Commuter Racing

The first rule of commuter racing is - be cool! Its not a race. So even if you're plodding along Jamaica Road, Bermondsey heading towards London Bridge and someone cruises up alongside you - ignore them. Well done, that's very sensible. Let them go. There's no need for competitive nonsense in December when you're unfit and certainly not while you're commuting.

What about just monitoring his pace from a distance? mmm...its a narrow path your riding on, take care or you'll get sucked in. Put that competitiveness on ice; seriously he ain't worth it. Hopefully he'll be gone and you won't meet this person again. What if at the next set of lights you snake you're way around large delivery trucks, buses and other stationary vehicles to get to the front and there he is waiting in that green patch of ground for cyclists only?

Again be cool, if you inject some urgency into your effort to stay close to him its over. You've lost - that means you're knowingly competing. Thats bad, very bad. Remember its not a race. Now... you could however cruise past him with an air of unassuming non swaggering indifference, and time it so that he gets caught at the next set of lights and hence you'll never have to see him again. If he's all cleated and lycra'd up (and he is) that makes it even better. One mile to go before London Bridge and you're close to his back wheel. What the heck are you doing? Let him go. Who cares if you're a 2nd cat. In the grand scheme of things what does it matter its nearly Christmas for fucks sake relax a bit!

Oh shit he's sensed your presence (which is really not cool) and is doing a Cancellara on ya. Alright cruise past but don't show any signs of heavy breathing...Oops too late he took the left turn at Evans Cycles. You can recover as you turn right across London bridge heading towards Liverpool Street Station. Once you've got your breath back refocus. Pretend it never happened. After all who's gonna know!

Office Christmas Party Rules

Do attend.
It was yesterday evening and I did indeed attend. Last year I didn't make it. Don't ask, long story. There are unconfirmed reports that a female member of staff sent a text to her boyfriend to get his car and look for a black guy possibly dressed in a Santa outfit riding a racing bike along the A322 near Bracknell.

Don’t dress inappropriately.
It was a standard shirt a jumper and slacks for me. One woman slightly north of fifty wore a revealing low cut sleeveless top. Just not a good look especially for a very short extremely over-weight lady whose arms flapped when she sneezed.

Do some schmoozing.
Effectively this means speaking to those people that are on the receiving end of your plastic smiles. You may also slow down if they're ahead of you queuing for train tickets. Its best that way so that you don't have to sit next to them on a train. I'm joking its never that bad. I got to speak to an old bloke who'd climbed the Himalayan mountains and a lady who rode last years Etape for the first time. She dropped her husband on the Tourmalet and did a significant amount of her training on a rowing machine. Someone else talked in great length about their pet lobster but then the conversation was cut short abruptly. All I said was, "do you 'breed'em to eat'em".

Don’t talk shop.
Nobody wants to talk shop so I tried to stay clear of work talk. It kinda happened inevitably though :-(

Don’t make a move on a colleague.
It wouldn't even cross my mind - I got Stephanie and Kylie! :-) The old bloke also had a partner and the rest of the staff bar one are all married. No Mistletoe action I'm afraid

Do watch your language.
I'm not too much of a swearer so there was little chance going blue in front of the boss. I was expecting things to get a bit 'industrial' but without Tequila slammers nothing even vaguely sinister materialised.

Don’t leave too soon.
I'm getting old so two hours is generally my limit on any social event which doesn't have a defined finishing time such as a film, theatre, watching sport etc. I managed to stay from 8 - 12.30pm which isn't bad

Above all, enjoy the party.
Have a good time without embarrassing yourself or anyone else. Now doesn't that sound like fun!

Oops I did it again!

I see on quite a few of the cycling forums a few people are finding it hard to motivate themselves to ride in this cold weather. I'm usually quite dismissive of people that suffer from this plight but I'm fast becoming a sympathiser. Take this morning for instance. The title of today's blog entry should read Arsenal-High Wycombe-Arsenal. A small matter of negotiating 72 miles and some change, mostly along the A40 in coldish but fair conditions.

Ordinarily it wouldn't be a problem but I couldn't be arsed. I couldn't be arsed probably because I didn't bother to ride yesterday. And I didn't ride yesterday because I didn't ride on Monday... OK you can see where this is going. Anyways I still did the journey. It was work so I had to. Instead though I did it in the comfy warmth of a Japanese Automobile. I felt kinda disloyal as I drove by a couple of cyclists huffing their way up Highgate Hill but a hot Mocha and a croissaint are the perfect anodyne for those pangs of guilt... All may not be lost however because I bravely rode the total of a mile to a friends house n' back tonight. The offer of a home cooked Indian meal was a bit too tempting. Come on now, I'm loosing fitness not my mind ;-)

Sunday Night/Monday Night

By Sunday morning I was almost back to my old self. Cycling-wise the day consisted of a couple of short commutes: in the morning work, Arsenal-Tottenham-Arsenal; in the evening Stephanie's house, Arsenal-Deptford-Arsenal. Total distance was probably 26 miles at a fairly comfortable pace. Thats not strictly true. Stephanie spiced things up in the last ten minutes of the commute to Sarf London by riding hard around some of Lewisham's back streets. I've told her with such good cornering skills once she's fit enough she's gonna love Crystal Palace.

Dudes I've got a confession to make. I head off for a three week holiday next Thursday so my motivation to ride is beginning to wane. Hence I stood Kylie (Turbo Trainer) up. I bet she looked resplendent lying there on the kitchen floor, glowing in that way only inanimate spinning objects can. Sadly she lost out to beer and Thai food.

Something for the weekend Sir!

er...Yes! Well how about a nice 24 hour bug thing with lovely servings of fever like symptoms, chills, body aches, diarrhea and vomiting? It wasn't very nice. Now how was Saturday for you?

Brrrr!!!!!

Shit today was cold! Despite layering up Michelin Man style there was still that one part of my body that I couldn't keep warm. My Toes. Yes, after just ten minutes riding time despite my thermal sports socks and booties me tootsies were frozen. Nevertheless the training agenda called for 120 minutes so that's what had to be done. I was pegged in at 53/19 and 90rpm, close to 20 mph average. Pushing things harder than that while gulping down icy air would only lead to a visit from my December nemesis. It often pops up a week or so after a cold and its a real bitch to shift; it waits patiently for those inevitable above threshold efforts and then often without warning starts its attack... Voila! By the end of the session you now have a permanent 'friend' to a accompany you on all your rides for the next two months - The Winter Cough. Enjoy!!!:-(

Its time to reminisce - put on your kangol hat and fat laced trainers..."Right Up To Ya Face And Diss You" :-)

It ain't over till its over

3 x 20 mins on the turbo (Kylie) requires a little bit of specialist attention. Its a slightly different beast from a nailed on 2 x 20. If you hit it too hard on the first interval you'll be floundering by the second and the 3rd twenty minute interval will be spent recovering on the sofa for the rest of the night.

In contrast if you go to easy you might as well be reading the paper and sipping a glass of wine. It should feel hard and the last twenty should just be manageable. I think I pitched it just right. The 'feelometer' register around 90% of my maximum effort. The turbo naturally warms up after 30 mins so things always feel a touch easier. To counter this I changed up the gears 53/17-53/15 to make sure I that I was still pushing hard on the pedals. It felt pretty good in the end so I reckon I'll try another one on Thursday or Friday.

Here's some footage from the first Road Stage (proper) of the 2007 TDF. Ladies and Gentlemen Robbie Mac (see 5 mins) is one bad muthafucker. Oh and look out for some little British Kid in Pink throwing a fit. Who would've guessed he'd win four stages in this years tour(08).

A day at the Races!

Steph and I decided to make Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycling Centre) our outward destination for Saturday's ride. I'm not sure Steph agrees but I tried to make it an interesting loop by circumnavigating some North?East London back streets (Hackney ) before we eventually headed out to Essex. We left around 11.30 and got to Hog Hill two hours later. The 3/4's and seperate women's race were already in full swing. Obviously I was really interested in the 3/4 race which featured Sylv and George
from my club Addiscombe CC but I also had an eye on the womens race which featured Liz from Eagle Road Club. She's a very strong rider and does the popular Regents Park loop with her boyfriend Chris.

The 3/4 bunch cruised by and George gave me the thumbs up. He looked like he was on a holiday camp. Sylv looked comfortable but not quite in the George 'stroll- along-the-beach' mode. The women rode by shortly after and Liz was part of a four girl front group which had pulled away from the rest; the group included two Dynamo girls and the eventual race winner. With there still being forty minutes to go Steph and I left them to it for a while and went to get warmed up and carbed up with coffee and cakes. I emerged back on to the circuit 10 minutes later and George being that claustrophobic young man he is decided he needed some fresh air. A tad early perhaps but as we all know he's far too strong and excitable to hang around for long. Behind him the chase was on. Jimmy from Economic Energy was chasing hard and behind him was David from Economic Energy and behind him was a guy in a Rapha top and then finally the bunch. A few laps later George had settled into full Jens Voight mode and had a 23 sec gap on the Economic Energy rider.




