Best girlfriend in the world??? :)Tuesday, October 07, 2008
2008 Scottish XC Round 7
It was all a little last minute -I was talking to Robin on-line and he was asking me about what other races I had planned on going to for the rest of the year. There were not many XC races left and he mentioned a UCI C2 race that was being held in Scotland as part of the Scottish XC league. The race was going to be held in the famous 7Stanes MTB park so my interest was perked and Mel and I went and booked flights and a car.
A few days later we arrived into Glentress. On the drive there I was getting scared, I seen car after car with nice mountain bikes on the back driving in the opposite direction - were we missing something. When we actually arrived at 7 Stanes MTB park all become clear... We had actually arrived at a mountain bikers heaven. I actually have never seen so many recreational cyclists in the one place before (that were not part of some big event). It was amazing – all shapes and sizes on all forms of bikes from tiny kids on miniature mountain bikes to the strangest looking (normal) bike I have ever seen. It was a small jump frame with a massive downhill fork. It looked like a chopper!
Anyway, back to the race at hand – a preride of the course was had. Basically a big climb, (fireroad and singletrack) followed by a long, very wet and mucky descent, another climb and then another descent back to the start finish. The final section was down a freeride/jump park style track so there were lots of jumps to launch off. I liked the course, I didn't feel fast on the schlompy sections but the profile suited me.
Race day arrived with the usual “why am I doing this” sort of feelings. Regardless, I warmed up and got to the start line with plenty of time. My UCI points meant a front row start. At 2pm we were off. Gareth Montgomery lead us up the long climb (about 8 minutes) with Robin and I trailing a second or two off the back. My legs were feeling great and I was very comfortable – could this be the day for me to get a podium at a C2 event. I started the muddy traverse and into the descent, a slight gap grew to Robin (who seems to float over this kind of thing – I also think my tire choice – Racing Ralphs – for these long muddy sections was very bad – if I knew what it was going to be like I would have put a Nobby Nick on the front – ahh well, you live and learn). One guy passed me about half we down the descent and then towards the bottom another took an 'interesting' line trying to get by me and promptly crashed in front of me taking me down too :( I didn't notice it at the time, but his 44 tooth big chain ring left some bad cuts on my left leg. This wasn't too bad and once we got untangled I descended the final section, it was only when I hit the fireroad that disaster struck – my chain was completely messed up. I spun around the bike and started to try and fix it – my Garmin tells me I spent about 100 seconds doing this. All the time watching rider after rider passing – damn, that podium. I got back on the bike and decided to push hard hard on the climbs and just enjoy the descents. So for the final 100 minutes of the race that is what I did. The race actually felt really short and I enjoyed it a lot, the final few sections of single track were a real pleasure to ride and the single track climb towards the top of the major climb 'flowed' really well.
As the race progressed I picked off riders every lap and eventually finished off in 5th place – my last lap being my fastest (damn, I really need to learn to push harder) – I was closing in quickly on 4th and 3rd at the time. Considering, I was happy with the 5th but a bit frustrated that I blew my chance at a better race. The few days before the race my legs felt great and I had hoped for an even better result.
Lessons from this (and you'll see in my next race report too) – I really need to spend more time on the mountain bike going fast descending, since the Epic Blast (where I badly hurt my shoulder – it's now a month later and I'm still going to the physio) I have mostly been on the road bike. My feel for riding quickly on technical terrain really left me – it was frustrating, on a course like that, you can make up time on the climbs but the descents really did kill me.
View from our B&B
I have to say thanks to Alex of the Colnago Ergon team for providing support for both Mel and I and also the Millburn House Bed and Breakfast for a really pleasant stay. One last thing, I think this race was possibly the best organised and marshalled race I had ever been too. Commentary as you passed through each lap (telling you your position), digital timing with results up as you finished and more marshals on the course on the practice lap then I would see during a normal race! Excellent and thank you.
Mel won her race - her first UCI C2 win and her report is available here.
A few days later we arrived into Glentress. On the drive there I was getting scared, I seen car after car with nice mountain bikes on the back driving in the opposite direction - were we missing something. When we actually arrived at 7 Stanes MTB park all become clear... We had actually arrived at a mountain bikers heaven. I actually have never seen so many recreational cyclists in the one place before (that were not part of some big event). It was amazing – all shapes and sizes on all forms of bikes from tiny kids on miniature mountain bikes to the strangest looking (normal) bike I have ever seen. It was a small jump frame with a massive downhill fork. It looked like a chopper!
Anyway, back to the race at hand – a preride of the course was had. Basically a big climb, (fireroad and singletrack) followed by a long, very wet and mucky descent, another climb and then another descent back to the start finish. The final section was down a freeride/jump park style track so there were lots of jumps to launch off. I liked the course, I didn't feel fast on the schlompy sections but the profile suited me.
Race day arrived with the usual “why am I doing this” sort of feelings. Regardless, I warmed up and got to the start line with plenty of time. My UCI points meant a front row start. At 2pm we were off. Gareth Montgomery lead us up the long climb (about 8 minutes) with Robin and I trailing a second or two off the back. My legs were feeling great and I was very comfortable – could this be the day for me to get a podium at a C2 event. I started the muddy traverse and into the descent, a slight gap grew to Robin (who seems to float over this kind of thing – I also think my tire choice – Racing Ralphs – for these long muddy sections was very bad – if I knew what it was going to be like I would have put a Nobby Nick on the front – ahh well, you live and learn). One guy passed me about half we down the descent and then towards the bottom another took an 'interesting' line trying to get by me and promptly crashed in front of me taking me down too :( I didn't notice it at the time, but his 44 tooth big chain ring left some bad cuts on my left leg. This wasn't too bad and once we got untangled I descended the final section, it was only when I hit the fireroad that disaster struck – my chain was completely messed up. I spun around the bike and started to try and fix it – my Garmin tells me I spent about 100 seconds doing this. All the time watching rider after rider passing – damn, that podium. I got back on the bike and decided to push hard hard on the climbs and just enjoy the descents. So for the final 100 minutes of the race that is what I did. The race actually felt really short and I enjoyed it a lot, the final few sections of single track were a real pleasure to ride and the single track climb towards the top of the major climb 'flowed' really well.
As the race progressed I picked off riders every lap and eventually finished off in 5th place – my last lap being my fastest (damn, I really need to learn to push harder) – I was closing in quickly on 4th and 3rd at the time. Considering, I was happy with the 5th but a bit frustrated that I blew my chance at a better race. The few days before the race my legs felt great and I had hoped for an even better result.
Lessons from this (and you'll see in my next race report too) – I really need to spend more time on the mountain bike going fast descending, since the Epic Blast (where I badly hurt my shoulder – it's now a month later and I'm still going to the physio) I have mostly been on the road bike. My feel for riding quickly on technical terrain really left me – it was frustrating, on a course like that, you can make up time on the climbs but the descents really did kill me.
View from our B&BI have to say thanks to Alex of the Colnago Ergon team for providing support for both Mel and I and also the Millburn House Bed and Breakfast for a really pleasant stay. One last thing, I think this race was possibly the best organised and marshalled race I had ever been too. Commentary as you passed through each lap (telling you your position), digital timing with results up as you finished and more marshals on the course on the practice lap then I would see during a normal race! Excellent and thank you.
Mel won her race - her first UCI C2 win and her report is available here.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Weather in Ornans
14C and a 45% chance of rain! That sounds worse than Ireland.
Reports from the last two weekends of racing on the way soon - damn my busy life - 'off-season' will be here soon.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Slow Punctures...
Ever wonder how those punctures happen where the bike is perfect all ride, you put it away, still fine but the next day the wheel is flat... I found the problem...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
June in September
I was out on a pretty long spin this morning in what could only be described as Californian weather - the weather in Ireland has been mad this last while, hot, cold, wet, windy, dry... You never know from day to day.
