BNPS Round 1 - Pembrey Wales

BNPS Round 1 - Pembrey Wales 

Sunday 3rd April saw the 1st round of the MTB XC British National Point Series, in Pembrey Wales. In the week leading up to the race I had a good solid block of MTB and Road training, and from Friday onward's I had a couple of days of rest. 

With the new start time of 3:30 instead of 12:00, it meant we could travel up early Sunday morning, with thanks to Dad who drove the 8 hour round trip, and still have enough time for a course practice and to watch some of the other exciting races. The weather was holding off through the morning, and it actually looked rather sunny on the journey up. But come 1pm, the clouds began closing in and the heavens opened. The course was getting muddier and muddier. 

14:30 came around and it was time to start warming up. I jumped on the turbo trainer (in the rain) and got a decent 20 minute warm up in. 

I took to the start line, being grided 30th out of 54, i knew all i wanted to do was finish the race in the worsening conditions and if possible finish somewhere around my griding position. The race started well, dodging a broken chain on the start straight i got comfortably into a good position for the first couple of laps.

Due to the lack of racing and STILL worsening conditions, i started to fade come the 4th lap. I was loosing my cool and concentration and starting to get frustrated with the way i was riding, causing me to make some simple, yet silly mistakes.

I had dropped back into about 38th position and was going to hold this until the end of the 6th lap. I was then, weirdly, pulled out of the race by one of the commisaires just before going onto my 6th lap. I was a bit suspicious at the time as I hadn't been lapped. As I was riding around the pit area to cool down, I noticed 2 expert riders who were behind me, continuing their race onto the 6th lap. Immediately I questioned the commisaire who 'made a mistake'. I quickly jumped back onto my bike and rode the last lap, be it rather angrily.

I wasn't able to catch the riders who passed and eventually, after 01:52:00 of racing, I crossed the line in 40th. I was rather dissapointed as I thought I had done everything right in the build up and was beaten by people I know I was capable of beating.

The next race is the 2nd round of the Southern XC where I hope I can repeat the race of 2015's 3rd place expert (maybe).

Ryan

Southern XC Round 1 - Black Park

Southern XC Round 1 is the first proper season race of each year, and this year we were back to the same location as R1 in 2015, Black Park. The course is notorious for its flat, fast and tight racing. The winter training has gone to plan (almost), as i would have liked to have got a few more hours in each week. But such, life gets in the way. Whilst sat on the M3, all that was running through my head was how exited i was, the sun was shining and it hadn't rained all week. 

The morning practice lap was complete and I knew it was going to be a full body work out, what with the flat, bumpy and really twisty course. The twists certainly did suit my riding style and I knew I would be faster through those sections than some of my rivals but was going to have to hop onto a wheel on the fast fire roads.

I lined up on the first row after a strong finish to the 2015 series, next to many familiar faces from the past Southern XC series’. With these races you get to know who you’re going to be racing, who’s going to kick your butt and who you may stand a chance against. The whilst went, the first mile was a hard, smooth and fast surface which quickly strung the field out. The usual culprits were on the front pushing a fast pace along the fire roads and through the single track.

The first lap came around and I found myself in the first group of 10 riders and we had managed to pull a gap on the second group. I sat pretty comfortably at the back of the group trying not to get carried out.

The racing progressed and the laps ticked by, but I was slowly losing sight of the lead group I was originally with. Lap 3 and 4 were a real struggle, this I think was due to not having raced since November. The 5^th lap came and after a couple of gels I managed to find a bit of strength and pushed on to ensure I didn’t lose any more places.

I crossed the line in 13^th and found somewhere to lie down. I was happy with the result and know that with a few more races under my belt in 2016 I can start to push for top ten at these events. The next race for me is now Round 1 of the British National XC Series at Pembrey where the course is flat, technical and fast. 

Mallorca 2015

The long awaited Odiham CC training camp was here again and we were back to our favourite destination, Port Pollenca in Mallorca. The plan was to complete 4 days of riding from Thursday to Sunday and racking up as many miles as possible.

Unfortunately when we landed in Palma we were greeted with dark skies and damp roads but we knew the outlook for the rest of the week was to get significantly better, with sunnier and warmer weather, and we weren't to be disappointed. 

We were back in Hotel Duva hotel and spa for the 2nd year in a row and hiring bikes from the highly rated Pro Cycle Hire and riding Massi team carbons again. Liam and I headed straight down to the hire shop and were greeted by the rest of the gang with beer in hands. We got measured up correctly and the bikes couldn't have been better, they just needed some getting used to.