In the women's race Liz was dropped from the front group. The front three looked fairly comfortable, like they were on a club run, and I wondered if the two Dynamo girs would do the old one two to the other rider. Mmm

Back to George. "Toks get me a front wheel I've got a puncture", he shouts with 6 laps to go. Oh my gosh so much drama, fifteen minutes earlier the G-Man had the race comfortably sown up. Sure, the guy behind George was strong but George had him pegged at 20 secs and was definitely good for the win. According to the commissionaire George couldn't hava a lap out because there were now only 5 laps to go.



I got the wheel out of the George's wheel bag and gave it to Sylv to do the honours. As George crested the hill Jimmy from Economic Energy was right on top of him. While George and Sylv fiddled with the wheel change Jimmy took full advantage and raced by. I reckon he had around 25 seconds by the time George got going. David from Economic Energy was coming up fast behind George but I was confident he'd never catch George. With 4 laps to go I shouted out 12sec, (it was closer to 16) but I didn't want George to blow up trying to get him back. With three laps to go I shouted 7 secs (it was really 10). To be honest with you I didn't think George could do at this point but true to his Smiling Assassin credentials he must have surged on the penultimate lap and at the bell they both honked up the hill together.

With the girls things were pretty much as they were except Liz had dropped back a place to 5th position. The 3 up front would definitely be fighting it out for the win and Liz stood a good chance of 4th if she could stay with the girl just a few metres in front of her.

George knew he couldn't risk sprinting against Jimmy and jumped him hard just before the descent. On the windy curvy section George had a massive gap and it looked like job done. I was freezing my proverbial off on the sidelines with a big cheesy grin on my face. But then I couldn't believe it. The big gap George had was shrinking fast - Jimmy was coming back fast. George was clearly tiring. "sprint George" I shouted he's coming'. Sylv put out a max of 819watts on the climb, I reckon George musta been close to 1100 on that last blast up the climb. He dug deep and despite a great return by Jimmy beat him comfortably in the end by about six bike lengths...Liz got 4th spot in her first race ever. A great day at the races!













Thanks to ACC's Sylv and the fella from Idea-Beta.co.uk for the Race Pictures. The races took place back in August and September 2008.

Commuting Wars

A big shoutout to all the people literally 'steaming' in their mobile metal boxes on Friday morning. Yes at 8.30am on Harrow Road, West London it didn't look like a lot of fun for you car drivers. Apologies for looking particularly smug as I cruised past you all at a breezy 20mph. I was that skinny black guy on the road bike that at least two of you naughty so and so's tried to squeeze out of the inner lane just to gain a couple of feet on your destination - standstillville.

Despite me flashing my best cheesy smile I couldn't raise one back - you all looked so miserable. Oh, and if you were behind the wheel of that Black Audi Quattro what did that feel like. You know, when that bus infront of you suddenly put on his hazard lights. Unlike me you weren't able to instantly swerve past the big red number 18. ;-) Ha Ha serves you right for talking on your mobile and changin lanes without indicating...A warning to self though - don't gloat too much coz eventually you'll get yours. I punctured 2 miles later

There's no way you can ride!

Yesterday's goal - increase threshold power of course!
An hour of power turbo session, set at 90 RPM in 53/17. The
ride was punctuated every 15 minutes with 2-3 minute out of
the saddle recovery stomps. With the back door open and the
heating switched off the kitchen was so cold I didn't need
the fan on for the first twenty minutes.

The third consecutive day of threshold efforts has left me
with slightly sore knees (mmm... need to spin more, 100rpms
perhaps?) but cardiovascularly I felt pretty good. Today
there will be a no riding - off to bonny Scotland. :-)

Here's a little motivation and some food for you 'haters'



Now are you going out on training ride or not?

The Best Cycling Club in The South East

So what's taking you so long to join. Come on we're waiting!

Tour Of The Dengie Marshes: Nice One Sam!

Its easy to get blase' when ya look at all the great cycling pics on the net. There's been some great ones, I don't think too many will argue against Nicole Cooke's Olympic win in the Beijing rain. However on the British Road Racing scene this year there was just one standout picture for me - a shot of Sam Humpheson, a 1st cat Rider from London Dynamo. It was taken at the "The Tour Of The Dengie Marshes" (Hell of the East) They say a picture is worth a few sides of A4 copy and I think you can see why. According to the organisers "The Tour Of the Dengie Marshes" or Hell of The East is a race [held mainly] on unclassified single track farm roads. Not unlike Northern Flanders – narrow / twisting / little used and not regularly maintained. The steepest climb is over a railway bridge Vast open stretches , just above sea level , provide little shelter and should encourage "full on" racing. By all accounts it was a classic race - thankfully I wasn't there to testify to this. Muddy racing is definitely not my thing

"I can ride a bike with 1/2 a handlebar"

Hands up those of you that went riding last weekend. Despite the bad weather I did; and I rode my bike pretty intensively too. Admittedly I only got to see kitchen appliances and kitchen walls during the ride but at least I didn't get cold and wet. During my moderately intensive chest thumbing aerobic session commonly known as a 2 x 20 Stephanie popped into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Eastenders was on TV, back door open - kitchen cold; me on Kylie, no chance of small talk blah blah blah sensibly Steph was soon gone. Anyway she knows Kylie and I like to be alone together.
This morning I heard a sharp snap while climbing up the Camden Road drag. Shit! somehow I kept my balance and continued riding with only half my handle bars. Descending was a little nerve-racking but I made it to work. Just. :-)

The Daddy Club

Those of you that have raced in Surrey and Hillingdon over the last few years probably know my good mate Phil 'The Animal' Sheehan from Finchely RT. As you can see Phil's has become a father. His beautiful daughter was born exactly a week today to his wife Vicky. I just wanna say congratulations and wish them all the best... I think people have already suggested to Phil that his racing days are numbered or indeed over. I can't see it myself he's far too competitive. Plus he still has one particular goal he'd like to achieve - right Phil? ;-) Some good planning he'll be back out there trying to initiate breakaways and win sprints. Grrr!!

I've got this niggly knee problem which I can't seem to shake off so more cleat fiddling is required me thinks. I may not I ride today. Have a good weekend people. Be safe if ya riding :-)

My Best Turbo Workout Ever?

Snots or no snots the show must go on. This evening I started my warm up in 53/21 and then spent a couple of minutes each in 19, 18 and 17 until I eventually settled down in 53/15. The physical effects of these transitions became noticeable very quickly so my happy-gum-chewing syncopated breathing in 53/21 was replaced ten minutes later by a gulping goldfish on a bike? I'm not sure how long those popular fairground giveaways can survive without water. I don't think they can hang on for twenty minutes. I did - just about!

My five minute recovery period was over far too quickly and I had just enough time to drink a large glass of hot water laced with lemsip. Once again Kylie was cranked back into action and Snoop Dog suggested that "I drop it like its hard". 2 x 20's, Hip Hop music and common colds all have one thing in common. They can eventually lead to sensory overload. I couldn't shake off my cold and the 2 x 20's had to be completed so the the rap tunes had to go. For the last ten minutes, having dropped down to a gear to 53/17 and still holding a 90 rpm cadence, I rode with just the whirring of Kylie's motor in my ear. The kitched stayed cool, and I continued to get hot and very very bothered. Can someone bring me another tissue please.

Now without tunes in my ears I closed my eyes and my brain did a google style search for motivating cycling images. I briefly caught a glimpse of John Heaton Armstrong heroic bridging effort during the 2/3 Beachy Head Classic RR this year before it was usurped by his more famous namesake racing up Alpe Duez. A bit more pedal grinding and teeth grinding and the total forty minutes was up. Phew! Thats one threshold workout I'd like to forget :-(

Only my third proper one in 2008

Arsenal- Potters Bar-Arsenal

Just in case you didn't ride on Saturday (22/11). Er...let me tell you about it in two words. Bloody Cold! If you're gonna ride in such cold weather its nice to do it in company so for the first time in a few weeks my girlfriend Stephanie joined me for the long ride. We got going at 9 am and but stopped at 9.05am; we then entered the local Tesco's and bought some nutrigrain bars and tissues (no snot rockets).

I persuaded Steph to wear a Bennie hat under her cycling helmet which she begrudgingly agreed to. By the time we hit Golders Green 20 minutes later she had taken it off. On the back streets of Barnet 40 minutes later the hat was back on again. The Irish comedian Patrick Kielty does a great sketch about how much women' change their minds and it was tempting to bring this up. However at this point Steph didn't look too happy and seemed to be suffering a little on the draggy bits. Clearly not a good time for anecdotes that stereotype women

After hitting some quiet lanes just outside of Barnet we finally arrived at Potters Bar. The Panini and Latte from Costa Coffee has never tasted so good :-) Well fuelled up, our return journey was carried out at a much livelier pace via The Great North Road. Steph looked a lot happier sat on my wheel and we cruised back averaging 20mph on all the flat stretches.

