Hit the North 1.5

Most races these days take meticulous planning and organisation... they usually involve a few hours drive and having to carry everything you may need just in case so when a race drops onto your doorstep even if it isn't your prefered distance then it would be foolish to turn down the chance to put a number on and stretch the legs..

The Hit the North race was a 2 hour affair... set on a short 3 mile course at a venue north of manchester just off the M60 motorway... so roughly translating to 20 minutes drive from my house. The event was open to any type of bike with a good split on the day between cross bikes and mountain bikes.

I decided after racing at the same venue last summer that i would do it singlespeed again... the week prior to the race i got the Genesis IO to Manchester Trev to get the xt brakes and fancy light wheels fitted.. including 1.5" continental tyres.. he did a great job and i picked the bike up friday night and gave it a shake down ride up and down the street for 20 minutes to make sure everything was where it should be.

Saturday morning got to the race venue a good hour before the start.. met Charlie ( Wigfall) and James ( Tottle) there... got changed and rode a section of the course.. sheet ice everywhere.. was definately gonna be interesting.

After rider briefing a friend from work, Richrd O'Brien, turned up armed with digital SLR to try and capture some worthy shots for the blog... great as it saves the trawling though other peoples shots and subsequent negotiation to use them.




The start bottlenecked very quickly even though a little extra was added to try and spread the field so a fast start and getting to the front was needed... luckily my starts have improved.. i used to be nervous about getting to the front and always used to let everything happen around me then have to battle through the crowds now i have no problem in asking if i can shuffle into any available space to get to as close to the front as possible..



From the start as predicted the cross bikes took off... i managed to get myself into 4th place away from the crowds.. the course was a great hybrid of cyclo cross and mountain bike with steep drops to ride down and long sets of steep steps to shoulder the bike and run up..






The weather started to warm after about the second lap and the mud got stickier meaning that on the draggy climbs i was reduced to getting off and briskly walking as i couldn't get on top of the gear and get alot of traction... the steep drops were great as even though the bike is rigid on skinny tyres the mud gave enough to mean i wasn't getting a total kicking on them... the bottom section of the course was flat out and the gear was spun out on the singlespeed until the last climb which was great as when everyone shifted into an easier gear there was plenty of traction to muscle the IO up it and make some ground up.



I was unsure how many laps i would complete in the 2 hours but after 3 ws told it was just under an hour to go so it looked as though 6 would be done... i metered my effort to this although i was flagging a little with having to push so much and then spin out to try and make it up... in my relaxed preparation i had forgotten to stick a gel in my pocket and by the 5th lap i was could have done with one then without prompting the guy i had been yo yo'ing with for 6th place said he had a spare gel and did i want it!! Without a doubt... got that into me and started to perk up although we were a third of the way round the 6th and final lap..

The last third of the lap all went wrong for me.. i had been racing closely another guy who would catch me on the downs and hold his ground on the flat but i consistently passed him and made serious ground on the final climb... this time though i got caught up behind a back marker in the muddt slow top section through the trees meaning he went into the downhill first opening a lead. when we got to the en of the flat bottom section i could see a group of ridrs ahead.. including Charlie who i was about to lap... as i approached a back marker i gave a rather generous amount of room and dropped into what looked like a muddy rut.. in fact it was a very icy hard as concrete rut so soon as i turned to get out it held its own an turned my front wheel from underneath me levering me squarely onto my hands and forarms ointo a very hard unforgiving fireroad.. i picked myself up first concern being alot of pain in my knee and knowing the ony thing to do was to get back on and turn the pedals in an effort to stave off the inevitable swelling and stiffness... i got to the top of the climb and though the opening in the trees onto the start finish field managing to cross the finish line 7th... with only the salvageable victory being i was the first singlespeed rider...

After a quick visit to get the deep cut on my knee cleaned all was left was to clean down the bike, pack up and have a coffee and chocolate bar with Charlie.

Although i wasn't entirely happy with the final result it was a great race and as the previous one very well organised with a superb course.. all that is left now is for my body to get in gear and start replacing the skin i left on course.

Pictures courtesy of Richard O'Brien (http://www.flickr.com/photos/r_j_obrien)

Early starts...

This week has been the first week of base... the hours have gone up and so has the intensity..

Long session on the turbo kicked off the week... followed by heavy weights sessions with low reps... hilly rides... hil reps and long slow ride to finish.

