Boxing Day Cross

Merry Christmas Everyone!

A quick report on the CXNE Round 11 at Temple Park, South Shields. The same venue as my first race of the year and just as fast and enjoyable. Some interesting off-camber bits (which began to defeat me towards the end), fantastic high barriers and fast sections. Not to mention a beast of a headwind!

Off camber concentration.

A good field of about 65 riders was an awesome turn out, especially as the proceeds were going to CRY Charity (Cardiac Risk in the Young). This is a great charity and it was brilliant to see some support for it, especially a condition that can hit the fittest of younger people. Brilliant organisation by Jamie Brady, and credit to him. We had some big local 'hitters' in attendance, (such as the NE Chuckle Brothers) and National Champ Paul Oldham filling his boots on the way to a double winning weekend. All in all, a strong field.

I started alright, but fairly early was in trouble. The race had been put back to 13:30 and I hadn't eaten too well; I soon hit a wall and cursed my lack of prep (despite the 7000 calories I had ingested the day previously), but didn't seem to have any energy. Good nutrition is normally something I manage with, but you live and learn. That is my best excuse for my performance!

I (heart) barriers.

I finished a palatable 25th. Tired and hungry. Actually not too bad, as I've hovered around that positioning this year. My 6th position at Dalton Park TLI will remain my best finish of the year, but a 16th at Barnard Castle, CXNE was my favourite - truly a horrible day, but so much fun!

The end of the Cross season is nigh for me, as I am really looking forward to getting stuck into my endurance training proper again. Long rides, long races and goals for next year are being formulated in my head, but cyclocross is certainly a bug I've acquired this season. Coming to the end of my first ever season of all forms of bike racing, it has been a moderately successful one, with highs and lows, but all-in-all very enjoyable. Progress is slow but promising.

The dream would be to have Todd Wells ability; a penchant for cyclocross and 100 mile MTB races. Quite how you acquire that is the challenge! Offroad is the best road however.

Anyhow, all the best to you for 2012. Keep riding and happy racing :) Many thanks to Mark Mather for the pics, I appreciate your efforts.

Van Dessel: Gin and Trombones

This is a post I've been threatening to write for a while, it is a review on my Van Dessel Gin and Trombones.

I've been riding and racing the bike for a few months so I now feel qualified enough to write a bit about it!

The frameset came from the Bearded Man, David was fantastic to deal with and the framesets arrived exactly when he said they would at a brilliant price.

The frameset is beautiful and paintwork has a very definite Flandrian look!! It arrives with a few extras that show Van Dessel know about what is required by a cross bike, the pot of touch up paint is an especially nice touch as is the frame protection tape on the top tube.

With a carbon rear end and carbon forks it feels very very light. The forks are full carbon tapered forks with an appropriate headset supplied with the frame.  I don't have a crown race installation tool but a rubber mallet proved once again it is the tool for every job!  Expect maybe in the case of the BB 30 bottom bracket which I took the the LBS to get fitted.

My build had to be a bit on the budget side but with TRP brakes, 105 shifters, rear mech, ultegra front mech, FSA gossamer BB 30 chainset and tiagra 10 speed cassette it ended up being much better than expected, this is mainly due to team mate Paul and his endless supply of used parts!

Black bar tape, cables, bars, stem, seatpost and saddle finish the build.  Admittedly, I let the Van Dessel down as these should be more gucci, but yellow bar tape and cables are on there way!

I suppose what everyone is really interested in is how it 'goes'.  It goes really well. Really really well!  Partly this is down to the weight, I haven't weighed the bike but it feels light and is probably sub 8.5kg even in this build. Not only is it physically light when you lift it but more importantly when you ride it.  The frame is incredibly responsive and really does inspire confidence.  I've been happy to ride this bike through the technical bits of the local woods and round the powerline trail at Chopwell Woods.  Obviously anywhere outside a race course the brakes feel pretty under powered compared to disc brakes, again this is something Van Dessel have thought of and the frame already has frame mounts and cable routing for disc brakes.

The frame also has fantastic mud clearance and seems to far better than most of the other framesets at the races, with only one cross bike this sort of feature really is important.

All in all, I love this bike, I'm lucky enough to have a few pretty good bikes but since this arrived I haven't ridden anything else.  In my opinion, that is about as higher praise as I can give the G&T.  I think the only upgrade I need to make is to get a second one for race days or maybe a carbon Full Tilt Boogie!

NECCL Round 6 - Dalton Park

The last race before Christmas. A lot closer to home than my last spin out at Barnard Castle - and still easily a 30 minute drive. Plenty of people drive further than that to race though, and I'm glad I did yesterday...

As the only Cross Club rider around this weekend, I was flying the flag. A scout of the circuit showed it was lumpy and draggy with little opportunity to gain momentum - a good cyclocross course you might say - but I like my dismounts and hills! Plenty of off-camber fun to keep me entertained though. With another poor start due to unfortunate positioning further down the grid, I had to fight my way forward and took some risks, running wide once or twice. I managed to clear a large portion of the field but it was a bit late to catch any leaders.

