Saturday 19 March 2011

MK bowl season starter 2

Me trying to get into a breakaway

Today was the 2nd and 3rd cat race at Milton Keynes bowl and as soon as we started I know it was going to be fast and to make it harder we had to do an extra bit round the bottom. After a lot of suffering we where about half way into the race and I saw a rider ahead and so picked my point to attack and jump across the gap and as I got onto his wheel I sat there to get a quick rest but as it was my turn to go on the front the bunch where just about on top of us. On the next lap I tried to go again but the bunch did not let me get away. I then sat in the bunch for the rest of the race and on the last lap I got boxed in on the second to last bend but got round the last bend OK and then when it came to the sprint I was a bit far down but sprinted to the line but I don't think I was that high but glad to keep up with the 2nd cats. Average speed of the race was 25 mph.

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Saturday 12 March 2011

Spring Chicken Road race

The bunch

Today was the Spring Chicken Road Race, My first race on the road this year and I loved it! It was very well organised and fast paced. There was only about two crashes that I know of but the second one was a big one. We started off and had a down hill tail wind and was going very fast and as we slowed down for the first bend we all got around it and I had to ride over a rough bit and felt my bottle fall out and looked down and it had, I then saw it on the second lap but not again after that. I was sitting near the back and not sure what happened but someone went down, not sure if he had touched wheels or not but he looked like he hit the ground hard! I think there was a bit of bumping shoulders for every one in this race. The last lap I felt OK so I had a energy gel but could have done with a drink (oh well). I was a bit boxed in at the back and the pace had slowed down and I could not move up, but managed to get on to my team mate Henry Latimer's wheel but soon got split up. As I hit the hill I got over still in the bunch and at the top heard cheering from my mum and Dave Anson (a cyclist from BSCC) and I then managed to move up a bit. On the descent I managed to move up on the out side and in about the last mile I think I heard this crash and managed to keep going but there was not a lot people about and as we sprinted to the line I passed my mate Tony Kiss and counted that only three people where ahead of me and thought "bloody hell, how did I get here" and then Tony came passed me right on the line so I ended up with 5th place and am very happy with that.

I'm now going to use the price money for a new water bottle...
Me and Henry
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Results here

Sunday 6 March 2011

BSCC Hard rides

First time trail of the year today on a cold morning but at least it was dry. I did this time trail last year in a time of 1:03:27 (17th place), this year I did a time of 59:39. The course has a few ups and downs and one massive hill (sun rising hill) that us lucky riders get to ride down then up. I started off and felt like I was going fast and it turned out to be a tail wind all the way to the turn around point. I was a few miles up the road and could see a rider so I tried to dig deep and catch him and by the time I got to the top of sun rising hill I was not too far behind so I went down and was catching him, after the hair pin bend I got the pedals turning and was in the 53x11 spinning out at 48 mph as I past my minute man. I then passed another rider on the way out but as I got to the turn around point I had some bad timing and had to slow right down for a car on the roundabout. As I got around the round about I found out that there had been a tail wind all the way out, and that I now had a head wind all the way to the finish line. I caught another person on the way back but after that I could not see any one in font or behind me until I got to the finish. Sun rising hill, its a painful hill that every one suffers up and it was now my turn. As I hit the hill I saw the time was on 45 minutes ish and when I got to the top 49 minutes ish, as I was climbing I was in the 42x25 only just turning the pedals but thanks to good cheering from people watching on the bends (the more painful parts for us riders) I managed to drag my self over the top and push hard all the way to the finish and get my average speed back up to just over 23 mph to just get under the hour.





Thanks for reading
Results coming soon