I haven't updated this blog for a while for one reason really, and that being me not doing too good in road races!
Luckily, I've got some publishable results since Otley.
First up is this week's race at Tameside on the Tuesday. Tameside is a very narrow and twisty circuit, and I've mentioned to a few people its like someone with a Scaletrix kit without any straight bits. In my first race on this circuit (the week before) I avoided two crashes and on one instance a rider fell onto my front wheel. Divine intervention must have been present because how I kept the bike up I will never know! The second crash happened on the last corner of the race. In had been raining and the rider in front of me kit the deck. The rider behind me panicked and forgot to turn, and ploughed straight into the perimeter fence. He was still KO'd when I came round on my warm down lap.

The next week, I went into the race with a few rules. The main one being stay top 10 at all times and on the last lap its better to go on the front than succumb to a crash and a broken collarbone!
The race was fast, very aggressive but also very elastic. All attacks were eventually brought back until an opportunistic youth A rider counter-attacked in the closing few laps. By the time we realised he was actually a strong rider it was too late and he won comfortably by 20 or so seconds. I came across the line 4th in the bunch kick.

The next day Wakefield beckoned for the Wakefield CC Midweek RR 2. Dirtwheels Cycles dominated this race from the off and half way through Graeme Rose and Matthew Bulmer snuck away on the fast straight and pulled out a demanding advantage over the short drag. Once they were out of sight the race was won. Alex Mitchell of We ♥ Mountains sprinted early and kept his speed to fnish 3rd. I was too far back to do anything and rolled across the line a disappointing 14th.

Today (Sunday), I travelled over to Boroughbridge to compete in Clifton CC's road race.
The circuit was flat, and had noticable winds in places. An early attack by Mike Marshall from the gun had the peleton flapping behind. Many people attempted to bridge but Mr. Marshall was too much of a monster and stayed away by himself for almost a full lap (8.9mile). Sensing that this may be a promising move I had a go at bridging. I opened up a gap and quickly got half way across. Then my legs thought better of it and gave up. My mind however was more determined and I fought claw and nail across the remainder of the deficit onto Mike's wheel. Here I took a few moments to compose myself but when I looked back to analyise the gap the bunch was breathing down our necks and I thought better of coming through. The next hour was fairly frustrating as the bunch refused to let anyone go. After a few early moves on my part and with no success I indulged into the armchair of the bunch.
Two more Dirtwheels riders had a bash at getting away and this time they succeeded. They disappeared out of sight and the bunch's hopes evaporated.
With two laps to go I followed a move by Nick Armistead (Yes, related to Lizzie) down a fast decent with a tailwind to a small group of hard working riders. Nick, however had other ideas and went straight past, in the hope that the bunch would be happy with the catch of the bigger group and ease off. A rider from the little break came to the front to do some work but completely overcooked a corner and kit the curb. I, sensing the confusion to come, powered round the corner and kept the speed up and me and Nick got a small gap over the non-plussed peloton. A few riders, including Giles Pidcock came across and I started barking orders to get everyone working smootly and quickly. We stayed away for half a lap but the bunch was more determined than us and caught us down a narrow wooded straight. Satisfied with their kill the bunch eased up. I was about a bike length off the front at this point and saw the opportunity. Slyly, I upped the tempo just a little bit and did a soft-attack (my favourite) and fairly quickly established an impressive lead for such little effort. Two riders, (Mark Perry of Dirtwheels and James Baillie of Langsett) came across and we started working as a solid unit. Three more riders (One being David Shackleton)  bridged and I once again took up the job of drill saergant as I barked out orders to get everyone working. We built up an impressive lead and within half a lap had the two lead riders within our sights. Half a lap later we caught one of the leaders. Mike Marshall's previous efforts proved to be his undoing and could do nothing as his teammate Graeme Rose powered on. With about two miles to go David Shackleton attacked and took another rider with him. They caught the lone leader and continued. Knowing that this move was too dangerous to let go I attacked but only got half way across before the wind laughed at my mortality and eroded the energy in my legs.
The remainder of the break pulled me back and another counter attack came. I tried to latch on but the speed in my legs had packed its bags and left for drier climes. Undettered I fought back and we all came together as one unit to the bottom of the finishing hill. Graeme and David started the sprint and got a gap. No-one wanted to chase from such a long distance left to sprint so I wound mine up. I approached the tiring Graeme and sensed an acceleration from behind, so I kicked again. Unfortunatly the line was just a bit too close and I couldn't come round the last too riders. David Shackleton rode across the line a proud man with his arms in the air. Graeme Rose gasped across second and I grunted across 3rd.

Otley Town Centre Cycle Races

Otley is the only local race of the year and it is also one of the biggest in the country. Thousands of people turn up and provide an amazing atmosphere. You'd be mistaken into thinking its the finish of a big ProTour race, and indeed, some of the riders in the Elite race have and are participating in ProTour races.

Luckily, the two day spell of brilliant weather we've been having up these parts recently managed to hold on till the big day and it offered us a fast, dry circuit.

The finish area of the race is packed.


