WORLD MASTERS TRACK - Manchester

Starting effort in 3000m Pursuit

10th place style

Sprinting for points in the 10Km heat

Getting ready to attack in the Points race final

Breakaway trio in the Points race with Greenstreet & eventual winner Blasczyk (Ger)

Casper and the (non working) Argentinian in the final laps

Watching and waiting in the Scratch race

Attacking with 5 laps to go in the Scratch race

Caught a lap too early in the Scratch race Blasczyk (Ger) leads the string

Pictures from World Masters Points,Pursuit and Scratch race c/o Steve Walton

WORLD MASTERS TRACK - Manchester

10Km SCRATCH

Adrian had made it back up to Manchester to catch the Points race final and I think the competition was making him distinctly nervous as its a long way to come to do a 5Km heat, he was right to be wary, after the heats of the Points race I was beginning to doubt my own motivation for doing this sort of thing, you sort of just get carried away with it. I know its a World title and that would be nice, but the cost  difficult to square with what goes on in the middle of a bunch at 35mph and what you are prepared to risk in a 'comfy' mid life, we are not young and a race can be an unforgiving place, but none so hard as the ground beneath our feet, and that is where we are heading if we slip up or take one risk too many, there is always somebody else to blame but ultimately we have to take the decision to get up on the track

Having said that, it's a beautiful place to be, I have likened racing on the track to "The closest thing to flying", and none so free as on a Scratch race with its destiny a headlong rush to the finish line, complete freedom to move in space, the banking gives the sensation of being unhindered by gravity and in a bunch at speed we wheel and swoop like a flock of starlings under the artificial light and in the dry air of the stadium at once freedom and speed. A heady combination with adrenalin and competition track racing has been my drug of choice and here I am still chasing it. At this level the highest level I have tried I can sense that feeling I had in a previous life on the boards at Leicester, the cold air of a summer evening rushing past your face at 35mph in the 20Km final, a dryness in the throat, always the most amazing rush, preceded by a game of 'Jenga' with bike and rider tessellate to the width of the track and try not to fall that is the simplicity of the Scratch race, one dash for the line

The stress of the heats

To get to the final we have to compete in a  20 lap heat and the first twelve go through, heats are the devils work, they get under your skin and make you sweat, you cannot take risks, and yet you must to get up into position, there is no moving up in the final lap, you have to position yourself with a kilometer to go and then hold that. The race continues going on around and fend off the opposition and then push for the line in a maddening rush, no tactics just hold your position and hold your nerve. I have been in heats where only six riders go through so maybe I'm not so stressed as some of the others but I'm still a bit shaky even if I don't show it

Adrian and I are in the first heat and I am getting to know the opposition, the race does not take long to unwind and we are in the final sprint already, I position myself on the outside where I can move , It's further and you catch the wind so its tougher, the big South African Michael Bevan goes past with somebody on his wheel (Gomez?) I just have to stay upright, on the final bend I sense a rider at my elbow and I have to use it to keep them at bay as I close up on David Klipper (USA) who in turn is shouting at Adrian not to move up the track (& not in a calm way!) I push up as near as I dare without contacting the fence at the top of the track over the line and then kick back as hard as possible and my bike shakes in an impossible speed wobble as I try to take off some of the speed before we hit the banking, and the banking hits me. There is no incident just a blanket finish and its tight for places, it did not help matters that Greenstreet who had been on the attack was being swallowed by the bunch in the final 100 metres but he too makes it as do myself and Adrian in 5th and 9th. A rider informs me he could smell rubber when I kicked back on the line but it was too close to call and at that point you can hardly call your mother and tell her to "Get me out of here!" and I still see track riders with no lock ring on their sprocket in races, madness!



The second heat more of a 'dragstrip' affair with Steve Clayton (GBR) lining the bunch out with 3 laps to go and making the pace so high that nobody can move up (how nice of him) so the bunch goes over the finish in a long  line. With 11 British riders in the final maybe something good will come as the home nation not having a great Championship in our age group (but better in others).

Waiting for the 10Km final

The final can be approached in a more relaxed fashion, you are in the final so the pressure is subtly different, for some riders getting in the final is there final and they are happy to ride it with no pressure and no expectation, but if you want to do a good ride then you need a strategy that suits your ability and your expectations, there needs to be a bit of pressure. The 40 lap final is a strange affair, Gomez is determined for a solo attack as he sits up in a group of four that get away early on and then when he gets away he stays away for 25 laps! The Argentinian has over half a lap at one point but the bunch goes into stasis and we lap after lap after lap and nobody attacks at all just a steady pace almost like a neutralised race. With less than 10 to go we are pulling him back, there is a bit of bumping and boring as riders jockey for position Adrian goes down on his own in the middle of the banking under pressure from Thomas Kapuste (GER) and hits the blue inner as we all move away, I have been trailing Ettles through the bunch for a few laps and approach the front, I go up to the top of the track and with 5 to go attack, Plan A is the only plan for me, it would be good for me to have somebody on my wheel but I do not have time to wait and its as fast and as far as my legs will take me to the line is all I'm interested in

It's tougher than you think

I pass under Adrian getting back into the race and over Gomez as his magnificent effort comes to a close and I just put my head down, for this (Plan A) to succeed you need the bunch to hesitate and it does for a moment and I get a quarter lap but the Germans have other ideas and Blasczyk goes to the front and in a blatant lead out for his team mate Kaspuste, he drags the bunch up to me on the bell lap and I am swamped by a mass of riders and I know my race is done. Kaspuste wins it from Paul Whatsmouth (GBR) so at least one of the British riders got up there and Colombian Jaime Cardona in third. As I circle the track to cross the line Blasczyk is next to me Whooping & cheering, sometimes the German aptitude for winning is justified but here in a non team race it is a bit hard to take, not blatant but just annoying. Plan A is an all or nothing strategy, it's rarely successful but it does give you a chance and in a world final that chance is just too juicy not to take, with Adrian in the bunch (a better finisher than me) but you just have to stick with it and say you took part and carried out what you planned , the result shows a different story. Adrian was up and back in the race but all at sixes & sevens so did not have a chance to get himself into position for the sprint, he has taken skin off all over as he tumbled to a standstill but he will mend, the damage to a pair of Mavic wheels more difficult to bounce back from.


Report & Result 

WORLD MASTERS TRACK - Manchester

20Km POINTS RACE

I had a day off on Tuesday and went out for a ride to the top of Snake Pass the entry into the Derbyshire Peak District from the red brick of Manchester, It was a miserable day, proper Manchester weather steady rain and wind but I needed to be outside as the claustrophobia of the track seemed to be heightened by the Pursuit dicipline a very intense effort with an insular focus. With that now gone I could concentrate on the Points and Scratch race, more racing effort and more my thing. The weather was worse at the top of the pass, driving rain and misty low cloud, I was determined to get to the top but immediately turned around to come home as I was getting cold as well, the 30mph decent was blinding but I warmed up once down and the rain receded to a drizzle by the time I was back in my hotel.

