Chasing wheels

The Beyond MTB Spring Crits at Hillingdon are the sort of races I have to do - a test of attrition with the 2nd Cat boys hauling along as foolhardy 4th Cats like me try to cling on to the pace. The only way I'm going to get stronger is by getting out of my comfortable "pootling in the 4th Cats" box and pushing my limits in 2/3/4 races.

32 laps of Hillingdon goes by pretty quickly so I'm chuffed to report that I lasted 8 laps before getting shelled for the first time. That's 3 more laps than last year's equivalent race, most of which is down to better race craft and not allowing myself to drift to the back so quickly. The reason I went out the back was that I stopped concentrating on the wheel I was trying to follow and drifted. Had I stuck to my fellow Dynamo "Sneaky" Sneyd's wheel I would probably have stayed in the bunch all the way.

I sat out a few more laps before being persuaded to get back in the back of the bunch and see how I went. I don't usually do this but it turned out to be worthwhile as I managed to stay in for another 8 laps or so before coming off the back again. It adds up to two sessions blasting around at near the top end of my limits for 20 minutes and extending myself, which is the sort of training I really need to improve.

What I was careful about was ensuring I didn't overdo it. It's early in the year and I'm not fully fit so there's no reason to put myself past my limit so much that I get ill in races where I'm not really going to stand a chance of a point. So far this year I've lost a few weeks of training to being too shredded after races to train properly during the week and it's not getting me anywhere so I've decided to be more measured in my approach to what everyone else describes as "training races".

I'll be back on Saturday to have another crack at it with a single intention: not to get dropped for the duration of the race. It's going to need a bit of application but I hope I can manage it.

Posted by Alex on 18 March 2008, 11:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks ()

Looking at my training, the last time I had a decent long ride was 25 February, almost two weeks ago. This is probably not an ideal training plan if I'm going to improve this season.

It's starting to nag a bit in my mind that I'm probably not where I would like to be in terms of fitness this year. Then again it would be much easier if I wasn't so exhausted all the time at the moment and picking up niggling little injuries more often than points. The latest list of them is some sort of muscle pain in my right shoulder, a tightness in my left leg and a bit of a sniffle.

If I were any further from being in some sort of shape I'd probably need home help. Hopefully things will get back on schedule this month with things due to settle back down a bit. I'm going to try and get out for the Park Ride this Saturday for the first time in what seems like forever and then get back into riding during the week to build up my fitness again.

There's a race at Hillingdon on 15th March which I feel like I should be aiming to do although it's the 2/3/4 series that was a brute last year. Why I want to flay myself behind a bunch of 2nd Cat riders I don't know, but given there not much other racing about I feel like I should. Or maybe I could just go training instead. Which neatly brings us back to where we started.

*Sigh* It's not easy is it?

Posted by Alex on 6 March 2008, 10:03 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

That is the observation from Ian Paine as to where I went wrong on Sunday. He's absolutely right. The mistake I made was to allow myself to drift down the field in the final laps.

It's frustrating but I know where I went wrong in the second Surrey League London Dynamo Beginners Series Race which means I can and will improve. I'd better start doing so soon because not scoring points is starting to frustrate me.

My first mistake was to ignore my own observations about the head and cross wind down the straight and first bend and trying to force a break with a clubmate with about 4 laps to go. That put my heartrate right through the ceiling and left me gasping and battling to stay in the bunch. I went back through the group faster than a greased pig out of a butcher's shop.

Stay in the bunch I did, whereas in previous races I've slid off the back of the bunch, which counts as a personal victory. However, it left me with a long way to go to get back to the business end of the race. By the bell I was mid-bunch but failed to work my way up into the first third which is where I needed to be over the lumps at the back of the course.

My speed over the downhill bits got me up a few places but not enough to to contemplate the sprint. Let's face it, if you're forty places back off the last corner with about 1km to the line there's not much point in burying yourself for 12= again. So I sat up a bit and coasted in to the line.

Actually I had a good reason other than lack of personal pride in my finish: getting home to my girlfriend's for lunch in one piece. I've not been doing big miles so far this year and wasn't entirely certain how my body would cope. Acton to Chertsey (20 miles/33km, race (24 miles/38km) and then Chertsey to the far side of Islington (35 miles/56km), counts as a bit of a long one for someone who hasn't even done the Surrey Hills since some time before Christmas.

The good news is that I made it in one piece, managed lunch and didn't pass out on the sofa. The bad news is that my legs hurt like hell for the rest of the day and then I had to ride back to Acton in the rain which means I have to clean the bike this week. Not that it's not due a wash and check.

