I had a couple of fast outings mid July while the 100th Tour was wending its way through France, the North Nott's Oly '25' I've ridden numerous times on fixed usually but this time I plumped for gears as I've not done much and I was wanting to get the best out of myself in the next week Shaftsbury '50'
Almost a repeat of last year when the long spell of dry weather was broken by thunder storms that fell early evening, gone are the days when a Saturday time trial was midday due to traffic count this part of the Great North Road is used in the early evening (first rider 5PM) so it was a long days wait (I did 20m in the AM & some Yoga) watching the Tour for inspiration. The first 30 or so riders were deluged to the point where the A1 was almost un-rideable and some competitors decided it was too dangerous but by the time I was off an hour later the rain had completely cleared up and the temperature dropped and all we were left with was damp roads to contend with.
I still did a good warm-up on the 'rollers' as my legs had been sore after doing my first Mallory Park evening criterium in two years on the Tuesday, I finished in the bunch and a bit of a shock to the system. The wind was a bit weird stirred up by the evening storms and I set out with the aim of not going too much into the red too early! 10:45 for my first (5m) split and then 11:02 and 11:20 as I negotiated the damp turn and then picked up a bit on the way back, as it was evidently faster 10:24 as you climb up to Newark and then 10:14 dropping down to finish at Sutton on Trent 53:46 about 30 seconds down on my usual for this course but good enough for 10th and only 2:30 off the winner's time Adam Gascoigne (Loughborough)
The next Saturday I have the Uber fast '50' on the Newmarket bypass and around (A14/A11) Last year this event was run off in almost perfect windless conditions but today we have a steady NW wind that will make the long 20 mile pull out to the turn at Red Lodge hard work and the heat is there to make it worse, I still see some riders with a bare 500ml bottle and some with none at all but I'm taking a full litre! (of water) and it can go on my legs if I think I don't need it.
The first ten miles out and home 21:57 does not look bad as I think anything inside 1:50 today will be a 'good job' so I have to average 22:00 for each ten mile section over the duration, my second split 23:34 is not so pleasant as the wind hampers my progress but I dare not put in too much for fear of overdoing it and having nothing for the return. After a while my legs get the hang of the conditions but my head still has to rule and the (out & home) third split 22:28 means I can let loose a bit as I now have a tail wind and the worst is out the way 19:58 is good work and pulls back the time lost on the two previous splits but I still have to do the final ten miles, (the same as the first) This means a hard final five miles but 21:41 gives me a time of 1:48:51 making a negative split of nearly 5 minutes as I was at the '25' point in 56:51 and then a nice round 52:00 for the second half. Just shows what you can make back if you hold your nerve, last year I was 53:04 to the turn and I suffered on the way back into the wind as I usually put everything into the first half but when you only have a limited amount of condition you have to be assiduous with it and on this occasion I think I played it right. Winner was a new name at this level Jon Wynn (Northover VT) 1:40:47 (52:10) from current BBAR Adam Topham (High Wycombe) 1:41:16 (52:54) and third 51 year old Kevin Tye 1:41:37 (53:28) winning the Vets prize with +38:50
Showing posts with label Mallory Pk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mallory Pk. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Monday, 9 May 2011
Lincoln GP - Alternative vote
I'd not ridden two consecutive weekends yet, still feeling a little bit poorly and tired after nearly 1500 miles last month but some way down on my biggest ever 2500 (that was nearly 30 years ago). I rode with a bit more success at Mallory Park on the Thursday evening at the Roger Martin Memorial race , only 28 riders including one lady Lucy Garner (Motorpoint) who had placed second a few weeks ago in on the Thursday (3/4/L/J) but tonight we have the Raleigh pros and a few Elites mixing it with the local warriors
A beautiful calm evening (for a change) and sunny to boot I ride up from work 6 miles away and then ride the 10 miles home to Leicester while everybody else gets into a team car or at least a car. I'm lucky to have it so close so I feel I need to ride even though Thursday is a bit close to the weekend (the Tuesday suited better, a bigger field and slightly more forgiving) but here there is no quarter given and you just have to dig in and hang on. After half way if I'm still in the race I can usually have a bit of a go If I'm feeling good or a group has gone away and its calmed down a bit
That's what it's like today, not hard (windy) enough for the big boys to batter the rest of us into submission as half of us hang on for grim death, it's not a pan flat circuit and depending on the wind and the way we go around (anti clockwise today) there are number of chicanes left in from the cars or motorbikes who have been using it during the day and these serve to slow things down and if you're good on the corners you can make up quite a bit
Lots of splitting and re grouping as the 25 laps (32m) wear on, sometimes we are lined out to breaking point and this happens to fracture as the race progresses and the legs turn to jelly, to be fair the Raleigh boys do chase down the breaks with their men in (sometimes) otherwise it would be very one sided (and sometimes it is) as a group of five get away and 2-3 of those Raleigh pros. And today was a case in point, five away with 6 to go and the bunch split in two (me on the front of the rear group), Lucy still in there, closing the gaps and generally riding a blinder as our average is above 27mph.
