Cycle 2000 newsletterCycle 2000 newsletterA WARM WELCOME to the 2010 newsletter of CYCLE 2000 and a big thank you to all contributors.

For more information about Cycle 2000 see our current LEAFLET, it has our 2011 programme of RIDES and PUB MEETINGS and our WEBSITE at http://beehive.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk (under the "websites" heading click on "sport" then "cycle2000").

Annual General MeetingAt the AGM in November 2010 the following committee members were elected:Chair – Geoff CartlidgeSecretary - Mike HowardTreasurer/ membership secretary - John BradburyAssistant membership secretary – Alf JoynsonSocial secretary – John Lees Council liaison – M Barr, M Howard, A Rawlingson “Long” rides organiser – Geoff Cartlidge“Medium” rides organiser – Arthur Rawlingson “Leisurely” rides organiser – Mike Barr We now have 37 members (a near 50% increase on last year) and membership subs for 2011 (£5) are due by January 2011 so please see John Bradbury (tel 860259) or Alf Joynson before then.

RidesAll our rides in 2010 have been well supported and very many thanks to the leaders of all the rides and also the

marshals on the leisurely rides. The “long” rides have

usually attracted 10-20 riders. The “medium” rides (April to September) that were started in 2009 have averaged 5-10 riders and extra rides have been arranged due to popular demand. The monthly “leisurely” rides (March to October) have averaged nearly 30 riders. Offers to lead rides in 2010 will be gratefully received, please contact Geoff Cartlidge 624411 or Arthur Rawlingson 544069 or Mike Barr 616243. Details of the “long” and “medium” rides are in our leaflet and also on our website. The “leisurely” rides for 2011 are likely to be similar to 2010 (normally third Sunday of the month from April to October) and will be advertised in spring 2010 on the Cycle 2000 website and via Stoke City Council leaflets and cycling web page.

Pub meetingsThere was a good turnout (30 people) at our annual dinner in 2009 at the Black Horse at Endon. However our monthly pub meetings at the Greyhound PH in Newcastle in 2010 have not been well supported. The AGM in November decided that in 2011 our pub meetings will be at 9 pm on the first WEDNESDAY of the month at the ARNOLD MACHIN (Wetherspoons) in Newcastle. This is because a lot of Cycle 2000 members are also veterans of the “Wayfarers” cycling group and they already meet every Wednesday at the Arnold Machin. However the layout and noise level in the Arnold Machin make it unsuitable for large meetings. Therefore it seems a good idea for us to book a room in another pub (e.g. the greyhound) for meetings such as the AGM or when we have a guest speaker (perhaps Jack Allen who recently finished a coastal tour of Ireland would like to give us a talk).

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Cycle 2000 ride – September 2010

Viva España tour 2010 - Mark OwenThe Wayfarers abroad this year were: Geoff, Mike, John, Rob, Andy, Mick, Geoff Bowler (who kindly organised our flights) and me. We flew from Liverpool Airport on Wed 8th Sept, a lovely day after a wet end to summer, leaving approx 8pm and arriving Malaga approx 11.30pm Spanish time. We spent our 1st night near the Airport at a Holiday Inn where the staff agreed to save our bikes packaging until our return (we would spend our final night here before flying home at the end of the tour). THUR 9TH SEPT - 45MILES TO ANTEQUERA Rather a body shock this morning, it's mid 30s C which we've not been used to at home this summer and something I hadn’t considered was the heat melting my puncture patches. I suffered 4 punctures, slowing our progress and using up lots of inner tubes. Leaving Malaga proved to be a challenging and time consuming business but "satnav Mike" proved his worth and an hour later we had left the urban mayhem behind and begun to climb into the surrounding hills on quiet roads. The scenery in this area was desertlike with cacti growing by the roadside but it had a strange beauty all the same. The heat and

punctures were taking their toll on our schedule and it was a full days ride in spite of the modest mileage. Antequera was a pleasant town and we found a comfortable hotel before having dinner in a local taverna. FRI 10TH SEPT - 57MILES TO PINOS PUENTE Rolling roads spelt easier riding today and an absence of punctures made for better progress. The countryside was much greener here with cultivated farmland, the weather however was still very hot and this was our biggest obstacle and drove down our average speed. Nice hotel tonight, 3star, and we dined here as the food was good.

