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.