Madchester

Two heats with 25 riders and twelve to qualify, only four sprints in a 10Km (40 lap) race that would test the nerves as well as the skills of the riders, I was in the second so I could watch the first and it was completely different styles of raceing. In the first five riders in two groups including the British champion Tony Nash gained a lap mopping up the sprint points as they went, leaving few for the bunch to sprint for. My heat was more closely contested 'sprinters' race and I knew a single point would probably be enough but If I could get two that would make sure. I broke the habit of a lifetime and went for the first sprint and came up 5th which left me short of breath and on the back foot for the second sprint. With only two sprints to score I knew I needed to make it so hard that nobody would come past me and I chased down Peter Ettles (GBR) but could not pass him but I got my three points and all I had to do was make sure I was well up in the final gallop to ensure there was no problems. At this stage quite a few riders not scored so a bit of desperation set in and the last couple of laps like a scratch race and on the bell a mass of barging and elbows making it dangerous so I was on the outside. All four riders on my inside came down in a tangle of frames and bodies, I heard a pair of forks break as I missed a riders head with my wheel as they squirmed up and then down the banking. I was still placed 8th in the finish and 7th overall so comfortable in the end but a near miss on the way, The only rider to miss out Stephen McNally (IRL) who had points but unable to contest the final due to his injuries, the other three walking wounded with no points

We had a few hours to kill before the final at the end of the evening session, brother Phil had come up from London to be my helper for a few days, I think I saw him blanch at the crash and the rider on the floor for quite a while until he could be moved, he had broken his collar bone falling the long way down the track and in the next heat for another age group there was another crash which delayed the rerun until the evening as the session was brought to a halt to let the place calm down. Crashing is part of track racing, the riders and the officials were already getting a feel for the quality of the riding and with such a variety of events and riders, it can all get a bit heated rather than dangerous but you still need to be able to impose yourself and adapt to the style of the racing. Some of the whips were shaking their heads at the maneuvers in the bunches but as a rider you just do not have time to think too much if a rider is too close stick an elbow out and if another does not hold their line then shout, there were 25 nationalities at these Championships but I don't think there was any misunderstanding in the racing, it was full on and committed and you just have to deal with it.

Preparation for Points Race

The final was over 80 laps so more time for the race to develop but judging by the pursuit times allot of very evenly matched and powerful riders and all of the 24 riders has a different strategy to suit their style of riding. I can sit out the first couple of sprints and let the race settle as I plan to make a break to get my points as I'm better from a small group, Michael Blasczyk (GER) took the first 5 Pt's. and Gerardo Gomez (ARG) the second and Kerry Harford (NZL) the third, five points is a big score when things are so tight and the 3-2-1 for the other places looks paultry for the effort required in a mass sprint. No rider had scored twice apart from Thomas Kapuste (GER) who has a 3+1+1 Pt's. so when he scored a single again in the forth won by Ettles (GBR) from Blasczyk and Harford there were allot of riders in contention and plenty of riders with nothing, including me! I had tried to get up in the sprint but 5th the best I could manage, several riders had already tried to get away but the pace was too high and there were too many willing to chase you down but I had to try and so I took my chance in the lull after the forth sprint

Tight scoreboard (three sprints to go)

In this style of race you hope that somebody will come with your attack in a race too fast to suvive on your own, so best not to make your attack too much of a surprise or too hard, a gentle drift over the top is better than a thunderbolt underneath like enticing a fish with some 'tickling' it will only work if you have somebody to work with and after a lap or two on my own Ian Greenstreet (GBR) is up with me but trailing Blasczyk and we settle down and change every half lap, no need to knacker yourself when you have a sprint coming up. We three only have a few laps before the sprint which fall kindly for Greenstreet on the bell so I have to out sprint him and hold off the German for the win and my first points. Blasczyk responds by attacking us a lap later I know we are doomed if we do not work together, it's too late, confusion in the break and the bunch hunt you down and we are swamped by the melee.

I sense that the German duo are working as a team with Kapuste taking the next sprint while I get my breath back and the bunch is getting elongated more and more at every sprint but the pace is still too hot for my sprinting and I can only manage another 5th in the next sprint won by Harford with Kapuste another 2 Pt's putting him in the lead by one point from the New Zealander, Blasczyk on 10 Pt's and Ettles 8 Pt's Gomez 6 Pt's and myself in 6th place

That was tough! (Photo's by PDP)

With the penultimate sprint gone but the bunch in a long line I have no option but to attack again, this time the Pursuit winner Daniel Casper (USA) and Gomez but the Argentinian will not work with the American and keeps swinging up the track, I think he feels he does not have to work but it is not helpng my cause and I have to attack to try and rid myself of them as we have a third of a lap and the bunch in dissaray, I do not have enough in my legs for a third attack after he swings up again with no intention of working. We eventually are absorbed in the bunch and the final gallop is upon us, of all the cheek Gomez gets up and wins it and celebrates like its a scratch race, Blasczyk is second so on the same points as his team mate so its a German 1-2 and Blasczyk takes it by virtue of a better placing in the final sprint, Harford takes the Bronze a point infront of the now sombre Argentinian who thought it was his in a very close race  and picks up a warning from the judges for "Entering the sprinters lane when there is already somebody there" ie Dangerous riding and suffers a deduction of points in the relavent sprint(s) I'm 7th (and 2nd British rider) in a final only four scored from the nine that contested the final a pretty poor showing.

Report & Result

WORLD MASTERS TRACK - Manchester

3Km PURSUIT (45-49)

I've never been great at the Pursuit so this time as it's my last opportunity to do the 3Km distance as next year I go up into the 50-54 age group and its only 2Km so I've been doing a bit of preparation, as well as building myself a starting gate to practice getting going I also did a dozen max HR sessions on the turbo and threshold at 115-120 RPM to simulate the race in the two weeks prior. As the event is on the first day of the Championships and I have a rest day before the distance races get going I can give it an all out effort and try and break the 3:40 barrier, I figure a 3:36 good enough to get into the top 4 and the ride off for Gold, Silver and Bronze but the world record a blistering 3:21 to the American Ken Bostick faster than all the worlds best down to 35 years.
Sure enough two days before the Pursuit I wake to feel a bit under the weather, I stay in all day and fore go my final turbo session but feel a little better on the Sunday so on my way up to Manchester with a carload I stop off to watch the Jonny Helms 2 Up at Congleton, Lots of champions past and present in an end of season event more of a social than a race but the day is a bit wet but fun none the less. Adrian who is riding with his dad Mick (multi National champion from the 50's) decides to come and help me with the pursuit but has to go back to London for work commitments before coming back up for the Thursday the 10Km Scratch race the only event he is entered, I have the 20Km Points race on the Wednesday

Jonny Helms 2 UP - Result

Photos (c/o Cycling Weekly)

