Bring it on........................

Going back to review the tail end of the season, it seems like a long time ago to the National '10' but the day after I had an unusual occurrence a TT win! I rode the Coalville Whs 2 up (one rider a Vet - that's me) on the BH with Kelvin Southan (MG Decor) and we trounced the somewhat limited field due the the torrential rain on the tricky Gryffydam course (18.64m) used for last years CTT circuit Champs going over a minute faster than I did solo 45:44. Second place went to 'Roadmen' Jon Knapp/Andy Eagers (Derby Mercury) and Robert Stephenson/Neil Taylor of the promoting club who tied on 47:11

A day out at the BDCA

I did another wet Tuesday evening '10' (third in three days!) before lining up for the BDCA '100' on the following Saturday, this is a season target as a qualifying event for the VTTA BAR. At least I have a '100' under my belt (4:08:25 in the Anfield) but I was hoping to go considerably faster here on the smooth tarmac of the A50. I had felt a bit under the weather (all that rain) but I think with the big events you are able to stave off a few niggles but this is the start of an important few weeks as my recent block of training brings something to the speed game I hope to set a few PB's and even a Club record in the next month. Only hope my grumbled don't develop and I crash and burn, such is the fine line between pushing your body to the limit and not over it.

 I had a massage the day before as a treat, but it was probably a mistake not to do a ride or have it the day before as I could feel it in my legs all through the race and while it felt like the onset of cramp none materialised at all. I usually expect a few twinges in the last  ten miles as to push your legs into the red but I held back a bit and did not go as hard over the first half as I possible could have. 1:51:56 for the first '50' was still good. There was a North wind so it was pretty cold and several riders suffered from the cold in the second half, where your body generates less heat through the reduced effort and once the core temperature drops so does performance

Adam Topham (High Wycombe) the reigning BAR and in need of a good time as the BAR elect Richard Bideau (Pendle Forest) had broken the Competition Record for the distance a month before (3:18:54 - that's 30.1659 mph Av.!) he started 5 minutes behind me and came past at 23 miles going lickety-spit I get around on only the two (500ml) bottles of carb mix and two caffeine gels so I carry a third of water for extra weight and Fiona does give me a half bottle of coffee which does both jobs with 25m to go
I did relatively the same ride as last year 3:46:53 and only a minute off my PB, the difference was the number of riders going faster, I dropped from 17th this year to 24th, a ride like that 5-6 years ago would have garnered a top ten (even a top 6 in a BBAR event) Lots more younger riders in the event and some amazing times, The wheels came off Topham's effort in the second half but he still recorded 3:22:40 but he was beaten by the National Champion Charles Taylor (S Pennine) 3:21:31 the second and third fastest 100's of all time. Joe Skipper a 27 year old Tri Professional came in third 3:33:41

N & EM VTTA '25' Bert Christian Memorial - 54:03

I had a week to recover before the Stone Whs '25' a long time favourite at the end of the season traversing the same roads as the '100' it descends the 'Concrete Mountain' at the far end giving some of the fastest splits that get riders excited until the prospect of the ascent and if your effort is badly paced then a lot of pain to go with a dismal time. I try and keep it steady at the start but 9:26 is still well over 30mph so 8:50 is only slightly off 34mph and 10:07 through the turn without getting too out of breath, it looks to good to be true. And it is 11:50 looks pedestrian by comparison as you come into the Westerly wind but still only just outside 30mph for 20m. The CM is too long even to max out on, it goes up in stages and you have to go in and out of the red like intervals, not great for Old'uns 12:13 is the straw that broke the camels back and I finish with 52:28, fastest of the year by nearly two minutes and good enough for 13th in a classy field as the pure speed-men wilt on the hard return. Alex Royal (Army CU) wins in 48:17 but he is the only 30mph rider Lee Suthard (Weaver Valley) 50:33 and wile old fox Jon Surtees (Swift) 50:51
I had a dilemma a week later, to improve my '25' or my '50' time, Sat was an afternoon event on a new fast course in potentially warm (Indian summer again) but having done a 52 in the Stone Whs could I go better? I also could improve my relatively slow '50' more than a few minutes off my PB, last year I broke the CR in the Manchester event on the A50 (Again! ) But the Wheelers finally decided to stop promoting this end of season Classic as there are 'issues' with promoting so far away from their base. Events need fast (& safe) coursed to be popular but sometimes getting the support is difficult and another late season banker relatively close is replaced with an overnight stop for (potentially cold) Sunday early Breckland over at Attleborough on the A11.

