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On the weekend I kicked off the race season with the Race Your Pace half marathon out at Dorney Lake, and boy, did it hurt! It served it’s purpose which was to give me the kick up the butt I needed to do some longer runs. As I am sure many working triathletes find, it is difficult to balance training across three sports so the focus on swimming and cycling has been to the detriment of my running. It’s that pesky job getting in the way again!

I caught the train out to Slough with my friend Ana who is also doing Mallorca 70.3 (my first big race of the year), using the ride from the station to warm up. There were more than 1000 people doing this race and given it was dead flat, 4 laps of a fairly dull lake and very windy but clearly like us the convenience of a Saturday morning race and the chance to get an indication of current pace obviously appealed to many.

The start was 500m or so back up the course where the wind was blasting, everyone was huddled together and behind any sort of protection like a mass of quivering goose flesh. Thats always the problem at the start of a run race where you are freezing but don’t want to get too hot when you start. I decided on a very thin dhb base layer with my Wiggle top over that along with some dhb arm warmers. I decided on long tights as my legs never seem to get warm and I never leave home without my trusty calf guards, especially as the race was on a hard surface.

There were some pace groups working which was great, but I fell in between them in that I’m not in shape to do 1:30 and wanted to be a slightly bit quicker than 1:45 so Ana and I set our own pace and stuck together for the first two laps taking it in turns to take shelter from the wind. Ana was running very strongly and I was suffering so I sent her on her way – very thankful to have had two laps running with someone. The last time I ran for more than 1.15 was November 2010 so understandably I wasn’t feeling great in the second half.

Its both an advantage and disadvantage doing a lap race, disadvantage in that it can get a bit boring, but it can be advantageous that you know what is coming. I pushed my way through the remaining 7 miles getting home in 1:43 with a smile on my face.

A few lessons learnt today:
1. long run training is not to be ignored.
2. Don’t leave your High 5 gels in your bag, they can’t help you from there
3. You really can’t hide from the wind at Dorney Lake, it will always find you.

Happy training.

Cx

61

18th February 2012

Saturday was a busy day for me with a possible 3 races lined up and a bit of traveling to get to each event. The first event of my day was in Bristol for a qualifying ride for the Red Bull Hill Chasers event where the top 16 fastest riders went through to the finals at 7pm to race against 16 selected pro riders. The qualification event was up Hill Street which runs parallel to Park Street which is where the main event was taking place. I turned up around 9.30am to register, had a quick 10 minute warm up on my rollers and lined up at the start ready to set my time. When I turned up at the start line I couldn’t believe how short the climb was… I selected my start gear and sprinted up the hill… all 10.7 seconds of a sprint.

I didn’t have much time to hang around as I had to head down to Devon for the Springtime Pursuit Handicap Road Race. Whilst on my way there I was delighted to have a text saying I have qualified for the finals of the Red Bull Hill Chasers event and had to be back in Bristol for 6pm. Once at the race HQ the rain was coming down and the weather didn’t look very pleasant. The race was a 36 mile handicap road race split in to 6 groups with me being in the last group 7.5 minutes behind the very front group.

The circuit was 4 miles long with some narrow, rough and muddy lanes due to the weather. Whilst waiting for the front groups to set off I was freezing and couldn’t wait to get going… 7.5 minutes later and we were off on a long chase. We were smashing along working well as a group and were soon catching the groups in front. Once we had caught a group we kept going straight through and often leaving riders behind. By the last lap there was a couple of riders still ahead of us and there was no chance of us catching them so I just rolled across the finishing line taking 9th place surprisingly (I thought there were a few more riders away).

Back at HQ there were no showers or hose pipe so a quick pit stop at a local garage to jet wash my bike (Not recommended) so it was back to it’s normal immaculate clean condition. I also managed a quick wet wipe “shower” whilst on route back up the M5 to Bristol. I managed to make it to the riders briefing on time although was in a bit of a mad rush then getting kitted ready for the warm up.

Once I was kitted up I set up my rollers in the riders pit area which was in direct view of Park Street that included a BMX style start gate and two pinch points on the hill to give the BMX/MTB riders a better chance of not getting knocked out. The crowds were huge and my nerves started to kick in a little bit as this is such a unique event that I had no idea how I would get on. We all had one practice go individually using the start gate and sprinting up the hill and it was amazing having the crowd so close to you cheering you on.

