Wheel Woes

 Three days,  Two wheels... fucked... not exactly a great run of luck before Christmas.
Firstly my Carbon Planet X developed an issue, the free wheel locked, almost tore the mech off and then span freely in both directions... oooo its not meant to do that... Its ok I wont be riding on them anyway as I cant stop ( Swisstop yellows dont seem to work and I dislocated my shoulder using a tree as an "improvised velocity modulator")
Looks like a thrust plate sprung a leak. one of the small bumps, designed to lock onto the spring, twist and engage the pawls had cracked and failed. In sympathy the spring, that is meant to engage on these dimples, sheared and has made a good mess of the freehub body.
Hey mr presto one fucked hub. I had only recently put new bearings in as well..
Planet X were typically unhelpful . They didnt even read my email and sent me a helpful fucking useless  link to the freehubs of new shit.
I now have to decide whether to rebuild or try work around the problem ( old Planet X hub of Ebay ?)


Either way I am getting the feeling that those wheels were an expensive waste of money. I hope I can salvage the tubs for different wheels.

thats not it though , more rear wheel woes.
Back in the day ,when I was racing, I had a gorgeous pair of wheels bult by Andy of Rock n Road. These were beauties, Royce Titan hubs built into DT Swiss rims and they have been faultless for many years. James replaced the freehub back in March when it got a a bit messed up , and they have only been ridden a few times through the Summer. With Carbons unavailable, its these beauts called up for race duty.
So in the garage Post race, I glare at the bike accusingly, the race bike is on a work stand . hanging forlorn, seemingly ashamed  at yet another mechanical failure costing me precious race positions. I free and adjust the binding brake. spin the cranks.. it still feels sluggish .. Thats a new Hollowtech BB so it might need wearing in a bit.. drop the chain, try again.. much easier. its not that then. I rest my hand on the tyre and try to manually spin the wheel. It stops after about 3 inches. I try again, trying to work out what is binding. cant see anything.
Drop the wheel out of the frame, and  I try flicking the wheel to spin it between hands.. It hits me. a seized bearing. I cannot manually turn the wheel. No wonder I was going backwards in Sundays race. I must have been losing at least 1/2 of my power just keeping that wheel turning.
I dismantle the hub to see what is going on and I am greeted by a dark paste with tiny speckles of metalic swarf. Oh dear..not looking good. one pawl remains, and I fish it out to discover that it has sheared off and chewed itself up. Oh dear, that explains my slipping gears. It wasnt grass wrapped around my cassette, duff cables, or poor indexing, it was my rear hub eating itself and taking a mauling.
The axle was still seized and after using a vice to get the thumb nuts off I tap out the two remaining bearings.
one of the brand new looking chunky outboard ones was locked. not even draggy, this fucker was welded and wouldnt even move. It looked pristine though ...
HB bearings in Fareham sort me out with new bearings and an amazing within the hour response  from Cliff at Royce confirmed that parts for the hub are available. ( what a difference in service to PX)
While it is too late for this to be sorted before my last race of the season, it does mean that my beloved Royce Wheels live for another few miles yet.

Racing Wessex CX Rnd 11 VC Venta Winchester

After a brief hiatus its back to racing, even though the left knee isn't quite right, a home race just up the road at Sparsholts College near Winchester.
A pre race shake down of my race bike had not gone well. My first experience of carbon rims in the rain had left me with a dislocated shoulder when I had overshot a corner and thudded into a tree. That session somehow managed to completely trash the freehub on my Planet X wheel , but it wasn't all bad, it did open my eyes to the smoothness of riding on tubs!!!Dugast Rhinos rock!!!
anyway to Winchester... Its raining, though not that cold, and blowing a hooley.. open sports fields greet us, all facing into the prevailing.
Ribbons of tape flap in the wind  as we try and work out the course.. Its was certainly a long loop!!

