Form & Football

I forgot to post this last week

I seem to have lost my way after an excellent start to the season putting in some good performances in early events and avoiding any illness (washing hands obsessively and avoiding crowds - Phew!) I have been taking more rest days, (at least one day a week) mileage down slightly but up on the quality. Riding events as training has become part of my overall route to fitness but this can lead to complacency and not taking your racing serious enough, I never seem to hit a purple patch until the last part of the season and the risk is that you fail to take events with due regard ("Just another training ride") and of course you can run out of season without attaining your potential
I have struggled to get any rhythm in my riding and my consistency had been woeful but like the England footballers maybe I could also be blamed for trying just too hard, I suppose with more rest I was expecting there to be a commensurate improvement in these areas, in the past I was verging on being overtrained but it does not seem to be that simple as the margins for improvement get slimmer the need to necessity hit top form to do a 'ride' becomes imperative and if you are below par then frustration follows as you try tweaks to move your fitness to that next level. Traditionally I consider my season to take on a more serious completion at the BDCA '100' in early June, the bulk of my training is done, I have nearly 6000 miles in the legs from the New Year and I have been racing for 3 months and although the weather has been as 'mixed' as my racing programme I still seem no closer to top form and I feel I need a good series of rides to take some confidence into the second half of the season.
Already I hear that some riders are feeling jaded and looking for new challenges but I know if I want to get a high placing in the BBAR I must feel that I am not having to extend myself in my racing as the longer distances require you to hold a bit in reserve and you cannot race conservatively when you are not on top of your riding
Back a week to the BDCA, I had rested well after an intense time in the penultimate week, all I needed was my legs to come good in the race, It was a fairly windy day but these days with all the 'aero' advantages this is not so much a factor when you are not on the limit of a shorter distance and you can modify your game plan and then use the wind assistance & the course, measure out your effort and speed over the duration
The first (25 mile)leg into the wind was a shade over the hour, this was pegged back to 1:52:30 on the second leg but I knew I had to keep some in reserve for the second leg into the wind so I did not go at it 'hammer & tongs' and Nick English (Reading CC) my minute man caught me at 45 miles, I was not overtly concerned as this happens and I usually have a stronger second half as my fitness kicks in but my legs were hurting, I took a second gel and a bottle off Fiona. Charles Taylor (S Pennine RC) however caught me for 5 minutes at 60m and by this time I was worried as my legs were not responding after being 'on the rack' for quite a while but I just had to make the best of it as I climbed up the concrete mountain to Blyth Br. once more. Although the final 20 miles were brisk the damage had been done and I never felt I had got into the game in the second half, to cap it all I had to be drug tested by UKAD (Anti-doping in sport) which took an hour and I was barely able to produce a sample (3ml over the 90ml min) in a dehydrated state (I sweat allot!) although at 6x the min specific gravity it was the colour of lucozade, this compares with Neil Skellern who finds he cannot drink in races at all and had barely consumed 750ml to my 3L! My skin suit was encrusted with salt it would have stood up on its own! Mark White (Leicester Tri) trailed in DNF with cramp at 80m still to be tested and the women were having trouble producing a sample at all, for those of you that need to know the details as soon as you finish those chosen (at random) have to be shadowed by an official until the whole process is finished and there is much form filling and signing at every stage as the (costly & methodical) process is adhered to and if you cannot produce a sample of quality or quantity then you just have to wait until you can there were six testing officers and one in charge. Drugs are a serious business


I was a bit disappointed with my ride although I cannot be too hard on myself as I just have not shown the form in the last couple of weeks, of the other riders 2nd last year Julian Jenkinson (UTAG Yamaha) was fastest a minute faster in 3:36:55 from Taylor 3:39:31 and Joel Wainman (Swift) 3:41:59
I now had a week off the bike sitting around the pool in Portugal in an effort to re-group my focus and recover my form, on returning I only had a couple of days to prepare for the National 50 mile Championship on the A3 just past the Devil's Punch Bowl, I did a quick ride as soon as I got back (on empty roads) while everybody was watching England disappoint against Algeria and then a few laps around Richmond Park Saturday night before the event in the cold wind not making me feel like doing more than ease my legs from the journey down.

