Tag Archives: hardrider

The Hardrider treatment

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taking the bike for a walk

Today’s stage of Tirreno-Adriatico was an exercise in living purgatory for the (fool)hardy bicycle racers. It included 3 ascents of the Muro di Sant’Elpidio, a piffling 27% ramp which caused mayhem and destruction. Horrible rain and wind contributed towards an enormous list of 54 DNFs. When even Zdenek Stybar calls it ”one of the hardest days in my career”, you know it’s been tough.

Stybar in happier, simpler times

It was too much even for some of the hardened members of the peloton;

“It has nothing to do with bike racing, I call it sadomaso”; Cancellara

“In dry conditions would have been the hardest parcours I’ve ever done! With rain and wind turned into something between epic and insane!”; Quinziato.

Chris Froome lost time to Nibali who managed to get into a breakaway with well-known mountain goat Peter Sagan. It was a peculiar day where the form book and any sense of normality was rent asunder by the savagery of the weather and the parcours. Froome said he was overgeared on a 36:28. Sanchez changed bikes just so he could use a 30 tooth cassette.

Zig-zag wanderer, as Don van Vliet might have said.

All of which made for a brilliant spectacle as the professionals zig-zagged their way up the cliff face with all the elegance of drunken lizard.

Meanwhile, I managed to squeak into the online version of Cycling Weekly. I like it when that happens.

Scratch

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The startsheets are coming thick and fast. This weekend is the Severn 25 and the weather looks and feels unspeakably cold. It will take all of my mental fortitude to make my way out to the push and ride this event. I have no desire to tackle the U17 in minus temperatures. However, it’s a key part of my training for the more serious stuff in March. we shall see.

Speaking of the more serious stuff, the startsheet for the Chippenham Hilly is out. Last year it was run off in the kind of temperatures that did for Captain Oates. Everyone is hoping for milder weather. The big beasts are out in force: including big Jeff and big Rob. Both are national champions.

Big Rob, the fastest dentist (and 49 year old) anywhere in all of the world

I scanned the list of riders and had a moment of genuine panic when i couldn’t initially see my name in amongst the field. I’d expected it to see it with the seeds in the middle somewhere but it wasn’t there. A closer inspection showed I had somehow, for some reason, been made the scratch rider. Normally I wouldn’t mind and there’s always a bit of latitude with these things, but on this occasion I was unnerved to be ranked (ostensibly) ahead of the two top guns. I asked the organiser why this might be. He’s a really nice chap. Apparently he calculated the speed of various riders by using a formula that factors up results in a hilly 24 by 1.16 in order to level the time with a fast 25. This was new to me, i’d always gone on the previous year or like for like times.

All of which doesn’t change the fact that I’m the scratch rider. This has happened before but generally it’s because I happen to be the fastest rider on paper and in the event. I’m looking forward to it and hope that I get a good result. There’s no genuine pressure because everyone knows the real order of things and that i’m not as quick as the seeding suggests.

I’m looking forward to the first real hilly. It’s time for the real racing to start. I’m also excited to see lots of BSCC on the startsheet.

 

 

WTTA Hardriders

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The WTTA Hardriders series is something i write about periodically, usually in the aftermath of another savagely undulating time trial in the middle of the countryside somewhere. It’s a set of about 13 events across the season, starting in early March and finishing with the BSCC hill climb in late October. Points are awarded for each race, with 120 for the win. Your 6 best scores become your counting events and there are prizes for the overall at the end of the year. Last year I was 4th overall with 705 points out of a possible 720. This year, i’ve managed to accumulate 717 points so far, 3 short of the maximum, which puts me firmly into 2nd place in the district. Unfortunately, a win is out of the question because Rob Pears has 720 points already and there aren’t enough events left to catch him, which i couldn’t do anyway because he’s too fast.

It’s a brilliant series and about as far away from chasing fast times on dual carriageways as the sport can be. Courses are testing, hilly and often very scenic. They attract a real range of competitors and there is a greater sense of camaraderie amongst those foolish enough to line up and take part. This year the first event, Chippenham, created a sort of ‘blitz’ spirit; it was the most brutal event I have ever ridden in my life.