Getting out the gate

I still feel a bit under the weather but nothing I can do about it, there is an impressive 16 (seeded) heats and Michael Bevan (RSA) records an early 3:35.187 catching his man and I think I may have underestimated the opposition, a couple of riders DNS including my opposition Steve Clayton (GBR) with a sore throat so the whips put me in with Geraldo Gomes (ARG) as his has likewise scratched. I have finished my warm up so ready to go but its all a bit sudden and I'm sitting in the gate on the line with the clock ticking down from 50-49-48 ............ sweat is pouring off my head onto my visor.................... 29-28-27 .............. I sit bolt upright take a few deep breaths............. ...........19-18-17..................my mind has gone blank..............I look at Adrian and he stares back as if to say "Time to go" the last ten seconds and I push back on  5-4-3-2-1-GO.
My start is fine around the 22 second mark and I settle down for my ride, I do not look across until 4 laps are gone but I sense that Gomez is up, I go through the first kilometer in 1:14 not super fast but workmanlike 17.5 -18.0 second laps is enough I still feel OK but I need to lift it from here to the finish. with 4 to go I can see Gomez a bit and my breathing is feeling out of control, I try to put a bit more into it, I can feel I am lifting it but it feels like more pain than I can take to lift it any more, the last couple of laps I can feel my style going to pieces. At the bell I can hardly see for the sweat and the sheer effort,  but I just have to fling my legs around until I cross the line

I know I got it all out but within a few minutes the pain has subsided and you wonder to yourself what all the fuss was about, the time is a personel best 3:40.288 the second fastest to date but not good enough I feel a bit dejected and disappointed, and slope off to warm down, Gomez 3:43.199

Kenji Yano (JPN) and Daniel Casper (USA) record 3:33.835 and 3:33.501 in the next two heats Stephen McNally (IRL) 3:33.663 in the penultimate heat means that they go through with Bevan to the ride off, my ride is good enough for 10th and only 4th British rider so while I have never got a medal at this discipline (the closest I came was 4th in the Europeans) I just do not have the aptitude to go deep enough as I have peppered the 4:40-43 mark with regular consistency just not able to take it further. Best British rider Peter Ettles 3:36.328 in 5th

The final goes to form with Casper slowing to 3:35.416 from Mc Nally 3:36.932 and Yano 3:36 an easy winner over Bevan 3:39, you have to be able to get it all out in that one ride, there is no room to develop during a series of rides like in the past when the you could improve through the rounds, when I have got through to the final four I have been very consistent but at this level it requires a dedication I do not possess and a talent that has thus far eluded me

All that remains is a haltering cough

Last Hurrah!

It's a month since the BDCA and I had two weeks anxious wait to see if I could improve my '50' time, In the intervening week I began preparation for the end of the season as I have the World Masters Track at Manchester (Oct 10-15) I will be riding the 3Km Pursuit (Mon) the 20Km Points race (Wed) and the Scratch race (Thurs). I train and race quite a bit on a fixed wheel during the season to keep my hand in but I have been inspired to do a bit more in the longer distances as one or two of the other top Testers have been getting good results most noticeably Scott Povey who has been going better this season than ever, the second fastest '50' of the year 1:40:08 and even broke into the BBAR in 6th place, he didn't ride the 12 Hour on a fixed but I would not put it past him in the future

Scott Povey (Pic Andrew Kiss)

I'd entered the Echelon '10' on what I thought was the National course from 2010 and what I thought would be a good 'fixed' course and put a conservative 106" gear on (56 x 14) I usually use 93" or 96" for my evening 10's but on a much slower course and I manage 100RPM for a short 22 most weeks. Here I thought was a chance to let loose and get a bit more power on the go. When I turned up I realised it was a different course with the first 4 miles on 'lumpy' B roads into a stiff headwind so I put the gear down to 100" and after a good warm up on the rollers was left freezing at the start as i miscalculated the 4 mile ride to the start which was only about 2 miles and reached allot quicker on a 100" gear! Needless to say the first part was deeply unpleasant and at one point I was going uphill at what seemed like a ridiculous cadence to be racing a fixed and everything I hate about riders who tell me they only have 120" gear on today "And I was twiddling my N*** off!"
The first 5 miles was looking like a disaster at 11:36 and I would have been better on gears as I turned onto the A46 at Salford Priors and got a bit of a tailwind, coming home was all that riding a fixed should be, I'm not saying I would not have gone faster on gears but so enjoyable as I sped along the gear dragging me up the inclines and encouraging me to put in some nifty footwork on the downhill. I finished with 21:21 so 9:45 for the second split for 5th place behind Jon Simpkins (Drag2Zero) 19:59 and that gear cost me dear as I was only a couple of seconds off 3rd as they were tied on 21:20

Came up short in the Sever RC 50 (Pic Andrew Kiss)

in the Severn RC event on the A419 between Cricklade and Cirencester, I only needed 32 seconds to make the top 12in the BBAR which may seem little to ask but as I'd already broken my PB in the season a might taller than I was able to reach in the end of. I came up a couple of minutes short of my target with a 1:49:40 which was still a good ride (7th) behind the flying Scott Povey (i-ride) 1:43:12 and Jeff Jones the BBAR elect 2nd this time 13 seconds behind. The course is exactly two laps of the same roads so my 55:09/54:31 splits was a good effort on a chilly morning with the odd splash of rain from the passing showers that plagued the late season, I missed riding the Stone Whs. '25' on the Sat to give this event me every chance of doing what I needed to do but despite a valiant effort it was not to be and I will have to settle with what I have.
The next day we were off to France for two weeks holiday and the Masters the week after I get back so it was into the car with turbo and bike and one on the back for good measure, I had a couple of days off cramped up in the car as rest bite but when we got to St Astier (Nr. Duras) an hour east of Bordeaux we were greeted with blue skies and balmy temperatures, I hear it was spectacular here as well but the blessing for me was NO WIND or only a moderate amount so I could do a decent amount of speed work on the road without knackering myself to go with the Turbo clatter and French roads Mmmmmmmmmmmm! Smooth I just want to get off and lick them!

