Early Season Fair

Chasing with Giddings (MI Racing) +1

I was determined not to rush into the season without a few base miles and it was hard work doing a long ride at the weekend and racing midweek. Then I had to transition into a bit of racing without a break and I was feeling a bit jaded so I didn't rush into things just a few short 'Tests' mostly on fixed and my first Road Race for a few seasons, The 'Fleche Waltonne' on local roads always a good race, exposed and often cold. Andy Hicks had come up as it was the first of the Percy Stallard series of races so a good quality field in all the races and everybody keen in the cold morning air (sods law beautiful sunshine the day before)

Andy on the E-F-G

 Eventual winner Roy Chamberlain (Corley) and runner-up Richard Edwards (CC Luton) went up the road after a few early skirmishes and a small group of seven formed behind, when they were 20 seconds up the road a couple went after them and I got across on my own. Unfortunately one of our number refused to work but everything looked fine as we closed in on the chase group and just as we got to Walton hill the 'passenger'  decided to attack us leaving us dumbfounded and breathless. He could not make it on his own so came back to us and we gave him a bollocking but we chased on regardless even though we were now somewhat distanced from the chase group and not putting so much into the chase and I got cramp on the last lap and I remembered why I'd not done a RR for a while

We trailed in at the finish ahead of the bunch (myself 12th) Andy won his G category race to set him up for the season

I had a series of short local TT's just to blow away the cobwebs before getting my season proper up and running.

The Beacon Hilly '39' is one of the CTT 'Classic' Series, I'm not riding them all but I like to ride one or two a season to get a feel for the riders I'm up against in the National TT events. Always keenly contested and on hard or hilly courses so not really my thing but it fits into my training program. I was shocked to find it was nine years since I'd last ridden, the first year was in the pouring rain and I ran off the road at one point and could not get inside two hours, the next year I used my road bike and was caught by the eventual winner Gethin Butler going up one of the climbs on his aero's (in the saddle!) Now I never raced against him in his prime but he was impressive even in this brief reunion, as a boy I remember seeing Gethin sitting with his sister Alison swinging his legs on his grandads cycle shop counter (Allin Cycles) while his parents went shopping in nearby Croydon but that was back in the 70's

Views are lovely through Elgar country

Back to this year, I'd been down to ride my local VTTA 25 the day before but in their wisdom the organiser of the Beacon had put me off last so a bit more pressure to do a good ride. I 'scratched' from the 25 and made a special target of this event, I was on my TT bike and thinking I could win my age group and maybe get on the podium

Podium Ambition 1-2

Fiona made me aero arm number holders for Xmas, today was my first opportunity to use them, I'd forgotten how hard the start was (always beware of the starting line where they put a brick behind your back wheel!) it was fairly early and briefly chilly but  a shock to the system. I took it a bit easy on the first rolling section to 15m and kept a reasonable 25mph, you pass the HQ again and head out on the hilly part of the course. I had fitted a 53/44 for the purpose as I'm usually a 56/50 The climbs are long and draggy and I just about managed but I could have done with a 39 inner on the 17% Ankerdine which is eight miles from the finish and I'd dropped my bottle on a decent a few miles back so I just had to press on and make the best
In the end I was 5th 1:48:36 (21.8mph Av.) a six minute improvement on my best and good enough to win the 50-55 and second on Standard +2:12 Mark Turnbull (TORQ) was fastest 1:40:30 and leading the series from Mark Holbrook (Stone Whs) 1:43:49

Winner Phil Graves is expected to go to the Olympics
with the Brownlee's

Clair Rose lived up to her sponsors name (Podium Ambition) won the ladies 1:43:32 from her team mate Dame Sarah Storey 1:48:24 and the Men's won by (injured) Triathlete Phil Graves (Clifton) 1:32:35 now seemingly a full time bike rider and only 6 seconds off Matt Bottrill's course record. National '10' and Hill Climb Champion Richard Bussell (Aerocoach) was 2nd 1:35:13 with Matt Clinton (MV Cycles) also a Hill Climb Champion 1:35:16 just behind more suited to the course o7ò

