Shoestring Racing

Fresh Rubber - Halo Twin Rail

2012-01-17T10:00:00.004Z

With every new unique event comes a list of 'must have' bike features ... for racing on gravel at the Dirty Kanza 200 a wider than normal tyre is going to be used and not only that but a fairly robust tread to cope with the the flint of the Flint Hills we will be riding in.

Halo have kindly sent myself and Rick Perry a set of their Halo Twin Rail tyres, 38c wide and with extra puncture protection its like they made them for gravel Grinding :)

Huge thank you to Halo for their support.

Dirty Kanza 200

2012-01-15T13:58:00.004Z

I got an entry for the Dirty Kanza 200 !!!

This is my primary goal for 2012 ... the event sold out after opening yesterday in 3.5 hours !!!

200 miles of Kansas gravel await me ... time to increase training miles, build a bike, book flights etc.

Gonna be a great year.

Progress

2012-01-09T21:34:00.002Z

I thought it was about time to break radio silence and post an update as to what has been happening over the last few months.

Shoestring racing is going to be back on track for 2012.

First and most important change has been my long term coach , Mark Forgy, deciding to prioritise himself a little more in a more than hectic lifestyle he leads ... As Mark reminded me we have worked together since 2008 so every great achievement I attribute to Mark and his guidance making sure I was physically and mentally ready ... I wish Mark the best of luck in whatever he decides to achieve and I am sure we will stay in touch for many years to come.

At the moment I am without coach so simply doing what I know works until I can find someone to fill Mark's shoes.

Kit wise I was almost riding for a new team but decided that my schedule is so hit and miss and my events so random at times it would just be easier to have the flexibility in owning my own bikes and paying my own way ( although with help from friends ;) ) .

Event wise I have started to put together a great year of riding ... Hit the North 3, Whinlatter Challenge, TransALLgarve to name but a few.

The biggest challenge of the year comes in the form of a single event in the US ... a single day event in which I hope to be very competitive ... I will leave it at that until next week when the entry hopefully gets secured.

Fair to say I am very focussed at the moment .. I started the year on New years day with a Metric Century on the cross bike with Cross Club rider Adam Cooke , Last weekend another big 70 plus mile ride .. this weekend hopefully another century ... just gonna keep pushing out the distance until I am VERY comfortable at the event distance I want to do well at :)

Hopefully in the next few weeks I will give a more detailed run down of both the event I am gunning for this year and also all the bikes I plan to ride and race :)

Happy Days :)

Day of the Derailleur

2011-11-07T20:40:00.003Z

So far this cross season courses have reflected the lack of bad weather we have had, firm and fast would be good descriptors for the courses up until last weekend.

Whickham, RD3 Neccl, changed all that … although the weather on the day was fair, no rain and mild, the fact the course sits nicely on a hillside and previous days of rain gave rise to the usual sticky mud that this course is known for.

The course itself was a great mix of a slippy long descent with switchback corners to try and negotiate … a long drag/run back up to the bmx track then even a section of wooded singletrack before a ride back to the pits and a slippy set of corners before starting the descent again.

What Whickham is really famous for is the course mix of sticky mud and sections of gravel which tears off mechs and hangers at will !!

Unfortunately the first victim of the day was Cross Club rider Rob Walker, snapping a rear mech on his practice lap so was resigned for the first time this season to the sidelines and took on the role of team heckler.

I managed to get a good start but a lead group formed ahead of me that I just couldn’t get across to… I need to work on this … Soon enough the race began to develop at a fast pace as the course started to take its toll quickly on bikes.

Quicker than I could reel riders back the course was tearing their bikes up … as the laps went by the lead group had been decimated by mechanicals and although I lost a few places later in the race I still found myself in 5^th place at the end.

I would like to take this placing as a move forward in terms of fitness but in reality the field was thinned by the course devouring their bikes, I prospered on this occasion as the trusty Fuji held together although it had gathered its own weight again in mud during the race.

Photographs thanks to Grace and Jay

My weapon of choice

2011-11-07T20:40:00.002Z

I feel a degree of loyalty to this machine as it was the main facilitator allowing me to get back out on a bike after breaking my knee cap … far easier than pushing a singlespeed gear everywhere and off roads where I could potter along at my own speed.

The bike is a loaner … gratefully sent to me by the kind folk at Evans Cycles just to get the Fuji name out and about.

The bike remained stock for a few months as I used it for riding and training but as racing loomed the itch to ‘spice’ it up set in and I finally started to lavish some time and money on it.

First to get replaced where the stock wheels, although clinchers are fine and good nothing beats cyclocross tubs when it comes to grip… I had a set of Zipp wheels mooching around the garage so after a friend, Rick Perry, gave them the once over and fettled any little cracks that had began to surface I had a local shop glue on a set of Tufo Cubus tubs tyres. The Cubus is an out and out mud tyre with great grip in the worst of conditions.

Once the wheels were set the brakes came next … a bargain find set of TRP Euro carbon canti’s where had when a shop misplaced the box and fittings … a set of Swiss stop yellow pads later and I had brakes that worked enough to be useful.

Drivetrain was changed as the bike had been used and abused by journos as a test bike before me so new chainrings, 46/36, and a new cassette, 12-28, were fitted along with a new chain.

My final finishing touch was to remove the not so mud friendly white bar tape and replace it with black … and for true US styling added the shotgun cartridge bar end plugs ..

So far the bike has had a few outings although with my fitness still lagging behind the bikes capability there has been no stand out races… I hope to remedy this by the new year if not before.

Broken :(

2011-07-13T08:33:00.002+01:00

well cracked ... my knee cap that is ...

Been in cast for a little over a week now .. another week then back to the hospital to see what progress has been made.

Stupid fall whilst checking the route signage at the Black Mountains 3 Day ... really slow.. couldn't unclip ... knee to rock ... end results were a painful 20km back to the campsite, a bill to repair Sam from Singular's bike I was riding and a cracked knee cap.

Unsure what this means for the rest of the year but will definitely be trying to get riding as soon as possible :)

The Grenzstein Experience

2011-06-22T17:19:00.007+01:00

" A Political border does not take into consideration the topography of the land which it crosses, the surface upon which it travels or the need of a rider to eat and drink" .. Paul Errington, 2011

I couldn't find a quote which summed up my feelings towards the 2011 Grenzstein Trophy course so I quoted myself ;)

The short story to this adventure is I went to Germany .. I started the event.. I rode 700km in 3.5 days .. I called it a day and came home.

For those that need more detail than that it went like this...

I flew out to Germany and met up with fellow Grenzstein rider and an American living in Germany ..Phil Fogg .. Phil is an awesome guy that even though we had never met went out of his way to help me out with this trip ... Huge thanks first of all to you Phil.. I can see many more adventures for us in the future .. also thanks to Phil's son Eric for helping with both the drive to the start and my lift from where my Grenzstein ride ended.

After the long drive up to the north of Germany to the start in Priwal we met with other riders at a pre race dinner ... we soon realised our 8 day time limit was going to be a stretch with most guys shooting for 10 days plus ... from the start we had our work cut out.

The next morning saw some group photos being shot on the beach before a 9am start ..we started on the beach with some pre race pics of the riders ...

later than we would have liked but we were at last underway and the relaxation of if I had forgotten anything now it was too late so why worry... myself and Phil seemed to be on the front of the pack ... the 2 singlespeed riders setting the tempo for the geared boys ..

until an error in GPS reading saw us back in the comfort of the middle of the pack.

The first few days of the Grenzstein we were told were pretty flat so plan of attack was to knock out some big miles.. sorry Europe...kilometre's in the first few days to take the pressure off when the course got hilly.

200km seemed a realistic target for the first day so that's what we went for.

The first few km's of day one were as expected ... nice wide gravel track with sections of sand to keep you on your toes but then we fired straight into singletrack ... an unexpected surprise .. the riding was good... the temperature was hot... happy days.

We rode mainly gravel and some tarmac but also got our first taste of the infamous Grenzstein Trophy tank plates... these concrete sectional plates laid to allow tanks to patrol the border... each section a few metres in length.. each plate punctuated with brick size holes which were orientated length ways on the flat and across on steep slopes... riding had to be done on the flat strips between these holes or a teeth rattling vibration would be produced.

One thing that was immediately apparent on this route was that opportunity to replensih food and water without going a way off route was limited... in fact as we were mainly reliant on a GPS route we had no idea if venturing off into nearby towns would bear fruit ... so when we could we stopped and stocked... this meant our first stop came at 140km when a small town bakery provided some welcome breads, cakes and drinks and a 10 minute time out from pedalling... the flatter nature of these initial days were tough on singlespeeders as we were having to turn a pretty high cadence to keep the few faster geared boys within touch.

After our late afternoon break we no longer had any riders in sight in front or behind so could settle into a more natural pace on the bikes... wasn't long before the 'flat' first day got a little hilly with a section of steep rolling hills within a forest which were a push up and then pedal as much as possible on the backside to allow you to gain the most amount of distance up the next climb... this went on for a few km's.

As the evening drew in we took dinner at a burger place... this is where my introduction to the drink Vita Malz was made... alcohol free beer of sorts... extra sugary and everything a rider needs after 12 hours plus of riding.

After burgers we made a final 7km section to a campground... 195km ridden... 5km short of the target but the opportunity of toilets etc was too good to pass up.
As we settled into the bivvi bags for the night the mosquito's descended ... I was using a head net but the noise of the little fellas buzzing around my face was keeping me awake... then as a light rain started I saw Phil get up dragging his sleeping set up off in the direction of the toilets... no more than 20 minutes later I set off in search of his hideout.

I circled the toilet block... confused to not find him in the warm shower block as that would of been my spot of choice... I shone my headtorch into the communal recreation room but couldn't see anything... as I opened the last door to try into the communal kitchen area I found Phil startled looking like he had just been busted :) ... good find by Phil and it at least allowed some sleep away from bugs and rain.

Day 2 was approached more business like... alarm at 4.30am.. we were packed and moving by 5.00am.

The riding in the morning featured alot of equestrian trail... this means sand.. lots of horrible dragging sand... there is no real technique other than to soft pedal through this stuff.. impossible on a singlespeed so these sections were torture.

Another ominous highlight of the morning was riding past the Gorleben salt mine... now used for storing toxic materials... the huge structure of the mine towering out from forest that surrounded it... guards with alsation dogs patrolled inside the high wire fence.. I was happy to pedal on passed this particular landmark.

Our early start had put us on the route in first place overtaking those that had decided to catch a few extra minutes of sleep that morning... as we pondered the logic of following the gps track through the middle of a corn field we were caught up by course record holder Rene ... he let us know of a spot for breakfast so 10km later after riding a total of 70km that morning we got to have some breakfast... Vita Malz and Schnitzel :)

Soon after breakfast and back on the trail Rene rode away from us leaving me and Phil again to ride our own tempo ... the track was severely overgrown in places with more than a fair share of nettles to keep myself and Phil yelping for a few kilometres.

The lack of opportunity for food and water was again proving a real difficulty to deal with... temperatures were pretty hot so drinking plenty was a necessity ... we must have passed through 6 villages with not only no sign of a shop but no sign of any people !!!
Eventually we spotted a women getting into her car and before I could react Phil was out the saddle sprinting and performed a highly dramatic skid alongside to emphasize our need for water :) Although in general a very reserved nation of people their willingness to assist never came into question and we were soon riding with full hydration packs and water bottles.

Mid afternoon we came to another confusing section of gps route forcing us through the centre of a copse with no obvious route on the road... at this point we met Gunnar the race organiser who himself was circling trying to figure out what the hell was going on with the course.

Our now group of 3 enjoyed the quiet roads and good weather... taking time out to grab a pizza by a canal.

By the time we hit 200km we had picked up another couple of riders, Edward and Stefan, and the search for a spot to bivvi started... 20km later we were down to a group of 4 riders and by the time we actually found a spot to sleep we had covered 230km. The bivvi spot however was superb ... located back off the road a local school had a sheltered walkway around the edge of the building and the trees and bushes at the front of the building meant we were out of sight to passers by ... a good opportunity to dry out some kit after the few showers we had had towards the end of the days riding but also break out the stove and have a hot drink ... little pleasures in life :)

The start of day 3 was the same deal as day 2 ... 4.30am alarm and away by 5am.

This time we were straight onto the tank plate ...

then off for a short while then back on for what was the longest straight I think I have ever ridden .. sure it was 3 or 4 km long.
Gunnar had warned us today was the start of the 'real' Grenzstein ... kicking off with the 1100m peak called the Brocken... we would pass through the Harz mountains that day and the hills would start.

We made the first 50 or so km pretty easy ... found a guesthouse for coffee and a coke..

after coffee we started the 7km ish climb from around 200m to 1100m ... the climb started nicely through woodland on gravel ... then onto tank plate ... a brief break from climbing on a rocky fireroad descent then back into it with the final 3km being a push up 20 % plus gradient tank plate... nearing the top the weather was raining hard and misty ... a mast appearing out of the mist signified the top..

I knew Gunnar was ahead but when I reached the top and circled the many little cafe's I couldn't locate his bike... guessing he didn't wanna stay up there long I descended off the top in pursuit.. the descent chilled me and it took a while before feeling came back into my hands... I rode pretty hard for an hour with no sign of Gunnar ahead of me on the trail.

I kept riding until I reached a section crossing gravel ... here tyre tracks were obvious and there was only one which must have been Rene's ... I decided to stop and wait for 10 minutes... then 20 minutes... then 30 minutes... when 40 minutes passed I switched on my phone to receive a message from Phil to let me know that he had met with Gunnar at the summit of the Brocken ... somehow I had missed them ... I waited getting Grace at home to try and track them down using the Spot trackers we carried... after an hour they showed up and we were back riding as a group again.

The weather continued to get worse after descending the Brocken and we were riding in pretty miserable rain, after 125 ish km ridden we reached a small town, Neuhof, the guys managed to locate a guesthouse... it was only 4pm in the afternoon so I wasn't keen to stop but was keen to eat so we stopped in for food... after a while it was clear that Phil and Gunnar were not keen to continue riding in the rain... as a Brit rain is our thing... we always have it so always ride in it... I toyed with the idea of continuing alone but knowing myself decided I would fair better in a group so stayed.

Gunnar suggested that night a possible alternative to the set course... some 300km shorter... I really wasn't keen to go down that road so was happy when it seemed this idea had gone and we were focused on getting this thing finished.

Unsurprisingly the next morning started at 4.30am .... riding out at 5am I felt a little more comfortable having had a shower the night before... the previous days I was struggling to find a comfy spot on my saddle.

With little messing the track dived straight into tank plate and then the rolling hill started and a pattern of roll down and push up emerged... the tank plate was too wet to really let your bike get shifting down it so the first 20km came pretty slowly... at the peak of a climb Gunnar stopped and suggested again the alternative route cutting 300km off the course... Phil was easy either way but I was committed to getting the event finished ( or so I thought).

Gunnar and Phil decided to take off and do an alternative route ... I was on my own.

The route soon got alot easier... climbs were rideable and rewarded with fast tarmac or gravel descents ... I was making good time... by 11am I had covered 70km and found a filling station... only the second one I had seen in 600km !! I stocked up well and what I couldn't fit on the bike I stuffed down my throat :)

I was feeling pretty positive... I continued to ride all the time doing the mental arithmatic... division is well utilised skill for any endurance rider we divide all the time... km's into days... laps into hours etc... anything to make the task ahead seem much smaller and manageable :)

The hills started to get pretty serious ... each gradient well over 20 % and resembling more a ski jump than a track you would want to ride on... the seriously steep up's were equally matched by the horrendously steep downs as I caressed brakes making fine adjustments as the combined weight of myself and a fully loaded bike tried to break free of the grip of a pair of brakes and send me at uncontrollable speed down the hill.

The course became unrelenting but worse than that it would continually route around villages... you would come close to a settlement ... but just before would veer off at right angles only coming back to the road you were on when you were passed the village... I was good for supplies but a little interaction with people would have been nice... I had been riding for 12 hours and not really seen anyone.

As the hours passed the doubts started to creep in... I had at least another 3 days of this riding ahead of me on my own ... I was in second place holding a consistent gap of 3 hours to Rene in front but to wait for riders to catch up for company would leave me without enough time to complete the course before my flight ... I had ridden 700km in 3.5 days achievement enough in itself and then I couldn't see the point anymore .. I had ridden a lonely 140km ... the fun had gone... my head had gone.. I sat on a roadside bench and ate a full bag of Haribo ... then I picked up the phone and text Grace to tell her I was quitting... then I called Phil who had made it home abandoning his alternative route for a ride.

I had ridden pretty well, I was well prepared, my legs were and still are the best they have ever been, yes I had a niggling painful knee but it would have held out.. in the end the body was more than willing but again the mind was weak...

I came away from another event with another event with another DNF to my name... I enjoyed some of what I experienced in Germany ... but more importantly I learned again that I am not designed to be alone... some can function in this manor with little or no human contact I am not like that... I really enjoyed riding with Phil and have no doubt if we had stayed together we would have made it to the finish ... we are already planning to get together for another trip as we both realise we share the same character trait of the need for company when we ride.

Moments after quitting I was ready to give up riding and look for something else in life to fulfill me... now I have a set of ground rules which I aim to follow to maximise my enjoyment of the sport and to make sure I can still challenge myself.

New bike frame is on the way and new challenges have been identified but now it will be Paul and Co. ... Solo multi day projects are not for me.. I will push out long non stop rides but when it comes to multi day riding I am open and honest with myself in saying I need company on the trail ... I am also lucky enough to have people that I want to go do these challenges with.

... I have just heard that for 2012 the Grenzstein Trophy route will be changed to take in more rideable tracks :)

Grenzstein Trophy 2011

2011-06-14T21:28:00.006+01:00

Bike packed.. bag packed... feeling pretty stressed..

The event starts this friday .. 800 miles to ride... got a schedule to ride too .. lets hope the legs and the mind decide to play ball and all goes well ...

Follow me here..

http://www.alpkit.com/daring-deeds/spot

details of the event for all German speakers here... Grenzstein Trophy 2011

The Welsh Ride Thing 2011

2011-06-05T16:36:00.016+01:00

Multi day mountain bike events usually involve marked race course and tents or even better hotels :)

The Welsh Ride Thing contained neither ... the event is best described by organiser Stuart Wright of Forest Freeride ...

"The WRT is a 3 day and perhaps more importantly 2 night ride through and around mid Wales. You'll be expected to be self sufficient, carrying everything you need and sleeping out in or under whatever you think best. It's not elitist, entry is open to anyone who wants to try it. All the money raised by the WRT goes to the Wales Air Ambulance charity"

The route .. well there isn't one... at least not one for all the follow. Part of the challenge of this event is in the route, Stuart provides a set of co ordinates, from which you have to get to a minimum number... the way in which you achieve this is upto you .. factor in you may need to resupply on food if you are riding light and you also may need to plan good areas to spend the night then devising a route takes some doing.

First stop on this adventure for me was Alpkit head office in Nottingham to pick up Nick and Ken but also to do a little last minute packing of my own... something the guys clearly weren't that bothered about as the big pile of gear to go in the van grew larger and larger .. Ken and Nick were taking kit options on their options :)

The friday night was spent quite luxuriously in an Alpkit 6 man tent on a plush Welsh campsite after dinner and drinks in the local pub joined by John 'Shaggy' Ross and partner Mel ... always good to see these guys.. Shaggy had already put 90 miles in on his bike that day with a planned 100 plus miles on the Cambrian Way the day after.

Saturday Morning, heavy rain which had started in the night hadn't relented.. a bus shelter was found so the guys could pack their bikes... and Nick could bleed his brake :) The plus side to their last minute packing was that by the time they had done the cafe was open so a full english breakfast could be consumed.

Arriving at Stuart's place the gathering of bike packers was growing.. familiar faces like Aidan Harding were about to chat too while the bike weighing comp took place... much to the amazement of the minimalist crown Nick from Alpkit took first prize.. a Ginsters Pasty !! result !!

The rain stopped signalling it was time to get underway ... our route saw us head in a direction less riders had chosen opting to tackle the check points anti clockwise ... this guaranteed us quiet trails as we would our way up the hillside ticking off the first checkpoint before starting the fast fireroad forest descent.. at this point I would just like to say that although I will call them checkpoints at each supplied co ordinate all you could hope to find was a standout natural or man made feature to photograph as evidence of you being there.

Into the next valley all that you could do was climb back out to the valley top .. we did this along an initially steep track with levelled out into a grassy undulating trail with great scenery toward another check point followed by another descent.

The further we rode that day the bigger the hills got ... the weather had luckily held all day ... the last climb of the day would see checkpoint 3 ticked off ... we eventually reached the checkpoint near a small lake but not after a long fire road climb followed by a rocky push followed by a push through the forest where we discovered a secret downhill track with a very intimidating 8 foot ladder drop .. we were well rewarded by the presence of a log cabin.. although it was locked there was a sufficiently sized porch area to shelter all 3 of us.. well almost.

After a broken nights sleep as an unruly tarp tried to escape all night we woke to rain ... our luck had ran out so nothing left but to face it .. we negotiating the maze of forest fire road trails and popped out onto the road at the bottom of the valley and true to form we had another climb .. steep tarmac this time which saw my first lot of pushing the bike on the trip ... we would have to descend and climb again before we would tick off our 4th checkpoint.

The 4th checkpoint was an out and back ride coming back to the road we had started on but another checkpoint only lay a few kilometres down the road.. followed by a bridleway descent then some quiet lanes to the first and only pub dinner of the trip ..

The rain had stopped so Ken made good use of the pub beer garden to get out his soggy down sleeping bag and dry and dry it.

After the pub the biggest climb of the trip lay in wait... Tarren Hendre at a around 640m was gonna be a ride and a push on the loaded up singlespeeds .. it started steep .. then was rideable... then was a push ... as we reached the summit of the climb the weather was awful. winds were high and visibility was low.

The upside to all the effort was the fantastic ridge line ride that we had to complete before reaching a suitable point to think about the nights bivi..

The ridge line was mostly rideable both up and down .. with the exception of a slight course correction which required a straight line through a copse.

The Sunday night was spent in a country park car park .. with about a billion midges... although we did have some good shelter.

Monday morning still didn't bring any better weather so it was on with the spare dry socks, make some breakfast on the ti stove and off up the first climb

The riding was just fantastic ... trails were great and the scenery was always inspiring... occasionally we had to do a little improvisation on the route when the trail wasn't obvious..

With a 12 midday finish and still 2 checkpoints to get Nick decided to let me and Ken go off alone and tackle a few remaining climbs ..

The last 2 checkpoints involved winding our way up to the top of the valley through a forest to pick them off then a fantastic descent back to Stuart's place where his wife Dee had made some amazing cakes ... coupled with tea a just reward for the effort of the previous days riding

Big thanks to event organiser, Stuart Wright, Forest Freeride ... I hope there will be many more.

Thanks also to Kenny and Nick from Alpkit for inviting me along ... credit to all images goes to Kenny and the route was the handiwork of Nick .

A sense of direction.

2011-05-02T17:45:00.005+01:00

Cycling to the non cyclist is just riding a bike... to a cyclist its riding on the road riding, mountain biking, track racing, multi day epics, endurance racing etc etc .. in short its a diverse sport.

Just looking around my garage is evidence of the variety of riding just through the number of different bikes I 'need' to own.. a road bike, a winter road bike, a singlespeed mountain bike both 26" and 29" wheel, a cyclocross bike, a hack bike.. so if I had to define myself as a rider I would say I was a road, cyclocross, endurance racing bike packer with a love for endurance based events and short time trials.

This lack of clarity in my riding has often caused issue and seen me riding something I just didn't want to as I got caught up in the thinking that I needed to go and do something .. this was the case recently with my 'attempt' at the West Highland Way double .. I say attempt as the bike was packed, I was physically good, I was even near the start but no pedals were turned.

I had managed to convince myself that I wanted to ride the double.. I had kept the attempt under the radar.. I got well prepared and was physically ready but when I arrived at Milngavie and sat in the campsite I questioned my motives for being there.. would I enjoy the ride? would I return from it a better rider? why exactly was I there and for who ?? I couldn't answer any of these questions with any real conviction that would warrant the 35 hours plus alone in the saddle.. so I packed up and without a pedal being turned I came home.

Unsure of what had beaten me left me contemplating this situation for a few days... the duration of the ride was not an issue.. at Arrowhead I sat out there for 32 hours... I've previously ridden 270 miles in one sitting so the distance didn't deter me... I think I was beaten by the fact I was there on my own.. hardly the ends of the earth and no doubt there would be people on the trail but I had no desire to spend that time riding by myself and I think in this I have realised a key weakness that I guess I knew was there but didn't want to realise it as a sign that it could limit what I would like to achieve on a bike... this weakness is one I may go on to work through or one I may just accept and avoid these situations.

So from this non starting event I came away with some sense of clarity and furthermore direction ... I have always had a desire to compete but I can satisfy this as I have just done with a good cyclocross season... my desire to explore and be adventurous can be done so in the companionship of like minded souls or at mass start events where the knowledge that there are other people on the trail enduring the same experience in itself is comfort enough... this sense of direction leaves me even more motivated to do what I want to do and in a more prepared state for when I get there.

So what I was left with after not starting the WHW apart from an empty fuel tank in the van was time and good weather... so as not to waste either I made the most of what I had been gifted.

Friday saw one of the longest road rides I have ever done... The good road bike came out and with 4 other friends we took off onto the quiet country lanes to complete what was a very hilly 120 miles ... the simplicity was great... the weather was good so short sleeves and a gilet were all that were needed.. a pocketful of money meant extra food and drink was bought en route so pockets weren't bulging ... climbs were raced and descents were taken at full throttle... nothing makes you more alert than a cross wind on deep section rims on a 50mph descent... a fantastic day out.