As always, Otley is a positions game, a fast moving chess competition. The narrow roads and twisty circuit makes life very difficult for you if your not at or towards the front in the pack when lining up at the start. A silent melee ensues when we are let out of the holding pen and onto the course. 


Down to matters in the Chevin Cycles Classic Race.
From the flag the Mountavation boys where quick to start, sprinting though the chicane and partly up the hill before slowing to a more sedentary pace and letting all the others catch up. From here, the pace was set by riders from various teams. 
Attacks went every lap as riders tried to make their mark on their local race. Dirtwheels, Mountavation, Haribo, Clay Cross, We ♥ Mountains and many more had a bash at staying away. I even had a go. Half way through, going up the hill past the church I put some power into the pedals and broke away. I quickly bridged to Alex Mitchell from We ♥ Mountains and together we built up a gap of about 15-20secs. Coming onto the finishing straight, the commentator said something about a Kellogg's prime so we both sprinted, with Mitchell just edging the win. Coming through the chicane and hill I came to the front again and put on the power to open up the gap a bit more. I looked behind to gauge the distance and my breakaway partner had exhausted himself and had been swallowed by the bunch. Knowing that I couldn't stay away by myself for another 7 laps I sat up and conserved my energy. 

Me and Alex Mitchell in one of the many breaks

The entire pace of the race was very consistent, with no big surges in speed, even round the corners. Compared to last year, the first group was also larger as the organizers had paid more attention to ability. This made it a lot harder to move up but I did whenever a gap became available.


The race stayed together and with 3 laps to go I made a very conscious effort to move up. Once I did I switched off mentally and lost those places. On the last lap I was panicking a little because I was sitting in around 20th place. Up the hill I put in a big surge to move up, but came to a stop when the riders up front fanned out and blocked the round. Round the corners I moved up one or two more places. On the top straight, luckily, more gaps appeared and I easily moved up around ten places. On the corner before the decent the race was more or less decided, because with everyone spinning away their top gears, the was no great difference of speed between the riders. Just before the last 90 degree left-hander, a space appeared on the right so I jumped into it.
Once round, I opened up my sprint only to slam my breaks on someone blocked me.
He then moved to the left and I opend my sprint up once again, moving up a further two places before the line. 


The rider that blocked me then decided not to give me enough room on the chicane, so I had to wear out half my brake blocks down as I tried to turn 35mph into a crash friendly speed. Luckily, I more fell onto the barriers rather than a full on collision and was unhurt.

Coming back to the HQ, I was slightly relieved I had come 10th, an improvement on last year!

Lee Tunnicliffe of Clay Cross RT narrowly won my race over a charging Jake Womersley  of Sportscover Altura Haribo Academy. James King of Mountavation came across the line third. Well done fellas!

Organisation wise the management was spot on. A few suggestions for next year would be some more speakers up the chicane and hill, and a bit further back the last corner. I even heard someone mention having a big screen with a live feed, but maybe thats a bit opptimistic. Maybe in a couple of years time when cycling as a sport is a lot bigger!

Nettle Soup - Tom Simpson National Junior Road Race

Sunday brought the National Junior Series to Yorkshire. I think I need to resit my english GCSE or geography or whatever because we saw this on the way there;

Undetered from the momentary confusion and from any threats from Highwaymen

we arrived at Tom Simpson's second home, Harworth ("whore-woof").

 A cycling haven in Britain? Sadly no, but it had a couple old men doing the shopping rounds

on even older bikes;

Come along Gerard, the bread will become stale!

No, what I really like about this place is the local boozer that has a small shrine museum to Tom Simpson;

Eyup! They nicked my bike! Also, why is the an American National Champs Jersey here?

Quick history lesson over, we move to the racing.

A relatively small field of 60 of the country's best riders (see what I've done there?) started on a warm but overcast day. On previous occasions this course was fairly tough with its two short drags, but back then I worked on the farm a bit more;

We fell on hard time since..

And so this time round the hills were a lot easier. I even had a shot at glory on lap 2 or 3, but nobody else had the same idea, and they chased me down as ruthlessly as this;

So I sat on for the rest of the race, making my way to the front whenever I could hear the screech of the commisaire's car. 

Unfortunatly, with two laps to go, I was invloved in a crash. Coming up the hill towards the finish, a crash happened to the right of me. The rider (he shall remain nameless) fell against me and pushed me onto the grass verge. Me, using my god-like bike-handling skill, remained upright and started looking for a way back in. God himself was so jealous of my skills that he decided to stategically place a rather large stone in the undergrowth, thus causing me to graciously somersault over my handlebars and disappear into a ditch full of those tickly nettle plants. 

In my mind, I thought I looked like this;

In reality, it was probably more like this;

I was up before I was down and gathered by belongings, jumped on the bike and chased the bunch that was disappearing over the crest of the hill. Sadly, though, it was not to be and I never got back on, but out of sheer stubborness I finished the race with, some, of my dignity intact. 

Right, I'm off for a ride now, I'll do the write up on Otley when I come back. 

In the meantime, I give you bonkers alley cat racing, as a sort of preview to Otley.

Austerity Weather Part II

When the course manual came through for the Holme Valley Wheelers 2-Day and it described the cause as 'tough', I had NO idea what I was getting myself into.