I worked hard to reel in a few riders - saw punctures, crashes and mechanicals knock out others - while keeping my effort up; certainly I need to improve on some aspects of my race, but I know my endurance is good, so I kept up the pace...

Rapha ran a program called 'Cross Clash' featuring Tim Johnson and Jeremy Powers racing each other. One of the things it featured was about 'battles within a race' - if I beat you, I win. There are always riders you have a good battle with, and today it was Ian Jefferson from Infinity Cycles. He got a great start, and once I got into my rhythm I had him in my sights for the majority of the 50'. I worked very hard to close the gap, and managed to pass him at the start of the last lap, in the end winning a sprint against another rider whom I'd battled with throughout as well. Great fun.

I love this about cyclocross; we may not be at the level of the leaders (yet!) but those skirmishes, that changing of position, pushing yourself, your bike handling and the feeling of the chase... well, it really keeps you on your toes, and makes you a better and fitter racer.

From what I garner, I claimed a top-1o finish. Despite a few strong riders missing, including my team mates, it was my best finish of the season - and that was with a poor start! So I'll take it. I worked hard. I enjoyed it. What else matters?

To use another Rapha catchphrase - 'Keep Cross and Clash On'.

Merry Christmas.

TLI Cyclocross National Championships Gateshead and CXNE Round 9 - Barnard Castle

We've been a bit slow at race reports lately so this is a 2 for 1 deal!

First off Cross Club headed to Gateshead for the TLI National Championships.  Paul, Neal and I headed to a very windy Gateshead, the Met Office had an Amber warning out due to the wind speeds but a decent crowd of about 60 riders still turned up.

Usually I like to write about how much I enjoyed the course, this time, nothing could be further from the truth! It wasn't really the course more the fact that the wind killed me!  There were a couple of climbs into the wind with one particularly horrible climb only to be hit by the wind as you crested.

My awesome Van Dessel ready to role



It was a tough race and it felt like I spent the rest of the lap recovering from the hill.  Neal had a great race and Paul was going well until he punctured and had to run most of a lap.  Luckily one of the Blackhawk riders lent Paul a bike so he could complete the race.

I'm not sure about the results but I think Neal was inside the top 15, Paul was about 18th and I managed a personal best at around 22nd.

So for a tough race it ended up going pretty nicely!

Next up was Barnard Castle last weekend.

This was my first real taste of Cyclocross weather!  Up until now all my races have been dry and I've only needed to wear bib shorts and a jersey.  Barnard Castle brought freezing rain and sleet and along with it arm and leg warmers and a gillet!

After completing a practise lap, the warm up consisted of sitting in the car with the heater on full!

With Paul in Belgium enjoying waffles and beer and Rich racing at the next round of the duathlon series it was left to Rob, Neal and I to fly the Cross Club flag.

The course was great and at 1.7 miles it felt like the longest course this season.  The course had a couple of barriers, some tarmac and some sticky mud!  Just about perfect.

Neal riding it like it's on rails 

With the North East Championships on the Sunday the Saturday was providing an opportunity for some of the big guns to have a practise on the course.  With Paul Oldham showing us all how it is done.

Me following Nev Martin

I had a great race fighting hard with Nev Martin from Infinity Cycles and Dave Charman from Blackhawk bikes.  The three of us battled for most of the race with Nev pulling out a lead in the last section of mud and me getting in front of Dave on the tarmac to the finish.  Next time I think I will let Nev follow me across the line!

Rob and Neal both had great races, with Rob managing to meet the cut off for an extra lap.  This gave me and Neal the chance to recover and then laugh at the pain on Rob's face when he crossed the line.

As a treat I had invited my parents to come and watch this race, the weather made wasn't perfect but it was good for them to see what it is all about.  It didn't take long for my Dad to get the hang of Cyclocross, at the end of the race he even had a few tips.  Basically I need to go faster at the start and then just stay in front of everyone! I suggest you all watch out at the next race as I now know what I've been doing wrong.

The race was also the first outing for the Crossclub kit.  Thanks to the sponsors Apex Acoustics Ltd and Bearded Man. 

Whinlatter Duathlon

In an attempt to keep this winter varied, I'd been looking for alternative races to have a go at, aside from cross. Whinlatter Offroad Duathlon caught my eye as being pretty soon, as well as being at Whinlatter - somewhere I know the riding to be good and pretty tough.

I managed to rope in Shonah to complete the two running sections, which sandwich the bike racing, and we entered as a mixed pair.

Sho was off first, completing a 7km run, which she later told me was so steep in places it required 4 points of contact! She came into the transition area in top end of mid pack, holding pace with some wiry looking blokes and with distance between her and some of the other women - I was chuffed to bits and set out at full tilt on the 20km bike route, fuelled by Clif Shot Bloks and 2 of the Gels kindly provided by the guys at 2Pure. If you haven't yet tried these products, make it a must do for your next event!

