While I am writing up that last race of 2014 its worth bunging up a quick entry about life off the bike.
If you follow my Strava feed you may have noticed a run of late evening Sufferfests scooting across the dashboard. This is due to starting a new job after 13 1/2 years.
The new job offers promotion, growth and stability but with a major downside. For a long time the mainstay of my training , namely good tempo , skill sessions, woodland rides and intervals rides have all been done at lunchtime. The new job wont fit in with that. While cycling ( commuting and the training) was a major consideration, with things in perspective though, its the right thing to do.
Going to struggle to retain fitness in 2015, but I will do my best.
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Wessex League Round 11 Thruxton...Squirellyness 1.0
Not many races left to get it right. By the time I get it right, it will all be over, there is only this one and Fairthorne., ( with the Army CU in February too far off to focus on at the moment and I am abroad for the Christmas Crabwood race)
So this weekend...Thruxton.. Last years race was interesting.. a last lap crash and unshipping my chain had put paid to a decent result, but its a tough old course..http://haywil.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/racing-wessex-cx-rnd-10-thruxton.html
So to this year, its been raining ....a lot , not as windy as last year, but last weeks circuit was anything to go by, it was to be a muddy one, making tyre choice easy... muds... but
The circuit had changed a bit, about 1.2 miles... and a lot of corners.. Uphill ones, downhill ones, inside camber, offside camber, flat ones... tight ones, carving ones.. a confusing sea of tape, punctuated by corner after corner, and what appeared to be a muddy version of Heathrow Terminal 2 Passport control at on the western edge of the field.
Sign on is easy.. this week I had Pre entered, and after travelling up with Phil, we were nice and early..Parking in the lee of the garages we quickly sorted stuff out while getting wet, until someone pointed out that the garages were open ,.. The Pit bike was readied, and the race bike was quickly sorted..yet again I am faced with a pressure quandary. go low and risk another tyre blowing off the rim? or high and end up cornering like a happy shopper.. I go for 34 psi at the van...and then take a squirt out a bit later on. I have really struggled to find a pressure that works for me this year. In training I can get pretty low and on the edge of squirrellyness ( is that the new Svenness? -- Squirellyness) but anxiety of race speeds and the additional stresses of cornering at race speed force me to err on the side of caution and go a bit higher.
So to the course.. gentle uphill start up a bumpy field easy right still up hill to the top where a pair of switchbacks take take you to a very awkward steep off camber right hander.. slippy and difficult to take at anything other than walking pace. the exit was just as tricky as the camber forced you to the tape.
up the bank at an angle to a slippy off camber left hander. down the hill gathering pace building speed to get as much speed up a steepish kick. a vicious bump forced caution, while bleeding speed that left you troubled at the top . a scoot across the top to an easy drop to the running barriers..over these a straight bit and back up the bank at an easier angle. Up down, in out the pattern repeated as the course folded in and out. Each of the corners at the top difficult and off cambered, while at the bottom, they were more open, but muddier and difficult to hold speed.
Eventually this meandering led to the a strange feature of 11 straights , punctuated by tight 180s.. ( ooo my favourite) As the race went on the latter stages of this section got increasingly cut up and harder to keep the pace. It looked like Passport control. after that it was an quick up and down before turning back onto the starting straight. a lot of corners. hard switchbacks and closed off cambers,... .
Warmup went ok.. a lot of riders again, but I managed to push a wee bit harder than just bimbling around, I spotted a decent line through the off camber.. not a Sven line, but one that suited my chickeness.. in the drizzling rain I regretted not bringing a turbo to warm up on..
It wasn't long before gridding started, 4th row again.. not really improving, but better than missing a spot in the surge of "and the rest of you"
I line up behind Will Macdonald. a good rival and a a rider who has been going better as the season has progressed. I feel calm, pretty confident... and as the whistle goes I get a good start. easily finding my spd and powering up the hill, that first corner comes and I accelerate again and by that first hairpin I am probably in 10th. a few riders I expect to pass later are in front, and as it settles I am content. Tim Hyde goes down on the off camber, and the race settles down again. Brakes squealing and its down to the task in hand. Who's in front, who's on your wheel.
My regulars are around me.. and I make a point of having a good dig on the gentle uphills, I seem to have gone well on these this year so try to capitalise when I can. I enter passport control, that first corner had a decent line that you could really carve into .. then it was eleven corner sprint, brake as late as you can, sprint , brake sprint. each end taking stock of how you were gaining on the guy in front, or being caught. just working to hit the corners the same time as the chasers, despite my admissions that I struggle on these all that cornering practice and countersteering messing around seemed to pay dividends as I didn't seem to lose ground on this section.
I pass regular opponents, Pete and Gareth and at one time I overtake Will. and work up to Robin Wilmott. I seem to be able to corner inside him, but he is strong and can power away on the outside as I come back up to speed, we pass each other a few times, until he messes up one off the tricky off camber lefts and a streak of white grass appears as he loses his rear wheel. I quickly pass and get a gap. Will has a dig and passes me on a uphill section . I lose ground to him on the downhills and those slow bottom turns., but manage to keep Robin at bay.
The bell lap comes early at 38 minutes and it a dig in time, careful not to overcook that off camber.. go wide and commit to the torn up apex.., same with the approach to the running barriers . I almost get up to Will, but his last lap effort me maintains the gap and finishes around 9 seconds in front of me..
A very contented 9th in the race and 7th Vet.. very happy with that as I felt it was a proper race. no screw ups, no excuses.. raced to my ability finally.. very pleased.
Trouble is there's not enough races left to work my way up the league tables.
So this weekend...Thruxton.. Last years race was interesting.. a last lap crash and unshipping my chain had put paid to a decent result, but its a tough old course..http://haywil.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/racing-wessex-cx-rnd-10-thruxton.html
So to this year, its been raining ....a lot , not as windy as last year, but last weeks circuit was anything to go by, it was to be a muddy one, making tyre choice easy... muds... butThe circuit had changed a bit, about 1.2 miles... and a lot of corners.. Uphill ones, downhill ones, inside camber, offside camber, flat ones... tight ones, carving ones.. a confusing sea of tape, punctuated by corner after corner, and what appeared to be a muddy version of Heathrow Terminal 2 Passport control at on the western edge of the field.
Sign on is easy.. this week I had Pre entered, and after travelling up with Phil, we were nice and early..Parking in the lee of the garages we quickly sorted stuff out while getting wet, until someone pointed out that the garages were open ,.. The Pit bike was readied, and the race bike was quickly sorted..yet again I am faced with a pressure quandary. go low and risk another tyre blowing off the rim? or high and end up cornering like a happy shopper.. I go for 34 psi at the van...and then take a squirt out a bit later on. I have really struggled to find a pressure that works for me this year. In training I can get pretty low and on the edge of squirrellyness ( is that the new Svenness? -- Squirellyness) but anxiety of race speeds and the additional stresses of cornering at race speed force me to err on the side of caution and go a bit higher.
.JPG) |
| Negotiating the off camber Photo Graham Robins |
So to the course.. gentle uphill start up a bumpy field easy right still up hill to the top where a pair of switchbacks take take you to a very awkward steep off camber right hander.. slippy and difficult to take at anything other than walking pace. the exit was just as tricky as the camber forced you to the tape.
up the bank at an angle to a slippy off camber left hander. down the hill gathering pace building speed to get as much speed up a steepish kick. a vicious bump forced caution, while bleeding speed that left you troubled at the top . a scoot across the top to an easy drop to the running barriers..over these a straight bit and back up the bank at an easier angle. Up down, in out the pattern repeated as the course folded in and out. Each of the corners at the top difficult and off cambered, while at the bottom, they were more open, but muddier and difficult to hold speed.
 |
| Passport control |
Warmup went ok.. a lot of riders again, but I managed to push a wee bit harder than just bimbling around, I spotted a decent line through the off camber.. not a Sven line, but one that suited my chickeness.. in the drizzling rain I regretted not bringing a turbo to warm up on..
It wasn't long before gridding started, 4th row again.. not really improving, but better than missing a spot in the surge of "and the rest of you"
 |
| Aaron Taylor ( Banjo) with the off camber in the background) |
My regulars are around me.. and I make a point of having a good dig on the gentle uphills, I seem to have gone well on these this year so try to capitalise when I can. I enter passport control, that first corner had a decent line that you could really carve into .. then it was eleven corner sprint, brake as late as you can, sprint , brake sprint. each end taking stock of how you were gaining on the guy in front, or being caught. just working to hit the corners the same time as the chasers, despite my admissions that I struggle on these all that cornering practice and countersteering messing around seemed to pay dividends as I didn't seem to lose ground on this section.
I pass regular opponents, Pete and Gareth and at one time I overtake Will. and work up to Robin Wilmott. I seem to be able to corner inside him, but he is strong and can power away on the outside as I come back up to speed, we pass each other a few times, until he messes up one off the tricky off camber lefts and a streak of white grass appears as he loses his rear wheel. I quickly pass and get a gap. Will has a dig and passes me on a uphill section . I lose ground to him on the downhills and those slow bottom turns., but manage to keep Robin at bay.
The bell lap comes early at 38 minutes and it a dig in time, careful not to overcook that off camber.. go wide and commit to the torn up apex.., same with the approach to the running barriers . I almost get up to Will, but his last lap effort me maintains the gap and finishes around 9 seconds in front of me..
A very contented 9th in the race and 7th Vet.. very happy with that as I felt it was a proper race. no screw ups, no excuses.. raced to my ability finally.. very pleased.
Trouble is there's not enough races left to work my way up the league tables.
What went well:
Good result.
Good tyre pressure choice.
No misshaps
not so well.
Should have bought Limus Tubs not Open Tubulars then I would have the confidence to go lower.
Need to practice barriers again.. I've got slower.
Punch short banks are lagging at the moment.
Friday, 21 November 2014
Wessex CX League Round 10.. Eastleigh
Almost my local race, just a few miles down the road and where I very nearly restarted racing back in 2012,( see last years write up). Last time I had done reasonably well, on a sunny day early season.. .. but this year, a few weeks of rain meant that this outing was to be a very different affair.