When I was out, I took a spin down tomorrows Epic Blast course - this is the view from the top.
When I was out, I took a spin down tomorrows Epic Blast course - this is the view from the top.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
2008 Leinster Road Championships
My first road race since March was a DNF (mechanical) for me but Mel got to ride and win her first road race. She has some reports about it all on her blog here, here and here.
I gave her lots of advice (yeah, yeah - I know a lot - I have taken part in 6 whole road races!) and one bit was, don't look too strong coming towards the end of the race - save it for the end...
I gave her lots of advice (yeah, yeah - I know a lot - I have taken part in 6 whole road races!) and one bit was, don't look too strong coming towards the end of the race - save it for the end...
With one lap to go, somehow I don't think she was listening... :)
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
War Hill Today
An early morning spin in great conditions - you can't beat it. I climbed up Maulin (I think that is it's name) for the first time - a great rocky descent off it.
The peaks are Three Rock, Prince Willies and then Maulin followed by a blast home on the roads.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Tire Tear
It went straight to the bin afterwards though!
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Exposure Lights
I love when new boxes arrive :)
Just in time for the winter darkness, a bunch of Exposure Lights have arrived - Mel and I now have a Enduro and Joystick Maxx each. As I mentioned before, Mel and I used them in Bontrager 24/12 and I fell in love with them. So compact, simple, light and above all else, bright - oh, and the battery life is great too.
I'm still waiting on the delivery guy for my new burr grinder though...
Monday, September 01, 2008
2008 National Marathon Championships
I have competed in a lot of marathon type races so far this year, three UK 100km NPS Marathons (another in two weeks), the World Championships, Bontrager 24/12 and Mountain Mayhem so I went into our National Marathon Championships pretty comfortable with the idea that I could go and win the race if I pushed hard and wasn't too unlucky. This is the story of the 2008 Nationals...
The course was going to be two laps for a 31km course that included 850meters of climb. The 850 meters really does not tell the full story as there was very little easy meters gained – almost all of the climbing was tough off road with the major ascent (up Sheahan) being only the second time in the last 2 years that I acutally had to use the granny ring!
After the hill climb champs and all the driving I was pretty tired when I got to Dublin and set about getting ready for the race – getting the bike ready (changing a rear tire - to a previously used, known good one), getting food ready and trying to relax a little took me to midnight – a little later than I wanted with a 7:30am wakeup call for the race.
The Seahan Climb
Race day arrived with blue skies and my brother Mark arriving at my place. He had given up his day to give me some support (mental, food and mechanical) during the race. We arrived and signed in – there was going to be around 100 starters for the race. Shortly after 10am we rolled off. The first 5 minutes or were on a slightly rolling tarmac descent to the first climb – a really beautiful single track climb. James McClusky, Evan Ryan and myself went to the front and kept the pace pretty steady, that is until about 500 meters from the single track entrance. I didn't want anyone holding me up on the technical climb so I had all the motivation I needed to go quickly. The first 7-8 got in clean anyway (Joe McCall lead us in with me on his wheel) and we all settled into a high tempo pace. After the first singletrack climb I went to the front and tried to control the race from there. Due to the nature of the terrain, speeds were not going to be very fast here so I rather control the tempo from the front. A group of 6 (I think) of us rode the first 15km to the feed zone together where flying Junior, Liam McCreavy and myself broke off the front. This carried on around the open mountain traverse and then up the difficult ascent of Seahan. At the top of Seehan, I had about a minute on James (in second position for the senior race. The junior race was only 1 lap so I was not too bothered with them). I was enjoying the descent being pretty careful not to clip anything and go easy on the bike and I started to think to myself – this isn't too bad. I blitzed down a section of fireroad that lead to a road section when I heard a massive pop – damn! My rear tire was sliced open – on a fireroad. I was actually pretty calm, spun around the bike and started going about throwing in a tube (I use tubeless). For the race, I had everything planned very well but I forgot one vital thing – my CO2. I only had a tiny mini pump with me that I brought only if everything else failed. I continuted to put in a tube as I watched all my competitors fly by. I knew that I could be strong on the second lap so I didn't want to make any mistakes so I was very careful putting in the tube (no more spares) and pumped the tire to a high preasure. Eventually I got going, about 5 minutes behind the lead. (Tubeless is amazing – but you do forget how to change tubes quickly!)
I got back to the start/finish for the first lap cleanly and went about changing the rear wheel to one of my spares – I flaffed around at this and ended up wasting a bit more time (Thanks to Mark and Sean for handling me :)). I hit the road and knew I was about 7 minutes behind James. I knew that I could make that up in the 31km lap but it was going to be tough. With that, I sped off (being careful not to go too hard). As the various climbs came, I picked off people until I saw James on the Seahan climb. At this point, barring mechnical problems, I knew that I would catch him. A few minutes from the top of the 20 minute climb I caught and passed him and worked hard to distance him a bit before the descent. With the lead secured – I was very careful descending. I did not mind if he caught me as there was enough climb at the end, and my legs felt good enough that I could attack again if I had to. I rode the rest of the lap well and arrived at the finish line with a 6 minute lead over 2nd place and my first Elite National Championship.
James, myself and Evan
IMBRC hosted and ran the event (with a little help from EPIC on the day) and it ran perfectly. The course was challenging and super well marked with marshals at lots of locations along the route. Food, tea, showers etc... after the race went down well, and they even managed to organise some sunshine for the day!
So, with the National Champion jersey for the year, I guess that means I will have to do a few more marathons next year :)
Many thanks to Shane in Cycleways (bicycle support etc.) and my brother Mark and Sean for helping me out on the day.
There is a report and results available here as well as some photos (two in this post) here.
The course was going to be two laps for a 31km course that included 850meters of climb. The 850 meters really does not tell the full story as there was very little easy meters gained – almost all of the climbing was tough off road with the major ascent (up Sheahan) being only the second time in the last 2 years that I acutally had to use the granny ring!
After the hill climb champs and all the driving I was pretty tired when I got to Dublin and set about getting ready for the race – getting the bike ready (changing a rear tire - to a previously used, known good one), getting food ready and trying to relax a little took me to midnight – a little later than I wanted with a 7:30am wakeup call for the race.
The Seahan ClimbRace day arrived with blue skies and my brother Mark arriving at my place. He had given up his day to give me some support (mental, food and mechanical) during the race. We arrived and signed in – there was going to be around 100 starters for the race. Shortly after 10am we rolled off. The first 5 minutes or were on a slightly rolling tarmac descent to the first climb – a really beautiful single track climb. James McClusky, Evan Ryan and myself went to the front and kept the pace pretty steady, that is until about 500 meters from the single track entrance. I didn't want anyone holding me up on the technical climb so I had all the motivation I needed to go quickly. The first 7-8 got in clean anyway (Joe McCall lead us in with me on his wheel) and we all settled into a high tempo pace. After the first singletrack climb I went to the front and tried to control the race from there. Due to the nature of the terrain, speeds were not going to be very fast here so I rather control the tempo from the front. A group of 6 (I think) of us rode the first 15km to the feed zone together where flying Junior, Liam McCreavy and myself broke off the front. This carried on around the open mountain traverse and then up the difficult ascent of Seahan. At the top of Seehan, I had about a minute on James (in second position for the senior race. The junior race was only 1 lap so I was not too bothered with them). I was enjoying the descent being pretty careful not to clip anything and go easy on the bike and I started to think to myself – this isn't too bad. I blitzed down a section of fireroad that lead to a road section when I heard a massive pop – damn! My rear tire was sliced open – on a fireroad. I was actually pretty calm, spun around the bike and started going about throwing in a tube (I use tubeless). For the race, I had everything planned very well but I forgot one vital thing – my CO2. I only had a tiny mini pump with me that I brought only if everything else failed. I continuted to put in a tube as I watched all my competitors fly by. I knew that I could be strong on the second lap so I didn't want to make any mistakes so I was very careful putting in the tube (no more spares) and pumped the tire to a high preasure. Eventually I got going, about 5 minutes behind the lead. (Tubeless is amazing – but you do forget how to change tubes quickly!)
