English
False starts & illness
I had good intentions to restart my training in early December, but just before the planned date we had a big dump of snow which stopped me being able to ride the road bike. I was still able to ride thankfully, using my Focus Raven hardtail fitted with Schwalbe Snow Stud tyres. The tyres are really fantastic and allow me to ride almost anywhere without the risk of falling on the ice. The only problem is it pretty much impossible to do any structured training, so instead I just get out and ride for as long as possible.
The first event of the new plan was the Brass Monkeys Enduro, held in the Gorrick area. I was entered in the 4hr category and had some tough competition from the Torq duo of Ben Thomas and Tim Dunford. After very little cycling over the previous few weeks I was realistic about my chances and just hoping to use it as a good training session.
It was a very chilly start, with temperatures below freezing making clothing choice a little tough. The race start was fast and manic, I was a little way down the field but made my way up to 4th position after a few long straights. I had 3rd in my sights for much of the lap and got pretty close, until I made a mistake and slipped out on a corner towards the end of the lap. I only lost about 15 seconds, but I was no longer able to see him which always makes it harder when chasing. The next few laps I just kept plugging away at my own pace without too much drama, the time gaps to third were consistent. After about 3 hours I finally caught 3rd place and we rode together for a little time, but I lost him again after a big effort. Going into the final lap I was a little way down and didn’t think I’d catch him up, but to my surprise I caught him with about 1km, I put an effort in to get away, but I think he was pretty tired as there was no response and I rode away to take 3rd place. Even more surprising was that Tim & Ben who finished 1st and 2nd were only a few minutes in front, which I was happy with considering the amount of riding I’ve done recently.
Returning home to the snow wasn’t great and it didn’t melt quickly either! For 2 weeks I was only able to ride the Focus Raven with Snow stud tyres because the rural roads that I live on were not gritted and sheet ice at times. When the snow finally melted I was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, but then came another blow as I picked up a bug. It started as a heavy cold with high temperature. I stayed off the bike and tried to relax and it did start to improve, but then I took a turn for the worse and have found out that I have a chest infection. This rules out all riding, or exercise of any type until I am 100% and everything is all clear.
The frustration is hard to bare, but I keep trying to remind myself that it is still very early in the season and there is plenty of time left to get cracking. If this had been February or March then I’d be a little more worried. To make things a little easier I have entered a few big races for 2011. The biggest is a race called IronBike and will be my first ever stage race. Most people have heard of events like the TransAlps, TransRockies and Cape Epic, but none of those can compare to Ironbike. Not only is it competed as a solo rider rather than a pair but the figure are much bigger. 8 days, 700km with 22,000m vertical climbing! It has the tag of being the hardest MTB event in the World and I am very exited that I’ll be racing! I’ve also heard from British Cycling that my racing licence will be upgraded to Elite XC, so I will be racing with the very best, including Team Wiggle team mate, Lee Williams.