Day 1 on the Thursday we were treated some sunny skies and only a few light clouds in the sky. The weather was mid teens which made riding conditions almost perfect. The plan was to head out on a shop ride for a flat intro into riding on the island and then head out as a Odiham group to the Formentor light house. We completed the 50miles in the morning and stopped for a brief lunch and tanning session back at the cafe. We then headed out to the lighthouse, which consisted of (m) of sunny climbs and we were treated to a hillside road that had been completely re-tarmacked. All in all the lighthouse ride is great with spectacular views all along the road, a highly recommended first road introduction to some Mallorcan climbing. We totalled 80 miles on Thursday, the ride can be seen below. 

Day 2, known as the mountain day we planned to tackle as much climbing as we could before our legs gave our, including the illustrious Sa Calobra. The weather for this Friday was much like Thursday with the temperature increasing ever so slightly. Having been on the beer for Liam's birthday the night below, there were a few sore heads, but these wouldn't dampen the spirit of the excited group. We were greeted at breakfast with the arrival of Hook Velo boys, kitted out in their new jerseys. This boosted the group number to 15. We set off, and within 10 miles we were already climbing the Coll de Femenia with an elevation of 515m. The climb took about (minutes) and quickly fragmented the group, but it was very important at this point not to get carried away. We regrouped at the summit, had a drink and a gel and headed into Lluc monastery before continuing to climb to the summit of Sa Calobra. Now the Sa Calobra is something else, it's known as 'the perfect climb' and once you've ridden it you understand why. But first you had to descend for 6miles into the port. The road was steep and smooth mixed with tight hairpins and the famous spiral and rock tunnel. The hands and back took a right battering by the time we reached the bottom of the mountain. After a lengthy lunch break and fuel top up it was time to head up the 6mile climb. The idea was to go at our own pace and meet at the top, which is exactly what we did. All settling into a comfortable pace we ventured up the hill taking in all the spectacular views, at the same time ensuring the legs knew what we were riding. The climb was brutal, it never seemed to end, every time you looked up from staring at your stem it just carried on going, yes you guessed it, up. Once the climb was over we had a brief chat about how we found it before descending back to sea level, which was of course brilliant. Overall we complete 130km of riding with an elevation of (m). Below is the strava data. 

Day 3, the Saturday, was by far the warmest day and the legs were rather sore. As was the head from partying all night in the local Irish bar, which was not so Irish. So, we decided to today complete a flat ride to a breach town on the east of the island. The winds were strong but the sun was stronger. After riding for 2 hours we found a lovely beach with a beachfront cafe, parked up the bikes and enjoyed the view and sand whilst tucking into a brilliant local lunch. The return journey wasn't so relaxed as the venture out. The legs felt more refreshed in all of us and the competitive edge was coming out. As we hit the fast long roads we found we were chain ganging all the away the sea front at an average of 30mph, which was great fun and really opened out the legs. This being the last night, it was bound to be a big one down the bar. Taking to the local bar 'tollos', the local haven for cyclists, we enjoyed plenty of drinks and relived the past few days.

Day 4 and unfortunately the final day. We were set to check out at 12 and off to the airport at 2 for our late afternoon flight back to Gatwick. It was agreed that we would go out for about an hour and a half and enjoy the final bit of sun before the rain of Britain. We headed down to the seafront and enjoyed the views before heading up the first climb up the lighthouse to enjoy some final spectacular views of the local area. A great way to reminisce on the past few days.

Now back in England, memories have been shared along with many photographs and tan lines / burns.

Thanks for reading, 

Cheers

Ryan Keynes

Odiham CC / 1stgearcycles.com 

Gorrick Spring Series Round 4 – Frith Hill

It was 22^nd March and the final round of the Gorrick Spring Series. With a late venue change to Frith Hill in Deepcut, the sun was shining and trails were set to be dry and fast and expected to make for an exciting race. The XC based events hadn't gone to plan so far in 2015, and with racing in Expert, which was fun of elite racers, I didn't have any expectations other than to race as hard as I could and test myself.

My ride for this race was something a bit different, I had been given a Haibike Freed 27.5” Carbon hardtail with Sram 1 x 11, to ride and race test. At first look the bike caught my eye, with its slick, slanting frame and dark colour combination, which after a slow practise lap I knew was going to perform well during the race. The course consisted of quick, technical descents mirrored with short sharp climbs which were going to test the legs during the later laps of the race.

As I took my place near the back of a quick 14 rider field on the grid I took on a gel, tightened my shoes and tried to relax. The gun went and I was soon on the limit, as the first few hundred metres consisted on flat fire road before descending into the loamy single-track.  As the first of five laps passed I was feeling comfortable and enjoying the course and bike, but I could feel I had pushed a bit harder than I should, which was an unfortunate trait of mine. As the second and third laps passed, I was still sitting comfortably and setting a good pace, but now the sharp climbs were starting to take effect on the legs. Taking a bottle and feeding on a gel each lap was going to be the crucial part in ensuring I did not blow up and completed the race.