I got back to the start/finish for the first lap cleanly and went about changing the rear wheel to one of my spares – I flaffed around at this and ended up wasting a bit more time (Thanks to Mark and Sean for handling me :)). I hit the road and knew I was about 7 minutes behind James. I knew that I could make that up in the 31km lap but it was going to be tough. With that, I sped off (being careful not to go too hard). As the various climbs came, I picked off people until I saw James on the Seahan climb. At this point, barring mechnical problems, I knew that I would catch him. A few minutes from the top of the 20 minute climb I caught and passed him and worked hard to distance him a bit before the descent. With the lead secured – I was very careful descending. I did not mind if he caught me as there was enough climb at the end, and my legs felt good enough that I could attack again if I had to. I rode the rest of the lap well and arrived at the finish line with a 6 minute lead over 2nd place and my first Elite National Championship.
James, myself and EvanSo, with the National Champion jersey for the year, I guess that means I will have to do a few more marathons next year :)
Many thanks to Shane in Cycleways (bicycle support etc.) and my brother Mark and Sean for helping me out on the day.
There is a report and results available here as well as some photos (two in this post) here.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Summer in Ireland
It was funny - very misty up in the mountains but pretty nice once you got back down to sea level. The pictures really reminds me of the riding that I did in New Zealand.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
2008 National Hill Climb Championships
Last weekend was a pretty big weekend of racing for me as there were two National Championship events being held. On Saturday, the National Hill Climb Championships were being held in Linsfort, Donegal over the Mamore Gap, while on Sunday the National Cross Country Marathon Championships were being held in the Wicklow Mountains.
In this post, I'll just focus on the National Hill Climb Championships. Preparation began for it (outside of training!) in the leading week when I started to try and shed a little weight from my road bike. A super light set of wheels and full carbon saddle brought my bike weight down to 6.9kg (including pedals and the Garmin Edge bike computer).
My 'pimped' 2008 Specialized Tarmac Expert
Next hurdle was actually getting there. The race was about 5 hours drive from my home in Dublin so I staged it in two sections with my Dad kindly offering to cover most of the driving. (Driving takes a lot out of me and with the marathon on the Sunday, I was trying to conserve as much as possible). Due to the distance, I was not going to be able to have a look at the climb before the race so this is all I knew.
After a very friendly signon we all headed over to the bottom of the Gap – it was at this point that the rain and wind really picked up. The climb was going to be wet into a strong headwind – as if the elevation gain was not enough to contend with!
I got on the Turbo Trainer to warm up (something I don't use very often but found it perfect in this case) and got to the start line ready to go. To save weight, I didn't use my power meter for the climb but I had practiced pacing on a climb this length a few times recently so my basic plan was go a little easier (from a perceived effort point of view) then I think I should for the first two minutes and then pick it up – hopefully my power output would be pretty well averaged out over the climb.
5,4,3,2,1 and I was off up the hill. The next few minutes were mostly a blur with the odd self questioning - “why am I doing this?” - usually, this is a good sign – it means I'm pushing hard. The climb was very very steep – the hardest I've seen in Ireland by a long way and my 39x25 was two high a gearing for me to ride the hill the way I wanted. In general, especially more recently, I like to spin while climbing. About 80-90 RPM while seated and around 80 while standing. I basically had to stand almost all the climb, using all my mountain biking smooth pedalling skills to not spin out the rear wheel on the slippery tarmac while only pedaling at about 50rpm. After a lot of pain, I looked down at the Garmin to see I covered 1.55km – only 350 meters to go, but those 350 meters were like a wall. Already far into oxygen dept and a huge headwind I hit the final section which averaged out at a 19% gradient – I wish I had lower gears. I kept pushing and the crowd cheered me on as I made the final push. I crossed the line, placed my bike carefully at the side of the road (making sure not to damage the super expensive borrowed wheels) and promptly collapsed. I had no thoughts in my mind that I could have pushed harder – better gearing would have helped a lot, but I really did give it everything.
Looking down the climb
I don't even remember this bit!
The prize giving was held back in the Laurentic Bar in Linsfort where the supporting club (North Pole CC) put on a huge spread of food - the race was super well run by North Pole CC. The poor bar staff looked on at is as if we were a pack of locusts :) and it was not even a long race!
In the end, my time up the climb of 8:50 which was enough to secure second place – missing out on winning the Championship by a mere 7 seconds! (If only I was a kilo lighter...) Ronan Mc Laughlin who rides for the Pro outfit AnPost/Sean Kelly won the event – he looked smooth as I watched him pass as I returned down the hill.
There was only 14 seconds in the top 3 places
Results and a report are available here.
After all this excitement, it was a return drive to Monaghan with my Dad and then I drove back up to Dublin to start preparation for the following days marathon. It was a busy weekend.
I have to say a couple of big “thank yous” from this weekend. I really appreciate the support from Shane Connaughton from Cycleways, Eoghan (sorry – I need to get your second name) and Ross McClure. They helped me out with seriously lightening up my bike, Eoghan and Ross giving me the use of their mega light Lightweight wheel-set. Those things are ridiculous! I would be getting a pair if I did more road racing to warrant such an expense! Also, a big thanks to Dad for driving me to and from the race and supporting me around it - it was a huge huge help!
So next year – 7 more seconds... I'm getting closer :)
In this post, I'll just focus on the National Hill Climb Championships. Preparation began for it (outside of training!) in the leading week when I started to try and shed a little weight from my road bike. A super light set of wheels and full carbon saddle brought my bike weight down to 6.9kg (including pedals and the Garmin Edge bike computer).
My 'pimped' 2008 Specialized Tarmac ExpertNext hurdle was actually getting there. The race was about 5 hours drive from my home in Dublin so I staged it in two sections with my Dad kindly offering to cover most of the driving. (Driving takes a lot out of me and with the marathon on the Sunday, I was trying to conserve as much as possible). Due to the distance, I was not going to be able to have a look at the climb before the race so this is all I knew.
- A very tough climb – maybe the toughest in the British Isles
- 1.9km long with 250 meters of climb
- 10 bends and 4 switchbacks
After a very friendly signon we all headed over to the bottom of the Gap – it was at this point that the rain and wind really picked up. The climb was going to be wet into a strong headwind – as if the elevation gain was not enough to contend with!
I got on the Turbo Trainer to warm up (something I don't use very often but found it perfect in this case) and got to the start line ready to go. To save weight, I didn't use my power meter for the climb but I had practiced pacing on a climb this length a few times recently so my basic plan was go a little easier (from a perceived effort point of view) then I think I should for the first two minutes and then pick it up – hopefully my power output would be pretty well averaged out over the climb.
5,4,3,2,1 and I was off up the hill. The next few minutes were mostly a blur with the odd self questioning - “why am I doing this?” - usually, this is a good sign – it means I'm pushing hard. The climb was very very steep – the hardest I've seen in Ireland by a long way and my 39x25 was two high a gearing for me to ride the hill the way I wanted. In general, especially more recently, I like to spin while climbing. About 80-90 RPM while seated and around 80 while standing. I basically had to stand almost all the climb, using all my mountain biking smooth pedalling skills to not spin out the rear wheel on the slippery tarmac while only pedaling at about 50rpm. After a lot of pain, I looked down at the Garmin to see I covered 1.55km – only 350 meters to go, but those 350 meters were like a wall. Already far into oxygen dept and a huge headwind I hit the final section which averaged out at a 19% gradient – I wish I had lower gears. I kept pushing and the crowd cheered me on as I made the final push. I crossed the line, placed my bike carefully at the side of the road (making sure not to damage the super expensive borrowed wheels) and promptly collapsed. I had no thoughts in my mind that I could have pushed harder – better gearing would have helped a lot, but I really did give it everything.
