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Condor ladies take gold at Silverstone TTT

Posted on June 10, 2017 by - Time Trial Routes

We are delighted to announce that our Condor Ladies A team won the Bicester Millenium 9-up Team Time Trial at Silverstone last night. Zappi’s ladies had previously taken the title every year but with their absence the title was wide open and competition was fierce. Battling against several other womens teams including Lovelo and the Crankettes, our ladies worked well together and dug deep to get results. Our Ladies B also did extremely well and came 4th, as did our Men’s A team coming 7th with the Veterans in at 10th! Well done to all the teams racing at Silverstone.

For the first time we were allowed to enter 5 teams, which meant we are able to take 2 men’s, 2 women’s and a male veterans team. It was a very proud moment to see 45 Condors lined up at the start, representing the club in a sea of ‘pink & black’. With strong winds and tough competition from other clubs, our riders all worked really hard and earned their drinks at the post-Silverstone knees up. Chapeau!

Battle of the Ages

The hotly contested battle between the Mens B team and the Veterans was decided by a mere 2 seconds, with the Mens B coming out on top. Depending on who you spoke to afterwards, 2 seconds is either a tiny or enormous margin.

2017 Results

Mens A: 23 min 37 sec
Matt Thomas (captain), Andy Ruane, Nick Sanderson, Joe Kang, Ali Cigari, Andy Wilde, Paul Boden, Rob Freshwater, Arran Curran

Mens B: 25 min 23 sec
Peter Smith (captain), Jamie Kirby, Berwyn Jones, Matt Wicks, Philip Ross, David Holland, Dennis Wan, Andy Haines, Alistair Harrison

Ladies A: 26 min 30 sec
Aimee Jones (captain), Cyndi Goh, Tyra Rivkin, Cathy Kirby, Helena Coker, Mimi Harrison, Kristen Lovelock, Helen Keay, Maxie Scheske

Ladies B: 28 min 44 sec
Kat Young (captain), Jackie Robbins, Josie Eade, Lucy Wicks, Harrie Drage, Eleanor Law, Inês Rahtz, Ruth Corrigan, Jess Reynolds

Male Veterans: 25 min 25 sec
Chris Jones (captain), Will Pepper, Ludovic Phalippou, Mark Glendinning, Stephen Tearne, Martin Crane, Joe Graystone, Nick Green, Alistair Goodall

Historical records of Condors results can be found here

Thank you to BMCC

We would like to say a very special thank you to all the volunteers at BMCC who take the time to organise the event. From the 18+ pushers, to the time keepers, scrutineers, photographers and everyone helping with admin and finances in the background – it is a big undertaking and you do an excellent job every year. On behalf of all the Cowley Road Condors, thank you very much. Hope to see you again next year 🙂

Condors celebrate reaching 100 female members

Posted on May 3, 2017 by - News

30 women and 8 men braved the arctic winds last week – cycling up to the windmill at Brill Hill to celebrate the club reaching another major milestone: over 100 female members! This is a fantastic achievement for a cycling club and we are so proud of everyone involved in helping us get to this stage.

100th Woman

Natasha Williams, our 100th woman, says “I did a couple of newbie rides last summer and I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the group. I like to think that I soar like a condor when I’m flying down hills!”. Sadly she broke her toe last year and this meant she wasn’t able to ride very much. But she is more than making up for it this year, with a 300km cycle round Sweden’s lake Vättern in June! Natasha has a busy schedule of training rides before then including Bike Oxford and the Tour of Cambridgeshire. We wish her the best of luck and look forward to celebrating on her return!

 100 women natasha

100th woman Natasha (in yellow) gets ready to set off with president Cheryl Reid (left) transporting the balloons!

Friendly and Inclusive

Women’s Officer Aimee Jones said “It’s testament to the friendly and inclusive ethos of the Condors that we now have 100 women members. I’m so proud that the Condors are now the go-to club for female cyclists in Oxford, and hope we continue to inspire and encourage more women to take up cycling!”

