I’ve had my Bob Jackson refurbished at Argos Cycles. They’ve done an incredible job. It’s now a lovely rich orange colour and has eyelets for mudguards. Today i rode to work on fixed wheel for the first time since winter and it was odd. I enjoyed the slower pace and lack of choices when climbing.
Tomorrow is the Chew Valley Lake 25 mile Club Championship. It’s open to all comers and promises to be a bit of a battle royale. I’m looking forward to it.
Road racing on the bike is a very different beast to time trialling. This is a truism, but it certainly becomes apparent very quickly when you make the leap into the dark side. Today was the Bristol South Road Race, taking in 8 laps of Stowey Hill near Bishop Sutton, with an 80 strong field. It was very hot indeed. I took one bottle, which may or may not have been an error. There was a KOM competition on Stowey Hill; on the first lap i sat back and let it go, waiting to warm up a bit. On the second lap i moved to the front and rode hard, and may or may not have been pipped on the line by an Exeter Uni rider who was full of beans. He was on the right and i was looking to the left – another schoolboy error.
After the climb i sat up a bit, only for a team-mate to come through and ride hard on the front each lap. I didn’t really want to ride hard on the front but couldn’t really stop him. He got in a bit of a ding-dong with the Exeter Uni rider about his overshoes. It was like two bald men fighting over a comb. ‘Overshoes are illegal’, said the Exeter guy. ‘They’re aerodynamic’ said the team-mate. I don’t think it makes the slightest bit of difference either way, and i don’t think the scrutineers could really give two shits, but i kept my counsel. Nevertheless, it was typical of the dialogue in the bunch that crops up from time to time for no particular reason. Where’s Le Blaireau when you need him.
On the third lap i held back a bit and then moved through the bunch to line up for another pop at the climb and was feeling confident. A large car with an even larger caravan came round the corner – the front part of the bunch passed through ok, but as it rounded the corner it nailed first one rider then the others fell like dominos. The combined sound of aluminium caravan meets carbon fibre meets skin and bone was jarring and the crash left a scene of chaos. There were 3 BSCC riders taken out immediately and one Bath Uni rider, possibly some others. The front of the bunch slowed up and we neutralised the race. I rode on ahead to check with the marshals at the top of the climb what was happening, they told us to race on and listen out for the commissaire. As i passed the message up from near the very back – after talking to a fairly damaged looking rider and suggesting he might retire -the bunch got rolling again, but one rider took the ‘opportunity’ to attack and immediately rode off the front. i was at the back at this point having only just got back on. I was distinctly unimpressed. I guess it depends how you see the race and what you think is acceptable or not acceptable, and how much you want your points. As we looped back around the course past the crash site the section was neutralised and there was a rider lying on the road in a BSCC jersey. This was enough for me. Without even thinking about it I climbed off the bike and went back to the HQ. A number of other riders did the same. On each subsequent lap the race was neutralised past the crash, which was essential but effectively prevented there being a real selection or a timely break and meant the race came down to a bunch sprint – anathema to climbers like me.
In hindsight, the race was fantastically well organised and the commissaires have to make a tough decision when there is a crash on a looped circuit. They chose to continue, which was probably, on balance the right one. I chose to climb off, which was also probably the right one.
Lessons learnt from Rocky 1 to Rocky 5
- Road racing requires a bit of a freaky mindset.
- it can be hard to summon up the motivation to ride tempo in a bunch that undulates and shifts like the stinging tentacles of a portugese man of war, and it’s particularly hard to ride hard to the finish if you struggle with some of the more existential questions that tend to pop up in the race; i.e why are we riding when three riders have just been reduced to angles of limbs and blood on the tarmac by an enormous motor caravan? i struggle in that respect.
- if you’re going to road race then that means riding 3rd and 4th category races. That means crashes, smashes and the pain of fractured limbs, torn face and mouth, road race and abrasions, missing teeth, broken bike parts and torn clothing. Frequently.
