August Race Reports - National 25 & others

Its been about 4 weeks since my lat update, I have in some ways been reflecting on the season, after the national 25 I suddenly felt the length of the season, this has been the longest racing season I have undertaken, starting at the end of Feb and not finishing until the start of October, over time that starts to take its toll and I think the focus of the national had been quite tiring so the last few weeks I have been trying to assess the season and take it a bit easier.

I will start with the main race of the year, the national 25, while not my preferred 10 mile distance it was the only one that I could make it to this year, and even then it was not ideally placed, coming the day after my daughters birthday, that was a great day we had the family round a BBQ and lots of cake... which is not really the diet of a man about to embark on the biggest race of the year, but I am not about to forsake these days with my family over a race, I am not a pro.

National 25 - B25/8

I also decided to drive down the morning of the race, or at least most of the way, I stopped over at my mum and dads on the Saturday night leaving only 2 hours of driving for the Sunday morning, I would have to be up at 0500 all the same, meaning I would also likely be tired.

I got to the event in good time and started getting the bike ready, I was still riding a borrowed bike and had not really had time to resolve the setup properly but while not ideal I was at least there.

Warming up was a pain, the roads around the course in Norfolk were rolling, which means getting a decent warmup is hard work, but I did what i could and rolled to the start line ready for a fast but hard 25miles.

It should be noted that there was a tough wind as well, a tailwind out and a headwind back, also not ideal....  I set off and was flying riding a 56x11 I was ticking along at over 40mph in places and I was feeling good, then the road surface changed from smooth tarmac to horrible concrete with lots of lovely pot holes, I spent most of the time looking for the next one that I could go down... it takes its toll on the rhythm and it turns out the bike.

I got to the turn around and realised that either my left arm hard grown or the extension had come loose, as I rounded the turn point it was clear that the left extension had been rattled loose, not matter as long as the right one was loose.... ah, nuts....

Photo By Craig Zadoroznyz

So there I was trying to manage a bike that was slowly falling apart as well as avoiding potholes and now battling a brutal headwind... it was just one of those days.  I didnt feel great either (probably the cake come down) and was longing for the finish... It finally came, in a new PB of 52:09, not bad, you cant ask for more than a PB.... well you can, but thats not always possible!

I came 50th overall, a bit disappointed but the field was tightly packed around me so small margins would have got me into the top 40... Looking the field I was happy with that, I will be back next year and aiming to do better!

I have also raced twice on the fast V718 course, the first time I was on target for a new PB (I think about a 19:30) but got held up my a combine harvester, I mean really, do farmers have to move such things on race day... how very inconsiderate... this still left me a bit away from the target of an '18' this year, but I was pleased with a 9th overall.

V718

The 2nd time was just a couple of days ago at the Swift Charity event, often a good day for fast times, it was an average day weather wise and I was aiming for a new PB nothing more, although if that PB could be under 19mins all the better...  I felt good and made it the turnaround in record time, coming up the slip road I got caught behind a truck making slow progress around the roundabouts, I reckon this cost me some time, on the way back I was able to maintain a good pace, unusually I didn't suffer like have in the past, in fact I felt pretty good, the average speed had dropped but I was still on for a PB, I crossed the line with an average speed of 31.3Mph for a 26second PB of 19:14... Honestly I think the truck cost me an '18' but thats racing.

Photo By Craig Zadoroznyz

The other race was the YCF 30mile TT, I am trying to win the league, and needed a good result here some tough competition on another windy day, but with the support of the guys at York Cycleworks with marshaling (part of the requirements to being affiliated) I set off like it was a 10, no idea why I just did, soon realised that was not going to end well and settled into a more even pace.

V241

The aim was 2nd, with Phil Graves riding a win was always a long shot, I would have needed some sort of bear attack to befall him and even then there would be no guarantees... Needless to say I saw no bears... pfft typical.

I crossed the line feeling a bit disappointed, I honestly didnt feel like i had emptied the tanks, "that could have cost me the YCF league" I thought as I rolled back to HQ.

Waiting for the times to come in I saw I was leading, and by a fair margin, knowing that Phil would beat me the only name left of Steve Ayres, a quick rider and not someone I have beaten before... until now... 2nd overall. Phew!  Also managed to win the handicap event but the points from the 2nd is what I came for and that was a job well done.

Those points lift me to 7th in the YCF league with only one race to go, I need another good result to win, so I am hoping I can hold my form.

I was planning on an easy few weeks of training and not racing too much in the build up to the last YCF race on the 2nd October, but instead I have entered a load of races... in fact I only have one weekend off between now and then, ah well might as well make it hard, racing is good training right?!