This would of been a hard enough week but long hours at work and a few early starts upped the intensity.. Grace was on a training course so wednesday morning i got up and out of bed at 4.30 to see her off... that night was spent out on the singlespeed searching the streets of manchester with a local riding friend in search of the perfect hill to rep... anyway this recon ride came under the prescribed 'hilly 1.5hr ride' so that got ticked off the weekly training plan.

Only problem with the hill that was the bet was that at the bottom was a roundabout and junction of the M60 motorway.. only way to get the reps in safely and consistently was another early start so 4.30 am thursday morning i was up and out of bed again changed and out doing my hill reps.. soemthing deeply satisfying about getting up and out while the world is still aspleep.
Thursday night i did a gym session to leave a clear friday night for me and Grace.

Saturday was a long slow road ride... at the moment i don't own a road bike so i train on my old singlespeed with skinny tyres... great for the odd off road excursion too when needed... i did the usual run out up the brickworks climb, long hill, goyt valley, then final big climb up to Cat and Fiddle pub..
The day was clear, no rain.. temperatures were nice for riding... wind was blowing hard though and i caught a head wind all the way out until the final climb upto Cat and Fiddle.. meaning wind on my back for descent.
Road was ice/water free so it was all out attack on the descent..a quick glance behind to check for cars then swinging out to make use of the whole roads width to get in and out the corners as quick as possible then tuck back down to squeeze the most speed out.
I had decided to ride with ipod on... not usually recommended while road riding but i am super cautious when on the roads and always ride still being able to hear what is going on around me... anyway i stuck ipod on shuffle and let it decide the soundtrack.. its didn't let me down.. some like a hard techno, some like thumping rock... for the Cat and Fddle descent my ipod chose Dean Martin!! definately had a good flow through the corners... Downhillers take note... Rat Pack is the future for a smoother run:)

saturday was rounded off by a shopping trip to town buying some discounted Vans half cab trainers, north face slippers and a travel guide for Kyrgyzstan:) then going to see Keane at MEN arena... great weekend so far.

GENESIS BIKES 2009

It is official... i am super pleased to say that i will be supported by GENESIS Bikes for 2009 in whatever stupid endeavours i can get myself involved in...in fact thats exactly what they want from me.

The deal is this... i get the bikes, the kit, the spares and emails of kind words telling me how much they love me and in return i have to put their bikes in the stupidest places that i can imagine... this year although racing endurance events is still near the top of my list the priority for me is to long distance, big days in the saddle, nights in the bivvi/tent and visiting as many new places as i can manage/afford...

I have a new found desire to find out how far i can take my cycling.. racing i am still keen to get involved with as the 12/24 hour scene has some great characters and on the whole n excellent atmosphere amongst the solo boys.. but my new found passion is big days riding.. i wanna extend this into big weekends riding with the aid of bivvi/tent and camping equipment.. then mid way through this year i am to venture into the land of trekking/wilderness mountain biking cutting my teeth with a 2 week solo venture into central asia.

As shown in previous posts the first new addition to the bike collection and my race bike for this year will be the excellent Altitude... ti framed.. soon to have 100mm travel front end.. amazing xt disc brakes ( these are hard to beat).. this bike is a blast and has already seen some quality saddle time..


The second bike is a singlespeed.. IO... i am a big fan of singlespeed riding.. in winter i think for most people who ride as much as i do on a budget its the only affordable means of doing it... they are so low maintenance.. great for building your base fitness and really help you pedal well.. this bike i will race when the course is flat or crazy muddy... it will also be the back up bike just in case all goes wrong with my ti..



.. the stock bike has already been treated to carbon rigids and some low rise riser bars and i'm looking forward to Hit the North 1.5 to ride it in anger.

This leave the small issue of renaming my blog... its hardly a shoestring affair anymore.. i will give it some thought over the next week... any suggestions helpful.


Big thanks to James Olsen @ Genesis bikes for putting this great deal together and giving me the opportunity to push my riding further this year... i have big plans.. big ambitions... its gonna be a good year.

There will be Ice

Training is coming along nicely with some consistency back into my approach to riding, i struck lucky with Christmas week being my first scheduled rest week so it was alot lighter which was welcomed not because i needed a break but i spent the holidays at my parents in Newcastle.. briefly returning to Manchester to pick Grace up.. so with all the traveling it was difficult to get access to a gym and carry all the bikes i needed.

