Ever wondered how much work goes into staging a Cyclocross race? This blog has the answer!

This weeks blog is mostly about the Central CX League round 3 hosted by Kettering's Youth Cycling Club, KCC Cyclones. It was a hell of a lot of work but worth every ounce of effort. 

My very own SuperSam

I was introduced to Cyclocross when Sam started at the Cyclones and it was very much love at first sight. The sport is ridiculous. On machines that are like road bikes but with knobbly tyres, incredibly fit super skinny cyclists ride round in circles as many times as possible in an allotted time period. Trailing behind these high speed cyborgs are blokes like me. It's hell! It hurts. Your legs burn, your lungs ache and your heart feels like it will burst through your chest. Then it finishes. You stand round talking tall tales with other Lycra clad loonies. Then you all agree how brilliant it was and start getting excited about the next race.

Giant wooden Red Kite...much easier to get a picture of!

For me though, this was not about taking part. It was about taking our turn to provide others with their CX fix. The venue was Prologis Park and that's where the thanks need to start. Prologis have been very accommodating, not only it allowing us to use the venue but also in cutting the track for us. 

This was our first year organising the event without Mark Evans. After some sterling efforts he's taken a break from coaching and organising. However Mark's influence was clear in Roland's course design. Which leads me nicely to the next lot of thanks. Roland Bell worked harder than anyone for this year's event.

Don't worry...Bruce can't read

After weeks of planning we were suddenly on the day before the race. Earlier in the week we had a team of parents raking mown grass. There was more raking to do. We were worried that there were a lot of thorns and the course would be a puncture fest. Then we had staking out to do, followed by taping. Taping...all I can say is thank goodness for Dom Bell. That young man sorted out the mess that Olly and I had made of the half pipe. We were literally flummoxed by the whole thing. Dom on the other hand knew what he was doing. 

We started at 9.30 on Saturday morning and didn't get the course done until nearly 17.00. I did 32 000 steps on Saturday. Bruce my dog was a big help, you know, finding logs, keeping us entertained and all that but I think he was a bit relieved when I took him home. Look at him flaked out on his table...he didn't move for quite some time!

I may have taken Bruce home but I was soon back at Prologis with my bike. I wanted to do a test lap, especially as I wasn't riding in the race the next day. Olly, Andy Brown and I had a mess around in the halfpipe and then I did a full lap with Olly. The plan was to ride together but I couldn't keep up, that long day had wrecked me. Olly must be made of sterner stuff! The test lap confirmed something else...the ground was rock hard! It was lovely to set up on a sunny day where we all caught the sun a little. However this was not CX weather! 2018 at Kettering would be totally lacking mud!!!

Test lap...

Halfpipe shenanigans

All that course building might sound a bit much but it's not even half of it. Liz did a great job organising a marshals rota, there was the risk assessment (which I think Roland did, I have a dim awareness of looking at it at a meeting,) catering needed arranging. Victoria was amazing at getting the OUP car park and liaising with everyone. Then of course the Central team turned up with all their gear such as the timing chips. Our Cyclones parents were on registration and the cake stall. It's mind boggling how much went on and if I've forgotten anything then well...sorry just let me know and I'll edit it in!!! Oh yeah...The commisaires!!! You can't have a race without them.

On Sunday I arrived at Prologis at 7.30. Loads of people were already there and gazebos were being set up. I dropped load of cupcakes off to a cake stand that was bulging with kind donations and then headed off to look for jobs to do. I was soon banging stakes in for the sponsors banners. Then I had time to enjoy a superb chilli sausage roll and check in on Sam before heading off to my first Marshall point at 9.00.

The racing was superb. I was very proud of our kids in orange as they raced against some very talented youngsters. They're tough too, surviving crashes and suffering for their sport.

Jake Bird is a regular to the podium. It was great to see Jackson, Lukas and Thomas also get in on the act.

Charlie Stockham takes on the tricky camber 

Yes that is another picture of Sam...it's my blog and I'm a proud Dad!!!

After being on dog walker watch I swapped over to the crossing points. I was getting bored up a corner on my own, until Lisa came to take over with Ian's coffee (which ended up as my coffee because we couldn't find Ian,) the move to a crossing point couldn't have been more different. It was hectic actually! The upside was that I saw a lot of the racing. The adult races had big fields and some serious quality cyclists. 

In my age group race the winner was just phenomenal. He just obliterated the course with consistent  laps of around seven and half minutes. It was also good to see a lot of the Cyclones dads in this race. What I really like is the broad spectrum of cyclists who take part and the spirit in which the races are conducted. It's incredibly hard but also incredibly nice!