In the end I do both, It's sunny and hot alright but just too windy again to better my 52 but I do my second fastest of the year 54:03, all my time was lost in the first half and I was playing catch-up in the second as I head for 7th. Ian Guilor (Mapperley CC) 51:42 wins it from Ian Dalton (Cherry Valley) 52:03 and Adam Coffey (Alford Whs) 52:06 close behind in third. Ron Hallam (S Pennine) sets an age Std. record for 85 years 1 :03:23 that's a +23:32 needless to say he won from 60 years young Geoff Platts (MG decor) who could still bash out a 52:57 for forth overall but still not be within five minutes of Ron on Std.

'Big' Ron Hallam (S Pennine) 1:03:23 at 85

 The next morning I am up at 4am staying with the Hopkins in Kings Lynn to lessen the travel and Peter who has been away from racing this season will be my 'second' and hand me a bottle If I need it. As it turns out its very cold, only made better by the lack of wind. this is what we used to call a 'float' but its too cold to get going  and while I give it everything from the gun and I get the better of the wind which rises
 later I can only go through 25m in 54:14. Adam Topham has another chance to retain his slipping BBAR crown having failed last week in the Yorkshire RC event to overtake Bideau by .009mph with an amazing 1:38:10 (the fastest of the year) here he was again with another tilt, he sure was going down fighting. In the end he went back another two minutes 1:40:08 but still a 30mph ride on a cold morning. I was one of the early starters and my 12th place 1:49:48 was my fastest of the year by a handful of seconds. Peter Harrison (GS Henly) and Ian Holbrook (Stone Whs) also looking to improve their top 10 BBAR places with 1:44:20 and 1:45:06 respectively

The Mercia '30' is my final TT of the year and a few days before the World Masters Track, I've been off the bike for a week with a bad head-cold so my 'taper' for the Masters has started early but all the work is done and I just need to recover from my malade and the Mercia event on my favourite A50 will give me an indication if I am over the worst. I have done three evening Track League meetings at the new Derby Velodrome in preparation for the Masters so I'm hoping a bit of track speed will rub off on my TT'ing (but more of TL later in the year) I've not ridden a '30' for a couple of seasons, a bit of a curates egg of an event but today there are two! The Leo is a traditional Record breaking event on the A14 at Newmarket and this year it has been revised and much is expected but just too far to go when you need to be resting up. I set the Club Record here before and I will need to go close to my season '25' time to beat it.

This has the benefit at least of being mid afternoon and its mild and windless, I try and keep a lid on my 'good legs' gears down a bit so I hit all the tough sections hard and the 'dog leg' to Doveridge which give us the extra five miles is a tough section with a bad road surface. We get a brief rest bite coming back to the A50 as the wind seems tougher than expected but on the A50 trans-versing the Midlands the direction is crucial and the direct Westerly today is blowing down the gully of a road making life and faster speed difficult. 33 minutes to 15 miles is not auspicious 27mph but then things begin to turn and so does my speed. I come back at a few seconds over 30mph and break the Club record by seven seconds 1:03:16 10th place. Steve Irwin (N Lanc RC) is the winner 57:46 and the only 30mph all the way (31.1598 mph actually) followed by local Baz Charlton (lyme RC) 1:00:22 and Paul Flemming another half minute back in third 1:00:52

There were more spectacular results in the Leo event, Stuart Birnie the long distance specialist who I'd put over five minutes into last week in the Breckland 1:00:47 and ten riders inside the 'hour'. Winner Matt Smith (Velocity) 56:49 thirty years ago that would have been a good result for a '25' The topping on the cake , my good friend Rachael Elliott (Newbury RC) broke Competition Record for the distance 1:03:29 beating the 1999 time of Jill Reams by a minute and a half, a sound beating! o7ò


BDCA 100 Result here

Stone Whs 25 Result here

Breckland 50 Result here

Mercia 30 Result here

Leo 30 Result here

Burton & District Cycling Ass '100' - Heat is on

I've had an exciting few weeks as most riders are bringing their season to a close with late season races that feel a bit 'After the Lord Mayor's show' but I still have the World Masters in early October so I need to be ramping up my intensity to get the best out of my fitness. While my overall training is well down on previous years I still seem to have the condition to do some amazing rides, better than when I was doing the BAR when I might have been overtired, I leaned from last year If I do less training then It has to be top quality and then more rest. I rest every other day so my training/racing is only three or four days a week and my monthly total has not topped 900 miles all season (compared to 1500m in other years)

