A new beginning

It's 3 months since my last blog on this site. The long break wasn't intentional. A few days after my failed South Down Double attempt I had an accident while cycling home from work. I have no memory of the incident so can't tell you much other than I was found unconcious by a road worker amongst the traffic cones at the side of the A27, three and a half hours after I should have been home for dinner. It may have been a hit and run, but as the police said 99% of people are law abiding and would stop if they thought they'd hit a cyclist. Perhaps more likely then was an accidental swipe from a close passing lorry. In the end I was lucky. Other than some broken/floating ribs and some very juicey road rash I wasn't too badly injured. My ribs took about 10 weeks before feeling normal and even now I still brace if reaching for something high on a shelf or sneezing! It is the head injury that although totally invisible has effected me the most. I guess being knocked unconcious for three hours is likely to have side effects! Initially I didn't really feel myself, words seemed to come to me glacially slowly like I was trying to grab them through a haze. 

Despite this, as is normal for me after an accident, I was quickly back on the bike in only a couple of weeks. The fitness I'd built up in preparation for the summer challenges was still with me. However, my ribs meant it was impossible to make any big efforts as getting out of breath was extemely uncomfortable. I wasn't at all confident on the bike either, feeling distinctly wobbly on two wheels especially at speed. Persumably a result of the concussion. The most unusual thing for me however was the lack of drive to get out on the bike at all. It was almost as if I had fallen out of love with cycling. Mentally I guess riding had given me two big smacks in the chops in quick sussession, my failed South Downs Double and then the accident. 
 
As the weeks trickled past when I did occasionally get out on the bike I could feel my fitness was seeping away, draining from my legs with every passing day. The worst symptom though was my total lack of motivation. For the first time in my life I questioned if I even wanted to put the effort in to my recovery and bother riding "properly" again.

As races I'd planned to enter, like Brighton Big Dog passed by my motivation dipped further. When I did go out for a ride even that was depressing. I was painfully slow. It really hit me one sunny evening after work when I rode a simple 10 mile flat route I use all the time. Normally it would just be a fun quick spin around the block, but I actually found it quite hard work! I wasn't able to maintain an average speed even close to what I would normally have expected to easily achieve. 

To give myself a goal and try to inspire some purpose, I wrote 4 events on the family calendar in the kitchen. A XC race in November and my favourite Brass Monkeys Series in December through to January. I'm not expecting big things by then, my fitness will still very much be work in progress, but just having a focus may have been what my head needed.

Only last weekend did I finally get out on the bike, tick some boxes and feel like I was getting back on track. For the first time since the accident I achieved what once were the simple minimums of a weekend ride; 3 hours, 1000m of altitude gain and 50 miles. Once standard stuff but it gave me a sense of a new beginning.

South Downs Double Attempt 2019

The South Downs Double : 200 miles off-road ‘there and back’ along the full length of the South Downs Way in 24 hours.

I’ve ridden the South Downs Way in one direction from Winchester to Eastbourne three times. Each time vivid in the memory for the scenary as much as the undoubted physical challenge. My best ride time is 9 hours 45 minutes. For 2019 I always had a South Downs Double attempt in the back of my mind. It wasn’t an idea I shared with anybody, I only told my wife around a week before. I didn’t want the added pressure plus I was waiting to see how I got on at Chase The Sun, which was my first 200 mile road ride. Having comfortably completed that in 15 hours I decided the Double was on!

I gave myself two weeks to recover and relax after CTS. Doing short rides here and there to keep the legs ticking over. I was starting to get that heavy, lazy leg feeling in my thighs from the inactivity.

I asked advice from two guys I know both of whom have successfully completed the ride and also carried out some of my own online research. I took it all on board, but decided to do this very much in my own style - after all I am not unfamiliar with long distance rides! (Even if 24hrs solo is on a completely different level.)

The perceived wisdom seemed to be to start in the evening. Therefore completing the more hazardous night riding section of the ride when you are feeling more alert. I decided instead to set-off in the morning, based on the fact that I’d rather begin feeling fresh after a good nights sleep than hang around all day and then try to stay awake for almost 2 entire days! For me this was definitely the right decision, but I could perhaps have started earlier than 9am.

There are no rules of where you should start. Winchester – Eastbourne – Winchester is the common way to tackle the ride, but I started in the ‘middle’ at Cocking. Cocking is the closest point  on the South Downs Way to where I live, so it was only a 20 minute drive after breakfast. Also because I was riding unsupported, starting at Cocking allowed me to split the ride into two and leave a supply of food and a change of clothes in the car for me to pick up after 120 miles. I was also planning to get to the car late in the evening which meant I wouldn’t have to carry all my lights with me during the daytime leg. It ended up being a fortunate decision based on what happened during the day, but more on that later!

To be honest looking back I didn’t feel brilliant even as I set off up the first climb of the day from Cocking. As mentioned I was well rested, but I think my body operates best when it has been riding every day. I might also have felt sluggish due to the extra weight of kit and food I had with me in a back pack and frame bag, which wasn’t something I had particularly trained for.

