Author Archives: ACME Wheelers Admin

GWYN HUMPHRIES ——— MR ACME WHEELERS

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Gwyn joined the club as a teenager and over the next decades his talent shone through

 He represented Wales in the Pursuit & 10mile events at the 1958 Empire Games held in Cardiff as well as being part of the Acme team which held numerous Welsh records and one of an elite band of riders who beat the hour for riding 25miles, a great achievement in the 1950s.   

But there was far more to Gwyn than clocking up records and being the perfect rider, he had a zest for life which was typified by the way he arrived at races——the best equipped bike strapped to the back of his immaculate blue and white MG sports car and the beautiful Judith sitting by his side.

Indeed before Judith arrived in the passenger seat Gwyn was considered by other club members as something of a babe magnetic, young ladies flocked to join the club so they could be associated with him. He modestly explained the existence of his fan club by saying, “someone has got to do it”.

Even in later life he never lost that competitive edge winning the Acme 12 hour club championship at the age of 58 riding an impressive 203miles.

In later years he will be remembered for instigating and organising for 25 years the club Tuesday night 10 mile time trial, being a South Wales District time keeper and also winning the prestigious Rhondda Sports Personality award.

Although he was no longer able to ride long distances he still went on the Acme training weekends sitting in the accompanying van wearing his Acme kit and shouting encouragement to the riders through the open window.

Not only was he a loyal member and servant to the Acme he was a much valued friend to so many.

Gwyn Remembered:-https://acme-wheelers.co.uk/gallery-2/gallery-2017/nggallery/2017/gwyn-humphries-18

Knee Problem Curtails Dave Singleton’s Season

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After picking up a knee injury The Sprortzmad 10m TT was just about the end of the competitive season for PB chaser Dave Singleton.  On a fine September, Saturday afternoon on the Raglan to Abergavenny Course Dave was very pleased with his new PB of 22:32. He has been edging his way down to the 22 minute mark this season and with the experience he has gained who would bet against him going under 22 minutes next season.

Due to his knee problems Dave had to pull out of the WCA 30 and 50 Mile Championships but these rides will certainly be on his to-do-list next season. To add to his 10 mile PB Dave has posted a 54:14PB for the 25 mile distance and 2:06:11 for 50 miles.  Once his injury has been sorted with another winter of hard training we expect a new set of PB’s next season.  Good luck for the winter Dave.

Dave Singleton’s Summer Season

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Dave Singleton’s Winter training and long training rides in the Spring have certainly paid off for him if his summer results are anything to go by.  After his long trip to Nottinghamshire for the LVRR Championship he has stayed closer to home to compete in time trial events, no early starts and long drives.

The first Sunday in June was the date for the Sportzmad 25mTT on the R25 3H course, this was to become almost Dave’s second home over the next few weeks.  On a lovely sunny day he was hoping for a PB on this very fast course.  There was a very talented field riding, with the first and second riders timed at 46 minutes.  After taking plenty of fluid on board Dave achieved a PB of 54:41

The following weekend Dave was joined by Gary Flower in the Bynea CC 50 on the R50 3C course, again on the A465, between Glynneath and Blaengwrach.  A former Acme Open 25 winner took the overall prize here, Keiron Davies posting a 1:40:45 just falling under 30mph.

The two Club riders also enjoyed the conditions and relatively flat course, triathlete Gary Flower posting 1:59:44, averaging 25mph while Dave Singleton posted yet another PB with a time of 2:06:11 averaging just under 24mph.

Dave took a well earned two week break before his next event, again organised by Bynea CC on the R25 3H Course.  We were all enjoying the extended period of hot weather and this certainly seemed to suit Dave as he improved on his PB from earlier in the month to post a 54:14, crashing through the 27mph average speed.

After another two week break Dave was back up to the R25 3H for the Merthyr CC 25.  The sun continued to shine and Dave continued to thrive on it. In a race which was won with a time of 44:41 Dave equalled his PB of 54:14, that’s consistency.

