Ythan Cycle Club

That's 'Ythan', as in 'Python'!

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Winter Update

Posted on by GrassUpTheMiddle

We’re almost done with 2019 and looking forward to 2020; another year has flown by and it seems to have passed even quicker than the last one. But before 2019 bows out completely, here are a few updates for you.

Christmas Jumper Ride & Post Ride Drinks

December 22nd is the date for Ythan’s annual Christmas Jumper Ride! And, as if the prospect of riding around the North East wearing a Christmas jumper and fairy lights wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve organised an opportunity for some post ride drinks afterwards as well. The ride kicks off at the usual time and place. And our table (for 20!) is reserved in DogTap at 13:00. If Facebook is to believed, both are set to be very well attended, so keep your fingers crossed that we get some sensible weather.

Club Membership Renewals

Your esteemed committee have decided to keep the annual membership unchanged at a bargain £14. You can renew on the BC website here: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/club/profile/2849/ythan-cc

Two points to note about membership…

  • Joining through BC will actually cost you £15; the extra pound being pocketed by BC. Which isn’t a bad deal as they manage the payment for us and do some other bike related stuff too.
  • If you’ve paid up and joined the club in the last couple of months, your membership is good to the end of 2020. If you think that might be you but aren’t sure, let me know and I can check the membership details for you.

Club Affiliations

Our CTT affiliation has already been renewed for 2020, and we’re working on the forms for our 2020 BC affiliation. That’ll hopefully be sorted out by the 31st too…

Roller Nights

By popular demand, we’ll be organising some roller nights in January, to be held on Tuesday nights in Tarves. There’ll be some coaches and experienced roller riders on hand to help you get started on rollers and there will be the opportunity to put your new skills to use with some form of structured training. If you don’t fancy the rollers, bring a conventional turbo and join the fun anyway.

More details to be shared on this when we’ve got the hall booked.

Presentation Night

Our annual handing out of prizes for riding affa quick in 2019 will take place on Friday, January 31st. Probably a different venue this time, but standby for confirmation…

AGM

The Club’s Annual General Meeting will be on Wednesday March 11th. All club members are welcome to attend; more details on a venue and content later.

Curry Nights

The last curry night proved so popular, that we’re having another one! Same venue, same format; make space in your calendar for Ythan’s Pre-Season Curry Night on Tuesday March 3rd!

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Winter season continues apace

Posted on by Pauline Smith

The past month has seen Ythanites out in force representing the club in both cyclocross and mountain bike races.

Scottish North CX series – rounds 2 and 3
Mike Giles was the only Ythan rider in action at both rounds 2 and 3 of Scottish North CX series. He finished in 19th place at CrossNess, Merkinch on the 13th October and in 14th place at Burnside Loch, Avoch on the 3rd November.

SCX Round 3: MoCross, Montrose – Sunday 20th Oct
Sunday 20th October saw a number of Ythanites descend on Montrose Links for round 3 of the Scottish Cyclocross Series. The results from each very muddy race were:

Eilidh Gronkowski – 7th in the U10 race
Euan Murphy – 16th in the U12 race
Gavin Gronkowski – 11th in the U14 race
Carol Middleton – 2nd place in her category
Mike Giles – 26th in the Vet 50 race

Big Tree Campervans Tayside & Fife Regional Youth MTB Series 2019 – Round 3: Kinnoull Hill, Perthshire. Sunday 27th Oct
Riders donned full-face helmets for Round 3 of the Big Tree Campervans series downhill mountain bike race. The results from the youngsters were:

Eilidh Gronkowski – 4th in the U10 race
Andrew Ingram – 21st in the U12 race
Euan Murphy – 27th in the U12 race
Gavin Gronkowski – 9th in the U14 race

Round 4: Crombie Country park, Arbroath. Sunday 10th Nov
Round 4 of the Big Tree Campervans series saw the riders back on mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes for a tight technical course in the grounds of Crombie Country park. In what proved to be hard-fought races, the Ythan youngsters went on to claim three podium places:

Eilidh Gronkowski – 3rd in the U10 race
Matthew Smith – 3rd in the U12 race
Euan Murphy – TBC in the U12 race
Gavin Gronkowski – 2nd in the U14 race

Euan Murphy was in a podium place position for most of the U12 race but lost out with only 2 laps to go. However at the end of round 4 the youngster was in third place overall in the U12 series.

Round 5: Lochore Meadows Country park, Fife. Sunday 17th Nov
Riders assembled on a chilly, but sunny morning for the exciting series finale, which took place at Lochore Meadows.

First up was Eilidh Gronkowski in the U10 race. She finished in 4th place in both the race and the series, having lost out by the width of a tyre for 3rd in a photo finish.

Matthew Smith and Andrew Ingram were the only Ythanites lining up in the U12 race, with series contender Euan Murphy unable to attend. Both riders displayed excellent skills with Smith going on to take 3rd place on the podium and gain enough points to claim the silver medal for the U12 series.

Gavin Gronkowski finished in third place in the U14 race, which gained him enough points to take the Bronze medal in the U14 series.

Some sterling performances by all the QL riders across the whole series – well done all!

SCX Round 4: The Mount Stuart Trust Bute CX, Sunday 17th Nov
Round 4 of the Scottish Cyclocross Series was held in the grounds of Mount Stuart House, Isle of Bute. Mike Giles and U14 youth rider Robert Smart made the journey to tackle the 3.25km technical course comprising switchbacks and adverse cambers and some wooded areas.

Mike finished in 22nd place in the men’s V50 race, while Robert finished in 12th place in the U14 race.

Photos courtesy of Winny Lidewy

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Dates and Times!

Posted on by GrassUpTheMiddle

A brief update with some dates for your diary…

First up, this weekend sees the clocks change. Yep – in case the cold starts, pitch dark mornings and the transfer of leaves from trees to the road hadn’t already alerted you, British Summer Time comes to an end on Sunday 27th October. Amongst all those other changes, the return to GMT means that the Club Run switches to it’s winter timetable. The start point remains unchanged at the Community Campus, but rides will start at 09:30.

Two dates for your diary:

Sunday December 22nd – The Annual Ythan Christmas Jumper Ride!

It’s your annual opportunity to dress yourself in the worst season knitwear you can find, dress your bike in fairy lights and hope that the designated route avoids any centres of population where you might be recognised (hint; it won’t!). The straightforward plan is to enjoy the festive club run, then immediately retire to either DogTap or OverWorks (which depends on where we can get a table booked) for a few carbohydrate enriched recovery drinks and some grub too. Lets hope that the weather co-operates.

Tuesday November 19th – Ythan Curry Night

Another annual Ythan outing, but no bikes required! Our annual curry night will be hosted at the Nosheen in Ellon.

Give us an idea of how many to book for at both events, here.

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