The two people who I approached who had previously completed the ride, survived entirely on gels and energy bars. The advantage of these is that they are relatively easy to carry. Based on my positive experience at Chase The Sun and knowing that my stomach is a potential problem on longer rides, I took some familiar ‘real’ food. My back pack was straining with six large sandwiches! Beef / Ham and Jam my preferred choices. I also had a stack of fig rolls and banana’s hidden away in bags and pockets!

I started slow, spinning lightly on the pedals up the initial hills. I had decided to break the ride into 3 hour sections, aiming to complete approximately 30 miles between stops. I also had 20 mile time split times printed on the bike to make sure I stayed on schedule. Based on my previous South Downs Way rides I expected to be ahead of schedule at half way, allowing me some slack as I tired and slowed later in the ride.

Unknown to me the date I had chosen was the same day as the CX100 event. Hundreds of cyclists (many on cyclo-cross bikes) were attempting the one way 100 mile ride along the SDW to Beachy Head. They’d started from Winchester at 7am so I found myself riding with them. I had to make sure I didn’t get lured into chasing the faster riders, but it provided company and later in the day when further from home and less familiar with the route it made navigation much easier!

For the first couple of hours I trundled steadily up the climbs conserving energy and although I had been told to ‘bomb’ the descents I took these slightly cautiously too. Sometimes because of cyclocross riders holding me up, but also due to a fear of punctures. 25 miles into the ride and nearing my planned lunch stop at Devils Dyke, I hit a wide gravel descent and finally decided to release the brakes and let the bike go. I briefly enjoyed the speed and refreshing movement of air on what was becoming a steaming hot day. Then there was the dreaded ‘psft, psft, psft’ and feeling of latex on my legs. Oh no a PUNCTURE! I stopped. Standing still in the sunshine the temperature felt close to a million degrees and sweat flooded off me. I waited for the latex to do its job and then spun the wheel, but the hole hadn’t sealed. I ate some food while giving the latex more time, it sealed, but as soon as I jumped on the bike ‘psft, psft, psft’! Now I was frustrated and a little angry with myself. The week before I had written on my check list “Change Tyre Latex”, but it’s a faff so I’d decided not to bother. Now I was regretting that decision as the old partially dried up latex left in the tyre didn’t seem up to the job of repairing what was actually a fairly minor cut in the rubber.

Puncture - latex failing to seal!

In the end I resorted to putting in a tube and continued, reaching the 40 mile time check behind schedule. I certainly hadn’t planned to be chasing the ride this early on in the day.

There was plenty of opportunity to up the pace. As well as riding well within myself I’d also stopped to take a few photos to share with the family tracking my progress at home. I’d only just stopped to talk to Rory Hitchens, who as well as helping support one of the CX100 event checkpoints, is also one of those responsible for the South Downs Double website. In truth I had probably casually frittered away 10 or 15 minutes, which added to the stop to fix the puncture meant almost 30 minutes of standing still. Then there were regular stops for water at the trailside taps. In the heat I was stopping at every opportunity to refill my single bottle. The other factor that mustn’t be ignored and I probably underestimated was the gates! The educated guess is that there is about one every mile. I feel like I will be dreaming about gates for the rest of my life. They constantly break your flow and significantly impact your average speed.

There are plenty of taps on route so only one bottle needed even on a hot day.

I pushed on for the next 20 miles to Eastbourne slowly clawing back time. This is when my strategy of proper food had an impact. It’s not really possible to eat a sandwich while riding. So I had to stop and perch on a bench looking out over the sea. Undoubtedly it was good to stretch and recover, but in terms of that ticking clock, it was another 15 minutes when I wasn’t progressing forwards.

Physically I hadn’t really felt good all ride. Now 65 miles in, I felt as strong as I had all day. Maybe it was the sneaky icecream at Eastbourne! I suspect it was actually more to do with the lowering temperature. I wasn’t arriving at each tap now with an empty bottle and glugging the first refill immediately before topping up again and moving off. I was definitely moving along faster.

I was keen to get back on schedule by the 100 mile half way mark. Unfortunately when I got there not all of those 100 miles had been in the right direction! A problem with the SDW is that although it is a National Trail it isn’t always the obvious path, sometimes requiring you to turn off a broad gravel bridleway and down a narrow bramble strewn alleyway. I was trusting in sign posts and previous knowledge rather than following my Garmin. Head down I had missed a turn. My heart sank as I found myself at the bottom of a valley staring at the ridgeline high above me where I should have been. Not only did the detour cost yet more time, but also a considerable amount of wasted effort as I retraced my steps clambering back up through a corn field to the top of the hill.

