With tired legs from the weekend the thought of yet another 2 hour competition so soon made me 
think twice about travelling, but I know the area very well and thought it would at least loosen my legs up a little. It was good to tie up with GB teamate Killian Lomas before the start and talk about travel plans, clothing and bikes. The Weather although sunny at times was threatening all afternoon, and no sooner had I climbed the first hill the sky opened and it hosed down with rain. The already sodden ground became even worse and I soon found myself covered with muddy spray, with it getting under the plastic map cover and slowly making the map harder and harder to read.
I seemed to pick a good route and even ventured down a few muddy tracks that were new to me. I left the two controls on top of Baslow edge but managed with a huge effort at the end to get the rest. I really had to fly to get back from my last control near Baslow and got in just 1 min 50 secs over time.
Ben Plowman, a local who I managed to beat all weekend finally got his own back on his home turf and managed 12 points more, and pushed me into 3rd behind Mark McPhillips but I was really pleased to just pip Killian. I also ate a proper bar again (Eat Natural date and walnut, what else 🙂 ) and again felt much better than using the gels.
Results available here
Stats – 2 hours 1min 50 secs, 41.4 km
Event Report – Trailquest National Champs – Helmsley
The Sunday of the National weekend was a 3 hour Trailquest. Based from Duncombe Park next to the lovely village of Helmesley and set in the spectacular North York Moors, the promised rain didn’t materialise and the scene was set for a cracking competition.
I travelled up with Helen, another SPLOT, who I stayed with in York the night before, and after apologising again to the poor chap I crashed into the day before I set off east. The map was a Jens Strain / OS 1:25,000 combo, which is much better than the standard OS showing lots more path detail, however I did find the marking of the rights of way using green corridors did obscure other useful detail.
After a little mistake on #1 pulling up a little short at a faintly marked track junction and a spectacular over the handlebars moment on a steep track on the way to #3 I got into my stride and really enjoyed the event. We were treated to lots of off road riding, and fantastic views over the moors.
I seemed to be always going in the opposite direction to Andy Conn and Charlotte Somers Cox, I was convinced they were using some form of teleport device and saw Andy at least 4 times. I decided to try and eat a solid Eat Natural bar rather than relying on gels, as I have done recently and the difference was amazing, I felt much less hungry and seemed to go better in the later stages and felt stronger on the hills.
The last few controls for me were in the Rievaulx Valley with lots of climbing in the forest that runs down to the river. I knew I was OK on time but starting to cut it a bit fine by clearing all the controls on the way in rather than leaving one. I pushed really hard up the hill back into the Duncombe estate and sprinted down the main drive thinking this is going to be a bit close on time. I punched the finish box thinking perhaps I was up to a half a minute late. Downloading later my time was 2:59:59, talk about cutting it fine.
I was very very pleased with my results for the weekend, 1st in Class (21-40) and 4th overall to some quality riders, all current or past British / Irish Team members. Thanks to NYMBO for a cracking weekend.
Event Report – MTBO Long Race – Gilling Woods
28km and a winning time of 90 mins, well perhaps in a flat Austrian hunting forest but I thought from the final details that this was perhaps a little optimistic, given the hilly nature of the North York Moors. I had spent the last week pouring over an old Gilling MTBO map, even attaching a copy to the handlebars of my road bike and analysing it on a 1.5 hour recovery ride, so knew it was going to be steep.
The area surrounding Gilling is stunning, pretty villages nestling in steep sided valleys, with the moors looming above. There was a good atmosphere at registration and lots of familiar faces milling around with the usual psychology about picking a start time.
I started out hard but picking an ultra safe route to the first control, giving me time to plan ahead. My route choice from #2 to #3 probably wasn’t the quickest but I think many others also played safe avoiding the ‘difficult to ride track’ and riding back through #1. I then made my only mistake of the race, missing the tiny path the control was sited on, but soon realised and doubled back, only losing a minute or so, where some competitors lost lots of time. Not seeing the even smaller path down from this control on the map I again played safe by going fast and hard on a roundabout route to #4, also giving me a good look at the lie of the land for the rest of the race. On the course went control after control criss-crossing the steep valleys that make up Gilling Woods. Many of the paths were very slippery, some particularly so with many riders choosing to run down, rather than risking a tumble.
At the map exchange at #15 I was still going well, but receiving the second map I knew straight away we were all in for a long race. Up we went again to a control near #1 but this time I climbed straight up, bike on shoulder, with the splits not yet available I’m not sure which was faster. A treacherous descent back down and a the course then wound its way around the valleys again, perhaps becoming a little tedious as the planner struggled to get 28km into such a small forest. At 2 hours I started to tire and found myself in lower gears on hills I had climbed earlier in the race. Then as Brian Singleton started to catch me I made a huge mistake on a fast corner, the front wheel washing out. Standing the bike back up I realised I was heading straight for an older rider coming the other way and unfortunately I hit him quite hard. We both seemed vaguely OK so after making sure he really was not about to keel over I sprinted off after Brian. The last quarter of an hour was really hard with one more climb back up to the top of the area and then a sprint for home from the last control.
