Keeping it local

Back to reality! To keep the motivation to race and give myself an easy life I made the decision that I'll only do events that I can ride to for the rest of the year (and the weather has to be nice). Sods law then that 1 month later I still haven't had a weekend off, and to say I was talking about doing a 'cross season!

First up was Leicester Road Club's annual hill climb. Yep, a time trial up a hill in Leicestershire (the charmingly titled Polly Botts Lane). With riders from over 6 different local clubs it acts as an unofficial county champs with a good turnout of spectators to cheer on the 45 competitors. It was only a 40 min ride away and the sun was shining so I made the effort to head over and fly the flag for sartorial elegance amid a sea of brash bikes, carbon wheels and nasty club kit!  Mindful of getting back home in time to see my sister finish her first marathon, I got an early start number, gave it some beans up the hill and then rode back, so it was a nice surprise to get a text that evening telling me I'd won by 5 seconds. Bonus!

Taste buds tickled, the following weekend was Melton Olympic CC's Freewheel and Hill Climb comp. 20 miles away this time, but a beautiful clear and crisp autumn morning for a ride so it was rude not to. I got disqualified from the freewheeling for illegal bike handling (no, not pedalling!) so we'll brush over that bit. A smaller field this time for the HC up Harby Hill (actually has a chevron on the map!) and another sub 2 minute 40 effort scored me 1st place even though the finish line was 50 metres sooner than I expected, leaving me concerned that I'd ballsed it up with a miss-timed sprint. It also meant a 1, 2, 3 for my second claim club as we continue marauding around the countryside taking the spoils at other clubs events.

Hill Climb season is shorter than a British summer, so last weekend it was the turn of Welland Valley CC to provide my racing fix with round 5 of the popular West Midlands Cyclo Cross League. An hour of entertaining (honest!) country roads and bridleways in the sunshine got me to the picturesque Misterton Hall just before sign on closed. One look at the churned up grass inbetween the course tape and I knew I'd made a good last minute decision to fit a Bontrager Mud X on the front. One look at the front row of the grid however and I knew my aim of not getting lapped on my Mtb was a bit ambitious... Matt Barrett (Raleigh), Dave Collins (Hope Technology) and Liam Killeen equals one hour deep in the pain cave trying not to get caught! Away from the churned up field, the rest of the lap was good fun even if there were no barriers to jump over and I had good fun sliding my way round to finish 15th (even if I was lapped by the top 3).

To complete the month, yesterday turned out to be one of my favourite events of the year - 'Muddy Hell' Halloween Cyclo-cross at Herne Hill in London. This time a train was involved to get there, but I did ride the rest of the way, cruising past London landmarks on Boris's blue bicycle super-highways. Never one to turn down the opportunity for some fancy dress, racing at night or heckling, meant this event an instant winner for me, so the fact that so much effort had gone into building the course and the large number of spectators made it extra fun to take part in. Singletrack, jay-boy jumps, steep run-up, sand pit, double barriers through the beer tent, 9m high bridge, table top jump, rhythm section and even a mini wall ride, it was way more than your usual 'cross course!

Being in the fancy dress 'go race' category (or rather anything goes category - mtb, singlespeed, fixed, TT bike...) my aim for the evening was to lap my mate Keith (sorry Keith). Getting the holeshot in my witch costume was an added bonus and spurred me on to make an effort to stay near the pointy end of the rogues gallery to finish 2nd. Lessons learnt: I need to work on my remounts whilst wearing a tutu, clearing a tabletop is a lot harder at night, lights or no lights and fun/open should be scrapped - if you're racing for a laugh, you should do it in drag :-)

The senior race was awesome to watch with the likes of Nick Craig (Scott), Jody Crawforth (Hargroves Cycles), Gareth Montgomerie (Sigma Sport/Specialized) and Billy Joe Whenman (Whyte) battled it out while a big crowd cheered, drank, ate and smoked roll-ups (obligatory if you were sporting a cycling cap and messanger bag). With my mate Chris (Matlock CC) storming round to take third the journey down was definitely worth the effort and as Nick Craig said at his post race interview "all 'cross races should be like this!"  

Thanks to Trek bikes, Exposure lights and Accelerade nutrition for their support, Ted for the pic and Pedal Power for loaning me some pimp road wheels!

Herne Hill Velodrome is currently under threat from property developers. It's a vital asset for cycle-sport in London, so check out www.savethevelodrome.com and show your support.

Advertise your business/event here »