On the evening before the ride as I’d gone to bed I’d checked the weather forecast on my phone for the 100^th time. Sunshine all day, a dry night and an anticipated glorious bright sunny morning to finish - perfect! The first mention I had heard of rain was on the radio driving to the start in the morning. The weather man mentioned cloud and a chance of overnight showers. I’d immediately checked my phone again and it now it said there was a 20% chance of light rain between 1 and 3am. Not ideal but hardly enough to put me off either. However, as the day drew on the clouds gathered and grew darker and darker and as the evening approached there was the ominous odd drop of rain.

The overcast sky meant I needed to turn on the light I had with me earlier than I might have needed to on a clear night. My ‘proper’ lights were sitting in the car in Cocking. Sunset was 9.20pm and I’d been hoping to get to the car ahead of my 11pm schedule, which might have meant I barely required the back-up light I had with me at all. Instead I faced a couple of hours with an Exposure Diablo mounted to my handlebars. It’s a good light, but it is normally used as a helmet light supporting my main handlebar light.  The effect of this was that I travelled slower in the narrow beam that I wanted and wasn’t pulling back the time I needed too.

Then it began to rain! First a light drizzle, the sort that makes everything really wet, but soon it was more persistent. The accumulation of chalky dust that covered me and my bike turned to white gloppy paste. I was soaked and my motivation hit the floor. There was still 7 or 8 hours riding ahead and although I had a change of clothes at the car I didn’t have any wet weather gear. Also chalk can be as lethal as ice when it is wet. Riding tired through the night in pouring rain was an unacceptable risk. I made the decision to pull the plug. I messaged my family who were still awake and tracking my progress at home, who all quickly agreed it was the right call. I then trudged the final few miles, reaching the car shortly before 1am. Had the temptation of the car not been there would I have carried on? Perhaps, but I genuinely doubt it.

I’ve now had a few days to review what happened on Saturday and I am still sorely disappointed. Frustrated with myself, but also the totally unexpected weather that caught me out and scuppered my plans. I suppose it balances out the freakishly perfect weather we had for Chase The Sun. However, I also have to accept that I was behind schedule when the rain arrived so the challenge was already in jeopardy.

I must however take the positives, 126 miles and 4500 m of climbing in 15 hours of riding is comfortably my longest, most challenging MTB ride and I should be proud of that achievement.

I learnt several lessons that can be applied to improve a future attempt. It definitely won’t be this year but perhaps one day in the future:

• Pick a good day. Weather is a huge factor, wind, heat or rain will all significantly affect your ride time. If there is ANY doubt that the weather may be unfavorable – call it off.

•  Replace the latex in your tyres the week before the ride. Punctures are down to luck but help yourself out by reducing the impact.

• Watch the clock right from the start. Be conscious of how much time you are spending stationary. Over the course of a day it quickly adds up.

• Take some meals that can be eaten on the bike to reduce stationary time.

• Have the route loaded on the Garmin ALL THE TIME with the off-course warning ON!

Chase the Sun 2019

I might be a mountain biker at heart, but I just enjoy riding bikes, and as people who know me will confirm, I also really like a challenge. So there was only ever going to be one conclusion when last year a friend of mine mentioned “Chase the Sun”.

On Saturday in a stuffy Maidstone Travel Lodge room I was woken at 3am by my alarm. Chris had enlisted another friend, Nigel and the three of us lined up with 750 other starters at sunrise on the sea front in Minster on the Isle of Sheppey. We would be attempting to ride 205 miles, coast to coast across the country to Burnham-on-sea in Somerset before the sun set in 16hrs and 38 minutes time. The day of the ride is selected as the Saturday closest to the summer solstice in order to maximize the daylight available.

On my side there hadn’t been a lot of specific training beyond what I normally do. For the previous 2 months I’d increased the length of my usual Sunday mountain bike rides. Pushing the time in the saddle out to 5 or 6 hours on a couple of occasions. Meanwhile I’d been checking Nigel’s Strava and he had twice clocked up 200 miles in training and Chris had accompanied him to mile 140. So although I was feeling fit I was definitely concerned how this would transfer to the road. I’d settled my nerves considerably after a 6 hour 100 miler on the road bike with Nigel 3 weeks before the event. That day I’d finished strongly which boosted my confidence ahead of the big day.  

As we rolled out of Minster, the rising sun peeping above the sea over our shoulders, we remembered we’d forgotten to text the start code to the organisers! Chase the Sun is a free event to enter with minimal support. However, you do need to check in at the start, end and half way to ‘officially’ be classified. Once we’d slipped our phones back into our jersey pockets we were the very last riders to leave town and head out into the Kent countryside. This provided us with spectacular views of the entire peloton snaking through the morning mist.

750 riders is a big group, luckily the early start means that the roads are pretty quiet so there is minimal traffic disruption. It’s strange because you forget how early it is. Everything otherwise feels like a standard weekend ride and as you ride through a village or town you wonder why is it so deserted before remembering its still not 6 o’clock!

