PM 25 (A11) + AM 50 (A1) x 102 = 169.5

VTTA '25' - Four-went-ways (All Pics - David Jones)

A double header that I did last year on the same two courses with pretty much the same results with the added plus that I rode a 'Fixed' in both evens and still in the first flush of racing so not near my racing fitness yet, with the British Masters track at the end of the month time is short to get thoes muscles prepared so a bit o' back to back racing the best solution to winkle out some of the dormant form that might be useful on the boards. I'd been doing some work in London so a stay over in NE London and a brief morning ride was all that I managed as a build up but its good to do things differently and preparation can't always be ideal so better to put yourself under a bit of discomfort in preparation so you can be prepared for all eventualities. I was one of the later starters in the VTTA Championship '25' I thought the wind of the past few days would blow itself out but not soon enough for the Saturday afternoon on the Newmarket bypass. I chose (54 x 14) 102" gear as I have decided to make every event a 'fixed' one (where possible) but there was no doubt it was going to be an uneven ride but nothing I can do about it as I've only got the one bike, sometimes you can have too much choice and live too much in the comfort zone

Perfect Day (with gilet) - Finsbury '50' (A1)

A fixed wheel is a lovely sensation for racing when you can get the momentum of your ride to carry you along from one section of the course to another like a demented hamster in a wheel but when faced with a full on head wind it becomes a bit of a grind just to survive, that unfortunately was what I was faced with on the outbound leg along the A14/11 DC course, I dare not look at my computer which found itself set on 3.1 miles so somewhat better than the previous week but even my addled brain could not work out the splits so all I can say was I was 30:36 to the 12.5m turn (24.50mph) so looking forward to some reward.
And lovely it was, 30mph all the way and my 85 RPM transformed into a 110 RPM rhapsody of sporting performance and syncopated perfection, well maybe not that exquisite but it felt pretty good to me, not enough time to recoup my losses but 55:56 (28th) a damn fine time for the conditions. Of course my time pales into the shade of my minute man Kevin Tye (Datateam Allstars!) who won the event with a staggering 49:54 he took 4 minutes out of me on the outward leg and 2 on the return (What a boy!) The main difference being that he actually won the Championship (on Standard) as well. Although defending champion 75 year old Derek Stewart (Deeside Thistle) was 2nd under the new 'Standards'  so with a good rage of ages represented in the top 10 it looks like the team that put the new tables together (Research + Calculus + Fibonacci) had done a creditable job
I bumped into Jonathon now in Epsom colours and allot of other riders wanting to know what I'd been up to and had I been training in Mexico and had weight loss surgery at the same time? A mystery to me as I'm exactly the same weight and it must be seeing me in civvy's that put them off and more than one person was heard to mention "Where were my 'baggy' shorts?" and with "Some onions I'd be mistaken for a Frenchman"

Finsbury '50' - Hard going up some of them slopes

Getting up at 4.30 for a race can be laced with fear and trepidation but when faced with such a beautiful morning, as I was on the next day, makes you forget that you have tired legs. The Finsbury is a long standing fixture of the racing season and a good field from these parts despite the National & VTTA '25' the day before, a spin on the rollers to ease the legs into race condition and I'm off up & down the A1 from Sandy in the South to Buckden in the North via the Black Cat roundabout. I took it steady over the first 10 miles easing up to jettison my gilet that I forgot to remove at the start, getting down to business I'd caught everybody in front of me just after the first 25m lap (56:36), I could have done with dropping my gear a couple of inches as I was pedalling just that little bit too slow (90 RPM) for me to feel comfortable but at least it was pretty even all the way around as the flags stayed asleep on their poles and the roads damp with the early dew hummed under my silky tyres. I could see quite a few riders going well but I just had to ride my race to its conclusion and I could feel twinges of cramp over the last 10 miles so I did not push too hard as I could feel the previous days efforts all over, a racing performance is total immersion and no part of the rider escapes inspection by the course
1:53:34 was a great time and dare I say it was easy, I always try my hardest but the conditions are a gift and when you get a perfect present of a morning it seems churlish not to be grateful for not having to wish your life away, so take it for what it is and be happy for those that got up at the ungodly hour and made the best of their reward. Lots of PB's and good times so I'm not fretting being down the result a bit. Steve Berry (Team Swift) wins it with 1:42:59

VTTA '25' Result Here

Finsbury '50'  Result Here

Wet Wet Wet

Notts Cl '50' (Detail) - Photo Michael Butler at Inform Images

Nottingham Clarion '50'