Saturday gave me a chance to ride the bike that had been fully packed for the WHW... the Singular Swift I bought from Aidan Harding is an absolute joy to ride.. feels like you could just ride it forever.. Aidan pretty much did at last years Tour Divide. I rode from home out on the sustrans C2C route stopping in Consett to meet friend Martin ( the man responsible for all my treasured tattoos) .. from there we continued out on the waskerley way and after that stopped just overlooking Rookhope at a choice little bivi spot...

Dinner was made using the solid fuel ti stove 'walled' in for extra efficiency with a few stones.. the view was superb..

We were treated to a fantastic clear and star filled night.

In the morning we rode back to the waskerley way treating ourselves to a few latte's and a cooked sandwich before riding home... a great relaxed way to enjoy the bike.. I am sure me and Martin will get many more good trips in this summer and beyond.

Now after such a revealing weekend I am going to put training on hold for a few weeks and just ride when I want, run some, take Jay for some good long walks and get my business in order then it'll be time to go do the Grenzstein Trophy .. make some new friends and love the bike even more.

Cobbles, Cobbles, Cobbles... Tour of Flanders Sportive

2011-04-06T20:53:00.005+01:00

Its taken me nearly a week to find the time to sit down and write this blog post...

After the madness of the Flanders weekend I came home to England to the best week of weather I can remember for a long time so every spare minute has been taken up with riding :)

The idea to go and ride the Tour of Flanders sportive had been brewing for a while.. work has an office in Brussels and one of the guys that worked there was a cyclist so the opportunity to organise some inter office training and combine it with a weekend of riding was not to be missed.

This was my first trip to Brussels and it didn't dissapoint ... it wasn't all waffles and frites as I had been lead to believe but the first few hours riding there after work on the thursday before the sportive gave a taste of the cobble and climbs to come.

The weather for the sportive was immense.. 25 plus degrees... 7am start from Bruge saw us roll out with hundreds of riders..

Without giving a blow by blow account of the ride the day was fantastic... for some reason I didn't figure on the long flat cobble sections that would have to be ridden.. make no mistake pro's make it look easy but cobbles are brutal and can only be tackled in the big ring and with best choice of line.. when in a bunch of riders you take the line you are given.

The sportive is race distance at 260km ... but you don't really get into the thick of the cobbled climbs until 170km in when you hit the Pattenberg.. then the Koppenberg... both 20% plus climbs and luckily the extra distance had thinned the field so myself and work colleague Bruno got to ride them .. unfortunately the other guys riding the 150km had to walk them due to traffic.

Rate this as probably one of the best days in a bike i've ever had.. the sun was out.. new bike was flying.. the course was amazing and the company was good.

Huge thanks to Bruno Stuyts, a work colleague, friend and all round good guy who helped out with all logistics even setting up free accommodation for a few nights.. hoping to get back to Belgium soon for more riding.

Whinlatter Challenge 2011

2011-03-21T21:50:00.004Z

A few years back I rode the Whinlatter Challenge... I rode it singlespeed and fully rigid and I remember it being a pretty tough day on the bike... this time I turned up with suspension forks and gears and hoped it would be an easier day.

The event was as always well subscribed with well over 300 riders taking on the challenge of 2 laps totalling 30 miles .. lot of climbing and the reward being lots of switch backed descending that every good trail centre should have.

The start was crowded.. as always I assumed my crappy starting position well back off the front row, good chance to have a chat though and relax into the event.. I have such a varied calender of races and challenges this year and after a winter of cross racing I have eased up on the pressure of racing as there always is next week or next time if this one doesn't go your way.. with that attitude you don't waste energy worrying or placing yourself under undue pressure..

As the race started I got to work cutting my way up through the field.. a small comedy moment as I went well off line to do some overtaking but found myself on a mini pump track running parallel to the fireroad :( oops

The start climb brought back memories of Salzkammergut Trophy with an epic long climb to really try and thin the field which it did.. the pass wasn't flat out from the start and the climb did its work at restoring the natural order.

Fireroad climb flowed into switch backed singletrack climbing which gave into fireroad descending firing you into singletrack descending ... this was how it was for the whole course,, the climbs were plenty long enough to get into a rythmn but never steep enough I had to come out the 40t on the front.. years of singlespeeding have done their work in reducing my cadence to be able to push any gear :)

I was loving the course .. Loving the descending which is unnatural for me.. the Sanderson Breath was so much fun.. steel hardtails lap up this kind of flicky singletrack descending and I found myself looking for the lips to lift the bike off the floor or the slopes to nose wheelie down... probably not the most productive approach to racing but you gotta enjoy your riding.

After my nutritional error at Hit the North I put a few extra snacks in my pocket but 2 hours in found myself hungry and with nothing left to eat so I just settled in for a suffer till the end.. this is definately lesson learned and I will be stuffing my pockets with food from now on in.

I finished in 2 hours 43 minutes... 17th overall .. not the finest result and there is room for improvement but a good course, a good first race outing for the Sanderson and more lessons learned...

Thank you again to Ed Rollason for the images, great to meet you on Sunday Ed :)

2011 Racing and Sanderson Bikes

2011-03-06T16:52:00.006Z

New start for Shoestring Racing in 2011 with the arrival of a new frame sponsor.

Toward the end of 2010 I left Genesis with the decision to get back to a more rounded approach to my riding and racing.

2010 was by far the best year in terms of diversity of riding to date.. I snow raced.. I raced at altitude.. I did multi day bike packing.. I did one day marathon events.. but I really felt little desire to apply myself properly to my training so although I enjoyed every moment there was always a wonder of what might have been if I had had the fitness of years previous.

Towards the end of 2010 I decided to do some race prep by just getting as many races under my belt as possible.. It was late in the mtb season so that left cross.. and I went for it .. soaking up every opportunity to race in the cold and the mud and it was immense!! I got some decent results.. I placed well overall and for 2011/2012 I will be trying my hand at a few nationals .

With this new found enthusiasm to race and a seeming glimmer of some ability to ride the shorter races I have structured 2011 to be more short events with a few longer ones rather than the other way around.. I will take in as many National XC races in the Master cat.. will see at least one road race a week once the season gets underway.. will ride at least 2 12 hour races.. might even take in a team 24.. and when there is a break in the racing I will travel to ride or bike pack.. Its going to be a busy year but its the building blocks for the next cross season and then 2012.

To race with this intensity lots of riding needs to be done.. lots of time on the bike equals lots of wear and tear and therefore without bankrupting myself ( I near managed that last year) a sponsor or a few is always useful.

I wanted to continue my use of smaller brands as to date this has served me well allowing more personal relationships to be developed and everyone happy at what they get from the deal... with this is mind I was excited to be informed by Jason Miles that he had seen Sanderson Cycles were trying to find a team to sponsor.. a few emails later and although I wasn't a team I guess they could see some value in what I could offer the brand so Steve at Sanderson sent me a few boxes to get me started..

Unfortunately my bike set up skills are lacking so luckily Billy at Edinburgh Cycles in Newcastle was able to build them up.. and a fine job he did..

Firstly the Breath, Japanese double butted Cro-mo, this is my geared race machine.. i'm still playing with the set up but the 40/29 front ring set up is perfect and allows me to ride 99% of trails in the big ring for that extra mental lift :) Bars will be swapped out for flat bars and tyres will be Schwalbe.

Next is the Singlespeed Soloist.. I will never be without at least one singlespeed in the garage.. Once you have ridden one then the simplicity is something difficult to give up.. the same Cro-mo as the Breath the Soloist has a nice eccentric BB design which is adjusted with some nice looking gold lockrings.. Ritchey Dropouts as per the Breath are also a nice touch..

Now I have a bike for every occasion and already a boat load of race entries in.

Having spent last week in Fort William the Breath got a baptism of fire but straight away handled well and inspired so much confidence.. 2 weeks to Whinlatter Challenge and its first race outing :)

Next on the to do list is to finish a website which will hopefully expand on the ramblings of the blog allowing some third party input from riders I have alot of respect for and also news from the people kind enough to support my racing and riding.

Spring !!!!

2011-03-06T16:51:00.003Z

I am pretty sure that spring is here... thats 3 rides now within the past week i've had to take gloves off and ride bare hands as my hands were too warm.. taking that as a sign that we are on the path to better weather, lighter nights and epic rides..

.. its a good news day :)

Doubling Up

2011-02-14T19:07:00.011Z

With the cross season closing out I wanted to take full advantage of any remaining events left to race the cross bike before it gets hung up till probably September.. with this in mind I opted to do a back to back weekend of racing ... but not only double up on the racing but double up on the normal distance :)

Saturday would see Hit the North in Manchester.. Sunday the Super Enduro at Hetton Lyons.

Hit the North is a CX vs MTB 2 hour race organised by Jason Miles of JMC racing... the course was a mix of cross style riding but with mtb singletrack and technical descending thrown in... add a large field of riders (near 200) and you have yourself a fantastic event.

My Saturday started at 5:30am .. up for breakfast then out the door by 6am for the 2.5 hour drive to Manchester from Newcastle.. Ipod full of tunes in the car and some energy drink and life was good.

The weather started in the North East as wet and miserable but gradually got better as I headed West.. by the time I got to the race venue the conditions were mild and the sun was trying to come out... after signing on and catching up with friends I got changed and did a lap of the course... there were some fast flowing singletrack sections, rock gardens, hellish bike carries and even a stream crossing to contend with.. dull this course wasn't and it kept you on your toes the whole time.

At the startline I assumed my usually rubbish position of 4 or 5 rows back .. we started up a tarmac climb .. I picked off as many places as possible before the inevitable bottle neck and then the procession through the first singletrack... out onto the wider trail I was out the saddle sprinting to make up some lost ground before a dismount and carry up some steps.

My first off of the race came quickly heading down the 'chute' of mud.. as it kicked into a steeper drop I wiped out the front end and into the dirt.. straight back up into a climb. Into the fast flowing singletrack it wasn't long before I came across Rich Rothwell with a mechanical and not longer after that Ian Leitch with a nasty looking broken seatpost :(

As the first lap ended the order had been sorted seeing me back in the back half of the top 10 ... a few people around me constantly exchanging places.. the mountain bikers would drop me on the descents then I would take ground back on the flat and the climbs.. I was so focussed on the constant exchange of places we were 80 minutes into the race before I had taken any food or a great deal of water :(

By 90 minutes I was fading.. I had a gel and before it could kick in I dropped a few more places just clinging onto the top 10... the gel kicked in and it was 'Go' time... I retook 3 places and approaching another racer my high of the gel turned into a low and it was back into limp mode.

By the start of the 6th lap I was fading.. luckily the nearest racer to me was also and an agreement was made that if I didn't turn the last lap into a head kicking competition he would concede the place... sensing no further need for survival my body really gave in and I struggled round the last night driven by the thought of finishline snacks.

6 laps in 2 hours and a 10th overall..

I think I could have finished nearer the top 5 but I learn't the lesson of nutrition the hard way after a fair few months of 50 minute races needing no food or water.

Sunday was an easier start to the day with the event being local and already having driven 300 plus miles to Manchester and back the previous day.

The Super Enduro is a cross race to see out the end of the local TLI cross races.. a one off non league event there was no pressure.. the legs definately felt jaded after the combo of the previous days racing and driving so expectations were low.

Unfortunately the field of riders was low with the extra distance to be covered and the rubbish wet weather only bringing out 20 riders or so to start the race.

The race started down a stretch of tarmac into the wind and it wasn't long before I realised that my position at the front of the field was one of a windbreak for everyone else so I eased up and rolled onto the first dirt of the course.. Unlike Hit the North this was more a true CX cross.. no need to dismount and nothing too technical.. a horrible long drag to the top of the course being the worst section and a dicey straight muddy descent into a sharp left hander being the highest risk manouevre of the course.

Very early on in the first lap I had to watch Steven Ward ride comfortably away into the lead... I then similarly had to watch 2nd and 3rd spot leave me fighting for 4th.. there was no snap in my legs so I had to look to play the longer game.. I was caught up with 2 other riders in the battle for 4th.. every chance I got I put in a little dig just to test the other guys.

As the hour mark passed I took on a gel and took the lead to our group of three riders.. on a sharp short climb I pulled out a few metres so decided it was a good time to get going if i could.. I pushed on the pedals a bit harder into a flat section then as I got out of the saddle for another short climb I felt my bars shift.. as I looked down my bars had bent.. I stopped and as i took hold of the bars they snapped :( disappointed that my race was over was being balanced by relief that they had gone on a climb and not a descent.. the race was over.. as it was Steven Ward won comfortably lapping the whole field!!

Thats the cross season done and dusted for good.. this week should see the arrival of my new sponsor mountain bike frame for 2011.. pictures as soon as it gets here :)

HTN pictures courtesy of Ed Rollason

NECCL RD 7 - Eston Hills

2011-01-12T13:02:00.006Z

After finishing the Christmas cross period with an 11th at the CXNE RD10 Gateshead race completeing 3 cross races in 7 days I was ready to take it a little easier.

I reigned back training to every other day and looked forward to the next round of the TLI ran NECCL cross league... we have the luxury in the North East of 2 leagues.. where I couldn't place in the BCF ran CXNE series due to my provisional license I could place overall in the TLI ran NECCL league.

Sundays race was at a classic North East mountain bike destination.. pretty sure maybe 15 years ago I raced mountain bikes here.. the course was altered slightly due to plenty black ice clinging to any piece of tarmac it could find but what was run as the course was plenty challenging enough.

With some wooded sections.. a cheeky climb and some horrible drags in grassy mud to bring your speed down to a crawl it was a tough offering.

The start was uphill and unusually I got on the front line... the field had a few big names mising due to the Nationals on the same day so it was an opportunity to shift up the field and claim some extra points.

From the off Tony Fawcett was gone.. gapping the field by 20m at the end of the first descent.. Darren Binks in pursuit with the rest of us a good 10m back from Darren. I sat in 4th and after a bit of jostling for position.. I was strong on the straight boggy sections and Alex Mcclean from Hetton Hawks would gap me in the woods.. I saw myself into 3rd with a good 20m gap.

(Pic courtesy of Nev @ Infinity Cycles)

As the race progressed I eased out my gap while Alex and Vince Potter (Blackhawkbikes.com) battled for 4th.

I equalled my seasons best finish with another 3rd place... still half a lap down on claiming a top spot but I feel I know where the improvements need to be made.

Best news is I am now firmly in the 3rd spot overall for the season... last race on Sunday and a minor miracle could see me creep into 2nd but as it stands i'm very happy.

Christmas Cross

2010-12-30T18:08:00.010Z

With a 'forced' weeks holiday from work nothing left to do but ride and race.. not quite a Belgium Holiday calender of races over the Christmas period but so far i've managed 2.. CXNE RD 9 on Boxing day and Macclesfield Monster on 28th..

CXNE RD9 was a local affair.. only 10 miles from my house.. the event had been upgraded from a fun race to a league event and I had convinced a visiting friend, Ian, to race on a borrowed bike.

The course I had pretty much ridden a few months prior but the sloppy mud had been replaced snow and Ice... the car park was filled with riders having ridden a lap putting more pressure into their tyres.

The start was one of the best I have ever had.. although the front rows were gridded I found a cheecky hole in the middle and was up into the top 10 off the start and holding the pace well.. by the end of the first lap the top boys superior bike handling had seen gaps opened.. a rushed mount after a short run up saw my unship my chain and lose 5 places trying to wrestle it free from the chain device :(

The rest of the race saw me clawing back the places I had lost seeing me finish back in 12th ... Paul Oldham took the win chased by Steven Ward.. Ian Bibby after a heavy first lap fall was back in 6th.

After the race I packed up the car.. fired home.. put more bags and the whippet in the car and drove to meet Grace at her parents in Manchester.. as well as the excellent meals and coffee's on offer at her parents it gave me chance to fit another race in just a few days later.

The Macclesfield Monster is the first race in the North West leauge after Christmas so the turn out was good... as well as a leg stretching it offered a chance to catch up with a friend I hadn't seen for 10 years.. Duncan Astle.. creator of Here Come the Belgians.. after a quick chat we lined up for another kicking.

The conditions at Macc were the opposite of CXNE race.. raining, sloppy mud and greasy corners... the course was fantastic.. some great little climbs.. boards up for dismounts and run ups and some off camber corners from hell :)

The gridding at this race went league top riders first then national points leeaders so I was a fair bit back... with the National Cross Champs looming alot of the big hitters were out.. Oldham, Bibby and Craig to name but a few.

Straight into the race I was into a battle with 4 other riders as we switched places so many times I lost count.. and when I thought I was clear the slightest mistake and a rider would pop past..

My first mistake was a late dismount before a board and I slid shin first into it.. ouch!! ... I still maintained contact with the little group I was riding with.. next I washed out my front wheel on a corner and unshipped my chain again although this time it went on quicker but a gap had opened.

As the race progressed I noticed that I was running wider and wider into the turns t bottoms of descents.. my brakes were almost non existent.. with 3 laps to go and just before I was lapped by Nick Craig as he rode to 3rd place I started a little descent that went into an off camber 45 degree left.. Nick Craig railed it.. I went for some brakes to check my speed and both levers came to the bar and I accelerated into the corner.. I briefly held the drift before the front wheel washed and I was left comically sliding down the hill on my back.. wet grass offering no resistance to slow me down.

At that point I called it a day and accepted my second DNF of the season.. too many cheeky descents to ride with no brakes.

Not the most productive races with a 12th and a DNF but entertaining all the same.. the only downside being a sore throat and cough I have so training will be minimal and hopefully I will be good to race again on Sunday 2nd :)

NECCL RD 6 - First top 3 :)

2010-12-14T09:01:00.005Z

Its been 2 weeks since my last race... I was entered to race the Northern Champs race but after a Christmas party incident in a Paris bathroom left me with a very sore head I had to give it a miss.

Wasn't sure how I was feeling before this one... training is going pretty well.

The venue, Dalton Park, was almost free from snow but in leaving it left behind a pretty soggy mess so full mud tyres were perfect.

The course wound its way front and back of a big hill feature with a section along an exposed top... the climbs were pretty short, the descents nicely off camber or slippy.. all good cyclocross elements.

The start was on a narrow path on a slope only a few riders wide so the field spilled onto the grass either side and as we set off I was nicely cut up by a guy that came from above me.. with the anger of that move I was out the saddle on the first short climb and up into the top 5.. by the back half of the lap I had moved into 3rd with a clear view of 1st and 2nd riding away.. the severity of the start strung the field out quickly leaving myself and 4th place to battle out most of the race with 5th a comfortable distance behind and the guys in front now out of reach.

I love the intensity of cross racing... its something you don't get in endurance events... you ride the whole race with people breathing down your neck.. the pressure never lets up.

Towards the end of the race I notice 4th place wasn't there anymore and I got to relax a little and just maintain a gap... then the bell lap came and then it was done.. first top 3... now i just have to do it when there is no national on and the field is at its strongest.

Race Video

NECCL Rd 5 - new faster colours

2010-11-29T10:28:00.005Z

Lying in bed with the phone constantly refreshing the event website.. no change... it was still on.

The recent cold weather had seen a good foot of snow dumped over the week and there was no more putting off my first snow cross experience.

The first challenge was digging out the car... the next negotiating the various driving styles I encountered on the hour drive to the race venue.. afterthis nothing would be a problem.

The car showed todays was racing would be in a very manly -5 degrees ... the event car park park was already filling up as I arrived... you can never underestimate peoples desire to get out and ride :)

Near 60 riders and a few fields wiith 8" of snow covering the race was going to be amazing... made better still as although last week was my first sign on for Velo Club Moulin this was my first week wearing the colours...

.. and almost as good as that my new wheels had been finished so I would get to race on new tufo tubs :)

The course had some really tough sections but on the flipside also had some compacted sections were you could get good speed up but overtaking would mean coming off the good line and fishtailing through deeper snow... doesn't get any more fun than this.

My start was less than ideal... 50 metres of clambering to get both feet in the pedals then riding squarely into a plastic marker post saw me distinctly mid field with lots of work to do.. seems like this is becoming the norm for me every week so it didn't worry me.

The racing went... sit in on the deeper snow sections into everyone elses groove... pop out on the wider compacted sections and steal a few places.... repeat.. any foot down on the floor would lead to you not being able to clip back in so running any sections was avoided.

I cut my way up through the field and could see a group of 4 riders ahead.. then I heard the commentator announce they were fighting for 4th place so the chase was on to get across to them... when I did we had a great battle.. everytime I got up and past I would panic a corner and dab loosing the ground and places I had made... I ended up sat in 5th place on the bell lap.. just behind 4th place.. as we got to a steep climb 4th place went to the side to look for the better line and I gambled and smacked it straight up the middle through the crap or mud and snow... both of us coming to the top close but I had a half wheel and nipped through... a quick blast out the saddle and a few turns later saw my best result so far with 4th place.

The power of Velo colours is great :)

Next week Northen CX champs.. weather and roads allowing i'm hoping to break the top quarter of the field.

CXNE RD 7 - Stainton

2010-11-23T09:04:00.005Z

A week after Gateshead and an £80 parts repair bill later I was back at another cross race.

The Stainton venue was windy and cold... watching the Junior race from the comfort of a warm van the motivation to get changed and get riding was low.

With no National Trophy race on the field was stacked with some top quality rider... Oldham, Ward, Murray, Moss, Nixon.. the list was extensive so today wasn't gonna be easy.

First sign on for my new team for 2011... VELO CLUB MOULIN ... after other new Velo rider Dave Crawley's 1st place on his first outing for them the pressure was great :)

After a quick change myself and Neal, who'd come for his first cross race experience, pedalled out onto the course... to not long after turn around and head back to the van.. I had changed rear wheels and forgot to fit a spacer to inside of freehub so cassette was rattling.. luckily I had other wheel with spacer with me and was able to borrow tools and sort it.

The course looked pretty awful but once on it it rode really well... plenty of turns, a nice climb, transitions from dirt to tarmac which were only surpassed in their bike sliding ability by a set of off camber bends which were really tricky.

Just before start Neal decided that he had a rear flat so made for the van only to make it back in time to get going... I was mid field on the start line and spent the first lap executing some high risk dubious cornering overtakes to cut my way up towards the top 10.

On a set of low boards that could be bunny hopped I saw new team mate Dave Crawley standing with his bike, later found out a snapped rear mech... I feel your pain Dave!!!

The race was excellent... I had a great battle for most of the race with the same Malton Wheeler rider as we exchanged places two or three times a lap... He would be a little quicker through the turns but I would get on the gas on the climbs and take position back.

About 45 minutes in I was overtaken by the leader ... Paul Oldham... no great shame as the form he has at the moment I was surprised it didn't come earlier... another 40 seconds later then Steven Ward came through... a North East rider having a great battle with Oldham and squeezing out the other Hope factory boys for the second place spot.

A lap to go I was just behind my Malton Wheelers rival on the start finish climb so I rode hard past and then buried myself for the rest of the lap.. in doing so I caught and lapped Neal who looked to be enjoying himself too much... one final out the saddle effort and the race was done... 13th place in a good field of riders... I know I have a more to give so looking forward to North of England CX champs in a few weeks.

Picture courtesy of Lee Adeola (http://www.flickr.com/photos/leeandamanda/)

Videos of the race can be seen here;

Video 1
Video 2

CXNE RD6 - Gateshead Stadium

2010-11-15T19:38:00.002Z

Riding really strong... 40 ish minutes in I was lying 4th.. 20 second gap to 5th and I was feeling good.. then..

.. nothing I could do from there on in.

Roll on RD7 on Sunday.. bike should be fixed and i'm ready to go again.

NECCL RD4 - Preston Park

2010-11-11T08:48:00.005Z

Back to where my cross season this year started... 4 races back and under the BCF banner I opened my cyclocross season.

The course here is an excellent mix.... short sharp climbs, wooded singletrack and wide grassy drags for losing or gaining places.

As a change for this race the course was altered slightly and ran in reverse... this coupled with a heavy downpour the day before leaving the grassy sections wheel suckingly wet it made for a challenging course.

So to keep with the theme of change I had opted to strip my bike of its front mech as I had rarely used it in any of the races.. with this change I upped the front ring to a 38t leaving the 12/25 out the back.

I've identified that i'm not the best starter in the world.. in fact i've had awful starts every race so far and with such a short race every little helps... this time round I wasn't taking any chances so pre start I stalked Alan Nixon (Blackhawk Bikes)to the start line and pulled right up next to him... front line and a clear field ahead no excuses.

As the race started I was immediately in a better position although still not the best start it was infinitely better than previous efforts and I was about 10th going into the singletrack muddy descent.. this descent fired the riders into a sharp left hander and then it was into some slippy singletrack.

By the time we had reached the section where the course double backs on itself I could see that the lead group had a little gap already.

It was immediately clear on the first lap that the new gearing was maybe a little steep and I really had to mash the pedals hard to make the slippy climbs.. that being said I wasn't losing any places and was gaining on the riders in front.

The wooded singletrack was nice and twisty and passing was best left till you were out of it but as we caught the back of the field quickly there was no option but to try and weave through best you could..

The racing was very close and I was pushed from the start... about 40 minutes in I was caught and dropped a few places... although the riders never pulled out a very big gap and I would get those places back not long after and hold them to the end.

The mud had started to gather around the wheels and I was glad of the extra clearance the disc brake set up allows me although it felt like I had gathered a fairchuck of the course on my bike and was now carrying round with me for extra training effect.

On almost the last lap I saw Alan Nixon running off the course... broken mech.. I was happy that my bike was still working well but as the race entered its final lap I was pushed hard by a rider from Malton Wheelers who stuck a pass on me as I had to dismount and run a climb when my rear wheel broke traction and I span to a stop... as we started the final drag up before the start finish field I passed him again and this time when we enetered the field instead of diving for the sides and seeking an easy line I just gave it all straight down the middle.

Another great race and a satisfying 6th place.

The race was won by Dave Crawley (Velo Club Moulin) who looks to be taking his place at the front of the field for the forthcoming events.

