MSG Round 1 - Shouldham Warren

Renvale and Newdales lock out the elite podium.

It feels a bit early to be talking about the start of the summer race series, but it was officially the end of winter just a day before the MSG series kicked off at Shouldham Warren, Norfolk.

National Marathon Champs

So it was a touch muddy in places...

Some (most?) people might think I'm crazy but I love marathon racing. Proper single lap marathons, not the usual multi-lap events around a course which is only really fun when you're riding flat out. You get a chance to ride in spectacular countryside where you have to rely more on yourself than on the quality of your pit crew. Unfortunately, these events are rare in the UK and the ones that do exist take some getting to. With the demise of Kielder I think the National Marathon Champs at Selkirk is the only single loop marathon which can actually call its self a race. That, along with the oppoirtunity to ride some great local trail centres, makes it worth the 6 hour drive.

Dyfi Enduro and Lots of Fish and Chips

Perfect bike for the job: Giant Anthem Advanced 27.5

 This weekend was my 7th annual raid on Machynlleths finest fish and chip shop, along with pillaging the local shops for welshcakes and taking in some terrible excuse for comedy. In the middle of this, almost by conincidence, is the Dyfi Enduro. This 'event' (apparently it's not a race...) pre-dates the fashionable enduro racing that fans of heavy bikes and gnar druel over and the top placings are generally dominated by people in lycra on XC bikes. That being said, there is a substantial amount of time to be gained by descending quickly over the frequent slate-scatterred white-knuckle descents. Although fast and loose isn't usually an accurate description of my descending style, my Giant Anthem with it's 27.5" wheels did its best to flatter me allowing me to enjoy the descents. (Edit: Looking at Strava it looks like I posted a PB on every descent). Obviously, because it isn't a race, there is no queue for the start line an hour before the start, there are no elbows and jostling for position behind the neutral leadout car and you don't get to the top of the first 5km long climb with your legs so full of lactic acid that you can taste it in the back of your mouth. That is, of course, unless you are in the other 90% of people who have made the journey to North Wales, in which case it is a bloody race. I can't imagine 'no, i insist, after you old chap' was heard very often at the top of the final decent throughout the day.

The neutral lead out through Machynnleth town center and out to the trails was nice and fast meaning the front of the race was reasonably strung out and by the time we were released and I was sitting 3rd wheel beihind reigning national marathon champion Neal Crampton. About half way up the climb I backed off a bit to save energy for later but the front was still in sight when eventual winner Dan Evans made his attack towards the top. I managed to keep Matt Page in sight until after the highest point of the race over the moorland climb before he suddenly dissappeared. Turns out he went the wrong way and lost a hat full of time. Breaking from tradition i didn't get lost and continued climbing and descending relatively well. I didn't actually ride with anyone for the rest of the race but did manage to make up a couple of places on the technical singletrack climbs. Without having anyone to bottle for me and with me refusing to wear a cammelback I had to stop to fill up a bottle at the feedstation which cost me a place to someone who didn't stop. Although I decided to forgo the sausage rolls and flapjack I may as well have sat down for  a 3 course meal with the ammount of time I lost. I refuse to go anywhere near High5 so I had to find a sachet of Torq powder in my back pocket and add it to the water but it ended up more like throwing my bottle at a girl dressed as batman and chucking my remaining gels and powders on the floor under the table. Perhaps more planning is required to perfect the technique for future editions! It was enough to allow him to get out of sight which is crucial on a course like this.

At the foot of the final climb there is a free bar but they didn't seem to be open when i came through and just told me to pedal faster when I requested a refreshment, although I now find out that Neal Crampton stopped for a cheeky half so maybe I just miss-understood the welsh dialect. On one of the switchbacks on the following climb I spotted a group of 3 closing on me so I knew there would be no gentle ride to the finish. I still felt strong pushing to the end.

The final descent was the only dissapointment of an otherwise fantastic course. with about 1km to go we dropped into the woods down a muddy steep track with huge ruts from MX bikes which was just about un-ridable. we were spoilt with the old finish which was a 1km flat out narrow descent. this has been washed away now and unfortunately the new alternative pales in comparison. I managed to hold on to 6th overall, 5 minutes back from 3rd and about 30 seconds ahead of a fast finishing Scott Easter. It's not a bad result, especially considering it is the first time I've climbed a hill that is longer than 2 minutes, but I still feel like I was hoping for more. Hopefully it will be just what I needed in my legs before this saturdays National Marathon Championships in Selkirk.

MSG Round 2 - Carver Barracks

First podium of the season, and grinning like an idiot

By the time this weekends race arrived it’s been about a month since I last lined up on a start line, and in that month I couldn’t exactly say I have been able to do the highest quality training. A Stag do (my own to make it worse) and illness combining to make sure any confidence I had from my ride at Rendlesham was long gone and I was lining up at Carver wondering if I could avoid being the lanterne rouge. I had a reasonable amount of home advantage for the race because the hosting club is Walden Velo and I have had the opportunity to ride every one of the 999 iterations of the course set out by Andrew Riley prior to the big day. Before Thursday I was happy with the course but when I turned up for my final practice I was confronted with Andrew grinning from ear to ear and a new gap jump! Jumping has never been my forte so I was slightly concerned about the prospect, especially with Callum riding it and showboating. After a bit of coaxing I finally grew some balls and managed to ride it. To my surprise it was actually far easier than it looked; I actually enjoyed riding it and was disappointed when the MSG organisers asked for the big hole to be filled in!