BDCA - Not the easiest (Pic by Flybike) o7ò

So how would I fair over one hundred miles? I'd done a couple of long rides in the two weeks previous but my ride would depend on careful pacing, I need a '100' time to improve on my VTTA BAR (7th 2012) last year I blew it on a windy Northern day I made a good start and went to pieces. This time on local roads the BDCA '100' on the A50, it was cancelled last year due to a RTA (motorbike not a bike!) and there were many disappointed riders who lost out and I did not get a chance to correct my Yorkshire error. This year only one chance, all or nothing, I suppose last year I thought I had a second bite at the cherry but this year I don't have that luxury.

61 year old  Ken Platts (Cambridge CC) on his Lotus (7th)

It was a windy day again and I had to make a slow start not to repeat my error when my eagerness let me down. I make the first quarter (most of it into the wind) 59 minutes, there is a good crowd out and Fiona is out to assist and enjoys a bit of roadside banter with the other helpers on the dog leg to Doveridge which thankfully is fairly neutral in the cross wind. There's plenty of interest as its the final British Best All Rounder counting '100' and a ride off between defending Champion Adam Topham (High Wycombe) and 2011 Nik Bowdler (PedalRevoloution) I take another bottle and its pretty much all I need to the finish. I have to temper my cool start with a bit of speed on the return and get to half distance in 1:53:56 so I have a second lap and a second time up to Blythe Bridge where the wind is stealing my time as it blows directly down the highway leaving no place to hide.

Joel Wainman (SWIFT) 3rd

It takes me 1:05 to do the next 25 miles as I grind out my ride but as I get to the final turn inside 3 hours I know I will pick up on the way back and beat 4 hours which at the start of the day was my target. I can feel my legs go a bit wobbly with the lack of endurance training and Andy Jackson (Swift) who has only caught me three of the five minutes he started behind me to this point reels in the reminder in the last 15 miles to catch me on the line. 3:54:11 a few years ago that would have been a disappointment but with lack of training miles and tough conditions its a great result. Local rider Charles Taylor (South

Andy Jackson (SWIFT)

Pennine) shows the National stars what can be done with local knowledge and on a set of favoured Shamals wins the even with an amazing 3:35:39 Bowdler 2nd 3:36:06 and Topham 3:40:20 for 4th but he still leads the BBAR and it will all come down to the final event of the season the Manchester Whs. '50' on these very roads (starting Blythe Br. end) on the 28th Sept I will be riding that one as well, final preparation for the Masters. o7ò

Result here

Pics here (By Flybike)

Picking up the 'Poop'

After the thrill of the Olympics I settle into my preparation for the World Masters Track in October, I've done a few miles to and from London to watch the Road Racing and Time Trial on home soil, not a stones throw from the home of the SWRC. Our one and only place to place club record the Portsmouth and back and here were the worlds best plying their trade along the very same, knowledge of the back lanes came in useful if you wanted to take in the race at several places but the crowds were so big that you were better to stay in one well appointed place (Thanks Phil!)and watch the race on a big screen as I did with Alan at Headley Common and Bradley did us proud and Froome confirmed what we knew after the Tour, we have the best TT'ers in the World and Britain and Cycling in particular could bathe in the glow of their efforts if not the sun which came out for the Games and gave us a summer of sport to remember.

I had some distinctly average performances myself, an off colour ride in the Bedfordshire Roads CC '25' on my 106" fixed, I struggled to 56:55 on the undulating roads of the lower A1 to Baldock but then had the best evening of the year in the Hinckley CRC '10' and recorded a 22:40 for 2nd on my 93" for a 100 RPM effort. The next weekend's Swift '100' would end badly for us all as one of our number involved in a collision and killed while competing, the event was cancelled even though I'd already finished in 4:01:11 every rider on the road that day felt like our world so newly bathed in glory was but a black hole. The rider 75 year old Lenny Grayson from the promoting club had recovered from serious illness to race again and had beaten numerous Veterans records was my minute man and I gave him a word of encouragement as I passed early in my ride but he was destined not to finish his final race and our own time trial frozen on that day out of respect for a life taken before its time doing the thing he loved more than all other, it leaves us all with the real sensation that we risk everything

The next weekend was the Swift 'Charity' '10' inspired by Lenny's recovery from cancer, all proceeded to Marie Curie and I have ridden it the last three seasons in the hope of a fast time on this the famed V718 "The fastest course in the UK" but so far this event (well 3 events) with nearly 300 riders from across the country come to try their luck.

