Winterton Cyclocross (Wheelers Champs)

My last cyclocross race of the season. I just decided, right now, this minute.

It's not because I don't love cross, it's not because I had a bad race today, in fact, I had a good race - it's just that I'm thinking more about next seasons TT season and I need to be the best prepared as I can be and that means long solo rides on sundays in december. A bit serious, but necessary.

Today saw the usually boggy paddy fields of Winterton Showground replaced with an almost bone dry crit race. The Wheelers start their race a minute behind the senior race which meant that today would be an hour.

We started in a row and it was a drag race to the first corner at which I was second Wheeler, however, I'm not as quick at tight turning or getting on and off, and consequently I lost a few places.

I eventually settled down and found myself in a good place (6th Wheeler), lapping consistently, and working hard. the hour seemed to fly by and the post race rice pudding felt well earnt !!

Roll on next season :)

Woodhall Cyclocross

My third race of the season and a welcome return to one of my fave courses from last year. Woodhall cyclocross is held at Ostlers Plantation and can be best described as a good mix of everything : there's long straights, tight turns, range of surfaces, and the mounds !!

One of the longest laps on the circuit and never boring although driving down the muddy roads to the parking raised the heart rate somewhat I can tell you !!

Our race was 12.00 and the sun was out albeit it had rained all day the day before so there were puddles in places and plenty of mud too. I had decided that I wasn't going to get left in a procession like last week and decided to have a good go at the start - making sure I got gridded was a good start as it moved me up a few places.

Off the line in the big ring, my start still wasn't great, but much better than last week all the same. HR through the roof pretty quickly and that it generally where it would stay.  Tyre pressures seemed spot on, but I was aware of movement and a bit of sliding here and then.

First couple of laps went by without incident and I felt I was doing reasonably well. On the third lap, I had a mishap, when I missed the line following a hump and had a food down at the top of the second which caused a crash !  It was what it was and I got over it very quickly and from that moment on seemed to hold my own place in the field. No more mistakes and held off a late challenge for position. Felt it went really well to be honest and a bit better than last year.

No cross next week as I've a club run to lead, next race up is two weeks time at Winterton - the paddy fields !!

Wheelers Cyclocross

Getting up at 5 on a Sunday is no joke and neither is setting out a course when it's rather chilly willy. A couple of wet marshalling gigs later and I was ready to have a quick look at the course and then it was off to stand in a cold wet field with hardly anything on and wait for the start. 

That came rather quickly, and I soon found myself quite far down the order as usual going into the first lap proper. What is it with me and starts at the Cyclocross ?? 

Once I had field position and we were on the full course, I found my feet and began the usual ritual of piecing my race back together. Places were hard to come by, but I found a way past some folf eventually as the speedier longer sections meant that I was able to put some power down. 

The course had really churned up and it was beginning to remind me of last years pilgrimage to the Regionals !! My lap times were quite consistent and ranged from 7.18 to 7.33 and thius eventually resulted in a 49th place finish out of I thing 74 riders. 

Bearing in mind that was my first cross race for about 6 weeks, I think I can take that ! 

Next up is my favourite course from last year - Woodhall ! 

Wheelers Tandem & Trike Weekend

I was the organiser for this weekends activities and as such decided not to race the solo trike, but instead to ride tandem trike on both days with the legend that is Pete Holland. There's not much to day other than I enjoyed it and will probably pilot up with Pete again at some point in the future.

Saturday - 10m TT - 26.35
Pete rocked up with the tandem trike in the morning once I'd put the signs out, and we set about getting the seat sizing sorted out. we put a tri bar on the front, but the position was mightily aggressive and I was further down than I usually am. The first warm up ripped my legs off, and I was genuinely concerned about doing longer stints. The actual race though at full pelt was a different story and we seemed to get on OK. Cornering was doddery and occasionally I messed around with the gears but a 26.35 first 10 mile effort was not too shabby !

Sunday - 25m TT - 1.09.09

Rode it like we stole it. Cornering was still an issue as was the gear twiddling, but we built into the race this time and had some glorious sections where it didn't even feel like we were trying. mind you, there were some pretty slow headwind sections as well. A 1.09.09 to our name as a 25 pairing rounded off a busy, tiring but satisfying weekend.

Lincoln Half Marathon

Lincoln's old half marathon was something that stopped in the early 90's. In fact, in it's heyday in the 80's I remember sitting on the kerb on Moorland Avenue watching the runners go by. so when One Step Beyond announced a return of a half marathon to Lincoln I jumped at the chance and signed up earlier this year.

In the interim, my time trialling season seemed to have plateaued and I signed up with a coach which saw my running time relegated to one night a week. For the past 5 weeks I'd been doing one slow long run with my mate Bob, so when we rocked up at the Showground for the start, we both knew a steady run to completion was on the cards.

The route :
Starts at lincoln showground and then follows the road in to Burton Road roundabout. Left up Yarborough Road, down Newport, through the Bailgate, castle, Carline Rd, round the Brayford, back up Yarborough Hill, then back to the Showground.

Nice route, and I enjoyed the run immensely. The organisation was almost spot on and the showground is a perfect venue. the views running into Lincoln were wonderful and there was enough in the middle of the race as you hit the city centre to keep it interesting !

