tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47141723784099246342024-03-05T08:39:16.928-08:00Life on two wheelsChris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-67860387936083356422013-06-20T08:17:00.000-07:002013-06-20T08:17:02.008-07:00Alpentour Packing<br />
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In a bizarre, self-referential way, writing about packing
for a stage race is very much like the activity itself- it can be difficult
know where to begin! I’ve done a few of these crazy European raids now,
snatched between busy times at work, and I still feel like a beginner. So,
where to begin?</div>
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Well, with the advent of cheap flights, there’s an obvious
enemy to fight. No, not the grumpy man outsize luggage dealing with his tenth
bike bag plastered in “Precious Cargo” stickers, but the weight of the bag
itself. Most low-cost airlines limit you to “sports equipment” weighing a maximum
of 23kg – possibly a little over-generous for a pair of skis, or even a set of
golf clubs, but an altogether thornier problem for cyclists. Assuming you’ve
done all that you can to minimise the weight of your bike (and if you haven’t i
can send you far along the path to weight-weeniedom with a single weblink <a href="http://www.mt-zoom.com/">www.mt-zoom.com</a> ) then it’s all about being
smart in packing what you need.<br />
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I generally strip my bike a couple of days before the flight
to give me plenty of time to do the shuffle onto the bathroom scales with an
oversize piece of luggage, curse, take out something that was “vital” five
minutes ago, repeat cycle until i reach the magic number. The toolkit generally
being in disarray (the dangers of cohabiting and sharing a single toolkit – “I
can’t find X, YOU must have done something with it!”), i plonk all the tools i
have used to deconstruct to one side to go in with the bike. Cassettes (esp the
bigger 36t ones, which can be easily bent – best not to ask how!), rotors,
quick releases, pedals all stripped, it’s then time to bubble wrap the key bits
– big ring, controls, wheel axles (so they don’t damage your frame). Then
everything goes into the bike bag – i use a soft-sided one in the vague hope
that baggage handlers will be more careful with it, and again to save weight.<br />
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Then it’s time to think about spares. I’m currently mid-pack
for the AlpenTour, and it’s no secret, with snow clearly visible on the Planai
webcams, it’s likely to be cold and wet. Spare snakeskin Schwalbe Nobby Nic is
ready to go – anything easy to tubeless, hard to puncture is always a good
mixture for long races, where the last thing you want to have to do is fix a
flat when cold! Spare bottle cage is a good idea (stage racing can be rough on
them – big bottles + rough trails = limited lifespan!), likewise a patch kit
for tubes just in case you do flat more than once on the same wheel. I also
take a spare rotor, chainrings, cassette, bolts various, brake pads, gear
inner, chain & quicklink (these are great taped to your top tube with a bit
of electrical tape!)<br />
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For maintenance of body, it’s worth taking energy food you’re
used to (i swear by Torq, but experiment and try what works). Take two more pieces
of food (energy gel/bar) for each stage than you think you might need, you can
really only live to regret going alpine style, especially in a stage race! Recovery
drink is also a good idea, try to get it in you within 30 mins of finishing the
stage. Finally, there are the unfortunate realities of racing of many days. With
every extra day, the chances you’ll have to deal with something unexpected
increase, be that a crash, an overuse injury or just a saddle sore. It’s worth
taking a road rash kit (hydrocolloid dressings are amazing things, and don’t worry,
they’re supposed to smell!), some anti-inflammatories (e.g. ibuprofen, but try
not to use them unless you absolutely have to, as they’re quite bad for harming
your recovery) and sudocreme for saddle sores.</div>
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Finally, pack a good book and a sense of humour. Stage races
are all about seeing amazing places, meeting cool people and having fun – some of
the best memories you’ll take away will be sitting on a terrace somewhere with
a huge ice cream and a bunch of new friends. Oh, and don’t forget your
passport...</div>
Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-25095279088494340402013-06-20T08:16:00.000-07:002013-06-20T08:16:47.797-07:00A handy guide to cheeringIt does rather depend on where in the world you are. Head to the cycling heartlands of Italy, Spain, Belgium & France, and increasingly Germany & Austria, and you can guarantee that any bike race that goes through a town will be greeted with encouragement of some description. Local kids, crudely painted (and sometimes <i>crudely</i> designed!) banners, food, water, and if you're very lucky maybe even an oompah band. Go to the hinterlands of the UK, or northern Europe where bikes are primarily a means of transport and not a vocation, and you may very well only be welcomed by local vagrants asking "how much is your bike worth, mate?". With this in mind, I thought I'd write a handy guide for would-be spectators.<br />
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<b>How to pick your spot.</b><br />
Bike races are best watched on TV - I'm afraid this is empirical fact; if you want to know what is going on in a race, you're much better off huddling up on the sofa with a cup of tea than you are braving the sun or rain to watch by the side of the route. However, what you miss by your frankly shocking lack of committment is the experience of a passing race. For a big road race, it will start with a publicity caravan, more free crap than you can shake a stick at, a series of rolling adverts on wheels, and then finally a series of police cars and motorbike outriders before finally you catch a brief glimpse of the patchwork quilt of multicoloured jerseys before the race is gone, out of sight like a multicoloured rumbling, rattling cloud. If you want to see the riders for the maximum possible time, pick somewhere where the course goes steeply uphill, especially in a multi-lap race, as this will give you a great vantage to watch the race develop. Failing that, try to find some friendly locals who own a vineyard/brewery... Oh, and don't forget a waterproof!<br />
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<b>How to encourage riders</b><br />
Never, never, NEVER utter the dreaded words "dig in". Say what you like, give riders time gaps to the next person on the course, tell them they look good, or smooth, or fast. Offer them handy hints of how you think they can make up time or places. Make them laugh and smile; most bike riders are pretty humble and have a good sense of fun, even when racing. But just saying "dig in" is the lazy spectator's cover-all. I have often wondered, what does it even mean? What am i supposed to be digging into? My suitcase of courage? Please...! A few wise words, or a good juicy pun chalked on the road shows that you care!<br />
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<b>How not to encourage riders</b><br />
You're standing by the side of a climb. A bunch of totally knackered riders are pushing the pedals as hard as they can to ride past at a decent lick. For some reason, especially if you're Spanish, the thought occurs "I know, i'll run alongside them". Just don't even think about it! For one thing, you should be holding a glass of wine, and spilling it would be a sin. Secondly, if you can run easily alongside, it's going to be utterly crushing for the poor sods who're trying as hard as they can, and if you can't you could lose your footing and end up with tyre marks in your face... Some people like to have water poured on them when it's really hot, others not so much, so don't forget to ask. As an aside, probably one of the most pleasant experiences of my cycling life was being soaked by an Italian Nonna somewhere in the Dolomites in 42o heat, when i thought spontaneous combustion was imminent. I did get sunburn because it washed off the suncream though!<br />
Finally, don't push people, it doesn't really help, and it can get us disqualified! Keep it dignified, and there'll be no need for anyone to get Hinault on your ass...<br />
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<b>What you can hope to get out of it</b><br />
If you're watching a road race, you'll see the whole thing pass in about 20 seconds flat, from the lead car to the last guy on the road, unless you're in the Alps and on the last climb of the day. If you choose to watch an MTB marathon race, where there are pros and punters like me racing, you could be there for more than an hour cheering for the first guy and the lanterne rouge. Either way, the main reason for going to spectate isn't really to find out how the race unfolds, you're better off in front of a TV set for that. You should expect to meet a bunch of like-minded people who're fun to hang out with, have a nice picnic, and generally soak up the atmosphere. You might get the odd freebie from the race caravan, you may just get a plastic bag to shelter you from the rain, but you'll end up with good memories of a day in the hills, and stories to tell of the epic ride you saw. And maybe even a glass of vin rouge to dull the ache of making your cyclist legs walk...<br />
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Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-88675645110211418482013-05-14T07:06:00.000-07:002013-05-14T07:06:46.872-07:00Trying something newFirstly, let me set out my stand. I'm a mountain bike racer; that's what I do. I have sometimes succumbed to the lure of the asphalt for extended periods of time, especially when I lived in Cambridgeshire, and area of the UK not renowned for its off-road riding. Equally, now that I live in London I don't get to ride offroad much, and I have to admit, the roller on the turbo trainer is looking decidedly worn these days. But variety, as they say, is the spice of life, and for the first time since I started cycling, I now live a practical distance from an evening crit league. With this in mind, I'm planning to make the most of my proximity to Crystal Palace, a place with a fearsome reputation for difficulty amongst London's roadies, to shake up my training a bit.<br />
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From my previous posts, you may already have gathered my "racer image"; how I view myself when it comes to racing bikes. It is not a view of a high-octane sports car, all fast starts and sprinting for corners. Nope, I am definitely a ragged old diesel (age being foremost in my mind as i approach my 31st anniversary...), no good at the short, hard efforts that increasingly characterise XC races, and to a slightly lesser extent even marathons. I am purely an FTP rider, make me go much above 300W and I wither pretty fast. Comparisons with other number-obsessed friends confirms this, I am reasonably competitive when it comes to FTP/Kg, but go deeper into the red and I choke; I have the classic Time Triallist profile, perhaps proof that you can take a chap out of the fens, but you can't take the fens out of the chap!<br />
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With this in mind, I reckon throwing myself into a few hour-long adrenaline smashfests is probably not a bad plan; give me an ultimatum (hit 800W now, or get dropped) and I'll be interested to see what my body can really do. Riding a bike is such a fascinating interplay of the physical and the psychological, I wonder if "out of context" and out of my usual comfort zone, I might not even surprise myself. Obviously, to make my test very scientific and double-blind, I'll not only put a piece of highly sophisticated opaque sticky-backed plastic (read electrical tape) over my bike computer, but I'll also refrain from asking other riders what their stats are during the jockeying for corners. Have to do it right, after all!<br />
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My first roadie outing is in a little under a week, as an added bonus it'd be nice to get rid of the taint that noone sees - that little number "4" on my license, but for now, I'll take a bunch of fast people to remind me how hard it feels to be at your breaking point for an hour...Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-34633074925007874042013-04-17T14:25:00.001-07:002013-04-17T14:25:26.389-07:002012 with hindsight2012 was a pretty spectacular year for cyclesport in the UK. We've seen the first British Tour winner (don't mention that he was born in Ghent, or that his dad was Australian - that's not the Brit way; see e.g. "British-born astronaut Michael Faule"...), we've seen a fantastic Olympics on home soil, for me culminating in the Hadleigh Farm mountain bike race, and we continue to see ever more people taking to their bikes for health and transportation.<br />
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Closer to home, 2012 was also a pretty memorable year in the Pedder-Fenton household. In the last 12 months, we've done more international racing in Europe than ever before, and both feel like we've taken a step forward in our racing since the season started way back in March. The first race of the year was the first round of the Southern XC series in Checkendon, on a day that reminded everyone present that March doesn't necessarily mean that spring has arrived. My first XC race of the year proved a shock to the system, and i was slightly disappointed to end up so far back, but it was great to finally get hold of my new Trek 9.9ssl that i would be racing for the season.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obligatory March photo of new bike...</td></tr>
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April brought our first road trip of the year with ex-AW teamie Tim Dunford. We were off to the Roc Laissagais, my first single-day Euro Marathon since Rachel and I first gave one a go, the Canary Bike Marathon in Gran Canaria in 2010. Spring still hadn't arrived in southern France, but Tim, Rachel and I made the most of the terrain, if not the weather, to do some fantastic pedalling around the Gorges du Tarn. The race itself was muddy, cold, but brightened a lot for me by getting a thumbs-up for carrying on from Christophe Bassons as he withdrew! Fearful of missing my lift back to the fromagerie where we were staying (Tim desperately wanted to get back to see the end of Paris-Roubaix, and had told me in no uncertain terms that if i didn't make it round in time, i was riding the 30km home), i found extra motivation to make it back in 57th place, depressingly over an hour behind the winner. Fellow fromagieres Will Hayter, Mike Blewitt and Collyn Ahart (MarathonMTB.com) had to dash off post-race, but not before plying us with excellent stew and easter eggs. And to cap it all, Rachel managed to meet the qualification criteria for the UCI Marathon World Champs by finishing 11th. We had wine and cheese with the owners of the gite to celebrate...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Roc Laissagais, apparently a year makes you forget, so we've already done it again since this photo was taken!</td></tr>