The organisers did not hang around and all the riders were soon paired up for their first race of the night. It was a knockout style event so there were no second chances; if you got beat… it was game over! I was paired up with a single speed mountain bike for my first race and he had a quick start but soon found himself spinning out which allowed me to roll past him to the finish line on my big ring.

My tactic for the rest of the rounds were similar… let the rider lead through the two pinch points whilst I was comfortable behind and then jump them immediately after the second pinch point. This worked perfectly for me as I knew I had a good explosive jump at the end. My second to last race was probably the one I did start to worry about as the guy (check the video) tried to take me in to the barriers as I was overtaking him. His handle bars were smashing in to my arm so I had a quick word with him and beat him comfortably (without trying to cheat).

Soon enough I found myself in the finals… guaranteed to win a bike. The only difference was… one was Gold and the other was Silver. I was up against John Whittington who I know really well who was also using a road bike. We both lined up in the start gate and we were there for a while as the microphone broke which meant the suspense was building. The crowd were cheering and I could hear people shouting my name with encouragement! I decided I wanted to lead from bottom to top to ensure I was going to come away with the Gold bike.

The start gate dropped and I powered my way in to the lead through the first pinch point and didn’t look back! I comfortably crossed the finish line the winner!

Final Race Video:

I absolutely loved the event it had such a good atmosphere and is such a unique event that is spectator friendly and exciting. I would like to that all the spectators for their support and the Red Bull team for being so accommodating and looking after me! I will definitely be putting this event in my racing program next year!

Podium Video:

Event Video:

Red Bull Event Report

Ben

@BenSimmons

P.S. Thank you to the parking warden for the parking ticket you left on my car… I’m sure you had nothing better to do on a Saturday night!

But how can you get in the extra time on the bike? There’s the 9 – 5, the supermarket, the kids, the housework, the goldfish… You get the point!  With everything going on, last minute dashes on the bike are hard enough to fit in as it is. Yet if you look to commute then there’s the small matter of the weather. It’s cold at the moment so any trip on the bike requires layer upon layer of base clothing, coats, hats etc. Then when it decides to rain you have to add a waterproof layer to the mix, a hat etc. It’s a minor miracle that you make it out of the house.

That’s when you need multi-functional, reliable kit. dhb’s Sync jacket has been launched to fill the gap between winter and spring. It offers warmth against the bracing winds, a peaked hood to keep your ears protected is fully waterproof to keep you dry. But surely a storm-worthy jacket will leave you sweating profusely as you pedal onwards?

Not this one…

With large pit zips and breatheable fabric technology the dhb Sync Jacket has already anticipated this scenario.

So no more excuses for those mornings when you could commute or for those weekends where you could get in some miles! With one layer to take care of wind, rain and extra warmth there’s no more looking at the work bag thinking ‘but I’ll never fit it all in…’ It’s on the saddle and on to sportive success!

Oh and it comes in both women and men’s options so you can do his ‘n’ hers in style ;)

Heck, we like it so much that it’s going to be keeping the Wiggle Event Team warm and dry for the whole season!

Get your dhb Sync jacket  - now with 30% OFF! HERE

2012 is a big year for cycling in the Jewish community. The Rabbi Relay Ride is going to be a pinnacle event to mark the Big Green Jewish Year of the Bicycle – 12 whole months focusing on both the promotion of and the increased engagement in sustainable transport.

19 (plus some!) Rabbis will ride from Lands End to John O’Groats between 17th June and 9th July 2012. As the brainchild of Gefiltefest, the Rabbi Relay Ride is intended to encourage us to do our bit towards creating a greener and healthier society. But it’s not just about getting onto the bike and pedaling to the finish – there’s also the aim of raising £100,000 for food and environmental charities in the UK and overseas. To support the cause you can either sponsor a Rabbi or suggest that your Rabbi takes part.

The Rabbi Relay Ride does beg the following question though – where are the Vicars, Priests, Bishops, Deacons and other keen beans?! Now that would generate some pretty good photos! At the very least it would keep robe-makers in business ;)

The choice of cycling to mark this key year is further evidence (if ever we needed it) that the popularity is cycling is getting stronger. It is being seen as both a great way to bring people together and also as a brilliant way to make a statement about living a less resource-hungry way of life. Though pasta consumption might hit an all-time high…

With its ability to give us an endorphin rush, reduce our individual carbon footprint and help us meet more like-minded people on group rides, cycling really does pack a whopping feel good punch! So technically by being a Wiggle fan, you’re well on your way to being a lean, green, grinning machine! Plus you are the perfect person to apply a bit of peer pressure – any key figures in the community should feel afraid, very afraid… Wiggler’s are on a mission to get them on saddles and heading northwards!

