No worries CH. I actually think I could move my saddle back a bit, and I’ve booked another bike fit next week to tweak my position

Yeah my position is probably not perfect, but it’s done me well for that 100 miler.

I’m still due to see my friend up north for a proper fit, when I eventually get up there!

P.s. in other news I’m growing a beard and my new best mate is called Francis

Plenty of fun tonight. Attacked early from first lap and often (five or six times). Huge headwind down the straight. The V50 was a bit slower tonight, but I worked hard, blocked and bridged, dragged the bunch back, and generally had a good time. Was very definitely marked all race.

Our breakaway specialist went with three to go, I bridged to his wheel and we stayed away for a lap, caught on the bell and I attacked again to chase another rider off the front. Caught at Brian’s Bends, I hopped onto a known sprinter’s wheel and finished in sixth. Nice to take some points for all the work I did.

Very nice!!

Are they the first points of the season? How many to go until 2nd cat?

Well done mate! That sounds like so much fun! Glad you got a result for your efforts 🙂

Half way to second cat. I was marked out of the previous race completely, despite spending the first half basically trying to rip it apart. This time I didn’t work quite as hard, but was never far from the front. Having rested since Sunday probably helped too.

It’s nice to be told that there was a groan from the bunch when I attacked on the first lap (again) 😉

Ah you’re bringing back memories of my first race haha

I’m going to try and be as cocky as that race in the next races I do. 2nd cat is next years target now.

Just sign up for next Tuesday’s E123 and be done. Enjoy the thrill and hang on at the back. That’s my strategy. It’s a roller-coaster, I tell you. Finishing in the bunch is a win! I don’t think I’ve ever finished higher than 15th. But to be honest, it beats a Zwift race hands down.

There’s no way I could get there in time.

Earliest I seem to get away is 6pm. This gives me just over 1 hour to get from Piccadilly to Hillingdon, with a bike swap in Ealing along the way (I won’t commute on the racing bike).

Well, 17th it was out of 42 survivors and 3rd 4th Cat rider but that shouldn’t legitimately have been any better than about 25th I think.

I didn’t mention it in my write up as it would have sounded like an excuse but I’ve got quite bad knee pain from twisting it at work. It doesn’t actually hurt whilst riding but I’m not sure what to do. I had planned some sweet spot work tomorrow evening but I wonder if easy spins might be better until it recovers.

Tried my new position out this evening and it felt better- although my arms took some persuading that it was a good idea!

Two weeks of trying to increase volume as part of my new plan has left me realising that it isn’t the right time. I feel flat, tired, achy and starving hungry despite not losing any weight.
I think I’ll stick to what I’d been doing for the previous 6 weeks- a race; one other day of intensity and just enough recovery/endurance rides to hit my 100mile Strava goal.
Then as and when work settles down, I can add volume back in again.

If you want to restart the weight loss I think you need to do something radical with your diet, I’m not sure what though…

For instance my missus (who isn’t into fad diets) has been reading a load of nutritional information and over the last two weeks has moved to a 50% fat diet (natural). She’s lost 3kg in that time and has said she’s never felt so energetic as she does now. Unfortunately that diet wouldn’t work for us but it’s just an example. 😆

And regarding the knee a couple of reasons it may not hurt on the bike; it’s not weight bearing exercise, but the most likely is you’re subconsciously compensating for it. Rest it 😉

I’m not too worried about the weight, my arms have doubled in size the past six weeks 😆
I don’t want to run too tight a calorie deficit right now as having enough energy to get everything done is more important.
I just need to let myself off the hook and realise that work pays the bills so restarting the plan can wait.

I’m quite tempted by the four week FTP booster plan on Zwift. I could swap out the Saturday workouts for the August races. The blurb says 10-15% increase which if true, would see me at 4.0w/kg with no weight loss required!

Ladies & gents, I am please to announce:

I’ve rounded my weight up to 68kg as I’m probably a little dehydrated from last nights shandies in town, and probably a little hungover/suffering from lack of sleep…and want to throw up…

Nice work!
Now go do it in a race!

Well done Nath! Watched the last two minutes and your Avatar was doing 33mph solo 😆

It’s all coming together! Can’t wait to see the results unfold live in August!

Well done Nath!
Disappointed I had to do my own maths though….!

Thruxton Tuesday Leigh?

I’ve booked a couple hours between night shifts (yuck!) But yes please…it MUST be sunny this time…!

