Letter printed in Berwickshire News:

Sir,

I would like to thank everyone who kindly sponsored us or gave donations towards our recent 100 mile charity cycle in aid of Macmillan Cancer relief. We raised £669. A special thanks goes to the hardy cyclists who took part and made the day even more enjoyable. A big thanks to everyone.

Malcom Renton, Auchencrow Thistle.

Neil Milton and Ian Black, who started their racing season on 19th March, finally brought their programme to a close when they rode the 27 mile Tour of the Trossachs, known as the Scottish Olympic Time Trial.
Neil finished 12th with a 1.16.33 and Ian 32nd in 1.22.05. Neil was also 11th fastest up the timed section of the Duke’s Pass, a steep and tortuous “20 minute” hill.
Alex Aitchison, riding only his third event of the year, was slightly further down the large field of over 90 riders with a 1.30.42.
Continuing his season , which also began on 19th March, veteran rider Donald Smith rode the third round of the TLI run NE England cyclo-cross series, once again finishing 2nd vet and 11th overall.

Auchencrow Thistle brought their 2005 road season to a close with their third annual Tour of the Lammermuirs, run as an informal audax event.
The 110km route, which involved over 1491metres of climbing, was devised and mapped by end-to-end cyclist John Marjoribanks, who very kindly provided all riders with direction sheets and a detailed elevation chart, the latter providing a few choice comments!
Andrew Beeke, Ian Black, Aidan McIlroy. Neil Milton, John Nisbet, Malcolm Renton and Donald Smith from the host club were joined by Colin Dumma and Jeremy Smith from Kelso Wheelers and Len Hutton and Eric McNicoll from the Torness CC as well as Polish rider Sebastian for the ride from Auchencrow to Eyemouth, Coldingham, Co’path, Paitshill, Burnhouses,Mayshiel, Longformacus, Duns and back to Auchencrow, giving the riders a chance to take in some of the finest scenery in the Borders.
Later this week the club will hand over a cheque to the MacMillan Cancer Relief and the the members are very grateful to Malcom Renton for his organisation of this.
The 2006 winter season begins on Sunday 30th October, to which all cyclists of whatever level are welcome. Details can be had on 01890 818226 or via the club’s website, www.auchencrowthistle.co.uk.

  Neil Milton’s record breaking season continued apace when he recorded a personal best and new Auchencrow Thistle club record at the Fife CA “last chance 50” time trial, held on the Freuchie to Yetts o’ Muckhart course.
Neil’s time of 1hr 58mins 45 secs earned him fifth place, with only five riders breaking the two hour barrier, of whom two were former Scottish “50” champions.
Also in competitive mode, albeit in the very different discipline of cyclo-cross, were Donald Smith and Iain Bell who took part in round one of the NE England TLI Cyclo-cross winter series. Donald notched up another sound result, coming 2nd vet and 10th overall, but Iain was not so lucky when he down to a severe cramp attack.
Donald had been joined the previous week by Ian Black, Aidan McIlroy and Neil Milton when they took part in the Kelso Wheelers annual 100 mile cycle run through the hills and coastal plain of North Northumberland, enjoying the best of banter with a big turnout from the host club.

  Auchencrow Thistle closed their summer club competition calendar on Tuesday night when nine riders enjoyed the best weather conditions of the season for their standing start measured mile time trial.
Riding slightly uphill into a light breeze from east to west, times were on a par with last year, but on the west to east re-run all riders recorded PBs, with 16year old Aidan McIlroy setting a new club record to win the event.
Congratulations are due to Holly Millar for a superb performance on her first ever competitive cycle event, looking very much at home and showing great promise for the future.
Thanks as always go to Claudia for time-keeping and to several of the senior members who forfeited their own chance of a warm up so that they could assist others at the start. Such sportsmanship was greatly appreciated by those they helped.