The first stage was a 30 mile crit on a friday afternoon.

Sounds pleasant doesn't it? A crit, that ought to be flat, and on a friday afternoon, what better way to start the weekend!

Except we had to go up this twat of a hill 11 times:

Many a soul perished on this road

But add in a bit of this:

And you get this:

Yet again I fail to see any difference between this and the above picture

I attacked on the first ascent of this hill because I knew I would have a bloody hard time staying with the whippet thin climbers with their fancy carbon bikes and team tactics. The consequences of that decision went both ways. While we were crawling up the hill at 12mph, the decsent down the other side of the course reached speeds in excess of 55mph, and that was in the rain, and on twisty roads I didnt rather know. 

As it turned out, the bottom part of the hill was excellent for catching aspiring riders, and I got caught. I managed to stay with the bunch for another three laps before I was churned up and spat out like a bone in a fish cake. 

Looking back, I could have dug in a bit more and shattered myself that little bit further, but motivation levels weren't great and I was stressed out by the drive to the race.

"Oo, I know that area like the back of my hand Peter, you dont need your sat nav, I'll get there faster than anyone.''

''But Google says that its faster by going on the motorway"

"Nonsense, I know that area better than anyone"

"Andrew, can you work out sin(56)/cos(23) in your head? No, I didnt think so. Google can so I think they'll know the faster way there"

Obviousy I didnt say that last bit because debating with said person is like trying to get blood out of a stone, and I already felt like banging my head against the bonnet.

A little gruppetto formed and we caught and passed shelled riders with light bikes and lighter legs, and at the end of the night (by this point it was night) I rolled over the line in 19th, 7 minutes down on the winner.  

Stage two was a time-trial, 10 miles over a 'rolling' course.

Finally I said to myself, a bit of peace and quite, a nice soothing time-trial and maybe some time back on those climbers. 

So I warmed up, went to the start were the organiser said I had a full 8 minutes left to go.

"Go warm up on that lane and come back"

I went on that lane and came back, to see the number ahead of me setting off.

"Has my number gone?" 

"Yep"

"When will I go?"

"When I have a space free"

"Will I have a time penalty?"

"Yes"

Oh f**kmonkeys 

So a full ten minutes down I was let go.

'Whats the point in trying when I'm going to have a 10 minute penalty, might as well save myself for the last stage'  I said to myself

That time trial was a strange affair, when I was going fast, I thought;  

'Oo, lets get a placing on this stage, then minus 10minutes to see how I compare'

When I slowed down by a fraction, I gave up completly and though'

'Whats the point'

Then I'd head down a hill and was transformed into someone riding for their sorry life.

This was repeated until the finish. 

As it turned out I didnt get a penalty, and a got a below average time of 26:05 on a hilly and windy course. 20th in that stage. The whippet thin climbers turned out to be hard men.

What?! Another hil?

Stage 3 was a slightly ligher affair in terms if weather, the sun even came out!

However the course was just as hard, with sharp short climbs, rolling hills and long drags. 

I hung in there with the main bunch and I'm proud to say that I didn't get dropped. 20th on this stage.

Well overall I finished 18th, 12 minutes down on the winner, not too bad considering im a fat slob, race a steel bike, had no aero equipment in the TT and had 2 hours sleep because I couldn't get my heart to settle down.

As you can tell, Im full of it. Excuses that is.

Photos courtesy of Flaming Photography

 

Austerity Weather

Since my last post, I've done two races, both in weather like this:

  It rained a bit

In fact, I have an actual photo from the first race:

The resemblance is uncanny

The Ian Mountain Memorial race started with just over fourty people who could be bothered getting out of bed after hearing the sound of torrential rain lashing against the window.

The course was twisty and lumpy, with a 1.3 mile dra that had a luscious tailwind. For some reason, no-one shared my enthusiasm to smash the living daylight's out of it. Only on the rest of the course did they return the favour. And it hurt. Anyway, I break 'rolled' away on the first few laps, on the finishing straight that included two sharp rises and then a cracking headwind.

They established a sizeable advantage, mostly because everyone was watching the two 1st cat riders from Herbalife, and partly because teams were blocking. Half way through a rider bridged. 

Oddly enough, the race was classed as a 1/2/3, with points down to tenth place. This caused some confusion because even the easier 2/3/4 races have points down the fifteenth. Anywho, that leads me onto the excuse of the race. No point sprinting for seventh and getting two points, my main concern was getting to the nice, warmish HQ.

