The Planned Plan Update

A fair amount has happened since last we spoke about work.

Holdsworth Cycles has closed it's doors for the last time, and I've moved on. Thankfully, I had already negotiated a new role before the closure announcement so, for those of you who haven't added 2 and 2 together, I'm now working full time as the lead instructor at Cycle Systems Academy. I started in October and have been very busy since. I'm in the middle of teaching my second Level 2 course and have co-led a Level 3 course last year. We also took 6 weeks out to work on a photoshoot to support the new tutorials that we are planning to go online. The pictures, taken by Richard Olivier  are really rather impressive, and it was a pleasure to have some creative input on the shoot. We seemed to work pretty well together.. A tiny bit of Richard's talent must have rubbed off as I spent a bit of time over the Christmas break playing with my own DSLR.. the results follow...( I know, you've seen a couple of these before)

 

I'm enjoying teaching and getting really good feedback from the students so far. There are more tutorial ideas planned in future and I think it's a really interesting time to be a full time part of the CSA family. Sean Lally (boss) and John Galloway are relaunching the Velocast Tech podcast in Feb as the "Cycle Systems Academy" podcast, with the first one being a discussion about Sean's visit to Mallorca to see the Team Sky training camp. (It's worth a look back at the @cyclesystemsAC twitter feed to see his pictures) .

I was also invited to do a spot at a Women's evening at the Specialized Concept Store in Ruislip, the guys at the shop were great, the evening was a success and I really enjoyed chatting to women of all cycling experience levels that night. It would be nice to do this again. Thanks to Paul and the team at the store for a great night.

I'm waiting to see if I am doing any formal support slots for riders this year, but I'm keen to keep doing this and, if nothing else, P is talking about us doing another "bigger" ride. So, I'll be crew for that (and rider)

The Cross season is over for me now, but I'm still getting out on the CX bike most weekends and working on my skills. I have a long way to go.. but I'm enjoying the ride. As you can see in the pictures above, I've fitted both the Major and P's CX bikes with Challenge Grifo Open Tubular tyres. The first mud tests were very promising and I am really impressed with them so far..more to follow.

I'm hoping to be slightly more timely with blog updates (no promises) and I'm also hoping to get some more items recorded for the Bike Shop Show podcast too.

I'm busy, it's mostly about the bikes, and this is a good thing..

Panda

Races 3 and 4 - my CX adventure continues (SEASON REPORT)

I am way behind on updating you all on a few things, so let us start with my continuing adventures in cyclocross

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My 3rd race in the Wessex League was the North Hants Club CX at Basingstoke on the 27th October. It was cold and windy but the rain had held off. The circuit itself has a few distinct sections. the start and finish are around the playing fields and "clubhouse" thing in a park, this loops around and then through half of the BMX park (note to self, need to work on pump track training) and then into the woods behind to loop all the way around. The park section- wet grass, BMX track... hardpack with mud at corners and the woods... mostly very wet,slippy mud.

On my 1st recce lap, I was doing OK working out the lines etc until I came to the main obstacle. At the back of the playing field is a big bank, we ride along the top of it... to get there, we ride straight up it and the "ride up" is not even.. lots of chunks out of it. As this was a recce, I could pick my line, attacked into the bottom, got within about a foot of the top and lost speed. As my weight shifted, the front wheel lifted and... Sky/ground/sky/ground/sky/ground/Thud.. All the way back to the bottom, still with my right foot clipped in.. I was a little shaken, but actually, surprisingly OK. I checked the Major out and we resolved that, in the race, we'd run that bit.