Lastly, it made me yearn for the simple pleasures of riding my bike in the countryside with friends, connecting with the landscape around me and enjoying the flow activity in all its infinite glory.
nb: i’ve edited this post a bit after going out for a walk in the evening sunshine. it’s softer than it was.
Chew Valley Lake is a popular circuit for training; it’s relatively near Bristol for one thing and you can nip down, do as many laps as you want to get to the relevant distance, then nip back again. It’s an undulating circuit which adds an element of difficulty. The only issue is getting there and back involves chew hill and dundry, two of the more beastly ascents north of the Mendips.
The Classic League uses the lake for the bulk of the summer months and on Wednesday i managed to make it back down for the first time this season. In my last ride of last year i scraped under the 19 minute barrier with an 18.59, which works out at a 26mph average. This year i aimed to improve it by a little bit. It wasn’t a particularly fast evening, there was a minor headwind for a bit then cross with a nice tailwind section that helped keep the speed up. The course is short, only 8.3 miles. However, with the hills it’s a curious effort to judge, there is around 300ft of climbing crammed in. This doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s definitely a sporting course.
You have to stay resolutely focused and make sure that at every turn of the pedals you are putting through as much power as you can. There is no room for any drift, those points in the race where your mind wanders and you start thinking about dinner, or where those things might have got to that you are sure you left in the bike tool box but have now disappeared. It’s a tough one, but i managed it. After about 6 miles i realised i was on for a pretty quick time and should go under 19 minutes without too much bother, so i stepped on the gas, but I also eased off on the deadly corners in bishop sutton, and still had enough to stop the clock at 18.25, shaving 34 seconds off last year’s PB. I managed to bag 18 points in the handicap competition because i’d put so much daylight between me and the other riders, in this case beating Andy Legge into second by around 45 seconds. It’s my biggest points tally in ages and it didn’t even need a comp record. I was 15 seconds off the course record set by Rob Pears (who else?) about 6 years ago.
This weekend is the Bristol South CC Road Race. I’d be lying if i said i wasn’t nervous and anxious about this race. I have very little road race experience and also have a 100% crash record. I haven’t raced at a distance over 34 miles yet this year and rarely do more than 18 miles in training. The race is about 55 miles. It does have 8 ascents of Stowey Hill though, which is sure to test the legs. I’m currently undecided as to whether to ride the C-Bomb or the ‘Austin Allegro-Brown Condor’, as Simon Williams recently called it. The Condor is making funny noises, again. I’m thinking that it’s going to be the C-Bomb. It’s what it’s designed for, after all.
On a different note, several generations of the Keene clan were out in force on account of it being George’s 80th birthday. George is an inspiration to all at the club and has been riding for just about all of his 80 years. His name is on several of the club cups from the 1950s right through to the present. And he is still riding.
George Keene: Legend
i’m undecided as to whether the drag of the balloon is counteracted by the elevating properties of the helium
One of the nice things about the hardrider series is the range of amazing locations. it’s been said before, but it’s a league away from the A419. The Westbury Wheelers have been running an event for a few years now that heads across, over and around Salisbury Plain, with the finish beneath the Westbury White Horse.
white horse and iron age encampment
The course runs around the edge of the military range on the Plain and is criss-crossed with the parallel mud marks of tanks and other assorted weapons of death. it’s a quaint juxtaposition. Red flags and angry signs warn of live-firing, lest you miss a turning and find yourself head down in the village of Imber, wondering where those marshalls are and why the army appear to be trying to kill time triallists.
unexploded military ordinance, do not leave the carriageway
the marshalling was exemplary, lots of people and lots of red flags and pointing. it’s reassuring. there was quite a bit of traffic, the race seemed to coincide with the moment when the brave Wiltshire burghers decided to get into their various cars and horse boxes and drive around quite slowly in a gentle fug, before being freaked into a panic-ridden state of catalepsy by crazed time-triallists on the charge. I got held up three times, once coming to a complete stop because of a bad decision by a car up front. I gave him a piece of my caffeine-fuelled, adrenaline-addled mind. It disrupted my rhythm for a while, but i was soon back in the tunnel of time-trialling darkness, head down, eyes up the road and the noise of the wind amplified by my spaceship helmet.