Eastleigh isnt really my stomping grounds, and I generally avoid the place, but Sotonia once again laid up a superb circuit up at Fleming park.
Sign on was a tad different, with Vets not opening until 11:30, a mere hour before the race..As I hadnt pre entered I was alarmed that the roster may fill up before I could get to the front of the queue. either that, or have no time for a warm up .
I needn't have worried, things worked them selves ok and I pinned on number 40, stood around chin wagging and sorted out my pit bike..
A damn fine circuit, a mix of parkland, with a few banks, and making good use of a copse and long steady rise.
The start differed from last year. directly up the centre of the hill. quite steep for a start, but a good use of the circuit, with riders likely to be well spread out before the first bottle neck, and with the lower speed, less likely to have a tangle.
a 180 turn and a toboggan run back to the bottom, a cut up muddy corner through some trees and over a 2 foot high bank..
a long boggy climb that just seemed to sap the back wheel gradually firming up as it headed under the trees . short drop down the bank, left hander back onto grassy field. a 180 and a short straight, leading to a rideable bank..
past the pits. a few meanders, up a bank, and another straight to a lonely pine tree ( well the ground was strewn with needles) a few tight corners. of cut up mud. a sluchy slick run down to the West most part of the course.. prepping out left before a quick dig up a steep bank... My warm up came to an abrupt end when my chain snapped on this bank.. and I had to scoot back to the car... ( a massive thanks to Sean Williams and Gordon for helping me out..) back on it .. from the bank,. a off camber drop, tightening into another off camber blip up, then a straight run to the copse. dismount, run a few steps over a log , unless you are brave enough to bunny hop it) remount into a left hander around a tree and a easy flicky bunny hop over a second lower log.
right hander around a tree and onto the top wet grassy field. straight, corner, straight >180.. and then a long straight back to the bottom of the hill, only punctuated by the sand pit ( easy this year) , a right hander greeted you at the end of the descent, before digging in up the start straight again.
The bikes are prepped, worried about tyre pressure after the last race blow out..I opt for 34-35 psi... just hoping thats not too much..
the call ups start...and I get gridded again, third or fourth row ( I cant remember).. kicking myself for missing those early season races. I realise I have left my gloves on the roof of the car. ( I bet they have disappeared when i get back... ( Eastleigh is a tad rough in places) I look around, checking out what gearing people are starting in.. Usually its the big ring and 2 or three down , but today I opt for the 36 . Sean Williams is in front of me, I couldn't ask for a better wheel to follow....
The whistle goes... and we are off. Sean punches through almost immediately, and i do my best to follow in his tyre marks..spinning out, its a risk chuntering down through the rear block, hoping the chain isn't slapping around and crunching menacingly... the first corner comes and i am around 10th place.. fairly open..
My descending confidence has taken a few hits with my recent misfortunes. and riders easily pass me on that first squirrely ice rink... hugging what remains of any grass on the left.. the bottom dip is smoothly navigated and I start over taking again.. I struggle on the steep bank under the trees, fighting hard to stay in front of the little group forming around me. I drop down the earth bank, holding a good line, but the next turn is a slick off camber and i lose the front wheel and go down..
a handful of riders slip past.. and as I remount I realise, that was it, that was teh moment of my race... now the fight is on.. I am really struggling on the corners, far too upright and far too slow.. unable to find a good carving line.. I feel weaker than normal on the steep , but ride able , banks.. and am working harder than normal..
Its settled, I have a gap... keep tapping no more mistakes.. I seem to be losing time on the descents and the tighter corners, I can hold time on the flats. But manage to gain on the riders in front on the longer hills.. This surprises me as i figured that I would get pasted by the guys with road fitness on the endurance type sections.
Ed is long gone, and I occasionally see him as the course cuts back on itself.. and Eventually I manage to catch and overtake Gareth of South Down Velo.
I am no where near as smooth on the running dismount as normal, and shoulder barge the tree on the apex of one of the turns.
A Team quest rider is slowly but surely work is way up... its the bell lap and i do all I can to hold him off.
My descending nemesis catches me, as does team Quest guy and he attacks me into the finishing straight..I dig in as hard as I can to respond, to no avail and I cross the line 10th... not a bad result. Knackered..
What went well:
I got a reasonably result, recovered from the first lap crash .
I found my gloves on the roof of the car.. right next to a bit of chewing gum that I left there ages ago.
The bike held together..Mini vs annoying but not blocked.
Not so good
poor descending
weak cornering,
Tyre pressure was wrong for the conditions.
I am struggling to dial the open tubulars in..
Eastleigh isnt really my stomping grounds, and I generally avoid the place, but Sotonia once again laid up a superb circuit up at Fleming park.
Sign on was a tad different, with Vets not opening until 11:30, a mere hour before the race..As I hadnt pre entered I was alarmed that the roster may fill up before I could get to the front of the queue. either that, or have no time for a warm up .
I needn't have worried, things worked them selves ok and I pinned on number 40, stood around chin wagging and sorted out my pit bike..
A damn fine circuit, a mix of parkland, with a few banks, and making good use of a copse and long steady rise.
The start differed from last year. directly up the centre of the hill. quite steep for a start, but a good use of the circuit, with riders likely to be well spread out before the first bottle neck, and with the lower speed, less likely to have a tangle.
a 180 turn and a toboggan run back to the bottom, a cut up muddy corner through some trees and over a 2 foot high bank..
a long boggy climb that just seemed to sap the back wheel gradually firming up as it headed under the trees . short drop down the bank, left hander back onto grassy field. a 180 and a short straight, leading to a rideable bank..
past the pits. a few meanders, up a bank, and another straight to a lonely pine tree ( well the ground was strewn with needles) a few tight corners. of cut up mud. a sluchy slick run down to the West most part of the course.. prepping out left before a quick dig up a steep bank... My warm up came to an abrupt end when my chain snapped on this bank.. and I had to scoot back to the car... ( a massive thanks to Sean Williams and Gordon for helping me out..) back on it .. from the bank,. a off camber drop, tightening into another off camber blip up, then a straight run to the copse. dismount, run a few steps over a log , unless you are brave enough to bunny hop it) remount into a left hander around a tree and a easy flicky bunny hop over a second lower log.
right hander around a tree and onto the top wet grassy field. straight, corner, straight >180.. and then a long straight back to the bottom of the hill, only punctuated by the sand pit ( easy this year) , a right hander greeted you at the end of the descent, before digging in up the start straight again.
The bikes are prepped, worried about tyre pressure after the last race blow out..I opt for 34-35 psi... just hoping thats not too much..
the call ups start...and I get gridded again, third or fourth row ( I cant remember).. kicking myself for missing those early season races. I realise I have left my gloves on the roof of the car. ( I bet they have disappeared when i get back... ( Eastleigh is a tad rough in places) I look around, checking out what gearing people are starting in.. Usually its the big ring and 2 or three down , but today I opt for the 36 . Sean Williams is in front of me, I couldn't ask for a better wheel to follow....
 |
| Teammate James C on the slick descent. |
My descending confidence has taken a few hits with my recent misfortunes. and riders easily pass me on that first squirrely ice rink... hugging what remains of any grass on the left.. the bottom dip is smoothly navigated and I start over taking again.. I struggle on the steep bank under the trees, fighting hard to stay in front of the little group forming around me. I drop down the earth bank, holding a good line, but the next turn is a slick off camber and i lose the front wheel and go down..
a handful of riders slip past.. and as I remount I realise, that was it, that was teh moment of my race... now the fight is on.. I am really struggling on the corners, far too upright and far too slow.. unable to find a good carving line.. I feel weaker than normal on the steep , but ride able , banks.. and am working harder than normal..
 |
| Digging in on the steep bank Photo Graham Robins |
Ed is long gone, and I occasionally see him as the course cuts back on itself.. and Eventually I manage to catch and overtake Gareth of South Down Velo.
I am no where near as smooth on the running dismount as normal, and shoulder barge the tree on the apex of one of the turns.
A Team quest rider is slowly but surely work is way up... its the bell lap and i do all I can to hold him off.
My descending nemesis catches me, as does team Quest guy and he attacks me into the finishing straight..I dig in as hard as I can to respond, to no avail and I cross the line 10th... not a bad result. Knackered..
What went well:
I got a reasonably result, recovered from the first lap crash .
I found my gloves on the roof of the car.. right next to a bit of chewing gum that I left there ages ago.The bike held together..Mini vs annoying but not blocked.
Not so good
poor descending
weak cornering,
Tyre pressure was wrong for the conditions.
I am struggling to dial the open tubulars in..
Crashing... again
This season has been marked by a catalogue of crashes, incidents and general fuck ups..
.JPG)
No buckled wheel, bent shifter, but no apparent damage. Only later I felt a real pain in my achilles where the pedal caught it and my ribs .. i eventually went to A&E to get them checked as I was not sure whether I had cracked a shoulder blade.
Firstly I cracked two ribs and my helmet in September, nearly burst my bellend in another, trashed my wrist a few times, but my most recent crash is worth thinking about..
If you read the last few blog entries you may know that I have been racing and training with two more broken ribs. So on a recent ride I decided to revisit the spot where I went down and piece together what the hell happened.
Picture this.. I am riding a Custom Steel frame, on loan from the shop, to give it some welly and an idea of how new geometry was working. I had been riding pretty well...
My regular Whitely Woods loop , gentle down hill approaching this:
gentle slope, a bit mucky, but fast and smooth..
I am doing 15.2 mph ( I checked on my GPS track after)
getting closer:
SO shift weight back a bit and pop a gentle manual to clear the tiny puddle..
can you see it yet ??
That red circle is a tree root sticking up just above the surface. to the left of it is a submerged step , only a few inches high but enough to seriously smack your front end. that root isn't straight either.. hit it and it will shove your wheel to the left.. invisible and a serious dampner as I found out.
basically I hit it hard, I remember trying to pop the front, to lighten it through the puddle, but smashed something very hard and ended up in the bush to the right.