Warming (Steaming) Up

The morning itself was fresh with the North wind and I warmed to a head of steam on the rollers in the early morning sun, Martin Kostler and Jon Thomas had already made there way from the HQ at Rake to the start on Hillbrow which gives an almost 2m gift start to this course which means the pain is delayed somewhat before you get onto the main A3 between Petersfield and Liphook. However the pain came a little sooner than I anticipated as I proceeded to touch a pedal and crash on the mini roundabout banging my front wheel against the kerb and sprawling onto the grass centre but avoiding the chevron sign.

Kevin Tye - 3rd


The marshalls helped me up and with a spin of my wheels I was away before my minute man came along, I was a bit shaken but my only thought was to get on with it, only one problem I had broken my rear brake lever so I would just have to be cautious on the bends but it's not like a road race where you might be caught out and my anticipation would have to be better.

Roy 'Rocket' Brook of the Epsom had a rush of blood to the head at the last roundabout and crashed spectacularly breaking his collar bone (in two places) finger and rib and doing a fair bit of damage to his bike so my incident looked a little unspectacular by comparison - Get well soon Roy

Roy Brook bites the tarmac



With the adrenalin pumping I went very hard over the first 25 miles after that, (55:42) probably too hard in retrospect for the conditions and I suffered over the second half, as the northbound section is ascending and into the wind it was pretty tough and I was caught by Kevin Tye (Datateam) 2m at 15 miles as I could not settle into a rhythm, second time up I was caught by Julian Jenkinson doing his first lap but we were all struggling to make a smooth job of the tough sections and he gradually pulled away as my early efforts began to pay


Michael Hutchinson did a remarkable negative split ride (when you consider the gift of a start) to be crowned the champion for the tenth time 1:38:55 (50:14) from Mark Holton (Drag2Zero) 1:41:10 (51:25) and 'B' group winner Tye in third 1:43:24 another local and 'B' rider Steve Dennis (E Grinstead) 4th 1:43:38 these guys hardly race out of the South East and gave a great showing at the National level.

Drag2Zero - Winning team with Championship record


I finished in 45th place 1:52:25 and 9th in the 'B' age group. Jon had a solid ride 2:00:11 (59:42) and Martin in his first 50 mile since 1979 2:12:52 (1:05:15) we missed the club team record by a couple of minutes (6:05:28)




BDCA '100' result

National '50' result (Men)

National '50' result (Women)









The lesser spotted Parkinson in resplendent plumage

A Vintage Run

A stunning day meant that we had a good turn out of 12 for the ride to Roundhurst Farm -which was good for me as I had never been there before. The day had started well with Sabin not only joining Team Wandsworth for the ride to Cobham but saying he would try to do the whole ride -his first on a saturday since practising his somersaults over a BMW in Mallorca. A very welcome return and something to cheer up the tea ladies of the southern counties

The best quality china and truly one of the "finest cakes known to humanity.".....( polenta orange )

Trevor had not only planned the route but even generously led us past his house on the way out rather than on the way back -to avoid us haranguing him when he turns off a few miles from home with some of us having 20 -30 miles to go.We were soon at the bottom of the climb up to Hindhead from Churt and despite the best efforts of Mr Packman we rode along a track masquerading as a gravel pit. It was then on the drag up to Hindhead that Mr Hicks showed why he is currently lying second in the Percy Thrower Series in the LVRC,sprinting away with impressive power, not once but twice and nearly killing me in the process.

Andy then proceeded to sprint for each road sign with consistent success.

The beauty of Tennyson Lane down to Roundhurst road set us up perfectly for our tea shop-precisely 50 miles from leaving Alan's house for 4 of us.

Niall making the most of the dry roads coming out on his vintage Ciocc.Note the campag authentic water bottle.Also see the rather fine delta brakes They make lots of noise,look very distinguished and do everything but stop you quickly.

Matt letting himself down and letting the club down with a non club shirt.

We came back past Lurgashall,Shillinglee,Blackheath , Coombe Bottom and back to Cobham with about 7 of us riding all the way back to Esher together before further splitting up. 98 sunny miles for those of us going back into London.

A really good day.

Nick A

C Group Redhill Aerodrome 26th June 10

The C group set off to Redhill Aerodrome on a perfect Summer’s day.Very warm with a very slight easterly breeze to help temper the heat. The Surrey countryside was at its best and it seemed to be one of those days when peddling along at a fair clip (for the C group that is) was no effort. Up and over the North Downs via Polsden Lacey which is quite easy, down to Westhumble and on and through Brockham and beyond. There were about 12 in the C Group, lead by Paul and Linda, and a further 8 in a C+/B- amalgamation which was also heading for the same destination. It was good to see Bob Maylin, peddling along smoothly with the C group, building up the monthly mileage and working towards a good recovery after his winter spill.

