Home improvement reduces opportunities but still some great riding!

I was expecting to get another round of the Friday Night Summer Series MTB racing in this Friday but home improvement projects got in the way. However I've still been out on my bikes and got some great riding in. The weather has been great again so I really can't complain.

On Saturday I went out with C&D Cycles CC for one of our favourite routes. I've said before that we're lucky in Northants to have some great road riding. It's true we have a pot hole epidemic right now with some road holes having their own postcode but we still have plenty of quiet roads, rolling hills and stunning countryside.

The route starts with a lengthy spin down the A43 into Corby. After that though the countryside starts and we enjoyed the delights of the Welland Valley.

In ride selfies are now mandatory

On the ride we enjoyed the fast descent into Harringworth. We stopped and regrouped on the corner where two amazing things happened. Firstly another club zipped past us with some of our cycling buddies in it. Then the second group caught up with us. This wasn't a surprise, we hadn't gone out as fast and banter groups we just split in two for safety reasons. At this point Richard Golding made the first of the two funniest comments of the day. This man has banter of the very highest quality!

During our break I noticed Ken's magnificent jersey. One of the many he has collected whilst on holiday.

Harringworth is home to a magnificent viaduct. It's a famous landmark which has featured often in this blog. Most recently the Top Gear team went for a spin round here. If you want to know more here's a link to it's wikipedia page

Viaduct Selfie

The ride finished with a bit of a quick blast along Glendon Road. As we headed into Ketering we were heckled by a pedestrian convinced we were going the wrong way down a one way street. At the risk of sounding a  bit Dom Jolly...it's a cycle lane mate!

Back at the shop we got a good look at Andy Ferguson's 'blingdacious,' new chainring. It's a beauty isn't it? What certainly isn't blingdacious, is my badly messed up bar tape. However Andy sorted that for me too.

There he goes sorting out the tattiness. After Andy's attention it was all good again, well except my white bar tape was very grubby indeed. 

White bar tape used to be very desirable until everyone caught on that it gets mucky very quickly. This video from GCN is helpful for keeping your bartape clean...

Or is it? In the comments they point out that it's more of a promotional video for Muc Off

Dirty bar tape

Much better!

What the video doesn't show you is that the best and easiest way to clean white bar tape is baby wipes. It took me 5 minutes to get my tape clean using about 6 wipes!

A while back Andy P and I decided we needed to do a Summer CX ride. No one else wanted to join us, well no one else who had permission from their SWMBO. So Andy and I set off together to rediscover he routes that were thick mud in the winter.

First stop was Geddington and a spin down the chase. I had never taken my Forme Calver down here before and it certainly was a different experience from a MTB with suspension. I was also worried that not having tubeless tyres was asking for it...I was about to be right!

Good off road track

practising those CX skills

At the bottom of the chase I had my first puncture. This was a pinch flat on my rear tyre. The new tube went in and off we set again. Andy was very patient as I made the change.

At the Brigstock end of the chase we made our way to Lyveden New Bield. I upset a National Trust volunteer by riding on the grass before putting more air in the rear tyre and we set off again. On the track heading towards Aldwinkle I joked with Andy that we had lots of tumbles on this bridleway before. I even taunted Andy as I picked a better line and shot off own the hill. Pride does indeed come before a fall and I overestimated my ability, dropped into a big tyre track rut and went flying over my handlebars. I smashed my front wheel into the rut and caused yet another pinch flat! I had to borrow a spare tube off of Andy but remarkably my wheel was undamaged. Clearly these Hunt wheels are sturdy hoops!

We then opted to go a different way to previously and found a challenging but fun track. In places the track was a very tricky (see below,) and this was good for me as I'm still learning how to ride this awesome bike.

After the track we headed back to Kettering via Cranford. We did a lot of these tracks earlier in the year and I have to say it's a lot easier on the Calver than my Ripley MTB. Possibly the only time I felt I was on the wrong bike was the rocky sections in Geddington Chase. The other thing of difference was the sticky mud has been replaced with hard rutted ground which you can't see properly due to all the vegetation!