With not so much as an evening '10' in my legs I decided to enter a few events as I have the National Masters Track at Newport at the end of the month and the need for a bit of speed to go with my slow but steady miles thus far this year, I'd not topped 200 miles in a week until mid May when I rode to and back from London one (long) weekend but I had managed 30 miles every other day to work and kept my weight down with a diet of less carb's and soup so I was just hovering around 14 st and twitching for a bit of racing action (but nothing hilly)
To be fair the weather has not been the best but when it suddenly heated up mid May everybody was able to strip off a layer and get excited but with the long Diamond Jubilee weekend approaching the temperature took a nosedive and on Sunday morning I awoke to 7 degrees and torrential rain. Not one to put thing off! The only concession I made was to not ride fixed which I had made a rule to do at every opportunity this year and this being a pan flat course on B roads round the Vale of Belvoir would have been an excellent place to start but the conditions and the access to only one break to go with the one gear made me think better of it.
21 DNS and 4 DNF from a field of 44 tells its own story! The first man I bumped into was scratch man and last years winner Matt Sinclair "I've got too light a tyre on the front" (only brought the one) I ventured thinking of the rutted and pot holed roads I'd just rattled down in the car to the HQ at Plungar even got a mention on the Start sheet so maybe I should have payed more attention. "I've got two 6oz tyres on" says he, now Matt's a similar build to me (On the hefty side! used to be a footballer - I bet he wasn't a winger) "Your gonna puncture" says I and sure enough he did after 3 miles of starting effort into the wind and a wet walk home. I took a spare (as I mostly do - being a bit Old skool) as a precaution against worn shoe plates.
With no idea of what to expect of my fitness but you don't just loose it, Do you? Fifty miles is a long way to race but with a circular course covered 2 1/2 times at least I would only ever be 4 or 5 miles from the HQ but to prevent the ignominy of packing I decided an start easy , the aforementioned West wind made sure of that but a circular course well broken up the wind and soon I was on the A52 and speeding wind behind to Bingham, the one thing I could do nothing about was the water, spray from the passing cars wetter than those revellers on the Thames up to their ankles on bilge water. I pressed on trying to keep my RPM at a hundred more to keep warm than anything else, memories of last years Anfield '100' when riders were almost in a state of hypothermia at the end (year ago tomorrow), I caught a few riders Cambridge & Fenland Clarion (well it was the official Clarion Champs) but my computer was still set for my last race and that was............. a 3Km pursuit so not only was my watch in KILOMETERS but it was bleeping ever single sodding one of the buggers to the end! EIGHTY of the bleeders.........really annoying! As I tried to work out the Km/miles conversion in my head (it's always good to have something to occupy your mind when in a state of concentration)
My back and shoulders began to feel a bit under pressure after ten miles and for a bit I thought this was going to be a long two hours but then I had to make a bit more effort as I came into the wind and I forgot about the pain in my back as the pain in my legs got more persistent but pulling into the wind to complete the first lap was OK, low gears, getting my feet around, over some blasted rumble strips (that we had to cover three times Grrrrrrrrrr!) Why do they need to put them out here in the middle of nowhere? On a perfectly straight road, I suppose we have to be thankful that the powers that be have not decided to put LIGHTS! like they have on so many other courses Grrrrrrrr! Take a bit of drink, staying hydrated in the rain, it all seems so surreal but if I don't then I know that cramp and fatigue will be not far behind, I'd used isotonic, the stuff for long hot days in the saddle, knocked it up the night before, what was I thinking?
Only a lap to do now, I pass a man (for the second time) on a bike loaded up with carrier bags of rubbish going the other way with a long straggly beard and about three coats on! heading to Grantham in the pouring rain, I think to myself 'In forty minutes this will be over and I can go back to my normal dry life' but what will he do? I feel sorry for him and want to shout encouragement but It would just be lost in the traffic noise and the rain, I hope he has somewhere dry to stay, but I think he probably hasn't.

First event of the Season (pic Michael Butler - Inform-Images)

Last lap and the photographer gets me going up the only rise on the course, I try and look effortless and poetic but I probably grimace too much, once more into the wind, legs not as sprightly now, computer annoying, speed bumps annoying, rain annoying but I'm really quite enjoying it, I'm doing an OK ride, my speed is over 41Kmh so that means 25mph and not slowing, I take a look over my shoulder, Scott Walker (MG Decor) not caught me for 5 min and nowhere in sight, maybe he punctured? Third time down the A52, glorious finish, the tramp has gone, I was sad to miss him, maybe he found somewhere dry? 1:57:56 a good ride 4th place and first Vet 50+  Walker wins it with1:54:05

Full Result