Today was the Minehead Hardrider, organised by Peter Whitfield, an eminent cycling historian and all round good egg. Last year i rode and managed to obliterate the course record and the rest of the field, lapping everyone. It helped that i was riding the TT weapon and everyone else was on road bikes. It also helped that no-one else quite as fast had entered. In simple terms, it was a chipper, but a brilliant race nonetheless and I was delighted to get my first open win. I was on form that weekend and rode well. This year, having become part of the series, it featured a heck of a lot more aero-bongo than one solitary bike and skinsuit. The locals, out in force to support (which was really grand and very impressive) were quite excited by the aero-smut. They gazed longingly at Dan’s Trek Speed Concept, and felt the carbon fibre with an inquisitive fingertip along the top-tube.

I had a series of goals. I would like to have won, but this meant i would have to vanquish the mighty and all-powerful Robin Coomber who has been riding his TT bike this year verily like he hath stolen it and is in need of a rapid escape. I wanted also to squeak inside my course record, which would be academic if Robin smashed it to pieces, but still vaguely satisfying because it would be a PB. I managed to slice a gargantuan 2 seconds off my previous time, carding a 1.05.26 (ish?). Robin said he had turned in a 58. This was startling. I told him his ride was ‘mind-blowing’. He has put 7 minutes into me. I couldn’t even begin to comprehend how he had done this. It meant a 26mph ride over a course that twisted and turned and rose and fell as though based on George Hincapie’s Leg Brain™. I was somewhat relieved when it became apparent he had suffered some sort of garmin malfunction and actually beat me by about a minute instead.

It was a great day out on the bike. It restored some of my motivation which has been rent asunder by a combination of cheese, ale, weddings, summer holidays, watching charolais cattle in burgundy fields, more cheese, white wine and bread.

The Westbury White Horse Hardrider

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One of the nice things about the hardrider series is the range of amazing locations. it’s been said before, but it’s a league away from the A419. The Westbury Wheelers have been running an event for a few years now that heads  across, over and around Salisbury Plain, with the finish beneath the Westbury White Horse.

white horse and iron age encampment

The course runs around the edge of the military range on the Plain and is criss-crossed with the parallel mud marks of tanks and other assorted weapons of death. it’s a quaint juxtaposition. Red flags and angry signs warn of live-firing, lest you miss a turning and find yourself head down in the village of Imber, wondering where those marshalls are and why the army appear to be trying to kill time triallists.

unexploded military ordinance, do not leave the carriageway

the marshalling was exemplary, lots of people and lots of red flags and pointing. it’s reassuring. there was quite a bit of traffic, the race seemed to coincide with the moment when the brave Wiltshire burghers decided to get into their various cars and horse boxes and drive around quite slowly in a gentle fug, before being freaked into a panic-ridden state of catalepsy by crazed time-triallists on the charge. I got held up three times, once coming to a complete stop because of a bad decision by a car up front. I gave him a piece of my caffeine-fuelled, adrenaline-addled mind. It disrupted my rhythm for a while, but i was soon back in the tunnel of time-trialling darkness, head down, eyes up the road and the noise of the wind amplified by my spaceship helmet.

It was a fast course that suited me. There were lots of hills but they went up in a big-ring friendly 5% or 6% gradient. I say ‘big ring’ friendly, most people I spoke to afterwards were reaching for the Granny (the lowest gear you’ve got, usually the inner ring on a triple which, like Grandmother, is somewhat lacking in teeth) to give it a good shake. I then said that i could have gone into the small ring, but I would only have had to change back up again in a  couple of minutes so it seemed silly. I didn’t add at this point that it meant i was riding up the hills in the 54:23, that would have been uncouth and unchivalrous

 

I fancied second place today. This was because Dean Robson was down to start. He’s a handy cyclist who has previously won the national time trial series and had a CTT scholarship to race in France. He won the Little Mountain time trial a couple of weeks ago. Dean is one of those people who looks fast even when walking around the HQ. The other usual suspects were out and about, but no Rob Pears who is riding the National 10 Championships (good luck!).

cornering

I wasn’t sure how my legs would stand up to two days of abuse on the TT whip, although it’s as much mental as physical. I followed on from my most recent strategic shift: ride as hard as possible from the start and then carry on to the finish, without letting the mind wander at inopportune moments. It worked well, i managed a 25.2mph average speed, just above evens, stopping the clock at 54.42, a minute ahead of Dean and also Matt Burden. It was great to see Matt riding so well, he’s had a really tough time of late. Sometimes when life gets utterly overwhelming, the pleasure to be had from riding a bike fast through beautiful scenery can be something simple and profound.

