UCI Golden Bike 2012

Quite a while since I blogged and indeed some time since
I’ve done much, but I’ve been doing a bit of training to do the UCI Golden Bike
Series again. I first did it in 2006 being the first participant (in the world)
to complete the eight events in eight countries; in my case all in one year. Up
until now only nine riders have completed the series. Some of the events have
disappeared to be replaced by others so my plan is to do the new series in it’s
entirety in 2012. The first event will be the Cape Argus on March 11th.
The full series is as follows
March 13 CapeArgus South Africa
March 31 Tourof Flanders Belgium
June 10 DragonRide Wales
June 17 Quebrantahuesos Spain
June 24 L’Arigeoise France
July 15 LaPinarello Italy
August 25 LaGruyere Switzerland
November 24 LakeTaupo New Zealand
This program leaves a few gaps so I’ve decided
to have a go at few others as well: The Amstel Gold, in the Netherlands and the
BLRC 70th anniversary reunion ride in Sheffield; the Retro Tour of
Flanders in Belgium and L’Eroica in
Italy. So if you don’t see me around
much now you know why.

Tuesday othg ride

A nice pleasant spring like ride to Billingshurst. This week I took my mtb with road wheels and felt much better. The picture shows Gary Smith (head mechanic at Evans Cycles) fixing Alan Malarky's broken spoke. Alan was able to ride back with a slightly wobbly front wheel and just a slightly lighter wallet, as Gary only charged him 'mates rates' ;-))

SWRC gnome

This unusual-looking garden gnome was spotted on the club run yesterday. Close by was this one.

SWAT and the Norseman

More SWAT action today when Niall, John, Keith and I did the second of the Gorrick Spring Series MTB events. Held at Swinley Forest near Bracknell, this is a great area for some off road action with a good mix of broad trails, twisty singletrack, short but steep ascents and superb descents complete with banked corners and all manner of jumps, lumps and bumps. And plenty of incentive to stay on course as Sandhurst and Broadmoor both back onto the forest. Our vets race was over 3 laps, about 16 miles, and there was plenty of jostling for position as the 50 or so riders went from the gun. Inevitably things got tricky as we hit the first narrow section and behind me I could hear a crash - the first of Keith's eight, in fact. It was wheel to wheel for the first lap, though order was gradually imposed as the fast men used the limited overtaking opportunities to work their way through the field. On the second lap there was daylight between riders so things became easier in one sense but with 90 miles in my legs from yesterday they were getting harder in another. Last time round my granny ring was getting used more as the leg burn got worse but now the features and obstacles of the course were becoming familiar and I knew where to go hard, where to ease off a bit, and crossed the line in 1h43. Waiting for me were the Ironman (1h37) and Niall (1h39) and following was John (2h09). Good event but I shall try to do it with fresher legs next time.

Afterwards Keith told us about his epic performance in last year's Norseman Extreme Triathlon. This kicked off with a 5am jump from a car ferry for a 2.5 mile swim in a fjord. Unfortunately the designated fjord was deemed too cold to swim in (below 15C) so the next one up the coast had to be used instead. This had the knock on effect of adding 20km to the bike ride pushing this up to 200, very hilly, km in total. All polished off with a full marathon ending on a 1900m high mountain top, the last 10 miles on a rocky path at a 10% gradient. Keith was first Brit back, 23rd of 223 overall, in 13h7. Niall reckons if he keeps this up he might be able to join the A group.

Petworth

The last few days have been much warmer and the forecast was for 8°C, so again I dresses in only a couple of layers. As I left Wandsworth with Sabin & Mark W I wondered if I’d made the right decision on what to wear. Too much and I feel hot and tired & that’s no good, too few and I can always put my waterproof on I thought. On the way down to Cobham we had met up with Rob from VC Godalming  who was keen to get a few miles in his legs and decided to join us for the day.

The car park was full again with many groups heading in many different directions. Some riders were even in shorts, but it certainly wasn’t warm enough for that I thought. I was trying out some new leggings that I bought the other week, making sure they don’t slip down my thigh or something like that. I’ve really liked the last pair I had, as they’re especially useful when I ride into the night on some long audax and I need something to keep my leg warm.

John with legs

Trevor had planned a route down towards the South Downs which included a little loop so it was going to be further than normal before we hit the tea stop this week. First things first and it was a charge over the North Downs to test the legs and see who was feeling the best. Down Coombe and then up to Blackheath and then through the lanes to Hascombe. The roads were dry and the sun was out and it was turning into a very pleasant day.

