An extraordinary Para Swimmer.

I am pleased to know this amazing Athlete, that during her young life has fought constantly.

 A bit about her:

Jasmine is a 19 year old learning disabled para swimmer, who competes both as an S14 classified swimmer under Paralympic rules and also as part of Special Olympics GB.

She trains hard 5 times a week with Altrincham Swimming Club as one of just 2 disabled swimmers in the club.

She's just completed her BTEC level 2 in Health and Social Care at the Manchester College and will progress to level 3 in September.

This week, with support from a personal assistant, she passed the ASA level 1 Swim Teaching Assistant qualification.

Throughout her life as well as struggling with her learning disability, she's also battled serious health problems - she was born with a hole in the heart and narrowed valve, had meningitis aged 2 and been hospitalised many times as a child with chest infections.

Despite all this she's growing into a positive young lady who's passionate about swimming and loves to help others. Every week, in addition to her studies and swim training, she volunteers as a Young Leader at a local Brownie group; at The Hub in Altrincham at the toddler group and the cafe; and as a coach at Altrincham Swimming Club.

Although she qualified for the first time and competed as a para swimmer at the International meet in Glasgow this year, the best opportunity for her to achieve her potential and shine is competing for Special Olympics. I've received formal confirmation today, that she's been chosen to represent the North West at the 10th Special Olympics National Summer Games in Sheffield next August. This is an amazing opportunity for her.

If you would like to support Jasmine or be involved in supporting her please feel free to contact us at store@saddledrunk.com

Let all of us together make her dreams become TRUE.

Thank you SD TEAM

MINET CRIT Saturday 2nd July 2016 report

Ciao all, we are pleased to announce the great success of the first Fixie Crit held at HIllingdon 2 weeks organised by White City Track.Kevin from WCT the "brain" behind the event report back to us.

The weekend before the Red Hook Crit, London cycling collective White City Track teamed up with Saddle Drunk to hold MINET CRIT at Hillingdon Cycle Centre in West London.

The race format, Track Bike Criterium, athletes compete on brakeless track bikes racing multiple times around a technical circuit. Skills required excellent bike handling ability, high level of fitness and a fearless attitude.

Qualifying groups A-F, riders chosen at random to face each group over mini 6 races. Each rider’s heat results determine their starting position for the final race.

Qualifying got underway at 3pm, the riders we charged and ready to go, qualifying heats were high-speed mini races held on the shortened 1km circuit. Riders battled it out in the qualifying heats to set their starting grid position in the final race.

Liam Yates of Neon Velo and La Classica Team rider Andrea Vassallo smashed both of their qualifying heats with 2 wins out of 2 races, followed by single wins by Alessandro Marinari, Jonathon Calderon. East London Fixed rider Matt Payne took 3rd spot on the final grid with consecutive 2nd placing in the qualifiers.

Kiera McVitty took the win in the woman’s heat with an impressive sprint with fellow team mate Corrine Price.

Woman’s Race, athletes lined up in to take their grid positions at 5pm, after 1 neutral lap the race were underway. Kiera McVitty, Jess Morgan and Corrine Price set the pace from the off. The PRIME lap bell was rung on lap 3 and the lead group broke away. Kiera took the PRIME, her prize a golden ticket to ‘the best pizza in London’ Santa Maria. Lina Bivaninte, Imogen Humphris and Jessica Hayes of Velociposse worked together to attempt to narrow the gap but never managed to catch the lead group.

The bell lap rang,  the pace increased, Kiera came out of the final corner first and began sprinting for the line with 200m to go, she powered through hands aloft to finish 1st in style, quickly followed 0.9 seconds later by Corrine Price and jess Morgan. Second place was not clear at this point as both riders appeared to cross the line together. Thankfully we had 2 iPhones with ‘Coaches Eye’ positioned each side of the finish line to capture frame by frame video footage.  After a good look at all the footage it was clear that Corrine took second place by a whisker.