SAT 11TH SEPT - 37 MILES TO SIERRA NEVADA A modest looking mileage today but we had to navigate our way through Granada, the major city of this area, and very attractive it looked with some lovely buildings, parks and plazas. Once out the other side of the city it was only a short distance before we began to climb onto the Pico de Veleta with 1,300m of ascent ahead of us before reaching our destination, Sierra Nevada village, and it was still "El Scorchio" with little or no shade. Looking back, Granada stood proud on the plain in the shimmering heat.

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Cycle 2000 ride – September 2010

View east from the Pico de Veleta – 3,300 m

Going up to the Pico

Sierra Nevada village resembled a ghost town with hardly anywhere open, Mike and I found the tourist information but it was closed so we asked in the taverna next door about hotels and were told it was the off season, after the summer hols and before the ski season which started in November, though there were possibly 2 hotels open and we were given directions. As it turned out only 1 hotel was open, a 4star, and it looked a bit posh but Mike managed to negotiate a really good rate for our group and we were the only ones staying! The Hotel Kenya was really good and some of us took advantage of the indoor pool to wash off the Spanish dust. We ate at the hotel later as it would have been difficult to find somewhere else open and the food was good anyway. SUN 12TH SEPT - 48MILES TO TREVELEZ After a hearty breakfast it was time to face another 1,300m climb to the summit of the Veleta. There were lots of mountain bikers about but they'd taken the bus most of the way up and we passed them one by one as we climbed to the top. The last few hundred yards were loose scree and it was easier to push and walk rather than ride, as I proved by passing a mountain biker who was still riding! At the summit there wasn’t a breath of wind or any chill as we gazed out over the wide vista that opened up before us, it had been worth the effort, you could see for miles in all directions.

Our descent to Trevelez was down the other side of the mountain which was a rough, rocky track on which I found myself walking as much as riding although it began to improve when we reached the treeline and it became a forestry dirt track, this didn't stop me falling off though when I swerved to avoid a hole and caught some gravel with my front wheel. I felt OK laying on my back in the road until a car appeared and almost ran over me but when the 2 young ladies in the car spotted me they stopped to ask if i was alright. In Trevelez we stayed in a small taverna run by a married couple, nice people, nice food and a nice room for the night. MON 13TH SEPT - 60MILES TO GUADIXAnother day of hard climbing, 2,000m up to the summit of the National park and an odd sight greeted our arrival, an Husky dog team but no snow or sledge, they were training by pulling a quad bike around the forest tracks! From this

point it was a long, fast, hairy descent back down to the Spanish plain and on to Guadix for the night. Guadix was an interesting place with an old town quarter and we found another good hotel here. TUES 14TH SEPT - 63MILES TO ALHAMA DE GRANADA A very scenic route through rolling farmland proved to be another tough day because of the heat and this kept our speed down. Between 11am and 3pm we only averaged around 10mph although it felt like we were putting lots of effort into our cycling. In Alhama we found a nice hotel run by friendly Dutch people, we ate dinner in the town square "Al Fresco" and the hoteliers provided us with a huge breakfast the next morning. WEDS 15TH SEPT - 66MILES TO MALAGA A steady ride back towards Malaga was followed by a riproaring descent with the sea shining blue in the distance as we dropped down towards the city. The journey through Malaga proved to be a real headache with no proper signing and lots of traffic congestion, however Mike proved his worth once again and we were eventually back on the road to the Holiday inn hotel where we packed our bikes ready for the flight home. We ate dinner at the hotel then had a few drinks to relax and unwind before a good night’s sleep. THURS 16TH SEPT - HOMEWARD BOUND We arrived back in Liverpool after lunch and the temperature was 16C, it had been 36C in Spain! All went well and we were home for teatime. It was a great tour Fella's, here's to the next one!

