KeswickBikes.co.uk Race Team Update

2008-10-28T21:26:00.002Z

Bring Me the Mountains

2008-08-04T21:07:00.005+01:00

Since I last wrote I have done quite a few races, another up Alp D'Huez where I gained a huge improvement in time over the previous week, 1:09:05 to 1:03:15 which was a personal best! Although it was my aim to get a personal best on this climb, I didn't actually think it was realistic after so much illness this year.

The series of three hill climbs went really well, I won the first one up the Col d'Ornon in great style, I felt really strong and ended up sprinting over the finish line ahead of a guy I had been racing all the way up to massive applause from the crowd. This finish meant that the next day I got a round of applause just for turning up to the race, which was nice! The next race was over steeper terrain, longer and to a higher finishing point, I felt fine and was leading to about a third of the way up which was when I blew, after that I just rode to the top trying not to completely blow and coming in second. The next day I rode in thunder and lightening through a massive cloud to win the shorter still steeper climb up to Oulles (a village which has nine inhabitants), stand around listening to the presentation for about 45minutes and then almost freeze to death riding back down.

So, four races in a row and I did pretty well, winning the general classification of the series and two of the individual races. I also got to ride up the Galibier to watch the Tour de France, then ride down and watch it go up Alp D'Huez too! Quite inspiring, so even though there wasn't the usual Thursday race up Alp D'Huez because of the Tour I decided to rent a timing chip and race up anyway, astoundingly after a massive week of riding I rode 1:02:00, and this was including having to walk through a market to get to the finish line at the top (they didn't tell me about that when I hired the chip!).

I'm really happy with how my riding is going, I didn't expect anything when I went out to France because the bronchitis and pleurisy which have been hounding my racing season so far, so the success I have had is even more encouraging!

KeswickBikes.co.uk at the Transalp

2008-07-23T11:51:00.009+01:00

KeswickBikes.co.uk has 2 teams at the Transalp mountain bike race for 2008. Representing us at this prestigues international event are regular KMB rider Emily Brooks partnered with guest rider Jane Reedy and the well honed partnership of Chris Hope and Andy "the Hulk" Wrigley. Emily has found time in between the gruelling stages to provide a daily progress report along with some pictures, thanks Emily!

Day1 : Austria now. First day 80km. It was steady away to begin with then a big climb shortly before the finish - 700m in one go. A steady climb but very steep at the top. No rain and not too hot. Even so, we’ve been working on our cyclist tans! KMB men 67th, women 12th. I'm in awe - there are some unbelievably fast women out there! Now off to bed in the sports hall for me. Tomorrow a lot more climbing and more off road.”

Day2 : big climb to start and then lots of singletrack downhill made todays ride take longer – bit more interesting and fun. Boys gained and now 61st and girls placing remains the same. Big event – on tv. Huge prizegiving, slideshow and pasta party at the end of each stage. Great atmosphere, people from all over the world. Us girls got a pro massage today – was very good!

Day 3: Up to almost 3000m where it was only 2 degrees and snowing, then fastdown to the valley where the sun was out and the temperature was 30 degrees! More technical fun and singletrack today. Dinner was at the top of a cablecar. The Swiss food is fab. I've been paying meticulous attention to my recovery: Torq recovery drink straight after, stretching, self massage - all very important. Up at 6 am every race day so far - I've been dreaming of a lie in.

Day 4: 25 km of uphill to a beautiful Alpine pass. It was idyllic - cows with bells on were grazing the meadows while we ascended a snake like track winding through the mountains. Then down a steep sided valley and along a narrow and gravelly river bank path, sweeping up and down with a big drop below. Lots of local support, cheering on the riders and sometimes handing out drinks and sweets. Positions - KMB women 12th, KMB men 68th in their class and within top 100 overall.

Well that brings us upto date for now, good luck to the guys and girls for the remainder of the event!

National Youth Circuit Race Championship's

2008-07-16T20:39:00.002+01:00

This was one of those races in the year where you either do really well, or you don't! unfortunatly for me, I had the latter.

I knew what I had to do the week leading up to the race, and managed to get all my training in to get me to the best form possible in a week. On the day, I felt great! 40 laps of the preston arena, mile long circuit, was just what I needed. The distance was long enough to make people suffer but not long enough to be stupidly hard. After the first 15 laps, I moved up to the front and started to put in some turns and had a few digs off the front, the best being a 5 man group including me, that managed to get away for around 5 laps. We where brought back though, and a counter attack of 4 got away, and stayed away for the rest of the race!

At this point i decided the best thing to do was find who was the strongest and try to get away with them. unfortunatly the un-willingness of other riders in the bunch meant that any attacks where nullified and with 3 laps remaining I was in perfect position.

2 laps and I was in top 10

bell lap, and I was in 7th coming into the second to last corner when suddenly....... CRASHHHHH!!!!!!! the person in 5th went down and at 34mph it was either ride over him and hope for the best, or go into the dyke. I chose, or not so much chose, but was forced into the dyke and watched helplessly as the bunch sailed past. I picked myself up, swore refusely and then rolled in for 44th position.

at least I wasn't injured! but hey, that's racing for you!

More Mountains

2008-07-11T18:59:00.004+01:00

After my unexpected success in the Vaujany I then did the Prix Des Grand Roussez in which I was 7th and the Grimpee de le Alpe in which I was 5th. The first event was 40km and consisted of a climb to the top of Alp D'Huez, down the top part of Alp D'Huez and then down Villard Reculas before ascending a steepish 5km to Vaujany. I took one gel for some reason, and conseqently completely blew before the top of Alp D'Huez before dragging myself the rest of the way to the finish.

The second event was just (just - haha) a climb up Alp D'Huez, I was going well up the first steep bends, but then I again completely blew and was unable to increase my heart rate at all, I finished about 12minutes behind my pb! Still good placings though, and I am really pleased with how I've done considering how long I had off the bike before I came out here.

I then had a couple of days rest before doing another race up Alp D'Huez, I came 2nd this time, one minute behind first (and her time was 4 minutes slower than my pb), but I felt a lot better than last time and the legs and lungs are improving all the time. Just need to make sure I don't over do it and get to tierd for the next couple of weeks I am here.

The plans are to do a couple more of the races up Alp D'Huez, which are every Monday evening and Thursday morning, there are also some shorter races up to a place called Oz on Wednesday mornings which I hope to investigate. Also, there is a three day series of climbs all starting in the town and finishing at the top of local cols, so that should be really good.

There is loads going on here and always so many cyclists around, tomorrow it is the Mega Avalalanche, the downhill race off the top of Pic Blanc which has a mass start on the glacier - should be worth watching. On Monday it is one of the UCI mountain bike races, 100km of mountains, and on the 23rd the Tour De France is passing by the garden of the house I am living in and finishing at the top of Alp D'Huez!

After I leave France I am going to Belgium for the whole of August to race there, I am being funded for this by the Cycling Time Trials Scholarship, it will be a complete change from here, massive mountain passes where my very little power to very little weight do alright, to pan flat kermesses where the sprinters rule...anyway, it should be an awesome experience and will allow me to race loads against big fields.

Oh, and while Ali was here with me (he is back in Belgium now) we went out in our KMB kit only to hear 'go on Keswick' as we climbed a pass, and then 'alright Keswick' as we were descending another! Obviously the kit is recognisable!

recently...

2008-07-06T12:03:00.002+01:00

lately things havent been going so well. the move from a third to a second cat has left me stuck looking for minor points in races which i suppose is to be expected as the standard of racing has dramatically increased aswell, however a recent backinjury from climbing (rocks not hills) has forced some well needed rest and hopefully ill be back to full form in august preparing for the hillclimb and cyclocross season. my aim this year is a top 5 in the national under 23 cyclocross champs. 11th in the bob swailes memorial trophy due to winning the bunch sprint gave me a few points, however the not so lumpy road race which uses the bashall eaves course i finished 30th, almost half the field pulled out of the hilly 75 mile race. the rest of my season is filled with grass track and road racing so ill make an effort to keep more up to date with progress and results. its off to the north east next weekend to do the mike binks memorial, which has in the past been won by the likes of chris newton and the downing brothers. so a strong field is expected for the hilly 80 mile race.

Results and News

2008-07-06T09:13:00.003+01:00

It's happened again, and I've just realised that it's been a while since I posted an update, so here we go...

Firstly, there was the North-West 3day. This consisted of a short opening prologue "time trial" (approx. 1mile), a 36mile circuit race and a 28mile circuit race. I was quite pleased with my 1st stage time of 1min 52secs, which placed me in 15th overall, the winning time being a 1.48 so it shows just how close the times where. The top 20 where seperated by a mere 6seconds, so anything was to play for the following day. Unfortunately for me however, I was caught behind a crash and ended up finishing 30 seconds behind the main bunch after a very hard 26mile chase! This meant that for the next day, I was left to race in the 2nd group (the field was split in half as there was a limit on the course for the sunday's stage). I was still in 15th overall, and knew that thats the best i could do as I was the first rider in the split for the second race. With this in mind I decided to go out and destroy myself to show that I should have been inthe firs race. I was off the front for around 2/3 of the race, before being caught with 6laps to go, so decided to try and get some recovery before the sprint. My early attack hard tired me however, and i could only manage 4th, pushing me down to 16th overall due to time bonuses.

