its all about stodge, bikes, MTBO and the outdoors
As you will know the Chase Trails Cycle Project on Cannock Chase is through to the final of the National Lottery Award in the best sports project category. Voting has now closed and the winners will be announced live on Saturday night. Although they have no great expectation of winning the overall title, the project video will be shown and I hope to at least get a glimpse of the Chase Trails team as they sit and sip champagne.
Well done Chase Trails http://chasetrails.blogspot.com/
After a long break through the summer months the MTBO season in the UK finishes with a flurry of events.
Firstly there is a MTBO on Tankersley, used earlier this year for the British foot orienteering relay championships, this Saturday, organised by World Masters Bronze medallist Killian Lomas. On Sunday nearby there is the second round of the ever popular Dark and white winter series of 3 hour score events.
http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=197
Two weeks later sees a drive north to the wild forests of Gisburn for what promises to be a fantastic couple of hours of technical and hilly riding, organised by Alan Hartley and Pendle Forest Orienteers.
http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=188
That evening the physical gives way to the social and clerical and the BMBO AGM.
http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/details.php?event_id=251
Various score events all over the country carry us through November into December when there is a MTBO in Hurn forest down south and the famous Military Challenge between Xmas and New Year this time returning to its roots around Aldershot and Long Valley.
Full details of all events coming up are here http://www.bmbo.org.uk/calendar/
Watch out for another MBO score event which will be confirmed later this week on New Years Eve morning on Cannock Chase !
The Bow went through so many bottom brackets in the two years I had it, I lost count. Shimano ones seemed to last about 3 months in the winter. Eventually I tried the Gusset one with needle rollers that seized in Russia (it was completely worn out though)
After considering all the expensive options Cycle Shack offered a deal on an MSC Ceramic bottom bracket 
so I agreed to have one to test out. RRP is about £80 which is very good for a Ceramic and it weighs only 87 gms. I am hoping the lack of metal bearings and the higher quality will enable this one to last a bit longer when it goes into the Kinesis XC Pro 3 build.
for more info go http://www.mscbikes.com/components.php?idioma=2&familia=0043&subfamilia=0141 or contact Cycle Shack.
The Corratec Bow and the Giant have been replaced!
Essentially I was not riding the Giant at all as I loved the Bow too much. In the end I have been wrecking the Bow and not keeping it as a race bike as originally intended. So I now have a Kinesis Maxlight Pro 3 frame from Cycle Shack ( Thanks to them both for the support) and the intention is to get a second frame next month to build up as an identical training / hack bike (only blue).
I will choose the best bits from both the old bikes to build up the new race bike but have a few new shiny bits too and plan some more in the spring, but more about that in a later post….
Offers !
The Corratec Super Bow is an amazing ride, point and squirt with a very stiff rear triangle. Id love another but they have stopped making the 26inch version so grab a piece of history !
contact mark@stodgell.co.uk
Parking around the Marquis Drive Visitors centre has become very very busy since the opening of the Forestry Commission Trails ( Follow the Dog and Monkey Trail) on Cannock Chase. Marquis Drive is actually a Staffordshire County Council site and local riders often use the car park to access Follow the Dog which runs close by.
The Parking situation became intolerable for the visitors centre this summer with several near accidents and conflict between the various users of the centre, particular as there is a cafe and big adventure playground on site which attracts many families.
The County Council have therefore created a one way system through the centre but have also designated a series of car parks at ‘nine gates’ approx 1/2 a kilometre down the road specifically for bikers. It is hoped that local riders will use this car park instead of Marquis Drive and relieve some of the congestion there.
The Council has added bike racks and the car park is close to the bike wash facility at the visitors centre.
Since coming back from Russia I have been struggling big style with my back. I’ve had a history of a very ‘mobile’ sacroiliac joint but 16 hours of travelling after a night partying following the long race in Russia has really caused me problems.
I think it probably stems from not warming up properly in the horrendous rain before the race and my cranks seizing forcing me to put a huge load through my pedals to keep going. That and jumping of a 3 metre wall in the days before.
I saw the Chiropractor the day after I got back in agony and I was fairly sorted during that week but then typically went and over did it last weekend both on the bike and doing some DIY. So back to square one until Tuesday when I saw them again, plus some sports massage and I am now getting much better.
The bottom line is I need to do lots more core stability work (something I am quite good at during the winter but tend to neglect through the racing season) and lots and lots of stretching.
Its amazing how the gluts particularly cause so much referred pain down the leg when in spasm.
My work colleagues have got used to me lying on the floor rolling around this week trying to stretch out the various muscles and joints. At home I am using a hard foam roll for self massage which is also good.
I am going to avoid the mountain bike for a while too when better to make sure I don’t aggravate it any more, but my last race of the season is now in two weeks time in France with all the driving that involves. Time to concentrate on getting better !
The official invitation to the MTBO Camp 2012 in Denmark will be out soon, but the big news is that there will be a Junior Class called ‘Cool Kid’ for the under 13’s.
This year the whole Stodgell family will be in attendance, with Holly and Cath riding too. The event is back north of Copenhagen, near Hilleroed, home to the Spring cup with fantastic fast MTBO forests last used for the European Championships in 2009.
http://www.mtbocamp.dk/2012/ for more details.