Really the good news is that I was moving a lot more determinedly and powerfully, barring a small fade round Hampton Court on the way back. Add up the the distance and how I feel and divide by the time of year and it's all gravy (onion to go with sausage and mash) for where I would like to be come July.

Posted by Alex on 25 February 2008, 20:02 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

A busy weekend with two days of racing, none of which went quite as well as it could. First a quick hello to Paul, a reader who races and who I met on Saturday at Hillingdon. It's good to know there's someone out there reading and finding it useful.

Now to Hillingdon, first race of 2008 for me. January was plagued by illness and holidays and I'm slightly amazed to find I failed to get out and race once in the entire month. I only realised this as we were lining up on a beautiful day - bright sunshine, relatively little wind and dry.

The traditional advice would be "Don't try anything, just sit in and finish in the bunch", but tradition and good advice are rarely to be found anywhere near where I am in a race. So guess who decided an ill-thought-out attempt to bridge up to a two man break in the later stages of the race? I'd managed to close down a couple of breaks earlier in the race and wasn't feeling too bad when I started out across the gap. Halfway there and I was feeling strong. One look over my shoulder later and I was sitting up and waiting for the bunch having decided I wasn't getting anywhere.

At this point I should have just slid back into the pack and admitted I wasn't back to full fitness. Instead, I found myself going out the back rather fast and the taste of blood rising in my throat. Knowing I had another race on Sunday and that my fitness isn't where it should be I packed. No point getting ill again trying to get fit.

Sunday was the London Cyclocross League Team Championship and I was in the B Team, hoping to be more than just making up the numbers. The journey out was simple enough: train from Liverpool St to Romford and a gentle enough ride up to Hainault Forest Country Park. So far so good, helped by unseasonal mild weather which meant not too much mud.

Then things went badly wrong. On a warm-up lap something went clunk into a corner and my rear mech hanger snapped. In and of itself, not a disaster. Except that as it snapped it wrapped the mech itself up into the back wheel, bending it into shapes that I'm fairly certain a rear derailleur isn't meant to be. The positives would be that I can probably recycle the jockey wheels and possibly a couple of other parts. Unless of course I can find a way to replace just the cage bit - unlikely.

Luckily for me Russ had a spare bike and with a little adjustment for my size I could still ride. And ride I did, right into last place of the finishers, 4 laps down. It was such a poor performance I don't even plan to shame myself by describing it.

After the race I managed to cobble together a chainline that would allow me to get back to the station and home again. It worked, albeit very slowly, a fact driven home this morning as I limped across town being passed by everyone and their three-legged dog.

Next weekend marks a year since my first proper race so I'll be making the trip down to Chertsey again for the London Dynamo Beginners Series. If you are looking for a place to dip your toe into the waters of racing then I can't recommend it enough - it's a nice wide circuit and there's plenty of riders on hand to introduce you to riding in a bunch. Come on down, you know you want to.

Posted by Alex on 11 February 2008, 15:02 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

By this point in January I was meant to have a hatful of points and be looking at racing as a 3rd Cat. Instead I have a nasty lingering cold and haven't raced since before Christmas. Unhappy with things doesn't quite cover it.

Worst of which is that any fitness gains from a week's snowboarding in the Courmayeur have been entirely eradicated by the following week's flu which has left me feeling about as strong as a newborn kitten, and about half as lively. Even my flat 4km commute currently leaves me a little out of breath and hot. Not where I was planning on being at this point.

I'm trying to resist the urge to train in any way for fear of pushing myself back into illness. It's incredibly frustrating to keep on having to ease off the moment I get up to a decent speed. Even more frustrating to keep on having to stop myself from wanting to race seeing as I haven't done so since before Christmas and I'm really missing both my cyclocross and road racing.

Any tips for speeding up my recovery are more than welcome because it's starting to get on my nerves.

Posted by Alex on 23 January 2008, 13:01 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

It's that time of year when I feel like I'm getting fat and worry about how hard I'll be battling come January to shed the pounds, or rather the kilograms I've put on.

With no race last weekend and work this weekend I feel like I'm plumping up again. I don't feel like I'm riding enough to be as fit as I want to be for next year, although the Cyclocross is helping with that. I currently weigh in at betwen 74 and 76 kg, depending on the prevailing wind and the previous night's menu.

In reality it's not particularly heavy, there are plenty of riders heavier than me out there. It just feels slightly lumpen to me when I aspire to getting down to 70kg for racing next season. I got down to around 71-73 last season but can't help feeling that little bit more off would make a difference.

