Training in the early 1900s

In a more reflective moment, I began to think about the birth of 'modern' sport and triathlon in particular. Conventional wisdom suggests that during the early part of the 20th century, your average Joe (or Jo) had little time, money or energy to indulge in non-essential activities. 'Classic' historians - the club has a few of these and most of them are called 'Dave' - will tell you that it was a hard, hand to mouth existence with all time and effort devoted to rearing large families, scraping a living and attempting to secure their next square meal (unless you were lucky enough to live in a walloping big Victorian mansion and employ a vast army of domestic servants). I have a different theory however and I have found the conclusive proof that I am definitely right and legions of dusty academics* are woefully wrong. Early 20th century folk simply didn't engage in triathlon purely because of the lack of highway code. That's right, no highway code.

Where would we be without this little book?

Just think about it for a moment. Would you go for a run if you were likely to be mown down by a tram? Would you whack on your woolly tights, hop on your boneshaker and rock up at the cafe ready for a steady 25if you were to be side-swiped by an Omnibus? Exactly. Me neither. The highway code was first published in 1931 and only 46 years later triathlon was born. Co-incidence? I think not. 

On it's own, this remarkable piece of evidence could be dismissed. However, I have also located actual footage, PROOF positive of the affect the lack of road rules had on wannabe triathletes. The video below contains footage of a street ride through San Francisco sometime in the early 1900s. Note several abortive attempts at running. Also note several examples of lunatic carriage handling. Would you train in those conditions? I think that question answers itself. If you still have any doubts at all, ask yourself - 'does San Francisco now have traffic lights?' then ask yourself, does San Francisco have a vibrant triathlon scene?'. By now, any lingering doubts should have packed their bags, donned their ear-muffs and headed off into the Autumnal twilight.

As ever we remain loyal to our promise** of the finest investigative journalism in sport and any website users who feel that this is a totally pointless post that has been stuck up on the website purely to showcase a fantastic piece of music ('La Femme D'Argent by Air, Moon Safari CD, available from Amazon for a ludicrously cheap £3.99) , some amazing footage from pre-earthquake San-Fransisco and pop up a few interesting links (including the loveliest magazine in print, the CTT and a top banana race from Alcatraz) have clearly got the wrong end of the stick.

*No academics were harmed during the making of this website post. ** More of a pipe dream really.

Very Cross!!!

Ha! Fooled you. It's not another spleen venting exercise, but a top tip for some excellent winter training. As some of you know, I disappear off between September and Christmas, to far flung parts of South Wales (and Yorkshire), to compete at cyclo-cross. If you’ve never tried it before, it’s the perfect complement to a season of Gwent league and an excellent introduction to cycle racing. It’s also a great way to improve your bike handling skills in a relatively safe environment (as long as you don’t fall off). To give you a flavour of what Cross is all about, have a look at the splendid video below. The footage is actually American, but the course is very European in style.

Current, former and occasional cross riders within the club include myself (simon), Jemma, Carol Miller, Gareth Lynch, Phil George, Andy Cleves and Jules Carter. Jerry Cleall-Harding and David Bright have also shown a recent interest in the discipline (so look out vets!). For details of cyclo-cross, either checkout the details of the Welsh League here, or contact me directly. Being a runner is a really positive attribute for cyclo-cross, so you're all well qualified. Happy winter training.......

Membership fees vapourised (Sort of)

Recently we had a triathlon meeting to discuss our triathlon plans for next year; Llandow, races we’ll support, club away days, global domination, that type of thing. Phil took the minutes, everyone contributed very nicely and a ‘restorative’ ale or two was sunk to keep the wheels oiled.  

Arguably the major item of discussion that evening was triathlon club membership. How much should it be next year? £5? £10? £1bn? Well after a little look at the ongoing activities of the triathlon section and the revenues generated by the efforts of its members (Llandow in particular) we decided to make membership of the triathlon section FREE with certain strings attached:

1. Currently, Les Croups Triathlon Membership costs £5 per year on top of your £25 Les Croupiers membership fee.
2. As from the 1st April 2011, you get your £5 Triathlon membership fee back if you help out at a Llandow event in the 2011 race series (returned on the evening in which you help).
3. If you haven’t paid £5 to join the triathlon section, you automatically become a member of the triathlon section when you help out at Llandow.
4. Free membership of the section is also conditional on the purchase of a bottle of a strong  Belgian beer for Simon* preferably something over 7%.

So there you go! FREE membership of the Tri section! Surely the best deal in town!

*This is not actually a condition (it’s a fib to be quite honest), but Simon really likes the idea and would encourage club members to participate.

Skipping under the radar

Is it bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s Jerry Cleall-Harding! Whilst we were busy preparing for the 10km, half marathon and cross country frenzy that is the Autumn, Jerry was a very busy man indeed.

Not only did the former club chairman ride from Lands end to John O’Groats , narrowly preceding Alan Mason’s equally admirable ride by one week, but he also represented Great Britain as an age grouper in the  World Duathlon championships at Edinburgh. Jerry finished 31^st in his age group and 10^th Brit overall. Another great performance in his second appearance at this level (his first was way back in 2000). Jerry is a modest bloke and kept both his training and his target events, quiet.

You can read a brief account of Jerry’s efforts by clicking on the ‘Ace newsletter’ link on the sidebar. His report is on page 12 of the Autumn edition.

Very well done that man!

Tri meeting tonight!

Upstairs! After announcements! (Thursday the 7th October 9.20 approx).