Sunny week in March!

Some time ago I was invited to a training weekend in the Brecons, Wales, by the Live2Ride road race team. I remember last March well, I did an XC race and it snowed!! Luckily it was the complete opposite this year.

Getting there on the saturday night, it was difficult to make out how good the road riding would be. 

Sunday was a perfect sunny day, the main climb of the day was the Gospel Pass, a picturesque climb, gaining 1500feet in 5miles, perfect! I love a grind! Making an early effort I left the roadies behind, but they were never too far away, 6/452 on Strava, i'll take that. Unfortunatley the descent wasn't quite as much fun. We stopped for a quick drink, as apparentley two bottles is only enough for 60miles. We made our way back to the Beacons where the group split, deciding to make the most of the day we strung a century out along a brilliant valley, until we had to turn around, I won't mention the puncture 0.8miles off 100! always take a pump kids!

Gospel Pass

The second and third days took in the Black mountain climbs in both directions, another great long grind, 25/1997 going north and 17/425 going south, maybe Non-compact cranks aren't too tough! I never realised there were so many great climbs in Wales. We finished the trip with a ride out of Crickhowell, taking in the Llangynidr Mountain, 1,300feet in 4 miles, and the Tumble, 1,260feet in 3miles. A great few days riding, 306miles and 29,000feet of climbing, Wales can compete with the Canaries! in the sun.

A few days of easy spins later and it was off to Wasing for the first round of the Southern XC series, I raced there last year, it isn't a favourite venue of mine due to the lack of long climbs, but it was a lovely sunny day, which made up for it. I was racing in expert category again. I got off to a good start, but struggled to find a way through the group, getting held up initially. I had a few good laps, getting caught by a few masters racers was dissapointing, but I managed to get a 10th, which i'll take, few places up on last year. It was a good end to a long week of riding, getting on for 20hours!

"Spring" Update

It has been a few weeks since i've written anything on here, so whilst i'm taking a bit of time out to recover from overdoing it, and before I head off again for another riding break, here's a blog.

KTM team launch, I headed to Cwm Carn in Wales for a day of riding, chatting and photography, here is a few snaps courtesy of Oli Jepsom and Anthony Pease. It was a fun day, I've still a few reservations about riding in a team but i'm sure it'll work out.

I've not been racing that much, with a long season ahead i'd rather hit the ground running with my long races, rather than loose weekends racing non-important xc races. I did race the 6th round of the Off Camber series, managing a respectable 3rd place despite an 85mile road ride the day before and my rear brake going pop half way through. I will be at the first round of the Southern XC series

Club Lasanta 4 day Stage Race-Lanzarote

I have been wanting to race abroad for a few years, but the shear cost and planning has always seen me taking the easy option. Luckily after my training camp in Gran Canaria went well last year, I knew it could be fairly simple.  I had seen a few posts about the 'Club Lasanta' 4 day stage race, and I’d quizzed endurance legend Ant White about  it, it looked a good option; warm weather, all out of one location, good flight options, cheap local accommodation, a week away from the British winter.

So I recruited a friend, found accommodation and tried to get in shape.

Travelling was relatively smooth, the bikes survived the flight, and the accommodation I found online actually existed. But wind!! Jesus Christ the wind!

The first, short 30mile ride left me totally shattered, battling into a 25mph block headwind, but the riding showed promise, fun trails and sufficient climbing.

KTM Myroon 29er ready for battle

The first stage was a 38km blast! The Fast and furious start saw my heart bouncing of its relatively low limit, but I was well paced and attacking the hills well, made my first stage racing mistake, volunteering to lead the group may seem a good idea, but I was only making my life hard. The stage went quickly, the descents were fun , but had to be ridden with caution due to the loose nature of the terrain. 1:33hr and I was done, a strong ride, 26^th out of 38 elites, and as I wouldn’t class myself as “elite” at these distances I was happy.

Ant White, Me, Adam Hunneyball

Stage 2 saw a less frantic start, a longer 58km stage lay ahead. The gradient was gradual and I was staying clear of leading the pack! After an hour of racing we hit the lava field, a 3mile section of tennis ball sized lava rocks split the pack up, I just wanted to get through without a puncture! The next section was a long drag uphill, this suited me well and I made up lots of places. I found a similar speed rider and we worked well off each other for the  next few miles. 30miles complete and I wanted to shake him off, but every time I attacked he caught me on the next open section where my 1 x 10, 34 tooth gearing lacked top end speed. Eventually I dropped him as we approached Lasanta. 2hrs 37mins, 23^rd elite, 42^nd male overall, moving me up to 24^th elite. 

