10's Reports for April, May and June 2006

At this time of the year we can expect the earthy smell of freshly ploughed fields, windy and wet conditions and everybody moaning that they've done nothing all winter... The moaning was still evident but we had almost perfect conditions, no wind, no rain, all that was missing was a little heat.
I'm sure Dave Massen said that he hadn't been out much this winter..this was before I discovered his time of 23:37. Kieran was the best, he had been suffering from a bad chest infection all week... then he goes and wins on the night with a 23:24, how's that for a bluff? take up poker Kieran, you could get rich quick :-))
Arthur was keen to get the season off to a good start, in fact he had a flying start although it just happened to be 25 seconds after his actual start time !!! he finished with a 24:18 and the possibility of 25 seconds to deduct from his actual time. Arthur was looking at 3rd place ahead of John Leach's time of 24:07. The rule book came out and John decided that 24:18 was the official time, putting Arthur in 4th place.
First ride for Terry Phillips, well done Terry.
Steve Doherty was enjoying his new bike, I believe he also rode it too!!!
The Phoenix had two other riders, me and John Williamson. I had a good excuse ready but my 25:41 was better than expected. John said he was going to, 'Just take it steady'.
Keith Linge produced some excellent shots. The photos below were chosen by the webmaster and the shot of Arthur was voted best on the night.

Click HERE to see the album.
Click HERE to see the results table.

Arthur WInstanley

Kieran Leach

Steve Doherty

Another near perfect night, not a lot of wind and the air was a shade warmer than last week. It was a slower night and most riders went back a little, although a few scorched around and knocked seconds off last Tuesday's race. Arthur, riding his birthday slippers, (sorry that should read new RENN Disc wheel), and starting on time, finished with 23:43 but not quite quick enough to catch Mr. Dave Massen. Dave won on the night with a 23:38 partly due to him having sunday miles in his legs...
John Leach, again in third place with 24:13..but it is rumoured that he might have gone faster on his 'hack bike' !!
And then there was Poor Paul on his first ten with the Phoenix and was unfortunately a DNF with a puncture. Paul is pictured below clutching his new tubs speedily brought from home by Geoff Hewitt.
Quick results:
D Massen 23:38
A. Winstanley 23:43
J.Leach 24:13
K.Leach 24:18
K.Williams 25:36
S.Doherty 26:39
T.Phillips 26:43
J.Hampson 27:10
P.Appleyard DNF

Click here for results table
Click here for NEW STYLE PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks to Keith Linge for the photos
Click on photo for larger image

Kieran Leach

Arthur Winstanley

Paul Appleyard

What a night: gale force winds can only half describe the wicked conditions for tonight's ten. The riders had to endure the longest drag from the motorway island to Rainford island against the howling gale, which was blowing from the south east. Unfortunately by the turn they were mostly too knackered to take advantage of the now following wind. The times reflected the conditions with most riders going back about 1min:30.
There was light at the end of the gale for Arthur, he won on the night with 25:06 beating the entire field. The nearest rider was Kieran with 25:24 followed by Dave with 25:34. A convincing win on an extremely difficult night, well done Arthur.
Below you can see Arthur triumphantly punching the air. At the same time Dave was also trying to look happy but later we see him quietly consoling himself with a comforting cuppa.
Quick results:
Arthur 25:06....Kieran 25:24.... Dave 25:34.... John 26:05.... Terry 28:26
Steve 28:29.... Sam 29:27
Click here for results table
A couple of albums tonight, click here for one....... click here for the other
click on image below for larger view

Arthur & Dave

John Leach

Dave & cuppa

While the cats away....... Paul gained 20 points with 25:49 .. just... Chain came off but he soon had it back on and 'only' lost about 30 seconds.
Terry a close second with 26:11 and Sam third with 26:35.

Thanks to Keith Linge for the photos and the results sheet.
Click on photo for larger view.

Paul Appleyard

Terry Phillips

The Mallorcan peleton are back and the competition is intense. A fine night with no wind the riders were not expecting too much due to aching legs from Sunday and the previous week in the sun.One new rider this week was Dave Threlkeld who was heard last week saying," I'll never race again, absolutely no chance, not a cat in hells chance", he finished his ten tonight with 25:16....
Dave Massen, trying extra hard tonight once again won with 23:36 but very close to his back wheel were John Leach, 23:39, Arthur WInstanley 23:42 and Kieran Leach 23:45, only 9 seconds separating the first 4 places. Terry on his new stead, had a new personal best with 25:44, well done Terry. Steve, still high from his Mallorcan adventure finished with 26:01.
Thanks to Keith Linge for tonight's photos. More coming soon with a few from last week.

