The times were generally a few seconds slower than last year, perhaps because of the chip and tar resurfacing which has taken place during this year, or perhaps because of the relatively chilly conditions. Nevertheless some exciting close results, with 4 riders around the 6 minute mark within 6 seconds of each other.

First home was our consummate expert Jon Hughes in 5:07, with Chris Carroll and Will Ranoe - the MB Cyclery team - in 2nd and 3rd place with  5:27 and 5:35 respectively. 4th (and 2nd vet) was Mark Pritchard in 5:39 and 5th (and 3rd vet) Chris Parker in 6:01. First female (and our fastest female result over the 3 years we've run this event) was Dani Forshaw in 6:40.

It was a great event to watch and a good vibe at the top of Staple Lane, despite the puddles. Thanks to AllezNutrition whose mobile catering van kept us full of hot drinks and snacks.

Thanks also to the guys who came out to help run the event. We only need 4 marshals for this one, but they're critical to its running so big thanks to:

Push-offer: Matt Hurst

Start timekeeper: Matt Hill

Finish timekeeper: Peter Davies

And to Nick Davison and Arlo Parker for coming out to support!

Full results are here.

Next year we're running this event as an Open time trial on 17th October. This means riders will need to sign up to the event in advance via the CTT website, and there will be an HQ at West Clandon Royal Legion, not far from the event start. Hopefully VCGH members won't be put off by a bit of paperwork, and we might get a bigger field from local clubs. It's never too early to start spreading the word!

Thanks to all of you for your support for this season's TT series. It's been great to see the attendance grow throughout the year, with our little hardcore bunch of specialist time-trialists, a few triathletes, great attendance from the race team, and loads of new riders giving it a go. Look forward to seeing you all on the start lines next year!

Lara

It was nevertheless bright, dry and sunny, even though temperatures didn't rise much before the first rider set off.

Great turnout again, especially for a September event, so thanks to all of you for making the effort to be there. It's awesome to see the HQ teeming at the end of an event.

The majority entered the road bike category again this month, with Will Ranoe first home in 24:19, Rob Julian second in 25:58, and Carl Wichman third in 26:30. Carl was also 2nd vet on standard, only 3 seconds behind his standard time (impressive given that standard times are set for TT bikes), and Peter Land - for his first go at our TT - was 3rd vet, only 20 seconds behind his standard time. Laura Senior was first female road bike in 27:52, with Caroline Julian second in 32:07. Well done to Simon Williams, Caroline Julian, and Poppy Porter for being the only three riders with PBs this month (not easy on a chilly September), and to junior Tom for a very excellent 31:37 for his first solo TT attempt.

In the TT bike event, it was Callum Davies-Russell first home in 24:32, followed by Mark Herbert in 27:11. Lara Taylor was 3rd in 27:12, and also 1st female TT bike and first vet on standard with a plus time of 1 minute 35.

Thanks also to the riders who were patient with the horse riders out on the course. It's always frustrating to have to hold back mid-race and deal with an unwanted delay, but it's not a closed road event so there's always a possibility of things going awry. It's great to see our riders being so generous to our fellow minority road users.

Awesome to see a total of 6 women on the start list, and this is definitely reflective of the increase in women in VCGH as a whole. Can we do even better next year?

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out at this month's event. As you all know by now, the event series couldn't run without their help so it's always massively appreciated. This month my team was:

Thanks also to Robin Johnson for help with clearing up, and to Adrian and team at Loxwood Sports which has been a fantastic HQ for another season of club 10s.

Only one event left in our TT series this year, and that's the hillclimb on Staple Lane on 12th October. As with the 10-milers, this is a welcoming event that's suitable for all levels of rider so please come along to our grand finale!

Jon Hughes was first back on a TT bike with an excellent 23:12, followed by Rob Lucas in 27:08. Jon was also first VET on standard in the TT category, followed by Horsham CC's Brian Jones. 

In the road category it was Will Ranoe in top spot with 24:10 although with an unofficial time due to a missed start. Callum Davies-Russell was second in 24:44, closely followed by Matt Hill in 24:48. Laura Senior was first lady home with 27:44, followed by newbie Becky Starbuck in 29:56. First VET on standard in the road category was Matt with a plus time of 2:45, followed by Mark Pritchard with a plus time of 1:10.

Fantastic to see so much variety at this event: we had a two-up team, 2 junior riders, 3 women and 6 first-timers (Robbie, Paul, Steve Street, Steve Wild, Becky and Poppy), as well as 9 PBs. Well done all!

Thanks as ever to our team of volunteers without whom the event just couldn't run. This month the terrific team were:

Full results are here. 

Our last 10-miler of the season runs on September 14th. After which it'll be the hill climb on Staple Lane on 12th October. Please put these dates in your diaries.

Thanks to everybody for supporting this event! It is much appreciated.

Would be great to see as many people as possible join these rides, and please feel free to join us for just the ride, or just the pub, if you can't make both. 