Stage 3 was a 20km hill climb, from the beach to an observatory 594m above. Sally Bigham had told us it took her 1:04 last year, so I had this time to aim at. I got off to a good start, legs felt ok, but a bit cool after the ride over to the start. I kept an eye on my heart rate and cleared the first section of the climb with my minute man in sight, a short technical descent then a wide open stretch, I’d opted for a smaller 32tooth front chainring, I slightly regretted this as I span out, but it gave me plenty of gear options. The last few miles was a long fireroad drag to the summit, I caught and passed my 2 minute man, then just before the end my 1 minute man. I was happy with my ride, only 40 seconds behind Sally, with a time of 1hr 2mins 43seconds, enough for 37^thoverall on the day, 23^rd elite overall.

Stage 4 was the biggy! a 78km blast, with a 7.5km climb after 37km. I got off to a good start, riders were playing it cool with pacing, which allowed well paced groups to form, I tucked in with a few riders from the UK, the pace increased but had no choice other than to go with it, I tried to keep to my Torq gel and drink intake, but then my GPS ran out of battery! I’m not used to running on instinct but I made the most of feed stations, grabbing gels and bottles of coke. The long climb came and it was my chance to attack, a few off us broke away from the group, climbing well together, I could see Ant white in the distance but it took us the whole climb to catch him! The descent from the peak was loose and fast, I always air on the side of caution, preferring to chase back on, instead of coming off the trail! Me and Ant worked together, catching and gapping a few riders until the final road section where I pulled away, the final section was fun and I felt good, I recognised a few sections of trails and knew it wasn’t much further. I arrived back in Club Lasanta after 3hrs 34, quicker than I had anticipated, finishing 31^st Overall, 21^st Elite.

Aero jersey for the windy last stage

Overall I finished 22nd elite, 37th out of 101 overall, happy with the result for my first stage race, and now I know the format, I think I can improve, but to put things into perspective Sally Bigham beat me comfortably in every stage, James Angus Ouchterlony Heathcote, in the 40+ category was 8th overall…..

The last two days were spent spinning the legs, we had a nice 50mile group ride, taking in some of the larger road climbs, then before catching our flight home we re-rode some of the second stage.

It was a great test of the new bike, it suits me well, and fitted in with the euro whips well. My Strada wheels were great! confidence inspiring through the super rough lava fields and came back unscathed and true.

Looking ahead to 2014

Since my last post I completed the Rapha Festive500k over christmas, 310miles in 5 days, I also raced the 3rd round of the Gorrick Brass Monkey's, It was my second race as part of the KTM Mtb UK race team and it was the first race on my new 2014 race bike, the KTM Myroon 29er. Initial impressions are that the frame has snappy acceleration, it feels very efficient and the slightly smaller frame size make it feel more manoeuverable, i'll write a longer review once i've spent more time on it.

Yes the saddle is high, i've long legs

Back to the race.... I warmed up well, got a good start, but the big boys are too strong for me! I settled into the middle of the pack. The course was muddy, but solid in most areas, apart from a nasty slog over a moorland, but with plenty of fun single track. I was top 10, riding well with a Certini rider, we'd yo yo positions but eventually I dropped him, the last lap felt comfortable and I tried to pick off a few riders, as is my current racing style, I caught sight of 7th place, 10meters before the finish! 8th will do, not entirely happy but competition has been fierce this year, despite several top class riders missing.

I will miss the last round as i'm heading to the sunshine of Lanzarote for the Club Lasanta 4 day stage race, it'll be a new experience for me, but i'm not treating the race result as the be all and end all, its a dose of sunshine to get me through the winter.

 

On my return i'll be getting through the winter, by aiming at some xc races, with other adventures to follow.

 

Thanks to my new Sponsors for 2014: KTM Bikes, Four4th Lights,Torq Energy and Continental Tyres, and for the continuing patience and training expertise from Francesca Bennett

Brass Monkeys Rd.2 (2014 Series)

Round 2 of one of my favourite race series, after a fun xc race the weekend before at the Off Camber series, where I came a strong 3rd behind national level expert and master xc racers, I felt to have some form and speed.

With the usual fast faces on the start line it was never going to be easy! Ceasers camp is renowned for being a hilly course, but that usually suits me. I got a good start, but I knew better than to try and keep up with the front 5! I settled into a group with James Braid from Wiggle and a few others, I held the pace up the hills and sat back during the single track, trying not to make any silly mistakes! this went on for the first 2 laps.

