Its the end of the season. its been tough, ups and downs, crashes, wrecked kit, wrecked body. loads of Roller Racing gigs that clashed with racing weekends, new job, kinda tough..
But musnt grumble.
Racing is racing no matter where or how it comes along. I am feeling shit a week or so of coughing and wheezy chest has rendered me weak and short of breath. Last nights Barncross went farily well, but lets not kid myself. my last race was in December, Christams, travelling, a oygh new stressful job,
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Wessex league round 12 Fairthorne manor part dos. Squirellyness 1.2
After a bit of a layoff ..a few busy weekends, I decided to give the southern champs down in Devon a miss. Instead SouthCoastSprints took our 4 bike roller racing rig to Brighton , for Morvelos Battle Royale. Nut case racing.. Exciting, tactical carnage.
Anyhow.. Back to a chilly lightly frosted morning down in Botley. Phil Chinn and his band of merry Fareham Wheelers had once again laid out another terrific event. Phil had managed to secure Black Sheep timing chips to hopefully finally fix the results problems that have plagued this years league.
Anyhow.. Back to a chilly lightly frosted morning down in Botley. Phil Chinn and his band of merry Fareham Wheelers had once again laid out another terrific event. Phil had managed to secure Black Sheep timing chips to hopefully finally fix the results problems that have plagued this years league.
I arrived with plenty of time, as its only down the road..... and for once actually had enough time to do slow lap followed by a slightly faster one. Space to go through a few sections at speed helped with the confidence.. all too often the warm up time is wedged between youths and junior races.. meaning a slow meander around the course sandwiched and boxed between soft pedaling riders. My family arrive to cheer me.. a very welcome sight and team mate Jerry pulls up.. after a season of racing solo finally a team mate in my race.
a similar circuit as the last races at Fairthorne.
An open long straight down to the bridge and a first pinch point. Open field a squierlly offcamber... Phil changes the field section each race. The pits are central and then the familiar drop to soggy bottom east. Over Phils bridge and then into the woods, still two dips, but a slight change to last time.
the race statrtr
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
CX Tyre Choice
Dabbling and meandering through the last few years , I have tweaked and changed rubber tread around a fair bit. Poring over reviews, desperate to get an edge and most bang for my training as well as a lot of racing and training. I am not an expert by any means, I thought I would do a dump of what I have found.
Basically rubber for cross seems to come down to Tread and Pressure.
Pressure...Grip, cornering handling ( notice none of that comfort crap)
Then Tread.. depends on the conditions.. Basically dry as a bone, (filetread) somewhere in between ( intermediates)or gloopy mud shit ( even then its different types of mud)...
So lets talk about pressure: How low can you go. Its important.. As a cross newbie its hard to get your head into running such low pressures, but a few sessions a playing , bleed a bit, play a bit more, you soon get the idea.
You got to go low...low enough to allow cornering effectively, but high enough not to pinchflat or roll a bead or go too squirrely..
To really get low and the best you have to go tubulars...
Clinchers for playing (convenience and price_, Tubulars for Business (performance. ) I know there is Tubeless, but I have no experience of running them and the only person I know running Tubeless has had no end of snags and burps)
Tubulars are supple so they grip and the sidewall deforms and rolls on cornering, this creates the grip and handling feelthat everyone raves about. the lower pressures and that flat glue bed means there is a hugely lower risk of pinchflatting.
If you read back through this blog you can read that I switched over to Tubulars early in the spring.. If you are going to race, Tubulars are where its at. Training on them is expensive, but through the summer was a worth while investment. I got some cheap intermediates (Grifos) on plain old reflex rims and ended up traiing and racing on them.
However, its not all been plain sailing. I have punctured my summer tubs, and instead of expensive repairs and risking regluing, I just wanged a load of sealant in there and kept on riding.
My Mud specific tubs ( Dugast Rhinos) were glued onto a shit set of Planet Xs that abruptly died. So all I had was those intermediates. These were superb through out the summer and the early season, until the mud got thicker and I had to start using a mud specific tyre.
Everything they say about Tubs is pretty true, though I never properly dialled in the pressure correctly but got down to around the 28 Psi Mark.. that low, cornering started to get a bit squirelly, and roots on circuit felt harsh and scarey(may be down to my rather abusive riding style) but around 30 psi seemed pretty sweet for me.
