Last Sunday at Mistley, I put the crash at Basildon behind me and raced again in the Eastern Cyclocross League.
Mistley isn't the easiest of courses, in fact its a bit of a beast, but I had to start somewhere and this was my club's promotion. With a couple of espressos and a belly full of ibuprofen and paracetamol I knew I could get through it.
And getting through was the only aim. As with any endeavor like this, all I had to do was stay upright and keep pedalling for 40-45 minutes. Pipping Dom Castle on the line for 32nd place was the unintentional icing on the cake.
Packed and ready to go. Fin looking a bit Belge.
Thanks to Mark Fraser for this short video analysis of my climbing "technique".
Due to the inter-regionals on Sunday, I have a weekend off and a chance to train for the next round at Graffham Water. Entry form for the Regionals in early December was posted this week, so yet more incentive.
Mark Fraser's video highlights of the Womens Race can now also be found here:
Following my 'incident' at Basildon a couple of weeks ago I found myself needing a new front wheel.
To be more accurate, I destroyed my old wheel - a trusty, Mavic MA3 rim on Deore hub with the manliest of spokes - a heavyweight that was built for 'cross.
So, accepting a replacement wheel was required, the thought processes began. Having some very nice, generous clubmates, there was no shortage of offers of loans, but as everyone knows, your own kit is best - you just don't want to trash someone else's. No alternative - I definately needed to buy a new front wheel.
Being a typical bloke and cyclist, I rationalised that to mean I needed a pair of wheels and started trawling the internet, gazing longingly at all kinds of circular weaponry before realising this was an emergency expense, was not budgeted for and frankly, if you stick me, a new set of wheels and a cross bike together something is going to break eventually - probably sooner rather than later. No point spending hundreds!
A clubmate, Tony Sheppard, mentioned to me that Planet X were selling pairs of CX wheels for £99 - this got me looking at the budget options.
Despite the massive increase in sales of CX bikes and growth of the sport, if you google "cyclocross wheels" you get very little of use apart from some nice looking Campag stuff. So, I started researching what "road wheels" were available and what standard wheelsets were offered on "off the shelf "cross bikes.
It took a while, but I eventually had a match.
The rather nice Kinesis EVO4
Kinesis are well known in CX circles, particularly for great value performance frames, but they also sell complete, off the peg rigs. These bikes come with Shimano R500 wheelsets (WH-R501 to be geeky).
Reasoning that if a company with the reputation and Cyclocross expertise of Kinesis can offer this wheelset as standard it must be OK, I did some more research.
Merlin Cycles came up trumps - one pair of said Shimano R500 wheels for the princely sum of £72.95. P&P was about £6 but having ordered on the Sunday night, they were with me by Tuesday morning - very efficient.
A pair for £72! Being me, this very nearly became the perfect excuse to buy another pair for the pits, but I resisted my natural urges and stuck to the cheap option for once. One pair was actually twice as many as I "needed" anyway. If I was having this dilema closer to Payday, I might easily have ended up with 2 pairs.
The wheels were also in great shape - namely round and true. After a week of good use, they still are.
Some might consider them a little heavy, but this wheelset also came as standard on my Cannondale roadbike, with the only difference being colourscheme and spokes. These ones from Merlin with beefy stainless steel spokes - no bad thing in my book considering the beating they are likely to get over the coming months.
My new wheels in the wild
They also look quite nice on my bike.
I'll let you know how they fare over the course of the season.
I can't have a cycling blog without writing something about The Great Tour.
This was one of my defining moments in cycling, encompassing all the joys associated with great rides - superb company, scenery, sunshine, mileage and accomplishment; just on a much bigger scale. In cycling, you have to accept that for every up there is a down, in every sense. The Great Tour also delivered the worst spill I have experienced.
In a nutshell, the 2010 ride was planned as a circumnavigation of the coastline of Great Britain in 64 days to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity and retail trade charity Caravan. Graeme Knott, Hugh Roberts, Alistair Cope, Mike Sweeney and Sam Mashford were the hardy souls who completed the whole thing, starting and finishing in Seaton, Devon.
My involvement was just to ride the first two weeks - Seaton to Scarborough - approx 900 miles. My trip was cut short on my home stage, close to St Osyth, when I had a nasty spill and was carted off to Colchester A&E. My focus then became getting fit enough to rejoin the ride, which I managed and subsequently had the priviledge of taking part in the final week.
