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Club News

Winter Quiz Night

Friday 4 December 2009 - Knights Way Community Centre, Knights way, Brentwood, CM13 2AZ

Open to teams of up to 8 people

7.45pm for an 8.00pm start

Entry £5 per person

Bring your own drink but light snacks will be provided

Contact either Julia on 01277 219593 or

Or Chris on 07963 704035 or

Limited space so please let us know teams in advance (by Friday 27th November)


"Meet the club" ride - Sunday 12th July

There is an opportunity to come and meet the club for short ride and spot of lunch on Sunday 12th July. We have two options:
either meet us at our usual Sunday club run rendevous at Sabines Road, Navestock Heath at 09:30 for a short ride to Hog Hill, or
Meet directly at Hog Hill at 10:30 for a few laps of the circuit (the number of laps depends entirely on your level of enthusiasm!!!) followed by lunch in the cafeteria.
All newcomers are welcome.


Eileen Taylor

We further regret to announce that Eileen Taylor passed away last Thursday (11th June) after a long illness. Eileen was the wife of Bill Taylor - club President from 1958 to 1968, and mother of current President Bernard. She was long time supporter of the club and was given an honorary membership for her services. Part of those services were to make the cakes for the club room each week and it is has been estimated that she baked over 50,000 of them!.
The funeral service was held at Manor Park Cemetary on Friday 19th June with around 30 friends and family attending and Bernard gave a poignant eulogy to his Mum:-

Eileen.
A child, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother
but to me always Mum.
Even towards the end, when I tucked her in bed like a child
and she gave me her sweet, cheeky smile 'night!',
her eyes still sparkled through the clouded iris, she was still my mum.
She loved my Dad so intensely and both of us unconditionally
and worked so that we would always have a proper family holiday each year.
She gave us a sense of right and wrong, justice and fairness, to behave
but also to stand up for ourselves, and not to be ‘fobbed off’ by nonsense;
to be polite, but not deferential.
Then there was her sense of fun, of ‘having a go’
whether it be limbo dancing or silly pass the balloon party games
she would go at it with gusto. And often win.

So what did she like?

making cakes
making friends
gardening
watching Neighbours
the colour yellow
knitting
ballroom dancing
toffees
painting woodwork (especially yellow)
a laugh
lucky dip on the Lottery
lamb chops
grandchildren
roses

And what didn’t she like?

stairs you could see through
unpaid bills
swimming
pills

There were touching times since her illness, times when emotions overcame us,
times when I just wanted to drive the madness from her and get my old Mum back.
But other times it brought us so close, when we hugged and cried together.

I’ll never forget our Mum.

Eileen Taylor (far left) at a club dinner


Obituaries - Tom Marchant and John Snook

We regret to record the deaths of members Tom Marchant and John Snook.
Tom died on 29th August 2008, aged 97. He joined the Easterley about a year after the formation of the Club and rode regularly on runs up to the outbreak of the War and continued to ride occasionally throughout the 1940s and 50s. He competed in time trials but mainly enjoyed Club runs and touring.
Together with his wife Rose, he was a regular attendee at Club and other cycling social functions where they really enjoyed their dancing. After the loss of Rose, he continued to attend London East Fellowship lunches and the occasional club dinner until he moved from Leyton to Ramsgate in his last few years to be nearer his son.

John died on 23rd January 2009, aged 76. He joined the Easterley in the autumn of 1947 with Len Unwin, Frank Farr, Bill Dodds and John Cutmore. He raced on the track and in time trials and was always a strong competitor. He also enjoyed the odd tour, usually riding a 70” fixed over the hills of Dorset and Devon.
He served his National Service at RAF Henlow where he met up with Ted Lane.
After a steady start to racing using equipment which he picked up from Club members who had discarded it. He finally bought a very nice Gillot and started to really turn out good performances. He won the Club Junior Championship in 1950 and the Senior Championship in 1952 and was the first rider in the Club to beat the hour, achieving this in a Romford Wheelers 25 on the Southend Road, finishing third in the event. He was often known to break a raw egg on his handlebars and swallow it before starting an event. We eventually lost him to sailing where he continued to be a strong competitor.
In his later years he was a frequent attendee at Club and other social events.