2012 Olympic organisers have been busy testing their new venues in preparation for the forthcoming Games, and this weekend it was the turn of the brand new velodrome which hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

Capacity crowds squeezed in to the magnificent new venue for three days of action packed racing, with Representatives from 48 countries and 11 trade teams taking part.  Each time a Team GB member took to the track they were met with a roar of encouragement from the eager audience.  On Friday night Great Britain secured two Gold medals, a Bronze and two new world records, and the racers had the crowd on their feet over and over again.

Mark’s got more details and photos on the event at his blog here.

Watching Victoria Pendleton going head to head with her Australian rival Anna Meares was a pleasure for anyone who follows the sport, and the crowd were eating out of Pendleton’s hand when she crossed the finishing line first with team mate Jess Varnish. Corporate sponsors and dignitaries who are lucky enough to have secured tickets to the Velodrome during the Games prooer have a lot of living up to do as this weekend fans of the sport have packed the venue day after day and helped to propel our cyclists around the track with a wall of sound, maximising the “home advantage”.

A standing ovation for Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish who grabbed Gold and a new world record in the Team Sprint finals.

The venue itself – one of the first to be completed on the Olympic Park – is truly stunning and lives up to the hype. With seating all around the track, everyone inside has an excellent vantage point and those at the front will literally feel the “swoosh” of passing cyclists as they battle their way to the finish line. That this is a legacy venue which will form the centre piece of a new Velo Park including a closed road circuit and mountain biking course is hugely exciting – in just a few years local kids could be riding the track where Team GB won Gold medals. And the track is undoubtedly fast! Squashed more in to an circle than the more traditional oval shape, with steep banks, perfect pine boards and a constant temperature of 28 degrees (phew!) to keep the air thin, world records have been tumbling all weekend.

With final places in Team GB for the Olympics yet to be decided this was a great opportunity to see a wide array of our top track cyclists in action, and just a taster of the excitement to come this summer!

Wiggle and UK Cycling Events have added 150 spaces to the Wiggle Super Series No Excuses Sportive 2012. The event sold out on 13th December 2011 so the addition of 150 extra entries is excellent news for riders that missed out last year!

Don’t forget it’s free to ride – a deposit is taken during the entry process and it gets refunded when the rider turns up on the day. The deposits of No Show’s go straight to charity.

For an insight into what to expect take a look at the UK Cycling Events video page and view past Wiggle Super Series rides. Entry to the events is quick and easy and can all be done online.

“Always slick even in windy conditions”, “nothing to fault”, “international quality” goody bags, routes and timing…

With comments like this, Wiggle and UK Cycling Events will need to get bigger helmets!

Cycling Weekly was full of praise for the Wiggle Super Series. We know that it wouldn’t be possible without our trusty sportive and MTB-ers :) Fantastic atmosphere, sell-out rides and returning faces all make the Wiggle Super Series events unmissable features in the cycling calendar.

With a 2012 chock-a-block full of over 20 Wiggle Super Series Events, it’s going to be another fabulous year! Join us to see what all of the fuss is about – why not try our new Wiggle Super Series Northern Angel Sportive? It’s a completely new event so you can really set the precendent for years to come. Oh, and there are no previous times to beat either ;) Perfect for a no-pressure ride!

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I have just come back into London having been in the US last week visiting family in Ann Arbor. I do love being in America, I love the oversized nature of it including the houses (I have lived in flats smaller than a standard American basement!), the food and of course the cars. I thought this was the ultimate American machine. A Dodge truck with a Harley Davidson on board.

My Aunt who I have been visiting is also a triathlete and along with lots of cars Michigan also has lots of lakes to swim in so she has some pretty spectacular races to choose from. One race that I would love to come back for is technically a triathlon but with 10 legs, oh, and you need to carry your run and swim gear with you throughout. The Battle of Waterloo consists of 1.4mi Run, 20.5mi bike, 0.5mi swim, 4.0mi run, 0.25mi swim, 3.4mi run, 0.7mi swim, 3.3mi run, 5.8mi bike, 1.4mi run and onto a well-deserved finish!

Even entertaining the thought of getting into a lake at this time of year is not something I want to do. During the week there was a snow storm that dumped a couple of inches of snow and dropped the temperature down to -12 from the previous balmy 2 which put any sort of training outside on hold, well certainly for me.