  Few riders keep on improving throughout a five month season but Auchencrow Thistle rider Neil Milton has done just that with an extremely fast ride at the SVTTA 40km TT, run by Inverclyde Velo on the Eglinton Park course in Ayrshire.
Neil’s average speed of 43.3kmh which equates to over 27mph earned him a personal best, a new club record for the distance and 8th place overall out of 69 riders. His time of 55.40 now ranks Neil as one of the fastmen of the Scottish time trialling scene, just reward for his many hours of training.
Back at club level, Auchencrow Thistle held their fifth and final round of 16km time trials for the John Swan and Sons cup. On an almost perfect night for the sport, all riders recorded season’s best times for the Cranshaws course, with Aidan McIlroy and Neil Tait both again having PBs. Andrew Beeke made a welcome return to competitive riding after missing most of the season through injury, but yet again it was Neil Milton who set a new club record for the course with a winning time of 22.48.
Neil Milton made it a club treble of trophies by winning the John Swan and Sons cup, with Ian Black second and Andrew Beeke third. John Nisbet won the Kim Drysdale shield for Vets on standard for the Cranshaws course, mainly due to the unfortunate absence on the last and fastest night of second placed Donald Smith and third placed Hamish Gardner.

  Making full use of his strong form, Auchencrow Thistle rider Neil Milton took in two open time trials this week, winning one and recording PBs in both.
On Wednesday Neil was 5th out of 62 riders in the Glasgow Wheelers 16km TT run on the West Ferry course from Bishopton to Port Glasgow. Neil’s time of 21.57 smashed his previous PB by 40 seconds and set a new club record for him.
On Sunday he was joined by clubmates Donald Smith and Ian Black at the ever popular Kelso Laddies Civic Week 35km hilly TT. Neil’s PB time of 52.16 gave him victory over two-times previous winner Paul Black of the Edinburgh RC. Donald too was in good form with a 58.02, coming in 2nd vet, while Ian Black was out of luck when his chain came off and got badly stuck, effectively putting him out of contention.
Alex Aitchison, the club’s most experienced cyclist, made a welcome return to the Thistle when he was joined by Ian Black, Hamish Gardner, Aidan McIlroy, Clive Millar, Neil Milton, John Nisbet, Malcolm Renton and Neil Tait on a 56km medium paced group ride round by Coldstream, Leitholm and Fogo on Tuesday night, with several members notching up over 80ks by the time they got home.

  Auchencrow Thistle rider Neil Milton confirmed his status as one of the most consistent riders in the Scottish time trial circuit when he finished third in a time of 22.37 at the Falkirk BC “Bairn’s Bottle” 16km TT on the Kippen course at Stirling.
Neil’s time equalled the personal best he set on the same course a fortnight earlier.
Neil was back in action in the very different discipline of road racing when he rode the ESCA 87 km road race over the demanding and at times very technical East Saltoun circuit. With only four riders clear, Neil finished in the bunch 4 minutes down in 2hrs 23mins, his best result yet and a fine achievement in temperatures in the high twenties.
On Thursday the club were once again privileged to be asked to assist at the Duns Reivers Week family cycle, when a superb turn-out of 150 riders took advantage of one of the greatest inventions that Scotland has given to the world, the pedal bicycle.
The club are to hold another ”century” fund raising cycle in aid of the MacMillan Cancer Relief organisation. The route will be from Chirnside to Kelso, then the 4 Abbeys and back to Chirnside, taking place on Sunday 14th August. More details can be had from Malcolm Renton on Chirnside 818897.

  Neil Milton achieved yet another personal best and also set a new Auchencrow Thistle club record when he clocked a time of 22.37 to take sixth place in the Denny Road Club’s 16km TT at Cambusbarron. Given the uneven surface of the Kippen road, Neil has potential to go even quicker on a smoother carriageway.
Also recording personal bests for the standard 16km distance over the club’s Cranshaws course were Neil Tait with a 25.17 and Hamish Gardner with 27.38.
On the Tuesday club night Neil Milton was once again in top form for round three of the Sprint Training competition, although he was hotly pursued by last year’s winner Donald Smith.
Donald was also in good form when, along with Iain Bell, he rode round three of the NE England summer cyclo-cross series, coming in second vet behind Iain who now has an unbeatable lead in the vets’ series.
Across in Belgium, Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) achieved his target of a top ten finish, collecting 50 euros prize money when he came 9th overall in a 172km two day stage race at Ingooigem, run in temperatures of over 36 degrees Celsius.