Double Whammy

After the disappointment of the Nationals, I was filled with a determination to prove to myself that I wasn't a complete and utter waste and I took that motivation into the little criterium up north at Salt Ayre. Thanks to Zack Whitehead for the lift.
A rare treat was actually getting to a midday race on time, in fact early, and I was walking round with not a care in the world for a minute or two.
With half an hour to race start, I tried my hand at warming up at the rollers, and after a shaky start I had the hang of it and was soon spinning away like an over eager obese man 5 minutes into a spin class. In my mind I was looking like the definition of efficiency, I probably looked like this.
The race was a stop-start affair with the same people putting in half-hearted attacks every lap or so. After half an hour of racing, I readied myself and on the home straight putting in a strong attack when the pace dropped. I squeezed past a gap barely the width of my handle bars to discourage any Freds from following my wheel. I caught the break and put in another powerful acceleration to discourage any of them from latching onto my wheel. After half a lap I had a sizable gap of 10-20secs and all of a sudden my break had potential. Two other juniors from the bunch realized this and once I saw them chasing me I eased up to let them get on the bandwagon, after all 2 heads are better than 1, or in this case 6 legs better than 2. No? Bad continuation? Well suck it up its staying.

Anyway, we worked together for the remainder of the race, opened up half a lap lead and I just got beat in the sprint. Now I'm getting fed up with all the excuses I'm making but here's the one for this time. He had one more gear than me. Thats the truth. Anyway, here's the video of the finish

Whoaaahh, woah...

 On Sunday, the Championships of Yorkshire were held over a tough circuit near York that included a climb called Bulmer Bank.

Bulmer Bank

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, a worthy winner in the form of Joe Moses triumphed in the junior competition.
I was on his wheel when he launched the break and another rider, Connor Swift (relation to Ben) went with him. We rapidly opened up a gap and a lap later, on a drag going through a small village, I just let the wheel go and never managed to get back on. Excuses? Well since you asked, here they are. It was the early stage of the race and I hadnt warmed up properly because we arrived late and I was crying inside from the effort. And two, I didnt know the circuit and thought the climb carried on for another mile or so.

Fatty

Anyway, once I realized I wasn't getting back on, I sat up and let the bunch catch me. I recovered and after a hectic bunch sprint that involved us riding on the wrong side of the road, I crossed the line 5th.

Yesterday, I took my little brother and a couple of mates on a little ride. One a fast decent, he overcooked a corner and slammed into a pick-up truck. The truck was okay but little Alex had seen better days. Once he stopped screaming and the paramedics had doped him up on morphine and oxygen we got then news that he had a fractured pelvis and internal bleeding. We got to the hospital and in the emergency room he met his tearful mother. I had to leave because I saw someone's foot hanging off.

This morning he was told he'll be out of hospital in a day or two and back to normal in 4-6 weeks time. I hope you are all with me and wish him a speedy recovery.

Oh hiiiii

Junior Mens National Championships 2012

They say that there is a first for everything and this weekend had no shortage of firsts. I visited Wales for the first time, stayed in a budget hotel, paid for a budget hotel, did my first National Calendar, did my first Nationals, raced up a 3rd cat climb, raced more than 65 mile, finished 2 full bottles in a race, experienced a feed zone, broke the 600watt barrier on Strava for 5 minutes, got dropped in my first Nationals and finished my first Nationals.
As you can see, I had a jam-packed weekend.
Saturday was a rare sunny day, the rays of light and the warmth they carried dragged me out of bed and onto cafe racing. Not a lot of people had turned up, surprisingly, but Ian Wilkinson made a rare appearance. On the actual stint it all stayed together where with 2 mile to go I attacked over a short hill, caught the remnants of the flier and ploughed on. One chipper got onto my wheel so I let him do the last km, but with 100m to go Wilko stormed past to a victory on the inconspicuous, back water, club man cafe race. Why I've mentioned this I dont know, probably to fill space.

We drove down with the car (what else?) sagging under the weight of bike, wheels, toolboxes and lunchboxes, recon'ed the last 5 mile of the course, which conveniently happened to be on our route, and made our way to our lodgings. Upon opening the door to our 'family' room, I discovered a very inviting double bed, and two, not-so-inviting, singles. Clearly, me, having paid for all this and doing the biggest race of his life thus far, would acquire the luxurious double. Sadly, not so, as the driver decided he deserved the bed on the simple reason that he drove there. Upon the following discussion and reasoning that I needed the best night sleep possible, my brother slyly slid into the better of the two singles. That left me with the Flintstones bed with a mattress of rock and a sheet that was so thin it could slide down the cleavage of Katie Price. Needless to say, I hardly slept.

The next day, I jumped out of bed and straight into a nice hot shower, I needed to get some warmth back into my body. We got ready, checked out and left for HQ.
The car pack was bustling with activity as various team cars maneuvered into the smallest of spaces closest to the HQ, mechanic dads pumped tyres and team mates pinned numbers on each others jerseys. I handed in my spare wheels to neutral service (also a first!), had my gears checked (the aging commisaire complemented my steel stallion and mentioned that it was the only metal bike in the race) and warmed up.

