No biking this week

I miss my bike. I was watching ROAM last night and had that itch that only a good day on the trails can scratch. 8 whole days I have left my poor bikes festering in the garage. Alone and wondering what the hell has happened. That is the longest I have been off my bike for 2 years, normally averaging 15-20 hours a week!

Well it's all for a good cause. I'm training for the 6 day adventure race in Abu Dhabi. I returned yesterday from North Wales where I had launched the kayak into the River Dee and Irish Sea for a couple of days of kayaking with my 3 team mates from Team For Goodness Shakes (http://www.forgoodnessshakes.com/news.aspx). Highlights of the weekend were being frightened to death by a cocky seal which decided to pop its head up right by the boat. We also saw loads of herons, curlews etc and some amazing views of Snowdonia from the water.

The weekend was topped off with a spot of dune running to prepare our legs for the 110km foot section over the sand dunes of the Emirate. My feet ached after 30 mins so I've got some work to do!

But I miss my bike and tonight will be dusting off the singlespeed and ragging around some local trails with the Tuesday Night boys (but not before a 90 minute hill run and an hour of weights). I can't wait.

Fi
x

For Goodness Shakes

So in addition to racing for Team Mud Dock I dabble in a bit of adventure racing for top UK adventure racing team For Goodness Shakes (http://www.forgoodnessshakes.com/). We're racing in Abu Dhabi in 7 weeks time and for a bit of practice we decided to enter a fast and furious Trailplus race in Petersfield. The format was no nav just run, mtb, run, kayak, run, bike, silly games. It was amazing fun.

Team Helly Hansen were the favourites and we knew we had to stick with them from the start to have half a chance. I've been out of AR for a while and didn't know how I'd fare against Team HH after 2 years away from running but 2 years of full on mountain biking.

I managed to stick with Nic McCloud from HH for the first run, which was a fast and furious 30 minutes. Team Captain Andy Wilson helped push me up a few hills and it was a struggle but the moment I got on the bike I felt good again. Heart rate settled and we shot off, overtaking the Hellies immediately.

But then puncture number 1 happened... then puncture number 2 and they caught us. We were then on the back foot and chasing. I ran so hard, being towed by the insanely strong Dave Barnaville and was just willing the bike section to start again.

Eventually it did and the boys had worked out we were 2mins 30 secs down on Helly. We shot off on the 45 minute bike loop feeling mega strong. I was leading and really enjoying the technical singletrack and swoopy descents. Within 12 minutes we had caught our rivals up on a fireroad climb. But another bleedin' puncture had us set back again. But nothing was stopping us now. We shot forwards and caught them almost immediately, spinning straight past and soon out of sight.

Coming into the finish and with just the scramble nets, ski-planks and slippery wall to contend with, we had over 5 minutes on them. We skipped across the line the victors and were 6th overall out of 300 teams. I felt really happy to have proven myself in such a high profile team and was proud to have won such a fast and furious race given the amount I've concentrated on longer stuff this year.

Also, my running felt good and I really enjoyed it, despite the effort. And the team are such an amazing group of guys, the whole weekend was superb fun!

Team Mud Dock is representing on the dark side of AR, so beware!

Fi
x

Cwmcarnage!

I went to Cwmcarn forest park for some downhill action this weekend gone. As i explained in my last post I have been riding a local pump track and wanted to see if it improved my riding.

Well the verdict is out and I can say I have not been so fast with out pedalling. I have become a lot smother and more calculated in my riding style. On the bottom section of the track I was running out of gears! Hmm larger front chain ring I think might help me get a bit more speed.

If you go and visit Cwmcarn to experience the up lift service and downhill trails, go mid week. The amount of people made it impossible to get more than 6 runs in. also the amount of people that were doted across the track on the way down was silly. If you stop get OFF the track. The speed I’m coming down the track if someone was in the way I would kill them if I collided. Not joking. I was following my friend who had a cycling computer; we were reaching speeds of 29mph in some places!!

