PTW

"Sunny intervals and a moderate breeze"

Well, compared to what we've had over the past two days that's sounds OK doesn't it? After coughing up a lung last week you'll all be better prepared for this weeks 'back road' challenge and even if this sporting course doesn't particularly suit you it is training for those sunnier days ahead on the R10/22.

R10/23 ‘BACK ROAD’ COURSE DESCRIPTION

R10/23 START on the B4242 Old Vale of Neath Road at the entrance to F.E. Chick just north-east of Rheola Pond. Proceed south-west on the B4242 to Resolven junction. Continue south-west on the B4242 passing through Abergarwed village and Ynysarwed village to the ‘Rock and Fountain’ hill, climb and continue to TURN with care at the break in the dual-carriageway opposite the Groundhog factory at Ynysgerwen, SA10 8HH (5.0 miles).

Descend hill and retrace route north-eastwards along the B4242 through Ynysarwed village and Abergarwed village. Continue north-eastwards through Resolven junction and past Rheola Pond to FINISH directly opposite the start.

2021.07 by Alf Williams, on Flickr

It was nice to have a few more riders tonight on a brighter evening with plenty of sunshine but it really was deceptively cold and especially in the shade. John Shehan got us underway and trimmed a modest five seconds off last week's time and is looking for a minimum of six seconds gain next week. It was nice to welcome Stephen Morgan and Ethan Morgan (father and son) to our Thursday night club events and, despite being five minutes apart, Ethan very nearly caught his dad at the finish.

Hollie got her TT season underway with a very short '29' catching Stephan Wilcox on the way. John Deeley went a tiny bit slower than last week but this can be explained on 'bad karma' for wearing THAT skinsuit (it took me right back to wallcharts in Biology class). Bill Gannon started his season in satisfactory style with a 27:19 which took him out of the bottom third - a good start Bill.

In the midfield battle Mike Broadbent took 37 seconds off last week to get under his target of a sub-27 and is celebrating with a beer at this very moment. Graham Rogerson switched back to a road bike this week and still took a full minute off his time and is targeting the road bike championship this season. Also on a road bike was Karl Rees who will take big lumps off his modest 26:49 in future weeks. Whilst only trimming two seconds off his time from last week, John Aspell took the midfield win with a 25:18 to take fifth place on the night.

At the sharp end of the bike race, Mike Hall went forward by nearly half-a-minute to claim fourth place in a ride that got a bit overshadowed by our sensational 1-2-3 where just two seconds separated our top three seeds with Nicky Morgan just edging out Rod Hicks by one second who had turned himself inside out to overturn the 24 seconds deficit to Neil Seaward last week. It's the closest finish we've ever had on a club event and sets up an interesting series of battles in the weeks ahead.

For Alfie's 'man of the match' I'm going back to our midfield battle and giving the award to Graham Rogerson for a huge leap forward and on a road bike too. Well done GR!

Thanks to Dai for time-keeping and also to Gareth Davies for marshalling at the turn. Great work guys! Will has now moved on to giving guided 'Springwatch' tours of the Neath canal on a Thursday evening and was last seen in a Gondola with Marilyn Shehan serenading her with "Just one Cornetto".

See you next week.

@ Nicky Morgan - I have part of your car!

Thanks for that Alf. Somehow it appears I haven't ridden the 10/23 since 2018. I don't know how I've managed to avoid the pleasure.

Mind you, it was cold. My mistake was only wearing one pair of socks. In May!