Catford '10' (Old Skool A+)

Bit of a rest week for me, so after getting caught in the last 200m at Mallory Park on Tuesday after being away for the last 6 laps on m'tod I only one event at the weekend. I had my second outing in the Planet X Old Skool series, this event on the Q10/19 had captured my imagination when I saw it in the series being one of the courses we raced all the time in the early 80's. I needed a focus for early season before the longer races of the BBAR begin next month, It looked like a fine morning, the sun was rising as I crossed the Queen Elizabeth II bridge at Dartford (just missed the cutoff for free travel at 6.00am!) as the morning progressed the wind got up a bit and I felt the early starters (6.15!) had the best of it and then as I was warming up on the rollers it began to drizzle and there was a dry patch under me on the tarmac as the rain got harder.
I decided not to put my 28 spoke wheels in (under the conditions) and the 'ski' slope at the start looked not as fiercesome as I remember it but as I came down at 48mph into the wind it was real enough, could not get top gear (the 11) but we only had a 12 top all those years ago age had taken it's toll on the spring in my Campag Super Record gear and I stopped pedalling half way down, it's a gradual climb all the way to the turn could I roll back the years on my old fashion machine, I was going OK but speed down below 20mph at one point - Cripes! and I dare not look at my speed going up to the turn after catching Carol Gandy my minute woman at the base of the slip road. I was 12.50 to the turn, not great I would have to go 30mph+ to beat 22 minutes, saw Cammish on the way back 7m behind me and gave him a nod and then gave it everything inside the white line (shortest distance) for the last mile as the road curves gradually round to the left to the finish at the base of the Tonbridge bypass. I'd stopped the clock at 22.15 a bit of a disappointment I thought as I'd set my heart on getting close to my old PB (21.10) but not on this day, just too hard, and we used to race on Saturday afternoon in the blazing heat, just what we didn't have so no fast time. My mood lifted when back at he HQ news came that I'd beaten Cammish (by 50 secs) a good margin and the first time since my comeback (if I ever have!). I'd won the Old Skool event and 17th overall (I was 78th in the Hull RC event! Cammish 76th) in the main event, winner Matt Miles (Wildside 707 RT) with 20.22 Full Result here Cammish was gracious in defeat and came over to congratulate me (where's the SWRC from then?) Alan and I a bit starstruck and he missed his photo opportunity (for the blog) Photo's of the event (I'm near the end)
My only problem fitting in the two 25 mile races to complete the series most of which clash with other events during the season.
I decided to enter the National'10' on the May Bank holiday weekend, never ridden it before, didn't have one in my day (for women and schoolboys only) promoted by the Newbury RC at on the B4000 at Wickham Heath the Sunday, there is a website here with lots of info, I am in but only 92nd fastest with 20.36 should be some event maybe some of the club riders would like to organise a ride to see what is one of the most spectacular events in the TT calendar, there's an Inter-club the day before and on the BH I've entered the Brighton Mitre MG (72") at Steyning (G10/97) but they also run a Hilly, Hub Gear! and Standatd TT event and one for Road Bikes so something for everyone, you can even enter more than one if you like

Sunday mtb ride

Today is forecast to be the last dry one for a while, so we thought we'd make the best of it and see the bluebells. I love the bluebells, but the pollen affects my chest.

The trails we lovely and dry, we've had very little rain this year. This encourages hooligan riding!! :) Which is why I'm sitting here in pain from body surfing down the fastest singletrack in Surrey :(

Jane had chosen a route taking us over towards Epsom race Course. The first part is one of my favourite rides for testing my fitness. I led the way up Staine street, which was dry enough to climb out of the saddle, I kept it steady to keep the three of us together. Paul was on his new bike and so was eager to attack and test it :)

So we kept together until the start of the 'longest singletrack in Surrey' where I moved over at the top to let Paul through, but he slowed and moved over to let me through :)

I accelerated hard along the 30 metre asphalt stretch by the house and launched off the step into the loose rocky stuff and big ringed it to the farm, where I saw a dog from the corner of my eye and eased a bit. I accelerated again into the twisty section. As I hit the straight section The bike suddenly veered up the banking, I pulled it back down to the straight but something was wrong. The front was sliding and twisting - then the sloooow mooooootion kicked in and the sound went. I could see that the front wheel was locked and sliding to the left - I thought, I'm going down. I looked up and because I was near the ground already, all I could see was a series of tree roots. So I tried to superman it :) I was pretty horizontal as I hit the ground.I felt my shins and knees bounce off every root as I twisted to slide on my back. Then normal speed and sound returned as my helmet hit the ground....ouch!

