Not a good week for me mechanically with two punctures travelling to work on Wednesday and the folding pedal falling off my Brompton on Thursday (brilliant design but just not robust enough when grinding up a hill), so I suppose it should have been no surprise that I punctured on my one warm up lap before today's race. So, as Doug sent us off, my bike was upside down in the mud while I swapped a replacement back wheel borrowed from a kind soul. I first assumed he was there for the next race but maybe he was a spectator. Anyway this was not his spare wheel, you should understand, it was the wheel taken off his bike so I really do owe him one. The circuit has spares but all Shimano equipped.
So I spent my first half lap sprinting to get up to the group which had fortunately this week gone off at a moderate pace. I raced 'blind' as my Garmin was in my back pocket being protected from the mud. (Yes, I know, mechanically skilled people do not turn their bikes upside down but I find it reduces the chance of fluffing a rear wheel change and I was in a hurry).
The borrowed wheel served me very well, for a while I thought it was squeaking loudly but I eventually figured out that was number 50 who seemed to be in my vicinity for much of the race. There was a stiff West wind which served to thwart the attempts of the few who tried to get away. [Edit: no it didn't, there was a succesful break and clearly I did not know what was going on!]. I thought there might be a risk of a split with the crosswind so tried to stay near the front. Getting right to the front, though, was a definite mistake as it was hard to drop back without the entire pack coming by on the leeward side.
We eventually passed the 4ths reasonably cleanly though there was one rider who just could not resist latching onto our race.
It had been drizzling as I arrived at the circuit, but for the last 20 minutes of our race we were treated to glorious winter sunshine. This appeared to relax everybody and the pace slowed right down. The field was at least twice as large as it has been in recent weeks so as the race slowed and bunched it was hard to get by.
With 5 laps to go everybody decided simultaneoulsy it was time to move up the field so the pace distinctly quickened. On the back straight of the final lap quite a few of us lost contact with the bunch. With that number jostling in a sprint, there is always the risk of mishap; a few riders went off into the grass and one unfortunate rider fell heavily on the finishing straight.
26 miles in 01:05:40. Average 24.3 mph.
While I was racing, a journalist was trying to contact me. It sadly seems to require a high profile death before the editors of national newspapers are interest in cyclists' safety. Keep an eye out for an article by Paul Bignell in tomorrow's Independant.
Showing posts with label Racing Hillingdon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Racing Hillingdon. Show all posts
Imperial Winter Series Race 2
A good day for the first of the terrific Doug and Lucy Collins’ Imperial Racing Winter Series for this season. Dry with a temperature of +9°C and a light westerly wind (though it always seems a bit stronger at Hillingdon). The series was planned to kick off last Saturday but the ice and snow on the circuit made cancellation inevitable. We will be lucky if that is the only race to be lost to this icy winter.
I signed on a little apprehensively for I had somehow stepped up from 4th category to 3rd category since last winter. I need not have worried though; the speed was very similar, though there was some more tactical riding with bursts of energy interspersed with collective breathers while we waited to see what move would happen next.
Early on I discovered I was not in good enough form to keep up with the rider who keenly sprinted straight off the start or to get into any break. There were some early attempts, but I did not have the strength to go with them and no-one had the strength to stay away (maybe the ice hasn’t affected just my training, though I somehow suspect most others have a turbo in the garage). My club coach was watching, and he had once advised me to settle for an objective of staying near the front for as long as possible. It was therefore largely for his benefit that at 3 laps to go I was at the front; indeed with the sprint on everybody’s minds I had trouble getting off the front and then struggled with the inevitable acceleration in the last couple of laps.
I was at the back discussing with my old racing companion, James, how it might not be wise to compete the sprint, when the wisdom of that joint thought was borne out by a crash on the home straight. Bikes came down to the left of me and then immediately afterwards one to the right of me. I do hope they are all ok. I carried on to roll over the line just off the back of the bunch, which pretty much met my objective of the day.
25 miles in 1h02m. Average speed 24.2 mph. Top speed 30mph just before slowing for the crash.
I signed on a little apprehensively for I had somehow stepped up from 4th category to 3rd category since last winter. I need not have worried though; the speed was very similar, though there was some more tactical riding with bursts of energy interspersed with collective breathers while we waited to see what move would happen next.