The remnants of the peleton coming over the top of the Brecon Beacons

The race rolled out to a small Welsh town where the mayor flagged us off. The pack was then neutralized for 2 mile and an attack went almost straight away. The first 20mile of the course were rolling A-roads in glorious, warm sunshine. One 4th cat climb tested the legs before we hit the top of the Brecon Beacons. The 9-mile climb to 1500ft was a killer, with the race splintering to many a piece. Coming over the top were too distinct groups, one of 10-15 and 30 or so seconds back, my group,  remnants of the pack, which must have numbered 30 max. An amazing 5 mile, 45mph descent let us shake some of the lactic out of our legs and claw back some time from the breaks. Also a first in this race was a time-bike, with its horn beeping and awe-inspiring and all knowing black board that told us the times between the various groups in the race.
The next segment was flat and I contributed my labour at the front of the group, often putting in a pull to keep the times coming down. Unfortunately, this was to be my undoing. I had been eating and drinking well, and had been staying behind wheels and not putting in unnecessary efforts prior to the flat section. The efforts at the front (and the weight of my bike..) had fatigued me and when I had just finished an energy sapping effort we turned off onto the B-roads and the fourth categorized climb of the day. My legs were saturated in lactic and could not cope, so heart-brakingly I hopelessly slid back wards and outwards and was never to see the hot end off the race again.

A bit of bare-chested action

The next 15mile were ridden alone and with tears nearly in my eyes I hit the last hill. A trio of riders that had been dropped before joined me and we toiled up the last 3miles with an average of 10%. I eventually rolled over 47th, 19 minutes down on the winner.

So there we have it, my first National Calendar, at the deep-end with the National Championships. Whilst I finished I was disappointed with my result as I was aiming for a top 20. My next NC is the Tommy Simpson on the 17th of June. My next race is the Yorkshire Divs in a weeks time.

Slightly off note, my insurance claim is slowly making progress. Whilst I doubt I'll have a lightweight carbon before Tommy Simpson, I'm hopeful that I'll have a new racehorse before the Tour of Wales at the back end of August.

Bridlington CC Road Race

Friday started with a greeting from the sun, much to the surprise and delight of many. Me more so since I was riding out across the country to Reighton where a static caravan was to become my home for the weekend. The cross -country trek was just short of 100miles and last just over 6 hours. Pleasant weather accompanied we all the way, and the terrain was perfect to get onto the drops and do some sustained efforts across the Plain of York. My nice average speed was then blunted by the sore thumb that is Garrowby Hill, stubbornly butting out of the horizon with its 17% gradient. It even has a cross at the top. Not the meanest of hills by Yorkshire standards but when you've been averaging 22mph for the last 2 hours it comes as a kick to the balls when you're zig zagging up it at 7mph. Undeterred, I got over the top and had a 20mile downhill drag to compensate for the undue pain. By this time it was well and truly dark but my 1200lumen retina-burning lights showed me the way all the way to the sea, where they were quickly trumped by Flamborough lighthouse. 

Saturday continued the run of pleasant weather, with temperatures peaking in the low teens. Last year, Brid was the only race were I had unzip my jersey due to the heat, luckily, this year would be a repeat. Of the heat of course, not the singularity. Well and truly shattered from the ride the day before, I only put in a short 30 miles around the circuit and surrounding areas. 

Sunday was race day, and as I nervously waited at the start line, big black clouds with familiar wispy trails of rain approached the bottom end of the circuit. A dirty race it would turn out to be as on the high side of the course the sun welcomed the riders whilst at the lower side the clouds pelted us with hail and rain and demanded that we leave its little patch of land. Nevertheless, the majority of the field finished, albeit with mud-specked faces and bikes.

The race started fast, as races do, to establish the early heir-achy of tractors, smart men and stragglers. I followed a few dangerous moves, but saved myself for the first ascent of the 1.5mile finishing hill. Last year, the race split in two here and it never came back together. This year, I was making sure that if this occurred again, I would be on the right side of the split. However, no determined attacks came after the prime sprints so half way through the race it became apparent it would come down to a bunch gallop.

A few more dangerous attacks happened on the downhills which I happily chased down with a tuck and a cadence of 200rpm. Second to last lap I followed the wheel of Mark Perry as he made his way through the bunch up the hill for the prime. With 300m to go I popped of the front, passed the lone escapee and got myself a tenner in the prime. Half heartedly I pushed on to cause some sort of break but everything was back together on the flat. I then sat it and at the bottom of the last hill was positioned comfortably 5-10 places back. Half way up the pace slowed down dramatically, caused myself to be swamped by the less tactically-astute riders. At this point, Nathan Wilson of Wilson Wheels jumped off the front and quickly got himself a gap. Nick Barnes, of Zepnat, followed soon after. Me, starting to panic, only managed to get free once the pace picked up with 500 metres to go as the bunch started to sprint. I ground myself towards the front and put in a huge effort to try and at least get second. I however had to settle for 4th, with Nick getting 3rd and wolfpack member Will coming in 7th. Not a bad race but I went away with the feeling I could have done better. 

Next race- Tockwith 

Editorial Note- Congratulations to local rider Joe Moses for provisionally winning the IOM Youth Tour (Junior) stage race! Those sprints we do up Embsay Moor must be doing you good! 

Getting By Just Fine

Its been a hectic few weeks, exams are round the corner, the National Championships are in two weeks time and I've only got one pair of shorts. I've been slowly easing into the season, but everyone else seems to submerged in it, doing races near and afar and racking up impressive results. A good top end speed is the outcome of this and I struggle with sudden changes of pace in the opening stages of races.

