Category: Article

General article about any aspects of cycling.

Tour de Yorkshire stage 1

Post author By CWCC
Post date February 14, 2015
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Tour de Yorkshire Decisions, Decisions!

I’ve just been looking over the details of this stage having come to terms with the fact that the route organisers have opted to leave out all the local area’s iconic climbs. The Cote de Rosedale Abbey aka Bell End Farm climb is a tough proposition no doubt but when I reckoned up the severity of local climbs a couple of years ago I ranked 23 higher! Not only that, even after Danby they seem to have followed the line of least resistance by bypassing Houlsyke and Lealholm so avoiding the tough little climb up towards Glaisdale.

Article League 2000

The Youth Scene

Some club members may be aware that the Cleveland Wheelers have a thriving Youth Scene with coaching every Monday night and The League 2000 but what is it all about and how did it all come to happen?

The story starts in the late 1980’s when some club members were ferrying their and other youngsters all around the country. These youngsters included David Fisher, Andrew Jackson, Phil West, Daniel Smith and Martyn Dobson. My involvement is that David is my Brother-in-Law. There was only a couple of road races in the North East at the time, how things have changed. In 1991 we decided that we should be organising youth races so started looking for a closed circuit, this was when Chris Smith said “What about the perimeter road around the Police HQ on Ladgate Lane?” So Chris and myself had a look and it was perfect.

Article Club Runs

The Club Run

I’ve often heard it described as the lifeblood of any cycling club. I used to be somewhat sceptical of this claim but I am now forced to admit that this belief was wrong. For many years the club didn’t really have a regular club run, though various attempts were made to establish one and there were regular runs in the distant past. I, and I suspect many others, did most of their rides solo or with one or two other riders. This would be hard to believe now when 30-40 riders turning up at 10 am each Sunday in Ayton is a fairly regular sight. In fact only around five years ago I remember a couple of club runs that consisted of just myself and John Kelly Senior, we nearly threw in the towel.

Article

Letter from America

Nine months in the USA. Six months cycling.

“Instead of all that commuting, why don’t you move to Virginia for a while and start that plant up?”. Thanks very much. Virginia? It’s half way up on the right hand side, much like Yorkshire.

Arriving in January for six months (which has now turned into 15) with three suitcases and a bike box, we’re plunged into minus ten conditions. Minus ten Fahrenheit. All cyclists know how much weather influences our riding so that wasn’t a great start. But Virginia is very dry, the roads are rideable even after a deep freeze and a ‘winter’ bike is unheard of. I’ve washed my only bike only once, its brake blocks remain pristine and nothing much wears out.

Article Community Special Events

Let’s Get Retro

As with many of these things the idea started with a few conversations which led to something, which led to something else which ended up with me coming up with an excuse to ride my bike, as though I need one! The acquisition of an old 1970’s Coventry Eagle rescued from my uncle’s garage was the starting point I suppose. I needed to justify having it and so organised what I thought would be a ride that would attract about half a dozen or so Wheeler’s riders.