It was overgrown...

Really overgrown...

Andy brought some vegetation back with him!

This final pic is actually in the middle of Kettering on Ise Lodge. Moments later we were back on tarmac and despite seeing the pothole my wheel was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Bang! Another pinch flat. Luckily Andy had another spare tube which I put in to make it the final two minutes back to C&D Cycles!

Back at the shop we enjoyed some banter with Andy F and I very much enquired about getting my tubeless set up sorted. I also made use of the shop track pump because I wanted to get home without further incident! Big thanks to Andy P for splendid company, patience and those spare tubes!

It was a quick spin home and a clean of my bike before heading off to Mum and Dad's for dinner. That was very welcome because my house currently looks like this!

The remains of the old kitchen

This wall is about to be knocked down!

It's going to be a very hectic few weeks at home but we're heading towards what will feel like a new house with some very cool features. To stay sane I will need to keep cycling though!!!

Happy Pedalling

Too much to name! #roadcycling #cyclocross #mtbracing...club ride, solo, old friends, kids...

I have literally done so much cycling this week I do not know where to start. I've ridden all of my bikes, been in a MTB race, gone for an off roadish spin on my CX, had  great Bank Holiday road ride and have spent time with SuperSam. 

In the week I took the Forme Ripley MTB out for a spin as I've done loads of road riding and not enough MTB to be ready for my first race of the season this week. It was good to get out and as usual I was smiling before I knew it. A bit of woods action was followed with some hill repeats in Rothwell Rec but really it was just another glorious morning to be out on a bike!

The next day I did some rollers whilst Sam practised on the Turbo with the promise of going out together in the morning the next day. I kept my promise and Sam got his first go on his new CX and I took the MTB out again!

We headed out to do pretty much what I'd done a couple of days earlier and Sam coped very well with this.

Looks good on the woodland trail doesn't he!

Sam practising 'deliberately casual.'

Cycling is a soulful sport and Sam is soulfully looking across the skate park and the useful training hill at Rothwell Rec.

On Friday night I made my way to Delapre Abbey in Northampton for Round 2 of the Friday Night Summer Series. This local Mountain Bike Racing series is in it's 27th year but I only discovered it last year. I was really enjoying myself until a crash at Wadenhoe left me with a broken wrist and 12 weeks in  cast. This was my first race back after the accident and naturally I was a little nervous!

This bridge was an excellent feature

After a practise lap those nerves had escalated. Last year the obstacle above was a splash through dip which required a bit of power to get out of. This year there was this bridge...I hate bridges! The other thing I did to myself in 2017 was fall off a bridge in Cannock Chase and break my ribs by landing chest first on my handlebars. The stupid things just get in my head even though this was wider than my rollers which I happily sit on no handed! I really need to stress that there was nothing wrong with the bridge, it was a great idea. The problem is mine!!!

The next obstacle was a short sharp steep climb up a bank. I had three practise goes at it and never made it up once! At this point my internal Spotify started playing Zombie by the Cranberries (other music streaming services are available...just not in my imagination!) It's in your head, in your head, zombie, zombie...

As the race started, despite being a lot fitter than last year and on a better bike, my legs just turned to jelly and I was straight to the back of the field. I knew this was nerves and my internal spotify switched to Radiohead...you do it to yourself you do...you and no one else! I was way off race pace and my choice of lines was also sketchy. However I stuck at it. I closed my eyes and made it over the bridge. Towards the end of the lap I faced that climb and to my astonishment I made it up first time! Apologies to the spectators for my expletives at this point. Later I would see pictures of the really good riders who went up the slope did a jump at the top and then twisted in the air in the direction the need to head after landing! The only issue I had on the course after that was my enduro style bars were too wide to get through one section of trees without bouncing off them.

Check out my heart rate data...MTB racing is tough!

I was passed by pretty much everybody but placing was not my priority this week. I just wanted to survive. I did however enjoy the race in a peculiar way. I checked the results and was unsurprised to discover I was last but one in my age group of the people who finished. I managed four laps where the majority of the field did 5 and the winners managed six. Therein lies my next goal. I want to complete as many laps as he main field. There are gains to be made both technically and fitness wise and of course as previously mentioned...psychologically! 