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May brought the Marathon Nationals up in Selkirk on the first single-lap course ever used for this event. There was much grumbling about the course post race, but i for one thought it was excellent, and showed that things are moving in the right direction in the UK with regard to our antiquated laws on rights of way. We stayed in Innerleithen, a town which apparently comes alive on a friday night (and not in a good way), and i found myself drifting off to shouts of "leave him Jimmy, he's not worth it, he's just a ****ing ****", perhaps not ideal race prep. I got a bit carried away at the start, riding up to Andy Cockburn, before blowing spectacularly in the unexpected heat and sunshine, to finish somewhere in the late teens (results still aren't published...). Rachel decided to show off coming 2nd behind Jane Nuessli, and just ahead of a fast-finishing Verity Appleyard. Andrew and I made her wear her medal to dinner, much to the bemusement of other participants, who were heard to ask each other if they should have got one too...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Podium fondle from Jane Nuessli.</td></tr>
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June was spent discovering how much more i could hurt myself outdoors, spending the lighter evenings doing my training sessions around the dizzying inner circle in Regents Park, and catching up with old friends and making new ones (a memorable weekend in Shropshire involved riding with old friend Hamish, and Isla Rowntree and Louise Robinson who Rachel had invited via twitter!). We also nearly drowned at a round of the Southwest XC series at the Forest of Dean, but that's another story!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just yuck.</td></tr>
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The last round of the Southern XC series saw me get my best ever finish in an Expert race in 5th place, and Rachel win the Elite series overall. The rain apparently fell lightly on the course, just to ensure that no XC race in the UK was totally dry for us.<br />
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July was all about the Transalp for me and partner Nick Herlihy. We headed off to Oberammergau via Munich to start the race, and were met with three straight days of rain and cold, including a climb over 2800m as light snow fell. And yet somehow, the sun coming out and the route getting harder still didn't put us off, although i have to admit things did look a little grim when Nick ended up in the medical tent at the end of stage 6. Only a bog trot through a muggy swamp, a night in a car park and a thunderstorm at 2000m lay between us and the finish at Riva del Garda, where we celebrated our survival with ice cream and new (and not so new) friends before heading back to the real world. Poor Nick started his new job as a physio unable to work due to severe pain in his hip from a crash, and i went back to climbing the five flights of stairs in my building looking even more like an octogenarian.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proper mountains. Unfamiliar territory...</td></tr>
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August came, Rachel and I managed to reclaim the title of Big Dog Mixed Pairs champions, although i felt rather bad for the pairs in 2nd and 3rd (and for my own legs) after i ended up doing 6 laps to Rachel's 2. We made more new friends in the form of Crispin Doyle & Anna Cipullo, and watched with pride as our fellow AW racers Simon Ernest & Steve James stood on the top step of the men's pairs after a tense battle for supremacy. And we got to meet little Jenson.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Concentrating a bit too much on the champagne pop...</td></tr>
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Later in the month, more euro galavanting, this time to the outrageously expensive ski resort of Verbier for the start of the Grand Raid Cristalp. In a premonition of the early 2013 food scandal, we discovered that buying steak in the local supermarket with which to celebrate finishing the Grand Raid was ludicrously expensive. Rachel ran over to me full of excitement having found a cheaper cut of meat in another part of the chiller in the Coop, only to notice that the picture on the corner definitely wasn't of a cow... We were travelling with Timmy D again, driving down from Southampton to Verbier being a serious mission, and one which Tim took on with aplomb and enthusiasm, arriving two days after we set off in a beautiful apartment overshadowed by the Mont Blanc Massif. A couple of days of pedalling up to the top lifts, and it was race day. Watching Thomas Dietsch pedalling the big dog up the hill in the centre of Verbier, looking for all the world like he was going for a sunday ride was a little deflating to both me and Tim, and we both resigned ourselves to the reality of starting in the wee fella. Lame. 8.5hrs later, we were both done and waiting for Rachel who was fertilising the alpine meadows having had a heat-induced dicky tummy, but reassuringly the Dunford-Pedder 50 minutes was still very much in action.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhHKx7F1GqmJTjVLKSV9Cu61feJOKqDfpy49-lwWx3XCugyxmAb6XYv2UFofJAdUPHRKo1b72IMBX79-xpi-DKFeYOS2r-s53svXS9k5PAWeIyDTwM4PdgwrB0Z_pB-UvwKsCyNjnrgM/s1600/sportograf-31246688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhHKx7F1GqmJTjVLKSV9Cu61feJOKqDfpy49-lwWx3XCugyxmAb6XYv2UFofJAdUPHRKo1b72IMBX79-xpi-DKFeYOS2r-s53svXS9k5PAWeIyDTwM4PdgwrB0Z_pB-UvwKsCyNjnrgM/s320/sportograf-31246688.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I even had time to think "this is amazing" during the race...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The year finished with the Kielder 100, a good season closer, always a fab event, and this year a week later than previously to try to reduce the blood loss of competitors to the swarming clouds of biting insects. Poor Tim must have been getting quite sick of us by this point, but thankfully had Ben Thomas and Andy Cockburn to dilute Team Penton to manageable levels. The September chill reminded us all that it's grim up north and that winter would soon be with us. Race day was pleasant, to the relief of everyone who raced in 2012, it was Tim's turn to show off, winning the sturdy block of oak for his trouble, and then Rachel decided to make me feel like a total failure by winning the 50mile event outright, beating all the guys too. I was 13th, and you guessed it, 45m down on Tim...<br />
<br />
So that was it. A year of racing. Too much money spent. Too little training done. Many many wonderful memories of beautiful places with good folk. Funny that we should be doing it all again in 2013...Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-48395669905247160322013-04-17T13:58:00.002-07:002013-04-17T13:58:19.067-07:00Marathon Racing in the UK - a history.Marathon Racing in the UK<br />
<br />
The UK has something of a chequered history when it comes to the racing of pedal cycles. In fact, that's a pretty unfair description, for every black square on the chequer board, there's a more upbeat, optimistic white one, whereas I'm afraid to say that in this small island state, we are pretty backward in our attitudes and always have been.<br />
<br />
History of racing in general<br />
<br />
When the continental bike racing scene was approaching the first of its high water marks in the 1940s and 1950s, a bitter war was being fought out between the police & legal system, and two equally dogmatic, equally confused governing bodies for cycling within the UK. The National Cycling Union were against the idea of mass-start racing on the roads, on the grounds that it would disrupt traffic and give cyclists a bad name, resulting in a ban on cycling in general. As a result they organised early morning, solo competitions against the watch in which cyclists attempted to be as inconspicuous as possible, which is where the modern British obsession with time trialling may have come from (although inconspicuousness is obviously not high on the agenda these days, day-glow skinsuits a-go go!). Their nemesis was the British League of Racing Cyclists, a group more dedicated to the debonair, continental approach to racing with mass starts, and supporting crowds. The BLRC were cast much more as the dandies of the sport, although this may be unfair, what is certainly true is that they had a more "relaxed" attitude to the legality of their racing.<br />
<br />
History of racing off road<br />
Racing offroad also has a curious past in the UK. The earliest race that took place predominantly offroad that i am aware of (and this may be more my ignorance of history) was the Three Peaks Cyclocross, now in its 50th year. In 1985, the pre-existing competition "Man vs Horse"was expanded to include mountain bikers, and four year's later one of the prodigal sons of British MTB racing, Tim Gould, took the first win for two wheels over a hilly 22mile course. Mountain bike racing more generally came to the fore in the late-1980s and early 90s, with courses only being constrained by landowner's permissions.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dCIn9RmGQyageeYWOrDOOpOF_i5YBa6S0ma3Kk1WTzpq2hWxR_mHr7tfl6SjNskABuiBSmPEy4SCZfEmKGxbQs830QRZKZxMmRiCS8MkpOa0wTVYoMy_vh423wIAJeLXVA77QQ_2oU8/s1600/220px-Tim_Gould.1996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6dCIn9RmGQyageeYWOrDOOpOF_i5YBa6S0ma3Kk1WTzpq2hWxR_mHr7tfl6SjNskABuiBSmPEy4SCZfEmKGxbQs830QRZKZxMmRiCS8MkpOa0wTVYoMy_vh423wIAJeLXVA77QQ_2oU8/s1600/220px-Tim_Gould.1996.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Tim Gould - first winner of Man v Bike v Horse</div>
<br />
In the late 1990s, it was discovered that in fact, the legal framework around public rights of way, particularly bridleways, was problematic for bikes. Since 1968, cyclists have had the right to use bridleways alongside pedestrians and horse riders, but despite it being possible to run a horse race or a running race on a bridleway, or indeed a running race on a footpath, racing of bikes is explicitly banned under the rights of access laws. The country is criss-crossed by bridleways, and since they cannot be closed or reclassified, it is therefore not possible to set a course for a race in the UK that crosses a bridleway (unless the trick of using a "non-competitive zone" within the race is used - declaring a section of the race course as neutralised). This is no great problem for XCO races which are run on courses that are 4-12km in length, and likewise it's also possible to hold lapped "enduro"style races on similar courses with no legal problems.<br />
<br />
Problems DO arise however for longer-distance point-to-point or single-loop XCM races, of the sort that are ubiquitous in Europe and the US. These require an enormous amount of care to set up within the confines of the law in the UK, and a great deal more time and effort than most race organisers have to lavish on them - consequently they have all but died out. The only notable exceptions which survive are the Kielder 100 and the Selkirk MTB Marathon, the former because of the care of the organisers, and the latter because of the introduction of right to roam in Scotland, and the resultant abolition of bridleways altogether north of the border. For many years, British Cycling have had to apply to the UCI for special dispensation to have a national marathon championships that consisted of between 4 and 8 laps of an XC-style course, such has been the lack of enthusiasm for trying to grow something bigger.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGEG6iLl0Ggl75MOjbJHJjb3mgQTCAPHxvMSaxlC9EpBFCfRkTkimzaq6wUI4bACpayta6LHIdHxKRKzFafZvhTpb4CmvLxhzUN9W5_7mylLqCDZF93C6tDr9zv0qWnDWm5AM4FP048c/s1600/k100start.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGEG6iLl0Ggl75MOjbJHJjb3mgQTCAPHxvMSaxlC9EpBFCfRkTkimzaq6wUI4bACpayta6LHIdHxKRKzFafZvhTpb4CmvLxhzUN9W5_7mylLqCDZF93C6tDr9zv0qWnDWm5AM4FP048c/s320/k100start.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
K100 Race Start 2012 - can you spot me?</div>
<br />
With the growth of interest in marathon racing in the UK and in Europe, it is clear that there must be a change of heart in government to rectify the rather peculiar and egregious situation in which we find ourselves as XCM racers in the UK. Personally, i'm a great believer in treating people like adults. From cycle-commuting in London, to riding my bike in remote forests in Scotland, i have always found that a division of trail users leads to a sense of entitlement amongst some that can be truly divisive. If instead we give people responsibility and ask them to behave sensibly, the vast majority will,and those who do not will not be sensible anyway. So to me, the obvious way forward would be to remove the seemingly arbitrary restrictions on where we can walk and ride, and bring right to roam south of the border too. Maybe this will lead to a dystopian and conflict-riddled future, but somehow i doubt it!Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-21492660930276338842013-01-27T09:50:00.002-08:002013-01-27T09:50:34.494-08:00Calculated Risks
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">Of all the forms of cyclesport that exist out
there, there’s a good argument to be made for mountain biking, and particularly
mtb racing being the one that depends most on its practitioners to be able to
take calculated risks. In a mountain bike race, there are so many variables we
as riders are in control of, and which we must make decisions about. Someone’s
riding with you, do you pedal harder up the hills to try to drop them, do you
take faster but dodgier lines on the descents to shed them, or do you rely on
your sprint to dispatch them at the finish. Like Jason Bourne, we have to make
a decision based as much on impulse and instinct as racecraft, and after a few
races, we all become capable of making a split-second call on what to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">The crucial word in what i’ve written above is
“calculated”. Mountain bikers are viewed as reckless by roadies - we crash, we