As I lay on the ground performing a quick triage :) I heard Jane shout look at the wheel. The front tyre was off and the inner tube which was still inflated was enormous, as big as a tractor tyre and wrapped around the forks :-o (no pictures I'm afraid as Paul and Jane were far to bothered about my well being - bless 'em) I'm sure had it been Paul or Jane the second thing I'd have done would be to take some pics ;)

I'm not sure whether the tyre wasn't seated properly or that I'd hit a rock or root and dislodged it, but this is what had locked the front wheel.

Next the pain hit me and I felt sick and and wanted to go to the toilet at the same time. This was my autonomic nervous system freaking out when the body dumps a load of hormones into the system. 'Dumps'being the operative word :) I think that this was probably my hardest crash ever. Later my gps showed my speed dropping from 32kph to zero in an instant :-O Better than any disc brake! lol!

Once the nausea had passed and I'd reseated the tyre. I was on the horns of a dilemma. Which was: a. being full of adrenaline and wanting to go hard. b. frightened that my tyre might come off again.

Ten minutes later we were hammering down the singletrack to Given's Grove :) This is super-fast and narrow. At the fastest point the owners of one of the local mansions has built a raised driveway across the track. We hit this flat out and took off,I skimmed across whole thing about three inches off the ground.......whoaaaaaa!!!

Ten minutes later I'm off the back on the slightest climb and everything's hurting :)

So, now I'm sitting here and slowly stiffening up. My left elbow won't fully extend and supination is very painful, I have bloody knees and shins,  scrapes and abrasions on my shoulders and scapulae and a huge lump on my right sacroiliac. The good news is that I'll have some fabulous scabs to pick later in the week! :)

Keith Butler talks

Last Tuesday evening Cycling legend, Keith Butler gave an frank and honest talk about his life as a professional cyclist, British cycling official & and founder of the Surrey cycle racing league. With Geoff interviewing, Keith talked about how after becoming 1964 British Professional Road race champion, he move to Belguim where he really had to move up a gear or two to get a look in. He had a few years racing in the Pro peleton, with riders such as Tommy Simpson, who, as part of the GB team, he helped Tom to win the World RR championship in 1965.
In 1983 Keith set up the Surrey RR league that run close to 180 events each year, now the biggest league in the country. If any of you do any road racing then you have a lot to thank this man for, making this side of the sport more accessible to new & old riders.

Club Record - Broken

That got your attention! Well as April is shaping up to be the hottest in ten years we have a record number of contributions to the blog, I hope Alan is taking his laptop to the training week in Spain so he can keep us informed of the various training rides and events (cafe stops) along the way. I hear we are hotter here than Rome and it looks likely to continue so if it's raining in Spain think of us having a lovely time of it here in the UK.

BDCA '25'

Phew! back on the flat roads again, time to put the 56/50 back on and see if all this winter training is having any effect on my speed and stamina. Back to the A50 scene of some of my best rides last year and relatively local only half an hour up the M1 to EMA and along the A50 past the Derby's Toyota factory to the HQ at Etwall.
A bit breezy, been out for an hour in the morning as not off until 3.30 so plenty of time to get prepared for the ride, I'm still trying to get my legs over a midweek ride in very windy conditions left my legs a bit dead and body tired so I do 40 minutes of stretching which only confirms to me that my legs are not recovered but no more time just focus on the ride and do the best I can, It's an opportunity to see how everybody is going on a level playing field as many of the top riders are here.
Several riders nod acknowledgement as I go and sign on, not much is said most are in their own world of preparation, some are on the turbo in the car park, I will do a quick warm up on the bike (having been out in the morning) no need to get up too much a head of steam (as the start is fast wind from the N East)you can overdo the warm up and it is a lovely day blue skies and sunshine,brilliant for the time of year, it poured with rain last year and I did a middle 57 (but It was early morning) and almost cancelled because the road had been shut overnight.
I had to raine it in a bit at the start as it was fast but closed in on my MM and caught him at about 7 miles and then my 2MM over the speed bumps to the turn roundabout, my Av. speed 30.6mph I was about level with Ian Cammish (on a fixed) 10 min infront. The return was a different race, I was very unsettled in what gear to use and my speed varied wildly from 22mph on the uphill to 30mph+ on the down, I knew I was loosing alot of time but best to just keep it steady and not put too much effort into any particular place, damage limitation the only way to survive at speed another rider hove into view but the finish came before I had a chance to catch him and it was over, my computer showed short 54 so I was surprised when I saw 53.23 on the result board not good enough for a top ten on the day but better than I expected only just over a minute behind Geoff Platt (De Rosa RT) 52.11 - 6th who beat me by 4 minutes last week. Ride of the day the winner Matt Bottrill(also De Rosa)49.26 from Barry Charlton (Lyme RC) 50.15 and Cammish (Planet X) 50.55 beating the hell out of me on the return and Scott Povey (Warickshire RC) 4th 51.26 also on a fixed (110" he told me at the start).
So a very successful ride for me on my first DC outing of the year, some of these riders have been doing fast times for two months while I have been averaging 23-24mph on the hills so no shame in not being able to turn it on when the going was hard, time trialing is a patient game and I'm in for the long haul, its still April
Next week 'Old Skool' outing #2 the Catford '10' on the Q10/19 Saturday

Tom catching his minute man

Here's Tom Nason catching the rider who started one minute in front of him at the 10 mile mark during the Southern Counties 25 mile event this morning. Go Tom.

