1931-2011
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| 1931-2011 |
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NEWS AUTUMN 2010 - WINTER 2011 Updated 20th Feb 2011 |
EXETER NEWS PAGES - CLICK
HERE
TORBAY NEWSLETTER - CLICK
HERE
| FEB 2011 |
FREE
Security Cycle marking at Newton Abbot on 5th Feb. | |
| FEB 2011 | Can
helmet cams help make cycling safer? BBC news featured an item showing how many cyclists particularly in cities are using helmet or portable video cameras, and how some of the results have been used in evidence in court. <<CLICK HERE>> for more details | |
| JAN 2011 |
CTC Torbay presented a cheque for £200. The support for the local hospice was in memory of Pam Lewis who used to ride with the section, and passed away 6 months ago. The presentation was done in the grounds of the Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay. Pictured at Rowcroft are geoff Sharpe, Savannah Southcott, Mike Taylor, Jackie Whatley, Colin Lewis and Hayley Norrish from Rowcroft. | |
| JAN 2011 |
Icy
roads take toll on local riders. He is now recovering in Torbay Hospital. | |
| JAN 2011 | Dartmoor
Classic 2011 - is full! | |
| JAN 2011 |
Plans for this years Devon Dirt are in place and entry forms will be published shortly. This year sees a completely new route starting from BigPeaks at Ashburton, heading out onto the moors, and across to the Torbay Reservoirs. Entry Fee is £10 this year with an optional "Entry Plus" for £12.50 for which you'll also get a T-shirt! More details at www.devondirt.co.uk | |
| JAN 2011 |
The Public Bodies Bill currently moving through Parliament has provisions allowing Ministers to authorise sales of all of the English Forestry Commission woodlands. A consultation paper launched by the government department DEFRA on 27th January 2011 outlines four options for the sales of all freehold English Forestry Commission forests. | |
| JAN 2011 |
Ten
Potholes per mile of road in the UK. It's
now estimated that there are 10 potholes for every mile of road in the UK. For
Devon with the highest road mileage in the UK it's a serious problem.
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| JAN 2011 | Pat
Kenny killed on A38. One of the UK's best known and record breaking trike riders was killed during a ride on Friday 21st January on the A38 in Staffordshire. The well know cyclist and tricyclist held the End-to-End record on a trike for two years, and had covered an estimated 900,000 miles in his lifetime. He is a sad loss to the world of cycling. More news on the accident <<CLICK HERE>>. | |
| JAN 2011 | Fatality
on Jack & Grace Cotton memorial Audax. Pat Appleton, 67, from Berkeley, died after a collision involving a van on the recent Jack & Grace Cotton Memorial Audax event. She was taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol with life-threatening injuries after the accident and later died. She was a member of the Dursley Road Club cycling group. Several CTC Devon riders were on the event. More on the BBC news website.  | |
| JAN 2011 | Dartmoor
Classic 2011 - record entries expected. | |
| JAN 2011 |
New
Year - New Potholes.
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| JAN 2011 |
Jelly
Babies Pasties and Doughnuts! For
the last few years Kirby James has produced a carbon calculator to see how much
CO2 has ben saved by cycling instead of using a car, and members have also had
their annual mileages linked to the amount of JellyBabies, Pasties and Dougnuts
that would need to be consumed to cover the those distances. | |
| JAN 2011 | CTC
events published for 2011 This year 15 events have been published in the CTC Devon calendar. You can view the events online by <<CLICKING HERE>> Flyers are being and printed and produced for circulation to local cycle shops | |
| DEC 2010 | Snow
and Ice affect CTC runs. Several CTC club rides were cancelled at the end of December, mainly due to extremely cold conditions and in particular a lot of ice which has remained on the side roads to to prolonged sub-zero temperatures. The Christmas period has been milder, but cold weather is set to return in the New Year. For those who like riding in snow, there has been some great off-roading on Dartmoor and Haldon. | |
| DEC 2010 |
extract from Press release from SVCC-Nigel Winchester writes: Popular Sid Valley cyclist Gerald Woodley is currently making an excellent recovery in hospital after an horrific cycling accident which almost cost him his life. The well known 73 year old is part of the club's 'Dad's Army' troop and veteran of many Audax events in Devon, Somerset and Dorset. It was on one of his favourite rides "The Dartmoor Devil" that Gerald almost perished. The Sidmouth brigade was descending a classic 'v' shaped valley on Holne Moor. However, the typically-steep descent was a little wet and greasy and unfortunately for Gerald a car was ascending in the opposite direction. The two met on a bend and Gerald clipped the offside mirror with the resultant distraction sending him left up a grassy bank and into a hawthorn tree. Gerald suffered two punctured lungs, a broken shoulder, broken arm, head injuries and a fractured back. Fortunately, with help from other cyclists and the emergency services, the unconscious cyclist was air-lifted to the R D & E Hospital in Exeter within half an hour. Two weeks later Gerald, having not lost his sense of humour, expressed his annoyance at not being able to enjoy his free ride in the Devon Air Ambulance!! At the time of writing Gerald has made an amazing recovery after almost two weeks in a coma. On December 7th he was transferred to Odstock in Salisbury for back rehabilitation. At this time Gerald still has no sensation in his legs. | |