Former Auchencrow Thistle rider Douglas Nisbet, who now rides for the Asfra Racing team in Belgium, recorded his best result and fastest race when he finished 16th in the same time as the winner in a 60km town centre criterium in Heule, near Kortrijk. He completed the 50 x 1.2km lap race in 1hr 18 mins to give him an average speed of 46.15kph, which equates to 28.84mph, winning one sprint prime and being second in another two in the process. Douglas is very fortunate to have receieved sponsorship from the Kelso Wheelers, which will enable him to complete an eight race programme in Flanders in the month of June.
Back home in Scotland, Neil Milton continued his highly successful season when he gained another podium place and a personal best when he finished 3rd in the John Fairbairn Memorial 40km TT at Galashiels in a time of 58mins 36seconds. Not to be outdone, Donald Smith took 31 seconds off his PB to record 1.04.40.
On Tuesday night, Auchencrow Thistle held the second round of their sprint training series when Neil Milton and Ian Black were once again the two on form riders, but they will have to watch out for the ever improving Hamish Gardner who came in third on the first sprint. Neil now leads all three of the club’s road-based competitions.
Club members played their full part at the Scottish Borders cycling festival in Duns at the weekend, with Ian Black, John Marjoribanks, John Nisbet, Malcolm Renton and Donald Smith all acting as guides and Hamish Gardner and Gordon Shiell being at the forefront of their rides.
The club’s Derbyshire based Scotsman, John Edwards, returned to time trial racing this year after a 12 year absence and has already clocked up a 1.02.01 for 40kms in an open event run by Belper BC.  

Iain Bell recorded his second successive win in the vets’ class when he was first vet and sixth overall in the second round of the NE England TLI cyclo-cross summer series. Although he broke his chain nearing the end of the final lap, Iain responded in cyclo-cross style by carrying his bike to the finish. Fellow Auchencrow Thistle rider Donald Smith came in second vet and seventh overall.
Neil Milton once again made it to the podium in an SCU open event when he was third in the Fife CA Open 16km TT at Freuchie on Sunday,finishing with a time of 23.30. Neil also rode the Edinburgh RC’s Spring Classic APR road race at Gifford on Thursday, finishing two and a half minutes down on the winner.
On the Tuesday club night, seven riders endured winter-style temperatures when they took in a 61 km circuit in the third round of their KOTM series, with Crichness and Burnhouses Dean being the counting climbs. Ian Black and Neil Milton were the sharpest on the night, although once again Clive Millar put in a very strong challenge to leapfrog several places up the overall table.

For the third successive week Neil Milton achieved a podium place in an SCU Open event when he came third in the Hawick CC open 16km TT, run in very windy but almost traffic free conditions on Wednesday.
Neil’s time of 24.56 put him just ahead of club-mate Ian Black in 4th place in 25.24, with Donald Smith 9th in 26.28 and John Nisbet 13th in 27.47.
Both Neil and Ian continued their good form at the SCU National 16km TT in Ayrshire on Sunday, with both riders recording personal bests of 22.54 and 23.31 respectively. John Nisbet was well off his PB but recorded a course best of 26.01.
On the same day, Neil Tait took part in his first triathlon of the year when he competed at Dalkeith along with a strong contingent of Kelso riders. Although outwith the prize list, Neil was pleased with his performance.
On Tuesday Auchencrow Thistle held their first sprint training night of the season, with Steve Marshall making a welcome come-back to club competition, Neil Tait edging ever closer to victory and Hamish Gardner mixing it well with the club’s fastest riders. Neil Milton, who won the series in 2003 but lost out by one point in 2004, opened up a 7 point lead over last year’s winner, Donald Smith. Points awarded were: N Milton 36, D Smith 29, N Tait 27, S Marshall 23, I Black 21, H Gardner 16, A McIlroy 14, C Millar 12 and M Renton 4.
Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) rode a 90km road race at Westouter, near the French border on Saturday, finishing 29th in 2hrs 22mins. His attacking style of riding on the hilly section resulted in him being invited to race a week on Sunday where the riders get paid €15 start money…some difference from paying £10 to ride at Musselburgh!