Men’s Race, 6pm, names were called out in order of grid position with Liam Yates taking the pole position. Kiera McVitty the winner of the woman’s race line up alongside Liam to race with the guys. After a quick briefing from the race director they were of for a ceremonial lap with David Trimble from Red Hook Crit.

Riders were not told when the PRIME bell would ring so the first lap was ridden with caution as no one wanted to burn to quick. Lap 2 came with the bell ringing, shouts of Vai Vai Vai from the Italian crew and they were off.  Coming out of the last corner were 4 contenders for the PRIME pizza, pretty much head to head until Andrea Vassallo narrowly beat fellow Italian Alessandro Mariani to the line. The race regrouped and riders settled back in again.

Crash! 4 riders go down after a rub of wheels when a rider strays from his line on the ‘Omega Curve’ section. Liam Yates, Matt Payne Kris Snell and Liam Hoffley are all forced to retire from the race to receive road side first aid treatment. This change the dynamics of the race as the fastest qualifier Liam and in form race contender Matt are out.

The pace of the top riders remains high with the NVAYRK team bridging gaps when they appear, Dimitri Demishev and Jordan Grizevivius chase down the race leaders. Dave Noakes, Daniel Mateus and Marlon Sandiford do their work in the middle of the pack to keep the group together.

Bell lap rings and it’s clear that there are 2 men fighting for 1st place, both Andre and Vassallo bolt out from the final corner and begin the sprint for the line. The 300m straight sees both riders neck and neck until Andrea is piped at the line with a lunge-wheelie win for Allessandro. Less than 0.4 of a second separated the top 2 riders in the end. Dimitri broke from the chasing group to finish a strong third place.

The riders do celebration lap with crowd cheering them on, high fives, hugs and handshakes as the riders regroup at Parc Ferme by the finish line.

Photographers gather, the crowd gathers as 3 plastic chairs are lined up for the podium ceremony. The girls go first to receive their prizes on the podium, Kiera pops the cork on the champagne and celebrates in style; Jess uses her prize bag to shield the onslaught of spraying Champaign.

Next up the men’s podium, Alessandro flew from Milan especially to race the MINET CRIT and won it! Again pops the cork and soaks the photographers!

There was great community spirt amongst the athletes and spectators and the warm welcoming of newcomers too. Spectators were amazing; they kept the buzz going all day with boom box antics and cans from Sainsbury’s. The best thing about the day was the spirit at Hillingdon, cool people from different backgrounds, boys and girls, rival teams, parents, children, park goers and a big friendly German Shepherd who stopped to enjoy the racing and have fun!

Facts

The race featured 50 riders representing 14 countries, from Cat 1 road and track racers to city bike messengers.

Open to teams and individuals.

Separate men’s and women’s fields, equal prizes for each field.

Qualifying format developed by Red Hook Crit Director David Trimble.

Qualifying race circuit 1km, 4 right hand turns.

Main race circuit 1.5 km 5 right hand turns and one left hand turn, 18 laps men’s, 12 laps women’s.

Woman’s race 12 laps.

Men’s race 18 laps.

Ave speed men’s Winner Alessandro 26.8mph avg 37.6mph max.

Women’s Podium

1st Kiera McVitty - Why Be Normal?

2nd Corrine Price - Why Be Normal?

3rd Jess Morgan - NLTCBMBC

 Pizza PRIME (Santa Maria Pizza)

Kiera McVitty - Why Be Normal?

Top Antagonist

Lina Bivaninte – Velocipossie

4th Jessica Hayes - Velocipossie

5th Lina Bivaninte - Velocipossie

6th Imogen Humphris - Velocipossie

7th Heather Anderson – KYCU Velo

8th Keziah Unah Cader - Unattached

Men’s Podium

1st Alessandro Mariani - IRD Carrera SC

2nd Andrea Vassallo - La Classica RT

3rd Dimitri Demishev - NLTCBMBC

Pizza PRIME 1 (Santa Maria Pizza)

Andrea Vassallo - La Classica RT

Top Antagonist  

Matt Payne - East London Fixed

4th Jordan Grizevicius - Convention

5th Daniel Mateus - KYCU Velo

6th Federico Motta - NVAYRK

7th Peter Janak - NVAYRK

8th Dave Nokes - State Bicycle Co

9th John Karlo Corpuz - Red Bike Shop

10th Matthew Johns - Full Denim jacket

11th Henry Summers - NLTCBMBC

12th Ben Ramshaw - KYCU Velo

13th William Fox - East London Fixed

14th argon Sandiford - Defi Collective

15th Jonathon Calderon - TRBS

Race organiser: White City Track.

