We discovered a lovely thing about Cumbria in half term that you mustn’t let on. When we said we were going to a caravan park for four nights near Millom, we were generally met with distaste and grumpiness. Cumbria has in the heart of it a series of incalculably beautiful mountains, lakes and chocolate box villages. No-one’s interested in those bits around the edge, are they? Continue reading “Half term hols… a Cumbrian secret”
Angus’s Seventh Birthday
A lovely day in itself to go and spend the day celebrating my nephew Angus’s 7th birthday on Saturday – and all the fun that this entails, but was was extra special was that we drove less than an hour to their new home in Arkholme rather than the four and a half hours it used to take us to get to their old place in Devon. Continue reading “Angus’s Seventh Birthday”
National Trophy Round 2, Derby – a day to forget
Sometimes cyclocross can just go all wrong, and today’s race in Derby had all the ingredients of a classic national trophy race – a well designed course, quirky weather conditions, and a good field, with a mix of international riders. Continue reading “National Trophy Round 2, Derby – a day to forget”
Ozzy – our Ladyboy Rabbit
A funny thing happened this morning. After Lily got a 12 week old female rabbit called Daisy for her birthday in September, our three year old Rabbit to a great interest in climbing on her back – immediately – as rabbits do (all rabbits, it seems). Time came for a slightly pricey but inevitable castration if our two big eared chums were going to be room mates.
On taking Ozzy to the vets this morning for the big op, I was given the wonderful – if a little surprising – news that Ozzy, is in fact a lady rabbit. It’s going to take some getting used to, but we’re £45 better off. (The vet reckoned the immediate ‘mounting’ habit was acommon sign of dominance amongst female rabbits). I wish my face could have been caught on film. Dying to see Lily’s reaction later.
Lily’s first Cyclocross of 2009
We just had a lovely weekend – a very deliberate effot to stay away from exercise for me after the intense and selfish build-up to the Theww Peaks last weekend – and a weekend of just hanging out at home and doing simple things with the children was always going to be rewarding. But we could only stay away from bike races for one day – it was Lily’s turn to race and mine to watch… Continue reading “Lily’s first Cyclocross of 2009”
My snaps from before and after
Remembered to put my camera in my kit bag this year – second time running!
Some snaps of the goings-on before and after the race in Helwith Bridge here, including Nick’s very light frame 😉
Three Peaks Cyclocross 2009
Well that was lots of fun and very satisfying. I’ve ridden every three peaks cyclocross now since 1995 and apart from a broken seatpost in 1999 about 3 miles into the race, I’ve completed them all.
But today was the sweetest for me. The last three events have been exceptionally good to me with not many issues on the gruelling 37 mile race, but today in particular was my smoothest ever 3 peaks race. No crashes, no cramps, no mechanicals, and only one puncture that was only three minutes from my support crew at Ribblehead and a welcome bike change. Continue reading “Three Peaks Cyclocross 2009”
Grizedale Mountain Bike Challenge 2009
As ‘training rides’ go, they don’t get much more beautiful, thrilling, punishing than the Grizedale Mountain Bike Challenge. Continue reading “Grizedale Mountain Bike Challenge 2009”
Singletrack Magazine article on Cyclocross
Finally got my hands on a nice little article about Cyclocross from Singletrack magazine that they published in February this year, with a quote from me in (I didn’t write the ‘Top 10 UK racer’ bit by my name!!)
Click here to read in PDF format. Also features some great Geoff Waugh pics.
If you’re from Singletrack Magazine and are reading this, yes – I’m probably breaking some copyright rules here. But the link was free, eh? Here’s another.
In Readiness
My previous post on the Three Peaks Cyclocross blog seemed to make out that it was not about the bike or the gear, but more about the training and fitness. I stand by this in general, but there’s a middle-ground – it’s about all-round readiness.
I’ve been training ‘late’ this year – deliberately (so as not to go insane) and it’s all coming together now really – I got myself a decent base fitness that (only really this week) has turned into what I’d call ‘training’. By training I mean doing things unenjoyable and seemingly unrewarding that hurt and in which time stands still. Hill reps, sprint reps… it’s not really enjoying the outdoors (or indoors, on the flipping turbo flipping trainer), but it serves a purpose I suppose.
With this ‘switch’ to training I’m reminded of two things:
1. There’s no training like racing
If you’re in need of pushing yourself really hard, then you can never do that as well as in a race. Whilst I’ve managed to keep myself going with a few crits on the roads this summer, I haven’t raced since the first week of August. That’s nagging at me. This weekend at the Grizedale Mountain bike Challenge I’ll get that racing feeling again for about 3 hours. Whilst it’s technically not a ‘race’ – but simply riding your bike against hundreds of other people as fast as you can over the same course (!) – it’ll still give me that welcome indicator of what it feels like to really push hard one and two hours into something. You just can’t do that in training (or at least I can’t).
2. The fun is in the result, not the process.
I’m not alone in not enjoying hill reps – if you enjoy them, you’re a mentalist – face it. However, a quote that Chris Boardman rolled out a few times during his successful cycling days always comes to mind… something about getting satisfaction from something but not enjoying it. The satisfaction comes from knowing I’m training my weaknesses. There’s little else to train – if you train your strengths, you’re not really getting better.
Back to my initial thoughts… about the balance between ‘gear’ and training. It’s all got to come under the same roof or ‘readiness’ or ‘preparation’. Two lovely new Cannondale cyclocross frames came into my possession last week thanks to the best bike shop in the world and I take almost as much satisfaction from seeing those built up and sitting in the garage ready for action as I do riding them. The special care that goes into getting the bike(s) ready for the 3 peaks is part of the process. Training, building, tweaking, peaking. It’s the readiness thing.
Fridays in Helmshore – our own little Helwith Bridge
We’ve had a bit of a gathering in Helmshore, Lancs (where I live) the last couple of Friday lunchtimes. It’s amazing how many people who ride the three peaks are within a few miles of here and it made sense to get a few of them together to share the pain of my fairly regular ‘simulation sessions’.
I’ve got a ‘course’ of about 1.3 miles that is a fairly good simulator of Ingleborough – the un-runnable grassy climb, peaty unridable jog, fast-ish but tricky grassy descent – it’s not bad and certainly helps technique.
So Mark Solomon (first timer this year), Matthew Pixton and Carl Nelson (multiple finishers!), Alan Dorrington (Cyclocross Connoisseur and former top ten in the ‘Peaks) and Jason Miles (long distance looney – clue’s in the surname, and finished first ‘peaks last year) and I have all met up over the last couple of Fridays and hammered ourselves up and over Bull Hill a few times.
It’s bringing a new dimension to it to me – subtly making the social aspect of this special race spread itself that little bit further.
-Next Friday’s the final one – details here on UKCyclocross if anyone else local fancies it…
Links to some of these Titans of Cyclocrossery:
Jason Miles
Alan Dorrington
Steve Riley: “the bemused looking bloke, trying to work the shifters”
First timer Steve Riley is under no illusions about the venture he’s setting out on later this September… even though he’s given himself the luxury of things like gears.
So I was thinking why on earth would anyone want to read about an ordinary bloke trying an extraordinary event? Of course, the answer’s in the question. I’m an ordinary bloke, one that makes too much noise on the internet, and the Three Peaks is clearly an extraordinary event. So clearly bonkers, that no race in the country is quite like it. Heck, the world maybe, I don’t know….
Read more on Steve’s blog – furiouscycling.