bounce, we get back up and keep riding, surely we must be overdoing it all the
time. But the truth is, if you want to race well, you have to be conservative -
if you spend all your time upside down in bushes, you’ll always be too bruised
or injured to race well. It’s all about knowing your limits and the dangers you
face, and riding within yourself most of the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">It therefore seems particularly sad and
dispiriting that two international-level mountain bike racers have lost their
lives to road traffic incidents in the last three months. I found myself
genuinely shocked and distraught on hearing the news that Burry Stander had
been killed by a taxi in South Africa. He was a young man in his prime that i
remember as a youthful, vibrant 18-year old racing at the very front of an NPS
race in Thetford forest during an unusually warm April day in 2007. He had
since risen to become an under-23 world champion, and a multiple national champ
and world cup winner, arguably one of the very best XCO and XCM racers in the
world. You don’t get that good by taking needless risks. It seems so deeply
shocking and indescribably sad that even Burry’s incredible powers of risk
minimisation (much talked about after the collision was the fact that he was
super-careful when riding on the roads of SA) were not enough to keep him from
harm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">0.00000067. It’s a number that sticks in my
head. It’s not just because i’m a mathematician by training, and a physicist by
trade that i remember this particular number so clearly. It’s the numerical
chance that, based on the cycling statistics for London, i will be killed or
seriously injured on any given day i choose to commute to work. I can strive to
reduce this number, but like Burry, there’s only so much i can do. It takes a
concerted effort by politicians, city planners, road designers, automotive
companies and above all drivers and the DVLA to make a significant dent in this
number, a number that chases all of us who use bicycles on the road for
transport or pleasure. If you haven’t already, i encourage you to sign this
excellent petition;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/44059<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="normal">
<br /></div>
<div class="normal">
<span lang="EN-US">I am the eternal optimist. I think we can all
get along. I don’t see why a tonne of metal, plastic and fossil fuel should put
up a barrier between human beings. i think that all it takes is a realisation
that we’re all in this together - we are all entitled to our place on the roads
of this crowded little island we call home, and with that great freedom comes
great responsibility - to look out for one another. How hard can that really
be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-612631159663115432012-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:002012-11-22T14:24:58.300-08:00Victim BlamingWhat is victim blaming? It's a not very nice phenomenon in the world in which we live, and broadly takes the form of referring to the victim of criminal behaviour with the thoughtful and considerate words"they had it coming". It has been detrimental to criminalisation of minority groups the world over, women, black people, latinos, and depends crucially on the out-group status of those minorities - because they are not part of the norm in society, they are responsible for their own misfortunes. Put in this way, it is clear that victim blaming is a pretty disgusting, pretty cowardly way of dealing with social problems. I'm a man, white and i guess middle class, so beyond my bleeding heart liberalism, why does this bother me on such a personal level? One simple reason, i ride a bike to work.<br />
<br />
Now to be clear, i'm not out to compare rape to being cut up by a taxi on Tottenham Court Road, but let's not forget that the number of cyclist deaths in London has now hit 13, and has only dipped below double figures once between 1992 and the present day (in 2004, eight people died on the roads of the capital). If being crushed beneath the wheels of a lorry is not a life-changing experience, i don't know what is. So what's got me all hot and bothered about this?<br />
<br />
Well, it comes down to a concerted campaign by TFL, aimed squarely at cyclists. I am sure that TFL do have their hearts in the right place, and that they are trying in the most effective way available to them to reduce cyclist deaths, but their campaign just looks like a massive, publicly-funded exercise in victim-blaming.<br />
<br />
Take these stickers: http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/cyclist-road-safety-tackling-the-issues-30803/<br />
<br />
Or this video that has been going viral on my facebook, reposted by smart cycling friends of mine who have unfortunately bought into the "i am the problem" mentality.<br />
<br />
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzL0Kyk4m-8<br />
<br />
I'm afraid that, based on my own personal experience, the drivers of lorries bearing the TFL stickers seem to be the worst offenders, often not bothering to indicate at junctions, or worse choosing to drive at speeds totally inappropriate to the clogged conditions of central London's roads. It's almost as if they view the stickers as a catch-all excuse - a pre-emptive "sorry i didn't see you mate" in case they should carelessly wander across a junction and squeeze some poor unsuspecting cyclist into the railings. "It doesn't matter that i forgot to indicate your honour, because you see, i got a sticker on the back of my lorry".<br />
<br />
The film is even more worrying, not for what it shows, but for what it doesn't show. How exactly did a lorry that was turning left end up straddling two lanes alongside a group of cyclists waiting at a stop line? The reality, again from my own experience, would be that the lorry driver, rather than choosing to wait in the left hand lane to turn left, would have decided to go in the right hand lane, alongside the cyclists whilst they were already stopped at red. He would have then indicated, once already stopped, and used the natural selection "i'm bigger than you, get out of my way" approach to make sure he got a clear run at his turn. If any poor cyclist failed to notice what was going on, well, they're a lot smaller than him, so does it really matter? After all, everyone knows thanks to the concerted efforts of TFL and other road safety organisations that the way cyclists get killed is by going up the inside of good, law abiding, always indicating, never speeding lorries. So really, they only had themselves to blame.<br />
<br />
Herein lies the problem with this well-meant, and well-run campaign. It gives people who should know better an out, an excuse. You wouldn't dream of standing in front of a judge and saying "he was annoying me, so i decided to swing my chainsaw at him, and then he died" and not at least be charged with murder, but do the same with a truck (or any other vehicle for that matter), and okay, that's fine, 6 points and a £150 fine will do.<br />
<br />
If you look at the TFL website there is good and sensible advice for both cyclists and drivers of HGVs. Unfortunately, the reality is that HGV drivers are professionals - they do it for a living, whereas very few cyclists, even including the couriers, are cycling for a living - they cycle as a means of commuting to and from work, or to get to the shops. The practical reality is therefore that cyclists are disproportionately more likely to go to the website for advice, whereas professional HGV drivers will either assume that they will have covered everything they need to know in their training (if they're new to the job) or that their many years of experience on the roads is better preparation than any crappy website!<br />
<br />
The question we should all ask straight away when we watch that TFL video is "How the hell do we think it's a good idea to have such poorly-equipped vehicles on the roads at all? Who allowed this?!"Until that is the reaction of every person, cyclist, driver, pedestrian, whatever, then the victim-blaming will continue, and cyclists will be viewed as second class citizens...Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-80337531635237063602012-11-05T00:20:00.003-08:002012-11-05T00:20:47.762-08:00Cyclocross – A True Sport?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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This blog
post comes out of a series of conversations Rachel and I had with friends over
the weekend of the Ally Pally supercross. Given that all these friends are in
their own right very into ‘cross, maybe the whole pretext of what i am going to
write is dubious, but nevertheless i found it an interesting take on things.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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So the
question i want to ask is, as a mountain biker do you benefit more from
cyclocross than a ‘cross rider would benefit from racing mountain bikes. As you
might have guess from the title, my thesis is that ‘cross teaches mtbers more
than mtb teaches cyclocross racers.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Historically,
the bible of mountain bike training (“The Mountain Bikers Training Bible” – Joe
Friel) dispenses with the idea that “serious” mountain bike racers can also
race cross through the winter as anything<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>other than an occasional break from “long, steady distance” (LSD). The
fundamental tenet of this book is that to reach a good racing peak in the
summer time, you must do many many hours of long, slow rides in winter to
accustom your body to stress of training you face later in the season. I would
argue that this viewpoint is both outmoded (the book itself was published first
in 1998, so nearly 15 years of development have occurred since then, and many
coaches and sports scientists were already questioning the LSD model even back
then), and that it is entirely possible for even elite level athletes to
perform well in both the winter ‘cross season and the summer mtb season. This
is all the more true with the (re-)appearance of “reverse periodisation” as a training
method, whereby one adds intensity to training loads before then building
duration – an approach used very successfully by the Sky pro cycling team over
the last 12 months.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKB2ndGij5GXF_LS9Y1QlaGK-57jpWaMKC7s9-gn5D-jwI54rywHX21PsM_B2BYT7Ky86F6jfEBjl0e25ZpMMDTp6aK59OieQQbncehIC-9kamTOXXwluYYj00gSoIWc5FmLlG26iZIbY/s1600/Ally+Pally+SuperCross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKB2ndGij5GXF_LS9Y1QlaGK-57jpWaMKC7s9-gn5D-jwI54rywHX21PsM_B2BYT7Ky86F6jfEBjl0e25ZpMMDTp6aK59OieQQbncehIC-9kamTOXXwluYYj00gSoIWc5FmLlG26iZIbY/s1600/Ally+Pally+SuperCross.jpg" height="320" width="263" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Practicing what i preach at the Ally Pally round of the Rapha Supercross (thanks to D P B Harrison for the picture - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbpharrison/sets/72157631920306878/with/8152932938/ )</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The question
i want to address is who benefits more – do summer xc races help you to ride a
good cyclocross season, or is a good winter spent mud-plugging more useful to a
mountain bike racer?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, let’s
examine the evidence. The first and most tricky problem we face is where we
should look to see a good reflection of the true capabilities of both groups. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This summer we saw a definite cyclocross
specialist in Nicki Harris crowned as national MTB champion, whilst men’s
national ‘cross champ Ian Field finished just out of the medals at the national
XC champs. So it’s looking good for the skinny-tyred brigade crossing over. In
the past, we have seen multi-national XC champs Liam Killeen & Oli
Beckingsale duking it out at the front of national trophy cross races, so maybe
that evens the score somewhat. The reality is, we shouldn’t look to these
people as a first approach – they are gifted athletes, they have ridden both
disciplines many times, and they would do well in any arena of cyclesport they
turned their attention to.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So where do
we look? Well, perhaps the natural place to look is to watch people who are new
to the crossover. If we look to racers who have stuck with one discipline for several
years, and then switched we see a more interesting phenomenon. Without
mentioning names and embarrassing friends, it certainly seems to be true that
cross racers switch over to XC much more naturally than the other way around. With
a pattern in mind, it is now interesting to try to examine why!</div>
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<br /></div>
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So why would
it be easier to move from skinny tyres, crap brakes and drop handlebars to fat
tyres, good brakes and flat bars? Surely the answer is in the question – to be
good at cross, you have to be smooth as well as fit – the bikes are very
unforgiving, and if you don’t treat them well, they buck and throw you off. Put
someone with those skills on a more forgiving, more appropriate bike, and they
will quickly adapt – all it takes is braking a little later, and a little less,
cornering a little harder. As cyclists we are used to pushing limits, and
learning to push them a little further as we develop skills. Faced with the
opposite predicament, the XC racer is forced to back off, to brake sooner than
they want, to be more gentle and more accommodating of the bike when they cross
over (excuse the pun).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a more
difficult transition to make, because it requires you first go slower to go
faster. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It’s for
these reasons that i would encourage you, if your interests lie in racing well
in summer, you spend some time getting muddy in the winter – it’ll make you a
more rounded, more complete, and smoother rider. And whatever people might tell
you, it’s a lot of fun too!</div>
Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-58329985177029549672012-11-05T00:05:00.003-08:002012-11-05T00:05:50.877-08:00Five training sessions to change your life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The last two
years, i have spent some time getting to know myself. Prior to that i farmed
out all the hard work and scientific aspect of my training to a coach, with the
intention of freeing myself to just do the easy part of actually riding a bike.