Tom back into the TT scene with SCCU

Tom began his 2009 campaign with a ride in the SCCU 25 TT on Sunday and recorded an satisfying 1- 11- 27 having been suffering from a cold all week. It was the first outing of the reconstructed 'Jonathan Thomas Dolan'. Although this time is 6min better than 2008, it is only the start and he's hoping for some notable times this season; next stop the first interclub 10. Thanks go to Alan P for his support of all and sundry and keeping Jerry 'the Marshal' company during the event.

SWRC Sportive badge

I have been doing a bit of a clear out at home and came across this club badge. Can anyone recall what year it came from and what event. Did we have a sportive from London to Portsmouth & back?

Live Pro cycling on your home computer.

If you don't have access to Eurosport Via Sky on your TV, and you need your fix of continental cycle racing, then one option is to subscribe to Eurosport via the internet. It costs a mere £4 a month and for that you get to see alot of the big events. I've watched the the Tour of Flanders & Paris Roubaix over the last couple of weeks and really enjoyed it. Mind you that could be because I wasn't getting out on the bike myself.
Here's the link, and no, I'm not on commission:-)

http://video.eurosport.co.uk/eurosport-player/teaser.shtml

Full of beans

After a long Easter weekend off - warm and sunny Snowdonia, great walks up the Glyders and Snowdon, food to die for, and cooked breakfasts 5 days running - it was back to work, so to speak, with the Saturday club run. Keen to burn off some of the accumulated calories and cholesterol, and with the best bike getting its maiden airing of the year, we had a good fast run down to Wigginholt. Parky was with us for a few miles, attacking on the first hill and not looking like a man with a back injury, only asking to be left behind when he punctured coming down White Down (and showing great bike handling skills round the sharp corners). After climbing up Leith Hill, Andy was next to turn back, saving himself for the next day's LVRC race. The rest of us ploughed on through Forest Green, Broadbridge Heath, Coneyhurst and West Chiltington.

Arriving at the cafe in their dead zone between breakfast (not served after 11.30) and lunch (not served before 12.00), some appetites were thwarted. Somehow Sabin (who else) persuaded the staff to do beans and eggs on toast for him, Dave too - everyone else was refused. Mind you, Dave regretted this (and the flapjack) later as we toiled up Horseblock Hollow. As if to taunt us, the cook brought out one of his industrial-size tins of baked beans to show us.

The return route took us across Amberley Wild Brooks to Fittleworth, over Bedham Hill, and then Kirdford, Loxwood, Cranleigh and H-Block-H, made slightly easier by a puncture stop close to the bottom. No Compact this week so it was a real grind, followed shortly after by Coombe Bottom, then a battle into the headwind for the final run home. Good ride, my legs can really feel it.

stage 3

It rained all through the night, so hard that it woke me a couple of times.
After the late night last night it was difficult to get out of bed and face the prospect of 2-3 hours riding in the rain. We had left the bicis in San Antoni and drove over in the lashing rain, hoping and expecting that the event was cancelled :) At the headquarters we were greeted with 'you have brought the weather from londres' and 'it is perfect for you' ....etc :) So, no pulling out for us then!
The sign on was put off for an hour to wait for the rain to ease and it did a little bit.
We set off through the streets of Sant Antoni in a huge spray of water thrown up from the road, to add to the rain :) Up a couple of asphalt climbs and we started to warm up a bit until the first off road section which was underwater for the first 100 metres! Today's ruta was to be a tour of the calas, a cala is a sort of bay or cove. So after the big climb of the day, we tended downwards back to Sant Antoni, dropping down to the little coves and climbing back out again. This meant some nice technical, wet rock descending down to the beach then a scramble across the sand and then often a hike-a-bike section either up the rocks or steps cut into the rock, which because of the rain each step was a mini waterfall Though sometimes it was super steep access tracks for boats. . I have mentioned before that when the rock gets wet in Ibiza in some places it forms a slick grease on the top. The locals call this patina and if you hear the shout 'patina, patina!' you can expect that you or someone nearby will hit the ground soon. It's instantaneous, one nano second you're on the bike, the next you're not :-o
Some areas above the calas were huge moonscapes of boulders and rocks and we bounced and banged across these, all the time with the sea roaring and crashing to our left....fabulous :)
At the top of the last climb out of Cala Bassa we were stopped at the road, because the next section was neutralised. Shortly a police car turned up, this was to be our escort to the finish line. We were told to stay close in ‘peloton’ and not to overtake the police car J About 20 of us set off behind the police car with lights flashing, immediately he sped away and we jumped after him. Soon we were lined out and tucked in behind at 40 kph! People were cheering and clapping as we went straight through traffic lights and around roundabouts into the centre of Sant Antoni………most excellent.