Iain Bell got his 2005 cyclo-cross season off to a winning start when he was first veteran and 10th overall in round one of the TLI’s NE England summer series at Hetton-le-hole, Co Durham on Wednesday.
On the same night Neil Milton and Ian Black rode the Edinburgh RC 16km Ian McCulloch Memorial TT on the demanding Kirkliston course. Neil notched up his second successive podium place, coming 3rd in 24.31, with Ian 6th in 25.17.
In the Auchencrow Thistle club confined 16km TT, young Aidan McIlroy took a massive 2 minutes off his PB to record 26.24. Given warmer conditions, further improvement looks likely. Neil Milton now leads the series, with Donald Smith first vet on standard. Times were: N Milton 23.54, I Black 23.58, A Beeke 24.27, D Smith 25.31, N Tait 25.32, A McIlroy 26.24, C Millar 27.20, J Nisbet 27.25, M Renton 28.38 and H Gardner 29.30.
On Sunday, six members took in a 72km hill circuit, with Ian Black making full use of his power to climb up the hill from Elmscleugh in a 39-21 gear, quite something on the “sairest ca” in SE Scotland.
Over in Belgium, Douglas Nisbet rode a 100km road race at De Pinte on Monday, finishing 23rd, when he also cycled the 40km round trip to and from the race.On Saturday he rode an 80km road race at Waregem, coming 5th in the bunch sprint of the second group to finish 22nd overall, and on Sunday he rode his third and last permissible race of the week when he finished 24th over a 90km race at Haasdonk, near Antwerp. Unfortunately the break came after he had led the peloton for 2ks in chasing down the initial break away, but, as he is consistently finishing in the top half of the field he now feels he has both the legs and the knowledge to achieve a top ten finish, which would be a major achievement for the 16 yr old in the country with the toughest competition in Europe and indeed the world.

Neil Milton, Andrew Beeke and Ian Black continued their impressive form when they took 2nd, 3rd and 4th places in the Peebles CC open 16km TT, run on the Stobo Castle course. Their respective times of 23.36, 23.47 and 23.55 gave the Auchencrow Thistle club the winning team prize for the second time this season and upgraded all three riders to Cat 3 status. John Nisbet was slightly off the pace in 27.08.
The club held their first 160km (100 mile) run of the season, when first time century rider Clive Millar was joined by Ian Black, Neil Milton, John Nisbet, Donald Smith, Graeme Lawrie (Gala CC) and three Kelso Wheelers stalwarts Colin Dumma, Jeremy Smith and Graeme Veitch. The route took in a circuit via Westruther, Gordon, Cowdenknowes, Scott’s View, Jedburgh, Morebattle and back via Kelso with a loop added in to make the full distance.
Andrew Beeke, Iain Bell, Tarkild Marshall and Hamish Gardner opted for the daunting effort of Burnmouth Brae, with Andrew being overall winner in 2.14, Iain first MTB rider in 2.46, Tarkild first junior in 3.26 and Hamish, at 50 years old, conquering the Brae in 2.48. Not to be outdone Steve Marshall was 7th in the foot race up the Brae.
Over in Belgium, Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) was 25th from a highly multi-national field of 55 starters in an 83km road race at Torhout, beating riders from the USA, Lithuania and Eire in the process and was first Asfra rider home in an average speed of 40.8kph.

Stirling yet again proved to be a happy hunting ground for Auchencrow Thistle riders, when three members rode the Law Wheelers John Cramb Handicap 40km time trial.
Andrew Beeke and Neil Milton confirmed their status as sub-hour men when they recorded 59.07 and 59.14 respectively, to finish 8th and 10th from over 60 riders on the new Kippen roundabout course, the westward legs of which were very hard into the strong headwind. John Nisbet returned from an ankle injury to record a plus 3.53 on standard with a 1.7.56.
Donald Smith, who finished in the leading bunch at Edinburgh RC’s Ingliston criterium, was not so fortunate at the SCU Division 3 road race in South Ayrshire, where a 56kph crash involving eight riders on a downhill section resulted in Donald suffering extensive bruising to his shoulder and ribs. He later checked out the crash site and discovered that he had slid for some 37 metres over the grass verge.
On the Tuesday club night, not even the continuous rain could detract from a great evening’s sport in the second round of the club’s KOTM series. Taking in a 43km circuit with the Hardens and Hudscleugh as the counting climbs, Donald Smith’s strength into the wind gave him first place on the Hardens, where former sevens maestro Clive Millar and young Aidan McIlroy both put in very strong finishes. On Hudscleugh, Neil Milton put in a typical road racer’s sprint on the steepest section to take first place. Neil and Donald are now joint leaders in the series from Ian Black in third.