So had I done enough for selection. I won the M21 -40 category and was 5th overall. A result I am very very happy with given the long and steep course. GPS showed 46km travelled and nearly 1000m of climbing.
So recovery drink inside me I set off for an enforced warm down, as I had offered to collect some controls, and had to climb that hill once more.
Great event if a little over planned – results available at http://www.nymbo.org.uk/events.htm
Mark Stodgell – Stodge
NPS #2 – Dalby Forest
Round 2 of the British Mountain Bike Race Serieswas held in the huge Dalby Forset area of North Yorkshire this weekend. This event was run on the brand new World Cup 2010 bid course, built specifically for this test event and attracted a huge turnout of quality riders.
I had to go up on Sunday morning as Holly had a Greese show on Saturday. The race formed part of my speed training in the build up for the National Trailquest Champs and MTBO selection races on the 16th May.
When I got there I was warned by several people it would be a very good idea not to try and ride the course blind, in fact Mammoth Rider Darrell Upton indicated it would be dangerous. So baggy trousered, looking completely out of place, I set off between races for a quick look see at a couple of the more ‘interesting’ parts of the course. It immediately became apparent that this was a good move, it being the most technical course I have ever ridden, which I suppose it should be being a ‘World Cup’ Course. Right trouser leg tucked into my sock I ended up finding the best lines and practicing some of the drop offs getting more nervous about the race to come. With the thought of doing serious damage to myself the week before a selection race I made the decision there and then to get off and use my running legs on the two bonkers descents- the drop off into Worry Gill and Medusa’s Drop. Although both fairly rideable (although I’m still not sure I’d have the bottle to do the Worry Gill drop off – see You Tube videos below) in race conditions with other riders all around and particularly when tired later in the course, I’m not in the business of risking my neck to save a few seconds.
Videos from British Cycling website and You Tube
So starting well towards the back of the grid I had to queue quite a bit at the entrance to the first single track but the race thinned out quite quickly and I got stuck in. I had a huge moment on one drop off where I just recovered by throwing my weight back, and decided on the next lap to run that section as well. With the heart pumping near max, the whole course was really exciting and other than having to pull over to let the leading Vets train pass on the second lap it was just non stop action.
Fellow British MTBO team mate Andy Conn was riding in the vets and I was interested to see how I would perform against him. Starting a couple minutes behind me he caught me on the climb after Medusas drop on the second lap, but it was good too see him wimping out on it and running down as well. I stayed with him up the big climb but he soon pulled away as I started to tire.
My last lap saw a few more mistakes as I grew tired, and was happy to be lapped just before the final section round the 4 cross track, meaning I didn’t have to go out for the 4th lap. My legs wern’t too bad but I was worried about making a technical mistake when tired and hurting myself properly, as I had witnessed some huge crashes during the event. The loopy 4 cross section just before the end of the lap was great and I managed a strong finish to come in 50th in 90 mins about 8 mins down on Andy.
Full report and results available at the British Cycling website, here.
Event Report – D&W Summer League #1 – Castleton
Driving over to Castleton from Altrincham is always a nightmare, trying to get through Stockport at rush hour, but the closure of Winnats pass made me very late, bringing with it a danger finishing the event in the dark.
The wind at the top of the pass looked very strong and I made a mental note of its direction ready for a route decision at the start. Although there was a good turn out at the event centre, the public car park in Castleton, I didn’t have to queue and managed to get started by 6.30 in the end. Thinking of the SW wind I set off on a clockwise route clearing the controls as I went but decided to leave the one on Mam Tor itself, which perhaps was a mistake and as being worth 15 points I should have left a 10 pointer out instead. The wind on the tops was horrendous and at one stage I found myself leaning right over into it in order to avoid being blown off the bike. Coming down off of the last hill I decided I just had time to grab a last 10 point control If I wasn’t more than 6 mins late. Coming in at 2.05.35 I perhaps cut it a little close but still ended up 3 points better off.
With a week to go till the selection races for the National Team I deliberately didn’t push too hard on the early climbs and didn’t take any chances on the descents, so was quite happy with 5th.
Results available on Dark and White website –
Race Report – Midlands XC #1 – Rugby
Round 1 of the Midlands Cross Country Mountain Bike Race series was held in glorious weather just north of Rubgy, at Cosford. Masters were racing in the afternoon and with a field of 50 I was looking forward to another day of pain, with Adrian’s (coach) advice just to give it everything and treat it as a training session and see what happened.
I took the opportunity to ride a lap prior to the race as a warm up. It was a fantastic mix of rooty singletrack, bumpy landrover tracks, fast grass and swooping descents. However, it contained 2 hills, one of which I knew would be a real challenge in the later stages of the race as legs tired.