I decided to get out of the mini gym in the basement and visit the local gym which is ENORMOUS and boasts 3 pools, a giant indoor waterslide, 10 indoor tennis courts, an inside running track and more cardio machines you could physically try out in one session. It was brilliant! I’m not a member of a gym in London opting instead to be outside away from cramped, crowded gyms. I went to the gym in Ann Arbor at 11am one morning and was the only person in the training pool. For the entire hour session. I then went out and did some weights and got on the running machine and there were no more than 5 other people in the gym at one time. Magic!

Whilst all of that is wonderful, I would miss the option to go running outside in lovely parks which is what I did today in Hyde Park. This weekend I have my first race of the year which is a half marathon run at Dorney Lake. Whilst it may not be the most exciting venue it will give me a chance to see where I am in terms of my run training. This year is going to be a challenging year for me as I have decided to have a go at doing 70.3 (1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run). When I was focusing on Ironman I used to do half Ironman races for training so have never put my energy into doing well in a 70.3. With a lot of my regular Olympic and sprint distance races either cancelled or moved due to the Olympics I decided to have a go and see what I can do. It also gives me a chance to do some more travelling and compete alongside Emma-Kate, our first race together being Mallorca 70.3. When I say alongside Emma-Kate I mean I will see her at the start and maybe at the end of she hasn’t got bored waiting for me!

Be careful on the ice and happy training!

Cx

60

12th February 2012

The first road race of the season for me was the very popular Perfs Pedal Race and is also seen as the first big race of the season being in February. This race was also my first road race last year and one thing that remained similar this year was the weather being not so good! This year was dry but very cold and I can honestly say I have never worn so much winter cycling kit in a bike race before… and I have ridden some terrible cyclo-cross races! Due to the weather being so cold this meant we had a delayed start due to ice being on the circuit and the race was shortened by a lap so the race was only 38 miles long.

The race started with a short neutralised section and then we were off racing around the original Perfs 8 mile circuit which included a climb shortly before the finish line. The standard of riders was very high as usual but the most dominant team in the race with 9 riders was Team UK Youth. Because of this dominant team the race stayed together with some attacks going off the front but there was clearly going to be no success from their efforts.

I felt really good in the race and tried to ride at the head of the race most of the time to stay out of trouble as there were a few crashes and so that I could follow wheels if any strong riders tried to get away. The last lap and we were all together and UK Youth had their whole team on the front and stayed there delivering a lead out for Chris Opie. I was about 20th wheel when the pace really started to ramp up and a rider in front let a wheel go which allowed 10 riders to go clear.

I was hoping someone would have tried to close the gap but I couldn’t wait any longer and started to chase on my own. This seemed to be a good move because no one came with me and I opened up a good gap on the other riders. I caught the leading riders just as they hit the hardest part of the climb and I was really pushing hard to hold their wheels. Once we hit the top of the climb the speed increased and I was struggling to hold the wheels but the finish line was in sight.

I kept pressing to the finish line and managed to grab 8th place. I had a goal of improving on last year’s result of 15th place and getting inside the top 10 which I achieved. I felt really good in the race which is surprising as I have hardly done any training on the road this winter but have done a lot of work on the Velodrome which has clearly helped my power and speed which is what you need for racing!

I would also like to say a big thanks to Team UK Youth for taking me under their wing by giving me a lift to the event and supporting me over the weekend!

Velo UK Report

Ben

Follow me on Twitter

Wiggle and UK Cycling Events have added another event to the already impressive 2012 cycling calendar. The Wiggle Super Series Northern Angel Sportive starts from the stunning Kirkley Hall and takes cyclists through the finest Northumberland countryside. Heading north west into Northumberland National Park, routes will offer entrants virtually traffic-free roads.

As with all Wiggle Super Series Events there is a choice of several route lengths. Experienced riders and those wanting a challenge can sign-up to the Epic (92 miles). For those wanting a shorter ride there will be both Standard (80 miles) and Fun (66 miles) options.

All 3 routes include Rayless Common, Corsenside Common, Troughend Common, Hareshaw Common and Chester Common. With country views extending as far as the eye can see, riders will be able to luxuriate in the picture perfect surrounds.

It isn’t just sportive riders that will get a new experience over the weekend – there are plenty of opportunities for accompanying friends and family to have an equally memorable and action-packed weekend. Most noteable is the February opening of a new zoo which is also located at Kirkley Hall.

For an insight into what to expect take a look at the UK Cycling Events video page and view past Wiggle Super Series rides. Entry to the events is quick and easy and can all be done online.