Pacing was consistent thoughout at 8.52/8.54/8.35/8.52/9.02/8.31/8.26/9.01/9.57/8.58/9.02/8.39 and I was comfortable all the way through. I was never really out of cruise control the whole way round being able to chat everywhere but going up Yarborough Hill. The name of the game was getting the medal and finishing under 2 hours, which we did comfortably.

So, for the running, it will still be relegated to 2nd place and it's once a week setting and hopefully I'll still be able to do an occasional race such as this albeit at a more sedate pace.

1.55.25

Sleaford Cyclocross

As another TT season draws to a close, a freash Lincolnshire Cyclocross season opens up, with the usual first date being the Sleaford wheelers race, held again in the grounds of Sleaford Rugby Club.

A reasonablt flat affair, with a couple of offs, a run up a steep bank, some twisting rocky sessions and quite a bit of roped off turning. It had been wet overnight, but by the time we started at 12, it was dry almost everywhere on the course apart from a section that had some light mud.

I had ridden the 25 on the A46 yesterday, so already had an excuse nicely banked ahead of the race. the fact that I'm a terrible technical rider has nothing to do with that I promise !!.

I was gridded on the third row following last seasons results - not that it mattered at all, as I quickly went backwards at the start. I didn't feel tired, however my heart rate was through the roof from the start - it would go on to average 179bpm for the entire race and evertime I looked down it said 180 something !

I lost places on the first lap, and then gained some back throughout the race - on the fletter sections I could see I was a lot faster being a tester, but in the twisty technical sections I knew I was much much slower.

I was lapped on the 5th lap, meaning that my ride time was only 47 minutes or so, and I felt like I had been at it for over an hour.

Results not in yet, but I would estimate my usual lower that midway finish position is unaltered.

Nice weekend of racing.

Time : 47.15
Distance 9.40 miles
Temp : 17c
Wind : 14mph SW
Course : Sleaford Rugby Club
HR 179bpm

VTTA Nottm 25

This is my favourite 25 mile time trial course and is the fastest one that I have ridden on in truth. I have ridden the Etwall and the E2 in longer events, but alas, my current personal best is not fast enough to get a ride on those faster courses.

Instead, I have a task of getting quicker and posting a faster time on one of these secondary courses so that I can get a ride on the premium dual carriageways.

The A25/34 then, is my favourite 25 as I said and the reason for that is that generally it is tough out, and then with a prevailing wind follows the most wonderful backwind 12 miles you can find anywhere before a testing last couple of miles.

Yesterday saw a SSW wind of 17 mph and I knew that it was going to be exactly as I described above. I started at no.112 and the wind had not abated. I went in the end with my zipp 808 in the front, and the disc on the rear as usual. By the time I was up and over the A46 and going South, any cross jumpiness had been dealt with and it was just occasionally twitchy but not badly - at least I gor the wheel choice right !

That first leg I felt I got it all wrong and too many times found myself grinding a small cadence with a big gear chasing power figures, when I should have been spinning a better cadence for the same power.  My average speed at the turn was I'm not joking 22mph ! shocking, but as soon as I was halfway round the turn, I knew that the next 12.4 miles were going to be greasy fast and so they proved, with me knocking out an average speed of 30.4mph at just 231W ! Cadence was good, and I felt fantastic - it's important to note though that I lost a minute and 20 to my closest rival here, so still lots to chew over and train for over the winter.

The final couple of miles back into the headwind were not as bad as I feared and I eroded very little from the average speed which had been 25.9 at the Farndon roundabout, 57.53 was a 25 season's best, so I'll take that, thanks.

A lot to think about then and reflect upon, a better cadence into the wind, pushing harder with the backwind and even better cadence.

NP 259w 
AP 254w
Temp : 19c
Wind : 17 SSW
Course A25/34
HR 172bpm

Stockton Wheelers 50

Four weeks of coaching and some intense sessions and this was my first two wheeled test. I needed to finish todays event in under 2.01 (scratch that, I understand not BBAR counting now, but didn't know that beforehand), and also knew I had to beat last years time of 1.58.47 as I was part of a team of 3 looking to improve on our club 50 team record that we set last year.

I was going to camp, but after the trikey try outs and BBQ yesterday, decided against that and instead got up at four for a long day of driving and racing. It was chilly with temperature starting at just 9 degress, and misty especially at the bottom of the course at Dishforth. the wind though was very still with an estimated 3/4 mph SE, which is one of the reasons that the mist hadn't gone anywhere.

My start time was 8.48 which I think was ideal as the sun was shining through and it was a really nice blue sky day. This was also the first time that I'd be using velotoze long socks and I was interested to see how they panned out.

The race itself went ....

Really swimmingly well to be honest. the out leg, with little in the way of headwind to battle was a joy. I tried to keep my cadence at 90-95rpm, and my heart rate between 160-170. My power was showing PB figures of 310 as an average, but to be honest this will be out as I've noticed that the right hand peddle had slipped. Every time the speed dropped, I said to myself don't worry the figures are good so didn't chase anything.

Got to the turn in a late 56, and then headed back through the mist which still lingered at the bottom of the course. The mist was making my legs cold and initially it felt a bit sluggish on the return. I persevered though, and as the mist cleared and the sun shone and more importantly the course turned Northward, well speed picked up. I must have been tired though, as cadence was dropping slightly.

