Spotlight on...Antony 'Antloony' Leeson

Who do you race for?
Addiscombe CC, the best, brightest and biggest club in the UK

How long have you been racing?
I took part in my first race at Crystal Palace in June 08 so just coming up to a year now. I've only been cycling for 18 months after deciding that years of a very unhealthy lifestyle which consisted of smoking 20 a day and doing zero exercise was going to send me to an early grave. As for that first Palace outing, I lasted 12 laps.


What type of races do you do?
I do tend to enjoy road racing having got the bug from taking part and winning the B race in our members road race last year. I quite like the Hillingdon circuit but can get a bit boring lap after lap. I've taken part in a couple of Surrey League road races with a few other Agreeables and really enjoyed them. Looking forward to doing a few more once I get my knee problem sorted out. I've had a go at TT but tend to get a bit lonely and my mind drifts way to easily.


Where do you race?
So far I've raced at Palace, Hillingdon and as mentioned a couple of Surrey league races. I'd like to have a go at Dunsfold in the near future.


Briefly describe a typical training session

I must be the laziest cyclist in our club when it comes to training. I rarely do any. I just dont have the get up and go to train on my own. I only usually manage one ride a week and thats our saturday morning club run. Depending on how I feel I'll go with either a 19 mph average group or the bonkers fast training group. Earlier this year I did a few chain gang sessions on a wednesday night. These were really hard at times due to the calibre of riders though I did feel they taught me to dig in deeper and not be afraid to really push myself.


What are your Goals for this year?

Well I did want to try and gain a few points as a 3rd cat, I've a fairly healthy sprint in my legs and can manage the pace of a 3rds race OK but as my knee is causing me some grief at the moment so that plans been put on hold. Quite annoying really as I felt I was going well and stood a good chance of some top 10 finishes.


Have you got any training Tips?

Well if your anything like me and just plain lazy then make every second on the bike count. I just go hard and fast and try an keep up with the group. When I first started riding with the training group I found it hard and did get dropped a few times at first but I came back for more and with some really nice words of encouragement I just stuck at it and now will even do strong turns on the front. To get where I did I just worked my way up through the groups, started of with the 17's, moved to the 18's and then on till the training group. I'd say to anyone out there trying to improve don't be afraid to push yourself, get out of that comfort zone and go for it, you might sup rise yourself.



What have been your best races so far?
Has to be Hillingdon earlier this year when I won a 4th cat race. Its just a race I knew I could win. I went the week before and came 6th despite there being snow on the course. As it was part of the Imperial Winter series that was being held there every week I knew I'd be up against the same riders the following week. I just sat in the bunch, did very little work until the last third of the final lap where I just sprinted and caught the bunch by surprise. Knowing I have a strong finish I just kept going to the line and took the win. What made it extra special was my long suffering girlfriend Anna was there to witness it.

If someone would have told me two years ago that I'd be riding bikes around like a loon and will win a race I'd have laughed at them and blown smoke in their face. How things change. I love my cycling, I look forward to each Saturday to meet up with the Agreeables and have a great time riding and chatting no matter what group I go with. I've made some good friends through ACC, met some great people and shared some fantastic epic rides. I know life as a cyclist in this country can be harsh at times but the good times far out weigh the bad so lets all get out there on a Saturday morning, smile for the world and enjoy what we do the most, ride our bikes.

Hog Hill Once Again

OK so race number 4 of the month and my confidence is slowly returning. It admittedly wasn't the fastest of races (the women racers told us to get out the way at one point since we simultaneously caught up with them and then imediately proceeded to slow them down). Nevertheless the race still required good concentration (not something I'm great at!) since at any point peeps would slide out of shot and before you knew it a group of would have 30 seconds on the bunch. Chapeau to those five dudes especially to Lewis Atkins (Agiskoviner) who got across to the break with a devastating attack on the descent.

Back in the bunch we tried but it didn't quite happen not enough workers or too many shirkers - I think you get the picture. My technical ability was much better in this race in terms of better cornering lines, spinning faster in lower gears rather than 'pedal stomping' bigger ones and most important anticipating when gaps may form in front of me (in part this comes from riding the circuit more often). Pleasingly I never felt out of my depth and even managed a few digs off the front. I ain't no bunch sprinter and managed not to come dead last unlike in the previous two races. Hey things are looking up. Next race - LVRC Champs this Sunday at Hog Hill of course :-)

Palace...Arrrggghhhh!

