Rye & District Wheelers

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

07/09/2026

From Mark Amon, Basildon CC 30TT

Today (06-Sept-26) was meant to be the Blue Ribbon event of the Kentish Time Trial calendar - the VTTA 25 TT held on the Ham Street course and it traditionally acts as the club championship for the 25 Distance. Sadly, this was cancelled, I believe, due to Bob Giles emigrating to Australia (Kentish Time Trialling will REALLY miss him!}, The Kent VTTA desperately needs new promoters, if it is to run events next year.

I next looked at what events were available and chose the horrid Southern Counties 100 in West Sussex - this was meant to be held in July, I believe, but was cancelled due to road works. Our esteemed chairman had entered then and he didn’t need much convincing to enter again!

The 100 is a tough time trial and I had not ridden one since 2019, so I was nervous, but quietly fancying a go at my road bike PB. The start sheet was late out and finally released on Tuesday and there were just NINE riders on the start sheet! I had my headlines ready, “Rye Wheelers duo finish in the top 10”! I was down as the fastest road biker and fancied the £40 prize with Dave forecasted to make the podium - sadly, road works appeared on Thursday and the event was cancelled for the second time!

Dave and I looked at the scraps left and it was either an afternoon event on a Cambridge course with 120 riders which Dave wasn’t keen on, so we entered the Basildon 30, held on a sporting course - Dave was familiar with the area around Tillingham. I stayed at Dave’s house in the middle of nowhere on the Saturday night and was treated to a steak dinner with a glass of red and a bedroom with its own bathroom!

We were both up at 04:15 and soon off in our cars for an uneventful journey and arrived at the HQ to be greeted by the organisers who were surprised to see two Rye Wheelers travel to their event!

I was first off at 08:02 and Dave a minute behind me. The course reminded me of the old Ashford Wheelers course that took in Shadoxhurst with many left turns, but differed with a rolling nature with one short, leg busting climb. It was also two laps! I wanted to average 23mph, but was just short, despite a negative split and my time of 1:19:18 saw me achieve 12th place and 3rd place in the road bike category. Dave was having a good ride and was pleased with his time of 1:20:20. We both enjoyed riding a proper course instead of the dual carriageways that are popular and have big fields. I believe my time is a PB, so I now have 10, 15, 30 and 50 PBs on my road bike that are faster than my TT times!

A quick hot drink and cake, staying for awards, and then we travelled home having really enjoyed the replacement event. That leaves me to say, thanks Dave!
Note from Dave, It was good to revisit Bradwell on Sea, the last time was June 2022, during a 206 mile, out and back solstice ride from Rye with Barry, Nick and Steve. We had a well-deserved lunch in Tillingham before the return ride and the foot ferry crossing from Tilbury to Gravesend, sadly no longer in operation. It was an epic and excellent day.

23/08/2026

The season is drawing to a close and with the two remaining 25s in Kent, both being cancelled, it may already have ended for some riders.

There has been local time trials held by the Ashford Wheelers on Wednesday’s and our club last Friday. Dave Greenwood found some late form with two 25 mph+ rides (23:50 and 23:30) on the Ham Street course. I rode one event, posting 24:06, but I missed the last one due to attending the Hythe Venetian Fete. This season, I rode 12/17 events on the Wednesday, with just two 23s (23:26 being the best) and ten 24s with plenty of times being between 24:00 and 24:10! How frustrating! As I cycled to the event and back, a mid-week ride of fifty miles including the 10,, was great for fitness. The Ashford Wheelers team area great bunch and I enjoy supporting their event.

Last Friday saw the second and last event held on our course in Tenterden - the numbers were down this year but there were thirteen riders on the start line for the season finale. I was last off with Dave Catt my minute man for the third event in a row! He is getting better with each ride and I only caught him just before halfway.

I felt like I was on a good ride and finished strongly with a 24:50, just thirteen seconds off my best time on a road bike for the Q10/33. There were some good times with the winner riding for Weald Tri, I believe? I cycled home and it was dark long before I reached Folkestone, but a seventy mile ride including a 10 was in the bank and since the Maratona, my fitness has raised and I have my mojo back. Thank you to Nick and all the Marshalls who gave their time (and petrol) to make the event happen!

