Covid disappointment

I've been on the bike a lot in the past three weeks, enjoying more hours in the saddle than any when previously this year. Crunching through the autumn leaves, making the most of  the dry Southdowns trails, as I built up to the Brass Monkeys winter series. 

After a 4 hour ride on Sunday I was feeling physically well prepared. The bike was totally dialled and my order of SIS gels and Peanut Butter Cliff Bars had arrived ready to scoff during the races.

I was going to take it easy in the week building up to the first race with just a couple of short rides planned, so I was refreshed and ready to go! This would be helped by the fact I was starting a new job on Monday that required me to be in the office 5 days a week. 

After nearly two years working from home, getting up at 6.15 and spending the day in a busy office came as a bit of a culture shock. Then at Thursday lunch time I received the worrying news that I'd been in close contact with somebody in the office who had tested positive for Covid. 

I took a lateral flow test immediately which was negative, but by the time I got home it felt like my head was in a vice and I was getting short of breath. Another lateral flow this time came back positive. 

I'm now waiting for my PCR result, but I am really disappointed. The Brass Monkeys are great races to keep me focused on training through the winter months. I've also had some good series results, but this year will be the third in a row that I've been unable to compete in all the rounds and challenge for an overall series position. Gutted.

Gorrick Autumn Classic

Arriving at Frimley I was still on a bit of a high after the surprise podium at my previous race. However, this week it was back to the shorter XCO (Cross Country Olympic) race format. After my warm-up lap it was clear the 3 lap race was going to be done and dusted in about an hour. Quite different to the 6 hour battle of endurance that had seen my recent success.

The course was what we've come to expect at Highlands farm, comprising almost entirely of flowing singletrack. As I said in my last race report for the venue, brilliant fun for a Sunday social, but it can be frustrating when racing, due to the limited opportunities to pass. 

So it proved after the first mad 100m dash off the line. We all followed the leader in a long snake for the first 3 or 4 minutes. I could have, and would have liked to go faster, but we were all stuck in a fast moving convoy. Initially I didn't worry too much as everyone was still tight up to the wheel in front, but gradually the frustration grew as gaps started to form in the queue of riders ahead. 

A space started to open in front of the rider about 4 ahead of me in the snake. One by one the riders ahead slipped past until finally it was my turn. Trouble was the damage was done, this had spread us out and it was immensely hard and would take a massive amount of effort to close the gaps back down.

In fact I rode 95% of the race stranded in 11th place with the same riders in front and behind. I've well documented my recent run of finishing just outside the top 10, so there was no lack of determination to catch the rider ahead. After 60 minutes the finish line was in sight, but about now my slow twitch muscles and diesel engine were just beginning to warm up! The guy in front had his family along for support and twice each lap they would lean over the tape and cheer him. As we passed them with only a minute or two of the race to go, I was closing in on his wheel. They shouted "Go, go Daddy" and " You've got him covered Rich!" In fact I almost felt bad for them when a few minutes later I saw their eager, expectant faces at the finish line and I was in front! 

So 10th place! Not a podium, but it is my first top ten XCO result since I started racing in the Veterans category 3 years ago. Which meant I drove home with a contented smile on my face.

It had been great to race, but I'd also really enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces before and after the racing was done. So now I'm not so sure about sitting out the next XCO race in a couple of weeks as I had originally planned. I had intended to focus on longer rides in preparation for the Brass Monkeys winter series that starts on the 28th November. I'll see how I feel, watch this space.

 

Surprise result from the back of the pack

My aim for Sundays race was simply to complete the distance and enjoy myself. I intentionally started slowly, from right at the back of the pack. When I checked over my shoulder there was nobody behind me, while in front a long snake of riders wound their way up the first climb. It was brilliant to see so many out on a sunny September morning. It was by far the biggest field I have ridden in for several years, since before the Covid pandemic.

I rode at a nice comfortable pace taking care not to push too hard and taking every opportunity to freewheel, consciously saving my legs for later. This was going to be my longest ride in over a year. Being this far back in the group my speed was moderated by those around me, the only frustration being that I also couldn't enjoy the fun technical sections at full speed either.

Despite my steady approach I began to pick off riders one by one and on my 2nd lap the commentary announced I was in 8th. I was surprised and also really excited! I haven't had a top 10 result since 2019.

