NNO 25 + SB 50

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

MASTERS TRACK

Points Podium - cdp, McCaw and Cross

Like last year these series of events at the Newport Velodrome (Felodrome for Welsh speakers) were my first target of the season so while its nice to have a bit of racing in recent weeks with no pressure on the results here no place to hide as the best in the country come together to race for the Masters Track Titles. It's promoted by London based Graham Bristow (Norwood Paragon) who I've known since my early racing days, Graham has a passion for the track cycling (and for motor pacing in particular) and promotes the Good Friday meeting as his father did before him. Its always good to see some old faces Dave Rowe (34 Nomads) back on the track after a nasty fall at the Worlds Masters last year that saw him with bad neck injury, even though he had only been able to get back on the track in the last month here he was to give it his best which in his case is usually pretty top notch, not bad for a rider approaching his seventieth birthday.
I'm with Adrian Ward on the Friday as he is in the Sprint but has to sit it out after an arrhythmic attack just before his ride, It's something he's had all his life and has learn ed to control but when he has an episode and his PR goes up over 220BPM then he just has to take it easy (lie down basically). So this gave me the opportunity to watch some racing I do not usually see, I'm giving a hand to Dubai based and Ex Phoenix (Kent) rider Martin Stephens, he is second fastest qualifier with high hopes of a medal but looses out to defending Champion Ralph Carter (London Dynamo) in the semis. Also in the semis Brad Thurrell one of the outstanding sprinters of my youth making a comeback, Adrian Dent (Terminator) wins it from Scot Ivor Reid (Clachnacuddin CC) and Carter third in a three up final!
Adrian has a 500m TT the next morning so while I go out on the road he prepares for that, The champion as last year and a repeat of the sprint but this time Stephens getting an excellent Silver and Reid third. The 10Km Scratch race has the biggest field of the weekend with all the sprinters and endurance riders up on the track, 24 in total and Ettles (Sandy Wallace) is off from the gun like he never finished the 500m! So even though we've warmed up legs go to jelly until its under control, Nigel Stephens (Finchley RT) takes a flyer and is away for over 20 laps on his own, it's a tremendous effort and at one point is about to lap the field but once the bunch takes on some momentum he is pulled back inside the last 10 laps and its building for a sprint finish, Ian Greenstreet (Newbery RC) strikes for home a long way out but is brought back and I get into position in the last kilometre on local rider Courtney Rowe (Cardiff Jif - Father of Sky Pro Luke Rowe) Ettles leads out fast and hard and although Courtney has won this before does not have the speed to come over him, myself likewise further up the track with even further to travel can only manage third. Until we come to a halt and find that Steve Clayton (Litchfield City) had sneaked away in the brief lull and taken the win so I have to be satisfied with 4th.

On the Sunday I have a double helping of racing Pursuit in the morning Points in the afternoon (evening as it happens!) It's only 2Km but the most pain that can be had on a bike, short of hill climbing and being hung drawn and quartered, William Wallace chose the latter over a spin around Meadowbank. There's no defending Champion so as the runner up I get the home straight final heat, No Pressure! I'm up against Carter, Greenstreet bangs out a time that would have won last year in the second heat so I ignore the remainder and try to focus. In the gate the twelve seconds count down and you are away, the rise itself does not feel good at all. Why would you practise these? I'm glad it's over soon enough, I could tell I was down at the bell but in the end my time only 1/10 sec slower than last year, only good enough for 6th this time though Greenstreet wins it from Ettles and Clayton. All these riders have come into my age category this year, my one year grace from these tyrants which proffered excellent results last year is over, I have a job on my hands to compete with these guys now!