As the day continued people kept bringing me drinks and Mike Deely brought me a bacon and sausage roll. The atmosphere was wonderful and I enjoyed all of the races. We had nearly 400 riders in the end which is just brilliant as this is a good fundraiser for the Cyclones.

The day flew by and before we knew it the last race of the was finishing. Marshal duties then shifted to course take down. For official race results see here: http://centralcxl.org.uk/2018-results/

Mike had the genius idea of driving his Hilux around the course as we piled stakes and tape in the back. With space inside at a premium Dom hitched a ride on the back. This isn't as dangerous a it looks as Mike kept the speed right down.With everyone pitching in we cleared the place in less than two hours.

I'm not going to lie...I was shattered by the time I got home on Sunday. Learning that my father in law had made me a chilli was very welcome. I had a few beers and just vegged out! Others did more work than me, I can only imagine how tired they felt! My overwhelming feeling is one of pride. KCC Cyclones is a great club and the way everyone go involved just proves that. I'm looking forward to doing this all again next year.

Before then, the good news is that I've been accepted onto the British Cycling Level 2 coaching course and will start this in a few weeks. So I guess I best get some rest.

In the meantime if you want to know what's been happening at the elite end of the sport, I'd recommend having a look here:

and if you want a Cyclocross masterclass:

Happy pedalling

Bit of training, bit of road riding a lot of #crossishere

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

MTB in Wales, Saturday Fast-banter and #crossishere

I'm not really sure what's going on but I've gone from weekly blogs to almost monthly catch ups! This week I cover the great MTB trails in Wales that were literally at the front door of our lovely holiday cottage, a quick mention of a nice club ride and then what I'd call the main event #CROSSISHERE !!!

So we had a week away at Trallwm forest cottages, if like me, you're wondering how that's pronounced I will swiftly steer you away from the name of the cottage which was 'Trawsgyrch.' Yep...no idea! I can highly recommend this place. There's no wifi or mobile signal which was like gnawing an arm off for the kids but just what us adults needed. That hot tub out the front is wood fired and although it took a lot of logs to get going, it really was lovely to relax in. The best bit though...it's in the middle of a little trails centre!

It was a two family holiday and therefore I couldn't expect to go out all day on the bike. I headed out early most days and this prevented Sam and his teenage tendencies from joining me. The pictures tell you all you need to know!

That's the road to the cottage

The black trail was the toughest route but I wouldn't call it 'black,' in the Cannock Chase sense of the word. A nice challenge though. It was spoilt a little by loggers working on the track meaning I had to double back and do the trail in reverse to get to the best bit!

The white building in the distance is our cottage

Just for good measure on the day I did the Black trail we decided on a hike up Pen Y Fan. By mistake we only did Corn Du but it actually was only about another five minutes to the Pen Y Fan summit so nothing lost really. It was however a first mountain for Sam and a very keen Bruce. My goodness the dog slept well that night!!!

Stunning view

Sam at summit of Corn Du

Enjoy that hair whilst you can young Sam...

One of my favourite ever pictures

Map thing!

A well earned pint!

Bruce and Fergus, our friend's dog

Near the end of the week I did an afternoon ride and Sam decided he needed to come too! The Red trail was similar to the Black one but up a different hill. It was hard work getting up, especially as we'd already walked it earlier with the dogs. On the walk down I was very excited about the downhill thinking it would take about 15 minutes...sadly it was only 5 but I wasn't wrong...it was great on a bike!

Have a look at the gap in the trees at the top of the hill. Picture is from the cottage.

Sam is now standing in that gap...if you superzoom in you'll see the cottage

This was one of only 3 sunny days...how did we plan that this summer!!!

The trails were great and I found a group of MTB riders had based themselves in our cottage in the visitors book but...I wish I'd took my road bike too! The hills here are stunning. In a shop in Builth Wells, a lady told us about the Devil's Staircase. Having no internet meant I didn't do any research until I got home. Really it should've been obvious that there was something special near us because about 100 motorbikes passed us on our way to the red trail. Anyway what I discovered when I got home was that the road that led to our cottage also led to the Devil's Staircase which is on of the 100 greatest climbs. Had I known, I would have just done it on the MTB because it's there!

