Meteors News

December

On Saturday, the Meteors moved indoors at King Edward sports centre following the last few weeks up at the Country Park. It was Scooter Go ride time again, when Bikes were swapped for scooters.

The afternoon was run as an Omnium, Skills test, Limbo and a relay race were some of the events the guys tackled. Joints winners were Josh Snodin and Joe Bradley with 16 pts, from Cameron Reid 18pts. Best Fancy dress was awarded to Kerrigan 'Dennis the Menace' Robb.

Cameron Reid won the Prize draw for a signed 'Tour of Britain' shirt.

Thanks Guys for making 2010 a successful one, the final event of the year, a Treasure Hunt is next Sunday at the Country Park, 2pm.

September

04/09/10

With only to weeks to go to the start of the Notts and Derby cyclo cross season, the guys were put through their paces with a range of activities aimed at improving the skills required for this Winter discipline.

The session began with starting practice, not an easy task with clipless pedals but everyone soon improved their start times. Next dismounting prior to an obstacle before the remount.

Climbing and descending skills were looked at, on the bank before finishing off with a 15 minute race effort. 

August 2010

22/08/10

 The inaugural Melton Meteors Go Race track meeting was held King Edward VII school, in wonderful sunny weather.  

The meet was run as an Omnium, with 3 age groups represented Cats B,C & D, tackling 5 events. Pursuit, Sprint, Scratch, Keiren and Devil. 

Tobias Heatlie opened the meeting with a 1 min 7 sec for the ‘D’ cat pursuit, with 2^nd and 3^rd place separated by 1 second, Cameron Reid the clear winner.

Tim Jones and Alex Thorn won the ‘C’ & ‘B’ events. 

The sprint events again gave the judges some nightmares with an extremely close finish in the ‘D’ event between Joe Bradley and Kerrigan Robb separated by less than half a wheel, with Bradley going through to the final. The Cat ‘B’ final too was a close affair with Thorn keeping Josh Snodin on his shoulder around the final curve, Snodin just failing to beat his opponent as they lunged for the line.

Eve Lyon rode a super Cat ‘C’ final taking the race to the boys just loosing out on the run to the line. 

Reid kept up his dominant display in the Cat ‘D’ Scratch race attacking at half distance, going on to take the win from Robb and Bradley.

Cat ‘B’ & ‘C’ were put together for the scratch, Lyon attacked early on, but with Thorn and Snodin controlling the bunch she was caught with two laps remaining, Snodin attacked Thorn glued to his wheel, Thorn came over the top to take the win. Jones was the first Cat ‘C’ rider. 

Jones was again a clear winner in the Keiren, with 2^nd and 3^rd places being filled by Angus Mellor and Joe Thorn. Thorn and Reid were again victors in the Cat ‘B’ & ‘D’ races. 

Coming into the final omnium event, the winners of each Category were known. Who would be runner up? this was still to be answered. Cat ‘D’ Robb and Bradley were level; Cat ‘C’ Thorn and Aaron Bateman were separated by 1 point.

Bradley finished with a powerful run to the line taking Robb by a wheel, thus fininshing 2^nd Overall. Bateman rode a tactical race to take 2^nd in his age group, with Thorn in 4^th. Bateman took 2^nd overall by 1 point. 

The meeting came to a close with a Fun game of HOOPS; with less hoops than riders, the guys who failed to get into a hoop were eliminated. With a hoop removed with each round Kerrigan Robb ended up the winner. 

Special prizes were presented to Louis and Tobias Heatlie and Matthew Barnes for their dogged determination to finish the races. 

After a great afternoon of racing it was time for the presentation of Sky goodies and Go-Ride medals.

Presenting the prizes was Rob Sharman, East Midlands Talent coach who had been impressed by the racing from an enthusiastic group of young riders.  

Thank you to King Edward VII School for the use of their campus, and numerous volunteers who ensured the event was a massive success.

Cat B

1^st Alex Thorn, Melton Meteors

2^nd Josh Snodin, Melton Meteors

Cat C

1^st Tim Jones, Bourne Bullets

2^nd Aaron Bateman, Bourne Bullets

3^rd Joe Thorn, Melton Meteors

4^th Angus Mellor, Bourne Bullets

5^th Eve Lyon, Melton Meteors

6^th Louis Heatlie, Melton Meteors

7^th Matthew Barnes, Bourne Bullets

Cat D

1^st Cameron Reid, Melton Meteors

2^nd Joe Bradley, Melton Meteors

3^rd Kerrigan Robb, Melton Meteors

4^th Tobias Heatlie, Melton Meteors

15/08/10

Today was an extra Go ride session, Adults v Kids who would prove to be better over the four events lined up for the riders.