Whats the hardest circuit in London? Hmmm... I've asked a few of peeps and most believe its still Palace. Yes unquestionably extreme efforts up the Hoggenberg are a difficult test for all but the strongest. But the two words that comes up time and time again with Crystal Palace is "relentless intensity" - couple its intensity with technical nous thats required to navigate the circuit and for me it beats Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycle centre)...

My 2009 trip to SE23 has been somewhat delayed this year - lets not go there :-/
The threat of rain and I guess many riders recovering from the recent 3 day SERRL stage race meant a very small field of approximately twelve E12 riders, including yours truly of course. I felt suprisingly at ease on the start line and even managed to share a joke about being 'an indiviual' in the race with Cyclefits Warrick Spence.

Lap 1 - I'm feeling pretty good although my lack of practice on the circuit means I'm a little tentative on both of the key bends (hair pin and bottom left). There had been nothing but leg flexing surges to cope with and things appeared to fairly smooth. Hold that thought! On lap 6 typically I was last wheel and misjudged the hair pin bend; more specifically my wheel got stuck in the grove between circuit and grass. Shit!!That was enough for a gap of three-four bike lengths to open up. Like I've said I ain't no sprinter so a quick jump from 0mph to 22mph takes some effort. The gap grew on the descent and became entrenched on the climb. I dug deep to get back on but after a lap and a half in TT mode I surrended to the LOW (Lack Of Watts) GODS.

There's apparently a fine line between what you love and what you hate: Arsenal, Ex girlfriends and Palace. So after a brief recovery (a minute of tempo riding) it was time to make the most of a bad job. Away I went trying to make friends and then influencing them - I pulled weak 3/4 riders back to the bunch and got demoralised soloists to jump on my wheel. Marek Glowinski (VCL) jumped on for a lap and then I hooked up with a 3/4 Dulwich rider and a Brixton Cycles E12 rider for the rest of the race. We took unbalanced turns and the Dulwich rider schooled us on his superior hairpin techniques. Hmmm nice...

Before I got warned by the comissionaires I'd sat near the back of the 3/4 race and watched with some amusement as the girls shouted at the blokes to "keep left" because they were coming through. What do we blokes normally do when women bark instructions at us?...er exactly we respond very slowly cause we can only do one thing at a time...LOL!..Anyways with 3 laps to go I received some nice friendly advice which basically just confirmed it truly was game over. - "WILL ALL LAPPED RIDERS PLEASE PULL OUT OF THE RACE". Grrrr!!! I'll be back.

Lewisham - Box Hill - Lewisham

Sometimes ya just got put it all out there! Easy, we're talking bike training now. If ya haven't figured by now I'm mostly a morning trainer so at 5.30am I left sleepy Deptford and whizzed through the various south London streets to South Coulsdon - then up through Chipstead Valley and eventually on to Box Hill. Just me, my thoughts and the bike (accompanied by the occasional clunky gear change and the sound of Continental tyres on various grades of smooth to rough asphalt).

With 7am fast approaching I came across the first Roadie of the day. It was just a few miles from Box Hill and there ahead was the very disctinctive looking Kingston Wheelers Kit. My radar locked on, 53/17 engaged, it was time to find out what he was all about. A few minutes in the sweetspot zone and I was alongside him, I led as we rode to the top of Box Hill and down the descent. A low tuck ensured he didn't come by, not that I was bothered, and at bottom we both turned left but he then made a quick u turn back up the climb. I rolled down to the roundabout and fiddled with arm warmers and tightened shoe straps before turning round. I hit the climb in 53/21 and kept it there whilst trying a few digs in 53/19. I caught the Kingston Wheeler chap just after the last hairpin and felt quite comfortable having taken 6mins 30 secs to get to the top. The KW guy was quick to let me know the show wasn't over and surged past while I soft pedaled and drunk a strange mix of lemonade and Vimto. I didn't see the fella again despite making quite a gallant effort all the way back to Dorking Road.




It was still 20+ miles back to Steph's in Deptford so I pushed hard all the way. As any Addiscombe CC "Box Hill" group will tell you the Chipstead Valley return route must always be taken at full gas - I pressed on despite the slight discomfort from my legs and a blocked nasal passage. I almost toppled over at the South Coulsdon traffic lights leading on to Brighton Road but managed to clip out just in time. The roads were still empty but I noticed a few cyclists just getting going on their morning rides.