Easter Racing Pt. 2 - City RC '10' (Old Skool - B+)

N.B. Can you have one of these on the start of a post?
Just a quick note to say two old friends of the club accosted me at the Ashfield 2 Up and the Melton Hilly. The lovely Cheryl Owens rode with her GS Metro(partner) and we caught up over tea in the Coalville Whs Clubroom (the HQ) She now lives in Burbage (better than saying you live in Hinckley) which is tantamount to saying that you live in Darwin's waiting room (topical there), beware of places where they still point at aeroplanes! Name escapes me but another soul accosted me at the Great Dalby Village Hall and then seconded to pusher off, now in the Melton Olympic CC and missing everybody at the SWRC

So to Easter proper and the City RC (Hull) '10' on the 'uber' fast V718 (on the A63) now this had been designated the first of the Planet X - 'Old Skool' series for Retro bikes (No carbon, No Aero,) just back to basics TT'ing 80's style. The event was a run out for me as I fancied having a crack at doing a ride in the Catford '10' on the Q10/19 in Kent in a couple of weeks, I did club record on this course way back in 1982 (21.10) the same day Dave Lloyd broke Comp. record (19.11) but never attained the magic 20 minute ride that I thought capable so with my comeback in full swing I felt an early season challenge to go for it 80's style and see how I compare. Only half a dozen riders wheeled out their iron framed bikes on this occasion but that was not to play down the seriousness of the competition, If multi champion Ian Cammish was going to put his neck on the block you can be certain he would not want to be beaten in the 'Old Skool' style to which he is the undoubted and un-challenged King.
A good day and fast times were coming back from the senior event Derek Parkinson (Clevely RC - no relation) winning in 19.12 from A Duggleby (Shorter RT) 19.19 with a tie for third Phil Graves (Clifton CC) and R Handley (Maxgear RT) 19.28 I had only put my 'Retro' Dave LLoyd (do you like the symmetry?) together the night before and run out of time on my 28 spoke wheels (Campag on Argent 10's for authentisity) so I had to make do with a 'bastard' pair of 32's. Most of the rest of the equipment was Campag Super Record circa early 80's, I found some Mafac brake blocks to replace the well worn ones in discarded shoes at the bottom of a drawer and not prepared to buy new from Campyoldy at £4.50 each!
Campag fricton handlebar control as no DT bosses (to be fair the 'Lloydy' is from the early 90's but all steel) and drilled levers with the cables tucked under. Back in the day when 'Old Skool' was all we knew I never had a custom TT bike we just used to put some light (32 spoke for us heavy track buggers!) in our road bikes and away we go, but then in those days there was not so much difference as there is today. Single 53 ring (with front changer - screwed down) on 180 track cranks and a genuine Cinelli A1 stem & Merckx bars, the major difference a non Campag seatpin (they just didn't make them that long in those days - for compact frame) and cleated pedals, Cammish was using clips and straps (so Dave Worsfold is now not the only person racing on them in the country) and exposed cables. However I had my original 80's racing top (silk effect viscose) so I guess we were just about even on the un-aero stakes. It was quite liberating all that wind in your (lack of) hair it took me back to the days before we had to worry about power meters and Heart Rate Monitors, if you look at the picture yes that is what I look like under all that garb, and those that remember from before still biteing my bottom lip I think I lost out to Cammish in the 'cool' stakes.


'Old Skool' style

I went for a long warm up and to try out the bike, then tightened everything up (I'd taken my road bike as a fallback in case anything broke or fell off!) and set off for the start. A few riders were amazed that I was riding 'Old Skool' I was number 60a fast man and there was alot of fast new carbon bikes on show, people spend alot of money to go fast, training and preparing for a day like today and travel a long distance to a course rated to be a competition record course in the future, but I reasoned would I do a PB this early in the season? How much harm could it do to have a bit of fun on a bike I'd put together that had cost less than these guys had spent on their spare front wheel.