Mallorcan Peleton

John Leach	Suntanned Dave

Click on photo for larger view

I suppose we have had it too good this year and we have become accustomed to weather that has been mostly fine and dry with no wind (except for 2 May). Tonight we got it, wind and torrential rain, what a night For Sam, it was too bad to race and for Dave it was also too bad, the rain was not enhancing his hard earned Mediterranean suntan. He looked sad, his now fading tan blended gloomily with the rain and dull sky, but he braved most of race before he was a DNF.
Arthur, not to be put off by a bit of rain, put in an excellent ride, winning with 24:23. Kieran, sliding into second place with 24:42 and Paul, now with chain retainer (double changeover fitted) came in a solid third with 24:51. John Leach, back a bit tonight : for some reason he thought he was heavier because of the amount of water he picked up on the way around, but considering his recent weight loss, a few pounds of water should go unnoticed!!! Terry, fourth with 26:04 Sam, DNS.
Thanks to Keith Linge for braving the wind and rain to get us the pretty piccies below.
Please click on photo for larger view, go on, go on, go on,you know you really want to........................
You could also click here for the results table . CLICK HERE For photo album

Arthur, in winning form	Here we see John...er.... getting very wet	John was surprised by the amount of water he squeezed from his sock!

I'm sure somebody said it was warm tonight, if so, the car heater temperature was set to 24°C but the outside wind chill was making it feel more like 4° C. OK.... the sun was shining and it was dry, that has to be better than last week's windy AND wet conditions.
How many Birthdays does Arthur have in one year. A few weeks ago he received a new DIsc Wheel as a present and now he has another Birthday, what's going on? Anyway, as a treat, the Phoenix riders agreed tonight to let Arthur win.
England for the cup, well maybe, but if I hear the word 'METATARSAL' again I'll scream. I think everybody now has, or has had a broken metatarsal. How do you break a metatarsal cycling?
Dave probably broke his (metatarsal) tonight, kicking his bike after missing out on winning by only 4 seconds, and his sun tan is still fading, but not as bad as Steve, he's shedding a complete layer of scorched skin.
Sorry I was sidetracked..
The race.. Good turn out, 9 Phoenix from a total of 19. It was a tough night for all, especially on the way back from the Rainford Island and back up the lane. Appreciated the encouragement given from around the circuit.
No photos, sorry. Our 'grapher was 'aving a night out on the ale.
Quick results:- Arthur 24:20, Kieran,24:24, Dave 24:30, Paul 25:24, John 25:56 (a hundred miler yesterday and STILL he finds the energy for another 10), Keith 26:15, Terry 26:49, Steve 27:09 and Sam 28:20.
CLICK HERE for the results page.

OK that's yer lot.. don't forget it's a 25 next Tuesday.

Sorry about the late report, network problems. As you may already have heard, there were a few PB's on Tuesday 13th June 2006! Terry, still improving as the season progresses is now down to 25:32. Arthur, achieving a PB (I think for this course ) with 23:34 and also winning on the night from a total of 7 club members. Again tonight there were only a few seconds between Arthur and Dave. John is also flying and was a close third with 23:51. Paul was not very happy with his 24:28 but it is only his 4th ride and his fastest 10 with the club this year.
I think Arthur was rushing back to change into his evening wear, his latest style is Back to the Seventies and below we see him ready for a night on the town...

click here for results table................................................................25 NEXT WEEK THE 20th JUNE 2006

Fine and dry, a whisper of a breeze but not enough to influence the times. A strong line up of 8 Phoenix members and to put the times into true perspective, one Cofidis rider, Bradley Wiggins, finishing in 19:21. From the Phoenix, Dave Massen was a close second with 23:22 followed even closer by Arthur Winstanley with 23:28 and John Leach with 23:35. The battle is in full swing, Dave taking the maximum points after a few weeks of 'getting himself together' and sorting out his approach. As for me, the highlight of the night was being passed by Mr. Wiggins seen below at top speed caught on camera Keith Linge, fantastic shot.
More photos later, until then, please click on each of the few photos below for a larger view.
Results table click here
Photo Album, click here

B.Wiggins	T.Phillips	K.Williams

Official site of the Phoenix C.C. (Aintree). Designed and Maintained by K.W.Williams.
To contact:- e-mail keithw@liv.ac.uk