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Tyneside Vagabonds Mountain Time Trial 2010, was the 55th running of the event since it started in 1947. In the last few years Paul and Nick have been regulars, taking the opportunity to renew old acquaintances, and ride on roads where they began their cycling careers. This year I joined them, and at approx 14:15hrs on the Sunday, was actually pleased I did.

With typical meticulous planning Paul had managed to submit all the entries, book the overnight accommodation, and ensure that our start times were close enough together so that we were scheduled to start and finished at around the same sort of time, give or take 10mins

We set off at lunchtime Saturday, and after a café stop in the Brief Encounter in Langwathby (highly recommend) arrived at the Bay Horse, Stamfordham at around 17:30. The Bay Horse is a B&B, cum pub, cum restaurant, and sells a range of real ales as well. The food in the restaurant was fantastic, with portions so large that it was impossible to finish. Highly recommended, and if you are anywhere near it is worth a detour.

The morning started off very cool, and overcast, and it was difficult to know how many layers to put on. The start sheet was impressive, but Kevin Dawson was a DNS, and the favourite was Chris Newton. The wind direction was in the main a head wind on the way out, tail wind home

The course itself is a challenge, constantly undulating for mile after mile, and occasionally rising very steeply. There were some tricky descents to negotiate, however due to the head wind, maximum speeds were not as high as they could have been. There were also long stretches where you had the opportunity of putting it in the big ring and picking up some speed. It was a real mixed bag. In the main the rain held off apart from one sharp shower and a drop in temperature. Along the way there was a timed ascent on one of the climbs, which added interest to the ride. By far the most memorable part of the circuit though was the final 7.5 miles or so. Turning left onto the A696 and heading for home on good roads and with a tail wind. After 40miles, big chain ring, small sprocket, down on the tribars, and clocking up speeds on the flat of over 35mph!!

The winner on the day was, as expected, Chris Newton, coming in at just over 1h 50min, a truly remarkable time. The HQ after the event was crammed full and the spread that was laid on by the host club was impressive also and a very friendly atmosphere.

Paul managed a PB, Nick fighting his way back from illness was pleased with his time, and I was also happy having managed not to get caught by the other two.

The return home was finished off by a café stop at the Brief Encounter for tea and cake, and a promise to have another go. As far as results go, there were 18 teams and 86 finishers. Weaver Valley finished 14th, Paul was 46th (2.27.19), Nick 51st (2.28.40), and I finished 73rd (2.38.57).