It was special for me, and pulling the video clips together for this 8 minute summary of my time on The 2010 Great Tour was a really nice trip down memory lane. Sunshine, bikes, great people and an excuse to air the Superstars theme tune! My thanks go to Dan Broom for producing such a fine video record of a great event which I have randomly plundered and shoddily edited for my own purposes.
Following my incident at Basildon the previous week (see last blog – Another Tale of Cyclocross Misadventure) I was a bit bruised, sore and unable to ride a bike.
This combination of circumstance is always irksome, but was particularly disappointing last weekend. Not being able to ride my bike meant missing out on the Amis Velo Hillyfields Supercross.
Amis Velo may not be my club, but this is my home race, taking place no more than a few hundred yards from my front door. I know the course like the back of my hand – walking our dog there regularly and riding the trails most weeks. Its also home to the Colchester Rovers training sessions.
IfI was going to do well at any race this season, I felt this was going to be the one – my pre-season aim was to give this one my all and trust in local knowledge and experience to guarantee a higher than usual finish. My off at Basildon put paid to that grand idea.
Triggsy crests a climb on home turf
I have to say, I really enjoyed spectating – having the time to chat, catchup with many of the people who helped me the previous week and soak up the glorious October sunshine on the grass bank above the start/finish line.
Knowing the woods well, I was also able to walk the course, cutting corners to catch as much of the action in different spots as possible – I loved it.
Mark Fraser saved one of his diminished stock of cowbells for me, which I put to good use annoying as many riders as possible on a couple of climbs.
There were a couple of offs on the start finish line and a few thorn cuts visible of riders’ arms, but the injury prize of the week has to go to Tiffany Hore.
Following a spill on a tight corner, she ended upside down in a bramble bush. Still clipped in, she couldn’t move her legs and lying on a bed of brambles meant she couldn’t push herself back up. By the time I had made my way down the slope, she was being helped out by a guy from Welwyn Wheelers. She remounted, legs covered in blood and finished the race. One tough cookie.
Thats my boy - Fin smiles or grimaces for the camera
Some great racing was on show in all categories with outstanding rides by junior National Champ Hugo Robinson in the Elite Race and Sean Dunlea in the Youth.
The organisation by Amis Velo was, as ever, superb and I managed to spend a Sunday with bikes and cyclists without once feeling sorry for myself that I couldn’t come out to play.
Youth U16/U14 Video from John Swindells
Veteran / Womens Race video from John Swindells
*AGAIN – A PHOTO AND THE VIDEO HAVE BEEN NICKED FROM OTHER PEOPLE’S YOUTUBE AND FLICKR - John Swindells and Amis Velo, respectively...
Basildon - while surrounded by some modest hills, the town of Basildon itself is pan flat.
Well, that’s what I thought until I discovered the notable exception of GloucesterPark which boasts a few lumps of man made hill, dating from the town’s sudden post-war birth, now fully covered in grass and woodland.
For once, I had quite a good start
The perfect venue for Round 5 of the Eastern Cyclocross League, organised by Essex Roads CC.
Just one week on from Baldock, and while it was still a long way off traditional CX conditions, the temperature had dropped by over 12 degrees. My legs were feeling good, my bike was in much better shape than at Baldock, following a thorough strip-down and clean during the week, and I was ready to go. The first warm up lap immediately revealed the true severity of one of the climbs and that none of the three on offer were to be looked forward to. The second warm up lap convinced me to take it easy and avoid overdoing it too early ie. stop warming up and just stand around chatting.
The Muur Van Basildon
I had a good start and made the first hill a quarter of the way down the field. To my surprise, despite my measured approach, I found myself going past people who are normally way ahead. I kept calm and consolidated my position, passed through the first bottleneck ahead of the first pile-up to find myself clear in the top 30 or so as we approached the bottom of what became known as the Muur van Basildon. The severity of this slope was emphasised beautifully by the constant ringing of cowbells, thanks to Mark Fraser’s newly opened carpark cowbell stall. Mark’s photos and video from the race have also lost none of the sense of gradient and show this hill exactly as I remember it.
Again, to my surprise, I made ground on many of the faster guys - they were catching up or going past me on the downhills and the flat, but I seemed to have found my forte - I can't really be a climber can I? I am 6'1...