Big shout out to Stirling Green and his Dad Andy. Stirling is one of our KCC cyclones and he did well on this course. His Dad, despite describing himself as a runner and not really a cyclist, managed the five laps that I didn't. 

Thanks to Northants Outcasts for organising this event. Great course and good marshalling. The FNSS is a very friendly race series. I was in the way really but those super fit cyclists who are at the other end of the spectrum were incredibly patient. Everyone in the car park is chatty too.  I'm really looking forward to next time.

Finally a bit on my bike, the Forme Ripley. I was worried that I would be a bit undergeared without a 42 tooth rear cog on my 1x system. However I had more than enough gears. The bike performed very well. I'm still a little worried about my wide bars but otherwise it's still only the engine that needs work!

On Sunday I put a shout out to say I wanted to take my Forme Calver CX out. My good friend Phil agreed to meet me on the Brampton Valley Way so I set off via Desborough, Braybrook and Market Harborough for that reused railway line to Northampton.

It was another beautiful day in Northants (and briefly Leicestershire,) however the BVW was a mess due to the overnight rain and my beautiful bike was soon very muddy!

I met Phil between the tunnels and we enjoyed a great ride back towards Northampton. Phil and I have similar jobs so it was great to catch up on work, stuff with the kids and all things cycling. 

I left Phil at Merry Tom Lane and we agreed that we needed to do this more often. I was heading up to Pitsford and as Merry Tom is a bit of a climb I wanted to see how it was on my Calver. Without trying too hard I beat my previous PR by a long way. After that I set off around the reservoir and had a surpsise meeting with my FNSS friend Dev. Remember I said the FNSS was friendly? Well Dev and I met in the car park at Marston Lodge. It was good to catch up with him too and I hope to see him racing soon.

Church at Scaldwell

It's fair week in Rothwell...unless you're going to the fair...stay away!

Back home I had a very mucky bike to deal with. A good hose down, soapy water and a brush and then a lube up were the order of the day. It's also easier on a stand. I bought this Aldi £25 special for home brewing rather than bike maintenance but it's quickly become essential for both!

Little things may indeed please little minds. I was hoping this shot would be better though. The hose was causing the wheels to spin and the resulting spray formed a rainbow. My camera phone perhaps wasn't sophisticated enough to catch the full effect.

On bank holiday we put our cycling route in the hands of Heather once again. After the last bank holiday ride where her garmin let us down and we ended up on a mystery tour we decided to let her have another go. This wasn't really like Eddison handing his assistant a second light bulb after dropping the first. Heather just got unlucky last time...right? Well almost right!

My day started with a dog walk and a full cooked breakfast! This was because it's Trinity monday and in the weird and wonderful place I live there's this thing called proc day (proclamation,) which has to be seen to be believed. I'm not local so it's not that meaningful to me, but for my family this is quite an event! It starts with the pubs opening at 6am, a bloke on the horse reading out the Rowell charter, drinking rum and milk, several carefully controlled mass brawls and then a big old booze up. If you want to know more click the link below. The added benefit for me was a proper fuel up before setting out on the ride.

http://calendarcustoms.com/articles/rothwell-rowell-trinity-fair/

I love these blokes...don' tell them!

Today's group was Heather, Nat, Mark B and C, Andy P, Mike, Si and me. We were joined until our first coffee stop by a young man called Daniel who turned out to not be as young as he looked. Everyone under 30 looks teenage to us oldies! He was good company though and I hope he comes out with us again.

This is not a pervy pic of Nat's bottom...it's a rubbish photo of her bike balls

The inventors of the device pictured above believe that it's a glowing heart shape that adds to bike safety. However everyone else thinks that they look like male dangly parts! Nat has some hanging from her saddle and all they cause is amusement.

