There's so much to catch up on since my last blog on the 19th of May. However this is Richard's cycling blog so whilst I'll mention the running it will be brief and I'll say more about the cycling. In particular the feature ride today with Brixworth MTB. We'll get to that but I'll do the other stuff first. I've left out some things too so let's just acknowledge that I'm still loving coaching the kids at Cyclones, the same goes for Dean Barnett's Muddy Marvels. Followers of my Strava will also have seen a lot of dog walks so let's have a pic of the pooches!
I was on call on the late May bank holiday weekend so I couldn't ride the Friday Night Summer Series. However one of my colleagues kindly covered me so I could run the Kettering Parkrun with my colleagues from NHFT. We are running all the local Parkruns in the lead up to our Wellbeing Conference on the 12th of July. If you're thinking...running, I thought he was a cyclist...don't worry I'm running a cycling stall at the festival. If like me you dabble with the occasional run, well, Parkrun is for you! I love these runs. It's a great atmosphere and incredibly inclusive. The top runners can smash off for a sub 20 and if you just want to walk it, that's good too. It's not a race but if you want to be competitive you get a time and they keep PBs. The marshals seem to me, to be very similar to the games makers of the London 2012 Olympics and give me faith that we're still a great country of wonderfully kind people!
I was still on call so I wondered what I could do for an hour on Bank Holiday Monday. For some reason I decided I wanted to run around Pitsford Water...just to see if I could do a 10k after all these 5k runs. This was an amazing piece of learning for me but also a reminder of the psychology of working out. I set off feeling okay, at 2-3 miles I was doubting myself. At 4 miles I was picking up. At 5 miles I decided I was HAVING this and I finished the last two miles of this 7 mile run at the fastest pace of the run. Now I know I can do it, I'll be using this run for training a lot more! As for the psychology, everyone goes through this during any form of endurance event and, if you can finish strongly, it means your head was playing tricks earlier in the run!
The next day, my good friend Mark came to tea! I'd made a chilli earlier in the day because Mark had asked if we could go for a road ride before we ate. He took part in a great local sportive later that week called the Squires and Spires. Mark wanted to test himself on a few hills so I decided to introduce him to our best kept secret...the Welland Valley.
Mark's a fit bloke and excellent runner. He stealth trains on a bike by having Deliveroo as a hobby and income booster. So he had no trouble keeping up on those tricky hills.
It was a stunning evening to be in the picturesque Welland Valley which some people compare to the Cotswolds.
Back at Chez Lindsley, Mark and I tucked into that well earned chilli plus some fantastic rhubarb and custard cake from my wife, the Queen of Cakes!
On the last day of May it was time for another Friday Night Summer Series MTB race. This time it was South Kilworth Golf Course, hosted by Welland Valley Cycling Club and on a course designed by Dean Barnett.
This race did not disappoint! As per usual my aims were not to be last and to do the same number of laps as the main field. It wasn't as close run as last time with the race leader no where in sight as I took the bell. However it was an exhausting course and I pretty much just survived the whole way round.
This was a great venue and I enjoyed another alcohol free beer with riding friends, in the bar where we met for the results.
When you get further into this blog you'll see the contrast, although many people will have experienced it first hand. This was the hottest day of the year and Corby as I was warned is a tough course! Another fantastic Parkrun experience though. Corby gets a lot of negative attention but true to form, the friendliest people in the county did a great job for their Parkrun. I intend to go back for their 300th run celebrations in July.
Always smiling?
This Friday was a very wet day. Having rained all day, the weather gods smiled on us to provide a lovely evening. The cycling gods were however having none of it and decided to provide a slippy slidey course. To be fair to Numplumz this was the best layout and most technical race I've been in this year. The off camber, steep descents, climbs and switch backs in the woods were a real highlight and also REALLY scary!!! Being the location where I broke my wrist a couple of years ago I was doubly nervous. So I had no pretensions...just get round! Beforehand there was much fiddling with tyre pressures with everyone running as low as they dared. I took a couple of tumbles but experienced no more than the odd graze. Many others had really spectacular wipe outs. It was a tough race. However it was also a soft landing and well marshalled so no one got injured that I saw. The encouragement from old cycling friends Paul Kelf and Glynn Preston was also very welcome. A top evening!
Used some CX skills...I couldn't ride it all!
Ruined!
Saturday morning in Northamptonshire started out dry but by 07.00 I was walking the dogs in steady rain! By the time of Market Harborough Parkrun it was torrential!
There was still a good turnout of colleagues for the run and given that this also clashed with a festival of running and the carnival in Market Harborough it was really amazing that over 100 people turned up! I wasn't happy with my time initially but when I realised I'd set a PB in biblical conditions I was far happier. It was also good to see lots of friends from cycling at the event! Big shout to Matt and Dean who ran Parkrun and then headed off to help in the half marathon.
To the main event. Today I joined Brixworth MTB for a long off road ride. 6 top blokes set out from Brixworth library including Chris our glorious leader, lightweight Scott superbike John, Clint Bhoodist, Lol and Phil the Beast Broxton.
In yet another weather contrast it was a beautiful day in the shire! We set out first through the familiar track at Pitsford Reservoir.
From there we went to Specs Lane...the site of my only other proper cycling injury. There's a ford there that I took a tumble in once, needing 8 stitches in my leg. Then the new trails started coming thick and fast. Chris knows some great secret trails, you just wouldn't know they were there!
A huge part of the day was DJ Phil the beast and his superb dynamo hub powered tunes! We'd put some requests in with Phil and it was middle aged man musical heaven with a great mix of the best Indie, Techno and at times Jazz. Charlatans 'One to Aniother,' and Primal Scream 'Loaded,' were just some of the awesome highlights. It also lead to some great chats about the 90s Indie scene.
Nice bridge
tricky steps
iPad route check
We stopped for coffee and cakes at Jamaican Blue, Rushden Lakes. It was amusing to see people with less interesting things to do worshipping at the church of consumerism! We had a great break...I like the look of the menu at Jamaican Blue...it might be worth another visit...there was also the coolest ice cream van ever!
We headed back to Brixworth via Finedon (in joke at C&D Cycles...this is not a good way to get to the Brampton Valley Way!) Loads of new trails and some lovely bits of downhill on the way...
This was not a lovely place...even grottier than this gate with added human waste... Lol led us through some secret trails in a layby that might not be worth a 2nd visit...however he was right that it got us back on track for the very nice bridleway to Hannington. from there it was a short trip through Holcot and back to the ressie before we arrived back in Brixworth. Let's not beat about the bush. This was a stunning ride, in great company and beautiful Northants countryside. It does not get better than this!
I have really cut back on the beers for a few months now and I'm really feeling the benefit. Today though I feel totally shattered after a lot of hard but enjoyable exercise. The scales are heading in the right direction and I'm feeling strong so I'm treating myself to a couple of quality Belgian Ales.
Happy Pedalling