The day after, the amount of people had increased so we popped round the corner to ABERCARN. This has no uplift but it’s only a 30min push to the top. Its a tech track and very very steep. Lots of photo's taken so will post them when I can do so.

To book an uplift at cwmcarn go to there website at www.cwmdown.co.uk.

So the moral of the story is that if you want to go quicker, be smother and impress your mates, go and build a pump track and start pumping. Its not the bike you ride its the skills you have that make you a better around rider. The bike just helps!

G

Crossing over..........

Having just put together a cyclo cross bike for the winter to train and commute on, enjoying the 'go pretty much anywhere' feeling of the new steed, the idea of actually using the bike for its intended purpose of riding cyclo cross entered my mind. After all, the sun was shining at the weekend and the event was local - Ashton Court. Something to do on a warm October Sunday morning.

Many of the local riders had turned up, having dug out their winter cyclo cross machines, and of course the dedicated cross racers were there, sporting their lightweight bikes, warming up around the track. There was a healthy field of 45 riders for the senior event (seniors/vets/female) chatting away as we lined up. Hush descended as the countdown began. The starting pace was somewhat quicker than I was used to! The start of a 12 hour solo race is a more sedate affair. Surely we can't keep this pace up for the full hour?! Apparently we do!! The field strung out at he first climb, avoiding bottlenecks at the first wooded section. I was up at the front until my chain jumped off after the running section, causing chain suck. I had to stop and deal with it, losing vital places and momentum in the first few minutes. Pushing hard in anger, I tried regaining as many places as possible, but I had twisted the chain causing the gears to jump every pedal revolution.

The course was short n sharp, 2km of short climbs, fast flat sections and wooded trails. It felt like I had been thrown back to my early days of riding trails, with rigid forks and cantilever brakes, which just do not work! And with the added instability of riding drops. It was like learning to ride again, having got used to fat tyres and suspension.

The last lap hurt the legs, alot, but I had managed to claw back some of the places, finishing in 5th position. I felt like I had had a good workout, and the awesome weather helped no end. Do this in the middle of winter when the rain is lashing down and the trails have reverted back to muddy bogs? Oh yes! Round 3 is this weekend I believe. It was great fun and after all, it is only an hour.

Go on, you know you want to give it a go.......Check out the BCF cyclo cross calender, there's bound to be an event near you.

Scott
Team Mud Dock

Radio Bristol v. the bicycle

I did a live phone link to Dave Barrett's morning show on BBC Radio Bristol last week. I was sitting in a packed railway carriage on my way to Paddington Station. I was shouting into my mobile while the rest of the carriage was quiet, so I did feel a little, erm, self conscious.

For those not in the know, Dave Barrett is not recognized for being sympathetic to the cause of Bristol's cyclists. On the contrary, WE exist to flout the law by riding on pavements, up one way streets and ignoring red lights, etc. You get the picture. So I was invited to contribute to the discussion as an advocate of the bicycle, who also had a vested interest in getting people on bikes because I sell them.

The general theme of the show concerned the £23million Bristol City Council has to spend on provision for cyclists as a result of the successful Cycling Demonstration City bid. And how that was outrageous in light of the collapse of the education, health and welfare systems where the money would be so much better spent.

Well, I tried to make my point whilst standing on my metaphorical soapbox in Carriage D of the 08:00 to London that, a) ultimately we should all respect the individuals right to choose how to travel, on the condition that, b) we all have similar or equally fair provision for the way we do choose and, c) that those choosing to cycle are a lot more vulnerable as road users than other road users and that we therefore need a bit more...investment.

I'm not sure how it came across. Mr Barrett was very polite and I guess he's dealing with a lot of pretty polarised opinions. I'm no raving anti-car fascist (unlike some cyclists), in fact I like cars. In some respects I'm a bit of a petrolhead. But for getting about Bristol my annual bike mileage is 2 or 3 times my car mileage.

That was my point. Sure use a car. But also try and use a bike some of the time. Perhaps more of us will if the £23million makes it a little less hostile.