Finally, after my 50 personal best (2:03:10) the previous week, I travelled to Norfolk/Suffolk to ride the Barrachi 50, travelling on the same roads as I had the previous week. The Bungay course is flat and is a repetitive RBT to RBT on the A143 with four laps needed to be ridden. Wind was minimal and my predicted time of 2:07:24 seemed achievable for once (last year, I rode 2:07:30, at the time a PB)..

I started with the aim of averaging 24 mph, but this didn’t happen despite feeling good, until fifteen miles where I was averaging 23.9 mph. This was the highest it got and my time of 2:08:42 was disappointing as I wanted sub 2:05:00. Nevertheless, I felt I rode well and didn’t fade away - a solid ride and 6.5/10 if I was rating the ride!

Dave Greenwood and I are contemplating entering a nasty event on the 6th September - I’ll keep you posted!

Everything came together for our final time trial for2026, the temperature was down from the highs of last week to a muc...
22/08/2026

Everything came together for our final time trial for2026, the temperature was down from the highs of last week to a much more seasonable level and the roadworks planners also spared us. The rain which looked threatening all afternoon held off too, so it was great to see some buzz in the car park with thirteen riders preparing to take on the Q10/33 much loved course. Everyone completed the course with excellent performances. Thank you to all who rode and of course to those helping to run the event
Nick

18/08/2026

Friday 21st August, is our final club 10TT for 2026. Sign on from 17.45 and first one off 18.45. So, if you are a regular or yet to post a time this year, please come along and give it a go. Further details on CTT website.
Sign on at: Cerium, Appledore road, TN30, 7DE

11/08/2026

After a quiet fortnight of no weekend time trials, I elected to forego the Thanet 10 and travel to the Newmarket area for my fourth 50 of the season. I travelled up on Saturday, enduring heavy traffic and Operation Brock, finally reaching my destination - Mildenhall, which is a stone’s throw from the RAF base. What should have been a quaint market town turned out to be full of national chain shops and I won’t be in a rush to return!

After an awful sleep (or lack of), I was up at 04:35 and soon on my way to the HQ in Setchworth, near Newmarket. The E2/50D2 is advertised as one of the quickest in the country, basically taking in the A11/A14, although on paper, it looks complicated. Recently, the course basically was doubled for the 100 and a new national record at 3:10:45 (31.5mph) was set!

My dwindling form, as I have documented on our site this season, has seen my Spindata rating plummet from C4 to C9, so I was shocked to see my predicted time of 2:00:58 and can only conclude that a bunch of comedian’s are coming up with these times! My quickest Road Bike 50 time was 2:07:30 and on a TT Bike, 2:04:52 for comparison.

Nevertheless, the start was fast and my average hovered around the mid 24s and turning at around seven miles, I realised that these were the same roads that Dave Greenwood rode in a 12-hour TT, when I supported him - this was the TT when Dave stopped to apply some chamois cream, I informed him that “He was behind my schedule” and he quickly retorted, “What about my schedule!”

The long drag up to the top of the course saw my average reach 24.9mph and I recorded 1:00:38 for the first 25 miles - a new, outright PB if it would have finished there! As the miles ticked by, the left side of my back started to trouble me - this is normal, but I then start to be unable to hold the aero position for too long and need to stand and pedal for a bit - this slows the average speed and entering the final 10 miles, the average was now 24.3mph. I dug deep and crossed the line with a new outright PB for the 50 distance at 2:03:11.

I came third out of five riders in the road bike category with the top two both doing 1:52:00s. There were over a hundred riders with 96 finishing (I came 75th). The travel home was fine until a major accident between Ashford and Hythe closed both section of the M20 for over an hour - a sour note to a good-ish ride, one of my best this year.

Dave took part in the Thanet 10 this morning and registered a slightly disappointing 24:16 - I thought you were going sub 23:30, Chairman!

