PTW

"Sunny intervals and a moderate breeze"

19C makes it a bit warmer than Tuesday which was surely the coldest July day ever... and don't call me Shirley.

If, by some miracle, the roadworks affecting the R10/22A dual carriageway disappear then we will switch to our primary course.

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.

2021.14 by Alf Williams, on Flickr

Well, it was another week where the weather on the night was a wee bit better than the forecast with a lighter wind than expected that drew out a few SB's on the back road 10. Emma Davies got us underway with another sub-31 ride and Emma was followed by John Shehan who recorded 29 dead - both only slightly off their SB's set before June. But our next three riders all smashed their SB's with Stephan Wilcox taking half-a-minute off, Rob Lucas taking 41 seconds off and Clinton Evans taking 38 seconds off to finish 5th on the night and with a '24' now within touching distance.

Hollie Labunsky was just 10 seconds off her SB whilst Stuart Evans put down a marker with a 27:12 that'll get chipped away in the weeks ahead. John Deeley was another rider who knocked half-a-minute off his SB and finished 7th to take the midfield win but John was just 6 seconds ahead of Mike 'Chipper' Broadbent who predictably took 5 seconds off his SB. James Lewis, riding his first TT of the season and on a road bike, finished 6th with a 25:22 that'll get smashed in future weeks. Tony Howell went back quite a bit from his breakthrough ride earlier in the season but will get back in the groove just you wait and see and the same applies to Graham Rogerson who slipped back from previous weeks but still took a precious point in the road bike category.

We don't see Darren Edwards enough on a Thursday night but 'Dazza' took a full 70 seconds off his SB to get a very short '24' to finish 4th and also take the road bike win. Mike Hall, fresh (ha!) from riding the National 100, took a useful 11 seconds off his SB to finish 3rd whilst Rod Hicks finished 2nd with 23:31. Neil Seaward took the win with a '23' dead - our fastest ride this season on the R10/23 and I know Neil won't be satisfied until he slams through the '22' barrier. But Alfie's man of the match award this week goes to Darren Edwards for a superb ride on a road bike and I'd like to challenge Darren into getting a '23' later in the season in that good weather people keep talking about.

Thanks to Dai for time-keeping, Gareth for marshalling at the turn (and for checking out the debris on the road) and to Will for taking the snaps that I know you appreciate. It was nice to see Pip out and enjoying the event - thanks James.