Looking down the climb
I don't even remember this bit!
The prize giving was held back in the Laurentic Bar in Linsfort where the supporting club (North Pole CC) put on a huge spread of food - the race was super well run by North Pole CC. The poor bar staff looked on at is as if we were a pack of locusts :) and it was not even a long race!
In the end, my time up the climb of 8:50 which was enough to secure second place – missing out on winning the Championship by a mere 7 seconds! (If only I was a kilo lighter...) Ronan Mc Laughlin who rides for the Pro outfit AnPost/Sean Kelly won the event – he looked smooth as I watched him pass as I returned down the hill.
There was only 14 seconds in the top 3 placesAfter all this excitement, it was a return drive to Monaghan with my Dad and then I drove back up to Dublin to start preparation for the following days marathon. It was a busy weekend.
I have to say a couple of big “thank yous” from this weekend. I really appreciate the support from Shane Connaughton from Cycleways, Eoghan (sorry – I need to get your second name) and Ross McClure. They helped me out with seriously lightening up my bike, Eoghan and Ross giving me the use of their mega light Lightweight wheel-set. Those things are ridiculous! I would be getting a pair if I did more road racing to warrant such an expense! Also, a big thanks to Dad for driving me to and from the race and supporting me around it - it was a huge huge help!
So next year – 7 more seconds... I'm getting closer :)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Pain in the butt...
Literally - I was doing a few preparation drills for this weekends Hill Climb Championships (checking equipment, checking body - both good) and when I was descending back down after a run I felt a massive sting on my inner right thigh (the bit that rubs, or is close to, the saddle). I looked down to find a honey bee stuck to my shorts.
Panic mode started - two days before an important weekend of racing and I just got stung by something that I have a known very bad reaction to. In August 2006 I got stung on the face (turned into a "Mars Bar Head") and again in July 2007 I got stung on my forehead (another "Mars Bar Head" incident). The second reaction was much faster so I knew time was crucial. I headed home as fast as I could and started to call Cycling Ireland and the Irish Sports Council to find out what I need to do as I was pretty sure I would be getting an injection of Solu Cortef. I was doing all this as I was getting dizzy and in a lot of pain. With the documents I needed I visited the doctor and got sorted pretty quickly. (The receptionist remembered me from the last two times and pulled me straight into the Doctor)
Now, I'm pretty good and the doc said I should be okay by the weekend - fingers crossed.
Panic mode started - two days before an important weekend of racing and I just got stung by something that I have a known very bad reaction to. In August 2006 I got stung on the face (turned into a "Mars Bar Head") and again in July 2007 I got stung on my forehead (another "Mars Bar Head" incident). The second reaction was much faster so I knew time was crucial. I headed home as fast as I could and started to call Cycling Ireland and the Irish Sports Council to find out what I need to do as I was pretty sure I would be getting an injection of Solu Cortef. I was doing all this as I was getting dizzy and in a lot of pain. With the documents I needed I visited the doctor and got sorted pretty quickly. (The receptionist remembered me from the last two times and pulled me straight into the Doctor)
Now, I'm pretty good and the doc said I should be okay by the weekend - fingers crossed.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Crazy!!!
I did a loop of the upcoming marathon course yesterday morning. The course is pretty good and reasonably weather proof. One of the climbs is a killer and I suspect that unless it stops raining for the next few days (currently raining) I'll be walking sections. It is not very long though and the rest of the course more then makes up for it...
Anyway, getting back to what I thought was crazy - I stopped off at a part of the marathon course where I joined in to drop off a bottle and some extra clothes I didn't want to carry (hidden nicely in the trees). I rode for two hours (the loop) and arrived back to find this:
Seriously - who the hell does this? I'm in the middle of nowhere and someone dumps all their crap (There is a link to report such things). The recent weather is bad enough to push me out of Ireland let alone this type of thing! It's not even that unusal. I also passed a truck pilled high with 5 burnt out cars that they just picked up from the forest.
Seriously - people in this country (any country) that cause any issues should have to do a mandatory 500kms a week on a bicycle - then they wont have any energy left to get up to badness :) Grrrr
Anyway, getting back to what I thought was crazy - I stopped off at a part of the marathon course where I joined in to drop off a bottle and some extra clothes I didn't want to carry (hidden nicely in the trees). I rode for two hours (the loop) and arrived back to find this:
Seriously - who the hell does this? I'm in the middle of nowhere and someone dumps all their crap (There is a link to report such things). The recent weather is bad enough to push me out of Ireland let alone this type of thing! It's not even that unusal. I also passed a truck pilled high with 5 burnt out cars that they just picked up from the forest.
Seriously - people in this country (any country) that cause any issues should have to do a mandatory 500kms a week on a bicycle - then they wont have any energy left to get up to badness :) Grrrr
Friday, August 15, 2008
Fuel for a 100km marathon
This is the fuel I used during the marathon in Drumlanrig. 8 bottle of TorQ (about 500-600ml in each) and 8 gels... Yum yum :) My saddle time was around 5 hours.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Spot the difference
1
2Number 1 was yesterday, number 2 today... Seriously - it's the SUMMER time... Grrrrr
Met Eireann proubly anounces todays weather as "Showers or longer spells of rain, with some very heavy or thundery downpours." - that has been the outlook for the last week. I can deal with training in crappy weather all winter - that's fine - but the summer has to be a bit nicer! It's warmer, yeah - but much wetter.
Met Eireann proubly anounces todays weather as "Showers or longer spells of rain, with some very heavy or thundery downpours." - that has been the outlook for the last week. I can deal with training in crappy weather all winter - that's fine - but the summer has to be a bit nicer! It's warmer, yeah - but much wetter.
Monday, August 04, 2008
2008 Bontrager 24/12 Report
I should have written this ages ago but work has been busy... Anyway...
In 2006 I took part in a race ran by Epic called the Epic Blast, I wrote about it before but it was basically a sprint run down a long downhill course that also had XC type sections. The reason I bring this up was that this was the most fun day I had racing since I started... Bontrager 24/12 has given that day a run for it's money!
It all started a few months earlier when Matt from TorQ asked us if we would be interested in taking part in the mixed pairs category of the 12 hour race. Apparently, this was going to be the 'big' category as most of the UKs leading couples were going to take part. The sound of all this (and the fact that it was not 24 hours) intrigued us so we agreed to take part.
Roll on a few months and Mel and I found ourselves outside Plymouth on the grounds of Newnham Estate in glorious sunshine. A preride of the course brought huge smiles on our faces so no matter what happened, we knew we would have fun. (It also helped that if it did rain, the course would be pretty weather proof – unlike Vietnam... I mean, Mountain Mayhem...). After a few false starts we eventually found some accommodation (don't even ask about the original one we booked) and ate a great Indian meal.
Birds eye view
Morning arrived with blue skies, a bone dry course and a high probability that we wont get rained on. (There was a deep river crossing to keep the dust down though!)
At the start, Mel and I decided that I would do double laps and she would perform single ones until I started to slow. This would hopefully equal out our energies over the event (having done a couple of adventure races, one of the most important things is to always make everyone equally tired). That didn't mean Mel got to chill out for an hour at a time though, as we had no support, she was going to be prepping for me as much as she could when I was riding, the plan being that all I had to do was sit down when I got back, eat and before I start my next lap fix anything on my bike (mostly, this was just oil the chain... but I'll get to that later) grab the bottles she prepped and go.