It worked, i ended up fitter than i had been previously, but being an
incorrigible tinkerer, it left me unfulfilled – i spent a lot of time wondering
whether things would be better if i tried a different tack. Unfortunately,
thoughts like this are really quite unhelpful and disquieting. It became clear
that i would have to take charge of my own training plans for my own peace of
mind, and also for that of Rachel who was subjected to late-night musings on
the subject of sports science more often than i care to think about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So it was
that i started 2011 with the intention of trying something new. In January, we
moved up to Scotland, and i started working as a postdoc in the physics
department in St Andrews (i am reliably informed that St Andrews is “only just”
a Scottish town). I was acutely aware that starting an academic post in a new
subject area would leave me with precious little time to train, but at the same
time i badly wanted to be able to race the SXC series which are renowned for
their excellent courses. It was high time things became more time efficient!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Armed with a
copy of the “Time Crunched Cyclist” by the man who painted himself as the
architect of Lance Armstrong’s success<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(a title he may now be more than happy to relinquish) Chris Carmichael,
i was ready to start over. For 8 weeks, i religiously followed the “Experienced
Competitor” plan in the book, and to my surprise with basically zero base miles
(i.e. long, slow rides that are so in favour with a particular breed of coach)
i was amazed when i made significant, measurable gains in fitness, and didn’t
get ill, injured or both (one of the main arguments for base training is that
it prepares your body for more intense training). In doing the program, though,
i realised that even within the 8hrs a week it takes, there’s quite a lot you can
cut out, and that the strict format is actually much more open to alteration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Armed with
some confidence that i wouldn’t die of overtraining doing just shorter, intense
sessions, i started to fool around with the sessions i had planned. I cut out
over-unders (sessions where you cross your lactate threshold repeatedly) and
the peak-to-fade power intervals which i could never get right, and discovered
that their loss made very little difference to my profile as a rider. A move
south upset things rather, but again i planned a similar approach to 2012, this
time using just the sessions i decided i liked – there are five of them, and
they’re detailed below:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>1 – 2*20m
(“Base Training” – FTP training)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Best done
using a power meter, warm up for 10m, hold 95-100% of your FTP for 20m, have 2m
recovery, repeat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>2 – 6*3m
(Veronique Billat vVO2 session)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Again, best
done using a powermeter – warm up for 10-15m, the go straight into 3m at 120%
of FTP, 3m recovery, repeat a further 5 times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>3 – 10*1m
(Anaerobic fitness)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hard
session, only do when well-rested. Warm up. Do 1m at 150% of FTP, 3m recovery,
repeat a total of 10 times.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>4 – Tabata (Sprint/lactate tolerance)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
True Tabata
training lasts 4 minutes. Don’t be fooled, it’s a very hard 4 minutes. Warm up
well (20 including some efforts is advisable). Block is 20s full pelt, 10s
recovery – repeat 8 times. It is totally impossible to measure this by a
powermeter. You should be sprinting every time like a rainbow jersey depends on
it. If you can’t see right and feel like being sick at the end, you did it
right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>5 – Billat
II (VO2 threshold)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
An
occasional session, only for when you are super-motivated. Warm up, alternate
between 30s at 120% FTP and 30s at 50% FTP until you can no longer hit the
powers. Aim for 30-40minutes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All the
structured training i have done this year has been a mixture of these<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5 sessions, commuting to and from work 4 days
a week, and the occasional longer mtb or road ride at the weekend. They will
prepare you just as well for a 1.5hr XC race as they will for a 9hr mtb
marathon. Go, try them, keep things fresh, have fun!</div>
Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-75058704702042960542012-09-08T13:17:00.002-07:002012-09-08T13:17:31.246-07:00Transalp Day 5 & 6 - Scuol - Livigno - Ponte-di-Legno Satisfied with our rise up the rankings over the previous days (we were up to 83rd on GC in the men's field, well inside our top-100 aim), we faced day 5 - another longer stage at 68km, and more inkeeping with the "typical" transalp format of big climb early on. Thankfully, Nick was continuing to keep a close eye on the stage profiles, perusing them with great concentration every evening, so he knew every inch of the stage to come. I was taking an approach more suited to my poor memory of sticking a sellotape-laminated profile to my top tube.<br />
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<br />
First up was an amazing breakfast spread right next door to the camp (sadly not in the town's disused nuclear bunker as in previous years), although the amazing array of muesli didn't make up for the less-than-perfect strength coffee that tasted mostly of milk. I took the only sensible approach, and made up for quality with quantity going back for a second cup with Naomi and Mike, who were by now our regular eating companions.<br />
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<br />
<br />
The morning was tangibly warmer than the first days of the Transalp had got us used to, and i made the mistake (one i would make again) of wearing arm warmers for the start, only to have to peel them of straight away. I had been particularly looking forward to the stage to Livigno, it was one where we got the amazing high-alpine singletrack that had so inspired me six years previously. The start was suitably manic, and took us over a covered bridge out of town, which was thankfully devoid of the post slap bang in the middle that Mike's prescient warning had reminded me of from years gone by. We climbed up into Val Minger (fnar fnar), and continued our ascent, more gently on some stunning narrow meadow tracks that definitely differentiated well between the roadies and the mtbers around us!<br />
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<br />
Once we had crested the Passo Costainas, a spot of "noodling" was in store for us, as we climbed and descended small rolling hills through some beautiful high valley scenery until the Passo del Gallo, which marked the big singletrack descent of the stage. In the back of my mind as i rode through here was the possibility that i could do it all again in a month's time - the National Park Bike Marathon also uses these trails, and how could you not be impressed by a bike race you can enter in the local Coop! Somewhere down the descent, Nick flatted, and foolishly i failed to notice him - i looked behind me a couple of times on the hairpins, and could see a guy wearing a red helmet. Imagine my dismay when, as i slowed down to allow him to catch up as the trail headed skyward, i realised that Nick had grown rather significantly in stature in the last twenty minutes. Ooops. Cath Williamson and her partner Ischen Stopforth rode past, and told me that Nick had got a puncture "about an hour ago" whilst i sheltered in the shade of a handy tree and waited. Panic ensued in my exercise-addled brain, but just as i was contemplating hiking back up the hill, along came a very understanding and good-humoured Nick!<br />
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<br />
Off we headed up the gravel climb to the Alpisella pass, the final significant climb and descent of the day, before the mean Ulli Stanciu joke of taking us most of the way into Livigno, then back out and up a hill before allowing us to finally drop into town. We finished the day in baking sunshine, and tucked into the salty salami and cheese at the feed at the end with great abandon.<br />
<br />
As soon as we had finished, my mind turned to the following day - the "queen stage" of the race, weighing in at 106km with 3,500m of climbing, including a brutal ascent of the Mortirolo, using the same road as the Giro d'Italia had back in May. The key to surviving that would be recovery after the day's stage. We ate plenty, lay down and put our legs up, applied the very kindly-supplied urea-based fusscreme and then headed for dinner with our posse, Mike, Naomi, Meg, Pete & Cath - the anglophones united! We got the thrill of the day's presentation, and Cath got yet another trophy for second place on the stage behind the irrepressible Sally Bigham and Milena Landtwing, and then it was time to hit the hay.<br />
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The next morning dawned a little overcast, but it was clear that as soon as the mist burned off, it was going to be hot. We were pushing from the tax haven enclave of Livigno into "proper" Italy today, and also dropping down to the lowest altitude for quite some time to the town of Grosotto at the foot of the Mortirolo, so more reasons to think it would be toasty. Another frantic, forgettable start, and we were out of the blocks for the queen stage. I had decided, with hindsight possibly unilaterally, that today would be the day that Nick and I would make our move upwards on the GC - i was feeling pretty good, we had both figured out how hard we could push and get away with it, and the teams around us were flagging a little. The all-aslphalt climb of the Mortirolo seemed like a perfect place for it, i could use my strength to give Nick a bit of a hand, and hopefully we'd be able to move ourselves a few places up in the rankings...<br />
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First, though, we had to contend with the leg-sapping and tricky alpine singletrack out of Livigno, followed by a fast, flat run on gravel roads through the valleys to the foot of the Passo di Verva. With Mike's wise words "if you're not doing 40k/h here, you're going backwards" ringing in our ears, we hung valiantly onto a fast-moving paceline of riders. A small climb later (still 400m, but your norms get adjusted pretty quickly on the transalp), and we were ready to start the longest descent of the whole race - 1700m straight down to the small town of Grosotto. It was already feeling warm at the top of the climb, so it's perhaps no surprise that we were melting by the time we reached the bottom.<br />
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The climb itself started with some amazingly steep ramps of tarmac, that tested mine and Nick's pushing technique to the limit. In the end, we decided that Nick hanging onto a pocket was best, and once we got things dialled, we were motoring. As we climbed past Aussie mates Team Radical Lights, i realised we were on a bit of a flyer, and was determined not to let up. Nick was also digging deep, and I can't lie, it did feel fantastic towing my team mate past other blown teams. At the top of the Mortirolo (but sadly not the top of our ascent) we came across Mike & Naomi, who had had a bit of a nasty mechanical with a seized jockey wheel. We asked if we could help, and then rode on towards to the top of the climb. At the summit was the oasis-in-a-desert sight of a feed zone, where i necked a load of water and gel, and tried to force something down Nick's throat, as i thought he looked a little peaky. A fast, rocky, slightly scary descent took us down to Ponte-di-Legno, where the fun finished for the day. We made it in 6h38, for 57th on the stage, our best result yet.<br />
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Unfortunately, when we sat down to eat post-stage, it became clear something was up. Nick wasn't really feeling up to eating much, and when he started to shiver in the 30deg heat, it became clear it was time to call the medics. The race doctor did a fantastic job of looking after Nick, took him over to the medical tent, checked his blood sugar and response and then gave his diagnosis - v low blood sugar from pushing himself too hard! I ran around making sure our bikes were cleaned and worked for the following day, and tried to collect some food to make sure Nick had something to eat when he felt up to it.<br />
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Suitably recovered, we had dinner in the presence of the first ever women's olympic champion, Paola Pezzo who lives nearby, and then headed to bed. The following stage, whilst not as long, or with quite as much climbing as day 6, was definitely not to be quibbled with. We need to make sure Nick was ready for it!<br />
<br />Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-5654345108776559802012-08-23T13:00:00.004-07:002012-08-23T13:05:17.463-07:00Transalp days 3 & 4 Ischgl-Nauders-Scuol<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Having decided that the weather would definitely be kinder the following day, i did the most stupid thing possible just before going to sleep - i checked the crystal ball that is my phone's weather app. It told a rather different story, predicting 8degrees and some rain for the following day. Bumsocks. It was going to be cold.<br />
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We were back in block B, ditched our bikes near the front (after spending about five minutes trying to get them to "mate" in such a way that they didn't become a catalyst for bike dominoes through the whole pen), and went for coffee in a nice posh hotel in the centre of town. Mike and Nay had me worried, they were both wearing full arms, full legs, waterproofs, booties, and looked ready for a winter ride in the arctic. By contrast, i'd gone for knee and arm warmers, and Nick just arms and visibly pink knees on display. Were we going to freeze solid on the far side of the Idjoch?<br />
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There was a noticeable new layer of snow on the mountains surrounding Imst, which was definitely lower down than the 2800m we were going to climb up to. All i remember of breakfast was Nick coming out with the incredibly prescient statement "After a while, it just becomes posting it in your face, doesn't it?".<br />
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9am came all too quick, and before we knew it, the Block A party was off a minute ahead of us schmoes. The poor guy who had the job of removing the tape from the front of our pen almost didn't make it out of the way in time, and i had visions of him appearing for work the following day with tyre tread marks in his face until a graceful leap saw him clear the hard-charging euros at the front. Why you'd be keen for a hard start on a day that went straight into a 1500m climb, i have no idea, but don't underestimate the enthusiasm of these guys!<br />
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We both gurned our way up the Idjoch, whereas previous climbs had been harder surfaced, and slightly more gentle gradient which enabled me to give Nick the occasional push, i'm sure more for encouragement than for actual aid, the Idjoch was so steep and loose that it was every man for himself. As we climbed higher, it was clear that the fresh mountain air coming into my lungs was getting colder and colder, and as we rounded the shoulder of the mountain before the final steep kick to the summit it began to snow. Lightly enough that none of us were quite sure to start with, but it was snow alright. We pushed on to the top of the pass, keen to keep the warmth in us that we had generated on the climb up, and apparently rode past 2m high snowdrifts i have absolutely no recollection of.<br />
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The descent was long, loose, and slightly terrifying. Nick was in his element descending like a man posessed, and several hairpins ahead of me after only a couple of corners! I was much more timid, and as a result lost a significant amount of time on my partner and more, ahem, confident (or foolhardy) riders.<br />
