The Short, but Eventful History of Will's Wheels Cycling Club.

Will's Wheels made its way onto a cycle jersey in 2002 and started life as a small racing team. However, the origin of this team must surely be attributed to the vacuum created after the Atom RT meltdown. A successful and flamboyant group of riders, the Atom RT expanded rapidly towards the end of the 1990's. Despite representation at all of the biggest races, some very talented riders and some good sponsors, the team eventually outgrew itself. The team continued into the new millennia on a much smaller basis and gracefully bowed out at the end of 2002.

Many of the club riders that had ridden under the Atom banner dispersed to other local clubs where they had once been members before. Some of the riders begun a small team by the name of "Fastrack". It lacked any real strength in depth and quickly vanished, taking it's fiddly sponsor laden jersey with it.

In 2002, cycle shop owner Will Wright, who had been one of the Atom teams most respected and successful riders, created the Will's Wheels Racing Team. The team was a very small outfit and was presented in the form of a Principia bike owners club/racing team package. A hefty sum of money bought you a top end Principia racing bike, access to a wheel pool, team clothing and a licence. A typically fastidious, "Russian team pursuit" approach from Will with excellent continuity running through all aspects of the team.

In 2003, the team opened it's doors to one or two riders like myself who were not a part of the owners club. I did ride a Principia for a short while but it wasn't a good experience. The team however, was a very positive environment and had a lot of creative energy from those involved. There was a good racing contingent with riders competing all over the North West and further a field. There were regular trips up to the Preston Arena circuit races throughout the summer and membership swelled steadily throughout the year.

On May 4th during that year, we rode the first of our aptly named "Famous Five" rides. It was 132miles and took us across the flatlands to the coast at Southport. Whilst it wasn't a particularly difficult feat of endurance, it was an excellent pre cursor to the rides to follow. Later that month we rode deep into the heart of Mid Wales and broke the 200mile mark. It was a memorable ride and fuelled further ambitions in the quest for greatness.....or was it great stupidity.

On June 8th we pushed the boundaries further again with a trip to Skegness and back. At 257miles it was a gruelling ride with a tough headwind all of the way home. Warren famously cracked and got the train home from Lincoln. The rest of us travelled across the eerie Peak during the early hours of the morning. It was a truly unforgettable and haunting experience.

The "Derby Death" in July covered 150miles of torturously lumpy lanes across the Peak with lunch in Derby. On August 2nd we set off on the "Tenby Terror". We left Stockport from the shop at around 7pm on the Saturday evening and rode into the night, arriving in Tenby for a breakfast at Mikes cafe on the seafront. After a slap up full English, we turned around and rode home. We reached the shop in the early hours of Monday morning after 411 epic miles. It was the longest clubrun in the history of the club and remains a mythical feat to this day. These epic rides encouraged great team spirit and gave a profound insight into the personalities of all those who took part. Some strong bonds were cemented during those long hours and miles. It was surely the summer of 2003 that really formed the backbone of the Will's Wheels cause.

2004 was really the beginning of the Will's Wheels name being joined up with the words Cycling Club. Whilst some of the racing purists desperately needed to be an RT, the bulk of the members were more than happy to become something more akin to a traditional cycling club. There was the production of a monthly newsletter and building from the success of the previous years "Famous Five", a year long calendar of endurance events, "The Ten Commandments".

The rides during that year began in January with the 140 mile ride to Southport. Over the course of the year the distances increased finishing in August with the 274mile ride to Edinburgh. The combined distance of the 10 rides was in excess of 2000 miles. A wall chart in the shop logged all participants of the rides and eventually two riders successfully finished the full series.

The racing contingent had another successful campaign and regular trips to Preston Arena were rewarded with several 2nd category licences and a multitude of wins and good placings. We had some rapid Time trial wins and even entered a full team into the National 24 hour event, however, the less said about that the better.

In June that year we put on a two day coast to coast trip as part of the "Ten Commandments" series. The ride from Barmouth to Yarmouth, otherwise known as the "Mouth to Mouth", was a well organised success with the riders covering 313 miles over the two days. It was our first supported trip out as a club and was righteously blessed with warm winds on our backs and high average speeds.