Hanging around

At Dunfold, Rob had a puncture, so I waited to give him a hand. He was riding tubulars so it was quick to rip off the old one and fit a fresh tyre. Once I found out Rob had recently had some surgery to his wrist, I though it prudent to offer to push on the new tyre for him. He had a gas cylinder to blow the tyre up with, which he did in less than a second. That something for all to gadget mongers out there to consider if you’re tired of pumping up tyres at the road side.

It was a Lickfold that we had our major mechanical of the day when Richard Gordon managed to strip the spines in the crank arm, so instead of the cranks being at 6 O’clock they were at 3 O’clock.

What's the time? 3 o'clock

Niall and myself rode back to help while the rest of the group hung around in the sunshine chatting. We had a job on our hands to fix this and whatever we tried didn’t work. Basically we didn’t have a tool to undo the plastic cap that pulls the cranks together when you fit them. We tried levering the crank apart with the tiny little screwdriver that Niall had. Then we thought about trying to bash the crank with a big log that found in the undergrowth. We were completely stuck and for a while we were considering all the alternatives there were open to us to get Richard home. I thought it was time for some drastic action and so that little plastic cap had to go.

How not to do it

With Niall’s sharp screwdriver I managed to cut a section of the cap away and then a bit more and that allowed it to be unscrewed. RESULT. We had the crank off in no time and back on in the correct alignment with the bolts all tightened up so Richard was able to complete the ride without that dreaded call home.

Another puncture not long after and it was getting to be a long morning mucking about with bikes and most of us were asking Trevor “How much further was it?”.

Speeding through the lanes. Lovely

In fact it was exactly 100km/62miles when we sped into Petworth to find Tiffin’s tearoom closed and the alternative packed out. There was a lovely farmers market set up in the closed lanes around the centre of the town. With us being later than expected and some wanting to get back for the rugby, Andy H, Simon H, Richard F & Rob decided to buy something from the stalls and head back. The rest of us headed off to find an establishment that would cater for 7 hungry cyclists and by chance we did manage to find somewhere. Posh it was too but we didn’t care in fact I quite liked the place.

Our posh teastop

The ride home was a lot more of a direct route with Richard turning off as soon as he saw the sign for Guildford while Trevor lead us up to Cranleigh and back over the Downs. I was feeling strong on the climbs, perhaps all those audaxs I ride, beginning to paying off, or perhaps it was the sunshine, who knows. 

The sun stayed out most of the day

SWAT team training !

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/02/downhill-urbano-manizales/

A debate on cycling

If you've got the odd hour, have a listen.

Tuesday othg

My first othg ride this year for me. I feel fit, but I don't have the ability to surge at the moment and close gaps. Ouch!

Southwater

It was a pretty unremarkable clubrun on Saturday. The snow had disappeared and it was warm enough not to dressed in thick winter layers. There were plenty of club members out at the carpark in Cobham ready for a ride out into the Surrey lanes

 The A group had changed their minds about going to Balcombe and instead had decided to head to Southwater for there teastop.

 As sometime happens one of the group gets a puncture and while some help others stand around chatting.

 Then after a light lunch its more discussions on how we got there and what route we were taking back.

So here is the route I took including the ride out from my home in S.W. London.

SWAT 2

More SWAT team action today, just me and John leaving from Newlands at the very civilised time of 10.30. Down the usual steep slippery descent to Water Lane, right turn in Albury and this time, trying to learn new routes, we went straight on, under the railway line and onto Blackheath. At Farley Green we went up aptly-named Ride Lane which was ankle-deep in mud churned up by motorbikes; tough going and our glasses were well and truly steamed up by the time we reached the top, where we took a right turn into more mud and onto oddly-named Madgehole Lane. Here we came across the SWRC Ironman, the second chance encounter in the woods in as many weeks, and stopped briefly to compare notes. From here it was uphill again, through the Christmas tree forest (which would have been magical in last week's snow) and onto the Greensand Way.