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Alhama de Granada

PoSH cycle tour 2010 - Malc ElvidgeThe anticipation of a tour in Eastern Europe was tempered with a little trepidation, as I boarded a train to Crewe to meet Mike ‘Mapman’ Barr at the end of June. All previous ‘Cold War’ countries, I expected nothing upmarket regarding this tour as we made the train journey from Crewe to Liverpool and cycled to John Lennon Airport. Our cycling would take us to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Nothing really PoSH, I thought!

We experienced the normal crap and bureaucracy at the check-in desk. I had to contain my laughter as the woman told us that the CTC polythene cycle bags were no longer allowed. The reason! ‘They damage the plane’. Fortunately for her, Mike remonstrated and got his way, just before I could throttle her. Our destination, Krakow, in Poland proved to be a wonderful setting for the start of our tour. It was a short ride from Krakow airport to the Kadetus Hostel, which is just off the main square in the centre of Krakow. We had pre-booked this to save messing around during the early evening. The picturesque square is obviously the hub of Krakow, with many cafes and restaurants. We soon came to realise how cheap food and drink were and spent the evening having drinks and a good meal and just watched the world go by.

The following morning we spent looking around Krakow with its surprisingly ornate buildings. This old city is well worth a look at and we were sorry to leave as we headed south towards the Tatra Mountains. It is rolling country and we were fortunate to meet a local cyclist who led us out of the city boundary using cycle paths and small roads. We stopped by the river in Myslenice for lunch and spoke to a couple who told us the way onward, using a minor road, parallel to a

busy dual carriageway. Having cycled 50 miles we ended the day in Rabka, with no campsite. We managed to understand the broken English of some locals and were directed to a house where the owners took in guests. It turned out to be quite a good place and we paid about £12 for the room! Rabka, however, was a bit of a dive with the nightlife similar to that of Hanley bus station! We found a hotel just outside of town and finished the night listening to traditional Polish music played by a trio with violins and double base.

Our third day took us to Zakopane, having had breakfast in a roadside motel. Although we had only cycled 35 miles, we decided to stay in Zakopane for the night. It was on the edge of the Tatra Mountains and Mike ‘had a plan’. No campsite here again, so we left our panniers and tents at a type of farm we had found. ‘Beethoven’, the absolutely massive St Bernard lay on guard. We hoped to God that his chain didn’t break! We went for a

circular tour in the Tatra foothills, fairly easy with no luggage to carry. Zakopane was quite touristy, but not over the top. We had a decent evening meal in a bar/restaurant next to the taxi rank, followed by more drinks. The bill was ‘as cheap as chips’.

Setting off the following morning, after breakfast in last night’s bar, we had long climbs and descents in the Tatras. The road to Poronin was extremely busy with thundering lorries etc. and although a fast traverse, we were glad to leave it. We crossed the border into Slovakia at Lysa Polana and cycled on through Tatranska Lominica and Stary Smokovec. We found a good guest house in the hamlet of Pribolina and managed a good meal combined with drinks, whilst watching the World Cup game between Paraguay and Spain on TV. (0-1). The local people here were extremely friendly and couldn’t do enough for us.

We left the following morning having had breakfast in the guest house. The whole package for the night was 50 Euros between us. A bargain! There was more climbing to do after

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Crossing the Danube

The Tatra mountains from the north

Hungarian Parliament, Budapest

Pribolina and we climbed to a small village at the top of a pass where we had lunch before a gradual descent for about 45 minutes. Campsites, we noticed are few and after 71 miles, we managed to find a room in Zvolen for 32 Euros. The town itself was quite modern, but the outskirts were very Eastern Bloc, with very drab buildings. Most of the houses had painted sheet steel for roofing. Again though, we found the food good quality in one of the town restaurants.