Eventually we split up, the pace was too high for me to sustain, so I hoped to catch them later on. The rain began after an hour or so, light to start but it got heavier so I changed into my Castelli Gabba jersey, such a brilliant piece of kit, it kept me warm and dry without me overheating!

The course was great fun once it got muddy, slippery in places but there was still lots of grip, my lap times dropped slightly, but I stayed 8th, feeling strong. I started my last lap 10minutes before the cut off, the course was much quieter by now, but in the last few miles I caught 7th place, I knew I had to put a gap between us so I upped my pace, then in the last hundred metres I spotted 6th place, I tried to sprint for the line, but I had left it too late! happy with 7th, glad to be in the top 10, few niggles to resolve but happy with my form. We have a short break of two weeks until the next round, where I hope to be riding my new team bike!!

Brass Monkeys Rd.1 (2014 series)

Having changed jobs and moved house November had been a busy month, but I had tried to keep up training from my new location of Poole, it had gone ok and I was getting to know my new surroundings.

I was really looking forward to the first round of the 4 hour Brass Monkeys series, I always enjoy them and it helps to shake the winter blues. The first round was at Minley Manor, which had been the venue for Torq 12:12, my last competitive race. The venue had been logged heavily but the Gorrick crew had still put together a great course, with a mix of singletrack and fire road, with a few sections of bombholes.

I was expecting it to be freezing so I had brought my training rollers to get thoroughly warm before the race. I got off to a good start, although I didn't feel like I had much zip. The first lap went ok, I dropped off the lead group after quarter of a lap but I tried to settle into my own rhythm, but I had the nagging feeling my tyres were too hard, which was knocking my confidence and reigning in my singletrack pace.

At the start of the second lap I caught a tree root at a poor angle and lost the front wheel, which happened to smash into a tree! I went down, but I wasn't hurt, my bars had twisted, I righted them quickly and got rolling but my front wheel was buckled badly, I limped round the rest of the lap. I swapped to my spare wheel and it immediatly felt grippier. I got to work making up the 5+ minutes i'd lost!

The rest of the race went without issue, I felt strong, I made it back up to 12th place, not good enough, but not bad considering. Lesson learnt: soft tyres!!!

New Road Bike: Hong Fu FM066 SL

I've only had a road bike for 18months, and ever since I had a bike fit I've enjoyed riding it, enjoying the connivence of being able to go for a quick ride or an epic with having to think too much!

My first road bike came from Planet X, bought through cycle to work, it was a simple Aluminium road bike with horrible wheels but full SRAM Red groupset, minus the crank, so it was lightweight and climbing well once i'd swapped out the wheels.

Having got on well with my Chinese carbon 29er frames I knew a road frame was worth a try. I'd read good things about the FM066 SL frame, it had geometry which suited my long legs, short torso and long arms, matching the Cannondale Supersix geo. I sourced the frame+fork+bottle cages through a vendor in china, reducing the cost slightly. It arrived within 7 days, packaged well, total cost around £450.

The frame weighed 900grams with mech hanger included, the forks were 340grams. The build was relatively simple; the internal gear cable routing required patience, due to the lack of internal guides: the lack of barrel adjusts made setting the front mech up more complicated: rear mech hanger wasn't completely straight.

The ride feels great, road buzz is reduced over my alu frame and it climbs very well, I had been concerned over the bottom bracket/seat stay stiffness, but my chain catcher which is set very close to the small ring never contacts the chain, even under heavy load. So far i've done around 600miles since getting it 5 weeks ago.

Build specification:

Frame and fork: 56cm Hong Fu FM066 SL
Wheels: H Plus Son Archetype 32H on Hope Pro 3 hubs, Hope Skewers (training wheels)
Tyres: Continental GP 4000s 23c
Drivetrain: Full SRAM Red 10speed, 53/39 crankset
Brake: Planet X CNC Superlight
Seatpost: Thomson Elite 27.2 x 410 (should cut it down but increases stiffness)
Stem: Thomson Elite X2 120mm x -10 deg
Bars: 3T Ergnova Pro 42cm
Pedals: Cheap Shimano SPD SL's
Saddle: Specialized Toupe Expert
Extras: K Edge Garmin Mount, Exposure Light Mount, Unbranded Carbon Bottlecages

Weight: 16pounds 13ounces (15pounds 6ounces with Strada Carbon Tubular wheels)

FM 066 SL