Next week, I am in Norfolk/Suffolk again for another 50, this time on the Bungay course where I set my previous PB, last year.
Mark Amon

TT reports Mark AmonWednesday was the Ashford Wheelers 10-mile TT, with England playing Argentina - this possibly accoun...
19/07/2026

TT reports Mark Amon
Wednesday was the Ashford Wheelers 10-mile TT, with England playing Argentina - this possibly accounted for just nine entries on a lovely summer evening. I cycled up from Folkestone and I was surprised by the headwind out towards the top roundabout (4.3 miles) and the five-mile split of 12:54 made a time of below 24-minutes a long way off. The faster second half saw the average speed, climb to 24.9mph as I turned off of the A2070 and back to the Ham Street finish, struggling with the wind and fatigue posting 24:24. A disappointing time, but I felt I rode a good race.

Friday was a time trial on our home course for the annual Rye Wheelers Road Bike Championship - last year saw a hearteningly large field, but sadly, this year saw just nine riders. Simon Cope was unavailable and with Steve Gooch deciding not to ride, saw James Ashburnham as the overwhelming favourite. I cycled up from Folkestone and had racked up 32-miles by my start time. There was a headwind of sorts at the start and the run out to Appledore was tough - last year, I caught my minute man (Dave Catt) fairly quickly, but this year Dave was riding strongly and it took me four miles to reel him in. The drag up through the woods decimates the average speed, followed by speedy descents to bring it back up and I went over the line with a 25:11 (last year was 24:37).

I felt I had a good ride, but the evening belonged to James with a blistering time of 23:25 - I believe Pav did 22:52 on a road bike, but I might be wrong! To do a 25mph+ ride on a road bike on our course is no mean feat, so chapeau to James. I’m sure Nick will post the full results soon. Thanks to all the volunteers without whom…..

Sunday saw Dave G ride the Shaftsbury CC 50 TT in Essex and I did not want our esteemed Chairman to be alone, so I was a late entry and first off at 08:06. I wondered whether the Wednesday and Friday TT’s (52-miles and 70-miles all in), would catch up with me along with the 04:45 wake-up and drive to Chelmsford.

I met Dave in the car park and we both said how chilly it was and he thanked me for entering! The times forecast for this rolling course seemed slow, but I soon found out why! The first twelve miles out were into a headwind and my speed was just 21mph at the turn - this was going to be a long day out and I was looking at a time south of 2:20:00. The return was way better and sections were in excess of 30mph and halfway, my average was up to 22.9mph.

The second lap was slower, but I felt I was riding well and Dave seemed to be going well too as he went by on the opposite side of the road. Finally the end came with a time of 2:12:54 which was not too bad when looking at the times back in the HQ. I had been overtaken by just two riders and only four had gone under two hours. Sadly Dave had his right arm rest snap off his TT bike after thirty-two miles, narrowly avoiding a crash and this scuppered his ride, posting 2:21:05. Unlucky Chairman, you were on a good ride!

Dave and I had a hot drink at the HQ and a cake for me, before we left for the travel home. My 182-miles ridden (including 70-miles of time trials) in five days has been really good for me, despite the times being down on last year and I feel the remaining events could salvage a disappointing season!

13/07/2026

TT report from Mark Amon

The Ramsey Cup has long been a fixture on the Kent Time Trial calendar, run by long-time promoter, Andy Sangster on behalf of the Gravesend Cycling Club. It has been traditionally run on the Challock Q25/8 course, but perpetual road works has scuppered events in the last few years, resulting in events being held on the newish A20 Q25/15 course. I believe Dave Wheeler and Bronwen Ewing have been winners in the past, taking home the shield.

This year was to be the return of the Challock course until the day before when road works appeared on the A28! This road appears to have permanent traffic lights in situ, so it was back to the Q25/15. The field was less than thirty - a decade ago saw fields of more than double this figure, but the organiser and his group of marshalls and helpers remain enthusiastic.

The weather has been stiffingly oppressive, but today was grey with a swirling breeze. The course is rolling and not popular due to slow times and so it proved to be today. I managed to average 25mph for the first five miles which is the fastest section, but the long drags soon saw the average tumbling and my final time of 1:09:45 ranks as one of my slowest ever on a road bike. My times were 01:05:30 and 01:06:47 on this course last year for comparison.