We had problems the following morning trying to find the minor road out of Zvolen. We finished up on a grass track, then a tarmaced road which only led to the sewage works! We came back to Zvolen via a road passing the worst slums that I have ever seen. I couldn’t figure out why the former inhabitants had left satellite dishes on derelict buildings. Then I realised that they weren’t derelict. There were people living in them! Having spent a few seconds praying that we didn’t get a puncture, we managed to find the road that we wanted to Banska Stiavnica. We had lunch in a cobbled square in the town, before moving on, then having to shelter under tress from a thunderstorm. Another thunderstorm prompted us to have cakes and coffee in a bar, but we made it ok to Sahy, having cycled 59 miles. No campsite, again so we found a Pension for 32 Euros per night for the room. After freshening up we went to a courtyard bar/restaurant for what turned out to be a very large pizza. To another bar afterwards, where Mike had difficulty in trying to converse

with a bloke in German. He was drinking half pints of wine, very quickly. After the guy smashed a full half pint of wine on the bar, the proprietor promptly closed the premises, leaving us out on the street! We went back to the courtyard bar, but at 10.30pm it was ‘chairs on tables’ time.

Day 7 saw us having breakfast, and then buying supplies for the day in Sahy. We crossed the border into Hungary and yet another change of currency. We had gone from Sterling to the Zloty, then the Euro and now the Florint. We missed a side road and ended up on a perfectly smooth tarmaced road with juggernaut monsters coming far too close for my liking. By the grace of God we entered Vac on the River Danube, where we caught a river ferry to the other side. Lunch was eaten in a bus shelter in heavy rain. Fortunately the weather cleared and we cycled on the Danube cycle path and various roads and into Budapest. The tourist info in Budapest found us a room about 2km from the city centre. We hopped onto the metro into the city at night for drinks in an Irish bar. We had cycled another 59 miles during the day and still hadn’t used the tents we were carrying!

We toured Budapest by bike the following day and you need to be an experienced cyclist- very busy and a large city. It was well worth the tour, though. Budapest is an interesting place. Later, we decided to catch a train north to Esztergom, avoiding the city traffic. Esztergom is about 30miles from Budapest and we had lunch here before heading west, along the north bank of the Danube. Fields of barley, sweet corn and sunflowers adorn the valley fields and there was a strong headwind all the way to Komarno. Mike approached a group in the town and managed to engage in broken English. A very helpful guy took us to one B&B, but then took us to another which was cheaper. We freshened up and had a beer, the traditional Budvar, in a town bar, before returning to a meal at the hotel. Germany v Spain (0-1) was on T.V in the town bar and we chatted to a couple of English guys working locally.

Day 9 and we left the hotel and headed towards Bratislava, about 65 miles. We bought lunch at Dunajska Streda and ate this in some gardens at Lechnice. The gardens we realised afterwards were a convalescent home and we

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Bratislava

whistled ‘The Great Escape’ as we left! We arrived in Bratislava and booked the night in the hotel we had pre-booked for the last night. We had arrived a day early! Still, this gave us time to explore on the last day. The hotel was a grand affair, and we spoke with a German cyclist in the bar.

On our last day, we decided to leave the bikes and board the train for a day across the border into Austria and Vienna. We bought tickets for a bus ride to the station before boarding. Extremely important as it happened! There were various remonstrations by the bus passengers as the conductor fined two young tourist lads 40 Euros each, for not having a ticket. They assumed that they could purchase them on the bus, but they were forced to pay the fine! The train ride to Vienna was less eventful. We soon came to realise how expensive Vienna is. 1 Euro for Budvar in Bratislava. 3 Euros for Budvar in Vienna! We visited various locations, but I was surprised about the River Danube here. It’s nowhere near the City centre. In fact it’s miles away! Later, I declined Mike’s idea of walking around a museum ‘to look at fabulous works of art’. He left me at a street bar before trundling off. A good time to relax and have a few beers, I thought. Drat! He was back before I’d finished the first one, the museum being closed. We decided to return to Bratislava for a lot cheaper beer and food.