The prizes were the usual cash money, but with the addition of a bag of John Hurd’s Traditionally Bunched Organic Watercress. This is one of the odder prizes i have taken home but it is exciting and adds another dimension to tonight’s dinner. In another great day for the club, Mary jane took the fastest lady (said the bishop to the actress) and Rob took the lanterne rouge, clearly he has half an eye on the lucrative post-hardrider criteriums.

the pain and glory of the race of truth expressed through the medium of organic watercress

It’s been a great weekend and i’ve exceeded my expectations and aims. I had an idea that I might just bag a win if the Gods smiled benevolently on my awkward progress, but to take two open wins in a row has left me grinning from ear to ear.

C+CCC Hilly ’23′

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I like the initials of the Cheltenham and County Cycling Club. Today they hosted the first hardrider in a little while on a 2 lap circuit in the Cotswolds. The loop started off very very quickly and ended very very slowly with a long drag up to the finish. My fastest speed was 51mph which is, as my Dad used to day, PDQ. This means ‘pretty darned quick’ in Dadspeak.

Today’s big gorillas were Matt Clinton, erstwhile National Hillclimb Champion with a host of other garlands to his name, and Ben Anstie of Cadence Cannondale, gearing himself up for the National 10 mile Championship next weekend. I was hoping, possibly, that the hilly bits might give me a shout of claiming Ben’s scalp for the second time this season, but would also settle for 3rd. I accepted the fact that Matt was likely to win, barring some strange deus ex machina. Matt is a class rider, and generally a cut above us mere mortals. He is all sinew and bike muscle.

The roads around Temple Guiting were really bad, strewn with potholes that claimed a number of victims through unscheduled deflations and at least one expensive looking disc wheel catastrophe. I made round in one piece, just. At one point whilst in the tuck, descending at about 40mph, I hit a lump of something and my elbows momentarily left the pads and the front wheel left the ground. At about the same time i felt a wave of sudden fear and alarm, but it all came back together nicely and I clung on.

Today was painful, on the second lap my legs were starting to complain and I felt the lactic build up from two hard efforts in two days. I tried to stay focused and keep riding as fast as I could. Fatigue began to set in, but this was at least partly caused by the fact that i decided to go off at a ‘ten’ pace and then just carry on. This is the strategy that works best for me. I figured i could rest on the downhill bits and let my heartrate drop slightly. I caught my minute man within about 3 miles or so, if that. He was riding a folding bike, for which i applaud him, sort of. With his 104″ vs my 129″ there was only ever going to be one winner in the battle of the bikes.

Unlike Ed’s bike, this one really is for popping to the shops

The headwind up the last long climb meant it was a slower day than last year. However, i went quicker, by around 45 seconds, and somehow managed a dead heat with Ben Anstie for a share of 2nd place. It’s a really tough course with around 2000ft of climbing in some nasty bundles, so I’m pleased with the outcome and also with managing to get a 23mph average.

It was a good weekend and the sunshine made a profound difference, both yesterday and today. This week heralds a new challenge on the bike. I am nervous, but I am going to ride as hard as I possibly can. No change there then. (apart from the other day on the first bit of the r25, but i’m burying that in the dark recesses of my subconscious).

