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Oh yes and they have elite racers after the seniors.
(Back to work, muttering darkly... everyone in the valley is out riding today... and tomorrow the Met Office promises rain :?)
London X league was hot today and super sunny...
Really dusty to!
NW league was sunny and warm......with lashings of mud 😀
Was on slicks... Novel in October!! 😯
Flippin hard going today....don't like that course 👿
I don't mind it, lots of potential for falls though with off camber turns - I fell off 5 times on that course last year, my only falls of the season.
My race didn't go great, got held up on the singletrack section on the first lap, so went hard to try to make up some ground, then suffered for the middle third. Finished strong though. Should have paced myself a bit better early on.
You had another team mate today I saw, he was next to me on the start line.
Actually, how much more technical was the course you had planned that didn't go ahead than yesterday's?
Had my first ever race today after collecting my new bike on Saturday.
Raced in the Wessex League and Basingstoke and it was very warm and sunny.
1st impressions of cyclocross is that you're all right, it's bloody hard work! 😀 I've never done anything that is so hard yet so enjoyable ever in my life.
Racing again tomorrow night and in the GWR league in Swindon and I can't wait. Love it.
2 days of Raphas over the weekend. Dead on my feet today 🙁
hammerite. Hemels very techy, the singletrack reminds me more of XC than CX.
Our race would have been just like the Hitchin round, very fast like an off road Crit?
I had a bad day there as well, and I also got badly held up on the first lap. I got beaten to the first bit of singletrack only to find a whole bunch of riders ****ing themselves. And it's so hard to claw it back.
I'd criticise some of the riders in our race, they perhaps should be in the novices. There were too many stopping and needing a full written report handing in on about how you were just about to overtake them?
It looks like RAF Halton might host the next round.
RAF base sounds like a cool place for Molli to play whilst I bust my lungs for an hour.
Ah OK. I got the impression that your course was more of a CX course, must've got mixed up.
I wasn't the fastest mover on the singletrack section, but coped fine. The hold ups were from people getting off and pushing/carrying their bikes - it wasn't that tricky! I found that section an opportunity for a short recovery, running through it would've just tired me out more.
Change of venue for Central league, this coming weekend.
Westminster Sports Centre
Oxford Brookes University
Harcourt Hill Campus
Botley
Oxford
OX2 9A
Raced there earlier in the year, part of the course was fine round a sports field, the other half was through a ditch and in/around some wooded trails (but wider than Hemel). The wooded section was ridiculously muddy then, I don't expect it to be as bad this weekend.
Should be there.
Coughing up human ears at the mo though.
Still it's a shame it's not at Green Park, I liked that course.
I won't be.
Jase, Hillingdon is further away and we race there twice.
Yeah, not going there either 🙂
I'll only end up with 5 rounds now.
I was banking on not racing in Reading and one at Hillingdon, but Jnr missed the first race then DNF'd at Hemel so for him to get enough rounds in I think we'll need to do all that's left.
Hillingdon seemed like a bike killer last year. I was one of many who lost a rear mech due to long grass clogging everything up - I only lasted half a lap at the 2nd race.
Doesn't sound like I'll be missing much then!
My daughter's not too impressed about missing this week.
I think that this year I shall manage to not ride any central league races.
Ho hum.
Looks like it's going to be another warm and sunny round. I knew those Mud2's would be worth every penny 🙄
Fast race yesterday. Not techie at all as they didn't take us into the woods, so it was pretty much full on the whole way.
I didn't go, set off but I was sweating in my car. Now I have man flu, not helped by driving a diesel all day that was exhausting straight into the cab 👿
Anyone at Hillingdon for the London/Central league race?
Big contrast to the mudfest of the corresponding fixture last year, bumpy would be an understatement. Thought my race went ok, good start, but then I think some quicker riders came through who had been held up on the first lap as I lost quite a few places on my 2nd lap. After that I seemed to pretty much hold my own.
Yet another mechanical at Hillingdon. This time I snapped a chain, but luckily it wasn't until I was crossing the finish line (while sprinting to try and beat a clubmate 🙄 🙂 )
Jase Hammerite you both racing at Ickneild this weekend?
Coughs finally gone after two weeks, so time to resume.
I may be there, depends if I can be arsed to put up with Kel though, and it would appear that I have an ulnar collateral ligament injury.
Collateral damage?
Team of three today. Who'd have thunk it, the clubs only five months old.
Hammerite were you racing? We had two of the three racing. And Jase was hungover.
