CX Summer Series update - 2 races, 1 crash, 1 ambulance...1 win

Second blog entry for today.....

Time for a racing update:

The first day working at Griff's meant that I had to miss round 2 of the Newbury Summer CX series, by all accounts, a hot and tough evening. The course had been lengthened from the first round to reduce the number of laps and overtakes.

My next chance to race was round 3, P was busy, so this one was solo.. I loaded the car and drove to work, prepped the bike and headed straight over to Newbury from the shop. This time the course was reversed, going up the left side of the hill in a zigzag, going up into the woods and out on to a fast descent which turned it's way through trees and into the flatter park section. I did a couple of recce laps, tentatively at first on the fast descent and tight corners.. bit of a chat and then formed up for the race... I was a little slow at the start. The rest of the women's field was made up of two U23s and a U14, all routinely quicker than me. The first climb up the hill was tight and messy and I tried not to get in anyone's way so I lost positions quickly. After this, it was a lonely race.. I struggled to judge my pace and not get in anyone's way when the fast riders came through, The overtakes were a mix of good, poor and downright dangerous... and I just couldn't get a rhythm going.. actually, my laps were pretty consistent, if slow.. though I did find that I got faster each time on the descent through the corners...

Result - 4th place in the women's race (from 4 starters, no other veterans) and not last overall.

Onto Round 4....

This Thursday.. P collected me after work and we duly headed off to Newbury... in the rain. After the previous week, Mark (the organiser) had apparently asked the parks people to cut the grass...which they duly did the day before the race...and with the steady rain, it meant that the grass pickup on the bikes was really bad..

P came round on the first recce lap.. I ran with my Challenge Chicanes for this... the course was similar to round 3 but with even more back and forth on the flatter area but also the return of the really nasty little off camber kink that caught people out on week 1 (foreshadowing, as @CXhairs would say on the Svenness videos).. I gave the bike a quick clean and changed to the wheels with Challenge Grifos for a second quick recce, though I missed out the hill this time..I pushed a little to get my heart rate up and lined up for the start. the field was a little smaller and the women's race was just me and one other Veteran. I had resolved to start harder than last time and duly pushed hard on lap 1... I gapped my competitor and pushed on..the grass pickup was bad, the course pretty slick.

Mid race - looking focused

First time through the off-camber kink, I kept it as tight and high as possible and carried reasonable speed through it.. keep going... keep extending the gap...towards the end of the second lap, I really felt the bike dragging with the grass, already a couple of riders had pulled out with mechanicals and I'd seen one crash up ahead. On the third time up the climb, it was getting really hard and I heard the rear mech starting to struggle, at the top of the hill, I looked down and couldn't see my rival so jumped off, grabbed as much of the grass out as possible and set off... the Major felt like he was flying... I started to attack the course more... this time through the off-camber kink the bike slid a little and I had to pull hard to get the Major back up onto the course...

Lap 4 and I was pushing and feeling OK.. there were points where I was parallel to other riders and going as fast as the guys I could see. I went quite hard on the descent to keep ahead of a rider coming up to lap and let him by on the flat and hit the park section... as I went into the off-camber kink this time it gets a little blurry... I think the back slipped and then the front broke away, the bike went down and I fell to the right into the crest of the off camber bit..my head hit the ground HARD... it felt like the sky changed colour briefly (best way I can describe it) and it really hurt... I dragged myself up and (apparently) against the suggestion of the photographer who was there, I jumped back on was determined that I would NOT DNF and I would not get beaten after building such a lead (about half a lap)...

Full disclosure: my memory of the next period is hazy and has gaps...but I know I pushed...the last lap I rode was my second fastest of the night..I was fast down the hill through the trees, I know I was worried about the kink... I can't actually remember how I took it on that lap, nor can I clearly remember sprinting over the line (apparently I did) and rolled over to P...

I can remember sitting at the finish and there being concern, I can remember then being back at the car and Mark coming over (I Don't remember not listening to P giving me clear instructions based on his knowledge of head injury care which I duly ignored (sorry)). I was wrapped in a jacket and put in the car, Mark checked out the helmet, apparently intact, but concern for my state meant an ambulance was called. I was duly popped into the back and checked out. The ambulance crew were both professional, amusing (P getting given the hand injury leaflet instead of the head injury one, for example), calming and made sure I was OK. My head hurt a lot and I was starting to feel the impact on my side and shoulders.

After a while getting cleared and doing the paperwork, we exited the ambulance and everyone apart from the organisers had gone.. I thanked Mark and Jamie for sticking with us and keeping an eye on me. And we headed off home.