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The rest of the stage passed in a bit of a blur, and i don't have any recollection whatsoever of the final climb up to the pretty little Tyrolean town of Nauders, but we must have ridden it somehow! We threw caution to the wind a bit more with pacing, and it paid off - we came in 76th on the stage. There was a great deal of disturbing artwork on the walls of the town hall, where we were staying, which frankly did nothing for the "emotional experience" of the camp (see transalp road book for details). On the plus side, we would be showering and breakfasting at a local 4* hotel. I drew the long straw on the shower front, and was treated to an unbelievable 7-jet affair that left me wondering if i'd ever been that clean before! Dinner was up a ski lift at 2300m in blissful sunshine, although it was pretty chilly when we decided to come back down again. My dodgy right knee was starting to give me problems again, but thankfully a very helpful man behind the bar understood my pidgin German, and gave me a bag of ice for me knee, which then leaked all over me during dinner...<br />
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Day 4 was the shortest stage of the race, practically a sprint at just over 50km, and took us from one of the most idyllic places i have stayed in Austria to the only place i have ever stayed in Switzerland, Scuol. Sadly, there would be no night in a nuclear bunker this time though, with our accommodation decidedly above ground, and mercifully lacking the glacially cold showers of 2006.<br />
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The usual morning routine done and done, with the most amazing array of muesli ever thrown into the mix to provide confusion and delight (and possibly dismay from the people who owned the hotel - the Transalp decimated their breakfast buffet!), we were on the line ready. Day 4 was the one i remembered from previous years as being very picturesque, and also the day when the fatigue stops getting any worse. This year was no different.<br />
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There was a bit of a chill in the air as we set off up the first climb of the day, but nothing that arm warmers alone couldn't keep off, and by the time we reached the top of the first climb they were off. The weather had improved hugely over the first three days, and with predicted temperatures in the mid-20s, we were altogether happier with the outlook. We had obviously acclimatised to the climbs too, as neither of the main ascents in the day's stage stuck out in my mind as particularly brutal, in spite of there being 1900m of climbing hidden in the profile.<br />
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The descent past the Schwarzsee was great, although sadly one section was justifiably marked as black, as Nick and I both attempted and then failed to ride it. What followed was an ever-steepening, loose forest track descent that bottomed out in the valley at 1000m, on the road that took us across the Swiss border. Under the watchful eye of the Swiss border officials, we grouped up with a couple of other riders and began the flat dash into Scuol. Unfortunately, this was the moment my brand new front XTR shift cable chose to split, leaving me stuck in the 28 on the flat. Cue a leg-smarting 5km of spinning 28*11 as fast as i could to keep the pace up, and before we knew it were we into Scuol, with a ride time of just over 3hrs.<br />
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Sadly, i only later discovered that a physics friend of mine was living in Scuol and looking out for me - at the time i was too afraid of swiss telecoms charges to switch my phone on! Post stage red wine was had on the balcony of the fabulous youth hostel in town, followed by an Alpenhorn-accompanied dinner up the mountain. What a way to end a day!Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-4918588556057680262012-08-08T10:34:00.001-07:002012-08-08T10:39:35.358-07:00Transalp Day 2 - Imst to IschglSomewhat daunted by our initial skirmish the Marienbergjoch on the first day, we nervously looked over the stage profile for the following day. It was very similar, in fact identical, to the second day of the Transalp 2006 covering the 78km from Imst to the "proper" mountain town of Ischgl. Nick looked carefully over every kilometer over dinner in the tent outside the sports centre in Imst, and we concluded that (a) day 2 was probably harder than day 1 and (b) we should probably treat it with some respect and try to ride a bit more steadily than we had the day before. This reminded me of having exactly the same conversation with my partner of six year previously, Hamish, in much the same spot in Imst. Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose!<br />
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The small shaft of light for us was that the weather app on my phone was predicting somewhat better weather for the following day rather than the on-again off-again rain and soaking trails of day 1. We settled down in our makeshift beds (miles from the pasta party, i'm sad to say) to ready ourselves for the following day.<br />
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Sunday morning dawned damp. We went for breakfast hoping it was just a shower and that it would brighten up. It didn't brighten up. We discovered the previous day's ride had been good enough to get us into start block B, where the reasonably serious people go (there were two ahead, A1 for the ultra-fast, and A2 for the still pretty damn quick), and so set off to stick our bikes at the front of the block before heading off for what would be the first of many coffees with Mike and Naomi before they got gridded with the big boys and girls. We were joined by Catherine Williamson (bizhub) one half of the second-placed women's team, and who was to become another regular eating companion, all of us nervously looking through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hope that the rain had stopped. It hadn't.<br />
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We went to our bikes and stood in the now more gentle rain, waiting for the strains of AC/DC to <br />
filter back to our more realistic start block so we could at least get going and warm up a bit. The start of the stage was a little more typical for the Transalp than the previous days 40km/h asphalt-fest - a short section of tarmac before we hit the first big climb of the day, the Venetalm. <br />
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After the previous days shock, the Venetalm reassured me that we could get through things, it was much as i remember transalp climbs being a gravelly fire road up at a grade of around 10%, and then a similar descent down the other side. Having crested our first 1000m climb, it was important not to get carried away, however, there were still two more significant climbs to go, and then a nasty sting in the tail in the form of a gradual climb up the valley to Ischgl which was peppered with little 20-50m climbs and descents. We first had master the road climd to the Pillerhohe, and then survive some of the most tricky technical riding of the week down to Landeck. It was mostly rideable, although an unfortunate racing incident involving another rider changing their mind as to whether they would let me ride past as they walked part of the descent left me on the deck. As some point down this descent, the weather decided it would be kind, and the sun came out to give us a magnificent rainbow over the mountains.<br />
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Despite my worries, we rode the final 20km still feeling strong, and despite backing off compared to our previous day's pace, still finished 101st in the Men's category in a little under 5.5hrs. Ischgl's camp had fond memories for me, every time i opened my transalp bag from the previous trip, little green rubbery bits of the indoor tennis court in Ischgl that would be our hostel for the night would fall out. The town sits in a magnificent valley with the skyline utterly dominated by the imposing mountains around, including the two peaks on either side of the brutal Idjoch pass that was on the menu for the following day. A quick wash of the bikes showed i had a more pressing concern, though - my spill had put a scrape along my non-drive side chainstay that had gone through the top layer of carbon! Argh.<br />
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Panicking more than a little, i went to talk to Dave Padfield, who now works as a road manager for the Topeak Ergon team, and was mechanic-ing for the top men's and women's teams in the race. He took a calm, collected look at the scrape, and told me not to worry - Trek make their carbon strong, and it'd probably be ok for the race. I should keep riding it, as the alternatives would be to pull out or try to buy a second bike - neither of which were really viable! Reassured, i headed back to camp to the daily chores, leaving my poor mal-treated bike in a multi-storey car park overnight. <br />
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Pasta party done, washing up, it was time to put everything ready for the morning and go to sleep. Nick and I made the obligatory check of the following day's profile. Man, the Idjoch was going to be tough. Almost 1500m climbing straight from the gun, and steep. Let's hope the weather improves, and there's no fresh snow on the tops of the mountains tomorrow morning. <br />
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<br />Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-31723770889799391502012-07-30T14:59:00.002-07:002012-07-30T14:59:47.887-07:00Transalp 2012 - Day 1, Oberammergau to ImstGetting to races that start in the south of Germany. It's
always all about the super-efficient Bavarian train system, which can
get you from Munich airport to seemingly anywhere, as long as you don't
mind two changes (bit of a faff with a bike bag) and 2hrs of very nice
scenery out of the window. So it was to Oberammergau. Bikes built, and a
first not-too-traumatic night in the Transalp camp, and Nick and I were
ready for the first day. It was wet. This was an unpleasant surprise. I
warned Nick that i may "accidentally" have ticked the box that said
"UCI Elite" team, and that we may end up gridded somewhere towards the
front as a result. I don't think either of us were quite ready for being
called up individually, and by name to the 3rd row of the grid,
however. The line of people we were going to get in the way of behind us
seemed endless, and included multiple British champ Sally Bigham and
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Thankfully, we had
the calming influence of Mike Blewitt and Naomi Hansen (or as the
organisers would have it, Hansen Naomi) riding for Mike's team
MarathonMTB.com before the build up to the Highway to Hell, a track that
even now causes my resting HR to jump by 20bpm.The start was an
extended road section that headed slightly uphill towards the start of
the first offroad section for the race, the Plansee Trail. I got
massively carried away with the "not getting in anyone's way", and ended
up riding with the front group. Eventually, the sight of so many
high-quality elite riders made me remember i shouldn't be there, and
that i should also probably be looking out for my poor teamie who'd
never experienced the frightening semi-organised chaos that passes for
the start of a Euro marathon race.<br />
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I stopped for a pee, and to have a
bite to eat, waited a bit and saw Mike and Nay come past. I made a
mistake that i would make several more times through the week - i saw a
guy in a red helmet, assumed it was Nick and got going again. A few km
further on, guy in red helmet passed me on the road - Nick had grown
quite a lot in the preceding 45mins! I stopped again, and this time
waiting until i could definitely see the real Mr. Herlihy! We rode well
together, eating up the miles and taking in the views. We reached the
top of the Lermoos freeride trail, a steepish, slightly technical but
short descent into the town that had apparently people problems in the
TransGermany in 2011. I suggested to Nick that we should probably be in
front before the descent so as not to form part of the rolling
roadblock. It wasn't to be sadly, we just caught the next group on the
way down instead!<br />
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<br />
There was only one significant climb on
the whole day's route, the Marienbergjoch. It was a 800m vertical
ascent, not too steep and quite tame in the context of the mountains
that were waiting for us in the Dolomites. It also had the advantage for
me of having been on the route 6 years ago, so i knew that even when
slow and crap i could get over it (okay, slower and crapper). We were
not ready for it! It was a brute, i was straight into the granny ring,
and very soon at the top of the block. The top section was marked on the
route profile as "push/carry" (schieben auf Deutsch), but i had
confidently predicted that it would be an easy ride, really, it was just
the organisers being over-cautious with their gradings for the first
day. I kept riding, slower and slower, until it became clear that 3rpm
was not the way to go, and got off. I joined the ranks of pushing
people, looking across to see Nick looking a little shell shocked.
Double oh dear, had this been a really bad idea after all?! We wobbled
our way to the top, feeling a little bruised of spirit. The descent to
the finish in Imst was a classic Transalp "kitty litter" affair and a
good warm-up for things to come. We whizzed along the forest roads in a
group of riders, stopping the clock at 4:44 for 82nd place on the stage,
comfortably inside the top-100 we decided was a sensible aim in the
men's category. I have to admit, the thought of another 7 days, most of
them harder, had me more than a little scared!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqtOXPnLIMuxWCxaw5T3lVxqlJ_U9iK0e_SUeLDSlG24Oyg9MNAGTtK9trz9kiqKZhrAYdTcNSo3sxiyEtszTqi5mMwvhaxuVUzI_8l1DlELAjaIkrViMhOX8cOe0_G7ZmMNn0N7c4Ds/s1600/sportograf-30758985.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqtOXPnLIMuxWCxaw5T3lVxqlJ_U9iK0e_SUeLDSlG24Oyg9MNAGTtK9trz9kiqKZhrAYdTcNSo3sxiyEtszTqi5mMwvhaxuVUzI_8l1DlELAjaIkrViMhOX8cOe0_G7ZmMNn0N7c4Ds/s400/sportograf-30758985.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-27433660533293168402012-07-30T14:54:00.002-07:002012-07-30T14:54:28.895-07:00Transalp 2012 - The routineIt's proving quite difficult to get started on even cataloging the whole 8 days of the TransAlp. It may just be the post-stage race depression talking, but there's just so much that has happened in that time, that it hardly seems possible to commit it to paper and give you a feel of what life is like in an MTB stage race across the alps. But i'll try. If you can't be arsed to read what follows, just imagine it's a fantasy camp where chubbier, less naturally talented people pretend they're Grand Tour riders for a week, and you won't be too far wide of the mark!<br />
<br />
The general pattern of each day is pretty similar. You have got to be ready, and have finished digesting in time for the stage start, which is usually 9am. This means you probably set your alarm for 6am, perhaps 6:15 if you're feeling particularly knackered from the day before. Frankly, it's irrelevant, as some very perky northern European will get up at 5 anyway, and either (a) turn the lights on, (b) make an incredibly loud squeaking noise getting off their inflatable mattress (c) fart or (d) subject you, at close quarters, to them applying the first layer of chammy cream pre-breakfast. Welcome to the waking world.<br />
<br />
First order of business is to wriggle out of your sleeping bag, pack up your kit, retrieve your phone from wherever it may be charging and head for breakfast. This is usually pretty close to camp, and generally plentiful. Eat. Keep eating. When you reach the uncomfortably full stage, head back for another bowl of muesli. In the words of my partner "It just becomes a matter of posting it in your face". When you're sure you're close to popping, head back to camp, join the unbelievably long line for toilets which will have only one of locks, loo roll and a working flush. You have to embrace the European way!<br />
<br />
Finally, put on your kit, drop your bag off with the nice people who more all your crap from stage to stage, remembering to first pack your chammy cream in the bag (i once did a whole stage of the TransGermany with a pot of assos bum cream in my jersey pocket!), and head over to the start for gridding. If you're in the nosebleeds, like we were, the pens open at 8am. Be there at 7:45 if you want a first line spot. If you've got UCI points or are doing particularly well, you get to head up at 8:45. Ditch your bike in the pens, head for coffee somewhere warm.<br />
<br />
Be on the start line at 8:55, just in time for the warm up to "Highway to Hell". Start. Expect that if there's a road section to start with, it'll be carnage and you won't be disappointed. 1100 people all want to be as far forward as possible, and have very good brakes. Be ready for a big climb early on, as there often is, just to make you feel like you might get a second visit from your breakfast. Also be ready for the dash to the finish, the run in is often flat, and people really are racing for 300th place on the stage!<br />