| DEC 2010 |
This years Annual Dinner was at the Royal Seven Stars Hotel in Totnes. Attendence was very low this year, but for those who did go it was a good evening. Geoff Sharpe was awarded the Colin Brierly Memorial Shield for services to CTC. Roy Russell won the Vernon Deith memorial trophy, Pippa Wheeler took home an armful of trophies. Next year is the 80th Anniversary and we hope for a great gathering. | |
| DEC 2010 |
Mud and Sweat are promoting the inaugral 'Turkey Burner' event - a chance to burn off the Christmas and New Year excess and try out all those biking goodies that you will probably receive as gifts! This event will have the usual Orienteering classes, along with a new Trail Blazer class. The Orienteering classes combine off-road mountain biking with the skill of navigating, whilst the Trail Blazer class see competitors riding a number of laps a...round a set course in the fastest time possible. The event will be taking place on the poular biking area of Woodbury Common in East Devon, which has a huge variety of terrain including heathland, forests and open countryside. The area contains a good network of tracks, paths and country lanes, providing a good variety and choice of riding. Mud and Sweat provide the safety and event support, the electronic timing equipment (all the events utilise SportIdent) for both styles of event and additionally we provide the maps for the Orienteering courses. All you need to compete is a working bike, helmet and sense of fun and adventure to work up a bit of Mud and Sweat! For more details and to enter online, please visit the website: www.mudandsweat.com | |
| DEC 2010 |
A series of 50, John Player & Sons cards, by the editor of “Cycling” and produced in 1939 are being auctioned for charity. The cards have been professionally mounted so that the description of each card can be read through the glass on the back. It depicts the history of cycling from the Hobby Horse of 1816 up to 1939. Alistair Cope of AVP writes: I have set an undisclosed reserve figure for a sum that I will contribute to the charity if a higher offer is not received. If anyone is interested (and as a cyclist why wouldn’t you be), I would like their offer in a sealed envelope, or by email (I’ll pop it in an envelope) 'Alistair Cope' on the dropdown box here Sorry. You have to be registered to access this content. , by 3.00 pm on Sunday 12th December 2010. You can also post your bid to me, marked 'Cycle Cards', Alistair Cope, 6 Westcliffe Terrace, Seaton, Devon. EX12 2PP. | |
| DEC 2010 |
There is some god news regarding the condition of Gerald Woodley from Sid Valley CC. He crashed near Hexworthy on this years Dartmoor Devil and was critically injured. He is showing signs of recovery at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. A further update on his condition will be published in the next few days. | |
| NOV 2010 | Dartmoor
Devil 2010 - day of mixed fortunes. This years Dartmoor Devil event was well supported, and took place on a very wet Sunday.Around 160 riders set off from the start. First control was manned by colourfully dressed devils at Drewsteignton, and Ashburton was the soup control. Jean Brierly and Peter Luxton manned the final check control near grimspound, before the final climb up the famous Widecombe Hill. 132 riders went on to complete the event, battling some heavy and prolonged rain showers, and windy sections. Sadly there was an accident near Hexworthy, with a local rider crashing heavily on the descent to Huccaby Bridge. The rider was conveyed by Devon Air Ambulance to the RD&E hospital in Exeter, and has remained in a critical condition for the last couple of weeks. 
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| OCT 2010 | Record
£14million payout for Guernsey Cyclist. Manny Helmot represented Guernsey in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, but his cycling career was cut short when he was hit by a car on Route du Braye. The award was increased from the original £9 million pounds, following an appeal. Mr Helmot will need 24 hour care for the rest of his life. | |
| OCT 2010 |
Freewheeling
& Hill Climb The event actually starts a few miles away near Morleigh. If you want to go straight to the top of the hill you will need to register in advance with organiser Bill Barnes. | |
| OCT 2010 |
CTC have produced an Application for the iPhone for the Fill That Hole Website, so if you are (un)fortunate enough to own such a device you can log in to report a pothole. Fill that hole is a website with an active database where you can report potholes and road defects and track the progress of when they have been fixed. 
