It was a great event and really good course, would love to ride it in the summer when it’s dry now.

Well done to the organisers.

My report from the event on our Team FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/CotswoldCyclesRT/

Iain.

The last time I met Frank was around the time of the sale of the team last year, he could regularly be found chatting with the security guys on the gatehouse, I was coming back in to the factory at Grove after a late evening bike ride and ended up spending about 20 minutes discussing carbon bikes, electric gearshift and disc brakes with him – he was genuinely interested in the technology and impressed by where bike technology had got to.

An amazing man who achieved a huge amount. I’m very proud to have known him.

Yes, correct. My team mate Marc. He also did a four hour dead the year before, both on Trek Top Fuel’s.

We recce’d the route on the Wednesday but unfortunately he became ill on Saturday and had to miss it, he was one of the group I mentioned earlier that were going to try and ride together for a bit for a fast-ish lap, I did a 4.20 and Johann (Another in the group) did a 4.11.

It would be nice to try for a few more people next year to get a bit of company as we split up very quickly.

The only sub four hour ride ever posted for the 100k was on a full suspension XC mountain bike, three hours 52 mins if I remember rightly.

Graham – thanks, really good event, marshalling was great and signage perfect. Really nice course thrown in as well although that climb out of Cleeve at the end of the 100k was horrible!

Thanks Graham, I hadn’t looked at the 50k route.

Yes, very true about the reliability ride, but if you’ve got a number on…..

The issue with the routing was one right hand turn on a fast descent to the lowest point, you can’t focus on the Garmin easily before you overshoot and usually the pesky kids move the signs on Cleeve before I get there!

If anyone fancies a fast-ist pace for the 100k then there are a few of us setting of about 8.20/8.30am. I’ll be in orange/black Cotswold Cycles Trek kit on a black Supercaliber. There’s four or five of us at present and suspect we will split a bit but plan to aim at 4-4.5 hours for the 100k, although with my form this year I suspect I will be going slower than normal :-)

I rode the second half yesterday and it’s pretty lumpy, the last climb out of Cleeve will be brutal and lots of opportunity to go the wrong way so take care of the gpx file.

They do go back in but it is painful, I’ve used a bit grease in the past to keep it retained.

I’ve been on one for about a year now, can’t recommed it too much – great bike. I thought the Top Fuel was good but the supercaliber is better in all areas.

I gave up Stages PM’s due to inconsistency, the biggest issue for me was a lack of sensitivity below about 250w by consistently reading low and screwing up training data. Above 300w they were fine.

Had quite a few replaced on warranty (very good customer service), mainly for inconsistency or drop outs but ultimately I only use Quarq now as they really are fit-and-forget.

I also did the Welsh round at FoD on Sunday, didn’t think I’d enjoy the course with the amount of slop but found it great fun, the only problem was I kept losing my chain through the race – 19 times in total so any hope of a decent result went out the window and it turned into a training ride.

The only reason I can think of for the chain problem was running an oval ring with the ‘wrong type of slop’! Chatting at the finish to some people and a friend had the same problem with an oval ring, just not as extreme – he still managed to win his class though, unlike me!

My son had a decent ride in junior to 4th, it took bloody hours to clean two sets of kit afterwards though!

I suspect that might be the first and last race of the year….. :-(

Standard SRAM cranks are a 3 bolt fixing to a direct mount chainring, the quarq PM uses a 12 bolt (I think) fixing, I’ve never seen a chain ring only solution available for quarq cranks.

Worth saving for as they are the best, I have more than I should of them.. Oldest is about 5 years and never had a bit of bother from any of them, completely consistent all the time, unlike any other I have used.

Season finished a few weeks ago for me, ended up 11th in the GV National series which was okay, shame one of my counting rounds had suffered with a puncture, but that’s the way it goes. 5th in the Midlands series which was a surprise as I only did the minimum number of rounds.

All in all a reasonable year, the first half was pretty good but work commitments tended to get in the way latterly.

Finished the year doing the Brighton Big Dog in pairs with my team mate Andy who has been my closest rival all season (finished second), nice to race with him and not against him for a change!

Off to the Scott marathon next weekend, not sure whether I want to chase round it at race pace or take a chilled ride round with my wife!

Also did a few road races this year, a couple of ‘proper ones’ including a Cotswold league round (got dropped) and the Banbury Star event up Edgehill, finishing okay. Also did some mid week third cat races at Dalton Barracks, good fun and great training.