Back at the HQ, I have never seen such disparity between riders’ times with just two going under the hour and others way outside their normal times. Somehow, I came third in the road bike category - the winner did an amazing 01:01:30 on a no-frills titanium bike and I got talking to him and he said he was born in Switzerland, weighed 60kg and averaged 310 watts - that’s over 5 watts/kg!

Hopefully, I will see lots of Rye Wheeler riders this Friday for the road bike competition - roadworks permitting!

10/07/2026

The Rye time trial scheduled for today (10th July) has been postponed until 17th due to traffic lights at the 'T' junction in Appledore. We hope to see you all next week

Day 6: The penultimate day for us in the Dolomites and it was a drive down to Cortina and a climb up the Gardena to fini...
08/07/2026

Day 6: The penultimate day for us in the Dolomites and it was a drive down to Cortina and a climb up the Gardena to finish off our cycling in the Dolomites. The Gardena is a long climb, but with only a few steep sections near the top and it is a beautiful ascent. I managed to stay with Nick for twenty two minutes and was comfortable, but then he went away and I was on my own until the summit that took forty two minutes to ascend. Steve was on a bad day and just enjoyed the ride and Rebecca steamed up the final stretch with an impressive cadence! It is one of our favourite climbs in the Dolomites and is a good barometer of current fitness levels.

Back in Covara it was hot chocolates all round bar Vicky, and Steve and I chose one infused with sicilian lemon - it was so thick, it could not be drunk, but we both loved it - why can’t you get this in the UK?

Then it was a cable car up to the Col Alt for panoramic views of an astonising landscape - I hope Nick’s photos can give you a senxe of the scale of the Dolomites. Looking down, the Campolongo looked flat as it snaked through the mountain! We ate at a magnificent restaurant as we did last year and the food was stellar. Nick and Steve had ham, egg and chips, but not like you would get at home with the ham (speck) being of local origin. Vicky had dumplings with cabbage (delicious), Rebecca had a chicken salad that made home offerings look sad and I had spaghetti with sausage, spinach and toasted crumbs. I looked at the wine menu and thought about plumping for a €1600 bottle, but in the end, settled for a glass of Lagrein (€8 a glass!).

Back at the hotel, it was time to dismantle the bikes, pack everything up, have dinner and then retire to bed for a 05:00 departure tomorrow to travel back to dear old blighty. I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings from this amazing part of the world!

Finally, don’t forget, the annual road bike championships are this Friday (barring roadworks), so please try to support this event that has proved popular for the last two years!

Day 5 in the Dolomites consisted of a ride that was supposed to be around fifteen miles with some climbing at the start,...
07/07/2026

Day 5 in the Dolomites consisted of a ride that was supposed to be around fifteen miles with some climbing at the start, but turned into something a lot more! The route was off the beaten track and cyclists could be counted on both hands with steep, long drags right from the off that seemingly would never end. After an eternity, we came to a junction that gave the option of down or up - we choose up to the Passo d’Erbe summit and another 5.5km of really steep climbing - I’ll admit that yesterday had caught up with me and Rebecca ushered me up the final km to the waiting Nick and Steve!

The restaurant was beautiful and the scenery amongst the best I have seen all week, and the food wasn’t bad either! Apple Strudel, Buckwheat Cake and hot chocolates (with cream) all round was had before the long descent down the mountain, which was technical and poorly surfaced.

The afternoon consisted of Nick, Steve and Rebecca visiting the nearby town of Bruneck, Vicky using the free bus pass to visit Corvara to chat to new people and yours’ truly laying on the bed, poleaxed, watching the Tour de France.

Dinner was top notch as usual and there was a few alcholic beverages had before retiring to our rooms.

A mention for Dave Greenwood who completed the Kent CA 50 yesterday around the marsh in windy conditions with a time of 2:13:11. - a distance he hasn’t time trialled for a few years - well done Chairman!

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