You tore it up mate!! Trouble is, I don’t even escape you in the Spring if you move up 😀 (Unless you choose the big boys race??)

Woohoo, I got a mention:

A super clear crisp day with several parts of the circuit shaded from the sun dusted with frost but welcome relief from previous weeks. Another good entry for all categories with 15 ladies and 41 4th cats racing; the 4th cat. started steadily with the first serious attack coming from Nathan Bond. It then settled down for several laps until another effort from Iain Campbell (V.C. Londres) stringing the field out. Probably the most aggressive rider was Mark Aldred (Kingston Wheelers) who constantly attacked off the front and in the end was awarded third place behind Alex Randall (Twickenham CC) and the winner Charlie Woodall (Big Boys Bicycle Club). Woodall will be picking up a pair of Ryder Eyeware glasses as he now moves up to a 3rd cat rank along with Aldred.

@weeksy haha it’s good to make friends 🙂

@tired I’ll be sticking to the 3/4s until they boot me out, that is if I even get the points to move up to 3rd!

That’s awesome! Well done 🙂

Thanks 🙂

So that’s:
Round 2 – 17th
Round 4 – 28th (punctureee)
Round 5 – 7th
Round 6 – 12th

3 more to go and I’m not solo TT’ing in any of them 😆

3 more to go and I’m not solo TT’ing in any of them

What fun is that! Death or glory i say 🙂

What fun is that! Death or glory i say

Damn right mate… if he’s going down, he may as well going down fighting.

By TTing it he’s actually living the dream that all of the back runners want to live… he’s gone for it and destroyed a field…. by sprinting into 8th place he’s only finishing 8th…

By going death or glory he’s covered himself in golden glitter and been the man everyone wanted to be !

Helmet has arrived. Let’s hope it’s sunny again 🙂

crosshair – Member

Helmet has arrived. Let’s hope it’s sunny again

Maybe so, but it’s not in outer space you’re riding…

Weeksy- not quite, the guy who sprinted for 8th place got 3 points 😀

Haha @weeksy – the death or glory approach hasn’t really got me anywhere other than banter afterwards. 😆

@CH – erm have you seen the forecast? 😥

My app is saying cloudy, 10mph wind and possibly light rain. Not too bad. At least my hair will stay dry 😀

It also said the other week was going to be sunny mind you 😉

Helmet has arrived. Let’s hope it’s sunny again

CH, might be going for a spin in about an hour if you’re keen.

Weeksy- not quite, the guy who sprinted for 8th place got 3 points

Of course, but no-one knows the guy who was 7th or 9th… they just wander through the locker room anonymous

Nath walks through and it’s not “oh there’s the bloke that was 8th”… it’s “Jesus there’s that bloke, he’s a bloody lunatic, i wish i could do that ”

MrBlobby- ah, would have loved to! I’ve already been roped into being the ‘Back-stepper’ on my wife’s carriage this afternoon 😯
My job is to throw our son into the hedge if it looks like the pony is about to tank off 😀

Thanks for the offer though 🙂

Lol! Are you going to troll like his until your leg is fixed Weeksy 😀

Nobody is taking away Nath’s achievement- he’s a strong rider and very inspirational. But he’s a big fish trying to escape the small pond….. and that means getting points which means using the bunch to your advantage which means not upsetting everybody 😀 lol

The TT was a ballsy effort though- no denying that.

Lol! Are you going to troll like his until your leg is fixed Weeksy

It’s my only sanity i have ! and it was Blobby who started this train of thought 🙂

I’m also updating reverse DNS records today which means i’m about 30s from suicide at any given moment.

weeksy – Member
Weeksy- not quite, the guy who sprinted for 8th place got 3 points
Of course, but no-one knows the guy who was 7th or 9th… they just wander through the locker room anonymous

Nath walks through and it’s not “oh there’s the bloke that was 8th”… it’s “Jesus there’s that bloke, he’s a bloody lunatic, i wish i could do that “

I was the bloke who was 7th, forgotten already 🙁

Thanks @CH. Yeah felt like the bunch punished me for it though. On saturday I’m turning up in a different non bright jersey and sitting in inconspicuously, I may even fake a cold (I’m “practicing” sneezing as we speak) so I’m left alone 😆

I think there’s quite a lot of the guys moving up after last weekend.

Lol! Nath has signed up at the local drama academy to learn how to fake being slow 😀

Haha the stem extender is being fitted as we speak.