However, a good strong base I have accumulated over the winter is starting to bear fruits, with me having an increased endurance to that of last year. In the longer, harder Elite road races I have do so far I believe this work I did over the winter with fellow riders is helping me.
Anyway, enough of the fitness and more of the racing. I have done around 10 races so far this year, two Elite road races and the rest being criteriums of regional and Elite level. I've got some results and the points are slowly ticking over, but I really need to step on the gas to get the 200 I need for a 1st category license.

Races of note I've done recently are the Sheffrec CC E/1/2/3 road race and the Junior Only Crit at Tockwith. In the Sheffrec race I knew I had no chance of winning, since riders like Tom Barras and Graham Briggs were competing on the day, so I did the sensible things and followed wheels through out the race. The circuit had a very exposed straight after a short hill and the wind really strung the bunch out, so much so that splits were appearing. This was immediately followed by a long, flowing downhill, and as every Junior rider knows, the downhills are harder than the uphills. On one occasion, I had crawled along the outside of the line on the straight because the bunch was so long, a split was a very real possibility. I got towards the front before the downhill with my legs drained by the soul destroying wind.
On the downhill the splits had become reality and I found myself sliding out of the 'echelon' I was in. Instead of fighting in no-mans land I tagged onto the next group and luckily the peleton came back together on the headwind drag. Two groups of Elites had broken away earlier in the race so a win was not a possibility, but a few token points were. The finish itself was on the exposed straight so I got myself positioned on the sheltered side of the road, only to find myself blocked in. I got out and rolled over for 28th. A decent finish considering I had raced the day before and that last year I was lucky to get that in a 2/3/4.

The Junior only Tockwith was a real eye-opener to the cut and thrust of racing against your peers. Rider of note was Harry Tanfield, a Team GB rider fresh from racing the small version of Paris- Roubaix over on the continent. The first few attacks of the race were nothing special, and soon fizzed out as the small bunch re-claimed the weak. One or two laps in Harry and a track regular, Jacob Scott put in a powerful attack. I knew instantly this was the winner and gave chase, either from the front or behind wheels, the details are fuzzy. Anyway, a four rider chase established itself and we worked well and strong, just keeping the two leaders within 200-300 metres. The early blistering pace was starting to take its toll on my cold, unprepared legs and I ended up slipping off the chase group after 4 or 5 laps. All that was left now was to drive on by myself in the wind and rain in the knowledge I had a bunch somewhere behind me and that I had another race straight after. I am a 'take my cake and eat it' person, metaphorically and literally, so I decided to let the bunch chase me and plodded on. Forty minutes later , the bunch was starting to show itself at the end of the straights, but luckily for me the lap counter had diminished to 3 to go and up ahead was a lapped rider and a dropped chasee. I caught these two on the last lap and sprinted past my early co-worker to claim 5th spot, my best result so far this season.
In the next senior race, a mere 10 minutes after I had finished the junior race I got an 11th place. I read the race to near perfection, sitting nicely behind wheels and helping the chase of dangerous riders. As a result, the bunch was all together on the last lap and in the final gallop I was too far back coming into the last corner, as well as my speed being blunted from the junior race and a crash 3 laps previously, I had to settle just out of the points.

Thats it so far, next race is Brid and I'm riding out on the friday to the caravan we hire nearby. Fellow rider Will Staveleys also coming, should he accept the challenge. Ciao!

Back on the Road Again

As I mentioned in my last post, I was involved in an unavoidable and surreal collision with a car on that extra day in February. This sent my carbon thoroughbred to the grave and left me with a torn ligament in my shoulder and a prescribed six weeks from two wheels altogether. However the doctor put a silver lining on his treatment, saying I am able to use my shoulder to its full range of movement that doesn't cause pain.

In the first week, I was unable to do much and my arm was constantly in a sling as a trudged around the empty house in a dressing gown complaining that I was missing out on racing and vital points and that my fellow competitors were putting in extra miles just to make it that little bit harder when I donned the race number once again.

However, I was only unmotivated in the depths of the night when I couldn't sleep from lack of exercise and a constant sharp pain in my right shoulder whenever I wanted a bit of variety in my sleeping position. Due to this dilemma, I spent a few nights sleeping on my face.

After a week or so I had regained some movement in my shoulder and was now able to serve the handpull ale at work, albeit slowly. Writing also became a possibility and I was ordered back to school.
The shire horse also came back from the stable with a brand new bottom bracket so I had something to look forward.

After two weeks I was able to put slight pressure on my shoulder, enough for a predictable turbo session. I took the torture device out of the shed out set it out on the patio, and put myself through an hour of boredom and 2 minute intervals.
The next day I bought a gym membership.

For the next week, I went to this fine establishment and worked on my legs and core, for a very wise man once said that the pro's are better than everyone else because they have an amazing set of abs, amongst amazing natural talent and many another thing.

Finally, after 3 weeks, I decided to cave in to my withdrawal urges and risk an easy ride to school. Signs from the gym were positive and I was able to ride the stationary bike and run without any pain in the shoulder. The ride was uneventful but I was more wary of vehicles traveling in the opposite direction and feathered the brakes maybe a bit too cautiously. The damage wasn't just physical.