After winding through the orchards and crop fields of Kent for a couple of hours we began to approach London. Although the peloton had spread out there were still fairly large groups of riders at this stage, which got constantly dissected and then swelled in number by the traffic lights. Luckily the Saturday morning traffic was fairly light as riders swarmed around the black cabs and red busses.  The key really during this phase was not to waste any energy. There is really no pointing charging off hard to follow a group only to then grind to a halt at the next set of lights half a mile down the road. You have to accept the staccato nature of the ride and just keep rolling. Occasionally faster riders came surging past and we’d catch their wheels, taking a high speed tow. Eventually the traffic lights would split us up, but then another group would form. As I chased one particular crowd of fast moving riders I heard Chris call me back. He was right. It might have been fun, but what was the use of racing through mile 40 at 22mph and then crawling over the line at the end.

Surprisingly given the reputation of riding in London I never felt worried during this phase of the event. Undoubtedly there is some safety in numbers and you did need to concentrate, but the drivers were all very courteous. Rather than be annoyed several, including a bus driver, paused to wind down a window and ask us about the event. Although the stop / start nature meant the average speed undoubtedly dropped I felt the miles in the city ticked off quickly as there were so many distractions and other things to concentrate on. Luckily navigation wasn’t often one of these as there was almost without fail a group of riders ahead to follow.

We had our first planned stop at Bromley. Chris’ Dad had very kindly volunteered to be our support driver. The plan was he would meet us at predefined points on route approximately every 3 hours to allow us to have a break, take on some food and swap clothing etc. So it was that in a quiet street in Bromley three lycra clad cyclists could be seen sitting around a stove heating coffee and cooking up bacon butties! Certainly a strange sight for those Londoners up early enough to witness the scene.

Before we left London we joined the weekend cyclists lapping Richmond Park, then crossed the Thames and were soon back out into the rolling Surrey countryside. Although the average speed picked up I felt these miles really dragged. Miles 40 through to 50 seemed to take an age. I began to feel slightly uncomfortable in the saddle and was shifting around restlessly. I never thought I’d look forward to getting to Basingstoke so much! Actually our next stop was the mid-point was in Bramley just north of the city.

One of the ride highlights for me - pulling on a fresh pair of shorts with cool chammy cream! Ahhhh!  We basked in the sunshine and devoured our lunches. This is where our pre-event planning meeting reaped it rewards. We each knew when we were stopping and what the expectations were. So I simply lifted my food box out of the car, took the food I had planned for that stop, refilled my bottles and stashed a new banana and fig rolls into my pockets. 25 minutes a stop was perfect to not feel too rushed, but also allow a bit of down time.

In any ride of this length you’re bound to hit a bad patch at some point. After the pause for lunch my body really struggled to fire up again. I rode at the back of the group with wooden legs while the others spun away in front. We passed through picture postcard villages, but the miles were again dragging. Then there was a hill and strangely putting in that extra effort brought me back to life! Perhaps with lunch having also now recharged my batteries I was now feeling like a million dollars! At the next climb I had to reign myself back, as I just wanted to leap out of the saddle, but knew it was important to save this energy for later.

From then on the entire afternoon was glorious. We found ourselves largely on our own, flowing along peaceful lanes with the sun on our backs and even a hint of an tail wind. We worked perfectly as a group each taking turns pulling on the front while the others took a tow. It felt like we were counting down the miles now rather than up! The section through Wiltshire into Somerset would have been torture in a head wind. Open exposed rolling hills however were great with a breeze to our backs, how lucky we were!

We came to the next rendezvous with Chris’ Dad a bit earlier than we had expected which came as a nice surprise and allowed me to plug in my power pack just in time to keep my Garmin running. It is amazing how breaking the ride down makes it so much better. 50 miles to go sounds so much more manageable when you say to yourself it’s 25 to the van for the next stop and then ‘only’ 25 to the end after that.

The route on the whole is pretty flat, but the punchiest hills come as you approach the west country. Some of these briefly split us up, but once back on the flat we almost immediately regrouped and were pulling together again. The drop down Cheddar gorge was a truly memorable experience. We stopped for a photo before dropping down the sweeping road like stones, grinning like Cheshire cats at the bottom, high on Adrenalin. The end was now in sight and we put the pedal to the metal, buzzing on a high excitement and racing towards the finish at over 20mph! We were flying past other riders who seemed to be barely dragging themselves towards the finish in comparison.

With 200 miles in the bank and with only 4 miles to go we found ourselves on a wide, straight and beautifully surfaced road. Lying prone across the central white line was a rider. An ambulance was called and later we heard a broken collar bone and shoulder was diagnosed. It just goes to show that you should never take anything for granted. It put a bit of a dampener on our roll into Burnham as we put on our “sensible heads” and eased things back a notch. Still there were massive grins on our faces as we rolled side by side along the seafront to the applause and cheers of the crowd lining the street

Ride time 15hrs 45min – we had time to sit with our fish and chips and watch the sun set over the sea!

The whole team!

