Suppose having a dedicated Cross bike I can run a single 🙂

Have raced all the Central CX League except yesterdays! Gutted as Lucy Gossage turned up who is an Ironman professional recently came 15th in Hawaii .. she stormed it on her light weight short travel 29er! Would have loved to have pitted myself against her!!! Back to it this week in Dunstable then a few weeks off to go to Thailand on holiday and have a relaxing break! Before I race again on 13th Dec in Hillingdon and suffer my way through the race having had 3 weeks off the bike!

Singlespeed is really all you need 🙂

Should be less people there…. 😉

Where’s the results for Welsh league? Yes saw it is Houghton Regis this weekend. Been out training today though and crashed bloody farmer spread his muck ALL across the road and I hit the dark hard and got a second knee cap.just feels stiff at the moment so hopefully back on it for weekend.

Know what you mean ‘re rest we did 5 in a row and needed a break last weekend. Newtown though don’t you miss out on decent points or is that just women due to stupid points system? I have mates travelling all the way there as last year she lost series due to points and not going to Newtown race. How you lose the series when you’ve beaten the winner in every other race!!!! Stupidity.

About 140 riders on the course during the V40/50/W race at Ardingly. When I first started back in eighteen hundred and something a total senior/V/W field of 35 was a good turnout!!! Ardingly was fantastic. Completely open course so no probs overtaking even with that many racing. Some thought it a bit flat beforehand but boy it was hard. No bits to recover on. Even had to sprint down into the bombhole to make sure I got out the other side without dismounting. The ‘easier’ bits on the gravel tracks were still hard as they were up hill. This place would be a great venue for a National Trophy. Would make a change to have one within a hundred miles of where I live in east Kent.

No the points are dependant on how many people are there so they do change/move about! IT is a bit of a farce despite Liz Slater being fantastic with organising, she needs to move with the times a bit and change things. How you can have a welsh series champion who never beat the 2nd place overall rider is beyond me!!!!

LOL @ Plop_pants… see it is the new “niche” fun thing to do! Which hey I don’t mind. I was Welsh Cyclo Champ in ’96 😉

😳

😆

I still find it amazing how different cycling in general, and racing in particular, is compared to when I started. (Or even 5 years ago, probably.).

I raced a season on a normal 42t single ring with a chain device – awful thing clogged up with grass all the time. I followed it with a season on the same ring but with a screwed-down front mech – that held he chain on fine. This season and last I’ve been using a narrow-wide ring and only ever dropped the chain once. That’s all with a normal road mech – 105 or ultegra.

When running a single NW chainring it is possible to increase the tension on Shimano derailleurs as there are 2 spring positions, there is a link on the Absolute Black website. Apparently SRAM have a higher spring tension so don’t need the hack. I run a Veloce mech with no mods and have had no drop chains so far.

Edit – here Derailleur tension

Love Cartmel but seem to remember mrs running through a mud swamp over the boards etc. Imagine tomorrow will be worse. Also meant to buy the boy some better tyres but Ribble had sold out…..

I look like I’m having loads of fun there Mick 😉

Really good course, first proper mud I’ve raced in this season. Struggled on the carry up through the woods, my knees really don’t get on with things like that which cost me places each lap. Otherwise, all good. Even beat some people. And speedy Dave Haygarth only lapped me once 🙂

You all did good – I actually quite wished I was racing!

Cumbrian mud seems not too cloggy and very easy to hose off.

Alison had a good one and the new home made frame worked great with no mud issues. Just got pipped by young Martha on the last lap (tried running on a bit she’d previously ridden which proved to be slower at just the wrong moment).

Hope everyone else has fun on Sunday.

Also wondering if I’ll ever be strong enough to race the Ironworks Purgatory for 40 minutes…..

I knew some Crank Brothers fanboi would pipe up… Despite being full of rubbish I was still able to clip into my good old Shimano pedals. Unlike Eggbeaters they also have the advantage of the pedal body staying connected to the axle for more than five minutes.

I’d recommend more South Wales folk making the effort to trek to Newtown next year. Hafren CC did a great job. I stayed in a B&B on Saturday night which spread the travel burden a little.