I was soon into maximum effort and seemed to be overtaking plenty of people, eventually catching the guy who was riding as part of a mixed pair who had won the previous events. Making sure to pass him at full speed at the same time as trying to make it look effortless (a technique taught and perfected by Neal of cross club), I set to building as big a gap as possible to ensure Sho could have a bit more of a comfortable time of it come the final run.

I came into the transition absolutely on the limit, but was pleased to only see perhaps 7 or 8 bikes back and handed over to Sho who duly nailed the run and brought home Cross Club's first podium - first place in the mixed pairs!

Unfortunately the Cross Club kit hadn't arrived for the race and so the "podium" picture is unfortunately a bit non descript!

All in all, a cracking day. The riding was excellent and, as predicted, relentlessly tough.

Even more pleasing was the fact I managed 3rd fastest overall bike split. Chris Hope (lakeland mtb folk hero) and the overall winner beat me by about 30 seconds. Full credit to these guys - they'd ran the 7km and still managed to smash the ride!!

Next round of the series is next sunday, where we have to go and try and maintain our position in the series. The whole event is a bit longer - I'm hoping this suits me better, as short events are not really my forte!

Cross Club Kit touches down

After many iterations, logo placement sessions for supporters and sponsors, we have finally taken delivery of the new Cross Club kit. Early impressions are good and the design looks really really good. All acknowledgement for the great design lies at the door or Dunc (of here come the belgians fame) - he's pulled a blinder!

Below are a few words from Rob who seems to be the only guy to have actually modelled his kit so far! He asked me not to use this photograph, but until better ones arrive, I think it's fine!

"Finally, our own team Cross Club kit has arrived! Great quality from Champion Systems, I am personally very pleased with the fit as well – the ability to try ‘size samples’ prior to confirming the order was of great help to check, and if necessary, change our choices. A great thank you goes to Apex Acoustics and our other sponsors for the support –we’ll see the company name at some more cross races as well national Mountain Bike races and more off road duathlons come the 2012 season, and hopefully on podiums! It’s nice to know that our riding and racing preferences, and that we literally cross all of cycling’s best distinctions, are reflected in a smart kit that we can use all year round."

If you like the kit, please let us know, as there are plans to get further runs completed...

Cross Club heads to Durham

Last Sunday Cross Club headed to Durham for round 7 of the CXNE.  Racing within 30 minutes of your front doors and starting at a sociable 12.30 are seriously positive points!

It was the first time that the University Cricket grounds had been used for a race and there had been a lot of discussion about the course before we arrived.  I had been to the cricket ground before and was confidently telling everyone it would be a really fast course with no hills.  It turns out that I couldn't have been more wrong!

I know I say this every blog, but this course is now my favourite.  With some long fast flat sections, a decent set of stairs, some steep descents and the 'Mur de Durham'.

With over a hundred rider this was by far the biggest cross race I've done.  A toilet trip before the start meant I was starting towards the back of the pack again!  As usual the start was furious, the course had been modified for the first lap with the tight turns taken out to avoid bunching.  As we raced along the river bank we went through a large gate and turned towards the steps.  Before the race started I had already realised that the steps would be a bottleneck, so I pushed hard to reach them quickly.  Unfortunately, the queue had already started and I was stood stationary with other riders holding my bike on my shoulder. As I reached the top of the steps I could see the riders that had cleared the steps first and they were well away.  It meant I would have to push hard to catch them, but it's always nice to have a target ahead of you!

Me trying to make up a few places.  With a face like that I must be flying!

The course was pretty muddy and within a couple of laps it was fairly chewed up, the 'Mur' and another hill were both scrambles with bikes on shoulders.  This was the first race I have had to shoulder the bike but I soon got used to it.  I like it things turn muddy, the racing gets more exciting!  Within a few laps I was passing people I am usually behind in the standings, I felt good and I was enjoying myself.

I think Rob had given it everything (the 'Mur' is in the background)

As the bell rang I gave it a good push and made up a couple of places in the last lap.  I'm still not a fast cross rider, but I am getting better and managed to hold off the lapping I usually get from my team mates, well, all expect Paul who was, as usual, on a flyer.

Both Rob and Paul both had good races.  Robs bike even held together which is a fantastic result for him!  It must be the Gucci new wheels he treated himself to.

As usual I have borrowed the photos from the league website and I would like to thank whoever they belong to.  I would also like to thank the event organisers, another brilliant race and a fantastic course. 

I really do love riding Cyclo Cross!

Stuff I like

I guess I need to narrow it down a bit otherwise we will all be here for a very long time!

Recently, I have been trying some different energy products and chamois cream. We all know what it's like, you find some products you like, start to use them and then can never risk trying anything new in case you either don't like it or worse, it reduces your performance on the bike.

I think it is important to be honest in these blogs, so I will be up front and admit that 2pure kindly sent Cross Club a few products to try. There was no obligation attached to the products and while it would be rude to right a bad review, if I didn't like the products you wouldn't be reading about them!

