Quick updates from the last two races:
1) Hillingdon Vets, Wednesday night. Quite fast, large field of mixed-ability old codgers (I include myself in this description). Stuck around the back, found it impossible to move up. Finished at the back. Not even a decent workout really. Spend half the time seeing how far I could get whilst breathing only through my nose! Good race though, fairly disciplined and friendly. I'll be back...
2) Milland Hill 3rds, Saturday. Got caught in the split on the second lap, from then on there as no getting back on. That final part of the hill is a killer for the fuller figure - stomping on pedals at walking pace, front wheel jumping off the ground, just to get up the hill. Enjoyed churning round the circuit in a smaller group much more after the split. Great course, interesting profile and good marshalling. Finished near the back, which is enforcing an already-too-prevalent habit. The Gilbatron (TomG) won, great ride, not that I saw or contributed to the win at all.
Oh well, onwards and (I am sure) upwards...
Monday 25 April 2011
Thursday 14 April 2011
Eelmore 3/4, 13th April
The first race at Eelmore, under grey skies with rainclouds scudding across the horizon. Fairly strong headwind down the home staight, chilly and inhospitable weather. The evening didn’t start well with the organisers realising that they had been locked out of the circuit (well, for car access at least) so we all had to park in the car park and trudge all the way down the gravel path to the sign-on point.
The 3/4 race saw a large turnout (the biggest I’ve seen at Eelmore) of around 55 riders. It made for a nervous opening, with many seemingly inexperienced racers vying for position on the first few laps. I made sure to stay at or near the front for the first part of the race and stay out of trouble. It also meant that I could take the corners at speed and not have to sprint out of every corner, as is required if you ride near the back of the bunch.
Halfway through I made my main mistake – taking a breather near the back of the bunch. With the number of riders in the bunch , the speed on the back straight and the bunching on the headwind straight I found it really difficult to move up again. The bunch was not depleted at all (Eelmore is rather like Hillingdon in that with a big bunch it is almost impossible to get dropped) and some riders were showing signs of erratic riding. I get more and more pissed off when I see riders in the bunch, out of the saddle, looking behind them and swerving all over the place. You are not pros!
Just as I was starting to move up with about 5 laps to go I got caught behind a crash on the top hairpin – one rider had wobbled and taken down another VC Meudon rider. I just managed to avoid his bike as we all sprinted to get back onto the back of the bunch. At 2 laps to go there was another more serious crash on the home straight with about 4 riders coming down. Again this seemed like a totally avoidable crash that was probably down to inexperience, probably from just one rider who took out three other unfortunate riders. It’s fair to say that at this point I gave up, sat up and coasted the final two laps – no way was I going to get up the front from mid-bunch in a group of about 50 without exposing myself to far too much personal risk.
I think over the last few years I’ve seen one crash at Eelmore on the hairpin. In one race this year I’ve seen two crashes. I feel that standards in races generally are really slipping and I have to say that I put the blame squarely on riders who seem to have little experience of group riding. Riders who want to race should have plenty of chaingang miles under their belt before they even contemplate turning up on the start line. It’s an important fact to remember for existing club riders too – we all benefit from making the group rides as inclusive and welcoming as we can.
The 3/4 race saw a large turnout (the biggest I’ve seen at Eelmore) of around 55 riders. It made for a nervous opening, with many seemingly inexperienced racers vying for position on the first few laps. I made sure to stay at or near the front for the first part of the race and stay out of trouble. It also meant that I could take the corners at speed and not have to sprint out of every corner, as is required if you ride near the back of the bunch.
Halfway through I made my main mistake – taking a breather near the back of the bunch. With the number of riders in the bunch , the speed on the back straight and the bunching on the headwind straight I found it really difficult to move up again. The bunch was not depleted at all (Eelmore is rather like Hillingdon in that with a big bunch it is almost impossible to get dropped) and some riders were showing signs of erratic riding. I get more and more pissed off when I see riders in the bunch, out of the saddle, looking behind them and swerving all over the place. You are not pros!
Just as I was starting to move up with about 5 laps to go I got caught behind a crash on the top hairpin – one rider had wobbled and taken down another VC Meudon rider. I just managed to avoid his bike as we all sprinted to get back onto the back of the bunch. At 2 laps to go there was another more serious crash on the home straight with about 4 riders coming down. Again this seemed like a totally avoidable crash that was probably down to inexperience, probably from just one rider who took out three other unfortunate riders. It’s fair to say that at this point I gave up, sat up and coasted the final two laps – no way was I going to get up the front from mid-bunch in a group of about 50 without exposing myself to far too much personal risk.
I think over the last few years I’ve seen one crash at Eelmore on the hairpin. In one race this year I’ve seen two crashes. I feel that standards in races generally are really slipping and I have to say that I put the blame squarely on riders who seem to have little experience of group riding. Riders who want to race should have plenty of chaingang miles under their belt before they even contemplate turning up on the start line. It’s an important fact to remember for existing club riders too – we all benefit from making the group rides as inclusive and welcoming as we can.
Thursday 7 April 2011
House!
Well it certainly feels like summer out there at the moment. It will be a rude shock when the spring weather returns and the arm/leg warmers have to come out again, but for the moment the whole of London is enjoying an early respite from the long, cold winter we’ve suffered. And predictably, with the rise in temperature, the aircon in the office has packed up!
It’s funny how the rise in temperature makes you remember all the sensations from summer riding. Bottles of water that warm up within half an hour, the dry ragged throat from commuting too fast down the Embankment in heavy traffic, the splat, splat of bug-hits on your face as you go past hedges and bushes by the side of the road – all sensations that are strangely welcome after a winter of picking through ridges of frozen slush, clothed in three layers of windproof attire with gloves so thick that you can barely change gear. Roll on summer!
I’ve done no racing since my last update – as usual the rash of early season races ends and there is a fallow period before the crits all start up. I’m as yet undecided whether to go for Palace or Eelmore this year as the main mid-week race. Both are infinitely preferable to Hillingdon though! Hog Hill would be good too, but it’s just to much of a schlep in the evening and I seem to have nothing but bad luck there – broken wrist, broken wheel, etc. Thankfully my Enve wheel has been returned from Wheelbuilder.com in the US – it needed a brand new rim, which was rather expensive, even with the crash replacement discount. Can’t recommend Wheelbuilder highly enough though – quick, friendly and professional. All I need to do now is do justice to the fantastic set of wheels.
The non-bike related news is that we have finally got a house. After several attempts on other properties where we were outbid (significantly outbid as well) we have finally purchased a house in Wimbledon after a protracted negotiation period – from initial offer to exchange was nearly three months of nail-biting, faffing, firing solicitors, finding and hiring new solicitors, juggling finances and dealing with the mortgage companies. It finally all came together last week so we celebrated with the bottle of champagne that has been chilling in the fridge since January! Now begins the process of engaging builders, sourcing kitchens, deciding on windows and room layouts and sorting out the garden and storage. At some point I’ll have to seriously start considering bike storage as well. There’s a lot of work to do over the next 5-6 months before we are able to move in. Exciting (and expensive) times!
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