Velo Club Moulin

Friday 22 July 2011

Alex 'Ag' McNicol

Introducing our new lanky all rounder, but don't let those svelte pins lure you into a false sense of security, this boy can ride a bike, fast, long and hard. I've known Alex for some time now, many years in fact and he seems to get faster with age, fortunately I'll be in the twighlight years of super vets by the time he gets there. 

so who is he?
Male, 30, thin & tired looking. NS, GSOH, owns own house & bicycles.
Enjoys latex sealant, sheds & time in cold, wet fields.  
Seeks like-minded people, for verbal abuse, waffles, gin & trombones.




"Had my first outing in VCM colours the other day too...

Picked up 9th at the Midlands XC in Hanchurch Woods, which was pleasantly surprising.
I've not really got round to racing this year.  Things just haven't fallen into place with one thing and another.  That's not to say I've not been riding though, just not racing much.  A while I got rid of my car so have been entirely dependent on my legs to get me to and from work.  The miles have racked up, I've done a lot for me.  The end result is that I'm not fast, just permanently knackered.  I look haggered.

However, Hanchurch is only 10 miles from home & is properly good.  The sort of place you can enjoy riding even when you're going slow - loads of tight woodland singletrack, steep little techy descents, jumpy bits & a massive bombhole type-doodah.  How could I not?

Without any points I lined up in a crappy grid position with a bike I'd cobbled together the day before.  The turn out was good & the course only had a short start straight before entering the first singletrack section, so I battled my way through the field, taking questionable lines & getting reacquainted with a heart rate I've not seen for a while.

On the first main climb I caught up with my buddy James, who has been racing pretty well & often this year.  We tussled for position for the next half a lap before I got away & pulled out a good gap.  A touch of confidence crept in my mind.  Perhaps riding your bike more does actually make you fitter after all.  The legs felt reasonably strong so I carried on moving through the field until the finish.  Quite happy with how it ended up really.  Followed it up by a far more impressive 2nd at the pub quiz that night too."
 

2 comments:

simondbarnes said...

I think that it's outrageous that you've poached Bikeshak's number 1 cyclocross racer. That makes me our number 1 now. Maybe I should do some training!

chrisD said...

its rough and tumble out there, maybe you should be training Simon, revenge is a dish best served cold and cross ;-)