The two rides I experienced on Rhinos were excellent, mainly damp grass, local field and the Thruxton Circuit. I will undoubtedly be buying new ones to replaced the knackered ones that are sat in the garage.
I now have a set of Dugast Typhoons (Intermediates) to test. And two other sets of wheels ready to glue in the off season. A set of Rhinos on one and the other, a soon to be selected set of Filetreads.
In the mean time I hope to carry on messing with pressure in various conditions.
Still on pressure, clinchers have to be run harder: I seem to have found 37 ish psi for racing, but for training around the 40 and a bit mark. at that pressure the sidewalls don't deform as much and handling and grip is not as good. Oh yeah.. Pinch flats... Lots in training and a pain..
It then comes down to the Tread pattern, as I already mentioned, that depends on the type of mud you are riding in.
Tread patterns vary quite a bit, but generally there are the three types. File treads ( baldy in the middle with side nobs) and intermediate. ( side nobs with an intermittent central tread, the more continuous the more it lends to hard pack) and a mud. long spaced out spikes intended to cut in to gloop, bite and then clear balled gunk quickly. many manufacturuers have the same tread on Tub and clinchers ...
All treads have been ridden over the same circuit multiple times.
I started off with a well worn pair of michelin muds. Classic Greens...didnt really know any better really, but sliced a sidewall on glass down the woods and had to retire them. After a crap repair, I brought them out for a very wet summer cross race, but had a horrendous slithering mess with it. they were OK, but preferred other treads.
Wolf Cross. Good side nobbles for cornering in the dry. but dicey in the slick. Fast rolling on harderpack. wont buy another set though. just felt stiff. balled up quickly on claggy stuff.
Michelin Mud 2 . wear out quick on tarmac, a good intermediate, puncture prone. pretty quick on hard pack, but clogs easily in sticky peanut butter fragile sidewalls. Most reviewers rave about them being the best all rounder, but I am 'meh' about them.
Challenge Grifos . Good all-round tyre . so far my favourite intermediate . ( tubular and Clincher). doesn't clag up like Mud2s and more robust. not so supple cornering, but I can live with that. these are my go to tyre. If I had more money I would buy Grifo Open tubulars...
Schwalbe CX Pro .I bought these thinking they were a possible cheap mud tyre for this winter. But they have been a big disappointment. The tread pattern is pretty good, but they are very narrow meaning they corner poorly, they are not very supple and seem to carve into the loose. Very sensitive to pressure due to the lack of volume. I have punctured every ride on these, on more that one occasion twice. I hate them. Im not giving up on Schwalbes though , I will buy Rocket Rons for my next spin of Clincher Roulette.
Challenge LIMUS Open Tubular. open tubulars are basically really ezpensive clinchers. They are the same carcass as a tubular, supple sidewalls and light. with a latex inner they are really good. These were the mud specifics that I used to replace my Rhinos. Excellent in the mud, but very expensive, anything less than gummy shite, and they feel draggy, but they really are superb in the mud though, but I worry about them in training on crappy circuits. At 55£ a pop these are for sunday best .
Anyway thats my two pence worth
will keep you posted on those Rocket Rons
Basically rubber for cross seems to come down to Tread and Pressure.
Pressure...Grip, cornering handling ( notice none of that comfort crap)
Then Tread.. depends on the conditions.. Basically dry as a bone, (filetread) somewhere in between ( intermediates)or gloopy mud shit ( even then its different types of mud)...
So lets talk about pressure: How low can you go. Its important.. As a cross newbie its hard to get your head into running such low pressures, but a few sessions a playing , bleed a bit, play a bit more, you soon get the idea.
You got to go low...low enough to allow cornering effectively, but high enough not to pinchflat or roll a bead or go too squirrely..
To really get low and the best you have to go tubulars...
Clinchers for playing (convenience and price_, Tubulars for Business (performance. ) I know there is Tubeless, but I have no experience of running them and the only person I know running Tubeless has had no end of snags and burps)
Tubulars are supple so they grip and the sidewall deforms and rolls on cornering, this creates the grip and handling feelthat everyone raves about. the lower pressures and that flat glue bed means there is a hugely lower risk of pinchflatting.
If you read back through this blog you can read that I switched over to Tubulars early in the spring.. If you are going to race, Tubulars are where its at. Training on them is expensive, but through the summer was a worth while investment. I got some cheap intermediates (Grifos) on plain old reflex rims and ended up traiing and racing on them.
