Summer KJCC style!

Well it looks like Autumn is finally here but what a summer it was for KJCC. Action packed whether for fun or racing (and mostly both at the same time), it really was non stop. Here are the highlights of the KJCC summer.

Hillingdon Time trial - May 18th. Well done to Luca, Matthew, Callum, Sam, Emma, Michael and Jack. For most their first time trial, but judging by the smiles at the end not their last.

 10 laps of the Hillingdon circuit and the KJCC riders still didn't want to get off their bikes!

Tour de France celebrations - June/July. To celebrate the British stages of the tour, KJCC ran celebration events at the club.

                                               Riding the 'Champs Elysees' in June

Competition for the different colour jerseys was as fierce in Kingston as it was in France in July.

London Youth Games - 5th July.

I was lucky enough to manage the Kingston cycling squad for the London Youth Games. Unfortunately rain stopped the racing before the road races but we came sixth in the time trials, our best ever result. KJCC were well represented in the squad and team members are already training with a view to next year's event. They were certainly easy to spot in a crowd! 

Twickenham Track Day, Herne Hill - 7th September.

Run by Twickenham Cycling Club who have close links with KJCC it was very popular with both our riders and their parents who got to race too. Huge thanks to Kulvinder, Big Steve, Natasha, Simon, Alan, Amanda and Ruhi who put so much effort into organising an amazing day. 

Free beer for the adults and sweets for the children rounded off a fab day for KJCC.

Tour of Britain race - September 14th.

8 under 12 riders from Kingston got to compete in a race on the embankment alongside the time trial on the last day of the Tour of Britain race. A great opportunity to race in front of the crowds and one they all loved.

On behalf of KJCC the squad were presented with a signed shirt by British Cycling as a reward for the highest increase in club membership in the south east. No shortage of volunteers to escort it back to the club!

Kempton Park. 

During 2014 KJCC have run occasional sessions at Kempton Park Racetrack. These have been organised by Matt with Hans to help. Thanks to the enthusiasm of these two the sessions have proved very popular and will continue to happen during the Autumn and Winter so look out for details on our newsletters, facebook page and blog. 

Thanks to Charlotte Carrington for those last two photos.

Over the summer the club were also involved in 'Strictly Cycling' training sessions in Kneller Gardens, Twickenham which culminated in Bikefest at the end of June. KJCC riders seemed to have a permanent spot on the podium but unfortunately I was too busy helping with the judging to take photos. Please can club riders and their parents email me any they might have and I can add them to the blog. 

Club rides were also organised by Ant to Box Hill and Leith Hill. Club sessions at Herne Hill were also organised by Ant and he will post photos of all these seperately.

Holidays did not bring a pause to cycling for KJCC riders. Jenna Lyle and Lucy Adams went with their families to Bath and took their bikes.

I know they weren't the only ones to take their bikes on holiday. We would love to see photos from where you all went. If you email them to me I will put them in a holiday special post!

And this was just the abridged version of events! So it really was a very busy summer for all of us that would not have been possible without all the many hours put in by coaches and volunteers. Thank you to all of you. Autumn has not however brought our cycling to an end, club sessions continue to be very busy despite the weather and riders have already  moved on to competing  in cyclocross races. More blogs coming soon!

Guest Author Jenna Lyle on 'Ride London'

We started the day by walking our bikes over Tower Bridge. When we got to the other side I thought it would be quiet because there is no cars but it was even nosier then it normally is but in a good way there was loads of bells ringing and music playing. It was crowded with people eventually we found a place to start.so we stated to cycle along the river Thames. We admired all buildings but big ben was the best. Then we got to Buckingham palace it was awesome. We stopped at green park to have lunch. When we had lunch we saw bmx riders trying to break 9 different world records we saw 3 word records one of them was to jump over a bar set at 1m.42  somehow he made it on his bike he got the record. After the records we tried out some different like tandem. Then went to collect our bikes to continue our bike ride

When we were back on the road the first thing we saw was Buckingham palace every time we went under a tunnel everyone would ring there bells it made a big noise. Eventually we got to a place to turn to get onto London bridge we stopped to get an ice cream. Then we got into the car and drove home.

It was a really fun day out and I loved it!

Thank you to KJCC rider Jenna for writing this article and to her parents David and Lucy for the photos.

Twickenham Track Day

Following the enormous success of last year's Twickenham Cycling Club track day at Herne Hill Veledrome  another one has been arranged for September 7th. According to the organiser KJCC riders 'made the day last year' and I have received a request to bring as many of you as possible this year!

The event, consisting of coaching and races, will again be at Herne Hill veledrome and is on from 12-5 pm. Food and drink will be available for purchase on the day. Parents are welcome to ride too!

                         Coach Hans (father to Max) leading the way in the adult race last year.

Minimum age of entry is 8 yrs. No exceptions will be made.  Entry is £3 for youth (under 16) and £5 for adults. Entry on the day is £5/£7 but there is no guarantee of spaces. Last year was extremely popular so to avoid disappointment enter online via the British Cycling website asap -

 https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/116615/Twickehnam-CC-Track-Day 

KJCC upstages Chris Hoy!