It doesn't help that I've not been eating well and that my hours and general lifestyle has been a little less than routine of late, but these are the things that every amateur - and no doubt a few professionals too - has to cope with in their cycling life. I know I've said before thatI'm not a pro and there's no reason for me to try pretending that I am in my training and lifestyle, but I would at least like to be a respectable amateur.

The lack of riding makes me a bit fretful and I tend to make it up by riding like a man possessed when I can. So winding it up hard on a 50 minute ride from Acton to Islington via Kings Cross counts as an intensity session and sprint repetitions mixed into one, while the reverse route in 35 minutes counts as a threshold session. No prizes for figuring out which way is up the hill and which is down.

Is this helpful training? If you regard all time spent on the bike as good, then yes. If you think that lack of structure is poor training, then no. I'm just glad I can do any training at all.

Posted by Alex on 4 December 2007, 16:12 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Yet another cycling injury!, originally uploaded by leguape.

This is from last Saturday, I should have posted it earlier. It's gradually healing up but is still a bit sore around the edges. It's at the scabbed over, not quite healed in the middle stage.

I am of course stuck at work this weekend, missing out on what looks like another nice day for Cyclocross. I've been meaning to write some articles for work recently but just haven't quite found the time or motivation.

Interesting article in the Telegraph about British Cycling setting up a women's professional team around Nicole Cooke:

Nicole Cooke at hub of new British team

Aim is to build towards the Olympics and Worlds next year. All sounds very exciting and would be a great draw for getting more women into the sport, which it would really benefit from.

I'll write something more considered tomorrow when I have the day off.

Posted by Alex on 11 November 2007, 16:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

It's come up lovely and it still a bit sore. Have a juicy picture with too much flash:

Posted by Alex on 24 October 2007, 23:10 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

I've not been doing much other than racing and training a bit since the Etape. With my weird work hours I've been feeling knackered so I have laid off training as I'm a firm believer that it's a good idea to listen to your body when it tells you it's too tired.

Thinking about it I haven't done a long ride into the Surrey Hills since I came back but I have been doing shorter one and two hour rides as well as racing. That means the edge has probably gone off my fitness and my season is winding down in terms of the results I can expect. So to make up for this I'm taking me and the bike off the the Massif Central next week to get in a late season refresher and treat.

It's ten years since I first visited the region to be a teaching assistant in Vichy. Back then I was a utility rider who rode my BMX everywhere but never thought of my bike as anything more than transport and freedom to get places. I've been up most of the climbs in the area that mean something to cyclists in cars but somehow I managed never to visit the Puy de Dome, possibly the most iconic mountain in cycling.

It's where Poulidor and Anquetil rode literally shoulder-to-shoulder in 1964 and where Merckx got punched in the gut in 1975. Despite the repeated calls for it to feature again, the local bureaucrats and the size of the Tour retinue mean that it's highly unlikely it will ever play a role in the Tour de France, which is a huge shame given how visually spectacular something like a time trial up it from Clermont Ferrand would be.

There's the slight complication that it's only open between 7 and 9 am on Wednesday and Sunday between May and September so I've been sneaky and managed to make sure my plans allow me to ride it on both days.

I'm also going to ride up to places like La Bourboule and Mont Dore as well as Murol/Lac Chambon to take in some other climbs. In theory I can do a long loop round that would start in Clermont and then follow Puy de Dome > La Bourboule > Mont Dore > Murol/Lac Chambon before returning to Clermont. It would be about a 140km route and would include a lunch stop and refilling in a couple of places. I'm aiming to do that as a big day trip on the Wednesday.

I'm also hoping to the a sentiment trip back to Vichy to retrace my steps and come to terms with some of the ghosts I left there in my youth. I had a fabulous time there, no mistake, perhaps too good a time. That should cover Thursday or Friday daytime.

With a decent forecast for the Saturday I might make a trip over and round to Besse/Superbesse and then back round through Mont Dore. Or alternatively take a longer route through Orcival and then pick up a similar route to the Wednesday ride.

Finally I'll do a shortish ride out on Sunday morning to Puy de Dome to catch it one more time and have a final stretch of the legs before packing down for the journey back. So now I'm mentally committed I have no excuses for not coming back with all plans ticked.

Posted by Alex on 21 August 2007, 23:08 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

I really am very close to winging my bathroom scales out the window. My weight is never the same on the blasted things meaning I've been everything from 76kg to 71kg in the last week alone. How on earth am I meant to measure my weight lose with such variables?