Although Auchencrow Thistle had to cancel their Tuesday club night due to dangerous visibility, club members remained busy at SCU Open events.
Donald Smith was 14th overall, finishing in the first bunch at Edinburgh RC’s Ingliston Criterium, despite being forced off the road on two occasions. On Sunday
Donald was one of very few riders to record a personal best at the Jimmy Lane Memorial 40km TT, run by the Musselburgh RCC. Donald’s time of 1.5.11 on such a dreich and miserable day augurs well for the future on a faster, drier course.
Iain Bell made the long trip to Fort William for round two of the SCU MTB series, but had to abandon following a crash when lying well placed after an hour of racing.
Neil Milton and Ian Black continued to forge a strong reputation in the Scottish road racing circuit when they rode the Forres CC two day stage race, which consisted of a 4.8km TT, a 72km road race on flat terrain and, on the second day, a 88km road race on hilly terrain. Neil and Ian teamed up with two friends from Peebles CC and the Bicycle Works to form a Lothians team, coming 10th out of 16. Overall Neil was 44th and Ian 47th from 64 riders, but both had really impressive times of 7.54,1.47 and 2.41 for Neil, with Ian in 7.54,1.46 and 2.52 for the respective stages.

Auchencrow Thistle riders had another successful week in the ESCA open circuit when four riders competed in the Musselburgh RCC Open 10 at Wallyford. Ian Black recorded yet another top ten finish when he was 9th overall in 24.57, with Neil Milton 11th in 25.30 and Donald Smith 12th in 25.36. John Nisbet was the fastest club vet on standard with a plus 38 seconds in a time of 27.08.
Andrew Beeke and Neil Milton were both seeded in the 75 rider field for Edinburgh Road Club’s 35.4km Tour of the Meldons MTT. Andrew was the fastest Thistle rider, coming 10th overall in a personal best and new club record of 55.35. Neil also notched up a PB with a 57.17, while Donald Smith had a 59.57. Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team), on a brief return from Belgian road racing, rode the event on a standard road bike to take first junior in a time of 57.38.
At the club’s Tuesday night confined 16km TT Ian Black continued his very strong early season form to come first, with Neil Tait putting in an impressive ride in only his first race of the season, while junior rider Aidan McIlroy notched up another PB. Douglas Nisbet had the fastest time on the night with a 24.20 but was not included in the actual race.
Times were: I Black 24.38 (CB), N Milton 25.37, D Smith 25.42, N Tait 26.00, J Nisbet 27.16, A McIlroy 28.25(PB), M Renton 28.56 and unfortunately Hamish Gardner punctured.

Neil Milton continued his 100% record of top ten open finishes when he came 9th overall in his course best time of 24.12 at the Team Caledonia Open 10TT at Wallyford.
Ian Black similarly maintained the same record coming 10th in a PB of 24.29, ahead of Donald Smith in a PB of 24.48 and John Nisbet in 26.44.
At the Humbie Hilly 37km TT, which was also superbly run by Team Caladonia, Andrew Beeke was the fastest Auchencrow Thistle rider coming 5th in a time of 1.03.40. Neil Milton was again 9th in 1.05.55, Donald Smith 10th in 1.06.26, but John Nisbet had to scour the Cyclist’s Excuse Book to justify his time of 1.14.22!
Hamish Gardner rode his first open event when he joined John at the Edinburgh RC’s highly popular criterium series at Ingliston, an ideal introduction to racing.
Ian Black and Neil Milton rode the second round of the SCU Division 2 RR series at Forfar on Sunday. Unfortunately Ian had to retire with a bad back but Neil rode very well to finish mid-field on a wind blown and demanding course.
On Tuesday the club held their first MTB evening of the year taking in a 16km off-road circuit, led by Neil Milton.
Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) was two places off the prize list when he came 22nd in a 92km RR run in torrential rain at Herfelingen, finishing 40 seconds down on the winner in a time of 2.23.40.

Auchencrow Thistle had a strong entry of 35 riders for their inaugural “Up the Cleugh” 26.2km hilly time trial. The course was sufficiently challenging and technical to attract many of the top road-men and ladies in the area, although it was west coast rider Hugh Jamieson of Inverclyde Velo who was the convincing winner in a time of 41.48, in front of Gary Robson (Peebles CC) and Lee Whitelaw (Edinburgh RC).
Local Auchencrow riders had one of their best ever days, winning the team prize with Andrew Beeke (4th), Ian Black (5th) and Neil Milton (7th). Donald Smith just missed the top ten, coming 11th and Aidan McIlroy put in a great ride for his first open event.
The club are grateful to all who helped marshall, provide tea and generally helped with running the race.
Earlier in the week the club held the opening round of their King of the Mountains competition, with Andrew Beeke opening up a 4 point lead with two very strong climbs. Malcolm Renton was unfortunate to lose his pump and therefore time on the second climb, on which Hamish Gardner put in a very strong challenge.
Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) was selected to ride in the 160 rider invitation Belgian Cup team race over a 6 x 15km lap course at St Truiden. The 90km race included 800 metres of cobbles per lap, Douglas finishing in the same time as the winner at 2hrs 7mins at an average speed of 42kph. Douglas was the first Asfra rider in the race, but the fact that he was only 54th gives an indication of how high the standard of racing is over there and what a tight finish there was.