Full Club Support

Club Secretary Jon Harle added “It’s been fantastic seeing not just the club growing steadily, but the women’s membership growing too – and at an even greater rate. It’s something the whole club have got behind, and I’ve been proud that it’s not just been a women’s initiative, and so many of the men have wanted to ensure this too”

Increasing Female Membership

For anyone out there reading this article and wondering how on earth your club can do the same – we’re pleased to say there are lots of things you can do to encourage ladies to join. In fact we recently featured in Total Women’s Cycling outlining some of our initiatives. Read the article here!

Looking ahead

We plan to run Ladies Summer Sessions again in July to help those who are nervous of group riding or need a bit more fitness to get up to social pace. Keep an eye on our website and facebook group for news updates.
If you feel ready – please come along to one of our Meet the Condor rides (second Sunday of every month) or a Tuesday night social. Men and women all welcome. Look for details on our facebook group.

We look forward to seeing you out on the road soon 🙂

100 women home

Cowley Road Condors reaches 250 members

Posted on March 28, 2017 by - News

Cowley Road Condors are proud to have reached another fantastic milestone as they kick off the 2017/18 season.

For the first time in the club’s history, we have reached 250 current members!

The membership base is made up of 156 men and 94 women who love to ride, spin, climb, time trial, race, and stop for coffee and cake.

This would not have been possible without the many contributions from club members – past and present. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has ever led a ride, been involved in training, marshalled an event or done countless jobs behind the scenes. We couldn’t have done it without you.

But that’s not where it ends! Our next challenge is to make sure we continue to deliver on all the things that make us so great: being friendly, being inclusive, and supporting all our wonderful volunteers who put their time and energy into the club. Let’s keep up the good work and wear that pink & black with pride 🙂

Chapeau to the brilliant, inspiring and fun loving Condors!

Cheryl Reid
Club President

New sponsors and kit refresh for 2017/18!

Posted on March 24, 2017 by - News

Cowley Road Condors are excited to kick off the 2017/18 season with fantastic new sponsors and a kit refresh by the talented Joe Wilkins. The Condor logo finally takes centre stage and we’ve made lots of tiny adjustments to make sure the design sits well on the panelling and looks good from all angles. We’ve also reduced the number of sponsor logos to keep the look clean and streamlined. The infamous pink & black flames are here to stay and we look forward to seeing you all out wearing our kit this summer.

condor kit 2017

So how do you get your hands on the latest deisgn?

If you want to order skins suits:
Email Joe with the sizing you’d like [email protected]
There is a medium sample at Beeline that you can try on. For the sake of everyone involved, please keep your pants on.
Orders for skin suits need to be placed by Thursday 30th March

If you want to order a standard club jersey:
We have placed a large bulk order of XS/S/M/L/XL in both men’s and women’s cut.
These will be available to buy from the website from May at a cost of £45 each.

If you want to order anything else (e.g. bib shorts, caps, gilets, a size not listed above):
Go to the champion system website and place an order.
If you have never done this before please follow the instructions on the members area page!
The order window will close at midnight on Thursday 6th April

The fantastic three new sponsors joining us this year are…

Peleton red 30

Have you been to Oxford’s amazing cycling cafe? If not, head over to Peloton Espresso for all your caffeinated needs and to sample the legendary banana bread and cinnamon rolls. There is plenty of space out the back for your bicycles and all cyclists are welcome. They broadcast cycling events on TV and even have an alcohol license for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix! Cowley Road Condor Matt Rees and team have done a fantastic job of helping to get Peloton off the ground and we look forward to spending lots of time there.
Peloton Espresso will be worn with pride on our jerseys in the new kit refresh.
Special Condor discount: £2 per coffee

For those of you who know and love Ricks – who looked after us so well in our early days when we were a much smaller club – we’re pleased to say they understand why we want to support Peloton and they will continue to support us with a 10% discount!