The next race on the calender was the Curborough circuit race, part of the national series. I started the race sensibly and managed to make my way through the bunch after 3 laps for the 75mins + 5lap race. After being at the front for 2 laps, I broke away with another rider to try and pick up a prime sprint and £10. Unfortunatly after our 6lap attempt we where pulled in as the random lap whistle was blown to mark the prime next lap. DAM!!! I returned to to the bunch for some recovery before making my way back the the head of affairs. This time another rider attaked and I bridged across to him, followed by three other riders. We worked well and opened a 20second lead, but where realed back with 10mins remaining. By this time things where getting nervous and riders where crashing on each lap. I avoided the misfortunate and managed to place in the top 15, so all-in-all a pretty good race.

Yesterday (saturday 5th), i was at blackpool for the next round of the national series. I could tell form the very start that I wasn't feeling terribly good, and knew that today was going to be all about limiting my losses. After 4 laps of the race i found myself unhitched from the bunch and spent the remainder of the race chasing with another rider. This paid off in the end as we managed to catch a lot of the other riders who had gone too hard too soon. The bunch wasn't far ahead as we entered the bell lap, but we never managed to rejoin. I finished just behind the second group on the road (3 riders had attacked off the front of the bunch) in 12th. The astonishing thing was that out of the 48riders who started only 16 finished, with all the others either pulling out due to mechanicals or injusry, or being lapped!

I also did the VC Cumbria 30mile time trial 2 weeks ago, and placed 4th witha time of 1.11.53. Another PB and showing somw promissing form for the coming weeks.

Know I will focus on getting in some more base miles before starting to bulid towards the remainder of the Rudy Project time trial series and the British Time Trial Championships. With this month dedicated to road racing, hopefully I will have that little extra speed in my legs to help out.

Oh, and before I forget... At the Fred Whitton presentation night, the Dave Rayner fund organiser where very interestd in me and after a lengthy chat with one of the guys, it looks hopefull that next year I will be racing abroad with the fund for up to 3months! Thay did want me to do the Junior tour of Ireland the following week, but unfortunatly I couldn't as I'm still an under 16 and can't race on open roads! Things are looking good!

The Whitehaven news also rang up about the National 25 the other day, and there will be an article next week in the paper with pictures. PUBLICITY FOR KMB!

Vaujany

2008-06-30T17:04:00.004+01:00

After an uneventful first couple of months to the season due to illness I am pleased to say I've had my first result. I'm out in France at the moment, riding in the the Alps just below Grenoble. After around 2 months pretty much out of training, and with no real racing to speak of, I came out here hoping to be able to actually ride up the hills, because riding here is the reason I ride, its what I am good at.

The day after arriving we decided to ride from Alp D'Huez (where we are staying, 1800metres above sea level) to Vaujany, and then back again to sign on for the next days race...so quite a long ride and lots of climbing, but it was ace to be back on the bike and my lungs weren't feeling all that bad - although staying at altitude is making things like walking around quite difficult! The next day was the Vaujany (a cyclosportif which is the first part of the Trophee de L'Osians we are doing out here). The one I did was 109km, including three cols and lots of climbing! I decided to take it really easy, trying hard to not let my competitive edge show, just get back into riding and enjoy the day. I was really looking forward to the ride on the start line.

I did take it easy, just spinning (as much as I could with the 11/25 I've got out here, forgot to bring the 13/26) and actually stopping to eat at food stops, making sure I drank enough and applied the necessary suncream. When I finished I was just so happy to have completed what is probably the hardest ride I have ever done, 109km in 6hours and lots of hills. I deliriously asked the people at the pasta party for some food and then sat around talking to other riders. We decided to stay for the prize giving to show our support to the winners and watch the many cups being handed out, only for me to hear "Third in the Women's Category, Ware, Victoria". I'd come 3rd!

So, I was really pleased with my ride, so enjoyable and ace to be climbing in proper hills again...and a cup to take home too!

Mountain Mayhem Success for Keswick Bikes Riders

2008-06-26T13:23:00.002+01:00

KMB Keswick Mountain Bikes team sucess at the world renowned 24hr Mountain Mayhem mountain bike event last weekend in Herefordshire. The cross country style race started at 2pm on Saturday and involved completing as many laps of the 14km cousre as possible. The Keswick Mens and Womens teams competed in a relay, doubling up for some of the night laps to allow other members to rest. Heavy rain overnight made the course slow and sticky, but luckily by the late morning the couse had dried. In a very hotly contested competition, the KMB womens team won their Catagory by a mere 46 seconds and the Mens team were on the podium with a magnificent 2nd. The team members were: Emily Brooks, Cheryl Frost, Alice Crook and Caroline Flanagan for the women and Andy Wrigley, Chris Hope, Ben Bardsley and Phil Davies for the men.

Ali Riding the National 25Mile Time Trial Championships

2008-06-13T16:44:00.004+01:00

National 25 Mile Time Trial Championships

2008-06-13T16:34:00.005+01:00

Ali and Richard at the National 25 Mile Time Trial Championships.

Recent (or not-so recent) results

2008-06-12T20:09:00.004+01:00

It's been quite some time since I last wrote an update, so I shall try and fill you in as best I can!

Fred Whitton: (it has been a long time since I last posted!)
For my first time doing the Whitton, I was really pleased with my performance. 20th overall was way beyond what I had expected, and my target time of 7hours was well destroyed with the 6.23.40 that i managed. It was a hard day; yes, but I will definately be back next year as long as other racing compitment don't clash, this time with a target of top 15 (fingers crossed).

National 10:
With a round trip of over 12hours, the national 10 was always going to be a tough one. I wasn't expecting much, as I tend to go better over the longer distances, but set off with the intension of a new personal best and a sub. 23min time. The day was excelent. It had rained during the morning, but by the time I started, the roads had dried out and it felt fast. VERY fast! i managed a time of 22.20, which gave me a new pb and a sub 23min time, so my targets where achieved. Job well done. However, it also placed me 2nd fastest 16year old which was a great bonus.

GHS district championship/qualifying:
The start sheet showed that to qualify, all i had to do was be the fastest 16year old, so I had intended on jsut doing that as I had the National 25 the following day. After warming-up and getting to the start line I suddenly realised... "I won this overall last year. I can't give up my title!" So the plan changed. All out, and win. This i achieved, with a time of 18.03 for the 8.5mile course. Another medal and more KMB publicity.

National 25:
The national 25 was held near Peterbrough this year, on a rounderbout infested course (17 in total) covering two laps, with another two short sections added for the start and finish. I was seaded 4th fastest and was off in the 2min seperated group of riders. This made me rather nervous as I'd never been in this position before for a National event! I didn't have the best of days, my legs feeling unable to push as hard as i wanted them too, but I still won the 16year old catagory. The moral was high after yesterday which helped a lot, and I just kept going, crossing the line dissapointed with the time, yet pleased with another win.

Inbetween these bigger races, I've been doing the usual time trials with VC Cumbria. I managed a new PB for 25miles, with a 58.19, knocking another 31 seconds off on a horrible, windy night so things are looking good. Last tuesday, I set another PB for the bass lake circuit with a 38.01 placing me 4th fastest on the night. Overall, I am currently 3rd in the league!

As of tomorrow, I am off to a 3day race near Preston, so I'll try to get my "other" racing legs back into action on the twisy circuits. More of a training race than a goal, but I'll see how I get on and get a report in, Hopefully sooner than this one was!

10 Under the Ben

2008-06-05T17:08:00.003+01:00

I haven’t written a report for a while – mainly because there hasn’t been a lot to write about for my last few events. For example:

Fred Whitton – Punctured descending Kirkstone which resulted in a lonely ride!
Keswick National Trailquests – Man flu so had to miss both events.
Ruthin Merida – Broken rear derailleur so had to pull out.

Surely my luck had to change.

The next event on our race schedule was the 10 under the Ben – A fantastic event just outside Fort William where approximately 1000 riders test their endurance by seeing how many laps of a very demanding 10 mile course they can complete in 10 hours. Riders can compete as solo, pairs, trios or quads. Both Andy and I competed in it last year as solo riders, which proved to be one of the hardest events either of us had done. The heat was intense, our pacing strategy was flawed and our bodies were punished. After completing 10 laps we were all for giving up cycling. Strangely enough though, after a good nights sleep and a fry up the next morning there was talk of returning in 2008 for another crack!

Sure enough it was factored into our Trans Alp training and we entered as solo riders again. During the week leading up to the event, for some reason I suddenly decided that riding the event solo was a bad idea. Ten hours of beasting ourselves probably wouldn’t be the best thing for us at this stage and would take a long time to recover from. Perhaps riding as a pair would be better – only 5 hours of pain and it’s just like doing 6 long intervals. Andy wasn’t convinced as he thought it was a soft option (always one to take on the option with most suffering!) but I managed to talk him round and we changed our entry to the pairs category.