Auchencrow Thistle opened their summer season with a 1.61km (measured mile) time trial on Tuesday night. With riders being restricted to winter bikes, times were surprisingly close to last August’s times with Ian Black being the convincing winner from Donald Smith and Neil Tait. Riding from east to west, then west to east the times were: I Black 2.23 & 2.25, D Smith 2.29 & 2.35, N Tait 2.34 & 2.43, N Milton 2.36 & 2.42, I Bell 2.34 & 2.49, J Nisbet 2.37 & 2.51 and H Gardner 2.44 &3.02.
Ian continued his good form in taking 6th equal place and setting a PB and new club record in Gala CC’s 20mile hilly Gordon Arms Trophy time trial on Sunday. Before Ian finished in 55.58, Neil Milton had set the new club record at 58.05 ,also a PB, but had to give the honour up to Ian a few minutes later. Donald Smith,Andrew Beeke and John Nisbet also recorded PBs of 59.37, 59.40 and 1.05.32 respectively.
The previous day Donald rode round one of the SCU women’s and vets road race series at Moscow in Ayrshire. Donald did his normal lion’s share of the work at the front, but just missed a break towards the end, finishing just behind the bunch.
On the same day Neil and Ian rode round one of the SCU 2nd Division road race at Dunfermline, but were both brought down early on in a multiple pile up, an almost inevitable result of being confined to the left hand carriageway. The survivors regrouped to finish some 10 minutes down on the leaders, with Neil beating Ian by 11 seconds to finish in 2.21.15.
Iain Bell opted for his more familiar off road terrain when he came in 11th out of a field of 40 in round one of the SCU MTB x-country series, another very sound result for such a versatile rider.
Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) was also in prize winning mode when he took 28th place (7 euros) in a very fast 80km road race at Werken in Flanders. Approaching u-bends at 45kph in a bunch of 50 riders was a new experience for him, but Belgian racing is not for the faint-hearted. His finishing time of 2 hours made this his fastest race yet.

Ian Black, Neil Milton and Donald Smithset both their personal and collective 2005 road season off to a cracking start when they took fourth place in the highly competitive Musselburgh RCC 45km three-up TT on Saturday. With 27 teams on the start sheet, this was a great start from the Auchencrow Thistle team, beating many of the much fancied Edinburgh teams to give them second placed ESCA club. The result was a fitting reward for for the weeks of hard training that the trio have put in, not only to achieve speed and fitness but, more importantly, to achieve total confidence in one another. A wrong line into a bend by the lead rider could spell disaster on such a circuit with so many right-angled corners but Ian, Neil and Donald have, like the police motor cyclists, made a point of perfecting their angles.......well done! The previous week the same three riders rode the Hawick CC 105km Audax which took them to Copshawholm via Saughtree and back via Shankend. Iain Bell put up an excellent effort to come in second veteran in the Peebles Duathlon series, run in wintry conditions at Glentress. Iain was 14th overall out of a large entry of 59 riders.

Auchencrow Thistle riders took part in one of their most enjoyable, successful and certainly most unusual races when they were part of a tri-sport challenge between runners, rowers and cyclists. The event, organised by Berwick Rowing Club to raise funds for the Tsunami Appeal, involved them as rowers, Norham Running Club as the runners and Auchencrow Thistle as the cyclists. Ian Black, Neil Milton, Donald Smith Andrew Beeke and Hamish Gardner represented the Thistle, with Ian, Neil and Donald winning the event and the challenge cup. The club are grateful to the Berwick Rowing Club for their invitation to what was a most innovative event. Last weekend Douglas Nisbet (Asfra Racing Team) rode the junior Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne but was brought down in a multiple pile-up at 12kms, although he tried in vain to reach the bunch for a further 25kms. Only 50 out of the 138 starters finished the race which was run in very severe wintry condidtions at a pace only 2kmph slower than the pro-race which used the same finishing circuit.