With only short rides, running and a few gym sessions an invite from Mr Rothwell to go check out another section of one of his big challenges this year was welcomed... always a good chance to block some hours in the saddle in good company and get a king size beasting from a seriously quick rider... quickest way to improve is to ride with others much faster than yourself.

The venue was the Yorkshire Dales.. Reeth to be exact as the starting venue with a view to ride part of Rich's challenge on the Saturday and then a shorter play ride on the Sunday.

Up early on Saturday morning and drive the 125 miles from Manchester to Reeth for 9am meet... the day started disappointingly with nowhere open for a pre ride coffee so nothing left to do but get changed and get on with it.. temperatures were low so all kit that could be worn was worn.. the aim of the day to ride to the Tan Hill pub and a little further beyond then turn round and come back.

Bike built up i noticed that my rear brake was far from optimum, i knew my pads were worn after the peaks ride but with all travelling i hadn't got round to swapping them and with no spares i had no choice but to ride with only really a front brake.. and here is Rothwell pulling a shiny new fully Xtr equipped Iron Horse bike that he will be campaigning on this season.. he is quick enough on his old Cove so i knew i was gonna get a proper kicking even though he professed to wanting to take it easy.

Ride started with a horrible long road climb with more than its fair share of false summits... something that typifies the Dales.. your just never quite at the top..




already on the road were patches of Ice, after a heavy few falls on black ice a few weeks back i now have a massive complex about the stuff.

The ride was really the same mix of wide frozen snowy bridleway punctuated with large sections of unrideable sheet ice...

The ride out to Tan Hill seemed to be just one long climb.. the frozen ground made what would normally be boggy hard going alot easier.

When we got to Tan hill pub as we had missed a good breakfast a good dinner was the order of the day.. although the food was welcomed and the temporary warmth the downside was having to go back out and ride.

Both myself and Rich could hardly turn a pedal it was so bitterly cold.. my muscles were refusing the function and feeling in hands was quickly lost as we started straight after lunch with a downhill into the wind chilling us.. we road a few miles of road to check out the last section of today's route then decided to start heading back.

Not long into the return leg Richard noticed that the rear shock on his new bike had decided it had had enough and collapsed leaving him with a totally deflated shock and to boot a very low bottom bracket and ridiculous head angle..

So after all the climbing he had to reign it in on the descents we could ride and couldn't hammer it as for some reason my front brake to compensate had gone really sharp and was locking up on the snowy downhills making for interesting riding... disappointing.

Just to make it worse i then punctured on a downhill to then notice i had put a 4 inch cut down middle of my tyre which was surprisingly still containing the inner tube.

Only thing left to do was abort and take to the road and head back to Reeth.

7 hours of riding completed... 2 bikes broken.... only thing left to do was get sorted changed and enjoy a much justified pub dinner in which Rich had to concede that although he may be a faster rider he has alot to learn when it comes to speed eating!!

Next Rothwell/Errington mission is set to be north york moors.. hope its warmer.

Death of a Trail

Over the past few weeks since Helvellyn i've been getting back into the swing of a structured training plan.. working with Mark (Forgy) again for 2009... last year it worked really well with constant contact between the 2 of us we worked a really good programme and before my forced break i was in best biking shape of my life, unfortunately we didn't get to fully test the form but 2009 should be a good opportunity to see what i can do.

Weekdays are a mix trainer and gym sessions.. weekends are long slow base miles.. the weekend before last i was in Newcastle dealing with black ice... unfortunately not the AC DC album but the nasty stuff that drops you to the tarma hard withot warning... in just under 3 hours i took 2 heavy falls.. the first 10m from my front door.

Last weekend was a freezing 4 hours in the Manchester rain... testing the single speed mountain bike on the road an getting in some base miles... its just too undergeared on the road but a bigger gear would make the long and sometimes steep climbs here unbearable for zone 2 base miles.. so the bike is getting another build.. think it'll be version 5 and the finished product will be a 1x8 speed road mountain bike wih narrow range rear block and a thumb shifter operating the gears, well no one can accuse me of being run of the mill.
Unfortunately the rainy ride escalated an already sre throat to a full blown cold, even so training did not cease and think it aided recovery to do some sweating on trainers and do some good interval and single leg drills to ' The Flying Scotsman' film.. Obree is a living legend and the king of hard work and suffering.

This weekend was a classic peaks ride.. Ladybower figure of 8.. only managed to get one fellow rider to venture out, Dave from TSW cycles, good as haven't seen Dave much since moving to Manchester and good to have a chat and catch up while enjoying some nice muddy riding.