A few laps later I heard them mention my name again and now I had climbed to 5th! Brilliant I had time in the bag, so felt confident enough to stop and spend a minute or two in the pit area tightening my loose saddle. While I was there I also enjoyed a 2 course lunch of a Jam Sandwich and Banana!

Now over half distance I began to feel confident I was going to stay the course and finish the 6 hours. I was still not pushing hard on the pedals, but my lap times remained consistent despite tiring legs. I crossed the line with three 5 mile laps remaining and was now up to 4th. 

Even despite this news I was more concerned about blowing out and being caught from behind, than chasing the podium. I continued to hold back and save myself for the final hour of racing. It wasn't until I caught sight of the 3rd placed rider ahead that I even considered the podium was achievable.

I moved into 3rd shortly before we started the final lap, so I had a decision to make. I was out of supplies. There was nothing left in my bottle and my jersey pockets were empty. I'd been munching fig rolls and Cliff Bars almost continuously since the race had started. I didn't want to 'bonk' and cramp up on the last lap, but stopping to refuel would mean relinquishing 3rd position.

I decided to stop. I gulped down an energy gel and put a new bottle in my cage. Now, after five and a half hours I finally stopped holding back and let myself go, attacking the course with everything I had. It was my 10th lap, so I knew the best lines to take through all the corners and the challenging rooty sections. I swept back into 3rd place and charged on to complete my fastest lap of the day. 

I passed a number of riders as I hammered round the course. Most I was lapping (some for the 2nd time), but as it turned out I also moved myself up into 2nd place by the time I crossed the finishing line.

It was such a great feeling to charge to the line in a podium position! I've got pretty down about my cycling recently, so this was just what I needed to rebuild my self belief. I had in reality given up the idea of ever challenging for wins and podiums again. I'd become an also ran, propping up the midfield. This result means so much to me, as it proves that on my day I can still be competitive. 

Racing again

On Sunday I will once again strap a race number to the handlebars, at the Gorrick orgainised Brass Monkeys event. As described in my previous post I haven't raced all summer. My head is now in a better place, but is the body ready!? 

Back in April, when I registered, I foolishly entered the 6 hour distance. The intention at the time was to provide some motivation to get out and ride. Which didn't work! It's only very recently that I've got even close to the sort of time in the saddle, I considered normal previously. 

At a Brass Monkey's event pre-Covid, I'd have been aiming for the top 10. I don't feel in that sort of form now, so I've set a more realistic goal of just completing the event. After all my longest ride in the past 12 months is a 4 hour leisurely summer social with a nice long break for coffee and cake in the middle! 

So all I can hope is that my race strategy goes to plan and that I keep riding to the end of the allotted time without stopping. Strategy? What strategy I hear you ask!

Well it's pretty basic! To begin with I hope to control my excitement at the start and set off intentionally slow. Then feed and fuel myself correctly during the race, pacing myself to finish........ maybe 'strongly' is the wrong word after 6hrs, so let's say 'positively'! I take confidence that as a general rule I've traditionally been good at pacing myself over longer events. However, it's been a while, so to be honest on Sunday I'll take crawling across the line with my tongue dragging in the dirt as a success!

Light at the end of the tunnel

I’ve cycled less in 2021 than I have for 10 years. Struggling to find motivation it got to the point where I was not looking forward to my next ride. It became a chore fitting the time for riding into my week. I genuinely considered taking a break from cycling altogether. (I even tried running …. briefly!)

I can look back now and perhaps recognise some of the reasons why my enjoyment for the sport, that has dominated so much of my life, faded so dramatically; from being the thing that defined who I was, to being something I wanted to forget.

Everyone has found dealing with the Covid pandemic a challenge in some way. I’d got used to working from home and then in February, just when our hopes were high for an end to lock down, my employer told me they were closing our office at the end of the year. Looking back now I can see that this coincided with when my cycling derailed, which is probably more than a coincidence.

Just the fact I even wanted to write this blog suggests something has now changed. Is it a coincidence I started my new job last week?