Paul and Linda


Cobham - the start.




Westhumble


Redhill Aerodrome - returning to the bikes after refreshments.

On the way back the C group met up again with the faster C/Bs who had stopped with one of their cyclist’s sitting by the roadside, and not looking too happy. It appears Gordon Bowser had taken a tumble after touching wheels and was still in shock by the time we arrived. The leaders of the fast group advised that we should press on and we left Gordon with his group by the roadside. I later found out that Gordon, though bruised, was OK and will no doubt be back on the bike again soon.

Return to Kingston by about 2.40, 70 miles, and average of 14.9 mph.

Beastway week 6

The plan this week was to have more of a warm up before the race and so I decided to instead of sitting in traffic on the north circular I would ride the 18 miles from work in Hendon to Hog Hill which if you didn't know is in L.B.Redbridge. This wasn't such a bad idea as it was a glorious sunny evening and I managed it in 90 minutes. After a quick lap of the circuit and a change in to club top I was ready and alot more relaxed standing on the start line.

Whistle goes and off I go, first to engage the pedal then put the power down. A little better but still only in 7th position as we enter the first corner. Everyone pretty much hammers it for the first couple of minutes and I just hold my p[lace until I get a chance to overtake. soon I'm up into 4th place and Antonius is leading again but only 10 seconds in front so no disasters. I need to get with him before we start catching the group in front as this is where gaps are made and the race can be won or lost. On the second lap catch the 2nd & third riders and stay with them a while but I see Antonius getting away so i jump past them and tear away after him but at a steep climb slip my chain as i change gear and have to dismount.

I loose 10 seconds and panic, jumping back on I put my head down and tear away again. Third lap and I'm 15 seconds ahead of 3rd & 4th place but Antonius has pulled clear and I am beginning to fade a bit. I don't have time to eat and just keep my head down. A lap later and I am fading fast and I down a gel, loosing half of it as it splits down the edge, but it is too late and it's not long before I have blown completely. The other Vet riders start over taking me as I slip down the placings and before you know it I'm not even racing, just poodling along. Rubbish.

The results show I slipped to 6th vet and 23rd overall.

My lap times tell the full story of were it all went wrong

07:50 07:33 07:50 08:17 08:47 09:47 09:06

La Bernard Hinault Sportive

Véro and I went to Brittany over the weekend to take part in Bernard's sportive following a 'San Miguel' chat with Geoff and Ted in Mallorca. The event had 2 routes, 195km and 120km, was well attended by local cycling clubs and had the man himself leading out the 120km choice in which we entered. It is a nice undulating course on mainly quiet roads through the Breton countryside with marshals at every junction (local villagers with hi-vis jackets and sticks and whistles) and a plethora of motorcycle outriders. There were a couple of food stops along the route, one with an accordion player, with ample cake and fruit. At the end of the sportive a galette saucisse and large meal were served in a big hangar alongside stalls selling bikes and cycling memorabilia.

The highlight of the day was meeting Bernard Hinault. Monsieur Hinault was approachable and although he seemed to speak to most of the attending cyclists was, as Véro discovered, always enthusiastic and charming. He did mention though that he was quite disturbed by the attention of 2 elderly gentlemen in SWRC outfits the previous year and was therefore a little tentative in talking to us.

The following day, after Véro's heart rate had fallen (I think it was high from meeting Bernard although she insisted it was from the sportive), we arranged to meet a holidaying Cliff and Claire in Dinan - a 30km ride from our respective starts.

So a nice easy day punctuated by a 3 hour lunch on Dinan's canal harbour. The four of us then rode round Dinan's lovely cobbled streets looking at the gorgeous views before parting.


On our return trip Véro and I came across a village fete with live music, Rolling Stones and Nirvana covers thankfully, and decided to sit down and have a galette saucisse. Next to us were 3 slices of a lonely looking tarte aux pommes and, with heads turned, two slices were quickly devoured. Unfortunately Véro didn't discover how exquisite it tasted.


We will try to do La Bernard Hinault again next year but will definitely be back to cycle the roads of Brittany in the near future.