Jerry

Team Mud Dock!!!

The 12 hr night enduro Dusk til Dawn marked the end of my race career for my last team and the start of my career as a member of Team Mud Dock! But what a race...

Dusk to Dawn crept up on me this year. After the excesses of Mayhem and the Trans Wales I was not mentally ready for another battle with the mud. So I took a ‘just pitch up and ride’ mentality. Looking at the phenomenal start list I figured this strategy would probably be fine because racing against some of the best endurance females in the country I knew my chances of getting a podium finish were minimal. So no pressure. Fabulous! I can safely say I was the least prepared out of any race I’ve done this year. Only 1 bike (never before ridden although much stared at), a completely inexperienced pit crew, packing the morning of the race... Shocking behaviour.

So we had the usual blustery hellos and excited conversation about tires when we arrived but as the rain set in and dusk arrived I was wrapped in a sleeping bag in the tent thinking ‘do I want to get out there and do this again?’ I’ve had my fill of riding round in circles in the mud and the dark this year. But it was one last race for my team so I jumped up and lined up with lots of familiar faces.

The first lap was jostly and then calm as we waiting for people to remember how to turn corners on their bikes and pedal up hills. After that I settled down very quickly into a rythmn and enjoyed the first few rideable laps. I felt very self contained, riding cleanly through the singletrack and daring to put a little power down on the fire road. Many months of riding with Bristol’s one and only Tuesday Night Club has honed my technical skills and I really noticed the added speed I had through the labyrinthine singletrack… thanks boys!

To my horror I found myself riding within a stone’s throw of both Mel and Jenn (Hopkins), the two ‘favourites’ other than Jenn O’C. I briefly thought ‘well this pace won’t be sustainable for long’ and then realized that actually I felt pretty comfortable. We plodded on. The trails became less and less fun. People went to bed and fewer and fewer people held us up. Then Jenn disappeared and Mel and I rode together for a long while, chatting a bit, until she stopped to check something on her bike and I pulled away.

I can’t remember ever enjoying a race so much. I think because I never felt like I was racing! I was vaguely aware of the need to not stop and gave my pit crew a hard time expecting things to appear instantaneously so I didn’t need to get off the bike. Round and round I went, half waiting for Mel to catch me up again. I never asked where she was and would not have minded had she caught me up because I knew, 8 or 9 hours in, that I was having the ride of my life. I felt smooth and fast and totally in control. It was such a contrast to Mayhem which was a mental as well as physical slog that seemed to have little to do with being a decent mountain biker.

I came in once more at ten minutes to the twelve hours. That lap had been the first where I really felt it and was looking forward to stopping, but even then I kept saying to myself, ‘even if it’s one more, that’s cool. I can do that’. It was daylight and the trails were nearly empty. The solo leaders in the men’s race lapped me on that penultimate lap and it was great hearing Josh and Ant hollering as they flew past. I had ripped my ipod off in a bit of a mad moment and was loving the sounds of the forest. So I wobbled in and the pit crew and I had a bit of a conflab and only then I learnt Mel was 20 minutes down. I probably didn’t need to go out again. But then Jenn Hopkins, knowing me well, pointed out I’d finish on the same lap as the leader if I carried on. Knowing I had already pretty much reached my limits I asked ‘what would you do?’. Jenn just looked at me.

So I downed 2 gels and set off. That last lap was painful and I was a sorry state creeping through the trees. Flat barely-there inclines were taking it out of me to get up. I had only had 3 gears (rather hard ones) for the whole race (great prep!) so there was no option to get in the granny ring and spin out. I walked a few climbs and stood up for nearly the whole lap. I saw flamingos and lamas at one point in the trees and eventually after what seemed like hours (nearly 2) I rolled over the line. Having not eaten anything for the last lap I crashed off the bike onto my hands and knees and demanded a bacon roll. Jenn provided and soon I was back to my old self.