It was a fast course that suited me. There were lots of hills but they went up in a big-ring friendly 5% or 6% gradient. I say ‘big ring’ friendly, most people I spoke to afterwards were reaching for the Granny (the lowest gear you’ve got, usually the inner ring on a triple which, like Grandmother, is somewhat lacking in teeth) to give it a good shake. I then said that i could have gone into the small ring, but I would only have had to change back up again in a couple of minutes so it seemed silly. I didn’t add at this point that it meant i was riding up the hills in the 54:23, that would have been uncouth and unchivalrous
I fancied second place today. This was because Dean Robson was down to start. He’s a handy cyclist who has previously won the national time trial series and had a CTT scholarship to race in France. He won the Little Mountain time trial a couple of weeks ago. Dean is one of those people who looks fast even when walking around the HQ. The other usual suspects were out and about, but no Rob Pears who is riding the National 10 Championships (good luck!).
cornering
I wasn’t sure how my legs would stand up to two days of abuse on the TT whip, although it’s as much mental as physical. I followed on from my most recent strategic shift: ride as hard as possible from the start and then carry on to the finish, without letting the mind wander at inopportune moments. It worked well, i managed a 25.2mph average speed, just above evens, stopping the clock at 54.42, a minute ahead of Dean and also Matt Burden. It was great to see Matt riding so well, he’s had a really tough time of late. Sometimes when life gets utterly overwhelming, the pleasure to be had from riding a bike fast through beautiful scenery can be something simple and profound.
The prizes were the usual cash money, but with the addition of a bag of John Hurd’s Traditionally Bunched Organic Watercress. This is one of the odder prizes i have taken home but it is exciting and adds another dimension to tonight’s dinner. In another great day for the club, Mary jane took the fastest lady (said the bishop to the actress) and Rob took the lanterne rouge, clearly he has half an eye on the lucrative post-hardrider criteriums.
the pain and glory of the race of truth expressed through the medium of organic watercress
It’s been a great weekend and i’ve exceeded my expectations and aims. I had an idea that I might just bag a win if the Gods smiled benevolently on my awkward progress, but to take two open wins in a row has left me grinning from ear to ear.
the U7B
Normal service was very much resumed today after my brave midweek excursion to the darkside of road racing. I dusted off the TT whip and skinsuit, found some matching overshoes and headed out to the U7B for the Bristol South Open 10 Mile Time Trial. I didn’t ride this event last year, i can’t quite remember why. I rode the year before and came 7th, with a 22.37. It seems like a very long time ago. It was about 24 degrees that day and i remember my mouth being all claggy afterwards from dryness and sweat. It wasn’t very nice. I seem to remember Belle sunbathed on the grass verge next to the main road whilst the mad cyclists went out and rode their bikes in the sultry afternoon heat.
I rode out today because i didn’t have the car. I always feel really odd when riding through the centre of town on a Saturday afternoon in the full TT get up. It didn’t help that i was soft-pedalling to save energy. At one point i saw another chap also in full TT regalia, disc and aero bits much in evidence. We gave each other a nod of understanding. I hope so anyway, and presume that he was riding to a race as well, rather than just TTing up and down Coronation Road which would be strange indeed.
Edvald Trotman-Hagen gets ready to mash his big gear. and his legs. The man behind has no sleeves.
There was a headwind all the way there, about a 21 mile ride, but it wasn’t too bad so i felt optimistic about the race. I knew on paper i stood a chance of winning the event and in truth i really wanted to win. I’ve been close this season a few times, but usually the winner has been substantially faster. This time it was going to be squeaky bum time, the other fast rider was Peter Georgi who is very quick early in the season but seems to slow a bit later on. I was wondering which Peter would turn up. I resolved to ride my best race and then what happened would happen.