I have a go on the last lap after catching the front group with half a lap to go as they play cat and mouse in the build up to the sprint but there is not much in my legs and my attack is feeble and ten riders pile past me on the rise up to the line the group of five just in front. Local fast man third cats! Carl Sturgeon (Lutterworth) and Matt Jennings (Team iOptix) sandwich Matt Gee of Raleigh for the placings.
On Saturday I had a local Melton Olympic '10' on the (famed!) Six Hills A46 latest version, with the HQ at Seagrave, I would have ridden out but it poured with rain all morning and I contented myself with 40 minutes of yoga as a warm up and to try and get some mobility into my creaking torso and legs, fit with miles but lacking in any refinement, I had a good 10 Mlle warm up to so went to the line dripping sweat and keeping my gears low (cadence high) I set about the task of reshaping my fitness into some 'form' I caught my minute man after turning off the A46 on a triangular section (A6006) to Wymeswold (more cheese Grommit!) and then I had to overtake a horsebox trailing behind my two minute man the 'supervet' Ron Hallam (S Pennine RC) who I went past at nearly 35mph (he must have thought I was breaking comp record) but single roads call for drastic action and I don't recommend it for the faint hearted
Coming back into the wind was a bit of a chore as I plugged away in my middle gears trying not to loose too much time, I would have liked to put it in a big gear and push through it but without the form also not to be recommended, so I lost a bit of time but I think the race went OK although I'm still having problems breathing at race pace 22:08 Winner on form Matt Sinclair (Lutterworth) a couple of seconds outside 30mph
On the Sunday I packed my winter bike with a pannier and set off for Lincoln, only 55 miles away along the Fosse Way but out over the Vale of Belvoir to Grantham and skirting Sleaford up onto a plateau that looks down onto the River Trent on the left and the Fens on the right with numerous old and existing RAF bases and villages with names like Croxton Kerrial, Carlton Scroop & Boothby Graffo the latter the name of a comedienne who obviously thought it had potential
The Lincoln GP is a shorter race than in the past at only 86 miles but what it has lost in distance it makes up for in the eleven climbs of the cobbled 1 in 6 Michaelgate on the 7.8 mile lap, bike and rider are shocked & shaken as the race comes alive on this hill and the spectators get a great view of the race unfolding, I have to get out the door before 9.00 to do the 70 miles detour and a lap of the circuit in reverse which always takes longer as there is a rolling road closure and then watch the finish
Youngsters came to the fore with first and third places going to U23 riders as the old guard seems to be swept away and last years winner Chris Newton now retired, I watched past winners Kevin Dawson, John Tanner, Kirsten House and Dean Downing swept aside and it was newcommer Scott Thwaites Endura Racing U23 (03:21:58) from the two Motorpoint riders Ian Bibby & Johnny McEvoy with my old Thursday mucker Raleighs Liam Hoolerhan in 5th
I then had a 55 mile ride home into a headwind, shocker!