SWIFT Charity '10' - 20:33

I'd been throwing up a couple of days before with a bug that left me a little bit out of sorts and not looking forward to the 2 Hr. drive for a gut wrenching effort but in the end my second fastest time 20:33 (29.0 mph) for 61st place on the day!! Michael Hutchinson broke competition record with 17:45 12 seconds off Bradley Wiggins record so the day proved to be a good one all around as it was announced that the event will become known as the Lenny Grason memorial and a fitting tribute to a rider who enjoyed his sport and that was a positive feeling to bring away from a great day of sport with many other personnel bests I rode the Coalville Wheelers 2 Up with Mark White (Scicon), he had won the Team 'tag' Tri National Champs the day before so a little bit jaded but we managed our fastest on this 'lumpy' course 58:33 and the fastest 'mixed' team.

I had a dilemma a week later with clashing events, with the cancellation of the Swift and the ECCA the final '100' of the year the BDCA had taken on another level of importance as the weather hit season was coming to a close. As if to emphasise the important of the day itself I'd chosen not to ride the British Time Trial Champs (BTTC) on the Sunday

Many riders had BBAR aspirations riding on the BDCA, Andy Wilkinson (Port Sunlight) needed to finish inside 3:40 to break the BBAR mph speed record and numerous other riders found them self's needing a time just to qualify. I was riding to get a 'Short' BBAR of '25, '50' & '100' I was feeling in good shape after overcoming my bug.

Unfortunatly I never got to turn a pedal (or is it crank?) in anger at the BDCA for with my front wheel literally on the line word came through that the A50 had been closed by the Police because of a fatal motorcycle accident, the rider who mis-judged a corner had been spotted in a ditch by a lorry driver, (apparently he had been there some time). The event was cancelled with half the riders on the road (so no re-start or re-schedule) and all the pre talk of records and rides came to a premature halt, I had to go out in the evening to get the stress (and cafeen) out of my body but It looked like I would ride the BTTC after all.

The next day where being new to the 50-54 age group I had a good chance of a medal. Kevin Tye having seemingly already sewn up the top spot in the week by winning the World title in Austria! but not to worry the local course in the Vale of Belvoir was not to my style with a swingeing climb and I had done no preparation work for it. In the event It all felt 'After the Lord Mayors Show' as I came up 7th on the Sunday with Tye taking the title as predicted.


Bedford Roads '25'

SWIFT (Charity) '10'

BTTC - Masters E (50-54)

Born Again!

I never stopped being a 'cyclist' I just stopped riding my bike! How did that happen?

I started my fourth decade as an unfit eighteen stone former bike rider who could not go out with his non-cycling mates and not get dropped while still feeling like inside I was that lad who "Raced a bit when I was younger"
It took me a couple of years to get my head around the work/life balance that would allow me to get back on my bike, there had been years when I had hardly touched my bike but in 2004 I managed to log 3842 regular miles a couple of times a week.  The following year as the weight came off I accumulated a better 8297 and my weight came under fourteen stone the target I had set myself to start racing, I raced from mid season, improved from a 4th cat! to a third and there seems to be the word 'Bunch' in my results diary allot! I did a short 59' for '25' and inside 23' for '10' but the battle was over and the war had begun. I did 9345 miles in 2006 for my first attempt at the BBAR and the subsequent (2007)13,318 - (2008)13,777 - (2009)12,723  were my big mileage years as I pounded the roads five and six days a week in the search for greater fitness and faster times. But in the last couple of seasons (2010)10,647 - (2011)10,885 has seen me doing less but more quality (more rest days) in an effort to refine my training

A brief line up of my BBAR certificates from the past five seasons, I have decided to take it a bit more easy this year so I thought this would be a good time to reflect on what I have done over the past few seasons. All above 25mph for the combined best '50' '100' and 12 Hour ride of the year, a couple of Age related Gold medals for the National 12 Hour
In the VTTA competitions I'm still woefully uncompetitive (too young!) on the 3 distance ('25' '50' & '100') competition but crept up the 4 distance ('25' '50'  '100' & 12Hr.) attaining 5th this year to go with 8th (2010), 9th (2009), 7th (2008) and 12th (2007)

2011 - 16th Position - 1:47:52/3:52:20/281.63m

2010 - 19th Position  - 1:50:38/3:47:39/259.85m

2009 - 11th Position 1:48:04/3:46:20/276.50m

2008 - 15th Position - 1:48:34/3:45:55/263.43m

2007 - 18th Position 1:51:31/3:51:11/267.33m

I have one other for 2006 (my first) - 23.428mph for 55th position 1:58:03/4:09:08/249.45m but I think five years in the top twenty in the country is something to be proud of as I enter my fifth decade. I still plan to do a bit of racing but with the BBAR there is a committment to train at a level that can become a little tiresome and the need to  travel and race every week also takes the fun out of being a 'born again biker'.