The headwind wasn’t enough to knock me off my stride. It becomes a question of mental fortitude when there’s a bit of a headwind. Generally, and I am generalising, slower riders tend to allow moderate headwinds to get on top of them. The quicker riders just ride though it, dig a bit deeper and hold the big gear, knowing that the turn offers salvation and respite and a much more rapid experience. It’s strategic thinking. i rode quite hard to the turn and knew that i could make time up on the way back, which is precisely what happened: 27mph to the roundabout and 30mph back, including the climbs. I nailed a 21.22, a couple of seconds away from my PB set last year and pretty good given the conditions. I then had a nail-biting few minutes waiting for Peter’s time to go up on the board. I beat him by ONE SECOND. i was speaking to Ed afterwards – who had upped the gear inches and suffered a bit because of the wind and the hill and having no bail-out gear – and we talked about the need to concentrate all the way through, to not let the mind drift and the speed tail off slightly. A ten is such a short event, comparatively, that you have to smash it all the way. Whenever i try to pace it things tend to go wrong. When i just go out and ride as hard as i can things seem to go right. The latter was in evidence today. I feel chuffed to bits to get the win, but also feel really pleased that it came in a Bristol South CC event. We took the team prize with Sam and Danny turning in quick times. There were 18 club members of the startsheet. Just a few years ago you’d be lucky to get 4 or 5 riders. On a slightly separate note, i was wearing my BSCC skinsuit. it’s seen better days. today the zip got stuck and i had to pin it shut at the top before riding. I then couldn’t get it undone and had to cut myself out of it when i got home. It was that or just keep it on all night ready for tomorrow’s race.
The nature of progress and hard work is a very strange thing. It’s incremental and you make the gains over time, sometimes without noticing. But right now, having read back the previous post linked above, i feel aware of the progress i have made in 2 short years. If you’d told me after my ride in May 2010 that i would be winning the event in 2012 i would have laughed long and hard.
And finally… the BSCC 10 is also a counting event for the Classic League. I get handicapped to DEATH in these events. This is a good thing, it makes the contest wide open and ensures those who improve and keep improving get a shot at the trophy. But as a demonstration of the level of handicap for the scratch rider, see the photo below.
Andy Capp.
In order to win the classic league today, beating George Keene and defeating the mysteries of the chairman’s handicap system, i would have to have ridden a competition record for 10 miles. And not just a comp record, but a long 16, which equates to a 35mph ride and is about a minute quicker than Wiggins. ON THE U7B. Maybe in two years time i’ll link back to this post and laugh…
This is the sprawl.
and this is the plank:
and i’m still sore. Thanks to Simon Parker at SP Action Images for capturing the rank indignity of it all.
it had to happen sooner or later. Finally, at the ripe old age of 35 years young, i made it onto the start sheet of a massed start road race. i couldn’t escape the need to get some bunch racing experience ahead of the BSCC road race at the end of the month, so signed up for the Bath Cycle Races, a short blast around Victoria Park with 40 or so other crazed roadies. I’ve entered others but generally been rejected – i didn’t get a ride at Mike Rutty or Betty Pharoah. it’s been quite frustrating really.
the weather was perfect for it, not much wind and glorious evening sunshine. it could have been a touch warmer, but there you go. putting it simply, it was a brilliant event and i had a whale of time. i rode hard on the front and really enjoyed being in the bunch and mixing it up. Time trialling consists of getting your head down and riding fast until you’ve finished. Road racing is similar, but with a thousand other considerations at any one point in time, running through your head in an infernal internal monologue. Early on I was worried about being too far back as the bunch got moving, then i was worried about being on the front for a while, even though i quite enjoyed it, then i was worried about slipping back and losing wheels, then i stopped worrying and just kept riding hard. I had an idea about what wheels to follow so when Mike Kiss went i decided to go after him, thinking we might get the gap. It was a real laugh, but very intense. I had no problem with the surges and this is generally seen as a pretty full-on race. in fact, the fastest lap of the evening was done by the 3/4 rather than the elites. i think because it’s half an hour everything thinks they have to pedal like madmen, there’s no time for an ebb and flow, it’s utterly relentless. My kind of race.
