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 

Wessex Cyclocross Round 6 2014 - PedalOn

Wessex Cyclocross Round 6

Basingstoke – Hosted by PedalOn

The week prior to Round 6 of the Wessex Cyclocross league was wet, windy and generally pretty miserable. I tried to get out on a couple of longer rides which inevitably ended up me getting soaked through, despite layering up.

I was looking forward to this round, due to the diversity of the course which was a lovely mix of fast grassy fields, high hurdles, steep banks and off-road trails which collectively suited my mountain biking riding style. Unfortunately a few days prior to the race I had developed a nasty head cold (man flu/big baby whiny syndrome) and it still lingered on the day of the race. None the less I loaded up the van with my Giant TCX with some new Challenge Tyres (which I know are hugely popular) accompanied by some new Shimano road wheels before headed to the venue.

With a quick spectate of a vast field of Veteran 40+ and 50+, it was clear what sections were going to be tough and busy, and what sections you could really put the hummer down to gain some places, especially on the opening lap. The race was set to be just over an hour in length.  

As we lined up on the start line I felt a mixture of nerves and self-doubt on how well I could actually perform, but never the less I was going to give it everything to get the best position straight from the word go. As the whistle went and the hour begun and I quickly forgot about my cold and settled into a comfortable rhythm, with 4 other riders including riders from the Cotswold and Banjo Cycles. As more of the short 2.5km laps passed, the lactic acid was settling into the legs and I was beginning to feel the effects of racing hard despite only being half way through.

It is difficult to maintain such a solid pace as the race progresses especially on the technical sections including the steep hills and hurdles, as I quickly found out. With approximately 20 minutes to go I approached one of the hurdle sections with 1foot high barriers. The run in was fast and each lap I had been pushing my luck on how quickly I could get over them, it seemed my luck had finally run out. I approached using the standard procedure of one leg over the bike and dismounting with approx. 2m to go but this time I didn’t quite lift my feet as high as I should, which led to me tripping over the first hurdle, so to speak. I was sent head over heels over the 2 barriers with the bike heading further in height than in length. I quickly got back up and dusted myself off, it could have been a lot worse, and re-joined the race having lost 2 positions. I quickly got back onto a group of 2 and we worked well moving into the final stages of the race and onto the much desired final lap. The group diminished and we were all battling to hold the final top 20 positions.

I crossed the line in 19^th position out of a 51 strong field, quickly looking for the closest place to collapse and take a well-deserved lie down. I was pretty pleased with the result considering the minor draw backs and could head towards the next race knowing I can place higher when fully fit and get round without any silly glitches.

The bike was brilliant, a little on the heavy side from some of the steep slopes but my new tyres meant I could attack the downhill sections like I was riding my mountain bike, which was a great advantage.

Next race will be the inevitably wet round at Reading, Prospect Park which is another course I find good fun and will be reporting from.

Cheers,

Ryan. 

A year without blogging

Hey guys, it's been a while since I have updated my blog, but that doesn't mean to say I haven't been up to lots. I thought as a bit of an introduction into getting back into this blog I would briefly describe my past year with regards to racing, training and general life.

So where shall I start? 2014, the year I turned 21 was bound to be a big one and as of yet it has not disappointed. I started off with a big 21st blow out holiday in the French Alps for a week of skiing with 4 of my best mates. The choice of destination for this, was non other than Alp D'Huez the prolific Tour de France Finish. To say the least the holiday was bloody brilliant, 8 hours a day skiing followed 10 hours of partying and drinking in the bars, clubs and on the piste.

Obviously no riding was done during this week away and it was fair to say I was a wreck when we returned home to England. But I knew the mountain bike season was about to get underway and I needed to get back into some serious training. I had recently joined a local cycling club located in Odiham where I met some brilliant local riders who were just as enthusiastic about cycling as myself. This lead to making some great friends and training partners at the same time, some of whom were very keen on tearing up the racing scene.

My cycling season got underway with a couple of local mountain bike races to dip my toes in, but never really posted any exciting results due to the high quality field and stupidly entering into a category that was just a little bit out of my league.

March came around pretty quickly and it was time to pack my suitcase for the second time and board another easyjet plane. Still in the search for mountains but this time hoping for dry roads and plenty of sun. We were heading to Port Polenca, Majorca for 3 days of riding / training with the club. After also 350 km in 3 days with every element of weather mother nature could have thrown at us I was pretty tired and ready to come home. It was a brilliant trip and my first time riding aboard, 2015 has been booked for a 5 days of riding this time and hopefully the weather is on our side.

It was now time for the spring and summer months of racing, which including mainly racing on the road as a category 3 racer with Odiham / 1stgearcycles.com teams as mountain biking was taking a seat on the bench for the time being, with the ambition to become a category 2 riders before the year was out. There was a good turn out of riders from Odiham who were prepared to work hard as a team and see how far we could go in our first season together. It was soon apparent that we were more than capable of holding our own in a 60 - 70 man field at local races and some further a field. We were soon seeing our category 4 riders gaining enough points to earn category 3 and each becoming quicker and quicker. It was nearing the end of the season and it seemed all the years work was paying off. We were seeing some podiums and even 3 or 4 wins including one from myself, which I was chuffed to bits with. Two of us had done the brilliant job of earning category 2 British Cycling Licences for the 2015 season which presented new challenges which you will be hearing about on this blog in the coming months.

Enough about me for a second, the Tour of Britain was finally here with some excellent racing across the week, I was fortunate to take a ride along with AnPost / Chain reaction Cycling Team in their team car, courtesy of Continental Tyres around the time trial course in the heart of Central London. The day was amazing, the team were fantastic in looking after me, chatting and getting me really involved which actually taught me a lot of road racing.

As we move into the winter months, my attention turns to wrapping up warm for the cold and breezy rides and the "hour of hell" cyclocross racing, I am going to leave this blog here and open up Netflix some some post racing entertainment.

I hope you all enjoyed this and will ensure I continue to write about where my two wheels takes me.

Cheers,
Ryan.

Southern XC Round 1

Southern xc round 1 - Materley Basin

Finally being able to get a good night sleep the night before a race and not being hassled to be out to town by my less than understanding friends i felt prepared and raring to go Sunday Morning. Loading up the car making sure everything was there we set off the short  distance down the M3 to Winchester.

Once arriving, unpacking and setting up the bike i had a quick walk to the top of the hill to catch the finish of the female races. Liam and I headed out for our practise lap. Just within the first mile we were already discussing how difficult this one would be with the relentless climbing but i knew climbing was a strength of mine as i weighed so little.

Starting on the second row of the grid along side Craig Bowles whos wheel I was chasing the previous week
at the Gorrick final round he was the one i wanted to have another go at beating. This was soon off
the cards as he dropped me on one of the climbs half way round the 1st lap. By the end of the first lap
i was settled into a good rhythm and could see my training partner, Martin Turton and close rival
Paul Brennan were a just over a minute behind and i wanted to keep it this way.

Now onto the 2nd half of the race i was feeling stronger than the previous. The 3 leading master males
came pass and i saw this as my opportunity to hold a wheel and gain some seconds, which actually worked
very well. Onto the final lap and with some extra cheering on from some of the crowd i could see 11th
and knew this my chance to go. I managed to get onto the wheel of Simon from the RAF and broke him on
the final climb.

Riding into a blustary finish and finishing in 11th position in the Expert Male Cat, i was happy with
my performance and can see the improvement from this time last year. Was a brilliant race and cant wait
for round 2.

Ryan Keynes
1stgearcycles.com