First of all, Cliff Bars, I'd used these before and had been impressed with them. Rather than the standard range of citrus flavoured energy bars, these are the sort of flavours you might buy at the mid ride cafe stop.

I tried the Chocolate Chip bars and they taste good! In fact they taste so good it was hard to leave them only for the rides! Unlike many energy bars these aren't too sweet, and although I as yet haven't done a long enough ride to warrant more than one bar I know that they wont become sickly and too hard to face.

The other thing I like about Clif Bars, probably one of their best bits, is that they aren't like a chewy sweet! You can bite some off the bar without the fear of losing you teeth and you can eat them while continuing to breath!

Cross Club ride a lot in the evening after work, this can mean by the end of the ride it has been a long time since lunch! Usually this isn't a problem and is sometimes even the point of the ride. Last week I was pretty hungry before the ride so decided to break out an emergency Clif Bar. Bars aren't like a caffeine gel with an almost instant energy boast, they release the energy more slowly and over a longer period of time. During the first part of the ride I didn't notice a difference in my performance but towards the end when my energy levels would normally be dipping, I felt great! I had plenty of energy and push the other Cross Club riders pretty hard, everyone knows its good to push your mates, so this was a great result!

I've also been using the Clif Shot Bloks and Gels. I've mentioned these before and Rob has done a detailed review so I will keep things short. Both of these products have been great with the Shot Bloks becoming a particular favourite of all Cross Club riders. Both are available with and without caffeine.

A great idea on the gels is the packaging is a tab on the side which holds the ripped off top. There is always the problem, albeit relatively small, of where to put the bit you rip off the top of the gel, is is a pain to hold an open gel and put the top back in your jersey pockets without getting in a mess. The tab is only a small thing but it is the sort of attention to detail that is good to see.

Talking about package, wow, my blogs are cool! I have also been using Chamois Butt'r, this is as good as any other chamois cream I have used before, it does everything you would like a chamois cream to do. What I like is that it comes in a squeezy tube as well as a tub, this means you can lend it to your mates without the fear of a double dip!

As I said at the top, I would only blog about stuff I like, even if we get sent it for free. Saying that, I'm pretty sure I would like most carbon tubular wheels, hospitality tickets to the cyclocross world cup and a decent van!

Next time I promise to blog about actually riding my bike! Unless those wheels turn up!

Middlesbrough Mudfest (well, it was a little bit muddy!)

This week the northeastern component of Cross Club has mostly (entirely) been racing in Middlesbrough. The Geordie / Smoggy rivalry was about to reach fever pitch in an NHS carpark in Eston Hills, Middlesbrough. Who cares about football, we were riding round 5 of the NECCL!

With the van loaded with bikes Paul, Rob and I head to Eston Hills to meet Rich and his long suffering girlfriend Shonah. We arrived in plenty of time to get all the bikes set up, sign on, have a few practice laps, get some caffeine filled shotblocs down our necks and complete the obligatory 5 pre-race trips to the toilet!

In fact, we had so much time Rich decided to do a bit of pre-race bike fettling. We all know this is a bad idea before a race but with spare time on our hands Rich found it too hard to resist. After oiling his chain nearly resulted in a lost finger we decided to go and find the start line! (finger was treated with oily rag and electrical tape).

Previously I have made the mistake of starting too far towards the back, this time I made sure I had a prime position one row back from the front. In the end the start turned out to be pretty wide and one row back from the front was also the last row of the grid!

The start line

The course was interesting with a nice set of barriers, woodland singletrack, some grassy slogs and some very wet mud. There were a few slippy corners and I was glad that the night before the race I swapped my Vittoria tyres for Challenge Grifo's. The difference was incredible, massive amounts more grip and I didn't really notice any difference in the rolling resistance, this could have been because everything was caked in grass and mud within a couple of laps.

Rich enjoying (as much as is possible in a 'cross race) the singletrack

I am still getting used to 'cross racing but I felt good and the course was fun and suited me. Pushing hard, I was keeping up with guys that had been distant figures in the last couple of races. After a couple of laps I has settled into a good pace with a rider from M Steels and a rider from Blackhawk bikes, it was hurting but it felt good!

Team mate Rob was having another mechanical nightmare. After last weeks smashed rear derailleur, a snapped chain 50 yards from the house on Saturdays training ride, race day brought him a nice front puncture and a retirement. We need to get some spare CrossClub wheels!!

Rob (number 20) approaching the barriers

As I approached the barriers for maybe the fourth or fifth time my chain got stuck behind my cassette. I tried to pull the chain out but it was jammed solid. At this point Shonah ran over and offered a helping hand, while she held the bike I pulled the chain with both hands and managed to free it. This all took the best part of a lap with both Paul and Rich who were already close to lapping me coming passed at least once and probably the best part of twice! With some encouragement from Shonah probably along the lines of "smash it" I went out to finish the race. I had lost a lap but I had also lapped a couple of people so I wasnt going to be last! Anyway, racing is better than the turbo!