Review of the Year - 2011

A bit of a delay in my review of the year but I only just got my placing for my VTTA BAR position as they have been enacting some changes for 2012 and like any organisation run on goodwill and unpaid volunteers support there are only so many hours to complete such radical overhaul of the (Age related) Standards but it has been thorough and wide ranging after years of discussion but as it goes to the core what the VTTA was set up for they have taken their time

Well here it is in B & W I don’t think I quite left myself enough room to do myself justice in the BBAR in the end with a later start to the season and  no buffer and always having to perform on the day of specific events, It makes for a stressful time, OK for one event but when every event has pressure then you tend to under perform (at least in your mind) as there is allot at stake
Still fifth year in a row in the top 20 of the season long BBAR (18th/15th/11th/19th) and 16th this year, with a mere 0.043 mph separating me from another top 12 finish, that would have been a 31 second improvement in my final ‘50’ (the Severn RC) but I fell short by a couple of minutes. It will remain in the If’s and buts’ column, so it is with life. I made my major mistake and messed it up in the BDCA ‘100’ two weeks before when all I had to do was get inside 3:50 and I had an off day; my first year outside 3:50 for a five years but there’s always a weak link.
Best ride of the year and probably since my comeback would be the 12 Hour in the Breckland event in Suffolk, my second PB and club record in eight days. After the PB ‘50’ in the BDCA the previous Sunday  but a much better ride and consolation for the cancelled event last year when I was on a similar ride. It might have been even better but I think when you do something for the first time then it’s special and I almost feel like I’d done it first last year and this was just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, the record books will not show it like that but when you get to 180 miles and still have 4 ¾ hours to go then you know you are going to break 280 miles and the final 100 were almost a release or at least a relief after the disappointment of last year albeit some nervous ones as the time slipped by but I was more than happy with my more than 5 mile improvement 4th overall and only 3rd Vet on the day, the winner Jeff Jones of course broke Wilco’s comp record with 305.51 (by 3 miles) but improved his PB by over 2mph! (Nearly 25 miles!!) to go out so far into the unknown in only his second attempt at the distance takes bravery and courage and for this reason alone makes it my ride of the year. Wilco’s own demolition of his own 24 Hr. record comes a close second, we have seen him do these kind of things before and I suppose we can be a bit blasé about it but there were some truly inspirational rides this year
This ride also sees my first appearance on the Timetrialforum.co.uk Forum’s ‘Fastest of all time’ list, arbitrary I know but its good to be recognised for doing a good ride in the context of your peers and history will show if it stands the test of time. Puts me in some pretty exalted company and while you cannot compare apples with pears still 35th fastest of all time has a nice ring to it, Scott Povey who had a similar distance in the ECCA event (rounded down to 281.40) after a 3:44 first ‘100’ which makes my 4:06 sound slow but my next ‘100’ was 4:08 which was excellent and I had nothing left for the finish
I rode all the events that the BBAR winner rode and he gave me a sound thrashing in all of them so I can’t say I didn’t have the same conditions and some had it worse but generally there were a lot of fast times this year at all three BBAR distances that is the way with the BBAR you have to take the rough with the smooth and the result only tells half the story (as usual)
Just to mention here I tend to go best in events where there is a fairly even split of effort across the race but the one event that amazed me this year and quite a few other riders was the other club record in the BDCA ‘50’ on the out and home A50. On a day that was blowing a gale my splits were 57:48/49:56 which was not even at all but still a PB. The winner that day was Jeff Jones with the seasons best 1:39:08 and his splits were 53:09/45:54 which means that he took more time out of me on the faster section than the harder leg to the turn (and one of my 5m splits coming back was 8:29 – that’s 35.36 mph Av! Can you imagine the speed of the man?)
I think a lot of riders were taken by surprise by Dr Jones and there was a very good battle for the top 6 positions with them all within 0.8mph, and Jeff going 1.785mph faster (up from 5th last year) and recording the third best Average of all time 28.023mph Last years champion Julian Jenkinson slipping a place even though his speed went up over 0.58mph and my namesake Derek Parkinson making the biggest leap up the table from 11th to 3rd. Andy Bason slipped a couple of places to 4th even going 0.73mph faster
I struggled in the early part of the year, work and play not mixing well and did not do a ‘solid’ ride until the May BH when I did back to back 1:54:21 in the Manchester Whs. ‘50’ on the Sat and then on the Monday 4:11:18 (4:08:06 ride time as my saddle came loose and I had to stop) in the Anfield ‘100’ in bitterly wet and cold conditions. The Man Whs ‘50’ was another badly ‘split’ event but this time with 50:10 going out and 1:4:12 coming home but I knew I was riding the ‘100’ two days later so I did not kill myself coming home, like some did, to amazing effect once again on the A50 but this time from the other end and making this course one of the most bomb proof of courses even on windy days.
I rode the National ‘25’ ‘50’ & ‘100’ and did dismal rides in all of them. I even packed at half way to justify all the expense and Fi’s presence in the ‘100’ with no form at all, when the eyes are on you and nowhere to hide but hard to take and I thought I was doing myself more psychological than physical damage at that stage but that is the state you get yourself in.
In Early June I was top 20 (on time) in the National VTTA ‘25’ at Newmarket with 53:49 and then a couple of weeks later my fastest of the year 52:54 in the S Pennine on the A50, Bottrill won it with 47:33 What a boy! He pushed Hutchinson close in the Nat ‘25’ & ‘50’ but then lost out in the BTTC, which I entered but did not ride as it was the day after the BDCA ‘100’ and I was in a depression again but I was the seeded rider in my age group and I was loathed not to ride it but by that time in the season I’d had enough of beating myself up. Bottrill had to modify his position to make it UCI legal (so I’m told – lost him 25W)
After several visits to Hull to try and break the Club 10 record I did finally manage a PB in late July with a 20 second improvement 20:16, those that know a thing or two about the conditions (which were again windy!) made it 45-60 seconds slow on the day and I was within 2 minutes of the winner Hutch who could only manage 18:25 so hope for the future
So that just about sums it up, I managed 21:21 in the late season Echelon ‘10’ but this time on a 100” fixed only a second off 3rd place probably my highest place of the year (I was 5th = 3rd was tied on 21:20) and the Severn RC ’50’ where I recorded 1:49:40 for 7th
I will be top 5 in the National VTTA BAR 4 Distance (25/50/100/12) with Plus 6.78mph as only Platts and Jenkinson faster this year but I hear that man Dr Jones has joined but it takes a bit of time for these things to sort themselves out and fastest (on time) in my group the Nottingham & E Midlands 3 Distance BAR (25/50/100) but probably only 4th again on plus 7.062mph as I have 80 year old Ron Hallam in my group and he can still get under the hour!