Off the dual carriageway and just gearing up for a big finish when I got caught behind some farm machinery. I eventually got past and hammered the very last section to pass the TK with a new PB of 1.55.03. Over the moon and a much better team record achieved.

NP 310w (dubious)
AP 311w  (also dubious)
Temp : 9c
Wind : 4mph SE
Course T502
HR 166bpm

Trike National 10 & 25 Weekend at Wolvey. Also known as the Jenny Noad & The Stan Spelling events.

This weekend I camped over at wolvey for my second attempt at the 10 & 25 mile championships for the TA. (Tricycle Association). This was how the weekends racing unfolded...

Saturday.. National 10 - 26.00

Exactly one second quicker than last year on a windless but miserably drizzly day. Had to keep wiping the visor and had forgotten how draggy the out section of this course was. Fast in parts though and with very little wind there wasn't a great deal of resistance to fight other than the surface and the moisture in the air. Went off hard and knew I had to chase down my minuteman. Maybe I was pre-occupied with this as it took me an age and nearly 7 miles to do so. I made another 50 seconds on him in the last 3 years so maybe it was a case of decent pacing. Either way, I won the event with a 26 dead so I'm pleased as punch with the overall performance.

Sunday.... National 25 - 1.06.58

Would you believe it - one second quicker than last year again. This time I lost my minute man with a broken diff, which meant my minuteman from yesterday was now today's two minuteman and I set about chasing him down for the second day in a row !
I checked myself a couple of times just before any giddyness crept in and at five miles made the decision to switch my garmin unit over to heart rate and time only. This way I was able to try and keep my HR between 165-170 and limit any peaks to 173 on the climbs on the A5. With again very little wind I was enjoying the ride and as I was behaving with the heart rate , I enjoyed the climbing as well.
1.06.58, and a second win in two days. with City beating United at the swamp this weekend too, it has been a perfect weekend.

AP 283W (Strava)

Temp : 15C

HR Ave 170 Max 179
Wind : 6mph NNE

Course K41/10

AP 276W (Strava)

Temp : 13C

HR Ave 168 Max 179
Wind : 6mph S

Course K41/25

LRRA 30

So there I was yesterday, all prepped and prepared to ride the V718, which was on, and then called off as I rode to the start with no one there !  I was thinking, ooh, I'll be fresh for the next day....

..... and so, I found myself on familar territory, riding my fourth LRRA 30 event at it's new home at Sleaford, on a variation of many courses that I had ridden. 

There was a bitch of a westerly blowing at 15mph and with an L shape course, I knew that today's menu was serving up, cross, cross, back and then block headwind. I'd been working harder than I ever had over the previous couple of weeks as my coaching had started and I'd also felt ready for the V and felt good for this one too. 

I was second rider off so didn't have much of a carrot as I pelted towards the first roundabout and then turned left for the crosswind section which was five miles up and down the Sleaford C10/10 course. I enjoyed this section as I knew it well, and the trike behaved itself. I was averaging 22.8mph and was leading the riders out by the time I hit the Sleaford turn. When I got back through Osbournby and turned left towards Donnington I was holding 22.6 and still had the super blowy backwing section to play with. 

Was it fast, oh yes, it was like being on the E course, it was a pearler of a leg, and there were a couple of occasions where I could have done with a bigger chainring during this section. I hit Donnington roundabout at an average of 24.1mph and then... 

..block headwind for 9 and a bit agonising miles. It was so hard and I had to work, work and then work just to hit 18mph - WTF !! 

A finish time of 1.21.37 was not too shoddy to be honest and it's all good race training for next weekends Trike Champs at Wolvey. 

AP 296W (Strava)

Temp : 14C
Wind : 15mph W

Course C30/2

Team Swift Charity 10

Had another go at the ten mile club trike time trial record and for the second time in as many months I failed to take it and run out of time whilst approaching the finish line.

Today's weather was initially forecast as a light breeze easterly, but by race morning that had changed to a light Westerly, which is just the wrong direction for this course.

Things started well enough and with that wind behind me, I managed to get good speed up until the turn averaging 27.1mph and then I was 5 seconds faster then 6th July negotiating the turn.

It would be the return leg though that I would find tougher than expected with that westerly wind making life difficult even though it was just a breeze really atc.7/8mph. Some of the small drags on the way back were tough on the legs, and then a smash fest last mile at over 30 mph couldn't bring me back on track.

Tougher day, better performance - record must go next year now !

AP 351W (Strava)

Temp : 17C
Wind : 7mph W

Course V718

LRRA 25

Another year and another trip over to Ashcroft Fabrics for another LRRA 25 Championships. No, STOP PRESS, new course , new HQ ! Maybe this wouldn't be an open, windy, fenland type time trial - oh wait, yes of course it was!

15mph cross winds and a course with lots of camber - I know, I'll ride the trike and while I'm at it I'll have a go at the all time LRRA trike records needing to beat 1.07.53.