To be honest the heat was almost too much for the turbo even though I kept it to the evening and outside the sweat was pouring off me and one time I did it in the rain until the water made my my power meter fail and I was still like I'd been swimming so it was 20 minutes in a cold shower to cool down or sweat all evening and leave a damp patch on the sofa. I just did 30 miles every morning and 45 minutes on the turbo in the evening and that was enough, a couple of rest days

BDCA 100

Funny how things turn out, I felt for sure that all I had to do was a reasonable ride in the final '100' of the year to confirm my position in the top 12 of the BBAR this year, the top 7 places are well out of reach above 27mph which must be a record and would have got you a top three place in most other years. The next three places all above 26.5mph and also out of reach for us mortals who have the final three places to fight for and the next 5 places covered by 0.04mph that's about 5 seconds in a 10 mile time trial

I had a consistent week of training, and felt good, tight calf muscles were sorted with a bit of stretching and I was good to go except late on Friday night I began to feel queasy and had a bit of indigestion but I was able to sleep fairly well maybe in the excitement I had got a bit tense but that what come with pressure and I did not feel it was unusual. In the morning I had breakfast in a bit of a sweat but I just went out for 30 minutes and did my stretching as normal and physically felt OK, my stomach was a bit bloated but I managed to put away a bit of pasta at midday as the first riders set off out onto the A50

Two identical laps from Etwall to Bylth Bridge and back along the Dual Carriageway with a dog leg to Doveridge where the JCB headquarters are situated, the wind had blown up from the South so it was pretty much a cross wind but harder on the way out as there was more uphill and the dreaded 'Concrete Mountain'. There was a bit of a plan to pace myself for the first outward leg and not go overboard I did not need a PB just inside 3:50 well within my capabilities, 100 miles a long way but I'm not going to get any fitter and I rated my chances of coping with any conditions baring in mind my recent form and plenty of experience

55:30 for the first 25 miles was good work as it was hard but I did not let my concentration slip even on the hardest sections but my HR would not go up to its normal 159/160 and hung around the 156 which could mean I was not overextending myself but every time I tried to go up there my body resisted. Coming back was easier but the dog leg was the hardest as we came back into a block headwind and  my second 25 of 56:02 so that's 1:51:38 to half way which was good and well  inside my target and on course for a PB

The second lap begins I had to have another gel (my second) and Fi had handed me a bottle at 35 miles, I had been using bigger gears (for me) so my style did not feel fluid so there was a drop in the speed back on the main road and I was not feeling very comfortable with the effort. Jeff Jones (Chippenhan & Didt) the BBAR elect caught me for 9 min at 60 miles super smooth and aero he is doing what is needed but I was having problems. Why can't I? I was expecting a bit of a slowdown but I just could not match this as I watched his flashing light disappear in the distance, I was catching riders myself but more slowly and with a laboured effort. I needed another gel to get me to the finish, my supplies gone too early Fi gave me one and I held it in reserve

It's always best to ride your own race and here I was beginning to feel that the ride was getting away from me I had a second time up the 'hill' to the far turn felt like it would make a difference but once around I still had nearly 30 miles to go (not 70 done!) even the downhill seemed an effort when It had been such an effort to climb you feel it should give back its power easily but in reality you have to toil to harvest the speed from the gradient and the wind all the time pulling at your side. 1:01:11 was a sudden shock for the third 25 and the ride was slipping away

The Doveridge section was a miserable experience,  you relish the hard times when you are going well, welcome them even, when there is nothing there they drag, Fi gave me a final bottle of water I feel disembodied as I look down at my legs, I drift away from myself and have to pull myself back down to carry on the effort and the pain

Derek Parkinson (Cleverly RC) catches me for 19 min with 10 to go and going strongly and cheers me , he is pounding  where I can only poke at the pedals, I see a couple of riders ahead that I have been closing in on and try to use them as bait for my effort, I am closing in on the final miles and there is effort and no effort, pain and no pain, tears of effort and tears of frustration closing in but not making the kill. I pass one Fiona at the side of the road cheering with Sean Childs urging me on, I have effort but it will not be urgent it will only subside at the finish

When I cross the line the twinges of cramp only for the final miles slip back into the water with the pain and I come up for air and breath properly, not the urgent breathing of a distorted mouth  but shallow breathing of late sunshine and a warm breeze, 3:52:20 the numbers stare back at me, not a disaster nothing really. After that good start I let it slip away, Was it the sickness? I felt sick in the race but my body was good, until I needed more. Was it the conditions? Did I underestimate them? When you look at the times of the other riders I feel a little bit more uncomfortable, I went out to race and got caught by the pace

Only '50' mile time trials remain to affect position in the season long BBAR, only 0.04mph between myself in 15th place and Antony Stapleton in 11th and  means riders only need fractions of minutes to move up a place, Mark Arnold only needs a single second improvement to move up a place and I only need 30 seconds to make the top 12

BDCA Result here

Current BBAR standing

BBAR times and '50'  times needed for improvement

3 x10+(1V)2up25 = BH

Pudding Man

An 'aperatif' a midweek '10' of 22:09 on Tuesday evening saw me 7 seconds shy of winner from promoting club Kevin Southan (Hinckley CRC) but 10 sec too good for Ian Ball (Zenith) on my 95.7" fixed but come the weekend the 'starter' proper without the (after work) rush to warm up I trounce Kevin by 6 seconds with a 21:34 in the Leicester Forest '10' on the same setup but the A46 (Six Hills) is faster than the bumpy B road between Wolvey Heath and Meridian Park at Lutterworth and even though there was a stiff cross wind  my 11:16/10:18 splits good enough for 8th pipping Andrew Green (Lutterworth) by a second and Andy Eagers (Derby Mercury) by 38. With four inside 21 min and winner Matt Bottrill (i-ride) breaking the course record with 19:37 and looking like a contender for the BTTC in Northamptonshire this coming weekend.

Sunday's 'main course', the Team Swift (Charity) '10' on the uber fast V718 along the A63 on the Humber estuary, if this had been at 7am in the morning when I left the house then who knows? But as it was by the time I got out the car a stiff breeze had put pay to most of the 334 riders (3 events) who descended on the course in the hope of PBs and more. There were some fast times of course, my 9:43 first leg looked good but let down overcooking on the return 11:07 for a final 20:50 good enough for 36th and some way short of what I'd wanted from the day. A minute slow (cooking) the general consensus so Michael Hutchinsons (In-gear) would be happy with his winning 18:38  as it gave him just under a minute over 2nd Rob Pears (Bath CC) Steve Whitwick (UTAG) 3rd another second back

My use of gears pushed my margin over Ian Ball out to nearly 45 sec so I cannot have been slouching  and Andy Green slipped to 16 sec behind but Eagers pulling himself up by his proverbial bootstraps and closing the gap with the same  21:06 winning the >22min event

I like to think of myself as a bit of a pudding man so the 'dessert' always eagerly anticipated on this occasion the Bank Holiday Coalville Wheelers 2 up '25' with Mark 'Tri' White (Bike Science), after two days of ride-stretch-drive-warmup-race-warmdown-drive-sleep-drive-warmup-race-warmdown-drive-sleep edges getting a bit frayed so early/cold/wet/windy not appreciated for what should be a bit 'o' light relief and we miss our start because Mark's bladder goes on strike as we warm up and then he has perform bicycle ballet taking off his gilet as we descend to Long Watton at 30mph, despite this we manage a 10:25 split for the first 5m but heading into the wind his legs go on strike and this put pay to our race but in his defence he has just placed 4th in the National team Triathlon the previous day and I think I would go on strike as well. We finished the race in 1:02:25 so the minute late start did not seem like a penalty more like a service charge
Next week  BDCA '100' ( BBAR) + BTTC TT

Record breaking ride - Breckland CC 12 hour 281.63 miles

My own ride was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that (Dr) Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist) managed to fluke the competition record by three miles 305.51miles so my own five mile breaking of club record (my own) with 281.63 (23.46mph Av.)  was lost in the excitement. This was the event that was cancelled at 200 miles last year when I was leading and the rider that pushed me that day Nick English (AW Cycles) was again present so with BBAR contender Jeff Jones and Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann) and local favourite Dave Green (RAF) we had quality in the 31 man (and one woman) field. We had to compete with the National Championship taking  on the other side of the country (Shropshire/Cheshire) the winner of that race (and champion) with 302.75 miles Andy Bason (Pedal Rev) would have made claim to the record had he not finished half an hour later than Dr Jones at 6.30 in the evening because he had also broken the old record which stood to Andy Wilkinson at 302.46 miles.