King Cammish


The race as with all 10's was over in a flash, just push all the way slightly harder on the way out but with no aero facade to hide behind you catch the full force of the elements. I only had a clock, no speedo so I had no idea of how I was going but my MM (a 52 minute 25 miler) was on the up ramp as I was going down so he had not gained that much on me(10 sec?) On the way back I did not settle into any rhythm but then this was my first DC race of the year and I've been used to going at 23 mph Av. here at faster speed it's difficult to handle the gears and the position so I just had to keep picking up the speed and the finish was soon in sight, my MM did not catch me but informed me he had done a short 21 so I reasoned inside a 22 (which was my target for the day) and I was well chuffed with that. Mr Cammish gave me a nod as he rode up to the start on his immaculate cream Guerlocci I coughed all the way to the car. At the result board it was evident how fast a day it was 30 inside 21 minutes and 10 inside 20 one of those inside 19 and the winner of the event (and a veteran to boot - Vets Comp Record?) Wayne Randall (PlanetX) 18.58 with Barry Charlton (Lyme RC) 19.26 and John Surtees (RAF CC) 19.58 King Cammish came in 21.38 so he only beat me by 8 seconds and S.Ward (Team Swift) a further 2 seconds down on my 21.46 It was not easy but I thik I can go faster, now that I look in my diary for 1982 the Catford CC '10' on the Q10/19 I did 21.44 only 20 seconds down on Derek Cottington, If anybody fancies getting across to Tonbridge to watch you will have to get up early, traffic dictates that the event has to kick off at 6.30am I'll keep you posted

On the BH Monday I rode the Leicester RC Hilly '29' around the lanes of NE Leicestershire, the HQ in Syston North of the city so I had a leisurely ride out at 8 in the morning through the empty but sun filled streets of Leicester on my TT bike a bit conspicuous in my aero helmet but it was a lovely morning to be out on a bike after two days of drizzle. A few people asked me about the 'Old Skool' as they had seen the result and rated my position just behind Cammish, I'm seen as a bit of an enigma here, just a rider who rides all the local events but in SWRC colours, when I tell then I've lived in Leicester for 25 years they look at me a bit puzzled. I'm not out to do anything here in what is a pretty tough course, just don't be embarrassed and come more than respectable but what that means anybody knows? I start well but my legs are tired and it is a hard start into the wind, I catch my 1,2 and 3 mm before half way but that is about all I can do and settle in for the rest of the ride using my 42 inner and revving up the hills as hard as I can, the road along to Russian Farm is muddy and pock marked, I'm re-living Paris Roubaix I sat and watched on the sofa yesterday, lovely stuff. I suffer on Borough hill the toughest part of the circuit and then the long drag up from Thorpe Satchville I'd ridden in the Melton event last week, not so bad today and over the top I put it in the big ring and begin the decent to the finish at Queniborough 35 mph along here and feeling good although I cannot get top, no matter I need a bit of spinning after all that. Geoff Platts (De Rosa 4th - 1.10.06) coasts past me nearly caught me for 4 min but my time 1.14.11 four minutes faster than last year (and 10 faster than 2006) so going in the right direction but I'll never be good at these things (last year I'd been out for 50m in the snow the day before!) Winner James Perkins (Zenith CC) 1.8.29 from James Cambridge (Melton Oly.)1.9.15 and third Scott Walker (De Rosa RT) 1.9.32

Easter Racing - Pt 1.

After reading those last few reports, Does anybody in the SWRC ride anywhere close to SW London? Or are we all off around the country or Europe doing our thing! Anyway bit of an update on the Midlands (and the North) racing scene, last week I had my first back to back weekend of racing, on the Saturday I rode the Ashfield RC 2 Up '25' on the testing Griffydam course (the most windswept place in the windswept county)If I tell you that our Av. Sp. for the first five miles was above 33mph then you can imagine what the second half of this two lap course was like. My (usual) partner Mark is a whippet and offered no cover so we plugged away as the flags on the new housing estate near EMA and Castle Donnington were being shredded, we were just on 25mph as we went past the timekeeper (for the first time) and then from the aptly named Top road the flume ride began again as we touched 40mph on the twisty roads. Mark was beginning to suffer by now and I had to slow a bit for him on the second lap but we still came in under the hour in 59.54 for 7th place. Mark Lovatt(Planet X) and Mike Cummins (Raleigh) won it with 55.48 although D. Otter and Marc Mallinder the first Club team (Rutland CC) in 2nd spot over a minute down 56.56.
On the Sunday the Melton Olympic Hilly '20.5' solo this time and as I go back through my racing diary I'm sure I've ridden this recently but I have to go back to2006 when I was outside the hour (with a punture mind) must have put me off! As it was I managed 51.59 for 11th a mere 5 minutes behind Matt Bottrill (De Rosa) 46.51, I still caught my 3 minute men and beat Mark by 4 minutes, to be fair Mark was beginning to suffer by now, two night shifts as a fireman catching up with him.
Over the Easter weekend I had two races but on the Friday and Monday to give my body a bit of a chance to recover (from all that chocolate!), early season TT's are a bit tough on the body, you have to get used to the position not assumed since you last raced and the cold and wind are all tougher at this time of year. To be fair we have been blessed with some nice weather for a change, this time last year it was snow and ice so things are looking up for the summer, a later Easter always makes a difference, Easter was my first racing last year.

stage 2

Sant antoni - Santa Eulalia - Costa al costa

The forecast was for 20% chance of rain today, it had rained hard in the night so we expected some more.  It  was much colder as we lined up for the start of today’s stage.