Dave and Véro.

Fail to plan...

and you plan to fail as the saying goes. Marmotte is the goal, so following the Chiltern 100 Challenge on June which saw me complete the 107 mile 2620m ascent course in 5h 41m 15s - claiming 6th fastest on the day (not that it's a race right?), a new approach to a cheeky extra sportive. Following the birth of our son Jakob, my gift to my wife was a pair of VIP tickets to a concert on Saturday night. Having arrived home at 0200 on Sunday June 20th, I was woken at 0600 to make the journey to Swindon, for the Great Western Sportive organised by Southern Sportive http://www.southernsportive.com/. I rolled into the Nationwide Building car park at 0800 and was soon through a swift sign on. Although Southern Sportive are seasoned event organisers, this is the first year for the Swindon ride. The route was 107 mile over 2010m of ascent with a Gold standard time for my age group of 6h 12m.

I lined up on the start at around 0840 - the plan was to chase down as many people as I could until I went 'pop'. As it turned out, I really enjoyed the route through some of the best scenery that English sportives have to offer. I rode approx 85 miles alone before picking up a wheel sucker - by which time I didn't have enough to drop him and he didn't have enough to lead, so that's how we stayed until the end. I rolled back across the line at about 1410 to record an official time of 5h 27m - and good enough joint 7th fastest on the day - only 7mins behind the fastest time.

Marmotte is now less than two weeks away, and with our son making the journey with us - it's quite possible I will have had very little sleep before hand.....let's hope this was good practice....

Fulking

Eleven 'A' group met at Cobham for this weeks ride which as the list dictated was to Fulking, nestling under the South Downs and a 45 mile ride away. I was hoping for a sunny day so hadn't worn much, this was mid June after all. The north wind blew the group at a fair pace all the way there, although by the time we arrived the group had lost three riders who had to do shorter rides.













This Saturday seemed to be the day that all the villages in West Sessex were putting on their fete's and we got caught up in a couple of traffic jam, waiting to park in a field somewhere or other. Sitting at the Pub in Fulking as we had arrived 15 minutes before they started to serve food. Most of the group put on all their clothes to keep warm while sitting outside in the not too warm, sunshine.

After a rather long lunch it was back on the bikes heading back home. Simon got the urge to put the hammer down and the group split up, but that didn't seem to matter. I was feeling a little tired but otherwise not too bad after having a quiet couple of weeks and rode the last few mile accompanied by Mark, John & Matt, until I reached Headley, from where I was on my own. 115 miles was on the computer by the time I reached my front door and a well earned rest.

F W Confidential

Ullswater ,approaching Glenridding at about 8am.







Two friends from the Cent cols -I will call them J and D , suggested a cunning plan a little while ago for a lightning trip up to the Lakes to ride the Fred Whitton route.They had done this before and so knew the routine,18.30 train,night at the Backpackers hostel in Windermere ,do the ride and then get the 18,00 train home.Never having ridden in the Lakes before ,let alone done the FW ,it was a great opportunity .

So tuesday evening we met at Euston and at just after 21.30 after pendolino comfort and speed and a very quick change at Oxenholme , we had dropped our stuff at the hostel and were safely esconced in the curry house.The hostel is perfect for this sort of trip -£15 b&b with breafast a diy affair at whatever time you want to get up. The hostel is 2 mins from the station -J&D had everything meticulously planned.

Wednesday morning 7,30 we set off in perfect conditions,sunshine ,blue sky and no wind. We really did see the Lakes at their best.A few miles into the ride and we were into the gentle

climb of Kirkstone Pass from the easy side. Coming down were 600 riders doing a Coast to Coast event

-but other than them we really only

saw a handful of cyclists all day.

J&D resplendent in CCC tops,at about 8am heading towards Ullswater.

As we climbed Kirstone I could

feel the Magnificat from the previous sunday in my legs,127 miles in 7 hours .Sadly I had ridden this with J&D so excuses of being tired were out of the question.But sunshine and knowing that other members of the Alphas could not with 3 clicks find out our time for the ride meant we could just relax and enjoy the day -with just, even at this time ,Hard Knott hanging Daedalus like in the back of my mind , to disturb my relaxed demeanour.

Ullswater .

