Round 2 : Brandon FR6 : 7th December
After
a few days of being knocked out by a lurgy from hell I was feeling well
enough to race, but still had sinuses full of gunge... It had rained
lightly off and on all the way to Brandon but was forecast to be nothing
worse than a few spots during the race.
The
pre-ride made it clear that my body was lacking power; I was reasonably
quick on the flat, but had no oomph up the climbs. Chatted to Ady
before the race and he suggested riding to heart rate rather than speed,
so decided to give that a try.
I
was gridded, but was soon passed by plenty of riders as I struggled to
keep the pace up and found a queue at the first section of single-track.
Around 2/3rds of the way around lap one a 15min sleety downpour soaked
me through and froze me to the bone. The ground churned up and I
plodded on for 4 laps, occasionally finding bursts of power but mostly
just trying to keep a HR of approx 160-165.
I
ended up 21st of 86. I'd usually be very pleased with that when well,
so to be comfortably within the top 30 (gridding place) when poorly was
great.
Sunday 7 December 2014
Sunday 5 October 2014
Thetford Dusk Til Dawn 2014
Once again me and Cavey paired up.
It had rained, hard, from mid-day till about an hour before the start.
I volunteered for the 1st lap.
I got a good start however a course taping cock-up meant us leaders were sent the wrong way so I spent much time fighting through the pack to make back some places.
Half way around the course I cheekily overtook some other riders where there wasn't really enough room, I cut back in and had to keep the speed up so as not to hold them up. This led me to take a tight left/right too quickly and I glanced a tree. My shorts snagged on a little branch and ripped down the side, all the way from the top to the bottom! A cry from behind of "Oh, fucking hell!" confirmed I would have to do the rest of the lap with my arse and tackle flapping about in the autumn air! Fortunately I'd managed to stay on the bike and even more fortunately I had spare shorts in the car!
The taping cockup hadn't cost us too badly and we were in 5th place at the end of lap 1!
The rest of the night was incident free. The temperature dropped to around freezing and as usual the sunrise in the forest was stunning. I passed through one forest opening which was strewn with frozen cobwebs with shafts of sunlight glistening through.
As the night went on we moved up into 4th place and managed to hold onto that all the way to the end. With 2 laps to go there was some timing confusion that meant we might be able to nudge up into 3rd and onto the podium, but in reality that wasn't ever going to happen. We ended up 4th, with Cavey managing to get back over the line with only a couple of minutes to spare!
We've paired up for D2D 3 times now and this is the best result we've had and I'm exceedingly chuffed with it.
It had rained, hard, from mid-day till about an hour before the start.
I volunteered for the 1st lap.
I got a good start however a course taping cock-up meant us leaders were sent the wrong way so I spent much time fighting through the pack to make back some places.
Half way around the course I cheekily overtook some other riders where there wasn't really enough room, I cut back in and had to keep the speed up so as not to hold them up. This led me to take a tight left/right too quickly and I glanced a tree. My shorts snagged on a little branch and ripped down the side, all the way from the top to the bottom! A cry from behind of "Oh, fucking hell!" confirmed I would have to do the rest of the lap with my arse and tackle flapping about in the autumn air! Fortunately I'd managed to stay on the bike and even more fortunately I had spare shorts in the car!
The taping cockup hadn't cost us too badly and we were in 5th place at the end of lap 1!
The rest of the night was incident free. The temperature dropped to around freezing and as usual the sunrise in the forest was stunning. I passed through one forest opening which was strewn with frozen cobwebs with shafts of sunlight glistening through.
As the night went on we moved up into 4th place and managed to hold onto that all the way to the end. With 2 laps to go there was some timing confusion that meant we might be able to nudge up into 3rd and onto the podium, but in reality that wasn't ever going to happen. We ended up 4th, with Cavey managing to get back over the line with only a couple of minutes to spare!
We've paired up for D2D 3 times now and this is the best result we've had and I'm exceedingly chuffed with it.