160 strong field
Just like the TdF
Natonal 25 mile record holder David McCann (Ireland)
To the winner the interview
A beautiful calm evening (for a change) and sunny to boot I ride up from work 6 miles away and then ride the 10 miles home to Leicester while everybody else gets into a team car or at least a car. I'm lucky to have it so close so I feel I need to ride even though Thursday is a bit close to the weekend (the Tuesday suited better, a bigger field and slightly more forgiving) but here there is no quarter given and you just have to dig in and hang on. After half way if I'm still in the race I can usually have a bit of a go If I'm feeling good or a group has gone away and its calmed down a bit
That's what it's like today, not hard (windy) enough for the big boys to batter the rest of us into submission as half of us hang on for grim death, it's not a pan flat circuit and depending on the wind and the way we go around (anti clockwise today) there are number of chicanes left in from the cars or motorbikes who have been using it during the day and these serve to slow things down and if you're good on the corners you can make up quite a bit
Lots of splitting and re grouping as the 25 laps (32m) wear on, sometimes we are lined out to breaking point and this happens to fracture as the race progresses and the legs turn to jelly, to be fair the Raleigh boys do chase down the breaks with their men in (sometimes) otherwise it would be very one sided (and sometimes it is) as a group of five get away and 2-3 of those Raleigh pros. And today was a case in point, five away with 6 to go and the bunch split in two (me on the front of the rear group), Lucy still in there, closing the gaps and generally riding a blinder as our average is above 27mph.
I have a go on the last lap after catching the front group with half a lap to go as they play cat and mouse in the build up to the sprint but there is not much in my legs and my attack is feeble and ten riders pile past me on the rise up to the line the group of five just in front. Local fast man third cats! Carl Sturgeon (Lutterworth) and Matt Jennings (Team iOptix) sandwich Matt Gee of Raleigh for the placings.
On Saturday I had a local Melton Olympic '10' on the (famed!) Six Hills A46 latest version, with the HQ at Seagrave, I would have ridden out but it poured with rain all morning and I contented myself with 40 minutes of yoga as a warm up and to try and get some mobility into my creaking torso and legs, fit with miles but lacking in any refinement, I had a good 10 Mlle warm up to so went to the line dripping sweat and keeping my gears low (cadence high) I set about the task of reshaping my fitness into some 'form' I caught my minute man after turning off the A46 on a triangular section (A6006) to Wymeswold (more cheese Grommit!) and then I had to overtake a horsebox trailing behind my two minute man the 'supervet' Ron Hallam (S Pennine RC) who I went past at nearly 35mph (he must have thought I was breaking comp record) but single roads call for drastic action and I don't recommend it for the faint hearted
Coming back into the wind was a bit of a chore as I plugged away in my middle gears trying not to loose too much time, I would have liked to put it in a big gear and push through it but without the form also not to be recommended, so I lost a bit of time but I think the race went OK although I'm still having problems breathing at race pace 22:08 Winner on form Matt Sinclair (Lutterworth) a couple of seconds outside 30mph
On the Sunday I packed my winter bike with a pannier and set off for Lincoln, only 55 miles away along the Fosse Way but out over the Vale of Belvoir to Grantham and skirting Sleaford up onto a plateau that looks down onto the River Trent on the left and the Fens on the right with numerous old and existing RAF bases and villages with names like Croxton Kerrial, Carlton Scroop & Boothby Graffo the latter the name of a comedienne who obviously thought it had potential
The Lincoln GP is a shorter race than in the past at only 86 miles but what it has lost in distance it makes up for in the eleven climbs of the cobbled 1 in 6 Michaelgate on the 7.8 mile lap, bike and rider are shocked & shaken as the race comes alive on this hill and the spectators get a great view of the race unfolding, I have to get out the door before 9.00 to do the 70 miles detour and a lap of the circuit in reverse which always takes longer as there is a rolling road closure and then watch the finish
Youngsters came to the fore with first and third places going to U23 riders as the old guard seems to be swept away and last years winner Chris Newton now retired, I watched past winners Kevin Dawson, John Tanner, Kirsten House and Dean Downing swept aside and it was newcommer Scott Thwaites Endura Racing U23 (03:21:58) from the two Motorpoint riders Ian Bibby & Johnny McEvoy with my old Thursday mucker Raleighs Liam Hoolerhan in 5th
I then had a 55 mile ride home into a headwind, shocker!
160 strong field
Just like the TdF
Natonal 25 mile record holder David McCann (Ireland)
To the winner the interview
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