The clubs first dinner was held that year in December and was very well turned out. There were a series of trophies presented for various achievements along with a cabbage for the best non achiever. Jimmy Froggatt was our Time trial champion whilst Alistair Rutherford won the Road Race award. Phil Bridge was deemed our best young rider and Eric Citanova and Dave Burton both received trophies for completing the "Ten Commandments". Mani Guitton was the winner of the cabbage. 2004 was an excellent year with club members covering an ever increasing range of cycling activities. The membership also rose steadily throughout the year.

2005 was a royal year for our road men. Will Wright and Jimmy Froggatt formed the nucleus of the racing results with a good haul of wins in road races and time trials. It still stands as the most successful year that the club has had on the racing front. It wasn't just those two either, other members rode well and the monthly newsletter boasted regular results that most clubs would be lucky to see in a year.

Another series of rides throughout the year was promoted although the emphasis on the mileage was somewhat relaxed. They were all century rides and took participants deep into the British landscape starting from locations in Wales, The Lakes, Cumbria and The North Yorkshire Moors.

At the end of April that year we organised a four day tour in Southern Scotland. We covered some long distances across Dumfries and Galloway including some legendary military roads that saw a red face or two in the mud.

The club became involved with promoting events for the first time in 2005. A road race with the popular Recycling League and two time trials. The events were a success, and particularly so at a time when rumblings of Flash RT style teams not contributing to the sport, were rife amongst the traditionalists across the land.

The 2005 dinner was another well turned out gathering. Our Road Race champion was Jimmy Froggatt and Nigel Wood was given the Time Trial title. Leighton Bohl was awarded "Best Old Guy" and Mike Bridge received "Best Club Member". Mani Guitton bagged the cabbage award for a second time and in recognition of his double whammy, the second one was a golden edition. The clubs membership had stabilised around the fifty number and enthusiasm amongst its members was as vibrant as ever.

2006 saw us undertaking our biggest venture yet. The "End to End" for 21 riders over the course of 9 days riding. The event at the end of May covered a route that avoided contact with main roads, urbanisation and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was a tour of Britain designed to incorporate the best of our geography and landscape with a challenge fit for even the toughest of riders.

The organisation began early that year and the route was planned and ridden in its entirety before hand to assist the creation of a foolproof rider manual. The accommodation was booked, meals booked and two paid staff employed to assist the riders on the road and throughout the day. Little was left to chance and the riders eventually reached John 'o' Groats on June 4th with 1060 tough miles under their belts. The weather gods had looked kindly upon us and the trip was a success of great magnitude. A credit to all of those involved.

Missing the big rides of previous years, we had a revisit to The Denis Cafe in Tenby. We didn't do that enormous mileage all in one go again. We covered 190 miles down to Newcastle Emlyn and the following day had an easy 90 miler including a good feed at Mikes cafe and some sunbathing on the beach. The return home was 165 miles and the weekend was as good a buzz as you can get with two pairs of shorts and a spare vest (which I never actually wore).

2006 saw us looking to replace our traditional newsletter with an online website. The club newsletter was time consuming and expensive to produce. Efforts to put the club into cyberspace began.

It would be fair to say that in the end we got a website that fulfilled our needs. It did however, take several attempts and was not without some ups and downs. In fact it would be unbalanced to continue writing about the successes without mentioning some of our problems. Most of these at this time arose from our well meaning forum style website which caused all sorts of issues. As is usually the case, it was mainly down to one or two misguided individuals whose online antics did cause some offence. The website eventually started to work for us in 2007 courtesy of Jim and Rob Wild. The latest 2009 version is also a Rob Wild production.

Throughout 2006, the club had regular Sunday runs from The Rising Sun in Hazel Grove led by the ever competent Janet Shaw. As well as riders competing in road races and time trials, we again promoted our own time trials and a road race during the summer months. At the annual dinner our Road Race champion was Chris Seipen and Andy Tubb became our Time Trial champion for some cracking rides throughout the season.

After a good winter of runs during 2007, some of the club flew out to France for a week. We stayed with Clive Humphry, the original founder of the Atom RT (previously mentioned). Clive arranged for us to race there as well as looking after the group for a week. There was a lot of bike riding and a copious quantity of wine guzzled down. A good time was most certainly had by all.

The organising of the three races in 2007 went unhindered. Club members participated across a wide range of cycle related activities throughout the year. Despite not being able to boast any staggering quantity of victory tallies from the racing season, our two top skulls did rather satisfyingly beat the French on home soil.

