Club News


Check back here for the latest goings on at the club. Last Update – 28/6/23


2023 AGM

Our AGM is 7.30pm Monday 23rd October, at Xcite Linlithgow, refreshments provided.

Come along and support Liz Henry our president and the committee and find out what is going on in our club.

2 posts require new volunteers:

Communications Officer:

Social secretary – this post will shadow our current secretary Stephen Henley as he will step down next year

See you there!

Boots!


25 Mile TT Results
Good turn out for the 25 mile TT. Always good to see new faces and second claim riders along with some of the regulars. A familiar figure taking the win, well done Ian!

Always a tough course with a brutal heading on the way out. Well done everyone!

1 – Ian Dobbie 1.01:33

2 – Elliot Speedie 1.05:57 (U16)

3 – Darryl Baxter 1.08:16

4 – Andrew Levinson 1.12:00 (U14)

5 – Karen Outram 1.13:03

6 – Brodie Duncan 1.13:27 (I16)

7 – Vyaan Dhokia 1.14:08 (U16)

8 – Kasey Park 1.19:21 (U14)

9 – Nina Tomlinson 1.26:38

Our next TT will be at West Lothian Cycle circuit after the summer break!


Endura Kit Order
The youth section is planning to put in a bulk kit order soon. If you are interested in any of the following products, please email John by Friday 16 June at youthtreasurer@westlothianclarion.co.uk.

These will all be in the RACE design (see Club Kit Page for more info).


Pro SL Roubaix Jacket: women’s and men’s sizes count towards the same minimum quantity and pricing, £90 or £95 inc VAT depending on order size
FS260 Short Sleeve Skinsuit: men’s sizing only, £92 or £109 depending on order size
FS260 Short Sleeve Road Jersey: hopefully ordering women’s and men’s sizes depending on order quantities, £66 or £78  Products | Endura (endurasport.com)

T Shirt order
If anyone is interested in buying one of the T shirts (photo left) given to the volunteers at the cycle circuit opening, contact Liz Henry lizhenry99@hotmail.com. Very good quality and only £15 each


Cycle Circuit Grand Opening

A fantastic occasion!


There were over 1000 folks there during the day taking part in coaching, cycling on the circuit and the Experience the World’s activities. 


See if you can find yourself in the brilliant photos of the day!
More info on the circuit available here.


Club TT – Week 1
Well, what a great turn out for our first 10TT of the year. Fantastic effort from all who took part, especially those who were participating in their first TT event.

19 riders enjoyed almost perfect conditions with a light headwind on the way out (sure it didn’t feel like that) and a tailwind home.

A huge thanks to John, Umesh, Claire and Ian for their time and support today as marshals, starters and time keepers.

It was also nice to welcome members of Grangemouth Triathlon as 2nd claim members.

25:14 -Jim Beattie

25:17 – Elliot Speedie (YA Boy)

25:36 – Stephen Beecher

26:46 – Alan Mackay

26:55 – Matt Ball

26:56 – Vyaan Dhokia (YA Boy)

26:58 – Marcus Illingworth

28:00 – Jamie Corr

28:35 – Ewan Sexton (YA Boy)

29:04 – Ben Massey (YA Boy)

30:06 – Steve Darling

30:15 – Ollie Paterson (YB Boy)

30:25 – Sarah Darling (YA Girl)

32:24 – Johnny Darling (YB Boy)

33:17 – Georgina Bark (YB Girl)

34:09 – Mairi Dowens (YB Girl)

35:27 – Claire Dowens

35:51 – Lyla Dobson (YB Girl)

37:02 – Emma Phillips

Next TT is 28th May at West Lothian Cycle Circuit.


Coronation Crits

The Coronation Crits were a great success! The sun turned up along with hundreds of racers and their families at the first ever racing event at the West Lothian Cycle Circuit

Many thanks to our youth section who ran the event and all the terrific volunteers and officials who helped out on the day, we couldn’t have done it without you, but especially the organisers Barry Speedie and Craig Duncan.

Full results available here.


2023 Time Trial Dates
The TTs at Linlithgow will start at 10.30am after the Park Run.
TTs on the road will be a 9am meet for a 9.30am start

First 10 mile TT, BlackridgeSunday 14th May
10 mile TT
West Lothian Cycle Circuit, Linlithgow
Sunday 28th May
10 mile TT, BlackridgeSunday 11th June
25 mile TT, Lang WangSunday 25th June
10 mile TT, WLCC, LinlithgowSunday 30th July
10 mile TT, BlackridgeSunday 13th August
10 mile TT, WLCC, LinlithgowSunday 27th August
2 Up 10 mile TT, WLCC, LinlithgowSunday 10th September

Awards Evening
We held our first annual awards since 2019, so good to meet up again 🙂

Tables were weighed down with delicious pizza while members applauded the 2022 club champions, took part in a quiz and enjoyed an interview with local hero Cameron Mason.

Katie Galloway was awarded club member of the year. Katie has recently qualified as a level 2 coach, and made a valuable contribution to our GoRide sessions, building a great rapport with the girls she has been working with, she looks forward to a year combining racing delivering sessions.

