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.