Riding Uphill Fast: GDW Open Hardrider

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After last week’s cyclonic descent into hell, this week’s race was played out in beautiful conditions. There was some lingering mist across the tops of the hills, but it was warm enough to dispense with the kneewarmers and the heavy duty overshoes. it helped the scarring memory of last week to gently fade into the ether. Dennis and Paul are two of the timekeepers that appear regularly at district events, they are very friendly. i usually chat to them on the startline, it takes my mind off the torturous effort to follow. Dennis remarked that i would have nothing to write about on the blog – something like: ‘clement weather, riders happy, cycling done’. i was secretly flattered that he read my blog. in all the chit chat i forgot to set my garmin so ended up fiddling with it on the way up the climb.

very nasty start, very fast finish

There were a number of bristol south riders on the start sheet, 6 in total. Reinforcing our presence was the magisterial wonder of Allen Jane’s car with its custom BSCC paint job. It rounded out the picture beautifully. It was great to have so many clubmates, there is a solidarity amongst those of us brave enough climb onto the hilly time trial carousel (and an even more pronounced solidarity amongst the VOTCH – veterans of the chippenham hardrider – brigade).

Dan, Allen and the team car. there is a lot going on in this picture.

the gillingham course is relatively short, coming in at 19 miles. it starts with a 1.2 mile climb up and out of bruton which the organisers designated a ‘prime’, with a prize going to the fastest ascent. once over the top it’s relatively straightforward for a while, before hitting a series of morale-destroying false flats and 1/2% climbs. not unlike a night out at the Vauxhall Tavern: exhausting and beset by unnecessary and intense drag. these sections link together to form a sort of 6 mile ‘super drag’.

unnecessary super-drag

Gillingham Hardrider Course

once up and rolling i enjoyed most of it, except for the long and drawn out false flat. it hurt a lot and i felt that i wasn’t going fast enough. in my head i think i managed to convince myself that i was, and that everyone else would be experiencing similar issues. this sort of relativity is helpful and stops me worrying and getting ground down by the tougher sections of the course. A hill is always a hill, you expect it to take a toll, but a false flat into a headwind plays a deceptive and damaging game with your perception.

I managed a 46.36 last year, good enough for 7th and a really promising ride. This year i wanted to get as near to 45 minutes as i could. this meant i would have to do a 25mph ride on a really hilly course. i figured it was possible and i would have to manage it if i was going to get 2nd place which was my ‘A’ target. I try and avoid fatalism, but Rob Pears is really very fast indeed and unless the road climbs without end for the whole 19 miles it’s unlikely i’ll catch him.

the hillclimb threw a bit of excitement into the mix. i knew i’d go for it and wouldn’t really be able to not take up the challenge. it’s essentially my pride as a hillclimber that was at stake. There’s no point referring to yourself, however obliquely, as being ‘good at hills’ if you’re not then prepared to go out and make it happen. With this in mind i opted for a really simple strategy: go really hard at the beginning all the way up the climb to bag the prize then carry on all the way to the finish without stopping. I think it was a successful strategy because these things, these horrible hardrider things, are based on how much you can hurt yourself and how hard you can go for a set period of time. yesterday i went really hard and put in a huge effort all the way round. the result of this was a really quick time of 43.37, coming second to Rob by less than a minute. I made up all of my time on the ups and he stole it back on the last 5 miles, where he rode at a 33mph average to my 30mph. i managed to beat Dave and Derek, (like Derek and Clive, but in lycra) by a minute and a half and two minutes respectively. It was a very good day, made even better by just how close I got to Rob. He sportingly said that I ‘was getting dangerous’.

I won the hillclimb prime by around 15 seconds from the next rider. This is quite a lot over 4 minutes. It was an ‘unofficial’ prize because it hadn’t been sanctioned or recorded by a CTT timekeeper – club timekeepers don’t carry the same weight. I don’t value it any less and in fact, the surreptitious nature of it feels strangely daring. You’ve got to love the anachronisms of the CTT. It’s like the freemasons, but a bit cuddlier and without the special handshake, conspiracies and blackballing.

shhh!

Next week it’s the Severn Hardrider, then Bath after that. With a bit of luck and some ferocious pedalling i might have a decent points total by the end of the month. If you’re thinking of racing any of the events this year then i’d wholly recommend them as fantastic introductions to time trialling. The details are on the West DC website.