Result... 1st in the women's race (field of 2), but it was a win.. even if I can't actually remember crossing the line.

Overall ... I'm now sitting second in the overall standings but I may not be racing this coming week, either because I may be away with work, or if not, because concussion is a risky thing and I probably shouldn't race.

All results are here

----

Oh, yes..... just to add "insult" to "injury", our car has been having issues, P had been getting it checked earlier in the day and we'd been told it was OK to drive.... but.....

On the M4 coming to Reading there was a bang and the engine sounded awful..we pulled to the side and left at the junction...pulled into a business park and called the AA..mentioning that I'd just been in an "incident" and an "ambulance" and we needed to get home... I was also starting to really need to use a loo..(I'd been drinking a lot after getting the all clear) we saw someone come out of the Verizon offices so P went and asked the security dudes if I could use a loo, so THANK YOU...not only did I get to use the loo, I stayed in the foyer whilst we waited and was given a cuppa too.. the AA were really quick and the patrol man did a fast, temporary repair to the exhaust downpipe (it had separated) and we were on our way..we got home around 2330... I went straight to bed and proceeded to get not much sleep....

---
UPDATE

After the crash, I've retired my Kask K50 helmet as it hit the ground pretty darned hard.

Here is the replacement...

As of today, I feel stiff and sore, the headache is diminishing (Friday was rather vague at work) and I should be OK for the event that I'm off to support for the next few days.... that I won't be able to discuss until after I return... till then.... take care... and ride safe, people....


P.S There are pics of both races HERE .. including a sequence of my crash, if you really must... I warn you... it's NOT flattering

A New Job and A New Shop

Back in March I heard that my local independent bike shop might be changing ownership. We've been customers off and on for several years and they supplied us with spares when P and I did our LEJOG in 2012. Not long after this I received an email from the manager of the new manager asking if I'd be interested in coming to work with them in the workshop. We then spoke at length about the plans for the shop, particularly the approach to women's cycling and making sure the shop had a full range of bikes and clothing for women and organising specific ladies night events and rides.

The opportunity to work with a team I know, in a shop very local to me, with such a strong focus on women's cycling was tempting enough to say a very positive "yes".

Couple this with a net reduction from 4 hours a day commuting to and from central London to approx 25 minutes total commuting across the woods behind where I live...No longer needing the folding bike, no longer needing to shell out for season tickets and deal with the vagaries of the rail network...and I can use the Cross bike through one of my regular training runs every single day... 

I think the phrase needed at this point is "no-brainer".

This meant that I spent a few weeks at home catching up on things and getting some good riding in, but on the 12 of June, I went in for the first time to the new shop to build stock and we opened on Monday 16th June.... 

So, Ladies and Gents, allow me introduce you all to......

Griff's Cycle Lab 

The first two weeks have been busy and productive, the workshop is getting booked out fast and we are seeing a great range of bikes come through.

The shop has a great mix of road and mtb bikes from Trek, Genesis, Ridley and Saracen, and our location in Crowthorne, Berkshire means that we are not too far from the Surrey hills and just down the road from Swinley Forest and I'm very much looking forward to our proper "formal" opening night event in a few weeks as well as some of the other things we have planned for the future, not least the range of Cyclocross bikes we will be bringing in especially the Treks and Ridleys (but I may be a little biased there)

If you are in the area, please do pop in and say hi...

A Ridley Liz and Trek Lush in the window

Pride of place in the front of the shop for the women's clothing and accessories

Oh, and I really love our logo...

 
Coming next .... Report on my last 2 rounds of the Newbury Summer CX series....

Race Support with Matrix-Vulpine

A few weeks ago, knowing that I was not working for a bit, I asked Matrix-Vulpine DS Stef Wyman if he needed any mechanic help at the London Nocturne (a (obviously) night time crit in central London, around Smithfield Market). He said yes....

It was a little strange heading to the Nocturne as it basically re-enacted my old commute. Cycling to the station, train to Waterloo, cycle up through Smithfield... though leaving at 2 in the afternoon was a weird timeshift (and it's the first time I'd taken the Major into London).

Arriving at Smithfield, the support races were already on the go, and after a brief and confusing conversation with a marshall about getting to the pits (you can't.. you have to sign in.... but you can't cross without accreditation) I spotted the Matrix-Vulpine team car and got a wristband passed over..

A few of the riders were already around, relaxing and enjoying the day. I parked up the Major, next to Helen Wyman's race Kona. and got ready...