Nice and sunny but windy as hell when I lined up for my 9.28 start. I was already on a camberous road and the warm up had been fun. I shot away and was soon chasing down a club mate whilst another had given up on the day and was coming back t'other way. I settled rarely and was battling the trikes instinct to follow the wind so had to keep on top of it at all times. I was going all right though and with a good carrot and concentrating on the road I found I wasn't mileage watching at all.

The middle section was into a headwind and that was a real speed killer. My average dipped and with that went all hope i thought of beating that 1.07. The next section was cross wind again, and faster than I anticipated. Slowly I clawed my way back but it was a tenuous affair holding the road. Just to be bastards, the course was a real shitter for trikes for the last few miles and whilst back wind fast, saw technical sections and bridges which were a hard test for a tired rider.

I had made up good time in the second half of the race to pop over the line in 1.06.46 - a good effort for such a hard day and a record and SC PB.

AP 279W (Strava)

Temp : 18C
Wind : 15mph SW

Course C25/2

Sleaford Striders Summer 10k

I booked a couple of summer Friday evening 10k's earlier in the year when I was all giddy about my running and had been injured in June when the first of these took place at Long Bennington. I have been back running since last month and have lost a couple of kilo's recently so have felt in decent shape - it would be interesting to see how things went...

The first mile of the race was on a single track road that wound for a third of a mile before a nasty rise to a corner and a sharp left - this meant lots of running on grass verges as the field sorted itself out and thankfully by the time I was up and round the corner this had happened and I was able to settle down...sort of !

I also noticed (being a trike rider) that the camber on the single track roads was horrendous , so to keep even footfall the best I could , I kept out of the gutter and ran on the crown of the road. First couple of miles were run at a hard even pace of 6.59m/m each and I couldn't see that many runners in front of me and indeed made steady progress.

The thing about this race is that it's not really flat and there are lots of little draggy parts that go on for a bit as well as bridges and then some brisk downhill sections. When I hit halfway I was under 22 minutes and was yet to struggle. A complete waste of a water bottle at this point confirmed I was OK. As this middle section wore on though, it was becoming harder and harder to maintain pace and I fely myself backing off a little. I can point out though that miles 3, 4 & 5 were completed at exactly the same pace of 7.05m/m !!!!

Hardest part of the race was definately the last mile which had some tough headwind just when you didn't want it and I began to panic a little bit about losing my position - form seemed to go out of the window and I genuinely had to battle for a slowest mile of 7.12.  With six down, I could compose myself as we got back into the centre of Scredington for a non spectacular finish heading into the car park,

Tough course, delighted with 43.50 - my last competitive run as coach says only once a week from now on, so Lincoln Half will just be for fun.

Temp 19C
Windy
Pos 28th/201
Miles
1 - 6.59
2 - 6.59
3 - 7.04
4 - 7.04
5 - 7.04
6 - 7.12
0.2-7.05

Bourne Wheelers C25

Two weeks after the 12hr and a good opportunity to see if I had any life back in my legs yet ? 

The course would be a familiar one to me but in reverse as it was the Sleaford 25 course with the HQ at Donnington. I would be debuting a new pair of pink velotoze overshoes and using a HRM for the very first time - despite owning two and having access to one for the past 3 years !! 

A good wind and a decent temperature meant great conditions for time trialling and I was looking forward to getting out and having a go. 

I was happy enough with the first miles up until the first visit to osbournby roundabout - decent cadence of above 90 and didn't feel like overcooking it. Up to Sleaford roundabout and that was OK, back down and I started chasing speed and the cadence started to go to pot - and then the very last section back to Donnington should have had a backwind and did, if only in a couple of sections. 

Fastest performance over 25 miles on a lincs course, but down on power from my last 25 and with that feels a bit like a sub par performance, albeit one I am pleased to be back with. 

1.02.16 

NP 249w
AP 239w
Temp : 17c
Wind : 6mph WNW
Course C25/35
Pos 21/46

Bassetlaw Triathlon

This is a running and tri blog after all, so I thought it best after a couple of years to actually do a triathlon, so chose the sprint distance at Bassetlaw as a perfect opportunity to get back on the horse. My time trialling had been going well and I was back at running club for four weeks following a calf tear - I had also been back in the pool for the past four weeks and had managed to get up to 400 metres non stop. This is how my day went :

Swim 8:27 

Mega fast first couple of lengths when I had just told a bloke I wasn't going to do it. Overtook loads but by the fifth length had calmed down and by the fifteenth and sixteenth leg I was hanging a bit. I managed to exit the pool and was near the door when the athletes at 8 mins started, so a good sub 8 swim achieved, by the time I'd legged it across to the transition it was 8.27 - good start.

T1 - 45s 
7th fastest on the day - what's to complain about

Bike - 37:37 
My strong point - started well, struggled halfway into the headwind climb. Frustratingly, someone dared to overtake me on the bike leg (that's cheating and it's not fair), and I had a couple of foot down stops - one at the regulation crossroads and one unscheduled at some traffic lights for which I should get some time back. I rolled back into transition on a very windy day, happy to be a minute better on the bike than 3 years ago !

T2 - 48s - I ran in cycle shoes - big mistake.