Zebra, Giraffe and tempo riding

In an attempt to make this post appear vaguely interesting I've found out some facts about Zebra's and Giraffes for you. They can both run up to 35 miles per hour. The Giraffes tongue is 18 inches long and black, some Zebra's have brown stripes and best of all...a giraffe sleeps for between 1-12 mins.

That means for each of my 7-8 minute laps around Regents Park this afternoon one or all of the three Giraffes I saw could have slept.Mmm I also saw three Zebra's but non of them appeared to be sleeping. By the end of my sixty minute ride they had all returned to their respective pens. Conditions were rather blustery on the outer-loop today nonetheless wind assisted blasts in 53/17 are always welcome. Today the legs responded well and I felt surprisingly fresh. Roll on the weekend. Its Friday night so its gotta be Thai food and beer for me - can't wait :-)

Arsenal-Northwood-Arsenal

Ordinarily a thirty mile round commuting trip shouldn't have posed too much bother but there was a distinct 'we-ain't-happy-about-this' vibe coming from my legs. I must admit nearly nine hours of riding this week has been a little tough. Also a slight niggle on the right side of my knee has developed so I chose to spin low gears for most of the outward journey to work. On the way I met this old fella out for a morning spin. We got chatting and he gave me one of the strangest reasons why he didn't want to do too many rides this winter. " Coz I don't want to loose too much weight", he said. Huh? says me, 'why don't you do what we all do and eat more to compensate for the weightloss. "I don't have a big appetite came the terse reply" mmm A bit of a tailwind on the return journey made things a little bit easier. All though drafting a lorry for half a mile on the A41 with a huge pregnant Rucksack and sore legs is not really to be recommended. Ok lets call that session 2 hours of social riding

Back in the Herts

Er my ability to remember a really cool and interesting cycling route is as I've mentioned before rubbish. So the inevitable happened today. I made an effort to follow the route myself JC and the 2 Chris's had done at the weekend but missed a few turns and found myself stuck on the Essenden Road for much longer than was needed. Oh well 3 hours plus at a tempoish effort and a semi bonk after 90 mins. Day off tomorrow. Happy training Peeps!

Quality Time with Kylie

I felt quite juiced up (not literally!) after Sunday's training session in Herts so on Monday evening I decided to spend some more time with Kylie (my beloved Kurt Kinetic Trainer). For gearing I decided to push 53/15 rather than my standard 53/17. For those of you wondering why I ain't hooked up a cycle computer to measure the effort or use the Kinetic' Power meter computer. Wonder no more! I can't be arsed. I'm simply going for the minimalist approach to training. Its all based on my trusty 'how d'ya feelometer' See my turbo training zones below

Level 1 - breathing fairly easy and I could hold the pace for more than an hour if I had to. I could eat cakes, talk on my mobile phone etc etc I'll be honest there won't be many level 1 rides.

Level 2 - breathing is manageable, but I have to keep my mouth open at all times. I could say a few words but not have a sustained conversation. And anymore than an hour and it would definitely a struggle to maintain the effort unless I was very very fresh.

Level 3 would be similar to Level 2 but one gear down hence leg fatigue much more noticeable but despite identical cadence (calculated using Kitchen clock) of 90ish rpm. I can just manage a level 3 type effort for about 20 minutes but can't do them on back to back days

So on to the workout the first two twenty blocks were a Level 3 effort - very tough! The last twenty minutes were completed in 53/17. I'd like to thank Biggy, Public Enemy, De la Soul, Cypress Hill, Busta Rhymes, Rakim, Dr Dre, Jay Z, Naz and Big Daddy Kane for all their encouragement :-)

Base Building in Herts!

Jean-Claude and I were joined by the two Chris's for our morning ride which skims the edges of North London/Herts border. JC was in a feisty mood and hit most of the little climbs with gusto. I was able to match most of his accelerations except the one I call the 'pro climb' which jinks, twist, turns and inevitably breaks ya legs. No worries I'm managing to stay closer to the Ex Pro's wheel so I should be there or there abouts next time we hit his favourite power climb

I tried to instigate sprinting for the town sign competition while we were out in the wild streets of Hertfordshire but no one was really up for it so I played it by myself. I think the rest of the guys found my Chris Hoy efforts mildly amusing. Oh well if you gonna make a fool of yourself you may as well do it in Lycra. On our return journey I normally like to hit time trial mode just outside of Barnet; everyone jumped on to my wheel and I morphed in to Bradley Wiggins for a few miles. Once again the trip was completed with Caffeine and Cakes at the Italian Restaurant in East Finchley. Another good 60+ mile ride has been ticked off my winter training schedule.

Highbury-Romford-Highbury

Well... can you see me? Nah I didn't think so. Highbury-Romford-Highbury is not a trip that I do very often. I'm pretty rubbish at finding traffic free commuting routes and the A12 (above) isn't too inviting even at the quietest time of the day. Anyways I decided I'd give it a bash so I set off to see client A in Romford and arrived in a respectable 70 minutes. I always try and ride at around 90% on my 'how-dya-feelometer' especially on long longish commutes but this afternoon things were less than comfortable :-( Usually I manage to keep it in 53/19&18 the whole way but today the legs weren't happy so 53/21 was the gear of choice especially on tarmac that wasn't baby smooth and accompanied with a tail wind.

My legs felt even worse on the return journey. Some dude jumped on my wheel for 2/3 miles before the A12 approach so I raised the tempo and my own temparature in a school boyish attempt to find out if he was a true roadie. He hung on cool as you like. Just as a good Roadie should. I died after that and couldn't go anywhere near the middle block again even on fast stretches. Despite it being dark and with sore legs I actually felt quite safe. I got back in hour 15 mins. Day off tomorrow. Oh and exciting news Peeps! Stephanie (girlfriend) has offered to make me a huge apple pie this weekend. Cool!!!Happy training peeps :-)

Guess Who's Back!

No Highbury-Luton-Highbury ride for me in today torrential downpour. No way Man! Instead...people can I introduce to you Kylie - my Kurt Kinetic Trainer. She has remained a lifeless inanimate soul for the last six months. This evening she finally took centre stage on the kitchen floor. Argos Fan. Check. Talksport Radio Check. Bottle of water check. Kitchen paper towels. Check. Towel to cover bike. Check. New Sony MP3 Walkman. Check.

One hour later a 2 x 25 threshold work out was perfectly executed in 53/17. Question? Did the late great Biggy Smalls really write "The Ten Commandments to Selling Crack" - Yikes!!! be careful what you download dudes

Winter training for season 2009 begins!!

"I can ride a bike with no handle bars[too]";-) but having spent September and October doing 'when-and-however-ya-wanna' rides its clearly time to step things up a bit more and get serious about training. For those of you unaware I made 2nd cat on my final race at Rusper (grabbed 2nd spot, in the 3rd cat Road Race) So next season I get to ride with the big boys again. I've been there before but this time I'm determined to be a decent second cat rather than just the pretender I was two years ago.

At 9am this morning I met up with Ex Pro Jean Claude and we set out in search of some quiet Hertfordshire roads. I haven't ridden for a week and quickly realised how restricted my breathing became each time the road headed skywards and more watts were required to stay on JC's wheel. After 3&1/2 hours having negotiated a few road closures, two memorial Sunday Parades, some treacherous wet leafed lanes , one puncture, two groups of forlorn looking Finsbury CC cyclists and some nutter in a white van we finally arrived back in North London. We stopped off for some Italian coffee in East Finchley and then I thanked JC for the ride before returning back to Highbury . The pace was possibly a tad too fast but hey its good to get things started with a bang.. A Highbury-Luton-Highbury commuting ride is on the cards for tomorrow. That's eight hours of riding in two days. Once again its on!!!

Beachy Head Classic (31.08.08 ): 3rd and 2nd cats

Oh my gosh! I could go on about this race forever. Don't worry I won't. Eight navigations of a 7 mile rolling loop with a two mile very significant draggy hill were on the menu. The race was hard, scary, fun, and very painful in parts. You generally don't have to respond to so many attacks in 3rd cat races Ouch!; I never knew horizontal rain could sting your face so much Ouch!..i wanted John Heaton-Armstrong to die - not literally of course cause he's a nice chap. But he kept attacking and stringing us out and Damn it hurt...Adam's Cotterell (TSN) spins a low gear beautifully up hills I had no idea - he's obviously been hanging out with that smooth as butter Dave Kennett (Dulwich Paragon) fella for too long... I don't think there have been many race we're I've known so many racers - Phil Sheehan (Fincheley RT), Phil Peters (I- team), Phil Murrell (Finsbury Park), Adam, Marek (big thanks mate, Dewrmot, James, John ok thats enough. But seriously it was like being on a club run - all be at a very fast very very painful one.


