"The boss said 'great job, go ahead and leave work early'. Heading home the traffic was unusually light and the drivers used their indicators and refrained from lane hopping. Plenty of time then to get a bite of food, made easy because the kitchen was spotless and there was plenty of healthy food in the cupboards. The cycling gear was easy to find, being all freshly washed and folded. In the garage the bike was sitting gleaming with the brakes and gears tuned to perfection. At 6pm, after a cold day, the Sun came out and the temperature rose to a pleasant 19 degrees.
At the TT everyone turned up on time and it started at 6:45pm. Traffic was practically non-existent and any cars that passed gave a friendly toot and left at least 3 metres of clearance. The warm tarmacadam gave extra grip on the corners. At Saintfield a group of passer-bys stopped to cheer; the ringing cowbells being a lovely touch. Along the route the smell of BBQ and children laughing in back gardens made the effort easy or maybe it was the tailwind the whole way. We all got PBs anyway!
Afterwards we all congratulated each other and the sense of companionship and comradery made one wish to be nowhere else. The pizza van arrived and gave out free pizza. Just what we needed after a hard effort and we ate and laughed until our bellies ached. Such a perfect day!"
Admittedly that might not be quite how the TT went but it was close!
Back to reality and Ed Smith turned up to present two Lunchtime Legend awards which are normally given out at the Christmas party.
The Donnellys Cup (for international achievement) went to Desi McHenry. This was the third time that Desi has won the prestigious award. Not one to rest, Desi departs soon for Mallorca 70.3 Ironman and we wish him good luck. Like a fine wine McHenry gets more acidic (or should that be fine) with age and anyone who has not got themselves down for time keeping better do it soon!
The Geoff Lennon Trophy went to Peter Morrison for achievement and improvements in cycling. Morrison excels in TTs, sportives, cyclo-cross; you name it!
Results
Aero-mint
Joanne Bingham 34:16
The aero-smiths
Mark Kane 24:20 Peter Morrison 25:17 Vaughan Purnell 25:57 Enda Marron 26:45 Kevin Eagan 26:52 Gavin Browne 27:31 Bill Rafferty 28:44 Paul Hetherington 31:56 Peter McGuicken 32:38 Carl King 33:14
Thanks to time keepers Desi and David Morrissey.
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