Thwaites Brow

The climb of Thwaites Brow is one of those hidden, rarely spoken of gems of an ascent that mostly the older cyclists know of. I first found it not by word of mouth, but scouring over a map looking for squiggly lines over dense contour lines. I rode out and spend a good fifteen minutes cycling round an industrial looking for the start of it! Taking a right hand turn into what looked like a builders yard greeted me with a behemoth of a cobbled climb!
Cycling round Keighley, Haworth and Hebden Bridge for a good portion of my life has left me with an intimate knowledge of those shaky roads. So much so that when riding over cobbles I dont think about Flanders or Roubaix but just cobbles, similiar to when one rides on tarmac.

Follow that 'Unsuitable for HGVs' sign.

 The climb thats straight away with no easy bit to warm the legs up on. Just round that corner the road rears up to 20%.

Hairpin one and two. The road is falling into disrepair and rather than fix the cobbles the council does a haphazard job with ashpalt and concrete.

Due to the steepness of the climb you quickly gain altitude, with the view opening up nicely as you do.

 The end of the cobbles sneak you on quickly. Look for the tiny football pitch! Whilst the end of the cobbles, it isnt the end of the climb, which continues all the way to the pub. If you really want the full experience, continue past the pub, down a slight descent and turn left onto Harden Road. This takes you up to the top of St Ives and rewards you with amazing views over Ilkey Moor, Rombalds Moor and out towards the Dales.

Location: Keighley

Length: 0.4 mile (cobbles) 0.8 mile (to pub) 1.5 mile ( to Harden Rd)

Average Gradient: 15%, 10%, 7%

Max Gradient: 25% (inside hairpin)

This Year Thus Far

I'm happy to say that my efforts and achievements during the previous year's season didn't go unnoticed. I applied to the Dave Rayner Fund and the kind folks at the charity have agreed to sponsor me for three months in Belgium during the summer. The Fund supports aspiring riders living in Britain and Ireland by sponsoring them to live and race abroad where the passion for racing an cycling is woven into the fabric of society, especially in Belgium. I'm very grateful for the support and belief the fund has invested in me.
In the off season Dirtwheels ceased to be and local bike superstore All Terrain Cycles have taken me under their wing. In addition to high quality Endura Equipe team kit they have also given me the Giant Advanced SLR 1 as the team bike. Initial thoughts about the bike are good. It climbs well and handling is superb. I have yet to test it out in the bunch sprints and no doubt the Cipo has set the bar high.

Meeting my new team mates.

University is now winding up and lectures have finished with the main exam season approaching fast in May. Base training has finished and speed work has begun. A bit late in the year I know but I've been having to rearrange my life around university and studying. I finally think I've struck a balance.
I'll begin racing soon, both time trial and road. My Cipollini RB1000 has been converted into a TT bike and I aim to break the into the coveted 19 minute league for a ten mile.


That's me up to date now and I hope to see some of you out on the roads, circuits and pubs!

Whilst searching for unique roads to cycle over, I noticed there is a distinct lack of information out there on the Internet, made more alarming by the fact that the Tour is coming to Yorkshire this year. Surely the organisers would have pointed out some special roads for the many tourist cyclists that will descend onto God's own county. Every so often I'll write a post about a special road that deserves the attention of cyclists after a challenge. Out for now!

Back To It

A serious lack of motivation has been the main cause for not updating this blog. Inbetween cycling, racing, travelling, moving, studying and romancing I haven't had much time to do anything else. However, I feel my absence from this blog has stretched to an annoying period of time. I occasionaly visit it to look at how I've progressed since my junior days and think it's about time I gave it a spring clean and updated the wallpaper.

I'll start from where I left off last year.

The Rutland Classic ended in disaster. I was yo-yoing in the peleton, moving my way up to the top 10 to dangling at the back again and again, like a broken record. There were 150 riders in this race and compared to my usual field of sixty to seventy I was in serious intimidation territory. For the first part of the race, fitness wasnt too much a problem. I was capable of staying near the front but the chimp kept escaping from its cage, causing me to feather the brakes and slip into the embrace of the bunch. This race ended for me when I was caught up in a crash at around 45km in. I didn't come off but was held up by a crash which caused riders behind me to plough into the back of my bike. A puncture, broken spoke and a minute wait for a spare wheel put an end to my chances of at least making it to the first off-road section. Even my team managers attempts to tow me back behind the team car at close to 45mph at times didn't have much effect. The bunch was winding up for the first intermediate sprint so as I increased my speed, the peleton to no doubt was upping the ante. Not a great introduction to my first UCI race but I enjoyed it whilst it lasted.

Racing at York Sport

Continuing on, during the rest of the year I won an E/1//2/3/4 on the Saxton course from a downhill sprint. Difficult as I started this sprint from over 300 metres out, and on 52/11 gears! Somehow I managed to hold it to the line, my first win!
I won a further 5 races on the new York Sport circuit, in a variety of elite of second cat races. In the races I lapped the bunch.

Win at York in a 2/3/4.

Sprinting for 3rd in an E/1/2.

One-two with team mate Billy.

Win at York. The 'fishing rod'.

The sweeping hair pin bend at York is perfect for my small frame and aggressive position.

Tour Series team.

Half way through the season Dirtwheels snagged a guest spot in the Redditch round of the Tour Series.This was my second appearence on the national stage and was slightly more succesful than my Rutland adventure. I hung onto the very elite group on a hilly course for 35 minutes. Yo-yoing off the back. Getting dropped on the hill but getting back on the corners. I eventually got dropped and lapped by the break, in the process cheekily coupling onto the back of the trio, in full view of the TV cameras.

In action at the Tour Series.

In August I spent two weeks traversing various Cols around Lake Annecy in the French Alps. The weather was great, I got a tan, ate amazing food, all in the pleasant company of the King family who put up with my antics for the entire fortnight. Cols of note I climbed during my time included the Madeleine (2000m), Semnoz (1699m), Forclaz (1157m), L'Arpettaz (1581m), L'Epine (987m), Colombière (1613m) and many more.

Top of the Semoz.