Result

Number Time gap
1st 53 Jaco Ehlers Wildside RT 2hrs 49min 18s
2nd 27 Jamie Howard EWCC 46 sec
3rd 55 Ben Wilson Private Member 50 sec
4th 59 John Heaton-Armstrong Fit-For ST
5th 41 Richard Mason London Dynamo 3min 8 sec
6th 50 Adam Cotterell Tri Sport News 3min 15 sec
7th 46 Simon Lawn Sigma Sport
8th 61 David Seager San Fairy Ann CC
9th 51 Roger Smith VC Etoile 3min 30
10th 33 Will Hedden Glade CC
11th 60 Mark Sussex Wildside RT
12th 69 Bartlomies Bielecki Private member
13th 67 Nigel Ling Citihub
14th 58 Toks Adesanya Addiscoombe CC 3min 34
15th 72 Andrew Eagles Dulwich Paragon 3min 44
16th 35 Mark Jones GS Stella
17th 38 Philip Peters I Team CC
18th 48 Simon Fox Team MK 3min 55
19th 64 James Gibson Peak Fuel 4 min 13
20th 68 Daniel Felstead Dulwich Paragon
21st 2 Tom Spreckley Ingear Dev Squad 10min 36
22nd 19 Robert Bordi Beyond MTB 16min 55
23rd 63 Ian Franlin Ciclos Uno 20min 44
24th 57 Philip Moore Private Member 21min 10


K.O.M Jaco Ehlers

1st Junior Philip Peters

1st 3rd Cat Toks Adesanya

Hog Hill (31.08.08): Team Economic Energy 3/4's

Blimey! if you believed some of the stuff doing the rounds on the various forums you'd think the climb on Hog Hill was the lengh and height of Alpe D'uez. Anyway whatever! I'd decided to take my 71 kilo grammed self back for some more pain this afternoon. Once again I was riding on my lonesome. The field was down to just 40 odd riders this week and the weather was the lovely summery kind that we've been craving since June.

On lap one there was a large explosion right in front of me that scared half of the bunch to death. It was my front tyre - a complete blow out. The inner tube had been ripped to shreds. I hobbled back to the start line taking short cuts across the freshly laid soil surrounding the track. Good old Tim Harris (remember him, should be back next year ) offered me his front wheel and a lap later I was back in the bunch.

We were only ten minutes in and there were a group of four about 30 metres in front of the bunch. I cranked up the watts into the head wind section and a less than a minute later I was at the front urging them all to put some work in. Two laps later we had a tentative 25 second gap and with fifteen minutes to go we had a minute. A top five place was definitely assured; the issue was how to make sure I got the lowest number.

With three laps to go I put in a testing dig and my breakaway buddies worked hard to chase me down. With two laps to go I jumped again and the out come was the same. On the bell lap I hit em again and led out on the climb. Almost did it but not quite. I was pipped into second by Tim's mate

Hog Hill: Welcome to the Terrordrome

John Londoncyclesport - "IF YOU CAN RACE AT PALACE YOU CAN RACE ANYWHERE"


"Right, I'm gonna get my brother on to you". Do you remember that cowardly cry from your school days. It was usually from that annoying scumbag kid who'd lost out in a playground scrap for the nth time. Well Eastway may well be long gone but its bigger badder and tougher younger brother (Eastway 2, AKA Hog Hill)has finally shown up. You'll need to feel more than lucky to take on this bad boy. Yep some of 'us' are finally gonna have to do some proper training...

The layout is similar to Eastway. The judges and race announcer shed is now a proper building. Interestingly enough like the old Eastway it faces a main large building (which houses excellent facilities - bike storage, showers, club rooms, etc). The similarities don't stop there! - taking the anticlockwise loop you roll down a short ramp, then there's a wide left hand bend (replacing that hairpin bend of course); the road then drops down slightly before rising up again. After that things change markedly - a supper whizzy descent gives way to a series of bends, twists, turns and a proper hairpin before you eventually complete the 2k loop heading back up towards the HQ & start/finish line via a brutally harsh 12-14% climb.

Being a lover of all things new and shiny I signed on with 75 others for bank holiday Monday's Southend Wheeler's 3/4 race. The pace was fine (for me at least!)and most people coped with the circuit without problems. In fact it was quite easy to pedal around even the tightest hairpin bend and this was helped by the super smooth surface. The club with the largest number of riders was Team Economic Energy and in the early laps one of their strong riders David was putting in lots of work.

The organisers spiced up the race with £5 and £10 preems which only a handful of people really challenged for. The climb could be managed in 53/23 but quite a few spun up in the small ring. With around 13 laps of the 25 to go Nigel Ling (Citihub) and another rider pulled out a 10 second gap. I was still mid bunch and bided my time just to see what would happen.

Oh I should point out that the climb ensured riders were being summarily dismissed from the bunch on a lap by lap basis. This course takes no prisoners. Oh dear, you should've seen the the E12 field explode all over the circuit - it was UGLY!

Now which training sessions guarantee you'll be able to join any 3rd cat breakaway? Mmm! Before Nigel Ling (CityHub)and his partner in crime managed to eek out some more seconds it was time for me to start riding at my 2 x 20 threshold pace. Having put in a subtle dig just before the climb I surged ahead of the bunch; a big maximum effort was needed and I hit the climb in 53/21. Oxygen depletion over and maximum heart rate achieved (phew!) I managed to get across to them on the descent. sh1t! was it something I said? Ling's breakaway buddy suddenly went backwards. After a huge turn on the front from my good self our gap time went up slightly and a lap later an Economic Energy rider impressively made his way across came on board. Would three be the magic number?

No guessing which lady was the most animated supporter now that one of her riders was in the decisive break. Leslie Everest the life blood of Team Economic Energy was particularly vocal from the sidelines. The laps soon began to fall and with a 25 second gap with three laps to go we were gonna make it.

Once again the breakaway conundrum presented itself. Do I (A) light things up pursuit style on the last lap? (B) attack a few times and try to drop em or (C)chance it in the sprint. Unlike Goodwood I went for the sprint up the hill. My jump wasn't great and it wasn't helped by wrong gear selection. Nigel Ling (Cityhub) took the initiative, closely followed by the The Economic Energy rider. Only a bike length between us. A great race and a fantastic circuit, well done to the Eastway Supporters Group and all others involved that have made Hog Hill happen

3/4 cats 75 riders

1 Nigel Ling Cityhub
2 Javier Garcia T.E.E
3 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe cc
4 Jo Skelton Brixton cycles
5 Kier Apperley CC Hackney
6 Mark Howard Shaftesbury cc
7 Mark Holt Cambridge Uni
8 Damion Foy Eagle cc
9 Daniel Scott Shaftesbury cc
10 Ralph Keeler Cambridge cc

Goodwood 3rd Cats (17.08.08)

At various points throughout the day youth, women, 4ths, 3rds, E12's and the Revolutions 5 day racers all got to sample Goodwood Aerodrome's windy 2.4 mile circuit. After a tortuous two hour drive from North London via the M25 I just managed to get to the circuit in time for the start of the 3rd cat race (20 laps - 48miles). Once Keith Butler got us going I was determined not to revert to type by attacking needlessly from the off. In fact the need to warm up meant any jumping around would be put on the back burner for a while. Fortunately the pace was comfortable from the start so it was easy to just chill at the back of the bunch . Hanging at the back is not something I'd generally recommend, but Goodwood circuit allows you to do that in the 3rd cat races.

At the front of the fifty or so riders the big fella from Der Ver, a Bayeaux Landscape rider and a couple of others occassionally tried their luck. The combination of headwind and a bunch with fresh legs meant nothing was gonna go and things pretty much stayed together for the first hour. By now I'd positioned myself a little closer to the front. When a couple of Velocity riders pulled away from the pack on the draggy bit it looked kinda promising so I jumped across. This brief bit of excitement was soon over and a lap later I found myself on the front. Mmm!! Peeps were lined up behind me but no one seriously fancied having a go. I swung off and allowed others to do some wind-catching. As the promoting club the Velocity duo were determined to show their colours and soon they were off again. Another game of follow the leader ensued and I shouted to them that "we've got a gap". Never one's to miss a breakaway opportunity an Agiskoviner rider soon joined us and our cycling quartet began to work together.

Despite working well the four of us didn't quite have it against the wind. To survive we were gonna need some help. Two and half laps later five more riders bridged across. Just to make sure they weren't gonna sit on I shouted "two lines; thru and off boys" and surprise suprise they complied. A few strong pulls here and there between myself and the Akiskoviner rider shook of any light weights and with five laps to go we were now a strong bunch of six. Sadly we had to say goodnight to the Velocity boys.

Myself and a Twickenham CC rider continued to cajole the group during the well executed through and off. Soon we were close to 45 secs on the bunch. With 3 laps to go the Pearsons rider announced "yes we're gonna make it'. So there we were - one Addiscombe, one Norwood Paragon, a Pearson, an I-Team, a Twickenham and one other rider. So far nobody had missed a turn apart from the Norwood Paragon guy. With two laps to go I needed to make a decision. These guys all had calves double the size of mine (not hard). Could I take the risk of a sprint finish? On the windy drags I'd occasionally pulled thru a little on the hard side just to see who had a real snap about them. Both the Pearson and the Agiskoviner guys looked strong. On the bell lap my mind was made up!... The Agiskoviner guy pulled thru and switched to the right; I was on the Pearson riders wheel as it was his turn to switch over. At this point we'd hit the windy draggy bit and I began sprinting - Hard! Yes people, it was time to go for a long one. Thirty seconds later I finally plonked my butt on the seat and began my Bradley Wiggins pursuit impression. The Pearsons rider was coming up fast. Perhaps he was 25 metres away. I clicked down to 53-14 and stomped harder. Again I looked under my arm to see if he was getting closer to me. Shhit! it was hard to tell.

