Ho, cheese scone

It's been a while since I last put something on here.  The blog started as a place to record our process through a cross season but as we all ride most disciplines it seems appropriate to expand the scope of the blog.

So, the cross season finished a long time ago and while the weather doesn't seem to have improved I haven't let that reduce the amount of time I've spent on my bikes.

The biggest change in my riding has been the employment of a coach.  I know that in some circles this is a dirty word, but I've found it really useful. I always knew what I should be doing but I was pretty good at putting it off until tomorrow.  A coach means I have not only the guilt of someone checking on me but also the guilt of not using what I've paid for.

My first mountain bike event this year was the Whinlatter Challenge. This is a great course with technical descents and long hard climbs. I'd been using my coach for about 4 weeks at this point, I'm sure that there will have been no real training benefits in this short period but I managed to knock about an hour off my time from the previous year, not bad for a 32 mile course!

Enjoying sunshine and singletrack at Whinlatter

Second race this year was the Colne Valley, this wasn't particularly technical but it had some horrible climbs and a nasty headwind.  I was going really well but with only 5 miles to go I blew.  I knew I had been pushing hard but I forgot to eat and didn't drink very much, my own fault, lessons learnt.  In the last 5 miles I hemorrhaged places, a personal low light was being overtaken by a rider wearing a Wallace and Gromit jersey who looked like he was an a day out with the family!

I eventually crossed the line to be handed a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich by Rich and Paul - excellent recovery food!  Any race that ends with bacon, tea and cakes is a great race in my books!

First cobble climb at Colne Valley

The third race was the Glentress 7 which is part of the TweedLove festival with Crossclub riders Rich and Rob joining me in the solo category.  The race as the name subtly suggests is a 7 hour race around Glentress.  It was pretty cold as we lined up on the start line for the naturalised start behind a race vehicle, as the car drove up the long climb from the visitors centre to buzzards nest car park, Rich and Rob start to pull away and I settled into my own pace, seven hours is a long time and there was no need to burn out on the first hill.

Differing reaction from Rob and I on the discovery there would be 300+ m of climbing per lap!

The course was brilliant, lots of climbing but well worth it for the fast and technical descent, I'm not a strong climber but managed to make up most of the time I lost on the group I was riding with on the descents.

After a couple of laps I came into the pit area to see Rob just leaving, this was a massive boost to my confidence, Rob is much faster than I am generally, but I think the technical descent and my Scott Spark meant I was not losing as much time on him as usual, although I was still losing time!  In the end it turned out he'd had a bad lap which allowed me to close in, I didn't see him again!

Rich came passed me on the descent on my penultimate lap, I must have been pulling some gnarly sick moves at the time (haha) so I missed him approaching.  Rich announced he was going for another lap which gave me the required kick up the arse to make sure I beat the cut off to fit in another lap as well.

In the end Rich finished with 9 laps and a brilliant 12th place, and both Rob and I finished with 8 laps albeit about 20 places apart due to Rob finishing about 35 minutes in front of me.  All in all this is a brilliant race and I will certainly be back next year!

So, as the year is progressing I feel as though I'm become a stronger rider, I'm still not challenging my Cross Club team mates but the coaching is paying off.  This time next year, they should all be worried!

If anyone is interested my coach is http://www.ultimatefitnesspt.co.uk/ Steve has been a great source of help and advice so if you are in the market for a coach check him out.

