Sunday 16 December 2012

Pimp My Bike - Riders Pull Out All The Stops (and Tinsel!!!)

Sixteen young riders joined forces on Saturday 15th December and took the Tonbridge to Penshurst cycle trail by storm. Tinsel, baubles, lights, bells, beards and hats, no Christmas theme was left untouched. Our ride took us along the trail as far as the Leigh Road where we judged the bikes. 


All the decorated bikes were fantastic, so well done for spending the time and effort to make this a special ride.  There certainly were a few puzzled stares from passers by.

1st  - for his amazing handlebar mounted tree and large santa beard
2nd Toni - for her carefully colour matched theme
3rd Charlie - overall Christmasiness

We raced back to Tonbridge, where it was chocolate all round.  Happy Christmas to all our riders, parents and helpers, thanks for making 2012 a great year for Kent Velo Kids - Look forward to seeing you all in 2013


Still smiling even after some very deep puddles!
 
 



Last of the Go Ride Games Medals

Our last coached session of the year featured loads of skills and culminated in a skills TT and of course a limbo knockout competition.  All the scooting practice paid off in the limbo which saw most of the riders off their saddles and crouched low down beside their bikes. Medals all round for Ashley, Luke and Sam in the U10's and Victoria, Shona, Polly & Toni in the Over 10's.

Monday 3 December 2012

Chilly But Fun!!

Eight young riders and a selection of parents met at Tonbridge park on Saturday 1st December for a steady ride along the cycle path to Penshurst. The group split at Penshurst, one group tackled the hill, while the other raced back to Tonbridge chased by the second group.  We all arrived back at the park together and compared frozen extremities!! 


Next coached session: 8/12/2012, Stocks Green.
Next ride out: Pimp my bike Christmas ride 15/12/12. Meet at Tonbridge Park 10am by the wooden bridge

Thursday 29 November 2012

Hardy Riders Brave The Rain


A couple of youth riders braved the rain on Saturday morning to get a few miles under their belt.  It wasn't actually that bad...........we covered 11.8 miles at 12.6 mph, everyone was smiling at the end (unusual for one of my rides) a great way to start the weekend. Well done guys and thanks to the parents who rode with us.

It was even wetter by the afternoon, but as promised Luke Anderson joined us for our coached session and took the riders through a series of drills on our playground track. Despite the challenging conditions most people managed to stay upright and the session ended with an Italian Pursuit race which was won by The Rejects.  Well done to everyone who took part on a pretty miserable day.
 
Next session: Saturday 1st December - Ride Out - Meet 10am at Tonbridge park, by the wooden bridge near the car park.  We will be riding for an hour  - how far we get will depend how fast we ride!!  Please bring a drink, pocket snack and a spare inner tube.  I will have tools.

 


Saturday 17 November 2012

Busy Day - 17th November 2012

Great day for a ride through the woods

Once again, our Saturday morning ride out set a new record time for the Col de Coldharbour route; 39:42mins.  It was also the first time that we made the ascent past the mower place to the beginning of the bridleway without a break.  Well done everyone, hope you all remembered to wash your muddy bikes when you got home!!

After a quick refuel, it was up to Cyclopark for Polly, Toni and Calvin to take part in John Leitch's Power Pack session.  Well done guys, you'll sleep well tonight.

Next coached session: Saturday 24th November Stocks Green School, sign on 1.45pm
Next ride out: 1st December - Penshurst Cycle Trail details TBC

Saturday 10 November 2012

Great Day for KVK - 10th November 2012

Must be all the energy and enthusiasm coming from our young riders that has made today feel like a great day for the KVK.  This morning saw our first ever youth road bike ride; we covered 9.5 miles clocking up an average speed of 11.9 mph.  This afternoon, 13 enthusiastic youngsters took part in a coached session at Stocks Green School where we focussed on pace and practised using gears.

Next week: ride out for over 10's - meet at Westwood 9.30am. Parent riders welcome.

Next coached session: Saturday 24th November 2-3pm at Stocks Green

Monday 29 October 2012

Cycloween Races 28th October 2012



Congratulations to Toni, Fergus and Polly who all took part in the Cycloween races at Cyclopark yesterday.  It was an interesting morning and we learnt alot about youth racing, cornering and pre-race nutrition.  Official results were not available on the day but we suspect at least one podium finish and a couple of other "firsts" for different aspects of cycling.  Well done guys, you were GREAT.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Bedgbury Ride Out - 27th October 2012

Twelve intrepid riders braved the first chilly weather of winter for a ride in the forest.  We tackled the 6 mile family trail at a steady pace and all agreed that the hills proved a challenge for even the fittest riders.  One of our parent riders admitted to not having ridden a bike since 1986, but kept smiling anyway.


We all piled into the cafe for coffee and hot chocolate where we met a couple of late arrivals who'd missed the rendez vous but still enjoyed a ride.

Next session: 3/11/12 Go Ride at Stocks Green, sign on 1.45pm for 2pm start.