Saturday 5 July 2014
T'Tour de Yorkshire
When it was announced that this year's Grand Depart would be taking place in Yorkshire I knew I'd have to make a trip back there to see it. While I'm not one for watching sporting events on TV, I love a live spectacle and couldn't miss seeing the worlds biggest cycling event taking place in the county I grew up in.
My original rough plan had been to head up on Friday after work with a mate and stay at my folks over the weekend, riding out to the Dales on the Saturday and over to York on the Sunday to see bits both stages. But as time went on it became apparent that a full weekend wouldn't be possible for various reasons. One of the main reasons being that I was attending the Black Sabbath, Soundgarden and Faith No More gig in Hyde Park on the Friday.
The new plan became to head out early on Saturday, leave the car in Selby, ride over to see the early part of the race near Leeds, then head on to Harrogate in time for the finish and then drive home the same day.
The gig was excellent, much beer was drunk (despite the prices) and I was tucked up in bed around 12:45. My alarm went off at 5:30 and my mate Steve picked me up at 5:45. The roads were clear at that time of day and we got to Selby just before 9. It was raining pretty hard for much of the journey but cleared up about 15miles out.
We said our hellos, got changed, unpacked the bikes and were on the road for 9:30.
I didn't fully discover the joys of cycling till later in life so haven't properly explored the roads from back home and was looking forward to trying some of them out. But, as we were against the clock I ditched the plan to take the scenic route through the countryside and we headed out on the busier main roads instead.
Initially I'd suggested riding approx 25 miles to Harewood House, however once we realised how busy it would be there we revised the plan to head to Pool in Warfedale instead. It's not that much further away and I imagined it would be less busy than Harewood. I'd plotted a route and uploaded it to my Garmin, although I knew most of the initial part of the journey very well. My grandparents lived on the outskirts of Leeds, not too far from where we were headed; as a kid this seemed impossibly far away so the idea of biking it was appealing.
As we set off the roads were still wet but the weather stayed dry, however we were riding into a headwind all the way out. Neither of us felt on form, the early start taking it's toll and we seemed to be riding up a gradual incline the whole way.
Around Moortown the road was blocked; the A61 was being used for the ride out from Leeds to Harewood House and crowds had already massed at the roundabout. We got off and weaved our way through the narrow path. Once through, the road was closed to motor vehicles and we found we were able to ride the wrong way along the dual-laned A6120. From here we deviated from roads I knew and headed along the country lanes between Adel and Eccup Reservoir towards Bramhope. From here we had brilliant views across Warfedale and finally had a speedy descent into the dale towards Pool.
We'd had no real idea what we'd do when we got there but assumed we'd be struggling to see over the crowds already massed at the railings. As we arrived we were greeted by a "Race Maker" marshall who asked if we fancied riding on the course and then finding a spot to watch from a little further through the town. A combination tiredness and surprise meant we didn't really register what he'd said at first but once it dawned on us we jumped at the chance. He parted the barriers for us and we set off.
The streets were lined with spectators and as we sped along they were cheering us on; they clearly knew we weren't competitors but were getting into the spirit of things and it was a brilliant experience, especially as it was all completely unexpected.
We passed through Pool and found an area where the crowds had thinned out where we set up and waited for the pack. We spent about 40 mins here soaking up the atmosphere, watching the Red Arrows flying over and refuelling.
A small lead bunch passed first, followed a minute later by the remaining 200ish riders.
Once they'd passed we rode up and down the stretch looking at all the chalk messages spectators had written for the riders.
We headed back into Pool then followed the GPS route out towards Harrogate. We weren't the only ones with this plan and even though I'd taken us along a little country lane the road was heaving with bikes and cars. It was only 8-10 miles to Harrogate, but those 8-10 miles were were mostly straight up and we were worryingly low on spare gears at some points. We refuelled again on the outskirts of Harrogate, before heading in and exploring the event.