On Friday morning (22.05) knee pain had flared up from nowhere but hadn't been present during the ride. However... the numerous threshold efforts had brought it back so I spun low gears most of the way back. I got back at 8.40am - just over three hours. A good challenging ride, I thought ;-) An hour later I went for a more sedate two hour ride with Steph

Spotlight on...Dominic Lowe

Who do you race for?
Addiscombe CC

How long have you been racing?
This is my third year racing. I first raced 20 years ago (not very successfully) for Paddington CC and that lasted about 3 years. I got back into after a couple of years audaxing. I had just had an abortive attempted at a Super Randonnuer series and had abandoned after the first 200k of my first 600k ride and was looking for something different. My problem with the audaxing was that I was trying to do them as quickly as possible, so I thought I may aswell join a club and try racing. Got hooked into Addiscombe on the old Cycling Plus forum through Ian Munnery and the rest as they say is history

What type of races do you do?
It was exclusively time trialling for the first couple of years, but I am going to try my hand at road racing again. I have just competed in my first Surrey League handicap and it was a real blast so there will be more of that.

Where do you race?
Dual carriageways, the A1, A264, A31 and the A24 you, get the drift. I actually enjoy the early season TTs that are held on mainly country lanes but they are few and far between in the main season.

Briefly describe a typical training session?
It is either a 1.5 to 2 hours ride at 75 to 80% of HR or intervals at 85% and over. In the season I tend to have an easy day Monday after racing then a hard block of training Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Easy day Friday, rest day Saturday and race on Sunday. How and when this happens depends if I get up at 5am to train or try to fit it in when cycling to and from work. The early approach seems to be better as it allows me to concentrate on what I am doing rather than worrying about being late for work after dropping the kids off at school.


What are your Goals for this year?
I set myself the following goals at the end off last season
20.30 for a 10
55.00 for a 25
1.55.30 for a 50
4.15 for a 100
240miles for a 12hour
3rd cat RR

Judging on how I am going at the moment I am not even close to any of them, but lets see at the end of October

Have you got any training Tips?
Keep it simple and rest properly. I think at the level I am at, it is too easy to get bogged down with numbers and data, though it is handy as a guide. I hope to keep improving for the next couple of seasons on this approach and then I can review it and see what happens.

What have been your best races so far?
Charlotteville 50 last year when I did a 1.57.21. Felt really good.
The Antelope TTT that I did with George and Sylv. They were very kind not to crucify me on the first lap and it was a great day out.
The Surrey League handicap that I did on Thursday at South Nutfield. What a blast, even if it was raining at the end.Dominic
live on this board 24/7!!!

Hog Hill Again!

Well...some of the speedier 1st cats were not there tonight (21.05)so the race wasn't quite the full on do or die affair of last week. In a way though it initially made the race harder psychologically cause you had to respond to a quirky compination of club run speed mixed in with full gas attacks. I felt I rode a little better this week which was helped by knowing where on the circuit to pay attention and where to ensure you were glued to some one's back wheel. The headwind just before the climb seemed to be a good place to attack and someone else obviously thought that too cause thats what happened. Hands up I was caught napping and along with 10 other faced the prospect of riding 'commuter' rather than business class. I did try and chase along with a couple of others in the group but it needed an all round concerted effort and lets be honest if you're not part of a team that ain't gonna happen.

Oh I say I rode well but I managed to miscue the fast hairpin bend just after the climb and embarassingly rode off the circuit. Rather than chase back like a lunatic (they we long gone anyway!) I took a lap out. Another split, this time in our group -and away soft pedals my friend Phil Murrell (Finsbury Park CC) and 3 others. Damn! With fatigue now a more significant factor and further unwillingness to chase we were now down to a 5 man group. We all seemed to take turns for half a lap and got close to Phil's group but we were just flirting - full contact was never made. Oh well good training. Next week I might get to the circuit early and try out the VETS race.

2 x 20

Have you tried one of these bad boys yet? If as an amateur-FT-working-competitive cyclist you're finding it hard to get in the required training hours a great way to get improve fitness is to ride at threshold (1hr TT pace) in chunks of twenty minutes. This can be as part of a longer ride or as a specific 2 x 20 session. You ride hard at TT/RR pace for twenty minutes take a five minute rest and then repeat a 2nd or if you're really juiced up a 3rd time. There are variations on this recently I've beeb riding hard for forty minutes without taking a break and thrown in a few sprints every now and then to stimulate a crit ride. Anyway this has been my mid week training diet for the last couple of weeks. My human power meter suggests I'm getting stronger especially as 53/17 at a good cadence feels pretty good even in the windier parts of Regent Park.