After this minor milestone, I started riding to school again and I gradually increased the movement in my shoulder up the short sharp hills to test my limits. The joint passed these tests and decided to do the cafe race on the Saturday.

Ive been riding for a full week since then and pain is only noticeable in my shoulder after 70mile plus or if theres been a few too many sprints. However, I still don't have a full range of movement and cannot 'windmill' like we used to do in primary school P.E. I am able to throw a ball short distances but my leisurely hobby of squash still causes considerable pain.

I have since been putting in some big miles and long hours on the bike in preparation for my next big race, the Dirt Wheel Road Race along the famous Penny Pot circuit. The 70 mile jaunt has already attracted some big names and will be an early indicator of who's on form this year.

Early Season Update

As some of you may know, one of my goals for this year is to gain my first category license. To do so I have to accumulate a huge 200 points over the course of one season and so, I've started early. Ive already done three races, all up at croft. In my first one I came 13th, no idea where I came in the second one. The race splintered and we were lapping people all the time, not to mention that a sizeable break got away. My latest on was the North East Trophy, where I came around 25th out of 156 starters. This was a big race and had a large Elite/1st scratch. I was in the 3rd group. 


When the race started, I attacked almost straight away, to try and make an impression with the judges towards the most aggressive rider. A friend from Dirtwheels Cycles came across and together we stayed off the front for a few laps. When we got caught, I took a couple laps recovery and tried again. Once again, the same rider came across and we stayed away for a few laps. When we got caught the second time, the scratch had almost caught our group. When they did, the pace really picked up. A few of them had come straight through the group and where now tapping away on the front, determined to catch the rest of the race. This wasn't too bad, but the strong winds really tested your group riding ability and whether you could swing from one side to the other without knocking someone off. I also took part in a proper racing echelon, a first for me. 


A this point, basically all the Elites and come to the front, making a small group, with the rest of the field trialling behind them, a bit like a comet. Every now and then, there would be a split up ahead, and I took it upon myself to bridge across, often with a strong cross or tail wind. I really was surprised at my ability because this time last year I wouldn't even be able to sustain one attack, never mind two and the occasional bridge. Anyway, the constant attacks from the Elites was too much and a group got away, and once that happened everything splintered. I was in the group maybe 2nd or 3rd we were going hell for leather. We never caught the lead, but we were passing weaker shelled riders all the time that managed to sneak into the break. At the end of the race, our once sizeable group of around 30 rolled across the line containing only five riders. I later learned that at the end of that 2 and a half hour ordeal, only 29 people finished. Not bad for early season work.


Today, I was meant to be racing the national season starter, the Eddie Soens Memorial. Unfortunately, however, I was knocked off my bike on Wednesday by a car driver that was turning right from coming the opposite way. I slammed into him and my racing bike was written off. I also sustained injury to my right shoulder in the form of a torn ligament as well as bruising over my body. I'm off to the trauma clinic on Monday so they can fully assess the damage and recommend an appropriate course of action, not to mention the all important statistic of how long I'm going to be off my bike. 


Well thats all from me for the time being, hopefully I can add another race report here in a couple of weeks time. 

Velo29 Winter Series 1

I wasn't expecting to be donning the racing shorts for another month yet, but a good friend of mine suggested, and offered, me a lift up to Croft. Now, in terms of training, there is no better substitute than racing, as rarely do you average 26mph on a normal ride. The day itself was a crisp and clear 6 degrees. There were two men out in shorts, me and this beast of a human being riding for Velo29. The rest of the pansies where in tights. 


When you don't race for a while, you develop an air of complacency thinking that your training is working and your strength  has become that of Samson's. Racing snaps you back into reality. I was expecting that reality to be painful, however, I have seen a clear improvement from last year. I am able to stay on the front for longer, attack more often and tolerate the lactic more. In fact, I was only in trouble once when I towed the scratch group onto the back of the second group and the was a surge, but I dug deep and kept with them.


Onto the race itself. The format was a handicap, with riders being set off in their categories. Since the highest category to enter was a 2nd, I was therefore in the scratch. Now, I don't like being in the scratch, especially when there is ten of you compared to the 50 riders already up the road. I sat on the bike and leaned against the wall, and addressed my comrades in arms from the lofty position.
'Right you lot, theres only 10 of us, so we are all going to work together. No petty inter-team arguments and no soft-tapping or you getting shelled. Kapeesh? Good. Right lets go.'
And off we went.
My little speech seemed to have done the trick. The group was working well and we were slowly pulling in the other groups, which were always in sight and had soon merged into a large peloton. We where pulling them in and with about 500m between the scratch and the lead, I put a huge turn on the front, essentially towing everyone to the behind of the pack. When we made contact, something amazing happened. It was like everybody was linked telepathically and the moment I made contact, the was a huge surge, from everyone. Now I was strictly in the red zone, my legs where burning and my breathing was like a steam whistle. Luckily, there where little reserves and I stayed on.


I made my way to the front over the course of a couple of laps and when I reached my desired position, a spotted a break of five up the road around 300m ahead. My heart sank. They where working together and had broken the elastic. I knew instantly that this was the winning break and attacked instantly to try and make up the gap. Unfortunately, I'd like to believe I looked a bit too well presented to be allowed free reign off the front and the was always someone on my wheel. 