Main Partner/Sponsor: Saddle Drunk. (http://www.saddledrunk.com/)

Prize Sponsors: Saddle Drunk, Electric Coffee Co. Santa Maria Pizza, Ass Savers, and Brother Cycles.

Technical support: David Trimble (Red Hook Crit), Stefano Dall'Aglio (Saddle Drunk) Alberto Battaglia (Palu Bicycles),

Volunteers: Rab, Vic, Sukky, Nena, Kuldip, Savraj, Shelly and Kaz.

Photos: Kristina Matovic and David Trimble

'World's fastest' cycling helmets to debut at Tour de France

JIM PLOUFFE FROM "THE LEAD SOUTH AUSTRALIA"  tell us about a new helmet for the TDF.

A NEW helmet – touted as the fastest in road cycling - will make its pro tour debut at the 2016 Tour de France on the heads of ORICA-GreenEDGE riders.

The Scott Cadence Plus was developed by researchers at the University of Adelaide in South Australia and is streamlined to ensure less drag and increase ventilation.

Project Leader Richard Kelso said that from an aerodynamics perspective, the Scott Cadence Plus performed better than any of the other leading helmets on the market.

“It’s faster because of its shape. The materials are extremely smooth and are moulded to produce surface details that help to control the airflow and that is one of the secrets that help make it a very low drag helmet,” he said.

“It’s a premium helmet, high-level safety, excellent performance - It definitely adds an extra element of comfort...

“Against some of the top helmets it could provide about a 0.2 metres advantage but against some other high quality helmets you can even get a larger distance of up to two metres. If you want to cut your drag it’s a brilliant way of doing it.”

The helmets have been trialled by Australian cycling team ORICA-GreenEDGE, which includes explosive sprinter Caleb Ewan , four-time Tour Down Under winner Simon Gerrans, experienced tour campaigner Daryl Impey and South Australian rider Alex Edmondson.

They are also expected to be worn by riders at the Rio Olympics.

The Scott Cadence Plus features a unique double entry ventilation system with vents at the front and rear.

It is also designed to have small ridges on the top of the helmet to increase the aerodynamics of the helmet.

"Our goal was to produce a helmet design with the lowest drag possible, but also to ensure the rider's head is well cooled and, above-all, well protected," Assoc Prof Kelso said.

“Our research showed that you didn’t need to have vents all over. If you had good-sized vents at the front, back and good-sized ducts inside you not only get good cooling, in fact you get better cooling – you have more flow through to the back.

“It’s got a high level of safety. It’s got the MIPS (Multi Directional Impact Protection System) layer inside and that reduces the effect of impact and the acceleration of your brain when you have a large impact. It is a helmet that could potentially keep you alive when many others can’t.”

The Cadence Plus and Centric Plus helmets were tested at the University of Adelaide’s wind tunnel facility using a full-sized mannequin and heated mannequin head.

The helmets are products of Swiss company Scott Sports and will go on sale later this year.

Scott Sports Senior Product Manager John Thompson said the company had a strong partnership with the University of Adelaide team, which had been instrumental in developing successful cycling products for the Swiss corporation.

"We couldn’t be more proud and excited to be delivering these new helmets to our athletes and to have Associate Professor Kelso and the team at the University of Adelaide on our side,” he said.

"Our goal was to deliver the very best performance advantage to our professional road and mountain bike racers.

"The results speak for themselves, with both new helmets exceeding our expectations and outperforming the competition in controlled wind tunnel testing.”

THANK YOU JIM for providing us with this interesting tip.