That’s jinxed it 😆

I’m going to play the game this week and go for points. I’m sitting in until half way up the hill on the last lap 😀

❓ 😆

I keep thinking ‘maybe’ for Tues, Mrs Weeksy is away with our boy from Monday evening.

One minor issues are
1. I’m at bike park Wales with my lad Monday afternoon.
2. I think it may be a waste of money I don’t have as I get dropped on lap1.

Thanks guys!

Weeksy go for it 🙂

Weeksy- as long as you don’t wipe yourself out, Monday won’t harm Tuesday.

As for the second point, it baffles me 😀
There’s three ways you are going to finish a race with the bunch:
a) Get fit enough to ride most of the race at 25mph solo- position won’t matter then 😆
b) Spend a couple of hours a week sat on someone’s wheel. If you can do this at 18-20mph on the road with drains, potholes, cars and everything else’s to think about then holding the Thruxton draft will be easy!
c) Just pin on your number and try!!!

The only minor problem will be the hill but you can use gravity both ways. Make sure you move up on the downhill (without red lining of course) and give yourself slipping room. Your ftp is 301 now so 3 minutes at 350w each lap should be a doddle.

Pretty much what @CH said, if you’ve got a 300W ftp you can sit on a bunch round a fairly flat course all day long. Once you get a nice solid block of 10 riders in front of you, you just get sucked along for hardly any effort.

Nathb – good ftp score, i have no idea how you do that without spitting out your lungs. My ftp test yesterday (310) was a fairly grim experience of slow torture, so much harder than a race.
I wish i lived near you guys as that racing sounds really fun and all your write ups are great to read, keep up the good work.

Top secret tip: crap music really loud.

Distracts from the leg pain and you know if you work harder it’ll be over sooner (that’s what I have trained myself to believe haha).

What weight are you blader?

I’m pretty sure music is proven to lower RPE. I’ve even got an attack-track for Zwift 😆

I never listen to music when on the turbo, i normally have head down listening to the rythym of my pedalling so i can sense when my cadence changes. I think i will start listening to some nirvana to see if that helps.
Nathb, still not weighed myself in 6 years but i would guess i am 80kg or so.

Top job Nath. Very impressive.

Today’s very un crosshair like report, round 9 orrl around great Milton. Felt rubbish until just before the race, then felt most confident in a RR so far (recent crits maybe?) In the pack until shortly before the start of the 3rd lap of 4, in the group most of the way up the smallish hill, then a small group of us off the back slightly and a moment later the leaders had disappeared from view. After a couple of minutes of no progress I sacked it off as we went past hq. Couldn’t be doing with lonely laps today!
Need a thruxton to cheer me up now!
Mate is looking for some cat4 only RRs too…might be slightly less brutal.

Cheers matts!

Sounds tough Leigh!

Good effort Leigh! It still sounds really tough, like you need to concentrate so hard to attack the best position all the time- and all dependant on the road layout to have room to do so! Still not selling it to me 🙂

I’m looking forward to Tuesday. I *think* I know what I need to do. I need to be in the top five by the Base of the hill but not even try and move up until 3 to go. Then try and surf wheels until past the chicane and then sprint!!!
The only break I would chase would be one of ten 😆

I’ve got a busy day on my feet tomorrow but am going to aim to make Tuesday morning as easy as possible.

So you going to use my tactics on Tuesday then, is that what you’re saying? 😆

Looks that way 🙂 Not saying it’s going to work mind you but I think I have the ingredients I need to pull it off now 😉

May have just put myself back a few weeks 😥

Sprinting from the lights this happened:

Result is I cracked my kneecap on the stem, struggling to move it right now and need to A) buy a new chain to get home B) cycle home…

Hopefully the knee is just a bruise and will heal in a few days. Sprinting from the lights, were you late for work or trying to impress someone?

It’s London, you have to do it 😆

Too much power Nath. 😆 It’s the bike’s way of saying you need a few days off Zwift.

Interesting you feel that way. After I started racing I no longer felt like I had something to prove, so silly commuter racing was consigned to the dustbin.

I wasn’t proving anything, there was only a bloke on a Brompton.

It’s vehicles I was trying to get ahead of.

Really nervous now! Looks like 40+ by the time a couple enter on the night.

Enough messing around- I’m going Lazy ++ for a point tonight. I’m literally already psyching myself up for that last battle up the hill. Out of a field of forty, there’s bound to be a few who go too early so I reckon anywhere 05th-15th wheel at the chicane and moving forward will be ok.