FULLARTON Wheelers had three teams participating in the Dooleys 2Up Team Time Trial run at Westferry on Saturday.

The 18-mile course included two laps of the route that finished with a one mile climb up the Greenock Road back to Bishopton.

A total of 30 teams entered the event which was run by Cycling Time Trials. The FWCC teams finished as follows, Sean Barron and Alastair Macfarlane 37.35 (14th); Stevie Watters and Derek Skinner 39.07 (18th) and Martin Shields and Scott McKendrick 41.24 (23rd).

FWCC were represented south of the border this weekend at the Cycling Weekly 125 Sportive in Cheshire. Fiona Maitland along with 11-year-old son Kyle opted for the 40 mile route whilst Fraser Maitland and Mikey Allen chose to take on the 125 mile ‘epic’ route.

Starting out at the revered Oulton Park Race Circuit both pairs of riders completed an untimed lap of the circuit, which as well as easing them into the sportive gave them an opportunity to recce the circuit before the all-important timed lap at the end of the event.

Fresh off the track, both pairs of riders headed off to explore rural Cheshire and some of the best scenery it had to offer. Mikey and Fraser headed north into Delamere Forest Park, while Fiona and Kyles’ route took them west before heading south zigzagging their way over and under railways and brooks. Both routes then joined for a time, and in unison were treated to a fleeting glimpse of Beeston Castle’s remains before the course split for a second time sending ‘epic’ route riders further west to catch a glance of Wales over the River Dee.

From here riders started on an easterly tack passing through the pretty village of Audlem, then on up to Wybunbury. Fiona and Kyle’s route veered off west to head for the finish, while Mikey and Fraser and a strong group of riders from local Chorley Cycling Club continued to the 100 mile marker, and their toughest challenge of the day, Mow Cop.

Starting out with a fairly comfortable nine per cent average, the road soon ramped up to a cruel 20 per cent before easing off prior to reaching the sharpest gradient of the climb. Dundonald Hill now seemed like a spin on a canal path, as both riders had to mine deep into your reserves when the road rose to a sustained 25 per cent. The exertion however, was rewarded with views of the picturesque Mow Cop Castle and a wide-angle shot of the fantastic Staffordshire and Cheshire countryside.

This was then followed by a white-knuckle descent down to Astbury, after which both riders continued to wind our way through Cheshire’s canal-bordered lanes on now tiring legs. Once through the 125 mile mark the course was completed with an all-out sprint to the finish line via a timed lap of Oulton Park circuit.

Fiona and Kyle completed the 40 mile circuit in 3.09 with Kyle continuing to do further laps, increasing his mileage to 62 miles, whilst Mikey and Fraser produced a strong performance to complete at total of 130 miles with a moving time of 6 hours and 56 minutes.