Page 6 - Issue 64__FINAL_web normal

We may feel that the weather is changing and I would agree that we no longer seem to have
prolonged cold and icy conditions but throughout my racing career we had to wrestle with many
varied weather conditions including the cancellation of important events throughout the season
and that will not change any time soon.

Good luck to all whether you are still preparing for the 2020 season although by the time you
read this the racing season will have already started for some. Whether you start early or late I
wish everyone success in whatever you are planning to achieve.
Carole Gandy

NATIONAL SECRETARY’S PIECE
As we start to dust down our time trial bikes and unearth our long-lost race kit from the bottom
of our sock drawers, I think it is important to reflect on the 'off season' – just as much as the 'on
season'.
For those of us lucky to still be racing, we spend hours planning our weekends between February
and October (or, for the sensible ones amongst us, between May and August). We plan our
holidays around important events, we madly scramble to find family friendly days out around the
Newmarket area to appease the children after we’ve had an outing on the A11 and start to
prioritise evening training over post work drinks. Many of us take our training and racing more
seriously than professional grand tour riders.
Yet, what are we racing for? When I first started time trialling in the not-so-distant year of 2011,
I loved the razzmatazz of the traditional annual club dinner – we would pore over club trophies
and gawp in awe at Arthur Smith riding a 1h2m 25 in 1943. We would enjoy seeing our club
mates in full evening wear for one night of the year and we’d spend hours talking about personal
cycling victories over the course of that year.
How things have changed in such a small space of time. All too often, the club dinner has been
replaced by a night at a curry house where the trophy presentations take second place to the
decision of whether to choose a biryani or balti for the main course. Some clubs have disbanded
the idea of the club dinner entirely and trophies are left collecting dust in garages.
This year, we had just 18 award winners attend the National Awards Ceremony prior to the
AGM. Those who attended were justifiably proud of their achievements – but why weren’t there
more? A recent National Exec Committee highlighted that many riders no longer want to receive
a trophy or medal. If so, what do people race for? The National Exec Committee will shortly be
sending a survey out to gather opinion about the type of physical awards that members want to
receive. Some might be happy with a name listed on a website, whilst others still value seeing
their name engraved on historic metalware.
The VTTA sees itself as a progressive organisation but equally, tradition does remain important -
at least to myself. My ambition of writing a book chronicling a history of time trialling on the A4
is still waiting in the wings. I’d better start it before the trophies and records I’ll be writing about
become a distant memory.

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