Annual Half Yearly General Meeting 2009

Notice is given that the 2009 Half Year will be held on at the club room on Wednesday May 13th from 8.30pm. Any items for the Agenda should be handed to the General Secretary.


Brentwood Grass Track Meeting 2009

We are pleased to announce the inaugural combined Easterley Road Club / Brentwood Rotary Club grass track meeting on Sunday 19th July 2009 at the Brentwood Centre.

Letchworth 2007

Events will be open to adults (men and women), juniors and youths for those with track bikes (i.e. fixed wheel and no brakes), plus additional races for youth riders with 'freewheel' bikes (e.g. mountain/BMX bikes etc.). Full entry details here.

So what is grass track all about?

Grass track is similar to the hard track racing in a velodrome you've seen at the Olympics - but on grass! Events range from 400m to 8km and a meeting usually includes some handicap races to give the 'lesser lights' a chance of winning. The only difference between hard track and grass track bikes are the gears are a bit smaller (as grass is harder to ride on) and the tyres have more grip. The Youths usually compete in an 'omnium' - i.e. a series of events with the winner being decided on combined points from all the races.

Victoria Pendleton winning the National Ladies 800m Champs - Letchworth 2007

So who rides?

Riders will come from all over the country to compete, from club riders to National and even Olympic level. Current World and Olympic Ladies Sprint Champion, Victoria Pendleton started her racing career riding grass track with her twin brother Alex and father Max at the age of 8. Vicky still occasionally rides grass track (other committments allowing) as indeed does Max - now in his sixties but still showing a clean pair of 'wheels' to many a rider half his age!. Reigning Premier Calendar Road Race Champion Russell Downing and runner up, his brother Dean both have strong grass track traditions with Dean winning both the 800m and 8km National Championships in recent years. Dean is no stranger to Brentwood having won last year's town centre Criterium race.

Download flyer (MS Word format)

Calshot Training Weekend 2009

Andy Ballentyne attended the 2009 edition of Dave Le Grys's (Legro's) training weekend at the Calshot Activities Centre on the weekend of 21/22 March. Format of the weekend was travel down Friday, have a road session Saturday morning around the New Forest, followed by sessions on the tight 143m indoor velodrome on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
Friday morning was bright and sunny - as was indeed the whole weekend - and good run down to Hampshire meant time for a 2 hour ride around the New Forest, taking in Beaulieu, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst in the sunshine. Back for a shower and then a meet up with the others in the party at the Activitity Centre bar for dinner and a few drinks.
Saturday morning was more of the same, with a different 35 mile route - but more sunshine! Back for lunch and then a start on the track in the afternoon. This was a varied session - a warm up, followed by taking laps - either solo or in a group (Hunter's Variation) and then Madison practise sessions with the emphasis on changing in the bunch. This was followed by a session of timed flying laps and then a warm dowm. After a shower it was time for dinner and then a social evening in the bar!
Sunday morning followed a similar format to Saturday followed by lunch and the drive home.

Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot Andy @ Calshot


Thanks to Ellie Hutson for permission to reprint her photos here. More Photos

"Come Try It" race - 5th May.

Following on from our successful event last year, we are running another "Come Try It" 5 mile event for newcomers on 5th May at 19:15. The course will be once round the circuit we use for our usual evening '10' series.


Q. What is it?
A. A Time Trial - riders are set off at minute intervals and the winner is the one with the fastest time. There is lots of useful information on the Cycling Time Trials (CTT) website. Also have a look at our Beginners Advice page.

Q. What kind of bike must I have?
A. Any kind of bike will do as long as it is road worthy. Remember the idea is to have fun.

Q. Where is it?
A. Navestock Common near Brentwood. Parking is available on the common.

Q. Do I need to be a member of the club.
A. NO! This is a Come and Try it event to see if you enjoy it. If you do, and you fancy joining the club afterwards then you will be more than welcome.

Q. Do I need a crash hat?
A. These are compulsory for riders under 18 and recommended for riders aged 18 and over.

Q. What will it cost?
A. Nothing!

Q. Will refreshments be provided?
A. Prizes and refreshments will be available at the finish.

Q. Is there an age limit
A. Riders must be 12 years and over. Riders under 18 must have signed permission from their Parent / Guardian

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