A STRONG squad of 11Ayr Roads / Harry Fairbairn Cycling Club members made their way to Inchinnan on Saturday morning to compete in the annual Georgetown Cup.

This is an inter-club team event where the combined time of the fastest eight riders counts for the overall club's time.

Unfortunately, Ayr Roads had bad luck before the race even started when one of the speed merchants, Calum McDonald, broke his chain and was unable to start. The ill fortune continued when fast man Ed Clifton unshipped his chain in the last mile.

However, the resilient riders attacked the 7 mile course and recorded some good times – Michael Curran 15:57, Paul Rodwell 16:21, Scott Knox 16:40, Craig Allison 16:48, Ed Clifton 16:54, Harry Brawley 17:18, Bobby Mcghee 18:00, Aileen Fisher 18:25, John Gemmell 18:49, Andrew Conway 19:26. The team event was won by Fullarton Wheelers in a time of 2:12:04. Ayr Roads finished in a creditable sixth place, given the unfortunate chain of events.

Ayr’s bad luck continued when vice chairman Harry Brawley crashed on the way home, sustaining a dislocated shoulder and fractured clavicle.

A special feature is the display of Rattray’s Flying Scot bicycles and the prize for the fastest rider competing on one, with no mod cons allowed.

This year Douglas Watson, Team GTR Return to Life, was making an attempt on the Flying Scot record using Geoff Smith’s 1960 model. The target to beat was 16:19 set in 2015 by Martin Wilson. Dougie has had a tremendous season, winning this year’s CTT Georgetown League series and didn’t disappoint on Saturday when he succeeded in breaking the current record recording a time of 15:56.

Due to the unexpected good weather, the club decided to hold one more evening 10 on Thursday. Roadworks at the Warrix Interchange required a change of course starting at Gailes. Times recorded were – Calum McDonald 21:44, Michael Curran 21:54, Scott Knox 22:42, Craig Allison 22:47, Harry Brawley 23:23, Archie Arthur 24:09, Aileen Fisher 25:10, John Gemmell 25:50, Michael Taylor 26:50, Charlotte Robb 27:58.

On Sunday John Gemmell and Archie Arthur completed the 100 mile Pedal for Scotland Sportive on a convoluted course from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Conditions were harsh with a headwind for the majority of the ride.