My solo bid for freedom felt unbelievably hard. I could feel the "burn" as blood lactate swamped my thighs. What about the gap to the Pearsons Guy? I wanted to look back again but dared not. I tried to remove negative images from my mind (Hillingdon - twice reeled in on the final bend, Ockley last Sunday - our break was caught with less than 100 yards to go). At last the slight down hill section of the course, 53-13 was engaged... one man against five; my back couldn't get any flatter and I couldn't push any harder - things were very uncomfortable indeed. Finally I reached the chicane - 150 metres approximately from the line. I could see the small crowd to the right and the chequered flag. Forty metres to go and I was finally brave enough to look back.... Nobody There! In fact there was no one even close. Did I zip up my Addiscombe top completely and milk the moment? Of course I bloody did!! I Applauded the people back that were cheering me on (special mention to ACC's Chloe); then pointed to the name on the shirt and held up one finger as I crossed the line. Shhit I won and I won solo too. Goodwood was good for me!



Surrey League Revolutions 5 Day Stage 3 Support Races (Velocity Bikes CC)

Road & Track - 3
Place Rider Club Age Cat Disc Cat Rank Pts Series Pts
1 Toks Adesanya Addiscombe CC Over 23 3rd 10 0
2 Michael Ladbrook Pearson Cycles Over 23 3rd 8 0
2 Gareth Dickinson www.agiskoviner.com Under 23 3rd 8 0
4 Paul James Norwood Paragon CC Over 23 3rd 6 0
5 Joshua Worrall Twickenham CC Over 23 3rd 5 0
6 Howard Radcliffe I-Team Cyclist's Club Over 23 3rd 4 0
7 James Cotty GA Cycles Over 23 3rd 3 0
8 Tom Spreckley In Gear Cycling Development Squad Under 23 3rd 2 0
9 Mark Walter Over 23 3rd 1 0
10 Paul Aldridge Kenilworth Wheelers CC Over 23 3rd 1 0
11 David Hooper DH Cyclesport.co.uk Over 23 3rd 0 0

more racing..and more of the same

Hey whats up guys its been a while? Racing wise there's nothing to report really. I've generally been happy with my performances but still haven't had any results worth blogging about. In 3rd cat only races, 2,3,4's or vet races I've been part of a some good breakaways that have always been reeled in; in fact it was the last 50 metres in last Sunday's (10.08.08) Surrey League 3rd cat race at Ockley. Oh well if at first you don't ...

Finally it was fantastic to see Nicole Cooke's Olympic RR win on Sunday. Like most people I thought she'd lost her chance on that final treacherous wet bend. It was slightly reminiscent of her caginess I witnessed first hand in one particularly wet stage of the Ras De Cymru stage race; Nicole was obviously just teasing us - adding some extra drama to a great race ;-)

Hillingdon (19.07.08) 3/4s:...damn so close!

If you're getting a little tired of my attempts at over analysis and embellishment in races - apologies - so am I. But seriously dudes - but for around 300 metres you would have had an epic tale of how I attacked Hinault style with every breath in my body and stayed away for the last 7/8 laps before the Terminator (that's what it said on his jersey ;-0) bridged across with 3 to go. Whatever!..we got swallowed up on the penultimate bend. Till next time happy riding! :-(

Bike Hut Ras De Cymru Stage Race

Background Info
Ok so back in Feb/March this year Paul Richards (Mosquito Bikes) asked if I fancied doing a five day, 6 stage Road Race in Wales. I must have said yes at some point but to be honest I can’t remember. So Team Han was formed. Adr Rocco (Rapha Condor), Phil Murrell (Finsbury Park), Paul Richards (Mosquito Bikes) and of course me, Toks Adesanya, (Addiscombe CC). So that was it. A four man team of fair- middling 3rd cat racers in a 2, 3, 4, Women and Juniors stage race. None of us were pulling up any trees race result wise so it was gonna be interesting but hopefully not embarrassing.

Phil kindly sorted out the administration side of things so on Tuesday 1st of July we all travelled down to Newport University, the race base, in South Wales. In much the same way riding the Etape gives you the chance to play pro at the TDF for the day this stage race would do the same sort of thing but over five days. Simple really, starting on Wednesday - Go Race, Go eat, Go sleep and repeat till Sunday. We all had our own accommodation - rooms in Newport University – and would travel out to the various race HQ’s everyday and then return back to our University digs after the race. The meals and accommodation were also part of the deal - £ 200 for each man or woman. A bit like on you're first day at College or Uni we were given a briefing in one of the sports halls, we handed in our licences, received our race numbers and our goody bags.

Stage 1 (Prologue: Llangybi-Llanhennock)

Description: a 4.3 mile rolling course ending at the top of nasty 8-10% kilometre climb.

So Team Han: Paul.R (Mosquito Bikes), Phil. M (Finsbury Park), (Adri (Rapha Condor, and me - Toks. A. (Addiscombe.CC) got going at around 3.45pm and like most TT’s we were separated by one minute intervals.
I wasn't particularly psyched about this short TT effort (11-14mins with ya tongue hanging out) but nevertheless was full of nervous energy. I kept telling myself not to go too hard at the beginning so of course that’s exactly what I did. It wasn't helped by the fact you rolled down a short descent then came up a short draggy bit which immediately had the heart panicking to match the oxygen requirement from my legs.

With a minute gone I quickly realised I'd pushed things too hard and but trying to control the effort was proving to be futile. Yes despite a fairly aerodynamic position on my road bike I was puffing and panting like a 50 a day smoker. 2 mile in I had other worries. The dark clouds that had loomed all afternoon couldn’t contain themselves any longer and in full on power-shower mode came down the rain. Oh and just to spice thing up a bit more, lots of painful hailstones. I couldn't see at one point so panicked a bit; a slight loss of balance due to the swirling wind and the fact my wrists were on the bar tops and I was nearly a goner.

I reached the turn off for climb suffering slightly and quickly found on the climb my rhythm wasn't what it should be. The night before during a recon myself and Adri had attacked the climb and felt pretty good ‘big ringing it’ to the top. During the actual event things weren't the same. Regardless I arrived at the finishing point in a disappointing 13.04. Not having all the TT kit made things a little harder, sure; but coming 57th out of 66 riders certainly wasn't good for my morale. Phil came in 20 secs ahead of me, Adri a few secs behind and Paul about a minute behind me.

Stage 2 AM (Abergavenny-Raglan-Usk…Abergavenny)

Description: 53miles; Bitch Hilly


We rolled out from Abergavenny Tennis club for a short Neutralised section and Stuart Stanton the race commentator was in full passionate vocal action - name checking all the racing pros - local girl Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley, Jo Rowsell etc. On route we rode past lots of school kids who had lined up near their school to cheer on Nicole.

The pace in the bunch was as you'd expect in your average 2/3 cat race fairly steady’s but pretty lively up drags and in response to attacks. Just as we hit the most significant climb of the day I saw Emma Pooley (Team GB) pull over with a puncture. The climb was a real stinker, I was mid bunch when riders started to loose wheels, gaps formed and those with the better power to weight ratios took full advantage. The climb wasn't too dissimilar to Toys hill out the Kent. The road surface was a little rougher however but in length and steepness they were almost identical.

So what do long climbs create? Tension? yeah of course, suffering no doubt. But most importantly - a split. There were around twenty guys in the front group and it contained the GC contenders, Cwmcarn Paragon boys, most of the Bike Hut girls and Team GB. The last man at the back of the front group was Dave Andrews (London Dynamo) I was sat just behind Dave when there was a slight surge in pace.

At this point the sensible thing would've been to jump out the saddle and hammer it across the gap. Oh no sir. I had one of my infamous knuckle head moments - trying to close the gap by spinning a low gear. Doh! Oh dear bad move. The gap grew to 40 metres and I was now in the land of no men. Jo Rowsell who had been alongside me for a good chunk of the climb was now no where to be seen. It was time to get my act together so I chased for around a mile and a half by myself; once the bunch had crested the hill I rejoined on the descent. A few miles later Rowsell and some other also crossed the gap.

The damage had already been done for at least half the field and no amount of bunch magnetism would be bringing them back. After the long descent the course had numerous wet twists and turns. Now I'd rather eat two jars of marmite (I absolutely hate the stuff) than descend in the wet. I don't know how Nicole Cooke feels about that brown salty gooey mess some people love on sandwiches but like me she was being overly cautious and also started slipping back through the field.