 After the  Chris Hoy documentary 'How to Win Gold' was on BBC 1 last night, the hottest topic of conversation today has not been his amazing career but the identity of the KJCC rider who appeared (briefly!) alongside him. Any suggestions? Thanks to Emma Hughes for the photo.

Kempton Park track session Sunday 13th July

We had a very good session last Sunday at Kempton Park, Sunbury on Thames, where 15 plucky riders coached by Mel and Matt, with amazing expert knowledge from Hans, shared the venue with the Prestige Velo Club development group to use the excellent 1500m Tarmac circuit there. Those who went to the Kingston and Richmond London Youth Games trials at the venue will know how different the circuit is compared to the grass track riding that we are used to. The session focused on group riding techniques, and all riders showed great skills in close riding, communication and teamwork, including some impressive team time trialling and chain gang riding around the circuit at the end of the session. We all learnt the value of riding in formation, following the wheel of the rider in front, and swapping the lead smoothly to conserve energy and increase the group speed. The track conditions were good, despite some rather heavy rainstorms in the first hour.
Thanks to Mel, and Hans for their expert coaching, and to Mike H for helping with the groups. Thanks particularly to the riders for their excellent commitment and enthusiasm. It was a fantastic turnout from KJCC.
We will be running another session Sunday 27th July, meeting as usual at the Jockey Hostel for sign on with Prestige at 0930, for a 1000 to 1200 session. As usual, these sessions are suitable for those with road bikes and there is a £5 per rider session fee payable to Prestige.
Directions to Kempton Park can be found here:
http://www.kempton.co.uk/Directions
See you there!
Coach Matt

London Youth Games

Preparations complete, training done and we head into the weekend with our strongest ever squad. Saturday's main event is not in Yorkshire but at Crystal Palace where Kingston's cycling squad take on all the other 31 London boroughs at the London Youth Games. The squad comprises of 14 riders, some from KJCC and others from Prestige, London Dynamo, VCL and schools around the borough. They have all shown real commitment to the squad and even though the gazebos may be required for shelter from the rain rather than the sun we are prepared (and with bright orange t-shirts very visible!). As team manager I would like to also thank those coaches and parents who have helped so much already. Bertie Panicucci, Eva Callinan, Jack Hartrey, Kiron James-Medina, Joe Adlam-Cook, Lucy Adams, Jay Hughes, Tobias Dahlhaus, Laurence Ellis, Nicola Williams, Emily Adlam-Cook, Callum Marriott, Sam Balharrie and Matthew Singfield - have fun and good luck. See you very early on Saturday!

Trail Rides

Unfortunately we have to discontinue the trail rides which have been happening on the third Saturday of each month. Low numbers turning up has made it increasingly hard to get coaches to volunteer their spare time. The trail ride scheduled for this Saturday will NOT take place.  The coaches will get together to work out what we can do instead. This is not the end of KJCC in Richmond Park!

Strictly Cycling

Strictly Cycling ( run by Twickenham Cycling Club, British Cycling and Richmond Council ) are offering grass track race training at Kneller Gardens in Twickenham every Thursday evening this term from 6.30 - 8.30 pm. Cost is £1 per rider per session, payable on the day. The finish time is subject to weather conditions! Sessions are open to all ages and are coached by British Cycling regional coaches. And me! Any changes or bad weather cancellations will be posted on this blog.

They also created and run Bikefest - an all day event in Kneller Gardens which this year will be on Sunday 29th June. Pictured below are some of the KJCC riders past and present who took part last year.


You would not believe how many times this photo had to be reshot as the KJCC medal tally increased! Thanks to Alex and Jack for posing so patiently again......and again...

 Olympic Talent Team rider (and former KJCC member) Alex Jones overtaking on his way to victory in the grass track omnium.

He may have trained with Team Sky but Alex is still happy to race for a free lollipop!

                                                Alex Franks on the cross country course.

                                  Michael, Jay and Thomas on the start line for the scratch race.

BoxHill Ride - Sunday 4th May.

We had a huge turnout for the Boxhill ride - nearly 40 cyclists, including Mums & Dads. Weather was excellent. We all met at the Ryka's Cafe at the bottom of Boxhill, dodging the stream of large Harley Davidsons, Triumphs and other assorted motorbikes which were going in and out of the car park.

We set off in various groups - some at quite a fast pace and some at a more leisurely pace. Some even had time to admire the stunning views from the top! Once we reached the top we rode past Headley cricket ground (this was all part of the 2012 Olympic road race route) before heading down the fast descent of Juniper Hill and back around to the start. Several riders decided to stretch their legs a bit more and did another lap!  Well done to all the riders and a big thanks to the Mums and Dads who helped and kept an eye on the proceedings. We hope to run another Boxhill Ride in October. In the meantime, for the more experienced/faster riders only (with road bikes) there will be a KJCC ride to Leith Hill on Sunday July 20th - 10am start from Ryka's - about 20+ miles (quite tough!). More details soon....

Mud, Sweat and Gears.

