This years summer outing is heading west out to Jodrell Bank.

Meet at the Teacake start, 8 for a 8.15 depart, coffee stop in Longnor, lunch at the Jodrell Bank cafe, Ice cream/cafe in Tideswell on way back, then maybe a pint or two at the Norfolk Arms if folks are keen.
Current route is around 90 miles with a decent amount of climbing out and back with a respite in the middle. Plenty of opportunity to add a bit on the way home if people are keen to tick 100. Usual summer rules apply, everyone welcome, we’ll wait or slow down at the top of all major climbs and regroup/admire the view, social pace.
The roposed route: https://www.strava.com/routes/19435302
Hope you can make it.

This might be of interest to anyone that wants to get their hill climb season started early…

On Tuesday 16th April I received some news that I had been dreading for some time, John Barnsley had passed away today at his home in Ashford, Kent. John was 70 and had been suffering from cancer since the end of last year. As a schoolboy joining the Rutland and growing up during the 1970’s and 80’s to me and many others John was the ‘Master Rutler.’ He leaves his partner Jane, his two sons Matthew and Mark and grandson Oliver.

There is a tribute page to John where you can leave messages of condolences and make donations to John’s chosen charities
https://john-barnsley.muchloved.com/

Below is the eulogy that Malc Pearce wrote for John’s funeral and was read out by John’s eldest son Matthew

EULOGY TO JOHN
I was only a young kid when I first met John, I went out on my first Rutland Cycling Club run to Rudyard Lakes. This was one of the hardest rides on the club run calendar. I got dropped twice so John hung back and waited for me, we spent the rest of the day riding around Derbyshire, didn’t get to Rudyard Lakes. I felt pretty bad and apologized to John that I had spoilt his day – his answer was “don’t worry, I got dropped too I was knackered!” From there on we formed a bloody great friendship. It didn’t take long to realize that John had the same effect on everyone he met; he had such a fun filled personality. He was a bit like the Pied Piper. On the Rutland Club runs we would follow him over hills, dales, Moors till we finally gathered in a pub and sat having the best laughs of my life. John’s sense of humour was the best – he would tell jokes & stories that made us laugh so much we had stomach ache. Our Thursday night bike rides in winter took us over the rough stuff tracks and we finally got together in the Rivelin Hotel – also known as Lou’s Palace. Again we would sit around telling jokes, stories and singing songs accompanied by a local on the piano. John introduced us to his repertoires, “Beer is Best” – “I’m a Rambler from Manchester Way” and his specialty, “I love My Mother in Law”. At closing time we would ride down the Rivelin Valley whilst John and some of the others went home via Manchester Road – shouting Charlie at the top of our voices till we ran out of breath. Our winter club runs centred around “rough stuff” tracks over the Moors to finish up in a pub and play darts, tell jokes and laughs. Many times John would bring out a soccer ball so we had a full blown soccer match after the pub. Our favourite rides after Sunday lunch pub closing time would take us over Cut Gate and Kinder Scout – rides not for the feint hearted especially starting out after 3.00pm and finishing in the dark. John was always there to guide us and take the mickey out of the lads that moaned!! We organized weekends away racing, training or de-training rides. John was usually a part of these rides either participating or organizing but one thing was certain – we had plenty of beers and plenty of laughs. I’ll always remember one Friday night walking home to sober up after a night out with the lads which took me straight past John’s doorstep. At the time he had an Austin Midget which was parked up his driveway, his pride and joy. It seemed like a good idea at the time to fill his car boot with house bricks from the yard where he was having an extension built. I filled it right up to the buffers. During the next few club runs John kept bleating on that his car was running like crap with no power. Imagine his surprise when he finally opened the car boot – priceless. He also had a Citroen 2CV. He used to turn up to the bike races in his beloved car and take out the front seats and sit at the side of the road cheering us on. Every year at Christmas time we had our Boxing Day pub crawl starting at the Fox House and drink a pint in each pub till we finished in Castleton, one rule was that you couldn’t ride your own bike in-between pubs, you had to ride someone else’s. We also had our Christmas Fancy Dress ride out dinner to Castleton, fancy dress was obligatory and John always came up with a great costume. One year as Fagin from Oliver Twist, then as “Postman Pat” and another as a Christmas cracker with a note – “The jokes inside, pull here”.
I could write for hours with the great times we had and usually in the lime light John was there. He was the back bone of the Rutland Cycling Club and a true Stalwart. He used to write a quarterly newsletter which was always so funny it made you cry – he signed it as “Scoop Barnsley”

Once met, never forgotten. John had such an infectious influence on the Rutland Club runs and everyone he met, always remembered.

Malc & Tracey Pearce – AKA Pearcey

Most of our younger members won’t have know Brian but he’s certainly been around a long time and was a big part of the Sheffield Phoenix.
In recent years Glyn Singleton always used to bring him to our annual Club dinner and prize presentation.
Sadly he passed away last weekend after some time spent in St.Lukes, he was 92.
His funeral will be at 11:15am on Tuesday 19th March at Hutcliffe Wood Crematorium.