Dusk to Dawn 08 will not be forgotten by me for a long time. It had a great atmosphere as ever and the vibe on the trail was fantastic (until everyone went to bed). For me it marked both the end of a fantastic season racing for IronHorse-Extreme and the start of the adventure racing season and start of my membership of Team Mud Dock with Scott, Matt and Mikey. And now I'm thinking warm thoughts for the future... I’m off to Abu Dhabi in a few weeks racing over deserts – a contrast to the mud and rain which is all I seem to have seen this year on my bike!

[I must say a particularly big thank you to my pit bitches Will and Mike and to Mud Dock for "mechanical provisions"].

Time is running out...

I've always mainly been into the offroad aspect of cycling. Downhill being my favourite form of offroad.

However a couple of months back i was talked into competing in a local time trial, just for a bit of fun and to see how i got on. I turned up with a couple of colleagues from Mud Dock, expecting the race to be quite boring and not really catch my fancy. Straight away i stood out! The preference was for wearing a skinsuit and a proper Time trial helmet. I however, turned up in a Downhill jersey, baggy shorts and a piss-pot helmet. Lets just say it wasn't the most appropriate Time Trial kit!! My road bike at the time wasn't very good. Just a cheap aluminium frame made by Ribble. I talked my father into letting me borrow his titanium Litespeed Ultimate just for the race.
As soon as the race started and i was sent off, i was hooked! It was such a thrill. However as i had mainly just pushed myself over short distances, i had never really built up any slow-twitch muscles, meaning i couldn't keep up the amount of power and speed i wanted for a prolonged period of time. As i had never really raced over a longer distance, i wasn't quite sure how to pace myself. As soon as i got sight of the finish line, i immediately knew that i hadn't pushed anywere near hard enough.

My time was 26.22
A lot of people were very supportive and said that was a good attempt, seeing as it was my first ever Time trial. The event was held for 4 weeks. And slowly but surely i managed to get my time down to 24.08

I was still dissapointed with my time, but was hooked on the sport. I have since been focusing on road riding and training for Time trials. And a little while back i invested in a Trek TTX 9.9ssl Frame, which in effect left me with absolutely no money. My bike is now almost complete. It is kitted out with Shimano Ultegra, and a set of aero wheels (Zipp 900 disc on the rear and a Zipp 404 on the front) I am currently only waiting for a set of time trial bars before my little project will be complete.



Unfortunately Time trialling season is now over but my drive and ambition to be the most awesome time triallist has only just begun (he says tongue firmly placed in cheek)
I'll keep training over the winter and hopefully when next season kicks off i'll be ready and waiting to put in some good times

James

Pumpin hell!

Recently I have had the privilege of riding a pump track local to me. For those of you who do not know what a pump track is i shall explain. A pump track is a series of rollers (small mounds) and small jumps with bermed corners in a figure of eight or rectangular shape. They have many different lines and directions and can also grow into other more unique shapes.
My first time there I could hardly make it round the basic figure of eight circuit. A fair few rides later I can now do a figure of eight and then go in reverse, I’m constantly spotting new lines and getting faster.
Enough of how good I’m becoming here is the reason I’m posting this, I think every type of off road rider should ride a pump track and do it regularly. I ride downhill bikes and thought I was good at pumping. I was wrong! I had become lazy because I relied on suspension to get me down the hill. After one session at the track and the next day I couldn't walk! Ask some of the other chaps in the shop, I was in serious agony. I had used mussels I thought I used all the time, but obviously didn't. So the first point is pump tracks give you a full body work out.
The second point is that pump tracks teach you to use the lay of the land to your advantage, turning dips into boost points without pedalling or using your suspension. Its about body movement, position and speed checking. You may feel you can do this correctly but once you get on a pump track you may think differently, I did. Too fast into a corner and you come out wrong, to slow and you can't make it to the next pump point. Its all about fluidity and control. Once you get all this you will be able to go faster on your local trails with more confidence.
I'm riding at cwmcarn in a few weeks so I’ll let you all know what effect it has given me on my riding. So go out there and pump!!!

G