Back at Hog Hill

Last Thursday (14.05) was my long awaited return to racing. I joined the E12 race at Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycle Centre) which was predictably fairly quick. Dan Patten from Magnus Backsteads new team and a few others ensured I got a real good work out. The pace was tough but my lack of concentration and slightly nervous riding style made thing a little harder than they really needed to be (I've put on a shorter stem this week which will hopefully allow me to have better control of the bike when on the drops) - with 5 laps to go and the prospect of not get anywhere near the placings I swung off. As I said a great good work out but further proof that for some circuits a lack race of practice (5 weeks) can be quite telling. Still the season for is only 3 months old so I'm not pressing the panick buttons yet. Hopefully I'll be back at Hog Hill this next Thursday (21.05)

Richmond Park 3 Lap Challenge

What's it all about? Well not too far from the South West London/Surrey border is the cycling Mecca - Richmond Park: a nice rolling 6.8 mile loop, with a slightly panty draggy bit and a short feisty climb. How testing the climb is will depend on whether you take the clockwise or anti clockwise loop. The challenge, should you except it, and of course you must, is to circumnavigate the park 3 times under sixty minutes.

Any cyclist who has even a vaguely competitive muscle fibre in their body has to give it a try. A couple of years ago on what TT guys call a float/no chain day I managed to get under 53 minutes. I believe I'm fitter now but could only muster 54mins 30sec yesterday evening so it means I'll need a few more attempts before I break that PB.

Here's are the top 10 positions. Its no suprise to see a strong TT guy and 1st cat Road Racer, (London Dynamo's Ian Paine) at the top. I'm lounging in 9th place and would hope to break into the top 5 positions. Full details here

1. EyePea: 49.59
2. KingstonWheeler:51.29
3. mark_d:52.17
4. SPEEDOboy77: 53.18
5. Shavedlegs: 53.34
6. CJ: 54.08
7. MatHammond:54.10
8. Karl: 54.16
9. Toks (Ademerckx).54.30
10.JonGinge. 54.32

Spotlight on...Marek Siwicki

Who Do You Race For?
Addiscombe CC

How long have you been racing?
Well, I have been taking part in events since 2002, not sure you could really call what I was doing to start with as racing, I was more just trying to complete events. My first ever event was a duathlon, The Ballbuster in 2002. I have just looked up the time and it was absolutely awful, it brought back some great memories, you can't beat flogging yourself up Box Hill 5 times. God knows what made me enter that race as my first, was probably one of the toughest races I ever did.

I started road racing not long after a season of doing Triathlon, think it was 2003. I started off with one of the beginner races at Hillingdon, managed to crash as I came over the finish line. Keith Butler told me to pick up my bike and ride back to the HQ, was the best thing otherwise he said you may never get back on the thing. Still have the dent in the top tube of my old racer to remind me.

What type of races do you do?

I will do pretty much anything. I absolutely love the cut and thrust of road racing, it is such great fun especially when you have some team mates in the mix. I also do Duathlon, Triathlon, Sportives and I recently did my first 5km running race in Banstead. I have just got myself a mountain bike and I am contemplating entering a mountain bike race later this year once I get the confidence up to ride the thing fast on the rough stuff. Judging by the amount of times I have fallen off the bliming thing in the last few weeks it may not be until next year.

Where do you race?

Tend to focus on the weekend Surrey League and South East Road Race Leagues, I also try to get back from work to do the Thursday night handicap races run by the Surrey League which are really good fun, I would recommend these to anyone who is just getting started in road racing as they are a great place to learn the ropes. I have Polish links, and when I get over to Poland in the summer I try to enter the odd local race, they tend to be very tough, but they get good support and is always fun to be shouted at down a megaphone as the only English rider in their races they give you a big shout (especially when your off the back).

I also treat a few of the sportives as races, in particular a few of my buddies and I focus on going around the Tour of Kent route in September in the fastest time. Am doing the London Triathlon this year and may throw in a couple of sprint Tris such as East Grinstead and maybe one of the Eton Sprint Tris which are good fun.

Can You briefly describe a typical training session?

I don't have a typical training session as I just tend to keep things pretty varied. I like to do a really long hard ride a week or so before a race, this seems to be enough to knock me into some shape, I then just keep the fitness up with the odd run or swim at lunchtime. During the winter I may get on the dreaded turbo and a few weeks before the season starts I do a few interval sessions on the Turbo to try and get a bit of fitness up. The Addiscombe CC training group that meets on Saturdays is very good as is really quick and hard work, this once a week seems to keep me in reasonable shape. Am also throwing in some mountain bike sessions as well when I can, these are great fun. Tilgate Park and the lanes around Peaslake in Surrey are great fun, you get the aerobic benefit of cycling up the hills and then the handling and fun going back down them.

What are your Goals for this year?