Optimum logo white on black1

Adele Fowler, MSMA of Optimum Body is a fully qualified Clinical Sport and Remedial Massage Therapist, RockDoc and Gym instructor, located on the outskirts of central Oxford. She specialises in injury treatment and kinesiology taping – ideal for anyone who is suffering from their time on the bike!
Special Condor discounts:
 – £10 off first hour appointment which includes a FREE 15 minute consultation and postural assessment (£35)
– Subsequent hour appointments – £5 off (£40)
– Kinesiology taping – £10 off (£5) however if taping is required, Adele will tape in the treatment time at no extra charge
– Block booking discounts – 5% off 5 sessions (£190) and 10% off 10 sessions (£360)

rule 28

James Sherwood and Sam Calder are bringing marginal gains to the world of socks!
Their specially designed and carefully tested AeroSox change the airflow around your leg to save you all important watts. And if 10 or more Condors club together they can even arrange for a custom design…
Pink & Black anyone? 🙂
Special Condor Discount: 20% off with code CONDOR20

These existing sponsors remain on our jersey and we wear them with pride:

beeline

logo Green Oak icon

bikeoxford

brokenspoke

ccc

And last but not least, our very special named charity:

Helen Douglas House small

Club Time Trials 2018

Posted on March 13, 2017 by - Shortcodes

With the clocks going forward, this means more light further into the evening, which also announces the arrival of the Time Trial (TT) season!

For those who’ve never taken part in a TT before, the theory is easy. All riders ride a pre-approved course, setting off at a predetermined interval. The person who completes the course in the fastest time wins! If you own a bike that’s in good working order, you can take part!

Similar to previous years, there will be monthly TT’s over the spring and summer, and the season starts on April 7th, with the Club’s traditional Stadhampton course. New for 2018, we have 6 rounds, with two new courses – one in Abingdon and one over in Brightwell, towards Wallingford.

The Hill Climb course that’s been declared to CTT (the governing body of Time Trialling in the UK) is Muswell hill, which finishes at the top of Brill, right next to the Windmill.

See below for a Full schedule of the Clubs TT events:

Date Course Distance Start time Type
Sat 7th April Stadhampton HCC118 10 miles 09:00 Solo
Thurs 26th April Oakley HCC265 10 miles 19:00 3-up TTT or Solo
Thurs 24th May Chesterton HCC260 10 miles 19:00 Solo
Thurs 21st June Abingdon HCC272 10 miles 19:00 Solo
Thurs 19th July Brightwell HCC243A 10 miles 19:00 3-up TTT or Solo
Sat 25th August Stadhampton HCC118 10 miles 09:00 Solo
Sat 22nd Sept Muswell Hill HHC027 1.4 miles 10:30 Hill climb

 

Abingdon

This is a mostly flat route, however after the gradual climb out towards Cumnor, you get to reap the rewards by flying back down the A420. The A420 is a main road link between Oxford and Faringdon (and beyond), so can be quite busy, however it’s wide, and offers plenty of space for you to be passed by traffic safely.

Brightwell

Reported to me by my friends at Didcot Phoenix, this is a fast course. Starting just West of Wallingford, it follows the Wallingford ring road to the last roundabout, and then heads back.

Entry

As with last year, we are asking for a small entry fee from participants – ÂŁ2 for Club Members, ÂŁ5 for non-members. This isn’t for the club, we have to pay a levy to CTT for every entrant who take part in one of our events.

Team Time Trial

Most TT’s are a solo effort, putting everything you have on the line to get the best time you can, there are also two 3-up 10 mile TTT’s (Team time trial) featuring in the 2018 series. The first is in late April, and is a great way to learn the art of TT’ing with other people. It’s also planned to feature in the selection process for the Men’s Silverstone Teams.

The second Club TTT takes place later in the year, so plenty of time to practise the TTT technique.

It’s worth noting, these events are not just restricted to teams. If you’d prefer to ride solo, that’s absolutely fine!