Run - 21.26 
No wonder it was hard - it was the fastest honest 5k that I'd run this year. I went out of transition wondering where my legs had gone, but started off reasonably well. Paced myself up the first drag and the never ending first mile clocked in at 6.53 before I felt in any way comfortable. Wound my way down and through the council estate and through the college grounds to start the shorter second lap. I struggled a little up the second drag, but felt good at the top and coasted home for the last mile. My splis for mile 2 & 3 were exactly 6.55 each so bang on pacing wise. Up and over the line in 1.09.03 in total with a bit to be shaved off when the official results come out.

Provisionally 16th/212 on my return, excellent !

Team Swift 12 hour (trike)

It had been two years since I had ridden the 12 hour course laid on by Team Swift, and knew after my  firste there that it would be a good course for a tricycle. I entered and was given the no.10 meaning that the days work would take place between 6.10am & 6.10pm. The temperate would start at 8C and would peak at about 16C. Also the wind would rise from a SW 8mph through to a 13/14mph in the afternoon. 

well, my day started interestingly with a first loop tangle with a Sleaford Wheeler before spending most of the rest of the event on my own, occasionally being passed by riders doing the 50 and the 100 event mainly. For the trike, the bottom loop was the most precarious and this had to be negotiated four times. I was having a good day in the main, battling the wind when I had to, and pacing the trike well. As the miles ticked by, I didn't panic and was really happy to see every ten miles tick off. 

After 160 miles and four laps, we were sent onto the finishing circuit which was the kinder top half of the course and I was really happy about this, and it was a bit of a pep for the last three hours. Things picked up a little and even through there was the giants footsteps and a drag up to a turn to do on each lap, it was fast going eastward and I made up any time lost. 

The last hour was crazy and I had enough left in the tank for a decent finish and managed 219.551 miles for a new club and county record - good days work in the saddle - but my last trike twelve for a good while.

AP 180W (Strava)

Temp : 8-16C
Wind : 8mph-14mph SW

Course V12hr

Pos. 17/27

July catch up (It's been busy 2 - Electric Boogaloo)

July has continued to be as mental as the June that preceded it, but thankfully it's at an end now I can can fully reflect on the races that I took part in...

17th July - EDCA 100

After a good night's camping at Brick Kiln Farm where I had my own field for a tenner, I was up nice and early and at the HQ very early. It was going to be a warm day with lowish early wind of 7mph rising steadily to 12mph throughout the morning. the course was one that I'd ridden my first 100 on a few years ago so I was looking forward to it.
My start was early so I got on with it - very light in the way of traffic and a backwind to start with. This was dual carriageway all the way, which was fast in parts and very much reminded me of both the ECCA & Etwall course, but the difference is a lack of shelter in some places, and also the surface is broken up with poorly repaired joints and some good old potholes peppered along the route. It was a real armbasher and a lot of expletives were used.
I knew early on that it wasn't going to be a PB day as the wind rose and the surface took it's toll - happy with my finish though - 4.25 will do.

AP 196W 

Temp : 59-79F
Wind : 7mph-12mph SW

Course B100/4

20th July - F11/10

My first ever trip down to the F11 course on a windy midweek day for a VTTA event. It was to be a double header day as I also needed to be back later for the road race. It meant that I was off very early on, on a course I hadn't ridden before, with a technical first turn. a quick drive round the course to learn it , and then to the HQ, and decided that although it was windy, I'd be alright with the disc and a tri spoke in the front, and then it was off up a big fuck off hill as a warm up to the start which was on a slip road to the A41 Tring bypass. 

Soon as was off, with a supposed backwind to the first roundabout but it didn't seem that fast. A down, the first round about, then a second and I was back on the A41 with and average of 26mph. The beauty of this course was that it always seemed to be a bit downhill with a lovely gift hill halfway through the return leg where I hit 41.8mph going full pelt. It slowed a lot at the bottom as I hit the headwind and then when I turned at the roundabout it just wasn't that quick. Still, I struggled past the finish with a 22.10 which was my second fastest finish this year. 

AP 248W

Temp : 29C
Wind : 14 W
Course F11/10

TLI Ashby Road Race#

The second race of the day - and not a lot to say. I got there just in time, then rode in group 2 again, doing more work on the front than I had for weeks. After 3 laps , we were caught again by group 3 and by the mid 4th lap, I was dropped coming out of the corner at Scopwick and then ended up riding alone until a few of us formed a group, and despite a break for glory with half a lap to go, I was brought back and then lost a four way sprint up the last hill to the finish.

Team Swift Slowest 90 event

A trike event…..on the V718……in the middle of the week……with little wind….. oh go on then…

I travelled up to Newport last night for a midweek turnout on the V718 on the trike. I’d had a couple of recent encouraging rides and had seemed to be going well on the trike for most of the year.

Couple that with my absolute favourite time trial course (sorry A25/34 but I still love you) and 20degree weather and 4mph wind and I felt like I was capable of beating last years best of 24:39 and finally earning my first VTTA standard of the year.

I’d asked for a late start time, and even though I didn’t leave Lincoln til gone 5, I was there far too early for my 8.22 start.

That soon came around though, and I was soon set off in familiar surroundings and enjoying the first couple of miles of the A63. For some reason I was relaxed and riding with no pressure at all. With this being a slowest 90 event, there were no riders whizzing past me and I think that helped. I reached the turn at 4.5 miles in good shape having managed 25.3mph, but didn’t know what the return leg would hold – I soon found out it was no slower and in fact kept a steady fast pace all the way along the return – my pacing seemed to be spot on and a very fast finish gave a PB on the return leg at 27.2mph for a blistering age record of 22:54 (26.2mph).