Our 15Km (60 laps) Points race is early evening, it's a long weekend of preparation and recovery for 6 sprints, there are allot of potential outcomes for this race so you have to have a plan, mine is to be as aggressive from half way and test the riders who are all feeling a bit jaded. There are attacks for the first two sprints Phil Watkins  (34 Nomads) and Steve McCaw (Sandy Wallace) take these but It does make the pace hard so I get my chance early and I'm away, the Pursuit winner Greenstreet gets up to me and we share the work and I take the win at the next points (ian says he is being generous), McCaw makes a fantastic effort to make the half lap we have gained. With three of the strongest riders it's inevitable that we will lap the field and we do so before the next sprint. I now have to mark these two as my main rivals for the medals, I get 2 points in the next sprint and the others miss out, I know it must be close between McCaw the Veteran Hour Record Holder and myself, I can only go for the final sprint as final placings count where riders are equal on points. In the lull Clayton and Jerry Cross (Manchester Whs) gain a lap but it is so quick They gain no points and I am only paying attention to the others. Greenstreet and then McCaw slip off the front by 50 meters but I hold my position as I know it will all come together for the sprint and I need to be in the mix to be up for the points and as we wind it up the two are swamped, I am on Rowe's shoulder (again!) and cannot overtake but good enough for 3rd place and 2 Pt's. In the final count I miss out by a point to McCaw that early win put him in a commanding position, Greenstreet looses out for the Bronze by being too far back in the final sprint and with 4th place and one point going to the Manchester man.
I really enjoy the racing here and a bit of success makes it all the better, It's hard and aggressive racing with no quarter given (apart from Ian in the third sprint) but It does not feel crazy or dangerous as this group of riders I have been racing against for the past 5-6 years are all experienced and like to make the racing tough without making it desperate. Looking forward to the Europeans in September

Low Pro

I've seen a guy in full Lotto Belisol get-up around the past few months, and I just put him down as an over keen and ill advised weekend warrior but turns out it actually is a real life continental professional. Now when I started getting back into racing (2006-10) I was riding regularly at Mallory Park the motor racing circuit used for the 1970 World Road Race Championships, it was in the days when I was a 3rd category rider and I needed all the back wheels I could find and around MP on a Tuesday there were plenty. Before we got up to race there was U14 and Schoolboy and girl racing, now Daniel McLay was one of those boys, now after winning a Junior World title on the track and other assorted 'notches' on his palmares  I find him invading the local TT scene on a break from being a NeoPro. I was riding the Derby Mercury '25' up at 'windy' Griffydam (Nr. Coalville) at the weekend and young Dan masquerading innocuously down the field at number 7 and riding under his Leicester RC colours wins the event by a clear 3 minutes with 53:18, I would have hoped for better if I had a bit more racing in my legs but the tough course and windy conditions I managed 6th place with 58:13 but winning my age category

Derby Mercury '25' Result here

A week later I had a double header in the Hinckley CRC Challenge Weekend, which involves a '10' on the Saturday and a '25' on the Sunday. It's the course I ride for my Tuesday evening '10' on B roads between Wolvey and the Magna (Europe's biggest!) distribution centre at Lutterworth on the A5. I used my usual 92" fixed but at least I get plenty of time to warm up so the ride was bookended with ten miles on the 'rollers', it did not seem to do much for my effort as 23:05 was a long way off my best but at least I got close to my 100RPM target (98) in the week before the Masters Track Nationals where I would need good leg speed. There was a stiff cross wind (thankfully blocked by trees most of the way) but the road is 'bumpy & lumpy' so how Matt Clinton (Mike Vaughn Cycles) managed 20:13 I'll never know. On the Sunday's '25' over two laps of the same roads including a bit on the A5 Matt repeated his effort to be fastest in 54:02 and give him the overall win as well, I had a torrid time on my fixed in increased wind (when you race on the flat at less than 20mph you know its hard) but at one point I did touch 40mph (147RPM Yikes!) and that's all I can say of my 1:00:52 performance

Hinckley CRC '10'

Hinckley CRC '25'