So how do I rate Chase the Sun to other epic rides I have completed? For most of my big MTB challenges I usually race solo. One of the standout features of Chase the Sun was sharing the experience as part of a team. That includes the build up in the weeks before, the nervous journey up to Maidstone and ‘last supper’ of pizza. The three of us rode together for the entire day, never more than a few meters apart, looking out for each other, taking turns on the front as well as offering support and distraction! Of course we were actually a team of four, the three cyclists relying on our support driver Steve. The breaks psychologically split up the ride into manageable chunks, and seeing the van with its fresh supplies at each stop and collapsing into the fold out chairs was such a highlight. I can’t imagine doing that ride on my own.

2019 - The Last Gorrick 100

This weekends race couldn’t have been further removed from the non-stop shoulder to shoulder battle at last months Southern XC. Once we’d spread out I didn’t even see  another rider for over an hour! In fact after the initial skirmishes I only passed 4 other riders in my category during 5 hours of racing! In part this is due to the longer 9 mile per lap format of the Gorrick 100 and a smaller entry than previous years, which meant there was plenty of room to spread out.

Riding on your own makes for a very different type of challenge. Effectively I was racing myself, pacing my effort to complete the 7 laps as quickly as possible. With age comes experience, I’ve raced enough marathon races now to know to reign myself in at the start. To use an analogy I read in Geraint Thomas’ description of the Tour De France : Don’t waste all your bullets at the start, it’s a long race.

From the gun the race split in two, a lead group of around 18/20 riders broke away while I was towards the front of a chasing pack. I could have broken clear and chased after those ahead, but I bided my time and sat in. Eventually I did find myself leading the group and as the first lap progressed I eased clear and so began my lonely existence.

I flowed through the singletrack, and tried to carry my momentum over obstacles and up inclines. Minimising my energy expenditure, not stamping on the pedals or pushing the heart rate too high. Effectively riding within myself, which actually takes a lot of concentration. It’s all too easy for the mind to wander and suddenly you discover you’re going too slowly.

I didn’t think about the time or distance, just concentrated on how my body felt, riding to feel. I ate and drank regularly when the course allowed. Into the 3^rd hour I finally had some company as the 5 lap leaders slowly caught me. I took advantage of a bit of slipstream and followed a wheel as they came through. This increased my pace, but I was wasting bullets keeping up and I made the conscious decision to let the wheel go and ease back into my comfort zone.

 As I approached the end of my 3^rd lap I could see riders beginning to mass for the start of the 3 lap race. I really didn’t want to have to work my way through the sea of riders so now I did push on, hurrying to clear the start line just before they flooded the course behind me! Soon the first 5 or 6 came past, but then I held my own, it was great to finally have some company after several lonely laps and I really enjoyed being part of a fast moving train! It was good for the morale to see them glance across and clock my 7 lapper number board as we whizzed along. A couple even commented on my pace as I headed a group which was catching those ahead!  This was confirmation that my pace was holding up. The interaction was a nice distraction and despite the speed I was still feeling comfortable.

It was around now I saw the first 7 lap racer for several hours. He was hunting in the dust for a jockey wheel from a busted rear mech. A reminder that it’s not just about having the legs, I needed to protect the bike too if I was to get safely to the finishing line.

On lap four my confidence was beginning to build. Over half distance I was still feeling strong and riding well. I pulled clear of the 3 lappers then caught and passed another 7 lap rider - one of those who had sprinted off ahead at the start and was now paying the price. I could tell now that I had the energy to make the finish and felt able to push a little bit more on the hills. Although you feel strong and the perceived effort is increased fatigue is actually setting in. This meant my laps times stayed very consistent. 45min 57sec / 44min 50sec / 45min 6sec / 46min 23 sec.

As the laps passed I started to learn the twists and turns of the singletrack and it became easier to flow around the course and preserve precious energy. Simple things like knowing if the course tightened around the blind bend or where you needed momentum to get through a patch of roots etc.

I always like the penultimate lap! I rode every section thinking to myself, I’ve only got to do this once more! I busied myself consuming all the food and water I had left in my pockets while my body could still make proper use of the nutrients before the finish. I’d been munching fig rolls and bananas all race, but now also popped in a gel for that added boost of energy!

Topped up I rode straight through the feed zone into the final lap and onto the back wheel of a 7 lap rider from Blazing Saddles. I decided to attack straight away while I was feeling good, but he came with me as I squirted the bike up the first climb. I was riding as fast as I could now, but he was hot on my heels. What did I do? Another hour like this was going to be a hellish world of pain. I was feeling confident I would win a sprint up the final hill at the end of the lap, but that was a long way up the trail and I wanted to remove any doubt well before then.

There was another grassy hill a minute or so further up the trail so I sat up and cruised trying to recover a little. Unable to pass on the narrow path the rider behind was tucked tightly up behind my rear wheel. I rolled along trying to shake the lactic from my legs, he knew what was coming!