After the under 10’s race Holly wanted to do some of the course so I took her round. She had a great over the handle bars moment when her front wheel slipped into a furrow, but other than a few tears she was back on the bike and sprinting away to beat Daddy to the chocolate biscuit prize for the first back. She was also asking about how to unclip from SPDs 🙂
The start was a bit chaotic: not enough room for everyone to line up by side so I ended up starting right at the back and got stuck behind a few people for the first bit of single track. The field soon opened up and I was able to slowly pick off about 10 people as the fist lap continued. I was really enjoying the course, even pulling a little air on some of the faster humps, which is unusual for me as I’m mainly a wheels-on-the-ground type. As you can see from the laptimes below I tired on lap 4 and then got very tired on the last lap.
| 00:20:06 | 00:20:19 | 00:20:48 | 00:21:43 | 00:23:14 |
A quick mention of the eventual elite winner, Wiggle Rider, Lee Williams who was just so friendly and polite as he came past on my last lap, it made a refreshing change to the cut and thrust I’m used to.
The big climb at the start of the last lap had me in granny ring and out of the saddle but I was able to keep the pace up through the single track that followed and managed a reasonably strong finish, but it’s those hills I need to work on…It was pleasing not to tire as quickly and dramatically as I did at Sherwood Pines a few weeks ago. Great event on a cracking course.
Full results available at Timelaps
(photos by Cath)
Event Report – Jan Kjellström Orienteering Festival
The Jan Kjellström International Orienteering Festival is held each Easter weekend in a different region of the UK. This year the North East hosted the event, which consists of a sprint on the Friday, two classic distance races over the weekend and a relay on Easter Monday.
As Cath’s sister lives just outside Newcastle, we thought we would combine the orienteering with a family holiday in the NE, so we decided to run in the sprint and relay, & give the classic races a miss.
The sprints were staged in and around the University and Civic Centre in Newcastle. There was a 
good atmosphere with commentary and and good visible run in. Although I have used sprint specification maps a couple of times before, this was was first taste of a proper sprint race. It definitely lived up to expectations being exciting and requiring intense concentration for the whole race. With legs as short as 17 secs and only 6 legs taking more than 1 minute, the 24 controls flew by and I managed to keep in ‘the zone’ and only made one small error, running the wrong way round a planter, perhaps losing 4 or 5 secs.
The sportident wireless results service kept me hanging for 2 hours as I slipped to 3rd, and then the last finisher of the course pushed me off the podium to 4th on M35. I was very pleased with the result, especially to just pip fellow MTBOer Liam Corner by 14 secs 🙂
After two days sampling the tourist delights of Newcastle and the coast to the north it was time for the JK relays. Other than a problem with the bussing, the event was first class, again with an excellent atmosphere. Walton Chasers teams entered two Mens Short relay teams, with selection for the two teams only being done the night before. Luckily I was put out first in the A team (perhaps my fresh legs after two days just doing a little cycling giving me edge on the others). Lining up in a field of 53 teams for the mass start there was lots of banter, and then on the horn we all sprinted for the gate out into the forest. I had a wobble on the way to the first control ,not seeing a track on the map out from the gate, dropping about 20-30
secs on the main pack, but with good control flow I managed to haul them back in and fight my way towards the front of it by the time a gaffle split us ready for the turn for home. I dropped 3 or 4 places on the final tough climb up to the finish field but handing over to Adam I knew we were not too far behind being in about 11th or so as the main pack streamed through. My result for the leg shows up 13th as I had a ‘little rest’ after handing over, before punching the finish box.
Adam had a stonking run putting down the fastest time for the middle leg before handing over to Rob Little in 3rd place. Rob’s solid performance (fastest on his gaffle!) brought us up one place to silver but not quite close enough to the leader. We knew that if it came to a sprint finish there is no-one that could stay with him up the run in.
Elsewhere the vet women also bagged a silver so it was a good day out for Walton Chasers.
Event Report – Hendesford Camp District Event – (Foot O)
I was very tired on the Sunday following organising the
Trailquest, but was determined to get a run on an area that although I know well I had never competed on. The day started with bright sunshine and a stiff wind, the later making life uncomfortable at sportident download which I had to set up before racing.
The map I knew was A3, 1:10,000 which was a bit of a tablecloth to carry and fold. I think we should have offered a 1:15,000 option on the Brown and Blue, something to think about for the next event.
As I walked to the start I wondered if I should have put on another layer, as I was just wearing a thin club short sleeve racing top, but decided I would soon warm up once I got started.
The course was good, with lots of turning and varying leg lengths, including one huge leg straight across the area. I made a couple of daft route choice errors towards the end of the course which lost me a couple of minutes but kept up the effort till the end, however with 5 controls to go the wind picked up, the sky went dark and it started to snow / hail. Even running hard I became extremely cold and wished that I had put that extra layer on and probably would have retired if I had been near the beginning of the course.
I finished and found a download tent in crisis as the main server had failed. It was entirely my fault as I had forgotten to plug it in to the power 🙁 Adrenaline took over and I got everything working again (thank goodness Autodownload uses a proper database so no results were lost) however I got even colder in the process and started shivering uncontrollably. I ended up in the car for the next 1/2 hour heaters on full trying to warm up. Lesson for the future listen to the weather forecast.
I was pleased with the result and for the first hour I was running well, although I spotted from routegadget that I lost quite a bit of time on #11 and #13 with my daft route choices. Results and Routegadget available here…