There is nothing that can prepare you for getting up before light, scooping up a meal of prepared meal of fruit and cereal and trying to get your body active enough to start a race just as the day is starting, you just have to be as prepared as possible so a little light sleep is possible in a hot hotel room (with helpers) and little bonuses like securing the room at the back of the building come a long way down the list of worries that begin with miles and miles of preparation and racing, and  praying for the right conditions. Last year I felt those conditions were pretty perfect on East Anglian roads that are notorious as a graveyard for sporting performance and yet here I was again willing to risk a second dose of pain against judgement of the gods for a second chance at that elusive target I had set myself, the 280 mile 12 hour. Just over 30 riders have achieved this feat, mostly young men in their prime not riders entering their fifth decade

Going with the flow

Brother Alan rode up from South London to be chief helper the week before his own marathon ride and a last chance to make sure man and machine were ready for the Paris-Brest-Paris which he plans to complete in 80 hours with fellow club man Paul ("Show me the mileage") Alderson who plans to do the ride in 20 hours less! We had a picnic on the same spot, re enacting our preparation last year in the hope that it would be lucky or at least reveal to us some notion of justice that had been denied last year. When the preparation is done all that is left is faith and belief and where that fails in the twilight hours we pray, pray for good luck and good weather, selfish as it may seem I become the centre of my world, athletes are at the best of times egocentric but here at the alter of an important  event we are stuck in purgatory between the unknown and the possible, sleep is impossible and so we hope

Fiona and I drive to the start in the dark, Alan has to ride, no room in the car (2 x bikes, 5 x wheels, tools, food, drink, more food, more drink, everything for every eventually for a day camped at the side of the A14 between Thetford and Norwich. The Eccles road interchange at Attleborough is common to the two main DC loops of the ride one ten miles up and one ten miles down so the helpers are gathered here for 9 hours of the ride and it becomes an impromptu cycling festival with chairs and tables of food and drink to keep everybody (riders & helpers) going for the day

Nick English (AW Cycles)

There is a mad dash to get ready for the off, more than a normal race and with a car full of stuff to wade through (and then repack) but I'm on my way at 6.20 so all I have to do is go as far as I can on these roads before 18.20 that evening. The roads are damp from the dew, the air is fresh and clean out here in the Suffolk lanes only the fields of early cropped wheat because of the good weather at the start of the year. But what would today bring? There was a bit headwind from the West and after the first 25 miles (59:51) and I have caught half a dozen riders. Next we had a 20 mile pull into the stiffening breeze  the full length of the course from Browick interchange to the Croxted (Jct) big flags billow and little flags flap maddenly fast but it feels good to be going now everything else I can put behind me, it has not got tough yet but there is plenty of time. This second 25  takes me 1:03:27 and by the time I saw my helpers for the first time at 50m I was over 3 minutes down on last years schedhule, not a good start but I take my first food of the day, a banana. I rallied over the next 75m (1:00:49) (1:00:49) and (1:01:49) bringing me almost level, then we had the payback for the early hard section and as we swapped circuits we had a 20m wind assisted section which saw my fastest split of the day (58:28) this was a great fillip and put me up for the first time. Jeff Jones meanwhile had caught me for 10 min at 75m going very strong but only just behind him (on time) was Steve Berry one of the early starters going away from me. Nick English my 5 minute man caught me on the downwind section at 120m we exchanged a nod and a smile, this is what we had come to do, grim as it may seem the draw of competition with others and the elements but more importantly ourselves makes the half day race the ultimate racing puzzle, to pitch your ride with all the conditions to space it over those twelve hours, everybody  has bad patches, doubts themselves and then with determination and sheer willpower you come across the plains of  self doubt the wilderness of suffering over the middle stages and a dim light appears in the distance , and your moral begins to rise and you can see the end and when you can see a personnel goal achieved it is the feeling of pure nectar itself

Here in the race we are coming to half way 150m (6:05:54) over 4m up on what I thought last year was an amazing ride so by the time I got to 180m with 4:36 remaining I felt sure I could relax a bit and here it nearly went wrong, I decided to stop, mainly to have a p*** as I had been needing one for the last four hours, in fact since I had a p*** on the move at 30m when I should have gone at the start but in all the rush I forgot and then as soon as I was on the road I got that 'full' feeling down there which to be honest stayed with me for the whole day, not a pleasant feeling. The toes on my right foot had been gradually going to sleep, something I have had in the past, this year I even started with no overshoes so I could adjust my (Velcro) straps but nothing seemed to make it better

New Record Holder - Jeff Jones

So 200 mile a good place to stop (1:03:57) and 8:14  when i stopped I got my shoe off and sprayed my toes with 'freeze' spray. My helpers knew I was going to stop and had things prepared but its the things that had been annoying the noisy chain ("Alan give that chain a spray with silicone") load up the bottle and gels and ("Fiona give that visor a clean") and in all the industry and activity I FORGOT TO HAVE A B****** P***  so I was on my way and before I could think about it I had that 'full' feeling again. Never mind do another lap, no panic, at this stage I would do 285 with only 22mph I calculated and I was at just under 24mph for the race so all seemed fine so long as I did not puncture or get lost on route to the finishing circuit (we never got there last year remember so still a few unknowns to conquer, for the twelve hour what you need is repetition and certainty, take all the variables out of the equation, when you are on the limit, your brain does not function properly and the anxiety of the night before can come back to haunt you.

I stop the next lap and taking a p***, It takes ages to get going when your bladder has been treated like its had a massage from Joe Pecci, it's all manner of sports drink (SIS, coffee, cola) but its always Gatoraid coming out. "Do you think the people there know that and think it's a problem"? I have only had two bananas two hot cross buns to date with chocolate (and yes banana) so the inside of my skin suit looks like a dirty protest has taken place but what else do you do with the wrappers? The rest has all been gels, I save up the first caffeine one for over 100 miles and its what taking mainline heroin and speedball crack at the same time must feel like (Why would I know?) It smooths out all the edges off your riding style, my RPM to this point has been 90 a bit down on what it would be for shorter distances but I cannot allow myself to 'plough' along in a big gear as cramp creeps up on the ununwary and then it's difficult to shake off. From 120m Steve Berry's wonder ride began to slide,  but it was he going slower not me speeding up, he was slowing at a greater rate and that is where the danger lies, the steeper the decline, the harder to arrest and the further away the finish seems, he was having problems with cramp, Nick English was closing in on him after a modest start, his power meter was telling him he could take second spot, Jeff Jones out in front just seemed so strong for only his second outing in the event he was putting a canny ride to go with the extra speed he has found this year.