The one blot on what was otherwise a perfect cyling day was on the very steep descent of Honister Pass -when D was misled by a car that was in front of him indicating it would pull in to let us go ,then pulling out again. D cut back the other side of the car ,hit a patch of gravel,lost a pedal and hit the bridge about half way down the descent -. D riding his v nice Cervelo decided to save the bike and break his fall with his chin, wrist and thigh. Painful but hopefully cheaper. After a few minutes to check that seemingly no serious damage had been done ,and with about 85 miles to go ,D being the sound fellow he is ,insisted we go on while he would walk/hitch back up to the top of Honister and make his way one way or another back to the hostel. ( It turned out Keswick hospital bandaged him up like a mummy and tho very sore in various places he is ok. The Cervelo still requires careful examination).

This was clearly bad news -not least for J and me.We are both slight of build ,whereas D is of a more robust dimensions.I had been counting on sitting in nicely behind him for most of the day ,under the guise of him being our leader and knowing the route- and that he was going like a train all day on the Magnificat.( A bit disengenous as Alan P had put it on my garmin the night before ,a fact I had not yet disclosed as that would have meant I had no excuse for not venturing to the front). This really had been very unthoughtful of him.

J riding up Newlands pass which was as pretty a part of the route as we saw all day.Gleaming ,verdant in the morning sunshine and we did not see another bike, a car or anything else to disturb the peace as pedalled up the steady climb to the top of the valley.

We continued the ride ,labouring of course without big D to hide behind, up Wynlatter ,which at about 48 miles was the lunch stop in the plan. Great food and coffee,waitresses who were extremely friendly even without the Spaniard to charm them ,and before we knew it we had been sitting in the sunshine for nearly an hour. Just like a club run.

Round the west part of the route and a respite from any undue inclines. The whole ride was very quiet but this part in particular saw barely any vehicles. We had another stop in Gosforth as we needed to fill the water bottles -and as the smell of freshly baked cake drifted out of the cafe above the shop -it seemed it would have been churlish not to test it. Banana and date fresh from the oven,first class. Even tho HK was now only about 10 miles or so away it was so good I had not lost my appetite. Down the Esk Valley and then round a bend and there it was. On the approach it is similar in appearance to that other monster Bwylch y Groes ,stretching upwards ahead of you at about 10 o clock and taking the left hand side of the valley end. Although it is apparently 1km shorter than BYG it seemed far tougher to me - I guess down to the 33% gradient ,perhaps not surprisingly.

I have never been so close to getting off the bike on a hill. Even tho there is a chance for a bit of a break when it eases off in the middle ,the second tough section again at over 30% is a killer.Seeing a car come down this section above us did not make it any better as from below it looked as tho the car was almost vertical. Even on the ascent I was still able to think of Colin hauling his not inconsiderable frame up it on 39 x25 and marvelling at his strength and ability to be able to do that without getting off.

Then suddenly we were over and once I had forced my lungs back down my throat,we gingerly descended to face Wrynose only half a mile away.This itself goes up to 25% but once HK has been put behind you ,it is tough but you know you will at least get over it. That said I was sufficiently knackered not to be thinking of photographs at the top. A quick blast through Coniston,one last trawl up a long drag outside the town which we could have done without and we were back at the hostel-7 hours 30 mins ride time,including a few extra -deliberate- miles to avoid the main roads on the way back.

A great trip and just a shame about D -his moaning and the rustling of his bandages on the train back meant it was hard for J and me to get to sleep.

Nick A

Beastway week 5

I was feeling nearly 100% better this week for the Beastway MTB series. Leaving work earlier meant that I got a warm up ride in before the start and I practiced my starts, clipping my foot in from a standing start. I was ready.

Lining up on the start line were the usual faces and again I made sure I was in the front line of the Vets category that are set off 2 minutes behind the experts and 1 minute behind the masters catergory riders. The whistle was blown and off I jumped, but no, not again, I couldn't get my foot in the pedal. After a couple of revolutions I give up trying and just go for it but on the bumpy grass my foot falls off the pedal as my cadence increases. Together with the fact that all I want to do is get out the saddle and give it some welly, but no, everyone is passing me.
Eventually I get my foot engaged but I am back in about 12th place and the leaders are way ahead of me. It's a disaster and I momentarily think about givinig up. However I recoignise the rider directly in front of me as Stephen Brazier who usually gets top 3 so I decide to just keep with him and see how I get on. On the first lap, which this week is slightly longer at about 10 minutes, we overtake 3 riders and I start to enjoy things. Another lap and we have caught another couple of riders who usually place high in the vets category and then we start passing the slower master riders and it's a case of sprinting up the hills and racing the decents as fast as possible.