7 seconds outside of club record but made up with my ride of the year so far.

  

Busy,busy,busy catch up

This is a round up of recent events given the hectic racing schedule that I’ve managed to enjoy just lately…

ECCA 100

This was a first night ever of camping and I managed to get a pitch at Cherry Hinton Caravan Site and had a really good night’s sleep. Felt absolutely fine in the morning and it was only a 10 minute drive of so to the HQ. Weather was still-ish, with anything a bit of a cross wind. My start time was 5.34am so super early but as you know on this course you have to be off the A14 by 9.30ish so that suits me just fine.

The course is new this year and is all DC, so I was expecting it to be super fast !  I was then, disappointed, after the first hour or so, when I realised that it wasn’t going to be a good day and I was chasing down my time from 2 years ago !!!

My first lap had averaged just 23.5mph and when I looked at a power output of 240W, I expected it to be a lot faster. I wanted to give up at the end of both the first and second laps but kept going because well I don’t know why. I eventually trundled home at 23mph and a time of 4.21.14 – not great, but at least it’s a first 100 registered for the year.

Club Newton 10 – 24.16 – a pick me up ride and it went really well – power was up at 290W for the first time this year, and I felt that I rode it well. It’s my favourite of the Wheelers courses – it just seems to suit me, and although it was a time that was 45s down on last year, well that was because the wind was different and the majority was a headwind.

Grantham Road Race

Another round of the Lincolnshire TLI league, this time another trip back to Grantham Cricket Club on Gorse Lane for my third ever Grantham RR.  I started in Group 2 again, and was in my usual comfortable position toward the back. I did alright up the little climbs and tried not to switch off like I had done in previous races. I showed my face at the front on a couple of occasions and then on the third and final lap found that I was on the front with ease – I soon found out that groups 3&4  had caught us. That was race over again, and I think I ended up trailing the main bunch in by a couple of minutes. It’s all good practice though and decent training.

Trike TA Mids 50

A trip over to Etwall for the event on the super fast A50/5 course. Last year I had set a cub record and I thought I could have a decent go at it again this year. All started well enough and I was setting a decent pace. I was riding well, and although concrete mountain was a pain in the backside, I managed to get to the top only half a mile an hour off last years pace. Going back down was bonkers and I hit the turn bang on last year at 22.5mph. The dog leg section yielded and small improvement which meant that I was on the home straight at 40 miles, just ahead of record pace.  That was where my legs gave up the ghost I’m afraid and the last ten miles or so saw a deterioration and I missed out by about a minute overall.

Still, no complaints, I won the event by 15 minutes so can’t complain.

Club Thorney 10 – 24.13

The interclub with Lincoln Tri – again another really good ride, and guess what – my power was again through the roof, this time at 310W for the ten miles – I can only think that my 74 miles in the peak district on Thursday has done me some good. Headwind of 8mph maybe, but not much of a push on the home leg as you would maybe expect.

So, overall, a mixed bag of results and no real consistency – that’s my season in a nutshell !  

LRRA 50

This is basically the county champs over 50 miles and there were 50 or so local riders entered. This would be the first time I would take the trike as I'd ridden 3 years consecutively on two wheels.

I would be going for two gongs - the all time Championship trike record of 2:19:45 and a secondary carrot of the club's 50 handicap trophy. The weather appeared to be pleasant, albeit we had a heavy downpour as we were warming up, but the course would again be altered due to a fete at Osbournby (looked busy lol) as I drove through, and would again take us twice up the slog to Spittlegate roundabout. This is how I got on...I needed to average 21.5mph.......

Osbournby to Spittlegate
Started well with what was reported to be a gentle backwind behind me. Rode consistently, but lost time on some of the drags as I hauled the barrow up. Got to the first turn ahead of the wheelers around me, but the average speed so far was just 21.1mph...

Spittlegate to Osbournby
Wow, mega fast as obviously its mostly gentle sweeping downhill with just a couple of short sharp uns to negotiate..... average up to 22.5mph... back on track !

Osbournby to Donnington
Felt good considering it was supposed to be a headwind, no probs and kept the average speed exactly where it was !

Donnington to Osbournby
Quick again until about 32miles and then ooomph, I think the wind turned as it was now cross head, and I was really struggling - average speed dropped to 22.1 mph.

Osbournby to Spittlegate
Second time up really hurt and I battled hard to keep the average from slipping below water level. It took all my effort just to get to the top, it was hurting and very slow in places. 21.6mph though and I knew I'd done it when I got round the roundabout.

Spittlegate to Finish
Pressure off, and I was able to enjoy and ride the last leg quickly. Got to 50 miles but was still riding - gor to 50.2 and finished. 3 minutes inside the old record, and winning the club trophy - double job done !

AP 266w (Strava)

Temp : 19c
Wind : 5mph S (fluctuating)
Course C50/2
Pos 28th

Bruce Kingsford 50

A long trip over to Astley in Shropshire on Saturday evening meant that I could set up the airbed in the back of the car ready for a very early start for the days time trialling. I would be set off last in the morning at 7.26 and would have 50 miles to negotiate so went to bed nice and early.

