This year’s Beacon AGM will take place at 18:30 on Thursday 7 December 2023, via Zoom.
Please see the AGM notice sent out to all members by email for the Zoom link. Please check your spam folder if you haven’t received the AGM notice. If you can’t find it there, it’s likely we don’t have your email address on record, so please drop a line to membership@beaconrcc.org.uk so we can add it.
The agenda and committee members’ reports will be posted on the message board in due course.
Please give thought to how you can help the club continue to serve its members, and the sport of cycling in general.
On Sunday 26 November, we’re again going to be co-organising a round of the West Midlands Cyclo-Cross League at Walsall Arboretum. Volunteers are required to help make the event a success, both on the day and the day before to help build the course. If you’re able to volunteer, please put you name down here. A volunteer briefing is available here, a rota here and a map here.
For those keen to race, online entries are now closed, but entry on the day will be possible. The rider briefing can be downloaded here.
In the closing weeks of each year, we get together to recognise the achievements of our members during the season just ended. This year’s Annual Dinner and Prize Presentation will be held on Saturday 18 November, starting at 18:00.
In line with feedback from the survey we did earlier in the year, this year’s event is going to be a little different. Here’s what we’ve got lined up:
A great venue
To make sure the event stays affordable and accessible, we’re using Kings Norton Golf Club again this year. There’s a spacious function room and a cosy bar, both with wheelchair access, in a leafy setting on the edge of town.
Reception
You’ll be served with Prosecco or a non-alcoholic alternative on arrival.
Buffet meal
We’ll still have tables where you can sit and eat sociably with your friends. But instead of a three-course meal brought to you, you’ll select from a delicious buffet that caters for a range of preferences and dietary needs.
Guest speaker
We’re delighted to have Bristol University’s Dr Fiona Spotswood as our guest speaker this year. Fiona is an avid mountain-biker whose specialist field is fostering inclusive action sports. She’ll be giving a lively and an inspiring half-hour talk on bringing more young people and women into the sport we all love. Don’t miss it!
Award presentation
Medals and trophies will be presented to club members who have excelled in a wide variety of competitive and non-competitive fields. Come along to hear what your club-mates have been doing, and show your appreciation.
Music and dancing, led by our very own cycling DJ Vince!
There’ll be quiet areas where you can chat and drink, if you prefer.
Ample opportunity for mingling
One of the main things to come out of the survey was that people wanted the formalities kept short, leaving more time for catching up with friends. We’ve therefore opted for a buffet format, without any cross-toasting, enabling us to move on to the guest speaker and awards earlier in the evening. The duration of those slots will also be limited, so that the whole of the second half of the evening is free for mingling and chatting.
All-in price of £35
Catering costs and venue hire prices have shot up in the last couple of years. Continuing with the traditional event format would have meant either an eye-watering ticket price, or a whopping subsidy from the club’s reserves. However, by making the changes described and securing a modest subsidy from central funds, we’ve been able to reduce the ticket price this year to £35.
We really hope you can make it on 18 November for a great evening celebrating the Beacon, and everything our members do. Current, former and prospective Beacon members and friends of the club are all welcome, as are their partners, family and guests.
The Beacon Cycling Academy hosted the 2023 British Schools Cycling Association West Midlands Regional Grass Track Championships on 19 August, which this year also served as the National Championships for school years 1 to 8. The full results from the day are now available here. Photos of the event are available here.
My interest in audaxes really first began in 2021, the first year when I started cycling. In nothing less than my usual style I threw myself in at the deep end, my first audax being a 200km. I’d never ridden 200km in my life, so to choose the Kidderminster Killer as my first audax was nothing short of a little bonkers!
I remember that day vividly. Mariana was volunteering that morning, serving out hot drinks. She took one confused look at me and asked: “You’re doing this?!” That morning eight of us started out and by the end, 11:30 pm, way past the cut-off line, a mere four of us rode into Belbroughton having barely survived! Following the traumatic experience of that ride I kind of gave up audaxes!
Following the Kidderminster Killer, I completed Ride Across Britain and still did the occasional 100 miler and last year I even did my first 300km. That in itself was a story to tell, one where myself and Cédric were riding through Birmingham exhausted at 1 am, determined to get our cycling computers to 200 miles!
At the age of six, my dad asked me what I wanted to do when I was older. I told him that I wanted to be an explorer! That passion for adventure never left and instead grew. In my twenties, I travelled extensively, backpacking for six months around Asia taking in the culture, history and breathtaking scenery in places like Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam and Laos. I once road-tripped in the USA with 10 people in a minivan for six weeks and during that time saw 40 states. I always felt at home on the road.