Ian and I at the start of the race
At 12pm the race start. A short start loop brought us around onto the lap proper. I spent most of the first lap telling myself to take it easy – it's easy to get carried away but when I'm going to be riding close to 8 hours I had to really hold back at the start. My plan was to ride well within myself for as long as possible and much further into the event (8 hours or so) put in a few fast laps if needs be. I have done a lot of long races recently so I thought that I should be strong enough at the end as long as I take care of eating and drinking. I also knew that Mel would be fresher so that we can also switch to single laps.
Coming around after the start loop - Ian on my tail
Our competition in this race was going to be tight with Kate and Ian Potter, Jenny Copnall and her partner Richard as well as Phil Morris and Madie Horton. The four main teams stayed pretty close throughout the first few hours but it was the Potters who we had the main tussles with. (They were having there own inner competition too to find out who the fastest Potter is – Kate's blog has all the gory details :)) There was never more then a minute or so between us and 6 hours in, I was really starting to wonder if they would ever slow down! Kate was as fast as normal, but Ian was really pulling off a blinder. I was most impressed with Kate in one of her laps though, I started a little behind her and caught her on the climb, I contemplated in trying to get her to hang on to me and then try to up the pace and get her to follow but I threw that idea out and rode my own lap. I arrived into the arena after my lap to turn and see her just behind! Impressive stuff.
Fortunately, we didn't have any mechanicals that caused major problems but I didn't get away scot free. I started my 3rd lap (about an hour into the race) and noticed I had very little travel on my front fork – as the next few laps progressed, very little turned to none. So I did another 5 laps without any travel – although the course was not technical (and my high volume Racing Ralph tires were amazing) my hands and wrists were really starting to get sore. This was until I rode through the bomb hole section and heard a massive pop and loads of liquid in my face. My heart dropped thinking that I just sliced my wheel and the liquid was the Stans fluid in the wheel. The feeling of riding on the rim didn't arrive but the front felt spongy – I looked down to find a chunk of the left leg of my fork missing – I actually felt relieved – I was 5km from the finish and didn't fancy running or changing tires. The compression and lockout adjustment was gone (litrally) but I now had a full 100mm of bouncy travel again! (Oh, and a fresh oil shower every-time I hit a big bump)
Anyway, back to the race – everything was neck and neck until around 8 or 9pm when we started to edge ahead of the Potters, not much, but a minute or two per lap and we also switched to single laps. The night laps came and I got to do some of the most enjoyable night riding I'd ever done – it was my first time using our Exposure lights – they were amazing – so light and bright. Mel seemed to be buzzing after every lap too (according to the people at the TorQ stand).
I finished my last lap (13) at about 11:50pm to find Mel waiting to go out on her last lap. We probably had enough time that we didn't need to ride another lap but Mel had the biggest smile when I seen her that I knew she wanted another lap. I handed over the baton and headed to the TorQ stands were Matt and Sasha prepared diner (YEAH – real food - thank you, thank you, thank you!). Mel finshed her lap (8th for her) and we all sat around chatting, eating and enjoying a glass of wine till late. The end to an amazing day of racing. Perfect weather, competition, course, organization and company...
With a little bit of sleep, Mel and I got up the next morning to blue skies and decided to head out for another 'recovery' lap (you would think 21 laps between us was enough!). The fact that we were doing that, after so many laps really shows how much we loved the course – it was so fast and so much fun, the weather was perfect and we got to cheer on the 24 hour folk.
Mel the next day when we went out on a 'recovery' ride
I know I have gone on a few times before about this but the TorQ nutrition products are simply amazing for this type of event. I've raced a few long races recently and know a few things about nutrition but I was still amazed that I came in after my last lap feeling better (with more energy) then I had 12 hours earlier – incredible.
The mixed podium (Maddie and Phil had to leave early)
Both of us have to thank TorQ for their support and encouragement during the event, our competitors (especially Kate and Ian) for giving us such a nail biting race and Martin (InEvent) and Keith Bontrager for putting on the event – you'll see use there next year.
There are lots of photos available here and here and some we took here as well as some reports here and here. Results are here. As usual (and she beat me to it this time) Mel's report can be found on her blog...
In 2006 I took part in a race ran by Epic called the Epic Blast, I wrote about it before but it was basically a sprint run down a long downhill course that also had XC type sections. The reason I bring this up was that this was the most fun day I had racing since I started... Bontrager 24/12 has given that day a run for it's money!
It all started a few months earlier when Matt from TorQ asked us if we would be interested in taking part in the mixed pairs category of the 12 hour race. Apparently, this was going to be the 'big' category as most of the UKs leading couples were going to take part. The sound of all this (and the fact that it was not 24 hours) intrigued us so we agreed to take part.
Roll on a few months and Mel and I found ourselves outside Plymouth on the grounds of Newnham Estate in glorious sunshine. A preride of the course brought huge smiles on our faces so no matter what happened, we knew we would have fun. (It also helped that if it did rain, the course would be pretty weather proof – unlike Vietnam... I mean, Mountain Mayhem...). After a few false starts we eventually found some accommodation (don't even ask about the original one we booked) and ate a great Indian meal.
Birds eye viewMorning arrived with blue skies, a bone dry course and a high probability that we wont get rained on. (There was a deep river crossing to keep the dust down though!)
At the start, Mel and I decided that I would do double laps and she would perform single ones until I started to slow. This would hopefully equal out our energies over the event (having done a couple of adventure races, one of the most important things is to always make everyone equally tired). That didn't mean Mel got to chill out for an hour at a time though, as we had no support, she was going to be prepping for me as much as she could when I was riding, the plan being that all I had to do was sit down when I got back, eat and before I start my next lap fix anything on my bike (mostly, this was just oil the chain... but I'll get to that later) grab the bottles she prepped and go.
Ian and I at the start of the raceAt 12pm the race start. A short start loop brought us around onto the lap proper. I spent most of the first lap telling myself to take it easy – it's easy to get carried away but when I'm going to be riding close to 8 hours I had to really hold back at the start. My plan was to ride well within myself for as long as possible and much further into the event (8 hours or so) put in a few fast laps if needs be. I have done a lot of long races recently so I thought that I should be strong enough at the end as long as I take care of eating and drinking. I also knew that Mel would be fresher so that we can also switch to single laps.
Coming around after the start loop - Ian on my tailOur competition in this race was going to be tight with Kate and Ian Potter, Jenny Copnall and her partner Richard as well as Phil Morris and Madie Horton. The four main teams stayed pretty close throughout the first few hours but it was the Potters who we had the main tussles with. (They were having there own inner competition too to find out who the fastest Potter is – Kate's blog has all the gory details :)) There was never more then a minute or so between us and 6 hours in, I was really starting to wonder if they would ever slow down! Kate was as fast as normal, but Ian was really pulling off a blinder. I was most impressed with Kate in one of her laps though, I started a little behind her and caught her on the climb, I contemplated in trying to get her to hang on to me and then try to up the pace and get her to follow but I threw that idea out and rode my own lap. I arrived into the arena after my lap to turn and see her just behind! Impressive stuff.
Fortunately, we didn't have any mechanicals that caused major problems but I didn't get away scot free. I started my 3rd lap (about an hour into the race) and noticed I had very little travel on my front fork – as the next few laps progressed, very little turned to none. So I did another 5 laps without any travel – although the course was not technical (and my high volume Racing Ralph tires were amazing) my hands and wrists were really starting to get sore. This was until I rode through the bomb hole section and heard a massive pop and loads of liquid in my face. My heart dropped thinking that I just sliced my wheel and the liquid was the Stans fluid in the wheel. The feeling of riding on the rim didn't arrive but the front felt spongy – I looked down to find a chunk of the left leg of my fork missing – I actually felt relieved – I was 5km from the finish and didn't fancy running or changing tires. The compression and lockout adjustment was gone (litrally) but I now had a full 100mm of bouncy travel again! (Oh, and a fresh oil shower every-time I hit a big bump)
Anyway, back to the race – everything was neck and neck until around 8 or 9pm when we started to edge ahead of the Potters, not much, but a minute or two per lap and we also switched to single laps. The night laps came and I got to do some of the most enjoyable night riding I'd ever done – it was my first time using our Exposure lights – they were amazing – so light and bright. Mel seemed to be buzzing after every lap too (according to the people at the TorQ stand).