Mud - Please note that due to the weather forecast for over night and tomorrow all riders should bring mountain bikes where possible and not road bikes. THE CLUB WILL BE OPEN WHATEVER THE WEATHER!

Sweat -  Can all riders please remember to bring bottles of water with them for this and every session. Dehydration can occur whatever the weather, affecting both health and performance.

Gears - Whether you are planning to compete or not it is worth bearing in mind the British Cycling guide on gear restrictions which changes as riders get older. This can be carried out quickly and easily at most local bike shops. KJCC coaches have found the following article a really helpful guide. http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/volunteer/Youth_Gear_Restrictions_for_Riders.Parents.pdf

British Cycling Young Volunteers

Ever wondered how the teenage coaches at KJCC get to where they are? What training do they receive? Well wonder no more. Myself and Lucy, 2 of the Spokes’ coaches, took our preliminary steps down the path to coach-hood 3 ½ weeks ago. It was exhausting, exhilarating and entertaining but predominantly it was enlightening. Here is the beginning of our journey. 

On Saturday 9^th March 2014 I tumbled out of bed at crazy o’clock (6:30 am) threw on some clothes and flopped into the car, toast in hand. Bleary-eyed and displaying the mannerisms of a zombie I greeted Mel, an experienced coach and important personnel at KJCC, whilst munching my toast. We met Lucy in Twickenham and, with our party finally complete, set off for the Go-Ride conference in Reading. The journey was long. Fortunately Lucy and I have a talent for talking, (as most of our coaches will tell you) and being fully awake by that point we did not hesitate to utilise that skill. Thus our journey was swiftly and pleasantly spent. 

Upon arriving in Reading we ventured across the dauntingly lush golf courses into the spacious and modern atrium. We collected our nametags and lanyards before milling around the shining room as the crowds accumulated with cycling enthusiasts and fellow coaches. Our daydreaming was interrupted by a beaming man sporting a British Cycling uniform who called for all participants of the Young Volunteers Program to follow him. After exchanging a few perplexed glances Lucy and I established we were included in that bracket and hastily followed the athletic people our age heading after the smiling man. The group, comprising of roughly 15 teenagers, congregated in a boardroom and distributed ourselves across 2 tables. After a series of amusing, and slightly awkward, icebreakers we retreated back to our seats to begin the real activities. First we received an initial briefing about health and safety and codes of conduct when coaching, which I’m pleased to report we already knew. Then we split off into groups of 3 with the task to design an ideal cycling club. This activity too was tailored to make us consider the complexities of establishing a successful club and the key roles played within it. We presented our ideas before watching a couple of videos displaying cyclists with a variety of technical improvements to be made, both strategically and mechanically. Our task was to identify these issues and state how best to overcome them. This enabled us to gain a considerable amount of knowledge from the varied experiences and expertise of the other participants. It was really interesting! Simultaneously our coaching abilities were further developed.

After that we took a short break where we were able to fully interact with the people in our session, all of whom were our age (15). As we all shared a common interest in cycling this was really simple and we found that everyone was very friendly and good-natured. At the end of the break we made our way onto the golf course, turning our attention away from coaching to racing. As a group we agreed on, and mapped, out a trial cyclocross racecourse for children age 8-12. That put our understanding of course adaption to test along with our ability to identify hazards and knowledge of race days. We then proceeded to fill in a risk assessment form and exchange knowledge and tips for ideal race briefings, something that is more complex to create and deliver then you would envisage.

After perfecting our briefing skills we then proceeded back to the boardroom, chatting continuously, to collect an extensive amount of paperwork and learn about the programme. Over the course of the next year we have to log a certain number of hours in a variety of cycling activities centred around coaching. We cannot participate as cyclists in any of these activities; we can only be there as organisers or coaches. If the specified hours are successfully logged within the timeframe the participant will become a registered Level 1 Coach with British cycling. This is the scheme myself and Lucy have entered into. It's a slightly formidable challenge but a challenge nevertheless, and one I am determined to see through.

With the sky growing dark Lucy and I departed from our new found friends with the prospect of seeing them in a year’s time when we're all qualified coaches. We crawled into the car and spent the journey in a sleepy silence. It was an exhausting but rewarding day. I loved it!

Ruhi Walsh

We currently have three young volunteers Ruhi, Lucy and Harry who are doing great work with the Spokes. If you would like to join them and are aged 14 yrs or above, please speak to coaches Mel or Liz at a club session.

Sports Relief Champions

Huge congratulations to KJCC riders Lucy Adams and Jenna Lyle who made enormous quantities of biscuits and sold them at the club on Saturday in aid of Sports Relief. Their efforts raised £90. Lives saved at home and abroad thanks to two nine yeear olds. What can the rest of us do?

Richmond Park ride next Saturday 1st March at 9:30. On road session - experienced cyclists only. Bring your parent! Meet at Ham Gate.

New Year, New Blog, New Resolutions!

                                                  New Year, New Blog,New Resolutions!

2014 brings many exciting changes to Kingston Junior Cycle Club and new resolutions from all of us. What better way to start the new blog than with this video from club rider Zac Carrington on his ambitions for the year. Go Zac!