Back From The Shadows

A fair chunk of time has passed since the last blog update. Not through lack of want, more a lack of time due to various commitments. Work, moving house, the usual boring stuff but unfortunately the kind of stuff you have to do to be able to ride at all. One particular bonus being able to pay for a cycling holiday in Majorca. Right in the depth of all the crap weather that the UK seems to have in abundance, myself and Rob managed to get away for a week of riding on the cyclists magnet of Majorca. Having never been before with the sole purpose of riding, neither of us really knew what to expect although I think we secretly harboured hopes of great things having read numerous blog entries and training camp diaries prior to leaving. We were not to be disappointed and rode over 400 miles in our allotted 5 days on some of the most impressive roads we've ever seen. This place comes highly recommended to anyone. Truly brilliant. Races have also been few and far between for myself with working offshore to pay for the impending house move and so it was with a hefty bit of trepidation that I entered the Colne Valley Mountain Bike challenge over in West Yorkshire at the start of May with Adam and Paul. I knew full well how tough the event was having raced it the previous year. Ridden over a small selection of the myriad of bridleways, tracks and footpaths around Holmfirth, the relentless headwind made for a tough day. From the start, my lack of race fitness showed with me being unable to bridge across to the leading group, left dangling agonisingly close but just far enough away to get a kicking from the wind. Easing off slightly I had to be satisfied to wait for three guys to join me from where we rode together all the way to the finish, managing to drop only one of the guys a few miles from the finish. The final climb again exposed my lack of race fitness and I was unable to hold the wheel in front of me, crossing the line in a relatively pleasing 15th place. Another top day in Cross Club colours with the kit garnering many a complimentary comment. This weekend saw another belated entrance to the Glentress 7 - a 7hr mountain bike race in the Scottish Borders. This forms part of the ten day Tweed Love festival and attracted plenty of top names including Oli Beckingsale racing as a pair. Top company indeed! Myself, Rob and Adam all entered in the solo category and duly lined up on the start line at ten am with various degrees of excitement evident! The race organisers lived upto their reputation of putting on a brilliant course, taking in parts of the famed red routes but more of the "sneaky" trails made by the local trail fairies and using less than 500m of fire road in approximately 7 miles! Incredible. Each lap was a real test, providing zero time to stop pedalling or eat anything. The start was a leadout behind the race car, effectively stringing out the field. Again, quite predictably, I was unable to comfortably stay with the lead group of around ten riders, again finding myself in no mans land between the lead group and the chasers. Easing off again slightly I sat at the front of the chase group before heading into the first section of singletrack, having to watch Rob motor off with the leaders. I managed to catch some of the leaders in the descents and made up some places coming through the start/finish line a minute or so behind Rob who seemed pretty comfortable. As the race progressed I caught Rob who seemed to have had a bit of an 'off' on a particularly tough descent and knew I needed to make the most of it, more than aware of how well he is riding at the moment! A concerted effort of a couple of hours managed to consolidate my position, hovering around 15th ish position but had resulted in feeling the effects earlier than I had envisaged! Hours 4 and 5 were the obligatory "crap laps" where I felt like I was limping round, constantly clock watching and convinced other solo riders were catching me. At the beginning of the 6th hour I resorted to the caffeine gels. I soon realised I would manage another 2 laps in the allotted time and knew I had to ride hard to make up some positions having slipped to 17th during the "crap laps". Every climb hurt and the descents provided no respite but I felt like I was riding well, descending the best I had done all race. Overtaking solo guys I recognised provided further motivation and on the last lap I rode to a virtual halt, eventually crossing the finish line in 12th overall solo. Pleasing considering lack of race and training time recently. Both Rob and Adam had predictably strong races - their reports to follow soon. Thanks have to go, as always, to the long suffering pit crew of Shonah, Suzanna and Stu who provided much needed inspiration and permanent smiles every lap despite the cold. Promise to get you a proper Ez-Up for the next event. Knackered garden shelters don't really cut it I know! Hopefully we can find a company who will be able to sort one in cross club colours! Next up are some longer "cross club" style rides - following bridleways and roads in the general direction of Carlisle is first up. Looking forward to the usual top company and coffee which always ensues. Then it's down to Mayhem to ride as a team - looks like that could be the enforced deadline we need for the Ez-Up!

Hit the North - from behind the barriers

Cross Club had a run-out today at the infamous Hit the North 2012, in Philips Park, Whitefield, Manchester. Icy conditions and heavy snow made conditions extremely tough for the ~250 riders who took to the course, although it made for fun viewing for the handful of spectators who braved the cold.

I didn't manage to catch up with everyone at the end, but good rides seem to have been had by all.

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!