In this weeks blog I celebrate 'not jinxing,' Simon Yates, a mixed bag of training rides and a top notch cyclocross race.
Inspired by my chunky monkey pictures from the Marston Lodge CX race I decided I needed to do some training. With time at a premium I headed out before work to do some hill repeats in Rothwell Rec. It was a good workout and feels like it should help.
Later in the week I was out on my Forme Calver CX bike again. Partly because it's cross season but also because all of my road bikes were out of action! Ride, wear, repair, repeat!
This time I took a spin up to Weekly Woods via Prologis Park. It was a nice ride in the time I had but as a regular route it's a bit boring to write about.
The Forme Calver looks good in the woods and in the fields but the best view is definitely from the saddle. I thinks it's time to break out The Garmin Virb again to capture the scenery.
On Saturday the 15th I proposed a route for C&D Cycles CC. This was needed because Andy F and a load of the club regulars had gone to France for some truly epic rides. I viewed their daily Strava feeds with a lot of jealousy but hey you can't have everything. A guest blog would be nice!
Earlier in the week my bikes had received yet more wonderful service from Andy. Having ditched my Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres I'd spent quality time with Google and decided I wanted to try Hutchinson Fusion tyres. I opted for the All Season version as they're claimed to be the most durable. Andy said that compared to the Schwalbe's they were a dream to fit. I think they look better on the rims too. My first impressions are also that they roll very nicely.
Then disaster struck and I needed to do family stuff early on Saturday morning. I eventually went out on my own and passed the club going the other way. This shouldn't have been possible as we were on the same route...they'd gone the wrong way! This ride went around the Naseby Battlefield and I've blogged all about the history before previous blog: Roundheads and Cavaliers
These cheeky chaps are fabulous
Gas bottles, suspension coils...very clever!
It was a beautiful day as this picture at Fairfax's view clearly shows. I'd also abandoned my original route at this point due to a closed road. The climb up to this high point is one of my favourite Northants hills.
This obelisk marks the spot of a windmill during the battle in 1645. I probably said in my previous blog that I appreciate the effort that's gone into preserving this historic site and I know I said that it's weird that a pivotal moment in world history happened right in the middle of our leafy lanes.
With the C&D Cycles CC diplomatic expedition to France still in full swing the remainers needed another route. This time Mike planned it verbally and I put it into an electronic format. However when I woke up on Saturday morning I knew it wasn't for me. I'd spent the whole week rushing around. I'd be rushing around again the next day and so I decided to take it easy...well you know, easy for me.
On Sunday, Sam and I took part in our second cyclocross race of he season. This was another Leicestershire Cyclocross League Event #LCXL and the venue was Corby's Weldon Woodland Park. The difference this time was that Sam raced without me in the Under 14s because I was having my first go in the vet 40s.
Sam suffered another mechanical when his chain came off. He did get back into the race but after a good start he never fully recovered from the set back. I was proud of his efforts especially the way he tackled the steps and the drop off.
I wan't just there for my kid though. It was also good to see our Cyclones riding well again. The skill level of these youngsters is incredible, as is their bravery and determination. I could see lots to praise them for at training on Monday.
I promised Sam he wouldn't have to wait around for me as it was two hours until my race so I took him home, picked up my stuff and came back. That's the advantage of a really local race isn't it! The other advantage I had was that the lovely race organisers allowed me to sign in early.
I was nervous as hell! It was mad really. I love riding bikes and it felt like I was going to spoil it for myself. It reminded me of my first MTB race after my injury where I got so worked up my legs turned to jelly on the start whistle. However I was amongst friends and that really helped. Charlie and I did a sighting lap and then there was some banter with Olly and Ian and then the whistle went...50 minutes of mudbashing. Well it would have been except the ground is still rock hard from that glorious summer. It had rained for about 24 hours but kindly stopped before the kids races so by the time we raced it was a lovely day and the course was pretty much dry.
My plan was to try and keep up with Olly who has been going really well. A crash right in front of me stopped that. I 'might.' have been able to keep up but I had no chance of catching up. The nerves just disappeared and I really enjoyed myself. The picture above is my heart rate data for the race. No matter how hard I train I can never manage 40 minutes at 'peak.' That shows what a tough sport CX is.
Out on the track it was a lovely atmosphere with riders encouraging each other. Also the quick riders were genuinely tolerant of us plodders. The time flew by and I was a bit disappointed to take the bell. When I'd finished I was left wanting more, which giving how shattered I felt, is a bit weird. Except though it's not...almost everyone who rides CX describes the post race elation.
So I wanted to see if I could survive 50 minutes. That part is 'mission accomplished,' and I would say that I now feel capable of my first goal which was participating. I'd also say that there are two more levels. The next is competing and the final hurdle would be actual racing. As there's a long way for me to go with weight loss and fitness levels, I'm not sure I will ever get to 'racing.' I am however determined that I can do better.
As ever, big thanks to all the organisers for a great day of Cyclocross. Also thanks to the happy snappers, especially James and Jamie for getting some action shots and some banter inducing cheeky ones too!
I won't be riding this weekend because it's the KCC Cyclones home race at Prologis Park, Kettering. We're all busy getting ready for the event. Roland has done a great job planning the course and we've all chipped in with course prep. It's a lot of work and is making me appreciate everything that goes into the races I've ridden. This is really important to our club as a source of fund raising and to help promote the KCC and the Cyclones locally. I know everyone who rides is going to enjoy their day and I'm really looking forward to supporting people to do just that!
In world cycling news I'm still buzzing after Simon Yates victory in the Vuelta. It still is astounding to me that the three grand tours in 2018 were won by British riders. I couldn't imagine this when I first fell in love with those epic races. I grew up with heroes such as Stephen Roche and Sean Kelly whilst us Brits were only capable of the odd stage victory and a dim awareness that Robert Millar won the 'King of the Mountains,' in 1984 before the Channel 4 coverage started. This modern era possibly starts with Cavendish in 2008 but definitely since 2012 we've been spoilt for British heroes. It's going to be interesting to see how our riders go in the World Championships this weekend.
Happy Pedalling
No comments:
Post a Comment