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.

doesn't look bad but its a sod to ride.

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...

that tricky off camber .        Photo Jez Hart

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.

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.

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?

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.

yep.. big crack

Another two .

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

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.

pic: Graham Robins

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.

just Awesome

I love riding with my boy...

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 ...

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.

a breather as you rolled off  and dived off towards the spiral. I really enjoyed this section and managed to ride it well each lap.. maybe it was a throwback to the spiral of doom at city cross. -------------------->
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.. 

Massive thanks to Phil Chinn of Fareham Wheelers for giving me a lift and sticking up with my inane post race chatter.

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)