New wheels and a 11-28 cassette this week in preperation for sundays CXNE race :)

100th Post!!! NECCL RD3 - Hetton Park

2010-11-05T09:46:00.004Z

Happy to still have something to blog about 100 posts in :)

In my effort to improve my cross racing I am taking in not only the CXNE BCF run series but also the NECCL TLI run events:)

Last Sunday saw RD3 of the NECCL series and although I have missed 2 rounds already the overall series is based on best 5 out of 8 events so an overall decent position is still to play for.

Hetton Lyons Park is a popular cross destination featuring some good sharp little climbs and off camber muddy descents... the weather decided that after previous weeks of easy going that it was time to get into the 'Real' cross season and let rip with a good level of rain for the duration of the event but when you are breathing hard and tasting blood the weather doesnt even register.

After a pre ride of the course tyre pressures were lowered... not since Arrowhead snow race have I dared run such low tyre pressure... numerous times I felt the rim hit a root or rock.

The start was on tarmac for a good 100m before firing into an S bend... again I struggled to get a decent grid position on the start and I had to spend the first half of the race picking my way through the field of over 80 riders before settling into the natural order of the race

The leaders were out of sight and I was left chasing the same 2 riders for probably the last 20 minutes of the race... we were very evenly paced so the gap never seemed to decrease... as the final bell lap came I sprinted the start finish straight to try and finally bridge the gap.. in a narrow singletrack section which climbed steeply I caught onto the back of them then on the next straight section made a move on the outside and past.
The next corner was hard left straight onto a muddy short climb.. I washed my front wheel out having to dab a foot and allowing the rider I had just overtaken to pull alongside.. I put in another effort and squeezed just in front as we hit the singletrack straight immediately apologising for the abrupt overtaking manouevre.

I pulled away leaving with a comfortable gap at the finish.

9th place... I am gradually creeping my way further up the finishing list.. I started the year aiming for top 15 finishes but now want to push myself harder and get into the top 5.. as conditions worsen I think my chances of getting there will grow.

NECCL RD4 this Sunday :)

CXNE Rd5 - Temple Park

2010-10-26T20:29:00.003+01:00

Another week another Cross race..

As predicted this one did not dissapoint.. with no National Trophy race on and this event being a category A race so big points on offer the field was strong.

Dave (Ramsay) again was kind enough to support and this time friends Rich and Rob were racing too to sample the pain that is cross.

Pulling into the sports centre car park the Hope motorhome and Scott van gave a hint as to the quality of riders that were there.. the first rider we saw was Nick Craig.. a hard day was on the cards for sure.

The course was longer than the previous weeks but definately a more traditional cross feel to it.. alot of muddy grass with off camber stuff and necessary boards to dismount and jump.. not only that but the race was the full hour plus a lap.. a mere ten minutes more than I have been racing.

After the cold start to the day a few laps and I was down to short sleeves... first mistake of the day was leaving my waterbottle in the car so no mid race drinking for me:(

The start was gridded so there was already 2 lines of very fast riders in front of me before the usual scrabble for position... as the race started the rider in front of me managed to snap his chain on the first big push of the pedals meaning I was a little held up before I could start battling for position in the long sprint down the length of the main field before we dived onto the course.

The field was quite deep at around 90 riders... the first lap as always was a mess of ducking in and out of riders and fallers and making my way up the field... as the course looped around it was possible to see the lead riders come through after completing a short loop I was about to enter.. Paul Oldham (Hope Factory Team) had already after half a lap opened a sizeable gap.

The first lap saw a rider 4 or 5 places ahead of me slide out and putting down a hand promptly broke his wrist.. or I assume by the screaming that was the least he had done :(

This race was super tough.. as well as the wheel sucking grassy muddy sections there was towards the back of the course a horrendous headwind that made pedalling even downhill a big drain..

As always I was stuck in battle with a few riders and we swapped places as the race went on.. some riders were easier to drop than others... I saw Rich as he was riding in the opposite direction and he looked like he was enjoying himself as we exchanged encouragement.

Cyclocross is still very new to me so I am still getting to grips with bike set up and I was struggling on the off camber sections as my tyre pressure was way too high.. I had to pick a very careful line though these sections... I am getting better at handling the bike but I still have alot to learn.

The race unfortunately had lap boards so unlike usual I couldnt just bury myself till the last lap bell I actually new how many laps I had to ride.. with 2 laps to go I started to feel the pangs of hunger.. no energy drink and no food available there was no option to play a little safe and although I had was currently ahead of the 2 riders I had been battling with I had to leave it till the last straights before giving it all to secure the place.

I ended up with 20th .. the field was strong but I was still a little dissapointed.. I now realise the importance even in these short races of drinking and a gel before start.. bike set up needs to be spot on and my starting and handling needs alot of work.

I'm keen to progress in this discipline so will be working hard at it :)

CXNE Rd 4 - Whickham Thorns

2010-10-21T08:39:00.004+01:00

After enjoying the last round of the CXNE Cyclocross series I didn't need much persuading to attend the next round.

A local round this time at Whickham Thorns allowed us to enjoy a much more leisurely start to getting over there, as before Dave (Ramsay) was the means of transport and race support while I was there.

The course was great... another departure from the typical 'race around a field' style events I had come to associate with cyclocross.. a gravelly track took us to a sharp S bend into a few turns around some assault course obstacles then up and onto the bmx track.. fired off this into a field section with a few turns.. then an off camber slippy straight which saw you fishtailing your way down this... some steepish grassy descents.. a few flatout sections then the climb/run back to the top of the course.. tough but interesting enough.

The race start was temporarily delayed as the first and only casualty of the day.. an unlucky fall in practice... was scraped up off the bmx track and unfortunately sent to hospital... this led to a section of the track being removed but it didnt detratct from the appeal of the course.

The start was a typical flat our sprint down a field to a turn then back on ourselves before joining the course... I as before didn't get a great start and was back in the 20's by the time we entered the course.

I capitalised on every opportunity to jump a few places and snuck my way back up when any flat or climbing section allowed... Dave was doing well with the motivation and handing up my bottle everytime I needed it... makes a big difference.

One of the race favourites .. Steven Ward.. unluckily had snapped his lever on the first lap and I had seen him standing next to the track so it was a surprise when mid race he came barreling past me in full flight... really a league apart and showing me what I have to build to if I ever want to master this discipline.. He came past just as we got to where Dave was standing and although I was encouraged to hold Ward's wheel without the aid of a rope and grappling hook I had to let him go ( to eventually finish 3rd!!!).

I had settled nicely into the race and was involved in my own little battles... Dave letting me know I was holding good place and steadily creeping forward... Just as I though it must be nearly 50 minutes of racing I was caught by the race leader Tony Fawcett literally 20m before the line so although it then meant it was the bell/final lap and he had saved me an extra time round I really want to stay on the same lap as the leaders.

All in I managed to get a 10th place... a considerable improvement on the last outing and I know where I need to improve for the next.. the course was tough and saw 19 bikes retiring with snapped rear mechs/hangars.

Next is South Shields on Sunday with the promise that the Hope Factory team are turning up to school us should be an interesting day... I'm already eyeing up spare bikes and Dugast cross tubs.. Loving this Racing :)

More deatils on the results and the series are here CXNE

New Kit, New Bike and a New race series.

2010-10-12T19:57:00.005+01:00

Racing for me this year has been pretty hit and miss... after a mad start to the year i've just kind of mooched around.. occasionally making a vague attempt at training.. even less frequently putting a number on my bike.

I hadn't fallen out of love with riding.. in fact the exact opposite.. I got back to just riding for ridings sake.. when the weather was good i'd just spin down the local woods.. when friends were free we'd pack up and go a bit further.

Well this time away from training has really given me a renewed enthusiasm to get back on it 100%.

This mindset has coincided with the start of the cyclocross season, delivery of a new bike and the arrival of some pretty fancy race kit from Ryan at AYUP Lights.

First of all lets deal with the kit...

Ay Up lights were the first 'real' lights I rode and raced on over 3 years ago now.. they are exceptionally light (no pun intended) and really well made... I am really happy that they are going to be supporting me for 2011 as its a product I love.. If you spot me at a race come say hello.

The bike... taking full advantage of the Cycle 2 Work scheme I decided to build myself somethinf for the winter.. a Kinesis Decade Tripster.. a cross bike/fast tourer I built it up as the former with a good mix of 105 and Hope, added bonus with this bike is the disc brakes which should fare alot better when the cross season really gets muddy..

It needs a few tweaks but has already been in action.

Sunday saw the 3rd round of the North East Cyclo Cross races.. and the start of my Cyclo cross season attempt. As a self proclaimed endurance racer Cyclocross racing is as far removed from what I do as possible.. the racing is over an hour at best.. the starts rival a road race sprint finish and the courses are super short and favour big power riders... what is great about it is its low key... you turn up, you chat, you race, you taste blood, you finish .. I love it.. and every week I hope to be putting on a number and creeping up to the top 10.

The best addition to my Kinesis so far is courtesy of Jason Mahokey and XXC mag and I think sums up cross racing in a simple sentence...

Busy week this week...

Been asked to look at a new challenge for next year so training is being modified, meeting the Bearded Man in the Lake District friday to scout a route for an event organiser, hill climb saturday and then another stab at cross racing sunday..

LIFE IS AWESOME

Grizedale Mountain Bike Challenge

2010-09-22T22:05:00.006+01:00

As I was already in the Lakes for the Montane talk at the Ambleside Mountain Festival I thought it worth my while making a weekend of it and racing the GMBC as Ayup Lights were sponsoring the event and Ryan was there with the motorhome and we have ridden not nearly enough.

The race is 2 laps of a 16 miles ish lap.. taking in a little of the North Face trail but mainly visiting alot of the great natural trails in Grizedale Forest.

The weather was less than perfect... in fact it was up there with the worst i've ever raced in.. most lining up at the start in full wet weather gear..

The pre race prep didnt go to plan with having to fix a puncture that had surfaced from the previous weeks riding... made worse by the unbelievably tight Stans rims I eventually had to admit defeat and borrow a wheel from Ryans Fiancee Marnie's cross bike.. thanks Marnie :).

The start line saw me on the front line... thats as close to the front as I would get for the rest of the race.. as we set up the paced wasn't crazy but i soon found that my lack of training shone through and I resigned to letting the first 5 guys go up the road.. Ryan included.

I soon settled into a good riding rythmn and seemed to be locked into battle with the same few riders who would pass me on the descents as I struggled to hold pace on my rigid bike amongst the rocky singletrack but then as we got into the climbs I would catch and re pass them.

The course was holding up to the number of riders and continuing downpour.. weather was ignored as once you are wet you are wet and it wasn't cold.

As is struggled on my lack of recent training and poor race prep was shining through.. I lost a few places due to poor descending.. I lost more due to poor pre race nutrition and vastly underestimating the time this race would take.

I only took 2 gels and as the first lap took 1.40hr I knew I should have had more food.. and as soon as you know you didn't bring enough the body wants more.

The course was such a good mix of riding.. I felt good on the fire road climbs and really enjoyed the typical Lakes rocky tech singletrack descents with some narrow escapes as enthusiasm overtook skill.. luckily or not the worst incident of the day was taking a huge branch and pine needles to the face that the guy in front had unleashed from its full extent cutting my nose and scratching my eyeball :(

By the time I had reached the mid point of the second and final lap I was actually feeling pretty hungry... the worst possible thing mid race so I had to concede to damage limitation and just get myself to the finish.

The race was excellent.. I managed to scrape a pretty awful 19th place but I enjoyed being in a race again.. Ryan who was within sight of catching the leader and riding well within himself had to pull out as his brake pads were totally shot.. unfortunate as his bike continues to stop him showing what he is really capable of.

I took away more valuable lessons as always.. I need to prep better, I need to actually start proper training, I need to try this suspension fork lark and see if it makes a difference to my riding ..

Decided that in my current form driving to Dusk till Dawn is a waste of my resources so I'm gonna settle back into training and start doing some winter epic trips :)

Pictures used were courtesy of Sportsunday.co.uk , Thanks for the support.

Ambleside Mountain Festival

2010-09-22T21:53:00.003+01:00

Ambleside Mountain Festival was a new event.. with a range of organised activities and speakers from different outdoor arenas this first year event looks set to be a year on year feature.

With Montane clothing backing this event there was again the opportunity for me to get involved with a little presentation and questiona and answer session.

As I managed to get off stage alive at the Keswick Mountain Festival I wasn't overly concerned... a smaller audience and some initial technical hitchs made for a more relaxed atmosphere and I enjoyed the time under the spotlight again answering more good questions but also getting to watch the presentation slideshow Col at Alpkit made for me has got me fired for more adventure.

Other speakers were Ian Almond talking on his 3 month climbing trip to Patagonia which had some great photos and Marc Laithwaite an endurance runner and second place at this years Lakeland 100.

Hopefully I will get asked to do more of these style of events .. hoping that I can get more trips under my belt to have something else to talk about :)

On Hold

2010-08-16T21:57:00.003+01:00

I started this year with a big goal in mind..

To race the Coldest, Hottest and Highest races in the World.

.. with good sponsor backing the start of the year was fierce.. by March I had already completed the Arrowhead 135 and the Yak Attack ticking off 2 of the 3 challenges.
This only leaves the final challenge of the Hottest race in the word... The Simpson Desert Challenge.. the race venue being known as Satans Velodrome.

Unfortunately due to financial constraints this last one is one hold at the moment... it may get done next year.. it may take a few years but it will get done.

I've had such great experiences this year I am pretty eager to have more... next year is wide open at the moment with nothing set in stone but i'm pretty sure as always something will come out of the woodwork and once again i'll be challenged with riding to my limits.... would I have life any other way??... Never :)

Time for a change

2010-08-05T22:15:00.002+01:00

The inactivity on my blog of late is not a reflection of a lack of activity.. in fact the exact opposite as life has been pretty busy.

Although I didn't blog it i have been over to Austria to meet Ryan Hawson of Ayup Lights and whilst there we did some riding and i foolishy rode the Salzkammergut Trophy race again.. although this time i took 9 gears and entered the 119km event.

The race was tough and it was more of a 'ride' than a 'race' ... I was quickly into survival mode and got round the course and all 3900m of climbing in a sloth like 8 hours.

This event has spurred me on to get back into training a proper and get some races entered.

Austria also saw the first outing on a 29er since leaving XC Racer/29ers ... this outing marked me leaving my sponsorship by Genesis Bikes.

I have enjoyed riding for Genesis/Madison and they afforded me the opportunity to race some pretty unique events but I felt it was time to move on.

At the moment I am still with Alpkit and Montane with new sponsors on the way.. i'm even toying with the idea of riding under the Shoestring Racing banner and getting some team kit made for myself and any like minded souls.

All in i'm still searching for the perfect bike to use but i'm very motivated to get out and ride as always.. new snow bike on its way already:)

INVENIAM VIAM AUT FACIAM

A varied diet of trail and tar - The 3 Ways Saga :)

2010-05-31T19:06:00.029+01:00

The internet is definitely the root evil for most of my epic adventures... I see a link or I stumble across a blog a seed is sown then the text messages/emails go out to see if any victims can be found to partake.

In this instance it was finding a small article on some site about the new East Highland Way in Scotland... a linking piece of trail that joined the West Highland way with the Speyside Way allowing a pretty sizeable coast to coast off road experience... a quick estimate was 240ish miles of off road riding.

After the texts went out the only taker was Mike Mcfarlane(www.mikemcfarlane.co.uk), I had met Mike through working at Ride Cycles and he was now working at a local outdoor store but had taken a big chunk of time out so was free for the trip.

Amazingly Mike didn't seemed phased by my optimistic time scale of 2 and a bit days.. after some shifting of dates we decided to get the train on a Sunday morning to start riding about 3pm in afternoon, then a return train at 10am on the Wednesday... with trains and times booked we had a rigid timescale to work with.

I decided to go very light.. or as light as I could as from past experience I always ended up taking a world of crap i didn't need.. with all gear on the bike it still felt pretty rideable...

As I left home on the Sunday morning the sun was shining and it looked to be a pretty warm adventure although forecasts predicted showers i couldn't see from where.. as i arrived at the station Mike, his Wife Susan and dog were waiting... me and Mike had chosen fully rigid singlespeeds and after the goodbyes we were on a train filled with alcohol fueled Scots.. we lucked out with seats booked in the quiet carriage:)

After 3 hours of train we arrived at Milngavie and the start of the West Highland Way..

it wasn't long before the WHW signage had us circling Mudock Castle looking before finding the way out and being sent on our way...

the first section was easy undulating bridleway and Tarmac.. navigation was easy and the sun was shining... it wasn't long till we reached the shores of Loch Lomond.

We made good use of the pub on the shores of the Loch to sink some fluids as the weather was still amazing and showed no signs of letting up.

When the singletrack trail started a proper it wasn't long before we were into the hike a bike section that all who have ridden the WHW will remember..

progress became very slow as we rode short sections and carried longer ones.. just as we were both looking forward to a good feed and the light was fading we rolled into a campsite with a bar and a restaurant which although was closing still rustled up some lasagnes!!
The nights accomodation was the campsite in the bivvi bags with a tarp rigged up from a fence as the weather definitely looked alot more overcast.

We woke and were on our way by 7am... with an estimated 40 miles done on the first day we looked to do 100 miles a day for the next 2 days to get the job done... we rode to the top of the first rise and enjoyed a breakfast trailside with the sun warming the air around us.

The trail now was pretty variable.. double track.. jeep track... singletrack... grassy. rocky... dirt.. every trail was undulating but for at least the first part of the day there were no serious climbs and there was some awesome descents.

After some decent pushing we got to the first real rideable sustained climb of the trip up onto Rannoch Moor with a pretty long wide dirt track...

Luckily it was just about right for mine and Mikes singlespeed gearing although i chose to sit and grind it out while Mike chose to get out the saddle... the trail levelled out and then eventually we got our reward with a great rocky descent.

We spun into the car park of a hotel in time for some wild deer who were mooching looking for a feed :)

As we finished the descent the trail hugged the road on a grassy trail... so we cheated and bashed some tarmac for a few miles till we headed right and onto the Devils Staircase... a full on hike a bike which would take us up and over then down to Kinlocheven.
After a snack at the top we began the more down than up trail to Kinlocheven... one feature of most Scottish trails are the water brakes.. nice channels running across the trails formed of bits of rock.. these have to be hopped or rolled... just as i was hefting my rear wheel over one i unclipped a foot and to avoid a headfirst fall i chose to throw my weight backover and ended up coming off to the side with a pedal square to the calf muscle!! ouch.. luckily no more damage than this.. now with an aching calf muscle i couldn't stand to pedal.. to make make matters worse i puncture a mile or so later on another water brake!!

Now time was getting on.. it was 4ish and i had expected to be in Fort William by now but we were only in Kinlocheven with another sizeable up/over/down to get under our belts to finish the WHW.. all the tales of how hard this route was were proving accurate... still we carried on but i had the doubts of my timescale creeping in and had already started formulating plan b,c and d in my head... getting out of Kinlocheven was another push and carry and where we thought we would top out and be able to see Fort William all we could see was more double track stretching as far as we could see:(

The double track continued and every crest of a rise just allowed us to see more double track stretching out beyond us... this was starting to wear thin as i really wanted to put the WHW behind us knowing even when this was done we still had 150 miles to go.

Finally we descended to a junction where the WHW met a military road and the signboard indicated that the military road was a 2 mile shorter route... so we took it to try and start clawing back some time.. although tarmac the road delivered some very cheeky climbs until it finally gave up and spat us out into Fort William at around 5pm it had been a long time getting here.

When faced with huge distance to cover and limited time to do it in the only thing a rider can do is... buy fish and chips and sit in the sun and ponder the situation.

We had looked at plans b,c and d and all involved multiple trains and expense neither us wanted to get involved with so we turned back to finishing what we had started... from experience on the WHW we decided that an attempt on the East Highland Way at this point would probably leave us miles from our destination as our train departed on wednesday morning so we decided to take to the tar and at the end of a 60 mile off road ride we decided the best course of action would be a 40 mile singlespeed road ride!!

Strangely although my calf was still aching the road riding was quite pleasurable.. we had spent so many hours riding and hiking to only make the smallest amount of progress and now the miles were flying by... the first 12 miles to Spean Bridge went quickly then we set our sites on Laggan as a spot to stop for the night.
We pedalled on and as i had the better road gearing Mike sat in and basked in the wind free environment.. we soon were at Laggan Wolftrax although we both thought better of a quick lap and after this Laggan.

I had hoped for a scenario similar to the previous night where we would roll up to a bar or restaurant but unfortunately Laggan could only offer a disabled toilet, playground and a picnic area... none of which were very appealling at all so we pressed on a further few miles down the road and headed off the tarmac up a trail to where we found a good spot for a bivvi and while i set out my gear Mike took up the role of chef and we dined on dehydrated meals and cups of tea.

We woke on Tuesday morning with a more optimistic outlook on the whole adventure...

I don't think Mikes belief in what we were doing had wavered but i am known for large bouts of negativity in the face of adversity:)

The plan now sat at more road work to Aviemore... good breakfast.. visit Bothy Bikes (www.bothybikes.co.uk) .. find the Speyside Way and ride to Keith where we would find a good spot to sleep and then train Wednesday morning.

The morning was really cold and it took a fair few miles for the feeling to come into my hands... when it did the miles passed easily.. i had a figure of about 30-40 miles to Aviemore in my head so when we saw the 12 miles to Aviemore sign spirits were at an all time high and i pressed the pedals even harder with the thought of a good breakfast within my grasp.

Getting to Aviemore we went to visit Bothy Bikes first... what a great shop, i had heard of them as they are a Genesis dealer but thats not all they sell.. they had such a good selection of bikes and parts and the guys were very friendly and you got a sense that they just rode, rode and rode bikes.. i look forward to getting back and doing some local rides.

A quick ride via a cash point saw us sat in a cafe enjoying a huge cooked breakfast... we didn't even give prices a second glance as we filled our boots with great cooked food, orange juice and latte's!! we even stocked up on a cake each for later.

The Speyside Way started behind Aviemore station and after riding through th back streets of Aviemore and quieter roads started out on a very wide well groomed trail.. fast and flowing... it then dived into some woodland for some singletrack before out onto a quiet country lane then onto a nice grassy disused railway.

We knew that this was going to be the easy section of the trip with not a great deal of elevation to it and mainly well groomed trails all rideable.. although it was not without its surprises as we found ourselves first in a field with 2 bulls shortly followed by in the thick of a wood with no trail in sight as the person that had signed the route overlooked a 4 way junction with the SW being the less obvious of the trails to follow... they did however manage to place a number of signs mid track when there was no option but the drection you were going in... not so helpful.

The route was punctuated by map boards indicating what section of the trail you were on and everytime we stopped at one we had made much more progress than we had thought although i was not keen on giving up the idea of just going straight to the railway station to avoid any unnecessary missed trains... the alternative was ride to the beach then ride to the station but it is a little known fact i hate sand and therefore have no desire to be anywhere near it.

As we came off the official SW route we headed towards Keith on road again.. this time alot more hilly as we left our valley bottom behind and climbed out and over.. again progress was pretty quick and the ten miles on the road passed quickly with us arriving at Keith around 6pm.
We pedalled to where the campsite signs directed us but all we found was a park home site surrounded by some rather uninviting wastelands... we rode to the station and again nothing of worth there.. we had never really planned any spots to sleep.. i was getting a little fed up as i was ready for a pint and a good meal... Mike however unphased by my ever increasing bad mood in a moment of extreme bravery suggested that we just ride to the beach and sleep there!!
Amazingly i agreed but under protest and said i would be getting myself there as quickly as possible... which Mike let me do and as i tortured my legs in an insane ten mile singlespeed fully loaded with luggage time trial its started to rain.

Luckily as quickly as it started the rain stopped and i arrived at Buckie... the end of the SW.. unfortunately Mike headed for Spey Bay... after a few phone calls we manage to find each other and settled into a spot on Spey Bay (only as its a shingle beach no sand!!)... dinner was a less apertising pot shot noodle thing each with some beef jerky... we rigged the tarp and bivvi'd for the night... well almost as the wind pcked up the tarp took on the form of a sail and threatened to carry our bikes down the beach so Mike took it down.

Wednesday morning only required a 14 mile ride back to Keith and luckily they let us catch our first train early... the dirty riding clothes were packed and i rewarded myself with a fresh long sleeve.. Aberdeen station were less so accomodating with earlier trains so we settled into a Costa marathon punctuated by charging of iphones in the apple store:)

All in a great trip... my calf is still sore... my bike a little unridden since getting back... i had alot of doubts as to whether living on a diet of only Singlespeeding is healthy so i have come back with a fresh desire to get some gears and see what has changed.

Big thank you to Mike as he endured all my various mods and still came out smiling and pedalling at the other end:)

Credit for all images to Mike Mcfarlane

New Plans :)

2010-05-11T21:28:00.004+01:00

Since getting back from Nepal i have to admit to not really having a whole heap of enthusiasm for structured training.. this is not to say i've been sitting about.. far from it.

As soon as i got back i got my Genesis Aether road bike out and enjoyed some good riding on the road.. enjoying the great coastal views living in Newcastle affords me, mountain biking has been a few trail centres jaunts but mainly riding out from my door and riding local trails... in general i've just been really enjoying my riding.

Off the bike life has been pretty busy too.. after my post requesting challenges for the future i got contacted by David Warren or as he will be known the 'Bearded Man', organiser of the Blackmountains 3 Day (blackmountains3day.co.uk). After some chatting i am now involved in the planning and organising of this event and lending my full support to it as it is close as damn it to my perfect event... not really racing so no attitudes but nicely hard challenge riding.

I will try and mirror all Blackmountains updates here but keep an eye on the event website.

Next on my social agenda is the Keswick Mountain Festival, in particular the bike night where I will be doing a question and answer session on i assume what drives me and my riding although i haven't got the questions so it could be on anything:)

On the riding front life wouldn't be the same without a good challenge so shortly after the Keswick mountain festival i'll be packing the bivvi bag and with my friend Mike Mcfarlane we'll be taking on the West Highland way... then the East Highland way.. then the Speyside way.. a nice little coast to coast over a few days:)

I couldn't write this blog update without mentioning that the 'Rhino' Ryan Hawson and his wife Marnie dropped in last week as they prepared to start their 6 month brand awareness trip around Europe for Ay Up lighting... i am looking forward to going to meet them in Europe in July and having them back to stay when they get back to the UK in August... take it easy guys and have a great trip!!!