I'm soon into the zone and really going for it. I can see my usual rival Antonius who is 30 seconds ahead but with each subsequent lap he pulls out another 10 seconds on me and I know he's won the category. Later as I'm getting used to the course and am really shooting around some corners until I almost wipe out and decide to temper it a bit and finish in one piece with a bike that works. After a hour of racing the field is spread out around the course and it's difficult to work out your finish position so it's a case of waiting until the results are published. I see Antonius had finished so I think I'm 2nd and the published result confirms this. The lap splits also show him 10 seconds quicker than me per lap so beating me by a minute by the sixth lap. Next weeks plan must be to get that elusive fast start or else I'll never make top step.

Ibiza

It was pretty hot, mid twenties at the start. I didn't feel too good today, a bit tired from the travelling and a bit drained by hay fever this year. So I didn't really feel like racing at all :(

We lined up for the traditional once around the perimeter of el campo de futbol. The start was fast and furious into the bends of the fake grass running track, in fact so fast that we caught the back of the group! lol

Onto the tarmac hill in the main street of Sant Josep and I just don't feel good. I shouldn't be moaning, I love this race and racing in Ibiza. So I sit up and wait for Jane to come through. She comes through very fast and I'm having trouble hanging on to her wheel. On the downhill sections I'm ok, but she comes past on the flats and ups :) So I decide to hang on in case I start to feel better.



At about 10km we hit the first climb, this was a very steep section of just over 1km long and 15 mins hike-a-bike. I felt ok doing this, I'd had a lot of practice in Italy a few weeks ago :) A fast steep gravel fire road followed before we hit the next climb of Serra Grossa. A grind of 3.5 km . Jane likes this climb and we pass a few people on this one. A nice rocky technical descent took us to the climb of Sa Capalleta a 4km grind with the checkpoint I grabbed three big cups of coke here and Jane set of almost immediately. I had to chase hard to catch her on the descent. Just as I caught her the trail turned sharp left with a tricky drop in on rocks,on of the marshals here started shouting 'Hey Raymond and Jane' and the others joined in. I couldn't work out who it was. Meanwhile Jane had ridden the drop and was getting away. (last year she walked this section) I was now beginning to feel quite perky from the coke and the next long rocky twisting descent was fabulous.



On a flat section of singletrack one of the older guys from Kandani came hurtling through. I started to think that I want to chase. I said to Jane that if he was still in sight on the next climb I would attack, because I knew he was in my category. The next check point is at Es Cubells and is the lowest point of the race. We have to sign in on this one. The next 10km is full of short sharp ups before we hit the Puig den Serra. This is the hill that everyone fears and has been the topic of conversation on FB for ages :)



It's a concrete wall it's 22/32 all the way. Jane started to feel the heat on this climb and began to suffer a bit. I strangely enough had started to feel much better, the coke at the check point had done wonders. We passed the guy from Kandani here and he chased(if it's possible to chase at 3kmh), but blew spectacularly and had to walk. No one else was riding except me and Jane. Jane was reeling a bit, the mountain was in full sun and the heat being reflected back from the ground was incredible. I had picked up a bottle of plain water for this part of the course and poured some down my back and passed it to Jane. At the top I said to Jane that I would push on to put some time into Antonio. I remember this descent from last year, it's superb. Over the next few kms I pass a lot of very tired people. At the bottom of the last climb I grab a couple of glasses of coke and put a bidon of aqualia in my back pocket. Not because I needed it,but because I wanted the bidon as a souvenir :) I wasn't thinking straight because I should have emptied it first.....doh! I set off up the final climb which was good middle ring fire road spin.On the second hairpin I could see Jane was approaching the check point. Near the top I pass a guy in red and white kit that I'd been admiring it at the start. I said hi as I passed him and set off into the very technical descent. This route off Sa Talia had been used for a downhill race the previous Sunday and was cut up, loose and an covered dust. I dropped into the very steep entry point sliding all over the place on the loose marbles of rock, scattering people who were sensibly walking this section. At one point I had to dismount to climb down a two metre step and then it was super fast big ring - chain all the way to the right - tarmac into the campo de futbol.



