London Cyclocross League 6 - Penshurst Off-Road Circuit

Just getting to the starting line of this race was an achievement for me!

I had an off-road experience just getting to the place from the train station. Not really sure of where the race venue was, I decided to abandon my soggy paper map and instead followed the signs to the Penshurst Country Park when I came upon them. This took me along a dirt path, very steep in places, through brambles and nettles.

I arrived too early, too, thinking that the race started at 13:00 when in fact it only started at 14:00. So I spent the hour I had to kill alternately sheltering from the pissing rain under the tarp hanging over the signing-on table and trying to warm up next to the bonfire.

After one terrifying recce lap, I'd decided that there was no point even starting. But Emma Wood (London Phoenix), who had so kindly and patiently guided me around the practice lap, suggested I just start at the back and ride at least one lap on my own. So I composed myself and did just that. And it wasn't too bad, so I rode another lap, and so on, until the hour was almost up.

All through the final quarter of my last lap I was expecting to be overtaken by the leaders but wasn't thinking clearly enough to realise that I really should wait to be overtaken so that I could finish my race. I crossed the finish line and, realising the end of the race for the leaders was imminent, pleaded with the judge not to make me do another lap, "You don't want to be standing out here, wet and cold, for another 15 minutes waiting for me to finish, do you?" So he sent me back across the line and duly recorded my finish time when I rolled over it again having applauded the winner. But it turned out that the winner had actually previously, erroneously, been sent around on another lap. Mud everywhere made the lap counters' jobs very difficult!

I, however, got off lightly by riding around mainly on my own and staying well away from anyone's rear wheel - to avoid the mud spray, of course. And I didn't fall! There were a couple of occasions where it seemed to me a miracle, but I didn't come off. There were a couple of run-ups, so my shoes and cleats were completely soaked and clogged with mud, but the rest of me was relatively clean.

"You should've seen the others!", didn't prevent disapproving looks on the train home, though.

Mud.

There was really no other way to clean the bike than to set it in the bath and hose it off gently with the showerhead. I scooped pounds of mud, grass, and leaves out of the drain and spent ages wiping and rinsing the frame from every angle, but every time I thought I was done I would lift the bike out of the bath only to find my hands or my t-shirt or the bath mat all mucky and splattered with globs of mud from hidden-god-knows-where.

For me, bike-cleaning is a labour of love and I am horrified by the state of some of the bikes people bring into the shop. I sometimes joke that I'm going to found the NSPCB - National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Bikes. I'll leave that rant - and some bike-cleaning tips - for another post, though.

Sliding around on two wheels through inches of mud was a hoot! Having to rely on public transport to get around, and travelling alone, makes me pretty cautious, though. Next year, I must get better organised and find a regular training and racing buddy. I'm just figuring things out this year, but it became obvious pretty quickly that racing is hard to do all on your own. So far I've been lucky with transport and weather and avoiding injury. Let's hope that continues.

The Difficult Decision

This weekend's "London" Cyclocross League race was in Lydden, near Dover - it would've been 3 hours travelling each way and I was all prepared to do it --- until the alarm went off Sunday morning and I realised that if I didn't race I could save myself 50 quid (train fare & entry fee) and get some housework done.


Manchmal muss es sein.

London Cyclocross League 4 - It's all good!

After a week off, I returned to another school playing field course where once again I had a great result! i.e. I didn't crash and I didn't come last!

There were 2 really steep sections that I walked up - including one not long after a section of planks where it was pretty difficult to get any momentum to tackle it after remounting. I took that part as a "break" and most laps stopped at the top to have a look at how the better riders tackled the section. It was pretty much 50-50 between those who rode up and those who ran. Towards the end of the race, the runners were definitely making quicker progress than the riders. The course was nice and wide so I was able to stay out of everyone's way. And as the race went on I really improved at flying down the banks (without braking! Woo hoo!) and attacking them again to get back up. On a couple of occasions I had to be careful of my line so as not to run into the back of someone grinding to a halt in front of me. 34X25 (about 36 inches) is my smallest gear. I don't think I need anything smaller because it isn't power that I'm lacking (what that doesn't get me up, I'm probably better off running up) but confidence and a sensitivity for traction. I've never encountered such climbs before (well, maybe once on the 2nd day of the Tour of Wessex last year) but I'm having a go and it's getting easier.