No buckled wheel, bent shifter, but no apparent damage. Only later I felt a real pain in my achilles where the pedal caught it and my ribs .. i eventually went to A&E to get them checked as I was not sure whether I had cracked a shoulder blade.
It was only washing the bike down after Winchesters race did I notice this:
That is a fucked frame. James had noticed a gouge in in the bars where the stem clamps, but we had both missed this..
such an innocuous puddle causing all this hassle.
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Wessex League Rnd 8 Winchester
Not the greatest
The day didn't start that well, and the way things transpired, I should have curled up in the duvet and mooched around at home, maybe sorting out some of the DIY backlog..
So here is my catalog of excuses of why I was so shit on Sunday...
I have got a cold.( not a sore throat yet, but snotty)
I crashed hard on Wednesday lunchtime while testing a Rock n Road custom frame. While I felt OK on picking myself up ( No cracked helmets , just a cut knee and I banged my achilles. I am pretty sure I cracked yet more ribs, a walk in clinic beckons as my chest is very sore and I cant raise my right arm, I have pins a needles inside my elbow and pain across my back when I breathe deeply)
Not in tip top race condition if I admit, but once a number is pinned on, I am not the type to DNS so like a twat I decide to race.. bad move..
It had been raining, quite a bit so a boggy, claggy muddy course was expected. I decided to race on the custom frame as its sharp steering and classy handling was getting more dialled in, and as it was running Limus Open tubulars. (a clincher disguised as a tubular.) things seemed to be set for an interesting race.
I roll out on to the course to take a lap in and see the lay of the land..
Basically the same as last year..but with some of the really horrible bumpy fields cut a bit shorter. Its a long circuit.. ( the longest in the league I think) I am not confident, and struggling to get warm. I miss my T minus 15 energy hit as my son Aaron had wandered off with my Clif Bar Shok Blocks.. thinking that they were sweets for later. I place my usual Hiver race bike in the Pits. ( different this year as the Pits were split, with no transfer in between. choose carefully!!)
Instead of the hurtle up the lane, this years start was across one of the lower fields. through a muddy gate and onto the tarmac section. and out onto the side of the playing field. I liked this bit, the off camber slime was especially slippy this year, The Limus treads, bit nicely though and the left hand line was pretty smooth and fast. a hair pin with a weird bump that you could almost berm off, a lefty , and a short bank.. up and over , past the first of the pits. wiggle along the edge of the playing field, to an awkward drop with a tight left hand turn at the bottom. a gentle straight up to the club house. through a flat curve and another steep step/bank. through a pair of easy gravel beds. a bend, and then an S shaped run through a deep gravel pit . remount, kicking pedals furiously trying to clear the pea shingle now lodged in the cleats , past the start / finish and off down a long down hill. This is possibly the longest downhill straight in the series, but this year punctuated with a drop off and a very slithery off camber set of 180 gates.. the grass torn and streaked white and riders were unsure to run it or ride it...
Off down the hill again to a set of switch backs and straights across the field. bumpy , with no racing line rut.. past the back pits number 2. through a bomb hole. wend your way through a short woodland section.. enough to pic up some leaves and off down the field again..a few short banks, one to run up , then across the field trying to build speed up again.
Another easy short wooded section, a section of road, before another couple of wiggles around some trees and up rideable banks, culminating in a deft wind up to speed to dig over a steep cut up bank and behind the centre. more wiggles around trees, almost dizzying, before a steep bank drop and slithering onto the field again...a good course, not my favourite , but a good balance of technical windy turny stuff and a decent straight to put the power down.
 |
| Steep bank by the Gravel pits Photo: Jez Hart |
I regret not going properly at the start, but soon start moving up.
 |
| Thats the world champ on my wheel Photo Graham Robins |
A youngster, cocks up one of the steep banks... dabs a foot in front. Apologising for holding us up, but I capitalise on his mistake and brusquely run through, levering my bike to make space in the melee and forging ahead. Cross is all about taking these opportunities and burning a match when you need to.
I get a gap and start moving up to the next quarry.
The next laps are settled. The Limus open tubulars are working well in the difficult conditions. Cut straw like grass, clogs the tread, but handling is pretty good, at 30psi they feel a little squirrely,... 33 next time,..
My acceleration isnt that quick today, feeling underpowered, and I avoid shouldering the bike as my ribs are hurting like hell. Way hey .. suitcasing up steep banks :-), even reaching down to scoop up an errant beer bottle on the course..
Its damp.. I watch a pendulum of sweat and moisture swinging backwards and forth across my vision reluctant to release the brow of my helmet.
Things go crap when I drop my chain just after the gravel pit and as I mess around reseating it a steady stream of riders pass through.
Gutted, the fight is kind of taken out of me as the pain in my chest returns and I soft tap for a while. I become hesitant into corners were before I was attacking and holding good lines. The bike is handling the tight switches around the various trees very well, the razor sharp tracking of the Wound Up forks,only let down by their magnetic ability to pick up sticky leaves. A clod of mud fouls the back of the fork crown and I clear it with a very nervous flick. Dave Mcmullen the current world champ ( masters) over takes me and for a wee while I manage to stay on his wheel. I am ahead of a Cotswold Veldrijden rider , not sure who is ahead, Usually after a mechanical I burn a match and go a bit nuts for a lap or so, but Winchester is a tough circuit that I don't seem to be able to get dialed in and go well. Ride conservatively it is....
The Bell sounds and its off down the hill again . resolute in one last hard dig... finish fucked remember.... I run through the switch backs half way down and yet again feel far to high going over that steep drop half way down. " Rotate yer pelvis, breathe"... I pass the pits ( number 2) and drop through the bomb hole. The off camber exit leads to a tightening hander into the wooded section and suddenly I feel a throbbing through the bars.
I pass it off as yet another muddy lump..but the throb gets worse and as I lean left into the next corner a loud 'POP' resonates under the tree canopy.
 |
| Balloon modelling... do you know what it is yet? |
Cotswold guy breezes through as I look down to this: Somehow I have rolled the tyre, wrapped the inner twice around the hub axle, then around the skewer, then around itself twice, before ballooning and coming to a halt against the brake and rim crown. no puncture but totally unrideable.
Riders pass as I shoulder the bike and start running, mentally ticking off each section as I pass through, only 100 m until that steep bank, only 100m to the grassy corner, then the short woodland section. The slim steel tube are digging into my shoulder and back; the bouncing is pretty excruciating as I run. Riders and back markers pass , calling a cheery " Well done" or " Keep going mate" as they go . Of course I am keeping going... Like fuck am I not going to finish, just get to the pit, count it out.
I have to slow down to try wheeling the bike along, but that front is solid. I try shouldering the opposite side to no avail. I stand aside to let riders pass, and work my way painstakingly to the pits.
1.1 miles ( according to Strava) and finally I arrive. All that running through last winter, and the shitty intervals on summer evenings finally came in some use.
The Rock and Road Custom special is quickly swapped and as quickly as possible its off again on my familiar Hiver,. feeling very odd after a week of training on the Special. I hardly build speed , before the final few corners pass, and with one last lurch through the gravel pits its a finish. Well down , bottom half, and probably my worst ever finish and race ever... all lessons I know, but I take this kind of thing hard.
I know I probably shouldn't have raced, but hell, there is always January to June to recover...
What went well.
Fuck all
well I suppose I didn't DNF.
some league points..Any hope of finishing high up in the league is now a pipe dream, so I will take each race as it comes and see how it goes.
Not so well
Crap tyre pressure,
feeling crap,
crap start
rolled tyre.
running is shit.
will miss the next race due to being broken again.
#####post script#####
Since writing this diatribe, I spent Monday afternoon in A&E getting my ribs and shoulder checked, only to confirm that I had indeed cracked two ribs , one in my chest and the other just below my shoulder blade. that's the second time this season I have had to deal with bust up ribs. Also as I cleaned off the Rock n Road Special, I noticed this ----------------->>>> it looks like Wednesdays crash was far harder than just trashing my body. yes indeed that is a bent head tube and down tube. no wonder i was in a fair bit of pain
.
Friday, 17 October 2014
Wessex League Round 6 Basingstoke
So its been pissing down all week, I fuss about a set of mud tyres. My last outing at Basingstoke was fraught with annoying things going wrong, culminating in puncturing and finishing well down. Friday lunchtime I test out the Limus. , good bite in the corners, but draggy on the harder flats.. could be interesting.
Sunday comes.. cold crisp and clear,.. wont be long before we get a few frosts... but for now dry will do... My tiny crappy Polo gets me there and I rush to sign on . This years fields have been getting bigger and bigger, my concern is that without pre-entry I may not get a race..
I bump into Aaron (Taylor) and decide to run Grifos, the course is well drained and drying fast, this may be my last race on them as they are getting pretty tired now.
I bump into Phil Chinn of Fareham Wheelers, and collect my winnings from Fairthorne Manor.. we have a quick chat, but I am keen to get on.
The bikes are quickly prepped.. numbers go on, and last minute checks around the car... Arm warmers or none, what do I do with my jacket after warming up? normally I leave a water bottle on top of the car , to take a swig just before the race, but don't do it today. I take the Focus pit bike goes down to the pits.
Racing is still in progress so no one is allowed to get on the circuit..The time is spent slowly circling the centre of the field. Awkward timimg really, I need to get back to the car for my T-minus 15 energy gel, but don't want to miss any time on the circuit.
15 mins before the due start we are finally allowed to get on circuit. I forfeit getting that gel and last minute swig, duck under the tape and do a practice loop.
A good fast grassy course. A little bit though the woods, and different to last seasons. Gone is soggy bottom, cut shorter this year and gone the loooong straight out and back along the adjacent field. pretty compact and retaining the BMX rollers and the berm where I came a cropper last year.
Two sets of barriers punctuate the central grassy section.
the western section was the trickiest. A right hand up the bank, right along off camber then back left again. the briefest of respite before a mirror the other way. that turn back on yourself was extremely slippy and even slow time in practice riders were losing one wheel or another, slipping off and crashing. This is the same bank where I crashed in warmup last year.
Only one lap as recce and warm up, easy pace, with no opportunity for a hotter lap, but soon its time to make way over to the start area, dropping my warmup jacket over the pit bike on the way.