With all this new energy around me and things happening i met a man who could fulfill a desire of mine that i have had for a while now.. to get a representative tattoo sealing in ink what i believe in and what i stand for... tattoo's aren't for everyone but they are definately for me.. Martin was given free reign to design whatever he wanted with me giving him a few clues to how i live my life.. the work is started.. maybe finished.. and i'm loving it.

Answers on the back of the postcard if anyone knows what it says :)

Blackmountains 3 day

2010-04-20T21:54:00.003+01:00

After my previous post about new and interesting challenges i got a response from David at Beardedman.co.uk about the Blackmountain 3 day mountain bike challenge.

I've checked out the site and the event looks right up my street, so much so i have decided to give something back and do some volunteering.

I asked David to give me a press release as i feel that this kind of event is the direction in which i would like to see the endurance scene in the UK going, this is what David gave me;

Black Mountains 3 Day Mountain Bike Stage Event

How does three days of testing yourself in the saddle with rocky descents, huge climbs and Welsh forest riding sound? Well it’s going to exceed all expectations, so clear some space in your summer diary for the Black Mountains 3 Day.

Black Mountains 3 Day is a 3 day mountain bike stage endurance event running from 30 July – 1 August 2010. Set in the stunning Brecon Beacons National Park of South Wales, it will be a tough but rewarding ride through unforgiving terrains and tough technical trails.

To reward all your hard work during the day everything else is going to be as comfortable as possible. The Black Mountains 3 Day is a fully serviced event providing hot showers, massages, tailored nutrition and lovely tented villages to rest your exhausted body. There’ll also be mechanics and bike wash facilities on hand so your bike's as well cared for as you.

Brecon Beacons National Park is renowned for its incredible scenery and amazing sense of remoteness and it's popular with walkers and riders. Over the 3 days you'll be experiencing all the best aspects of riding in the National Park, and will be passing through a number of friendly local communities.

So get involved with this incredible experience, whether you are riding alone or with a buddy and whether you are a seasoned stage racer or a first timer. We've also got packages for family and friends to come along and support the riders, so you don't have to suffer alone.

Official registration is now open on a first come first served basis and you can register at http://booking.blackmountains3day.co.uk/registration/ .

Be part of a mountain biking event that is bound to become legendary. Visit www.blackmountains3day.co.uk for more information. Or check out http://blog.beardedman.co.uk for updated news about routes, suppliers and the website.

General information about the event

• Day 1 - 101kms, day 2 - 91kms and day 3 - 88kms

• More than 8,000 metres climbing over the three days!

• Very challenging terrain in the dry – if its wet then quadruple the challenge

• Expect to carry your bike up very steep ascents and unbelievably on a descent or two

• Expect a mix of single track, jeep track, fire road, natural tracks and a tiny bit of farm road (this is needed to link sections together)

• All routes will be marked and signed. There will also be .GPX files available a week before the event.

• All routes will be marshalled and there will be full medical support pre, during and post each day's ride

• Feed stations stocking Torq products will be available on each stage
General information about the tented village

• Tents will be supplied and erected by Bearded Man on a shared basis (3 man tents for 2 people) – there is a single supplement available

• Food (breakfasts and dinners) will be supplied by the legendary Drop Off Café. Lunches will be available to buy at the tented village after the day's riding. Lunch will be supplied by the local communities and will include food such as BBQ, sandwiches, cakes etc.

• Optional extras will be available including massages and there will be a bike maintenance team that charge standard rates to fix bikes.

• To get the most out of the day 2 route, the tented village will remain in the same place for the second and third evening.

I'm hoping this event is gonna be a great success and look forward to getting involved.

Looking for a fresh challenge

2010-04-15T19:14:00.002+01:00

The dust has now settled.. Two of the Three challenges i have set for this year have already been completed and we are only in April..

The year so far has been pretty full on.. i have spent half this year away from home but now with a break until later in the year when i tackle the hottest race in the world i have time to sit and look for another challenge to bridge the gap.

I have found a few events but all are towards the end of the year.. that said this year may see my debut on the ultra endurance road scene... we will see how i feel.

So what next?? Any ideas??

Yak Attack... The final Days

2010-03-24T07:43:00.004Z

With all the substantial climbing over there was only one stage left... 67km in length and mostly descending with a fair bit of 'Uptulating' terrain to take us from Muktinath to Tatapani... and the promise of a relaxing hot spring.

The day started not so well as not long into the first jeep track descent i noticed my forks were sitting almost at the bottom of their travel and with no shock pump there was nothing i could do to try and remedy this... maybe an issue with altitude.

So now riding what was essentially a fully rigid bike (i suppose i should be used to this) i made my way down the first descent to the first flatter section of the day... a ride along the dry river bed to Jomson... at this point i past the Swedish guys.. Andreas and Martin.. who had suffered a flat on one of the many cobble we were riding over, Andreas had gone off super fast making the most of his very well trained bike handling skills but had slowed mid downhill so himself and Martin could ride out the last stage together.

Passing through Jomson the trail maintained to be super dry and dusty Jeep track.. not particularly nice to ride with the constant dust drying out your throat... the track was very uptulating with short climbs and short descents and the odd diversion across braided channels of incoming streams to this very wide and flat valley.

As the trail continued the valley began to narrow and we etered the deepest valley in the world being flanked either side by 7000m plus peaks... as the valley barrowed the trail steepened and became now very fast and rocky... fear of dropping the handlebars increased as my arms and upper body took on the job of my non functioning suspension.

The target time for the locals for this stage was 3 hours and i was pretty glad when the 3 hour mark came and past meaning i must be getting close to the end.

Quickly the finish came through a narrow street and the sight of Phil Evans, Race Organiser, sat under the finishing banner was a welcome one.

A cold Everest beer was ordered and i could now truly relax.

The evening was spent enjoying the hot springs and more beer... a fitting reward for completing the highest race in the world using the least amount of gears.

The next day was jaded by the haze of the previous nights drinking but still with only 22km of riding to complete the challenge was not a big one.
With no racing today i rode in baggies and Jonny Cash t shirt and spent most of the ride trying to out 'pump' Andreas through the undulations to gain as much free ground as possible and taking any opportunity to pop off a lip or small rock... in less than a few hours we reached Beni and enjoyed a motorised transfer to Pokara.

Its impossible to convey the awe and amazement i have encountered riding this event... with my year so focussed on completing the challenge i have set myself i lost sight of the individuality of each event i would ride but each and every pedal stroke or metre carried in this event wass done so in the most amazing place i have ever been in my life... the people, the culture, the scenery all contributed to a fantastic event... its not easy but it is more than achievable for most people and a worthy challenge to add to anybodes wish list of events.

I would like to thank Phil Evans who with the help of Chhime Gurang makes this event possible, i wanna thank volunteers such as Snow Monkey and Rattaman who gave endless support throughout this event and i now consider great friends.... i would like also to praise the local competitors Ajay, Mangel, Kaji and Chandra, 4 of the best riders i have ever raced against in my life and i pray they never leave Nepal as life racing these guys would be just too hard:) Not only did the local competitors race but at the end of everyday made sure the international competitors were looked after eventhough they had just also ridden the same arduous stages that we had.

I have to say i love this country and the people... i can't wait to race here again.

Huge thanks goes to all my sponsors as always.. Genesis Bikes, Montane Clothing and Alpkit.

A special thanks goes to Col Stocker who has to be credited not only for all the images of this trip and eduring long days walking on the trail but also for leaving a new daughter and family at less than a weeks notice to help support me.. thanks Col it was hugely appreciated.

Yak Attack... Breathing thin air

2010-03-17T13:35:00.010Z

After a rest day in Manang the following stage saw us head to the foot of the Thorong La Pass, Thorong Phedi.

After resting in Manang and having a good walk up a nearby hill my altitude related sickness had cleared and i felt pretty good... after a few pedal strokes into the Manang to Thorong Phedi stage the lack of oxygen kicked in and my legs instantly started to burn and my breathing was hard.

The stage started through the streets of Manang heading out the older parts of the town and straight into a hike a bike upto a village higher up on the hillside... for the walking part i could still stay with the Nepalese but soon as the trail became vaguely rideable i was again treat to a lesson in hill climbing... the slopes were so steep i couldn't even imagine riding them.

The days finish lay 972m of ascent higher up the valley and the trail was amazing to ride... very flowing and it was great to spin the pedals rather than grinding them.

The skies were filled with Ravens and Vultures and the peaks bounding the trail were spectatcular.

With all the non Nepalese riders behind me on the trail and the Nepalese guys far ahead i was left alone to enjoy the the scenery and the trail.

The stage itself was pretty short at 17km but the altitude and climbing made sure i got my moneys worth finishing 2hrs 41mins later.

Thorong Phedi was busy with trekkers, everyone getting ready to up and over early the following morning across the highest pass in the world, Thorog La at 5416m above sea level.

Arriving at Phedi i could feel the altitiude again so started on a few painkillers to cure the dull headache.. later that evening i took a diamox, diamox masks the symptoms of altitude mountain sickness, as i wanted to make sure i could get over the pass as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The next days stage was the one that most riders had dreaded... 17km in length but including the 5km climb up to the Thorong La pass.

This stage started at 5am to make sure conditions were at best for crossing the pass... the 5km would be entirely unrideable due to a combination of altitude and steepness of trail.

At the start i paced myself with the last Nepalese rider, Ajay, race leader but walking isn't his strongest discipline so he was just out to minimise his losses to Kaji Sherpa, a high altiude specialist and a man that will be travelling to summit Everest for the 4th time 3 days after this race finishes... believe i'm in good company here.

As i paced Ajay up the slopes in the dark, headtorches above us highlighting how far we had to climb.. and this was only the portion of the climb we could see.

All was going well as we walked together until we reached an off camber snow covered section and as Ajay strided away i slipped and slid at every step and eventually had to slow my pace right down to try and stay on my feet.

Dawn broke and headtorches were extinguished.. the trail still stretched further and higher with no sign of the end... luckily my pace remained consistent and i felt no ill affect to the accumulating altitude. The trail turned from rock to mixed ice and rock to then snow in its entirety.

After 2hrs 16mins i reached the high point of the pass and after a photo opportunity with the signpost i swapped from big mittens to lighter gloves and donned my helmet, this may have been a little optimistic as the descent was initially snow and ice and too steep to ride... my hands in the thinner gloves quickly froze and i was forced to stop to try and drive some warmth into them but after the exertion of the climb i could hardly muster any energy and i had to sit down and had a little moment to myself as i embraced the pain of freezing hands and still a long descent to negotiate.

With the feeling coming slowly back into my hands i stumbled slowly down through the snow until i past the snowline and the rocky trail was now underneath my tyres.. after a few attempts at riding the trail it just wasn't happening.. the trail was very loose and very steep so any attempt to bring my speed under control was futile so i was forced to walk downhill.

This section seemed to stretch on forever but i was happy to be able to feel my hands again and as i reached a few small buildings on the trail the slope slackend off and i got to ride an awesome piece of singletrack.. nice and rocky with well placed rocks to aid railing corners.. this flowed into a wider smoother trail around the back of the finishing town, Muktinath, and eventually the stage finish.

Only one stage left.. 70km mainly downhill to Tatapani and a well deserved dip in some hot springs.

Yak Attack.. stages 3,4,5.. Catching up

2010-03-15T09:13:00.012Z

With limited internet access for the last 3 days its not been possible to blog the race as it happened. Today we are in Manang at 3540m, a rest day to acclimatise before the next climb upto 4450m.

The last 3 days have gone like this;

Besi Sahar to Tal, 43km.

This stage started on jeep track from Besi Sahar, with 27km on jeep track then 16km carrying/climbing it didn't look like a bad day for singlespeeding on paper. The start was fast as usual with the Nepalese guys going off the front, Aussie Phil chasing then me.

The climbs initially were short and sweet but as the stage went on the climbs lengthened and the surface became more and more dusty till eventually i couldn't get any grip to turn the gear and back to walking.
After about 15km i glanced back to see another rider coming quickly... thinking it was maybe Andreas, a fast swedish rider, i was surprised to see it was Aussie Phil.. apparenly he had taken a wrong turn and was trying to make up lost ground.

As the jeep track seemingly went on for ever the temperature as always was pretty hot until eventually as expected the jeep track ended and the carry/ride section started... this short carry was pretty steep but ended in a water station.

After the water station it was a mix of carry and short riding sections along the side of a cliff.. passing numerous trains of horses.. some going in the same direction which caused delay until a suitable passing point was found.

The trail wound along the base of the cliff until the final carry came into sight.... it looked pretty steep but not so sustained... the carry was slow and steady until Col from Alpkit.com came into view nearing the the top taking pictures..

cresting the climb Tal came into sight.. sitting on a flat wide valley floor just a short ride and carry down to the flat then a short ride saw the end of the stage...

In the evening the skies opened and it rained hard but luckily before going to bed the skies were clear and it looked good again for the next days stage.

Tal to Chame, 23km.

Another lightening quick start from all but unusually quick start from Andreas who was quickly out of sight leaving all chasing as we quickly entered sections of carrying over rocks.
The crux of todays stage would be a lengthy carry through some woods just before the half way point... the carry was very very slow as i tentatively took every step bike perched on my back taking shallow breaths not knowing how long this climb would go on.

Finally the climb ended at a water station and from here on in the rest of the stage should be rideable. It wasn't long before another push up a dusty climb started but the riding that came after was worth the effort.. the trail was nicely packed and not dusty and very fast.. reminded me of riding through an alpine forest.. getting on top of the gear on my bike on the flat felt great.

The race went through numerous villages with rock paths and steps to negotiate dodging the usual mix of animals and children.

The stage end came pretty quickly as the pace quickened on fast trails, the weather again remained consistent with rain coming a few hours after the finish but relenting before it was time to sleep.

Surprisingly no Andreas at the finish, turns out he Swedish had been playing practical jokes and while the field chased him down Andreas was back riding with the our Rockstar the other Swede Martin, shortly after his lightening start he had found a good hiding place and let the field chase down a ghost :) .

Chame to Manang, 30km.

I think this was my best stage yet.

After the start i was mid pack and stayed up there with the fast guys until the first granny ring climb where i slipped back into my own riding rythmn. The trail wound on the edge of a landslide in places and demanded a good level of concentration... after a section through some woods i caught sight of Aussie Phil changing out his shoes after getting his riding shoes wet his feet had got cold so he decided on walking boots before the carry.

I led the carry up through the woods.. snow now present on the ground a reminder that we were gaining altitude... surprisingly as we got to the top of the carry there was no sign of Phil so i made the most of this advantage and pushed on the descent into Pisang. At the water station i just took a quick mouthful of squash and continued trying to make the most of my advantage... going through the village Col was there taking pictures and then he managed to run past me on a short push to take some other shots while i rode past a set of prayer wheels.

The trail was really singlespeed friendly and flowed very quickly so i pushed as hard as i could... when we reached a steep switched back climb i was mindful that Phil was riding up behind me where i was forced to push.. cresting the climb we were side by side and as i remounted i let Phil lead down the snow covered descent back down to the flat but the difference being the previous nights rainfall had left the trail a muddy hell and with no option to downshift i had to slowly grind across this flat watching Phil spin away.

I could really start to feel the effect of altitude with a dull headache coming on and when i could ride it was very very slow... Manang crept into sight and the last slow ride up the high street took an age.

After suffering from Altitude induced headache for the rest of the day i opted for an early night as snow fell heavily from the sky.

The nights sleep was patchy as my headache persisted, finally i succumbed to painkillers.

The weather now in Manang is sunny and clear.. going to take a tour of the village then do some bike care and attention.

(all grammatical and spelling errors can be attributed to altitude mountain sickness)

Yak Stage 2 (day 3) ... Spinning out.

2010-03-11T14:45:00.005Z

After a transition stage group ride yesterday of 50km with a healthy serving of both up and down we found ourselves in Gorka.. the old capital of Nepal.

Stage 2, Gorka to Besi Sahar, 60km... the days stage was sold as a half and half, jeep track and sealed tarmac rode.. on paper it didn't sound too tough although with that much tarmac involved it was never going to be a singlspeed friendly day and best i could hope for was to minimise losses.

The day started with a descent of around 6-7km, not too rough but pretty rutted as rain has carved the surface into multiple channels to choose from... the jeep track flowed from reddish clay, to grass then into villages and back onto the familiar dusty brown surface of the last 2 days...

The first proper carry of the race came after a footbridge crossing which led onto a set of stairs.. with the Swedish guys, Andreas and Martin, just behind me on the trail as well as in the race overall i tried to run the first flight of stairs which quickly turned into a brisk walk and then to a slow walk...

Cresting the stairs the trail then wound undulating down the valley finally ending in a steepish climb to up and over down into the next valley... the going was a fast as my gearing allowed but still painfully slow... geared too high for some of the ups and too low for the flat.. the curse of the singlespeed rider.

My only salvation was going to be the easy tarmac section... 30km was going to be slow but manageable.. and at first it was pretty easy going if a little slow.. the road was either gently uphill or downhill and progress was acceptable.
As the tarmac continued the frequency of the ups and downs tightened and the downs were steeper and so were the corresponding ups.. with no ability to capitalise on the downhill spinning out the gear i had to bear the full brunt of every climb and it started to take toll.

The morning had started with a poor breakfast selection, well what did i expect ordering chocolate pancakes in Nepal, and the soon the lack of food was apparent. I had managed the first 2 days on nothing but fluid and felt fine but today i gradually ground to a halt and an SIS Caffeine gel was taken to try and salvage the situation.

The road signs indicating the mileage to Besi Sahar were only every 5km and weren't coming fast enough... i rationalised the distance to training routes and rides at home which is always the sign of suffering.. even the sight of the big mountains couldn't lift my tempo.

Gradually i reached the base of the last climb before Besi and ground slowly up to the finish.. maintaining my place in the overall.. gaining time on the riders who were behind but losing to those in front.

So far the riding has been pretty tough, the Nepali foothills are very steep in places and relentless in there delivery of height gain... the scenery has been immense.. the people so friendly... the Hike a Bike starts tomorrow on the way Tal.. 30km riding followed by 10km steep hike:( ouch.

Yak Day One.... a glimpse of the pain to come.

2010-03-09T15:01:00.006Z

I never viewed my participation in this event as a ‘race’, I knew the local guys had the event sewn up as although we can match them on the flat and the climbs when you limit the supply of oxygen we have no response.

So with this in mind I have no idea why I couldn’t sleep last night, I had my usual pre race nerves and spent most of the time going over what little I knew about what lay ahead. Everything usually feels better after the first stage.

The race day started with a group ride to Dubar Square for the official welcome from the President of the Nepalese MTB Association, Chhimi Gurung, and the ‘Gary Fisher’ of Nepal, Sonam Gurung, the man who brought the fat tired back to this part of the world.

The turnout of Nepalese riders was fantastic with 50 strong riders coming out to join the band led procession through the streets of Kathmandu to the official race start on the outskirts of the city to the base of the first climb.

From the start the local favourite and current Nepalese Mountain Bike Champion Ajay Pandit went off hard, out of the saddle attacking the tarmac climb... I optimistically moved up alongside him and for the first 500m rode wheel to wheel until traffic stopped play... well for me at least... while I tried to negotiate around a van in the road I was passed on both sides by other riders.

The climb tarmac with a often changing gradient making getting into a rhythm impossible and with no option to adjust the gears to suit the slope I had to muscle the stiffer slopes and breath hard and recover on the easier stuff... the climb lasted about 6km before levelling into a traverse across the hillside on undulating jeep track, jeep track roughly translates as pretty rough going.

When the undulating jeep track reached the saddle between 2 hills we crossed and started the sizeable descent down to the valley floor but not before getting a glimpse of a fantastic view until the trail demanded full attention ... 18km of fantastic descending through villages, passing buses, cars and motorbikes... every km I thanked DT for supplying me with some suspension forks for this trip.. The trail switched from rocky to sandy, tight corners to flat out straights... dodging locals, goats and dogs.

On the valley floor the jeep track followed the course of the river... the going was pretty harsh and the 32/18 gearing I was thankful of on the first climb was now stopping me going fast enough to get on top of the bumps.. All the time I was convinced my slower than geared progress was going to see me getting caught by one of the other riders.

We passed under a large suspension foot bridge and not long after that turned and crossed another bridge popping out onto a tarmac road... again I felt under geared but pressed on as hard as I could until one of the volunteers signalled the turning for the last climb to the finish at Nuwakot.

This climb was on some awesome dry red dirt... the real heat of the day was now bearing down and it wasn’t long before I was forced to give up riding in favour of a brisk push... the climb would probably be singlespeedable but this being the first day I was picking my battles... this climb as the first was pretty lengthy at around 7km.. as it eased off I was able to turn some pedals and as we reached what looked like the top I made sure I rode more than I had been... after 3 hours of riding I reached Nuwakot and the finish line.

A good opener to what looks like is going to be another amazing experience on the bike.... stage stats of 11km ride to the start... 45km stage... just under 1000m of climbing and 1300m of climbing.

The tea house accommodation as I type is offering some amazing views and time to prepare for tomorrows transition stage to Dhadingbesi followed by jeep transfer to Gorka.

Singlespeed Capital of the World

2010-03-07T13:29:00.009Z

Not much to do at the moment but wait... i'm always worried of too much activity pre race in case of any bike or body mishaps which would take me out the race before the first day begins.

Instead today was spent building and checking my bike then taking a walk around the surrounding streets, the number of singlespeed bikes in Kathmandu is amazing... its not niche here its norm. Fair enough most of those are rikshaws and the rest are 'make do or mend' modifications to keep a vital mode of transport working but all the same its making me feel better.

We have a good bunch of riders assembled... discounting the sub 50kg rider category occupied by all the Nepalese riders we have a few brits, an Australian and a Swedish duo includng a previous Eurovision competitor.

The afternoon was finished with hiking the bike to the Monkey Temple... which pretty much is as its sounds.. a Temple with Monkeys.... i managed to come away with bike intact but Col annoyed a monkey and got a smack on the foot as a warning:)

Race registration tomorrow and then the day after we can start turning some pedals.

Over the first hurdle

2010-03-06T15:55:00.006Z

Before any International racing can take place there is always the worrying matter of getting there in the first place.

Bikes have to be packed, gear has to be checked and double checked, you have to remember to smile extra nice at whoever is checking you in in the hope that they didn't see you struggling to lift an overweight bike bag..

Well the first hurdle is over and I'm in Kathmandu.

The journey was pretty uneventful... a mad dash around Nottingham to get Col some basic immunisation then a stress free flight and we are here.

The flight offered time to reflect on how I didn't do the planned dieting I said I would after Arrowhead and the lack of callouses on my hands indicate that maybe I haven't been able to get the miles on the bike that I would have liked but all that means is I'll have to work that little bit harder but I'm quietly confident I can suffer through and get a finish... may even enjoy some riding on the way.

One thing I know for sure is I will be limiting my time riding a bike on the streets of Kathmandu... driving here is manic at best and lanes and rules are seemingly non existent... self preservation will be the order of the day.

Food is good at the Kathmandu Guesthouse so plan is to eat and drink up for the relentless climbing in the forthcoming week.

Bike building and Monkey Temple tomorrow:)

Deja Vu.... Packing again.

2010-03-03T10:46:00.005Z

The spare room bed is again covered in gear waiting to be packed into the bag... jerseys are folded, energy bars have been organised and spares have been accounted for.

I'm now 2 days away from leaving for the next challenge.. the highest race in the world.. Yak Attack, organised by Phil Evans of Extreme World Challenges. (http://www.extremeworldchallenges.com)

I'm getting pretty good at this packing lark now... well I hope I am... I'm finding It hard as always to get excited about what lies ahead and I know I won't relax until me, my bike and my luggage are safely in Kathmandu.

But every now and then between the constant organising I get a chance to look forward to the riding ahead... this is the roof of the world.. riding unlike anything I have done to date.. not only will I have to battle the competition, the climbs, pushing the single gear I am going to have to get involved with a totally new problem... altitude... can I literally breath thin air?? 2 weeks from now I guess I'll have an answer.

Arrowhead 135.... the race..

2010-02-13T07:39:00.010Z

4.00am... I'm wide awake... I've never really suffered from jet lag but on this trip it had been killing me, its race morning and with a 7am start to the race I was kinda glad of it... at least at this time it was proving useful to be awake and organised... the night before however I had struggled to even touch my food with a bad combination of nerves and tiredness.

Before that ill fated attempt at carb loading for the task ahead I had been to the pre race meeting... as I looked around it was a real who's who of snow racing... Oatley, Pramman, Basinger, Andre, Farrow, Gray... all the old hands of snow racing were here and moods were high. Even a welcome letter from the Mayor couldn't settle my pre race nerves which were amplified tenfold by the experience in the room.

My bike had literally been packed ready for 2 days... as soon as I had got my gear checked at sign in I had come back to the room and loaded it up followed by the obligatory spin around the block just to make sure all was well... the front rack looked a little bent after the flight but it wasn't causing any problems.

I had bought an egg and sausage muffin and a selection of doughnuts for breakfast as I had been reliably informed that fatty foods were king when the temps are low... what came out of the microwave after putting in the muffin package was inedible so it was a few doughnuts and a lot of water.

The race start was luckily not far from the Voyageur motel... the sight of rows and rows of fat tired bikes with flashing led lights was a true sight to behold... the temperature was low.. Apparently -30 degrees Celcius... we were called over to what was a vague start line and with a voice from the dark shouting “its 7.03am... we better start them...” we were off and onto the first section of trail.