The Major in more exalted company 

The day itself was a riot of noise and colour, and I mean RIOT....the PA was kicking out music at ear bleeding levels making any conversation in the pit nigh on impossible though apparently, a quiet word from a world no2 ranked CX rider to someone got the nearest speakers "accidentally" unplugged... nice one.

TV crew grabbing a few words with Baz

The support races were an interesting diversion, none more so than the Boris Bike race which, on the slowing down lap, took a turn when someone (who may or may not be a Radio DJ) decided to sort her hair out, riding no hands.. wobbled and headed straight for us... she missed the car next to us, Emma Borthwick jumped clear, and it hit Stef and the team car.. 1 bike and a few wheels skittled and one DS with a gronked wrist...

The team gathered and we prepped the bikes.. (major front end adjustments for Harriet and Jo's bikes) and then the riders began to warm up. We'd scored a great spot with enough room for the whole team to warm up on rollers/turbos and be seen by the fast growing crowd.

Warm up time

It was good to chat to the riders and learn a few of their set up preferences, and basically be there to catch things, hold stuff and make their evening easier.

"And they are off..." DS Stef Wyman and Nick Hussey of Vulpine make sure online fans are kept up to speed on the race.

The race was fast and hard, it looked like Katie Archibald (Pearl Izumi-Sports Tours International) was going to ride off the front until she arrived in the pits having had an off, getting caught in the barrier on the other side of the circuit out of our view. In the end, the team's best finisher was Jessie Walker in 11th.

Not the best results, but a great shop window for the team, with many people taking time to say nice stuff about the team. Penny Rowson mentioned that the NFTO guys had said it was cool that Matrix-Vulpine had a female mechanic (which is nice) and it was good experience for me.

After getting the timing chips off and loading the bikes on to the car, we sat and watched the Elite men's race (won by Tobyn Horton - Madison Genesis) and I set off into the warm london night (around half 10 to head home) A slow trip (with no loos and a half hour wait at Ascot) and The Major and I arrived in Camberley around 01:15 am for the ride home, in shorts and a short sleeved jersey...the roads were quiet.....the moon was out in full... excellent.

The Major sitting on a train at Ascot waiting to get home - ignore the lights, especially the impromptu green "bracket" at the back :)

-----

A few days later and we did it all over again, this time for the Matrix Fitness GP series race in Woking. An easy 30 minute drive from the house. I arrived nice and early, worked out the circuit and chatted to @argyle_panda who invited me over to the WWF offices in Woking for a quick tour.. very impressive building, a lovely space to work and imaginatively constructed for minimal environmental impact. 

I may have picked up a little friend at the WWF offices - He's now in Belgium !

The afternoon wore on and the teams had a major struggle to get down to the pits area. The riders rode down to the circuit, so whilst we waited for Stef and the car, I got the timing chips fitted to each bike (thanks to Rapha Condor-JLT mechanic for the pair of snips I proffed) and FINALLY the cars arrived, it took about an hour to get the cars from the parking round and on to the circuit. Bikes prepped and we were off again.... Helen only needed to secure one point in the sprints competition to secure the overall jersey win, and duly delivered at the first sprint... hereafter she is to be referred to as "Top Sprinter" Helen Wyman...

It did look like the team might get a decent result, but unfortunate timing meant that the front group caught a, as yet unlapped, group right on the final VERY tight hairpin, throwing the group into confusion and allowing Eileen Roe (Starley-Primal) to get a jump and take the win. Frustrating, but... that's bike racing...

The teams had to clear out quickly to allow the men's team cars in, so as soon as we'd got the bikes loaded, Stef shot off (on the long drive back home to Belgium, pausing only to collect Helen after the podium ceremony, and in possession of a small, panda shaped, passenger) and I met up again with Ade (aka @argyle_panda) and we watched the men's race from the Hospitality area by the finish... which was a nice end to the day...... 

Two days later.........New job kicked in..... but we will get to that soon.....

Thank you to DS Stef Wyman for the chance to help out the Matrix Fitness-Vulpine Team 

To (Top Sprinter) Helen, Jo, Penny, Baz, Louise, Jessie, and Sigrid for being a pleasure to work with.

To Nick Hussey of Vulpine for being dapper personified at the Nocturne and a top sponsor chap,

and to Emma Borthwick for the company and chat at the Nocturne.

Thank you also to Ade (@Argyle_Panda) and Adele Mitchell for the great company at Woking.

CX Race blog - I know, I know, It's Summer ....

