Pain

This is what happens when you know you need to swap your pedals, but you just want to get one more ride out of them. I had been on a long ride when I thought I would finish the loop with a quick blast around the red run in sherwoodpines. So a combination of fatigue and showing off eneded up in my right foot comming un clipped and hitting the deck very hard. My leg is still some funny shades of yellow but the pain is starting to ease.





So this sorry looking leg leads to this, ice and a support.















Anyway, still managed a friday night race this week and did ok(ish) Also got to meet some important people so watch this space as they say, it is quite exiting though.

Project Marathon

Ok, I really have nothing to talk about in this blog. I went to Manchester velodrome this last week which was a great thing to do. I realised that I am getting older though because it took me a while to get the confidence to ride up to the top of the track. This was pointed out to me a few times this week by one of my mates at the time trial who asked if I wanted join in his daughters race in case I got scared.
This is also the sign of age because I really thought it was funny and replied that his daughter would probably beat me as well.

I have struggled this week for inspiration, I need a goal. So a quick trawl of the World Wide Web came up with this,
“Creative Visualization and the Power of Thoughts”
Basically if you think it then you can make it a reality, loads of philosophical stuff! Anyway, the upshot is that I now have a majorly serious goal. I want to be veteran marathon champ!

A very tall order, but look at the positives (really?)
I am a year away from that category, so, have a load of time to train and talk about how good I could be, and then ten years of actually being a vet to achieve my goal. Therefore anything could happen; hopefully all the really fast guys might clear off and let me win. Most of the stuff I set out to do is achieved one way or another, I am not sure about this though, but I think it is worth a shot, and now I have wrote it down I have to try. Ridercoaching is aware of this goal and fully supports this endeavour and is also a reason to believe it is possible, maybe a change of team colours next year might also be an inspiration.

Watch this space as they say…………………………………………………………………

Re-assessment

Ok, look, it’s not like this bike lark is important....... Alright it is then, but I have reached a little block whereby I am not sure what to do next. I suppose training with rider coaching and riding for my local team of Sherwood pines was all new and exciting and now the novelty is not new.


The training is really going well though; I am now able to keep position with local riders that last year were leaving me for dead. So now the question is how far can I go with this? I am truly happy with my fitness, biking and life at the minute and so the danger is complacency could set in and I will not progress. The coaching will look after my fitness but most of mountain bike racing is in the head as well.


My training partner has dropped off a bit and I never realised how much that can affect you as well, so a new regime is needed and plan me thinks. I am actually starting to enjoy racing whether I win or not, which is a revelation. The problem is that I now have done the races I set out to do and so have nothing really to train for. So it is back on the net to look for inspiration.



Until then I have got a backup plan of doing the MTB night’s series. It certainly is not a stop fill though, the first of these events was on Friday and it was well run and thoroughly enjoyable. There are five races in the series so I will let you know how I get on.......................

Wiggle 6 Enduro Catton Park 6th may

I hate running!

This race is quite an experience in how its run and how you achieve the best result. It is a 6 hour endurance race but when you enter as a team this is quite different. I basically look at it as 4 or 5 XC races in quick succession. The event is unique with its closed pit area and like other enduros there is the dreaded running start. I entered with Lorna Rider in the mixed pairs and to be honest when I clicked the mouse when entering there was a part of me that thought a podium was achievable. This is always the case I suspect whenever you enter a race otherwise you would never dream. Anyway fast forward to three days before the race and looking at the entries it was clear that a top 10 finish was a great result. And guess what we got 8th !!!!!!!!!!!! So I am well happy. How we got there was not that dramatic however, it was just a combination of careful lap choices and pedal power. Lorna had an issue with her front brake which slows you down somewhat and I had a wobble on my second set of 2 laps. I put that down to not drinking enough and saving myself for the end of the race though. Other than that the only thing to really mention is the course was tacky and quite muddy in some places which slowed everybody down a bit but at least the sun shone on us all day. As for my team mate, I definitely would race again in any event and in any team.

Rain, rain and more rain

A funny week, had it all planned and everything was put up on training peaks but once again the British weather intervened. This week’s training was for the build-up to Wiggle Enduro 6 at Catton Park next weekend. Also I had a long road ride planned with some friends which would take us up to the east coast and back. Monday set the tone really, I went out on the road with Rob and as soon as we set off it felt like a boat would be more appropriate rather than our road bikes. However we pushed on and it actually turned out to be a nice evening, and I got some sprint intervals done. Tuesday was trusty turbo day, and then Wednesday was road. The weather did not let up and I really did not want to go out in it again so after a consult with rider coaching it was deemed more useful to have a couple of days rest. Friday was back on the turbo because of family stuff, which set me up for the days ride on Saturday.