Paul clearing the first barrier

A couple more laps and I heard the bell, after rejoining the race I managed to catch up with the M Steels rider I had been with earlier, obviously I was a lap down but he didn't seem to realise. As we went for the line I did something rather unsporting and put a decent dig in, with an additional lap in his legs he couldn't follow. It is horrible being beaten on the line, so I made sure I went over and explained I was a lap down straight after the race, well almost straight after.

Me at the finish line

A couple of mechanical but a brilliant race none the less. My favourite course this year and a little bit of sunshine. The results aren't yet out but both Paul and Rich had good races so will hopefully be fairly high in the table.

Big thanks to the organisers, Shonah for her help and encouragement and the NECCL gallery where I borrowed all of the photos.

Oh yeah, when I emailed everyone to ask if they wanted any high or low lights adding the the blog Rich replied with 'Yeah a particular low light for me was the smell of fresh dog eggs near the barriers towards the end of the race' Haha, brilliant!

Day of the Derailleur

So far this cross season courses have reflected the lack of bad weather we have had, firm and fast would be good descriptors for the courses up until last weekend.

Whickham, RD3 Neccl, changed all that … although the weather on the day was fair, no rain and mild, the fact the course sits nicely on a hillside and previous days of rain gave rise to the usual sticky mud that this course is known for.

The course itself was a great mix of a slippy long descent with switchback corners to try and negotiate … a long drag/run back up to the bmx track then even a section of wooded singletrack before a ride back to the pits and a slippy set of corners before starting the descent again.

What Whickham is really famous for is the course mix of sticky mud and sections of gravel which tears off mechs and hangers at will !!

Unfortunately the first victim of the day was Cross Club rider Rob Walker, snapping a rear mech on his practice lap so was resigned for the first time this season to the sidelines and took on the role of team heckler.

I managed to get a good start but a lead group formed ahead of me that I just couldn’t get across to… I need to work on this … Soon enough the race began to develop at a fast pace as the course started to take its toll quickly on bikes.

Quicker than I could reel riders back the course was tearing their bikes up … as the laps went by the lead group had been decimated by mechanicals and although I lost a few places later in the race I still found myself in 5^th place at the end.

Other cross club placings included Neal Wesley who although had a mid race puncture and had to take a spare wheel that as it turned out was running near road pressures still managed to battle on to a 10^th place finish.

I would like to take this placing as a move forward in terms of fitness but in reality the field was thinned by the course devouring their bikes, I prospered on this occasion as the trusty Fuji held together although it had gathered its own weight again in mud during the race.

I am more and more motivated to get back up to the front of the field and now I have the support and friendly competitive element of the Cross Club riders as an extra driving force.

Photographs thanks to Grace and Jay

My weapon of choice

With the recent flurry of posts about shiny new bike builds I was feeling a little left out so thought it about time I chipped in with my own weapon of choice for this 2011/2012 season.

I feel a degree of loyalty to this machine as it was the main facilitator allowing me to get back out on a bike after breaking my knee cap … far easier than pushing a singlespeed gear everywhere and off roads where I could potter along at my own speed.

The bike is a loaner … gratefully sent to me by the kind folk at Evans Cycles just to get the Fuji name out and about.

The bike remained stock for a few months as I used it for riding and training but as racing loomed the itch to ‘spice’ it up set in and I finally started to lavish some time and money on it.

First to get replaced where the stock wheels, although clinchers are fine and good nothing beats cyclocross tubs when it comes to grip… I had a set of Zipp wheels mooching around the garage so after a friend, Rick Perry, gave them the once over and fettled any little cracks that had began to surface I had a local shop glue on a set of Tufo Cubus tubs tyres. The Cubus is an out and out mud tyre with great grip in the worst of conditions.

Once the wheels were set the brakes came next … a bargain find set of TRP Euro carbon canti’s where had when a shop misplaced the box and fittings … a set of Swiss stop yellow pads later and I had brakes that worked enough to be useful.

Drivetrain was changed as the bike had been used and abused by journos as a test bike before me so new chainrings, 46/36, and a new cassette, 12-28, were fitted along with a new chain.

My final finishing touch was to remove the not so mud friendly white bar tape and replace it with black … and for true US styling added the shotgun cartridge bar end plugs ..

So far the bike has had a few outings although with my fitness still lagging behind the bikes capability there has been no stand out races… I hope to remedy this by the new year if not before.

Night riding time !!!

Well thats it ... it is no longer possible to even get a cheeky hour in after work without lights so there is no other solution other than to embrace night riding.

2Pure are the UK distributers for Niterider lights ... this video showcases the 2012 range ...

Showing us how its done...

Most cross riders would look at a pair of jump boards, set half way up a slight ascent, with a hard right angle bend at the top as an obstacle that would be best run than ridden.