Hello,

As ever, I finally get around to updating the blog when stuff happens... so.. this should be the start of a short series of entries covering:

1) Summer CX races (this one... the one you are reading now)
2) Job situation (new job... very excited and can finally discuss... will do this one in a day or two)
3) Race support with the fantastic Matrix-Vulpine team at the London Nocturne and final round of the Matrix Fitness GP series in Woking on Tuesday (so... after Tuesday)

Shall we begin ? ...good...

Whilst "between jobs" I've been trying to get a reasonable amount of CX training mileage in. I have a nice loop in Swinley Forest with mixed surfaces, elevation changes and it is VERY susceptible to weather changes...the loop contains mud, gravel, sand, loose, etc... a series of ramps ending in a steep climb. Really useful stuff... as is the ride out and back. The variety of weather we have had recently has made this loop really useful as the changes in surface and condition have given me a huge range of challenges etc.... but not grass....

Each summer, Banjo Cycles in Newbury, organise a summer series in Goldwell Park, Newbury on Thursday evenings. it's a grass park with a stream through it and it rises up a hill at one end (foreshadowing). This is a fun, informal(ish) event organised under the Go-cross rules (no BC licence required) to encourage people to try CX. there are two short under 14 races and then, every one else.. no Senior/vet/women split...just a 40 minute race with all categories, so everything from someone in a British Masters National Champs stripey blue jumper to...well.... me....

The course changes week to week to keep it "fresh", which is a great idea, and for round 1 contained a couple of off camber sections, one of which caught nearly everyone out on their first recce laps... a zig zag up the hill, which made it feel like a bumpy grassy Alp, wooded track at the top, a descent and a little pool of mud, which grew more and more interesting as the race progressed.

P came with me to swanny, as usual, but also took his cross bike and rode the recce laps with me, which he really enjoyed.

P and I on the recce - Picture courtesy of Alastair Jarman

The usual milling about and saying "hi" to friends from the winter Wessex League CX scene followed then we were called to the start.

As usual, I gridded towards the rear and started with my usual pace (not quite fast enough) and, as usual, got caught behind someone having a "moment" on lap 1, in this case it was someone not quite getting the sneaky off camber section right and holding up those behind. After which I got into as close to a rhythm as pandas get... not far ahead of me was another woman, in black and on a white BMC,

She was quicker than me on lap one, but on the second lap, I managed to close her down on the climb.. I am still surprised that the courses with climbs tend to be the ones where I make up ground. Hills and I don't get on... She repassed me on the flat after the start/finish and then I passed her again on the long, zig-zaggy ramp.

OK, so not QUITE Alpe D'Huez, I know - Picture courtesy of Alastair Jarman

The climb gets steeper and the last hairpin would apparently get steeper and steeper as the race went on.... my first few laps were pretty consistent...and I was just stretching my lead on the other woman (Charlotte Kelly, as it transpires) on each climb and she was pegging me back on the descent and flat. The seniors and fast men were lapping us, but our "race within a race" was really motivating for me. as the laps added up , we slowed slightly with each lap, each time I pushed on the climb and each time, Charlotte made some of it back on the descent and mud splash (though I did hear her swear as we went through on the third or fourth lap as it was getting deeper and slicker and it sounded like she almost didn't make the sharp turn after it... in fact, several of the men managed to come off at some point going through there...I had a "moment" a couple of laps later too)...

Coming through there on the seventh lap, P ran over and shouted "finish this lap" .... I had a few seconds on Charlotte, but knew she was closer than ever, so sprinted out of the last corner as if I was actually a racing cyclist and crossed the line 5 seconds ahead... it was brilliant having such a close competitor all race, I don't think we were ever more than 10 seconds apart.. and great to thank her afterwards for such close racing...

The results show that there were 5 women racing, of which, I finished 3rd overall.. and there were three veteran women racing... of which, I finished first.... I'm quite chuffed about that.. even though it was a limited field and not a league race... it's still my best ever result..

The Major (Major P) ran faultlessly throughout, I ran on the Challenge Chicanes which I've been training on and they have coped brilliantly in a really wide mix of conditions...

So... thanks to everyone involved for organising, taking pictures and racing...

The official (and rather funky interactive) results are here

And I'll finish with one of the few race photos where I don't look like I am dazed, bemused or breathing though some orifice other than my mouth !

Lap 1 with Chris Burch (who took the Thruxton race pics) - picture courtesy of Alastair Jarman

And I'll be back soon for 2) and 3)

Ride Safe
Panda