I finished my last lap (13) at about 11:50pm to find Mel waiting to go out on her last lap. We probably had enough time that we didn't need to ride another lap but Mel had the biggest smile when I seen her that I knew she wanted another lap. I handed over the baton and headed to the TorQ stands were Matt and Sasha prepared diner (YEAH – real food - thank you, thank you, thank you!). Mel finshed her lap (8th for her) and we all sat around chatting, eating and enjoying a glass of wine till late. The end to an amazing day of racing. Perfect weather, competition, course, organization and company...
With a little bit of sleep, Mel and I got up the next morning to blue skies and decided to head out for another 'recovery' lap (you would think 21 laps between us was enough!). The fact that we were doing that, after so many laps really shows how much we loved the course – it was so fast and so much fun, the weather was perfect and we got to cheer on the 24 hour folk.
Mel the next day when we went out on a 'recovery' rideI know I have gone on a few times before about this but the TorQ nutrition products are simply amazing for this type of event. I've raced a few long races recently and know a few things about nutrition but I was still amazed that I came in after my last lap feeling better (with more energy) then I had 12 hours earlier – incredible.
The mixed podium (Maddie and Phil had to leave early)Both of us have to thank TorQ for their support and encouragement during the event, our competitors (especially Kate and Ian) for giving us such a nail biting race and Martin (InEvent) and Keith Bontrager for putting on the event – you'll see use there next year.
There are lots of photos available here and here and some we took here as well as some reports here and here. Results are here. As usual (and she beat me to it this time) Mel's report can be found on her blog...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Simple pleasures
...sitting down, after the days chores are done, with your girlfriend and watching the highlights of the days Tour de France stage on a huge projected screen...
The ITV 3 highlight show is pretty good.
Some more interesting info about it all here.
I know it is the 'smarter' move - but I wish Cadel would attack properly at some point.
The ITV 3 highlight show is pretty good.
Some more interesting info about it all here.
I know it is the 'smarter' move - but I wish Cadel would attack properly at some point.
2008 National XC Championships
Last weekend saw me take part in one of my goal events for the season – the Irish XC Championships. Since the World Marathon Champs two weeks earlier, my training has been all about resting up and peaking for this race A few days before hand I put in a couple of very hard (but short) efforts and my body seemed to be reacting well so I was pretty confident that I was well prepared for the race.
The race itself was being held in the Kilruddery Estate near Bray, the same location as the first round of the K-Capital series this year and last year. However, the course was going to be very different. No significant climbs (boooo) – just lots of long kickers. A 5.5km lap had around 120 meters of climb. On the preride, I tried to learn as many of the sneaky lines (there were a lot!) as possible and prepare mentally for the super fast start the next day. About 100m after the start, we hit singletrack with no opportunity for passing for over half a lap. The course was 95% super fast singletrack and a lot of fun to ride – they need to make this place into a bike park! The rest of the day I spent relaxing watching movies.
Race morning arrived to find a perfectly dry course (2 or 3 puddles) – there was even dust in places. Around 1:30pm we all lined up – I knew the first 30 seconds was going to be crucial and as it happened, I think I had my WORST 30 seconds of any race this year. My UCI points had given me a nice front row ticket but missing a pedal and various other mistakes meant that I hit the singletrack in close to last position. The next lap I spent panicked trying to pass people and bridge back to the leaders (where I hoped/expected to be) but it just did not seem to be working out. By the start of the second lap I had caught up to Lewis Ferguson and we rode the next few laps together. He was riding the fireroads (not much) strong but sitting up in the singletrack which was pretty frustrating. A massive sprint was put in each time getting into the singletrack, but once there the pace dropped – he would eventually drop out after the 4th of 7 laps.
I think with my start and the resultant frustration I was never able to raise my game properly to start pulling back major time and work my way up the results. I did push hard on the final lap though to catch Joe McCall and pull myself into 5th but it really was not a ride I'm proud of. My body was well rested (first time I did a 'proper' taper/peak) but things did not seem to fall in place for me – I would love to rerun the race again this weekend!
Results are here and there is a short report here.
Anyway, I have already hit a good few of my season goals this year, and there are more big events coming up for me to focus on so I'm not too down about it all!
Not really a major event, but something I have been looking forward to is the Bontrager 24/12 race this weekend in the UK. Mel and I are taking part as a mixed pair – hopefully both of us will be able to show good form and get a good result.
The race itself was being held in the Kilruddery Estate near Bray, the same location as the first round of the K-Capital series this year and last year. However, the course was going to be very different. No significant climbs (boooo) – just lots of long kickers. A 5.5km lap had around 120 meters of climb. On the preride, I tried to learn as many of the sneaky lines (there were a lot!) as possible and prepare mentally for the super fast start the next day. About 100m after the start, we hit singletrack with no opportunity for passing for over half a lap. The course was 95% super fast singletrack and a lot of fun to ride – they need to make this place into a bike park! The rest of the day I spent relaxing watching movies.
Race morning arrived to find a perfectly dry course (2 or 3 puddles) – there was even dust in places. Around 1:30pm we all lined up – I knew the first 30 seconds was going to be crucial and as it happened, I think I had my WORST 30 seconds of any race this year. My UCI points had given me a nice front row ticket but missing a pedal and various other mistakes meant that I hit the singletrack in close to last position. The next lap I spent panicked trying to pass people and bridge back to the leaders (where I hoped/expected to be) but it just did not seem to be working out. By the start of the second lap I had caught up to Lewis Ferguson and we rode the next few laps together. He was riding the fireroads (not much) strong but sitting up in the singletrack which was pretty frustrating. A massive sprint was put in each time getting into the singletrack, but once there the pace dropped – he would eventually drop out after the 4th of 7 laps.
I think with my start and the resultant frustration I was never able to raise my game properly to start pulling back major time and work my way up the results. I did push hard on the final lap though to catch Joe McCall and pull myself into 5th but it really was not a ride I'm proud of. My body was well rested (first time I did a 'proper' taper/peak) but things did not seem to fall in place for me – I would love to rerun the race again this weekend!
Results are here and there is a short report here.
Anyway, I have already hit a good few of my season goals this year, and there are more big events coming up for me to focus on so I'm not too down about it all!
Not really a major event, but something I have been looking forward to is the Bontrager 24/12 race this weekend in the UK. Mel and I are taking part as a mixed pair – hopefully both of us will be able to show good form and get a good result.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
2008 Marathon World Championships
Last weekend Mel and I headed off to what was for both of us going to be the “first time” for a lot of things. The first time racing in heat (and it wasn't even that hot), first time racing at altitude, first time racing on the continent and more importantly, the first time taking part in a World Championship. I would be the sole representative from Ireland while Mel was part of a much bigger group from Germany.
Birds eye view
After a few additional excursions (wrong turns) Mel and I arrived around 2pm in Villabassa, Italy after our flight and drive from the airport. The scenery was amazing and the temperature was perfect - I really miss these conditions. The storms they had during the week had gone and the trails had gone back to being dusty dry. Word on the street was that it was a very untechnical course – almost all fireroad, dual-track but with a sprinking of singletrack. I signed myself in (last on the grid due to mistakes made when I was signed up – grrrr), built up my bike and headed out to ride the first 10km of the course. Sure enough, the first 10km was a mix of stoney single track and tarred bike path. About 2km in there was a steep 500m long climb – I knew that this was going to hurt the next day!