Once at the bottom of the slippery climb (Phew!) typically I was last bloody wheel. There was no chance for bunch safety because things became seriously stretched out and your safety line was the wheel right in front. Slowly but surely though I began to haul my skinny arse back up front. Shit!!Once again things headed skyward and in my out of the saddle dance I could almost lick the words Cateye off my cycle computer. I was chilling 2/3rds back close to Jo Rowsell again. I made some remark about Palace and she proffered a polite smile. No question about it this course had more lumps in it than a bowl of milk deprived porridge.
One more kick up shook off the hangers on and Jo Rowsell went AWOL with around five others. Things eventually flattened out and I asked if there were any escapees upfront. Nicole Cooke’s calmly told me that three were away with around a minute and a half on the bunch.

As we headed back to Abergavenny on the A472 a truce appeared to be called and we seemed to riding at club run pace into a head wind for around 5-6 miles. Nevertheless two guys gave it large and slipped off the front and one other also tried to get across. I too was tempted but sadly hesitated. Out of nowhere the 1k to go sign appeared and we all put the hammer down for the bunch sprint

Stage Winner: Joe Hemmant (London Dynamo)

Stage 3: PM (Abergavenny/Raglan)

Team Time Trial;

Description: gentle rolling 15 miles

Unlike the morning (stage 2), the TTT stage held in the afternoon morning was lovely and sunny. Each team went away at 3 minute intervals. Only Phil had the full TT regalia, Paul had Tri bars so myself and Adri would be spending the best part of 35 mins on the drops. We lost Paul within the first few miles and managed to take fairly regular turns right up to the roundabout which was the half way point.

However it was quickly apparent that Phil on TT bike etc was much stronger than Adri and I so being a genuine tester on the return leg he took longer pulls. I continued to take pulls but not for as long and Adri took even fewer turns at the front. The rules stipulated that the clock would be stopped after the 3rd man so it was important to stick together. Interestingly most four man teams finished with only 3 guys. We knew we weren't gonna set the world alight and we didn’t. 18th out of the twenty teams.

Stage 4 (Usk/Raglan/Charthouse)

Flat (apparently) 60mile

After two days of racing I felt pretty good despite fairly poor sleep. The stage had a very long 7 mile neutralised section which in terms of a warm up was just what was needed. It was a pretty testing course and flat it certainly was not. There were three loop of the 16 mile course to be negotiated each featuring a draggy 2 mile climb.

The first time up the climb some nutter upfront really forced the pace and that blew away a few backmarkers. Adri had a major mechanical where his wheel was rubbing along the inside of the frame and had to eventually get neutralised help. In the bunch there wasn't too much action although some peeps eventually got away. On the last lap I was up near the front watching in awe as Emma Pooley pulled the bunch. I attacked twice: once came to nothing but the second time I bridged across to Jonathan Ellis (Team Certini/Felt Racing) who had been dangling at the head of the bunch. We started working but only had around 20 secs for maybe 3/4miles before we were sucked back in. I think four managed to stay away and I finished in the main group behind the leaders.

Stage 5 (Storey Arms/Brecon/Fedynnog)

Description: Rolling with a Bitch Climb

I’m sure like me, if you'd planned a training ride with the weather like it was on this stage you'd definitely have cancelled it and got out the turbo. Despite it being the first week of July the day was cold, windy and very very wet. The race started at the top of a 2 mile slope and was essentially rolling but for the beastly 1k Defynnog climb. So for the first fifteen minutes the pace was effortless we cruised around the course. Shit! event the rain had stopped, things were warming up and the sun was out. Nicole Cook soon had her hand up and was talking to her director Sportiv - Julian Winn. She then slipped to the back of the bunch offloaded her gillet and was back up front. Each day she was giving a valuable lesson on how to remain in the top 15 of the bunch without ever putting her nose in to the wind. Classy Stuff!

Lots of concentration was required on this stage especially as two guys went down right in front of me. Yikes! The first time we rode up the Defynnog climb it was like trying to walk in a muddy field whilst wearing flip flops. 18% feels like 18% whether you’re a racer or club rider. 39/23 was engaged and most of us were twisting ourselves inside out just to get up the climb. The gurning, grunting and gulping was not pretty.

Weighing in at around the 90kg mark I don't know how Damian "The Fridge" Sharp (PSUK Cycling) managed to get himself at the climb, and in a good position each time. Like I said most of us were struggling. There was however one person who made it look like the proverbial walk in the park.

Yes indeed Ladies and Gents can I introduce you to the climbing phenomenon that is Emma Pooley (Team GB). Oh my goodness! Now don't get me wrong Nicole Cooke, Tim Wallis (Red Kite Cycles) etc and a few other climbed really well but they make the Defynnog look as hard as it actually was. Emma Pooley floated up the climb. Its all clear to me now R Kelly was obviously talking about Pooley when he wrote his RB hit believing he could fly a few years ago

The descent off the climb was extremely fast and the roads were twisty; having a clear view ahead was paramount. A poor line into any blind bend and your race would end at Gwent Hospital. Back on the flat we hit a fast road and we were strung out at 40mph. I can remember at one point the GB girls (Jessica Allen and Emma Pooley) cruising past me on either side like it was a Saturday club run.

Quite a few peeps had tried to get away but I think the break slipped away on the second time at the climb. On the 3rd time up the climb Emma Pooley comfortably pulling the bunch along as we approached the climb; Damian 'the Fridge' was on her wheel (it looked almost cartoonesque but I guess you had to be there!). To take advantage of slipping I got on the front and led our penultimate visit to the 1k torture chamber they call Defynnog

On the final lap Gordon Kenneway (London Dynamo) fancied his chances and jumped a way for a mile or two. He was always in sight and was soon brought back. The Fridge jumped clear at the base of the climb and was given a big cheer. Another hellish brutal final effort up the climb and the pain was over. I think the bunch sprint up the climb was won my Nicole Cooke. I rode back the 8 miles to the HQ and arrived looking like a drowned rat (oh yeah the sun wasn’t out for long). Race commentator Stuart Stanton bought me a hot cup of tea. “Welcome to Wales and some proper racing”, he teased.


Stage 6 (Abergavenny/Three Cocks/Llangynidr)

Description:
56 miles rolling with 4 mile mountain top finish climb

Another long neutralised section through the town of Abergavenny - everybody was in good spirits I guess knowing the pain would finally be over. Phaarrr..kin...hell!! When the flag dropped those Cwmcarn Paragon boys attacked immediately. Now I don't like sprinting at the best of times. At the beginning of the race in particular. It must have been 30 secs at least in the red zone before things relented... There were lots of narrow lanes for people to sneak off the front so we spent lots of time chasing down the attacks. As the GC stood, all the leader Tim Carter (Team GB) needed to do was not to concede 1.40mins and he had it in the bag. 2nd on the GC Tim Wallis (Red Kite Cycles) had other ideas naturally and throw in those crazy Cwmcarn Paragon with internal scores to settle amongst themselves this was gonna be a rough ride.

At one point a large group of 10 got away but with the bunch speed very high we soon had them in sight... What with mechanicals etc, my team mate Adri had had a tough few days racing and was determined to finish well. On one of the fast A roads I could see Adri struggling to hold a wheel so I pushed him forward. His recovery wasn't complete before there was another attack so I gave him and even lengthier push to stay with the bunch. Sergeant Jim Northway (PSUK GB Cycling) who'd been giving me a lift to some of the stages was now in a police chase of different kind. A chase to stay in touch with the bunch. He’d been riding well really but attacks are attempts to getaway. And sadly eventually we got away from him.

Kurt Green (Velo Club Montipilier) was one of the bunch entertainers; on some stages and he would often start singing when we were approaching a big climb. Today however he seemed to have ants in his pants, constantly shifting and turning around adjusting his gillet, shorts etc. Sat on his wheel I was getting a bit nervous and really I didn’t fancy a tarmac sandwich at 35mph… More rolling hills; more attacks snuffed out and eventually we got to the toughest and final climb of the whole race. Naturally there were a few surges as people scrambled to attach themselves on to good wheels.

THE FIRST ONE TO THE TOP IS A POOLEY!... I'd decided to just spin in 23/39 and whatever happened happened. On the lower slopes I was soon alongside the London Dynamo clan. Quickly G. Kenneway and M. Bridge pulled away and so did my team mate Phil Murrell (Finsbury Park) later forming a group of 8 riders.

I caught up with Dave Andrews who had initially surged past everyone and then I rode past Joe Hemmant. A hundred metres later Joe returned and give me a friendly nudge as I weaved across his path. I couldn't help laughing but Joe wasn't amused. I caught up again as he pulled away and then had a 30 metre lead on him by the two mile mark.

He then came back and rode past and this time I had no reply so resigned myself to some time alone in the pain zone. Those of you that have or will be doing the Tour of the Black Mountains will experience this climb in the next few weeks. Good Luck!