On Sunday 14th April Chris Myhill from the Peak RC is promoting a 50ish mile hilly (okay – very hilly!) sportive based at Rowsley.
He’s sorted out a great course and is currently sorting out event supporters to provide food and drink before and after the event, all in all it will be a great day out.
Numbers will be limited so book your place early.
Routes and details can be found here:-

www.myhillcycling.co.uk/spring-classic

You will also see the event on Facebook if you search for ‘myhill cycling’.

I don’t have too many details about the loss of another one of our stalwart members Mick Booker as I only heard about it at the end of December.
I’d not seen Mick for a few years, he was one the Club’s top time triallists during the 1980’s/90’s but he had been battling with Alzheimers and died on the 9th December aged 77. The funeral was held at the beginning of January at Shireoaks church.

Just arrived and in time for Christmas are the new 7cm ‘Skinny mudflaps’
The first batch we had from @TopFlaps were their standard 9cm Big Flapper but they have kindly made us a 7cm flap suitable for those that don’t have full on winter bikes and ride 23/25mm tyres with clip on mudguards.
Priced at £8 each they are available from me – simon@rutland.cc or at any Club meeting.

Rutland rider Dick Cubison passed away on Tuesday night, he had been dealing with the effects of cancer for over a decade but never dwelt on it and would just get on with it even when getting on with it meant riding over a couple of mountains in the rain.
Dick was twice a national champion on the track and also won a couple of Peter Fryer vets races with that wicked sprint of his that would occasionally get unleashed on the teacake ride even when he was well into his sixties.
A lot of Rutland members will have fond memories of him as he was with the club for a long time starting back around 1990 when his son Michael was racing as a youngster. He continued racing, often with riders decades younger than him and was still doing BC races in his fifties.

He was still riding up to the end of October this year after yet another bout of chemo and radiotherapy, he had bought a new bike and was planning to ride that crazy Pyrenean stage 17 of this year’s Tour de France next summer.
Dick rode over the Mortirolo and Gavia a couple of years ago with Andy Smith who he rode with regularly and Andy’s friend Phil Greyson. At the top of the Gavia a Spanish guy in his forties that they had kept up with for the last few kilometres was amazed at these old men and insisted they stop for drinks and biscuits from his support van. As they left Dick shouted back ‘just keep going, even when it gets hard and hurts just keep going’.

Our thoughts are with his wife Jan and their four children Michael, Anna, Ellie and Lara.
The funeral will be at 12:15 on Monday 17th December at St.John’s Church in Bamford, S33 0AY followed by a wake at the Sickleholme Golf Club.

Dick is pictured here with Michael on one of their last rides together in June.

The Club dinner isn’t far away and as the Lees Hall Golf Club have been a little slow in sending out the prices and menus it’s only now that I can post this…

Lees Hall Golf Club – Hemsworth Rd, S8 8LL

Saturday 17th November- 6:30pm onwards with the sit down meal booked for 7:30pm

The dinner will be £17 per head but if you bring your other half with you which we encourage and hope you will do, then the price for two tickets is £27.

The menu is as follows:-

Starters – Soup of the day or prawn cocktail (a choice on the night)

Mains – Roast turkey with all the trimmings including pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce served with roasted potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy.

There will be a vegetarian option for those that require one which may be Grilled Halloumi with roast potatoes and pan fried spinach but I’ll confirm this nearer the date but please let me know beforehand if you want a veggie meal.

Dessert – Christmas pudding with brandy cream sauce, warm Bakewell tart with clotted cream or Tiramisu (a choice on the night).

You can use the form below to buy tickets.

Egged on by Peter McNally to have a bash at Darren Otter’s 18 year old club record of 277.26 miles Joe LeSage rode the Breckland 12 at the beginning of August and crushed it by a mammoth 0.62 miles, a whopping 0.21% increase. 277.88 miles.
Setting off at 6:12 in the cool, early morning for the 40 minute stretch to the A11, everything felt good and so it continued. Food & drink were going down well legs felt great, average speed was rising but so was the mercury.
Joe went through six hours at 24mph, just as the heat was really starting to bite. A five minute stop to replenish supplies and drench himself in water, and he was down to 23.8mph. The next two hours were rough. Temperature hit 30 degrees, with a relentless sun reflecting and radiating off the road.
A second stop at eight hours and the speed dropped to 23.5mph. Joe felt the club record was on, but it could all hang on when they sent him on to the finishing circuit.
As he came back round at 9.5 hours he desperately wanted to get off the main road and onto the lanes of the finishing circuit. He knew though, that he needed another lap on the A11. As he approached the roundabout he could see the marshal by his car getting ready to direct riders off the main road. He snuck through by a few minutes, and tried to put some power down.
With just under two hours to go, with 230 miles on the clock he left the DC and headed onto the Norfolk lanes. Undulating grippy roads and a rising wind sapped speed and strength, and by the time he hit the final hour he needed over 20mph to make the record.
If you’ve never ridden a 12, the final hour is the best bit. You can’t gain or lose too much, the hard work is done and there’s generally a good atmosphere and lots of support. That is, unless you’re chasing a distance. The final hour was hell. Despite getting caught up in some farm traffic he passed the old record with less than two minutes to spare crushing it by a mammoth 0.62 miles…..Sorry Darren, you’ve been well and truly robbed.