However, its not all been plain sailing. I have punctured my summer tubs, and instead of expensive repairs and risking regluing, I just wanged a load of sealant in there and kept on riding.
My Mud specific tubs ( Dugast Rhinos) were glued onto a shit set of Planet Xs that abruptly died. So all I had was those intermediates. These were superb through out the summer and the early season, until the mud got thicker and I had to start using a mud specific tyre.
Everything they say about Tubs is pretty true, though I never properly dialled in the pressure correctly but got down to around the 28 Psi Mark.. that low, cornering started to get a bit squirelly, and roots on circuit felt harsh and scarey(may be down to my rather abusive riding style) but around 30 psi seemed pretty sweet for me.
The two rides I experienced on Rhinos were excellent, mainly damp grass, local field and the Thruxton Circuit. I will undoubtedly be buying new ones to replaced the knackered ones that are sat in the garage.
I now have a set of Dugast Typhoons (Intermediates) to test. And two other sets of wheels ready to glue in the off season. A set of Rhinos on one and the other, a soon to be selected set of Filetreads.
In the mean time I hope to carry on messing with pressure in various conditions.
Still on pressure, clinchers have to be run harder: I seem to have found 37 ish psi for racing, but for training around the 40 and a bit mark. at that pressure the sidewalls don't deform as much and handling and grip is not as good. Oh yeah.. Pinch flats... Lots in training and a pain..
It then comes down to the Tread pattern, as I already mentioned, that depends on the type of mud you are riding in.
Tread patterns vary quite a bit, but generally there are the three types. File treads ( baldy in the middle with side nobs) and intermediate. ( side nobs with an intermittent central tread, the more continuous the more it lends to hard pack) and a mud. long spaced out spikes intended to cut in to gloop, bite and then clear balled gunk quickly. many manufacturuers have the same tread on Tub and clinchers ...
All treads have been ridden over the same circuit multiple times.
I started off with a well worn pair of michelin muds. Classic Greens...didnt really know any better really, but sliced a sidewall on glass down the woods and had to retire them. After a crap repair, I brought them out for a very wet summer cross race, but had a horrendous slithering mess with it. they were OK, but preferred other treads.
Wolf Cross. Good side nobbles for cornering in the dry. but dicey in the slick. Fast rolling on harderpack. wont buy another set though. just felt stiff. balled up quickly on claggy stuff.
Michelin Mud 2 . wear out quick on tarmac, a good intermediate, puncture prone. pretty quick on hard pack, but clogs easily in sticky peanut butter fragile sidewalls. Most reviewers rave about them being the best all rounder, but I am 'meh' about them.
Challenge Grifos . Good all-round tyre . so far my favourite intermediate . ( tubular and Clincher). doesn't clag up like Mud2s and more robust. not so supple cornering, but I can live with that. these are my go to tyre. If I had more money I would buy Grifo Open tubulars...
Schwalbe CX Pro .I bought these thinking they were a possible cheap mud tyre for this winter. But they have been a big disappointment. The tread pattern is pretty good, but they are very narrow meaning they corner poorly, they are not very supple and seem to carve into the loose. Very sensitive to pressure due to the lack of volume. I have punctured every ride on these, on more that one occasion twice. I hate them. Im not giving up on Schwalbes though , I will buy Rocket Rons for my next spin of Clincher Roulette.
Challenge LIMUS Open Tubular. open tubulars are basically really ezpensive clinchers. They are the same carcass as a tubular, supple sidewalls and light. with a latex inner they are really good. These were the mud specifics that I used to replace my Rhinos. Excellent in the mud, but very expensive, anything less than gummy shite, and they feel draggy, but they really are superb in the mud though, but I worry about them in training on crappy circuits. At 55£ a pop these are for sunday best .
Anyway thats my two pence worth
will keep you posted on those Rocket Rons
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Barn Cross
We missed Barn Cross one as we were roller racing down at Morvelos Battle Royale,
Denham of DC cycles invited us along with the roller racing rig.. and despite the chilly evening the expansive Quob Stables started to fill up.
The course was something quite new. Think of City cross on a very tight circuit.