The day was reminiscent of 2007 – hot and still but this year even drier. I took the first lap, which involved an extra loop to split the riders up. I got a good start and was with the top 5 as we started the main circuit. Two miles later I ‘burped’ some air out of my tubeless tyre, which shortly after rolled off my rim on a corner. I couldn’t believe it – not more bad luck! I frantically stuck a tube in and tried to make up as much lost time as possible. I completed my lap in a disappointing time and handed over to Andy to start clawing back places. As the laps passed by we rode well and put in consistent laps. Other teams were tiring apart from the leaders who set a blistering pace. By about lap 9 we had moved to second place and were still going strong. However, on lap 10 misfortune passed on to Andy and he was also cursed with a blow out. After sticking a tube in, he then snapped the head off the valve when frantically pumping it up. After much faffing, a typical 52 min lap tuned into a 65 min lap and we had moved to 3rd place. We chased hard but with only 2 laps more we couldn’t reel second place back in and finished in 3rd place. Overall, a pleasing result, and some great training prior to the Trans Alp. Next event – Mountain Mayhem.

grass track

2008-06-01T18:05:00.002+01:00

bank holiday weekend was spent pursuing another cycling interest, grass track, on sunday the action was at bitts park in carlisle with the womens national 400m championships, and the mens 800m series, with other events. the 800m was a success for me coming second in my heat to former national champion ben elliott although with two going through to the final i was happy with this. the result was repeated in the final with myself and ben elliot riding away from the rest of the field, and i was beat in the sprint. the next event was the 500m scratch race, this proved too short a distance for me to be able to cope with and finished 3rd in my heat failing to make the final. event 3 was the 1500m in which i won my heat by a fair distance, this was repeated in the final, with me winning the heat in a sprint finish. confidence riding high from the win i entered the 5000m a bit too enthusiastically and eventually blew up with 3 laps to go, lesson learned from spending far too much time on the front i decided to sit in on the devil and ended up pushed to the back of the field where i was beaten in a few laps and taken out.

mondays racing at richmond for me didnt involve the 400m as this wasnt really my distance, instead i decided to focus on the national 8000m series, after an incredibly fast and hard race due to the excellent track the group split, with 5 riders breaking away, i was left on my own to ride round, after chasing hard for several laps i realised catching them was impossible and settled to keeping the chasing riders at a safe distance, eventually finishing 6th and leaving me confident about the national championships in a few weeks time, after missing the northwest road champs due to illness/work commitments im itching to get back to road racing, im sick of going round in circles.....

Wallace Hill Road Race

2008-05-22T15:27:00.004+01:00

This weekend I went up to Ayrshire to take part in the Wallace Hill Road Race, one of the Women's National Series events. After my warm up I was coughing so much some of the other competitors were looking slightly worried, and asking me if I was okay...'I'm fine, in fact, a good hard race is going to be the best thing for me', was perhaps not the truth, but what I needed to be telling myself.

The field was pretty small for a National Series event, with the majority of girls not wanting to travel that far north, so just over 20 riders lined up to race. After an extremely long neutralised section due to a road traffic accident where we should have been starting the race got off to a start.

Everything was going well until one of the decents (it was a pretty hilly course), where I shifted into the big ring and my chain came off, and wedged itself nicely so I couldn't pedal in either direction to get it unstuck. With this sorted a long chase ensued to get back onto the bunch, however I was dropped shortly after getting back on. I rode for a while with another rider who had been dropped, then I dropped her and chased onto another rider who I rode with for the rest of the race.

I actually had no idea what was going on during the race, because we ended up being taken off the loop to finish, there wasn't a lap board, and the circuit was pretty long, there were only about four laps (I think), but we kept arriving at the same junctions from different directions. It was fairly enjoyable, once we realised we weren't going to be able to chase back onto the bunch we road steadily the whole way - and the weather was really good!

I ended up with 14th place, some miles in my legs and 9 national points to my name, which is the most I could really have expected with this lurgy have dragged me down for the last month.

Season Off to a Poor Start

2008-05-13T23:13:00.005+01:00

Having not posted for a while I thought it was time I gave an update of how things are going this season. After waiting until the end of April for my first road race, I was hit by a cold two days before, but I rode anyway and was pretty pleased with my time trial result, although dissapointed with my result in the road race, having to drop out after four laps, deciding it was better to pull out than tool around in the rain after being dropped.

Since then I have had to dissapointedly turn down rides in the Bedford 2 Day Women's Stage Race, which was gutting, with an awesome field to race against and some really tough looking courses it would have been good, and in the Olveston Road Race, one of the women's national series. Unfortunately my cold turned into a chest infection which has dragged on for the last three weeks, and I'm still not fully over it. I do feel I am getting back to where I was though, time trialling tonight on Bassenthwaite I felt as though I was definately not up to scatch in the lung department, but my legs felt really strong (even if, or perhaps because they resemble the legs of a man...).

My first race back is going to be this weekend, the Wallace Hill Women's National Series event in Ayrshire. Hopefully I'll be back on form by then, and 'the black lung' as I have christened it will have retreated.

Well done to everyone for some awesome results in the Fred Whitton, very impressive!

Fred Whitton Results for Keswick Bikes

2008-05-13T13:26:00.002+01:00

3rd. Ben Bardsley - 5:53:55

11th. Andrew Wrigley - 6:12:07

18th. Chris Hope - 6:23:19

20th. Richard Houghton - 6:23:40

181st (3rd Lady). Cheryl Frost - 7:26:09

510th. Philip Malcolm - 8:46:40

Aughton road race

2008-05-09T09:23:00.002+01:00

this weekend i travelled down to aughton near lancaster, my intention was to do the stan robson trophy in the north east but due to not feeling 100% i decided a 3/4 cat race was a better choice.
driving down the weather looked ominous, with thunder and lightning on the m6 and heavy rain at the HQ. it was shaping up to be a pretty good race. after my win the previous weekend i was a marked man and throughout the race any attempt to break away on my own or any break i was involved in seemed to get chased down pretty quickly, after doing this for several laps and being left on my own to chase breaks i decided to leave a break of 2 riders up the road. after which the group seemed to settle and ride steadily towards the finish, the finish line was at the top of a climb and after fighting my way through several lune valley riders desperate to block me i managed to win the bunch sprint taking 3rd overall and the last few points needed to gain my 2nd cat licence.

next weekend its off to do the fred whitton, followed by a well earned week off racing then back to the campaign chasing points again, i think the competition will get a little tougher from now on, i also promised myself i would start time trialling, but it can wait....... for now im hooked on road racing.

Recent Race Results

2008-05-07T18:40:00.002+01:00

It's been a busy few weeks with revision for GCSE's, weekday and weekend races, and the chest infection I managed to picked up around four weeks ago! I decided after 2 weeks of struggling to recover from my training and racing that a trip to the doctors was needed, and of course the doctor put it straight and simple..."Yes, you have a chest infection". Antibiotics where perscribed and after a few days off the bike, I was feeling fit again and ready to train, even if it had taken some of my zip away.

With VC Cumbria holding there weekly club time trials on a tuesday night, I am now managing to get a god few racing miles in my legs. Last Tuesday (not yesterday) the event was the Keswick 10. Still recovering from my chest infection, I managed to do a 24.04 which was quite disaopointing realy but i was happy to be able to race again! Ali managed to clock a superb 21.55, winning the event!

The day after (wednesday), Alii and I headed up to Carlisle to do the 2-up 25 held by bordercity wheelers. After a nice warm-up in cold, windy conditions, we headed to the start. My legs felt terrible on the out leg, so ali was doing long turns to help me recover. After the turn howverer, i was starting to feel much better and started to pull for longer to try and help Ali recover. We clocked a 59.19 over the undulating course. A respectable time considering the conditions and the fact it was out first time racing together!

The weekend was a trip to the isle of man for me, as the isle of man international youth tour was taking place. The friday night was a 1.5km prologue, in which i managed a 1.57mins, placinf me around 27th place. Saturday was off to the hills for the road race. 45km of racing later, and with legs some what numb, i was in 22nd overall. I was extremly pleased today as, alothough I was dropped from the main bunch, I rode strongly and could realy feel my form coming back after my chest infection. Sunday was a circuit race by the sea front. It rained hard, which made racing very skittish and nervous. I had a good race, finishing in the bunch and keeping my 22nd place overall out of 87riders!

with the whitton coming up next sunday, i decided to make the most of the time i had on the island and try and get in a long ride on the monday. This however, had to be cut short as my legs where screaming! what was going to be an 80mie ride was finished at a respectable 60 hilly miles, very tired and very hungry!

Of course this left me feeling abit fatigued for the next VC cumbria club time trial yesterday. a 25mile time trial from Cockermouth-Keswick-Cockermouth. the night was perfect, and with a good 40min warm-up i was ready. Tonight i was going to break the hour. And how i did! crossing the finish line, i had clocked a 58.41. Half dead, I was over the moon! i had managed to knock over 2 mins off my previos best time for 25miles.

lets hope the season just keeps getting better from here on in!

And congratulations to Dave who's form seems to be coming through very well! 2nd cat licence seems only a stones throw away pal!

Salt Ayre Round 2 & CDNW Leauge Event 4

2008-04-30T08:27:00.002+01:00

on 22nd april me and an old border city mate travelled down to the salt ayre crit in lancaster for round 2 of the league. for me it was the first race of the year without leg warmers so a cause for celebration. the race itself went really well, previously my success in crits has been limited often finishing in the bunch tending to sit out the sketchy sprints on the narrow course. however this one went rather differently, on the second lap of the race, about a minute and a half in a breakaway of ten riders managed to get off the front of the chasing pack, we timetrialled through, everyone seemed willing to work because as long as the breakaway stuck we
were all guaranteed a point. with around 45 minutes gone we lapped the main group. and instead of letting up continued to keep the pressure on increasing our lead to almost a lap and a half. the towards the end everyone gets a bit edgy and an attack to early for the finish led to me being beaten in the sprint, i ended up finishing 5th, 5 more points to add to the tally.

this weekend i was at old hutton, for round 4 of the cdnw race incorporating the westmorland tankard. the course is a hilly one with 2 main climbs and no long flat sections, brilliant. the first three laps of the six lap race were business as usual, working as little as possible, just keeping breaks under control. however with 3 laps to go on the smaller climb of the course 2 strong looking riders got away, i decided this was a break to follow so set off in pursuit, after working as a 3 for a while we were joined by a fourth rider, and all worked together, with 2 laps to go the group was whittled down to 2 riders, me included, after keeping the pressure on for the rest of the lap i finally managed to drop the other rider going up the climb to take the bell, leaving me to time trial round the next lap on my own, taking my first win of the season. and winning the westmorland tankard trophy, more silverware. it also added 15 points to my tally so i only need 2 more now before i move up to a 2nd cat.

this weekend ill be heading over to the north east to do the stan robson memorial trophy, this is a e,1,2,3, race so im expecting a grim 80 miles.