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| OCT 2010 |
The storms forecast for the beginning of October remind us that it's not long to go until the 2010 Dartmoor Devil event. For many this is the ideal event to finish off a good years cycling, and for two riders this will be their eighteenth start an hopefully finish! Ian Hennesey and Mike Steer are the only two riders to have completed all the rides since the inception of the Devil ride in 2003. ACCEPT NO IMITATIONS - THERE IS ONLY ONE DARTMOOR DEVIL!
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| SEP 2010 |
Stages 4 and 5 of the Tour of Britain provided local cyclists and the public a great spectacle this week. The Tour was beset by wet weather from the start, and stage 4 from Minehead saw an early crash which cost many riders so much time they were threatened with elimination. Local riders Jeremy Hunt and John Locke were both held up in the crashes. But for Stage 5 the sun shone and riders had a strong tailwind over Dartmoor, where cyclists from all the local clubs were strung. Stage towns of Teignmouth and Tavistock hosted popular Tour Party's which included many top bands and local artists including Seth Lakeman. www.tourofbritain.co.uk  | |
| SEP 2010 |
Stages 4 and 5 of the Tour of Britain pass through Devon this week, with stage towns of Teignmouth and Tavistock celebrating the arrival of the tour in style. The Tour sets out from Minehead on Tuesday 14th and heads South East via Honiton to Sidmouth, up the infamouus Paek Hill, nand on through Exeter to finish in Teignmouth. The riders transfer to Tavistock for the start on Wednesday when they head off over the moors to Princetown, through Exeter again, and out through Cullompton and out of the county to finish at Glastonbury in Somerset. Full details and race manual can be downloaded at: www.tourofbritain.co.uk | |
| SEP 2010 |
CPP Davies from CTC Portsmouth has cycled 1000000 miles! He took his first ride in 1950 when he travelled 10.5km (six-and-a-half miles) from his home town of Havant, Hampshire, to Hayling Island. He was so smitten with his new hobby that he jotted down the exact details of his ride in a school exercise book. Since then, he has made a record of every excursion on his trusty Hobbs bike in the same book – from two-minute trips to thousand-mile treks across continents. Mr Davies said: ‘For as long as I can remember I have loved cycling. I still love it as much as I used to and I cycle every day. It keeps me in good shape and gets me out and about. My bike is an extension of me.’ He now uses a computerised speedometer attached to his handlebars to calculate the length of rides. Mr Davies’s cycling highlights include a trek across the Middle East in 1973, when he got caught in the crossfire of the Yom Kippur War. ‘I might be getting older but I will not stop,’ he vowed. | |
| SEP 2010 |
Rain soon cleared on Sunday 5th September for the South Hams 100Km Audax ride, and the 150Km Grunters event. There were 20 riders on the 100k and 10 rode the tough Grunters ride. This year the 100Km ride was held in reverse, with the Slapton loop first. Control was at the cafe at Torcross which was providing a cyclists special for £3. Check back soon for photos of the event. | |
| SEP 2010 |
Congratulations to CTC member Vin Cox, who yesterday was confirmed by Guiness World Records as the new record holder for circumnavigating the globe by bike. Vin covered the 18,172 miles in 163 days, 6 hours and 58 minutes, beating previous record holder Mark Beaumont's time of 195 days by a clear margin. Cycling Weekly report that on being asked what he was going to do to celebrate the news, Vin replied "I think I'll open a bottle of wine." Well deserved, we think. | |
| SEP
|
The Great Tour finishes at Seaton on 4th September 2010. Alistair Cope from Axe Valley Pedallers will have been on the road for 64 days. CTC riders are invited to join in with finishing leg from Dartmouth to Seaton, after 63 days on the road circumnavigating Britain: http://www.thegreattour.org/about/ We're joining them for the last leg to Seaton, in company with the Axe Valley Pedallers. Meet John at Harbour View Cafe on Exmouth seafront, for a 1.30pm start. For a longer, 50 mile ride join Roy at Seaton Tourist Info Centre at 9.30am for a ride to Exmouth (avoiding Peak Hill), to join the ride back to Seaton |
NEWS ARCHIVES BELOW
Damage
caused to Will Hornby's wheel in the South Hams.
THE TURKEY BURNER!
