Another Hour
Another Hour
Chris Lovibond
Another Hour – Rob Gilmour sets more Records at Palmer Park Track
Encouraged by his result for the Hounslow & District Wheelers Hour ridden under ‘Athlete’s’ conditions back in July, the unstoppable Rob came back for more with another ride using the benefit of aerodynamic kit. This time he had set his sights beyond his own club to attempt the national vets’ records.
The successful outcome can be seen in this table:
| Distance | date | holder | age | old record | new record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 miles | 21.8.14 | Rob Gilmour | 63 | n/a | 23m.27.07 secs. |
| 25 miles | 21.8.14 | Rob Gilmour | 63 | n/a | 58m.33.11 secs |
| 1 hour | 21.8.14 | Rob Gilmour | 63 | n/a | 25.612 miles |
| 50 kilometres | 1989 | K. Gill | 42 | 1 hour 14m.57 secs | 1hour 12m. 56 secs |
Image courtesy of Peter Sprake
The main achievement was to set an absolute vets’ record for 50 kilometres. Rob has set age standard records for all the intermediate distances, and this will have eliminated all the records at the intermediate distances which had been held by younger but slower riders; faster rides by younger riders will still stand as records for that age. The 50 k. record is the fastest on record by any rider over the age of forty.
Although this ride was to be done using aero kit I think most modern riders would have turned their noses up at the equipment that Rob actually used. True, he did have clip on bars, an aero helmet and overshoes, cover discs on the rear wheel and a deep section front rim, but the bike was essentially the same ancient British steel framed machine that he used in July. He used the same 86.12” gear (52×16).
Compared with the July ride the weather conditions this time were significantly less favourable with the temperature a cool 15 degrees C., and more significantly, much windier.
However this did not seem to bother the recordman, who rode with amazing consistency, not varying his time for each lap by more than two seconds throughout the whole attempt.
As before, at the finish the rider seemed fresh and untroubled by his effort. This raises the question: what could Rob do if he really set out to go absolutely as far as he could, rather than just break the existing records? This question has arisen in Mr. Gilmour’s mind also, so it is possible we may see him in action again next year.
Rob was supported by his clubmates, Trevor Gilbert, who again kept an accurate record of the lap times, plus Antonio Ambrosino, Peter Sprake and Jeff Marshall. Ron Osborne and Dick Poole* were the official VTTA timekeeper and observer.
*Dick Poole was the first rider to break the two day barrier for Land’s End – John O’Groats with a time of 1 day 23 hours 46 minutes in 1965.
See the previous article The Hounslow Hour Record.
Hounslow and District Wheelers