The first part of today’s stage was neutralised and we rolled out of  town as a large group and stopped at the foot of the first climb. We had somehow managed to get ourselves squashed to the back of the first 100 :(  The first climb was  fairly wide fire road and we made good time up this, passing a few of the other ladies. One girl Mari, who was second yesterday tried to get onto Jane’s wheel but couldn’t hold it. She got back on at the next flattish section, and off again on the next rise. We hadn’t seen her for a while when we hit a steep, rocky and rooted greasy section.  Jane was riding very well up this stuff , as people all around were spinning out,  slipping and dabbing. A lot of the guys were walking, but Jane was riding all of it. Then Mari just rode past!…. On the worst line possible, she floated over everything….amazing and we just watched her ride away.  This climb lasted over two km’s me and Jane cleared it but it was a long walk for some :)  The steep descent was through a recently cleared forest area and was  at least six inches  deep in wood pulp. We descended fast and I lost the front wheel a couple of times on the bends. But the scary bit was the sticks and branches flicking up and hitting the spokes, I was concerned that at any moment I would lose the rear mech.  

The next climb was a true hike-a-bike section , we shouldered the bikes and scrambled and hiked for a good ten minutes. The next descent was one of my favourite types on the island.- steep wooded, tight  singletrack with rock slabs and rocky drops :)  

We recognised some of the next trails as rutas tres and neuve but in reverse. It’s lovely how a previously great climb becomes an amazing descent the other way around. We hit a great descent here again, deeply rutted and loose. On one big drop I flicked up to the right to avoid it and I heard ‘paso, paso!’ on the left. The poor guy came past and ‘supermanned’ over the drop! He was immediately up and apologising to me and Jane and then rocketed of down the trail. My turn next - on the next bend someone went wide, I tried not to and the front washed out………..Rider down!  :) I got up, I looked up and I was next to the video guy and the photographer……..and they looked very pleased.  I shouted ‘saca mi foto?’ ‘Si, si’ they laughed. Everyone loves a crash :)

The last climb started with an amazing technical section of about 500 metres of  deep ruts and channels which I immediately fluffed and Jane cleared it leaving me and a couple of guys walking. There was about three km to go now, all up. The trail widened into a smoother fire road and we started to reel people in again. This led to a big sprint fun sprint and we dropped the group we were with. At the finish they told Jane she was third woman. We met Mari the girl who’d gone past on the technical climb, she was just under three minutes up on Jane. 

We rolled the next 20 odd neutralised km’s with Juan Ferrer and some of the guys from his shop in Eivissa town. It turned out he’d been the guy who crashed in front of me and we hadn’t recognised each other :)

As we came into the finish area we could see the finish line inflatable had collapsed, so we climbed under together and on the other side the t.v. guys were filming us crawling out. :)

track stars

mike bates organixed a great trip last week to the newport velodrome for a mixture of swrc riders and school boys. we only had 3 very minor chutes with no splinters . the boys and swrc first timers were wise enough not to look down on the banking from above until after we had finished.a trip that is highly recomended to anyone who has never done it.

Google Maps - Fame at last

Google have been in the papers recently with their street level views of towns around the country. If you've got a spare 5 minutes then have a look at your house. I trawled through and found a shot of me riding home from work. View Larger Map">
See what you can spot!

stage 1

La Vuelta Ibiza

La Vuelta Ibiza is three day stage race held over Easter every year, usually in the north west of the Island.

Stages one and three are around 30km each and more like sportifs. Stage two is 80 km and takes in most of the big mountains and is timed over a 37.5 km mid section.

Yesterday we signed on in Sant Antoni at the headquarters of Mammoth, the organisers. In the usual goody bag was a racing jersey and a t-shirt, it was then that we realised the main sponsor was Space!! Yes, space the rave nightclub, probably the biggest consumer of ecstasy and amphetamine based pharmaceuticals in Europe……yay!  Another quick look through the goody bag  revealed no trace of  free samples :(  This may be the start of a new trend, what with Amgen the makers of epo sponsoring the tour of California :) 

Stage one:

Stage one starts in Eivissa Town  on the Vara del Rey. It’s very official, and like the tdf and other big races, we have to mount a stage, walk across and sign in.