MSG Round 1 - Rendlesham Woods

What better time is there to write about the first race of the MSG Eastern series than 2 days before the second, it’s only a month late after all. From what I recall, out of the depths of a fairly miserable winter appeared some perfectly timed sunshine resulting in a bone dry course around Rendlesham Woods. I arrived in good time for the lunchtime practice session to a cloud of doom and gloom. No-one seemed to have a good word to say about the course. Even the usual source of eternal sunshine, Chris Harley (EHF) said he was considering not bothering to race! I actually happened to quite like it. Kind of like Thetford only slightly different. Lots of twists and turns, some big ruts to negotiate and a one or two tame bombholes and a couple of long fireroad sections. The key was to ride smooth in the woods and ride clever on the open sections which seemed, generally, to be into a headwind. It turns out the kids and women had bedded the course in a bit through the morning so most people had cheered up by the time it came to our race.

Thetford Winter Series Debrief

This weekend was the final round of the Thetford winter series. I find this greatly concerning as it means it must be the end of winter and the real racing season is just around the corner. It is the first time I have ridden the whole 4 hour series and on the whole it has been a success. The weather has been miraculously kind throughout, nothing too wintery and only one mud-bath. The organizers have done a great job setting the courses considering the amount of rain we have had recently!

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.

Cyclocross!

I have said a lot of things about cyclocross in the past, most of it not particularly positive (as I was reminded after announcing my decision to break my duck). This weekend I finally got around to putting my prejudices to the test after years of never quite getting around to it. With a week of recovery in my legs following Kielder the Swindon round of the Wessex Cyclocross League was the perfect tonic. The weather was shit and there is no way I would have gone out for a training ride in the torrential rain so I needed the motivation of competition to get me out of the house.

Kielder 100

The look of relief as I hit the final descent after 99miles of racing

I should apologise now, this may be a long blog, but it was a long race, so get over it! Kielder is one of those event I have always said I had to do. It started the year after I moved away from Newcastle and the cost and effort of even getting there has put me off, until now. With the entire XC season being squeezed into 3 months before the summer had even begun, I needed something to motivate me and make training worthwhile. The decision to do it was confirmed when I was asked if I wanted to enter a team relay triathlon for the Giant Store Radlett on the same weekend. I don’t really do running, swimming or time trials so Kielder won hands down!

Olympic MTB photo blog

Liam Killeen practicing on the section that ended his race the next day.

The leading girls dropping down after 'Snake Hill'

I was very lucky to get some last minute tickets for the womens Olympic MTB race a couple of weeks ago. It was a great day out and good to watch some of the top women in the world tackle the technical Hadleigh Castle course. It was amazing seeing that many people there to watch an XC race. So many that you really had to fight to get to the front at the technical sections. Although I enjoyed watching, what I actually wanted to do is ride! It has just been announced that Hadleigh will host the final round of the National Series next year so fingers crossed that is still the case in 10 months time and I can get a feeling of what these girls were going through. Here are a few photos from the day.

Georgina Gould on the wall ride at the bottom of 'Deans Drop'

Julie Bressett.... somewhere...

This climb was a lot tougher than it looks and caused a few errors further down the field

Sabine Spitz and Georgina Gould tackle the top section of the 'Rock Garden'...

...And a bit further down... on the penultimate lap

Annie Last on the 'Rock Garden'

Emily Batty on the 'Rock Garden' riding with a broken collar bone after a crash in training

Annie Last just dropping in to the chute at the end of her last lap

No racing, just riding around Anglesey, Swinley and Blenheim

Since the national championships I have felt pretty uninspired to get out and train. There have been a lot of races in quite a short period of time which seems to have taken it out of me, mentally and physically. I think in situations like this the best thing to do is get out of the routine of training and racing and do something a bit different. I this instance, the offer of 3 days cycling from Chester to Holyhead and back carrying everything we needed was the perfect tonic. Add into the mix that the Saturday was my birthday and that is pretty much my ideal weekend. The only person i knew on the trip was the organiser, Christopholopolopolis, who I have known since my days as a bike guide in his native Greece. We only rode about 50 miles a day but it was nice riding and although the coffee stops weren't up to much it was a good weekend.  

National XC Championships - Wasing Park

Apparently we have a couple of weeks of acceptable weather and all of a sudden I forget to update my blog. Poor show! Over the last 4 weeks I have had 3 races, one biggie and 2 chippers. The most important race amongst this was the National Championships 2 weeks ago at Wasing Park. After a week on holiday in the Lake District doing a little bit of MTB, a couple of road rides and some hiking I made the long drive from Keswick to Wasing, via Cambridge to drop Emma off. A solid 8 hours of driving is not generally considered the best pre-race preparation but short of buying a helicopter I had no other option!

Southern XC 5: Frith Hill

 In the week following my win at the Rampage Series opener we actually had some pretty nice weather so I forced myself to commute by bike to make the most of it, and managed to fit in some lovely sprint intervals too. Never fun but hopefully they make a difference come race day. Sunday was the final round of the Southern XC series at Frith Hill and with a weather forecast that could go either way I was trying to be positive and hoping for a dry race. This venue is traditionally used by Gorrick in the pre-season races so on arrival I was struggling to get myself in the competitive mind set. The fairly torrential rain shower just as I was driving down the entrance road didn't help my motivation either.

Rampage Series Round 1

First win of the season

Looking at the state of the Mountain Mayhem course this weekend I was very glad to have not offered my services to anyone. I did, however, book myself in for a far shorter session of mud surfing at the first round of the Rampage series based in Checkendon. The course is short at about 2km and when dry the racing should last about 1hour. Although it was definitely not dry, it was holding up pretty well for the most part. The first section of singletract after the start as very slippery and kept making me think I had punctures because I was finding it so hard to keep in a straight line! The final section was also pretty tough becasue it was the only part of the course that had got baddly cut up and was very claggy and slow progress. The rest of the track was still running firm and quick.