"It's all good", as I'm wont to say about anything cycling-related.

There were 8 or 9 women in the field - a great turn out. Including Nicky who was one of the guides at the GPM10 women's alpine training weekend that I did back in May.

Rode home, got lost a couple of times and then ended up in a traffic jam in Greenwich. Had to stop in Bexley for a sugary drink. By the time I got to the Greenwich foot tunnel, the lifts had stopped running so I had to walk down and back up the stairs while carrying my bike. It's all good training, I suppose. Yup, it's all good.

Firsts! - Part II: Manchester Velodrome

Working in a bike shop, I feel it behoves me to at least have a go at all forms of cycling. That's the main reason why I've taken up 'cross this year, and last weekend, since I wasn't working and the National Track Champs were on, I went up to Manchester to watch the racing on Saturday and then do a taster session on the track on Sunday. This was my first time ever riding a fixed gear bike, let alone on a track, let alone on as renowned a track as the Manchester Velodrome! It was awesome.

I've often thought that the track would suit me - no hills, no corners: it's essentially an endless flat road! I even had a track frame built last year intending to ride at Herne Hill this past summer, but I haven't quite gotten 'round yet to getting all the bits together (the chainset I have my heart set on has been on back order since April). So one day I logged on to buy tickets for Saturday's racing, booked the train, reserved a couple of nights at the Sports City Travelodge and called the Velodrome to book a place on Sunday's taster session and was all good to go within an hour.

The National Championship action on Saturday was good, with the Cyclists With a Disability events especially inspiring, but there was only just enough of a crowd to provide some atmosphere (about 200 people by my reckoning), and a paucity of participants in the women's events. There weren't even enough entrants in the women's keirin to justify rounds; there was just the one medal-deciding race. And even in the men's races the entry lists were less than stellar. I guess it's not a priority for many of our track riders.


Watching Saturday's racing was just a bit of a bonus; what I was really interested in doing was riding the track myself.

I was quite nervous before the session. Being in club kit, I didn't want to totally embarass myself, and I am nearly 10kg over a decent racing weight these days and not at all fit. But I was sure I wasn't the slowest or least capable rider ever to hit the boards at Manchester and I was just so excited and I knew I was going to enjoy it.

There were only 2 other people on the session - both of whom were even less experienced cyclists - and 2 others on the track rolling around the blue line as part of their training towards gaining accreditation. So there were only 5 of us on the whole track, with 2 coaches to guide us from the centre - lots of room to stay out of one another's way!

When I'd booked the session, I had to tell them how tall I was in order for them to determine what size hire bike to give me. When I collected it, armed with the measurements for my proper saddle height and setback, I was a bit disappointed to find that the coaches weren't at all bothered with that. "If it's obviously too low or too high," one of them said, "we'll adjust it." And that was it. Riding around, it was obvious that the saddle was a bit too low, but not stupidly so, so I just got on with riding. This was completely anathema to the way I set my own bikes up - as my weight, fitness, and flexibility change I get one of my colleagues to check out my saddle position. I can definitely feel that the extra half-centimetre of fat on my ass means I need to lower the saddle!

The novelty and excitement of the experience meant that I rode harder than I had for a very long time and, at the end of the session, I found myself with that rasping-lungs feeling that I only too-infrequently push myself to. Brilliant training!

First Mud

There was no London Cross League race this weekend so I thought I'd take the opportunity to show my face at my club's Saturday morning ride - the Park Ride - but to ride Jan (that's what I call my 'cross bike) around the off-road paths around the park to get in some off-road training.

I know the roads of Richmond Park well, but it's a completely different ride on the paths. I did one complete lap and then just stuck to riding up and down the hill between Robin Hood and Kingston gates. Off-road training, hill intervals, sociable post-ride coffees, and I'd even ridden in with a potential new member who lives in my area of East London. Killed a whole week's worth of training and socialising birds with one session.

AND it was a bit wet, so Jan's finally got a taste of the mud he's been designed for!