The weather was a little wet but unlike previous weeks wasn't unbearably cold... the first climb was touh going as grip was minimal although Dave looked to make lighter work of it than i did... felt like i had no grip and as i fin it difficult to spin up climbs i was frustrated at not being able to push a good gear and get normal low cadence going i prefer... later discovered this was due to me having very little grip and Dave using some nice mud tyres giving him a ton of grip.
The ride was going well... usual mix of muddy climbs and fast loose rocky descents, then we reached the last descent of the day... named by others as 'screaming mile' due to its flowing nature.. not as rocking as most but natural banks help the turns and keep the speeds high... that was until someone decided the trail needed sanatising:( this is unfortunately becoming more popular... basicalling involving cutting out natural and re instating sections with nice wide hardcore surfaces... although the sign indicated that the bridleway was closed at the top we thought we could pick our way down.. the top 200m metres remained unchanged.. then it became a 'motorway' style trail.. easily 4 times wider than it was then it became a ridiculous mud bath... you rolled when you could but if you had to dab your leg went in upto your knee:( The trail is now just memory in those that had previously ridden it an i am unsure as to what they can possible make of this muddy disaster.. time will tell but it won't be in the same league.

Well the forth coming week has fallen as both christmas and my first rest week... so Merry christmas to all.. don't over indulge and make sure the festivities don't get in the way of riding.. just think how quiet the trails will be with most users indoors watching tv eating mince pies.

Snow and Ice

With Grace away for the weekend and nobody around to play with i decided on a solo mission to the Lakes...

Helvellyn was the mountain of choice as the route i had ridden before so no navigational issues and i knew the descent down sticks pass was worth the 'hike and bike, to the top.. plus the chance to ride in snow is always fun and since we rarely see snow at low level these days the summit of Helvellyn at this time of year almost always has inches of the stuff.. its a given.

With an early start from home the first scare of the day was not on the bike but in the car.. turning from an A road into a minor road in the lakes i wasn't ready for ice and was taken by surprise as i turned the wheel left and the car was still going straight.. luckily i got traction back to steer away from oncoming stone wall.. low gear and driving with due care was the order of the day.

Getting ready in the car park it was cold.. i hate the cold... i have bad circulation so drop a degree or so and i can't feel my hands leading to much pain when they warm up.. to try and combat this i have invested in some thick ski like gloves.. i can't really change gear or brake properly but its a price worth paying to try and keep them warm.

The ride starts up a valley flanked either side by steep slopes... the first hour of the ride is fairly rideable, the hiking starts as you make towards grisedale tarn... alot of careful stepping up seriously icy rocks... didn't want to ruin my weekend before it had started so i took my time. When i got to the tarn it was spectacular... looked like glass surrounded with snowy hillside... amazing..




From the tarn you make towards dollywagon pike.. this is a bike on the back and slog up the step like stones that have been laid.. getting passed this section it was rideable as you pass the pike... a nice pole was used for a good photo moment..



From here you drop down a few rises climbing the other side with the summit almost in site..



at this point riding was in snow with the descending plenty fun sliding about in the snow... shoes and pedals had packed solid with snow so clipping in was difficult.

A brief lunch was had at the shelter near the summit of Helvellyn then off again.. the descending from the top to bottom of first rise is steep and twisting so saddle was lowered and one leg used to hang out there and steady on the turns.. leaving the front brake well alone and steering with the rear wheel... so much fun.

After another rise or so the start of the sticks pass descent began.. this descent is technical and in places way beyond my ability.. i may learn to descend one day but can't see it happening soon... i was hanging a foot for most of the descent in the snow.. there was a brief reprise as the trail levels to quite flat before the final tech section which i rolled into with confidence.. then realised i was on sheet ice..panicked.. and ejected over the bars running out and leaving the bike behind... first battle scar tot he Genesis Altitude.. scratch to the fox forks:(

After this section its fast switchbacks then full on speed all the way down to glenridding.

I made the ascent and descent in such good time i decided to lap Ullswater to finish... its a road ride to Pooley bridge then an off road climb.. with a few more ups and downs you get to the lakeside final 3-4 miles which are amazing singletrack.. very technical with great views when you dared take your eyes off the trail.



This finishes at Patterdale and back to the car and get changed.