Our hotel's view
The next morning Mel and I woke up to glorious sunshine. We ate breakfast and my legs felt pretty good. As I was going into this as a purely learning/reconosince experience (for next year) I was not very nervous and remained pretty relaxed – I think Mel was a little more nervous. We arrived at the start area with plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere – a real buzz in the air, a certain pent up nervousness – I guess this is what World Champs feels like :) Mel headed off to start her race and I relaxed at the car getting a few more calories on board and watching the TV helicopters fly around. With 40 minutes to go I headed out on a quick 15 minute warm up which had my following Cristoph Sauser – I think this will be the only time I'll be hanging on his wheel for the day.
With 20 minutes to go we were all setup in our pens and were called up to the grid for the start – as I mentioned earlier, some external mistakes meant that I ended up been gridded a further back then my UCI points should allow – it is a really long race (120km, 3800m climb) so there is lots of time to move up but the various groups in the race form so early that this was going to be an issue. I really didn't want to burn myself too much trying to make positions up at the start when I would have to ride for 5:30 in the heat and at altitude.
Exactly on time, the race started at a frantic pace – there was no tootle off, it was 100% from the gun. 3 minutes in and we hit the tarmac kicker that I knew would cause pain – sure enough, my highest HR from a race this season was hit at the top (I was pretty well rested so my HR could get up pretty high). A short downhill and a flat tarmac section brought us to the base of the first major climb. We would climb 900 meters up mostly stony fireroad (loose enough that it had to be done mostly seated) – towards the top, it was stony and loose enough that I actually used the granny ring! The first time I used it on the bike. And it wasn't just for a minute or two, it was about 10 minutes! Mad... The climb topped out at about 2000m and I could sense the lack of oxygen efecting the power I was putting out. I'm pretty good at knowing how hard I'm pushing and I felt for most of the climb I was 1 or 2 gears lower (at the same cadence) then I would usually climb. The other thing was the heat – I was really roasting for the first 2 hours. The Irish jersey only has a quarter length zip and I was praying for a full length one. As we crested the top, the nutrel feel had glasses of water I quickly threw over my head. Next was a super fast fireroad descent that dropped us into some amazing singletrack. The singletrack was not technical but super super fast – I wish I could have preridden it just to know if there was anything I should look out for – you really could ride it as fast as your brain would let you! Scary!
I think from this point on most people settled into a rhythm and for the next hour or so I rode in small groups over the mostly (as in, no climbs bigger then 200m) flat section to the next major climb. At that point, I felt my wind shielding buddies and made my way steadily up the climb picking off another few riders. The following descent was similar to the last but with less single track and felt like it went on for ever.
Start/Finish area in Villabassa
The final major climb of the day started out on tarmac for the first 300 vertical meters followed by another 350 meters on fireroad. One thing that I noticed was that I climbed better on fireroad then the people around my in comparison to when the climb was tarmac. Maybe they train a lot more on the road bike. Hammering over the top of the mountain and a further few climbs I picked off about 4 or 5 riders eventually finishing up in 68th position. For the last 4 hours of the race no one passed me and I only passed people – a sure sign that I didn't go hard enough (was too far back?) at the start – well, at least I had pretty good endurance. I finished feeling tired but fine – pretty dehydrated and really looking forward to eating!
I met up with Mel, had my TorQ Recovery and headed to the Pasta Party to fill up on carbs.
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta :)
Two tired bodies in our Irish and German kit
The race was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed riding with so many great riders – it is really what I need to be doing to bring myself on. I need to be really pushed to pull out the best out of myself. There were many things I learned and realized (or some I knew before had but just had to deal with). These are a few of them.
Birds eye view
Our hotel's view
The next morning Mel and I woke up to glorious sunshine. We ate breakfast and my legs felt pretty good. As I was going into this as a purely learning/reconosince experience (for next year) I was not very nervous and remained pretty relaxed – I think Mel was a little more nervous. We arrived at the start area with plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere – a real buzz in the air, a certain pent up nervousness – I guess this is what World Champs feels like :) Mel headed off to start her race and I relaxed at the car getting a few more calories on board and watching the TV helicopters fly around. With 40 minutes to go I headed out on a quick 15 minute warm up which had my following Cristoph Sauser – I think this will be the only time I'll be hanging on his wheel for the day.
With 20 minutes to go we were all setup in our pens and were called up to the grid for the start – as I mentioned earlier, some external mistakes meant that I ended up been gridded a further back then my UCI points should allow – it is a really long race (120km, 3800m climb) so there is lots of time to move up but the various groups in the race form so early that this was going to be an issue. I really didn't want to burn myself too much trying to make positions up at the start when I would have to ride for 5:30 in the heat and at altitude.
Exactly on time, the race started at a frantic pace – there was no tootle off, it was 100% from the gun. 3 minutes in and we hit the tarmac kicker that I knew would cause pain – sure enough, my highest HR from a race this season was hit at the top (I was pretty well rested so my HR could get up pretty high). A short downhill and a flat tarmac section brought us to the base of the first major climb. We would climb 900 meters up mostly stony fireroad (loose enough that it had to be done mostly seated) – towards the top, it was stony and loose enough that I actually used the granny ring! The first time I used it on the bike. And it wasn't just for a minute or two, it was about 10 minutes! Mad... The climb topped out at about 2000m and I could sense the lack of oxygen efecting the power I was putting out. I'm pretty good at knowing how hard I'm pushing and I felt for most of the climb I was 1 or 2 gears lower (at the same cadence) then I would usually climb. The other thing was the heat – I was really roasting for the first 2 hours. The Irish jersey only has a quarter length zip and I was praying for a full length one. As we crested the top, the nutrel feel had glasses of water I quickly threw over my head. Next was a super fast fireroad descent that dropped us into some amazing singletrack. The singletrack was not technical but super super fast – I wish I could have preridden it just to know if there was anything I should look out for – you really could ride it as fast as your brain would let you! Scary!
I think from this point on most people settled into a rhythm and for the next hour or so I rode in small groups over the mostly (as in, no climbs bigger then 200m) flat section to the next major climb. At that point, I felt my wind shielding buddies and made my way steadily up the climb picking off another few riders. The following descent was similar to the last but with less single track and felt like it went on for ever.
Start/Finish area in VillabassaThe final major climb of the day started out on tarmac for the first 300 vertical meters followed by another 350 meters on fireroad. One thing that I noticed was that I climbed better on fireroad then the people around my in comparison to when the climb was tarmac. Maybe they train a lot more on the road bike. Hammering over the top of the mountain and a further few climbs I picked off about 4 or 5 riders eventually finishing up in 68th position. For the last 4 hours of the race no one passed me and I only passed people – a sure sign that I didn't go hard enough (was too far back?) at the start – well, at least I had pretty good endurance. I finished feeling tired but fine – pretty dehydrated and really looking forward to eating!
I met up with Mel, had my TorQ Recovery and headed to the Pasta Party to fill up on carbs.
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta :)
Two tired bodies in our Irish and German kitThe race was a great learning experience and I really enjoyed riding with so many great riders – it is really what I need to be doing to bring myself on. I need to be really pushed to pull out the best out of myself. There were many things I learned and realized (or some I knew before had but just had to deal with). These are a few of them.
- Next time I arrive at an amazing region of the world – I'm staying longer!
- Preriding the singletrack would have helped – not from a technical point of view, just from a mental knowing if there is anything dangerous to look out for so you can stay off the brakes more.
- We NEED a support person – I'm not doing one of these again without a person at technical/feed stations – this caused a lot of stress before hand and wasted lots of time during the race. (Thanks to William Berjgefelts buddies who dropped off bottles at the various feeds – I really appreciate it!)
- Make sure registration occurs properly – 136 riders ahead of you is a lot! The further back you are the higher the chance of crashes and getting behind someone who lets a gap open up.
- The mess up at last years National Marathon Champs caused me about 50 positions on the grid! Grrrr!