After a really uncomfortable nights sleep, I was somewhat refreshed and ready for the days action. The weather was stunningly good with a very light Northerly wind and from the off I felt relaxed about the whole event. I felt myself into the first few miles remembering that last year I went off far too fast, and the first few miles felt very easy.  By the first time I get to Prees Island at the top of the course, I had a good idea of where I was in relation to the rest of the field and seemed to be doing well and making good progress. 

As it was my first 50 of the year so I didn't go to giddy when I got the backwind and concentrated on going steady. I was held up at a couple of roundabouts, but that was the sum of any complication thankfully. I held up a couple of lorries, but otherwise the road wasn't that busy or too camberous. 

Finishing in 2.18.14 which was four seconds slower than last year, I managed to win both the event which is the TA's National 50 and the Vet On Standard award by just one second !

AP 251w (Strava)

Temp : 12c
Wind : 7mph N
Course D50/3
Pos 1st

Great Limber Road Race

Wednesday evening brought around a trip up to Great Limber to take part in round 4 of the Lincs race League at Great Limber with an event put on by Lindsey Roads CC.

It was a cool night but lovely weather and they were plenty of riders already signed on by the time I managed to find the HQ. I signed on with group 2 again which was mahoosive and is certainly very popular and was in with quite a few fellow Wheelers.

The course was hillier than Brattleby in total climb, but far easier on poorer climbers like me as it was rolling with just one long sweeping mile and a half climb, and, as it was going to be a 3 and a half lap affair only, this meant the drag would have to be negotiated only 4 times., I didn't think it was going to be as much of a struggle to keep in the mix.

Onto the actual race, and I positioned myself towards the rear to avoid the early giddiness and did OK going up the drag first time around. When we got to the top however there is a hairpin turn and as I was last out of this I nearly got dropped and had two miles of furious downhill to negotiate to get back on - you would not believe how hard it is to make up just twenty metres on a bunch !

Next time up the hill I made sure to make a few places so that when we got to the turn I was in the middle somewhere, this plan worked and I was able to get in the middle of the bunch. Job done. 2nd to last time up the drag, did the same, no problem, but we had the bell, so the pace picked up a little.

I must have lost concentration as I was almost last into the right hand turn into Great Limber and just like that my race was done !  I was dispatched by about twenty metres and could not get back on. I decided to wait for group 3 who were behind me, and got in with them, but my legs had gone and I ended up limping back about a minute behind.

Another fun workout and enjoyable event - I'm loving these TLI races at the moment.

Flat n fast sportive

This'll be a quick one - a bit like the Sportive !!

I took part in Sportive HQs 100 miler from Thorne near Doncaster yesterday with the sole purpose of dry running a no stop strategy for my upcoming ECCA 100 event in a fortnight's time.

The weather was dry, cool as it was overcast all morning, with a northerlyish wind of c.9mph. I was set off on my way at 7.20 with all the other time trial bike riders - I wanted to ride solo and rode past a group of six or so - but they latched on and I spent the first 40 miles to the first feed station in with this group. At the first feed station, most petered off and I was left with a bit of a solo effort until at 48 miles I caught up with two fellas from the earlier group.

We worked a bit of a 3 up all the way through to 72 miles or so, I then I spent the remaining 28 battling long boring headwind roads and trying to beat 5 hours which I did comfortably in the end.

That was that - first 100 in the bag, I now know I can do a hundred on 1 flapjack and one packet of jelly babies !

VC Lincoln Road Race

Wednesday evening was a brutally wet one and many decided to stay at home. For me, it was the first day of our GCC step challenge, so I needed to get out and make a good start.

This race is nine times up Brattleby Hill and last year (in similar conditions) I had managed six or so before becoming detached from the group. This year I was to have a good go at staying with the group until the end of the race !

I lined up in group two with plenty of other Wheelers and was set off on our way four mins after the first group. Within the first few miles, we had our first run at Brattleby Hill, and I was very nearly spat out there and then as the group attacked it and I just don't have the climbing ability to get up it that quickly. I managed to get back on and spent most of the lap recovering - and then it happened again !  I spent most of my time at the back of the group either recovering or getting ready for the Brattleby effort.

Third time up, it was a bit easier, as the front were less giddy, and I was able to do a couple of turns on the front. My race pretty much panned out like that until with two laps to go the third group caught us and that was that when we hit the hill - I truly blew up and spent the last lap trundling along until group four came past and I managed to jump on the back of those boys who brought me back to a couple of Wheelers who I managed to go past on the very last climb. 5th Wheeler on the night but 33rd I think overall.

LRRA 10m Champs

Over to Skegness on a completely different day for weather having raced in horrible conditions the previous day. This would be my first LRRA event on the trike and I was hoping to beat or at leasy get near the championship trike record which stood at 24:28. 

Conditions were excellent and it would be a good ride I could feel it. My warm up consisted of riding up the hill to the start (what else can you do on a trike - you can hardly turbo ! ) and I was away reletavely early at no.15. 

The record was definately not on by the time I made the turn as progress was behind schedule and I had been riding against a slightly uphill profile and a cross headwind albeit not a heavy one. 