The Arrowhead trail this year was apparently in good shape... at its widest point it’s probably almost 6m wide narrowing to maybe 2m in places, every now and then the overhanging branches of snow covered trees forcing you into the centre of the trail away from the good line... the first section was so straight you could see the long snake of riders stretching out into the old morning… as my eyelids and eyebrows froze I maintained a steady pace holding wheel after wheel of fat tired pace makers... I was glad my front bag obscured my front tyre as up against the much larger fat bike tyres I may have got an inferiority complex… the more experienced hands had gone off so hard they must have been over a km ahead of me after not so long on the bike but my head was in it for the long game.. I had a time in my head I wanted to achieve and a DNF was not an option with this being the first of a trio of big races for me this year all interlinked.

I warmed quickly... my Montane gear, Dogwood Pogies and big boots were working well... people were already off and periodically running to force blood back into their feet and warm them... I could just sit and pedal my pace unaware of the hostile temperatures surrounding my exterior.

The bike was riding pretty well... the trail on the whole was 'skinny' tyre friendly (any tyre under 3" in this world is considered a 'skinny') but occasionally you would find some soft snow and the bike would slide out and force a body contortion to keep it upright... mentally I had split my race up into four quarters with a checkpoint signifying the end of each quarter.

During the first section before the Gateway store checkpoint I was slowly eating my trail mix (a mixture of chocolate and yoghurt coated nuts and fruit) by placing a few pieces into the side of my mouth and letting it thaw before chewing... I had made the mistake of exposing the bite valve on my hydration pack to the cold and it had punished my mistake by freezing so as I stopped to take a drink from the insulated bottle in my frame bag I tucked the hydration pipe down the front of my salopettes to let my body heat melt the blockage.

At a major road crossing I passed Jenn (Hopkins), Jenn had lucked out and had been sent by Madison to follow my effort meaning she had to put up with not only my pre/post race moods but also the bitter cold of Minnesota. I had really started to get into this race... The trail had started to wind a little more so there was less distraction from riders ahead and you could just ease back into your own world... enjoy the trails... My only nag was that I was finding it difficult to find a good hand position on my Titec H bars that didn't hurt... I was reckoning my bars were too low and too much weight was being transferred onto my palms*... I pressed on.
*(still can’t feel a portion of my hands through restricted blood flow )

The Gateway store was the first checkpoint and was about 35 miles in... There was a big row of bikes outside when I arrived... amazingly it had taken 6 hours to get here although it felt a fraction of that.
I had a strange combo of hotdog, chocolate and an apple... I’m always amazed by what the body craves doing stuff like this... I wasn't here long before I was being encouraged by Jenn to press on so I filled the bottle and pack with fresh fluid and got underway again.

I knew the section I had ridden was real flat but this would soon come to an end and give way to rolling hills... the problem with hills was that they were rarely rideable and pretty short… A lot of mounting and dismounting and some super sketchy descending with some near miss tank slappers till I adapted hanging a foot off the pedal which seemed to give enough stability to gather controllable speed on the downs.

This section to the just past midway point, Melgeorges Cabin, was about another 35 miles but with the hills seemed to take a lot longer... I was soon into the rhythm of descending the downs and pushing the majority of the climbs... I hooked up with Ken Krueger, an International Falls local and taking part in his 4th Arrowhead with a finish in his previous 3 so we chatted about what was ahead until his fat tyred bike allowed him to open a gap and slip up the road... 4 hours into this section it became dark and the temperature started to fall.. I already had my Alpkit Gamma head torch on my head so not wanting to stop and get cold swapping to my Light and Motion Stella I just used what was to hand... and it worked just great.

As I flowed down a descent past some snowmobilers (snowmobilers are a big feature of this race as the Arrowhead trail is a state snowmobile trail but come in 2 forms.. the Good.. these guys are out on the trail at all hours making sure we are good.. the Bad.. these are non race related trail users that slide the corners at great speed and scare the crap out of you) I noticed a pannier bag on the floor... realising it belonged to Ken I managed to strap it to the front of my bike with a bungee cord I had packed as a very last minute edition to my frame bag… I already had so much weight on the bike I doubted I would notice anymore and I imagined how sick I would feel to get to the finish minus some of the required kit and getting a DNF.

As the miles passed the frequency of the hills intensified... I got told after the race the Alaskan guy Billy (arcticcycles.com) and his friend Bob had had a conversation about how crappy the little short sharp hills were and Bob wasn’t loving them, Billy made the statement "these hills aren't so bad... a 100 of them would suck though" :) about 101 hills later Bob wasn’t amused.

On a long slow push I caught glimpse of a flashing led light halfway up and it wasn't long before I managed to pull up to Ken... amazingly he hadn’t noticed he was a pannier bag down and was VERY happy to get it back although I declined his offer to keep hold of it and give him it back before the finish... I left the bungee in place and it now became a handy map holder… thanks for the 5 bucks to buy a beer Ken.

As we reached the 5 miles to Melgeorge sign myself and Ken were caught by the Alaskans Billy and Bob, their bikes glowing with fluoro tape in their rims, it was an impressive sight as they road almost on top of each other they were so close.. It was a good motivator to keep up with these guys and it didn't seem too long till we popped out onto the pan flat frozen Elephant Lake... first frozen lake I have ever ridden.
The checkpoint took a tantalizing long time to reach but was worth the effort.

As I stepped into the big warm wooden cabin I was immediately offered grilled cheese sandwiches, soup and hot chocolate... all were gratefully accepted. As I stripped down to base layers I got to dry out all my gear while change to a fresh base and rest up for a short while. Jenn was here and made sure I was taking fluids as I waited for my outer layers to dry. The pull of Melgeorges cabin was overwhelming and difficult to break away from...a lot of riders came in as I ate and many had the intention of climbing into a bed until the morning. I knew I would be better to press on continuing my steady pace... I had reached Melgeorges in just under 14 hours since the start and had spent just under 2 hours getting myself fed and ready there.

At just before 11pm I made my move... filled my water carriers, put on the freshly warmed layers and slipped into the night...I stuck on my iPod for the first time to ease me into the night as I knew there was a big gap in front of me and not many riders following me down the trail for a fair few hours.. volume low and only one ear to keep it safe.

It wasn't more than half an hour after leaving the checkpoint that I felt riding on the flat was harder than it should be... I then realised my worst nightmare had become reality... a flat tyre. I knew Shaggy had suffered this fate at last year’s Iditarod and I was dreading such an event to happen to me as after all changing a puncture is crappy at the best of times but lower the temperature to below minus 30 Celsius and it becomes a whole lot more horrifying a task.

I thought the most sensible thing I could do would be to walk to a trail shelter, these are 3 sided wooded buildings approximately 8 miles apart on the trail and usually stocked with materials for a fire, there I could either get some sleep or get a fire going and change the flat in relative comfort. I began to push the trail.

A snowmobiler stopped to check me out and as he was happy enough with my positive mood he told me I wasn’t far off a shelter so I pressed on... I walked for an hour and a half with the promise of a fire driving me on knowing if I settled for a snowy bivvi and then discovered the trail shelter not far along the trail I would kick myself... after this push I was caught by a rider who also reassured me that the shelter was not far off... after another hour and a half still driven by the thought of a good shelter I finally found a trail shelter. No wood for a fire:(.

I went with the plan of getting into my sleeping bag and resting till light and warmer conditions for tube changing... unfortunately pushing my bike had lowered my body temperature too far although while moving I felt comfortable as I took off my outer layer and climbed into the bivvi I started to shiver uncontrollably.. I put on a brave face as the original snowmobiler finally caught up with me and apologised that it was further than he thought but worry was creeping into my mind as people have succumbed to the cold in this race and I wasn't getting any warmer.

At this point I made a very positive decision... I got up... my outer layer and gloves had frozen solid so I dug out my spare jacket and mittens... with these on I started with some jogging and windmills on the trail to get some blood flowing... I then systematically changed my flat... every little action was interspersed with windmilling and jogging to keep a comfortable temperature... hands sticking to metal rims and metal pump... it took me an hour to get the tube changed and get everything packed and back on the bike, taking time to eat some food too.

I left pretty happy with myself... I had taken a situation that I felt was gonna end my race and had turned it around... I had faced the worst thing I thought would happen and with some clear thinking I had overcome this problem and was back making progress on the trail... albeit pretty slow progress as the hills came thick and fast.. all short and steep forcing sometimes to take a break midslope.

This section between Melgeorges and the Tipi at The Crescent bar and grill was only supposed to measure 40 miles but it was brutally relentless... time went on and on and every time a recognisable feature on the map was reached it was only to reveal the terribly slow progress.

The night sky was absolute perfection... no light pollution... no clouds just a perfect selection of bright stars above the trail forcing every now and then me to stop and switch off my headtorch to take it all in.. Although never for too long as thoughts of wolves out on the trail was always in the back of my mind...

As the night lifted and gave way to a warmer day the trail still continued with no sign of the next checkpoint... eventually the Wakemup Hill came into sight... I knew this was the last vertical obstacle on the course before flat trail all the way to the finish.

Wakemeup was brutal, it was definitely a push with 3 stops mid slope till it was crested and no time to enjoy the view at the top I slid the backside of it and ploughed on to the Tipi checkpoint.
That section alone with complications had took me near 12 hours.

At the Cedar Bar I ordered an unusual Red Bull and Dr Pepper combo which turned out to not be such a bad choice as it was like rocket fuel and revitalised my tired body as much as the knowledge that I had only 22 flat miles on well packed trails left to ride.

As I left the checkpoint and reentered the trail I was more than on top of my gear... I was now riding in just base layer up top and my Alpkit wooly bobble hat was off and I was cranking in a euro ski combo of salopettes, headband and sunglasses, the shame... but least I was comfortable and no one was there to witness it... the trail was totally as described… Flat and fast.

Not long after making the turn for Fortune Casino I ran into Jenn on course dutifully braving the cold as she had done the entire race to keep the finger on the trigger and document the first of this year’s challenges for me... she let me know I had about a mile left so I got going to lay this race to rest.

One final big crank up a short climb I was determined not to get off on saw me cross the unmanned finish line... 31 hours 40 minutes... a huge day on the bike by any measuring stick.

I rolled round to the back of the building to be let in by Dave Pramman, 3rd place finisher, who had been there for a LONG time and his congratulations for getting a finish meant alot… he is a quiet guy but you get that feeling he is a machine on the bike.

This race was the one of the Big 3 I plan to do that I feared the most and by no means was it a walk in the park but I walked away with a new found love of this winter racing... it requires so much more than a good set of legs.. You have to come to these events with your mind, body and kit dialed... finishing is never a given and you constantly have to adapt to the changing snow and weather conditions.

I enjoyed this event immensely... the race volunteers were second to none and a real driving force behind the riders... the riders themselves were always supportive and helpful on and off the trail... and finally the location was inspirational... I'm sure I'll be back.

Big thank you to Genesis Bikes for backing me with not only bikes but helping with my expenses, Montane for providing me with warmth during this race, Alpkit for my bags and sleeping gear, Jenn ( it must of been cold out there), the Arrowhead Organisers and Volunteers, the local Police at all road crossings for ensuring our safety, Jerald at the Voyageur Motel for not only providing fantastic accommodation but going beyond the call of duty and running racers back to the start after they had finished... and finally Grace who puts up with me doing these crazy things even though I know she worries sick about me.

One down... Two challenges to go... countdown to Yak Attack begins

I'm done.

2010-02-03T16:11:00.002Z

Just a quick post to say i'm done.... i got finished yesterday.

An amazing experience, got to be the toughest race i have ever done to date but the best experience too.

Took 31 hours 40mins, had one puncture and even managed a little bivvi action on the trail.

Will get a full blog report up asap but now there is a big stack of pancakes somewhere with my name on them.

Its cold outside

2010-01-31T19:47:00.004Z

I'm here... International Falls, Minnesota.... and its living up to its title of 'Icebox of the Nation'.

The flight was overly long and jet lag has been hampering my eating and sleeping although i am trying to eat my way to victory with plenty of American food being consumed at race speed.

The weather is pretty good... blue skies and sunny but the temperatures are low, during the day its cold but when the sun goes in its something else... coldest place i have ever been and the air is so dry.

I've been packed and ready for a day now so am itching to start... just been out on the bike and sampled some of the trail, its pretty well packed and running very fast even for my 'skinny' little bike.

The start can't come soon enough now.

(Luckiy Jenn Hopkins is here with me to take care of all the image gathering so all credit to Jenn for any image i will use blogging this trip)

Packed

2010-01-27T14:36:00.002Z

I'm ready.. physically, mentally and luggage wise i'm all set.

The bags have been packed on the spare bed for a week now.. the bike slipped into its comfy case and was tucked in tight on Monday.

My training hours were massive last week and now we have tapered to nothing... maybe a few light spins but now i'm eating and resting and aim to be a big ball of pent up cycling frustration when i hit the course at 7am on Monday... this maybe the wrong approach to what could be a long game but who knows.

I'm keen so lets see what lies in store for me.. this maybe my last blog till after the race unless i can get some web access at the motel.. the start can't come soon enough now.

ICE 2010 - Testing Times.

2010-01-14T14:07:00.017Z

Less than a month to go till I will be lining up with 135 miles of the bitterly cold Arrowhead Trail ahead of me, i have spent hour after hour trawling websites for any little bit of info that will help me make more educated gear choices but facts and figures mean nothing when the temperature drops and you are literally out in the cold.

With this in mind I have been taking any opportunity to test my gear choices... whether this be out on the bike with different sock combos or bagging up different foods and shoving them in the Freezer for the night to see what could be edible after a freeze.

The weather has played ball and delivered perfect training conditions with snow and cold weather but its always good to mix it up a little so with the guys heading out to the Ecrins in France for the ICE 2010 Ice climbing event it was a no brainer when an invite was thrown my way.

Meeting at Alpkit i was presented with my new sleeping system for Arrowhead, Jim gave me a bag he had picked up for me with easy top loading and waiting inside was a closed cell foam mat and a development -30 bag.. toasty:)

With all packed after some chopping and changing so everyone had the required maximum baggage allowance we were en route to Turin... arriving we picked up the cars and snow chains and headed for the Ecrins.

The accomodation was excellent and after some quick building of the bike we set off for the first ride of the trip.. as I had the only bike the others opted for hiring snow shoes.

We headed up the valley away from Vallouise towards a closed road that climbed up to Ailefroide, a small hamlet at 1500ish metres that is only inhabited during the summer. The first Km or so was pretty rideable... from then on it was a mix of rideable trail and some hike a biking.. especially when we veered off the main road and onto the path which took us over some avalanche debris and a sketchy log crossing... this ride was made more special as daylight failed and we went on in dusk..

After struggling to keep up on the ascent the tables were turned for the descent as i sped down the bobsleigh like track snow shoe users had made down the centre of the track using a headtorch and riding into the snow the descent was good fun... i even enjoyed the snowy road back to our chalet.

Waking up the next day we were greeted by a new arrival... a fresh 40cm of lovely snow!

A drive down to Argentierre to mainly check out the event where Alpkit would be showing off the new Fig Four dry tools (sweet work Pete)and secondly to exact one of the many snow chain repairs that would have to be made during this trip.

With so much snow it would have been rude not to do some boarding/skiing that day... after all its still kit testing in the snow:)

The resort of Puy St Vincent although small was perfect... good powder and very quiet.. a good place to get back on a board after nearly 7 years.. this was good times for all, even James from Genesis who got involved even though he had never been on ski's ever and was flowing by the end of the session.

Taking the task in had the next day I had to get back out on the bike... this time joined by only 5 others as Pete and Dan took on the French in a dry tooling comp ( apparently they got taken to school by the locl climbers but had a blast all the same)... the others opted for ski's fitted with skins.

We headed for Ailefroide again to get some decent images and video... i rode the 10km to the start of the closed road...

waiting for the others gave me time for a few shots..

This time around after the fresh snowfall going was alot tougher... i broke trail for the first 600m before allowing the others to come past and help me out...

I was using the Montane Extreme Jacket and a set of Montane salopettes and was toasty warm... eventually though after a few km of pushing i was down to just a base layer... this is hands down one of the toughest things i've had to do... the snow varied from knee to waist depth and although the others broke a neat trail it was only big enough for my bike so i still had to wade snow..

After a break for lunch at the top it was time to turn around and push all the way back to the bottom.. then ride the 10km back to the chalet:(

All that was left to do was head to ICE 2010 event drink some beers.. watch some insane dry tooling.. listen to some live music and bivvi out in the snow:)

Luckily i had my nice Alpkit bag but also a development Epic bivvi bag which was super spacious and the combo allowed a good nights sleep..

All in I am pretty happy with how this trip went... the Montane clothing worked really well... the Genesis bike is still comfortable and riding well in snow and the Alpkit sleeping system kept me dry and warm.. what else could I hope for.

Big Thanks as always to the guys at Alpkit for putting this trip together... i'm feeling pretty positive about a good course time at Arrowhead.. wonder what singlespeed course record is? :)

Fully Loaded

2009-12-23T17:04:00.006Z

With the snow levels falling i took maybe my last chance to get out in snow so loaded up the bike and took off for a few or more hours..

Joined by Dave(Ramsay) we headed out past the quayside in Newcastle and picked up the C2C route out onto the Derwent Vallet trail...

The bike is really good... comfortable to ride and even loaded it was still fun. Alpkit kindly sent me some new Airlock Xtra dry bags to play with and they strap easily to the racks and look the part in orange.

We deviated from the Derwent Valley Walk and took a nice descent before starting the long push and ride to the top of Chopwell Woods.

After a bit of playing we spun home...

Really pleased with everything so far and next addition will be some handmade handlebar pogies from Dogwood Designs in Alaska.. custom brown to match bike:)

Snow!!!!

2009-12-20T15:59:00.005Z

The unexpected has happened... we have snow!!

When i was younger snow was a given.. there are countless images of me at christmas as a child in some 'all in one' winter suit.. but as i have gotten older snow at this time of year has become less likely so any opportunity to make the most of it has to be taken.. especially when in 6 weeks i'll be lining up for the Arrowhead 135.

Today was a good chance just to play with my gear.. with only a light hour left to do for in this weeks training plan i took the opportunity to get some of my Arrowhead gear out and go for a spin.

Since Montane (Montane.co.uk)came on board i've had a big box of clothing sitting waiting to be played with... admittedly i have been wearing the Flux down and Extreme jackets alot but the Terra salopettes were yet to be tried and tested...

Today i got to try them out... it wasn't quite cold enough to warrant either of the Montane jackets so i went with the Madison soft shell over a Montane polartec fleece.. the mitts are some old Extemeties i had from snow boarding... On my feet i had Alpkit socks underneath Smartwool hiking socks and the New Shimano MT91 Boots.. after a minutes pedalling i was toasty warm.

Lastest addition to my snow bike is the front rack... after much head scratching Martin ( also the man behind all my current wheelbuilds:)) and Murphy at Ride Cycles managed to get a standard Blackburn front rack to fit with some 'manipulation' ... works great and will hold a few light bags and keep my sleeping bag roll clear of my front tyre.

Still alot of testing to do... i have some interesting stuff lined up with Leeds Met University courtesy of Alpkit then of course the Alpkit trip to France in January.

Sure all of this prep will go someway to helping me but in no way totally prepare me for what lies ahead... time to man up i think.

84km Bivvi Challenge

2009-12-08T11:41:00.012Z

When winter approaches events become few and far between... as a sponsored rider exposure for the companies that give you love should never be restricted to just the racing season so you are always on the lookout for a challenge or ride a little bit out of the ordinary to tackle.

The 84km Bivvi Challenge was something i found on the net and was instantly attracted to it.. Dan its creator was inspired by a bivvi event he had done so created the site and threw down the challenge.. it can be tackled on foot or bike and has a normal distance and an Ultra distance... the Ultra bike distance being 260miles ( somewhat more than the 84km the name of the site suggests) and stipulates a minimum or 48 hours spent out and about... 84kmbivvichallenge.co.uk.

Unfortunately when faced with choices you always gotta tick the biggest/furthest/highest/hardest/stupidest option available to you otherwise you are just cheating yourself so we opted for the Ultra bike distance and to do it in exactly 48 hours.

We being myself and fellow Genesis Bikes rider James Leavsley... we banded around a few route suggestions and settled on riding 2 popular national cycleways.. the Reivers route out to Cockermouth then pick up the C2C route for the return leg home.

With bikes packed and weather looking almost okay we set off at 9.45 on sunday morning.... i opted for my Genesis Vapour with traditional rack and panniers whilst James went with his Genesis Altitude with fancy rackless luggage..

The ride started pretty easily.. close to the coast and heading inland the going was pretty much standard cycleway fair.. flat and good cycleways... good chance to get used to lugging the weight of panniers before the real stuff started.

Weather was pretty changeable... shower.. sun.. shower.. sun... temperatures weren't the lows we were expecting...

At about mile 40 i noticed i had a slow puncture... with rain beating down i was keen not to stop so i pumped it up and kept on... i was already suffering pangs of hunger and at every stop for a gate would eat more of Grace's lovely banana and fruit cake.. with Bellingham approaching a Cafe stop was in order. I used to ride to Bellingham all the time on local road clubs runs but it has been a good 15 years since i was there last and the cafe was now a chinese takeaway but luckily a new one had opened.

After consuming some hot food and drink i had to change the innertube and by the time i had done that i was very cold and it felt as though the temperature had dropped ten degrees as we set off again.

It wasn't long till we had to use lights... Light and Motion Stellas all round... at this point we were up near Kielder water and i had already noticed that i wasn't able to stay with James on any of the climbs and he would gradually pull away from me with no response from myself... i wasn't having fun and was feeling hungry again... Kielder water and the Scottish borders can be pretty bleak, especially at night in winter when its raining and into a headwind... i was already planning an early escape at Carlisle back via the train convinced i couldn't make the distance.

We soldiered on through the night... i remember getting to Newcastleton with the hope that they may have a Spa shop or petrol station i could refuel in only to be bitterly dissapointed... as we hit 97 miles ridden we reached Longtown near Carlisle and just as i had told James i would happily swap my reproductive organs for a shop we rounded a corner to see a beautiful Spa shop.. the salvation of every distance cyclist... £20 spent i was already feeling good... James had spotted a picnic area sign.. good as anywhere for a urban ish bivvi.

As we got to the picnic spot it was actually an adventure playground... even better... we rigged the Alpkit tarp up over a walkway and climbed in underneath..

In our Alpkit Bivvi bags and Sleeping bags seperated from the ground by Alpkit Wee Airics we were super comfy and warm, congratulating ourselves on both the shop find and the bivvi spot... the local policeman was somewhat more confused by the whole thing.. "you are planning on sleeping here all night?" ... luckily he had no problem with our kind of idiocy and just left us with a warning to be wary of local kids and our gear.

We woke in the morning to the sound of water on tarp... as we lay there it wasn't subsiding so James made a move to scare the locals in the nearby public toilet leaving me to get ready in our under walkway home.. both ready we went to move the tarp to discover a massive pond of water had gathered in in directly above us.. if that had let go onto us it would have been a very rude awakening.

The ride towards Carlisle was pretty easy going.. nice and flat.. Carlisle during rush hour was interesting squeezing between cars and negotiating wet roundabouts on heavily laden bikes.. beyond Carlisle the headwind continued to batter us.. the rain was unrelenting and the hills started to come as we got closer and closer to the Lake District.

Descending a country lane i rounded a corner to find an elderly citizen driving towards me and as she seemed to be taking some kind of racing line that placed her onto my side of the road i had to ride straight into a pothole to avoid her... as i cursed her i also noticed i was a pannier bag lighter and turned to see it following me down the hill... the mounting bracket still attached to my rack ripped clean off the back of the pannier. We were left with bungee and cable tie'ing it to the rack but it wasn't the most secure of items.

As we approached Cockermouth the scenes of devastation from the recent flooding were all around us and we had to 'freestyle' it over a bridge that had been closed due to structural concerns... as we got to the A66 Cockermouth was right and Keswick our next destination was left.. we decided rather than ride to Cockermouth a few miles down road then have to ride back to Keswick we would instead ride quarter of a mile straight ahead to the Pheasant Inn and have some food.

After eating and James stripping off to dry all his wet goods on a decrepid heater we made for the C2C route via the A66.. not a pleasant experience getting buzzed by big lorries every few minutes until we could turn off onto the official route... i had it in my head that Penrith was alot closer than it was but then as with all signed cycleways they are never the most direct route but the quietest so we wound our way round country roads as it got dark again.. i was flailing eventhough i now had a tailwind... James wanted to see another 50 miles past Penrith and i knew the climbs of Hartside, Garrigill, Nenthead and Allenheads would have to be ridden that day on top of the 8 hours we had already done.

The climbs got harder for me.. James was still dissappearing up the road.. no fault of his own i just felt slow and bad... felt like i had been chasing him for the entire trip... those that meet him may be fooled by his mild mannered polite nature.. don't be fooled.. he can ride the legs of all comers.

As the rain started heavier again we reached Penrith and i was done... knowing what lay ahead i knew i couldn't do it in the timescale we had set and as fate would have it we entered Penrith right next to the train station... 171 miles done.

Game over for me.. we exchanged some goods to make the rest of his trip easier then he was gone, i will always have the utmost respect for this guys attitude to being on the bike.. unstoppable and loving every minute one of the most mentally strong people i have ever met.

That just left me with a dejected train ride home...

All i know is i met James this morning and we finished his ride together... exactly 48 hours out and about and covered 264ish miles... i will leave him to add his thoughts on the Genesis Bikes Blog (genesisbikes.co.uk).

Sandman Bikes

2009-12-02T11:17:00.005Z

No i've not defected from the House of Genesis to another brand but i am gonna have to give some love to Conrad at Sandman Bikes in Belgium.

One of my favourite things in live is the internet... no not the vast XXX rated content.. the ability to track down the weird and wonderful parts you need to finish the build that you have put together in your head.. you know exactly how you want it to go together and how it will work but alot of the time there are no mainstream sources for the little or big parts you need.

Madison for 99% of the time can supply me with everything my little heart desires but when building a special variety of bike you got to look to all corners of the bike speaking world to get the bits you need.