I've been trying to eat reasonably well but I'm not given to cutting things out or the sort of food zealotry that typifies some people's approach to getting in shape for a big event. So, yes I am still having things like fish and chips on Friday nights and takeaways when I've got nothing in or am too tired to cook after a long or late shift.

The reason I'm finding it frustrating is that all this variation doesn't seem to be having much effect on how I feel on the bike. I don't feel much heavier when they say 71 (as they did on Friday) or 74 (as they did this morning) and surely there's no way I can fluctuate that much in such a short time, is there?

More concerning is that since last Sunday's sportif I haven't really been on the bike much other than commuting due to being on the late shift. Back to racing on Tuesday but I expect I'll be a bit off peak form so will have to sit in and behave like I should do.

I've signed up for the Highclere sportif on 10 June as my next distance test before the UK and French Etape. will probably be riding with one of my clubmates, Rich, on the long 115 mile route as we both look for some form before the Etape. Anyone else who fancies riding with us is welcome to join us on the day.

Posted by Alex on 20 May 2007, 16:05 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (1) | 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 ()

Went in for my cyclefitting today at Cyclefit to see if getting my position right would help deal with my various problems. After a couple hours of pedalling, adjusting and measuring I came away feeling much happier about the cause of most of the problems: me.

The advice from Mark was that I need to get back into some semblance of a stretching regime as I'm ridiculously inflexible - he didn't disagree with my opinion that I might as well be made of plywood - and that I should do this after every ride, when I'm warm and limbered up rather than from cold. I have to plead guilty to this as there's no question that I often put off today's stretching until tomorrow.

So it's time to get out my mat and make a point of flexing my muscles properly. Now onto the rest of my woes...

Given that it's my left side that has been causing the most trouble it's no surprise that I came back with a LeWedge shim stuck between the cleat and shoe on that side. The difference in pedalling is definitely tangible as my heel doesn't feel like it's fishtailing through each stroke. My right foot didn't need much doing to it, other than the cleat aligning properly over the ball of my foot.

The most noticeable change is from the custom footbeds that I had done. My feet actually feel properly supported underneath the arches and much more stable when the pressure goes down. It's a novel sensation but not one that I feel uncomfortable with. I'm pretty sure I'll grow to love it over the coming weeks.

Actually, the most noticeable change is at the front end where I had a 4cm plus drop to the bars. This has been reduced to 1cm which was no problem on my everyday Trek 1000 as that's pretty much how it came in the first place. On my Giant it has meant having to foresake aesthetic pleasures in favour of flipping the stem over to give me the more neutral position.

Oddly this commonsense change felt a bit of a blow to my pride as it involves a tacit admission that I'm no pro and should stop dreaming about it. I've been putting off the cyclefit for ages (money the main reason) but I have to say I'd recommend it to anyone who has a niggle or wants to sort out their position on the bike.

So for me it's stretches and building core strength up which are going to be important over the next few months. Which is cheaper than having to build up a new bike, although, while I was there I did take a peek at the Merckx aluminium frame they've got on sale and was severely tempted by it...

I must, and shall, resist buying another bike until at least next winter which is when I may consider building up a cyclocross bike for winter using my Trek 1000 as the place to salvage my parts from and attack to one of cyclefit's Boxer Cross frames. I tell a lie, I may have to get an SRAM Rival groupset fitted before then, if I can get hold of one.

Still, at least I haven't been driven to the sort of bike madness that has overtaken Richard Caseby of the Sunday Times: It’s all about the bike. Well not yet...

Posted by Alex on 11 December 2006, 21:12 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

Having spent most of the last two weeks feeling exhausted and not sleeping properly my body has finally kicked me in the arse and succumbed to the cold virus doing the rounds. Of course it waited until Friday evening to pick up, thus ruining the weekend for cycling purposes.

Over-exertion increases susceptibility to whatever is going round and is traditionally something endurance athletes have to battle against. Except I'm hardly an endurance athlete at the moment given my haphazard training regime and daily commuting. Perhaps I just need to wrap up better against winter - I'm still commuting in just my Rapha jersey, armwarmers and gilet on my top half, kneewarmers and baggies on the bottom half.

Still at least it gives me a chance to dose up on lemsip and assorted other potions and cures, including the classic "jewish penicillin" of chicken soup. In my case this was homemade with a thai twist of fresh chillies and garlic. I did intend to add some ginger but couldn't find any down the Co-op.

