Sunshine for once…… riders stopping, yanking outer layers of clothing off and throwing the items in the vague direction of parents as they got hotter.... yippee, it shows that it must be spring.
 
Interestingly though, as everyone else wore less the one individual who wore shorts in the freezing winter months was back to..... long trousers. Long black trousers in fact. Who he? Now I wonder.
 

We welcomed several new faces. Alex came from Newdigate, aged 8, while brothers Henry and Thomas also decided to give Raiders a try - they heard about us from Christian Bright.

For the second session Luke came for the first time. This was a result of his out-of-breath dad (Jeb) talking about this and that (including the existence of Raiders) with an out-of-breath cycling coach (must be me) at the top of Box Hill a couple of weeks ago when we had both done battle (along with 400 others) round the hardest hills the organizers could find in any 50km route starting in Dorking.
 

Welcome to you all.
 

First session

There was another fox-hunt…. and what a noise everyone made at the start. The hounds had gone forth and multiplied and so numbers were up from two (the last time – a fortnight ago) to five (very encouraging)... though one of the five had to take time out for a serious bout of tyre-pumping.
 

The foxes were hidden away in two different lairs, a strategy which gave the younger ones a better chance of evading capture.
 

But at the end of the day all bar one young fox got caught, in the same one who was awarded the Bushy Tail for best evading capture last time. His name can not be revealed for fear that all the dogs in town might come chasing after him next time he's out on his bike.
 

The presence of five adults on their bikes was excellent because it made for a seriously hard challenge for the kids in the guards-and-prisoner exercise…especially as one bike had a link back to a following child, making it the equivalent of a tandem.
 

The guards used good riding tactics and they co-ordinated their effort so that most prisoners found it hard to spot a chink in the defensive wall. Well done all of you as you rode with a lot of awareness of what was happening all around you.
 

It's quite strange finding a group of youngsters clamouring so loudly to be the next prisoner!!
 

Then we tried something new... a Le Mans style half-lap race.
 

With the bikes were all leaning against the far wall, younger riders, aged 5-7, set off  on foot (running) at the first whistle, with older riders 8-10 starting at the second whistle. The exercise worked even better the second time when everyone put their bike facing the same way!
 

Catherine and Jonathan probably did best over the two races: nimble on their feet, then at getting their bike on the move, and finally at picking up speed. Well done.
 

I've been reading about the Government's bleep test.... having seen you guys on the run I’m thinking we might just include that next time.... and if so it will include parents (sick notes not accepted)... it should be a nice challenge to see who the final four are!!
 

final races - first session
 

5-lap handicap for 5-7 years
 

1 Sam Sanders
2 Christian Bright
3 Iain Clamp
4 Catherine Knight
5 Callum Pringle
 

8-lap scratch race for 8-10 years
 

1 Jamie Pullen
2 Ben Pullen
3 George Sales
 
 
Tumble of the day:  Alex Lawrence.
 

Good news from Alex’s dad (Ray) in the evening after the Raiders session to say that the damage to Alex's leg was superficial.....with his chain running on the little ring at the front, the bare teeth on his bike’s big ring decided to have a chew at Alex's leg, this came soon after the start of the final scratch race, exiting the first corner in fact.  We are pleased to hear things are on the mend, Alex. So come back in one piece.
 

Who has lost a helmet?
 

It is a Raleigh. Colour: purple at the front and red at the back in the effect of a flame. Size: small. Inside is silver-type sticking holding the soft pads in place. If you put a name in your hats that would be good for tracking the owner.
 

Still from last time: pair of gloves. Who wants them. I now find that they fit me.... so could they me a parent's perhaps?? Do tell me the colour and they are yours.
 

second session
 

Keith ran an exercise called  “the devil take the hindmost” which means everyone sprints for the line and the last to cross it gets eliminated, so numbers fall one by one. Oliver Durbridge saw everyone off his tail at the first round while in the second running of the exercise saw Freddie Roux at the top of the tree.
 

A two-lap time trial, from a standing start, was won by Dan Sterry.
 

Five riders all finished within the space of three seconds:
 

Dan     29 sec
Will    30 sec
George    30 sec
Freddie    31 sec
Richard    31 sec
 

It was all pretty close.
 

Based on the above times coach Keith Reed paired them up for a Pursuit. Matthew unfortunately crashed out on a bend whilst competing against his brother…..this was the most exciting round to watch, until the crash, as they were very evenly matched.
 

Green jersey awarded: to Dan for his dominance.
 

Well done Dan… even in long black trousers there’s no holding this rider back.

Photo: 

Black trousers

Submitted by admin on Tue, 30/03/2010 - 06:29

Photo: 

Event: 

Raiders session 21 March

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