After looking at Surly's Pugsley i was convinced i needed to be able to swap my front and rear wheel... both for quick ratio changes but also in the event of a freewheel failure i would have another.... Pug forks however are offset to no use on a normal frame... some forum searching took to me to Italy and a company called Sandman bikes.. the webpage held little info but promised alot with pics of a full fat bike... i emailed.... within a day an email came back.. forks were sitting waiting... they were a mere 80 euros a pair and within a week or so i had 2 pairs in my hand... problem solved.

Big thanks Conrad but what am i gonna do now with my spare time with no forks to find :)

The 2010 Fleet

2009-11-18T21:22:00.010Z

Its taken a few weeks but finally the 2 bikes i will be racing and riding in 2010 are coming together.

First is my much awaited Titanium singlespeed... to date there is only 2 of these frames in existence but with alot if interest they may see production.. build kit see's all PRO Components top end carbon toys.. the new forks are all carbon and weighing in at a svelte 600g!!!

This will be my main race bike.. it'll see alot of marathons and 12's .. hopefully the odd stage race too:)

Next bike is a bit more specialist... born out of a standard IO 2010 frame this is my 'Half Fat' bike built primarily for Arrowhead 135 in February and will then be my epic multi day bike..

On borrowed Snow cat rims.. thanks Shaggy... the bike runs matching wheels spaced at 135mm front and back, this is only made possible by the forks. Sandman in Italy supplied the fat forks which not only allow my 135mm spaced front wheel but also give near infinite clearance. Just in case anybody wondered the front and rear wheels are identical so they can be swapped in the case of a mechanical but also allow different size cogs to be used on the 2 wheels... quick release with chain tensioners allows a quicker change.

Big Thanks to Conti for their biggest tyre the Diesel 2.5

The bike is set up for comfort.. Jones bars giving alot of hand positions... or alot of different places to hold my bike while i'm pushing it through snow!

Mechanical disc brakes for the low temperatures.

Chainring made by Dan of Homebrewcomponents in America... Dan is also supplying the chainrings and cogs for all my bikes and will get some good images in a seperate blog when they arrive.

Last of all is a handmade product created in the Alpkit Factory by chief seamstress Nick... thanks Nick.. made from recycled Alpkit Gourdons it completes the bike.

Time Off

2009-11-07T20:42:00.006Z

Things have been quiet on the blog front.. partly as things have been quiet on the biking front.

Think i have had a tough year.... all the races and rides i did were sizeable and all seemed to be in the worst possible conditions so when it gets to this time of year and the racing dies off its a good chance to have some down time.

This isn't to say i have been vegetating for the past month or so.. the exact opposite... i'm now working 3 days a week at Ride Cycles on Scotswood road in Newcastle ( come and say hello if you are passing)... i've now got a new clothing sponsor for next years madness who i will post in more detail about in the next week or so.. and there are a few new bikes on the horizon for next years campaigns... I've been riding alot of fun stuff too.. new Gisburn trails are great even in the pouring rain..

I'm very excited about my new 2010 builds and although they aren't finished a few sneaky highlights are below...

Time to start training for real is coming up quickly and i can't wait.

Transprovence 2009

2009-10-06T13:51:00.003+01:00

I'm fresh back from the first edition of the Transprovence race...

What a week... the race travels from Gap to Monaco over 7 days and each day there are a number of timed special downhill stages (with some uptulating bits too:))with liason stages like a car rally inbetween.

The organisation was fantastic... thank you Ash and Melissa for this great race.

The trails were fantastic... the downhills on the whole beyone my comfort zone and i was pushed every single day... i have come back itching to try and sort a new bike to handle these kind of races.

I didn't take many pics so am waiting to steal some good shots from fellow competitors before i try and compose a more detailed report or i may just let the pictures do the talking as i will struggle to describe how staggeringly beautiful this part of the world is... every climb was rewarded with epic panoramic views to ease the lactic in the legs before pointing downhill and hanging on through technical singletrack descents of upto 14km!!!!

This race is a winner in my eyes... it has appeal across the board and future editions i have no doubt will sell out very quickly.

This is the site to watch..

www.trans-provence.com

Hugest thanks to Ash and Melissa and to all the voluneers for putting on this fantastic event...

Thank you to Col at Alpkit for putting me onto this event and sorting it out for me..

...Finally thanks to all my Fellow TP competitors.. you were a pleasure to ride with and look forward to future get togethers.

( oh and thank you Paul West for getting up ridiculously early to take me to the airport and come get me too..)

XXC Mag

2009-10-06T13:45:00.003+01:00

A few months ago Trev pointed me in the direction of an online mag called XXC .. put together by Jason Mahokey the mag focuses on the endurance side of racing and features a ton of reports from mainly stateside mountain bike events.

I approached Jason as i wanted to get involved as i enjoyed the mag... he read the blog... liked Salzkammergut report... its now in the latest issue.

Check it out here and be inspired..

xxcmag.com/site/eMag.html

Great write up from Joolze and a good 3 Peaks CX race report too... Colorado Trail looks very interesting.

A few days at the coast - Knoydart Penninsula

2009-09-23T10:09:00.022+01:00

Since being made redundant i have mostly just mooched about... looking for jobs.. discovering how little there is out there and contemplating how again i have managed to land myself in this position of uncertainty.

Riding has taken a back seat... primarily due to the disorganisation in my life.. living with Grace's parents.. trying to move to Newcastle.. trying to find a job and also as Kielder seemed to take a higher toll than i thought leaving me with a sore knee to rest up.

This lack of riding wasn't really an issue as anyone that finds themselves with spare time on their hands due to unemployment quickly realises when you wanna go do some riding all your riding friends are at work:(

So came about this trip.. after contacting the usual suspects looking for an out for a few days just to think about something fresh other than life Micheal (Rose) came good with a long weekend idea to a place in Scotland he had wanted to go to for a long time.. the Knoydart Penninsula.. one if not the remotest place in the UK... the destination town we were gonna be visiting, Inverie, is totally cut off from the main road network.. only accessible by walking/riding in or by ferry.

The trip idea was pretty straight forward... Friday night we would drive to Glenfinnin where we would dump the car and from that point carry everything we needed.. a short ride up the valley would see our first nights accommodation.. the Corry hully bothy.. the Saturday would be a ride to Inverie.. Sunday a walk up a mountain and Monday a short ride to catch the ferry.

Friday everything was loaded into a 55 litre borrowed rucksack from Micheal... tent strapped one side and sleeping mat the other.. this thing weighed at least 15kg.. riding was gonna be interesting. I drove to pick Micheal up and the third member of the group.. Ellie.. his whippet.. with no dog sitter available we were taking the dog, distances looked manageable and we knew the going was gonna be very much 'hike a bike' with maybe more hike than bike so she would easily be able to manage it.

The driving was shared and after consuming a large amount of wine gums and midget gems we arrived at Glenfinnin at midnight.. we quickly unloaded the car and dumped it at the train station hoping it would be safe there for 3 days..

After a short ride and trying to get used to riding with so much load on our backs we reached the bothy and Micheal took a look in to find one inhabitant, an American lady who didn't mind the rude awakening at what must of been 1am... we quietly got bags out and got onto the wooden bench to get some sleep.

The next morning we woke to clear skies and a promising day.. the scenery was fantastic...

After a coffee we got underway up the valley.. the days riding was basically set to be 3 passes.. the first starting straight off the bat and we were subjected to a good slog up the valley although the rough double track we were on allowed us to ride all but the steepest sections.. well Micheal used the granny ring and got up most. The top section was mostly pushing.

the ground as we go to the top of the first section was very boggy and although allowed some riding also allowed some comical falls.. when you have so much weight on your back its really difficult to get back up from a fall or drag yourself out of a deep section of bog... riding was very comical even if weather had started to turn to crap and we were getting wet.

We made it to the bottom of the pass and into a section of forest which luckily after a very short push opened into a lovely hard surface to ride.. the weather was getting worse so we decided to stop at the next bothy for some food and to dry the dog.. the bothy was nice and bike and allowed us to get bike in and all our gear out to try and dry it once we had got a fire going..

It was definitely a 'room with a view' looking out onto the hillside and valleys and we took the time to cook up some hot food.. at this point we had decided that to make it to Inverie today would be too much.. the going was very soft and slow so our aim became the Soulies bothy on the other side of the second pass located on a beach it looked to be a great spot to spend the night... happy we had time on our side we set to some noodles.. also time to ponder the switch on the wall labelled 'immersion heater - please turn off before leaving' for a few seconds we looked about for sign of hot water before realising how ridiculous we were being.

After lunch we stepped outside to a much better day the sun had come out and there was rainbow seemingly outside the door..

We set back off able to ride the double track till it eventually ran out and turned to singletrack... from here on we pushed and rode a little and picked our way up the pass.. although the path was not ride able in places the going was still good..

As we made our way the weather tested us with bouts of sunshine followed by battering squall's of rain... we finally reached the end of the pass and with only the descent ot go we were treated to some fantastic technical singletrack... unfortunately not as much was ride able as liked due to the hindering rucksack that every time you slid your weight back it would push you in the head and slide your helmet forward but all the same this was a hidden gem of a descent which i imagine as seen not many tyres in its time..

Getting to the bothy we weren't the first to arrive with a couple of walkers already in there.. luckily on seeing another approaching group of 4 they decided they would vacate and camp up the trail away only for the group of 4 to arrive and they were camping too so we got lucky with the whole bothy to ourselves. as the sun set the views along the loch and the shoreline were stunning... a couple kayaked in just as the sun was setting and it really appealed.. sea kayaking will get tried in the not too distant future.

That night we drunk little bottle of red wine while Micheal tried everyway under the sun to light some very 'green' wood... finally succeeding just as we had decided to go to sleep... i went to sleep on a double thick bed of my mat plus some foam i had found in the bothy intoxicated by plumes of wood smoke whilst Ellie had decided it was my turn to have her sleep at the bottom of my sleeping bag.. i have no idea how she can breath in there!

On the Sunday the day started on a very civilised note with pain au chocolat and coffee for breakfast followed by what could be viewed as a bad decision but now its all over i see it as laying down one of the hardest challenges of my life and opeing up some future trip possibilities.

Instead of simply going up and over the third pass to Inverie we decided to 'ride' the coastline... hug the coast.. ride the beaches we could find and hopefully get to see some wildlife hiding off the beaten track.. we set off on a rideable beach.. the day looked promising..

After a short while we were faced with a straight up a grassy rocky bank.. this should have signalled what was to come but optimistic we pressed on... then a shallow ish river crossing..

Once we had crossed the river another push up a grassy bank gave us some doubletrack to ride... this ran out at a jetty about 1.5km down the valley.. from this point we could only go straight up the steep valley till we could traverse across again.. prefered mode of travel was bikes on top of rucksacks..

From here on the going was the toughest ground i have ever tried to cross... we had calculated that we would have 3km of this hard going before it flattened... not only were we having to go up and down the valley sides but also inland to varying degrees as the outcrops of rock forced us inland.. the lovely ride able beaches we were hoping for just didn't materialise.

We did however get some wildlife.. firstly in the form of a group of basking seals on a rocky outcrop just of the shore... a few of which came close and popped up out the water as we went past on the beach to take a look at us.. then a Deer darted out of the bracken a few feet away.

The going continued to be hard.. if it wasn't 4ft high bracken clinging to your cranks and bars it was tussocks of grass making your bike 'endo' as you tried to push it meaning you were having to lift it over stuff.. eventually after a number of hours we got to a large flat area... a very large boggy flat area!

Micheal had opted to strip wheels off his bike and carry it on his rucksack... i was still wheeling mine.. crossing this bog was like a mine field.. on at least one occasion each we had to be helped out of a particularly deep section.

The reward for crossing this horrible place was a large ish stretch of rideable beach.. the gem we had been searching for.. if only it was all like this!!

No sooner had we smugly rode this section of beautiful coastline we were back up against it going up and down bracken covered hillsides... at one point we had to go straight up a very steep section.. probably only 20m but i was having to cling onto the grass with one hand and repeatedly throw my bike up the slope with the other.. at this point i thought i was beat... luckily myself and Micheal's high and low points didn't coincide so there was always the other person to give some encouragement... if i was on my own i would have curled up and waited for death to take me!

At this point we realised how totally committed we were to this endeavour... in mountain biking you don't generally get to feel this kind of exposure as you can ride to the nearest point of help in a relatively short space of time... but we weren't able to ride.. we were barely able to push at any great speed.. we weren't on any recognised trail or track so no one used this area.. we simply couldn't sit down and wait for someone to come and help.. totally committed to the route and the only way out of this was under your own steam... a sobering thought.

We pressed on and eventualy could drop to the rocky beachline and although it was not rideable and was uncomfortable to walk on the cobbles it was at least forward progress without constant traversing... we made a few more kilometres before we had to head briefly inland... at this point we could see Inverie on the other side of the bay.. painfully close... i was super thirsty as had lost one of my waterbottle son day one and had only stopped to boil up stream water once that day.

Our final real test came in the form of a 6ft high wire fence with half broken crossing poles... my bike got thrown over in frustration although i took more care passing Ellie to Micheal.. with a final rest to take on some more calories we were left with an easy shoreline push till a trail appeared which we rode complete with axle high salty water puddle till we got to the pub of Inverie.. the remotest in the UK... at the pub we ate well and i sunk 3 pints of cola and a magners.. and still could have drunk more while Ellie took well deserved rest on my Alpkit gilet/Dog bed..

No luxury of a bothy that night so out came the tent... we quickly pitched behind a wall and got in trying to sleep as the wind really had a good go at the tent and put it to the test...

Unluckily in the morning it was raining but with only a short ride to the ferry terminal life wasn't so bad..

I discovered my first and the trips only puncture... gave me something to do while we waited for the ferry.

The ferry crossing was very wet and windy and although indoors was available they operate a no dogs policy so we were literally left out in the cold.. Ellie tucked down inside Micheals jacket.

Arriving in Maillag there was only a train journey seperating us from the car... that train just happened to be a steam train.. a strange end to the Journey..

On reflection i rated this weekend tougher than any race i had ever done.. Micheal rated it tougher than the Matterhorn summit he recently did... so why am i sitting writing this now and i bet Micheal will be sitting reading this figuring out where we can go next and what changes we can make... insane?? certifiable!!!

Kielder 100 - a hard days work.

2009-09-07T14:00:00.007+01:00

Everything is bigger and better in America (apparently)... they drive bigger cars.. have bigger houses.. eat bigger burgers and until the people at sip-events got to work they had bigger single lap mountain bike races...

Not anymore... Saturday 5th September 2009 saw a historic moment in UK endurance mountain biking... we got our first taste of a 100 mile single lap race.. long had we read tales of Breckinridge, Leadville, Shenandoah and other such races in the states and wondered about these single lap epics... we had even tried to trick ourselves cleverly using our metric system to give us 100km races but there was no getting away from the itch that needed to be scratched.

Paul and Sara at Sip Events made the bold move and their hat was thrown into the ring when the Kielder 100 was announced.. at first it was a rumour.. then a reality.. shrouded in mystery as forums buzzed with speculation as to what the course would be like, how much climbing would there be...

From day one of hearing about this event it was well and truly marked on the calender... no matter what i was riding or how i was riding i needed to be part of this first.

The race day came round quickly... really quickly and before i knew it me and Grace had packed the car and were heading up the M6 to then dart across to almost the middle of the country and dangerously close to the scottish border. The journey was hampered as usual by our wayward sat nav freestyling yet another destination other than the pre programmed... we arrived at the campsite to find friends, Rich and Shona, already there and pitched. No one knew what to expect so the atmosphere was very light hearted... although Ian Leitch and my epic riding partner Rich Rothwell were present no one knew how this race would pan out... too long for cross country riders but almost too short for the endurance experts.

The singlespeed race looked like it might be tough too with Deano and Phil the Horse from Velo Club Moulin ( i really want a jersey guys:) ) present and although i had been riding with Manchester Trev in the week previous and had felt good riding for a few hours is far removed from riding from what we though was going to be at least 8-9 hours. Oh well it would be hellish good training if nothing else.

With a 6.30am race start an early ish night was the order of the day.

I felt like i had the longest nights sleep but maybe as i kept waking up every hour and checking time... i always struggle to sleep before a race or epic ride.. i just feel like i wanna get on and get doing it and I'm wasting time lying in bed... as i got out the tent in the morning it was clear and weather looked okay... dressed and bike sorted we headed upto the line.

The race started with a near 3 mile lead out behind a car before we swung onto a gravel climb.... i took my time and gradually made my way up the field... no way was i gonna stay with he geared race leaders so i played the long game and went for a consistent ride from the start.

I managed to catch upto deano first and we exchanged places a few times before he let me go on my own... next i caught Phil on a steady climb and it looked like he was going for a similar approach to myself and just holding a comfortable pace... the course initially was a mix of fireroad and draggy, boggy singletrack... really hard work.

Just after the 33 mile marker on a fairly sedate descent on fireroad i managed to flat... as i was getting eating alive by midges and changing unfortunately the rear tube ( no quick release on the back of my bike) Deano came past with my good friend Matthew Barton towing him along at a good pace... then a few minutes later Phil gunned it past too...balls... as i got back on my bike i could see Phil nearing the top of the hill i was on making it look too easy where i was making hard work of it.

Out on my own then i kept on trucking till about ten miles later i managed to catch back upto Phil as he had stopped to take snack... that made me feel alot better although the thought of how quick deano had gone past me made me believe i would be lucky to catch him and at that point i considered slowing to wait for friends to catch up and riding rather than racing.. before i could make the decision i was caught up by Rob Dean, Morvelo team rider and recent SITS rider.. the guy is huge.. i mean he is massive! Luckily i managed to stay with him and use him as a great windbreak when we got into headwinds.. He also notified me of the infamous puddle after mile 49 by riding into it and nearly losing his bike... he pulled away on some slow draggy singletrack climbing and as i turned off that onto a fireroad i could make out Deano not far ahead.. things looked promising.

After passing Deano i put in a larger effort on the climbs and got a nice gap... i also got back Rob Dean so had my windbreak for the border crossing into Scotland.

At Newcastleton feed station i took a full fat coke, some cake and one of my SIS caffeine gels... after being dragged into an impromtu photoshoot Deano pulled into the feed station too... we exchanged encouragement and as i left Newcastleton all that caffeine and sugar kicked in and i went for it.. Dropping Rob dean and pulling across to another rider that i stuck with through the amazing flowing 7stanes singletrack descending... my bike although fully rigid handles like a dream and i doubt was any slower than most the other full sus bikes out there... after another climb i found i had pulled away from the riders i was with through the descending and at 70ish miles i found myself alone on a slightly uphill section heading along the valley bottom... this seemed to go on for ever... i then glimpsed a rider just ahead and for a moment i though it was Barton.. until i got closer then i realised it was Barton.. excellent.. company and a fast wheel to pull me to the finish.

It was excellent to ride with Matt as to be fair we haven't ridden together for a long time.. Matt has trained so hard and come though to be a force to be reckoned with on any event that involves extended periods of pain and suffering... as we passed the 80 then the 90 mile marker i started to flag a little.. i had decided to use a hydration pack instead of just filling my pockets and with racing being so close i hadn't been stopping much to get gels/bars out the bag... i stopped and sunk another caffeine gel.. that seemed to work... then with 6ish miles to go i was fading and Barton kindly gave me one of his gels so we didn't have to stop pedalling.

The gels really kicked in with 1 mile to go and i caught Barton back up as he had managed to ride a climb i had to push and i passed him on the descent into the finish.. so i took his gel and a position higher on the finish.. sorry Matt.

Grace was waiting at the finish giving an estimated finish time of 10 hours.. somewhat longer than we had anticipated... more importantly though i took the singlespeed win!!!

I have to say it was the hardest race i have done this year.. maybe ever... anyone that got round that course in the allowed time put in an amazing ride.

Big thanks to Sip Events for such an amazing event... 100 mile single lap race.. a UK first...well marshalled, sign posted and generally organised...

Lets see if Lance turns up next year and tries to complete this lap in 6 hours... let it be known that if he does i will eat my bike.. tyres and all.

Will i be back for next years???... I'd be lying to myself if i said i won't.

Massive thanks to Joolze Dymond for the images (www.joolzedymond.com)

No going back

2009-08-27T20:29:00.002+01:00

Earlier this year i sat down and thought about really achieving something notable with my cycling... in my eyes at least.

I'm a realist (well almost).. i'm never gona make a pro... i'm never gonna carve a living with my legs... but i enjoy my cycling... no matter how bad a mood i am in with life i know that a few pedal turns i'll be feeling back on top of the world.

This is pretty mch the only thing i have ever shown any promise in... i would like to think i am a better than average rider.. on a good day i can ride at the front in a race and usually see the top ten but the draw of the podium although desireable isn't what is motivating me at the moment.

Well anyway i came up with an off the cuff remark to Grace that i wanna ride the coldest, hottest and highest mountain bike races in the world... in the same year.. on a singlespeed.. and she agreed if thats what i wanted.

I live to a rule generally in life that came from my bmx days at university.. if you call something out you got to do it... i've called this now and my body is gonna have to endure the workload my brain has scheduled it.

So the first is the coldest...a bit of research showed that the Arrowhead 135 Ultra in Minnesota can see a trail temperature of -60 farenheit.. so i've entered and it looks like my entry on the basis of previous lunacy whilst in charge of a bike has been accepted.

No going back... i've called it... so now i got to man up and do it.. if i said i wasn't scared i'd be lying... if i said i was excited it would be an understatement.

SITS.. Awful.. Thetford.. Awesome..

2009-08-21T10:18:00.000+01:00

In place of this blog post should have been a great write up of how I went to SITS race… I had a great ride and I took away a good result… there was no reason on my part why this shouldn’t have happened.. I was feeling great.. no bullshit I have been feeling strong and fit and not afraid to have the confidence to say this… after Europe and Selkirk I have really started to feel good on the bike... my bike was running well too… set up is now near perfect and I feel like I can ride this bike forever..a real credit to James at Genesis how great this bike has turned out.

The reality was the race started…. We ran a short 800m lap to our bikes.. my ankle was still dodgy so I took it easy on it.. start was good I climbed strongly passed a lot of people and held the wheel of some good riders relatively comfortably but after only 4 laps I was bored… really bored… there was nothing on this course which really tested.. no hint of a cheeky bombhole or fast flowing descent… there was a slippery short descent which was pot luck over skill to get down. At the start of the 5th lap I had to put my ipod on.. I usually reserve this treat for the night.. even with music the lap was draggy and horribly dull.. the weather was fantastic but this meant the usually muddy ground was now a spongy grassy field.

At the end of the 5th lap Leavsley was waiting for me and after a bit of banter about how awful the course was and the prospect of riding it for 24 hours the talk turned to the more serious note of actually calling it a day.. after a mid lap meeting on the top of the course we decided this was the way to go… if you are not enjoying what you are doing what is the point in doing it.. yes this is a hard format of racing but some enjoyment can usually be drawn from some element of the course where this course was soulless… race over at 6 laps a little over 5 hours in.
After this race I headed to south wales for a family holiday with Grace’s family… near milford haven I had a good few days of long walks.. taking lots of pics and generally relaxing.

A plan however had already been hatched to get the scent of SITS out of my nostrils and get back to a race I enjoyed… Thetford… I have always liked racing there in the winter and have had limited success but more importantly I knew the racing would be fast and the course challenging singletrack through trees.. luckily this year for the first time a summer series has been run.
A long drive from Wales to north London to stay with West… noodles were consumed and bikes set up.

Sunday, race day, weather was great… I opted for the first time ever to opt for a shorter distance than the maximum offer.. instead of the 6 hour I opted for the 4 hour to allow me to leave for the Genesis bikes photoshoot in the peak district late evening.

The start was fast… I was out the saddle and sprinting bmx style… straight up into 4th place… I was great through the fast singletrack until after a long drag we turned to an equally long slight downhill and they changed up gears and I spun out my singlespeed…

The rest of the race went well.. I kept what felt like a consistent pace… used the now tried and tested West nutrional plan which left me nothing to worry about other than the pedalling the bike.. I had planned on completing 8 laps which looked to be easily achievable … a 7.2mile lap which we were lapping in around 30 minutes…

At the end of the 7th lap they announced the rider I was catching in the start finish area as 3rd place.. I had passed him earlier in the lap and he had retook me on a long straight fast descent where again I spun my gear out.. with a podium within reach I gave it all.. he slowed in the feed zone to take a bottle and I opted that I had just enough to finish the lap so gunned it as hard as I could…

I wasn’t turning my usual smooth circles I was smashing the pedals into the ground.. swearing at myself when I went offline by an inch.. it looked like I had opened a gap and I began to think he may have been done but flowing through a section of singletrack I heard the sound of a flapping derailleur.. the sign of a rider closing on your back wheel… 2 hour riders were done..we were faster than the 6 hour riders so it must be him.. I took an uncharacteristic glance back and saw him 5m off my back wheel.. I pressed on harder but he had hooked up into my back wheel and I was gonna struggle to lose him…

Through the final sections of singletrack I smashed my body and bike through.. everything flexing horribly as I soaked up the rolling bumps and tried to smash the bike through as quick as I could… to no avail… this left a long straight… a tight turn.. then a long straight descent into the final bombhole and singletrack.. I knew if I wasn’t in the lead in the last section of singletrack I was done for as I knew I would spin out on the long descent… he made his move on the straight before the turn and I grabbed his wheel… he was riding full suspension.. me fully rigid and I must have been riding mm’s off his back wheel to get sucked along praying he wouldn’t ride straight over a rut or similar that would have snapped me in two.. at the tight turn I made my move down the inside and washed out!! On the floor I swore loudly.. immediately having to apologise to all near me… straight back on the bike I hammered again but to no avail I was 4th by 10 seconds.

This was racing though…. Great course… super fast… tyre to tyre chasing through tight singletrack.. podium or no podium my faith was restored and I am ready.. very ready for the next number to get tied to my bars.. Kielder 100… I can’t wait.