Training and family life is difficult; this also made Saturday a bit problematic as well. The plan was to do a long day out riding and have a laugh. I had to be back for 3pm and when you are planning to 100miles and more this made it a bit of a higher intensity affair. That coupled with the fact the lads would not set off any earlier (I think they were annoyed I had to get home early) made the day a bit of a timed affair. Anyway we got going (late) and everything seemed fine, a bit of a slow start for some and then 10miles or so in disaster struck with a broken gear cable. Got to Brig and found the bike shop where it was repaired successfully, then on to Humber Bridge. The ride out was also made nice and hard by a sharp cold head wind (loads of fun). Got there in one piece though and after some sports nutrition consisting of sausage egg, bacon we headed back. The journey back was made easier with the wind behind us and was only made a bit of a slog by some more rain. So a fairly eventful week with some miles, sprints and large bridges. I still feel good though, I know this cannot continue but this is the best I have felt physically in a long time.

Wet, Wet, Wet.

It’s been two weeks since Necastleton and so I thought I had better write something. Usually I would not have much to say because I would have been taking it easy. However there is some stuff I can report. The first day back at work on Tuesday following the race it was noted that I was walking "like a cowboy" by a colleague. This made me smile but also proud because I had obviously been pushing myself to end up so battered. Wednesday I did a gentle ride to work to free up my legs then a few recovery spins rest of the week, then out on Saturday morning with some mates from the gym on the mountain bike. So nothing much to report other than I did not push at all.

Then it was business as usual this last week. Monday I went out on the road and averaged 18ish for a couple of hours, Tuesday was rest and then Wednesday I attempted the Sherwood pines MTB time trial. It always seems a good idea, I mean it’s only three laps how hard can that be? Well its bloody hard I can tell you especially when you need to wear a snorkel. I think I did ok but will probably never know because timing is not high on agenda in this event, this is not a dig by the way, (just in case the organiser is reading). Anyway back on the turbo Thursday and then a long ride home Friday............. or so I thought. The rain was horrendous, people will say I am a wuss but honestly I was cold wet and so hacked off that this ride got cut short from 3 hours to 45 minutes! Yesterday was cool, a good 5 hours on the MTB with two mates in a "no holds barred" treck across Nottinghamshire’s finest muddy fields. You would think I would be battered? I genuinely am not, was tired yes, but battered no. The training is working it seems, the only slight concern is that my left knee is a bit painful but again I think that is just a product of getting fitter and faster, courtesy of rider coaching (got to big up the sponsor, but it genuinely works). A mate at the time trial commented on my physique so does this mean I am turning into a proper bike racer? It seems as though I might actually becoming the kind of geek I used to mock, oh well shit happens. Wiggle 6 is up next, I wish I was at Dalby this weekend but good luck to David Fletcher who was the only person to catch me Wednesday (he did start way after me and battled through everyone to catch up though, proper elite).

Great Weekend

Friday morning came round and Mick turned up nice early with Russ (our pit crew), and off we set to Newcastleton for the 12hrs of exposure championships. I like the endurance scene and I put myself down as a bit of an endurance rider so I had loads of butterflies because this was my race.

Anyway, skip forwards to today and everything I had set out to do I achieved. I came 10Th in the end which is what I had said I wanted in previous blogs, but the whole experience delivered much more. Honestly I love racing, but the mountain bike experience is much more than that, I have not laughed so much in ages. From the word go it was just daft humour. Russ used to mountain bike but now days he is a time trial and road rider, so it was inevitable he got the first lot of abuse, from then everyone was fair game.

Got settled in the digs and unpacked the 2 tonne of kit you take to these races, which we all agreed you will probably never need. Then around tea time we set off for a sighting lap. There was a slight bit of drizzle but it did not matter too much because the guys at Rock UK had worked hard on the course which stood up well to the damp conditions. The course pretty much followed last years with a few minor changes so all was good. Then after a trip to the village for some food everything was ready for the next days racing.



The start in Newcastleton is a great affair, you have to sign the entry board which gives it a tour De France type feel and is the closest you would ever get to feeling like a professional rider. Then it is a steady procession out of the village back up to the course and once the pace car leaves it is gloves off boys and girls.

For once in my life I listened to advice and did as I was told. Last year I blasted away at the start which cost me; this year I took it steady and warmed up into the race which paid off and got me my top ten finish. This looked unlikely when I looked at the line up which included Matt Page who won last years 24hr champs. This resigned me to a top twenty finish being good, that weirdly, might have helped because I was more relaxed.



Apart from the usual wobble 4 laps in when you question your sanity; the race went pretty much to plan. I came in for my last lap which only left me a small margin as to whether I would make the cut off. I was never not going to ride my last lap but words of encouragement from Russ to the effect of "get your finger out" saw me set off. This why I know my training is starting to pay off because I really could push on the last lap and was one of my quickest. This is a new experience as because normally my head wants to push but my body will not in previous endeavours, usually it is sheer will power that gets me round.

So in the short time I have been coached I have jumped 12 places from last years result, more miles completed and a feeling that there is genuinely more to come. I got home to my lovely wife and kids and a giant Sunday dinner and was thinking that life does not get better than this.