Early on I discovered I was not in good enough form to keep up with the rider who keenly sprinted straight off the start or to get into any break. There were some early attempts, but I did not have the strength to go with them and no-one had the strength to stay away (maybe the ice hasn’t affected just my training, though I somehow suspect most others have a turbo in the garage). My club coach was watching, and he had once advised me to settle for an objective of staying near the front for as long as possible. It was therefore largely for his benefit that at 3 laps to go I was at the front; indeed with the sprint on everybody’s minds I had trouble getting off the front and then struggled with the inevitable acceleration in the last couple of laps.
I was at the back discussing with my old racing companion, James, how it might not be wise to compete the sprint, when the wisdom of that joint thought was borne out by a crash on the home straight. Bikes came down to the left of me and then immediately afterwards one to the right of me. I do hope they are all ok. I carried on to roll over the line just off the back of the bunch, which pretty much met my objective of the day.
25 miles in 1h02m. Average speed 24.2 mph. Top speed 30mph just before slowing for the crash.
Imperial Winter Series Race 12 Saturday 13th February
Temperatures above zero but felt bitterly cold in the north wind as a good (ie medium) number of riders lined up for the start in light snow. Alex Murray made a brave early attempt at a break. By the time I figured out it might be an idea to join him the bunch had woken up. A two man break from the 3rd cat race came past and those at the front didn't want to let them go, leading to a higher pace than usual until the 3rd cat bunch went by and we eased to let them past and then to create a gap. We zoomed down the back straight and bunched together on the finishing straight but as I found when I hit the front into the wind there was no option but to slow. My Garmin shows 30.6 mph on the back straight on the final lap but that was not sufficient to do anything other than hang on at the back. No crashes this week in our race so I rolled in at the back of the bunch.
Average Speed 23.6 mph.
That's the last one for this winter and I have done all 11 (one was cancelled when deep snow lay on the circuit). So why do I do it, given that I don't have a ghost of a chance of winning points? Here are some thoughts in case they assist those who contemplate doing this next winter.
1. The races are very well organised, cheerfully and efficiently by the Collins family who turn up every Saturday all winter to stand around in the cold (it's much colder if you're standing around than if you're racing) and chip ice or sweep mud off the circuit. Register in advance and it takes moments to scribble your name and go. They take the trouble to place all the finishers, not just the first 10 or first few, and to place those results with pictures within a couple of days on the net. They deserve support.
2. I love cycling and it doesn't come better than whizzing around in a bunch racing. It hones skills such as bike control and spatial awareness that are readily transferable to doing much better in sportives and to surviving in traffic. Plus it's a bonus to mingle with other keen cyclists whether teammates or rivals.
3. The circuit itself is safe; bicycle traffic means no potholes, no ruts, no risk of a collision with anything fast and heavy. OK, there is the risk of a crash and if you are very unfortunate you could break a collar bone. However nobody (so far as I am aware) has ever died or suffered catastrophic injury riding circuit races (if only the same were true of commuting, time trialling or even clubruns). So the risk/reward balance to my mind clearly favours racing over not racing, though I am the first to back off if I sense danger, and risk can be reduced further by always making your movements predictable to those around you.
4. I am the type that needs the external motivation to make an effort. I can sustain a heart rate at around 160 bpm for an hour in a race. On my own, the power of my will is such that I might average 120. Must be good for me and I don't do gyms or turbos.
5. It's not therefore the winning but the taking part. I reserve performing at the highest level to my profession. My cycling, like my piano playing, may be mediocre to poor; but much better to do it poorly than not at all.
So I may never get a point but it is nonetheless rewarding and I recommed it.
Average Speed 23.6 mph.
That's the last one for this winter and I have done all 11 (one was cancelled when deep snow lay on the circuit). So why do I do it, given that I don't have a ghost of a chance of winning points? Here are some thoughts in case they assist those who contemplate doing this next winter.
1. The races are very well organised, cheerfully and efficiently by the Collins family who turn up every Saturday all winter to stand around in the cold (it's much colder if you're standing around than if you're racing) and chip ice or sweep mud off the circuit. Register in advance and it takes moments to scribble your name and go. They take the trouble to place all the finishers, not just the first 10 or first few, and to place those results with pictures within a couple of days on the net. They deserve support.