We cycled to the airport on the following morning for the return flight to Liverpool. I left Mike at Crewe station,

having had a great tour and holiday, my total mileage being 495 miles.

In conclusion, we generally found Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, good countries in which to cycle. The weather was quite warm and dry and the people friendly. Campsites, we found, were few and far between, but prices were cheap enough to stay in guest houses and hotels. Drinks and eating out were cheap and the cities of Krakow, Budapest and Bratislava were bustling. Perhaps I will return. Who knows?

Tour of Britain Ride -Andy CapperThe Prostate Cancer Tour Ride gives cyclists the opportunity to ride the same 161km route as the professional riders did during the Tour of Britain this year. Entrants have different reasons for taking part, some to compare themselves to the professionals, full gas from start to finish, some to just complete the challenge, but all are taking part to contribute to the Prostate Cancer charity. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, generally over 50s, as anyone who rides regularly with us on Sundays appreciates (hope all goes well lads!)

After taking part last year I decided to do it again this year as it was a good challenging ride. Standing at the start line

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The Tour on the way up to Hanley

with a group of 20 other riders, crowds cheering and shouting encouragement, I remembered last year’s ride and what lay ahead; a few hours of pain and suffering! Anyone who has ridden a ‘sportive’ before knows, it’s not a race but there is always a underlying competitive element, nobody wants to be last, right?

As we set off, crossing the timing mats, I’m wondering what sort of group I’m riding with; at least until the first feed station. FAST!! These guys are hammering it, touching 30mph on the flats, any slight lapse in concentration and you’ve lost the wheel, split the group and then you’re fighting to get back on. I turned to Deano and pointed out that we would end up burning ourselves out too early if we continued at this pace. It soon became apparent that many of the riders in the group were committing the classic sportive ride mistake, going too fast right from the beginning. The first climb proved this, the group was soon fragmented into lots of smaller groups, some were still going strong, some already suffering with another 78 miles and plenty of hills to come! After descending to the first feed station, I stopped as the majority of the group carried on. That would probably be last I would see of them, they weren’t going to be stopping, they were looking to get fast finishing times.

The rest of the ride was shared with different groups, some faster, some slower. There’s plenty of hills yet to climb including Hollingsclough and Gunn Hill on which you were timed from the bottom to the top, times are published on the website so you can see how you did compared to the other riders!

Into the final 20 miles and its starting to really hurt, every little incline feels like a major climb. As I approach the finish, spectators are banging on the hoardings, cheering, congratulating. It’s a great feeling of relief and achievement as I collect my medal, now its time to collect my ‘goody bag’ and meal, sit down and have a chat with fellow riders.

Although it may seem a little expensive to participate, it is for a worthy charity and all the feed stations (7 including the finish) are very well stocked with bananas, energy bars, gels and energy drinks or water. I’ve done other organised rides (sportives) where it’s a bit hit and miss whether there is anything left when you get there or you spend ages queuing for a banana! Stopping at the feed station at Tittesworth is a must, relax for a while, have a sandwich

and a brew and get the mechanics to sort out any problems with your bike.

At the end of the ride you’re given a medal, t shirt, bag , copy of Cycling Weekly, OS maps, money off vouchers and other promotional items (shaving foam??), recovery shakes, a pasta meal and sandwiches, tea and coffee.

A great day, really well organised by friendly staff, hope to be there again next year. Well done to the other guys who took part; Mike Barr, Mike Howard, Tony Knight and Dean Hughes.

[Editor’s note: As Andy says in his article prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. You may know that 2 of our members – Tony Knight and John Bradbury - have prostate cancer. Tony was diagnosed early and it is great that his treatment allowed him do the tour ride. John was only recently diagnosed and unfortunately has had to have radical surgery. We wish John a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back on his bike in 2011.]