I’m finding that audaxes are a great way to do a ton of miles, get fit, switch off from the stressors of life and most importantly to me, see new places. Over the last 12 months my lifestyle has changed considerably. At present I live half the month in the Lake District and the other half in Bromsgrove. This means that northern adventures to wild places in Scotland have suddenly become accessible!
In February this year, I wanted a new challenge, and with a mixture of excitement and nervousness I signed up to complete the calendar event Efengyl (Gospel) 200. This ride commenced the Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY) for me.
I wish I could say completing 200km rides every month has been easy with a tailwind always on my back. Sadly, the reality is that that is just the Instagram story! The first 200km I did this year was the Efengyl through Bristol Audax Club in February. All weather conditions were thrown at us that day! I remember being at the top of Gospel Pass thinking that I was going to be blown off my bike! I was amazed by the grit and determination of some of the older cyclists. As I stood at the side of the road in the dark in pain, they soldiered on at a steady but consistent pace.
Brum 200 was challenging mentally. The route predicted the elevation was going to be 4,000ft; a nice flat 200km, so I thought! (So much so that I’d planned for my parents to come round for a BBQ at 6 pm!) One hour late for my folks and after 8,000ft of climbing, I’d completed the ride, very ready to throw my bike in a bush! I promptly wrote to Audax UK the following day telling them I felt lied to and that I wanted some AAA points! Instead, they sent me a Brum 200 badge!
Facing adversity taught me the importance of adaptability, grit, and maintaining a positive mindset. One thing I hate doing is quitting. The hardest thing I’ve ever done is LEJOG in nine days. At that point I’d been cycling for nine months. I’d never really been into fitness or even going to the gym, so it was hard going. Anytime I’m having a hard day on the bike I remind myself of the tough things I have previously done and what I am capable of.
I go back to my ‘why’. For me, cycling gives me such a buzz, the sort where you’ve had the hardest, most challenging day and all of sudden you get on your bike and smile because you feel alive. There have been times when, being a children’s social worker, I’ve had such a stressful day worried about a child’s welfare. Previous habits would have turned me to a glass of wine to help me relax. These days, riding long miles are that replacement, providing mental clarity, being in the present and appreciating the simple joys of solitude, the beauty of nature, and the power of perseverance.
My dream is to explore more remote, wild and unexplored places by bike; the sort where you have to take a satellite phone as backup. For me, true beauty lies in exploring wilderness and cultures and in my view, that is best done on a bike.
I’ll sign off with a quote, one I read for the first time a few months ago. Reading it sent shivers down my spine as to me it sums up everything about my ‘why’:
They say cycling sets you free, and it’s true. Take your hands off the bar, sit up and look around. You’re free as a bird. Or, as one popular Spanish saying puts it, you have birds in the mind. For as well as setting us free physically, cycling has the power to help us switch off. On the map and in our minds, where we end up is up to us. Tener pájaros en la cabeza.
This is the second in a new series of audax reports. You can read the first, by John Williams, here.
Those who saw Phil Richards’ last weekly club update will have read about the club’s marvellous achievements in the world of audax riding. Holy randonneéring, I hear you holler (you have to be a certain age); what the bejesus is that? Well, calm yourself, get yourself a piece of flapjack and a coffee and read on…
A randonnée (pronounced rahn-doe-nay) is simply a long bike ride, usually over 100 miles and sometimes much longer. In common cycling usage, it typically refers to a non-competitive, long-distance ride that’s timed for safety, with several controls (or stops) along the route to keep the riders honest. Amongst randonneurs, this kind of event is also known as a brevet.
So what is an audax? I could write here the history of how it all started way back when but the purpose of my time is to explain how I got into audaxing, in the hope it will encourage some more of our 200+ members to give it a go. Audaxing in a nutshell, is a non-competitive bike ride which has to be completed within a set time. It’s not a race and individual ride times are not published. What it isn’t, is a sportive. There are no pop-up food stops on the route, no mechanic and no broom wagon. You are expected to be self-sufficient, so, if you’re on a 400km ride and 20km from home, fall off and break your rear derailleur hanger, you’re going to have to sort something out yourself, or, wait, as in my case, for riders behind to catch you up and offer assistance. That’s the other thing about audaxing: while you think you are alone, in reality, you’re not!
There are various types of audax events, with distances ranging from 50km to 1,400km. The most popular are the ‘calendar’ events, but please go to the Audax UK website. Here, you will find all the information you need about audaxing.
I believe within our membership, there are riders who think about riding out of their comfort zone, read about it, but don’t commit out of fear of the unknown, or the fear of their capability. Now, I’m not saying everyone can just get on their bike and smash a 200km having never done one; for most of us, we need to build our fitness over time, but it doesn’t take long. If you can comfortably do a club run of, say, 60 to 100km, you’re halfway there. The aim then, is to demonstrate that anyone can Audax and my very own backstory is proof of this. So how did I get into audaxing?