Andy Hicks ran me close in the Club BAR (see below), if it was worked out on +Plus (time) then he beats me but the BAR calculated on +Av. mph above your Std. (time) so this favours the younger man but things are changing and there is a new set of Standards which favour the younger riders in the shorter distance events for 2012 so I should not have to wait until I’m 70 to win on Standard so I encourage all to get out there and give it a go!

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

2010 Review of the year

Well the plan was "simples" do less miles but more intensity and try and peak two or three times in the season and have two week long rests in between to 'cool it' and keep me focused. Hmmmmm! Well my early season was on target after the coldest winter I'd experienced but only hit the deck once (Ouch!) I had a 20:40 for 10 miles and 52:18 for 25 miles by mid April and I was on track for my best season.

I had a few niggles, a cold for the Zenith 2 Day my only road event of the year but doing the UK and European track takes alot of preparation and you can easily knacker yourself on the road getting over tired or an accident, I had a few mechanicals which did not point to anything in particular but when you wait all week to race and it doesn't come off you always 'feel' it more
I rode the '10', '25', '50' & '100' Championships, they were not all target events so I didn't get the results that I imagined I would, I just told myself they were part of a bigger plan, the shorter ones I guess are not for me but they were glorious events on sweltering days and you feel part of the day if you ride, which I'm glad I did but maybe I should have got my mental preparation right as well. The longer distances are more my thing so I was disappointed to crash in the '50' two days back from a break but still post a good time. So then to have everything perfect for the '100' and not post a good time at all I was a bit puzzled
I had fallen off and banged my head the week before warming up for the British Masters track in Newport, this had been my first big target of the year and although I posted a PB in the pursuit 24 hours later I felt terrible and did nothing in the points race (I sat out the scratch race with a large bandage on my head!) the doctors warning "Don't do anything stressful for 48 hours" as he pumped a tetanus in my arm. So was my poor performance in the Nat '100' just a delayed reaction?  I probably paid the price for wanting a result when I should have rested but when you make it a target it's tough to let go.