During the week there were the BC Time Trial Championships deemed to be open to selected riders, young Dan McLay managed 4th in the Espoire (Under 23) TT Champs up in Glasgow, Joe Perrett who had won the recent RTTC National Championship '25' could only manage 2nd to defending champion Sam Harrison (both 100%me) and in the senior title postman Matt Bottrill (drag2zero) almost pulled off a coup by beating recent Giro TT winner Alex Dowsett (Movistar) who still had 21 seconds in hand after an early crash which left him a bit battered for the Road race titles that were to be decided on the Sunday. Joanne Rowsell (Wiggle Honda) won the women's title

BC Report & Results

Eternal Second

Forgive me Blogspot for I have sinned, it is over six months since my last post. The Winter and Spring time these past couple of seasons have not had a great deal to recommend them so what with taking on an allotment and a greater commitment to work there has not been allot of time for racing. I've kept riding the bike at a lower level but come April I thought I'd better push it up a level with some six hour rides so that I was not left without any miles in the legs when the mood to race came around
For those of you who have an allotment the amount of work getting it into shape is large and it has taken me four digs to remove the Couch weed that they call 'Twitch' in these parts but on a plot that has not been cultivated fully for a few seasons its plenty of work to keep me in shape. I've filled a compost bin a meter square with the stuff, I am advised to "Burn it" but presently I'm trying to compost it with weed killer and treats of violence as it seems to be almost indestructible.

I rode down to Devon in two days staying over at Salisbury YHA and the unusual North wind (NW) was a great help on the first day so the W wind on the second day slowed my progress and Fiona picked me up at Honiton before I had to negotiate the A30

On the way to Devon - Shaftsbury

My first event of the season the local Leicester Forest '25' on the A46 (Six Hills) course just North of Leicester, I'd done a couple of speedy sessions in the week to liven my legs up but with a windy morning I was wondering if I'd done too much. I only put a 92" (52 x 15) gear on as I reasoned that it was not about going for the win but just to test the legs and get a few hard rides in the bag before the British Masters Track at the end of the month
That North wind (NE today) would make for a nice return but first the tricky outward journey to Wymeswold and the Widmerpool Island (the top 6 mile section covered twice). I was caught by my minute man eventual winner Nick Cave (Lutterworth RT) also on a fixed at 8 miles, I was concentrating on the harder sections but not trying to go overboard as I only has PR and RPM to go on which was probably a good thing as I made me focus on my ride rather than my time.
The final five miles were glorious and I'd left myself enough in the legs to enjoy them as my legs span at 120RPM+ and I was pleasantly pleased with my time and position 57:40 for 8th place.


Photo Here

Result Here



 On the Sunday I left the house at just after 8 O'clock to ride out to watch the National Championship '25' at Tattershall in Lincolnshire, I thought it would be three hours into a stiff headwind as it was it took nearly four as I battled passed the triathletes at Belvoir Castle barely above 17mph. Once I got onto the flat Fens passed Sleaford I felt the real force of a block headwind and arrived to see the final 10 riders to the finish exhausted 72m @ 18mph.

There was a changing of the guard as Matt Bottrill (Drag2zero) 49:31 finally got the better of Michael Hutchinson (In Gear) 49:58 something he has been trying to do for numerous seasons but unfortunately they both came off slower than 22 year old (former European Junior TT Champion) Matthew Perrett (IG Sigma) who ran out the winner 49:21 Bottrill had the honour of leading the team and will now have to wait for the '50' in a couple of weeks after getting so close (7 seconds) in the '10' but it was the Blue Ribband '25' that he would so dearly love to have taken but that will have to wait for another season sport can be cruel!

New Champion Matt Perrett (IG Sigma)

I almost had no time to hang around as I put my kit back on and did the return journey from the event at 20.5mph


Men's Result

Women's Result

Junior Result

2012 Review of the Year

And so we get to the end of the year, relax and take things easy, well I've already hit the deck to make up for not having had a spill this year, a slow motion 'sack of spuds' landing that saw me come off the looser to the tarmac as that big o'l floor came up and hit me in the face! Trying to perform a forward roll I banged my head and shoulder in the manoeuvre but my thumb that I think I dislocated hurt the most and has taken the longest to recover

Ouch!