As I entered the fourth lap I was beginning to pay for the early effort on the first lap and the fatigue was real. I took on yet another bottle of water and another gel to keep me topped up. I knew I had one more lap to go after this and if I didn't take measures in controlling my effort I was going to blow. I let myself enjoy the single track sections a bit more, letting the bike do most of the work and roll as much as possible without losing to much speed, then attacking the climbs, to get them over quicker. It all sounds a bit odd during a race but it did actually work.

As I came onto the last lap I began to find a final bit of energy and motivation. I didn't gain any places but I was riding how I was on the first lap, being able to throw the bike into the corners and put in efforts on the fire roads and climbs and eventually which led to me eventually crossing the finish line two hours and five laps later, excited to be able to sit down.

On reflection I felt the overall the race was good and I felt happy with being able to put in efforts even in the later stage of the race. That boded well for future spring and summer races. The bike was much better than I expected. The lightweight carbon frame made it easy to keep up on with rivals on the hills and fire-roads. The smaller 27.5” wheels made light work of the tricky and tight single tracks, dare I say it, it did make me quicker than on my 29” in these parts. The Fox fork lockout made riding on the fire-roads quicker and have being able to quickly add the bounce back into the forks by using the handle bar attachment, made it much more efficient and something I would like on my own race bike. The only disadvantages were the smaller geometry, which felt much more up right than a normal XC race bike and not in such a racing position, but with the help of a longer stem is easily fixed. The other element I struggled with was the position of the water bottle cage on the frame. It was much lower than normal which was reaching for and putting back the bottle harder to perform and I couldn't complete the procedure was fast as normal.

Up next it the annual Odiham CC / 1^st Gear Cycles Mallorca escape to the sun for 4 rides of mountainous riding and then back to the road racing and spring / summer mountain bike races.

Cheers for reading.

Ryan Keynes

Odiam CC / 1^stgearcycles.com   

Merida Brass Monkeys Round 3

Merida Brass Monkeys Round 3

It’s the beginning of the 2015 racing season, which I was really looking to and racing with 1^st gear cycles and the Odiham Cycling Club road racing team it was going to be busy and eventful.

Sunday 4^th January was the date for the final round of the Merida Brass Monkeys winter enduro series, a 3 race series with 2 hour and 4 hour race categories. I was again taking part in the 4 hour category looking to improve on my endurance and looking to place higher than 13^th position from round 1.

The race was at Windmill Hill, a popular enduro venue with the Gorrick and ACU team, which provided plenty of exciting single track and some tough climbing to ensure it wasn’t too easy. After weeks of illness and then the festive season I was only just getting back out and doing some decent training, so expectation was low (as long as I beat my brother, Liam). As I arrived at the venue the fog was heavy and the temperature was artic, but everyone at the venue was in good spirits.

I lined up on the start, a few rows back to ensure I did not go racing off the front. The race was soon underway, all rushing down the fire-road before reaching the first downhill section of single-track. I found myself in a comfortable top 15 again. As the first lap progressed I found myself with a group of 3 other strong riders, who were setting a comfortable pace. The same is too be said about the second lap, 3 other riders and a strong pace. As we encroached onto the 3^rd lap I could feel the legs starting to become heavy and said to myself it was time to stop racing and chill out for a couple of laps, which soon paid off as 1 of the 3 riders blew.

I was now into the second half of the race, which thankfully went quicker than the first 2 hours. The lactic acid was settling into the legs and the hunger was greater. I stopped for some chocolate, a banana and grabbed some new gels and I was back on my way. The 4^th and 5^th lap went by and I kind of got a second wind and was still managing to ride comfortably, something I would never have been able to do this time last year. Liam had now pulled out of the race due to a puncture and some bad luck by the time the last lap was upon us, which was a relief as I was worried he might catch up with me.

As I moved onto the last time, dad handed me another bottle and some more food to ensure I didn’t blow at the final hurdle. I knew it was going to be my last lap and didn’t really have much to lose, so I put the hammer down. Well that’s how it felt anyway. I was completely unsure about my position but I couldn’t have been too far outside the top 10. As I came through the finish I was surprised to find out I had actually ridden myself into 6^th position, my best mountain bike race result in a long while and something I was very proud of.

Reflecting on the race I was very interested to see how my lap times differed from one to the next and was happy with only loosing approximately 1 minute per lap and I really don’t believe I could have done much better.

Lap 1 – 00:39:00

Lap 2 – 00:39:40

Lap 3 – 00:41:12

Lap 4 – 00:42:16

Lap 5 – 00:43:00

Lap 6 - 00:44:02

We now move onto the spring series races and beginning my campaign as a category 2 road racer.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan Keynes

1^st Gear Cycles / Odiham CC