In September we had three days of touring in Cumbria and the Lake district. We carried our luggage in traditional touring style up the steepest of hills and at over 50mph down the fastest of descents. It was probably the great fun of this weekend that went some way to influencing the following years trip.

At the dinner, our new Road Race Champion, Mani Guitton, was finally deemed worthy after being well behaved throughout the year, his talent never in doubt. Simon Shaw was our Time Trial Champion whilst Chris Schofield was awarded for his multi disciplined racing antics. Harry and June were given an honorary presentation for "Best Couple".

2008 was the year we became tourists. Mike Bridge conceived a touring adventure that saw us Island hopping our way around the west coast of Scotland. It might well have been your average CTC style week of hostelling and bag carrying but it was far from that. A well turned out group was blessed with stunning weather for a week and superb organisation by Mike saw us feasting in some very fine restaurants and eating houses. We traversed off road glens, swam beneath a cascading waterfall and got pleasantly sunburned on the road to Glencoe. A truly awesome experience.

Some weeks prior to the May Scottish trip, Janet Shaw led us into Wales for a long weekend in order to try out our touring bikes. After a stunning first day to Llangollen we just about dodged the rain for our final night at Much Wenlock. It was excellent preparation for the bag carrying in Scotland.

During the year, clubruns were regular and our red and black kit was further graphically enhanced. The event promotions continued and the Dinner in the January of 2009 was one of our best yet. Our 2008 Road Race Champion was given to Mark Burton. Keith Dutton was awarded the Time Trial title and Greg Newton was deemed "Best All Rounder". Janet and Danielle both received flowers in recognition of their efforts throughout the year. The cabbage went to Phil Bridge.

At the start of 2009, it feels good to look back at the things we've done over the past six or seven years. From the early beginnings as a small team, the Will's Wheels name has flourished into a small, but characterful club. Most of the members are actively involved and steady expansion has produced a well turned out group of cyclists. I for one am very proud to be a part of this collaboration of all cycling genres.

The clubs financial standing is good and our sponsors enable us to cover the costs of race promotions. Regularly paid annual subs assist with affiliation fees to British Cycling, Cycling Time Trials and the Youth Hostelling Organisation.

With a trip to Mallorca planned for April and other activities in the pipeline, 2009 promises to be another successful year. May the club continue in the good spirit that has gone before.

Chris Riley, January 2009.

Listed below are some of the Statistics from the rides mentioned in the text above.

2003

May 4th-Southport. 132 miles-7hrs 47min, 17mph.

May 25th-Bishops Castle and Mid Wales. 200 miles-11hrs 46min, 17mph.

June 8th-Skegness via Newark and lincoln. 257 miles-16hrs 29min, 15.6mph.

July 27th-"The Derby Death". 150 miles-10hrs 16min, 14.6mph.

August 2nd-"The Tenby Terror". 411 miles-23hrs 44min, 17.3mph.

August 31st-West Cheshire 12hr TT. Will Wright-252 miles, Chris Riley 236 miles.

October 12th-Ambleside, Wrynose, Hardknott, Honister and Kirkstone passes. 92 miles-6hrs 47min, 13.5mph.

2004

January 25th-Southport. 140 miles-8hrs 51min, 15.8mph.

February 8th-Newark on Trent. 152 miles-9hrs 47min, 15.5mph.

February 29th-The Ribble Valley. 141 miles-9hrs 39min, 14.6mph.

March 21st-Shropshire, Long Mynd, Mid Wales. 203 miles-12hrs 52min, 15.7mph.

April 25th-Trough of Bowland, Hawes. 195 miles-12hrs 34min, 15.4mph.

May 30th-The Severn Valley, Worcester and Shrewsbury. 252 miles-15hrs 12min, 16.5mph.

June 12/13th-"The Mouth to Mouth". 153 miles-9hrs 14min, 16.6mph. 160 miles-9hrs 9min, 17.5mph.

July 4th- The Lakes, Wrynose, Hardknott, Honister and Keswick. 258 miles-16hrs 27min, 15.6mph.

July 24th-Mersey Roads RC 24hr TT. Mike Lyndsey, Jimmy Froggatt, Chris Riley, Will Wright, Eric Citanova and Dave Burton completed rides from 320 miles to 380 miles.