Rest Days

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After a couple of days of doing a total kimmage (he was overtaken by a  fully laden cyclotourist on the galibier whilst racing the Tour De France, it’s safe to say he had the mother of all bonks), i opted to have a day off yesterday. i think a few things conspired against me; the common cold, general fatigue, and a forgetfulness when it came to the likely after-effects of the first race of the season on my legs and lungs.

today i got back on the bike and felt great. i still have the vestiges of the cold rattling around my nasal cavities, but it isn’t anything in particular to speak of. i rode quickly up belmont and then did a 25 mile variable paced effort on the way home, riding hard on the hills and recovering to a certain extent on the flat. i feel like the week hasn’t been a total write-off and i can look forward (if possible) to the start of the hardriders the following weekend.

this weekend sees the second race of the season, the Severn 25 which takes in the graveyard and then throws in two short and nasty loops to make up the distance. graham douchebag will be riding. it’s a short hop for him in comparison to his usual 978 mile treks to wales and back in 24 hours. or whatever else these crazed audax types get up to.

Team Time Trials!

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Today was a first for me – riding the race of truth, the solitary endeavour, the lonely ride – except unusually with two clubmates at the Chippenham and District 3up. it was really peculiar, and a total blast. the course was that used for the swindon hardrider, a circuit visited back in april. this time i was riding with andy and dan, two big chaps with a lot of power, but a few minor issues when it comes to putting out that kind of power when the road suddenly, and violently, crests upwards.

there were a few composite teams in evidence, which was great, it’s people from different clubs banding together to get a ride. one of them was particularly fast, a sort of hardriders dreamteam of alec baskaya, rob pears and derek smetham. there were also what seemed to be more triathletes than you could shake a sleeveless jersey at. two of the ‘tri’ teams were a bit late getting back. this was the cause for much mirth, along the lines of… ‘maybe they’re still swimming in the kennet and avon canal’, or ‘maybe they got confused in avebury and thought it was a transfer’. one thing was for sure, they had expensive bicycles, shoes and gear, and even more expensive cars. but then again, they can afford to do three sports, so it’s to be expected.

we did a quick warmup, practised our changes, then lined up for the start. it was very exciting, with three minute intervals between teams. i don’t have a photo, but we did look resplendent in our matching red and gold skinsuits, and we even had matching red prendras overshoes, more by luck than judgement, but it looked very lovely and if there was a prize for the most co-oordinated, 1980s throwback, garish but matching team kit, then we would have won by a mile.

there were two big hills on the circuit, these did for the others. there was no point in me putting the hammer down, i simply would have had to wait at the top. in a TTT, it’s all about working together and keeping it going, helping each other, staying tight and taking turns on the front. i paced the climbs, trying to keep the three of us together, even though it was quite tricky, insofar as it was the first time i’ve ridden a hill below threshold in a race effort for some time – what with being in the midst of a serious hillclimbing block of training.  once we got to the far side of the course a fierce headwind really whipped up, it was very tough, and amplified by a section of road which had been scored in preparation for resurfacing. it all got a bit paris-roubaix and destroyed both rhythm and speed. at one point though we were in an echelon formation, riding diagonally and to the side. this is quite possibly the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me on a bicycle. i felt like a continental pro, albeit a very very slow continental pro. maybe a really old one. with one leg.

the second climb – near the finish – was really tough, and Dan, to my considerable admiration, turned himself absolutely inside out to get up it. I was really impressed. we blasted across the line to clock 58. 10, or thereabouts. we were behind two of the composite teams, but came 2nd overall for clubs, which is where the prize money and kudos were contained. at least in my myopic field of vision. above all else, the event was a real blast, i’ve not enjoyed a time trial as much in ages. the riding together was great, it felt good to be part of the club and i enjoyed the camaraderie. i shall ignore the fact that i rode it in 55.10 on April 17th and rejoice in the club colours. andy’s data is quite interesting, looking at the heart rate graph at the bottom you can clearly see the effect of riding on the front, it’s a spiky profile.

incidentally it was the last competitive outing for the stealth, which is now heading off to pastures new, to be replaced my a younger, more lithesome and erotic model, replete with slippery curves and secret recesses. more on this smutty little creature later.

Winning a Time Trial (and setting a course record)

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I imagine some cyclists go their whole cycling lives without winning an open event. Crossing the line first in a club event is great, but it’s not quite the same as that elusive Open win. however, there are so many mitigating factors that conspire, and quarrel, and ultimately stop so many of us from reaching the top step of the podium.

