champion was a 72-year old who recorded 23:40. Who said age was a barrier to success!
Dave did a fine 1:06:13 on a tough, 25-mile rolling course with only two riders going under the hour - well done, Sir!

01/05/2026

Please note: Unfortunately, due to road works on the course, tonight's Rye and District Wheelers Club TT has been postponed to the 15th May.

28/04/2026

Report by Mark Amon:

The Ashford Wheelers mid-week 10 started on Wednesday and the club had reverted to CTT running the event which meant there was no longer the need to join another organisation and in theory, loads more riders! The price for Rye Wheelers was £5.00 and £7.50 for any other club - a nice gesture from our cycling brethren!

It turned out to be quite windy towards Ashford and it was yours' truly that set off #1 of just 8 riders. I struggled with the headwind and the first 5 miles took me 12:52 meaning a sub-24 was a massive ask - and it was with a time of 24:14 that was disappointing as I didn't slip out of the 23's all last season. Steve looked smooth as ever and came second on the night with a great 22:09. It was nice to see familiar faces again after the winter!

Sunday arrived and the Kent VTTA 25 was on the agenda, based on the Ham Street course. The club had Nick, Rebecca, Steve, Dave and myself representing the club and on a chilly morning, I was first off at #14 and the start did not seem in the right place as I remembered. The wind of the mid-week had gladly dropped and I felt good all the way round, getting caught by just a single rider and catching four. Going over the finishing line, my Garmin said 24.5 miles and a time of 1:01:05 - the organisers had made a mistake with the start as I thought, but it was the same for everyone.

A hot beverage and cake (two for me as I had cycled to the event from Folkestone) in the HQ and a lovely catch up with everyone took place with Nick still proving he has the legs with only Andy Meilak beating him on age standard by 12 seconds. Rebecca was the fastest female TT rider, so it was another event with monetary prizes heading back to Hastings.
Results for our riders were:

Rebecca Wilson 1:07:12 (1st Place Women's TT)

Nick Wilson 54:45 (5th Place overall and 2nd on Vets standard)

Steve Gooch 57:08 (12th Place and feeling off-colour today)

Dave Greenwood 1:01:13 (20th Place)

Mark Amon 1:01:05 (19th Place and 4th Road Bike but 1st on Vets Standard)

Just for a plug - the first Rye Friday TT is this Friday, let's hope it is a success like the great events last year. Time Trialling on a proper course!

Thanks Dave! :

22/04/2026

Not a report on the VTTA Road Bike Champs. Mark Amon
Sadly, today (19th April) should have been a report on how I fared against other road bike veterans in the inaugural VTTA TT event held on a rolling 30-mile course near Swindon, but sadly an accident whilst training on Wednesday evening meant I had to withdraw.

I started to train for this event last October and by the end of November, I was feeling good - sadly a non-cycling accident resulted in an ankle fracture that stopped my momentum and it wasn’t until mid-January that I was able to use the turbo again. I made the classic mistake of increasing power to my sessions too soon to make up for lost time and by the end of February, I was fatigued and lost my mojo somewhat.

A lovely holiday in the Algarve at the end of March recharged the batteries and I was ready for the big one in Swindon. Sadly, last Wednesday as I approached the canal road towards Rye in Appledore, I skidded on loose stones before going down a pothole and getting high-sided, like being thrown from a horse, rodeo style! I landed on my right side and then heard the sickening sound of my S-Works crash on to the road. My rear derailleur was no longer working and I had to cycle 17-miles in a 54/11 gear - luckily into the wind!

I woke up the next day and felt sore and bruised, but from Thursday I was in real agony and today went to the walk-in centre. Thankfully, there were no broken ribs, but any thoughts of riding a bike at the moment are of the agenda. Will I make next weeks VTTA 25 in Ham Street, joining Dave, Steve, Nick and Rebecca? I hope so.

Hope to see you on the start line soon Mark, DG.

13/04/2026

Write up from Mark Amon KCA10.
Today (12-Apr-26), marked the first TT events of the year for Dave G and myself, both willing to get out of bed at a silly hour and subject ourselves to a wind battering on the Ham Street based Q10/50 course that starts and finishes in Ham Street via Brenzett/Brookland RBT’s.
The field was relatively small as per the norm in Kent these days, but the organisers were enthusiastic and the results were professionally shown on a big screen and uploaded to the CTT Live facility immediately! Kudos to the team and Bob is still in the UK!
Dave was #14 and was soon off on his Celeste Bianchi machine and I was two minutes behind. The run down to Brenzett and on to Brookland was into a stiff headwind and I was struggling as the 5.7 mile stretch dragged on - my halfway time of 13:26 (22.5mph) was dispiriting to say the least! The 4.3 mile return section was mainly with a tailwind and I thought a sub-25 was a possibility. For some reason, my electronic gears stopped working for a mile before they resumed as normal and I went over the finishing line with a time of 24:58, 15-seconds slower than Spindata predicted.
Back at the HQ with a brew and cake, Dave had had a good ride with a time of 24:49 which was what Spindata had predicted to the second! He showed me plenty of Strava graphs of his ride that included an average HR of 173! Nobody could accuse him of lack of effort today - well done Sir Dave!
It was nice to talk to familiar faces after the long winter break and to hear what their plans were. Rob and Maria Sparks (KCA) were marshalling today, both unable to ride after both being hit by a car that destroyed both bikes. Let’s hope they recover soon!
On the 26-April-26, there is a VTTA 25 event that takes in most of today’s course, so if you feel you would like a go, get your entries in! Can anyone get under the hour on a road bike from the club?
As for myself, next week, I will be travelling to Swindon to take part in the inaugural VTTA Road Bike TT held on a rolling course that is 30-miles in distance that is about a ‘Mano a Mano’ as you can get. I think it will be popular!

Good evening , my dad is Gary Booth one of the original founders of the Rye & District Wheelers, he sadly passed away on...
17/03/2026

Good evening , my dad is Gary Booth one of the original founders of the Rye & District Wheelers, he sadly passed away on 26/2/26 and I was wondering if you can put a post up on the page so anyone that would like to attend his funeral on 27/3/26 would be most welcome.

Thank you

Best wishes Rachel

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