Following two warm up games of Fox and Hounds and five minutes on the track, Bill Vetcher went to the line for his 1 lap time trial and set the first mark of 28.51 seconds, Joe Bradley was next up taking the time down to 27.45, next was Alex Thorn with the first sub 22 second ride 21.85 which was just beaten by Josh Snodin with 21.11 Tom Ison was last up could he topple the youngsters from the top spot, his 21.26 not quite good enough. Other times were Simon Bradley 23.65, Andy Thorn 23.72 and Sian Snodin 24.00. First race to the kids.

Would the Adults get one back on the skill's course? with penalty seconds added to the time for any cones that were hit not only did they have to be quick but also clean. Alex Thorn set a blistering time as first rider off but his 20 penalties put him out of contention , but his dad Andy shot round clean for his first win of the season in 21 seconds dead, Sian and Joe were equal second.

After a well earned rest a four lap Italian pursuit was the next event, kids in the home straight, adults in the back. It was all level as the first riders peeled off, two laps completed it was still neck and neck, before the adults started to pull away winning by a 2 bike lengths.

Could the adults take the overall win or would the kids make it a draw. The 10 lap Scratch race started steadily before Josh applied some pressure at the front lining the riders out on lap two. All still together the group shared the pace, two laps to go Tom made a move to the front Josh saw the move coming and kept Tom on his shoulder, as the bell rang they were side by side, behind the same was happening with Simon and Andy in the battle for third. Into the final bend Josh held his line crossing the finish line first by half wheel, Andy pulling away for third down the back straight. 

The meeting finished up all square, bring on the 2011 event. 

July 2010

10/07/10

Fantastic weather greeted the Meteors on Saturday morning, following the Grove V Sherard school competition the day before, two new riders attended the session. These guys rode really well.

Following the warm up a game of 'Fox and Hounds' was played, this is a really fun activity that uses lots and lots of skills. Balance and co-ordination, braking, rider awareness, all of these things being learnt by stealth.

June 2010

12/06/10

Cycle speedway was on the menu today. The session began with a lesson on Starting, as this is a really important part of this short but explosive type of racing. Once proficient, the riders lined up in ability groups and with races only being over 3 laps of a 50 metre track they were fast and furious.

After plenty of recovery and time for a drink the guys tackled a mountain bike course before finishing of with a 15 minute race. 

May 2010

29/05/10

With Jeff away on the North West Youth Tour, coaching a team from the East Midlands the session was left in the capable hands of Tom.

The group rode a stage race using all the skills they have learnt over the last couple of months. He set up various skills courses, had mini races with all the stage times being added together. feedback from the group was great with everyone having had a Fun time.

15/05/10

Sunny conditions graced the Meteors Go Ride session once again, Jeff and trainee coach Tom put the guys through there paces with some high speed events.

First off they looked at the importance of Gear selection when starting a race using the Gate relay activity. Following this they tried out the Team Sprint event. Several efforts were made using different team line ups and again gear selection. A feedback session after each effort determined the best way to tackle this event. With the guys selecting their own line up they rode to their quickest time, all good practice for the upcoming Go Race events.

The session was finished off with an Individual pursuit 7 laps man against the clock, everyone finished the day with tired legs.

The next session will be taken by Tom, as I am taking an East Midlands Youth team to the North West International Youth Tour.

01/05/10

Do we have a future Chris Hoy? Today the Meteors concentrated on the Track sprint discipline.

A 150 metre track was set up on the field and various aspects of the Sprint discipline were coached, first activity was 'What's the sign' where riders were paired off and the one at the back gave a signal and the front rider looked over their shoulder and called out what they had seen. Being able to ride and look behind at the same time is a useful skill to have.  The guys did many sprint efforts throughout the Morning both in pairs and alone.

The morning finished off with some Sprint races, with heats, semi's and a final. Cameron Reid winning the minor final and Josh Snodin winning the Final.

April 2010

17/04/10

With Meteors coach Jeff away talent spotting for the East Midlands team, for the North West Youth Tour, Ian Penrose VC Rutland  Go ride coach ran the session. Thanks Ian.