225 miles (1:04:25) comes with better posture but these past few hours in the heat of the day on concrete roads leave one half baked to go with the exhaustion but there is still a way to go, we leave the A14 at 236 miles and ride the four miles to join the 12 mile finish circuit, I had almost exactly two hours to ride. I had no knowledge of how long I had stopped for, making two stops had complicated matters but  I only have to keep above 20mph all the way to the finish to attain my target, it would be close but surely I ride my bike to work faster than that and regularly do intervals well above on hilly roads, but that is not to take the ten hours of punishment metered out to the body already, the first hurdle is to 'manage' the change from DC roads to the undulating B roads that punish with their variety in effort and tempo, it takes a lap before I am comfortable but I have to take on more food (another bun) that goes down greedily where the others had to be forced down as I find I am hungry. I take extra drink from a friend (thanks Peter!) who whips a bottle out of his van as I wave an empty at him.

Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann)

250 miles (1:09:05) and the slowdown had been dramatic, I still had a few minutes over the 1 1/2 hours in hand (I thought) but it was that close I could not afford to ease up, I usually 'come around' a bit and have a final flourish but today I seem to have left it all my efforts on the DC, no matter what I do there is no style in my riding, it is rough, urgent and ugly, the timekeepers every mile come and go and I even catch a few riders but when the next 25 miles comes up (1:12:09) its a bit of a shock 275 and only just over 15 minutes to make my play. I have done the up wind side of the course through the HQ at Scoulton and thankfully the heat has gone and we are among trees. I  complete my third lap and go on to Hingham Green where Alan and Fiona are waiting, my time has come and gone, I'm sure I'm there and its good to get a provisional result a good half mile over. With Jeff Jones breaking Competition record with 305.691 the course will be re measured and officials will go over the data with a fine tooth comb, they may make some adjustments which will not affect the record but I could loose my 280 but for now its a Club Record and a PB, a good effort, quite an achievement and payback for last year. Nick English has moved on to 2nd with 290.095 and Steve Berry held on to beat me for third 284.604, I did not even win the Vets prize that went to Stan Maciac (Didcot Phoenix) 260.609 at 65 years (+74.219) Not wanting to overstate my case I'd put this as my best ride ever, I've won more prestigious races and performed better but today I achieved a dream and while I could have gone further I think I'm satisfied.

This ride puts Jeff Jones in the box seat for the BBAR and moves me up to 12th but I will need to improve my '100' to stay in position and Jeff could do with improving his as it all looks tight at the top with some very fast times done already.

Photos - Stephen Penney

Happy man - "What do yo mean I did'nt win the Vets prize"

Result Here

Read Jeff Jones account here

BBAR standing

BDCA 50 = 2 x PB +1 x CR

Like buses you wait ages and then two come along together (unless you're in Tottenham of course) so breaking my personnel best '50' (and the club record) was a surprise to me as even with my recent mixed fortune I've had better rides on better days. Although I knew I'd turned a corner with the '10' a couple of weeks back I have been on a last round of training and primping to round off my conditioning in time for the 12 hour next week and the end of the season. It was in this event two years ago that I last rode to a club record and although I was at the top of my fitness for a while last season, conditions (and luck) prevailed to stop me making good with that form and I endured a frustrating end to the season.

Dr Jeff Jones winner of the BDCA '50' and recent NM & H '100 (Pic gbr295)

The BDCA '50' lines up like a mini championship with only sixty riders in the main event (closed on a 1:58) the rest taken up by the ladies and the Association event as this course has a 120 rider limit.  The  A50 has become a favourite for its fast times in all conditions but this the one lap version as opposed to the arguably faster two lap (2 x the '25' course) and goes all the way up to near Stoke on Trent, the glorious weather of late has become changeable in the week so as we look to the skies on Saturday morning we are left with mixed feelings as the wind seems too strong and the heat of the past few weeks evaporated as quickly as it arrived. I went out for twenty miles in the morning and did my second portion of yoga this week to ease out the aches and pains of the past couple of weeks which I can still feel on my body.
While there is a frantic Whirrrr of turbo in the car park I prefer to take a more relaxed approach to my warm up, take some food (banana & fig roll) and drink prepared coffee in the sunshine, I do a five mile ride on the road and arrive just as my minute man Scott Povey (i-ride) goes off, a bit fine but its going to be straight into it today as we have a head wind for 22 miles to the Blyth Bridge turn. My first few splits 11:16/11:47/11:58 seem unremarkable and the killer 'concrete mountain' section 12:17 puts me below 25mph for the first time, I see the winner of N Middx & Herts '100' Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist) going the other way and put him 5 min up on me and Povey not far behind so my 57:48 (26.0mph) at 25 miles does not look impressive or PB material, that however does not allow for the return which is super fast 10:28 is followed by 8:29 (this is not an error Av. speed 35.4mph for one 5m section!) The dog leg to Doveridge (JCB) slows the pace 11:13 some what but I catch three riders along this section and this helps me to focus, so are the hunters hunted and I am indeed caught by BBAR Julian Jenkinson (UTAG) for 4 minutes at 34 miles just as I take a second gel, 10:58 back into the A50 with 12 Miles to go and I am hunting down my 4 minute man Gavin Hinxman (Welland Valley) its all high speed stuff around the two roundabouts at Uttoxeter 9:17 and then as the pace and the distance take a grip of my muscles and I realise I must be close to my best ever, I catch Gavin on the slip road off the main road onto the A516 we are either side of a startled driver like pilot fish myself in Red & Blue and Gavin in vivid orange (nice socks!)
It's 1:47:52 at the line but I'm unsure of the seconds, I've never been inside 1:48 I have made it back in 50:03 (30mph), back at the HQ there are some super fast times and (Dr) Jeff Jones is fastest of the year so far  the outstanding winner 1:39:08 his splits 53:14/45:54 (32.7mph all the way home) so although he was 2.1mph faster into the wind he was even more impressive going faster on the way back. Povey was an excellent 2nd 1:40:08 (on a fixed) and in form Derek Parkinson (Cleverlys RC) 1:40:49 pushing back the more established riders Jenkinson 1:41:42 and Joel Wainman (Swift) 1:42:32 these are all terrific times for what was a pretty ordinary day but riders are coming into their top form with the National 12 containing most of the same protagonists next week, I will have to contend with Jeff Jones starting 10 minutes behind me in the Breckland 12 with Nick English (AW Cycles) and Steve Berry (San Fairy Ann) also it should be a good race.