Sunday 21 October 2012

Go-Ride at Stocks Green 20th October 2012

It felt like the only day this week that it hadn't rained so it was good to get out and spin the legs.  18 riders took part in the session where we focussed on riding close to other riders.  Our new members worked hard and made some big improvements.  Older riders got the chance to get some tips from Luke Anderson from BC who joined us for the afternoon.  Luke also brought us a box of goodies that we've been awarded for our participation in the Go Ride Games during the summer holidays.

Next session: Ride Out at Bedgbury, Saturday 27th October.  Meet 10am at the visitor centre. Parent riders welcome.  Please note there is no charge for this session but parking at Bedgbury is £8.50.

Saturday 13 October 2012

Cycling Shirts Coming Soon



I am about to order short sleeve cycling jerseys in a range of sizes.  These will be available to club members at a discounted price of £20.  If you would like to reserve a jersey in a particular size, please contact me by e-mail before Monday 15th October when I will be placing the order.

Saturday 29 September 2012

Ride Out & Cyclopark Powerpack session

Start of term illness reduced numbers on our Ride Out this morning but we pedalled on undeterred!!  A fabulous autumn morning, four riders tackled the Col de Coldharbour and improved on our previous ride time by 3 minutes. Along the way we encountered the ultimate limbo in the form of a fallen tree.  Thanks to Damien for lifting ALL the bikes over, even Toni had to admit limbo defeat!!  Congratulations to Jasmine for her first ascent of the Col and Luke for most improved rider.

 


Toni also went to Cyclopark in the afternoon along with Calvin and Helena to John Leitch's Powerpack session for young riders. I look forward to hearing how they got on.

Next coached session & B&B bike sale: Saturday 13th October
Next powerpack session: 14th October
Stocks Green afterschool: Monday 1st October

Monday 17 September 2012

Saturday 14th September

Fourteen riders took part in this Go-Ride session where we worked on balance.  Connor, Sam and Polly took victory in the slow races and an interesting twist on the bottle pick saw riders catching a teddy AND picking up a bottle.  We finished the session off by teaching Richard our favourite game of sardines.

Next ride out: 29th September
Next coached session: 13th October (+ bring and buy bike sale)

CHECK THE SESSIONS TAB FOR A LIST OF ALL DATES FOR THIS TERM.

Saturday 8 September 2012

Col de Coldharbour - Ride Out 8th September

We headed out on this 5 mile route on a beautiful morning.  After the slow pull up the Col de Coldharbour everyone enjoyed the descent through the woods, Jacob had ridden ahead to open the gate for us so no need to stop, just straight into the bumpy field.  We headed back down the lane and finished off back at the pump track in West Wood.  Well done to all the riders who came along.

Saturday 1 September 2012

Cyclopark Club Day 1st September

A big cheer for Tom Midgley, Fergus Gregorie, Jacob & Polly Burge who all represented KVK at the Cyclopark Club Day today. Riders took part in individual time trials, mass start races and Olympic Sprint/MTB relays.  Despite needing teams of three riders to qualify for prizes all four riders gave it their best.  It was great watching them ride and I've promised them next time they compete we will have KVK shirts.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Go-Ride Games 19th August 2012


We started our Go-Ride Games with a mass start two lap race.  The finishing positions gave us our two teams; Pendleton and Hoy.  Track style racing included a Devil race and a Kierin. Tom and Jacob paced the Devil race, while Luke Anderson from BC acted as the derney for the Keirin.  Enthusiastic parents stepped in to provide a held start for all the riders in the Kierin.








Medal Winners Track Racing
Devil Race
Gold: Victoria Philips
Silver: Polly Burge & Sam Rowland
Bronze: Charlie Lewis & Harry Lewis

Kierin
Gold: Max Irvine, Charlie Lewis, Victoria Philips & Harry Lewis
Silver: Tom Midgley, Helena Greer, Ben Coates,& Dom Leach
Bronze: Polly Burge, Sophie McInerney, Stephanie Male, Kirsty Dymond & Abi Linney

We moved straight on to an individual time trial which included a couple of technical and skills sections including berms, slalom and limbo.

Individual Time Trial Results

Gold: Sam Rowland
Silver: Charlie Lewis & Victoria Philips
Bronze: Polly Burge & Dom Leach


We finished off the afternoon with a medal ceremony and all our riders went home with a souvenir of the event from British Cycling.

A massive thank you to everyone who took part, riders, parents and helpers your enthusiasm and sportmanship made it a great afternoon.

Saturday 21 July 2012

OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY AT STOCKS GREEN


Riders at Stocks Green took part in our very own torch relay today as part of our Go-Ride session.  Great preparation for our Olympic themed Go-Ride event on 18th August

Thursday 19 July 2012

Cyclocross and TT with Southborough Wheelers

KVK and SBW riders after their recent interclub event.  Thanks to all the guys at SBW for putting on a great morning of racing

Friday 1 June 2012

Amazing group riding at Stocks Green

Perfect group riding on a tight circuit, the bottle was passed from back to front without incident.

Monday 21 May 2012

Club ride Saturday 19th May

Come on guys, SMILE, anyone would think you'd just ridden 10 miles!
We had fun along the Penshurst cycle track on a lovely sunny day

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Bank Holiday Monday


Concentration
Great technique
Victory pose






Thursday 3 May 2012

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