Chasing wheels

I came across Flamme Rouge while having a browse about:

http://www.flammerouge.je

It's a Jersey-based website which offers a lot of very useful information on everything from training to cyclosportives and racing. It's rather well and clearly written and covers most aspects of cycling.

Most useful is the factsheet section which offers guides to training, fitness, performance and so on. I was particularly interested by the cyclosportives section as it contains an excellent overview of the Tour of Flanders event.

Posted by Alex on 27 March 2007, 12:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

I've spent the last few days sat at home trying not to move or cough. Yes, I had "a flu-type virus" which has filled my head with snot, made my lungs rattle and generally caused me to watch too much daytime telly.

I think I'll put it down to not fully recovering after last weekend's exertions, although the illness didn't kick in properly until Wednesday so I'm not sure if it's related. Sometimes being ill can result in much eating of soup and some sort of weight loss but for me it did practically nothing eitehr way, despite me ravenously demolishing large portions of everything in the fridge.

I'm still a bit sniffly and cough-ridden so I'm trying not to get back on the bike too soon but I need to drop into town today to get my seatpin replaced with the right one now that Cyclefit have got the parts in. I also need to sort out gettng a physio to deal with my ongoing left leg issues - tightness at the hip flexor and hamstring going all the way down the leg.

Posted by Alex on 26 March 2007, 08:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Firstly, apologies for my absence over the last week or two. I've been moving house which means a lack of internet access and sleep. It has also meant a lack of hours on the bike which has been rather frustrating.

I was a bit daunted before the 2/3/4 race at Hillingdon on Saturday and after being lapped twice inside 15km I was feeling even worse. I could taste blood in my throat and had that horrible burning sensation that comes from over-exertion. I decided there was no point in killing myself out for three laps down and another DNF (they pull out the lapped riders with 5 to go).

In the end there was a little huddle of us Dynamo fourth cats by the start line as we discussed the relative kickings we had each received. Mine involved going well to start with until I was trying to move up and found myself being squeezed on the corner, leaving me no real option but to go "cross-country" and take to the grass verge. I tried to chase back on but the loss of momentum was all too much for me and I drifted until there was no point continuing the chase.

Cliff also found the grass while Jason, Matt and Mark also gamely hung on until they got lapped. It's all part of the learning experience but it was a painful one. Perhaps I'll stick to the straightforward 3/4 races until I start scoring some points (chance would be a fine thing).

Still Sunday was a better experience, despite the gusting winds trying to blow us all over the road in the Surrey Hills. Best bit: not struggling up hills as much as I usually do. Worst bit: the frankly unhelpful hail storm as we went up Box Hill.

I'll have to cut this short as I need to do some work. Once I have home access again life should be easier.

Posted by Alex on 19 March 2007, 15:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Matt Seaton's weekly musings in The Guardian are a regular read for me as it represents one of the few regular mainstream press pieces on cycling other than just race reporting.

So I was overjoyed to find that the paper has produced a fabulously complete guide to cycling:

http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/guides/cycling/0,,2020192,00.html

There's more to choose from than I've managed to wade through but I've browse a couple of bits of interest, including a nice piece by Robert Elms on Highgate Hill West, one of my favourite patches of London, especially now they're resurfaced the worst bits of it.

Browse and enjoy.

Posted by Alex on 8 March 2007, 02:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Never trust the weatherman, not even one that is electronic and thus beyond human error. Otherwise you might turn up expecting a dry race and get a wet one. Or, as happened on Sunday, a really sodding wet one. Usually it's the spray off the wheels that soaks you, but it was so wet I gave up entirely on worrying about where it was coming from and just concentrated on pedalling.

To be honest my target was to just finish the race: all eight laps and be in the main bunch, which is what the provisional results can confirm. Here's my name among the massed ranks of 12th=:

http://www.surreyleague.co.uk/results/results2007/mar2007/mar4-4.htm

What it doesn't convey is how well I felt I rode. I got up at the front from the start and made sure I stayed there, or thereabouts for the whole race. Just about every lap I was up for attacking, putting in a little dig and making sure I was up the little hill in touch with the leaders. I was shouting when someone tried to go on a break and chased down a couple myself, although somehow we all managed to miss the decisive break when two riders went clear.

We had 11 riders from London Dynamo in the race and we all finished, most of us in the bunch sprint. It was quite impressive to be able to move through the group of 40 or so riders and always be able to pick out a clubmate to tow up to the front or sit on the wheel of. Which is probably why I made the slightly foolhardy mistake of trying to ride a leadout on the sprint. Yes, it was quick but unfortunately it both came a bit early and failed to take one of our team to the line first.

But blinkity flip did I enjoy coming off that last bend and winding it up. The sensation of shifting up, getting down low and then just giving it everything was amazing. I can't tell whether I popped or just got swamped but I remember letting out a huge roar as I hit my limit and riders started to come past me. There were still about 100 metres or so to the line and if I hadn't decided to lead out I might have stood a chance of being in the points.

But points will come I guess and I'm in no hurry to make the leap up the ladder quite yet. I've still got plenty to learn and I'd like to enjoy doing so. Really, at the moment, racing is just a good way for me to get some intensity training done without sitting on a turbo trainer or trying to motivate myself to do intervals.

I do hope there's some pictures at some point because I reckon it must have looked mighty "Belgian" with the rain coming down and a huge peleton whizzing round. Only thing missing were the cobbles.

Time for me to go and rest my weary legs now and dream of Flanders, which is only a few weeks away now.

Posted by Alex on 6 March 2007, 00:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

That's me gasping for air like a fucked pike on dry land at Chertsey. More race pics here:

http://www.londoncyclesport.com/editorialgallery/gallery.asp?uegn=176

That's mainly people not looking quite as riced as me. Still it looks like I'm putting the effort in at least.

Come join me for more of the same this Sunday down at Chertsey for the London Dynamo Surrey League beginners races. There's also a women's race and a E1/2/3 handicap race. And if it's grim weather there's more chance of scoring points cause there'll be fewer people that you'll have to go past to get them.

Posted by Alex on 1 March 2007, 19:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()