EASTWAY CYCLE CIRCUIT IS NOW CLOSED
The Eastway 100 ride on 11 November 2006
!!!Now has catering arranged!!!
Sat 11 Nov, 10am to 4pm, FREE ENTRY
For those who haven’t heard about this event, please accept this invitation to ride with us at Eastway on Sat 11th November.
Some plan to ride 100 laps, others will turn up and join in for a few laps and a chat.
For all those who have confirmed you are coming, thank you and we look forward to seeing you on the day.
Please also extend this invitation to any other Eastway riders and friends – we’d like to see as many people as possible riding the track for one last time.
Lee Valley Eastway Cycle Racing Circuit started it's existence on the 29th of June 1975 and is due to close at the end of November 2006 so as the 2012 Olympic site can be built. Eastway is situated just off the main Eastway Ruckholt Road, not far from Stratford mainline and underground Stations. An area known as Hackney marshes in the east part of London, England. The correct postal address is. Lee Valley Regional Park Eastway Cycle Circuit, Quarter Mile Lane, Stratford, London, England, E10 5PD. Tel No. 020-8534-6085. or Fax No. 020-8536-0959. L.V.R.P.A is short for Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, who own and run the circuit. The founder circuit manager was Colin Lewis who rode the Tour de France and was also Tom Simpson room mate on several occasions. The current manager is James Cocker, who is also an accomplished racing cyclist himself, so are the rest of the staff Dave Smith (Assistant Manager), Paul Routledge (Grounds man & Ass Duty Manager) Neil Simpson, Jon Train (All duty Managers),
Eastway is a 1.6 kilometre long
circuit, built specifically for the purpose of cycle racing, and closed to
all other forms of traffic. With at least 5 metres width of rolling road,
some of the main features of this circuit include the excellent racing
surface which is safe, even in very wet conditions. Three Hundred metres
after the start of the circuit, you have the hairpin corner, known as
Clarey's corner (named after a well known South London & Tour de
France rider John Clarey), a short 50 metres of 1:10 descent, then the
climb up Oxo hill with gradients between 1:9 to 1:25 and 250 metres long,
followed by a fast zigzagging descent into the valley, with a short 20
metres 1:8 steep climb coming at the end of the valley, then a rapid left
hand bend with 150 metres, then a right hand bend with 75 metres before
the slightly up hill finish.
The circuit lap record is held by a former local rider Ray Eden of the Eagle Road Club, who managed to cover the rolling 1.6 km in 2m 01s which to my knowledge still stands to this day but was done with a rolling start, although on the 15/07/03 a standing start lap record was established by Warrick Spence in a time of 2m 05.8 The circuit has also been raced on by such famous names as Eddy Merckx, Gerrie Knetemann, Jan Raas, Francesco Moser, Didi Thurau, Sid Barras, Phil Anderson, Sean Yates, Robert Millar, Barry Hoban, Ian Hallam, Colin Lewis, Michael Bennett, Pat McQuaid (who is now the UCI president 2007) to name just a few. There is ample parking and a good canteen service (on race days only), changing rooms and hot showers.
The main stalwarts behind the building of this circuit was the late, Ron Pickering a well known athletics coach, and Don Wiseman. Also helping with the design and development was our own North London Official the late Peter Whelan of the Whitewebbs Cycling Club. There is a plaque in honour of Peter Whelan above the middle window of the judge's box on the finishing line, for all his work associated with getting the circuit up and running and the many years he spent helping out at the Circuit. The E.S.L. was brought into existence with the help of Bob Hobbs of the Crest CC, Frank Rasey Whitewebbs CC, along with other officials from North London and Essex areas.
The circuit celebrated it's twenty fifth anniversary in the year 2000, we hope to be here for another 25 years. During the 2002 season over 15,000 then in 2003-2004 that increased to 25,000 riders using the circuit. Eastway is used, on a regular basis for Road Racing, Time Trials, Cyclo Cross, Mountain Bike Racing, B M X Racing, Duathlon events, Road Running, Cross Country Running, Roller Blade & Roller Skating and the occasional Sponsored ride. Sometimes if the winter weather is bad and we have enough snow, Cross Country Skiing is possible at the circuit.
Getting to the circuit has been greatly improved with the opening of the A102 (M) extension road which now has a slip road along side the cycle circuit for better access, this was opened in the latter part of 1999. But now (2006) we are in danger of loosing the circuit, because of development due to the Olympic site for 2012. We are in the process of fighting this action. It's not that we do not won't the Olympics, it's the loss of a purpose built closed circuit for cycle racing which has serve cyclist in London and many other from far-a-field. We are hoping that the circuit will be relocated in another area not too far away and like for like. A site has been proposed by the LDA at Rammey Marsh Enfield but on inspection it going to be to small to accommodate all the forms of cycle sport that goes successfully on at Eastway now, road racing, cyclo cross, mountain biking, BMX.
The circuit will have been open for 30 years on 29th June 2005, and on the 3rd of September 2005 I organised on behalf of the ESL held a 30th Anniversary of Eastway races which had a very special prize list of more than £3,000
.
At the end of running the 30th Anniversary races of Eastway held on 3rd of Sepember 05, I and Ken Evans were awarded volunteer's awards by Chief Executive of LVRPA Mr. Shaun Dawson, which came as a great surprise to both of us. And to thank me for my services to Eastway over the past 30 years. I have now retired from organising in general, and will concentrate on operating the Finishlynx photo finish camera.
I would have liked to have reciprocated the gesture and presented James Cocker (the Circuit Manager) with the framed signing on sheet from the Eddy Merckx meeting held in 1978 at Eastway.
But in their wisdom the Eastern division of the BC have decided they did not want it on show at the road circuit, where Eddy Merckx actually raced, but hung in the foyer of the velodrome which hopefully will be built in the next few years, SORRY JAMES.
Knocker