The path widened as we hit the bottom of the slope and I dug deep. Probably riding it faster than I had any of the previous 6 laps! Not once did I look back I just relied on the sounds behind to tell me that although the gap may have briefly opened I hadn’t dropped him and by the top he was tight on my wheel once again. Round the corner the course kicked up and I surged once more. As we turned at the top I could see in my peripheral vision that I had a bikes length advantage, maybe two, but nothing more. The elastic was stretching, now I had to keep up the pressure and press home my advantage. So I kept the hammer down as we dropped through some sweeping corners and began to climb slowly once again. We passed some spectators, but I was in a tunnel of pain their calls of encouragement just washed over me. I was all in and the gap was growing.

My mind was spinning as fast as my legs. How deep should I go? Was this the correct plan? Could I keep this pace until the end of the lap? What would I do if he closed up again. It was almost with dread that I then spotted another 7 lap rider ahead! After all that time on my own, now with only minutes of riding remaining I had a real race on my hands! Through the singletrack I closed and closed on the man ahead, with my pursuer still in touch behind. I began to picture a three way sprint. Was this one going down to the final climb?

I made the catch and pulled alongside as the course briefly opened up. He looked across and I knew immediately from the hollow despairing eyes he had nothing left with which to fight. I simply rode straight past, he didn’t attempt to even briefly follow my wheel.

Onto the final climb I knew I had a gap behind, but I attacked it hard and approaching the top finally afforded myself a glance over the shoulder. Nobody was in sight!! The adrenalin was still pumping so I concentrated hard to ensure I didn’t make a mistake and overcook any of the remaining corners as the rain began to fall, adding a sheen to the well worn trails and roots. Totally spent I rolled across the line in 16^th.

I was really pleased with my performance. The race plan was executed perfectly and when I finished I didn’t feel I could have done anything better. Holding back early on allowed me to finish strongly and gain those extra positions on the last lap. It’s twelve years since my first Gorrick 100 and experience definitely helps! It is such a shame that Gorrick are advertising this as the final year for the event. I have many memories from this fantastic race, so if it is to be the last I’m pleased I put in a strong performance

Shimano M9100 XTR Groupset Review - First Impressions

I have been riding my new S-Works Epic HT frame since October last year. I’ve been enjoying the impressively awesome ride, but the bike has always been something of an incomplete work in progress. The 11 speed M9000 XTR / XX1 drivechain had been starting to show its age, the once bullet proof shifting no longer occurring the instant you clicked the paddle. Also I wasn’t taking full advantage of the frames 148mm "Boost" rear wheel spacing. I have been running spacers so I could use my existing rear wheel and I was in constant fear of losing one of the little red washers while fixing a puncture out in the wild, or of one rolling under the floor boards of the shed during an evening maintenance session.

With the arrival of Spring and with the new race season on the horizon it was time to finish the job and fit a groupset the frame deserved. I spent a long time debating the pro’s and con’s of Shimano M9100 XTR vs SRAM XX1 Eagle. Then just as I was about to commit along came SRAM AXS! Hands-up I ordered an electronic XX1 AXS groupset! I pulled out of the purchase in the end because this summer I have some rides planned that exceed the 10 hour predicted battery life. I could purchase a spare battery, but I know from the occasions when I forget to charge my Garmin or Mobile phone, that one day I would reach for the bike to go out for a ride and realise I’d forgotten to charge the battery. It’s a new world problem I could do without.

I’ve always preferred Shimano shifters to SRAM’s thumb/thumb layout, so M9100 XTR was my preferred option. However, Shimano faced a number of problems with the roll out of the new groupset. Gone was my preferred lightweight and racey 11 speed option. The original chain quick link wasn’t compatible with the two new Absolute Black Oval Chainrings I had hanging in the shed. (No problems with the new link supplied with my groupset.) Also not all the options were available when I came to order, so I was forced to make some compromises. The 12 speed 10-45 cassette was out of stock so I had to go 10-51 with a long cage rear mech. That is 100 g of extra weight right there compared to my current set-up and I don’t feel like I need or will use the extra gear. Also Shimano introduced  yet another new I-Spec configuration with the M9100 groupset so I couldn’t mate the new shifter with my existing Shimano brakes. (In the end I bought the new brakes as well – more on that later!)

First things first though was to sort a 148mm boost rear wheel. Strada Handbuilt Wheels built my existing Light Bicycles rim onto a DT Swiss 240 rear hub. I’ve been running a Stans 3.30 rear hub for the last 8 years and there is definitely a better pick up from the DT Swiss freehub and there is the opportunity of upgrades to improve this further.  Including the center lock adaptor for the disc rotor the 800g weight is only ever so slightly heavier than my original set-up despite the extra hub width. I'd be lying if I said I could feel any noticeable stiffness or performance benefit from the wider hub. 

I enjoyed an evening bolting the new components to the bike. Everything was straight forward, although I spent as long threading the rear brake hose through the internal routing as I did building the rest of the bike! Grrr! The next morning I hit the local trails with the boys for a Sunday blast that included a lot of climbing and fast flowing singletrack decents that would test the full range of gears.