woo hoo sillystring on a map

There was a bit of everything for every one.. Long fast downhill > gravel bed> a bit of woods> bomb hole> steepish banks> boggy running bit. no barriers though..but plenty of off camber grassy turns and switchbacks to keep everyone happy.
Warming up was a case of riding the course loop and then going back to the van, or hovering in the lee of a building, to try and stay dryish.
The circuit started up a longish farm track and straight out onto off camber slick slime a few off camber switches and short banks, skirt the edge of the top playing fields towards the top of the course. two short gravel pits ( too short to make much of a difference.) and then the longest straight bit of the whole Wessex series so far.. Long, straight  but not as fast as you would have thought. switchbacks and across uncharted fields which were remarkably bumpy. these hummocks of grass or 'baby heads' as I heard them described, were energy sappingly hard as there wasn't really a discernable path across them. A bomb hole right next to the pits ( south side) and a loop around some woods. out across the fields again switchbacks down towards the bottom corner of the course. two awkward banks ( both rideable if nobody founders in front) and then back up the fields, this time with a welcome tailwind.
a couple of corners and a blip into the woods. Exiting the woods a right hander on a fast gravelly corner with a straight sprint on compacted gravel, before doing a meander around the trees. Off camber and slippy. A steep bank had most riders off and running a long boggy section tearing up the newly laid lawns of the horticulture college. ankle deep in parts, this was easier to run than attempting to grind your way through it.
a few switch backs and a boggy straight, another switch , boggy straight characterised this top section. A steep drop and off into the wind again. That awkward squirrelly bit just after the start.. A great circuit, around 1.9 miles long. Definitely not one to have to run around if you have a problem.
Slowly riders congregated at the start, reluctantly holding on to jackets as long as possible, and then wandering around looking for someone too leave them with ( in the van!!)

Looking across the top fields

Nodding to riders I know, small talk, surrounded by the usual adversaries. The top twenty were called forward, and thankfully that was it.. Four rows in front so not too bad.
The whistle goes, and we are off. Not as quick as I normally get away and by the first corner I got a bit swamped and conceded places. The tyres twitch down hill as we collectively slither across the slippy section and I am soon moving up through riders.
I am with the group that I know, the regulars, let the battle commence. hang on to a wheel, and then push past when the opportunity arises. defend for a while, before having a dig to gap and work up to the next rider. Lap times were around the 13 minute mark and the race was soon strung out. There were plenty of opportunities though. The slick conditions amplified small mistakes, a duff line forcing a foot dab or a unscheduled dismount. I found I was very slow across the open bump field bits, and the long drag, even with a tail wind meant didn't help, I was hemorraging places. Top ten guys gapped me and I was being caught by the 10-20 placed regulars. I got worked over into the wind as I dragged a small group around, and then one by one they dropped me as we went across the flat fast bits.
Technically I was getting up there but these long bits were frustrating especially in the last few laps when my gears started to jump, crunch and grind.  nothing would stick, I pushed on. Ed went down in front, Simon crashed through the tape twice, so I know I was pressurising them. Had I have known I should have pitted, but I was too desperate to defend my place as it was .

Looking at the Pits... I should have visited here. bollox

Cornering became awkward, I was braking far too much into them and slow to get back up to speed. I was overtaken by two riders who i have alwasy been infront of...mentally this was a bit of a downer, maybe the lack of form was due to the enforced layoff due to my knee. Keep going, accelerate again , dont loose a wheel.
The bell came and went, time for a dig. "ride fast finish fucked" I got gaps on a few rivals. forced past Stuart who had only just overtaken me, and was steadily hunting Simon down in a rematch of our Reading battle. He pipped me by less than five meters, and for the first time after a race I had to lie down.struggling for breath and feeling wrecked.
pushing the bike back to the van and I notice the rear brake rubbing..infact it is hard up against the rear rim, no wonder working across the fields was so hard!! Turns out I managed 15th but again mechanical issues ( brake rubbing and slipping gears) left me bitterly dissapointed.


What went well:
Top 15 finish.
Very high heart rates, good finish despite the mechanicals working against me
Running boggy sections well,  clean dismount and fast remounts.  quite agressive in defending the line and slightly later remounts. Need to practice these more and include more runnnig in the off season.
I felt I rode off camber slime well, ( watching others slithering around)
Bollocks to the wind and rain.
Knee was ok racing.
Cornering when tired was girly..

Not so well,
Mechanical issues  ( gears slipping and brake rubbing.) these are really demoralising at the moment. Its not fitness thats limiting results its these niggly little issues.
Digging deep and kind of trashing myself ( still not right and its Wednesday.)
Knee was not good after.
I should have pitted as soon as the gears started playing up... They always improve dont they!! Doh!!