10 years ago, I changed my role at work meaning a commute to Birmingham, initially by train but then I bought my first bike – the wrong type of bike, but that’s another story. Was I fit back then? Not at all and at 43, I was carrying a bit of weight; nothing too dramatic, but very quickly, I was ordering a new uniform for work as the weight dropped off. So cycling 20 miles a day was having positive effects on my mental and physical well-being.
There was no Strava, or at least I didn’t know about it, and I was not a member of Beacon until 2016. As my fitness built, I began to increase my distance, participating in small 50-60 mile charity sportives/rides, but my first 100 miler was courtesy of a charity ride to Aberdovy, which then became a four-dayer, cycling from Penrith to Aberdovy. Now, my grey matter is a bit sketchy as to when I actually did my first audax…
You actually don’t have to be a member to join calendar events but a small payment to cover insurance means you can join as a non-member. This is what I remember doing but not being a member meant I had no membership number under which the ride could be recorded. A search of my Strava revealed my earliest audax to be the Heart of England 120km on 21 May 2016. This seems about right. I joined Beacon in February of the same year but I hadn’t yet got to know too well the members who would change my riding life. I’ll come back to those buggers later.
The most common distance for sure on the calendar is the 200km distance and these make up most of my audax rides thus far, because you can do these in a day, generally starting at 6 or 7 am and getting back for 5 to 6 pm. This of course depends on how long you stop for or how much faffing you do, but, of course, you have to eat. Some like to eat on the go, some like a shop stop and some like a sit-down meal at one of the many cafés. And this is another thing about audaxing: you have to demonstrate to the organiser that you have been to the controls, which are villages/towns on the route. This is done via a ‘brevet’ card provided by the organiser. A lot of organisers conveniently have their controls at cafés that often have a stamp or will provide you with a receipt to prove passage, or you can simply go to a shop and purchase food or get a cash machine receipt. Anything that has the place, time and date. Some organisers will accept a GPX file, photographs of yourself at the location and there is now an app which is becoming more popular with organisers.
So, my first was a 120km ride around the Heart of England followed by the odd audax here and there, but I was still not a member of Audax UK until March 2018, which is when it all changed, as I began to ride with Beacon members who also enjoyed long-distance riding. The group was small in the beginning, two to three, but quickly others began to join. Strangely, a lot of these members had ginger hair, as I do, and because we rode many audaxes together, we became affectionately known as the Ginger Randonneurs. We spent a lot of time together and got to know each other very well.
200km was the regular distance but I was always keen to push myself and you might think the natural progression would be to 300km but no, it was 400km and then 300km and so it went on, searching for longer rides to satisfy my addiction. This all led to ultimate challenges like JOGLE, LEJOG last year in 5 days and 6 hours, and Paris-Brest-Paris in just over 78 hours. All these rides are around 1,400km, and have pushed me to the limits and I suppose that is what I am trying to convey.
When I started riding, commuting to work, I had no desire to ride anywhere other than to work and back. I didn’t have any desire to achieve much from a sporting point of view. Terrible at football, not much better at anything else and I didn’t even have a bike. The thought of cycling any further than my commute was not even on the radar so, where did it all come from? I didn’t believe I could do it, is the truth. Unfit, slightly big old me, cycle more than 20 miles a day! I blame charity.
You’ll remember I mentioned that audaxing is non-competitive and it is but there are a raft of awards you can obtain and badges you can buy from Audax UK to evidence your personal achievements. Your club also has an audax trophy up for grabs, awarded to the member with the highest amount of audax kilometres covered. I have won this trophy three times in the last four years, which I’m very proud of. The competition is tough as we have some fantastic audax riders, all pushing personal boundaries and it gets tougher every year, but this doesn’t have to be your goal. Just riding a few in a season is enough to deliver your riding fix.
So, what is my message? Are you me? Are you thinking negatively about your own ability, like I did? Always flicking the page over… There are so many benefits to audaxing. I have mentioned the biggies, but what about just riding in the countryside on a beautiful sunny day (it’s not always sunny) with like-minded riders, pushing your limits, improving your general well-being while doing so? Give it a go. You will surprise yourself!
I’m happy to answer any questions or offer any reassurance any budding audaxers may have; just let me know.
We’re running a slimmed-down schedule of club time trials for 2023, with the emphasis on having fun, friendly competition and introducing new people to time trialling. Newcomers are most welcome to take part in club TTs, as are guests from other clubs.
As well as our club events, we’re also organising one open event this year, which needs to be entered in advance (see links below).
The traditional club handicap trophy will be awarded on the basis of a rider’s best five results out of seven this year, with the two-up and hill climb events excluded.
