Front wheeled tricycle
Sunday 17th June was the Chris Hart Memorial 10 mile TT on the H10/2 course (Knowl Hill on the A4). Chris Hart was a very enthusiastic and skilled district secretary for London West from 2007 until his untimely recent death from prostate cancer.
I’d known Chris Hart since I began cycling with the Oxonain CC back in 2004. Chris was very enthusiastic about time trials and always keen to chat after a race. I’ve always warmed to people with a passion for their hobby / interest. I think enthusiasm is a great quality.
A couple of years ago, when chatting to Chris after a race, I mentioned in passing it would be nice to organise an event for my own club Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team. I think Chris took it more seriously than me! He encouraged me to use the new course he had developed (H10/181) and wrote extensive messages on how to organise a time trial. With such extensive support, I felt like I had it all laid on a plate, and it actually happened! It would certainly never have happened if left to my own initiative. Even in the last year of his life when Chris had prostate cancer, it didn’t stop him coming to races and sending more notes of advice. I was very saddened to hear when he past away, and definitely thought of him when promoting our recent events.
At the race, Gordon Wright of High Wycombe told some nice anecdotes about Chris as a person and cyclist and hard working district secretary. I was particularly impressed to hear Chris had a collection of 16 bikes in his shed (I shall have to update the post on optimum number of bikes). Also, as his wife Ann said, he was a real tinkerer always coming up with new parts and designs (not always successful!) By the sounds of it, his box of miscellaneous parts dwarfed my own.
Two of his bikes were at the race. Chris’ wife Ann and two daughters were also present. It was very nice to briefly speak.
Sometimes with time trials you turn up, do your race and wait for results in post, so it was nice to be at an event where there was an effort to encourage that camaraderie, which is really the best part of cycling (whatever the discipline). Mark Scanlon, and friends of London West did a very good job organising the race, which seemed to pass off very well.
The Winning team (High Wycombe CC) with Ann Hart and Chris’s two daughters.
The Race
Despite setting a pb previous day on the F11/10, I was keen to try and get more power out today. It didn’t start well, with a bad bout of the ‘runs’ early in morning. But, once I got on the bike, I felt good, no tiredness from previous day (which suggested I maybe hadn’t tried hard enough on Sat). The course was actually quite fast to say it is single carriageway and not too much traffic. It was a mild headwind to the turn, which made for a nice tailwind on last 5 miles. The last two miles were very fast with the tailwind seeming to pick up. I averaged over 33 mph for last couple of miles to finish with a quite respectable 21.07. This was enough for first place and my first win since my accident back in April.
Special mention also for Brain James (Brighton Mitre CC) who celebrated his 82nd birthday by riding a very credible 30 minute 10 mile time trial. The idiosyncrasies of time trial placings mean I frequently start one minute after Brian. We always have a chat because I knew his son Tom James in the Oxford University CC.
Proceeds of the event were donated to the Prostate Cancer charity.
Results at Mick Fountain CC
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