If you absolutely have to go riding

I know I have said it before but I am lucky enough to be able to get out riding at lunchtimes. Todays glorious December weather posed a quandry. Do I go out for a smooth road ride on the track bike down to the beach and back, or take the cross bike along Chilling Cliffs .
Glorious sunny weather, no wind; I didnt even have bib longs on, just kneewarmers (in December!!)  Cross bike and Chilling cliffs it was then..
The trails , damp, but not slimey.. mud index..Grade 1.1 ( Damp earth , that just sticks to the bike ish) Tyres cleared easily and no sploshing.) Check out the full Mud Index Here: MUD INDEX ON CROSSJUNKIE

In the woodland sections the floor was blanketted in thick layers of dry leaves. These made riding feel like it was in snow, ( without the slippiness) just a gentle rustle as tyres hissed through.
A little bit of prospecting, justoff the normal loop, yielded some interesting new trails ....

Rides dont get much better than this.. one of the best in 2013..And the shower in work is back to its skin flaying temperature again: oooh happy days :-)

Knee Update

How depressing it is to watch CTL and hard earned fitness plummet.This knee problem is still persisting. 2 days rest> gentle ride>two days rest> gentle ride...

Whle the burny feel has gone, it feels weak, so I am laying off intervals and really hard efforts, just to keep ticking over, not lose too much for my last two races.

Since my last post I have started/continued to do the  following...>

• Stretching daily> (with a bit of core mixed in) seems to help.
• Foam roller ( mainly on my left ITB) definitly helps.. and after a few days it doesnt hurt as much.
• Cod liver oil and Glucosamine. 
• Gentle riding, focussing on pelvic rotation. Probably not a good idea, but not riding is driving me nuts.
• Reading lots on line... I found an interesting article on Ankle flexibility causing problems on http://www.fix-knee-pain.com... : it made a lotof sense and as this is all aboyut marginal gains I have incorporated a bit of Ankle swirly excercises.

What I really need to do is to go and have a chat with James In Rock n Road. but I know he will give me shit for riding a frame awee bit too small for me,

So its not as bad as last week, but still not back to normal.. In the meantime I can only watch as my CTL goes into freefall off a fucking cliff.

Knee Problems.

Just when things are going well and boom.. an issue.
I have had niggles and such with my back, and a few years ago I had to stop riding for a while due to a knee problem..

Well its back..
It started straight after Tuesdays hard tempo lunchtime ride.(Maybe I had overdone it on hill intervals the day before..)
A dull burning sensation on the outside of my left knee. sort of starting at that bony blob at the outside top of the fibula.. and spreading all the way up to the quad...

As a few days have gone on it feels a lot like the inside and to the rear of the joint, no localised pain,with the burning feeling persisting..
Not sure what to do about it. I suspect ITB, but cant quite discern where the pain emanates from.
I have bought myself a foam roller and have done a few ITB type roller bits...,
A wee bit of stretching
 and so far have taken two ( frustrating) days off the bike.

To try next
Restart regular morning Stretching and Core work ( been mainly core recently)
A bit better Foam Rolling, incorporating into my routine.
Find out where the pain actually is.. ( read lots on doctor google and try lots of wierd leg raises etc to see if I can locate )
Try the bike again tomorrow, but hold off any interval work for a few days. Just regular, easy miles..No big ring hill work!
Buy some Glucosamine and Cod liver oil tabs. Hate it, but its a case of marginal gains.
Take some Ibuprofen at the weekend ( when I would be resting anyway)

November Stats

November wasn't a bad month. My face remains 'tashe free but riding went pretty well.

Starting CTL was 72 and with 22 hours riding in I finished the month at 75,... so still rising and on a good trend.

Training went pretty well,and the following routine has sort of come about:

• Monday rest either active or a tempo ish ride ( depending on race day)
• Tuesday is Hill repeats found a new hill to test my legs on.
• Wednesday is double header day. Drills at lunchtime and a long CX ride in the evening. These double days really hammer me though>
• Thursday Rest  after yesterdays exertions.
• Friday try go hard/tempo.
• Saturday Rest
• Sunday Woodland thrash.

 a couple of runs in there, not nearly enough , but its better than nothing. I think I will do the park runs in the off season.
in all 324 miles so not bad.

Racing was a bit hit or miss. CityCross was phenomenal, but wessex League not so good; with two lower placings than I was happy with due to mechanical and gridding but as this is my first season I have resigned myself that this is my apprenticeship, I cant expect it all my own way, so just deal with it. Finally got to race on Tubs though..