Going to pot in the Nat '100' followed on from the same in the BDCA '100' a few weeks before so I'd ridden 3 x '100's (4:02:20 in the Anfield a good result but again for training) and got nothing out of them which meant I had to put pressure on myself to 'perform' later in the year.
The BBAR is a season long competition but it still means you have to 'perform' on the chosen day, I'd taken a week off without the bike mid June as a reward for early season efforts and to be fresh for the British Masters but after the BDCA 'missfire' and with no BBAR result the 'break' felt unjustified and with the National '50' disappointment as soon as I got back I think I was beginning to loose my focus (or maybe I was just too focused?) doubts began to creep in.
The National '100' should have been the TT'ing peak of the first half of the season as well as prep for the 12 hour which was on the same roads but after a good start I just rode the latter part like it was training and got the result to match, I could not quite take it in, doing a similar time to that of the Anfield on a day when the winner was within a whisker of Competition record. I had to have some time off so Fiona and I drove to the South of France (with bike this time) to watch some racing (Le tour) I had the European Masters the week after I got back and despite long slow miles in the Alps I took another second off my pursuit time in the qualifying but got DQ'ed and missed a medal in the points race by the smallest margin but at least I defended my title with a good ride and was 'in at the kill' so I knew I was on form, a bit late for a fast '100' but I had the Breckland 12 hour coming up and I knew I could do a good ride with average weather and no mishaps.

On the day of the Breckland it all feels like a dream (now) wafting along the A11 at 24mph for 200 miles (no matter I had to get off twice in the first 10 miles) I was leading by 5 minutes but more importantly I was 12 minutes up on PB and heading for over 280 miles (285 even!) when the race came to a premature end. I was in a bit of a daze for a week or so but I had to snap out of it PDQ as I had the Swift '100' to redeem my BBAR. It was a terrible day but I held it together to pull out a 3:47:39 nearly 2 min outside my best but 4th on the day and showed me I could do it on the day when necessary. I had to give myself a chance of a result in the final 12 hour of the season but I could not imagine going all that way without a decent '100' back it up

As it turned out neither my mind or body could master the Kent lanes or the late season weather (which was windy again!), I was just too un-prepared and fragile to get better than the 260 miles I recorded, which felt like a crushing disappointment at the time but probably all I had in me on the day. That I failed to record a faster late season '50' (not for want of trying) than the 1:50:38 I recorded just two days after the Masters Points and that my '10' & '25' were still those that I'd done by mid April says all you need to know about my season. I did not win an open event or record a personnel best for the first time since my comeback, I've had twice as many rest days (Av. two per week) but in the end the weight of expectation just got the better of me, I let my result become the focus of my ride, I looked too often at my split times and was disappointed by what I saw and that fed into my perception that I was 'on a bad ride' and if you tell yourself its bad then your legs feel the pain, and if you feel the pain then you don't enjoy it, it's always going to hurt but you need to tell yourself that the pain is worth it, the pain is necessary but like all belief its not rational to measure the physical reality against the perception of the goal, the mind had the ability to 'tune out' to stimulus (if you don't bring it to your attention - Some riders tape over their computers!) its an unlearned response all you have to do is to ignore the signs without being ignorant of the responses "Simples!"

What does that mean for me? Well I have to think a bit more about what I want to get out of my racing, sure fast times and good results are great but there is always alot to sacrifice to get there and I don't think I want another season like this one but you only learn by 'doing it' and learning..............such is life

Tally of events of the year - 45

3 x Hilly
2 x 2 Up
3 x Crits
2 x RR + 1 x Prologue
10 x 10
8 x 25
6 x 50
4 x 100
1 & 2/3 x 12
4 x Track
2 x Pursuit

Total 1888 miles

Swift '100' -

Since the aborted 12 hour I'd been suffering from a different type of crisis, not a crisis of form or fitness, No! I was pretty sure I had the condition to do a good ride but that of anxiety. A feeling of inadequacy stemming from things outside my control, you can try and control as many of the factors within your control but what do you do when that's not enough? Back pain, headache, listless and unable to sleep, that's no way to prepare for a performance that's going to define a season
I rode the Nottingham Clarion '25' the intervening week a respectable 57:36 for 4th place on 'B' roads on the Vale of Belvoir, then a broken chain in the midweek '10' on 'fixed' well at least some of my bad luck is disposable but it's still annoying.