The shifting is instantaneous as to be expected from a top tier groupset like XTR. Each gear is actioned with much more of a definite ‘clunk’ at the lever than the silky ‘click’ of the previous M9000. In fact I would describe the lever feel as quite SRAM like. This is no problem and I soon got used to it. I think the double downshift however does have a much nicer feel. At the other end the chain travels seamlessly up the cassette. Coming back down the gears is noticeably smoother than older groupsets. Shimano have introduced what they call Hyperglide 2 and you can feel when quickly dropping a bunch of gears that the chain doesn’t just tumble to the smaller sprocket, but smoothly purrs its way across the gears providing a much more consistent pedal stroke. It’s very impressive.

The standout feature of the groupset for me however is the brakes! I wasn’t going to replace the brakes, but after a number of issues with my previous M9000’s I decided to invest in the new stoppers. I never found the old brakes to be very consistent. The bite point would vary every time you pulled the lever – sometimes long, sometimes short. I’d bled them dozens of times, but this characteristic had always remained. The lever pull of the M9100 is the same EVERY time you pull the lever. I cooked the pads on one descent, I could smell the burning rotors, but the lever pull never changed.

I finally have that new bike feeling the excellent S-Works frame deserved. Shifting is crisp, the bike is silent beneath me and everything gets on with its job flawlessly and without complaint. Silence is another characteristic of the DT hub with its almost inaudible freewheeling. There is also that massive extra 51 tooth emergency gear should I ever need it! Coupled with the improved handling of the S-Works frame this really is definitely the best bike I’ve ever owned. I can’t wait to get her into her natural habitat – the race track!

Review - New MT Zoom MTB handlebars. How wide?

When upgrading to Shimano M9100 XTR the brake clamps are much further inboard compared to my old M9000’s. This revealed the slightly marked surface underneath so I also decided to upgrade the handlebar.

I knew my existing 680mm bar was narrow by today's standards but the 760mm MT Zooms looked ridiculous when I unpacked them and held them up against the old bars for comparison! I'm old enough to remember cutting my bars down to 580mm on my old GT back in the ‘90s.

Old skool vs New!

I’m slim build and not particularly broad shouldered. I also don’t possess monkey like arms, so there was no obvious bike fit benefit to be gained by the extra width up front. Wide bars are definitely the current trend, but despite searching online I couldn’t find any substantiated performance advantages of going wider. The only problem I’ve ever had with my existing bar width has been bashing my hands on trees during races or when twisting through wooded singletrack. Occasions when extra width definitely would actually be a disadvantage!

In the end I spoke to some other local riders and cut them back to 720mm to start with and we’ll see where we go from there. There are very clear markings every 10mm on the outside of the bar to ensure that you cut evenly and straight!  

Despite being wider the impressive 131g weight (once cut to 720mm) was still lighter than the bars I took off. I opted for the 9 degree backsweep option as I like the added comfort this provides by slightly angling the wrists.   

The extra width was noticeable and felt slightly odd when I first set-off. Having my arms wider definitely pulled my body weight forward, which is probably not a bad thing, when it comes to weighting the front wheel in corners. If it does prove to be a comfort issue longer term I might consider a shorter stem. The new position did feel uncomfortable on my hands while I got used to it, but once off road I completely forgot about the bars as I moved my body position around to manoeuvre the bike. By the end of the ride I felt completely at home with my new set-up and despite the extra width I hadn’t ridden into every tree I passed. To me the handling of the bike wasn’t noticeably different.

Actually one advantage of wider bars I did notice only became apparent on the 5 mile road bash back to my house from the trails. There is more room for your hands to hold the center section of the bars next to the stem to adopt an aero tuck!

In summary the MT Zoom bars are extremely good value for the money (£99 – xcracer.com) They are very lightweight compared to the majority of the similarly priced competition. The matt black finish and stealth logos suit my frame and they are fashionably wide if you want to follow the trend.

2019 Southern XC Regional Championships

I’m not sure if a 6 mile family trailer bike ride is perfect preparation for a race in the afternoon. However, it was a beautiful morning and I didn’t have to leave home until after midday given the afternoon start time for the Veterans races nowadays!

Crow Hill was the scene once again for the Southern Regional MTB XC Championships. Although I drove through a couple of rain showers during my drive to the New Forest, the sun was shining when I arrived and the course was dry and extremely dusty on my exploratory warm-up lap.

There was a very large field of close to 50 Veterans at the start. Unfortunately I was gridded near the back after skipping the previous race and a DNF at the first round of the series. Through the sea of helmets I could barely see Marc Chamberlain and Paul Hopkins at the front!

At the starters whistle we screamed off around the starting loop. The start of a XC race never fails to astonish me! Even at the back the sheer brutal shock of the flat out sprint from a cold start had my legs and heart screaming for mercy! Initially I barely held my own, but then I began to fight and made up a few positions. After all the frantic sprinting 50 riders eventually had to funnel single file into the wood, almost coming to halt and then cruising through the first section of singletrack as things settled down!