SWRC In the money 50-55 Winner and 2nd on Standard

Veteran & Lady Result

Beacon Hilly CTT Report

Universally challanged

Another couple of outings at the weekend making the first back to back racing which always leaves you with a "And why did I do that" moment but it has to be done sometime as I feel my training moves onto another level once you can do two hard rides in a row but just now I only have the feeling of Ouch! that hurt.
On the Saturday afternoon I rode the Ashfield RC 2Up '25' with Mark White of the Leicester Triathlon Club we have ridden this one before so were pleased to get alternative weather conditions of sun & light wind at the two lap Gryffydam course NW of Leicester is noted for its unique weather patterns making it (usually) one tough sod of a course. We did a lap to warm up and I had a bit of a sweat on as the last 4 miles of the circuit is mostly uphill and I'm still nearly half a stone over my race weight, Mark's first race proper, apart from two cross country marathons both of which he was leading until he went in the wrong direction, he said he should know better (Ex Marine - pride of the forces and all that) I tried to be sympathetic until he told me he had done the same the last two years so I told him not to make any executive decisions in the 2 Up and follow my back wheel. He has a lovely new deep section front wheel so I thought I'd better put in a disc (I had been going to ride training wheels) and give ourselves a chance of doing it justice.
Downhill for the first 4 miles we just kept it 'clean' as I said I wanted two even laps (within 20 seconds) and not to go too hard and leave something for the hill (so he can drag me up it!) first lap went by in 29 minutes and shortly after we caught Ex international track man and all rounder on comeback trail (like myself) only with less fitness Rob Muzio and Daryl Webster, half the National team pursuit squad from 25 years ago, anyway we gave them a couple of miles to settle in before passing them and then a couple of other teams at the same time making it look like a road race all spread over the road while trying to keep with my partner, blow me if the 80's throwbacks didn't come back past us on a long decent Muzio Sans aerobars going like a train. We has a bit of a 'battle' up to the start of the hill where I made a big effort to drop them and only succeeded in dropping Mark who had been using a big gear and not able to change his tempo. After a brief wait to compose ourselves we dropped the interlopers (Daryl needing to find his climbing legs also) and finished with 58:11 to give us 3rd place and a very even paced race. Charles Taylor and Chris Storer (S Pennind RC) winning it with 56:11 from Chris Ball (Sigma Sport) and Duncan Shea-Simons (Sigma/Leic Tri) 57:23
On the Sunday I rode out to the Melton Olympic CC Hilly '20.5' on the very undulating B6047 between Gt Dalby and the A47 (Tilton), not a flat bit of road along here the motorbikes love it as they tour the Midlands looking for thrills and give the 'bikies' some heart stopping moments on the one day we want to use this pretty road up to the highest point of the E Midlands (& this side of the Urals apparently)
I had ridden some stiffness out of my legs but I could still feel the effort from yesterday deep down and once I started racing my heart rate would not go near where it needed for this type of effort, dropping down to Twyford at 45mph and then the long drag up the other side I'd done last week in the Leicester RC Hilly but then the killer blow up to Tilton and I was under 10mph even though I'd caught my minute man and it was hard to get going down the other side to the A47 where the climb up to the Billesdon crossroad seemed to go on forever and I had to make a superhuman effort to get up to 18mph into the wind.
The return is a real rollercoaster of lumps and bumps which see you up and down the gears, I passed a horsebox at one point and a coach trying to negotiate a humpback bridge as I sped along through the narrow gap. I had been caught by my MM but he was descending using his brakes on the corners while I (Cancellara style) kept it 'aero' and dropped him over the final climb to Thorpe Sachville and finished 20 seconds in front
I'd gone back over a minute on last year but 53:36 no disgrace for 15th, the winner once again James Perkins (Zenith CC) 48:05 from Scott Walker (i-ride) 48:55 and 55 year old 'supervet' Geoff Platts (i-ride) 49:04
All that remained was for me to ride home with a large group of spectators and other riders returning to Leicester with a favourable wind and the sun on our back, last year the weather for this event was good and again excellent but only a field of 45 when the HQ was full with spectators, I just wish the organiser had a bigger field for all his & his club's effort. Rob Muzio pushed off, no mean feat on a course where you need to have your brakes on to stop rolling off (the wrong way!)