Top step gets a little closer...

2008-04-20T22:13:00.002+01:00

The 3rd round of the Rudy Project National Time Trial series took place last Saturday, so as ever, i was off on my travel's to fly the KMB colours. Setting off on friday was deffinatly a good idea, as the near 5hour journy would have left my legs feeling like lead. The wind was blowing strongly on saturday morning as i headed down towards the course, but apar frm tht the weather wasn't all that bad. I rode the route before the actual event, like i did at ruond 2, before heading back to the travelodge where we were staying, for food and rest. I'm glad i did ride ruond because with the event being 24.6miles long, the wind was going to play a huge factor!

I was seeded 2nd last junior, with Richard Hadley off 2minutes behind me. i knew the catch was inevitable as he is an extreamly good rider, so it was just a case of holding him off as long as possible. I had a good 40min warm-up and then headed t the start. The course was a hilly 12.8mile lap, covered twice, with a long strech up-hill into a block headwind. I stuck to my game plan, and set about my race. By the end of lap 1, Richard Hadley had caught me and was pulling away with the tailwind. i passed through the start area and saw my 2minute man just ahead, before passing him on the 1st long drag, and then pulling out a further 2.10mins.

Crossing the finish line, i felt i'd had a good ride, and once back at the HQ after a 20min cool-down, i saw that i had managed 2nd place. 24.6 hilly, windy miles in 1.02.30. Not only that, but i had gone faster over the second lap than Riahrd Hadley! extreamly pleasing.

4th, 3rd and now 2nd... lets hope this pattern continues.

Capernwray road race

2008-04-13T22:30:00.002+01:00

The start to today was a bit erm scary, after a near miss driving to the event involving lots of fog and someone in the fog with no lights on i reached the event in one piece if slightly shaken. however the race turned out to be much less eventful. the capernwray course is a rolling one to say the least with a climb around a third of the way thats about half a mile long and steep then a mile long climb up to the finish up a very steep hill. the downhills are fast, very fast and full of blind corners requiring some descending ability to reach the bottom in one piece, the race started in its usual disorganised bunch fashion with most people reluctant to work and the odd one or two that broke away were soon reeled back in. the first time up the climb managed to spread the group out sufficiently to pick the pace up, for the bulk of the race i manged to avoid being on the front instead keepin consistently in the top ten riders, which is an unusual feat. for the bulk of the race the bunch stayed together, with only two riders managing to break away who went on to take first and second place. after failing to break away from the bunch on laps four and five i decided to sit on and sprint it out up the climb on the final lap. this turned out to be a good tactic as a group of 5 riders (me included) ended up together with 200m to go, after cutting the final corner to gain an advantage when it came down to the sprint my over exuberance with my thumb and freakishly light shifting campag levers left me overgeared, however i still managed 6th over all and 12 points added to my tally, 42 to go till im a second cat, yay.

looking forward to the pimp track build arriving tomorrow, its gonna be sexy......

Round 2 Rudy Project and National Youth Circuit Race Series, Round 2

2008-04-09T22:21:00.002+01:00

On saturday I was down at Willoughby on the Wolds, on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border, to compete in the second round of the Rudy Project National Time Trial Series. The day started well, as I woke to find the sun shining through the window of my aunty's loft room (lucky they live in Nottingham so i had a comfortable bed to sleep in). My motivation was on a high at this point and I realised that i might actually get to race without leg warmers!

I got a good breakfast in me and then set off to the course, which was 20mins drive from where we had stayed. The time trial wasn't untill 2pm so I had allowed enough time to ride the course before-hand, go back for more food, and then go to the actual event. The course itself was an undulating 14mile route, with 2 fairly steep climbs and 3 long drags, with a few down hills thrown inbetween. My dad followed me round in the car, shouting the directions to me as I rode, and then driving on to get some pictures as proof for my GCSE's. I will admit that after finishing the course i felt terrible! my legs just didn't seem to have any power and felt very stiff and unresponsive. By this time i was kind of worried. We went back and i ate, and then fell asleep for 3hrs. when i woke up it was 1.55pm so i grped my kit and we where off again.

As i warmed up i felt brilliant! the sleep had done me some real good, and my legs where great. The leg warmers where thrown to one side as i rode to the start line, just as the first junior was set off. I was second off so i got to the start line to await the countdown. just as i was told, "30seconds" it started to rain... then sleet... then snow... then sun again! it was like this for the whole of the race! i got into a rythm and just kept pushing on despite the freak weather conditions. as i crossed the finish line, i was sure of a top 4 position. i had caught my minute man before half distance and i had put 2mins into the person behind me.

As the resluts where put up, I watched as my time was placed 3rd! beaten by two last year juniors, one who won the GHS last year and the other who won the Rudy Project Series last year! I was extreamly happy, and at the moment I am leading the juniors thanks to my 4th in the previous event.

Sunday however wasn't as good. After travelling up to hetton that night, snow all the way, we got to the travelodge at 10pm. The next day... snow! cold! sleet! rain! it was horrible. The under 16's where racing at 2pm, and the weather jsut got worse.

We thought it would be cancelled due to the extream weather, but they forged ahaed, out race being run in antartic conditions. I ended up finishing somewhere near the back of the bunch. The cold was too much and my little legs woudn't work properly (sympathy please). there wasn't even time for a cool down afterwards. Everyone was in the showers trying to get warm. Two people fainted and where taken to hospital due to mind hypothermia, others where in corners shivering under heated mats and towels. It was the worst time i've ever had on my bike!

Never again...

first ride of the passes...

2008-04-03T17:55:00.002+01:00

Well, it's only 4 weeks until the fred whitton challenge and as my weekends from now on are fully booked with rounds of the national youth circuit series, CDNW league and Rudy Project Time trial series, i decided to just get out and test myself on some of the climbs.

It was the first time since last April that i had been over any of the passes, not including whinlatter as that features quite regulary in training rides, and boy had i forgotten the pain they put you through!!!

I had decided to get a decent ride in my legs before heading towards the first "hill", as then i would get a better feel for how it will actually be on the day. So, after fueling-up i set off on my adventure. Following the start of one of my 4 hour training rides, i set off towards cockermouth before taking the back roads towards keswick, heading round braithwaite and cat bells. After crossing the bridge and turning left to head towards honister, i realised i had a nice 100min ride already in the bag, so i settled down into a nice rythm and carried on. i've got to say, i thought it was quiker to the foot of honister! Anyway, i passed through the little village and started to head up... up... up... up!

That gave the legs a shock, and the lungs, and the arms! it was a case of trying not to drop below 6mph, which i nearly managed to achieve... the last bit before the cattle grid got me! after that though it was all good and i got to the top 2hrs into my ride.

After dropping down the valley and getting along to buttermere, i was at newlands. I have to say, i have never been up there better in my life! The kick honister gave me must have got my legs working, and i set about a nice rythm all the way up the climb, before reaching the top and plumiting down to braithewaite.

Whinlatter was next, and how i love that climb! again, i just kept my rythm going and pushing over the pedals and before i knew it, i was at the top. The best part about whinlatter was the applause i got passing the lay-by where the ice cream man seems to live... it made me feel like a true pro!

Well, that was all the big climbs over, and i wasn't feeling that bad. So i decided to prolongue my ride. i set off towards eaglesfield and did a 10mile loop around some back roads before heading towards deanscale, where i jumped back onto the main road. Checking my ride time now, which was around 4hrshrs, i carried on adding on extra loops, and extra hills until it reached 4.30hrs. By this time my legs where starting to feel heavy, so i decided to get home.

Of course that meant getting back onto the top of cold fell... I just out my head down and grinded my way up, selefield traffic charging down towards me! after hitting the cattle grid, i checked my time. 4hrs 45mins. So i decided to kill myself and get home before 5hrs!

I managed, all be it I got cramp washing afterwards and fell out of the shower landing on the floor in a heap! all in all a good ride. 83miles over some big hills in 5hrs seemed like quite an achievement!

But for now, i'm off to the second round of the Rudy Project time trial series on saturday, and then the first round of the national youth circuit series on sunday. i shall write a report on how i did when i return.

adios

Kudu Bikes Lancaster Duathlon

2008-03-31T17:01:00.002+01:00

Yet again I have been seen stepping over the line towards the dark side, taking part in an event which did not solely involve pedaling. The Lancaster Duathlon was my first event of this kind, and it was certainly interesting. The distance was short, with a 3km Run, 15km Cycling (around the Salt Ayre circuit racing track) and then another 3km Run.

I started off without a proper warm up, as I had been late arriving, I thought the run was probably going to be a disadvantage for me, mainly because I don't do any running! I was right, after about the first 20metres I was passed by about three other women, and my legs just didn't want to go any faster. I only seem to have one gear for running. I was well back by the end of the run, getting to the transition area mine was one of only three bikes left hanging on the rack! I started the bike leg feeling psyched to catch as many people as I could, the circuit was really fun, with no corners that needed braking, and a long section with a head wind where you could really get your head down and push. I managed to pass quite a few people, and ended up being first woman into the transition area after the bike leg, not bad when I hadn't even seen the women starting the bike leg - they were that far ahead of me after the run. After a slight mishap where I was unsure if I had done the required 10 laps of the circuit, and the person marking this down wasn't sure either, I still managed to be first out of the transition area.