Start on a longish back straight, a sweeping 180. then choose between two sets of Shoretrax rollers; Left hand 30 foot or so of uneven spaced running to an outside sweeping berm. Or right hand over a set of unevenly spaced terminated by an abrupt drop off and a tighter steeper berm. A cross over in between was possibel, but it was tight. Sprint out of the exit into a funnel to another pair of berms, outside faster , inside tighter but slower.
a wiggle, three awkward poles on the floor a left hander, already unclipping into the barriers. Definitly not UCI reg, and more of a high jump than a regular running barrier, all very gymkhana.
Denhams love of BMX is apparent and the heats are run off as Grand Prix Motos BMX styleeeeee. basically race loads, do the best you can, work your way towards that final.
Roller racing is a bit slow, until we put the frog bikes on and we are suddenly busy. I manage a few laps as a warm up and some sort of dial in the rolling Shoretrax stuff. This is well out of my comfort zone, and i am quite nervous of taking it at speed, give me a flat circuit and twisty bits any day. But hell thats the score, make the most of it.
A mixture of BMXs, cruisers, carbon 29ers and a few cross bikes make up the riders. I don't recognise anyone from the local racing scene, but its a good mix of new people, eager to chat , and if i wasn't driving, we would have attacked the Bowman Ales with gusto.
The floor looks like sand, but actually its a remarkably grippy mixture of sand, 'carpet(!)and rubber chippings, what ever it is its good for cornering, but stinks of horse poop. I regret running Limus Mud tyres I should have gone with Typhoons, or Grifos.. ever better a filetread (if I had any)
Its cold, but eventually the VEts line up, Eight or nine of us. I am used to this now and assert myself in to a good position on the line. not as nervous as usual at the start, but I have a degree of trepidation about my chest / phlegm/ tightness and general lack of activity since Christmas.
The go comes and a get a good start. fluff my clip a bit , but get onto that first corner in first or second. The left hand rollers and outside berm allows a few riders slip through, but I can crank it and force myself into that tightening funnel before the next corner. Those poles are awkward, keep speed, bunny hop . I am clean through the barriers and into the second lap.
only three more.. lungs are burning, but I am holding the front.
A chap on a single speed is riding well and pushing hard, Our tyres buzz
as we round the top turn, and despite a wiggle i manage to win my first Moto.
Straight back into roller racing.. lungs hurting a lot, coughing a lot, with red and brown marbling in gunky shite i am dislodging. recover is hard, but kids roller racing is always good.
Its not long before the second moto is called. I shed a few layers of quilted warmth and line up again. Mr Waterford single speed gets the jump on me and I relax a bit more on this one, the wide way around is my only option as I cant do dropofffs, but i have enough power to catch up and assert myself into that funnel. Barrier technique helps, and the confidence to drive through the corner before remounting.
 |
| taking a holeshot (red) photo: DC cycles FB page |
Race three is a similar affair, Mr waterford gets a good start, I slot into second and it runs to form... another second.
people are slowing down as the super sticky floor material really drags you, 4 laps is tough going.
The final is called. I line up in my familiar spot.. Denham holds the count and for some bizzare reason I didnt register that the clanging bell thing is the start. the entire field lurches forward as I sit there like a twat.
Soon enough i recover my limited faculaties but i am in about lats or second to last place.
Shit , arses,,, this is going to be hard to make up.
I sprint hard down the opener, time to put some cross racing into the mix. Assertion is the name of the game.I have to queue into the rollers, and on exit i have to brake hard as Waterford boy is already exiting the berm.
My thumb searches for my usual dingy bell, but I call out telling people to move off the line I am coming through,
Everyone ignores me of course and as those awkward pole hops pop underneath I am about half way up the field. I am unclipping going into the barrier, going faster than those around. slower riders are drifting rightwards and wider onto my line.
I force through, handing off another rider, defiantly doing a bit of rubbing is racing, Definitely in the spirit of it as I basically force myself through the pack. A hard sprint away, and I am in a familiar second slot.
 |
| Rubbing is racing,.. Someones chainring marks on my thigh |
A swift half and prize giving. Those BMX chaps love their big trophies.;...
What a cracking event, definitely worth a shot and so deserves to be far and wide and hugely popular. Cant wait for the next one.
A massive thanks to Denham of DC Cycles and all of his team.
Lezyne, Shoretrax, Bowman Ales.
video of the first one:
http://vimeo.com/113909501
Saturday, 20 December 2014
All Change
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.
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.
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..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)