Easter - curate's egg

I'd taken a week out to do a few more hard rides after my first excursion into racing this year, also to do a bit more rest as the clocks had gone forward and it always takes a week to recover from the 'time shift' as we embrace our inner Time Lord and get ready for spring/summer.
Two contrasting events, firstly on the Good Friday the City RC (Hull) '10' on the uber fast V718 (A63) between Goole and Kingston upon Hull along the Humber estuary, this was the beginning of my OldSkool adventure last year and again it had a section devoted to the non-aero time trialing but this year I decided that this event would benefit from the modern approach so armed with my best bike and new Rudy Project 'Wingspan' helmet I set off on the 1 1/2 Hr. journey up country. To be fair the weather was not cruel but it was biting cold with an Easterly wind getting in on the Easter theme, I went for a 20 minute warm up on the damp roads and then stopped to fiddle with my bike only looking at the clock when my 10 minute man rode past on his way to the start. I thought I'd better get my skates on and belted up the road and to my gradual anxiety I'd forgotten how far it was to the start and I was doing 25mph into the wind trying to get there as the minutes ticked by.
There was an ambulance and several police cars on the course, I thought the event might have to be cancelled, it transpired that a rider had snapped his stem going down one of the large potholes on the course and fallen heavily leaving a patch of blood on the road (so I was told) and as I rode the event there were indeed quite a few large and deep pot 'craters' on the racing line some as big as a small car making the choice of out into the traffic or inside through the dirt, I went down one and my bars moved but it paid to keep your head up on the fast return
I made it to the start with several minutes to spare (Phew!) and after removing several layers of clothes and sweat I was away, now the outbound road slightly more uphill but I did not panic at the start but keeping my revs up as high as I could in a medium gear catching only the one rider (a late starting lady) I was at the 5 mile point in 11 minutes although I didn't know that at the time I just took it easy on the greasy roads around two roundabouts and then back with a tail wind my speed shot up to 30mph+ and did not drop much below until the final half mile when I mistook a parked car for the finish and only started riding again when I saw the chequered flag ahead
I stopped the watch at 20:40 a mere 5 seconds off a PB, I thought my watch must have started late in the rush to the line or at least be wrong, a handful of seconds away from my best ever effort on the 2nd day of April on a cold windy day with potholes and a badly timed finish but when I got the the result there it was 5th fastest Vet (12th in the day) only a minute behind winner Barry Charlton (Lyme RC) 19:41 not a bad result and a very good Friday
Mens Event
Womens Event
Contrast this with Mondays effort in the Leicester RC Hilly '29' around the lanes (tracks) of NE Leicester, I rode out once the early morning rain had abated to the start in Queniborough, a chill wind deterred me from removing my most fleecy legwarmers (with rub already applied!) I suffered a race of misery and pain as I toiled to heave my frame over every hillock and slope (not solicitors) I had put a 23 bottom sprocket and used it on several occasions as my speed on some sections dropped below 10mph into the wind to Beeby & passed Russian farm (Siberian winter) and on Borough hill. I was caught for 5 minutes by the winner James Perkins (Zenith CC) at half way as he powered over the top of a rise in the big ring as mine slipped onto the inner, he only just beat former Hill climb champion Matt Clinton (Mike Vaughan)who had gone off course at one point. Eventual 3rd Scott Walker (i-ride) had caught me for a minute at 6 miles and best Veteran Rob Weare (Leamington C&AC) who had beaten me by a mere 30 seconds on the Friday put nearly 8 minutes into me to be 4th. I staggered home into the wind after letting some air out of my tyres and ruminated that it would take more than a new helmet make me a climber.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The expression "a curate's egg" originally meant something that is partly good and partly bad, but as a result is entirely spoiled. Modern usage has tended to change this to mean something having a mix of good and bad qualities.

A5 Ranger 'Hilly' - Season Opener

Start of a new season began for me on Saturday with the A5 Rangers CC Hilly 30.8 (15.3 for one lap) on the A5 and roads around Towcester to Daventry. The weather had been wet all day with heavy and frequent showers and the wind got up giving every rider a tough race and I was drenched a couple of times and the roads already treacherous form a bad winter were running with water. I'd ridden this event twice before but still managed to loose my way to the start and end up doing a 10 mile loop thus getting to the timekeeper 10 minutes late for my allotted position. Not to worry, I went off in the auspicious No 50 slot (J Woodburn DNS) but in the midst of the 'one lappers' I was fine for the first of my circuits (40:36) but from here I was solo as most of the marshalls had made an early exit and I was left to plough a second furrow around the lap On mi'todd
30 mile quite a long way for a TT opener and I would be lieing if i said my concentration did not waver on the second lap, as I got soaked again the sun came out briefly as I crested Weedon (Bec) hill for the final time in bottom gear (39 x 21 - Note to self, put a lower bottom gear on for Leicester RC/Melton Hilly) and plugged away into the wind I was getting cold by the time I crossed the line for the last time (42:54)
Matt Bottrill (Team i-ride) was the winner 1:11:48 (35:46) from James Perkins (Zenith) 1:14:28 and James Cambridge (Team i-ride) 1:14:43 the one lapper Jon Shubert (Verulam) 38:17 from Sam Barker (Planet X) 38:58

Up hill and into the wind - Bottom gear

Winner Bottrill

2nd Perkins


Sarah Brooke Photography