The Bugle | Blast 399

Friday 9th August 2019

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I thought that maybe I could go for the women’s podium, but I never thought I could win the whole race … I think I could have gone harder. I could have slept less ...” - Fiona Kolbinger
 

BICYCLIST OF THE WEEK

Fiona Kolbinger from Dresden - the first woman to win the Trancontinental 4,000km race from Bulgaria to France in 10 days, two hours and 48 minutes which finished this week.

No mechanics in cars chasing, no domestiques leading, no crowds cheering, team directors feeding and accommodating you. This is real cycling - completely unsupported, lonely, having to find and follow your own route between checkpoints.

Two of these included the 2,474-metre Timmelsjochpass in South Tyrol on the border between Italy and Austria, and traversing the 2,645-metre Col du Galibier, one of the highest paved passes in the French Alps.

Now back to her day job as a cancer researcher ...
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/aug/06/fiona-kolbinger-first-woman-win-transcontinental-cycling-race

And here's a nice noisy video and an opportunity to improve your French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gK8Yrcs6jQ

 

BICYCLE OF THE WEEK

Trouble getting out of bed for a morning ride?

This fella took the whole bedstead with him - or rather under him on the Freecycle ride last Saturday. Weird but then he had some competition:

BICYCLE CLUB OF THE WEEK

My other club is .... The Fridays [FNRttC]

Fitting neatly between our Thursdays and the growing Saturdays - the Fridays started as a four man (yes they were all men back then) night ride to the coast for breakfast. 

The ride grew and grew under the lordship of Simon Legg of the Morden & Cheam CTC. It outgrew the M&C and became a CTC club in its own right.

It never sought to compete with other clubs but to introduce cyclists t o long overnight rides which could include roads you wouldn't dream of during the day - but also discovering Lonesome Lanes, moon behind the trees, owls hooting before the sunchasing the morning mist away.

Usually 70 to 100 cyclists start from under Waterloo Bridge next to the National Theatre  at midnight. There's a long halfway stop somewhere because although iits a leisurely ride of 60 to 70 you don't want to arrive too early for breakfast and beer. 

It's comradely, and their ride calendar is here: https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/2019-rides

Oh and its also the bargain basement of more than a dozen rides - just £2 membership per annum. No reduction for seniors though!

REMEMBERING MARIA BITNER-GLINDZICZ

Honorary consultant in clinical genetics at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and a professor of human and molecular genetics at the UCL Institute of Child Health. The hospital described her work as relating to the "genetic causes of deafness in children and therapies that she hoped would one day restore vision." She researched Norrie disease and Usher syndrome, working with charities including Sparks and the Norrie Disease Foundation, and was one of the first colleagues involved in the 100,000 Genomes Project at Genomics England.

She died after her bicycle was involved in a collision with a taxi in St John.s Street, Clerkenwell.after being "doored"  by a van driver who had parked well out from the kerb.

The irony was that she was a fierce campaigner for safer roads. May her passing increase our determination. Watch for reports from this week's coroners inquest.

More here: https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/maria-bitner-glindzicz-cyclist-died-after-parked-van-driver-opened-door-into-her-1-6204052

And thanks to the Evening Standard for its reports and Editorial this week.

 

RIDE REPORTS

Saturday 3rd August: The Anerley led and mashalled the Free Cycle rides from Croydon & Sutton to Westminster: https://anerleybc.org/saturday-freecycle-3rd-august-2019/

Tuesday 28th July: Stoke d'Abrernon without Des: https://anerleybc.org/tuesday-ride-6th-august-2019/

Thursday 8th August: Sent to Send but Belinda would seal: https://anerleybc.org/thursday-ride-8th-august-2019/

 

UPCOMING RIDES

SIGN SPOTTERS

FINALLY: HOTTING UP!