New Sport Therapist

Introducing Greg Burns, new Sports Therapist

So Summer just started hey? I'll withhold my disappointing Aussie comments on the weather... I'm happy to be introducing the new Sports Therapist Greg Burns, who has just joined us to help with the growing demand in Ealing. He is available Mondays, Tuesdays and all day Saturdays. Eoin is still available Saturdays, specialising in myofascial release techniques.

- Jo Goh, Sports Massage Therapist

Book Jo for Sports Massage (Wed, Thur, Fri, Sun)

Book Greg for Sports Massage (Mon, Tue, Sat)

Book Eoin for Sports Massage (Saturdays)

Greg Burns, new Sports Massage therapist

Introducing Greg Burns, originally from Scotland, qualified with a Sports Massage Diploma & Active IQ Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage Therapy since 2012 and recently accredited with Sports Massage Association. He has since worked in various clinics with clients ranging from Professional Actors, Dancers & Athletes, corporate professionals and general public.

Also a Strength & Conditioning Coach/Personal Trainer, Greg specialises in Neuromuscular and Soft Tissue Mobilisation Techniques and applying corrective exercise to support the treatment of common injuries and soft tissue dysfunction.

As he lives super close by, he is willing to do early mornings (6am anyone?)!

If you cannot find a time that works for you please contact him below:

Works: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday (flexible with advanced notice)

Email:  Greg@Saddledrunk.com 

Mobile: 07817 408 712

Macedonia & Albania by our friend Leigh.

Ciao all, our friend Leigh is our guest writer/rider for this month sharing is experience.

I had never considered a trip to Macedonia or Albania before. In truth I don’t think I could have even pointed to them on a map. So when my colleague Alex mentioned he and his friend TJ were heading to both countries on a cycling holiday my interest was piqued. With only an outline plan in place it was not too much trouble having me along so I decided to invite myself. Pretty sure they were cool with it.

Flights from Luton to Ohrid were around an unbelievably reasonable £8 per person with Wizz Air. Unfortunately bikes were a further £25. TJ did suggest it was easier booking 3 extra seats each and taking the bikes on board with us (would have saved all the sweaty stressful work of dismantling and ...errr... remantling the bikes) but this idea didn’t fly with the airline. Ohrid is not, as everyone joked, HORID (That joke gets really old after 7 days by the way). The town is actually very beautiful. One of the oldest human settlements in Europe, it boasts a maze of tight, steep cobbled streets and is squeezed between towering mountains and the crystal clear lake that shares the town’s name. There’s a lovely fort, amphitheatre, many picturesque churches and incredible views of the lake and mountains. There’s also a paper museum! https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g303864-d6589999-Reviews-National_Workshop_For_Handmade_Paper-Ohrid_Southwestern_Region.html.

It was only on day 2 when it dawned on me this was not a cycle tour at all. After a lazy morning strolling the streets of Ohrid, visiting the sites, we rolled out of town for an epic 20km ride. That’s right, 20km. We followed the lake South to Trpejca through torrential rain. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits ... much. We still had beautiful scenery all around us and the enthusiasm that comes with the first day of riding on a cycle tour in new lands. We were happy just getting to Trpejca that day but before we did we stumbled across a random museum called the Bay of Bones. With such a promising name we decided to investigate. It turned out to be a replica prehistoric village on stilts on the lake. You can walk out on to the platform and go in the huts and see how the other half live. There was a diving school too but we were wet enough.