Europe - photo diary

2009-08-06T09:26:00.013+01:00

One bike to rule them all

2009-08-05T13:11:00.005+01:00

For what seems like the entire year to date I haven’t ridden a mountain bike with gears… this started as the racing that was initially available suited the singlespeed… then I invested a lot more time in it… then I took it everywhere I went and soon it has become pretty much the only bike I ride.

I love its simplicity.. I like the fact its quiet… I love how light it feels and how responsive it is.. and if the truth be known I love the way it looks!
After getting back from France I have been itching to ride another event… I had half considered the Merida event at Selkirk but wasn’t 100% into doing it although was somewhere I hadn’t ridden and had heard good things.. I was just taking a look over the site and saw that on the Saturday they had a sportive.. a non competitive road event for those not in the know, they had the usual distances but then had added an ‘Extreme’ distance of 120 miles.. when anything has a tagline like ‘extreme’ or ‘ultra’ I’ve got to take a look.. so I emailed James at Genesis to see what his thoughts were.. ride the Vapour on the Saturday and then the IO on Sunday in the long 85km off road distance event… he thought a good workout before SITS.. then I thought why take 2 bikes… I could gear IO low and get some slicks then it would be ‘One bike to rule them all’ .. or at least get the job done on both days..

A set of 1” Continental slicks for my IO were sent out to me from Madison and a 15t sprocket..i wanted a 14t but in hindsight it would have meant messing with shortening/lengthening of chains… I was gonna be very undergeared so would have to spin, spin, spin my way through it.

Grace decided to come for the weekend too as there was ample opportunity to catch up on reading and sleep.. we set off Friday night and after driving through some dubious scottish villages with drunks rolling into the streets.. we arrived at the campsite at midnight and again the pop up tent came into its own and I was tucked into the Alpkit sleeping bag within 15 minutes

In the morning I woke to another rainy event… getting a little tired of this bad weather that seems to come with me to every race… but being a road event I aimed to just wrap up and spin the legs for what I thought would take about 8 hours ish.
8am I started and soon got into the mix of riders who I assume were doing the shorter distance or weren’t holding anything back for the long ride… I had to jump wheel to wheel on the flat sections to draft and then ‘pulse’ bursts of what felt like 200rpm at the pedals to keep up.. when the climbs started I slowly pulled my way up and past people.. the riding was very rolling so what I would gain on the climbs I would lose on the descents…

I ended up with a riding partner for the day and unfortunately did not catch his name but we rode until he took the turn home for the 90 mile distance leaving me a final 30 to do on my own.. the day was spent as always debating the pro riding scene and its issues.. bike purchases.. places we had ridden etc.. all in a very pleasant day when the rain stopped and I rolled back through the start/finish a little shy of 8 hours… my knee very achy after a lot of spinning but not so much I would consider not riding the next day… that night I changed back to fat tyres and a 16t at the rear.

Sunday was really the main event for me… 85km of what looked to be good quality mountain biking… on the start there was not another singlespeeder in sight which nowadays surprises me… the start was a little too long on the tarmac and I had to spin like a mad man to keep moving up through the large field… life got easier when the first long climb started as it was of a gradient I could push the gear up and through people going slower… the climb was quite long and I was looking forward to the descent at the top but was only rewarded with some brief gravelly fast section before we descended over a rutted field which was hell on a fully rigid.. I couldn’t let the bike just go as it was too wet and the rigid bike wasn’t tracking the ground well enough to let me brake and gain control.. so it was an initial slow and jarring descent before I could get stuck into the next climb and get some time back.

In contrast to the day before the weather was glorious… I was drinking though my water bottles very quickly and the feed stations were only just close enough together to see me through… the riding on the whole was excellent.. the climb from Innerleithen was brutal and relentless...

The descending in parts was such good fun… a good mix of fast stuff and some very steep techy rooty drop ins… The climbs were going well and I felt nicely strong.. some sections were a push as although the gradient was manageable the ground was so soft under wheels it really dragged and sucked you in..

I had predicted a 6 hour ride but came in 5hrs 20mins roughly… happy that I had felt strong on the climbs but disappointed that in some sections I should have been quicker on descents…think maybe I will experiment going back to a suspension fork and see what the difference is.

Now I have a few days of recovery riding and eating before SITS and some fun in the mud and the dark

Salzkammergut Road Trip

2009-07-27T20:45:00.009+01:00

This year for me has been pretty disjointed... with the advent of the new Genesis Bikes/Alpkit team coming late last year this year has been all about sorting the little details.. getting new riders.. deciding how the team will operate and what are goals are..

In all this although I have been following my normal training as laid down by Mark Forgy in Colorado I have struggled to get a race calendar together that fitted really with my new goals on the bike of going as big as possible... I had a cool 2 week cycling tour planned which I had to shelve due to finances... my 24 hour race goal was cancelled... I tried to get racing as much as possible but I felt like I was a little lost.... then I remembered Salzkammergut Trophy.

I had a set time booked off work and it just so happened that this race fell on the first weekend of this time... my friend Matt Barton had done it a year or so previous and it took him 15 hours and he is a good rider... the basis of this event is an almost single lap 208km race with 7000m of climbing... singlespeed rideable... I had to find out.

I mentioned the possibility to James at Genesis Bikes of hitting this race road trip style..driving out to Austria and doing the race then trucking to France to catch the tour and bag some big road climbs and cheeky singletrack... luckily he was instantly sold on the idea and convinced the gods at madison to provide a van for the trip and generously contribute fuel and ferry costs too the cause.

With the trip loosely planned we still had to find another passenger to share the driving and luckily my brother, Guy, decided that it was a trip he couldn't miss and joined the now 3 bound for Austria and big climbs:)

My Brother and me left Manchester on the Thursday morning and en route called in at Alpkit for some supplies for the trip.. namely excellent t's and a sleeping bag for my bro... the guys also sorted some stickers for some guerilla marketing on the trip.. leaving there we drove to Madison at Milton Keynes to meet James and load the van up... load up we did.. with a good supply of spares and now 2 bikes each we were set.. only one more stop to meet Paul West to collect a couple of jerseys and new shorts for the race... all that was left after this stop was to catch our ferry which we did with about 20 minutes to spare.

Arriving in France it was my turn to drive and the idea being to drive for a few hours then park up and camp but being the endurance type I decided I could drive straight through to Bad Goisern, Austria from Calais in one hit only stopping to refuel... a drive of around 10 hours... to say I was a little tired would be an understatement but my bro kept me entertained during the small hours and we arrived at the race campsite on the Friday morning leaving all day to relax in the sun and eat and drink..

Drink I did... the weather was scorching... I sunk bottle after bottle of SIS electrolyte drink fearing dehydration before such a massive effort.. in the sun we set my bike up with an 18t sprocket on the back instead of usual 16t.. 32x18 I hoped would be just low enough to muscle the long climbs but not so small I lost a ton of time on the fast open descents.. we then fitted a fresh set of Continental Race Kings.. 2.2 on front and 2.0 on back.. bike was looking real fast.

Out of nowhere you could hear thunder in the distance and black clouds were rolling in fast... in no time we were forced to take refuge in the back of the van as the rain hammered down... this didn't look good.. after an hour it stopped and seemed to be moving further down the valley.

After a trip to the race village, which was full of trade, stands.. a big area to eat and generally a great atmosphere it was decided a reasonably early night were needed as race start was 5am.

I woke up with my alarm at 4am.. at first I didn't register the sound all around the tent but quickly I became aware that this sound was rain.. and lots of it:( My brother told me I was mental for going out in this and I had to agree although you don't drive over 1000miles to cry off racing for fear of getting wet... I had already laid all my gear out in the van so quickly got ready adding to the layer a waterproof jacket... forcing food down my throat trying to cram in as many calories as possible James joined me in the van.. I was expecting no one to be up at this hour but he said he was going to come down to start and take some pics.. welcome company.

The ride down to the start was in the dark and by the time I got there I was already soaked... reassuringly allot of people were already there and the big crowd eagerly awaited the start.. while I am sure by no accident the organizers played AC DC's 'Highway to Hell' track as the start gun went... what had I let myself in for.

As everyone shifted up the gears on the flat road I had to jump wheel to wheel spinning like a mad man trying to get up the field although this flat didn't last too long.. after about 2km we started what I knew was the first climb of 10km and 800m gain.. I soon started to make my way up the field as everyone eased into a steady pace and I had to turn my gear of choice.

The weather showed no signs of letting up with lightening and claps of thunder nerve rackingly close.. especially when I realised all these euro boys riding their exotic carbon machines and me riding the biggest piece of steel on the mountain!!!

The riding was good... the climbing although relentless was pretty much manageable in gear I had chosen.. the descending was a mix of fast fire road with some tech stuff thrown in too.. although I was running technically a dry tyre I still had an acre of grip and past alot of the guys that seemed to be struggling in the technical stuff... great thing about riding rigid is usually the only way to get away with it is ride everything full on so you can 'glide' over as much as possible without getting bogged down which means you can be as fast if not faster than guys on suspension and in the mud rigid singlespeeds are king:)

At well placed intervals on the course were feed stations stocked with locks of good things to eat and isotonic drink to restock bottle as on advice I had ditched the hydration pack and gone for water bottle instead... good move as it would have driven me mad... the number of people manning the stations was amazing.. the weather was horrendous but still people were out there marshalling and manning the stations.. not to mention the spectators on the course.

I had no watch, gps or computer so just had to guestimate my position... this wasn't an issue as I felt super comfortable on the bike.. stacks of power and was following a well laid down feeding plan which kept me feeling good and although it never stopped raining you can only get so wet and as I was warm enough I was happy...

This was until the raindrops started to get bigger and come down slower.. and settle! SNOW!!!

At the tops of the climbs the temperature really started to drop and the feed stations took on more of the appearance of POW camps with riders huddling for warmth and shelter.. luckily this weather is standard fair for any British rider so it was not felt so bad.. although my hands went numb I couldn't brake so descending was tricky as soon as you got lower you warmed up and were good again.. some of the feed stations had warmed some drinks up which was most welcome and at one feed station I drew a small crowd of disbelievers at a single speed bike competing in this distance race. I had one guy poking my chain and another trying to shift an imaginary gear with my brake lever.. felt like I had just wandered into a different world in which its inhabitants although may have read fantastical tales on these one geared beasts they had never actually experienced one first hand.. I also discovered that singlespeed is called singlespeed in all languages:)

As time passed I worked out I was over the half way point.. we had had the 100km leading race guys pass us now I was mixed up in the much shorter race entrants... at a feed station I was listening to a marshal explain to a racer where he was a gesticulating a cut off at around 150km... unfortunately no one spoke English and I have no experience of Austrian or German so I guessed that we were maybe a little off the pace and were going to come close to missing a time cut off... how had this happened?? I had felt good the whole time out on the bike...I really pressed on after this point out of the saddle on the gas on all the climbs and not stopping for anything.. when I got to a railway crossing the barriers were down and I was told to stop... I assumed that we would be going over crossing when we could and as I waited a marshal cut off my transponder.. I was a little lost and the same happened to a fellow competitor that had also stopped..my heart sunk.. I had missed a time cut off.. devastated I rode back to the campsite... how could I have felt so good and been so slow?? how was I going to explain to James, my brother and sponsors that they had backed me to complete this epic race on a singlespeed and I had had come up short?? I was a little angry too as glancing at the marshal’s watch while he cut off my transponder I noticed I had 6 hours till race end and only I guessed 60km to do.. I would easy do it.. my toys came out the pram and I tore off the race number from the front of my bike... as I got to the campsite ready for the disappointing looks of James and Guy I saw James coming towards me relieved he had found me.. apparently the race due to the snow and severe weather conditions had been stopped... I was immediately relieved that I hadn't failed but then just as quickly very angry that I hadn't been able to finish.. I had ridden the worst and been out on the bike for 10 hours... this was the first race that I had ever ridden that had been stopped.

Nothing left to say or do a well earned shower was taken... and plans discussed about next year and how we would come back and do it again.

Bikes and kit packed we drove towards France.. think again after an epic post I will dodge more text and photo diary the rest of the trip:)

Results are up although not sure what they are based on but when they called it a day i was 31st.. not too shabby for a man with one gear and no suspension in a world of carbon fibre pervery

Iceland ... Photo Diary

2009-06-15T11:17:00.018+01:00

Iceland roadtrip - the words and riding

2009-06-15T09:54:00.007+01:00

All through my life i have had a keen interest in geography.. well maybe not a keen interest but i understood the subject and it came easy so i followed it right through to degree level.. and not this human/political geography either.. no rubbish demographics i mean proper geography.. mountains and stuff:)

It is inevitable that if you study geography then at some point you will use a case study or some images from Iceland.. the place is crazy looking with its glaciers, volcanoes, mountains and vast pan flat lava fields stretching out to the sea... and its growing too.. this is an island moving forward ( well more sideways).. sitting on a boundary between two of the huge jigsaw pieces that make up the surface of the earth which are moving away from each other ( its a divergent plate margin.. i'm not a geek).

This 'active' landscape has been a place i wanted to visit for many years.. as a mountain biker it looked like nirvana with so much scope for riding.. the only downside to this great place is cost.. with little natural resource apart from the rising heat from the ground which provides free hot water and in turn power they are left with importing most of their goods and this in the past lead to them being pricey but along came a global economy crisis and with it the crashing of Icelands national economy leaving very many embarrased uk councils trying to extract their money from failing Icelandic banks but also leaving the average man on the street an opportunity...

I assume that Iceland is having a greater push to draw on its natural beauty and bring more tourism into the country as prices have come down.. and down alot.. the flight we booked from Manchester return cost only £153.. with the flight booked myself and Grace.. well Grace mostly .. okay Grace totally.. planned a roadtrip around the entire country hitting every tourist attraction we could.. shaving cost by camping and with that also taking most of our own food as we didn't want to chance that food was still a costly item.

Our Flight out was in the evening with a planned arrival at the first campsite in Reykjavik just before midnight.. at check in we discovered that although there was unlimited allowance on my bike bag in terms of weight.. no one item could weigh more than 32kg.. so we quickly repacked meaning i had to check in the tent and a wheel seperately.. al faith faith was placed in careful handling by airport staff to get my new wheel to Iceland safely.
As we flew north it began to get lighter!! very strange at first but expected as this far north and in the summer the experience only maybe 4-5 hours of darkness a night going down to 3 hours on the longest day.. in fact for the entire week we were there apart from our first night we never saw darkness.

Landing we wrestled all our gear to our hire car.. Toyota Yaris which was instantly adjusted to ''no back seat, maximum luggage room' mode.. and a bike bag.. 2 large rucksacks and some smaller bags were packed.

At this point i'm not gonna string out a wordy blog post about every day as it would be very lengthy. instead i'm gonna post a first on this blog.. a picture diary.. hopefully straight after writing this.
What i will write about is the ride i did when i was there... unfortunately it is singular.. although Iceland has the most potential for mountain biking they are not really utilising it to its fullest so don't expect any trail centres or waymarked trails... in fact i had given up all hope of riding with everytime of asking where i could ride at a tourist information point being a negative response... until we got to Myvatyn Lake.. the tourist info response was the same.. 'No these are only hiking trails' .. so i probed a little further being now desperate to ride... the sun was out and i had seen a big crater in the distance .. ' so its illegal to ride them???' .. ' not illegal.. just err... frowned upon' .. only frowned upon!! if only i had known this earlier.. i don't mind a bit of frowning.. hell we get that in the UK when we are on perfectly legal trails.

Quickly got changed and Grace settled in with a book... it was only a short route so maybe 2 hours of riding with the highlight being riding to the top of a crater.. we don't have too many craters in the UK so you gotta take your chance when you can..

The first section was awesome.. pretty flat flowing perfect singletrack.. through a lava field!! .. slightly sandy to very sandy but with so much to pop off and rail and the singlespeed was spinning out nicely.. felt so good to be on the bike and getting involved with this great landscape.. i didn't feel bad about riding this hiking trail as i kept well to the trail and to be fair its made from rock so erosion really can't be an issue.. i came across a group of volunteers maintaining the trail.. with hammers and chisels!! they were more confused than irate to see me riding it.

i expect i may have bagged the first singlespeed to summit this crater..

what a view point..

I rode a really nasty cross wind round the edge of the crater anti clockwise in anticipation of a great descent only to be let down.. the ascent skirted up and across the crater whereas the descent was straight down the side with a series of unrideably tight switch backs constructed from pegs and string.. oh well... from this i entered a volcanic 'sculpture park' loads of crazy little stacks and arches.. a climbers dream i would imagine.. this was more super tech singletrack almost trials in places but the dry rock providing so much grip you could really attack everything.. back onto the road and back to meet Grace.

What an amazing little loop... great scenery and awesome singletrack... so much potential and the man that taps into it will be very rich.

Set 2 Rise 2009

2009-05-27T08:48:00.003+01:00

This season as racing goes has been a bit up in the air… I started my training plan back in October with a view to peak around about now for Wildboar 24 then later in the year when I naturally seem to go better.

When I heard that Wildboar 24 had been cancelled this was a bit of a blow as it effectively meant I would waste a good period of fitness and a lot of work would have gone to waste.. I did a few local events but nothing that was really my forte... to remedy this I needed to find a good honest endurance event to go test the legs.

There was nothing ‘local’ so the net was spread further a field and the only option seemed to be Set2Rise.. a night 12 hour endurance race with rave reviews on how good the course was last year but over 200 mile drive I had originally discounted this as just too far and too costly to get involved with.. with nothing else available I had no option but to go check it out.

Quickly texting fellow racers I found that I would at least know 2 other people there… fellow Genesis rider James Leavsley and the fast female Fi Spotswood... they had decided to race solo and mixed pair respectively.

The day of the race the weather was amazing… hot with clear skies… the drive down was nice and relaxed as the start time wasn’t till 6pm.. I arrived at 2.30pm.. tons of time to spare so got seat out car and began eating.. this race was the first trial of the ‘Paul West Diet For Champions’ feeding approach.. West has continuously chastised me for my bad eating habits and poor race feeding so I gave this one totally to him and followed his instructions to the letter.

James arrived sporting shorts and flip flops and looking decidedly like he had thrown his bike and kit into the car without much prep.. as it turned out he had thrown his bike and kit into the car without much prep, Still awaiting delivery of his team bike he was using an old hardtail which was held together by chance and luck I think… was great to have a few hours in the sun just chatting and eating before we had to do any prepping or racing…

The Solo pit area was gradually filling and it looked like a lot of people were riding singlespeed.. some really nice bikes around too with Tim Flooks sporting what looked like a ti Independent Fab … I put my bike together.. Decided that one light would be enough as I had the Light and Motion Seca Ultra so I donated my Stella 200L to James as a helmet mount.. I was gambling that the big battery and running a lower output would still give me plenty of light and mean I wouldn’t have to change.

Kitted and ready an effort at a warm up was made.. Circling a nearby tarmac area… then a roll to the start.. En route bumped into Fi .. She had done pre ridden the course and was raving about the quality of the singletrack and the harshness of a tarmac steep climb.. all in thought it sounded like a fantastic course.

The start was tarmac and slightly uphill and as the clock ticked over to 6pm we were off at a fast pace.. I was spinning out my gear and James was mis shifting just in front of me.. His bike was grumbling after 30 seconds.. It didn’t look good.
The course was amazing.. After the start we hit a grassy downhill.. Then into the woods on some wider tracks.. We then popped out onto field again then through a short wood to the first steep tarmac climb… once you had done this you were rewarded with a twisty singletrack downhill.. this eventually ended with the start of the long climb on the course.. it was up and down on a field before turning right and hitting a steeper section that went from grass to chalk to tarmac to wood and then back to tarmac.. I had to walk the chalk section every lap but I think it was the quicker option… the climb was long and the tarmac section steep but I seemed to have developed the ability to ride at a cadence of 10rpm on the singlespeed.
After this climb you hit a totally flat out grass downhill… this was purely blind faith as to get the most out of it you had to go with no brakes and point and go.. the level of faith on this increased as the darkness set in and you could only see a few metres in front of you… this left you with lots of wooded sections left and a slightly uphill grass climb upto a fantastic view ( when it wasn’t dark) of the surrounding countryside.. the singletrack was tight and i body rubbed the same tree every lap trying to squeeze extra sped and contort around it… even fully rigid this course was a total blast… somehow they have managed to coax all the trees to grow their roots at right angles to the trail so you can ride straight over them without them wiping your wheels out.

I started leading the singlespeed race but lost this position mid first lap… I figured myself back in 3rd by end of the lap so just settled into it… I had planned on a 12 lap race but laps seemed to be going by quickly and I had done 4 before it was really dark enough for lights… with lights on it was clear that my single light choice was more than adequate with the Light and Motions throwing out plenty of light even in the lowest setting.. My feeding plan was easy enough to follow.. Bottle every 2 laps and then a gel or energy bar every lap… I never felt hungry and energy levels never faltered.. I felt consistent as the laps went by.

During one of my midway laps I caught sight of James ahead of me and I had somehow managed to catch him up.. This was unnerving as he is a top class rider and riding gears so I shouldn’t have been this close to him.. as it turned out he was having a nonstop mechanical issue with his gears which eventually led to his total retirement from the race.

Everyone on course was friendly and clearly enjoying the course and conditions… on Lap 9 I noticed I was sliding further back on the saddle so got off to take a look and discovered that my saddle had worked loose.. I retightened it to ride a few meters before it happened again… balls…. I had to balance on the centre on the saddle and climb out of it.. as I got back to the start I tightened it again and went to check out my position in the singlespeed race.. 2nd!! .. no way I could stop riding so made do with my balancing act on the saddle for the remaining 5 hours of the race…

On my 12th or 13th lap I was caught again by the solo race leader Sam Humphrey (Charge Bikes) .. Luckily I was caught on a flat section so we got to have a chat.. He said he had a few dark moments during the night but was winning convincingly and looked strong

The final lap was always going to be the best… the race was nearly over.. I couldn’t be caught by third place and the sun was out and we were riding in daylight again…

I have to be honest in saying that I don’t enjoy every race I do… riding round in circles grinds you down… but this was a great event… the course was possibly the best I have ever ridden and well organised.

I eventually finished 2nd overall and I reckon I was about 15 minutes behind first place but as I hadn’t managed to catch him by 11.45 hours point I called it a day.. I am happy with my ride and my bike and although the talk at the end of the race was no more riding around in circles racing I can’t help but just have a little look and see what other races are out there…

Big thank you to James at Genesis for getting me a bike that works so well… Jim at Alpkit for my super warm and comfy pre/post ride clothing and Paul West for making me adopt his feeding strategy which although I hate to admit it worked flawlessly.

Pictures courtesy of Adam @ photo-it.com and some unknown facebook member.

Hope Series,Lee Quarry Rd3

2009-05-18T12:09:00.003+01:00

No matter at what level of this sport you are at… the occasional racer or the professional cyclist you can never escape occasionally having a bad day on the bike..
It can be a combination of many things but the end result is always the same… a depressingly poor performance.
After riding the Colne Valley Challenge last weekend on the SS I was feeling pretty strong... I was able to drop most riders on the climbs and was descending well over the few bit of singletrack… I have to admit that the effort was felt in the legs on the Monday but Mark factored this into last weeks training.
Round 3 of the Lee Quarry racing was happening so thought another good chance to get out and give myself a confidence boost before next weekends drive down to the 12 hour Set2Rise race where I would like to do well.
Great thing about Lee Quarry is its close.. I mean only 40 minutes drive from my house so prep is minimal... the race was only 90 minutes plus a lap so food etc was very low key aswell.. in fact it was a good breakfast..a single bottle and a gel just in case.
I did the unusual thing of pre riding the course.. usually I don’t want to see what I will be lapping for 12 hours but as this was a short race and a short course and would be a good warm up I paid my entry got changed and went for a spin.. or more a slow grind.. the climbing was on the borderline of my gearing being rideable but only just with a few sections just I chose to save the effort and push up.. not so bad I thought … was a little harsh on the fully rigid but if I could get enough speed up I wouldn’t feel the full force of the rocky terrain..

The start… unluckily the start was on a hill… a hill which was on the borderline of my gearing.. I noticed another SS rider in the racer cat and he was both feet clipped in and hanging onto the fence down the right side of the start line.. good idea… I tried to angle my bike slightly to take away starting on the full slope but as the race set off I was left flailing and scooting trying to clip in and went from the first line to near the back and as I looked up I could see the other SS rider cresting one of the first climbs leading the race.. .

I muscled the bike the best I could but my legs didn’t have the strength they had the week before and I was getting a good muscle shake every time I was seated and trying to force the gear… on the flat and descents I struggled to get on top of my gear and pop over the rocky sections so I just got progressively more beat up.. although was good to get some good shouts of support from the marshalls and spectators with much respect being given for the foolish fully rigid SS choice..

I figured on a 6 lap race.. I did have a mid race peak when I could see I was making ground up on the other SS rider.. I could actually see him mid lap but at the end of the lap I did catch him.. but only as he had punctured and pulled over to replace the tube.. I went past and carried on.. most races I will feel awful until I hit an hour then the legs and the brain switch on and I’m away.. this time an hour came and I failed to rise to the occasion in fact I think I slowed down..

As I ended the 5th lap no bell… I was out on my 6th with the prospect of having to do a 7th… to make matter worse the other SS rider caught me on starting the 6th lap.. I am so bad for napping mid race.. I lose focus when there is nothing front of me and sub consciously slow down.. I stayed with him briefly then lost touch as a back marker got inbetween us..
Then the final blow was getting caught mid lap by the overall leader which effectively meant he was on his bell lap and stopped the race for me at end of my 6th lap putting me a lap down on a number of riders.. never great to finish a lap adrift.. well not in short course racing anyway..

This left me nothing but to clean bike and pack the car and reflect…
So I learned to;
- When starting a race on a hill on a SS get both feet clipped in
- Bad days happen to us all… learn from it and move on
- I am no short course racer.. 4 hours plus only from now on..

