London Dynamo Newsletter #2, 09.04.04
LOVELY BUBBLY
Champagne corks have been popping in the Newsletter bunker all week following the publication of our first instalment – and it’s all down to you, the discerning and satisfied reader. True to form, the ever-competitive RUSSELL SHORT “wanted to be the first to say ‘thanks'”, but he was pipped at the post by early bird MARTIN GARRETT who echoed the thoughts of literally several Dynamo members when he wrote: “Top newsletter, guys – keep up the good work.” Cheers, mate – and get well soon. Martin had quite a tumble on Saturday, but before we put you in the “frame”, as it were, we had better get down to the serious business of welding another exclusive, custom-built, double-butted edition of your favourite cycling-related weekly email update. Now where’s that top tube…
SWEET-EST FEELING
If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then in WARRICK SPENCE’s case that pudding was a large helping of Goodwood. And London Dynamo’s greedy mile-eater had only one message for his hungry foes on Sunday: eat my wheel. Unfortunately, Warrick arrived late and only had time to take two bites of a sandwich before lining up on the start line – which meant he risked failing to serve up just desserts to the other riders by being short on fuel. Novices, take note! Nevertheless, the underfed antipodean still managed to notch up a thrilling 37mph along the flat course’s silky- smooth surface as he chased the leading bunch on his own for a thigh-shredding three laps. Ouch! The final 30 miles saw him polish off all his energy drink and gulp down a gel before bonking badly as an attack emerged with four laps to go. Luckily the leading bunch had already lapped the field, so the super-strong Cyclefit technician rode away into the vicious headwind to finish alone and claim 4th place. “A very hard race,” admits Warrick, “with a very strong wind. Next time I will leave earlier and eat before the race.” And to make sure that he does, we’re awarding Warrick the London Dynamo Newsletter Result Of The Week Hamper, which contains a boxful of rubbery energy bars left over from Cyclefit’s Mallorca training camp, a bucket of flapjacks, and a gorilla-sized portion of bananas. Meanwhile, point-scoffer MARTIN WILLIAMSON served up a side order of Dynamo action in the cat 3 race by staying with a break for a heart-throbbing 31 miles. Martin boasts that the group “had ages on the pack” and he sprinted to 4th place, leaving him just three tantalising points short of category 2. We know you’ll do it next time, chum! And in the cat 4 race, international man of leisure CHRIS WARD came a perfectly decent 17th – and then wrote something perfectly indecent on the Dynamo forum about his wife. Let’s just say they enjoyed a pre-race feast of a different kind and we’ll move swiftly onto the next course…
THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLINGDON
Yee-haa! Eager cat 4 riders prospecting for points should saddle up and head to wild west London for the Hillingdon Tuesday series, where relatively easy placings are going faster than a banjo player’s right arm. This week’s enormously well-attended gold rush was under 20 miles – that’s less than three-quarters of a Parkride, for flip’s sake! – and the whole race was over in less than 35 minutes. (It remains a mystery why the BC guys clocked the winner’s time at 48m 20s…) With the presence of a big Dynamo posse, the club could easily repeat the dominating success of the beginners’ races. But we need to move quickly, Dyna-mates! The course isn’t floodlit, so the races will get longer and tougher as the sun sets later each week. Hopefully the weather will improve on the soaking-wet season opener which saw ROB TUBBS finish 8th, despite being boxed in as he came out of the final bend. Big girl’s blouse CHRIS CAMPBELL, who was the only other Dynamo rider in the cat 4 race, wimped out on the slippery circuit by sitting at the back for safety – until he grabbed the wheel of a passing Sigma rider on the last lap and propelled himself into 10th place. Don’t be such a sissy next time, boy! Meanwhile, in the E/1/2/3 race, the withdrawal of GUY ‘CAPTAIN MAINWARING’ ANDREWS just before the final sprint proved to be a little short-sighted – the optically-challenged sergeant major dropped out because he couldn’t see a bloody thing in the rapidly-approaching darkness. Parkriders have the Newsletter’s express permission to volubly berate the bellowing taskmaster for making such a poor excuse. The boot’s on the other foot now, pal!