Ian Wilkinson (Endura Racing) does not fall into the category of most cross riders, as we found out at the CSP-Hope Barnoldswick Bash today.

Despite being involved in a ding dong battle for a podium place with Giles Drake (Team Elite) Wilko couldn't help styling it up on the boards!

A weekend of kickings...

What with being offshore with work and weekends away etc, time on board my new Gin and Trombones has been minimal - zero in fact. And so it was that I thought it a good idea to 'test' it all works OK after the week long build procedure, on the usual saturday morning road ride.

Arriving at Paul's house and seeing him on his road bike and Adam with road tyres on, I knew it would be a tough day, but in my ignorance, didnt think to change over to road tyres as well, or even increase the pressure to something greater than 50Psi.
The first 40 miles were bearable. There was no chance I could keep up in the usual race for the cafe, but I was willing to accept it. After the espresso and food stop, things rapidly started to go downhill. Pedalling became laboured and forced and I started to drop off the back. Adam did the honourable thing though and helped nurse me back the final 20 miles or so, all the time my legs burning, eye sight flickering and every thought occupied with food.

Saturday afternoon was an exercise in damage limitation as I got the compression tights on and inhaled bags of pasta in prep for the 'proper' event of the weekend - Round 6 of the CXNE series at Bedlington.

With my cross experience pretty limited, I was perhaps a bit eager and made sure I was pretty close to the front for the start.
The start was the usual frantic pace with Neal getting a flier and me perhaps 4 places back, somewehere possibly in the top 20. Neal and me then had a good race, with plenty of position changes - him strong as ever on the flats and draggy parts, me able to make up ground on the climbs.
Paul had another man size slice of bad luck breaking a chain not long after catching me, ending his race yet again. Sure his time will come yet.

My chronic lack of top end fitness reared its head again (as was to be expected having raced no event shorter than 3 hours this year!), but the finish soon came - a bit of a surprise to be honest. 50 minutes flys by at a rate.
No ground breaking results, possibly top 20, but more importantly, the Van Dessel was brilliant and the first race and it's associated nerves is now out the way.

Time to start training for this cross malarky.

Baptism of Cross Fire

This weekend was a first for both me and my bike. I finished my Van Dessel Gin and Trombones build a couple of weeks ago but due to wheel problems I hadn’t had a chance to ride it. Fed up of my whinging about wheels Paul offered to lend me his spare set for the weekend. This is what the bike looked like with Paul’s wheels

Apologies for the state of this photo, I will get some better ones soon! As all three of us with Van Dessel Gin and Trombones from the Bearded Man have finished our builds, I will write a blog about how each of us has built up their own bike and the specs in the near future.

Back to the weekend!

Saturday was an early start and a training road ride with Paul. I decided I’d better test the Van Dessel and make sure everything worked as I thought it should. With road tyres fitted we set of for a few hours with some intervals in the middle to spice things up. Having never ridden a ‘cross bike, let alone the Van Dessel I wasn’t sure what to expect. The bike was perfect, well balanced, light and responsive. I was chuffed, the bike worked well and an inspired confidence, all that was left to do was to put some cross tyres on and have a go at my first cross race.

So Sunday arrived. As I said, I’ve never ridden a ‘cross bike before let alone raced one, so it was with a little trepidation that I turned up to round 5 of the CXNE league. As fantastic as the bike is it deserves a solid performance, unfortunately I was the rider. The VD’s first public appearance was me making a prat of myself in the carpark practicing my dismounts / remounts. Dismounts / remounts turned out to be pretty tricky and I instantly regretted my comment of “it is only getting on and off the bike, I’ve done that every ride so far” – what an idiot! After much hilarity, mainly at my expense, we test rode the course. With much relief we finished the first practice lap without needing to dismount, this meant I only had to deal with some tricky off camber sections; a very lucky escape.

Pre-race prep followed the tried and testing cliff bar and a hand full of shot block formula. The start was the usual mass of some smug, some nervous and some already knackered looking faces. I was concerned that with my lack of experience I would mess up someone else’s start so picked a position somewhere towards the back of the pack. This was a bit of mistake, I hadn’t realised how quick the start would be, by the time I crossed the start line it seemed like the riders at the front were already half way round the course, from now on I will be at the front (probably messing up everyone else’s race)!

The racing was brilliant, much more exciting than I expected and demanding a level of rider skill which means that even the road whippets don’t have it their own way. The sunshine also helped!

Usually, I ride and race for longer than one hour and I am always making a conscious effort to keep something back. I found it really difficult to get out of this mindset and found myself backing off when I felt myself go into the red. I’m not saying I could have gone much, if any, harder but I was learning about the bike and the style of riding all the time. I am amazed how hard you can corner and how little you have to brake!

At the end of the race, while my position was nothing to write home about, I had learnt a lot about the bike, cyclocross racing and had achieved a couple of the aims I started out with. I made it to the end and I didn’t come last! I am already looking forward to next week!