As a vegetarian I wasn’t sure how I would manage in Macedonia and Albania. Turned out I needn’t worry. Mainly because I like cheese. Cheese, cheese, cheese. And pizza. They also do beans. The best trademark Macedonian huge bowl of beans dish I had was on Day 3 in Macedonia’s number one tourist attraction, Plaoshnik. This historical site is where the Macedonian Orthodox Christian Faith was first founded in the 9th century AD by Saint Clement the first Bishop of Macedonia. It is now mainly a hotel surrounded by a large number of peacocks. Weird. 3 days under our belt and we were getting even worse with our cycling, only 18km this day. But we were progressing. This time in to Albania and Pogradec. Pogradec is a lakeside resort that felt a little down at heel. Still you can’t argue with 50p beers and £8 each for a room and breakfast in a hotel with sauna, swimming pool and gym. True the swimming pool was more like an ice bath or plunge pool, and the sauna had a gap under the door, but beggars can’t be choosers. The highlight was the lakeside entertainment. Much like English seaside towns there was the usual medley of pedal boats, swing boats, and dodgem like cars advertised as Formula Uno. We decided it would be a good idea to swap bikes for Formula Uno for one night. Needless to say it was a close and electrifying race.

It was Day 4 when we really picked up the pace. We raced through Albania past horse and carts, and waving kids back into Macedonia. We were tackling a 70km route heading over the hills to Stenje on the shores of our second massive lake of the holiday, Lake Prespa. I found my first Strava segment on route SH79 just before we left Albania. A beautiful climb through a quarry with some great switchbacks. Unfortunately being on a fully laden touring bike meant I didn’t place too highly on the KOM list.

Now up till this point we had thought everywhere had been pretty dead and quiet. We put this down to being out of season and the fact we were in Macedonia and Albania. But Stenje really was deserted. It was a beautiful setting on the lake’s edge but there wasn’t much to do. We had a very lazy rest day here where we went to an old palace of Tito’s built by political prisoners and now in disrepair. We also attempted a visit to Snake Island which sounded exciting. Unfortunately our boatman was not the bravest and decided the waves were too big for us to get there. Oh well, more cheese then back at our guest house.

The highlight of the trip for me came on Day 6. It was time to tackle an alpine pass. We’d seen the pass on Google maps back when we were discussing the rough route in our dreary London office. I had been dreaming of the climb and descent ever since. The day was only going to be 45km or so but roughly 800m of climbing. The climb did not disappoint. We zigzagged up from lake shore to mountain top. Well mountain pass top to be precise. The climb started in shade through dense woodland with only glimpses back to Lake Prespa. As we climbed higher we emerged from the greenery to be met with staggering views back to the lake and last night’s accommodation. What added to the beauty of the climb was the fact we felt like the only people on the road. There were a few German camper vans and one biker gang but apart from that it was deserted. Climbing the mountain we had always been looking back for the lake views, so it was with great delight we crested the pass and found our old friend Lake Ohrid before us in all her glory. Our descent should have been straightforward. A wonderful collection of switchbacks down to the lakeside. However, I thought I saw a short cut off one of the switchbacks to our accommodation that night. It was marked as a MTB route but hey how bad can it be? Four punctures, roughly 20km and a whole heap of mud and rock later, my fellow adventurers were ready to mutiny. Luckily for me when we finally arrived, our lakeside accommodation was probably the best of the trip. Plus there was always beer to bring the team back together.

Day 7, and following an ice cold swim in the lake (our only venture into the lake on the holiday) and watching a romantic sunset the previous night, we were refreshed and ready to make the most of our final day in Macedonia. We hadn’t ventured East of Ohrid yet so we decided to see what Struga was like. Struga is just down the road and probably nearer the airport, but it hadn’t received rave reviews online. Lucky for us it was much nicer than expected. It wasn’t as historic and picturesque as Ohrid but there were plenty of restaurants and cafes and it was probably the most lively lakeside resort we visited. We went out with a bang that night visiting Ohrid’s premier jazz club following a plentiful amount of beer and spirits. Needless to say a rip roaring night was had by all, although we don’t really know what happened to TJ, last seen wandering around on stage trying to offer band members drinks while they played.

With heavy hearts and heavier hangovers we departed Macedonia vowing to return (I’m bringing the road bike next to tackle that Strava segment and probably create some more on the many fantastic climbs in the area). To sum it all up; beautiful scenery, gorgeous lakes, fantastic mountain climbs, cheap food and beer, friendly people, interesting history, and Luton airport sucks.

Thank you Leigh for this amazing piece of art.

SD TEAM