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Freewheel competition, 2007 |
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Will Davies took the honours in V.C. Sevale's final event of the year, the Free Wheel competition down the A449 from British Camp towards Ledbury. The weather was overcast with a light southerly breeze blowing but dry and almost perfect for dropping down through Chances Pitch and past the Wellington pub at speeds of around 40 mph then into the dip in the road that was still showing signs of the summer’s floods that turned it into a lake. At this point where the road rises again some of the less brave riders who had scrubbed off speed on the fast descent came to a halt including the lantern rouge of the race Graham Coulson riding his trike. Further up the road riders were coaxing their machines resisting the strong urge to pedal as the speed slowed to a snails pace then if they had enough momentum to get over the small rise the next stop was the bottom of the railway bridge. The majority of the 19 competitors made it to that section but Will Davies made it most of the way up the bridge before he came to a halt. There is now some discussion in the club as to whether this is a club record for a solo bike; a tandem did make it over the bridge some years ago but Will may be the all time best roller in the race’s history. Proving that bulk isn’t always needed in this event and that sometimes a smaller rider with good aerodynamics and technique can do well, John Baker rolled in second. The normally svelte but suffering some paternity-enforced time off the bike, the slightly heavier than normal Brian Mellor came in third. First lady was Trish Gorton. Then followed the traditional ride round the lanes to the Farmer’s Arms pub for some well earned refreshments. Finishing order... apologies to the people whose names we may have missed... 1) Will Davies A couple of pictures; image1 image2 For those of you bored
with the tedium of watching lithe athletes zoom past in a nanosecond,
click here
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