However, this lead was fairly shortlived, after about a third of the way through the run I was passed and once again my legs just wouldn't go any faster. I finished the race in 2nd place and happy with the effort I had put in.

Things I have learnt from this are; a) Do some running before you try and do a running race b) cover your carbon seatpost and your saddle rails with tape before hanging them on a metal pole (mine are scratched, sob) c) White cycling shoes were not meant for running through mud.

A Rude awakening

2008-03-25T10:30:00.002Z

Sunday the 23rd of March saw 3 KeswickBikes.co.uk riders on the start sheet for the 1st round of the Rudy Project national time trial series. Early morning fears about the event being cancelled due to snow where unfounded as the course ( circuit of Bassenthwaite lake) was clear and in good condition.
With nothing to gauge my form on i was not sure how well i was going, i was expecting anything from winning through to blowing spectacularly, in the end I was somewhere is the middle. I finished 7th just over 4 minutes adrift of winner Mark Holton of Probikekit.com over the 2 laps of the lake. While i was happy this was as fast as i could have gone on the day and that it is still early days in the season it was a bitter pill to swallow on effectively my home course.
Richard Houghton place 4th in the Junior event to get his account underway in this prestgious series, one which he will be aiming to do well in the overall.
Vicky Ware took 12th in the womens event, suffering from unfamiliarity with her bike due to enforced last minute bike changes. The womens event was won by Olypian and track world record holder Sarah Storey.

Training in Spain

2008-03-25T09:26:00.004Z

The roads, the weather, the terrain, the drivers, did i mention the weather? Just come back from a couple of weeks training in Spain, it was absolutly incredible! Brilliant routes in the mountains, superb road surfaces, hours without seeing a car, not a drop of rain in 2 weeks and good company.
Based in Denia, just north of Benidorm the camp was the perfect kick start to the season, although by no means a holiday (i came back to work to rest) i had a fantastic time and have already started looking for a flat there for next winter (no more British winters for me!).
With route plans for each day, guides for the two groups and a support vechicle all i needed to concentrate on was the riding. In the first week everybody was out to test each other which resulted in blistering pace up many of the long climbs and not much time to enjoy the scenery, with a change of personel for the second week things where a bit more relaxed. Two weeks of hard riding left me exhausted (and one week later i'm still not back up to speed) but should give me a much more solid base for my season than i have ever had before. The weeks where not without incident, two crashes for myself and numerous others, the organiser of the camp Dave Lloyd came of worst with a broken wrist with two days of the camp left.
I also met up with ex KeswickBikes rider and staff member Jimmy Taylor who was also out enjoying the sunshine, best of luck to him for the coming season.

Many thanks to Dave Lloyd and hope your back on the bike soon, also thanks to John and Terry of Ciclocosta Blanc (http://www.ciclocostablanca.com/) and also to the guides Ian, Peter and Ron.

Getting up to date

2008-03-20T10:06:00.003Z

As is always the case the more stuff you have to write about the less time there is to write about it and with the season underway i haven't been keeping up to date with the blog.

As Dave mentioned the first events of the road season where on the 23/24th of February. On the Saturday it was round 1 of the Lake and Lancs sporting courses time trial series (L&L SPOCO. The wet and windy conditions fared up a bit by the time first riders got underway at the 2 p.m. start time and we where left with relatively dry roads but extremely strong crosswinds. With myself, Richard and Vicky all of the lighter persuasion i dispensed with my disc and put a shallower front wheel, Vicky and Richard had to lose there deep sections completely or risk ending up in a ditch, so there are some disadvantages to being a fly weight!

I went off an early seed, 10th out of the 80 riders on the start sheet. My ride didn't feel great, stale from a long winter and a lot of the time i was prevented from getting the power down by the ferocious crosswind. The most frustrating part of the ride was having to come to a dead stop behind a couple of cars on a narrow bridge and loosing all my speed before the steep climb after the bridge. As expected Vicky and Richard suffered in the strong winds with Vicky being blown on to verge on one occasion.

My time stood until Tim Lawson (team SIS) bettered it by only six seconds compounding my frustration over having to stop behind the cars. So 2nd overall was a decent result but it would have been nice to kick things off with a win.

Sunday the 24th brought more rain and another trip to Lancishire for the Clayton Velo Spring handicap, the traditional season opener in the north. With 11 Rapha Condor/Recycling riders on the start sheet the overall was a forgone conclusion so i decided to concentrate on the prime sprints on the early laps of the short circuits, i duely attacked off the line and managed a 36 mile break in the process of which i secured the 3 primes and caught the 2 handicap groups that went off ahead of me. Adrenaline and enthusiasm got the better of me and having caught Dave i had delusions of organising a 2 up effort to stay away for the rest of the race distance. This was not to be as the pursuing elite riders upped the tempo and quickly reeled us in. With two laps to go my earlier efforts started to demand payment and the sharp changes of pace saw both myself and Dave dropped from the lead bunch, we both eased round the remaining laps to complete race distance and qualify for our Prime sprint prizes. A nice touch to the day was Vicky, acting as race support on this occasion, was at the finish line so we could bail straight into the van without the cold wet ride back to the race HQ. As it turned out Rapha Condor/Recycling had taken the first 6 places, the race being won by former track world champion and premier calender winner Chris Newton.

All in all not a bad start to the year but still plenty of work to do!

Quest On!

2008-03-17T21:02:00.001Z

The 2008 National Trailquest series kicked off on the 9th of March with an excellent 3hr event in Grizedale Forest. A lot of work has been invested over the winter to create a permanent mountain bike orienteering course consisting of a detailed 1:20,000 orienteering map and 32 checkpoints distributed throughout the forest. As the location of the checkpoints had not yet been divulged, the event organizer, Henry Syska, made good use of the facilities by placing a Sportident timing device at all 32 checkpoints.

For some reason I always find events in Grizedale difficult – mainly because there is so much route choice and navigation can be particularly difficult considering the huge number of tracks throughout the forest. It’s certainly an area where local knowledge can be a huge advantage, which is why Brian Singleton and Neil Atkinson are very hard to beat in Grizedale. Not surprisingly both of those guys turned up for the event, no doubt eager to get some points under their belt early in the season.

A blank copy of the event area was posted at the start, which showed a really good quality and easy to read map. The area was noticeably small considering that it was a 3hr event, which meant that checkpoints would be tightly spaced but also meant that the ‘clean up’ was probably on. For some reason I had a clockwise route in mind, so when I got the map it didn’t take much time to decide where I would head first. The first few checkpoints came quickly and fairly easily. I was feeling quite strong and forcing myself to spin up the hills as much as I could. I rode past the fourth checkpoint and had to retrace my route, frantically looking for it. Eventually I found it and tried to claw back lost time. One more checkpoint bagged and then for some unknown reason on a completely flat section of forest track the sidewall on my tire blew out. I though it was game over but managed to mend it by slotting an energy gel wrapper between my inner tube and tyre. It worked a treat and I was off again. After approximately an hour and a half, I reassessed the map and my route plan. I suddenly had doubts that I would be able to get all checkpoints so made a rash decision to drop a checkpoint worth 10 points. The event progressed well despite a spectacular dismount over the handlebars, which I landed on my feet! I crossed through the event center to the east of the map with an hour to go, still thinking that I would be late back, but I still felt strong and the checkpoints came quickly. With half an hour to go I was kicking myself for dropping a checkpoint as it became obvious that I would get the remaining checkpoints and be back in time. Sure enough I finished 36seconds early with one checkpoint dropped. Would it be enough?

I downloaded my score and waited to hear talk about several people cleaning up with minutes to spare – thankfully this was not the case. In fact the best score was unsurprisingly Brian Singleton who had also dropped a 10 pointer but was a couple of minutes faster than me. That meant that we both had the same score and were both awarded 100%. A very pleasing result for the first national!!

recent activities....

2008-03-07T16:37:00.002Z

its been a while since my last post but heres a quick rundown of the latest, on feb 24th me and ally headed down to the bashall eaves circuit for the clayton velo spring classic and despite the bad weather it was a good race, i took all the primes for the 3rd cat category after riding away from them after just one lap and ally did the same for the 2nd cat group. unfortunately after spending much of the race off the front the large chasing group eventually got the better of us and we were caught, it all went down hill from there really and we both finished the race off the back of the main group, it did however show great promise for my time trialling... thanks to vicky for the useful split times throughout the race. last weekend i travelled to fylde near blackpool, on the way there i was told it was flat, how flat? well very flat, and windy, the elite riders in the group drove the pace on from the start and with the windy conditions the group soon split and many of the riders packed in, after 3 laps killing myself to try and get back to the main group i threw in the towel and was forced to call it a day, apparently having an incredibly aerodynamic bike doesnt make ALL the difference. it was a useful experience as its been earmarked as an area to avoid. well its two weeks till the easter four day which ill no doubt have some comment on. until then ill be erm.... preparing. (i love my cervelo, i think everyone should have one, incredible machines.)

Venturing Over to the Dark Side

2008-03-02T22:15:00.002Z

Today I decided to try something a little different. I did the Eden Runners Haweswater Half Marathon - 13miles and 400metres with not a wheel in sight! No pedals! No let-up whatsoever! I'm honestly not sure if I'll be able to walk tomorrow, I think I'll be on the turbo trainer first thing to check my legs still work.

One thing I would advise if anyone else is thinking of taking part in such escapades - at least make sure your running shoes are not still these-have-just-been-taken-out-of-the-box bright sparkling white. At least run in them more than once before the big event.