One of the reasons i’ve not done any roadracing as yet is because i don’t want to crash, and it’s a well-know fact that 3/4, or particularly 4 road races are crashier than a demolition derby. the bike handling on show at Bath was pretty sturdy and people were generally polite. i was expecting to be shouted at and abused by foaming roadies. it didn’t happen. It’s ironic therefore, that i managed to crash out in my first road race. When chasing Mike out of the corner he grounded a pedal and wobbled like a plate of jelly. i was accelerating out of the hairpin and had nowhere to go, apart from left and into the kerb, and then over the handlebars.
it’s crazy how one minute you are absolutely on the rivet, the next second you’re on the floor, with heartrate still working at around 175bpm, muscles warmed up, adrenalin coursing through the bloodstream. i took some road rash and am pretty sore today, i couldn’t get out of the saddle to ride uphill. in a fit of funny arrogance i thought to myself ‘this is how regular commuters feel every day’.
the pictures of the crash are completely hilarious. they have extracted no sympathy, only riotous laughter. I’m actually flying. there was another crash at the end, a chap looked to have the win, looked over his shoulder and went down quite hard. Kieran and Christian were also riding for BSCC, with Christian taking 7th for some more points. I’ll be back next week. i think.
I listed my turbo trainer on ebay this week in a fit of utter frustration and anger. i loosely adapted my post on here. it’s been steadily attracting watchers. today it kind of went global. (in cycling terms).
I’m really bad at taking pictures of cyclists in motion. In contrast, Graham Haller took some fantastic images at yesterday’s event.
a really lovely day to be out on the bike
I like the initials of the Cheltenham and County Cycling Club. Today they hosted the first hardrider in a little while on a 2 lap circuit in the Cotswolds. The loop started off very very quickly and ended very very slowly with a long drag up to the finish. My fastest speed was 51mph which is, as my Dad used to day, PDQ. This means ‘pretty darned quick’ in Dadspeak.
Today’s big gorillas were Matt Clinton, erstwhile National Hillclimb Champion with a host of other garlands to his name, and Ben Anstie of Cadence Cannondale, gearing himself up for the National 10 mile Championship next weekend. I was hoping, possibly, that the hilly bits might give me a shout of claiming Ben’s scalp for the second time this season, but would also settle for 3rd. I accepted the fact that Matt was likely to win, barring some strange deus ex machina. Matt is a class rider, and generally a cut above us mere mortals. He is all sinew and bike muscle.
The roads around Temple Guiting were really bad, strewn with potholes that claimed a number of victims through unscheduled deflations and at least one expensive looking disc wheel catastrophe. I made round in one piece, just. At one point whilst in the tuck, descending at about 40mph, I hit a lump of something and my elbows momentarily left the pads and the front wheel left the ground. At about the same time i felt a wave of sudden fear and alarm, but it all came back together nicely and I clung on.
Today was painful, on the second lap my legs were starting to complain and I felt the lactic build up from two hard efforts in two days. I tried to stay focused and keep riding as fast as I could. Fatigue began to set in, but this was at least partly caused by the fact that i decided to go off at a ‘ten’ pace and then just carry on. This is the strategy that works best for me. I figured i could rest on the downhill bits and let my heartrate drop slightly. I caught my minute man within about 3 miles or so, if that. He was riding a folding bike, for which i applaud him, sort of. With his 104″ vs my 129″ there was only ever going to be one winner in the battle of the bikes.
Unlike Ed’s bike, this one really is for popping to the shops
The headwind up the last long climb meant it was a slower day than last year. However, i went quicker, by around 45 seconds, and somehow managed a dead heat with Ben Anstie for a share of 2nd place. It’s a really tough course with around 2000ft of climbing in some nasty bundles, so I’m pleased with the outcome and also with managing to get a 23mph average.
It was a good weekend and the sunshine made a profound difference, both yesterday and today. This week heralds a new challenge on the bike. I am nervous, but I am going to ride as hard as I possibly can. No change there then. (apart from the other day on the first bit of the r25, but i’m burying that in the dark recesses of my subconscious).
