Mud, mud and more mud

Gorrick Mtb XC - 19 February 2006 (Yately Forest)

I finished off the week of training with 3 hours tempo on Saturday (packing in the climbs) and a terrible mountain bike race in Crowthorne. Just about everything was bad about this race except for the 2 hours hard training I got in.

I arrived at the start line (in the rain) late, I had a bad start. By the time the first corner arrived I had had a stack and was second last in the elites. The leaders simply rode off the front while I tried to pass back-markers. The course would have been great if it had been dry, but it was in a state and I have never seen so much water and mud in my life. What made matters worse is I rode with Larsen TT's as my broke a spoke on Saturday while training and had no time to repair it.

In the end I managed to loose my brakes (on lap 2), fall 3 times and slip into a state of hypothermia. I had planned to ride home afterwards, but as the rain was still belting it down I got a lift instead - thank god!

Race Stats:
Time: 02:01 (hrs)
Laps: 5
Average temp: 5 degrees
Conditions: Wet, cold, muddy and very slippery
Heart rate: average - 168; maximum - 185 (low HR's)
Cals: 2268 kcal
Position: 6th

Many thanks to go to the Gorrick organisers, Malcolm, Simon and Jason. The hot coffee, car and showers was a god-send.

This week I managed to get in 14 hours training and have started my interval training (VO2, LT, Anaerobic) ... and get some tempo rides. I'll continue to work on my top end and complete a few long/tempo rides too for next week.

Photos to follow....

Results

Position - Date - Race

2007:
22 April - Les Ingham RR - 16th
28 April - Kingston Phoenix 10 mile TT - 5th (view report)
29 April - Thames Velo RR - 10th (view report)
6 May - Gorrick Enduro - 1st (view report)

2006:
2nd - 4 Feb - GS Stella Sporting TT - 2nd
4th - 5 Feb - GS Stella Sporting TT - 3rd Overall
15th - 12 Feb - Perfs Pedal Race - 17th (James Williamson)
19 Feb - Gorrick Rd 1 XC (Elite) - 5th

12th March - Gorrick Rd 2 XC (Super Master) - 1st

7th May - Lincoln Int GP - 56th
21st May - SE Road Race Champs - 2nd (Dodd)
30th May - Hillingdon - 3rd (Gibb)

02 July - Les Ingman Memorial Road Race (SE Series) - 9th
9th July - The Ryedale Grand Prix (Premier Calendar) - 33rd

6th August - Surrey League Road Race - 6th
8th August - Hillingdon Crit - 3rd
13th August - Python RT Summer Road Race - 12th
18th August - Surrey League Revolutions 5 Day - 1st GC
Stage 1 - Ewhurst Area - 2nd
Stage 2 - Handcross Area - 4th
Stage 3a - Goodwood Time Trial - 4th
Stage 3b - Goodwood Area - 19th
Stage 4 - Wivelsfield Area - 4th
Stage 5 - Crowborough - 12th

3rd September - Duo Normand - 11th (Pro/Elite)
10th September - SERRL Benenden/Cranbrook - 5th

8th October - Surrey League Road Race - 3rd
29th October - Ottershaw #2 - 9th

Perfs Pedal Race

We all knew that as usual the Perfs was gonna be hard. It always is. Last year we had snow this year we had strong winds and rain...oh and horses on the circuit and moutain bike-style mud on the finishing section.

Our Race:
We all hovered near the front for most of the race. Neil, James, Kevin and Gary had a few digs off the front and when other attacks went we covered them.

I had bags of power and endurance but lacked the turn of pace in the form of speed - as you'd expect early on in the season.

Approaching the penultimate lap my lack of pace showed as the group moved away from me on the "climb". By the time I passed the start/finish the lead group had 20 sec. I never got back on, but held my position just plowing along. Our little group contained Gary and a few other chaps keen to finish and get the race over with.

On the final climb big guy tried to move away but when the final sprint started we passed him and Jason (Streather) and I sprinted for the bunch win.

The results:
1 James WILLIAMSON
2 David CLARKE
3 Dale APPLEBY
5 Kevin DAWSON
6 Neil COLEMAN
15 Rob ENSLIN
20 Gary HAND

For the BCF write up visit the site for more.
For the LCS write up visit the site for more.

Thanks Bob for looking after our bikes and Alan for the shouts (and bringing my kit).