So to the Team Swift '100' pretty much the whole of my season was going to rest on this one ride, an overestimation I know but 3:54 my best so far would not get me a place in the BBAR top 10, with the way things are looking, with faster times 'across the board' in '50' '100' and 12Hrs. I would be outside with comparable speed to last year so I had to pull a decent ride to get my campaign back on track. It would be almost unbearable to ride another 12 hr. with nothing at stake, push yourself to the brink once more with no chance to make the grade when you know you are up against real riders with real times in the bank, it's no wonder I'm anxious

The Swift event up in N Yorkshire on the A168 between Disforth and Northallerton (turn) x 3 laps always a good one for me and has provided me with my seasons best the past three years, a good field Hutch (going for Comp record?) almost better than the National. I'm not off until 3.00pm so almost a day to while away (nerves) with all the riding done only the racing to do now, I'd been out in the morning for a customary stroll and got soaked before 2 miles so came home and called it quits.
A bit much wind than everybody would like, the weather these past couple of weeks has been changeable to terrible (ask anybody on a 'staycation' holiday) but to ride a 100 mile time trial at top speed in it another matter. Rain I can deal with, wind well that's why we produce such good sailors, because there's way too much of it on this island we call home, get on with the race, a bottle of fluid and a gel with coffee, bang it all in and see what transpires. It's a fast opening leg so the five mile ride to the start at Rainton Lane enough to be getting on with although there are riders in the lay by going 'nuts' on turbo's! 20:24 for the first 10m the first warning that it's going to be hard the other way but I'm not here to shirk a bit of pain and some grovelling it's a 'hundred' after all, you don't ride these and get off thinking "Nice day to be out on the bike" you race the whole way these days and all that 'aero' gimmickry ameliorates the wind (or that's the theory) the pain was always there - riders love it!

Coming back into the wind does not feel too bad, keep aero but keep relaxed and concentrate only on the next bit of road, then the next bit, the next and so on, don't panic. I have to do this three times so do not blow it on the first lap, keep something in reserve for the next time that will be crucial. At 50 miles I'm 1:51:17 but have done two downwind to one upwind and the second half will be the reverse so not to get too excited. Fi gives me my first bottle, its not a hot day, I will not need much more than this. I catch my four minute man Peter Greenwood (Clayton Velo) and he hangs around a bit too long, I cannot afford to alter my pacing to shed him but a couple of hard efforts on little rises as the second hard lap finishes sees him off. I have a Gel at the end of each lap as a present, use every trick at your disposal, whatever gets you to the end.

Riders are packing, Hutch is gone as he has no need for a slow agonising ride, the pain is relative but I would have liked to see what I do against him, seventeen others along with the fourteen DNS's for this excellent promotion, bit of a pity but when you have a sub 3:50 (3:45 some!) on the books not starting can be easy, stopping once you are into the race more of a battle but those little voices in your head that start as soon as the knot of pain in your chest and legs begins to slowly 'garrote' your senses

I need to be at 80m in three hours to give me 46 minutes for the final twenty, it's looking a possibility, all my splits whether into/with or split with the wind have been 22:30 - 23:00 (26.4mph Av.) as it is I'm bang on but the last climb up onto the moors they call the Cleveland Hills although wind assisted are interminable and provide me with my only split outside 'evens' 24:32 and puts me back, I see current BBAR Nik Bowdler (5 min man) and make him only 2:30 up with 13m to go, Fi gives me hot coffee it goes down a treat. The finish is into the wind (wouldn't you know it) and my legs are pretty much empty, I lever along my bike over every rise past finishing riders, nobody has caught me today, unusual to think that but I cross the line in 3:47:39 that last bit always goes on forever.

I lay down in the lay by (is that why they are called that?) I've never had to work that hard before, back pain and a headache in the correct context! Shows how much it means/how much I want it after a while I can sit up, Fiona is looking on a bit distressed, it's not good for her to see me in this condition, it makes it all look too serious and not just a sport we do for a bit of fun but I've done it and I've got the time to go with it, 4th again on the day (with all the dropouts!) but a credible performance maybe things are looking up!

Nott's Cl. Result

Team Swift '100' Result

BBAR Latest