Cycling City is on the map-M HowardAnother great year for cycling in Stoke-on-Trent has seen thousands of people enjoy a series of high-profile events and hundreds of people getting into the saddle for the first time. Stoke-on-Trent has been a cycling city since 2008, when we were awarded £4.8m from Cycling England with the aim of doubling the number of people riding regularly.

Cycling England has now been abolished in the new government’s “bonfire of the quangos” and the funding will run out in March 2011, but hopefully the scheme’s legacy will have forever changed the city.

Cycle 2000 has played its part again this year in Cycle Stoke activities by organising and marshalling eight leisurely rides for a total of 230 riders along the superb greenway and canal network. A range of imaginative rides were also held by Cycle Stoke to encourage first-time cyclists along, including:

A tour of the city’s bottle kilns Match day rides to Port Vale “Spoke City” rides A ladies only ride A no lycra allowed ride (not many C2000 riders on

that one) 6 rides for the lesbian, gay and bisexual community

(or those rides, possibly) “Pit stop” events where over 1,000 free lights and

high viz kits were given out A night ride to the Christmas lights switch-on.

Once again Cycle Stoke and the city council supported three major events over the summer – the Tour Series criterium, a stage of the Tour of Britain and the Tour Ride charity ride.

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Mike Howard on the Pro tour

The buzz in the city centre and at the events has helped to put the city on the map.

The team has focused heavily on children and students, to encourage them to leave their parents’ car behind when going to school and college. Twenty five schools have worked with the BikeIt officers to change habits, and more than 2,000 children were given prizes for walking or cycling 20 journeys to school during September. At Staffordshire University a cycling festival has been held in November, following the success of training and bike maintenance days earlier in the year.

Infrastructure has not been forgotten either and Cycle Stoke has completed:

Several kilometres of new cycle greenway including Longton Brook, Meir Hay, Grange Park, Packmoor and Chatterley Whitfield

Signage on many greenway routes 38 advanced stop lines. 3 contraflow lanes in Shelton near Staffs Uni

It is also impossible to get lost on any the cycle routes, because of the dazzling array of maps showing different ways to enjoy the 160km of traffic-free routes. Delivered free to every home in Stoke-on-Trent, there are now maps for eight leisurely routes around the city. They are the perfect ways to introduce children to the hidden gems found off-road on two wheels around North Staffordshire.

Other cycling news – Mike BarrAlthough CycleStoke money will end in 2011 it is good to see that there will be continue be money for cycle training in schools over the next 4 years under the Bikeability scheme. Also there will hopefully continue to be some money for cycle schemes via LTP (Local Transport Plan) funds and possibly also new money via the new “local sustainable transport fund”.

New draft LTPs for Stoke and for Staffordshire are now out for public consultation till 23 December 2010 (see the

councils’ websites). They look forward 15 years (i.e. 2011- 2026) and will have a 3 year rolling transport investment plan. As the new LTPs will last for a long time and provide the strategy for how transport money will be spent it is important for cyclists (that includes you!) to comment on them now.

The LTPs say that there are lots of short journeys now made by car (over 50% in Stoke are less than 3 miles) which could switch to walking and cycling. However in my view the LTPs need to say more clearly how they will encourage cycling, walking and bus use and what increase in these they want to achieve by 2026. I personally think that lower speeds (20 mph) in residential areas, more crossings & safer junctions on main roads and measures to tackle inconsiderate driving should be priorities that will help boost cycling.

Cycle jokes (5 of the worst!)1. What is a ghost-proof bicycle?

One with no spooks in it.

2. Did you hear about the vampire bicycle that went round biting people's arms off? It was a vicious cycle.

3. Which is the cheapest bicycle you can buy? A penny-farthing.

4. Why couldn't the bicycle stand up for itself? Because it was two-tyred.

5. What do you get if you cross a chemical and a bicycle? Bike carbonate of soda

To contact the editor with your contribution for next year’s newsletter ring Mike Barr on 01782 616243 or email barr48@btopenworld.com

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“Leisurely “ride at Biddulph Country Park – June 2010