With 200metres to go up pops fellow Crystal Palace racer Jo Rowsell. She's pursuit team world champ, less than half my age and oozes class. I once won at Palace a couple of years ago so we're clearly a good match. Jo pulled away spinning a low gear. Call it male pride but I was determined to beat her to the finish. No chance Dave Povall (Cwmcarn Paragon) who'd been bobbing and weaving like a tipsy boxer just in front of me challenged Jo to a sprint finish. Jo duly obliged and kicked Dave's proverbial and beat me to the line by 12 secs. So that was it the race was officially over. I'd finish 36th on the G C

Stage Winner: Emma “I believe I can Fly” Pooley

Later on after the award ceremony I saw Nicole Cooke and she smiled at me. I wanted to say good luck in Beijing but it came out as a head nod and a big smile back. A great event, met lots of great people. Chapeau to Simon Bray and his team, the marshals, helpers, Police, Outriders etc. It was a fantastic event which was flawlessly well orgamnised. Well done to all the racers. Maybe I’ll see you all again sometime


http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/roa/EventReports2008/20080706_RasdeCymru.asp

Palace (24.06.8): Same old..same old

I'm slightly baffled as to how it is I'm finding it so difficult to place at Palace considering I'm fitter than two years ago. Oh well last week Warrick Spence told me he had one of his best seasons in terms of results when he wasn't very fit...

Right then the race - the following ACC boys answered the calling in the 3/4's: Hal, Kieran, Johnathan, Mark, Daniel and yours truly. Supporting roles were by Chrissy (I' think Senior ACC lady ) and Stephanie. In the E12's was Sylv. I tried to get away a number of times early doors with a Corridori guy and a Dulwich guy but nothing ever lasted. Less peeps racing in the 3/4s this week and no neutralised bit with E12's made things a lot smoother!...Kieran had a dig for a lap with a few chaps but again they never had more than a handful of secs...A great solo effort by a fella in black with 5/6 laps to go nearly came off but we got him back so it came down to the inevitable bunch sprint. A school boy error by yours truly not being near the front on the bell lap meant I struggled which wasn't helped by cramp in both calves and touching wheels on the climb . Oh well c'est la vie...

Pearson Cycles Jaunts 5 Day -Stage 3

More from ACC's main man

ok so this is the stage with the finish up leith hill, and it was the one I was really hoping to do well in.

I had made some extra preparations to stop me getting cramps, taking more food with me, drinking tonic water, and having one of my bottles filled with some tonic water also.So the race got under way and I felt OK, fairly well recovered- but I could feel something was not quite right with my body as a whole.

On the first lap the first bit of excitement got under way. We were going past a couple of horses when they went BONKERS! they reared up and started galloping into the peleton, splitting the back 1/3 off, which unfortunately I was in!
Understandably the peleton sped away, seeming as they had 2 great horses galloping after them right behind. Eventually after about half a mile they turned off, and now the chase was underway to get back on. Me and a guy from the Army cycling union did most of the work and we got back on after a couple of miles.

I rested up for a bit and stayed well hidden.On the next lap the next bit of action for me happened. as we were going up a slight hill i hit a bump as I was changing down into the small ring and my chain came off, and stuck between the chain ring and the frame....i whacked my arm up and watched the riders gushing passed from behind. once it was clear I jumped off and put the chain on as fast as i could, not loosing too much time. Luckily I managed to get it down as the last car in the convoy went passed. i sprinted after it and stayed behind for a few seconds to catch my breath and regain my composure...

OK stu, you have to get back on!....I pulled out from behind the car and hopped it over to the next one. unfortunately for me there must have been some attacks happening or something, as the pace was pretty hot from the pack. I had about 6 or 7 cars to get by. I started hopping from one car to the next, having to sprint pretty hard to get round them each time. eventually i reached the 2nd to last car and then readied myself for the last big push for the back of the group about 40-50m in front, i shot round and cruised nicely past the commissaire who kindly indicated (i think) that he would turn a blind eye to my drafting with a wave and a smile

So i was pretty tired from that and took shelter mid pack, where my mind turned to this funny feeling i mentioned earlier. i realised i was feeling a bit sick. I tried to convince myself it was from my effort to get back on the bunch, but over the next couple of laps it got worse and worse, until just before 2 laps to go i pulled over and threw up at the side of the road.

I was was (am) gutted, as this was the stage a REALLY was looking forward to. I was in no mood to hang about so grabbed my dad and drove off home where I was sick a couple more times, and now I have diarrhea. I think I know the cause- this morning i accidentally ate an out of date microwave meal, at the time i thought it would be fine...but the urge to run to the loo as im typing now, is letting me know how wrong i was!

for me, i think the tour is over

stuStu Merckx Man

Pearson Cycles Jaunts 5 Day -Stage 2

2nd stage report from Stu Chamberlayne...

it was rather long and lumpy stage, at 63 miles and with 2 sharp climbs, and and long drag up the main A road through bletchingly. the finish was up a sharp climb that goes up to bletchingly...(the one where i always drop paul after the chaingang)

i was feeling fairly ok, and settled mid pack to see what was what. the first lap was pretty slow, and i had to restrain myself from making any futile attacks, which i would have done had it not been a 5 day race.

pretty soon however, the top guns started to fire up and the race got going... much better

i was fairly comfortable, settling in the front third of the pack. there were attacks occurring all the time, but nothing was getting away, so i decided to save my powder and not go with any, as i knew that there was a 90% chance it would come to nothing.

for me personally there was not that much action, i felt reasonably comfortable, and almost never in the red, accept having to bridge a spilt in the group a couple of times going up the long draggy bit, which is where the strong guys chose to attack each lap!

with 2 laps to go i could feel i was getting a bit more tired, and was having to get out the saddle on the climbs, but nothing to worry about- i downed the rest of my energy bars and took a big swig from my bottle. after about 10 minutes i could feel the benefits, and started my plan for the finish, which i thought might suit me somewhat.

however, with 1 lap to go, and with no drink left i started to notice the creeping of cramps

a few months back this would have been the end of my race, but ive learnt techniques on 'managing' it. firstly, dont get out the saddle, secondly spin the gears, especially up hill, and finally- if you need to respond quickely to a change in pace dont! gently increase the speed, and if it means loosing a few places so be it.

with my guru like knowledge acquired from un paralleled experience of cramps in a hard races i managed to hold off a full , crippling cramp of my legs, instead only getting the preliminary twangs and bubble sensations in my legs.

i knew my chance of a good finish was out the question, so i knew i just had to make sure i didnt loose too much time.

as we hit the finising hill i was mid pack, where i wanted to be to get as much shelter as i could . i got out the saddle round one of the steeper sections, but promptly whacked my a*rse back down as i felt my leg nearly go. so as can be seen in the results i finished with the main bunch, not coneeding any time to my nearest GC competitors.

so after 2 hour 40 minutes it was over, pleased to hold off the cramp but disappointed also, as i felt it was a perfect finish for me (a lap early! )

todays write up to follow later.....
stu
1 Richard Hoult London Dynamo 2 42 2:36:51 @ 0:00:00
2 Roger Smith VC Etoile 3 57 2:37:41 @ 0:00:50
3 Lee Tunnicliffe DHCyclesport.co.uk 2 16 2:37:51 @ 0:01:00
4 Richard Mason London Dynamo 2 43 2:37:54 @ 0:01:03
5 Daniel Felstead Dulwich Paragon CC 3 19 2:37:54 @ 0:01:03
6 Stephen Dring Team Echelon 2 52 2:37:56 @ 0:01:05
7 Jaco Ehlers Wildside RT 2 62 2:37:56 @ 0:01:05
8 David Kennett Norwood Paragon CC 2V 46 2:38:05 @ 0:01:14
9 Mark Jones GS Stella 3V 27 2:38:11 @ 0:01:20
10 Steve Home Twickenham CC 2 55 2:38:43 @ 0:01:52
11 Steven Saunders Kingston Wheelers 2 38 2:38:46 @ 0:01:55
12 Joshua Cunningham Bayeux Landscapes 3J 9 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
13 Adam Cotterell TriSportNews.com 2 53 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
14 Mark Sussex Wildside RT 2 63 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
15 Geoffrey Lulham Evans Cycles RT 3 23 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
16 Tom Spreckley In Gear Development Squad 3 36 2:38:51 @ 0:02:00
17 Guy Powdrill London Dynamo 2 40 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
18 Allan Ridler Army CU 2 3 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
19 Andrew Davies Fit-For 2 24 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
20 Cameron Carthen In Gear Development Squad 3J 31 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
21 Ben Wilson Private Member 2 49 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
22 Daniel Clark Brighton Mitre 2 11 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
23 Philip Watkins Old Portlians CC 2V 47 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
24 John Heaton-Armstrong Fit-For 2 25 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
25 Simon Bird Dulwich Paragon CC 3 22 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
26 Mike Cripps Army CU 3 6 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
27 Robert Bordi Beyond Mountain Bikes 3J 10 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
28 Mark Gibbs VC Meudon 3V 61 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
29 Stuart Chamberlayne Addiscombe CC 2J 1 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
30 Jason Green London Dynamo 3 41 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
31 David Wilson Charlotteville CC 3 13 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
32 John Saddler TriSportNews.com 2 54 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
33 Jason Salter Bayeux Landscapes 3V 8 2:38:56 @ 0:02:05
34 Oscar Challis Dulwich Paragon CC 3 21 2:39:07 @ 0:02:16
35 Dan Guest Army CU 3 4 2:39:07 @ 0:02:16
36 Kevin Knox Dulwich Paragon CC 2 20 2:39:10 @ 0:02:19
37 Duncan Hards VC Meudon 2 60 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
38 Justin Callaway DHCyclesport.co.uk 3 15 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
39 Craig Northam Dulwich Paragon CC 2 18 2:39:13 @ 0:02:22
40 Niall Digby Sigma Sport RT 2 51 2:39:20 @ 0:02:29

Pearson Cycles Jaunts 5 Day -Stage 1

In only his second season of racing Addiscombe CC Junior rider, Stu "Merckx Man" Chanberlayne reports on his first five day stage race - Pearson Cycles Jaunts 5 Day


...so i got a lift with Dave Kennett down to the prologue and he gave me some useful information about the time trial - it was pretty lumpy, with a long down hill section near the start, and then up hill most of the way to the finish.