<br />
Good job. You made it to the next stage town. Now the housework marathon begins. Eat more, find your bags where you'll be resting your head tonight. Wash yourself first, then your kit, preferably in the same shower. Find a suitable wire fence to hang your kit from - it'll usually be dry by evening, even at 1900m, in July. Lay out your bed. Eat some more. Nap & read until the pasta party starts at 6pm. Try to find a sneaky plug socket to charge your phone/garmin. Curse the people who got there first. Give up. <br />
<br />
Go to the pasta party. Meet up with fellow racers, recount the stories of the guy who went over the edge on a fire road trail and had to be hauled back up with a rope, or the girl who got pushed the whole way up a 1000m climb by her partner. Eat more. Get pasta-poisoning, where even the thought of Bolognese is enough to make your stomach do backflips. When your done eating, the entertainment begins - watch the day's winners crowned, see the photos of the day and the video of the day, and then suitably tired, head out for a recovery vino rosso!<br />
<br />
When you get back in the evening, try to remember to bring your kit in (i somehow lost a sock in Livigno, although i'm used to sacrificing the odd one to the god of washing machines anyway...), put your stuff ready for the morning, wash out and refill your bottles, and hit the hay, ready for the 5am gas attack. Rinse, repeat. Wax on, wax off.<br />
<br />
I've somehow made it sounds like a real trial by tedium doing a stage race, but nothing could be further from the truth. You get to ride some fantastic trails, in this case 620km, most of which i had never seen before through fabulous scenery. There are kind people to fill your bottles and ply you with food at the aid stations, others to take your bags from town to town, mechanics a-plenty, bike washes (free and done for you if you're lucky enough to be able to afford a Scott) and local kids to cheer you every turn through every village if the sun is out. Okay, the routine can be a bit tiresome, but there's something so fantastically indulgent about knowing that your aim is to go, ride, have fun, ride fast and that for those 8 days, nothing else comes close in significance. If you're on the fence about trying it, try it, you might just like it!<br />
<br />Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-77667672912235356732012-07-05T05:20:00.000-07:002012-07-05T05:22:44.907-07:00Why Armstrong Still Matters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's an often repeated quotation from one of the legends of the sport, but i'm going to repeat it here because i think it summarises perfectly the points i am going to lay out.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i>"If Armstrong's clean, it's the greatest comeback. And if he's not, then it's the greatest fraud."</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Reading people's reactions on Twitter today to the news that four of Armstrong's former team mates, all of whom are approaching the twilight of their respective careers, have accepted 6-month bans for their admitted doping during their time with him and will testify against him, it is clear that people just want this to go away now. The will to deal with a case so inextricably linked to the development of cycling as a mainstream sport during the late 1990s and early 2000s just isn't there. There are probably a multitude of factors behind this, but i would say there are two central problems:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">1) People are bored. The rumours have been rumbling on for years about Armstrong, during his time as the dominant keeper of the maillot jaune, through his first retirement and on into his return to the professional peloton. As individuals in a community, we have all come to our own opinions about his guilt or innocence, and no longer feel the need for further evidence one way or the other. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">2) The industry as a whole is scared that the massive growth in cycling built on Armstrong's popularity throughout the world as a dominant champion will wane if one of these rumours is proven to be true, and he is sanctioned or stripped of one or several of his yellow jerseys.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">The reasons why we should still care, in spite of these two problems are clear. Firstly, we should not be content with trial by public opinion, regardless of whether public opinion is divided or unanimous. Take Iban Mayo, for instance. He tested positive for EPO during the 2007 Tour de France. He requested, as is the athlete's right in these cases, that his B-sample also be tested. It was tested at a different lab (the AFLD lab in Chatenay-Malbry that had done the original analysis was on summer vacation), and declared negative according to testing standards. According to the WADA rulebook, he should at this point have been declared free of sanctions, but instead his already-opened B-sample was tested again, this time at the same lab as the A-sample, and declared positive, and he was handed a 2-year ban. In spite of the fact that he was widely accepted to be "dodgy" we should have been furious at the infringement of testing protocol; if we don't apply perfect standards to the testing of riders, how can we possibly expect them to behave with the same rigour and care themselves? Instead, we looked on and thought "oh good, another dubious customer removed from the upper echelons of the pro peloton", and moved on to watching the 2007 Vuelta be won by Denis Menchov (oh the urge to comment further here...).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Secondly, when it comes to the current success of cycling as a recreation and competitive sport being built on a foundation of shady svengali doctors, and dubious medical supplements, i would say we should have more pride in our sport. There are people who came into the sport through the amazing success of the USPS team, and the excitement of the fact that a man who suffered from testicular cancer at a very early age in life managed to compete in one of the hardest sporting arenas in the world and win. They might not otherwise have come to ride a bike, it is true. But these people are already out there, riding their bikes, enjoying the countryside around where they live, and perhaps even competing with other likeminded individuals. To assume that they will stop doing these things tomorrow because the idol who inspired their first shaky steps into the sport is absurd. No offence to Lance, but cycling has so much more to offer than 3 weeks in July, "the look" and a blue and white conga line on every mountain stage.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">So you might ask then why i want to see people taking this more seriously, after all, it all happened a long time ago. Well, the answer here is based on the sad truth of anti-doping science. The reality is that for the past 30 years, the testers have been consistently behind the riders, and if anything that gap is likely to grow in the future - there is not the political nor the financial will to fund testing to the degree where it will be able to compete with the investment from groups of athletes willing to break the rules to win (if you don't believe me, just think of the sums involved in the BALCO affair). In fact, history suggests that unscrupulous sports scientists charged with producing a tests for banned products may end up funnelling government funding they receive into doping of athletes (e.g. the Conconi affair). Since there will always be a lag between the testers and the athletes, the only real tool that anti-doping experts have in their armoury to level the playing field is time. We should abolish the 7-year statute of limitations, and allow retroactive testing of properly-stored samples for as long as it takes. If athletes know that they may be stripped of their wins 20 years after the fact should they do something illegal, they would doubtless be more circumspect about their actions. It sucks for the guys who are retroactively given awards and jerseys, like poor old Oscar Pereiro or Andy Schleck, but surely as athletes realise that governing bodies are serious (and there has still been relatively little evidence of a will to pursue all dopers in cycling, regardless of their prominence) these cases will truly become a thing of the past.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Cycling in my view has yet to have its truth and reconciliation moment, a time when people come forward and speak the truth in an effort to put the past truly behind them and learn the lessons of history. We might just be on the brink of that moment. Let's hope we have the collective will to jump, rather than waiting to be pushed...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span>Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-33337723170258690362012-06-24T08:26:00.002-07:002012-06-24T08:26:58.687-07:00A Fortnight of Championships Part IIAnd so we move on to the British Marathon Champs. This was something of a target for both me and Rachel, back in the heady days of 2007 as a lowly sport rider I came 11th at the marathon champs, a position I am unlikely to beat since XCM has become cooler, and races are unlikely to be run off on 8laps of a 12.5km course in monsoon rains for the foreseeable future.<br />
<br />
This year was all change, with the introduction of the first "single loop" marathon championships in British cycling history, more by luck than judgement. The 'honour' of organising the champs has been something of a poisoned chalice for race organisers, entries are generally fairly low, the logistics required to put on a 25km lap (so that the riders don't get dizzy) are somewhat demanding, and unless it is paired with another race, it is highly likely that it will lose money. Couple that with slipshod help from the governing body, and you can see why organisers have hardly been champing at the bit to run the champs race, so much so in fact that the event failed to run in 2011. <br />
<br />
Having last ridden the Selkirk course five years ago, i had vague recollections of what to expect, i remembered a course of extended climbs (for the UK) and exciting, tricky descents (it was wet the last time i did it) that required luck as well as skill to negotiate safely. What i did remember was that it certainly left a smile on my face! We booked into a holiday let in the centre of the small borders town of Innerleithen, meeting travelling companion Andrew Cockburn at the door to our home for the weekend. The flat we were staying in was lovely, and right in the heart of the town (more on that later), and only a mile's road ride from the fantastic trails at Traquair. We pottered out under heavy, leaden skies to check bikes and bodies worked, climbing up the first climb of the route, and then heading back down the Caddon Bank descent. As is only to be expected, as we crested the climb, the cry went up from Rachel "my gears aren't working". A bit of trailside mechanics later, and we headed back downwards through the fun sections of Caddon bank, with its mixture of drops and jumps, which unfortunately i was riding like a total spanner. Oh well.<br />
<br />
We made dinner in the flat, a classic in the Pedder-Fenton household pre-race of risotto with lots of stuff, and then tried to get an early night in preparation for the following day's exploits. Unfortunately, the rather excitable residents of Innerleithen had other ideas, and at 11pm the floor-show began on the street below, with various shouts of "Leave him Lindsey, he's not f***ing worth it!" and "He's a f***ing drug dealer" which were amusing for a few minutes. However, as our impromptu Jeremy Kyle show dragged on past midnight, i started to lose my sense of humour, eventually (and grumpily) putting a pillow over my head to drown out the noise.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning dawned a bit overcast and cold, not the weather i was promised for the weekend, but at least it wasn't raining. We headed over to the start, bumping into Scottish racers Doug Shearer (Inners MTB Racing/iCycles) and Dave Henderson (GT Bikes), who it was lovely to see, especially as a nice reminder of our great summer in Scotland last year. Andrew and I headed out for a quick warm up before spinning back to be gridded. The gridding seemed a little haphazard, with no quarter given to such pesky inconveniences as UCI marathon points (Jane Nuessli wasn't gridded at all, despite being world #1 at the time!), but with a 5mile neutralised road start, it didn't matter too much anyway. I had a nice chat with Will Hayter (MarathonMTB.com) on the start line, and then tried (and failed) to catch hold of his wheel once proceedings started.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
At some point on the first climb, i realised that i had good legs, and decided that it would be foolish not to make the most of them, cranking up the pace a bit to catch Andrew Cockburn by the top of the climb. Unfortunately, i forgot the fundamental rule of our mutual riding history, Andrew's always been faster than me downhill, and probably always will be. He pulled out a sizeable gap on the first slippery descent, aided slightly by my over-ambitious tyre choice! At some point after this, Matt Page passed me, and kindly informed me that i'd missed a turn on the course - i'm not sure what i was supposed to do with that information, given that everyone else who'd been riding around me had also missed the same turn - turn back and retrace my steps perhaps. Having thought this through, and realised that there was little i could do about it now, i decided after a few minutes of deliberation to plough on!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKZMIxzme6R8weOJ3LEAMlPAwyHLtzyamkphQ56_KXAMxZxcMesrP9u0F3h7TQVtoeGvVHGtnFbd8RExN0TXajeAVpBl-PIMSiDia-ElyeY8OoSggeEjuPLOMg2Fssd4NEKrdpF5CJ5g/s1600/Marathon+Champs+CJP3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKZMIxzme6R8weOJ3LEAMlPAwyHLtzyamkphQ56_KXAMxZxcMesrP9u0F3h7TQVtoeGvVHGtnFbd8RExN0TXajeAVpBl-PIMSiDia-ElyeY8OoSggeEjuPLOMg2Fssd4NEKrdpF5CJ5g/s320/Marathon+Champs+CJP3.jpg" width="203" /></a><br />
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At some point in the course, i was caught by the "oldies gruppetto" of Adrian Lawrence (BGlobal) Ant White (Cannondale) and Shaun Wells (Cooksons Cycles), although with Ant in the driving seat, it was far from a comfortable ride for me, and as soon as the big switchbacked climb started, i dropped off the group. I had an impromptu meeting with another Scottish stalwart, and dad to two of the most promising Scottish talents, Grant and Hannah Ferguson on a wee downhill section, where he very kindly sent me down the scary, but fast line!<br />
<br />
The rest of the race is kind of a blur, i kept getting glimpses of the remains of the oldies in the distance, but was going through seven shades of hell, and was totally unable to push the pedals any harder. The finish line came none too soon, i crossed it 3h58m after i started for (i think) 17th Senior. So, i still haven't beaten my best result in the marathon champs. Just as i predicted! Rachel rolled in in 2nd place behind Jane Nuessli, being pushed hard by Verity Appleyard (XCracer.com). <br />
<br />
There was plenty of complaint about the fact that the race was apparently a "mere" 71km, although noone actually knew this until after the race when garmins were angrily shown to other riders. From my point of view, it was always going to be a short race, run as a Merida in previous years it has been ridden in 3.5hrs by Nick Craig, who went faster again this year to finish in 3h22m, and a short race is undoubtedly better than no race, which is what we had in 2011. I firmly believe that an extra 14km wouldn't have changed the results at the front and that the strongest rider (Lee Williams) won, but in any case argument about what might have been is rather esoteric and academic.<br />
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<br />
The following day, Rachel, Andrew and I, along with Will and his mate Rob, hit the trails at Glentress in glorious sunshine to celebrate the start of my 4th decade on the planet, and promptly got sunburned. What a way to celebrate!Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-67934279933470013972012-05-24T14:39:00.001-07:002012-05-24T14:39:32.422-07:00A Fortnight of Championships Pt ISo, it's been all about the racing the last couple of weekends. Firstly the Southern XC Champs at Wasing, and then one of my bigger targets for the year, the National XCM Champs held on my favourite British marathon course around the town of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.<br />
<br />