Having narrowly beaten me in my most recent races sticking close to Stefano, riding for Beyond Bikes was my target. He was a couple of riders ahead in the line as we swept through the trees. As he picked off one or two places I fought to keep pace, but always a position or two behind. Then suddenly in the loose dust he lost his front wheel and was down in a shower of dirt. I squeezed past, but he was quickly up and hot on my heels.

I like the Crow Hill course, mainly because it has some decent elevation gain which plays to my strength. This year however, the route was run in reverse to previous years. This meant that the climbs were tight rooty and technical and not the usual wide open trails. So passing on them required going off line and having to squeeze through between the trees.

During the first lap the pace was relentless, but you couldn’t give an inch or the riders behind would pounce. There was a long fireroad section ¾ of the way around the lap and I tucked in to get a slipstream, trying to take the pressure of the pedals slightly and reduce the lactic in my legs.

I relaxed too much and Stefano coasted past me just as we re-entered the singletrack. I sucked onto his wheel and on the final climb to the line re-passed him again. We were both still slowly but steadily making up positions and working ourselves forward in the race. Back into the singletrack and Stef was through on the inside and I was chasing again, drifting through the loose corners and bouncing over the roots.

Half way around the lap we caught a long line of 6 riders.  It was like a convoy on a busy country A road. Slowing us down but still moving fast enough to make passing difficult. As we hit one of the narrow inclines I tried to sneak up the inside. The roots bounced me wide and into the path of Stefano, I apologised and conceded the position again as he had the momentum. Gathering myself I surged a second time up the left passing Stef and the rider ahead, but was then trapped on the outside of the next corner and with no way back into the queue had relinquish both positions.

I was frustrated and had to coast behind Stefano at the back of the crocodile for a few more bends before I could try again. This time I was in the long grass sprinting up alongside the queue of riders. My unorthodox line meant I was squeezed up against the fence. The rider in front didn’t know I was there and cut across, to avoid taking us both out I had to brake and swerve violently across the track. As I swung across the path I collected the rider next to me, our bars interlocked we rubbed shoulders both trying to shake ourselves free and maintain position.

Separated at last I chased the rest of the pack and through the next section of fast sweeping corners finally fought my way to the front of the line. This however, was only half the job, now I had to try and break clear. For the next lap I tried to create distance between myself and those behind, but every time I teased out any sort of advantage one of those behind would close it down and drag all the others with him. We continued like this for some time, until I began to fatigue from my efforts and let some riders through so I could shelter behind them in the group and try to recover.

We continued to swap positions as sections of the course played into each other strengths. Some would surge through the sweeping bends or make up ground on the descents, I’d pull back time on the climbs. Each of us fighting to hold our ground. Eventually by natural selection we began to shell riders out the back of the group one by one. Stef was still behind me, but as we started the penultimate lap he attacked and surged through. It was an intentional concerted effort to make the split and I couldn’t go with him.

I chased and chased but the gap hovered at 10-15 seconds. I was tantalizingly close but unable to bridge back to his wheel. It was now that the rain arrived. Under the trees it initially remained dry, but the open sections became treacherous and the dusty surface became a paste. I glided wide with little control through corners we’d been railing flat out a lap earlier. Riders were constantly having to test and reassess the levels of grip under their tyres at every corner or wet root. I admit that conditions like this do not play into my hands.

As we began the final lap Stef was creeping away, but there was nobody behind me now. With little to loose I put in some big efforts on the first couple of climbs and got Stef back into striking distance. Into the next descent, I threw caution to the wind, chucking the bike through the corners, when suddenly the front wheel washed out from under me and BANG! I was down in the slippery mud.

In such situations you don’t think about the pain, you just leap back on the bike and go, go, go! All you can think about is not losing time. Cursing myself I bashed the brake levers into position, amazingly everything else seemed to be pointing in the right direction!

There wasn’t enough time to close the gap to Stefano now, but still I chased, in case he made a mistake similar to my own. The nerves began to jangle slightly because I could now hear and see the rider behind. When I glanced back he was out of the saddle and in full pursuit! He closed on me towards the end, but I had enough time in hand, finishing 23^rd, 30 seconds down on Stefano.

As I chatted to Stef after the race I became vaguely aware of the pain in my knee. By the time I went to bed I could only lay comfortably on one side! The final lap accident had been quite hard.

It had been a truly awesome race. One of my most enjoyable in recent memory. It had been close with battles from start to finish. The weather had mixed it up, the changing conditions definitely spicing up the final couple of laps as things went from fast to treacherous. 23^rd is about par for me at the Southern Champs over the past 6 or 7 years. I consider myself a pretty competent rider, so that I can race as hard as I did and still finish 15 minutes down on the winner just shows the level of those guys at the front. I must take heart that I was mid pack in a large and very experienced and skilled Veterans field with some good riders behind me. I was around 1 minute from the top 20 which was my goal before the race. Most of all though, it was damn good fun!!