The second lap was more of the same, and I found myself passing clubmate David Triggs - I have never been ahead of him in any CX race. Ever. At this point I got a little too excited and abandoned the measured approach, pushing as hard as I could on the next two hills. That left me with nothing to offer on the flat and David duly passed me, gradually pulling away. He was followed by fellow Rover Mike Barnard who went past me one lap later. Even though they were gaining ground on me, I just kept them in sight and kept plugging away.
Ungainly but surprisingly effective
For the first time since I have been racing this bike in Cyclocross I wasn’t cursing myself over having a triple chainset and on laps 4 & 5 actually used the granny ring for what it was intended - getting over hills without getting off your bike.
On the final lap, exhausted at the top of the last climb, 2 guys went past me on the downhill. Determined to preserve what would be my best position of the season (about 23rd or 24th, for the record) I caught my breath before the final 600-700m of winding flat course and began to chase them down, keen to line up a sprint for the line.
Spoke key, anyone?
With about 500m to go and pushing through one corner faster than before, I naturally took a wider line out of it. At this point, my front wheel disappeared into a crack I hadn’t spotted on any of my previous laps, partially covered in grass. According to others who examined it later, it was about a metre long and 7-10 cm wide. Oh, and deep enough to cause a problem.
Unfortunately, I am quite familiar with the slightly dizzy feeling of being airborne when you should have two wheels firmly planted on the ground. My front wheel had refused to continue and I was up and over the bars, landing firmly on my head. Stunned, the next thing I recall is lying across the course, moaning like an idiot with a lot of pain in my back.
Even in this distressed state I was amused by the thought of becoming a human obstacle and half wished that I would cause some riders to dismount, hurdle me and remount.
Quite properly, I kept completely still. More through necessity than anything else. Help arrived quickly and riders were directed around me. My best finish would have to wait – this was my first DNF.
Dr Boyton leads her group up the Muur
At this point, Camilla Boyton of Dulwich Paragon revealed herself to be Dr Boyton of the Royal London and took charge of the situation until the ambulance arrived. The first ambulance guy arrived in a car and was told they would need a full sized ambulance as I needed to be immobilised on a board and carried out of there. Due to access issues, the Air Ambulance was discussed – I begged them not to, as I knew I would never live this one down – I felt I had made enough fuss as it was by causing the U12 race course to be shortened.
My main concern at this point was my 12 year old son – we were an hour from home, he was joining me in the full sized ambulance that had now worked its way onto the course to head for hospital and I could not move to help him out with anything. He had packed clothes, food and water into a rucksack, taken care of bikes, car keys and phoning home – he played an absolute blinder, keeping cool, calm and in control, showing exactly the qualities needed to fulfil his ambition of becoming a paramedic. Ironically, if I am ever asked about my proudest cycling related moment, the way Fin handled himself that afternoon would be top of the list by a long way. He was awesome.
He wasn’t the only one to play a blinder that day – I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who helped out – friends, clubmates, organisers, league officials, strangers – you were all bloody brilliant.
To cut what is becoming a very long winded story a bit short, following the obligatory hours in A&E with examinations and x-rays I was declared to have no more than a black eye, swollen head, bumps, bruises, cuts, grazes, aches, pains and damaged pride.
Kit damage included a broken helmet, bent front wheel and another ripped jersey.
No bike riding and full recovery is now my focus and I hope to be well enough to race Rd 7 at Mistley.
*ALL PICTURES AND VIDEO SHAMELESSLY STOLEN FROM MARK FRASER'S YOUTUBE & FLICKR
OK - loads of pictures and not too many words. This year's Cycle Show didn't throw up any earth shattering, new developments or must have items, but there was some cracking kit on show.
It was noticeable that the big boys were not in attendance, particularly Specialized who had a massive stand last year. Also missing for 2011 were De Rosa, Merckx and MCipolini.
Seven - bespoke titanium - Sigma Sport
Seven - enve throughout
Some very tasty cross bikes were in evidence, including Condor's Terra X Prototype and titanium stunners from Seven and qoroz.
It is worth noting that qoroz bikes are handmade in the UK and come with a lifetime guarantee.
Bianchi had one Crossover bike (rather than pure CX) sporting a triple chainset and aimed firmly at the commuting/touring/do anything crowd.
Bianchi - CX bike or jack of all trades?
I was particularly taken with the whole qoroz range which encompasses Road, MTB, 29er and folding travel options. However, if I were lucky enough to get my hands on one, their cross bike featuring hydraulic disc brakes would be top of my list. It is gorgeous.
qoroz - pure class
qoroz CX bike - discs
qoroz CX bike - hydraulics
The impressive Condor Terra X Prototype CX bike
Colnago had some great bikes on show - the stealth-black C59 Italia was a highpoint and I just love the timeless Master X-Light.