First things first, though, and Wasing for the third round of the Southern XC series, doubling as the Southern Champs. Wasing is also going to be the venue for the National XC champs in July, but unfortunately i will be indisposed for this race, as i'll be putting my bike back together in a gym hall in southern Germany ready for the start of the Transalp. One helping of Wasing, given my previous experiences here (being stuffed into the barriers by a fellow expert rider at the NPS in 2010 during the first 100m) should be quite enough for the year.<br />
<br />
Sarah and Trev were nice enough to put us up, and put up with us on the Saturday evening, during which i discovered (thanks to Trev's amazing cd collection) the inimitable septegenarian that is DJ Derek. If you haven't heard of him, check him out, it's not often you'll hear such perfect Jamaican patois from a man wearing a blazer! Rachel and I were even treated to the new inflatable mattress, which proved more comfortable than our bed at home with its pointy, twangy springs. <br />
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The previous two rounds of the southern series were dry but v. cold followed by dry but with sodden trails. This time, the weather and the fast-drying course chosen by the organisers made for the perfect combination of warm weather and pretty dry trails. Perfect. Less perfect was the fact that since the beginning of May i have been suffering terribly with pollen allergies - i thought you were supposed to grow out of hayfever, not into it. The warm day didn't make this any better, but Sarah's suggestion of beconase seems to have made life much easier on my airways. <br />
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So, the race. Rachel set off early in the morning (we're getting better at dealing with that!) in an elite women's field that also included Sally Bigham who does the occasional XC race to keep her speed up and her eye in. Predictable, Sally rode away from the field to win by an emphatic margin over second-placed Jo Munden, with Rachel in 3rd. I had a nice chat with Sally's other half, Dave, in the feed zone, and then pottered about getting ready for my race. 2pm came around pretty quickly, and before i knew it we were being gridded up. On account of being in 6th in the series points, i got a front row slot, very aware that i didn't want to get in anyone's way! The gun went, and with this and my traffic light practice from my commute, i actually got away reasonably competently, sitting just inside the top-10. I was amazed how much better i felt riding the loamy singletrack than two years earlier, and in spite of an optimistic tyre choice (very very worn aspen on the back, very very worn rendez on the front) i wasn't doing too badly at staying upright either. That said, Mark Davies (Cycle Coaching Wales), with his Welsh riding background came past me on the final descent towards the finish, after i graciously moved aside for him (it's always nice to be polite!).<br />
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At the end of the first lap through the feed i caught sight of Trev, he had come down with a fever in the night, and in spite of all our advice to the contrary was determined to race anyway. He clearly wasn't well, but gave me some great encouragement as we rode on together, and i re-passed Mark on the fire road climb. I kept pushing on, aware that other like Tom Ward (Giant Radlett) were still visible behind through the sections where the course doubled back (like an excellent connected bomb-hole section i remembered from the NPS). At some point during the 3rd lap, Simon Ernest caught me, riding with another Master's rider for 3rd place, and i tried to latch onto the wheel. It didn't last, but gave me a bit more energy to push on, and i could no longer see anyone behind. Towards the end of the lap, i caught sight of Ed Rose (Progression Fitness) but couldn't close the gap, in spite of my best efforts. And that's where i finished, 8th place, my highest placing in a southern (i think) since i started racing expert, and a great race where i actually felt competitive. Race time was a little short, but i doubt i'd have been able to capitalise with an extra lap, and in any case that seems to be the way the sport is going.<br />
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I know it sounds very old-fashioned, but i'm inclined to think that the Trek 26" hardtail was still the perfect tool for the job, it's so light you can chuck it about really easily, even with little stick-arms like mine. Get the tyre and shock pressures right and it handles beautifully and grips the trail just as well as my Giant Anthem did last year. I am still yet to try a 9er, but i intend to steal Simon's superfly at the first available opportunity, just in case i am missing something!Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-36467078600555565852012-05-08T13:35:00.001-07:002012-05-08T13:35:51.069-07:00Surrey Hills Photo Blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCHBjHlGgH_gqZJLohp2oKvwX3qln5hRFPmbk8kHjiKrh0uMOYn40HpXJMt34EUWlURRRAYk2XwhmLB1QOS06MTgyDtmRnoHQB7iE78YGpZuD4M19ZdyNqcqiUiVA4InaNKWs2P4W4p8/s1600/IMAG0144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKCHBjHlGgH_gqZJLohp2oKvwX3qln5hRFPmbk8kHjiKrh0uMOYn40HpXJMt34EUWlURRRAYk2XwhmLB1QOS06MTgyDtmRnoHQB7iE78YGpZuD4M19ZdyNqcqiUiVA4InaNKWs2P4W4p8/s320/IMAG0144.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-174259436499795362012-05-04T14:42:00.001-07:002012-05-04T14:42:39.304-07:00CRC Marathon, Builth Wells, 10th April 2010<link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CChrispy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CChrispy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CChrispy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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CRC Spring Marathon Builth Wells </div>
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Having experienced the blissful spring sunshine of Gran Canaria already, Rachel and I were a little more pessimistic about our chances of a rain-free weekend in Wales in April. The weather had other ideas though, and the weather was nothing short of beautiful, so beautiful in fact that Rachel managed to get sunburn. </div>
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We arrived in Builth on Saturday evening, just in time for the Big Night Out night marathon. The couple of hour’s drive from Rachel’s parent’s house in their new campervan that we were borrowing for the weekend on windy roads was a little scary for me, but i eventually got used to something rather bigger than a Ford Fiesta! The camper was an absolute luxury, with onboard heating that came in surprisingly useful – although daytime temperatures were very pleasant, clear skies at night meant it was rather cold when the sun went down. Having signed on and made some dinner, we wandered over to see the leaders finishing the night marathon, led home by Jonny Pugh, with Nick Craig hot on his heels. Friend and fellow endurance racer Trevor Allen finished a creditable fifth. </div>
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Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, a little mist on the hills the only sign that night time temperature had been low, and a quick wander made it clear that it was going to be a shorts and jersey day by the time the race set off at 10:30. A quick breakfast, and a quick chat with the guys on the USE/Exposure stand, and it was time to line up for the 75km “challenge”. We all rolled out together behind a pace van for the first 7km of the ride, and i soon found my way forwards to the group containing most of the favourites. The pace felt hard but not ridiculous, although it was easy to tell that Nick wasn’t working quite as hard as me by just how chatty he was!</div>
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I kept the leaders in sight for the first half an hour, but the pace was too hot and i was definitely on the train to bonksville if i tried to keep going like that for 3+hrs. I sat up and let my heartrate drop into a slightly more sensible endurance zone as we started the second climb. I was feeling pretty good at this point, and seemed to have packed my climbing legs as i kept closing gaps on the uphill sections. It wasn’t long before i was up with East Anglian mtb legend Paul Ashby and his son who we’re riding together. Paul’s always been extremely fast on the flat, but this year he seems to be climbing pretty well too – watch out fellow vets! Chuffed that things seemed to be going well for me, i did my classic trick of forgetting to drink on the rolling course that seemed to head either up or down most of the time. </div>
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As the sun rose higher in the sky, i started to feel the first twinges of cramp in my left leg on one of the steeper pitches of climbing; uh oh. I guzzled the remaining fluid in my bottles in the hope of stopping the full-on leg-locking experience, and the dehydration gods must have been smiling on me because it worked! However, it obviously affected my brain because i managed to sail straight past one of the yellow course markers, and inadvertently cut a short section of the course. I made up for it on the final descent though by sailing straight past another marker and going straight into an unrideable field – oops! I crossed the line in (i think) 10<sup>th</sup> place, 20minutes behind a certain Mr. Craig. </div>
<span style="font-family: "; line-height: 115%;">Post-race we had a nice little tea party in the camper with friends and team mates (in Rachel’s case) and then headed back to drop off our home for the previous night, before coming back to the flatlands of East Anglia. The guys who live in Wales probably don’t realise just how lucky they are to have such amazing terrain on their doorsteps – oh to be able to climb for more than two minutes! All in all, a great event and amazing weather – what more could you want?</span><span style="font-family: "; line-height: 115%;"></span>Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-20252080596342392352012-05-04T14:41:00.000-07:002012-05-04T14:41:27.754-07:00National Marathon Champs 2010So, my final big race of the season. In some ways it came around far too soon, and in others i was glad that my last target was soon after Kielder, where i’d been feeling pretty good, only to be stymied by seemingly endless punctures! The marathon was on the Sunday after the southern XC champs on the Saturday at what has become an extremely well-known venue this year, the Pippingford estate. When i was down there at the national XC champs, i got a brief run-down of the planned marathon course from team mate Steve Jones, and it sounded pretty incredible. Challenging climbing and technical descending sounded like they would make for a hard, but rewarding race. <br />
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Fast forward two and a half months to the weekend after the Kielder 100, where i had a less than perfect race (see my report). I had an axe to grind. I’d had a very very gentle week in between the two, remembering from last year just how hard it can be to recover from 100 miles offroad, and by the Sunday felt pretty good and ready for another marathon effort. The race started at 10am, requiring a pretty early start from Cambridge, but even the early start didn’t faze me and after a short warmup around the xc loop, i was ready for the race. We started down a grass slope towards a guy in a high-vis jacket (poor dude was pretty much a target for the field sprint!), and i found myself following Dave Clarke’s wheel. I had just enough time to think “hey, i’m following a premier calendar winner’s wheel” before he hit a patch of sheep poo which hit me square in the face. Cheers Dave! <br />
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The first section of the course was similar to the XC course, it was pretty tough and undulating, and rewarded those who could remember the good lines after 25km (i don’t think anyone had the time to preride). Unfortunately, my simple strap carrying my spare tube, tyre lever and gas canister came unshipped here, and then once i’d got going again i then landed on the back of my saddle leaving it pointing skywards (ala Wasing!). In spite of my mechanical misadventures, there were some great sections of singletrack that had the “oh, up there” factor going on. The open moorland sections added a definite wilderness feel, and the skyline was spectacular in places, given how close we were to the big smoke. The sad thing about these sectors was the lumpy, quishy heather that had obviously been a deer run, but never had a pair of wheels roll over it before, which made it a real slog. I’m all in favour of tough climbing, but there’s something so upsetting about being slowed to a crawl by soft surface on a slight incline – it makes you feel so lame.<br />
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The climbing led to some sensational singletrack alongside a stream, and up back towards the arena. It was here that the vets winner, Alex Glasgow, caught and passed me like a rocket, and also here where i lost sight of the jerseys ahead of me. I knew what was coming from here on in, we would head up across the lumpy grass field and into the fantastic twisty descent that started the national champs xc course. I loved this part of the course, and even after the heavy rain had made it sticky and slippery, it was great fun to ride and a great motivator to slog up the hills earlier in the lap. Back through the start finish, and some of the guys who’d set off fast ahead of me were already on the side of the track – this was definitely going to turn into a serious battle of attrition over 100km, my favourite sort of race.<br />
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Into the second lap, i pushed on – i was feeling good and felt like i could keep the same pace on the climbs without going into the red (not a good idea over such a long race). I was a little shocked that my first lap time suggested that this race could be around the 6hr mark for me (Oli Beck took over 4.5hrs – a long time for an 85km race!), and concentrated on trying to keep the calories and fluids coming in. Familiarity with the descents meant that i could pick up time here and save a bit of energy. The second lap was lonelier, and i allowed my mind to wander a little more than i had in the first lap – constructive distraction can so often be a help in these races – if you concentrate too hard, you realise how uncomfortable you are, whereas if your thoughts drift you can pedal just to give your legs something to do whilst you enjoy the view and the sunshine! Through the transition and i couldn’t see the leaders, which was something of a relief - i was seriously worried that i’d get lapped! Again, the second half of the course was great, although a slight hint of cramp through the quarry section intimated that maybe i should be a little bit careful...<br />
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Into the third lap, i decided i would try to pick it up on the climbs, aided by being chased up the first climb of the lap by team mate Steve Jones (to be fair, he was in a white van rather than on the stock xtc!). It was getting hot by this point, and i was being careful to drink plenty – Rachel was handing me up bottles of water mid way through the lap to keep me from turning into a prune. Some deer on the moorland made for some impressive wildlife, and kept me entertained trying to work out where they were going to go next. I managed to shovel down a caffeinated gel, which did the trick, and although i was starting to feel a little tired, i knew i’d be good to finish – after all 85km is a lot less than 100miles!<br />
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Through the transition i grabbed another bottle of water, and then headed off down the awesome descent, possibly a little fast as i really did nearly miss the corner at the bottom this time (getting cocky perhaps!). Through the first sections of the xc course, i started feeling a bit detatched and weird – it felt like someone else was riding the bike and i wasn’t properly in control. This had its perks, but when it came to climb up from the bottom of the course the 100miles of Kielder hit me like a bear on my back (i got this phrase from a mate of mine who’s a decathlete – he always used to tell me how when running the 400m, at 300m in the bear jumps on your back and you stagger the rest of the way to the line...). I got to the start finish in time to carry on and finish in 11th place, which would have seen me get UCI marathon points, but i was pallid and feeling very sick by this point. I sat in the feed trying to summon the energy to even contemplate finishing, but i was too worried that the organisers would end up sending an ambulance out for me if i tried, my descending having degenerated from “controlled chaos” to “reckless lunacy”. I packed in after 3 laps, possibly the worst time in a race to call it a day – you have already done the damage, you’ll be sore for days and you’re almost at the finish, but you still have those three dreaded letters “DNF” next to your name.<br />
