Short back and sides

I suppose you have to start a new season somewhere, and although this season started several weeks ago there has been no action on the blogging front
I'd ridden the Melton Hilly 20.5 on the 27th of March on the B6047 between Gt Dalby and the A47 a course that defines the word 'Hilly' with hardly a flat in this flattest of counties. Its one of those roads that attracts bikers and men in bobble hats driving Morgans and Caterham 7's but on this day a long line of Lotus Elise's streamed along the course making everybodys life more difficult, it only gets used once a year and yet cyclists cannot get one to themselves so we have to avoid the racers as well as the muck spreaders and horse boxes and other rural obstacles
I finished 13th of 28 who managed to make it on a typical spring day, cold and sunny I never removed my leg warmers after riding out and my time while 2 minutes slower than last year but in my defence I had ridden five events and although I never go well in these type of events it provided part of my training
Skip a few weeks with a head cold thrown in last weekend I missed the local CDCLA '10' not the best on a wheezy chest, and so to this weekend and my first proper outing on my 'Parlee' others having been done on the spare (52/39). The BDCA '25' always a fast early pointer to who is going well and where i did my PB & my seasons best last year, no chance of that today although the conditions were pretty good with a SW wind making for a fast return in the sunshine and all the new bike bling out on show. Matt Sinclair an Ex Footballer (footballers not known for their fitness, that Giggs only just discovered yoga and he's been at it for 20 years) Matt already a formidable short distance TT'er but with more miles in his legs and sporting 5Kg less weight looking the business on the turbo for an hour taking things seriously.
Even more extreme an unrecognisable Stuart Dodd minus 12Kg (difficult to tell what riders are like behind the visors but the Lycra is pretty unforgiving) Instantly recognisable however and stylish with it Ian Cammish (Planet X) came in with the first 50 minute ride of the day 50:42 after a string of good performances but Sinclair (Lutterworth RT) a 26 sec beating of his PB for 50:10 looking like the ride to topple. Baz Charlton (Lyme RC) and Derek Parkinson (Cleverly RC) came in tied 50:32 Derek my 5 min man was almost upon me 30 seconds behind me at the finish where I managed a creditable 55:06 loosing most of it on the way out as my return was still +30mph. "Definitely a power PB today" says Derek as he saunters along next to me like the cat that got the cream, he was looking for an actual PB but would have to be satisfied with the scientific equivalent as I eyed his 60+ carbon behemoth chain wheel. Last years winner James Wall (Echelon) ran Matt close but could only manage 50:19 and Matt was looking good for the win until the new slimline Dodd (Drag2Zero) came in with 48:42. You think a rider sponsored by a wind tunnel would have worked out that slimmer objects go through the air more swiftly well here was proof if needed that we could all do with a bit of a trim

National Cyclo X - Derby

I went to watch the National Cyclocross Champ's at Mooreways stadium in Derby at the weekend, it was not as cold as of late but I still wrapped up and took a flask of soup (Leek & Potato - Thanks! Fi) to see me through the day. I missed the U23 but still managed to pack in the Ladies (Womens) Juniors and Senior/Elite after Schoolboy/girl Under 14 & 16 and two Veterans races (40+ & 50+) with nearly a hundred riders in each on the Saturday.
Plenty of supporters out, avoiding the ice on the road, several notifications of riders hitting the deck over the w/e so be careful out there as one slip could be unhealthy if you're unlucky
Five time champion Helen Wyman (Kona) made it six in a row with a standout ride in the tricky conditions, hard under foot and greasy on the grassy banks there were many who came a croper and the bikes clagged up with mud as the events wore away the 10 minute loop and every line was tried to get the quickest route and the best purchase although there was plenty of running for the unfit and the unwary

Helen Wyman (Queen of cross)

 Nikki Harris came a cropper and had to settle for second

Junior winner Hugo Robinson (X RT/Elmy Cycles)

Liam Kileen (Giant) Commonwealth  Mountain bike Champion had to settle for third despite a strong finish

Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles)

With two bronze and a silver it was time for Paul Oldham (Hope) to take the title after Crawford took a tumble at half way and he was able to build an unassailable lead

Results (Day 1) Schoolboy/girl/Vets

Results (Day 2) U23/Women/Junior/Elite

Frosty!

It's a bit dangerous on the side roads up here in the Midlands so I tend to stick to the Fosse Way which as you would expect is fairly straight and is kept well gritted and can be remarkably quite at some times of the day. On Sunday I had to wait until late in the day when the temperature had risen to -2 but I finally managed a couple of hours out to the basin at Brinklow (Stretton under Fosse) Warwickshire on the North Oxford - Coventry Canal, here the canal (built 1790's) and railway come through adjacent to each other as they make their way up from Watford Gap.

I did'nt hang around too long as the light was fading and it was very cold once off the bike, Fiona and her sister had taken a chance to drive up to the Lake District but encountered few problems as I think they are generally better prepared for bad weather up there.

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

Miller - Silver -- Cancellara - Gold -- Martin - Bronze