Perhaps this is over simplifying. Over the past 18 months my social group of cycling buddies has also disbanded. Two have moved away and the repeated interruptions from Covid lockdowns has meant come Sunday the “Fab5” WhatsApp group has been quiet. With no weekend ride planned I’ve stayed in bed for longer, so rides have had to be shorter. When I am out, I’m on my own so not pushing myself nearly as hard without the competitive sparring with friends spurring me on. This combination has led to a drop in fitness making rides harder and less enjoyable. Of the few I’ve entered, my recent race results have been badly disappointing which has further dented my overall confidence. I no longer relate to myself as an obsessed cyclist, I’m just somebody who rides a bike recreationally.

Writing it down it sounds depressing, and I guess without realising that’s exactly what it has become.

I could end the blog there, but I want to finish on a positive. The basic reasons why I love cycling haven’t gone away. The buzz of going fast on a bike still makes me grin from ear to ear like a child. Being out in the countryside, admiring the scenery, refreshes the head and soul.

On top of that cycling has brought me into contact with so many amazing people. I just need to make the effort to arrange a ride and I’m sure I’ll have company on a Sunday morning. I’m also going to be entering some races between now and the end of the year. Having recalibrated my expectations, I just want to see some progression, but it has given me something to focus on.

Nowhere to sit - Torq Breakout Round 2

In my previous blog I moaned about the frustration of finishing in 11th. I should have kept quiet because it certainly isn't as frustrating as having a DNF next to you name in the results.

Last Saturday began with the aim of making the top ten. Half way through the race things weren't going quite to plan, but my hopes of a strong finish were about to derail completely. In the congestion at the start of the race there had been a minor hold up just ahead of me when a rider had gone done in the dirt. I'd had a wobble myself taking avoiding action, but it hadn't been much and everything seemed fine; except my saddle felt a little bit wobbly.

90 minutes later I had settled into the race. My motivation had recovered from taking a hit after loosing places and slipping back in the field early on. I was feeling strong now and ready to go on the offensive and get those positions back. I had a rider close behind who I had just passed and on a short steep uphill I was trying to make a break for it, when I suddenly collapsed in a heap on the ground. I hit the tree on my left, but I believe this was the result of the saddle suddenly slipping as I was pushing hard on the pedals. 

I scrambled back to my feet and went to leap on the bike when I noticed my saddle wasn't on the seatpost anymore. I picked it up and stood there for a while in an adrenaline fuelled daze, clutching the saddle in my hand, my mind refusing to accept that my days racing might be over. There was no bodge or fix that was going to work and hope to survive for the remaining 90 minutes of brutal racing. The only option was the long walk back to car. I'd rather have been 11th.

Spot what is missing

Torq Breakout - First race out of lockdown

It can be safely agreed that 4th is the worst position to finish in any race. I would argue that the next most frustrating result would be 11th. Especially when points are awarded to the top 10 places. I can make this claim based on the experience of 3 out of my last 4 races! (When I was eventually upgraded to 10th in one of these, finding out felt like I'd just stepped onto the podium.)

With only 21 riders in my race 'bubble' on Easter Good Friday, 10th or 11th would also have the added significance of finishing in the the top half of the field or not. 

The clue is in the name, the Torq Breakout series signifies finally breaking out of lockdown and getting the 2021 cross country MTB season underway. The 3 race series is orgainised by Gorrick at their secure Area 51 venue near Frimley. We've raced there before and it is a brilliant course to ride, but perhaps not the best to race. The 3 mile course is a continuous twisting ribbon of fun, flowing singletrack. If I could ride there socially every Sunday I would. All that singletrack though can make it a nightmare to race, as it can be VERY difficult to pass. Especially if the rider in front doesn't want to let you through. It also means that there is simply nowhere to take a hand off the bars for a drink or reach into a pocket for something to eat. Gorrick had posted on Facebook before the race that they had added a stretch of fireroad for this very reason. I never noticed it on Friday.

Like last years events Covid rules were in place to keep everyone well apart. As previously this has it advantages for me when it comes to the socially distanced gridding, which is done alphabetically! This time I left my slot on the front row clear for another rider, not wanting to be the cause of a first lap bottleneck. Starting midfield I was able to hold my place in the pack as we shot away at the sound of the starters horn.