Yep I raced. Went reasonably well, I lose to much ground on corners though, I try to stay off the churned racing line thinking I'll handle better yet everyone else seemed to cope fine.
Those little mounds were quite tricky weren't they?
Thinking about it I gave you a shout, you were coming up to the start/finish line and I was heading in the other direction.
Decided to put some gears back on my bike and do the western league cyclo cross race in Bristol Yesterday. God that was hard!
Need to get some cx tyres on the mountain bike. Was losing ground on the muddy flat sections. Got used to dismounting after a few laps. Came 15th I think
A pro called Simon richardson won it who rode the tour of britain (and he was on a mountain bike)
This chap.... [url= http://www.teamsigmasport.co.uk/sigma/?page_id=225 ]Simon Richardson[/url] he's a bit useful!
Those little mounds were quite tricky weren't they?
The old air raid shelters, I opted to ride them every lap then suffered with core problems and went backwards on the last lap.
Simon Richardson....who did he ride for, know the name?
Simon Richardson....who did he ride for, know the name?
Sigma specialized.
Can't wait for the ashton court one where it will be more suited to mountain bikes
We had Wouter Sybrandy also from Sigma ride some of our races last year. Surprised me that he didn't win, think I remember him being 3rd in one of them.
I rode the air raid shelters most laps, took a tumble on one after someone decided to stop smack bang in front of me and took all momentum out of my wheels - just slid sideways. Narrowly avoided the metal fencing too.
where it will be more suited to mountain bikes
Bah humbug.
Hammerite I had that most laps as well, one fella pipped me to the mounds then dismounted and ran the lot....oooh I was flippin cross.
Still I'm convinced that years of mountainbiking has paid off when it comes to those moments.
Just sat looking at a new frame for 2012, might ring Singular.
Results are up. Disappointed with my position, but all my usual suspects finished near me so I don't think I performed worse than normal. Seems it was an unusually big field for a Central only race.
I realised yesterday about much harder cyclo cross racing is.. You really are what feels like in the red for the whole 50 minutes. I couldn't wait for that last lap bell. There's no hiding or respite.. and so so difficult to bridge to groups as everyone else is riding hard.
Saw this on a blog post http://cyclocrosstraining.blogspot.com/
If you feel good = You are not going very hard (at least not hard enough to get benefits from training or to be successful in a race)If you feel bad = you are probably pegged and on the rivet-this is actually a good thingBad legs = people in your race are “Better than your better”Good legs = you need to upgrade99.9%"
: Your pain is not special." I live by these words during the hardest part of the race. Sometimes as I am gasping for air & my legs hurt so bad I want to cut them off… I just remember that “my pain is not special.” As I spit on my top tube unable to see straight…. I remind myself again… “Your pain is not special”I hurt… damn do I hurt. Every day I train… I hurt.
😀
Another barrel scraping result from me in the NW League, but what the hell - it is good fun (afterwards - hurts like hell at the time).
@trickdisco - I saw that recently, and have taken to telling myself "Your pain is not special" when I feel like cracking.
To paraphrase blackadder: I start badly, tail off in the middle and the less said about the end the better.
So warm on Sat I was eating an ice cream wearing a t-shirt after the race). November!
trickydisco - Member
Decided to put some gears back on my bike and do the western league cyclo cross race in Bristol Yesterday. God that was hard!Need to get some cx tyres on the mountain bike. Was losing ground on the muddy flat sections. Got used to dismounting after a few laps. Came 15th I think
A pro called Simon richardson won it who rode the tour of britain (and he was on a mountain bike)
I hear there was general carnage again. That's the last two rounds won by a 'pro/semi-pro' on an MTB then (Steve Lynch - New Zealand international who won at Conham was on an 'old' On One)
Was off doing 'Remembrance Sunday' stuff - hope to get to Ashton Court 🙂
Ah.. i got it wrong.. Simon didn't win! He came 2nd
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/75005/Western-League-Round-7
8th round in the Swedish cyclocross cup Saturday, 13th place. Swedish cycloross championships Sunday, 19th place.
One tough weekend of racing!
Yeah my result looks the worst for the year, that said I also finished with the usual suspects?
I also raced the Western league yesterday - one comedy dismount (sloppy flat corner, trying too hard) - got stuck in the middle after starting from the back, finished 28th.
How much difference does it make if you start further up the field? I'm such a novice / non-racer i think i worry too much about holding people up.