Local TTs

If you’re a seasoned TT’er, or want to get your eye to hit the Club series with a bang, there are lots of events nearby, run by other local clubs. Notably, Bicester Millennium are running their popular weekly event at Weston on the Green. This is a closed circuit around the airfield, but be warned, it is an active airfield, and if the RAF need to use it, the event will take place on the Chesterton circuit.

For a full list of TT events in the local area, check the CTT event list – Condors fall under the London West district. Keep a lookout on the Facebook page for updates on upcoming local events.

Volunteering

Like a lot of our events, these TT’s won’t be able to take place without on-the-day volunteers. Jobs on the day include marshalling at junctions, holding riders on the start line (my speciality) and noting rider finish times. Whether you’re an experienced TT’er, new to these events or just want to help out, we’re always appreciative of those who offer the time to help out.

Questions?

If you have any TT related questions, please don’t be afraid to drop me an email via [email protected]

See you all on the 7th!

Philip Ross

 

Club Time Trials 2017

Posted on March 13, 2017 by - Shortcodes

For those new to TTs the theory is simple. All riders ride a pre-approved course setting off at 1 minute intervals. The person who completes the course in the fastest time wins – spin to win. What is great about TTs is that anyone who has a bike in good working order can take part. 

As has been tradition the past few years, the club will be hosting monthly TTs over the spring and summer, kicking off on April 22nd with a running of our regular 10 mile Stadhampton course – here’s hoping it doesn’t snow at the start line this year!  New for 2017 we also have courses at Oakley and a hill climb at Brill (Muswell Hill) as well as some fresh new rider numbers… yes they even have a Condor logo on them.  See below for a full schedule of the clubs TT events.

This year’s TTs

Date Course Distance Start time Type
Sat 22nd April Stadhampton 10 miles 10:00 Solo
Tues 23rd May Oakley 10 miles 19:00 3-up
Thurs 22nd June Chesterton* 10 miles 19:00 Solo
Thurs 20th July Oakley 10 miles 19:00 Solo
Thurs 18th August Stadhampton 10 miles 19:00 Solo
Sat 23rd Sept Muswell Hill 1.4 miles 10:00 Hill climb

* updated in May 2017 from Stadhampton to avoid clash with the Ben Owen Memorial TT

Oakley

A flat(ish) 10 mile anti-clockwise circular route which has also been used a race circuit starting and finishing just west of the village of Oakley.  Largely quiet back roads route (beware of tractors).  Some of the course dips into the village of Oakley so beware you will need to beware of the usual hazards.

Muswell Hill

Definitely not a flat course. At 1.4 miles in length this is our new hill climb for the year.   The course features a double ascent of Muswell hill, with the first section containing the steepest ramps before finishing atop of Brill and…conveniently…next to the pub.

Entry

For this year, we will also be asking for a small entry fee – £2 club members, £5 non-members. This will directly cover costs associated with running these events through CTT.   

Team Time Trial

While most TTs are solo pain caves of you v the watch, the club will also be hosting a 3-up 10 mile TT.  This will be on 23rd May in the lead up to the Silverstone 9-up TT.  For those hoping to ride Silverstone, this will be a great opportunity to get used to riding with team members in a competitive timed event.

Local TTs

Of course you don’t have to wait for our monthly club TTs to have a go at competing in a TT.  Any given week there are a number of other local clubs run regular events.  Special mention here to Bicester Millennium who will once again be running their popular weekly closed circuit TTs at Weston on the Green starting Tues 28th March. 

For a full list of TT events in the local area check the Cycling Time Trials list (Condors are part of the London West district)  And keep your eyes on the Condor Facebook page for regular updates on upcoming local events. 

Volunteering

Vital to the successful running of the club TTs are on-the-day volunteers – quite simply the club TTs wouldn’t be able to take place without them.  Whether its marshaling at one of the junctions or starting riders off, event volunteers are key to keeping these events running.  Whether you’re a seasoned TT vet or new to riding these events, we are always appreciative of those who offer their time to help out.

Questions?

If you have any TT related questions drop [email protected] a message and see you on the 22nd – keep spinning!