Some riders passed me and I let them go, as I wanted to keep something back on the first lap, so I'd hopefully have energy in the tank later in the 3 hour race. I selected to follow the wheel of a rider in orange. I had to work to stay with him on the straighter sections and uphill gradients, but could recover and maintain position through the rough stuff and the twists and turns. Behind a rider in blue reeled us in over the course of the opening lap, passed us and for a while opened a gap, but we regrouped and the three of us rode together in formation for the next 30 minutes. 

On the 3rd lap we began to spread out. I was slowly dropping back from Mr Orange, but at the same time the gap was growing behind. On such a twisting course it was impossible to get out of sight as we constantly passed each other going in opposite directions around the switch backs. The gap was about equal in front and behind, I'd estimate about 20 seconds. 

I had planned to try not to stop during the race, but was overheating as the day and the racing warmed up. If there was nowhere to drink there was certainly no opportunity to unthread my arms from a gillet while moving. So I stopped at my pit box, and also took the opportunity to gulp a banana and take a swig of water. By coincidence the rider in orange stopped at the same time so our gap was unchanged, but the rider in blue was now right on my wheel.

Over the next lap I closed on Mr Orange, bringing Mr Blue along with me, until we were again riding nose to tail. We were half way through the race and riding just as we had started lap 1. Having closed the gap I was feeling good and decided to be bold, passing Mr Orange into a tight left hander. I thought Mr Blue might follow my lead, but he stayed where he was. Perhaps he didn't have the pace? It is always easier to follow and I had to work hard to try and stretch a bit of a gap. I paid for the effort and I was aware that the gap I'd fought to open was coming down again just as quickly.

As we came past the pits with 3 laps and less than 10 miles to race Mr Orange was back on my wheel. I was surprised, but slightly relieved to see that he stopped in the pit area and I knew this was my opportunity to make a break. I really put the hammer down, but I soon began to feel the cost. It wasn't in my legs so much but just general fatigue. I started riding erratically and making mistakes. I picked the wrong lines and was slow out of corners I'd nailed flat out on the previous laps. The gap behind however did not change as I continued pushing as hard as I dared. With about 10 minutes racing remaining I began to feel confident I had those behind covered. Just as I had that thought and relaxed for a brief second I lost concentration and my front wheel washed out in a loose sandy corner -I was face down in the dirt. 

I was quickly back in the saddle and relieved to find the bike was undamaged. I was so annoyed with myself however. I'd nearly thrown away 3 hours racing and I know from experience that you have to remain focused right to the end. I blame the lack of recent racing. 

Anyway luckily I was still safe from behind and then I spotted the rider ahead getting back on his bike, perhaps after a similar error. On the final hill I chased him down and got right up behind him, but there was no way past as we dropped back through the finish line. The commentary announced 10th and then yes you guessed it, "Ben Connor 11th"

Time for a drivechain refresh. 10-45 or 10-51?

When I found this box on the doorstep I did wonder who'd ordered pizza for lunch! Actually with my first race booked I'd decided it was time to get the bike dialled. The drivechain is a couple of years old and has been through several chains. So it was time to replace the cassette and chainring to keep everything running nice and smoothly. It wasn't fast food on my doorstep, I'd just forgotten how big the box needs to be for a modern cassette.

I have been running a 10-51 cassette with a 32 tooth chainring since I switched to 12 speed. I've very rarely used the massive 51 sprocket, so this time I have gone for a 10-45 cassette. To be honest the decision was helped because this size was also available with a nice discount at my favourite online retailer!

Having made this decision I then worried I might miss that bail out gear on those rare occasions when I had pushed the derailleur all the way inboard. So when I ordered the new oval chainring from Absolute Black I wimped out and went for a 30t! Together this combination will give me a slightly narrower range of gears than before. When racing I have never used either extreme of the gear range available so the new drivechain should be perfect, with smaller steps between the gears.

If I am going to miss my old gear range it will only be during social rides or at longer endurance events which tend to have bigger climbs and descents. However, I always say you ride to the gears you have. I've been riding my fully rigid bike with a 36 chainring matched with a 10-42 cassette for 5 or 6 years

Time will tell if I made the right decision!

First raced booked!

 I'm buzzing now I've booked my first race for 2021! In fact it is three races, the same as I managed in the whole of last year. 

https://www.gorrick.com/racing/news_item.php?id=783