The main event village was out of bounds as you couldn't take bikes in and we weren't prepared to leave them while we went in, but there was still lots to see. All the team coaches were parked up and crowds were milling about everywhere, the one thing we couldn't find was the finish! As we were discussing it a really helpful bloke overheard us and helped us work out where it was an how to get there.
Once again there was much fighting our way through crowds but we eventually found a way onto the course.
We rode the final mile or so several times, until the marshals shouted that we needed to clear the course ready for the race to come through.
We found a spot, by a dry stone wall, on a bend with a slight incline leading into Harrogate which seemed like a good spot to spectate and then we waited...
We'd got here with plenty of time to spare, and spent a couple of hours relaxing in the sun waiting for the competitors.
I snapped away like mad with my camera-phone and was lucky enough to capture a shot of Cavendish being led out by his team mates (he's the 5th one back with the black over shoes)!
After the riders had passed we headed after them into Harrogate, along with hundreds of other spectators.
Even though it was only a couple of miles, it took around 45 mins to get through Harrogate and out the other side, we decided there was little point staying for the ceremony as we'd not get close and time was ticking on. We finally had some reward from the morning's headwind and absolutely flew the 15 miles from Harrogate, through Knaresborough and on to York.
After a quick sightseeing tour of the city and a recce of where the following day's ride would be starting we left York and wound our tired legs on to Selby.
We called in at Mr C's chippy and then on to my folks', after a quick refuel we headed back home, arriving around 11:30pm.
The full route can be seen here; http://app.strava.com/activities/162160639
My original rough plan had been to head up on Friday after work with a mate and stay at my folks over the weekend, riding out to the Dales on the Saturday and over to York on the Sunday to see bits both stages. But as time went on it became apparent that a full weekend wouldn't be possible for various reasons. One of the main reasons being that I was attending the Black Sabbath, Soundgarden and Faith No More gig in Hyde Park on the Friday.
The new plan became to head out early on Saturday, leave the car in Selby, ride over to see the early part of the race near Leeds, then head on to Harrogate in time for the finish and then drive home the same day.
We said our hellos, got changed, unpacked the bikes and were on the road for 9:30.
I didn't fully discover the joys of cycling till later in life so haven't properly explored the roads from back home and was looking forward to trying some of them out. But, as we were against the clock I ditched the plan to take the scenic route through the countryside and we headed out on the busier main roads instead.
Initially I'd suggested riding approx 25 miles to Harewood House, however once we realised how busy it would be there we revised the plan to head to Pool in Warfedale instead. It's not that much further away and I imagined it would be less busy than Harewood. I'd plotted a route and uploaded it to my Garmin, although I knew most of the initial part of the journey very well. My grandparents lived on the outskirts of Leeds, not too far from where we were headed; as a kid this seemed impossibly far away so the idea of biking it was appealing.
As we set off the roads were still wet but the weather stayed dry, however we were riding into a headwind all the way out. Neither of us felt on form, the early start taking it's toll and we seemed to be riding up a gradual incline the whole way.
Around Moortown the road was blocked; the A61 was being used for the ride out from Leeds to Harewood House and crowds had already massed at the roundabout. We got off and weaved our way through the narrow path. Once through, the road was closed to motor vehicles and we found we were able to ride the wrong way along the dual-laned A6120. From here we deviated from roads I knew and headed along the country lanes between Adel and Eccup Reservoir towards Bramhope. From here we had brilliant views across Warfedale and finally had a speedy descent into the dale towards Pool.
We'd had no real idea what we'd do when we got there but assumed we'd be struggling to see over the crowds already massed at the railings. As we arrived we were greeted by a "Race Maker" marshall who asked if we fancied riding on the course and then finding a spot to watch from a little further through the town. A combination tiredness and surprise meant we didn't really register what he'd said at first but once it dawned on us we jumped at the chance. He parted the barriers for us and we set off.
The streets were lined with spectators and as we sped along they were cheering us on; they clearly knew we weren't competitors but were getting into the spirit of things and it was a brilliant experience, especially as it was all completely unexpected.We passed through Pool and found an area where the crowds had thinned out where we set up and waited for the pack. We spent about 40 mins here soaking up the atmosphere, watching the Red Arrows flying over and refuelling.
A small lead bunch passed first, followed a minute later by the remaining 200ish riders.
Once they'd passed we rode up and down the stretch looking at all the chalk messages spectators had written for the riders.
We headed back into Pool then followed the GPS route out towards Harrogate. We weren't the only ones with this plan and even though I'd taken us along a little country lane the road was heaving with bikes and cars. It was only 8-10 miles to Harrogate, but those 8-10 miles were were mostly straight up and we were worryingly low on spare gears at some points. We refuelled again on the outskirts of Harrogate, before heading in and exploring the event.The main event village was out of bounds as you couldn't take bikes in and we weren't prepared to leave them while we went in, but there was still lots to see. All the team coaches were parked up and crowds were milling about everywhere, the one thing we couldn't find was the finish! As we were discussing it a really helpful bloke overheard us and helped us work out where it was an how to get there.
We rode the final mile or so several times, until the marshals shouted that we needed to clear the course ready for the race to come through.
We'd got here with plenty of time to spare, and spent a couple of hours relaxing in the sun waiting for the competitors.
First came the carnival floats (aka advertisers) and at one point I was nearly run over by some speeding McCain Oven chips and a Fruit Shoot car!
Eventually the pack came into view...
I snapped away like mad with my camera-phone and was lucky enough to capture a shot of Cavendish being led out by his team mates (he's the 5th one back with the black over shoes)!
After the riders had passed we headed after them into Harrogate, along with hundreds of other spectators.
After a quick sightseeing tour of the city and a recce of where the following day's ride would be starting we left York and wound our tired legs on to Selby.
We called in at Mr C's chippy and then on to my folks', after a quick refuel we headed back home, arriving around 11:30pm.
The full route can be seen here; http://app.strava.com/activities/162160639
Saturday 14 June 2014
Wattisham Triathlon 2014
Written long after the event so only highlights.
Beforehand
Training had gone well. Extra core work (mainly planking) to attempt to combat diaphragm cramps I'd previously had on the run.
Swim
Was overtaken on the 7th length of the swim - I'd put an accurate swim time so was very surprised when this happened! This gave me some focus for the rest of the event and helped me to push on when I was flagging.
Bike
On the ride I caught the bloke who passed me and we swapped places several times. I eventually kept in front and got back and out of transition about 30-60s ahead of him. This was the first time I'd used tri-bars in an event, they definitely worked well and I'll use them again.
Last year I'd been held up on the ride by the Police helicopter taking off so was happy not to have a repeat of that this year!
Run
The run went the best it ever has in a Tri. No repeat of the diaphragm cramps I usually get and I was able to run well. The bloke who overtook me in the swim passed me about a 1/4 of the way around the run, but as he was in Hadleigh Hare's running club gear it was to be expected that this would be his strongest discipline.
In the end I came 15th overall, 5th in age cat!. Best result I've ever had by quite some margin!
Swim + T1: 00:06:39
Bike + T2: 00:35:12
Run: 00:19:51
Total: 01:01:42
Family came to spectate this year (Mum, Dad, Wife and daughter) this is the only event of mine that any of them have ever been to!
Beforehand
Training had gone well. Extra core work (mainly planking) to attempt to combat diaphragm cramps I'd previously had on the run.
Swim
Was overtaken on the 7th length of the swim - I'd put an accurate swim time so was very surprised when this happened! This gave me some focus for the rest of the event and helped me to push on when I was flagging.
Bike
On the ride I caught the bloke who passed me and we swapped places several times. I eventually kept in front and got back and out of transition about 30-60s ahead of him. This was the first time I'd used tri-bars in an event, they definitely worked well and I'll use them again.
Last year I'd been held up on the ride by the Police helicopter taking off so was happy not to have a repeat of that this year!
Run
The run went the best it ever has in a Tri. No repeat of the diaphragm cramps I usually get and I was able to run well. The bloke who overtook me in the swim passed me about a 1/4 of the way around the run, but as he was in Hadleigh Hare's running club gear it was to be expected that this would be his strongest discipline.
In the end I came 15th overall, 5th in age cat!. Best result I've ever had by quite some margin!
Bike + T2: 00:35:12
Run: 00:19:51
Total: 01:01:42
Family came to spectate this year (Mum, Dad, Wife and daughter) this is the only event of mine that any of them have ever been to!
Sunday 11 May 2014
Alton Water 10k
As Clare discovered joys of running she developed an interest in taking part in an event. To offer support, I agreed to sign up to the Alton Water 10k run with her. I don't usually run much further than 5k (the distance required for the tris I do) so upping the distance seemed a fair challenge for me too.
Before the event I ran the full distance a couple of times, but had mostly focussed on increasing my 5k speed.
On the day of the event it was a cold drizzly morning. We had friends taking part in the other distances; Alison R in the 5k, Claire A in the 2k.
As I was mostly there for moral support, and as it was Clare's 1st taste of an event we hung back and started from near the rear of the pack.
We'd decided that we weren't going to run together as our paces are reasonably different so I started off picking my way through the pack.
I often ride at Alton Water so know the course well, although have only run there once before.
I'd decided not to run with any water and only took some at 1 of the water stations along the course, although as usual I wore more of it than I drank.
At the final kilometer I was still feeling strong so started to push a bit harder than I would normally, managing to catch and pass several people who'd caught me earlier. For the final 100 meters or so I had a flat out sprint with a bloke who I just managed to pip over the line! I've never had that kind of finish before which was very elating; once over the line we shook hands and he bin me "well done".
For my first 10k and having started at the back of the pack I was stunned when I found out I'd placed 30th of 473 overall and 30th of 296 males, with a time of 42m40s.
Clare came 230th overall and was 34th of 177 females, with a time of 53m53s.
We really enjoyed the event and I even got a t-shirt for being one of the top finishers! My first/only prize from an event :)
Before the event I ran the full distance a couple of times, but had mostly focussed on increasing my 5k speed.
On the day of the event it was a cold drizzly morning. We had friends taking part in the other distances; Alison R in the 5k, Claire A in the 2k.
As I was mostly there for moral support, and as it was Clare's 1st taste of an event we hung back and started from near the rear of the pack.
We'd decided that we weren't going to run together as our paces are reasonably different so I started off picking my way through the pack.
I often ride at Alton Water so know the course well, although have only run there once before.
I'd decided not to run with any water and only took some at 1 of the water stations along the course, although as usual I wore more of it than I drank.
At the final kilometer I was still feeling strong so started to push a bit harder than I would normally, managing to catch and pass several people who'd caught me earlier. For the final 100 meters or so I had a flat out sprint with a bloke who I just managed to pip over the line! I've never had that kind of finish before which was very elating; once over the line we shook hands and he bin me "well done".
For my first 10k and having started at the back of the pack I was stunned when I found out I'd placed 30th of 473 overall and 30th of 296 males, with a time of 42m40s.
Clare came 230th overall and was 34th of 177 females, with a time of 53m53s.
We really enjoyed the event and I even got a t-shirt for being one of the top finishers! My first/only prize from an event :)
Sunday 23 February 2014
Thetford Winter Series 2013/2014
Round 1: 3rd Nov
31st of 113
Round 2 : 1st
Didn't race as went to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland the day before
Round 3 : 26th Jan
22nd of 100
Round 4 : 23rd Feb
34th of 94
31st of 113
Round 2 : 1st
Didn't race as went to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland the day before
Round 3 : 26th Jan
22nd of 100
Round 4 : 23rd Feb
34th of 94
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