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World Down Syndrome Day

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Byron Pope wins Wednesday race ? Greg Lovell rules on Saturday!

SportsByron Pope wins Wednesday race ? Greg Lovell rules on Saturday!


This bridge crossing is precarious due to the aluminum decking and the many pitted grooves that travel in straight lines, acting as traction support for vehicular traffic and to bleed water off the deck of the bridge. Whenever the small cross-section of the bicycle tire is engaged in these ruts, more than average skills are required to keep one?s balance and the bike under control. Now imagine such a crossing at speeds of upwards of 25 mph.


After the escape, young Byron Pope began to work methodically on the veteran. During this suicidal breakaway, Pope?s concentration and tenacity placed him in another zone, burning off Kello from the tempo of his pacing. This occurred just outside Boom in the Fresh Pond area on the Hattieville/Boom road.


The peloton managed to link up back to Kello and had its flurries to wheel back in the youngster, but to no avail. Darnell Barrow of Guinness Seahawks also tried to escape but was wheeled in after four miles of intense chasing. The mood of the peloton at this time was not to allow any more escapes.


Byron?s heroics paid off after gaining and keeping the lead for 25 miles. He rode the distance in 1h?32m?00s, averaging 19.5 mph., duly claiming his victory. .


The peloton finished 1 minute and 30 seconds behind, with Darnell Barrow, Roque Matus (M&M Engineering), Jerry Rhaburn (unattached) and Steven Staine (unattached) finished in that order.


The community fan support, in the hundreds, was overwhelming. This Independence Day Race ended as an overall success.



Sat. Sept. 24, 2005


Niccol? Machiavelli was the first man quoted as saying, ?Get real?. As Machiavelli saw it in his famous analytic work dealing with statesmanship and power ?The Prince?, he noted the following on CONSPIRACY: ?A prince need trouble little about conspiracies when the people are well disposed, but when they are hostile and hold him in hatred, then he must fear everything and everybody.?


On GOODNESS: ?A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything, must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary ? to learn how to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.?


There is, perhaps, sometimes more than a dash of sentiment in this love of the bike. And it was probably sentiment alone that allowed Douglas Lamb, a decent man, to make the announcement that the City-based riders were fighting and waiting for. The struggle is now over, because all Saturday races staged by Lamb will now be held only in the morning hours at 6:00 a.m.


Forty-four riders lined up for a 52-mile race starting from the usual Mile 2 start/finish line to the Northern Highway junction via the Hattieville/Boom road. The peloton configuration resembled the following: 8 ? Santino?s; 3 ? Total Sports/ Cool Runnings; 6 ? BTL Fusion; 8 ? Guinness Seahawks; 5 ? Benny?s Megabytes; 6 ? M&M Engineering; 1 ? CV Joints Specialist; 1 ? Perfect Plus; and 6 unattached riders.


The pace was steady and brisk up to Mile 9, where the early attackers started. Small splits occurred that were controlled by the opposing team?s strong men. As the peloton entered the Hattieville/Boom Road going, Ian Smith of Guinness Seahawks attacked at the Hattieville Prison, taking eight riders to the lead. The now 8-man breakaway had Greg Lovell of BTL Fusion; Mateo Cruz and Marlon Castillo of Santino?s; Quinton ?Baddest? Hamilton and Byron Pope of Benny?s Megabytes; Patrick ?Ensocat? Bennett of M&M Engineering; the unattached Colin ?Calbo? Mejia; and, of course, the ?Architect,? Ian Smith, escaping.


The 8-man break garnered a 1-minute ? 22-seconds advantage over the peloton at the halfway turning point. On the return journey, at the prison once again, another 6-man break occurred. This time the chasers were John Burns, Fred Usher, John Newport and Vernon Terry of BTL Fusion, Ernest ?Dangalang? Thurton of Guinness Seahawks and Douglas Lamb of Santino?s. After this flurry occurred, a few seconds later Barney Brown of Total Sports/Cool Runnings recognized that no one else was addressing the move and he had to, alone, bridge up to the second group if he wanted to be in the hunt.


After eleven miles of pursuit, at Mile 7 the chasers merged with the frontrunners. The breakaway now had 5 BTL Fusion teammates (Greg Lovell, John Burns, John Newport, Fred Usher and Vernon Terry); 3 Santino?s (Mateo Cruz, Marlon Castillo and Douglas Lamb); 2 Benny?s Megabytes (Quinton Hamilton and Byron Pope); 2 Guinness Seahawks (Ian Smith and Ernest Thurton); 1 Total Sports/Cool Runnings (Barney Brown) and 1 unattached rider, Colin Mejia. The pace was blistering; their clip was maintained at 25-26 mph in the latter portion from Mile 6 to Mile 2.


At Mile 2 power broker Marlon Castillo attacked. His attempt, it seems, was going without much attention until Ian Smith?s initiative reeled him in just before the sprinting zone. Here is where the sprinters come out to play. In this one it was totally Greg Lovell. He started the sprint and his sheer power kept him there. Mateo Cruz put in a gallant effort without success. Quinton Hamilton claimed third place, rounding out the podium prizes. Ian Smith and Barney Brown claimed fourth and fifth place respectively.


John Burns was the only Non-Elite rider who managed to escape with the leading breakaway. Burns? joy was evident when he claimed the first Non-Elite honors. He explained that he was missing from the winner?s circle for three years. Byron Pope won the first junior prize. The distance was covered in 2h?7m?47s, averaging 25.3 miles per hour.



Sun. Sept. 25, 2005


The Belize Rural North Cycling Club under the administration of Kevin Hall held two track races for high school students. The first was a 10-lap race in the Marion Jones Sports Complex bike track. In this one the speed of Neil Gray of Gwen Liz High School overshadowed Miguel Leal of SJC and Ron McKenzie of SJC for first, second and third respectively.


The second race featured an age class race for primary school students between 11 ? 13 years old. In this 4-lap event, Luis Hulse of All Saints outwitted Chris Staine of Grace Primary and Kevin Peyrefitte of St Ignatius for first, second and third respectively.


Belize Rural North Cycling Club wishes to thank C.P. Building, Maria Chang, Esso Freetown Service Station, M&R Construction and Royal Wholesale for their support.

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