He covered Go Skills the guys had done in earlier sessions but also introduced them to the exiting event for the track, the Madison. This required the guys to ride in close contact with each other before finding a partner to race as a team with. As one rider rested on the outside of the track the other is in the race, when they caught their partner they used a hand sling, taught earlier to throw the resting rider into the race. This proved very popular as it is quite a technical skill to learn.

03/04/10

Today's session covered braking and cornering, both skills needed for successful cycling whether it be racing or leisure. Braking we used the stop box activity, where guys had to ride at speed towards the stop box, coming to a controlled stop without skidding. This was practiced until all were proficient. They moved on to play the 'Hoops' game based on musical chairs, a set of Hoops were placed on the school field and when the whistle was blown the riders sprinted to the nearest Hoop, stopping with their rear wheel in it. The rider failing to get in a Hoop was eliminated, this is always an exiting game with the race to the Hoop.  

A course with many twists and turns was set up, with each section coached, highlighting the best lines, how to access a corner and decide on an entry speed. The guys then put all they had learnt to the test by racing around the circuit.

Well done to all the riders in difficult conditions under wheel.

March 2010

20/03/10

The Meteors Rough Stuff rally was the second session of the year; the group was split into two, Under and over 11’s. The format would be like a stage race with the rider on the lowest time at the end of the 5 stages being the winner.

Stage 1 A 'Super slalom' course was raced through as quickly as possible, Over 11’s 30 cones, U11’s 15 cones with a 1 second penalty for each cone hit. The guys showed great bike handling with nobody hitting a cone. It was a close race between Over 11’s Alex Thorn and Josh Snodin, Alex winning by less than a second, but it was U11 Joe Bradley who took the early lead due to the handicapping system.

Stage 2 For the Limbo, each time the rider dipped under the bar 5 seconds were taken off their time from the first event, Joe Bradley got the lowest with 5 clearances ending the stage on -3 seconds  keeping his lead.
 
Stage 3 The guys had to Dismount/ mount three times in this up hill sprint race, in this fun activity they learnt a skill required for events such as cyclo cross where being able to get on and off the bike quickly is really important. Alex taking the stage.

Stage 4 Meteors coach Jeff rode around a course of cones, his time had to be matched by the riders, Pheobe Jackson got the closest being only 4 seconds adrift, so moving up into equal 1st place..

Stage 5 as the riders reached the final stage it was still anybody's race. Meteors trainee coach Tom, set out a Mini moto course, with its many twists and turns. It was made even more difficult by the slippery conditions. This time the guys all set off together for a 3 lap race, gear trouble at the start caused problems for Rory Jackson but he put in a really good performance showing real character to finish strongly and a smile on his face.

This completed the stage race, but more bonus seconds were on offer to the rider who collected the most activity markers. This sent the guys speeding off to scoop them up.

The final positions were: - Alex Thorn, Joe Bradley, Josh Snodin, Pheobe Jackson, Joe Thorn, Rory Jackson.

A great performance by all the guys who braved the rain, WELL DONE!

See you at Easter.

06/03/10

Melton Meteors Youth cycling has now begun for 2010, the coaches set out the skills test course and the riders were coached through each section.
By the end of the session they had learnt the skills to enable them to complete the course as a whole. Once again the favorite activity was the limbo, though Joe Thorn might not agree, he gets low enough to clear the bar but his bike does not clipping it with his handlebars.

December 09

On Saturday 12^th Jeff ran a special Christmas go ride no bikes this time though, I lie there was one but Joes' bike was extremely small. Everyone else brought along  their Micro scooters. The Guys completed Go Ride events that they were all familiar with on their bikes and had a FUN tastic time.

Thanks everyone that came to the Meteors Go ride sessions in 2009 more to follow in 2010.

November 09

Following on from the October cyclo cross sessions several of the Meteors were present at the race.

October 09

Meteors Go Ride coach Jeff, taught cyclo cross skills with the aim of some of the riders riding the Notts and Derby league cyclo cross at Bingham. Each week finishing off with a short race using the skills learnt at that session. The last week saw some of the kids and Jeff in fancy dress.

August 09

Go Ride racing comes to Melton Country Park, British Cycling Regional Go ride coach Dean Hughes organised to Mountain bike race days catering for 7- 16 year old. Both days were blessed with fine weather and a good turn out of riders.