The start is signalled by lots of fire crackers thrown to the floor in front of the start line, and we’re off! Like most of these races, there are so many taking part that we wait a few seconds and then start scooting and finally cross the start line a few minutes after the front runners. :)As we pass through the start we hear a shout from Jane’s mother and sister from Wales. The Welsh tifosi  also known as the  taffosi!   :)

The first km or so is with a huge tailwind blowing us through downtown Eivissa and through all of the junctions held on red as the police stop  the traffic. We gradually move up through the groups here and as we hit the first climb people are coming backwards.  It’s nice gradual wide fire road middle ring climb, we have already decided to keep it steady and ride together as Jane is recovering from  a twisted knee from the  Three Peaks Trial a couple of weeks ago. But, still we’re passing people and climbing easily.  The first descent is down some very rutted and greasy tracks, Jane is a bit nervous at first but soon realises that she has more grip then she thinks.  The next climb is another three kms but a bit steeper and it’s onto the granny ring. Over this one and we find a beautiful hairpin asphalt road descent! Which then becomes a  rutted fire road. Bonkers, a stretch of pristine asphalt in the middle of nowhere. :)

Next up is the last big climb of the route, for me it’s 22/32 mostly on this one. It starts ok but then gradually becomes more and more broken up and rocky on the right hand side. And more and more we are left with a narrow rideable line on the left.  Even this starts to disappear and become an off camber greasy ledge, Jane is riding very well on this stuff and people behind us are slipping into the rut. Just before the top an angled wet root catches he back wheel and she dabs. I manage to squeeze past and at the top of the climb is the refreshment checkpoint. We grab a couple of  cokes and set off down. It’s pretty much down all the way now, but for a couple of bumps. Jane responds well to coke and she descends well. We catch a couple on the slight rises, but we see no one on the descents. We pass two more guys on a short sharp greasy 20%+ .  Two or three km’s to go now and I get my head down and Jane tucks in behind on a wide camino. We hit a track wide water splash here flat out and a guy flags us down shouting ‘espera!’  This is the official end and the next section into town is neutralised. We stop and a chap comes up to Jane and says something about ‘primera mujer’  and then realises she’s not Spanish and he says well done first woman home. We’re  pretty astounded! He introduces himself as the President of the Balearics racing and says that he lived in Leicester for a while and does a passable midlands accent :) A local girl then turns up and he grabs them both for a photo. After five minutes the group has expanded to about 20 and we’re told to set off  to town we cruise the streets and once again all the traffic is held back for us.

A lovely day out and I wore shorts  for the first time this year……..hurrah!

chain gang

Managed to keep up in the chain gang Tuesday evening. All six of us were pretty evenly matched and kept up a good pace...nobody got dropped and all managed to avoid the cavernous potholes down Plough Lane in the silvery light of the moon.
Ken was the strongest, followed by Ken and all the other Kens seemed to be going strongly also.

Sherwood Pines

My first race of the year! Well for a year in fact :)

This time last year I started to get some tendinitis in my knee, and it's taken me a while to figure it out. So this year I've started to put a bit of effort in again, hence joining the alpha's on a Saturday :)

So I decided to race the national series this year. The first round was at Sherwood Pines in Nottingham.

Me, Paul Facer and Tom (Paul's friend who kindly put us up for the weekend) -Hello Tom,Rachel,Martin and Jude:)- Went for a quick spin around the course. I was surprised by how amazingly like Thetford it was. But it was even less hilly!

This year I'm in a different category to Paul, he's vets and I'm now in the grand vets. The start time was 3pm!! 3pm is ridiculous, that's when I take my afternoon nap! Don't they realise that we oldsters start to get up earlier and go to bed even earlier. I'm up and dressed at 7am ready to go, but it's still eight hours before we start. :)

I'm standing in the paddock two rows behind the seeded guys, surrounded by scary looking proto-pensioners in lycra. The gun goes and they're gone in a cloud of choking dust, I'm still trying to clip in as they disappear toward the first singletrack section. I can't close on them at all, until we hit the singletrack where technically I'm much quicker. But, out onto the fire road again and they're gone. This goes on for a while and gradually I pull two or three back on the singletrack sections. This is tough, each time glance down at my HR monitor I see the high 160's.

I gradually pull in a few of the vets who'd set off before the grand vets, and it's over. Four 7.5km laps - 1.42' This short sharp type of racing is utterly new to me, it's usually fours plus.

I can see where I need to improve: My bike handling is fine, and from riding with the Alphas on a Saturday, I can hold the pain and high heart rates. I just don't have any strength. :)

My heart rate averaged 163, My maximum is 175.

Paul had a good race and was a minute faster than me on every lap.

So next week back to riding with the Alphas :)

The picture is me and Paul picking up our prize for coming joint 312th :-)

93rd Ronde van Vlaanderen- Tour of Flanders

Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) repeated last year's victory in almost identical style, soloing away in the final kilometres for his second consecutive win the Vlaanderens Mooiste. The 29-year-old Belgian dropped his breakaway companions on the penultimate climb of the day, the legendary cobbled Muur of Gramont, and from then on, he raced to glory on the roads toward the finish in Meerbeke. While crossing the line, Devolder gestured in honor of his recently deceased friend and fellow racer Frederik Nolf.
"This is unbelievable. I've lived up to this race for so long and I encountered a lot of bad luck," said Devolder. I worked hard with all the people that kept believing in me. I said I would win and I did it."