Off to Scotland in the motorhome soon to ride as much fun stuff as possibly before training starts again!

Hope you guys are taking a well earned break!

That was amazing, did you see the video that Matt posted? the other guy did a victory salute and Max passed him!

Been following Max’s (and his dad’s) facebook feeds, fingers crossed for him, he’s a real talent – national jerseys in road, MTB and CX this year. Worth watching.

First Big Dog for me, really enjoyed it and can’t believe the course was not a mud bath, it rode really well!
Rode in GV pairs and ended up second, very impressed by the prizes! My mate won vets and got a cheque for £150, a set of Hunt wheel and a load of other stuff.
Great to see so many people there, can’t believe how tough that first climb became on my last lap, good for nothing on Sunday…

I think I remember this when I had to change mine a few years back. One side has a dry break coupling on it so it just unbolts. Then you take the remote of the bars and the other side (with the gold adjuster) should unscrew from the hose like a normal Rockshox remote.

Found the manual! https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/95-4318-002-000_rev_a_xloc_full_sprint.pdf

2tyred – got to Thickthorn about 6pm, haven’t bother to walk round the course yet but my lad has cycled it, looks pretty flat, a few uphill ramps and a fast section through some woods. If you are into a bit of change it will be good fun as MSG always put on a good race.

Finners – the British cycling events page is the best place to start, local races like FNSS will be on their own Facebook pages though.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events?search_type=upcomingevents&zuv_bc_event_filter_id%5B%5D=7

http://fnssmtb.com

I walked the last third of the course last night where it was properly muddy at lunchtime practice, it was getting better, not ideal but better!

Hopefully the 9am races will dry it a bit more before we are on.

Kryton, to give you an example last year, I went into the Glentress round of the National series and finished 18th feeling atrocious with no energy, TP numbers were good though. Went into the next round and finished 6th with nearly the same TP numbers, I’m still working that one out. However, in the run up to Glentress I was maxing volume.

Yesterday the course did not suit me at all, I was 40 watts down on NP when compared to the race at Hadleigh a few weeks ago where I even had to cruise for half a lap with a puncture (301watts to 260). Although yesterday’s event was never going to be one I had form for, I used it as a training ride after missing the Midlands race the week before due to a cold. Even feeling great there is no way I could put proper power down on that course.

I think my message is that sometimes it just does not come together, especially if it’s a ‘B’ race rather than a main target. I just need to see how I will go at Cannock next weekend….

Kryton – Nice to meet you yesterday and sorry to hear you had a bad day. I also had a tough day out, couldn’t get moving at the start and when I eventually did start to get a bit of pace decided to have a lie down after losing the front end on a tight turn, it did give me a chance to watch all my fellow competitors ride by from the comfort of the loam however!

I’m not sure why you were off the pace yesterday but when I was focusing on marathon as well last year and it really compromised me in some XC races as I turned up with loads of fatigue even though Training Peaks said I should be flying, it taught me quite a lot about volume training that has helped me this year. I’m also sceptical of some coaches, especially when coaching older riders with families/jobs/other-commitments our recovery is nowhere near good enough with everything else going on. My coach is great as we talk every week and she balances my training load to my work life balance and forthcoming events, she has also been there and done it herself. She is worth a chat with if you want a change (http://www.jennycopnall.com/), let her know you spoke with me, she has guided my team mate to 4 National vets titles and me to a National Marathon title which really is ‘boxing above my weight!

Feel free to email me, my address is in my profile if you think I can help in any way, or even a chat sometime.

Iain

I’m at Carver tomorrow, looking forward to it as never done an eastern series race before but always like the MSG organisation.

It seems like a while since I’ve had a ‘proper race’, punctured at the National in Hadleigh and had to miss the first Midlands due to a cold so this my pipeopener before Cannock next weekend.

Say hi if you see me, I’m in orange kit on an orange Top Fuel, in GV category at 2pm ish.

It was a really good course at Hadleigh at the weekend, nearly the same as the original Olympic course, my race (GV) turned into a disaster on lap three with a puncture, ended up 15th which could have been worse.

Good weekend with my team mate winning vets, really pleased for him.

If you were on the b lines then the time penalty would have been massive- big detours! I’m always pleased to come away from Hadleigh in one piece, especially when travelling to China the next day! Just writing this from the departure lounge in Shanghai on my way back now.