Wanting to win something can be a bit of an albatross, 2nd and 3rd is great, but bagging that 1st place, even if you only do it once, is a real game-changer. I’ve come second quite a few times; normally to Tejvan, but also to other super-quick chaps on expensive bikes. it’s something i’m used to, and i don’t bemoan it, in fact, it’s brilliant. i also come 10th or 11th often in flat events where the field is very very strong, and find real comfort in that. like in the man-with-no-pants race, where i came 10th. i count that as right up there with numerous second places.

setting a course record is another thing altogether; and it’s not often that you get the chance. it requires a relatively new course that hasn’t been ridden by someone like rob pears or chris boardman. last year i came within 45 seconds of the course record on the Black Mountain. In short, whatever the context, a new course record means you have ridden that race quicker than anyone else ever.

yesterday, i rode the Minehead Hilly, it’s a 26 mile course that undulates and rolls over the exmoor countryside. there is a whopping great big climb at the beginning and the end of a 12 mile lap. the course record was 1.13 or so, around 21mph average, and set by Andy Winterbottom, a 20 minute man on a 10 course. I thought a few others would enter; alec and steve no less, but they turned their attention to other races. the field didn’t look terrifically strong on paper, maybe three or four pretty handy timetriallists and a lot of club riders from Minehead. I began to harbour thoughts of the win, and also quietly hoped that i might be in with a shout of the course record.

I took the TT bike with full disc, the lot, but began to fear i had made a terrible mistake; no-one else was riding a TT machine. there were some tribars, but that was about it. a few aero helmets, shoe covers, things like that, but no proper pyscho stuff. i also saw a guy on  cervelo r3SL, a veritable hill-climbers bike if ever i saw one, and felt more anxious. one of the officials pointed at my disc wheel and tittered, looked at the weather and made comments about ‘wind speed’ and ‘gates’. i remained unconvinced though, my experience of hardrider events this year has taught me that TT bikes are nearly always quicker, unless the course is absolutely ridiculously hilly and hard. this one – the u26 – was very hilly, but the far side was essentially a 7 mile blast down a valley through winsford with a tailwind.even on the startline i made a joke; about how i felt like i’d turned up in fancy dress to a wedding, or something like that, and a chap said ‘that’s ‘cos it’s a hilly event’, with extra emphasis on the hilly bit, as though i was making a catastrophic error of judgement. maybe this put a bit of wind in my sails, i’m not sure. it’s not like a had choice, although i did take some lighter wheels with me.

i went off quite conservatively, caught three people by the top of the first climb, then proceeded to tear past the rest of the field in a most ungainly fashion. it felt fast, really really fast in fact. my legs were working and seemingly free of lactic build-up, i paced the climbs perfectly. i tore down the valley at around 35mph, sometimes more, rarely less than 32mph, then took the final climb in the big ring, riding at a remorseless pace and rhythm. i felt so good that i was almost certain the course record was there for the taking; i didn’t check the average speed because i knew i was up on 21mph. i prayed for no mechanical catastrophes. I was the 18th rider off, and suspect quite strongly that by the end i had caught pretty much every single rider ahead of me. it was that kind of day.there were two behind me, the scratch rider and one other.

both the second and third placed riders beat the course record, with 1.13.27  and a 1.12.36. i came 1st with a 1.05.30, a full 7 minutes ahead of the second placed rider and over 8 minutes inside the course record at around a 24mph average speed. the promoting club members were a bit gobsmacked, as was I. the finish line was busy, a crowd of supporters had turned out and it really was a fantastic event to ride – and win.

peter whitfield’s race report:

“It was quite a memorable day: great weather, a very safe but very challenging course, and everyone talking about Paul Jones’s amazing new course and event record, smashing the old record by more than 8 minutes. He came past me going uphill about 5 mph faster than I was, sitting down, on the tri-bars, smooth as silk, and he vanished from sight in about 20 seconds – something special. But Leigh Pinchen and Michael Waterjohns were both inside the old record too: pity we can’t give new-record prizes to all three.”

i shall now cease blowing my own trumpet.