I would like to go under 2hrs 30mins in the London Triathlon, I would also like to sneak a good position in a 2nd cat road race. Most of all just want to have a laugh and help some of the other guys in the club to achieve their road racing goals. Having 2 kids and a city job does not exactly lend itself to setting too extravagant goals, although I would actually like to win every race I enter.

Have you got any training Tips?
Yep, when your out on your bike go as hard as you can for as long as you can. After a while you should find yourself going faster. I always remember the quote from Sean Yates, "It never gets easier, you just get faster."

What have been your best races so far?

A couple of years ago I won the Alfold 3/4 race. I was on extremely good form that day and managed to break away with one other and then drop him on the final climb to take the win. Was one of those days where everything seemed to just click into place, don't get many of those. Have also had a couple of lower placings in other Surrey League races where have been in a long hard breakaway for much of the race and these have been really satisfying. Dunsfold with the 2nd cats in peeing rain, Paul Hone and I broke away on the first corner, managed to get a placing but it was one of the hardest races I have ever done.

One of the races I will always remember was the Wivelsfield Surrey League Handicap a couple of years ago. I got put in a group of 5 riders of much higher quality than me. I managed to hang onto their coat tails and do a few turns, but riding with these guys was awesome fun but very tough, they were super fast and in that 1 hour I think I learnt more about racing than I had learnt in the previous 3 or 4 years. Two of the guys in the group went on to get 1st and 2nd, I was pack fodder after we had caught them up, but I was just happy to have finished with the bunch after the blast that we'd had to catch them.

Back To Business

I woke up at the ludicrously early hour of 5am and made two very impressive executive decisions. 1. Go back to sleep. 2. Set alarm for 6am. I actually managed to drift off and remained in a lovely dreamy state until 6.20am. Don't you just love that snooze button!!!

Anyways...I was soon adjusting the handlebars of my road bike, gulping down black coffee, eating a small bowl of Quaker oats and donning my cycling kit complete with inbuilt MP3 player. Once again I did briefly consider the 45 minute ride to Richmond Park since I really must have another go at the 3 Lap Challenge. Once I got outside my mind was quickly made up. It was a little too cold and a too blowy for any TT style nonsense on rolling terrain. And on top of Arsenal being dumped out the Champions League by a far superior Manchester United and rubbish RP time might lead to adult style tantrums come the evening.



My 90 minute session was split into three parts. The first 30 minutes I warmed up with some tempo riding and couple of 3 minute efforts around threshold pace. In the 2nd thirty minute session I did four sets of 4 min VO2max intervals around the outer ring. Finally I spent the the last 30 minutes riding at close to threshold in the inner circle of Regents Park and just had enough strength to do a short sprint effort on each lap. I haven't pinned numbers to my back in more than a month now so its time to get racing again!

Bank Holiday ride to Brighton

This morning myself, Steph and six other Addiscombe riders took a nice social ride down to Brighton. We started at South Coulsdon Station and took a lovely scenic route which was expertly piloted by Amy.

Steph and I after the first mini breather



The group on one of many draggy bits



No signs of Zebra, Giraffe or black Taxicabs anywhere ;-)



2nd Cat Vet in new Devil's Dyke Bike Shocker!!



Looking Super Cool - Alex The Photographer



Amy, Nick and Nicholas getting ready for some grub



Bank Holiday Agreeables

Fast Club

Er... I'm calling it a 'club' but in reality it is nothing of the sort. There's no membership form to fill in; there are no rules or guidelines; questions or attempts at even fleeting conversation are met with disdain or are completely rebuffed. Apart from myself there only appears to be two other members. I say myself and two other members like its a club - sorry to confuse you but we've ridden together on at least five occasions and I just need someway of defining what it is...OK, more specifically, there are these two guys - one wears a Francaise des Jeux Pro Race kit and the other where's a plain cycling top (with small rucksac) and baggy shorts. They mumble a few words to each other in what sounds like South African accents. I normally attach myself to their wheels at the beginning or the end of my Regents Park training ride. They say nothing to me and I no longer attempt to communicate with them. They just seem to take turns riding around the park fairly fast (slightly above 25mph+ on the flattish bits).

If you've stayed abreast of things you'll know I haven't got my Road bike at present so it can be tough hanging on whilst on an old mountain bike. On quite a few occasions I've attempted to take a turn when the pace has eased (perhaps 25mph) but these guys just surge away from me so I resign myself to sitting on their wheels. These session are made even more exhilarating by the fact the fast duo like to squeeze through gaps between two lines of slowing cars at warp speed. I sensibly ease up when this happens then spend a good thirty seconds chasing to get back on. I haven't seen them for the last few days so perhaps there's been a change in the rules. Who knows?