Missed opportunity 100 Climbs #93 Devil's Staircase

Once back from holiday I had four days of return to work sulking before the C&D Cycles CC Saturday morning shop ride came to my rescue! I joined the group in Rothwell and was told it was the 'fast banter,' group. That oxymoron was actually a bit of a relief because it was also Fondo week with many of the club opting for a 100km ride. I've blogged what went wrong with that last time. This group was less mixed and therefore we had no such problems. It also helps to have Andy F with us to keep control of things. It certainly was fast in places and we had a couple of good blasts into Brixworth, over the causeway and heading from Sywell into Harrowden.

The saddle was safely removed from my right buttock...thanks Andy for the pic!

Thanks to Richard Howes photography for this pic of Sam

It's cross time! For anyone who doesn't know, I mean the terrific and horrific sport that is cyclocross (also known as cross or CX.) We have two leagues locally (or not so locally as it bizarrely turns out.) The most local is the Leicestershire Cyclocross League (LCXL,) in only it's second year. We also have the Central league which runs from Leicestershire all the way down the middle of the country past London. Our own KCC event forms one round of the CCXL and this year is on 30/9/18 at Prologis Park.

SuperSam and I on a practise lap

This week Sam was using the force via his Chewbacca socks!

Due to race timings and because I wanted to race with Sam just once I opted for the novice race. This takes place at the same time as the under 14 and under 16 races. For the rest of the year I'm going to ride in the 40-49 category...largely so I can overtake Ian Bird...who today sledged me on the ride with "come on Granddad!" Apologies to anyone who overheard my reply. (update, I've checked the lap timings...unless Ian gets a mechanical I will not be catching him!)

Mick Brown also got some pics of Sam and me

Sam, who clips in really well when he's not in a race, did his usual poor start and was last off the line. As he raced into the distance I saw him overtaking riders and I swelled with fatherly pride. Then we were off! Oh my god...I'm right at the front. As we approached the finish line for the first time I saw Sam to the side struggling to get his chain back on. What I didn't know as that he was trying so hard he'd overcooked a corner and come off on gravel. To his credit he got back on and then lost his chain and got back on again until a marshall advised him to retire injured. Sam, I'm sure would have kept going!

This kind of distracted me a bit and I slipped off the lead...the truth was that I wasn't going to keep up anyway. On the way round it was nice to be amongst the kids from cyclones and to see their impressive riding. It took me ages to overtake Amelia, one of our under 12 girls and then she wasn't having any of it and overtook me back! Once I was finally ahead of that impressive young lady I tried to hunt down Dom from our under 14's. I didn't quite catch him. The skills and fitness of our young riders was there to see and it was clear that the hours of coaching at Cyclones are paying off.

It was fun honest...I'm smiling on the inside!!!

Sam tried hard to get back into it

Massive kudos to Dean Barnett and his team from Welland Valley CC for a well organised event and possibly the best cross course I've ridden. It was especially clever of them to organise a Red Arrows fly by (oh okay, they flew over us on their way to the Great North Run.) I'd also like to thank everyone in my race for their course etiquette and pre-race banter. Lung busting, leg wrecking, heart exploding aside...that was a very enjoyable ride!

skinnier CX riders are available

Sam and I hope our next race should be Corby in two weeks time. As ever a few pounds off my belly and a lot of fitness work will help me greatly! #crossishere ...I can't wait for more!

In the world of professional road riding...I don't want to jinx it...we're so close to something incredibly special. If Simon Yates hangs onto his lead in the Vuelta we might have all three grand tours won by different British riders. Fingers crossed, touchwood etc! A few years ago it felt like we would never have a grand tour winner. Then we had Wiggins, then Froome, then Froome holding all three Grand Tour GC titles, then G...oh what a popular win and now Yates, who had his heart broken by the brilliance that is Froome in the Giro...please Simon, bring it home.

Whilst all that Grand Tour stuff has been going on we've also had the Tour of Britain. This along with the ladies version and the Tour de Yorkshire means we have some serious professional racing right here in the UK. Too right too! We may not have the Alps or the Pyrenees but the Peak District, Lake District, Snowdonia, The Brecons, North York Moors and all of the other National Parks provide spectacular racing. My highlight for the Tour of Britain was Ian Stannard's win on stage 7. Team Sky's Tour de France stage winner showed some illustrious team members how it's done as Froome and Thomas became the super domestiques for a week.

Away from road racing one world champion went relatively unnoticed. In a year where millionaire soccer players got rave reviews but didn't win anything, Rachel Atherton brought home yet another MTB downhill world championship. The video is worth a watch!

Happy Pedalling