Colnago Master X-Light
One failure from Colnago for me is this £3000 city bike with a Ferrari badge - I really can't see the point.
Why?
Peugeot was an interesting one - as mentioned on a live post last week, I am delighted to see them back but puzzled that I have not seen a retail presence or much press over the last year. The range is small, but there are some crackers in there, from the full carbon racer RSR-01 at £5750, the unpriced fixie (rumoured at around £1500) and a very reasonable traditional town bike for £300. Interestingly, all of these bikes are available on order through any UK Bianchi dealer.
Peugeot Fixie - Classic
Peugeot Carbon Racer - looks the part
Dutch Style Peugeot Town Bike - only £300!
After qoroz, there was only one stand where I loved every single bike - Paulus Quiroz Design. Bespoke craftsmanship of the highest possible level and some of the most innovative and stylish designs on display. They went down a storm at the Bristol handmade show and I sincerely hope they get all the attention they deserve form the Cycle Show audience.
I regularly have trouble getting my head around Pinarello - I know thousands of people adore them and I think they produce some great stuff but it just bugs me that they insist on throwing in kinks and curves where they are just not needed.
Top tube with an annoying bend - why?
Dogma 2 with wavy davy forks. More Italian black stealth chic.
Don't get me wrong - if anyone wanted to give me a Dogma 2 or even a Graal TT bike, I would bite their hands off!
The Graal... Just like Alex Dowsett - very nice.
Some people asked me to keep my eyes peeled for cool clothing and I have to admit I didn't see a huge amount - from personal taste Shutt Velo Rapide were offering the most stylish kit, Santini launched an ill-advised World Champs Jersey with Giani Bugno's signature for £129 and Castelli had their brand new speed suits (skinsuit/road racing hybrid as worn by Johan van Summeren to cvictory in Paris Roubaix this year).
Everyone knows these are a no-no for us mere mortals!
Shutt Velo Rapide - Classy and pick of the clothing bunch
Castelli's skinsuit with pockets and a wee hole - might be useful.
Castelli speed suit in civilian colours
Of course, Assos were at the show in force, and its just a personal opinion, but I am not that keen on their stuff - I think its fine if you want to turn out on a club run looking like an extra from Blakes 7, but frankly I can think of better ways to spend thousands of pounds!
Assos - 70's Sci-Fi anyone?
The misses this year included Felt's AR1 purely because they left the cassette chain guard on, Pearson's lovely frames spoilt by lurid graphics and the new Specialized Crux CX bike, which I thought just looked cheap.
Pearson - how many words can you fit on one frame?
Love Spesh and love CX, but this is a disappointment. 2012 Crux just looks cheap.
Felt AR1 Aero Road Bike - height of tech - top spec, so why leave the plastic saucer?
On the face of it, Saturday's CC Ashwell Cyclocross was my worst race yet.
I've never done well on this course and the heatwave temperatures did
nothing to improve the relationship this time round.
On my last couple of training rides and even the warm up on Saturday,
everything on the bike was working nicely.
However, as soon as I put the power down at the start, the crunching of
slipped chain let me know it wasn't going to be plain sailing.
After a barrier dismount a total seizure of chain and chainset lost me yet
more time as I frantically clawed at the bloody thing to try and free it.
By the time the first small rise was to be negotiated, my drivetrain let me
know in no uncertain terms it was was not coming out to play.
At this point, I have the wisdom of a 12 year old to thank for avoiding my
first DNF. "Dad? Why don't we put each others bikes in the pit in case
either of us have a problem?", he asked. I couldn't think of a reason why
not, so we did.
So, I was now able to do the next 4 laps on a 12 year old's bike and claw
back some places. From stone cold last (72nd) to 44th by the end.
Initially, I had some issues with handling, but following a single
altercation with a tree, I got the hang of it and started to get a little
quicker. I am not going to pretend my six foot frame didn't look a bit out
of place on the bike, either, but I finished and beggars can't be choosers.
In some ways, this turned out to be one of my better races.
Of course, I was last out of my clubmates who don't accept excuses easily.
Oh well.
Basildon on Saturday and we can start all over again.
Ps - I was going to post a picture of my tree gashed shoulder, but thought
this one of the fast start to the Youth race was much nicer.