Finally a thank you to my team mates Rob and Neal who fielded all my rookie question and tried in vain to teach me how to get on and off a bike without coming to a complete stop! And to Paul for lending me the wheels.

Oh yeah, and while I think about it I made another rookie mistake. I took my girlfriend along to cheer and pass water bottles. This backfired massively, as I spent the rest of the day doing things I hate paying off the ‘brownie points’ she earned. She also had a conversation with other WAGS and nearly discovered the true cost of cycling. Luckily, realising the danger the WAGS were split up and made to stand separately, maybe this should be a rule at all bike races?!

Versatility of the machine

Some amazing bike handling on the Ibis Hakkalugi ....

Local trails ala cx from Andy Wardman on Vimeo.

I guess most cross courses pose no problem for this guy :)

A real testament to cross bike versatility

Dismounts, Remounts; Ups and Downs

Well, that's bike racing - I've personally had some mixed fortunes this weekend. It was worth it though. Saturday brought a 5 hour round trip to Lake Windermere for Round 1 of Rapha Super Cross, good atmosphere but a poor start and a bike clagged with mud meant I was not going to be able to compete in this field. A hell of a lot of riders starting also made it very difficult to get stuck in... I actually had to stop mid-race to clear mud from the wheels as I literally could not ride. A helpful marshall informed me I'd 'lost at least 30 places'...

There is never a time when this information is gratefully received.

My fantastic support team, composed of Rich Holland and girlfriend Shonah Dobson (to whom credit is due for the accompanying photo) were there to give encouragement and cowbell-rings, despite my headshakes and grimaces throughout. Always a great lift every lap, even if I couldn't produce a placing to warrant their support.

Despite my issues, it was great to see Tony Fawcett (Blackhawk Bikes) and Adam Martin (Cestria Cycles) absolutely kill it up front. The self-named 'North East's answer to the Chuckle Brothers' (on bikes) stormed round and won some Rapha swag in the process. Good to see, and some great banter to be had post-race with them, as well as Kenny, and support team Graeme and Mrs Fawcett. Furthermore, it was enjoyable to sit in the sun and watch the elites slog it out through the mud with a beer.

As for Sunday... a much more enjoyable course at Gateshead Stadium, fast and dry, provided more of a chance with some cheeky off-camber sections. After a ride over to loosen the legs and a great start for me, I found myself sitting with 2 MTS riders in the top 15 and feeling good; then disaster, a third-lap puncture! I ran back to the pits and borrowed a wheel, managing to get back in to the mix, but not as quickly as I'd have liked, and I was pretty much done for. Moreover, I'd been having some serious trouble with my hands from the previous day; huge blisters on my palms had developed and my hopes of managing the damage failed spectacularly.

Cross Club riders Neal Wesley and Adam Cooke did well; Neal making up for last week with a great ride and Adam in particular putting in a good shift for his first ever cross race. I personally can't make too many excuses though, as Tony Fawcett, Adam Martin and Kenny Haswell again put on a great race and completed the 1, 2, 3 respectively.

All in all, a disappointing weekend of racing in terms of positioning and performance, but lessons have been learnt and some good laughs made up for it. As always, I'd do it all again; its certainly better to have a bad day on the bike, than a good day in the office...

Enjoy your riding and racing everyone, and just think; if you did have a bad weekend, it could have been worse - you could have crashed into a cameraman...

This blog post goes out to all who had a bad weekend, but particularly Niels Albert - Chin up mate, there's always next week :)

2pure and Clif - I can't believe it's not butt'r

Since the inception of Cross Club exciting things have been happening. Some fast, some slow and some surprising. New kit design was finalized and will be coming in the next month or so. Fast and slow.

One of the surprises was team support from 2pure. You'll have perhaps knowingly and unknowingly ingested, applied or ridden one of their products - from Chamois Butt'r to Crank Brothers they have a big range.

Image borrowed - thanks for the loaner!

Having used them the most however, I have something brief but appreciative to say about their range of Clif products, and one in particular. Indeed, I've enjoyed Clif bars before in training and racing, but a revelation in nutrition occurred this summer in the form of Clif Shot Bloks.

24 hour racing - just a sample of our nutritional intake.

Racing 'Sleepless in the Saddle' 24 hour MTB race as a pair with fellow Cross Club rider Rich Holland, we decided to give Shot Bloks a go. They didn't disappoint. Coming in a variety of flavours, packed with complex carbohydrates, electrolytes and (some varieties) the all important 25mg of caffeine, they were not only ideal for such a race, but also proved to be the only thing I could consistently stomach during my 24 hours of racing. I cannot recommend them highly enough, and as above, they took pride of place in our selection of energy products.

As you can see we used a bunch of products and of the above, they were by far the easiest to stomach, the best tasting, and the thing I took out on every lap.

And so it was an easy choice to write about a product I rate very highly. Both Rich and I went through a substantial amount of them and I have chosen Shot Bloks of all flavours to devour prior to, and during many races since (Kielder 100, and cyclocross, showing they are ideal for any length of race).