The Commisaire starts gridding... FINALLY after all this time I get a call up.. pretty much the last one, but fuckit, gridded is gridded. 4th row, I am on the opposite side to where I would prefer to be, but beggars cant be choosers. .
Seem like ages, but finally the whistle goes and we are away. Wessex league start seem less hectic than the summer series, as usually there is a slow buffer of riders in front, fluffing clips and easing up to speed, so its not a head down hammer fest from the gun. It takes about 150 m or so to get to speed and into the first corner I am already making up places. I play it differently this week and don't burn a match immediately.. I sit on some wheels, knowing i can overtake later.. ..My barrier practice means I grab a few more places, exiting the first bottleneck. confidence, from practicing it lots.. and a little dig of a sprint on exit helps loads. up the bank and its squierlly exit, the line already showing stress skids towards the tape.
I take it easy and dismount and run through the top turn .. no need to wait in line... this is a race...
Its been a crap start , but I am making places up.
The gridded front rows are up the field already, but I am biting at the second and third row guys. guys I regularly beat are my targets and one by one I start to pick them off. The first run up the steep bank and I almost run into the guy in front, I slow and almost dab, stalling the guy behind.and a chain reaction occurs behind..
into the woods, its dry and fast, I almost clip a tight tree trying to press an advantage. The Bmx rollers catch me out, and I dab a afoot on the first one, but hold it together, no one can pass get going again. A quick dig over a steep mound, and I misjudge the exit corner and tighten the tape . bad call. I accelerate onto the grassy field. I have a few riders on my wheel, that I am keen to gap.
The race settles and I know I am up into the top ten. Only one rider manages to come through, I over take and gap Ed Gurney of Venta. I run the awkward off camber bank on the second lap, but after that i have a clear run at it and tripod my way through.Cornering on this wet grass is a nervous affair. The Grifos are doing well, but the sidewall treads are clogged by sticky divots of mud and grass they seem to lack bite and I have to ease up into corners. I get up to Gareth Dridge of SDV and we spend the next three laps or so battling each other, until I manage to finally get a gap with two laps or so to go. He is stronger on the field, but I catch up on the technical sections. A Southampton uni girl on a plodding 29er holds me up going through the woods again but the majority of back markers allow plenty of space. The bell lap comes and its clear my die is cast... no way I can get up to the next guy and a lot of clear air between me and my chaser. I ease up a bit, no point in hammering hard and risking a crash..
I cross teh line into the throng of riders congregating there. A nice lady hands me a pair of cleaning brushes as a spot prize this .. courtesy of Pedal On
Looks like another 8th place.. Three Wessex races.. three 8th places.. need to get some consistency in attending races, to be able to move up the gridding. overall a good race..
What went well.
Rode well, good result.
no mechanical s.
Leave a musette in the pits for jacket and last minute water swig.
not so well.
Tyre choice was sketchy as the circuit got messed up.
poor cornering on slick grassy corners
planned things badly and didnt have me T minus 15 gel.
Sunday comes.. cold crisp and clear,.. wont be long before we get a few frosts... but for now dry will do... My tiny crappy Polo gets me there and I rush to sign on . This years fields have been getting bigger and bigger, my concern is that without pre-entry I may not get a race..
I bump into Aaron (Taylor) and decide to run Grifos, the course is well drained and drying fast, this may be my last race on them as they are getting pretty tired now.
I bump into Phil Chinn of Fareham Wheelers, and collect my winnings from Fairthorne Manor.. we have a quick chat, but I am keen to get on.
The bikes are quickly prepped.. numbers go on, and last minute checks around the car... Arm warmers or none, what do I do with my jacket after warming up? normally I leave a water bottle on top of the car , to take a swig just before the race, but don't do it today. I take the Focus pit bike goes down to the pits.Racing is still in progress so no one is allowed to get on the circuit..The time is spent slowly circling the centre of the field. Awkward timimg really, I need to get back to the car for my T-minus 15 energy gel, but don't want to miss any time on the circuit.
15 mins before the due start we are finally allowed to get on circuit. I forfeit getting that gel and last minute swig, duck under the tape and do a practice loop.
Two sets of barriers punctuate the central grassy section.
the western section was the trickiest. A right hand up the bank, right along off camber then back left again. the briefest of respite before a mirror the other way. that turn back on yourself was extremely slippy and even slow time in practice riders were losing one wheel or another, slipping off and crashing. This is the same bank where I crashed in warmup last year.
 |
| doesn't look bad but its a sod to ride. |
The Commisaire starts gridding... FINALLY after all this time I get a call up.. pretty much the last one, but fuckit, gridded is gridded. 4th row, I am on the opposite side to where I would prefer to be, but beggars cant be choosers. .
Seem like ages, but finally the whistle goes and we are away. Wessex league start seem less hectic than the summer series, as usually there is a slow buffer of riders in front, fluffing clips and easing up to speed, so its not a head down hammer fest from the gun. It takes about 150 m or so to get to speed and into the first corner I am already making up places. I play it differently this week and don't burn a match immediately.. I sit on some wheels, knowing i can overtake later.. ..My barrier practice means I grab a few more places, exiting the first bottleneck. confidence, from practicing it lots.. and a little dig of a sprint on exit helps loads. up the bank and its squierlly exit, the line already showing stress skids towards the tape.
I take it easy and dismount and run through the top turn .. no need to wait in line... this is a race...
 |
| that tricky off camber . Photo Jez Hart |
The gridded front rows are up the field already, but I am biting at the second and third row guys. guys I regularly beat are my targets and one by one I start to pick them off. The first run up the steep bank and I almost run into the guy in front, I slow and almost dab, stalling the guy behind.and a chain reaction occurs behind..
into the woods, its dry and fast, I almost clip a tight tree trying to press an advantage. The Bmx rollers catch me out, and I dab a afoot on the first one, but hold it together, no one can pass get going again. A quick dig over a steep mound, and I misjudge the exit corner and tighten the tape . bad call. I accelerate onto the grassy field. I have a few riders on my wheel, that I am keen to gap.
The race settles and I know I am up into the top ten. Only one rider manages to come through, I over take and gap Ed Gurney of Venta. I run the awkward off camber bank on the second lap, but after that i have a clear run at it and tripod my way through.Cornering on this wet grass is a nervous affair. The Grifos are doing well, but the sidewall treads are clogged by sticky divots of mud and grass they seem to lack bite and I have to ease up into corners. I get up to Gareth Dridge of SDV and we spend the next three laps or so battling each other, until I manage to finally get a gap with two laps or so to go. He is stronger on the field, but I catch up on the technical sections. A Southampton uni girl on a plodding 29er holds me up going through the woods again but the majority of back markers allow plenty of space. The bell lap comes and its clear my die is cast... no way I can get up to the next guy and a lot of clear air between me and my chaser. I ease up a bit, no point in hammering hard and risking a crash..
I cross teh line into the throng of riders congregating there. A nice lady hands me a pair of cleaning brushes as a spot prize this .. courtesy of Pedal On
Looks like another 8th place.. Three Wessex races.. three 8th places.. need to get some consistency in attending races, to be able to move up the gridding. overall a good race..
What went well.
Rode well, good result.
no mechanical s.
Leave a musette in the pits for jacket and last minute water swig.
not so well.
Tyre choice was sketchy as the circuit got messed up.
poor cornering on slick grassy corners
planned things badly and didnt have me T minus 15 gel.
DIY training barriers
My first set were made from 32mm Plumbers pipe that I had hanging around, but they were bulky and a pain to get from A to B . I did a blog post about them: HERE... but didnt use them that much..
so I bought some white 20mm round conduit and fittings from my local tool station.
2 x 3m lengths of White 20mm round conduit @£1.24
4 x T pieces @ £0.82
4 x 90' elbows @ £0.52
2 x coupler @ £0.11
So all in: £8.06... the 3m length wasnt quite long enough, so I used a bit of black stuff I had left over from another job. but I am sure with more careful measurement 2x 3m would be adequate.
I intend to thread a bit of elastic through so they break down and are easy to snap together. but having tested them at lunchtime they were fine. a hint of sag, but no problem all for running over.
I don't suggest bunny hopping them though.
so I bought some white 20mm round conduit and fittings from my local tool station.
2 x 3m lengths of White 20mm round conduit @£1.24
4 x T pieces @ £0.82
4 x 90' elbows @ £0.52
2 x coupler @ £0.11
So all in: £8.06... the 3m length wasnt quite long enough, so I used a bit of black stuff I had left over from another job. but I am sure with more careful measurement 2x 3m would be adequate.
I intend to thread a bit of elastic through so they break down and are easy to snap together. but having tested them at lunchtime they were fine. a hint of sag, but no problem all for running over.
I don't suggest bunny hopping them though.
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Bye bye old girl
A while back I blogged about getting my beloved Lemond frame rebuilt and back on the road after a brief haitus and ill fated dabble with disks on a Genesis Croix De Fer.. I have stuck a pretty reasonable mileage on it since I bought it second hand way back in 2003 and we have had many long miles, brilliant shared rides and milestones in my cycling career.
Most recently I took it to Spain with me for my ride up the Angliru. On that trip I had a problem with the bottom bracket and since getting home have taken the cranks off to take a look..
Oh dear:
at first I noticed the hole... judging by the other dents, most likely a result of some of my off road 'gravel' outings, a big stone must have come up smacked a dent and beaten a hole.
On a revisit I looked closer and noticed a bit of paint flaking...
double ah shit..
looks like a proper crack.. ( crack as in fucked .. not Craic as in get get wasted with Aiden..)
After a chat with James... the hole could be filled , but that crack means its fooked forever..
so About 10 years , at least 1500 miles a year on it ... thats at least 15000 miles at least on her..
good times:
Angliru
Dragon Ride,
the Sportive years.
Velocity days.
Long rides with my brother.
Getting back into riding after the birth of my son.
Heres a very old blog post about her: http://wilhay.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/oh-shit/
I may make a montage of pics on her ....or a facebook memorial page?
Most recently I took it to Spain with me for my ride up the Angliru. On that trip I had a problem with the bottom bracket and since getting home have taken the cranks off to take a look..
Oh dear:
at first I noticed the hole... judging by the other dents, most likely a result of some of my off road 'gravel' outings, a big stone must have come up smacked a dent and beaten a hole.
On a revisit I looked closer and noticed a bit of paint flaking...
double ah shit..
looks like a proper crack.. ( crack as in fucked .. not Craic as in get get wasted with Aiden..)
After a chat with James... the hole could be filled , but that crack means its fooked forever..
so About 10 years , at least 1500 miles a year on it ... thats at least 15000 miles at least on her..
good times:
Angliru
Dragon Ride,
the Sportive years.
Velocity days.
Long rides with my brother.
Getting back into riding after the birth of my son.
Heres a very old blog post about her: http://wilhay.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/oh-shit/
I may make a montage of pics on her ....or a facebook memorial page?
New Helmet time
I may have mentioned that I crashed quite hard a few weeks ago.. A few cracked ribs, a trashed wrist/hand.. and I really banged my head hard..While I was pretty dazed and had a banging headache later and into the next day, I didnt think too much about it..
Until now...A wee bit of plastic broke off so I had a closer look:
Not one, but three cracks..!! All on the right side where I smacked my head.
So off to the shop for a new one..
Much lighter than my Atmos
I love the Magnetic strap clasp.
Sort of Team Colours
Better fit than my Atmos.
The first time I have not worn a Giro Helmet
Until now...A wee bit of plastic broke off so I had a closer look:
Not one, but three cracks..!! All on the right side where I smacked my head.
 |
|
So off to the shop for a new one..
I love the Magnetic strap clasp.
Sort of Team Colours
Better fit than my Atmos.
The first time I have not worn a Giro Helmet
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Wessex CX League Rnd 5 Fairthorne Manor
With the Wessex league well underway , its on to Round 5. Its been a while since my last race..(see my previous post) but a lovely, crisp day heralded a return to racing. Fairthorne Manor, promoted by my local club Fareham Wheelers. A mere 10 minutes from home, so with Family in tow, I made my way down the hill to Fairthorne manor with plenty of time in hand..
Saturdays heavy rain had come and gone, but with it the awkward question about what tread to use..
Do I go with Griffo:- medium, all round tread, currently glued on my tubulars? or should I go with my new Limus open tubulars., unused to date, and still lightly dusted with baby talc after fitting. James from the shop was watching his son race, and advised the Griffos. Saves me risking new kit in the trace so I stuck to what I knew. I dropped the pressure a wee bit , checked my pit bike pressures, and went to sign on.
Fairthorne is a great venue.a warm club house, easy parking , showers and a set of loos right next to the start line , spot on for that last minute nervous piss.
So initial ride around its pretty dry... only two slightly boggy bits.. the Griffos were a good choice. I even saw someone on file treads.
I don't do enough warming up, as I am chatting too much.. but do get two laps in, a fair bit of yammering, and craning my neck to see when my wife and son pitch up.
A cracking course, with a few changes from January's splatter fest. Phil (Chinn) had listened to the feedback and opened the circuit up a bit. Not so twisty and tight on the grass and less time in the woods.
The start was right across the front of the club house heading eastbound straight for a copse of trees. The full lap wound its awkward way through these, but for the start it was straight on. a left kink across the field, bee lining for a small bridge.
First lap it was straight over, and along the hedge before rejoining the course at a second bridge.
Off camber along a bank,. hard right , with a slippy root on the apex of the turn.
Down a dip to accelerate into the field, a few grassy corners, past the pits and down a rutted drop to bottom hedge. Along a damp section, over a rise and over Phils glorious engineered bridge onto a short section of tarmac.
a left kick up the hill into a single track rise through the woods. a lot easier in this drier weather.
a bit of decent single track a left hander , dismount for a log. remount , down the hill onto very greasy leaf strewn tarmac. 50 metres before up the woods again. Phil likes his wooded sections.
another scary rejoin and a 200 meter sprint on tarmac to a tight loose right hander. punching out into the daylight again. a corner, and line up for the sandpit. take this fast and to the right, but I spied a bail out line on the left.over a rise, and onto soggy bottom part two.
churn along this and start gaining height back up the field. Around a fallen tree and a good run through grassy taped corners , over a rise, to the finish line. a great circuit,
the family turn up , just as I am moving off to the start. a quick good luck and I am gone.. ready to wedge myself as far forward as possible. any hope of being gridded long gone. big elbow time.
The commissare starts gridding.. the rows are formed. . as soon as I hear " and the rest of you" I am up there like a shot. nailed and lined up on a third rows tyre, with mm in between.
Marshals adhere to the rules and one unfortunate rider is sent to the back for not lining up.. felt bad for him..
The start comes and we are off. , its a slow one, as the guy in front of me fluffs his clip. In the melee I try going right, but get switched, so move left . two of us lean on each other, all fair in the chaos.
a bit of mutual sup[port when its needed. Speed builds up as I go left and sprint across the field to the bridge. Committing early , burn an early match , get the positions and then defend it. easily across the bridge and sprint again around the bottle neck. Take B lines to move up.. Only dead fish go with the flow. A strong looking chap undertakes me , half wheeling into a corner. but he isnt strong enough to press his advantage and i go around him on the next straight. I unclip and tripod through the bottom of the hill , and am in a pretty good position, going into the woods. I felt strong, and riders in front seemed to plod up.
I unclip early on the log and run past the bottle neck at the logs. then sprint on the exit running just a little bit further than other guys. a good way to make up places..Simon Medwell loses it on the corner before entering the big field again. I manage to avoid him as he remounts again.
We settle into the race, I take stock of my surrounding riders. Ed Gurney of VC Venta behind me, a string of Cotswold Veldrijden riders in front. I manage to gap Ed and work my way up to Robin Wilmot of Cotswold. Content to be on his wheel, he is a regular top ten rider. nipping at his heels, ready to pounce if he makes a mistake. he gaps me on the field section, but I manage to get back up to him through the woods,. Heart rate is ok. I am feeling pretty good, and the woods especially feels pretty dialled in.
We stay like this for a fair while, until we pass into the woods again. A back marker is in the hedge, his front wheel sticking out from behind a tree. Robin calls, but the marker moves out and I am forced to swerve to avoid his front wheel. I lose momentum, un-clip, and awkwardly fall on my side, letting two riders through.
Back up to speed, ( accelerating up hill on loose soil in the big ring) burn another match time.. I make a few mistakes on the next few corners by trying too hard.
Take it easy , ease back a bit. no mistakes.. I have 20 minutes or so to catch up again. Ribs ache a bit when I breathe deeply, but manageable. left hand hurts, but thats what ibuprofen is for later.
I work past the two opportunists and blast past a few more back markers. With 120 riders in the full field , back markers really slow down the flow of the race.
I drop my chain on the tarmac section, but manage to keep my composure. Keep pedalling and reseat it.( my fix of a long bolt does the trick and it rides back on) My left wrist hurts like hell with all that pressing on the STI lever. I go down onto the drops to try relive pressure.
Worse was to come as we enter the woods on the second to last lap. Robin manages to squeak past a train of three slow riders just as we entered the woods. I get stuck behind a very slow group, despite my calls, they refuse to move off the line. and I see Robin ride away. My early run move works on two of them, but I am still stuck behind as we rejoin the tarmac. They eventually ease over so I can pass, and I burn another match and kick hard but its too late and I cant get on to Robin as he presses home his advantage.
No mistakes through the sandpit and steadily tap through the top field before my final dig for the line. ( in front of my cheering family)
I dont feel as trashed as I normally do. Racing is hard, but in this one I felt fitness was ok, but my technical skills were holding back my speed.
After the race I hung out with team mates Ben and Dan. Before watching the Seniors Race with Aaron (my cycling mad son) and Bens family. A few photos, a few gentle heckles and mucking around with cowbells.
an excellent day.. and a superb event.
what went well.
Tyre choice and pressure was dialled in spot on
raced hard.
despite not getting gridded , managed to get 4th row
no mechanicals.
Having family cheeering every lap... its a big deal :-)
not so good.
Getting held up by back markers.
Saturdays heavy rain had come and gone, but with it the awkward question about what tread to use..
Do I go with Griffo:- medium, all round tread, currently glued on my tubulars? or should I go with my new Limus open tubulars., unused to date, and still lightly dusted with baby talc after fitting. James from the shop was watching his son race, and advised the Griffos. Saves me risking new kit in the trace so I stuck to what I knew. I dropped the pressure a wee bit , checked my pit bike pressures, and went to sign on.
Fairthorne is a great venue.a warm club house, easy parking , showers and a set of loos right next to the start line , spot on for that last minute nervous piss.
So initial ride around its pretty dry... only two slightly boggy bits.. the Griffos were a good choice. I even saw someone on file treads.
I don't do enough warming up, as I am chatting too much.. but do get two laps in, a fair bit of yammering, and craning my neck to see when my wife and son pitch up.
The start was right across the front of the club house heading eastbound straight for a copse of trees. The full lap wound its awkward way through these, but for the start it was straight on. a left kink across the field, bee lining for a small bridge.
First lap it was straight over, and along the hedge before rejoining the course at a second bridge.
Off camber along a bank,. hard right , with a slippy root on the apex of the turn.
Down a dip to accelerate into the field, a few grassy corners, past the pits and down a rutted drop to bottom hedge. Along a damp section, over a rise and over Phils glorious engineered bridge onto a short section of tarmac.
a left kick up the hill into a single track rise through the woods. a lot easier in this drier weather.
a bit of decent single track a left hander , dismount for a log. remount , down the hill onto very greasy leaf strewn tarmac. 50 metres before up the woods again. Phil likes his wooded sections.
another scary rejoin and a 200 meter sprint on tarmac to a tight loose right hander. punching out into the daylight again. a corner, and line up for the sandpit. take this fast and to the right, but I spied a bail out line on the left.over a rise, and onto soggy bottom part two.
churn along this and start gaining height back up the field. Around a fallen tree and a good run through grassy taped corners , over a rise, to the finish line. a great circuit,
the family turn up , just as I am moving off to the start. a quick good luck and I am gone.. ready to wedge myself as far forward as possible. any hope of being gridded long gone. big elbow time.
The commissare starts gridding.. the rows are formed. . as soon as I hear " and the rest of you" I am up there like a shot. nailed and lined up on a third rows tyre, with mm in between.
Marshals adhere to the rules and one unfortunate rider is sent to the back for not lining up.. felt bad for him..
The start comes and we are off. , its a slow one, as the guy in front of me fluffs his clip. In the melee I try going right, but get switched, so move left . two of us lean on each other, all fair in the chaos.
a bit of mutual sup[port when its needed. Speed builds up as I go left and sprint across the field to the bridge. Committing early , burn an early match , get the positions and then defend it. easily across the bridge and sprint again around the bottle neck. Take B lines to move up.. Only dead fish go with the flow. A strong looking chap undertakes me , half wheeling into a corner. but he isnt strong enough to press his advantage and i go around him on the next straight. I unclip and tripod through the bottom of the hill , and am in a pretty good position, going into the woods. I felt strong, and riders in front seemed to plod up.
I unclip early on the log and run past the bottle neck at the logs. then sprint on the exit running just a little bit further than other guys. a good way to make up places..Simon Medwell loses it on the corner before entering the big field again. I manage to avoid him as he remounts again.
 |
| pic: Graham Robins |
We stay like this for a fair while, until we pass into the woods again. A back marker is in the hedge, his front wheel sticking out from behind a tree. Robin calls, but the marker moves out and I am forced to swerve to avoid his front wheel. I lose momentum, un-clip, and awkwardly fall on my side, letting two riders through.
Back up to speed, ( accelerating up hill on loose soil in the big ring) burn another match time.. I make a few mistakes on the next few corners by trying too hard.
Take it easy , ease back a bit. no mistakes.. I have 20 minutes or so to catch up again. Ribs ache a bit when I breathe deeply, but manageable. left hand hurts, but thats what ibuprofen is for later.
I work past the two opportunists and blast past a few more back markers. With 120 riders in the full field , back markers really slow down the flow of the race.
I drop my chain on the tarmac section, but manage to keep my composure. Keep pedalling and reseat it.( my fix of a long bolt does the trick and it rides back on) My left wrist hurts like hell with all that pressing on the STI lever. I go down onto the drops to try relive pressure.
Worse was to come as we enter the woods on the second to last lap. Robin manages to squeak past a train of three slow riders just as we entered the woods. I get stuck behind a very slow group, despite my calls, they refuse to move off the line. and I see Robin ride away. My early run move works on two of them, but I am still stuck behind as we rejoin the tarmac. They eventually ease over so I can pass, and I burn another match and kick hard but its too late and I cant get on to Robin as he presses home his advantage.
No mistakes through the sandpit and steadily tap through the top field before my final dig for the line. ( in front of my cheering family)
I dont feel as trashed as I normally do. Racing is hard, but in this one I felt fitness was ok, but my technical skills were holding back my speed.
After the race I hung out with team mates Ben and Dan. Before watching the Seniors Race with Aaron (my cycling mad son) and Bens family. A few photos, a few gentle heckles and mucking around with cowbells.
an excellent day.. and a superb event.
what went well.
Tyre choice and pressure was dialled in spot on
raced hard.
despite not getting gridded , managed to get 4th row
no mechanicals.
Having family cheeering every lap... its a big deal :-)
not so good.
Getting held up by back markers.
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
its all going shit...
well not really..
After a great summer campaign, Autumn has been kind of unraveling rather quickly. Wessex League Round 1 up in Newbury went well, but since then things have taken a bit of a turn.
Firstly real life work went a bit seriously shit and really piled stress on..... Then I missed Oxford due to Roller racing commitments. South Coast Sprints were in Brighton for our annual pilgrimage to the Brighton SEO after conference party.
Then on the Saturday we did Spin up in the City at Velo Cafe as part of the Tour of Britain celebrations.
A late finish and arriving home around 02:00 meant racing in Oxford was going to be tenuous at best. The autogyro of being fair to my wife and family kicked in and I forfeited racing, for a day of recovery and DIY catchup.
Unfortunately I had a pretty bad crash in training, cracking two ribs and did something to my wrist and hand. it was painful as hell, I couldn't breathe properly or sleep very well. and three weeks on, my wrist is still hurting and crunching on the bouncy stuff . Remounts are an issue too as the full weight is on that left wrist when you swing back into the saddle.. Damn .. To err on the side of caution I choose not to race on the Isle of Wight, as a further crash was likely to put paid to my entire season.... so that was another race missed.
So onto the Cycle show. South Coast Sprints once again were booked in to do the Cycle Show up at the NEC..This time Supporting Sharps Brewery ( of Doom Bar fame), who were promoting their new Atlantic Pale Ale. 5 days of very intense, stressful, but ultimately fun racing with over 500 riders passing over our rigs. I managed two short early runs, but no riding at all,
Obviously working the Sunday, meant that I missed the Cotswold Veldrijden event up on familiar Newbury.,. gutted. ( to add to the injury I was gridded as well) a massive drop in fitness and a post event cold/cough is looming after sharing far too much time with a snotty chaps. and the general public sneezing and spluttering ..
So that's 3 events missed.. no pressure to get racing as soon as I can.. if I can hold off this cold, and my wrist/hand isn't too bad I hope to have a crack at the Fareham Wheelers event at Fairthorne Manor this weekend. I wont be on form, but hopefully I can snag a few League points to help bouy my flagging morale and hopefully keep my season from being a total wash out.
At least the Atlantic Pale Ale is bloody great ...
After a great summer campaign, Autumn has been kind of unraveling rather quickly. Wessex League Round 1 up in Newbury went well, but since then things have taken a bit of a turn.
Then on the Saturday we did Spin up in the City at Velo Cafe as part of the Tour of Britain celebrations.A late finish and arriving home around 02:00 meant racing in Oxford was going to be tenuous at best. The autogyro of being fair to my wife and family kicked in and I forfeited racing, for a day of recovery and DIY catchup.
Unfortunately I had a pretty bad crash in training, cracking two ribs and did something to my wrist and hand. it was painful as hell, I couldn't breathe properly or sleep very well. and three weeks on, my wrist is still hurting and crunching on the bouncy stuff . Remounts are an issue too as the full weight is on that left wrist when you swing back into the saddle.. Damn .. To err on the side of caution I choose not to race on the Isle of Wight, as a further crash was likely to put paid to my entire season.... so that was another race missed.
So onto the Cycle show. South Coast Sprints once again were booked in to do the Cycle Show up at the NEC..This time Supporting Sharps Brewery ( of Doom Bar fame), who were promoting their new Atlantic Pale Ale. 5 days of very intense, stressful, but ultimately fun racing with over 500 riders passing over our rigs. I managed two short early runs, but no riding at all,
Obviously working the Sunday, meant that I missed the Cotswold Veldrijden event up on familiar Newbury.,. gutted. ( to add to the injury I was gridded as well) a massive drop in fitness and a post event cold/cough is looming after sharing far too much time with a snotty chaps. and the general public sneezing and spluttering ..
At least the Atlantic Pale Ale is bloody great ...
Wessex CX league Round 1 Newbury
First race of the season.and as my friend Phil put it.. its like the first day back in school, all new geometry sets and pristine new pencil case.. and sheepishly looking around at the cool kids. Seems the grown ups are out...
Summer cross has been fantastic, but now the big guns come out, and as the carpark fills I recognise the top guys from last year.
Its been a good summer, I am fairly handy, maybe a bit down on where I was last year , but looking forward to measuring myself against the Wessex circuits this Autumn and into the Winter.
I travel up with Phil in his behemoth of a van, arriving just as the kids racing gets underway. We eventually find sign on and meander back to the van to prep bikes.
Its warm, no need for arm or leg warmers yet. the sun is even trying to burn through the thin film of mist.
A cracker of a course.. A long straight to start, slightly uphill across the field. Past the race HQ and drop down gently towards the first corner.. a slight right, followed by a tighter left past the pits.
a decent straight past the north end of the college, scoot across the road and down a dip into to only boggy bit on the circuit, no problem, it was damp and a bit cut up, but easily navigated. A wide slight uphill, a sharp drop in closely followed by a steep bank exit.through a gravel trap and start on a draggy hill.. a lot tougher than it looked.
a hairpin at the top and a very welcome downhill.
all too soon finished witha left hander along the bottom of the feld. two lines here, both bumpy and difficult to find the smoothest and fastest route.
Popping out onto the roadway and witha quick pop over the sandbags lining the kerbs onto an awkward slalom around off camber trees. this led to a series of tight up and downs of a steep bank , lined with spectators during the race,,Past the pits again, sligtlyl downhill and building up a fair bit of pace.a series of trees puntuate this east bound leg, an abrupt off camber corner,across the field to a fast right hander around a tree into a tight switchback next to a tree. I ballsed this up both laps on my warm up, fingers crossed I dont on the race.. a slight dig up hill towards the running boards, closely followed by good use of the long jump sand pit. A horrible bi of winding in and out of a small copse, switching back on yourself twice, remaining upright on the roots and trying to exit to a fast scoot across the southernmost part of the course.
A bank, switch>bank switch> tight 180 and a hard dig up again.
blast out of the spiral and head for the finish line for another lap.
Cracking circuit. technical, with some good flat line speed parts.
So to t he start line...a bit nervous for the new season, and keen to get my tyre nudged out front. The V50s were all called forward.. gridded, then the Juniors, followed by the Ladies... a full 40 or 50 riders in front...not exactly great. As the V40s were called forward I was dismayed that the gridding was based on the top 20 from last years league finishing tables. I end up somewhere back in the fifth or sixth row, feeling boxed in pretty tightly, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and a bit glum at being so far back, despite a successful summer campaign.
The familiar whistle goes, and its down to business. Everything up until now has been playing, this is the main event. As the sprint start opens up, gaps are slow to appear as I am boxed in, so its more of a rolling start than a dig for the holeshot..
as we pass the pits, I accelerate into the right hand side. not the best line, but good for overtaking.
The road approaches, and I drop off the kerb and bunny hop the opposite side, cutting out the bottleneck of riders taking the dropped kerb exit. worth the risk of cocking up and pinch flatting.
I push the line to get into position for the steep dip and bank. easing slightly , to line up before committing. I hear a clatter behind as a rider a few back dabs a foot and grinds every one to a halt. Committed to the right edge I am unfazed and open a gap through the gravel and up onto the hill.
Time to burn a match.. I go well into the red and overtake a few riders going up the hill. The hill was a bitch. while it wasnt particularly steep, it was pretty rutted with two lines. the right hand tape line was smoother, but to overtake the left hand bumps really took it out of you.
As i reach the top i coast for a bit of a breather.. approaching the top ten, and already starting to cut through back markers.
The down hill comes and goes, and the bottom of teh field leads quickly onto smooth tarmac. I balls up the wiggles in and out of the trees, and make a mental note to practice these super tigt off camber turns.I over take another rider, and wedge my nose past another at the top of the steep bank.
the bank hits your legs hard, but two or three cranks and its over... easing off and allowing me to chunker down through the rear block and build up some speed.
I overtake a few riders on the section down the field.. shifting weight to cut past the trees as closely as possible. this became a favourite line to overtake as the race progressed.
I almost roll a tyre on an off camber section ; definitly on t he limit of tyre adhesion. ( i finish teh race with strands of grass poking out like a hairy halo around the rim) (hahaahaah)
the race progresses and the gaps open up. I have worked up to a top ten place and am thourougly enjoying the circuit. The spiral of doom is a particular favourite ad i manage to dial it in pretty quick. gratefully thanking slower riders who slow or pull over to let me pass.
I get a gap on rival Wil Macdonald of TriTeam. and manage to hold him off, putting time into him each lap.
The bell comes and I have no real chasers, and my closest rider up front is well ahead. Dont risk cramp, or a crash. but do pop a wheely coming out of the turny tree section ( at the behest of the joking Marshals)
Overtaking a few more back markers I have a dig for the line and finish 8th.
flat out on the floor, and my team mate Ben comes over to say "Hi". we decide to do a full lap together as I talk him through the lines I had used. I watch half of his race nursing a cup of tea.. heckling and getting a few pictures..
what went well:
No mechanicals :-)
raced hard and got a pretty good result,
Great course.Probably the most enjoyable that I have ridden to date.
Not so good.
Not gridded. fifth row!
weak on tight "back on yourself type" corners.(180's)
Monday, 15 September 2014
Monday, 8 September 2014
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Cotswold Veldrijen Summer Cross Round 4--Newbury Showground.
Last of the Cotswold Veldrijden Summer Series..last hurrah of a pretty up and down summer season..Three weeks of holiday had meant that I had missed race number three but I was still leading the series.
While I managed to sneak my bike on holiday I didn't manage to do any riding, ( except for riding up the Angliru) so the pressure was on for this race.
The day was damp again, heavy rain had passed through in the morning. With a lot of new faces at the race paddock. Sunday racing brings out a different pool of riders, maybe Saturdays are tied up working or family, but it was a much tougher field.
The circuit was the same as my last outing. anticlockwise, no difference to the circuit.
A heavy rain shower passed through just as I started warming up, then I noticed that my rear tub was losing pressure. I quickly swapped over to my spare Fulcrums. and off I went on a warm up lap again, only to hear a loud ping as I applied a bit of welly. Broken spoke... bugger.
so i get back to the car and whip the wheel off my pit bike . Quickly swap over to a ten speed cassette and carry on warming up..
I don't like the feel, so I take a risk and munge a small bottle of sealant into my deflating tub.. it holds.... but by now the start time is fast approaching. I fling the spare wheel back onto the Focus ( 10 speed cassette on 9 speed running gear?) and get ready to race.
I am called up front row again, but really nervous . warming up hadn't gone well, my bike didn't feel dialed in, ah well shit or bust.
The Go comes soon enough and its game on..
Three weeks of relaxing in Northern Spain are not ideal preparation for the intense lunacy of a cross race start.and before the first corner I am already dropping places. I am in about fifth or sixth as we exit the first corner.
Lactic kicks in soon after and the format for the race is set. well in the red , no let up..as I work my way back through the field. Cornering was harder this week, especially as you exited the trees. the first drop off was worn from the last few weeks racing and whereas before I had to run it .. the right hand line through was worn, making it rideable. The second drop was a bit hairier, but nothing too hectic.
I am totally hammered, the bike holds together, but I cant keep up with my regular peer group, and fall further and further back, my legs simply not obeying as I make little mistakes as I tire but eventually I dial a few lines in again and stop losing ground. Better late than never, but just finish. No sign of cramp, butt my left hip flexor is aching ..
The bike holds out as the rain holds off, and I cross the line totally worn out.
Prize giving arrives and unfortunately I had been pipped for the top spot for the series win, but a credible second overall after a missed round and a poor race is more than enough to feed a training frenzy before the winter.
,.
Turns out that mud comes out the white stuff no problem, lest see how clean the white panels stay this AW1415 season.
While I managed to sneak my bike on holiday I didn't manage to do any riding, ( except for riding up the Angliru) so the pressure was on for this race.
The day was damp again, heavy rain had passed through in the morning. With a lot of new faces at the race paddock. Sunday racing brings out a different pool of riders, maybe Saturdays are tied up working or family, but it was a much tougher field.
The circuit was the same as my last outing. anticlockwise, no difference to the circuit.
A heavy rain shower passed through just as I started warming up, then I noticed that my rear tub was losing pressure. I quickly swapped over to my spare Fulcrums. and off I went on a warm up lap again, only to hear a loud ping as I applied a bit of welly. Broken spoke... bugger.
so i get back to the car and whip the wheel off my pit bike . Quickly swap over to a ten speed cassette and carry on warming up..
I don't like the feel, so I take a risk and munge a small bottle of sealant into my deflating tub.. it holds.... but by now the start time is fast approaching. I fling the spare wheel back onto the Focus ( 10 speed cassette on 9 speed running gear?) and get ready to race.
I am called up front row again, but really nervous . warming up hadn't gone well, my bike didn't feel dialed in, ah well shit or bust.
The Go comes soon enough and its game on..
Three weeks of relaxing in Northern Spain are not ideal preparation for the intense lunacy of a cross race start.and before the first corner I am already dropping places. I am in about fifth or sixth as we exit the first corner.
Lactic kicks in soon after and the format for the race is set. well in the red , no let up..as I work my way back through the field. Cornering was harder this week, especially as you exited the trees. the first drop off was worn from the last few weeks racing and whereas before I had to run it .. the right hand line through was worn, making it rideable. The second drop was a bit hairier, but nothing too hectic. |
| Thats Racing!!! |
The bike holds out as the rain holds off, and I cross the line totally worn out.
Prize giving arrives and unfortunately I had been pipped for the top spot for the series win, but a credible second overall after a missed round and a poor race is more than enough to feed a training frenzy before the winter.
,.
Turns out that mud comes out the white stuff no problem, lest see how clean the white panels stay this AW1415 season.
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Cotswold Veldrijen Summer Cross Round 2--Newbury Showground.
The aftermath of a few heavy showers meant that we finally had a bit of mud... I know summer cross is supposed to be all about dry dusty grass crits, with little need to wash your bike week to week, but hell yeah.. a bit of mud.( maybe I shouldnt wish for it too much.. it will come in spadefuls later in the year!)
The circuit was the same as last weeks. just in reverse. The dry hardpack trail was a bit softer, especially under the trees, now including a puddle at one point and some lovely squirrely wet stuff on one particular corner..
The reversal of last weeks course meant we knew what to expect. The two tricky banks were now drop offs. The double step was rideable by some, but I didnt have the confidence to find a line. so decided on a running line.. ( blunder) and the single step step was just a regular drop in as last weeks race had cut a diagonal ramp across it. still a bit hairy, but safe with soft gravel landing for anyone who ballsed it up.
I was expecting damp grass, but the open parts of the course were dry and the only puddle on the circuit was the swoopy bombhole under the trees. The double hump back was a bit hairier as the roll out of the second mound was rutted. For some reason it felt more technical this way around, and I expected the downhill sections to be a bit hairy, ( but this wasnt the case)
Due to the wet and the cut grass, I had decided to bring a pit bike this week. . My usual Focus pit bike was off the road (!)after a midweek mishap. So I opted for the Merida with its cantis ( mini vs were terrible in the wet cut grass a few weeks ago).
I arrive a bit later this week, and less prepared.. food the previous day had been a bit pants, and i was a bit groggy after a few late nights strugglling in the heat. but bollox that just excuses.
A few new guys in the paddock and last weeks victor is away elsewhere, maybe I will have a chance today.
I spot a group of Banjos Cycles racers and recognise Peter Kench and a few other regulars from the Banjo Cycles Newbury series.
One lap to warm up, spin the legs out after the monotonous drone up the A34 from Southampton. the legs dont seem as fluid and bouncy as last week, I just hope that they pull themselves together once racing gets underway.
I try and find a line through the double stepped dropoff, but err on the side of caution and decide to run it from the outset. teh only variable was when to remount. run over the second mount or remount on the short table top in between obstacles.
Riders start amassing around the start area. so as the minus ten minute gel is slithering down my throat, I neck the last of the tepid water and make my way over .
Gridding starts , and last weeks second means I am called up first row. Tom is next to me.. and Dan of Banjo on my left. Woo hoo , Gridding. Got called up :-) first time ... front row.
The whistle goes and we are off. Tom is off like a shot, and even though my roll off was slow, i gatehr speed quickly.
Tom got the holeshot,. I was second row, but I kinda messed up and went wide where the tarmac ended and a puddle had formed. I opened a barn door and a few riders came inside me pushing me back into about 5th or 6th..
the usual sorting occurs as the race strings out, Pete Kench moves up and a small group of 3 formed up front. they steadily worked up to Craig of Dream CC
I was off the back of this chase group. Seat post boy from last week came crashing through, washing out in front of me, .. On the second time he did it I gently asked him to take it easy and concentrate. Very strong chap kinda rides like Captain Chaos..
I work my way up into fourth place.. I can see
Tom ahead easing off the back of the little group up front. I am closing in on him, heart rate is fairly steady around max..Rythym is good and making no mistakes on the corners. the lap board counts down... thank fuck only 2 laps to go .. still closing in on Tom..my two chasers are way off not even in sight.
On the downhill section of this penultimate lap I get that unmistakable feeling of the back end going squirrely..
HOw?? my tubs have sealant in them..SHit shit shit...turns become laboured and long, my speed just plummets as if I am in treacle.
fuck iy.. they are tubs,.. I can ride them flat...so I stay on the grass as I approach the finish line and the bell. As I pass the pits ( opposite side of the runway) shout out to prep the Merida..
I go around the top corner like an old lady on a happy shopper, and as I approached the switch back gates 25 meters short of the pits I get off and sprint, shouldering the bike. The chasers pass the bell, they are almost on me, my minute in hand is plummeting, one more corner they will be on me..
A very helpful marshall had my spare bike ready for me. Unfortunately I hadn't heard his call for which side remount and I fluffed my right side remount ( Practise these!!)
I get going again , totally anerobic, I had the presence to take my garmin off and slip it in my pocket just before I had started running. ( hell I was going slow enough!)
This bike is a lot slower than my race bike, its shit, it doesn't brake and it doesnt corner..., I over cook a corner and come to a stop wrapped in tape. hemorrhaging time.. The catch comes as I am running the double bank. I have the bike shouldered, so would have been within reason to hold and defend my line as I was still racing, but Dream CC guy had been towing that pair for laps.. and I had seen him ride the double step, so fair play, I stepped aside and let my two chasers through.. ( no point being an arse about it) I fluff my remount, pausing before getting back up to speed again, but I am cooked. I have been anerobic since the bike change and my former chasers get a gap on me.
I tap on as best I can. The handling is awful, over-steering into most corners, whereas before I had the lines dialled in, its as if I am just riding the circuit for the first time again., my cornering confidence is slipping.
I oversteer into tape. and the canti brakes are shit and howling and juddering. They have a corner on me now and I know I wont get them back. relax.. stay calm,. I look around to see if I have new chasers, another group is within striking range , and I bury myself in that bell lap desperate to maintain my gap.
I make mistakes and fluff one of the step ups, but I am moving again pretty quickly. Morgan Jones of Banjo Cycles ( a Newbury regular) is withing 50meters of me.. With every gear change skipping and the chain railing and complaining I painfully complete my lap. as I put the power on to sprint for the line something weird happens, and I cross the line with the whole sickening feel of a derailleur locking, going north, and straining against the chain tension.
I look down..
WTF.. two broken spokes and my rear mech is straining, An ounce more pressure and it will let go and rip the (already bent) hanger .. I skid to a halt, almost taken out by a sprinting Morgan.. luckily the 60 minutes haven't dulled his reactions and he just manages to avoid me..
A bit gutted that my two chasers that got through were both Vets, so 3rd Vet and sixth over all.. and a few good lessons to boot..
Thats me for a while now.. Bikeless Family holidays beckon and a nasty saddle sore will keep me off the bike for a few weeks.. If I can I will try racing on the last of the series, but failing that it will be building up for the Wessex League starting in September.
Here is the official write up:
http://www.velouk.net/2014/07/19/report-cotswold-veldrijden-summer-cx-2/
What went well.
Nots so good.
The circuit was the same as last weeks. just in reverse. The dry hardpack trail was a bit softer, especially under the trees, now including a puddle at one point and some lovely squirrely wet stuff on one particular corner..
The reversal of last weeks course meant we knew what to expect. The two tricky banks were now drop offs. The double step was rideable by some, but I didnt have the confidence to find a line. so decided on a running line.. ( blunder) and the single step step was just a regular drop in as last weeks race had cut a diagonal ramp across it. still a bit hairy, but safe with soft gravel landing for anyone who ballsed it up.
I was expecting damp grass, but the open parts of the course were dry and the only puddle on the circuit was the swoopy bombhole under the trees. The double hump back was a bit hairier as the roll out of the second mound was rutted. For some reason it felt more technical this way around, and I expected the downhill sections to be a bit hairy, ( but this wasnt the case)
 |
| Pic: Graham Robins |
I arrive a bit later this week, and less prepared.. food the previous day had been a bit pants, and i was a bit groggy after a few late nights strugglling in the heat. but bollox that just excuses.
A few new guys in the paddock and last weeks victor is away elsewhere, maybe I will have a chance today.
I spot a group of Banjos Cycles racers and recognise Peter Kench and a few other regulars from the Banjo Cycles Newbury series.
One lap to warm up, spin the legs out after the monotonous drone up the A34 from Southampton. the legs dont seem as fluid and bouncy as last week, I just hope that they pull themselves together once racing gets underway.
I try and find a line through the double stepped dropoff, but err on the side of caution and decide to run it from the outset. teh only variable was when to remount. run over the second mount or remount on the short table top in between obstacles.
Riders start amassing around the start area. so as the minus ten minute gel is slithering down my throat, I neck the last of the tepid water and make my way over .
 |
| Pic: Graham Robin. from VeloUK |
The whistle goes and we are off. Tom is off like a shot, and even though my roll off was slow, i gatehr speed quickly.
Tom got the holeshot,. I was second row, but I kinda messed up and went wide where the tarmac ended and a puddle had formed. I opened a barn door and a few riders came inside me pushing me back into about 5th or 6th..
the usual sorting occurs as the race strings out, Pete Kench moves up and a small group of 3 formed up front. they steadily worked up to Craig of Dream CC
I was off the back of this chase group. Seat post boy from last week came crashing through, washing out in front of me, .. On the second time he did it I gently asked him to take it easy and concentrate. Very strong chap kinda rides like Captain Chaos..
I work my way up into fourth place.. I can see
Tom ahead easing off the back of the little group up front. I am closing in on him, heart rate is fairly steady around max..Rythym is good and making no mistakes on the corners. the lap board counts down... thank fuck only 2 laps to go .. still closing in on Tom..my two chasers are way off not even in sight.
On the downhill section of this penultimate lap I get that unmistakable feeling of the back end going squirrely..
HOw?? my tubs have sealant in them..SHit shit shit...turns become laboured and long, my speed just plummets as if I am in treacle.
fuck iy.. they are tubs,.. I can ride them flat...so I stay on the grass as I approach the finish line and the bell. As I pass the pits ( opposite side of the runway) shout out to prep the Merida..
I go around the top corner like an old lady on a happy shopper, and as I approached the switch back gates 25 meters short of the pits I get off and sprint, shouldering the bike. The chasers pass the bell, they are almost on me, my minute in hand is plummeting, one more corner they will be on me..
A very helpful marshall had my spare bike ready for me. Unfortunately I hadn't heard his call for which side remount and I fluffed my right side remount ( Practise these!!)
I get going again , totally anerobic, I had the presence to take my garmin off and slip it in my pocket just before I had started running. ( hell I was going slow enough!)
This bike is a lot slower than my race bike, its shit, it doesn't brake and it doesnt corner..., I over cook a corner and come to a stop wrapped in tape. hemorrhaging time.. The catch comes as I am running the double bank. I have the bike shouldered, so would have been within reason to hold and defend my line as I was still racing, but Dream CC guy had been towing that pair for laps.. and I had seen him ride the double step, so fair play, I stepped aside and let my two chasers through.. ( no point being an arse about it) I fluff my remount, pausing before getting back up to speed again, but I am cooked. I have been anerobic since the bike change and my former chasers get a gap on me.
I tap on as best I can. The handling is awful, over-steering into most corners, whereas before I had the lines dialled in, its as if I am just riding the circuit for the first time again., my cornering confidence is slipping.
I oversteer into tape. and the canti brakes are shit and howling and juddering. They have a corner on me now and I know I wont get them back. relax.. stay calm,. I look around to see if I have new chasers, another group is within striking range , and I bury myself in that bell lap desperate to maintain my gap.
I make mistakes and fluff one of the step ups, but I am moving again pretty quickly. Morgan Jones of Banjo Cycles ( a Newbury regular) is withing 50meters of me.. With every gear change skipping and the chain railing and complaining I painfully complete my lap. as I put the power on to sprint for the line something weird happens, and I cross the line with the whole sickening feel of a derailleur locking, going north, and straining against the chain tension.
I look down..
WTF.. two broken spokes and my rear mech is straining, An ounce more pressure and it will let go and rip the (already bent) hanger .. I skid to a halt, almost taken out by a sprinting Morgan.. luckily the 60 minutes haven't dulled his reactions and he just manages to avoid me..
A bit gutted that my two chasers that got through were both Vets, so 3rd Vet and sixth over all.. and a few good lessons to boot..
Thats me for a while now.. Bikeless Family holidays beckon and a nasty saddle sore will keep me off the bike for a few weeks.. If I can I will try racing on the last of the series, but failing that it will be building up for the Wessex League starting in September.
Here is the official write up:
http://www.velouk.net/2014/07/19/report-cotswold-veldrijden-summer-cx-2/
What went well.
- Finished the race.
- racing on on tubs ( couldnt have finished on a clincher)
- raced hard . heres a pic of my race heart rate. that blip at the end was teh bike change..
- identified two new drills to do... Right side remounts and smoother bike swaps.
- New riding position is getting more natural and comfortable.
Nots so good.
- Couldnt / didnt have the balls to ride the double step so ran it.. need more technical practice./ watch other riders who are capable.
- punctured tub ...expense..:-(
- fucked pit bike ( well second pit bike)Merida by name Mierda by nature. The Merida gears were crap and were not shifting at all.
- poor pit bike choice. . and the handling very different to the Hiver. very hard to hold into corners.
- slipping gears/shit indexing cost me my 4th place.
- more running. I do a bit of running, but when it really counted my running legs let me down.
- fucked kit.. two broken spokes on the Meridas rear wheel. slightly bent hangar and a dodgy mech now... damn..
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