Our designated cake and coffee stop was at Yarwell Mill Country park. This is a exquisite location would be the perfect spot to stop with a well recommended riverside cafe...which was closed due to a power cut! Not Heather's fault but par for the course on our Bank Holiday rides. We've been to closed cafes before and even failed to find a promised chip shop. I'd like to say we were kind to Heather about this but you know we can't!

miles and miles beautiful villages

Mark's over priced Rapha cap makes it look like his head was sliced off and reattached...they could have done some maintenance whilst they were there!

In Kings Cliffe we unearthed a gem in the Cross Keys Inn. The new owner is hoping to attract cycling groups and will offer discounts. We had fried egg sandwiches (very belgian!) and a coffee for £4.95. Good value I'd say. They also put up with all of our nonsense too. The other person who has to deal with our nonsense is Andy F, our leader stuck back at the shop. We meant to send a well intended 'wish you were here message,' but for some reason we just extended the banter of the group via social media!

Cross Keys Inn, Kings Cliffe

This was predominantly a social ride and it was good to see the progress of one of newest riders Si. He has a 100 miler coming up soon and given yesterday's riding I think he'll be fine. The two Marks were in the mood for a bit of a burn up and I tried to keep up with some quicker riding. I managed for a while but there's still a fitness gap. It's closing though boys!

The ride finished back at C&D Cycles for more coffee and some chocolate digestives. I then headed home feeling quite tired after the ride turned into a 70 miler due to some predictable detours!

All this riding in May has done me some real good. For the first time ever I have completed a Strava climbing challenge of 7500 metres in a month. I have never come close before and for this I have to thank the club for taking me to some great places. I've loved every metre...well perhaps not Rowsley Bar...

Ok that's it for now.

Happy Pedalling

Bonus Blog...Doing justice to the Peak District Ride!!!

On Sunday night I bashed out my blog in a quite tired state and frankly I was a bit disappointed with it because I left loads of stuff out. The bit I really want to talk about is our magnificent club ride in the Peak District. There's so much to say about the riding, the banter, the hills, the scenery and what it's inspired. So here goes!

This is Nat's route and frankly all her fault!!!

First things first I need to do some big shout outs. This is Nat's route, she's ridden it several times before and her knowing it really well added greatly to the day. She also totally kicked our butts up those ridiculous hills. Then I must thank Andy Pendred for his magnificent pictures from his infamous bum cam (in case you're worried this is a backwards facing camera that sits under his saddle taking pictures automatically on a timer.) To Andy Ferguson for thinking up the great club that is C&D Cycles CC and for keeping our bikes running. To everyone else I have to say you were just great company so: Pete, Heather, The Marks, Marcus, Steve...cheers for a great ride! The final thank you must go to the weather. It was simply glorious!

Before the ride started I was warned that we would be straight into the hills and that was not wrong! In Northamptonshire the climb out of Bakewell heading towards Chatsworth House would be a local club hill climb course. Here it's just par for the course and goes on forever!

The picture above is the gradient profile from Strava. You can see the first climb. It's a cat 4 straight away...but it's nothing compared to that next big peak you can see! The second peak is Rowsley Bar. 

This is what Rowsley Bar did to Andy F. He wasn't amused by this climb and at that stage wondered...in no uncertain terms, if this was the ride for him. I'm just pulling into view and felt in a very similar way. I stopped twice on this hill which is a cat 4 or 3 depending on where you count it to. To me it stops at the highest point so it's a cat 3. This hill is famous. It's number 34 on the 100 UK best cycling climbs and has featured in National Hill Climb championships. Here's what the https://cyclinguphill.com/rowsley-bar/ blog has to say. I really struggled up this slope using a 34x28 gear. I'm astounded to read that in 1997 the Hill Climb racers did this on fixed gear bikes and the gear of choice was 42x21 for the winner and 39x20 for the runner up!

After all that uphill we got a bit carried away at times and this groupshot is the confusion of wondering what to do as Marcus had shot off down the road. Luckily Pete was very keen on the day and chased him down to bring him back. It's no wonder he missed this turn though because this 'barely a road,' was about to chuck up loads of fun. Firstly we rode through a tiny ford and then the road became a bit rough, at one point a car appeared and a pedestrian and we were all dodging holes. Bikes were going everywhere. It wasn't dangerous and luckily for us, most of the motorists were very patient...it was just mayhem and very very funny!