So, a season pretty much over, sadly neither of my big aims for the year came off, but i’ve learned a great deal and there’s always next year. Thanks as ever to sponsors AW cycles for being awesome support. Ride it like you stole it....Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-26278506228657117852012-05-04T14:38:00.002-07:002012-05-04T14:38:31.240-07:00Late night bike fixingIt's one of those things about being a cyclist. Like always having awful tan lines come September (actually i think mine are now permanent), finding occasional oily chainring marks on your legs, and having strong opinions about the state of Britain's road surfaces. Late night bike fixing, often on a friday evening, is a feature of life. It can be a blessing, sometimes, when you've had a crap day where nothing seems to have gone right, there can be something terribly satisfying about doing a simple task that takes your bike from clunky wreck to showroom performance. Recabling is a personal favourite of mine, it's one of those things that's sufficiently mindless you can just tune out and do it. Wheel-truing in front of an old episode of "Spaced" is another, a nice repetitive task that can help you unwind from a busy week.<br />
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At the diametric end of the scale to me, who likes to do bike maintenance to unwind, we find my other half, partner in most things two wheeled, Rachel. Whereas i like to fix things before they are broken, as much for something to do as anything else, given the option Rachel will always ride her bike as opposed to looking after it. This has made for a rather, ahem, uneven division of labour between the two of us over the years, and though that might sound like a complaint, it's really not as i quite enjoy tinkering. It does mean however that when she has to do things herself, it's even more stressful than it might otherwise be, and far from being the relaxing task i find it. So here i am, sitting in our living room, with Rachel removing an exploded tektro cross-top lever from her bike and fitting a new brake cable, with mutterings of "measure twice, cut once, measure twice..." as a background muse. <br />
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Perhaps the most interesting thing about the experience to me is watching her do things slightly differently to me, like the different ways we have of tying our shoelaces (i'm reliably informed by everyone i know that i do it a weird way, but it works for me). They're not better, they're just a little alien, and i have to quash the little voice in the back of my head that says "stop her, she's doing it wrongly". If you never watch someone else, you will never understand the true variety of human beings, give a person a bicycle to maintain and see them lay bare their mechanical soul...Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-16361773241897042012012-04-26T15:05:00.000-07:002012-04-26T15:05:29.365-07:00Commuter RacingOkay, so maybe i'm missing some fundamental point in life here, and if you feel i am, please comment on my blog and let me know, but i often find myself on the outside looking in when it comes to life in London. Maybe it's the contrast with village life in rural Scotland, maybe it's simply that i haven't had enough time to become a "naturalised" Londoner, i don't know, but there are many things about this city that i just find odd. They're not bad, they're not good, they're just remarkably strange.<br />
The classic example, one that i face most days in fact (except when the weather's bad, or my legs are sore, or i wonder why i have an oyster card at all - i.e. when i get the bus!) is commuter racing. There's something peculiar about the bicycle as a mode of transport that makes people very very competitive. I remember this when i first started cycling to lectures in Cambridge many moons ago; i used to see how late i could leave my college and still get to lectures on time, bonus points for passing lots of slower people on the way! And you still see it now, grown men on bromptons pedalling furiously to overtake other grown men in suits on Boris bikes. Personally, i'm something of a plodder when i'm on the way to work - i'm in no rush to get there, and cycling in (at least when not avoiding the ever-present danger posed by Addison-Lee cabs) gives me time to mull my day's tasks more abstractly. This seems to make me something of a bunch-engine for the races that rage around me through the mean streets of Elephant and Castle, as personal scores are settled between people who've never actually spoken to one another.<br />
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I'm honestly not sure where i stand on this. On the one hand, i have a naive hope that some of these people may understand the errors of their ways, and one day enter a proper race, where the competition is more tangible, more fierce, but so much more rewarding. On the other, i worry that it gives a thread of competition to that most mundane of tasks, getting to work - and that once this attitude has settled, it may not lift when the same person gets in a car. <br />
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Perhaps there is the rub. It's largely okay if people become competitive on bicycles, it might seem a little petty, and occasionally people go too far in trying to cut ahead, or think that it's okay to go beyond the lights for a head start, when really all it does is force faster people behind into the main flow of the traffic, but by and large it's safe enough, and noone gets hurt. The people who really scare me on my commute are the competitive car and truck drivers, the ones who have to be ahead "just because". At the end of the day, it's probably worth remembering that in the commuter race, if you win, you lose - you're the one at your desk first!Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-49053503227074162132012-04-26T13:54:00.001-07:002012-04-26T14:10:13.934-07:00Southern XC Rd2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Pippingford. A course I just love. It has been the best of times and the worst of times. I had a great time at a southern round here in 2010, picking up two places on the climb to the finish line, i had a tough race at the nationals later in the year, but ultimately got my highest national champs finish to date (26th) and i made the huge mistake of trying to race the marathon champs there at the end of the year the weekend after Kielder. At the last of the three, I was going okay, but felt pretty terrible after 75km of the race, and pulled in for a breather. Kelvin Hoy told me all i had to do was crawl around the lap on my hands and knees to get some marathon UCI points, and i was so so tempted, but in the end, common sense got the better of me, and i packed. I hate packing. <br />
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Fast forward to the weekend after my fantastic riding- and eating-based holiday in the south of France with Rachel and Tim Dunford. I had no idea how the legs were working, i'd done a quick ride into work and that was about it! I had absolutely no idea how i was going to fare, but i didn't really worry all that much about it, i knew i loved the course and that i couldn't ride there any other time, so it was a no-brainer to enter. We arrived nice and early, with Pippingford now being a little over an hour's drive away through the suburban metropolis of Croydon ("the Cronx") ready for the women's race (please organisers, i understand why you put the women all together in the morning, but it would be so much easier for us racing couples to get everything over and done with in less than 7hrs!). Rachel slipped a pedal at the start, taking me back to two years ago where she seemed to start at the back of every elite race and go slower from there. Thankfully it wasn't to be, and she came through the arena a minute clear of second place after the first lap, building to lead by 8mins from Natasha Barry (WXC World Racing) by the finish, even managing to lift one arm (but not both) from the bars through the "field of tea cups" that surrounded the finish arch. No pressure for me then....<br />
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There was a pretty decent field for both the elite and expert fields, the experts in particular swelled by a contingent from Guernsey, over for the Easter jaunt on the mainland. Tim was racing the elite race, mainly he admits to hold onto his license, as this year is similarly all about the marathons for him too. The gun went, i got my usual poor start, but then unusually found myself moving forward as the laps progressed. The usual Pippingford sections of quarry and the fast, bermy descent were in, albeit in a different and confusing order, but it was rendered a totally different, and actually rather fun experience by the fact that traction was less than assured! The only part of the course i could happily have left out was the "fast return to the finish" which was anything but, the track wide and gloopy by the time we were racing. I felt okay as the race wore on, i was a aware that i still hadn't fully recovered from my 24hr week, but it didn't seem to be affecting me too badly. By the penultimate lap, i had worked my way up to, and past, one of the Guernsey riders when he made a mistake on a piece of muddy rutted doubletrack. He put in an effort to get back to me, and then stuck to my wheel like glue, more than once even buzzing my back tyre. I rode my own pace, trying to ignore the irritation of having someone 2mm off my rear end, and with the intention of upping the pace through the final section into the arena. Sadly, my plan went awry when shifting down to pick up speed on the climb, i got chainsuck, at which point my roadie friend nipped ahead and gave me a masterclass in how not to ride the final sections of singletrack! It was just like chaingate i tell you! I rolled across the line muddied and tired in 10th place, i think my best placing in a southern xc expert race. Once again, Jason Boutell showed a (muddy) pair of heels to the rest of the race, putting nearly 8mins into second place, and finishing up in 4th place in the elite field - he's fast!<br />
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I now find myself in 6th place in the league, with the next round my least favourite at Wasing. Can i face racing there again, dear readers? Only time will tell...<br />
<br />Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-64791038735315895672012-04-23T09:12:00.004-07:002012-04-23T09:12:41.776-07:00Roc Laissagais<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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When the UCI announced the death of the world marathon
series back in 2008, it left a lot of the world’s best long-distance racers
apparently bereft of a series to target with their respective seasons. The end
result was that marathon racing again became a more provincial concern, with
some racers choosing to concentrate their efforts on races in their “back
yard”, and a renewed focus for many on mtb stage racing. For three seasons, the
world has been without a marathon series, so many racers, both professional and
amateur eyed the new “UCI World Marathon Series” announced late last year, and
the associated world marathon champs qualification criteria with intrigue. The
criteria make it less the subjective choice of your particular governing body,
and more a question of simply being good enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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Rachel and I intended to head to the Cevennes for the second
round of the new series, held in Thomas Dietsch’s particular back yard, and
started making plans with former team mate and friend Tim Dunford (Cannondale) late
last year to abandon our respective families for the Easter break. Before we
knew it, April was upon us, and it was time to head for the Tunnel and then
south through the heart of France to the sleepy town of Severac-le-Chateau. A
couple of good days weather and riding around the town left us all feeling
positive about the location and the race; Rachel and Tim were both hoping to
get their top-20 placing, and to punch part of their ticket to the worlds, I
had the more modest aim of rolling around to finish before dark!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaP8vX86G26Lbr3pxS3PE3eW-wwO4VkbWmgaywNo3hWMWUrLaProBM1lXhHlbHSyA05qLn2PwMZ4ofJLhWUTonpE6JJmsZS2lQITfUZKhOqZZ5r2VF61cVMMDamnxpKLL5_Db1Hit1cm8/s1600/2550_Pedder_205_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaP8vX86G26Lbr3pxS3PE3eW-wwO4VkbWmgaywNo3hWMWUrLaProBM1lXhHlbHSyA05qLn2PwMZ4ofJLhWUTonpE6JJmsZS2lQITfUZKhOqZZ5r2VF61cVMMDamnxpKLL5_Db1Hit1cm8/s320/2550_Pedder_205_001.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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We were sharing our gite with four more competitors, three
of whom (Mike Blewitt, Will Hayter & Collyn Ahart – MarathonMTB.com) were
fresh from the Cape Epic, having picked up Stu Spies in London. Unfortunately with
the other half of our party arrived the rain, which settled ominously over the
region the day before the race. Much talk was of what to wear and how to stay
warm in 4 degrees and drizzle, but in the end race day dawned cold but dry. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A quick check of the grid-plan revealed that I was on the 6<sup>th</sup>
row (better try not to get in anyone’s way!), and after a brief warm up to make
sure my legs were awake, we were off! The course revealed itself to be some of
my favourite sorts of riding, a pleasant mixture of the Surrey Hills in winter
and the Peak District in summer, with some short but brutal climbs. As the day
wore on, I learned many useful things:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Whilst a capable summer tyre for dry, dusty
trails, a Maxxis Aspen is not a great mud tyre.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->On the day of Paris-Roubaix, French race organisers
are likely to include an homage to the Queen of the Classics – better attach my
spare tube more securely next time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A totally dry XTR chain makes a very unpleasant,
very expensive-sounding noise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Closing a flip-top gel sachet on your lip really
hurts!<o:p></o:p></div>
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(Rachel adds:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Losing your second bottle in the first 10km is
not very clever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The pro riders probably avoid the inside of the
corner for a reason so you should not be surprised when your ‘clever line’ ends
in a big wheel swallowing rut.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I finally rolled across the line a little over an hour after
the winner, Periklis Ilias, in 57<sup>th</sup> place, Rachel managed 11<sup>th</sup>
in the women’s race, and Tim worked his way up to 12<sup>th</sup> in our race
before blowing up and having to use only his granny ring to finish 40<sup>th</sup>.
This race is not for the faint-hearted, it packs in 2,800m of climbing into a
saw-tooth profile over 85km (65km for the ladies), and has the potential to eat
bikes and riders alike on a wet day. Staying with a group of seasoned marathon
racers who have competed all over the world our post race discussions brought
out where this race differs from many others and what made it so tough. There
are lots of little climbs (one every 5km-ish of race) rather than large
extended ones, making it tough for a group to stay together and share the work.
In addition, it was run off over a real mix of trail types which made for an
interesting course, but also required a lot of concentration. Finally, add in
some of the best marathon racers in the world, including a smattering of
national champions, and it’s not surprising you get a pretty spicy race. As the
race wore on, it was nigh on impossible to measure your effort well, and almost
everyone in our group described having ‘blown’ at some point. However, the
challenge is why we all do this and this makes the Roc Lassagais an even more
alluring challenge to me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marathon
series or not, I want to come back again next year to race in Thomas Dietsch’s
‘hood!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Chris Pedderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16064028753094510006noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4714172378409924634.post-43831323628645847732012-03-24T11:54:00.000-07:002012-03-24T11:54:20.478-07:00Photo Blog.While the rest of the world is apparently readying themselves for the annual test of fitness and finesse (ha ha!) that is the Sherwood round of the NPS, Rachel and I are spending, for the first time in a long time, a relaxing weekend getting used to our bums being on our saddles for 4+hrs. So for all you XC losers at Sherwood, here's what today held...
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