At least I got a mug at the end of it all, to show for my achievment. I'd rather have had a big shiny cup to be fair. Maybe next time.

manchester track league

2008-02-10T14:43:00.000Z

last friday i managed to get myself down to manchester track for the friday night league. with lack of time and other commitments, its been around 4 months since i was last down, and this happened to be my first racing of the season!

it all went really well... well, after the enitial worry that i had no wheels for the track bike i was using! i managed to get hold of some so once they where in, i was ready to roll! i warmed up and the first race; an unknown distance race where the commasaire rings the bell for the last lap whenever he wants, was soon under way. the bell rang, and i jumped onto the guy who had been watching the commasaire. my first track race, and 4th.

it was then back to the rollers before a 20 lap points race. it all started fairly calmy until the first points lap. the whiste blew and i found myself wmaped by riders all charging for the line. i had said to myself before the race that i would just see how it went, as id never done a points race before. however, i had a good go and managed to get off the front for 4 laps but didnt manage to rack up enough points to make an impact on the race.

the third race was a 1km sctrach. i knew form the start it was going to be fast and furious with evryone fighting for possition. with this in mind i quickly made myself a front rider. 3 laps gone and the bell ringing, a man jumped from behing me and took to the front. i followed but only managed 3rd, but for such a sprinters event, i was happy with the result.

the night seemed to get better! the 20lap sctratch followed and agin i was off the front, this time with another bloke. unfortunatly, as he pulled up and i rode through i didnt realise he never got back on my wheels, so it was time trial time. 6 laps to go and i was still off the front. the legs where starting to screa by now and again i was caught, but i stuck in and managed another 4th!

the last race of the nogt was a devil. my tacktics where... stay in as long as i can! this worked really well up until some guy swung up without lucking and hit into me. i managed to stay up, but recieved a nice tyre burn on my hand, that hurt a lot! i carried on but only managed 5th before being "tacken".

all in all it was a really good experience and some great fun. il be back again next friday, hopefully this time with some better results... targets: scratch and devil!

hetton lyons cross 27/1/07

2008-01-31T14:42:00.000Z

This has to be one of the best cross races of the season in my opinion, flat fast and not at all muddy course made it ideal with the technical sections kept to a minimum and flowed very well.
Before the start of the race the perks began with a warm up massage from a lovely geordie lass, ally got one too, i really think the team needs someone to do pre race massage..... (hint hint)
anyway, the race, in total contrast to a normal start ally got a flyer and i was left floundering around at the back of the pack and caught up in lots of other traffic for the first half lap or so, this all changed toward the end of the second lap where i caught ally and neil (andersons racing) and continued to ride away from them. Despite a couple of scary moments taking corners too fast the whole race went well, i worked well throughout the race and ended up finishing 3rd, 30 seconds behind second place and a gentlemanly 3 minutes behind overall winner stuart wearmouth (picarsso pulman). ally finished fifth behind gary wearmouth (picarsso pulman) if my good form in the cross continues to next year i fancy trying some national trophy races. after the race more massages were available so i thought why not and got another one, its a hard life. that concluded the cross season for me so its on to the road now to do some proper racing. and get back on my cervelo which has been untouched in the shed for a few months so deserves a good ride out.

NECCA Round 7, Hetton Lyons Country Park

2008-01-27T23:28:00.000Z

The final round of the NECCA Cyclo Cross League was battled out at Hetton Lyons this weekend. The weather was actually really good for once, bright skys and not too cold, although it was blowing a gale.

The course was a good one, some really fun sections and no massive hills to run up (or swamps to run through). I discovered before the race that I was actually lying in 2nd place in the mens Sportif League for this series, which I was really pleased with, so today my task was to beat the person in front of me in the league - this I managed. For me, the race was spent working my way up through the riders ahead, giving myself targets of where I was going to pass the next person, and then once that was done, where to pass the next. I finished 1st placed woman.

Although my brakes and my gears were not working today...(who needs them anyway?) I feel as though my bike handling skills have improved since the start of the season, I was still loosing some time to other riders on technical sections, but not half a mile, so less demoralising. I am pleased with my cyclo cross season, I won the majority of races I took part in, and did well in the NECCA league - being 1st woman everytime I rode, even though I missed the start of the season due to road racing. Last year I rode a couple of the end of season Cross races, including the British Universities Sports Association Championships, and my results this year are miles ahead. Last season I was happy if one man finished behind me, whereas this year I have managed to lap some of the men, and never came in last place.

Cyclo Cross Season Overview
1. NECCL Round 3 - 2nd
2. NECCL Round 4 - 1st
3. NECCL Round 5 - 2nd
4. NECCA Round 1 - 1st
5. NECCL Round 6 (TLI National Championships) - 2nd
6. NECCL Round 7 - 3rd
7. NECCA Round 3 - 1st
8. NW League - 1st
9. NECCA Round 6 - 1st
10. NECCA Round 7 - 1st

- In the TLI Cyclo Cross Leauge I was unable to compete in sufficient number of rounds to gain a place in the overall league.

- In the North East Cyclo Cross Association League I was 1st woman overall in the league, coming in first place every time I rode, and 3rd in the Sportif League overall.

- I only rode one round of the North West Cyclo Cross League in which I was 1st woman.

Strathpuffer 2008 - 1st event of 2008 Breaks the Ice

2008-01-27T19:52:00.002Z

This is my 1st post on the KMB blog site so I'm very pleased to be able to report on a good race resut for the KMB Mountain Bike squad up at the Strathpuffer.

We were very lucky to get to race the event due to the incredibly bad weather in the event run-up, snow and rain had turned over half the circuit into glass ice which was impossible to ride on (as I found out - more later). On the eve of the event high winds flattened the event centre marquee and made camping an impossibility, fortunately one of our team members has an understanding girlfriend in Inverness who put us all up for the night. So it was a nice? surprise when it was decided at 7am on the Saturday morning that the event would take place.

11am came too soon and I lined up on the start line to complete the 'Le Mans' starting sprint to collect the bikes. A good run placed me in the top 20 and severely out of breath (I hate running) and ready to blast up the 1st climb, this is where the reality of the ice struck. The course was unrideable, in fact it was barely walkable, so we slithered and skated our way into the first forest section where the ice petered out. Adrenaline rushing though my veins I worked my way up to 3rd place and was well placed for second at the end of the 1st downhill; where it all went wrong! As I exited the trees at 20mph the singletrack descended into ice pack, and I went down like a pack of cards. Bars twisted, collar bone screaming I clambered back on and limped after the second place rider who had stopped to laugh.

I nailed him up the next climb, serves him right for laughing, and set off after 1st place, closing him in through the singletrack, just as we levelled the trees opened up again and the ice re-commenced for a 5k climb. A chance of 1st place simply evaporated as the rider took to the ice and simply pedalled off. I was amazed, the clever sod had got a set of ice spikes, the control on these tyres on glass ice is simply amazing, in fact over the remainder of the course he stuck a further 5 mins into me and the rest of the field.

As the race progressed the ice broke up and fortunately an ice free line appeared. Subsequent laps got faster and faster. Chris Hope went out on lap number 2, took the lead and we never looked back from there, Chris posting the fastest lap of the event with Ben Bardsley and myself posting 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Team went on to win with a 4 lap advantage.

Obviously an event like this is a team event and without an evenly matched and consistent team you will not succeed. I reckon this is what makes the KMB team the team to beat on this event, so Congratulations to the other Team Members - Chris Hope, Ben Bardsley and temporary (on loan from Wheelbase!) substitute Paul Trott

I can highly recommend this event to anyone looking for a race a little out of the ordinary, the preparation and dedication of the team who put this event on every year, this is the 3rd year, is unsurpassed, and the friendliness and cameraderie of the racers is not seen in events of this type outside of Scotland (no I'm not even Scottish).

Check it out http://strathpuffer.co.uk/strathpuffer/event_strathpuffer.htm

Doncha just love January?

2008-01-16T07:51:00.000Z

I think I spoke too soon in my first post on here when I said I liked Miss Pendleton's Oakly shoot... Her "my SPorting Life" section in pro cycling has to be without doubt the sourest, most bitter thing i've ever seen a cyclist write.

No matter... For tis January! New year and all that! Although the new year didn't start all that well for me as I missed the training ride due to "sleeping in" ( i think Ali bought it...), since then i've been hammering the Turbo on weeknights, mixed in with that cross training staple American Football, and getting the long rides in at weekends.

The weight loss was greatly aided by the virus i had over xmas and new year which caused me to have 2 days off work last week. 73kg and still falling now... and i've been off the pies for nearly 8 weeks.

Going to start working in some intensity in the next couple of weeks, i've been going out with HOnister 92 on a sunday and have discovered that being able to spin up Whinlatter at a nice heart rate and 85 cadence is all well and good until somebody attacks you and you're left gasping like a dying fish and muttering about it being "only january"... yup, i've become that guy. First race isn't for another 6 weeks though, so it'll all be fine. Although i entered the Paris-Roubiax Sportif, so maybe it wont.

Laters.

Phil

Phil Likes: The Frog emergency backlight

Phil Dislikes: Cold and flu

Red Rose Olympic Scorton Scramble Cyclo Cross

2008-01-13T19:58:00.000Z

Yesterday Dave, Ali and I went down to Scorton for a round of the North Western League Cyclo Cross. The weather forecast looked promising (heavy rain and strong winds) and turned out to be correct. The turnout was really good, and I don't think I have ever been to a Cross race that has a loud speaker, and a tent for signing on, so it was all rather posh. Unfortunately I had forgotten any money for signing on, and they wouldn't take a cheque, so after running round frantically trying to find enough small change to enter (Thank you to the lady who lent..okay, gave me 50p), I didn't have much time to warm up.