Considering I did not start racing until the beginning of June I still managed 32 events compared to 45 the past two seasons but only 660 miles of racing compared to the 1500-2000 of recent years gives a better indication of the reduced nature of my racing programme. Out went most of the long distance stuff with only one 100 finished and so no BBAR for the first time in 6 years, my training had a similarly curtailed look with a mere 4200 miles covered in the first 6 months, mostly rides to work and not a ride over 100 miles until late March.
My provisional plan for the season was to ride all my races on a fixed wheel, I don't think I missed much early on as the weather was fowl and my first event Nottingham Clarion '50' like an early season event in terrible conditions and I though my 'year of fixed'  would go out there and then but the conditions were just too dangerous for single speed. From here though I was (mostly) on my pursuit bike, and I tinkered with the gear from the mid 90's to 102".and managing a respectable 1:53 in the Finsbury '50' by the middle of the month
What with changes to the VTTA 'Standards' (the first time since their inception in 1946) to allow the younger Vets to be more competitive in taking Standard awards on open events and having reached my 50's I now passed over into another age group for age related racing on the road and track. The focus of my season would not come until the end of my season I still had the British Masters Championships at Newport at the end of June and my results on limited condition were impressive 2nd (Pursuit) 3rd (Points Race) and 4th (Scratch race) were evidence that I was already more competitive now although I was beaten in all three events by another 'graduate' from my old pre fifty group the Ex Pro Footballer Trevor Burke but I was slightly vexed to learn that he had not passed the age of consent  but was racing as a quirk of the UCI rule that allows riders to race in 'The season of their birth' with the events that were to come later in the year another reason to wonder at the logic of our governing body.

UCI and a Pork Pie

With a bit of speed in my legs I banged out two short 53 minute '25's in quick succession racing mainly locally but we are blessed with some of the fastest in the country I was trying to keep my travelling away to a minimum to keep Fiona happy! On what I can only describe as the best day I have raced on for quite some time I rode one of the events of the season outside a championship, the Shaftsbury '50' provided me with a new personnel best  and a club record 1:47:40, only 12 seconds off my previous best but on 106" fixed. I was almost certain I would have gone faster on gears but I made it a rule only to take one bike to an event to stop me from vacillating. However after riding to London at 20.12mph average as my tribute to the start of the Olympics and packing in a few miles watching the opening road events I took a further 1:27 off my '50' record on my local A50 based event, my 1:46:13 was done on gears this time and my twelfth breaking of this club record all told, the first time 16 August 1981 (2:01:46) at 19 years of age
I was not expecting to do any personnel bests this year with the way my programme was laid out, I was still planning to have a crack at Roger Hammond's '10' record but I only rode two open events at this distance and came up 17 seconds slower than my best and more than half a minute off the record. This ride was also on gears so maybe I should have stuck to my principals for once, this was the day when Michael Hutchinson broke the competition record so I cannot say I did not have the right day and he has been trying to break Bradley Wiggins record for a few seasons now and took 12 seconds off the record set in 2006. I seem to find myself more than 2:30  behind competition record, I was only 2 minutes behind the last time I rode on the day competition record was broken by Dave Lloyd 5 September 1981
My season came to a close with my major objective to get on the podium at the World Masters Track at Manchester in October,  I'd come a close with 4th the previous day in the 15Km Points race  but I then managed a bronze medal in my last event the 10Km Scratch race, so as I came to a slow standstill after the event knowing I had achieved my target but also that my season ended there, I was best European finisher in both races.
Even though I only just scraped a full compliment of distances for the VTTA National three distance BAR (25,50,100) I was placed 7th in the country (up from 40th)and topped my Notts & East Midlands group, this is against the changes to the 'Standards' that have shaken the standings up a bit but 78 year old Derek Hodkins was one place behind me while a 41 year old made 4th place and it was won by the impressive 60 year old Phil Greenwood (Clayton Velo) so with such a spread of ages in the top flight it seems like after all the arguments they were set about right