Another well run event by MSG as always.

Hope you don’t mind me hijacking this thread for a bit of help but I’m trying to work out the best way to get from the airport (Pudong) to the motorshow (NATIONAL EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTER) next Tuesday morning, assuming I don’t break myself on Sunday at the National XC round at Hadleigh on Sunday!

I land at 7.55am and have to be at the show at 10am, all i can hear is the Mission Impossible theme tune going through my head…!

Any ideas? I’m thinking I’m going to have to change my flight but that could involve flying when I’m meant to be racing :-(

The course at Sherwood was good, perfect conditions and no bike cleaning! The entry list read like a who’s who of British cycling! Pleased to get the first one done and reasonably happy with 11th in GV, I even led the race – for the first 100 yards :-)

As predicted, Nick Craig came through like a train, caught me before the first half lap was done!

Hope everyone else got on okay?

Start sheets out for the first National at Sherwood this weekend, huge field in vet (86) and g/vet (66). I think this is the only time in my life I’ll be grid’d ahead of Nick Craig! He’s 44th and I’m 8th, can’t see that lasting long! Lots of other quick guys quite far back as well.

I found the XTR race brakes to be really tricky with a variable bite point when hot, they might be better now – they were standard on the first year of Trek Top Fuel (2016?). Since then they have fitted SRAM Level Ultimate’s which are much better. I got two spare sets from CRC last summer for about £80 an end, I haven’t used them yet and was going to send them back for a refund. If you are interested I’ll be at Sherwood this weekend for the first national race and you could have a set for the amount on the invoice. Best to email me from my profile if interested.

13thfloormonk – I run about 18-19psi front and about 23psi rear, I’m 75kg.

richP – that looked a really good ride – Ant’s pretty strong just now, sorry to have missed you, hopefully see you later in the season. Iain.

Great fun yesterday, nice course and it rode surprisingly well, finished fourth in the 3hr GV race which I was pleased at considering January has been really up and down for me.

Great to see quite so many people out on the course, made it quite exciting moving through the field! The start was fairly hectic and I was nearly off on the fireroad section having blindly hit a load of muddy ruts after a bit of bar tangling off the line, dropping me well down the order. Wasn’t sure whether I’d get 5 laps in or not, the reality was ‘no chance’, did start the fifth though, just in case :-)

Good day out for the team in general with another win for Marc in the 4hr Vets, a third in the 2 hr senior for Sam, Andy 5th in 3hr GV. Unfortunately my son has to pull out of the junior race (while in second) on the first lap with breathing problems due to the cold weather.

Sorry there is not another one now having missed the second one due to a throat infection.

Hopefully less throwing up on the boat over this year Padkinson! I Have the same view, the worse it is then the more likely hood of a good result, would prefer a bit of sunshine though this time!

Last weekend in July, 28th I think. It’s the weekend after the National XC Champs as per the last few years.

I’ll be at the Gorrick this weekend, missed the last one due to a throat infection. Hoping the weather will be okay, had enough cold and wet marathon’s last year to last me a lifetime.

Marathon champs are back in IoM next year, same course, same high costs to get there, hopefully not the same weather or disaster travelling over there when all the ferries were canceled. Not very happy about this decision but pretty hard to find an organiser or course for that type of event. On a positive side, the organisers for the event are great, incredibly helpful during all the trouble last year.

Anyone else heading over this year? Padkinson?

Thanks, looks like a good day out!

Hi Northwind, you don’t happen to have GPS or strava link you could send me for some off-piste stuff?

That’s great, thanks guys, it’s kind of what I thought. It’s even convinced my eldest to come out for a ride with us tomorrow which he’s not done for a few years.

If anyone sees us, we will be the odd family group on a bunch of Trek bikes (red Slash for me) so please say hello!

Robert Miller came on one of our club rides once, the autumn after he won the mountains jersey, a bit of a superstar in my book.

I’ve nicked quite a few of Russ’s routes now (thanks :-) ), had an awesome day yesterday in near perfect conditions, if you are prepared to have a look at what is available in FoD then you can find some great riding. Been going there for about 5 years and still think I’ve only scrached the surface!

Ha ha, I’ve just worked out who Padkinson is from the video, I couldn’t miss your fine choice of bike colour Paddy,  catch up with you soon! Iain.