Result here

South Western Road Cycle

I'd  ridden to stay with an old college friend near Oxford the day after my ten mile PB, I could feel the racing effort in my legs as I towed along my winter bike with panniers and mudguards (weather has been that unpredictable I thought it best) and made it there just over four hours for the 75 miles. I sat in the garden & looked at the route to Plymouth, first week of the holidays its bound to be busy on the roads where ever I go but I plumb for heading south to the coast (Portland) and then along the Jurassic coast Lyme Regis, Exeter and then Teinmouth and Totnes, I'd look at the route back in a few days.

Heading South into Oxfordshire

The Chapel at Abbotsbury (Jurassic Coast)

Once past Swindon (M4) and Marlborough on the old Bath road I was onto the Salisbury Plain where the odd military tanker passed me but no sight of the tanks (must be well camouflaged) and a few attack helicopters watching my progress to Salisbury for lunch (55m) I pressed on to Blanford (Forum) and Thomas Hardy's (Tess country) memorial just before Dorchester. The last part to Weymouth was getting busy so it was great to get a dedicated cycle path the last five miles which i shared with a couple of Triathletes and commuters as well as people out for the evening, no potholes, parked cars or annoying sudden ending just like being on the continent, Magic!
I stayed at the Youth Hostel on Portland in the old Military Police station the whole area was military until a few years ago as the 'functional' housing attested but there was lots of new apartments being built on the strength of the Olympic action to take place in the area in a years time. 115m in 7Hr

Chesil Beach to Portland in the distance

I knew the next day along the Jurassic coastline would be the hardest so as I retraced my steps along the narrow connecting sandbar to the mainland and climbed along the ridges overlooking Lyme Bay to the West and it tries to rain on me, after ten miles the road took a sudden right and climbed for ten minutes (in bottom gear 39 x 26) to a viewing point along the straight of Chesil Beach to Portland Bill, it was a good view but I could have done without the drop in speed as it put me under 13mph for the only time in the ride, this was supposed to be a ride done at tempo to help my time trial preparation at these speeds it wasn't going to do the business. The morning continued with annoying traffic on twisty roads until just outside Bridport where a lorry had broken down on a particularly narrow hill road, I passed every car,van & lorry that had passed me in the intervening journey and 5 miles of traffic in the other direction standing outside their cars and calling "Whats up"? "At least two hours" my gleeful reply, revenge as they say is mine! I know the names of these towns & beaches from childhood holidays Branscombe, Beer & Salcombe.  Lyme Regis a bad climb to get into and out of does not reward (similarly Dawlish later) but just a haven of tourist tat and traffic, I didn't even bother to unclip. From Sidmouth I move inland and the roads flatten out as I steer through the Exmouth delta, I stop for a delayed lunch and then take the flatter coast road to the Teign Estuary which has the feel of the highlands but I'm coming into commuter traffic around Torbay and my solitude does not last for long. Last part from Dartington is all uphill to South Brent where I am staying with Dan & Lou for a day before the journey home but for now I can rest, its been a hard day 95m 6:30

My day off I get to sit on Bantham Beach next to Burgh Island and watch the crowds mill about doing the holiday thing, I'm never here in the summer and these beaches are never full like today, Dan is a surfer but the surf is non existent so we have lunch and I head off to visit friends in nearby Noss Mayo & Newton Ferres. The next day the effort to get here has begun to kick in, it's funny how it takes a day for your legs to realise they can relax, I guess that's why the tour riders ride on the rest day, your body needs to know its got something to challenge it, maybe its psychological but I'm in two minds as I have put my body under allot of stress in the last week but as I said before you have to just go for it. I would like to go back via Bristol or Bath to cut across the traffic that flows to the SW but only accommodation at Salisbury means its the dreaded A38/30/303 route, eventually I leave after lunch hopefully the traffic will drop away and I will get a good few hours. And that is the way it pans out after a frantic couple of hours at 20mph through Exeter to Honiton once I get onto the A30 and on the way to Chard & Crewkerne its almost pleasant. By Shaftsbury which was the last major climb of the day It had turned into a pleasant evening and I met up with a couple of riders and was able to tag along all the way back to Salisbury. 120m 6:30

Leaving Salisbury YHA last push

The last day was a retrace of my journey to Swindon and then a hop onto the Fosse road at Stow but the weather had turned for the morning and I had my cape on for an hour and I was glad of mudguards but I was more miserable as I was into a headwind and would be all day,  these days prepare you for the mental as well as the physical duration of the 12 hour and if the day is bad then it's difficult to put a positive spin when you're tired. The reverse  way across the Plains I had a black hawk helicopter for company only added to my paranoia and I could hear firing in the distance. Once onto regular roads I perked up a bit and my speed picked up over the last two hours as I was determined not to be under 17mph, I stopped at a pub for coffee and got a whole cafetiere for £2.20 the bargain of the week with my hot X buns my staple for this sort of thing. I made it back to Leicester to greetings from Fiona, I have survived (1 x punt) and although pretty tired I feel better than I have in ages, my back and torso have taken a pounding from the pressure but my legs feel remarkably good, now have two weeks to finish preparation half day event. Some hard work to take on a bit of speed a couple of more events and a taper and 12 hour here I come 120m 6:50 (Total 550m)

Out of the Blue

A good weeks training or at least three back to back rides during the week allows me to break a personel best out of the blue in the Wolds RT '10' on the super fast A63  Hull course. As a prelude I did a 22:33 in the Hinckley CRC Tuesday evening event on 87.5" gear (that's 56 x 17) I'd under geared by accident thinking I had something in the low 90's so my 105 RPM felt fast (and uncomfortable) and I was less than 30 seconds down on road man Ian Bibby (Marshalls Pasta) fresh from being battered by the Sky boys in the Professional Road Race where he was 'best of the rest' (5th)
Three hours on Wednesday and an hour and a half around the lanes at 22mph on 81" fixed set me up for the weekend, I've not been able to string together anything like that consistency in training so my riding (both training & racing) has been all over the place, inconsistent with no solution to be found, maybe the '100' last weekend 'unblocked' something because although I still felt a bit fragile my legs were strong.