FALL GUYS
On Thursday afternoon we paid an official Newsletter visit to the Royal Free hospital in Whitechapel where injured rider MARTIN GARRATT is recovering from a serious crash on Saturday’s Parkride. Martin was riding with a group of around 12 people at about 30 mph when his front wheel slipped on the rain-slicked tarmac after negotiating the big descent. He hit the deck hard and brought down De Laune rider Nick Butler who was riding with us. Martin ended up with crushed ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken femur, yet he seems to be surprisingly chipper. He’s been doing well in physiotherapy, the lung has healed well and he hopes to be back on the turbo in a month. We also gave Dynamo’s injured party something to smile about by presenting him with the latest edition of Cycling Weekly. If the Comic doesn’t get him laughing, then nothing will! See if you can get yourself to the Mary ward on the third floor of the east wing before he cracks another rib laughing at Tony Bell’s light-hearted leering at girls with big bottoms during a press junket in Trinidad. Visiting hours are 9am-1pm and 3pm-10pm and the hospital is opposite Whitechapel tube. PAUL CALLINAN reports that Nick Butler, who dislocated his hip, may be leaving hospital this weekend. An update on his progress would be greatly appreciated – email news@londondynamo.co.uk if you have any more info.
ALL’S WELD THAT ENDS WELL
We’ve come to the point where we can turn off the blowtorch, flip up our visor and take a long, satisfied look at the precision craftsmanship that has gone into the creation of this gleaming Newsletter. We can be proud of its stiffness and gleaming finish, even if a few sentences are the equivalent of wishbone chainstays – a little flashy but of absolutely no practical use. Always remember that while we are the frame, you are the groupset, the wheels and, dare we say it, the saddle. So keep your race results and reports coming into news@londondynamo.co.uk. Deadline is Wednesday morning for Friday’s edition. And now, as we lovingly smear GT-85 over the tubes, it only remains for us to remind you about…
THIS WEEK’S RIDES
SATURDAY
The Parkride, Roehampton Gate, 9am. Three to four laps of Richmond Park split into fast, intermediate and steady groups.
SUNDAY
Hampton Court bridge, 9am for Surrey Hills ride. 50ish miles at a steady pace. Bring a pump, inner tubes, drink and a spare helmet for GUY POWDRILL.
WEDNESDAY
Richmond Gate, Richmond Park, 7:30pm. Steady two hour ride to Surrey and back.
Our Kindest Regards, London Dynamo Newsletter.
THE SMALL PRINT
SUN 4/4 Goodwood E/1/2 (60 miles) – 1 Rowan Horner (VC St Raphael); 2 A. Freeman (Kingsnorth International); 3 J. Newall (Evans Cycles RT); 4 WARRICK SPENCE (LONDON DYNAMO); 5 S. Gowar (Tunbridge Wells RC); 6 P. Croom (Freerider Cycles); 7 A. Christensen (unatt); 8 A Holding (Tunbridge Wells RC) 9 C Birch (Evans Cycles RT); 10 C. McNamara (Team Synergy). 3/J/W (50 miles) – 1 Paul Atkinson (VC St Raphael); 2 C.Peter (VC Meudon); 3 MARTIN WILLIAMSON (LONDON DYNAMO); 4 M. Manelfi (Freerider Cycles); 5 G. Higgs (Brighton Excelsior); 6. S. Ferguson (Team Maestro). 4/W – 1 James Boyman (Team Luciano); 2 M. Siwicki (Addiscombe CC); 3 G. Mantinel (unatt). TUES 7/4 Hillingdon E/1/2/3 (24 miles) – 1 Andrew Rigg (VC Prestige/Viner) 57m 10s; 2 R. Morgan (Team Parrot Print); 3 S. Phillips (Beyond Mountain Bikes); 4 T. Smith (VC Prestige/Viner); 5 M. Wilmott (Team Quest/The Bike Shop); 6 V. Halpen (Twickenham CC). 4/W/J 1 Liam McLoughlin (Team Quest/The Bike Shop) 48m 20s; 2 S. Merrilees (unatt); 3 M. James (Willesden CC); 4 T Adesanya (Addiscombe CC); 5 A Araujo (BC Private Member); 6 J. Carrington (Swindon RC) all s.t.
The DYNAMITE! Files 
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