I think in the picture above Heather was asking Nat about what was coming up. Clearly Nat is saying...it just goes up! For a very long time...UP!!!

The road painters in the Peaks have a wicked sense of humour. SLOW! Yeah mate good advice, I was considering a full gas sprint!!! What bum cam also captures is STEEP!

Oh looky here...Nat might be good at hills but I'm keeping up...yeah...I'd imagine this was nearer the bottom than the top.

Having wanted to pack up, go back to the car and wait after Rowsley Bar I really started to enjoy the ride. The views were spectacular and no more hills beat me, despite some similar steep gradients and long climbs. 

This for me is the shot that showcases the terrain we were riding in. You can see the beautiful weather and you can see the hills we've come from.

Now look at Steve's face! We were all loving it. Look again in the background. We'd probably been to the top of that hill too!

I'm fairly sure the Inbetweeners will have visited this road on their tour of naughty street names however Peak District...you haven't got a Bell End like we have in Northamptonshire!

Grind, grind, grind...we're going uphill again. I was thinking at times: "why didn't I bring the CX with it's 42x42 gear?" I guess it would be easier for the uphills but I think I would have missed my Giant Propel on the descents. Pete was also on his Propel. Others had left the aero bike behind. Bairdy and Andy F squabbled about whose made in Taiwan bike was more Italian, Andy's Basso or Bairdy's Bianchi. In the one problem we had with a car all day, Bairdy was sledged with: "you've got a horrible little bike." The driver was in the wrong but for the sake of banter we all agreed about the Bianchi! Back to the debate though...the topic was recently covered by GCN.

I've talked bikes, banter, effort, wattage, fun etc. However the star of the day is captured in the picture above. I cannot believe how good the Peak District is for riding. Just wow!

After slogging uphill all day behind the skinny riders, the last ten miles was pretty easy actually. Nat lied to us though by saying there were no more hills. There was a least three more! However there was some long flat bits where we got back into a more accustomed rhythm and had a bit of a blast. Then we went down the amazing Beeley Village Descent which is almost two miles long and drops 673ft. I averaged 29mph down this which wasn't the fastest in our group. I blame Andy F for getting in my way and that inconsiderate car that was coming around the bend I passed him on. I got lucky actually...I locked up, went sideways, missed everything and then carried on downhill laughing my head off. Not big or clever really. Andy rightly told me what a silly twerp I am. I just acted like a tellytubby who'd slid down a ski slope...AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN!!!

Back in the carpark I was mistaken for some kind of Peak District Mr. Helpful. Firstly a young lady asked me to help with her bike and as she needed a spanner, Andy had to break out the tools. In return she took a groupshot for us. Seconds later an old lady drove into a deadend in the carpark and insisted I helped her to back out again. It was a very bizarre few minutes...so the fact we then walked into a rubber duck race really wasn't a surprise!

I took some video which does show how good things were on the day but also unknown to me the lens had a splodge of mud on it. So it's not the greatest footage. Look out for the bloke on the recumbent handbike though! 

All of this uphill effort has put some silly ideas in my head. Firstly...if Rowsley Bar is climb number 34...can I do all 100? Here's the list, you can also buy a book or get an app...https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/

Yeah but it appears some people are already doing it!!! Not only are hey doing all 100 they are going to do it in one epic journey, riding from climb to climb! https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/epic-cycle-challenge-tackle-100-iconic-climbs




Okay I've probably still forgotten some things I wanted to say but that will do for now. I think that's much closer to describing just how good it was in the Peak District on Sunday!

Morning edit: Yep I forgot something. We rode through Ripley. I didn't twig at the time that my MTB a Forme Ripley is named after the place. I have three Formes with the other two being a Calver and a Longcliffe. Here's Calver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calver and then Longcliffe is a Hamlet near Matlock. Also we passed a beautiful windmill at Heage which I couldn't get a good photo of. Details here: https://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/things-to-do/heage-windmill-p677931

Happy Pedalling!