Usually, after putting myself into the red so often at this point of the race I would have been dying. My winter training was paying off and felt strong, so I went to the front and awaited the perfect circumstances for my pounce. I didn't have to wait long because the was a slight wind in one direction and nobody wanted to chase into it. I took advantage of the confusion and attacked. Nobody followed. I got into time trial mode to try and catch those pirates that had got away. I wasn't going anywhere fast, but I was surprised that I hadn't been caught after a lap. A few months earlier, I would have been caught after a few hundred meters, now, I was still chasing after two miles. However, I did run out of steam after a lap and a half and was reeled back in. Too dangerous I was to be allowed of the front for two long, said my mate Will Staveley afterwards. Coincidentally, he was leading the pack when I was caught.


This was the last nail in the coffin, and I knew that we were not going to catch the break. I settled into the pack and prepared for the sprint for 6th. Petty attacks came and went and got caught. I even had a another go or two. But people where straight on my wheel. My lone flyer was the longest so far apart form the break. My attacks from now on are going to be nitro-injected cadence fests, rather than the powerful diesel ring-grinders I have rather enjoyed doing.


Coming into the last half lap, I was slightly confused and didn't know where to put my self for the sprint. Surely, I thought to myself, after so many Tockwith sprints you should be a pro at this. My decisions proved otherwise. Coming into the last corner I must have been as far down as 20th, while my friend was much closer to the front. I knew if I had any chance of bunch sprint victory I'd have to start from 400m, and so I did. I stayed strong till the end, where I was confused by the grid lines and must have sprinted an extra 10metres or so. I finished 13th with my friend just behind. 


Not bad for an early season effort, 13th out of 60. The primary aim of this venture was to test my ability, and to identify the areas I need to work on. As always, time trialling could be better but the much more pressing issue is developing my kick, to be put to good use in attacks and sprints.


Thanks for reading. Next race North East Trophy.

Man with a Plan

A lot has happened since my last post. Mainly, I've been attending the Yorkshire Junior Development Group sessions in the hope they'll pick a team for the big races at unsociable places and times around the country. The big one obviously is the Junior tour of Wales. This year the Tom Simpson returns to its natural home of being a Junior National Series race and with it being on home soil, im sure the powers that be wont let it go to a non-Yorkshire rider without a fight. Also, fortunately, theres a little stage race right here in West Yorkshire. The Holme Valley Wheelers 2-day consists of a crit, a time trial and a road race and is an open event, but preference will be given to junior and espoir riders. Clearly, its going to fill up with the above people, and some meathead of an U23 will win it. I look forward to this race.
At the time of publication, there has been no word on the Tockwith Series. I have been assured that they will go ahead but getting towards the back end of January with no development is starting to worry me. I was planning to get a lot of points from these races, with a total of 180 being on offer. I also enjoyed racing on the closed circuit and it was something to look forward to after a crappy day at school.


I've matured over the last few months with my diet, and I've lost about 3-4kg over recent weeks. Ive noticed that  hill climbing has become a lot easier and I can keep up with Joel almost to the top of Addingham Moorside.
My bike is nearly finished and a nice clear set of photos will be posted on here once I replace my spare brakes with the fancy ones, but thats at least a month away now.


This is my last year as a Junior and I have quite handily started another subject at school, which I need to finish if I ever fuck up my life and go to uni. This then would leave me as a part time student only going into school twice a week. The rest the time I would be training and hopefully I'd be on the academy or a big team, but that IS wishful thinking. I have to win some races first.


Below is my provisional racing programme;


28th Jan       Velo29 Winter Series 1


26th Feb      Clayton Velo Classic Handicap


3rd Mar        51st Eddie Soens Memorial
25th Mar      Cadence Junior RR


14th Apr      Tour of the Mendips
15th Apr      Sheffrec Spring RR - Yorkshire RRL 1
21st Apr       National Emergency Services RR


4th May       Sleepwell Hotels Isle of Man Youth/Junior Tour
13th May    National Junior RR
27th May     Batley RR


3rd Jun         Ian Mountain Memorial RR
8th Jun         Holme Valley Wheelers 2 Day
10th Jun       Langsett Cycles/Rutland CC/Stannington RR
17th Jun       BikeLine Tom Simpson Junior RR
20th Jun       Otley Town Centre Races
23rd Jun       CC Giro Circuit Races
24th Jun       The Pete's Race
26th Jun       Brighouse Circuit Races
27th Jun       Peak Road Club Evening RR


8th Jul          Hatherleigh Junior RR
11th Jul        Wakefield Midweek RR 2
14th Jul        Tour of Blackpool
15th Jul        Clifton RR
22nd Jul       Bath Junior RR
29th Jul        BBM Elite RR


1st Aug        Colne GP
5th Aug       Tumby's RR
12th Aug     Kirkless Cycling Academy Summer RR
26th Aug     Out of the Saddle Summer RR


2nd Sep       CDNW 17
9th Sep        Out of the Saddle Autumn RR