Neil and Julie Greer and Cameron Mason were made honorary members

Neil Joined the club in 2009. He launched the East Calder rides and joined the committee as Club Captain, building a database of routes and always welcoming new riders with a friendly greeting, his ride reports were well read. From 2010 Julie and Neil ran the legendary cafe stop on the RadTour, welcoming riders into their home and then with a bigger team at the East Calder Sport Centre

Cameron Mason joined the Youth section when it was launched in 2010, even then, a stand out rider who was incredibly enthusiastic and loved to compete, race and learn new skills (although he often taught the coaches new skills!) Cameron was awarded the National Clarion 2010 Harold Lamb award for most Meritorious Junior and The West Lothian Clarion Youth rider of the Year in 2012.

A great ambassador for the sport and role model for our youth riders, some not even born when Cameron was a member!

At the awards Neil said “Julie and I were both very moved to receive our Honorary Life Members. The club has played a huge part In our lives and we are delighted to see how it goes from strength to strength. Thank you to all involved. Delighted to hear Cameron Mason talk so eloquently too about his experiences as a pro rider – can’t wait to see how his future unfolds. Finally, congratulatiobns to all the other award winnners.”

Many thanks to Stephen Henley for organising, Liz Henry for hosting, Barry Speedie for sorting the medals and trophies and Paul Sexton snack foraging.


West Lothian Cycle Circuit is a “lasting legacy’

RJ McLeod have made quick progress on the Cycle Circuit with the final layer of tarmac going down this week and next.

We caught up with Site Manager Jamie Forsyth to ‘ceremonially’ hand over a club jersey gifted by the club.

Past club president and Scottish Cycling board member Diane Clayton Chisholm was on hand to visit the site and meet Jamie.

Diane said “It’s amazing how quickly the cycle circuit has been built, construction started in September and the tarmac will soon be complete!”

“The Clarion backed the Linlithgow Community Development Trust project from the start and this world class facility will transform cycling for our members”

“But folk from the whole of West Lothian will benefit from using the track, we believe it will kick start behaviour change and help get more folk cycling and enjoying the life affirming benefits of riding a bike outdoors”

Jamie From RJ McLeod said: “It’s been a really exciting project and interesting to be part of something that’s for the local community, a lasting legacy”

“We’ve had great feedback and don’t usually get the same enthusiastic community engagement “

The total project is expected to cost £1.25 million. £636,000 has been provided via the Scottish Cycling and Sportscotland Cycling Facilities Fund, which aims to deliver a lasting impact from the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships hosted in Glasgow and Scotland in August 2023. West Lothian Council is providing £349,000 with the remaining costs met by a range of external funders, including community fundraising.


Membership

Membership renewals for 2023 are now open, if you are keen to join a vibrant and active cycling club follow the link below

Join or Renew online:

https://membermojo.co.uk/west-lothian-clarion-cycling-club/

WHY JOIN?

• Free 3rd party liability insurance

• Accident assistance and legal support

• Club runs

• Gravel rides

• Women’s cycling

• Youth Coaching

• Adult Coaching

• Socials

• Massive discounts

• Club races: Cyclocross and time trials

• Open races

All renewals and new members will receive a new welcome pack.

As agreed at the AGM, annual membership fees are now

Senior membership £25

Household membership £40


Clarion Winter Training Camp

Over the festive period the youth section ran a training camp which involved 5 days of endurance rides, hill reps and intervals around the delightful Central Belt.

This year the weather was brutal, with torrential rain, freezing temperatures and gusting winds so adjustments were made day-by-day, and one session had to be completed indoors.

The camp is designed to build team spirit, introduce riders to group riding but also get some quality training in before the end of season CX races.

This is the 5th year the club has run a camp over the holidays for youth A and B riders and is part of the club’s programme which offers indoor rollers, Tuesday night training, Go-Ride skills, club races and endurance rides.

Many thanks to the team car drivers and the youngsters who were in good spirits throughout the week and also to Stuart Balfour and Alex Ball who guested on a couple of rides.


Scottish Cycling Awards 2022
A terrific evening at the Scottish Cycling 2022 Annual Awards on Sunday night. Great to see so many people getting recognised for their contribution to cycling.

A massive congratulations to our very own Matthew Ball for winning volunteer of the year award! Our club wouldn’t be where it his without all is hard work and passion for our sport.

Well done Matt!


London – Edinburgh – London
He’s done it!

John Scholes has completed the London Edinburgh London Audax in 121 hours and 27 mins!

The cutoff time was 125 hours, though they were given an extra 2 hours due to route diversions but our mighty randonneur completed his journey well within the time limit.

Congratulations John!

The London Edinburgh London is a 1500km self-supported cycle ride across the United Kingdom, between the iconic capital cities of England and Scotland.

John Says “Cycling for me is about very long days in the saddle, commaradarie with other riders, good food and beautiful scenery. When you combine this with sleep deprivation, discomfort and fatigue, you have the perfect mix. London Edinburgh London ticks all those boxes”.

London Edinburgh London is not a race, but you have only 125 hours to make your way around to Edinburgh and back to London.

John is no stranger to long distance rides, having completed Paris-Brest-Paris a few years ago.