I've also finally booked in for a Cyclefit on 11th December so hopefully I'll be able to go into the new year more comfortable on the bike and with my left leg problems a little improved. I'll try and report on the experience if I have time and get some pictures. I'm going to get my "good bike" set up properly and then see if I can't transform my everyday one myself into the right fit as a challenge.

Posted by Alex on 3 December 2006, 11:12 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

The right side of my body seems to be working fine and coming along nicely, shame the same can't be said for my left. If it was just the one thing that was troubling me then I could rest it but it's the whole left side that's causing problems, from the waist down. I woke up on Sunday morning in agony, having overslept, and missed my training ride which would probably have been a waste of effort anyway.

The tight hip flexor is back, nagging away at me like an irritated toddler. But it's the thigh and calf that are more worrying as I've got stabbing/burning type pains in both which come and go and a noticeable lack of power on that side.

A quick rub of the calf tells me it's a bit lumpy and could probably benefit from a good going over with a meat hammer. I've been stretching it as best I can but I'm finding it hard to target the bit that needs a good stretch without it twingeing. Likewise the thigh is tight but I don't seem to be able to stretch the relevant bit properly to ease it off.

A doctor's advice would probably be to avoid cycling until the pain subsides and use some embrocation to help keep it loose. The classic prescription of rest. A physio would probably prescribe a series of exercises and then charge me handsomely for it, although the service is available on the NHS if you push enough.

I may have to go to the doctor and stress how the problems are affecting my mobility on foot, if not on the bicycle. That said, on the bike it isn't load bearing to the same extent so it's not entirely without truth.

And I must start getting some decent sleep...

Posted by Alex on 21 November 2006, 23:11 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

I was hoping to post about racing at Eastway today. Unfortunately my health wasn't so keen on that. My back/hip trouble is back and taking no prisoners and I've still not shifted the remnants of the flu that put me to bed over a week ago.

The flu has mutated into a cough/cold/snot problem. I apologise if you have been witness to one of my displays of hacking, spitting and wheezing this week. The commute has actually been quite helpful in warming up my tubes and getting the lurid green, wallpaper-pasty substances out of my system before getting to work.

Actually it's been a bloody lousy week all round so not racing today was a blessing. I've not been training much really and haven't been out for a long ride in ages. I'm also incredibly grumpy at the moment and that usually results in me riding rather recklessly in general: not bothering to slow at junctions, shouting abuse at anyone getting in my way, contemplating skipping ambers and even reds, hammering it in traffic. All the usual stuff really.

I must get back into some sort of shape, or at least maintain some over the winter if my plan to be more competitive next year is going to be realistic. I've given up pretending I'm going to win any prizes with my ability so the plan is to be at least competitive to make it a bit more enjoyable.

Posted by Alex on 21 October 2006, 22:10 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()

The left thigh is still giving me pain so I'm probably not going to go racing tomorrow. As I'm away next week and helping out at a race the week after, this means my season is, in effect, over. I hope my thigh feels up to it tomorrow but I somehow doubt it.

The worst bit is the sense of frustration at not crossing a finishing line all season. OK I didn't really do anything with the season until the Etape in July but, even so, it is now mid-September and I should have finished at least one race by now. OK a lap or two down but at least not a DNF?

Next season I intend to be riding and racing from the start: early-season races from February, Tour of Flanders 140km at the start of April, the Etape in July (UK or French version, possibly both if possible), Hillingdon series on Tuesday nights throughout the summer.

First though I'm off to the south of Spain to Alejando Valverde's home town of Murcia where by best mate lives. We're going to be going mountain-biking in the afternoons when he gets in from work, so I'll get to discover how rusty my bike handling is on the rough stuff. Apparently one of the climbs were going up is one of Valverde's training hills, not that I'll be going up there fast enough for comparison.

I'm really looking forward to it as it's a chance to just ride a bike for fun and go at our own pace. It's not for training, commuting or racing; just for the fun of messing about on bikes for no particular reason. It's something I haven't done in a while although I've been thinking about getting a "fun bike": something cheap, simple and purely for amusing myself with. Maybe a singlespeed MTB or BMX would be just the thing.

Then again maybe I should stop spending on bikes for a while - my latest thing is bidding for old Peugeot road bikes on ebay for a singlespeed/fixed project. If I can get one for 50 quid and build it up then I'll be very happy indeed.

Posted by Alex on 9 September 2006, 22:09 Digg this | Add to del.icio.us | Reddit | Newsvine | Facebook | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks ()