Dusk Til Dawn Solo

It’s been 3 years since I last stood on the start line of an ultra marathon. The mentality is completely different to any other race I have done. Very few can start fast, finish fast and ride all night for 12 hours. My plan was simple; start steady, keep motivated and hope that come 4am I was in contention for a podium and try to pick up the pace. The longest ride I had done in the build up to the race was a 60 mile road ride and about 3 hours off road. I had tried to fit in some hill intervals in the last few weeks to make up for the lack of real time on the bike. However, 12 hours was always going to be a big step up, especially when played out in complete darkness (8pm-8am).

Race Report: National Series Rnd 2, Cornwall

Thanks to Anna Buick for capturing my pain face!

 It is no coincidence that I have not put race reports up for my last 2 races. They have been crap so I didn’t want to dwell on them too much! I went into the first round of the National XC Series at Sherwood Pines full of confidence after a good result the week before. From the snow the day before the race to the general lethargy with which I rode the course, nothing particularly good happened! The next race was the second round of the MSG Eastern series at Codham Park in Essex. Great course, great weather, crap legs. End of story!

Mud Sweat & Gears Round 1 - Tunstall

After what feels like 6 months of solid winter my first XC race of 2013 finally arrived this weekend in the form of the Mud Sweat and Gears series opener at Tunstall Forrest. Due to moving half way across the country I did not do any of the Gorrick series which I have previously used to gauge my form so I was going into this race with no idea of what to expect. With the first national round next weekend I wasn’t too concerned about the result this weekend and was just taking it as a training session with a bit of added competition. I did a short run and quite an intense 5x5minute interval session the day before so any result I could get would just be a nice bonus.

My first road race - Elveden Road Race - and winning!

Last weekend I finally got around to doing a road race. I’ve been thinking about doing one for a while, and have even entered a couple in the past but because of the bizarre way road cycling works my entries were rejected. No such trouble for the first round of the Elveden series opener held on a private estate and immaculate closed roads. After a quick trip down to Giant Radlett to collect a TCR Advanced SL on the Friday I was ready. It would perhaps have been preferable to at least have a short ride on the bike before race day but there was no time so a 45 minute warm up and course recce would have to do.

Giant Trance X 29er Review

Last weekend’s trip to Wales was the perfect opportunity to borrow their Giant TranceX 29er demo bike from Giant Radlett to see what all the fuss was about. I should start by saying I’m not known for my descending prowess, and certainly after my last run-in with the ground from the top of a 14ft drop-in, I just wanted to enjoy myself and try to bring back some confidence. This should have been the perfect bike for those aims!

Coed-Y-Brenin

This weekend I went on a 3 day trip to Coed-Y-Brenin with 20-odd guys from my local club, Walden Velo for some much needed riding and socialising. Cambridge isn’t exactly close to North Wales to a 4am meeting was required in order to get there in time for a few hours of riding on Friday before dark.  We were on our bikes by about 11am and managed a loop of MBR before lunch at the café. In the afternoon the group split and we managed another good couple of hours before heading back to the Tyn-Y-Groes hotel. It’s the first time I have been to this trail centre and my first impressions were good but looking at the maps there was still plenty of riding to be done over the next couple of days.

Giant XTC 29er Singlespeed Project

The ridiculously crap weather this year has led to some upsettingly rapid drivechain wear. In addition, my move to Cambridge has meant I am riding offroad more but seeing very few hills meaning there was only 1 direction to go in… Buy a singlespeed! Since the beginning of 2012 I have been riding the excellent Giant XTC Composite 29er and have absolutely no desire to regress back to a 26 inch bike meaning this build would not just be a recycling project with all the old bits I have in the garage but an almost completely new start.