The lap consisted of a really sticky field which we rode down the middle of, a lane with big puddles (which turned out to be useful during the race for attempted cleaning of bike), a cobbled section through a yard, and then mud. Just mud...mud, mud and more mud. Oh, and the section towards the end of the lap that I forgot about...it was like really deep, watery, mud. The practice lap was hilarious, and I didn't really see what merits the winner was going to need...power for getting through the sticky bits? Good technical ability? The foresight to bring a snorkel and flippers? Anyway, it was going to be an interesting ride.

I was pleased with my start, I was well up in the field as we went around the first sticky grass section, and then down the lane. The first muddy section was ride able, although I found myself slipping around as though riding on ice. After this there were some really deep bogs, where everyone was running (reduced to more of a bog jog by the end), so run I did, and carried my bike to try and stop it from getting too covered in mud and clogged up for the clearer bits of the course. There was also the worry that it might completely disappear if I let it go.

All in all there was probably about half a mile of running in each lap, which was sapping towards the end of the race. I was feeling good, and confident through the mud where it was possible to ride, and pleased to hear the commentator say I was in first place by the end of the first lap (I was unsure where the other women were).

I was only lapped twice by Ali and Dave, which for such a short lap was actually quite good going! I maintained my first place for the whole race, so a really good result and a lot of fun. Afterwards the lake next the course turned out to be handy to clean off some of the thick mud which had clagged itself, eerrm, everywhere. My bike also got a dip. Definitely glad I raced, I mean, they charge a fortune for mud masks in some spas don't they? My skin will be glowing...

Ali and Dave also did really well, with a 2nd overall for Dave and a 3rd for Ali, so a really good outing for the team. They will be adding a report of their own to let you know how their race was.

Can training really be this good?

2008-01-07T19:23:00.000Z

The hollidays are now over and with the extra time i managed to put in some serious miles! it was a routine of getting up at 8am, stocking up on energy and then plowing through wind and rain for hours every day. i worked out that after 18 days i had dun nearly 800miles wich was quite a shock concidering my usual weekly milage is around 200! recovering between each ride got easier and easier and with the racing season now only 2 months away its time the turbo got some real battering! (whilst im on this subject, if anyone is interested VC Cumbria are holding a turbo training session at eaglesfield village hall on a tuesday, 6.45pm START!) hopefully i will have gained a good enough base fitness for the year so lets cross out fingers for some results.

the first team ride on new years day was an excellent affair, all be it that only 4 riders turned up, one of thm being an ex-rider! however this was all made up for after a very nice man at the nickel end cafe decided to give us a free scone (the size of a breeze block) and practically all our money back in change... there was no telling him of his mistakes! i recomend the cafe if ur up that way! Hopefully another meet will be happening soon?

as i write, whitton enrty forms will soon be posted on the web so im perched on the end of my chair ready to download. Everyone says that my target of a sub 7hrs should be easily achieved and if its a good day, maybe the possibilty of a 6.30hrs. looks like i best not dissapoint so its off to the hills of cumbria for some steap ass climbing.

NECCL, round 11, Hetton Lyons

2008-01-07T07:58:00.000Z

Well my first outing in KMB colours could be described as a success, the final round of the TLI cyclocross series was held at hetton lyons country park, and i came 4th in only my second cross race. the course was a hilly one, with little flat at all, the best bit as far as i was concerned was the few hundred metres of tarmac at the beginning of the race where in true roadie style i gave it the big ring treatment and made the most of the firm ground under my wheels.

the first lap was uneventful, after taking the lead and holding it for over a lap i was passed by wardy of vc azzuri then a couple of laps later by neil withington of andersons racing, i was struggling with the technical sections of the course and eventually was passed by another rider from cowley cycles. who i stuck to for the final 3 laps of the race, how effective is drafting in a cross race? answers please, i ended up behind him going into the final technical section and he eventually beat me by about an inch on the final sprint,

i was pretty pleased with my fourth place finish as it places me firmly in the premier division for the league next year and work on my technical riding would help me greatly, plus i got called marra by a geordie, is that normal?

North East Cyclo-X Association Round 3 16/12/07

2007-12-29T11:21:00.000Z

I've been a bit slow about getting a report in for this one what with all the festivities and me being lazy. Vicky and I headed over to Hetton Lyons Country Park, a regular Cyclo-X venue, for round 3 of the NECCA.
I always enjoy the courses at Hetton, they tend to be fast, in good condition and imaginative, not to mention that you can even have a hot shower afterwards! As ever the fields where a good size with about 40 riders in the Senior race which was last to run. Vicky was struggling for motivation as she was the sole female in the field and so simply had to finish to win, i was not expecting great things as i had not raced in over a month and this would only be my third cross of the season, I've also been maintaining my strict regime of never training on a cross bike.
Despite having muscled in to start at the front of the grid i got my usual quality start and was about 40th going into the first corner, i just cannot get the hang of clipping into SPDs, probably practice would help. In a race made interesting by off camber frozen turf which was nigh on impossible to ride i spent my time riding a steady tempo and climbing as high as 6th place going into the final lap. Two riders kicked past me on the final lap and i couldn't up my rhythm, i have a bad enough kick during the race season, in December I'm just stuck in diesel mode and can't respond to anything. I was pleased with 8th overall and enjoyed the blow out, i also achieved my race objective of not falling off which is more than can be said for most people in the treacherous conditions, i lost count of the number of people i passed on the ground.
Vicky tooled round in training mode and used the event to practice her bike handling skills, being a lighter (or possibly the lightest!) rider made the icy conditions almost impossible at times and she was often forced to tackle sections of the course on foot (not always much easier).
All in all an enjoyable day and another chance to fly the KeswickBikes colours, I'm sure we'll be back on (and off) the cross bikes a few more times this season. Have a good new year.

dave has gone all cross

2007-12-26T16:49:00.000Z

i decided that this year to get what i really want for xmas i would have to buy it myself which led to the purchase of a cyclocross bike and after a couple of hours playing the mud on boxing day im looking forward to the cyclocross season ahead and getting back into racing which i miss terribly.

and with the imminent ordering of my track bike ill be spoilt for choice as to whether to stay nice and warm indoors or go out in the mud?? also my new de marchi winter jacket came tody which is well toasty so i would advise getting one, and the pockets are enormous, always a bonus to fill with food, so after the mileage thats left to do this week ill be on a weeks break before starting the cross the day after my birthday in january, i cant think of a better present. ill keep the blog updated with progress in the cross/ track/ other amusing or interesting events. might even get some photos in.

Plans for the Year Ahead

2007-12-24T15:14:00.000Z

Am currently planning my 2008 calendar. Why does it seem to be that there are some months with nothing and then Mountain Mayhem, the National Road Race Champs and then the Marmotte all run consecutively? Answers on a post card please.

Other than that, haven't been racing, as there haven't been many races to do...will be doing the couple of cross races that are left in January, and then it will be looking towards the early season RTTC-Rudy Project Time Trials and then Road Racing! Wohoooo. OOoooh, and I have decided I am going to try some Triathlons this season, there are two main reasons: a) I would like to be a well-rounded individual, not just legs with twigs poking out the top (body, arms ect.), b) I have discovered I am still counted as a juniour in Triathlon terms, yeeeeeeey!

2007-12-23T21:37:00.000Z

Well, finally managed to get round to posting a blog!! It's hard to find time to do it when every minute of the day seems to be taken up with either work, family of training.

Very jealous reading about everyone's tales of biking up endless passes with the sun beating down. Although the weather has been very cold here, I've actually been enjoying getting out over the past couple of weeks. It's been nice not to have to battle against a head wind and torential rain. As a result training is going pretty well - getting a reasonable number of miles in and it's actually structured for once rather than just pushing mysef every time I go out!

In terms of competing over the winter, I'm not going to do any Cyclocross as my dodgy ankle (a fell running injury) wouldn't take the stick. I've been doing the local West Coast Trailquest league which is as ever good crack and a hard 2.5 hour blast on a Sunday each month. I've been competing as a pair with Paul Cornforth and so far we've won both events. The night series has brought mixed fortunes. The first event started in Cleator Moor and after half an hour I found myself completely lost on Flat Fell (turns out it's not that flat!) - another couple of mistakes and a couple of over the bars resulted in a fairly dismal result. The second event last wednesday from Cockermouth was more succesful despite having an intermittently frozen free hub. The event was a 1 hour trailquest around town followed by a time trial (strictly a trailquest round a set course for legal reasons). I was 3rd after the TQ but managed to get the fastest time on the time trial which based on the way the point scoring worked meant I won!

The next TQ is on the 6th of January so if anyone fancies giving it a go let me know.

The first real event of the year which Andy and myself are aiming for is on the 19th of January which is the Strathpuffer - a 24hr MTB race near Inverness. Potential for 24hrs of pure suffering depending on weather. Even if the weather is good there'll probably still be at least 20 hours of suffering. We're competing as a team of four with Ben Bardsley and Paul Cornforth being the other members of the team. Should be a good team and I'm sure there'll be some good banter even if it is dark for 17 hours and likely to be several degrees below freezing.

We're currently struggling to get an entry for the Transalp which was our main focus for the year. We weren't fast enough to get one of the 300 online entries so fingers crossed for the next chance where names are drawn out of a hat on 7th of Jan for the last 200 places.

Hopefully Alistair will get a ride sorted over Christmas so that we can all meet up.

Happy Christmas

No Rain In Spain... And Mainly on the Turbo Train(er)

2007-12-20T16:25:00.000Z

As the title suggests, sub zero temperatures have severely limited my riding since I returned from what, rather grandly, be called the KMB training camp.