A full report is here: cyclingnews.com

"one ,two ,three,it's as easy as A,B,C"

So what a sociable day it was ,despite Sabin trying to get the B Group to change their plans to go to High Beeches they ,quite properly were not having any of it. ( Sabin confided to me later that he was just worried someone else might move in on the waitresses).


Here we see El Presidente smiling now that he has recoverd from the Cafe not being able to put candles on his table for his Beans on toast a deux.

Either

a) It is about time the Alphas fitted some mudgaurds ,or

b) Kevin is a wheel sucker and he should get on the front sometime ,or

c) He is founder member of the Redhill Al Jolson Appreciation Society ( younger members can ask Andy H to explain this ).

Sabin finally finds a hole.

This shortly after Trev showed us his ring of confidence on the climb up to Colgate ( younger members again see c) above.

Bs finally caught on film. Trying not to look smug after passing the Alphas going up an incline ( why didnt Mark P mention that by the way in his post?)

Andy just after saying to me " Dont you dare show this to my doctor who said he will give up treating me if I ride my bike again before the end of april".

nick a

No Pedro Delgado

Despite elaborate preparations by Nick, Pedro Delgado let us all down today - he was a no-show, probably put off by the grotty weather. That didn't stop the rest of us turning out at Betchworth, including a special guest appearance by Parky, the return of Andy Hicks, and four new guys joining the As. The rain forced a change of plans leading to all three groups going to the same tea stop (Balcombe) for the first time. And in a shock move, the C group routefinder-general was M herself, confident with route supplied by Patrick and after a dry run on Thursday with Sabin.

It was a bit of a yoyo ride as all three groups had several punctures and were repeatedly passed by each other. The first puncture (Maggie, C) was only 200 yards from the start and was mostly fixed by Sabin, A. Later he said that despite there being three women there he had trouble finding the hole; Andy reckoned the sooner he has his eye operation the better. Progressing in fits and starts the Bs arrived first, the As next and to everyone's astonishment the Cs turned up too. Full marks to the cafe - all 20 of us were filthy, noisy and hungry but the food and service were excellent.

Mysteriously Niall's rear wheel had punctured while we were inside so another delay while he fixed that. Then off in warm sunshine, in total contrast to the ride out, a longish route back via Warninglid, Mannings Heath, Horsham and the usual trundle (Rusper, etc). The pace was brisk and people gradually drifted off, Sabin as strong as ever, Trevor too. Finally I was left alone to stagger up Juniper Hill, then the lovely run down to Epsom, the fast swish through the multiple roundabouts to Ewell and back to chez M&M where the bike got a well deserved clean. M turned up at 5.30 after a second tea stop at Tanhouse Farm - no navigational issues nor mechanical problems, largely because I hadn't touched her bike all week.

Eastbourne training weekend

Here are some of the club members outside the Cavandish hotel ready for the ride back home on Sunday morning.
Back row: Dave Ellis, Bill, Mark, Ted, Les, Richard.
Mid row: Martin, Phillippe, Gordon, Ben, Patrick.
Front row: Mandy, Paul, Nicole, Mariana, Dave, Geoff.

Pedro Cancellation

I am sorry to say that I have now heard from Pedro that he cannot make it on saturday. I made the mistake of sending him a clip of one of Alan's videos which featured Simon's calves. Shortly afterwards he said he was now busy -I fear the two events are related.
He also mentioned that he does not usually ride at the beginning of April.
Nick A

Cycling endeavours in 2009

March's survey was the most popular to date with 42 people voting on what cycling they wanted to do in 2009. As I exspected top of the poll went to Clubruns & Sportives but joint winner was Bike polo with 16 votes. Hopfully someone will get down to Brick lane one Sunday and post a report about the action. Polo certainly gets a lot of inches in the media these days as seen here in one of the Sunday colour suppliments. Midway down the polls was Road racing, Time trials, mountain biking, holidays & cycle speedway. Bottom of the pile was cyclo-cross and track racing, and that was after we have been dominating the rest of the world on the velodrome. If you think track racing is unattainable then why not try the next best thing and get yourself a fixed wheel road bike and experience the fun of peddling around corners and down steep hills.
What I missed from the survey were some other interests that might float your boat, namely Roller racing, Alleycat racing, Critical mass rides and my own new interest, Night rides.
So with the days getting longer and warmer it's power to the pedal and lets hit those street for some cycling FUN.

Guest Rider

Through my Madrid office I have been introduced to Pedro Delgado the famous ex Pro rider.It happens that he is in London this weekend and I have asked him if he would like to come for a ride with us this saturday and give everyone the chance to meet him before we set off.( I think he will keep up with the Alpha group but he tells me that he does not ride so much now so Simon will need to go easy with him.)
Just one problem -he is I reckon about 5feet 8 " and does anyone have a spare ( nice I suggest!) bike he could borrow for the ride on saturday?
nick a