Lets hope Set2Rise goes more too plan

Pic courtesy of www.laimonas.co.uk

Colne Valley Mountain Bike Challenge

2009-05-11T12:24:00.004+01:00

With Wildboar 24 now cancelled my racing season started to look a little light… finances are preventing me from travelling big distances and my summer trip hangs in the balance with the destination slowly creeping closer to home to reduce the outlay..
With this bleak outlook I was desperate to get out and get a number on my bike again… quick flick through the usual forums turned up the Colne Valley Mountain Bike Challenge… strictly not a race in the true sense of the word as we would be partially on public roads but strap a number on a bike and put people on a start line together and you bet there will be some racing:)
Research into the event showed that it was a hilly devil... decided that I would have a crack on the singlespeed as all my upcoming events are singlespeed based so good place to give myself a hard time and work out any problems… the times from last year indicated that the 30 mile course would be conquered by the fastest in 2 hours 20ish .. I gave myself a 40 minute buffer as I imagined that singlespeed would see me spinning out on any flat or downhill so aimed for 3 hours..

..side note: people always believe that singlespeeder’s lose out on the climbs.. I don’t find that.. any climb you can’t muscle is nearly always just as quick to walk.. you go faster up the climbs as you have no option but to push the gear you have no matter what you feel like.. where I frustratingly lose time over the geared racers is on the flat and descending where you can’t make any time as you spin the gear out.. annoying but a small price to pay for consistent speed and effort:)

Start of 9am… always nice to get a race done with in enough time to allow you to get home unpack, clean and still enjoy some well earned feet up time being fed by loved ones..

The race started with 30m of slight downhill into a left hand bend then onto the climb from hell… not too long but cobbled and steep… every fully rigid singlespeeders nightmare.. from this a bit more climbing to the start of another cobbled climb but this time wooded and greasy which saw a lot of geared riders walking up it.

The rest of the course followed suit.. we saw a quarry, some boggy wet riding, rocky singletrack descents, road and off road long climbs… on the whole I stood my ground only losing out on the long road descents but being able to make ground up on the long steady climbs which were made for singlespeed riders.
I didn’t wear a watch and I don’t use a computer so just had to instinctively use the 2 gels I carried to see me through to the end.. I opted for a single water bottle and also drunk at 4 of the 5 water stations.. opting for a carrying as little gear as possible approach.

The weather held good with only a hint of rain and was good to chat to some riders as we did some of the climbs.. the course was as described sadistic… steep sharp climbing then quickly losing the gained height to start again.. great stuff and a good challenge as the race title suggested..

Eventually made it back to the finish in 2 hours 34minutes … unknown position.. suspect 20 something.. very happy at only giving away 24 minutes to the winner who was geared over 30 miles.. might come back next year with gears and see how close to 2 hours I can get:)

Image courtesy of Flamingphotography.co.uk

Blocking some miles.. a true student of pain.

2009-04-19T17:48:00.008+01:00

... 250 miles already ridden.. been on my bike for 23 hours and Rich (Holland) tells me that he read somewhere that to be a cyclist is to be a 'student of pain'..

Reflecting on this statement it is clearly true... i was told not long after i started cycling that it never gets any easier.. so now i am a student of pain with the knowledge that it is only gonna get worse!!

About 6 months after i started riding again after a 10 year break i decided that i wanted to ride the classic C2C whitehaven to Tynemouth route as i had done it in my early teens over 2 days.. so as i had done it in 2 days i decided that i wanted to do it in one day or 11hrs 45minutes as it turned out.. it was done new years day 2007 and was as i remember it the toughest day i had ever done on a bike..

So over 2 years on when i was invited to join a one day C2C crossing again i looked at how i could go the extra mile as i am a student of pain i need to go a little further in my endeavours and do the research... i love the idea of riding not involving a car.. Door to Door outings.. public transport is acceptable as you can switch off and enjoy the ride.. so why don't i just ride from Manchester to Whitehaven.. only 140 miles.. but instead of wasting a day off why don't i just set off after work and ride through the night.. meet them and keep on going to Tynemouth... only 280 mile day.. all sounded perfectly feasible so i called it, anyone that knows me will know that if i call something then i will do it a hang up from my days of bmx street riding where the law states that if you call out a trick then you have to give it a go whether it be stairs or a rail etc.

I checked out the route and it all looked easy enough, told Mark (Forgy) my coach what i was gonna do so training was worked around, i spoke to James at GENESIS and a Vapour Cyclo Cross bike was sent out for me to use, fitted with a seat post mounted rack the bike would be perfect for the latter part of the ride and the on/off road nature of the C2C route...

Nothing left but to pack up and get going.. i packed an ALPKIT dry bag with my Jeanius jeans, Filet and endura merino jersey so i could rock some 'rider chic' for my train ride home...

7pm Friday night.. time to get moving...

The route was to go through Manchester and pick up the A6 which would take me up through Preston, Lancaster then i would turn off on the A590 and head through the southern lake district and pop out at Whitehaven.
I stopped every few hours or so had a little to eat and then got moving.. nothing more glamorous than eating in a bus stop or shut petrol station at 1am in the morning.. travelling at this time though these places gives another view on life as other 'normal' people sleep..

The journey was pretty uneventful apart from getting buzzed by a coach on a dual carriageway.. i swear it brushed me as it went past it was so close... the dullness of the riding didn't aid the speed of the journey as i was almost falling asleep on the bike i was so disinterested in what was happening around me. Mostly flat for the first 4-5 hours when i cut inland and headed across the southern lakes to Whitehaven the riding got somewhat hillier and i was in the lowest gear and having to get used to a new out of the saddle riding method as the weight of the bag on the back exaggerated every swing of the bike side to side..

I made it to the bed and breakfast the other guys were staying in and after some faffing managed to climb into a spare bed to warm up for 30 minutes.. then a hearty breakfast was had and we were back riding by 6.30am heading for Tynemouth after the customary dipping of wheels in the sea..

The first few miles are false flat.. looks flat but its a draggy uphill.... i was feeling it difficult to keep a moderate pace as my brain and legs had switched off after the long first part of this ride.. by the time we got to the first proper climb up and over Whinlatter forest i was feeling slow and getting dropped out of the back of our group of 4.. i really only had one pace and couldn't seem to get on top of my gear so laboured every climb.
After a second breakfast in Keswick we climbed out to Penrith with more slow climbing although i was starting to feel a little better.. in Penrith we stopped for more water and pick up some more food... this set the tone for the day as unlike all other times i had ridden this route the sun was out and it was hot so keeping hydrated was up at the top of the list of the things to do that day.

Every climb i was dreading from past experience turned out to be a little bit shorter or easier than i had imagined and by the time we got to Hartside Pass i decided to stick to the road climb as i had planned to take a break and push up the off road section... the climb went great and i felt very strong the more it went on.. Gary (Knowles) had gone off up the road strongly as his road bike left him with a big gear to push.. i manged to slowly catch him back up and even managed to get out of the bottom gear i had spent all the other climbs in and shift it up a couple of cogs getting out of the saddle periodically to raise the tempo and get on top of the gear... topping out at Hartside Cafe the sun was out in full force and lighting up the valley below looking out towards the lake district.. these are the views that keep you going when your stuck at work these are the mental images that see you through the day.

We lunched at Hartside and soaked up some sun.. and drank lots of fluid.. we then put on a few layers and got ready for the flat out long downhill towards Garrigill... the descent flashed by quickly and we were all too soon faced by the climb out of Garrigill towards nenthead... this is the climb i had dreaded all day.. it is like hitting a wall and i was soon forced to pushing for the first section. Another flat out downhill got us to Nenthead, at this point we waited for Rob (Sharrock) as he had climbed on ahead and we feared he had take a wrong turn.. while we waited we sunk an energy gel with caffeine to fire us up the next 3 climbs.. they worked well and we crested the climb before the descent to allenheads easily.. well Rich still looked happy at the top...

At Allenheads there is only one serious climb left.. it starts on the road with short and steep climbing.. then you descend on the road and then start the long off road climb... again we were reduced to a push.. with Gary on road tyres we decided to climb directly out onto the road and follow it to the start of the waskerley way.. the waskerley way is a flat out bridleway... this section of trail saw our first puncture of the day.. this trail was followed all the way to Consett.. Consett saw our first navigational problem as we had been blindly following the C2C route markers.. after cruising around the streets Rich asked for directions which came good and we were onto the Derwent valley Trail.

With time getting on it had gone from dusk to dark and Gary had a very limited light and Rob had ...well.. no light at all. A few miles in Gary hit a brick on the trail and we saw puncture number 2.

At this time i just wanted to get the job done so we took to the road and took turns on the front to pick the pace up and it wasn't long until we were in sight of Tynemouth and the finish... quick call to my brother secured a lift to my parents house via a well earned burger..

I had been riding for 27 hours.. covered 280 miles.. to date the biggest ride i have completed.. but then i am a student of pain and i guess it won't be long before the next 'lesson' is planned.

A match made for adventure

2009-04-15T16:27:00.002+01:00

From the offset of my new sponsorship with Genesis it was always going to be an unconventional approach to running a team of riders… without a race bike in the lineup it is obvious that Genesis Bikes are looking elsewhere when they draw inspiration for their machines… this inspiration comes from good honest riding.. long days..new trails.. getting out there and enjoying whatever we can find.. wether that be an hour down the park on a cheeky bit of singletrack or days trekking new ground experiencing new trails and new sights..

The only usual interruption in a good days riding is the need for accommodation… this factor limits the range of most rides but what if you carried all your gear with you.. enough anyway to crash under a tree or bush for the night and knock up some hot food… this is the ideal… but Genesis don’t make sleeping bags or superlight cooking gear.. however ALPKIT do

The idea was formed or the Genesis team to become yes a team of endurance racers that can place at any event but also a group of likeminded people always looking to see what and where can be ridden next so logic dictates that another sponsor be brought in to help with the gear required to go for longer trips on the bike… as a brand Genesis are small, this allows constant adaption and change as riding demands change.. to maintain this approach a similarly styled company needed to be found to form a great union..

Alpkit fitted the bill…

they produce quality goods.. that not only perform but look great.. they operate at a level that see’s them up there with the big guys of outdoor equipment winning the awards but operating on a scale that allows personal contact with the people they support and an ability to stay fresh with the product line.

After an intial exchange of emails it was clear that Jim at Alpkit was the kind of person and the kind of company that would work well with Genesis in forming this team.. the first meeting at the Outdoors show went great and also gave me chance to check out the product I had been eyeing up online for a number of weeks… within 2 weeks of the show my spare room is now homage to the Alpkit brand.. I have Sleeping bags, Dry bags, Bivvi Bags, sleeping mats… even a titanium spork!!! ( it’s a spoon/fork.. its made out of titanium I was sold)..

many an hour has been trying out this new gear in the front room and strapping various parts to my trainer bike to see how it will all attach to a bike..

Well now I have all my kit ( almost.. just a tent to find).. I have a lot of planned destinations to air it all… sure I have said this a million times before its gonna be a great year..

Check out Alpkit.com to see the kit the team will be using

Thanks again James (Genesisbikes.co.uk) and Jim ( Alpkit.com)

Brownbacks Racing – Lee Quarry

2009-04-08T13:34:00.000+01:00

I have lost count of the number of forum threads I have read about people complaining that racing mountain bikes in the Uk seems to be focused very much in the south when it comes to venue selection… well people have sat up and took notice and it seems that riders have taken matters into their own hands and started putting on events in the north.. Especially it seems in the North West.

This style of small rider organised races is nothing new.. its how mountain bike racing started… it’s the cornerstone of rider development in the road scene and now it seems to be the future of racing.. a strong statement as people are always banging on about the ‘future of the sport’ .. but it is.. riders know what riders want and local races cater for the masses to have a go when they may not want to travel 100’s of miles to do a national event.

I have to admit I’m a useless cross country racer as I’m usually just getting warmed up and into my stride and the race is over but when these things are on your doorstep its rude not to go and give some support.

The latest in the line of local races in the North west is the Brownbacks organised Lee Quarry series…. A multiple event race series with races lasting 1.5 - 2 hours .. events spread out over the year and categories split by a basic scheme allowing everyone to have a fair crack at doing well…
Check out the site at www.brownbacksracing.co.uk for more info

The LEE Quarry trail itself is like riding a big off road bmx track.. you got steep short climbs.. a long climb.. flowy technical singletrack.. in a short loop so there is something for everyone.. I was there last night and enjoyed the mountain bike playground it is.. have to admit that myself and Mr Tottle spent too much time riding along half buried logs in the skills area trying to discover some hidden trials talents.. mine is still hidden presumed non existent..
I will stick to endurance racing :)

Hopefully will blog the event when I have ridden or spectated it

The Third Installment

2009-04-07T14:14:00.000+01:00

Being friends with Richard Rothwell is a double edged sword... on the one hand I get to draw from years of riding experience, depth of knowledge when it comes to great spots to ride, I get to know someone who is always up for big days of riding.. The flipside to this positive is the negative that he’s faster and lighter than me which means I invariably whilst getting all these positives get a kicking on the bike…

Richard this year has only 2 real goals.. one of which is to complete the off road C2C route… St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay in 24 hours.. Over the winter I stupidly have volunteered now on 3 occasions to go and recce ride sections of this challenging route..

The third installment was at the weekend… Saturday was Shap to Reeth taking in the Dales and then Sunday was Osmotherly to Robin Hoods Bay attacking the Moors...
I went expecting long days of riding... it’s what I came for... training but disguised in a way that you actually enjoy doing it.

The weather was best described as ‘changeable’ for the first installment and the riding a typical mix of steady climbing and average descending... in fact I remember little about the first day apart from the start of the weekends map reading confusions always ending up in an extra climb or two.. There was a few stand out downhills which were rocky enough to be challenging but not enough to slow you to picking your way through... I do remember the section before the road to Tan Hill as it is vague.. Very vague. There is a sign post on the road which points back towards the direction you come from indicating a bridleway is there somewhere but like me and Richard I guess it really doesn’t know where it is… just a big open space of moorland with wet peat to soak your feet when you’re not paying attention.

The second installment was started in absolutely glorious weather… this was first ride of year wearing short sleeves and no gloves.. a mile marker indicating good dry weather may be just round the corner. A little different from the day before we saw some forest to start the day but only on a very wide bridleway... then more confusion on the route which gave us another long climb to turn round at top and then descend.

This section of the route I think shows the creator’s lack of enthusiasm after winding his way from the lakes as it seemed that we slogged up very steep climbs to be greeted with heavily rutted unrideable descents or just plain old road descents.

Whilst on the top of the moors the views were stunning as we smashed along the wide rough bridleways.. at this point we were unaware of the total distance for the day that had to be covered.. I took a nice fall on almost flat as I really wasn’t feeling inspired by what I was riding plus I had made a schoolboy error of wearing knackered old shorts for such a long day and I was very very uncomfortable.

After another navigational error we consulted a walker who informed us of where he was heading.. I instantly remembered the name of the place from the route card we had used that morning to plot the days riding… we had been riding for near 4 hours and we still had 45 miles to go!!!

I have to admit I lost all interest at this point facing such a long day of what wasn’t the best riding and knowing it was going to be very late when I got home.. I think Richard sensed my mood and cunningly coaxed me on blindly ignoring the mammoth distance still left to cover over the slow going ground we were on.

The Recce was going to have to be partially abandoned at a set point then we would bee line for Robin Hoods Bay on minor roads... not before we unnecessarily climbed a 33% road climb… the bravest thing I have ever seen occurred as in my ever increasing bad mood Richard still asked if we could descend to the bottom and find the trail we should have been on… you are a very brave man Richard :)

With a few more road climbs under our belt we managed to reach Robin Hoods Bay and the car just as we were losing light… a ride just short of 8 hours giving us a 14 hour weekend total of mostly off road and untold amount of climbing… if this doesn’t get me race ready I’m not sure what will.

Thanks Richard for another kicking. :)

Whinlatter Challenge – Taking a Knife to a Gun Fight

2009-04-02T08:36:00.003+01:00

When I first heard about singlespeed riding like most people I reacted with the ‘what’s the point??’ attitude.. why limit in my view then where and what you could ride.. surely you were just limiting the fun??

I then met a few guys riding them.. was still not convinced but had a spare geared bike.. had a need for a very cheap to run bike as I was about to go back to Uni and couldn’t afford the maintenance costs of running a geared bike over winter.. so with a big pile of parts left on the workshop floor of TSW Cycles a fully rigid singlespeed was created.
I rode this bike allot…. I used it for training, big days riding in the peaks and on a few occasions to some success racing… I discovered that it wasn’t just a ‘niche’ item in the bike collection but a great way of hassle free riding… I wouldn’t say it the ‘Purest’ form of riding or any crap like that as I am happiest when I’m just riding.. Doesn’t matter what I’m riding.

With this in mind I asked for a singlespeed to be one of the 2 bikes I get from my sponsors Genesis… I upgraded my IO with some personal choices and to make it a little cross compatible in terms of parts with my Altitude for racing... the IO has been my bike of choice for racing so far and so when Whinlatter Challenge was announced I didn’t hesitate to sign up to ride singlespeed for the advertised 30 mile race.
With the entry list detailing those riding singlespeed it was clear to see that it wasn’t the weapon of choice with SS riders only accounting for a small fraction of the large field of 400+ riders..

Whinlatter forest is typified by long, long, long fireroad climbing and technical descending… in short to take a fully rigid singlespeed to this race was a likened to bringing a knife to a gun fight.
The Saturday before the race myself and Grace travelled to the Lakes to be greeted with overcast weather on the brink of snow... Staying with Richard’s (Rothwell) dad in Keswick was a god send saving valuable money needed for rest of year... John (Rothwell) kindly let us stay and made us feel very welcome again.

After coffee in Keswick it was decided that a walk to finish off the day and also register for the race which was open for a few hours on the Saturday was a good idea… Grace, Richard, his wife Charlotte and myself had a short walk at Whinlatter as flakes of snow fell… it looked as though it was going to be a cold race in the trees

Charlotte cooked a fantastic bean chili for Saturday’s dinner and an early ish night was had…
Sunday morning I awoke to Sunshine!!! Clear blue skies… with much confusion I breakfasted and got ready... Periodically checking the skies for tell tale signs of poorer weather approaching but the skies remained steadfast in there clear blue appearance.
When we got there the place was full to the brim of riders.. an amazing turnout of 400 plus for a first year event just proving the popularity of this format of event and further more justifying that the BCF should be looking more into promoting and supporting this community of riders… there are riders outside of Velodromes

With a quick warm up we were on the start line and nicely near the front…. I spotted another friend ready to start… another Richard.. Holland this time… first race for him and weather as being very kind to us all with the continued sunshine...
I looked around at the other bikes near the front and as suspected I was 26 gears short of everyone else I could see... oh well nothing to do but enjoy myself… I scheduled this race to be a hard effort concentrating on descending well... it was easily gonna be the hard part anyway.
The start went okay… I eased into the gear sitting in the top 15 riders at the front.. Rothwell just in front and trying not to work myself too hard with a long way to go and little chance of rest..
The starting climb was epic... Described as 4km long and this was easily believable… by the top I was really having to stand on the pedals the turn the 32X16 gearing... but still maintained a steady pace and let the other riders get on with their race.
As predicted the course was extremely unfriendly to those with only one cog… the climbs were very long and just outside the gearing so I was struggling to get on top of the ratio... the descents were rocky but manageable if attacked at speed on the rigid forks… a few people were already sidelined with pinch flats.. I hit a rock very hard and was surprised when the tyre stayed up but this was only as the wheel had shifted in the frame... ( note: tightened and check wheels before every race) not a great issue as the inbuilt tensioner’s on the IO frame kept it ride able till I could complete the lengthy lap and retrieve a suitable tool from Grace to fix it… bottle change and fix went easy and I was out on second lap..

I didn’t have the energy to muscle the big climbs second time around so was reduced to a brisk walk which to be fair wasn’t much slower than the people around me… there was always a brief moment of joy as a rider caught me up... followed by deep dissatisfaction when they realized I was riding singlespeed.. I suppose it like knocking down a man with no arms... it’s no real achievement… made worse that when the gradient on the climbs allowed and I could ride I regained a lot of places... Must be soul destroying to be passed on a climb by a singlespeed rider…

Its not just the climbs that time is lost when you’re not geared as there was a lot of flat out lengthy descents and a healthy section of road where all you could do was spin your legs or tuck for speed..

The finish came in 3 hours 59minutes…. 36 miles …. 54th place and 1st singlespeed rider... I was 40 minutes behind Rothwell in 7th Place and about 30 minutes in front of Holland in his first race after he took a decent sized fall on his 2nd lap.
Overall I had a great day… one of best races I have ever done… course was exceptional in my opinion and I am itching to have a go next year with gears

My legs felt good and strong... looking forward to getting the Altitude set up for Wildboar 24 and seeing what I can do

Road Trip!!! Isle of Skye

2009-03-08T14:43:00.011Z

With a spare weekend i had to fill it with a road trip... Isle of Skye has been given some amazing reviews so why not..

The plan was simple.. leave midnight Thursday.. get there for about 8am to give me full day to ride and look around.. then ride saturday and come home sunday... i was open minded as to the riding i would find there i was just more concerned about getting some map reading practice in and also trying to get some good pics.

The drive up was pretty straightforward.. nothing much to see.. as it was dark.. did stop for a call of nature on a quiet scottish minor road.. then flashbacks to films such as Dog Soldiers and Jeepers Creepers came to mind so i finished quick time and hit the road... vivid imagination.

As dawn broke i could see the amazing countryside that i had been driving in for hours.. mountains either side.. i as high up on the road looking down to a loch.. everything capped in snow.. this was what i came for.

Day One - Sligachan Loop.. 44km..

This looked like a straightforward loop... head along road from start... then down one valley and back up another.
The weather was pretty crappy so i wrapped up in all layers and headed off... the first road climb came quickly after only a few miles and i challenged myself to staying seated in the climb and pushing through the gears... ouch.

The turn for the first off road section i couldn't see so looped a little more road.. when the off road started it was fairly heavy going, very boggy and difficult to get a good line.. the track skirted a few lochs with occasional foot wetting crossing... a great sight for so early on in ride was a herd of deer just the other side of the loch.. great to see animals of this size in the wild.. makes me happy.

By the time i got to the road at the other end of the valley i was a little dissapointed with the riding so far as i sheltered out of the rain under a bridge for brunch..

After irish soda bread with chocolate spread and some jaffa cakes i set off another road climb round the headland.. with warmer legs this one was easier and topped out with a fantastic view..

This headland marked the turn for home up an adjacent valley... i wasn't holding out much hope as the trail wound its way rockily upto a clearing then gave me one of the best views of perfection i have ever seen.. this is what i came to Skye to see..

This place is so rugged and add the element of bad weather and the total lack of people.. i didn't see another person on any trail i rode.. the trail descended to the beach along a winding rocky trail with occasional breaks to jump but then come back on the brakes hard to make the next turn.. this was the riding i was expecting and really turned my day around...

The trail from the bottom of this descent wound its way back up the valley with nearly 7 miles of continuous tech singletrack.. with little sleep the concentration to ride this totally burned me out.. what fun though.. you would hammer through a less tech section then slow down to pick your way hopping through a rocky outcrop..

then there was the raging fords to cross as they were fueled by many waterfalls pouring from the rock faces to both sides of the valley.. Skye had alot of water to get rid of that day and it felt like it wanted to do it quickly...

By the time i got back to the car i was beat.

Took a drive upto Portree to take a look about then to Portnalong to Skyewalkers hostel where i had booked in for the night.. the hostel was great.. very clean and owner super helpful.
That night i drove back to Portree to hunt some hot food and settled on chinese.. then waited for race to text from Egypt as phone signal variable across Skye but here was good.
Back to Hostel.

Day Two - Quarang then Home

Got up in morning and weather was super nasty... howling gale and pouring rain. Decided to get in todays ride and head south back home chasing better weather.

I had heard about the Quarang from a number of people and had kindly been given a suggested route by a forum user... the route was short and apparently a classic so it didn't bother me to head out riding in pretty serious weather.

As it happens the drive to this ride was amazing too.... apparently peugeot filmed an ad here where the sat nav directs a guy to the middle of nowhere then instructs him to 'enjoy' ... winding downhill country road with great visibilty allowed some fun to be had rolling through the bends.. fun had already started and bike was still in car.

I got ready super quick and headed out on the trail... it looked a thought it would be off road out then road back.. the going was mainly ride/push/hike as it got steep going up.. this place is crazy.. amazing geological features.. heaps of waterfalls piercing the rock faces and weather sweeping the valley..

By the time i reached the highest point it was a section totally exposed and funneling the wind directly towards you... felt like being sandblasted... i couldn't look into it and had to squint and cover my face with gloves just to see where to go..

The trail skirted underneath this immense imposing cliff face towering above you.. the trail itself being very narrow with a nice drop as a prize for catching a pedal or slipping off a rock.. as if this wasn't bad enough there was 2 waterfall crossings thrown in for good measure.... time was taken here as i didn't fancy the wet rocky fall that would come from a rushed crossing..

All was going well with the road end in sight until i rounded a corner to find a gullie/waterfall ... it was vertically sided with water running over every surface... i could just about make out a few foot places but couldn't see how i could prop my bike up on the otherside .. i backtracked to see if i had missed a minor trail... nope this was it.. after a long good look and also checking out what would happen if i fell i decided the penalty for mistake was way too high and sometime when you ride on your own especially in a place like this were people don't frequent the trails you got to err on the side of caution.. no bad thing as i got to sample the trail in both directions.

As it turned out the water breaks that had annoyed me on the way up with constant hopping breaking the rythmn now became ramps to launch off:) what a great end to the ride..

What a great place, i'm pretty fired to come back here and just see what i can find..maybe bring the camping gear and enjoy some of the more secluded spots... highly recommended.

Couldn't blog this without posting the last pic i took before i left Skye...

Well it makes me smile:)

What a trip 40 hours... 40 miles of riding...900 miles of driving.. this is what i live to do:)