I was second master vet and twelfth vet. Jane was first veteran lady and third overall. The guy who is third in the picture turned out to be the guy in red and white who I'd passed at the top.

C Group – Horsham 12th June

Arrive early at Cobham and chat with Alan. “Parky” was not feeling tip-top and was in need of a low mileage day after about three consecutive weekends of Sportives (includes the epic 3 day Tour of Wessex) plus midweek mountain bike racing in the Beastway series. Also have a chat with Ann Marshall who gained an excellent bronze medal in the ETU European Duathlon Championships (2nd May) as a member of the GE GB Triathlon Team in Nancy. Ann is only a few weeks away from taking part in the 2010 Marmotte. Laurie and Ben arrived to join the SWRCs at Cobham, fresh (or not so fresh) from their recent Dragon Ride sportive (includes Bwlch x 2), see climb videos http://www.verentidragonride.com/route.php . Bwlch is difficult to pronounce let alone ride up twice.

The weather was dry and bright, but cooler than last Saturday with a northerly breeze to assist us on our journey south to Effigham and the familiar rise up to the top of the North Downs via White Down. There were 13 of us lead by Paul and Linda. Linda was our only female company since Maggie, Mariana and Mandy were on and End to End cycling holiday along with Bob. On to Horsham via Holmbury St Mary, Forest Green, and Walliswood and through Horsham Park to our feed stop. We were later joined by Jean, organiser of the recent successful C group Newbury weekend.



Return route via Rusper and Dorking, and as per norm now, the C group went “Radio Rental” along the Rusper Road towards Newdigate. Winner of the Newdigate prime was Steve McCormack. I have featured a picture from last week’s tea stop at High Beeches where Steve claimed pole position for the food queue and ensured he had the largest piece of treacle tart. There are unconfirmed reports that the UCI have asked Steve to submit his bike for testing to see if it contains a concealed motor. Return to Kingston, 66 miles average 14.6 mph. Watch England play USA on the box in the evening – the experience is similar to root-canal treatment by a dodgy dentist.

‘La Ventoux’ cyclosportif

News from your French correspondent. I did the ‘La Ventoux’ cyclosportif on Saturday 5 June. Starting and finishing in Beaumes de Venise, where I camped for a couple of nights, I chose the longest route - 170kms and temperatures up to 35 degrees during the day, the route went to Bedoin and up the ‘voie royale’ straight up to Chalet Reynard and on to the summit of Mont Ventoux.

The climb all seemed to be around 10% (or more!) and took me past the Tommy Simpson memorial in around 2 hours. Now that is a climb!

And what a descent…50mph down to Malaucene and great fun. Then followed a hard grinding up and down (mostly up) road at the northern side of Mont Ventoux leading eventually to Sault and another climb up to Chalet Reynard…phew…by now I was struggling with nothing left in the tank and outside my gold time. After labouring up the climb and shoving down more banana/cheese/ham there was just the descent back to Bedoin and Maloucene and a final 2 ‘short’ climbs to finish in 9 hours – an hour longer than I intended but hey! – I did it.

Next day I had a great ‘recovery’ride in the foothills of Mont Ventoux in the Gorge du Nesque. Spectacular scenery in a little grand canyon, no real climbs and a pleasure to ride with no pressure to perform and plenty of time to stop and admire the view. If ever you’re in this area, have a visit to the top of Mont Ventoux – the view is amazing, and take a look at the Gorge du Nesque, a little gem.

By Ken Dolman.

OldSkool classic

It's been a terrible week weather wise with rain nearly every day, I was even out in overshoes and waterproof longs on Wednesday which turned out to be like being boiled alive in rainwater so I've put a picture of my OldSkool style with genuine wool SWRC jersey (circa 1980) for my Friday ride to work.

Beastway week 4

Arriving late due to the roadworks on the north circular, I was keen to make ammends for missing week 3 when I was laid low with an upset stomach. Standing on the line I knew a fast start was imperative, and I could feel my heart racing as the 10 second warning was given. As the hooter sounded I jumped away but in my haste I couldn't seem to engage the pedal and before I realised I was back in tenth position and struggleing to get past the faster starting VEM riders. Perhaps I should get down my local BMX track for some practice. This first lap is crucial as there is a clear course in front of you and you can really make progress however after 10 minutes of racing I was beginning to pass the slower riders from the group (masters) that had started a minute in front of us. I wished I arrived in time for a warm up as my legs felt dead and I wasn't able to keep with the leading VEM riders. I had a few tussles with riders who were going my pace, some I won and other I lost and towards the end of the hour race I was going quite well and overtook another couple of riders. At the finish I didn't know where I had finished but looking at the result on the Beastway website a few days later I found I had moved up to 3rd VET (from 27) but still only 17th overall from 105 starters. The reason was the leading Vet Antonius Wubben had punctured and had finished 2 laps down.