Then more familiar tracks to Ewhurst Windmill, down some steep twisty singletrack above Peaslake (where I managed to go over the handlebars on a steep jump), and onto Holmbury Hill. Great views at the top from where we did the Yoghurt Pots - so different from two weeks ago when the ground was rock hard and super-fast; today it was muddy and slippery and much trickier. After a bit of meandering we got back to Peaslake, quick tea stop, then a short route back via Bentley Copse, Winterfold Woods and onto Pond's Lane - last week's ride in reverse from here with the steep track up to Newland's as the finale. Good ride.

World Cup track cycling

I'm at the London velodrome tonight watching the track cycling. This is a round of the UCI world track series but also a test event for the Olympics. It's on for four days and already team GB has won golds and set new world records.

SWAT team

More off-road fun in the snow today for the South Western All Terrain team as sub-zero temperatures kept us off the road again. Ten of us - Niall&Will, Matt&Jo, Nick, Andy, John, Richard, Stan and me - left Newlands Corner in perfect conditions. Down the steep icy descent to Albury, over to Little London and this week we successfully got onto the long Ponds Lane track up to Winterfold Woods. As we climbed the easy riding in the compacted snow became harder as the snow got thicker and deeper until it was a real struggle by the time we reached the road at the top of Horseblock Hollow.

From there it was past the Windmill and over to Pitch Hill to pick up last week's route with twisty narrow paths, then a very steep drop where it was brakes on and a long slide down, and finally a fast bit of banked track into Peaslake. On Holmbury Hill the deep snow was making life difficult for everyone, slipping and sliding and clogging up cleats and pedals, so we had a change of plan and headed back down to Peaslake for the tea stop. From here we busked the route, first heading up more tricky singletrack to the top of Pitch Hill for stunning views.

Then it was back over to Winterfold, following wide meandering tracks through the woods until we popped out onto the road above Farley Green. From here we went across Blackheath, flatter and lower and in much more manageable snow. A short stretch on road and then it was up to St Martha's church, the steep sandy path frozen solid and as easy as it will ever be. On the last mile to Newlands the snow was thawing and we met the only wet muddy conditions of the ride, ending up with a nice dirty bike to put in the back of the car.

Cav @ IMAX

It seems you can't go anywhere these days without pictures of Olympic athletes plastered all across the billboards of London. And more often than not it's our own Manx missile, Mark Cavendish as seem here inside the IMAX cinema at Waterloo bridge.

The Magnificent Seven

It was too cold to be out on the roads again  this weekend so a magnificant 7 SWRC members met at Newlands corner for a 40km loop, lead by out new mountain bike secretary Niall Clutton. He's easy to spot as he's in the yellow jersey and is going quite well for this time of the year. I've taken on the look made popular by Paul Alderson, with the baggy shorts and tights.

Mag. 7. Ready to go. SWRC retro kit very popular

 We sped off, down into Albury and then over the heath, following a route Niall had downloaded onto his garmin called "The Nirvana Killer Loop". The first section, we got ourselves a bit lost and ended up in a few fields, but with the cold, the tracks were super fast and we all were flying along.

Kenny climbing up through Winterfold wood

 It was only the climbs that tested our fitness and the group split but gathered again at the top or next junction. I was feeling OK but my bike was giving me a bit of trouble. My Scott has carried me to some magnificent places over the last 7 years but today would be it's last outing. As I stopped for the photo at Pitch hill I checked the suspension again as it was really wobbling and no amount of tightening the pivot bolts would solve the problem. It was here that I noticed that the frame had cracked, just behind the bottom bracket. The only thing holding the back to the front was the other lug and a gear cable. I was time to take things easy and nurse the bike around as I didn't feel like walking all the way back to Newlands.

Group shot at Pitch hill trig point

We road onto holmbury hill, did a bit of single track and headed for a well deserved drink and cake at Leith Hill tower. We sat around the back this time to keep out of the bitter wind and I noticed a plaque that I hadn't ever seen before, telling you how the tower came to be owned by The National Trust.

Leith hill tower plaque

 We all had a chat and I checked out my bike once again. Yes, it was the end of a beautiful friendship. I had ridden the Grand Raid Crist Alp in 2005 and 2006, Trans Wales in 2008 and 2010, Mountain Mayhem twice and numerous Beastway events.

Kenny and Andy

Niall and John

Mark and Richard

Heading home after trying to climb £50 hill

My bike carried me down off Leith and north towards White Down where we climbed up onto the North Downs way. From here it was a straight forward dash to get back to the carpark and have another hot drink as I guess those frozen water bottles on our bikes don't seem that appealing at this time of the year.

club run