The entry fee for a club time trial is £4.50, including the £3 Cycling Time Trials (CTT) levy. CTT regulations require that all riders have working rear (red) and front (white) lights and wear a helmet. Please aim to arrive at least 15 minutes before the event start time in order to sign on. We will send you further instructions after you’ve entered using Eventbrite.
If you’ve not given TTs a try before, we recommend reading this article on the website of the governing body, CTT (it’s from 2007, so some of the details are dated, but it gives a good idea of what to expect).
The 2023 edition of the Beacon RCC’s flagship time trial event, the Little Mountain Time Trial, which forms part of the CTT Merlin Cycles Classic Series, took place on 23 April on the K22/39 course, with the event headquarters at Great Witley Village Hall.
Congratulations to men’s winner John Archibald, fastest woman on a TT bike Emma Bexson, Celia Brown, who was fastest women on a road bike (and fastest woman overall), fastest veteran Nicholas Latimer, men’s road bike winner Gerhard Moldansky, junior winner Sophie Heighton and fastest paracyclist Ben Hetherington. Full results including category breakdowns are available via the links below.
Our thanks go to everyone who entered or supported the event!
2023’s was the 75th anniversary edition of the Little Mountain TT, originally run as the Mountain Time Trial over a course of approximately 62 miles. The film below features footage from the 1961 Mountain Time Trial and the 1996 Little Mountain TT, which coincided with the Beacon’s 50th anniversary, and should give you a sense of the history that you become part of when you enter this classic event. Commentary comes courtesy of Tony Webb and the late David Duffield, of Eurosport fame.
The Beacon Cycling Academy’s 2023 coaching sessions will start at Moseley School in mid January. Please see below for details of the sessions scheduled to date. We’re also planning on putting on a number of Academy racing events again this year. Details of these will be listed in due course.
Moseley School Fitness Centre coaching sessions:
1 Wednesday 11 January 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 18 January 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 3 Wednesday 25 January 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 4 Wednesday 1 February 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 5 Wednesday 8 February 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 6 Wednesday 15 February 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 7 Wednesday 1 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 8 Wednesday 8 March 17:30-18:30 (cancelled due to weather warning) 9 Wednesday 15 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 10 Wednesday 22 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 11 Wednesday 29 March 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 12 Wednesday 19 April 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 13 Wednesday 26 April 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 14 Wednesday 3 May 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 15 Wednesday 10 May 17:30-18:30 (cancelled due to weather warning) 16 Wednesday 17 May 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 17 Wednesday 24 May 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 18 Wednesday 7 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 19 Wednesday 14 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 20 Wednesday 21 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
21 Wednesday 13 September 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 22 Wednesday 20 September 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 23 Wednesday 27 September 17:30-18:30 (cancelled due to weather warning) 24 Wednesday 4 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 25 Wednesday 11 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 26 Wednesday 18 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 27 Wednesday 25 October 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
26 Wednesday 15 November 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 27 Wednesday 22 November 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 28 Wednesday 29 November 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
29 Wednesday 13 December 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 30 Wednesday 20 December 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
Queensbridge Playing Fields grass track Go-Ride sessions:
1 Wednesday 28 June 17:30-18:30 (entry page) 2 Wednesday 5 July 17:30-18:30 (entry page)
During 2023, the Academy will be offering some coaching sessions at various venues in south Birmingham and further afield. Keep your eye on the Facebook feed for details of any additional sessions. These sessions take place in a traffic-free environment and are led by qualified coaches who introduce riders to skills used in different forms of cycle sport and include some racing, with the emphasis very much on fun. Most sessions are free for members, with membership costing just £5 for the year. If weather conditions are bad, please check the Facebook page for cancellations.
Beacon Academy Go-Ride sessions are aimed at young people who can already ride a bicycle and have sufficient co-ordination to stay safe in a group. Riders should wear a helmet at all times, have a well maintained bicycle, a drink and bring appropriate clothing and gloves.
BSCA West Midlands Regional Grass Track Championships, Westhill Playing Field, Selly Oak
Saturday 19 August 10:30-17:00 (entry page; entries also available on the line; results) – please note the new date and location after the original event had to be postponed due to issues with the venue.
We’re hosting the 2023 British Schools Cycling Association Regional Grass Track Championships. This event is open to all eligible riders, and in the past has attracted entrants from as far away as Yorkshire. Please book via Eventbrite to secure your place.
For members who would prefer to join the meeting online, we will also be using Zoom to facilitate this. Please see the AGM notice sent out to all members by e-mail for the Zoom link.
Please check your spam folder if you haven’t received the AGM notice, which also contains a link to the agenda.
Please do join us to help set the direction of the club for the coming year.