August 7th-Edinburgh via Alston and Eskdale. 274 miles-16hrs 3min, 17mph.

September 5th-"The Derby Death". 150 miles. Stats N/A

September 10th-Vitry-Dole. Jimmy Froggatt and Chris Riley rode this 143 mile blast as part of a French Alpine extravaganza. 143 miles-7hrs 55min, 18mph.

2005

April 17th-The Lakes, Wrynose and Hardknott. 101 miles-7hrs 42min, 13.1mph.

April 29,30,May1,2-Dumfries and Galloway Tour. 349 miles.

July 16th-Worlds End, Trawsfynydd. 125 miles-7hrs 30min, 16.7mph.

July 17th-Bala, Lake Vyrnwy, Dolgellau. 118 miles-8hrs 20min, 14.1mph.

August 14th-Penrith and Weardale. 108 miles-6hrs 44min, 16.1mph.

September 4th. Shrewsbury, Knighton and Ludlow. 108 miles-8hrs 8min, 13.3mph.

October 2nd-Newtown, Hafren Forest and Rhayader. 100 miles-6hrs 43min, 14.9mph.

October 16th-Southport. 133 miles-7hrs 38min, 17.4mph.

2006

May 27th-June 4th-End to End.

Lands End to Exeter. 133 miles-8hrs 26min, 15.7mph.

Exeter to Devizes. 113 miles-7hrs 1min, 16.1mph.

Devizes to Thrussington. 135 miles-8hrs 8min, 16.5mph.

Thrussington to York. 112 miles-6hrs 54min, 16.3mph.

York to Ninebanks. 107 miles-6hrs 58min, 15.4mph.

Ninebanks to Symington. 114 miles-7hrs 30min, 15.2mph.

Symington to Braemar. 119 miles-7hrs 4min, 16.9mph.

Braemar to Lairg. 130 miles-7hrs 54min, 16.5mph.

Lairg to John 'o' Groats. 96 miles-5hrs 31min, 17.5mph.

August 6,7,8th-Tenby Weekend.

Stockport to Newcastle Emlyn. 187 miles-12hrs 23min, 15.1mph.

Newcastle, Tenby, Lampeter. 92 miles-6hrs 24min, 14.4mph.

Lampeter to Stockport. 164 miles-9hrs 58min, 16.4mph.

September 11th-As part of a week in the Alps, Jimmy Froggatt and Chris Riley cycled from Susa, Italy to Briancon, France. The route ascended the unsurfaced Colle Della Finestra before continuing along the usurfaced road to sestriere via the Colle De'll Assietta, Colle Lauson, Colle Blegier, Colle Bourget and Colle Basset. The route was very rough and extremely quiet with Marmottes in great abundance. After a coffee in Sestriere we continued by road via the Col de Montgenevro back into France and on to Briancon. The last sweeping descent into the town ensured that our average pace at least entered double figures. 57 miles-5hrs 34min, 10.2mph.

2007

May 24th-A visit to Clisson whilst on the club trip to France. 124 miles-7hrs 20min, 16.8mph.

September 2/3/4th-Lakes Tour. 254 miles during the three days taking in the Kirkstone pass, Weardale, Carlisle, Siloth, Hardknott and Wrynose Pass.

October 28th-Southport Ride. 131 miles-7hrs 48min, 16.8mph.

2008

May 3/4/5th-Llangollen and Shropshire weekend. 250 miles taking in Chester, Worlds End, The Long Mynd and Much Wenlock.

May 25th to June 2nd-West Coast of Scotland Tour.

Ardrossan, Arran, Kintyre, Lochgilphead-42 miles.

Loch Awe, Oban, Mull, Tobermoray-68 miles.

Ardnamurchan, Mallaig, Broadford-74 miles.

Portree, Broadford, Plockton-80 miles.

Applecross, Sheildaig, Plockton-92 miles.

Skye, Kylerhea, Glen arnisdale, Fort William-94 miles.

Glencoe, West Highland Way, Inveraray-72 miles.

Loch Fyne, Bute, Rothesay-58 miles.

Wemyss Bay to Ardrossan-20 miles.

September 21st,22nd-Coast to Coast, Ravenglass to Whitby.

Hardknott, Wrynose, Kirkstone Passes, Tan Hill, Reef-89 miles.

Richmond, North York Moors, Rosedale, Whitby-79 miles.