Two days break this time and Dave was attacking the shorter 10 mile distance in PTW organised Celtic Series 10m event on the R10/22A Course. Where else but the A465 in the Neath Valley.  Dave had to wait until almost 7:30 for his start time, fortunately it was a fine evening which clearly suited him.  His time of 22:40 yet another PB.

LVRR National Championships

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Keen road racer Dean Cummings left home at 5am to get to the start of the LVRC National Championships at Flintham in Nottinghamshire, a three hour drive before he turned a pedal.  The race was held over 7 laps of a 7.9 mile course, as a D Cat rider he was competing against 55/59 age group riders in the C/D Cat group.  Feeling very happy with his preparation Dean was comfortable holding a position between 10th and 15th in the group and did not need to panic as attackers took off the front.  Of more concern to the former policeman was the road surface which changed around the course from metalled surfaces to country roads with potholes, gravel and grass verges.  Dean said “These were probably the roughest surfaces I have ever ridden on”.

There was a slight rise to the finish line which gradually narrowed to a road barely wide enough for one car, this was followed by a sharp right onto another lane.  Other sections of the course contained parked cars and overhanging bushes and branches, one of Dean’s fellow competitors described the course as “proper Belgian cycling”. Aware that there were riders in the group who were almost semi-professional standard there was always a possibility of a sudden breakaway.  This came after two riders were caught followed by a short re-grouping then a kick from the stronger riders taking a sweeping left onto the Start/Finish area. Squeezed into the verge, Dean lost ground but although finding himself at the back he summoned up the energy to dig in and follow the wheel in front to maintain contact.  The extremely rough section was reached and Dean found that hitting pot hole after pothole disrupted his rhythm at such a frantic pace.

Unfortunately this was race over for Dean and several other riders as the organisers had asked riders who were dropped to pull out of the race to avoid congestion on the circuit.  On a particularly hot day the race was eventually contested by 6 or 7 of the top riders with the bunch strung out over the last lap.  The race had covered 52.49 miles and Dean’s average speed was 23.6mph with a top speed of 34.5mph.  For the anoraks amongst you Dean’s average watts were 201 with a maximum of 788.  Well done Dean we look forward to hearing of more races.

Two Trips up to Worcestershire for Roadman Dean

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Two days after a Vets event at Maendy track, Committee member, Dean Cummings travelled to Worcestershire in mid-May for his next road outing, The Gerry Hughes Memorial RR. The venue was Martley, just to the west of the city of Worcester and  having ridden the event previously Dean was familiar with the course.  The route comprised of four 10.5 mile loops on testing roads.  Knowing that this was a tough course wasn’t an advantage on this particular day and with the fatigue of the track race still in his legs he was unable to maintain contact with the strong field of riders and packed in on the third lap. Knowing your own body and paying attention to the signs is always a good thing to give the aching muscles a chance to recover.

Having recovered from his efforts the previous week Dean returned to Worcestershire for the, very competitive, National LVRC  RR.  This time he was in the south of the county, just north of Tewkesbury.  This course is on the edge of the Malvern Hills and although the climbs are not long, they are very sharp. Today’s course would see the riders cover three 16.3 mile loops, 49 miles in total.

This Race was open to all Cats.  EFG up to age 75 set off first, followed by Dean’s  group CD with a 6 min gap, followed by AB another 6mins behind . Being the National Champs. the event attracted a very strong field of men and women. Prior to the start one of Dean’s fellow riders gave a Churchillian style speech on how his group should catch the front group. This set the tone and the CD riders went from the gun reaching a max speed of 42.7 mph in the first 6 miles. The group became disjointed early on and soon began to break up with only the strongest riders holding the high speeds. Dean managed to settle in with a small group and worked hard riding through an extreme thunder storm to finish the race.

Impressive statistics were recorded by Acme’s road man, 49.5 miles in 2hrs 22mins with an average speed of 20.8mph. Dean described the max. speed of 42.9 mph as a nightmare. In order to keep up with the group Dean needed to put out an average of 206  Watts with a maximum of 582 Watts.  Where would be without all this technical data.  Well done Dean flying the flag for Acme Wheelers on the road.