One turn later at Ulceby and boom ! a lovely bit of cross backwind and I nailed it as hard as I could. I made up some good time but was ultimately unable to claim the record as even with the gift hill finish I came up short by just under a minute at 25:22. 

Considering that was only 16s slower than my recent trike outing on the V718, I am happy with my result.



AP 282w (Strava)

Temp : 13c
Wind : 7mph SW
Course C10/9
Pos 

VTTA National 10 Champs

The weather was terrible for this one and it was a day where I drove down to the HQ at long Benno hoping that the organisers had cancelled the event. I was still heavy from a week in Kos, and I suppose along with the weather I was looking for excuses. 

Silly me, the event was still on, and I was able to do a good warm up before I made my way to the start towards the North of the Village. 

Nearly a mile of SC and a roundabout awaited ?? and I was battling the headwind all the way to the turn at Great Gonerby and all I could manage was 23.1mph for the first half of the TT. Once over the double island and with a decent backwind behind me I gave it a good go, and had a couple of really good sections but couldn't completely turn it around. 25.1mph overall, and a time of 23:49. Not too bad, but in an event which is based on standards, my plus of 2:24 was a bit dismal and placed me well into the lower depths of the placings.

NP 284w
AP 288w
Temp : 17c
Wind : 18mph WSW
Course A10/14a
Pos 95/104

TA Mike Dixie 10m TT V718

Just two days after my own event, and it was time to visit someone elses and take advantage of another ride on the legendary V718 time trialling course. This is obviously the A63 for non testers but to me it's the hallowed tarmac !!! 

It was a very early start on what was a very windy day with a southerly/ cross wind of c.19mph on a bright day. the temperature was high enough to dispense with leg or knee warmers and I was able to take a nice pootle down to the start at South Cave ready for a 9.10 start time. 

so, first part - made the start on time, and set off very fast cos everyone was watching. On the slip road down to the A63, some bell end decided to overtake me in a HGV which was a bit startling to say the least and then once down onto the hallowed tarmac, I managed to tap out a decent beat into the crosswind, so much so that I made the turn in 22.5mph which was up on last year. 

The return leg was just not as fast as I expected it to be with the cross wind playing havoc with me at times but a good ride back nonetheless at an average of 25.5mph to leave me with a time of 25.03 and 2nd place on the day. 

AP 314w (Strava)

Temp : 12c
Wind : 19WSW
Course B25/17
Pos 2/21

TA East 25m TT

My first event as an organiser, the TA East & Lincoln Wheelers Old Skool event, held at Silk Willoughby on a sometimes warm, sometimes windy, sometimes wet Saturday afternoon.

This was the second trike ride of the year for me and a warm up for Monday's trike event on the V718. I went off very last after helping push everyone else off. The weather really couldn't make up it's mind as to soak me whilst pushing off, or clearing up by the time I went myself.

The wind arrows on the BBC app would suggest that I'd have a sidewind/backwind/headwind/sidewind experience on the L shaped course and initially that seemed to playout as I cahsed down the riders in front of me. I was averaging a good speed at the first roundabout and enjoyed what I thought was a good push along the way to the Donnington roundabout and turn back. The strange thing was I expected headwind, but didn't seem to get much if anything - I was able to bury myself a bit here and make some good time - maybe it was good pacing on the way out, I don't know, but certainly not a block headwind as I was expecting.

I had a small hold up at a roundabout, and sat up in a queue of traffic that bottlenecked behind a three way trike battle going on further up the road, so lost a bit of time there, which when I look back on my eventual finishing time of 1.07.10 probably means an unofficial best ever trike SC ride.

I'm a bit pleased about that.

AP 251w (Strava)

Temp : 10c
Wind : 14mph ENE
Course C25/22
Pos 1/11

VTTA 25

This little gem in the calendar is fast turning into my favourite time trial course. The A25/.34 is where I broke the hour with a 55.21 last September and had a decent ride on the old trike previously. Whilst not flat, with a nice easterly or south easterly wind, it is truly the fastest TT track other than the V718.

Today, however, saw a northerly wind, which meant a total wind reverse to my previous experiences!

It didn't start too great, as although I thought I had plenty of time to get to the start, I in fact didn't and missed my slot by over a minute - this also meant that I received a 25 second penalty - which was very lenient in from my perspective so I took it politely as you should.

I went off at no.103 instead of 84, not that it matters, and enjoyed a good first section down to the turn at 10.4 miles averaging 27.1mph which I don't usually see on this course - I had also climbed Bingham Hill on the way at an average of 311W which is well above my usual race wattage.

At the turn though and usually I would have enjoyed some backwind, but not today, it was headwind and some long drags. On the flats I was riding well though and took advantage of the downhills - this saw an average for this section of 24.4mph - pleasing as I'd expected to lose more given the drags and the headwind. I hit the Newark roundabout turn at 25.5mph and thought I had enough in the tank for a final push, but I'm still not quite that fit and had to settle for maintaining the status quo.

58.51 - it was alright, but it's more the course than me - I had a couple of really good sections today that give me hope for the rest of the year !

NP 274w
AP 269w
Temp : 12c
Wind : 12mph N
Course A25/34
Pos 50/97