- For the last 4 hours of the race I only passed people, no one passed me - I guess I didn't (couldn't/ was too scared to?) go out hard enough at the start!
- I need to get used to racing in the heat.
- I need to get used to racing at altitude.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Finally, 2008 Mountain Mayhem Report
I have been meaning to sit down and write this for a while but I've simply been too busy :( Ah well, the life of a full time working guy who tries to also be a full time cyclist...
When I started out with the TorQ team they mentioned that they would like to give a good push at winning the team event in Mountain Mayhem – they have gotten a lot of 4th and 5th places in recent years and this year they wanted to win. With that in mind, I was more then happy to jump on board to the worlds biggest 24 hour race.
After the stress of packing and flying with bikes Mel and I (she rode with the Extra UK team) arrived at Eastnor Castle (stunning) in England to find the TorQ RV and pitch our tent beside it. Fortunately, we were staying in a B&B in Malvern for the night before. The course had a lot of climbing and a large amount of amazing bench cut single track – it was all new so I wondered what would happen if (when) the rains came. After an excellent Italian meal in Ask! in Malvern and a great nights sleep in the B&B (with the biggest bed ever!) we woke to find a wet and soggy Eastnor. Ahh well, I changed to 1.8 Nobby Nicks in preperation for the mud bath.
A birds eye view
We had a team talk and we decided that Billy (our team was Billy Whenman, Nick Collins, Marcus Schiez and myself) would take the first lap, and the run around the start loop - then me, Nick and then Marcus and we would rotate with each of us doing one lap. That was all good until I went to my rental car to get my gear ready when I realized I locked the keys in the car (it's a longer story than this!) but the RAC came to the rescue but we switched around with Nick taking the second spot to be on the safe side.
Course Profile
The initial laps went by mostly fine – my first lap was a bit annoying. With 600+ teams there was a HUGE amount of traffic for me to lap which meant all the singletrack was a crawling affair – I wish I had gone first and hit the trails at full speed, it was so frustrating hitting this amazing single track and then having to walk. My second and third laps were grand, it rained a little before the third which made it a bit slippery so it was a little slower. Then the thing we were expecting happened – a massive storm came through, shaking everything, uplifting tents and doing who knows what to the single track. Some time around midnight I went out for my first truly wet lap. It was about 2 hours since the monsoon started and 1000s of tire tracks since then meant the trails would be a mess. Knowing all this, it really did not get me ready for what I saw. The climbs where okay (ish) but the singletrack was something out of a Vietnam war movie. The trails were unridable and huge chunks unwalkable! I honestly had never seen anything like it before. There were bodies everywhere, people crawling with bikes slung across shoulders – all this in pitch black darkness with only my lights to add some colour. I still managed to get around the course in an hour (stories of 3+ hour lap times were the norm) but had some of the sketchiest moments of my short cycling career. My next lap was in similarly bad conditions – sections of climbs that I was big ringing earlier in the day I was now pushing! The singletrack was not quite so bad which evened out to another hour long lap. My remaining laps got faster and faster as gale force winds started to dry the course (it battered the camp sites – flying tents was an issue!) and my last two laps were the most fun I had with the course 100% ridable again. Madness.
All through this a competition was taking place and our team with each lap was moving further and further into the lead of our category (open male). This meant that we didn't really have a massive urgency to do super fast laps so the whole thing was pretty relaxed and enjoyable. The atmosphere around the TorQ site was great. As we were fielding 3 teams of 4 there was always lots of people around and I never got bored (or got sleep). Throughout, I used various TorQ nutrition products - the energy drink when I was riding, a gel 10 minutes before each lap and Recovery and TorQ bars after each lap – not once in the 24 hours did I feel drained or physically tired (apart from being sleepy) and my recovery from the event over the following days went really well. I think it really stands to the quality of the products. (Which you can now also buy on Wiggle)
Cheezy podium pictures - TorQ (B) also came 3rd (Pic: Chris Keller-Jackson)
Full results can be found here. Photos can be found here, here, here and here. Mel also has her report here.
Anyway, since then, the last two weeks have been back to normal training with the last few days focussing on recover as we both get ready to race in Italy this weekend – but more on that later.
When I started out with the TorQ team they mentioned that they would like to give a good push at winning the team event in Mountain Mayhem – they have gotten a lot of 4th and 5th places in recent years and this year they wanted to win. With that in mind, I was more then happy to jump on board to the worlds biggest 24 hour race.
After the stress of packing and flying with bikes Mel and I (she rode with the Extra UK team) arrived at Eastnor Castle (stunning) in England to find the TorQ RV and pitch our tent beside it. Fortunately, we were staying in a B&B in Malvern for the night before. The course had a lot of climbing and a large amount of amazing bench cut single track – it was all new so I wondered what would happen if (when) the rains came. After an excellent Italian meal in Ask! in Malvern and a great nights sleep in the B&B (with the biggest bed ever!) we woke to find a wet and soggy Eastnor. Ahh well, I changed to 1.8 Nobby Nicks in preperation for the mud bath.
A birds eye viewWe had a team talk and we decided that Billy (our team was Billy Whenman, Nick Collins, Marcus Schiez and myself) would take the first lap, and the run around the start loop - then me, Nick and then Marcus and we would rotate with each of us doing one lap. That was all good until I went to my rental car to get my gear ready when I realized I locked the keys in the car (it's a longer story than this!) but the RAC came to the rescue but we switched around with Nick taking the second spot to be on the safe side.
Course ProfileThe initial laps went by mostly fine – my first lap was a bit annoying. With 600+ teams there was a HUGE amount of traffic for me to lap which meant all the singletrack was a crawling affair – I wish I had gone first and hit the trails at full speed, it was so frustrating hitting this amazing single track and then having to walk. My second and third laps were grand, it rained a little before the third which made it a bit slippery so it was a little slower. Then the thing we were expecting happened – a massive storm came through, shaking everything, uplifting tents and doing who knows what to the single track. Some time around midnight I went out for my first truly wet lap. It was about 2 hours since the monsoon started and 1000s of tire tracks since then meant the trails would be a mess. Knowing all this, it really did not get me ready for what I saw. The climbs where okay (ish) but the singletrack was something out of a Vietnam war movie. The trails were unridable and huge chunks unwalkable! I honestly had never seen anything like it before. There were bodies everywhere, people crawling with bikes slung across shoulders – all this in pitch black darkness with only my lights to add some colour. I still managed to get around the course in an hour (stories of 3+ hour lap times were the norm) but had some of the sketchiest moments of my short cycling career. My next lap was in similarly bad conditions – sections of climbs that I was big ringing earlier in the day I was now pushing! The singletrack was not quite so bad which evened out to another hour long lap. My remaining laps got faster and faster as gale force winds started to dry the course (it battered the camp sites – flying tents was an issue!) and my last two laps were the most fun I had with the course 100% ridable again. Madness.
All through this a competition was taking place and our team with each lap was moving further and further into the lead of our category (open male). This meant that we didn't really have a massive urgency to do super fast laps so the whole thing was pretty relaxed and enjoyable. The atmosphere around the TorQ site was great. As we were fielding 3 teams of 4 there was always lots of people around and I never got bored (or got sleep). Throughout, I used various TorQ nutrition products - the energy drink when I was riding, a gel 10 minutes before each lap and Recovery and TorQ bars after each lap – not once in the 24 hours did I feel drained or physically tired (apart from being sleepy) and my recovery from the event over the following days went really well. I think it really stands to the quality of the products. (Which you can now also buy on Wiggle)
Cheezy podium pictures - TorQ (B) also came 3rd (Pic: Chris Keller-Jackson)Full results can be found here. Photos can be found here, here, here and here. Mel also has her report here.
Anyway, since then, the last two weeks have been back to normal training with the last few days focussing on recover as we both get ready to race in Italy this weekend – but more on that later.
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