During the course of the week I shed 4 kg, probably on the first day's utter shoeing from Ali and Neil over 3 large passes. I bucked my ideas up seriously after that and was actually starting to feel like a cyclist at the end of the week. I always find that after an utter disaster of a day the best thing to do is remind yourself tomorrows another day and your first chance to put it right, and i'm getting it right now.

Back to Cumbria and i've been tapping out really easy 4 hour base rides at the weekends, largely on main roads due to icy conditions, and (stunningly for me) staying off the hills. I'm feeling better every ride and just about to go onto a rest week timed conviniently for Christmas (coincidence? Don't you believe it). After that i can start to put some tempo work into my rides on the road and the turbo.

And speaking of Turbo training... I have now exhausted my collection of cycling DVDs that i watch through the winter months of sweating it out on the home trainer. Donations or recommendations welcome. Something really exciting and inspiring, i'm thinking, like the Pantani retrospective or some burly guy shouting "motivational" slogans. Wait a second... Good God! Thats.. Thats Andy Wrigleys music!

2007-12-11T19:12:00.000Z

Just thought i'd leave my first comment on the new blog! Sounds like you had a great time in Spain... whilst we where all riding in freezing rain and wind! I've been trying to knock out the miles over the last 3 months, but a pulled muscle in my left bum cheek, followed by a chest infection, have managed to force 3weeks off. I've been back riding again, getting the 180-200 miles a week in plus a gym session; a weird site as i go with a runner, so there are two little weedy kids surrounded by men chocablock with muscle! well thats all i can think of for now, so hopefully i'l hear or see from you soon

No Rain in Spain!

2007-12-10T15:34:00.000Z

So, back to good old England it is then. Pity that. Spain was rather nice, around 25degrees most of the time, which I'll be honest with you here, I can cope with. Phil, Ali, Neil Withington (Anderson Racing) and I have just spent seven days in Estopona, on the South Coast of Spain.

My main objective for the week was to do base training, just riding easy and having plenty of time for rest and recovery. I had been advised to do no more than 3hours a day, as the road season is still a long way off, but this was actually quite difficult to manage, it was such a joy to ride over there, so easy to get out and stay out, that I didn't want to stop riding. Having other people to ride with was also a huge benefit, not only did it mean there was always someone to hide behind if it got windy, but it made the time just fly by too. Having only ever trained on my own before this was a revelation!

Having done very little research on the area we were going to be riding in, it was a little suprising to find that the only non-major road that took us away from our apartment was a 15km long pass, which lead to...more passes. I personally love riding in the hills, so this was all good with me. If we wanted to do easy miles on the flat then we went along the main coast road which was rolling and had very tolerant drivers. It can be all to easy in this area to look at the map and take a 'short-cut' which turns out to have about 2000metres of climbing.

One of my major downfalls is my lack of ability to eat and drink the amount I should while riding, so this is something else I was really concentrating on 8while in Spain, Torq bars and gels along with Sports Beans were all the order of the day, just need to actually drink something along with them now...

At the end of every ride we all had the joy of riding back up the road to the apartment, a 'lovely' sweeping, extremely steep, hill which I'm sure on a number of occasions we could have done without.

All in all, a really good week, and definately an excellent oppurtunity to get some miles in while the weather has been so dreary in England. Perhaps the most important thing of all about the whole trip? My bike survived the two flights without being crushed, dented, chipped or otherwise harmed, wohooo!

The views while riding were pretty good.

Weeeell, most of the time (Gibraltar in the background).

Rain, rain, rain

2007-12-03T19:42:00.000Z

the last few weeks all seem to have something in common, there hasnt been a dry ride in them, this recent 250 mile a week flurry of activity has been a bit damp but hopefully will pay off in the coming season. as a result im a bit jealous of peoples trips to spain but looking forward to getting a track bike to do some of the friday night leagues on the velodrome. (warm and dry) for now its off into the rain.... again. talk soon.

Winter Training, Baby!

2007-11-30T12:39:00.000Z

The 1st of December has rolled around again which means a number of things... A new page on my Girls Aloud calendar, only 25 sleeps to Christmas and that training for the new season starts in earnest.

As Alistair pointed out, base training is the order of the day, I've been trying to keep going through November to prime myself a little but i had to take last week off to get a new mech and chain fitted (after the old ones had an unplanned coming together with my back wheel), and this week due to getting some wire removed from my elbow.

All in i reckon i've got 7kg to lose before the new season, but the KMB trip to Spain and Ali's fat jokes will help a lot. Me him and Vicky are flying from Liverpool to Malaga on Sunday for a week of long, warm (hopefully) base rides. I'll leave my ego at home and just keep one eye on the HRM and one on the scenery and I'll hopefully be in better shape when i get back than when I left. Sadly, i don' think i'll be pulling out the same sort of performances as one J. Ullrich when i saw him on Majorca a couple of years ago, twiddling along without a care in the world at 22mph on a 39x16!

Hopefully, i'll have some photos of the week to put up when i get back but before i set off i've still got to find my passport, clean my specializeds and remind the rest of them about Spain's killjoy helmet laws.

Phil likes: Vicky Pendleton's Oakly shoot.

Phil Dislikes: Muddy lanes.

ANIMAL TESTING

2007-11-28T22:52:00.000Z

Last Sunday 3 Team KeswickBikes.co.uk riders gathered in Whitehaven to undergo the first round of testing with their new coach Andrew Patterson (http://www.pattersontraining.com/). Andrew Wrigley and Chris Hope made the decision to work with a coach to help them prepare for there major objective of 2008, the Trans Alp mountain bike stage race, and I decided a bit of structured training probably wasn't such a bad idea either.

Andy's new conservatory was the location of choice for some early morning ramp tests to determine our baseline performances. The gruelling 'test to exhaustion' protocol was just the ticket for a Sunday morning in late November and a cruel reminder of what really pushing yourself feels like.

Renowned power monster Andy Wrigley produced the biggest numbers but also topped the post test weigh in at .......... an undisclosed figure (at least for now). For myself i was left a little shy of donning my skin suit any time in the near future after the skin fat calipers revealed some terrible truths.

With our bench marks now in place it we just need to put in the hard miles to see how we improve (we hope!) for the next round of testing.

We would like to thank Andy Patterson for making the long trip up from Maccalsfieldup to do the testing and for his patience and words of encouragement while conducting three back to back tests. We'd also like to thank Andy W's wife for her patience in the face of invading cyclists.

Greetings from sunny Keswick

2007-11-16T14:25:00.000Z

Having been a bit lax in race reports during the season i will be posting a season review in the near future. Currently i'm settling back into my base training after a well earned end of season break. The current unseasonal weather is making road night rides not just possible but a pleasure, hopefully the KeswickBikes.co.uk riders will be organizing a regular weekly night ride through the winter so look out for more details as to when and where. Until then get out there when the weathers good and when its not get out there anyway (or get a turbo trainer, they're great!).

Emotional Goodbye with Bike Imminent

2007-11-13T16:51:00.000Z

Everyone from the team should now be able to post on the blog, so hopefully we will be updated on everyones progress and plans over the coming weeks.

I'm off to Morocco for a couple of weeks to do some climbing (of rocks, rather than roads), I scheduled this in specifically so that I would have a couple of weeks off the bike, as I know this wouldn't happen if I was sitting at home with a bike in front of me. It means that I will miss a couple of the cyclo cross league races that I wanted to do, but if I am going to have any time off then this can't be helped.

On return from Morocco I'll be off to Spain, as I said earlier, so I'll not be back on the bike in Sunny England until the middle of December, when hopefully I will be racing cyclo cross again.

TLI National Cyclo Cross Championships

2007-11-05T20:24:00.000Z

I have decided to concentrate mainly on the TLI Cyclo Cross League this winter, mainly because they tend to be the closest and have the most competition for me. I am currently leading the league as the female with the most points.

Last weekend I did the Championships and was pleased with my 2nd place, as I feel as though I rode well. My main problem in any kind of off road race is my lack of any kind of technical ability, meaning I find myself having to sprint to catch up with other riders after any kind of sharp corner/steep bank/small bump in the gravel path. I'm hoping to work on this over the winter... Other than this the race went really well, the course was fairly technical with a steep bank to run up, some winding single track with steep banks and a long drag of a climb, as well as some flowing bumps on the decent where you could get some air (not sure cross bikes were every meant for this). I was first off the line and into the bottom of the bank where a mistake in getting off (I sort of crashed) meant I was second to the top of the hill, I started chasing but was passed by one of the other girls on around the 2nd lap. I then moved up into 2nd place which I maintained for the rest of the race. We did 5laps in all and the course was really hard, probably the hardest cross race I have done as there wasn't really anywhere at all to get a rest. Interestingly I now have a number of bruises about my person, many of these correspond exactly to the shape of my Jake the Snake when I carry it, others are more mysterious. Might start a Bruise Blog...

I also did another race in the league this weekend which I wasn't too pleased with, I was 3rd but didn't feel I put my all into the racing, my head wasn't in the right place. So, only another two races to do next weekend before my two week break, and then a training holiday with fellow team mates Ali and Phil to put some miles in my legs away from the rain and cloud of Cumbria.

Welcome to the Blog

2007-11-05T20:23:00.001Z

Soooo, this is the new KMB blog. Mainly we wanted a way for it to be quick and easy for the KMB riders to update everyone on what they are doing at the moment. A convenient way to keep everyone in the know about their achievements in the world of bikes, this might be the latest race they have won, a place to comment on any new kit they have, or to ramble about how much they love their new bike when everyone else has got bored of listening to 'just how responsive it feels when you stand in the pedals'.

So here it is, happy reading!