Give them a try and you'll be impressed too :)

And so it begins...

My first taste of cyclocross racing came last October, and despite its reputation for being miserable anyway, it was awful. Unknowingly carrying a knee injury and riding my MTB, it was a baptism of fire to say the least, at a muddy but fast Temple Park in South Shields.

So it was with a sense of unfinished business I approached my first cross race this year at the same venue. Armed with a proper cross bike, some summer riding and a goldfish memory I rocked up at a balmy Temple Park on Saturday. Quickly joined by fellow Cross Club riders Paul Errington and Neal Wesley, we scoped out the opposition and compared tyre pressures..

"See that Dutch lad in the tiny car? He won the World Cup..."

Rumours of Belgians and Dutch pain merchants abounded; and that was just the start, as Paul Oldham, Steve Lampier et al also warmed up... not to mention Kenny Haswell! A scout of the course showed it was quite quick, a good dismount on the back section and a sandpit providing the only obstacles.

Northwest Kneewarmers embrocation liberally applied, some of my favourite Clif Shot Bloks devoured, and at 2:30pm the race began. A chaotic start with the large (some mention of 100 riders) group meant bottlenecks at the first taped section. Still, the field soon spread out with the top 10 moving away swiftly. I thought at the start I'd try and stick to Paul's wheel. Having trained together a lot and having been lapped by him the previous year, I knew he could put the power down and I couldn't bear to be passed again... early on in the first lap though, I felt good enough to make a cheeky pass, and latched on to a group of 3 other guys.

The 4 of us put in some good shifts, each doing well in different parts of the course and working hard. The dismount/remount worries prior to the race were unnecessary; although the guy who's saddle snapped off his post mid-remount next to me will surely have had sore nuts this morning. The sand pit was good fun; 'just power through' was the general consensus.

It came with a sense of certainty that I heard Paul Oldham politely ask for room on the right as he lapped just before the bell. Only a group of 4 remained at the front though, showing how fast it was despite the National Trophy the next day (The Dutch guy in the tiny car won both, in the end - beating Oldham to second on both occasions).

With the bell we pushed hard; I tried an attack and shook 2 of my fellow sufferees, but was pipped through the sandpit by the third to the line.

Note to self; don't attack too early.

All in all, a seemingly decent result for a first race, and thoroughly enjoyable regardless. With the unexpected congratulations of a good race from Paul and Neal, I can only look forward to next week and a trip (possibly) to Windermere for Rapha Supercross, and then Gateshead for the CXNE on Sunday.

Unfortunately I am no doubt a marked man in Cross Club now, and expect to get my arse handed to me by Paul soon enough.

Until then, though, I feel the Temple Park demon has been laid to rest after last year, and look forward to more. Bring it on :)

Spirit of Cross

Flandrian Flag? Check. Knee deep mud? Check. Baying hoards of spectators? Check.

Brilliant picture.

Big Maggys Coffee

Cyclocross wouldn't be complete without a skinsuit, expensive skinwall tubs, embrocation and most importantly coffee !

Most rides are started or finished with a coffee .. often the pursuit of a coffee is the destination.

We are very happy then that Big Maggys Coffee have offered team and club riders a discount on their fantastic product.

Simply visit the site utilising the link on the right of the blog and enter the discount code 'xclub2012' when placing an order for a 20% discount on your coffee requirments.

Huge thanks to Big Maggys and we will continue to promote the product by excessive caffeine intake at every opportunity :)

Bearded Man Backs Cross Club

A bizzare statement but getting away from the strange imagery that blog title creates the facts are that new Van Dessel UK importer The Bearded man has stepped up to back Cross Club in supplying the team and also club riders with great deals on Van Dessel framesets and also complete bikes...

The team will mostly be utilising the Gin and Trombones ...
(click picture for more details on pricing and spec)






But for those with deeper pockets there is also the Full Tilt Boogie on offer ..




Contact the Bearded man quoting Cross Club for special club pricing .. you won't be dissapointed.

The first rule of Cross Club is....

... we ride Cross.

Pure and simple, this club is about not only putting a race number on every sunday through the winter, although that will happen, its also about getting off the roads and using cross bikes to train on and more simply just to get out there and have fun.

The concept came about through a desire not to have to venture onto the dangerous winter roads in winter to train when we have such a good network of trails ... Cross bikes are under utilised.. most only see a short racing season ... this shouldn't be the case as the cross bike allows a much more diverse selection of rides to be used to get the valuable winter base miles in.

The club jersey is now so close to completion it hurts... sponsors have been secured.. riders are ready.

We will use this blog to detail the forthcoming cross season and the exploits of those willing to pull on a Cross Club jersey and suffer in the mud for 50 plus a lap.

We envisage t shirts and cycling caps will be available to buy for those wishing to support and soon there will be a weekly Saturday club run.. on cross bikes of course... details to be confirmed.