20:16 of all out effort in the Wolds RT event

A ten mile race is as fast and as flat out as you can go in a time trial, it was a little windy and the early riders who know about these things put it 30 seconds to a minute slow, no matter the conditions I've come a long way and It's my only ride of the weekend and tomorrow I'm off to Devon for a week on my bike to prepare for the annual fiesta that is the 12 hour. I did no formal warm up apart from ride to the start at nearly 5 O'clock (but that is 5 miles) there is still some heat in the day so by the time I get to the timekeeper I'm nicely warmed up and relaxed.
It's a downwind start and I put all I can into it and use the top only a couple of times as there is hardly any variation in the elevation so nothing to go flat out and I'm there at the turn, Matt Bottrill (i-ride) my 2 minute man is only 10 seconds faster (so 20 seconds overall) and by the time i get around the two mini roundabouts and down the slip to the five mile point its 9:29 (nearly 32mph Av.) the return further and into the wind but it does not blunt my speed too much, I see Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) my minute man some way ahead but I'm too absorbed to get a time check the effort is too distracting and I do not look at my numbers for fear that they will not say what I want to see, there is no point its a full on effort and nothing to be done but put it all in.
The finish flag is there all to soon but it takes ages too, the effort subsides and you hear your own breathing from out of the vacuum that is the envelope of time trial racing, adrenalin and concerntration keep out the pain of the effort at bay,  I could have tried harder, everybody thinks that, It's a PB but I don't know by how much? I catch Greenstreet on the way back to the HQ he is 20 seconds off his 20:25? and we must be close, at the result board 20:16 (29.6mph Av.) better than I anticipated, some good scalps too, still nearly two minutes behind Hutchinson (In-gear) the winner in 18:25 Under 23 James Gullen (Wallis) a good second 19:14 and Bottrill third this time a holiday taken the edge off his form 19:23 he took a little more out of me on the way back but I was out there for longer 10:47 (27.8mph Av.)
On the Sunday body feeling the day after the event, i pack my panniers and ride to Clanfield near Oxford on the first leg of my trip to Devon to get in the miles in a last desperate bid to get ready for the Breckland 12 hour on the 14th August, the Saturday ride has given me a lift and I have to weigh up taking it easy and building on that success or pushing the boat out with a bit of extreme touring and hoping my body stands up to the challenge, in the end I plump for the latter, I need some time off from work and as I cruise down the Fosse Road towards Swindon the sun is out and the prospects for a good week to follow.

2 x 100 = ~

Easy as 123 - Getting ready for the worst of it

Things go from bad to well not worse but lets say underwhelming, last week I had the National Championship '100' on the A168 on my favourite course from Dishforth up onto the North Yorkshire Moors at Northallerton X 3 circuits, an afternoon (going into evening) event so no getting up early for riders and helpers (Fi likes this one as well) we have all day to get ready and get up there for my 3 O'clock start time.

At the Southern end sunshine, in the distance rainstorms

My back is playing up but it does not seem to affect my riding so some gentle stretching in the morning on top of a moderate week pointed to a good race for me and the other 150 riders in the Team Swift promotion, it is a bit breezy but the curved course along its 17 mile length can be deceptive and as we have a downwind start it's all to play for, I have 'Mr Chainring' Nik Bowdler (Farnborough & Camberley) two minutes behind so my 21:45 first 10 miles looks OK but my legs not so fluid and when I start the ascent up to the turn Nik catches me and my legs do not feel like they want to pick up the challenge. Turning into the wind always a bit of a shock but you have to meet it head on with a bit more concentrate effort and of course suffering, strangely my legs feel better making more effort but progress is hard won and the time taken is making me doubt my ability. 24:18 is not a good return for all that investment and the balance of certainty that there will be a profitable outcome, doubt creeps in like a serpent, silent and deadly, you put all thoughts to the back of your mind and continue for 24:18 but coming directly into the wind at the home turn and my speed is blunted still by the creep up the slip road where we are met by 850 riders in the Ripon Triathlon all going around the same roundabout from the other direction, it's a right old kerfuffle, luckily most know the way to go. I have another chance at the downwind section to halfway but my legs are like iron (and not in a good way) after the hard pull and it seems speed has been the casualty of my overexposure to the cost of the race 24:28 its not enough to sustain such an investment and over the next few miles my race plan goes the way of the wind and the rain that has been lashing the far turn, when I get up the top its strangely calm as it often is after a storm with huge puddles in the road although I have seen none of it and barely a drop of water has fallen on me. Fiona is there is the roadside and having passed the 50 mile point in 1:59:40 I pull up and stop DNF its not many times I have had to utter that and it sounds as bad as it feels but the though of going on is worse, there are always times in a long race when you could stop but you don't let it become a reality because you know that dealing with the consequences is tougher and less certain.

Derek Parkinson fills his bottle on the move

 We go and cheer the riders for the remains of the event in the sun at the other end of the course, struggling to take bottles on the slip road into the wind (feeding only allowed off the main road), eventual 6th Derek Parkinson (Cleverly RC) even fills his 'onboard' bottle as he goes along in a bizarre act of It's a Knockout proportion. Kevin Tye nearly coming to grief as he almost comes to a standstill and making a meal of his ride as well. Michael Hutchinson (In gear) runs out the Champion for the sixth time 3:24:45 even though he went off course because he missed the turn in the rain and had to run back up the slip road, he matches Kevin Dawson (Sportscover) for wins but Dawson 3:35:43 after winning the team RAAM in a near record time a few weeks back only good enough for 4th the Utag pair of BBAR champion Julian Jenkinson and Stephen Whitwick 3:32:41 and 3:33:28 respectively


A week later and I have the North Middlesex & Herts CA '100' on the F1/100 on the A1 at Tempsford, a pre race '25' on the Saturday was a wash out cancelled before a rider had gone to the line with constant rain all morning so I had the opportunity to watch the Tour stage in the afternoon at my 'digs' for the weekend in Bedford. I went for a ride around part of the 'New' course I won this event a couple of seasons ago and the course has had numerous incarnations over the years of this one of the most famous courses but the event has to be off the Main A1 by 9 O'clock which presents a problem for a '100' and we always have to use the side roads for the finale.

Come the morning 6.15 start windy but thankfully no rain, we trek up and down between Buckden and Biggleswade six times and then off along the new dual carriageway A421 and back along the lanes through Gt Barford to the Black Cat roundabout, this part was directly into the wind and we did it twice and my sagging legs were overcooked by now. All hope of a sub four hour ride went out the window after a distinctly average 1:58:19 at half way but after being in the same position last week I have to dig deep to avoid the same outcome, I don't want to become a serial stopper I do stop at 80 miles a stop to pick up a bottle which did not help my cause but when you are un-supported it's necessary,  I was annoyed to see that another rider (presumably) had helped himself to half my spare bottle, this has only happened once before when they took the whole lot! I know riders get desperate for a drink in a race but this is beyond the pale as it does not take any effort to leave a spare bottle on the roadside (protected from the traffic spray) especially in multi lap courses like this one, I left another on the finishing circuit but had no need of it as it was not hot and I barely got through 2L and a gel every 25m

With 10m to go the eventual winner Jeff Jones (Chippenham & Dist) came flying past (as he had done through the whole field) like a hot knife through butter, his eventual 3:39:43 amazing for the day and almost 20 minutes faster than the next man Paul Gamlin (Avonlea RT) 3:58:11 with Dave Johnson (VC 10) 3:58:29 only just behind, I came in 5th 4:03:15 after a race long battle with Tim Davis (Icknield) my 2 minute man. SWRC had another rider in the event Matthew Eckford but I only saw this at the result board, so his 4:30:37 (2:13:27) commendable on this difficult day, I must have caught him at some point, I hope I gave him a shout.

Un-assisted in the NM&H '100' (Pic - David Jones)