I had decided to just camp as i was on my own it seemed the easiest option... campsite was only a few miles down the road and was reached just as it was getting dark... showers were plenty powerful enough and hot which was welcome.. food in pub was more than acceptable.

The nights camping can be summarised as being an acceptable temperature to eventually being really cold.. sleeping in all my clothes with blanket round my head made sleeping possible:)



Sunday, After such a big day saturday i wanted an easy ride so decided to go lap North Face trail at Grizedale forest... was a little concerned about the wooden board walk sections and the ice.. my concern was realised when i had to stop on a cambered icy bit of board walk.. i had a foot down then realised i had no grip on , my feet either, i tentatively reached down to hold the wood and steady myself and as i took hold my feet went from under me and i decided to call it a day at one lap... the rest of the trail was great.. other sections of wood were rideable... the rest of the trail was fast and flowy and the crisp air and great scenery made for a great short ride out...

Drive back to manchester and back to the reality of having to work tomorrow:(

WOR Events - Pedal Power Enduro

After missing out on an entry to the first round of the Thetford Winter Series, a series that has always been my winter highlight, i was looking for something else... enter a brand new race series based in Wales so not far from my new base of Manchester... Pedal Power Enduro 3hr.

WOR Events are experienced race organisers, all be it in the field of Off Road Motor Biking, so a well organised race was expected it was just the course that was gonna be the unknown.

The race categories weren't like a normal enduro.. more a mix of xc elite/expert cats and then the lower cats organised by age.. i optimistically entered the expert category.. with no elite entrants this became the top category.

The weather on race day was bleak at best... as me and Grace left Manchester the rain was hammering down and Wales isn't famed for its dry weather so it was only gonna get wetter or wetter and colder.. welcome to british winter racing.

As we got to the race venue... a forestry access road.. we were greeted by a well informed marshall, level of organisation was already obviously good... park up and sign on.

The weather was showers of cold rain.. temperature wasn't too bad so went for arm warmers and Endura gilet over a long sleeve to give me options if i got too hot during race ( what was i thinking but gave myself marks for optimism).
Rode a quick warm up the access road and after another chat with a marshall who described the course as 3 major tight wooded sections with alot of hard pack fire road i opted to raise my seat a little.

Upto the start line... we were strangely arranged diagonally in a line towards start.. hard to explain but we were told this was common fair in motorbike racing in case someone stalls the others can still get round.. unsure what the mtb equivalent of stalling is but we found it funny on the line... the expert class got to line up first on the start and although i didn't know any of the other guys in the class from previous races good race line banter was had.. i offered up that we ride out the 3 laps (11mile laps) that we expected to complete at a steady pace and race the last 10m which was received well but as it turned out no one went for it.

The start siren went and i found myself out the front sprinting up the fire road... i am useless at gauging a start so i gave it do or die effort... unfortunately we hit the first tech section before the field could properly string out.. the wooded sections were techie to say the least... really steep in places.. off camber.. muddy.. with roots cutting diagonally across the trails and you were always trying to traverse the slope. I dropped a few places in here as i struggled to get to grips with this stuff.

It was during this section we came across the first major obstacle.. a big moss covered boulder with a big drop on the back side... 3 of us got to it at once and all anchored on confused at how to tackle it... easy... ride round it:)

The first major climb my lack of training kicked in and the faster guys pulled away from me... order of the day was just to maintain a pace i could sustain for the 3 hours and get to grips with the technical downhill sections.




As the race progressed i spent most of my time alone... there was a steady long road climb at the mid point of the course and i would have loved lock out for my forks as i tried to get low and power up..




There was one climb in the race from which you could see who was chasing you down and i noticed a guy gaining on me lap 1 and 2 and by the mid point of the 3rd he had caught me and was leading the over 50's race.. normally i would have been disappointed to be caught but hey i was riding a fresh bike and with no base miles i was happy to still be upright.

The weather really got a bit chipper towards the end of the 3rd lap... just as i had used every spare calorie turning the pedals the temperature dropped and the horizontal sleet kicked in.. i was so cold.. luckily only a road downhill and fireroad climb remained as i couldn't feel my hands or feet.




As it turned out they changed the race to 3 laps rather than 3 hours although only the winner would have got out for a 4th... 33 miles completed.. think i finished top ten overall but enjoyed the good kicking i got and looking forward to coming back for more.

A really well organised race and a great course... congrats to WOR Events for this excellent race.




All pictures i have used in this race report were supplied by CETRA gallery and studio @ Cetra.co.uk