Bedford Triathlon - 27.04.14

On Sunday, I entered the first of a series of three triathlons based at Bedford Park. The swim section comprises 12 lengths of the Robinson Pool and slowest go first which meant I was in for an early start at 7.45. The weather was a little cold at that time and breezy but not too bad. 

My overall time was 1:35.19, which was disappointingly over 7 minutes slower than I managed over the same course in October. Most of that was lost on the bike where I was really struggling for energy. My optimistic target was to beat my October time by 2 mins and when I realised that I was losing lots of time that proved demotivating for the remainder of the cycle and the run which I completed very slowly. I don’t know what went wrong, my swim time actually improved from October, so I can’t blame that. Hopefully, it should be easier to improve in the second event in June! 

Overall, I finished 195th out of 293.

 

Steve

Bedford Parkrun - 26.04.14

On Saturday there were 3 Flitwick Tri members in action in Bedford with 2 running and Pete Jones marshalling. There were 193 runners taking part.

Les Potts finished in a time of 24.47, Sian Jones in a time of 37.55.

Well done.

Flitwick 10K - 06.04.14

Our home event saw a bright but windy day greeting the 632 runners, including 4 from Flitwick Tri, who took part in this year’s event (sadly down on last year due to clashes with other events). As usual the event was well organised and marshalled by Ampthill & Flitwick Flyers.

However owing to a road traffic accident on part of the course a little before the start the race had to be shortened to approximately 8.6k.

Results were as follows:

Jack Wilkinson  232^nd     41:48

Les Potts          287^th     43:29

Fiona Jones       461^st     50:00

Pete Jones        462^nd     50:01

A very decent medal was our reward for taking part.

Les

Bedford Parkrun - 19.04.14

On Saturday 5 Flitwick Tri members took part in a bright but breezy Parkrun in Bedford. There were 241 runners taking part this week and our times were:

Chris Wright          21.43
Jack Wilkinson       23.55
Rob Hughes            24.17
Les Potts               24.24
Emily Potts            32.00

Well done all.

Chris   

Milton Keynes Parkrun - 19.04.14

On Saturday Pete Jones was back in Milton Keynes for the weekly parkrun that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. This week 527 people took part!

Pete finished his 105th parkrun in a time of 26.49 to finish in 236th place.

Well done Pete. 

Milton Keynes Sportive - 13.04.14

On Sunday 13th April , Pete Jones & I completed the Milton Keynes sportive organised by Evans Cycles. 

We went for the medium course route of 60 miles which set off south from Bow Brickhill through Soulbury, Wing and Cheddington, then up Aldbury Hill and back the other side of Leighton Buzzard to Woburn & Millbrook, and finally, up Lidlington Hill then back to Bow Brickhill. 

The weather was good (no rain and no punctures!) and the event was well organised with clear signs to follow and a well stocked halfway stop with drinks, energy bars & cakes. We finished in just under 4.5 hrs including the very welcome stop, which is no great speed but we were both pretty satisified given that it was the furthest I’ve ever attempted and further than Pete had cycled for a long time. Pete is now well set for the Isle of Wight!

Steve Clough

Bedford Parkrun - 12.04.14

Just Pete and Sian Jones in action at Bedford Parkrun on Saturday 12 April with Pete volunteering as tail runner ahead of his sportive on the Sunday.

The times were:

Sian Jones           36.42
Pete Jones          49.30

Well done.

Spring Saddle Sportive - 06.04.14

The morning started dismally on Sunday as my friend Andy and I traveled over to Newmarket Racecourse for the start of the Spring Saddle Sportive. This was a very well supported event with around 1,000 people taking part with riders being sent off in groups of around 20. 

With poor weather and high winds forecast we decided to take on the shorter 40 mile route rather than the longer 73 or 100 mile options. As things turned out this proved to be a wise choice.

As we lined up for the start the wind was freshening and almost as soon as we crossed the start mat the heavens opened. The heavy rain continued for the first 10 to 15 minutes of the ride, just long enough to ensure you were thoroughly soaked and the roads were wet with large puddles.

Another side effect of the heavy rain is that it washes flints and stones out onto the road surface and this caused many punctures along the way for a lot of the riders.

We managed to escape the punctures and were going along OK, despite the strong headwind for the first 13 miles, until around 33 miles when we went down a lane that seemed to consist more of potholes than road. At the bottom of this I had a front puncture that I needed to change. 

A mile or so further on my rear tyre decided it didn't want to miss out so slowly deflated. I stopped but having used my spare tube already had the option of removing the tube, patching it, and then replacing the tube and refitting everything. By that stage this seemed like a bit of a performance with only 5 or 6 miles to go. I therefore pumped up the tyre and carried on for as long as it had enough air to ride on. The tyre stayed up for a while but required pumping up every 3/4s  of a mile for the next 4 miles or so. There was one long hill which I decided warranted as much air in the tyre as I could get in it but it still needed pumping up again at the top.

About a mile and a quarter to go the tube which had stood up to the abuse pretty well decided it had had enough and wouldn't hold any pressure at all. Rather than walk I carried on gingerly and made it to the finish despite a number of speed humps that are very unpleasant with no air in your back tyre.

Despite the obstacles placed in our way by punctures and the weather we still managed to finish withing the time to receive a bronze award (based on a rider's average speed overall). 

Let's hope the longer sportives we have planned for later in the year are drier and less eventful.

Chris     

Bedford Parkrun - 29.03.14

A beautiful Saturday morning was enjoyed by the runners who ventured out to Bedford Park for the weekly 5K Parkrun.

Of the 225 runners taking part 5 were from Flitwick Tri.

The times were:

Liam Ko               23.05
Les Potts              24.48
Pete Jones           27.01
Sarah Eke             32.51
Sian Jones            36.31

Well done everyone.