2. I love cycling and it doesn't come better than whizzing around in a bunch racing. It hones skills such as bike control and spatial awareness that are readily transferable to doing much better in sportives and to surviving in traffic. Plus it's a bonus to mingle with other keen cyclists whether teammates or rivals.
3. The circuit itself is safe; bicycle traffic means no potholes, no ruts, no risk of a collision with anything fast and heavy. OK, there is the risk of a crash and if you are very unfortunate you could break a collar bone. However nobody (so far as I am aware) has ever died or suffered catastrophic injury riding circuit races (if only the same were true of commuting, time trialling or even clubruns). So the risk/reward balance to my mind clearly favours racing over not racing, though I am the first to back off if I sense danger, and risk can be reduced further by always making your movements predictable to those around you.
4. I am the type that needs the external motivation to make an effort. I can sustain a heart rate at around 160 bpm for an hour in a race. On my own, the power of my will is such that I might average 120. Must be good for me and I don't do gyms or turbos.
5. It's not therefore the winning but the taking part. I reserve performing at the highest level to my profession. My cycling, like my piano playing, may be mediocre to poor; but much better to do it poorly than not at all.
So I may never get a point but it is nonetheless rewarding and I recommed it.
Imperial Winter Series Race 11 Saturday 6th February
Average speed 23.8 mph.
Imperial Winter Series Race 10 Saturday 30th January
had gone by and I found it safe to stop. A little run across Minet Park back to the finish hut where I swapped my rear wheel for a circuit spare and reentered the race. My aim was simply to finish comfortably in the bunch and I even started to move up in the penultimate lap before another major collision just ahead caused some sharp braking and loss of contact with the bunch. I sprinted after them but to no avail. I do hope those that came down are ok: hurts like hell for a while but at least it is slightly more heroic to come down in a race than on sheet ice.
Av Speed: I cannot say because of the puncture but the 3rd cats did not catch us this week. [Postscript 24.3mph, source Lance Woodman]
Imperial Winter Series Race 6/12
Cold but a lot less wind today as around 40 lined up for the start. The absence of a strong headwind made it more promising for break aways and a few tried it. The best effort from my vantage point was from Gavin Percy of DNA Cycles who accelerated away from the pack half way through the race as though he really meant it. He was joined by two more. Another with me on his wheel tried to make it 5 but the bunch were closing fast so the orginal 3 sat up. The 3rd cats did catch us today; again it took a while for them to squeeze by and we then coasted around for a couple of laps to create enough space for us to sprint into and while the few who had sailed into the 3rd cat bunch were ordered back. There were perhaps as a result too many fresh legs for the sprint. On the last lap at the back straight two riders were forced off the track onto the grass bank but demonstrated sufficient bike handling skills to remain upright. Further trouble came in the closing sprint with a pile up towards the rear of the bunch just in front of me. There was talk of a tyre burst but I heard the loud crack or bang during the pile up not just before it.
Frighteningly we are now already half way through the series. I hope to do them all this year.
Average speed 23.3mph today but this includes the neutralised period to create the gap between the races. Proper racing was 21.6m in 54m22s, equivalent to 23.8mph.
Frighteningly we are now already half way through the series. I hope to do them all this year.
Average speed 23.3mph today but this includes the neutralised period to create the gap between the races. Proper racing was 21.6m in 54m22s, equivalent to 23.8mph.
Imperial Series New Year's Day
Another cold day with a wind; this time from the North giving a stiff headwind on the home straight. Around 30 on the start line. This time very stop/start pace with the speed sometimes reducing to that of a club run (with riders freewheeling down the straights!) but winding up greatly whenever I (or anyone else) tried to get away. This time a rider did come with me and urged me onto his wheel but I was incapable of maintaining his speed. (New Year's Resolution: I really must work on short efforts). The headwind led to a bunching on the final straight so with loads boxed in and shouting I simply follwed a wheel at the rear and probably came in 20-somethingth.
Average Speed 23mph.
Average Speed 23mph.
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