For the most part I have spent the last 6 months mainly riding cyclocross bikes. Various reasons for this; training for the 3 peaks and regular cross races plus the chainstays on my old 853 road bike rusted right through just behind the bb shell; a sad day but the old Raleigh isn't dead yet, she'll be back to worry the carbon bikes on the local club run one day soon.
For the first time I managed a whole season of cyclocross, finishing up fourth in the Eastern League, not bad but the top three were always just out of reach, a tad frustrating but the races were always close and fun. Hopefully more cyclocross this year and a top 3 overall. Getting into the cross races taught me much about tactics and racecraft- hopefully some useful skills that can be carried over into other forms of bike racing. Plan for the coming year is to get back to some serious XC racing after a few years of fun endurance type events. So no long stuff this year, focus on getting the results and racking up some points. Here are a few pictures to sum up my cyclocross exploits...
My car failed it's MOT and buying another would have had a big impact on the bike fund so trips home are now mainly done by train from Peterborough up to Edinburgh. Luckily it seems no worries taking a bike on this line and instead of hammering it up the motorway I can read a book and take it easy, all good.
Training ride round the Tala loop; my favourite training ride back home.
Up the top of the Old Man of Coniston getting some practise in for the 3 Peaks.
3 pictures taken riding down off Helvellyn, some of this was fairly hairy on the 'cross bike, hopefully get back on the mtb.
The Corsa packed with spare wheels for the 3 Peaks, thankfully none were needed. Thanks to Emma for letting me use her car as a bike van for the whole 'cross season.
Not a great start to the regular cross season, half way into the race and my left hand crank fell off. Thankfully this was the only mechanical of the year and after this poor results could only be atributed to a lack of fittness!
So that was the last few months of 2010.
Roll on the first races of 2011.
5 comments:
nice one Stevo, well done with the cross racing.
great to hear you're fired up for racing in 2011. Are you planning on doing the 3 peaks again? I'm well up for riding it and getting back into some hill running beforehand, maybe even a few cheeky fell races.
Good job, Stevo! Shame to only see you for one race. Train is much more civilised than the car...
nice update, 2011 is going to be classic, I can feel it in my bones.
Hey lets hope for some big results in 2011- get the VCM colours on some podiums.
Andy- not sure on the 3 Peaks yet, probably not as the last NPS is at Plymouth on the Saturday. However the 1st 4 NPS are all out the way before entries open for 3^ so if they go wrong and there's no point doing the last round I'll enter 3^ for some fun. Fell racing sounds good, was practising my decending skills on the hill behind home at Christmas, still a long way off the good guys at going down! You going to Mallorca? Later on sH
Yep, getting out to Mallorca for a week in March, 19th - 26th. Don will be there and then he's coming to Scotland for the week after. 4 years since I was last there! Don't think i'll get anywhere near my best time up Sa Colabra!
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