Saturday is 12mph winds and rain on my phone – I’m bringing a ass saver this time!

just popped in to say that I ordered a smallish item from shopto the other day, after the conversation with nath

£65, nearest other shop was a tenner or so higher. Free delivery and arrived next day. splendid ! (even sent a freebie water bottle, though it smells toxic 😯 )

They remind me of the good old days of play.com. When you ordered something and it showed up the next day without a subscription (such as prime).

You just have to get passed their website, which is a bit of a mess!

I’ve been hovering over the buy it now button on a Ultegra Power Meter. The only thing stopping me is I’m about to hand my notice in on Tuesday and I don’t have a job to go to yet haha. 😆

Well done both. And the guy who sprinted for 8th, was left by the side of the road last night with a snakebite puncture on his racing tubs as he didn’t have time to change wheels. Taxi! Our two young riders Alex and Sam are well on the way to third cat (a second place for each so far). But… for many riders, it will be a steady accumulation of lower placing points. For some it will be no points but a clear improvement in race skills, and then serious training. I raced 38 4th cat races before promotion. Never scored a point at Hillingdon, but learned a lot about racing.

All that matters is that you enjoy it, and the racing is safe. I’m a third cat, I’d like to be second, but the course closest to me (Hillingdon) is a power course, and I don’t have a lot of it. I do better at Cyclopark and should really race Redbridge for the hill. That doesn’t stop me enjoying racing. As a veteran (V50 in fact 😯 ), I can race all the races I want to, including Regional A and the Nationals (circuit and road). For younger riders, you need to become a second cat to race Nationally. And I really don’t fancy those races!

Thanks Tired. I think without the TT attempt I could have got a point or two on Saturday.

Feel like I’ve learnt a hell of a lot in my 4 races so far, but without your racing advice I would be in the last 10 or would have given up by now. So thanks for it 🙂

Looking forward to Saturday already!!

Just noticed this for the 4th Feb:

Priority Name
1 Tom Owen
2 Scott Shellien-Walker
3 Sam Hodges
4 James Scrivener
5 Nathan Bond
6 Andrew Shutler
7 Stuart McLay
8 Iain Campbell

there’s a couple of newly promoted 3s on the racing list so that should free up some spaces!

That’s it really isn’t it…. whether your looking for points to move from 4-3 or 3-2, looking to get on the results sheet or looking to hold the bunch for the first time- it’s still the same personal challenge. Learn, improve and get fitter.

I have no aspirations to do anything much- I just love the racing!
I’m trying to decided when to upgrade my provisional license though- there’s not much point for the foreseeable future 😀

Oh, I didn’t even realise you can race on a provisional?!

I went ahead and just bought the full one along with silver membership..

Yes, but you can’t get points so lucky you did lol. I think mines safe for this year 😀

What if you get points though? You may!?

Cheers for the optimism 🙂

Nath- I have the perfect disguise for you 😀

Erm you can keep your disguise, thanks though Murphy 😈

Happy with it? You need to make the straps more aero though haha.

I’m on a purchasing freeze, it’s horrible, Rapha have a sale with stuff in my size in it…

Yes straps are now tight- that was fresh out of the box 😉

It fits really well actually- very light and comfy.

Are you leaving the goggles attached?

It’s a Zeiss visor thank you very much 😀

If I would have worn my shades then yes, otherwise I’ll wear my clear glasses.

Haha I’m only joking.

Looks nice! I’ll expect to see lots of pics of you next week in an aero tuck 😆

Just done my first commute on GP4S’ – should have gone for 28s instead of 25s as they look very narrow on it. But there’s not a huge compromise in comfort. Definitely roll quicker than my 28mm Vitoria Rubino Pro Techs it had on previously!

Lol! I have been working on my position this week. Fiddled with the stem and saddle height and kept reminding myself to relax my shoulders and grip to get the arms bent. If only I’d been doing that for the last 3000 miles of Zwifting 😉

If you want to do a deal on some 28mm GP4000s’s in the future- let me know. They’re not going to do many miles on my CX bike…

They have got sexy shiny sidewalls mind you……

They’d look cool on my commuter lol.

Wear through the GP4S’ first thanks 🙂

I’ve been doing all my Zwifting (which isn’t a lot) on the drops recently. My back isn’t enjoying it though….

Jeez: http://www.zwiftpower.com/profile.php?id=8544067

Dunno what’s wrong with me….

Heart? Legs? Power? Cadence? What seems lacking, you must have plenty of comparison data?

You’ve realised Zwift racing is dull compared to Crits?

overdoing it generally ?

I’m quite a lot older than you two (nath, weeksy) but still it amazes me that you never seem to rest from ragging it – injuries apart

Is the fitness/freshness thing on strava actually worth the pixels it’s printed on ? Have a look on there ?