CLIFF Polton’s Tuesday night training rides are beginning to take on the aspect of a Tour de France peleton, with more riders turning up every week.
Valuable information on one’s rivals can be gained from these innocuous evening jaunts across the New Forest.
With 11 days to go until the race, there may still be time to lobby for a handicap to be placed on the junior teams.
Ben Lloyd will be leading the Barton Pups, a team of adventure scouts, and if his turn of speed on four wheels is even remotely similar to his pace on two, the race is already won.
His main rival from our training group is Ollie Pilley, the leader of the Crazy Frog team, and three-times junior champion.
Our training group splits into two almost as soon as we leave the Royce Engineering unit on New Milton’s Stem Lane industrial estate and head for the New Forest.
The situation doesn’t change greatly throughout the evening, with Ben leading the juniors, and a second group following behind.
Tim Lloyd, the leader of the Barton Moments team and Ben’s father, is one of a wheezing bunch that includes your reporter, struggling to keep up with his speedy son.
A huge banner to be hung across Ringwood High Street is proudly unfurled at the start of the evening by race organiser, Jim Stride.
The 15-foot banner has been sourced from Ringwood’s Multisigns and is only the latest of Jim’s many successes in his tireless battle to promote the race.
An identical banner will be displayed at the roundabout for Ringwood’s Furlong car park as the race committee goes all out in its bid to maximise publicity.
Another massive boost to the charities backed by the race has come from supermarket giant, Waitrose. A substantial donation has been made by the company’s branch in Ringwood’s Furlong centre.
The fundraising total has now passed the £12,000 barrier, with sponsorship for the official race programme now sold out.
The glossy 64-page guide goes on sale in Ringwood shops on Saturday priced £1.00, with sales increasing the amount raised for the race charities.
The Wave 105 team has drafted in the host of the station’s breakfast show, Steve Power, to join teatime presenter Andy Jackson and his crew in their bid for the top step of the podium.
I’m due to call in to Andy’s show on Friday July 4 to find out how training has been going for our media rivals and to give listeners some breaking stories in the build up to the race.
Through the early evening New Forest mist I can see Tim blasting into the distance with Cliff leading the pack. It seems that Tim has been taken firmly under Cliffs wing; the Tuesday cycle mini marathon is rapidly increasing in popularity as the spell of the “Race Director” is cast. However, I must say that Cliff has “cried wolf” once on the last outing and had us all fooled; a story worthy of “The Times” I thought. Be warned Cliff, we have your number and a repeat of such trickery will turn around and bite you on the b..
It’s evident that the competition is seriously hotting up especially with the juniors who aren’t about to take any prisoners. Keeping pace through a 2 hour GP endurance race will sort the men from the boys I feel.
The GP’s top teams are most certainly checking out the competition. Ron Cherrett of Martins in Ringwood was running his finger through the team entry list, “ we’ll have them, need to look out for this team” and so on.
I believe that Tim is going through the same process as he begins to understand the level of competition out there for the GP. I had heard that Tim had been quizzing the competition offered up by Wave 105, disguising the line of questioning as part of his reporters duties no less. Andy Jackson of Wave 105 was freely giving Tim the low down on the Wave 105’s training regime and as stated will further this line of questioning on air on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton would be wary of such scheming and would probably take the offending party out in the pits!!
Role on the 13th July.
See you on Tuesday for the “Cliffs” cycle mini marathon.
Jim Stride.
Through the early evening New Forest mist I can see Tim blasting into the distance with Cliff leading the pack. It seems that Tim has been taken firmly under Cliffs wing; the Tuesday cycle mini marathon is rapidly increasing in popularity as the spell of the “Race Director” is cast. However, I must say that Cliff has “cried wolf” once on the last outing and had us all fooled; a story worthy of “The Times” I thought. Be warned Cliff, we have your number and a repeat of such trickery will turn around and bite you on the b..
It’s evident that the competition is seriously hotting up especially with the juniors who aren’t about to take any prisoners. Keeping pace through a 2 hour GP endurance race will sort the men from the boys I feel.
The GP’s top teams are most certainly checking out the competition. Ron Cherrett of Martins in Ringwood was running his finger through the team entry list, “ we’ll have them, need to look out for this team” and so on.
I believe that Tim is going through the same process as he begins to understand the level of competition out there for the GP. I had heard that Tim had been quizzing the competition offered up by Wave 105, disguising the line of questioning as part of his reporters duties no less. Andy Jackson of Wave 105 was freely giving Tim the low down on the Wave 105’s training regime and as stated will further this line of questioning on air on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton would be wary of such scheming and would probably take the offending party out in the pits!!
Role on the 13th July.
See you on Tuesday for the “Cliffs” cycle mini marathon.
Jim Stride.