For the amazing turnout I firstly need to thank Ali Walters for her rallying social media cry last week, encouraging you all to support the event (and making delicious cakes to entice you). It was fab to hear her encouragement and read the responses. And secondly I need to thank all you riders who listened to Ali, and came out to ride. I just know you all enjoyed it (once you'd gotten over the early wake-up call, and the painful nature of time trialing!) and it totally made my day to see all the support! Thanks guys!

As you can imagine with such a huge field, the results were really interesting. The road category was the larger category, and was conclusively won by Will Ranoe in 23:23. Second was Mark Pritchard (apologies to Mark for putting him in the wrong category at the HQ) in 25:26 which is a road bike PB for him. 

1st female road bike was Laura Senior in a blistering 26:45 (which as far as I know is a women's road bike course best, Angela Carpenter having achieved a 26:52 in 2016). 

In the TT category it was Matt Hill who topped the leaderboard with a 23:20 and was also first vet on standard (beating his VTTA time by a whopping 4 minutes 8 seconds). Matt was followed by Callum Davies-Russell in 23:41 in his second ever TT. 

First female TT bike was Lara T with a PB of 26:09 (just inside the women's course record) who was also 2nd vet on standard with a plus time of 2 minutes 38.

Great to see a good handful of PBs this month, and also to see 6 women on the start list, which I think is a record. Can we get more?

And last but not least, thanks to the volunteer team who helped run the event. It's sometimes a bit of a thankless task (not easy to communicate to riders in the zone) but the event couldn't run without them. This month those generous guys were:

Start timekeeper: Lara Harrison

Push-offer: Matt Hurst

Marshals: Jez Ponting, David Walters, Nick Davison, Frank Eisenhower, Ali Siddall, Nathan Hoy

Finish timekeeper: Brian Waters

Results: Marco Burgin

Yummy cakes: Ali Walters

Teas: Matt Hurst

Our next event is on Saturday 17th August. Please come back again everybody!

Full results are here.

Thanks, nevertheless, to all those riders and volunteers who turned up this morning to support the event. We were lucky after the hideous rains this week to have dry roads and mild conditions.

Exciting stuff on top of the leaderboard this week, both with Jez Meredith smashing his road bike PB with an excellent 24:18 (a time many would be proud of on a TT bike), and to the 3 riders who contested the top spot in the TT category, with only 8 seconds between them. First home was Matt Hill with a resounding course best of 23:12, closely followed by Jon Hughes with 23:18 after some bad luck with traffic through Kirdford, and hot on his heels David Walters with another course best of 23:20. Excellent work all three. I wonder if Jez Ponting's club best of 22:38 (set in 2017) is under threat this season?

Lots of PBs today as well, so kudos to all!

And thanks as usual to my dedicated team of volunteers who make this event happen. This month they were:

And thanks as usual to Adrian and crew at Loxwood Sports.

Full results now available.

Next event Saturday 13 July. See you there.

This is an important event in the VCGH calendar - a chance for all Club members to get together in a really relaxed environment, listen to some music, have some yummy street food, and most importantly bring along their families, kids, friends and neighbours so that they can all get involved for a change.

We need to get organised with numbers so please sign up and pay for your tickets (£15 each - under 16s go free). This year we're asking you to bring a salad or side-dish if you feel you can, and you will also need to bring a bottle as usual. The facilities are available for camping afterwards, if you want to (bring a tent!)

More info on www.vcghbikefest.com

This will be a fun and action-packed morning with loads to do. You can learn more about the event and enter via the dedicated Jets Race Festival page, and contact Jets Captain Nick Strugnell on jets@vcgh.co.uk with any questions.

Nick is still looking for volunteers to help out at this event, so if you have a free morning and fancy helping inspire some kids to get racing in a fun setting, please get in touch with Nick.

Thanks to the hardcore 14 though, and well done to Jon Hughes for knocking half a minute off last month's time for first TT bike in 23:17. This week, however, he was beaten on VET standard time by Matt Hill who was a whole 3 minutes 27 seconds faster than his VTTA VET standard time, with an overall time of 24:01. (see pic  © Frank Eisenhower)

Meanwhile, in the road category, it was Chris Carroll who stormed to victory in 24:58, with Rob Julian in second place with a PB of 26:27. PB also for 1st ladies road bike Debbie Morgan with 28:15.

The team of volunteers was almost bigger than the team of riders this month! And I hugely appreciate every effort. Thanks  to:

Push-offer: Matt Hurst

Start timekeeper: Ali Walters

Marshals: Elliot Brown, Richard Moore, Nick Davison, Frank Eisenhower, Ali Siddall, Tim Powell and Rob Wheeler

Finish timekeeper: David Walters

Results: Marco Burgin

HQ Teas: Ali Siddall & Frank Eisenhower

And thanks as always to Adrian Morris and the team at Loxwood Sports.

Our next event is on Saturday 15th June. Please spread the word and come along if you can. It's just a blast around an easy circuit on a Saturday morning, followed by a bit of a social over tea and cake. There's really no pressure to be in the thick of the competition. It would be great to see a few more of you there.

Full results here.