I did one more, faster, recce as a warm up (running the hill) and it was time for the off. I got my customary start (not particularly quick) but made up a few spots with good line choices through the switchbacks in the "orchard".. This put me well placed amongst the girls with whom I usually race. The race itself wasn't great.. on the run back from the "start line" we were into the wind and I just didn't have the power. I was also pretty tentative on the wet mud and a couple of off camber drops. I had a good phase in the middle racing directly with one of the Cotswold Veldrijden girls but after a while, couldn't hold her wheel and dropped back. On the second to last lap things were "enlivened" by finding a 5 yr old kid standing mid track as I entered the BMX park section (I may have shouted VERY loudly at this point) and on the last lap, I decided to see if I could "get air" on the first lump in the BMX track (achievement unlocked) .. other than that.. not a great day out, I felt that I got slower and slower. Final position (after a bit of a kerfuffle with results) was 11th out of the 12 women riding. (Season so far 7th, 11th, 11th)

This race also saw the enacting of a pact with a Twitter friend of mine @AccidentoBizarro who is in her 2nd CX season, that we would heckle each other as we were both racing at the same time (at two completely separate venues).. I have started shouting "COME ON AB" in other races/training rides since... pointless really, but it seems to help..

and onwards (I'd put the kettle on and grab a cuppa about now) to my last race of 2013 (and my CX season) at Thruxton on the 24th November.

A grassy hill on the side of the race circuit... a veritable maze of yellow and black tape with switchbacks a plenty and up and down and up and down the bank...  a recce ride showed that there was basically about 20 seconds of "recovery" along the top bank in the whole lap... lots of slippy and steep little climbs and some seriously off camber bits. Oh, and a lot of climbs came after switchbacks to kill any speed..

On the whole, I wasn't mad on the course, but it was sheltered, and dry and the surface wasn't too bad.

Just before the race, I met up with another Twitter chum chap, @ChrisBurch but only just enough to say HI and then dash off to the finish, he takes photographs (Foreshadowing)

At the start the commisaires delighted in gridding almost the entire field so I was even closer to the back than usual (saves time) and off we set... full gas.. downhill... max HR... push... up the other side... pushing... switchback...down, up... damn... legs got nothing.. slowing... argh... *looks down*... *notices that stupid panda may have forgot to change OUT of the big ring after the start* .. *changes down* ...and off we go again...ooops... this cost me a few places...but when I got going, I actually had some speed.. I chased down the first women ahead and got past her on a descent (I'd followed one of the seniors down this in the recce and learned where he was braking..it was MUCH later than I would normally, but damn, did it help) and set about the next girl up the circuit..caught and passed her and pushed on  ("COME ON AB"). other than a few slips on the off camber bits and having to run a few of the "ups" as the grass cut up, I was actually going quite quickly (for me) I crossed the line on the bell lap and P shouted a gap to the next rider, a chap , up ahead... 20 seconds... I closed this in a third of the lap, sat behind then passed him, only to get balked unintentionally on one of the final ramps and he edged away, but I think I'd basically used up everything by this point and could not eat into the gap again... It was only as I got close to the finish that I realised that I hadn't been lapped by any of the women yet... and...then the lead woman rider swept past to lap me... as did 2nd place but only as we were crossing the line (I even pulled out a half decent sprint).. That race actually *whispers* felt good !!! Final position....... 6th ! my best result yet , and my strongest race (with no mechanical issues and I didn't even fall over on the recce)

There might be something in this CX lark....

Oh, and in case you needed proof... here are a few of Chris's photos from the day (thanks, Chris)

A Panda, racing (and almost looking like she knows how)

The barriers, Yes, I run them, No , I don't bunny hop (would end badly)

Action shot... (note how short straight bit is since previous corner)

Bell Lap - Eyes on the target ahead (Note: Niels Albert style zip position)

Oh, and the Major? he's brilliant.. it IS all about the bike, y'know... that bike is waaay better at CX than I am.. so much so, I've bought him some Challenge Grifos for Christmas. Well he HAS been good.

I took these yesterday, I rather like them

Final Season Report  -  4 races , no DNFs , results 7th, 11th, 11th, 6th...

I'm quite proud of that for my first "season" of CX

Panda Note:
I didn't affiliate to the league, had I done so and scored points accordingly, I've just looked at the British Cycling national rankings... and it would have placed me joint 117th in the country..... which is only 116 places behind 7 times British Champion and reigning double European champion, the brilliant, Helen Wyman.

So that's not too shabby really.

MORE TO COME... (yes, I know I was going to tell you about my job, but your tea has gone cold...off you go)