I was the first to set off; i felt well rested, but a little sluggish for the first couple of minutes.The hardest part of the time trial was the down hill sections, as I was spinning out at about 36-7 mph, when I new if I had adult gears I could be pedaling to about 45 or so. so for much of the down hill sections i was just in the tuck position, and acutely aware i was loosing time.

However, at least it meant i was fresh for the hills, and there were a fair few, and some pretty long ones. i gave these my absolute all, and looking at my HRM i was having to hold myself back sometimes as i was at around 97-98%.

in the end, as the results show i finished in 19.35, which i was satisfied with, and perched just outside the top 20.

cheers
stu

Pos. Name Club Cat Race # Time
1 Guy Powdrill London Dynamo 2 40 0:18:08
2 Craig Northam Dulwich Paragon CC 2 18 0:18:21
3 Jaco Ehlers Wildside RT 2 62 0:18:37
4 Kevin Knox Dulwich Paragon CC 2 20 0:18:41
5 Lee Tunnicliffe DHCyclesport.co.uk 2 16 0:18:45
6 Adam Page Kingston Wheelers 2 37 0:18:47
7 Niall Digby Sigma Sport RT 2 51 0:18:48
8 David Kennett Norwood Paragon CC 2V 46 0:18:52
8 Steven Saunders Kingston Wheelers 2 38 0:18:52
10 Richard Hoult London Dynamo 2 42 0:18:55
11 Ben Wilson Private Member 2 49 0:18:56
12 Allan Ridler Army CU 2 3 0:18:59
13 Oscar Challis Dulwich Paragon CC 3 21 0:19:13
14 Dan Guest Army CU 3 4 0:19:14
15 Daniel Felstead Dulwich Paragon CC 3 19 0:19:15
16 Richard Mason London Dynamo 2 43 0:19:19
17 Joshua Cunningham Bayeux Landscapes 3J 9 0:19:20
18 Adam Cotterell TriSportNews.com 2 53 0:19:22
19 Stephen Dring Team Echelon 2 52 0:19:23
20 Mark Matthews awcycles.co.uk 2 7 0:19:28
21 Duncan Hards VC Meudon 2 60 0:19:30
22 John Saddler TriSportNews.com 2 54 0:19:32
23 Stuart Chamberlayne Addiscombe CC 2J 1 0:19:35
24 Mark Jones GS Stella 3V 27 0:19:41
25 John Heaton-Armstrong Fit-For 2 25 0:19:43
27 Jason Green London Dynamo 3 41 0:19:44
28 Roger Smith VC Etoile 3 57 0:19:44
28 Mike Cripps Army CU 3 6 0:19:45
29 Steve Home Twickenham CC 2 55 0:19:46
30 Jake Butler In Gear Development Squad 2J 32 0:19:48
58 Mark Gibbs VC Meudon 3V 61 0:21:47
59 Geoffrey Lulham Evans Cycles RT 3 23 0:22:38
60 Scott Taylor In Gear Development Squad 2J 35 0:23:00

Hillingdon: Back wiv da oldies

After Tuesday's excitement at Palace, this Wednesday's LVRC crit race at Hillingdon surprisingly felt much harder than usual. Des Gayler (Kenton RC) got things going right from the gun by stringing things out immediately. In a crazy case of 'anything you can do...' I blasted past him up the drag. 30mph? yeah baby! and a massive gap on the field. Doh! er now what? With the headwind on the back straight this kind of intensity was not going to be sustainable. I soft pedalled for a while and a lap later had sixty old blokes for company.

Shit let me tell ya peeps were jumping away all over the circuit so it was quite difficult to know which breaks to go with. After a few tentative attempts I finally got away.

"Come on we need to go faster, they're gaining on us" words of Mick Hill (Team Quest). And with that he put in a little dig that sent three of us sprawling after his back wheel. We'd been away for around eight laps and had been working fairly efficiently. However the pace got a bit too hot for one guy so we were down to four and the breakaway was looking less sustainable... Almost a year to the day I was dropped from a similar group and on that occasion Colin Roshier asked me to sit on the back and not to contest the sprint. Well a year on I'm a bit stronger and if I say so myself definitely a help and not a hindrance... suddenly David Walls appeared on my back wheel; David took a turn on the front of the break and the speed up the drag dropped from 27mph to 24mph. Not good! this all round bunch entertainer was gonna need a telescope just to see our race numbers if he fancied taking another turn. One lap later Mick bailed to save energy for another attempt and the bunch did what bunches do - gobbled us up

After that no other significant breaks was formed - indeed from then on it was just a case of 'burning the matches' with lots of desperate attempts to sod off up the road. I don't remember ever working so hard to try to get away. And good or bad there would be a price to pay for my efforts. So with around 15 laps to go, having just been reeled in for what felt like the 10th time I was sat near the back recovering. Now during the race the headwind would occasionally let rip and slow things down to club run pace. It happened a couple of times but on the third occasion I was not prepared. So damn, in one almost surreal moment half the bunch had magically transported themselves 50 metres in front of the rest of us. WTF! Aarrgghhh...how did that happen?

Phil Sheehan (Finchely RT) had told me to watch out for splits in heavy wind at Hillingdon. Shit too late!?... Along with another guy I started to grind out the watts just to get across the gap but all I could see each lap was the front group disappearing around the corner and me and this other fella stuck in the proverbial no mans land. Out of the corner of my eye I could see this elderly Sikh gentleman watching from the grassy bank with slight amusement as this skinny black guy in a yellow top tried ride to his bike fast. Was he laughing at me? Did he think I was a looser? Maybe I'm not sure

Finally I... how do you say it "I put it all out there and made contact" Jesus that was hard. Two laps later I'd partially recovered and was relieved to see the lap board say six. With 4 laps to go I was suddenly overwhelmed with a "fcuk this for a bag of soldiers" moment and swung off the front and got ready to quit. As the tail end of the bunch squeezed past me I stopped gave myself a mental slap and some how jumped back on. On the penultimate lap I was 3rd wheel from the front. Someone had jumped clear but my tank was empty so I couldn't respond. On the final time up the drag the sit in sprinter types blasted clear and I ended up just outside the top ten. That was the hardest 1hr and fifteen minutes on the bike this year. Jesus!

The Palace Files (17.06.08): the breakaway attempt

Work commitments meant I missed out on Palace last week so it was good to be back on my favourite crit... well I must say it was a funny old race: fast in bits, pretty slow in bits, crashes, some halfway house breakaways attempts and a bunch sprint.

Another big field - 60/70 perhaps (its getting quite popular now!). A good group of team mates (Addiscombe racers) on show in the 3/4's: Brian, Kieran, Hal, Steve B, Daniel and Mark . Once again I suffered from clip in failure so despite being on the front row I hit the hair pin bend in about 25th place. Clipping seems to works fine at traffic lights perhaps I need to relax a bit. It was a fairly steady pace early on but Kieran (in that distinctive blue helmet) and another guy were given some rope at the beginning and they both dangled ahead of the pack for 2 or 3 laps.

A little after this, the whole bunch was put on a collective 'go slow' as we tried to let some dropped E12 riders pull away. This seemed to take forever and in fact even after 4 laps they couldn't manage it so we cruised past and kept racing. Soon enough two guys attacked and quickly gained around twenty secs on the rest of us. On the flattish section near the start line I powered clear and the chase was on. Could I catch them without being dragged back by the bunch? Hey perhaps we/I could stay clear of the bunch for the whole race race mmm...with around 20 laps to go it wasn't going to be easy.

With my tongue out 'trying to catch flies' according to my main supporter Stephanie (Addiscombe CC), I finally managed to get over to them on the climb. It took two and a half laps and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest from the effort. Sadly one guy died just as I approached and was actually pedalling in reverse gear by the time I latched on; I went straight to the front to started working with his breakaway buddy but alas we were back in the clutches of the bunch a lap and and half later.

During this time I later discovered Hal (Addiscombe CC) had crashed out (he's ok). In the end it came down to a bunch sprint. I still make silly mistakes after 3 years at Palace. For the sprint you really need to be no less than 3rd or 4th position as you begin to crest the climb. Sadly I wasn't so only grabbed 10th spot I think. Oh well there's always next week. As I said to Kieran this 3/4 stuff at Palace is definitely getting harder.