National '25' - Performance graveyard?

Not a performance I will look back on with fondness or any special memory, although the event and the day was superb, everything a National Championship should be, a challenging course (a true and fair test of ability against the clock) great promotion and execution by the promoting Yorkshire Velo and a beautiful day, this much I can say I enjoyed......Well actually a boiling hot day to be exact with crosswind making our charge up and down the Great North Road from just above the pretty town of Boroughbridge adjacent to the A1(M)I think there were more riders succuming to the conditions than mastering the event and a ride I will soon want to forget

Storey on the way to silver

The ride itself probably my least efficient and enjoyable I have done all season and it reaped =49th place which was all it deserved, I had a hard week of training behind me and I just could not retrieve my legs to produce more than an average (C+) performance. I had done several recovery rides a massage and stretching before setting out in air conditioned luxury (Fi driving) up country and we had enough time to recce the course and follow the Women's top riders as they returned from the turn at Kirk Deighton just North of Wetherby. We were hit by the hot blast of the day to cheer Julia Shaw (UTAG Yahaha) to a 2 minute win (54:30) over Sarah Storey (Horizon Fitness) and Dutch student Mathilde Matthijsse (Ferryhill Whs.) another minute behind
The Junior race saw Conor Dunne (Glendene) step up from the silver in the '10' with an amazing 54:04 but not as amazing as Ryan Mullan (Planet X) only 10 seconds behind at 15 years old! Third '10' Champ Oliver Rossi (PCA Uno) inside 55 minutes as well.
Old SWRC lag John Thacker was out for the day from his home in Bradford, he came out to the National '100' last year at Dishforth just up the road and still follows the Time trialling scene and the clubs riders although his racing days are long gone.
John managed a lap of the course starting just before me and finishing getting caught by Dr Hutch as he crossed the line so that makes 1:50 for the 25 miles, a good ride for him as he has arthritis in his right knee which gives him a bit of trouble, he saw that eight in the club had done the recent Etape du Dales and would love to be able to do some of the hilly sportive as he was a handy climber in his day and still has the physique to make Bob 'sparrow' Maylin look over developed.

John Thacker doing his '25'

The Men's result was a repeat of the '10' without the Motorpoint professionals in the frame Dr Hutch again the Champion with the only +30mph ride 49:34 (24:42) and 4th and 5th Mark Holton (drag2zero) and Matt Bottrill (i-ride) moving up to the podium just under and over 2 minutes behind the fourth time Champion.
For myself all I can report is that I went out to the turn in a respectable 27:43 (same as Julia) but came back to record 56:22 as I went to pot in the heat of the day with little or no fight left for a better placing, Championships are not about times they give a result of who performed 'on the day' I was good enough for third in my age category and beat a fair few who I would usually be in the same bracket but still there is a sense of having not done my best on the day and for a racer to not leave his mark on the race that is unsatisfactory.

I used way too big gears for the way I normally ride, my pedal revs were 82 RPM (FFS!) down at least 10-15 on normal but when I tried to take my racing 'in hand' after the initial adrenalin and rush from the start had settled down I just could not hold my cadence in anything near sustainable level. I passed my minute man (a reserve as Sean Childs DNS) at 5 miles and closed in on my two minute man all the way to catch him in the final 1/4 mile but still I did not get any satisfaction from the ride.
I finished the week with my biggest mileage of the year (420m) as I have the BDCA '100' at the weekend and in my mind this is where my challenge for the season (the BBAR) begins, I hope I have prepared well and I will have forgotten the disappointment of the National '25' which like every race promises much to the athlete but will only garner a reward if you get it right on the day, Michael Hutchinson seems to be able to do this with ease (Who knows if this is the case?) but a good performance has a reward in its own right that a fast time will never yield.
Ultimate performer - Dr. Hutch (Photo www.cyclingimages.co.uk)


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Women's Result

Junior Result

Men's Result

Video Here