Rob Jefferies

Where do I start?
You walk into a room and you don't know anyone. You are nervous, insecure, a little bit on edge.
You see a familiar face, instant calm, relax and feeling a lot better. This was the impact that Rob had with me.
I came to time trialing via triathlon, always keen but never taking it particularly seriously, and thought that it would be a great way to improve my skills. As a non-member of Poole Wheelers at the time I was always a little nervous turning up to these club events, signing in with sweaty palms and not saying a right lot, not wanting to embarrass myself infront of some serious bits of bike kit and riders! And along comes Rob, one of the first people to speak to me and I instantly felt at ease. Easy going, relaxed and genuiney interested in what I had to say.
It brought me into the club, I decided to join up formally, buy myself a skinsuit; and the last two seasons as a Poole Wheeler have seen me go from strength to strength.

When Rob asked me to ride a 2-up with him last year I jumped at the chance. Here was a very experienced guy who was happy to put his faith in someone who hadn't ridden one before and I was honoured that he thought I was up to the task. And I can assure you I was damn nervous when we turned up to ride on the day. We had a trial ride a few days before and I was trashed from a heavy run and swim session the day before and a massive turbo session the day before that. I had no idea of how to ride as part of a 2 man team but Rob stuck by me, gave me some sound advice and we cobbled together a reasonable ride. On race day we had a couple of close incidents involving a bit of wheel touching, but we rode strong and I had the bit between my teeth, pushing as hard as I could to the end of a hard 25 miles. Race was the VTTA Wessex 25 2-Up TTT.
http://www.pwresults.pipeten.co.uk/ResultTeamTT.aspx?EventId=593&SubEventId=1
Rob and I were both knackered after that one but we both really enjoyed the experience and in the post-race endorphin rush we talked about some more in 2011 and getting me on the track with him and Bryce Dyer and another and having a go at team pursuiting. It was brilliant and I wanted to have another go.
So this year it has been great to see Rob again at the club and open TTs, see how he was getting some good results, and he would always ask after me and say well done having seen my results. We'd exchange the customary Facebook banter and emails. We had a chat on Wednesday at the Gallows Hill 10 and he looked so fresh afterwards I actually asked if he had been riding! And I wasn't joking!

And then the awful news on Friday morning. 10 minutes later it hit me and I am not ashamed to say that I sobbed. I am still upset now, and having read the massive amount of lovely tributes on the Poole Wheelers website and others I still struggle to hold back the tears. Rob was just one of those truly lovely human beings that have the knack of touching the lives of all those they know.
Rob made you want to do better, and for that he has my complete respect and admiration. Never forgotten.