I quite like it when I sweat. It shows that I'm either benefiting myself or really trying my best-est. I am riding a race in South Africa next year and it will be about 35 degrees while I'm racing in the midday heat. I was thinking about trying some activities that would help me acclimatise. I've been gathering suggestions, from riding my turbo in the bathroom with the radiator all doors/windows
Photo Credit: Gem Atkinson If I called you names, it was only to give you some fire in your belly to race with.
Photo Credit: Andy Whitehouse Photo Credit: Aussie Larry - Velo UK Bradford National Trophy where its skill + fitness = result. Was just a little off the pace to begin with, didn't get my foot in at the start so lost a bike length to the other contenders. I played it safe for 2 laps, the course had changed so much since I rode it in the practise session. Truly muddy and cut up, all the
Vicious Velo CX race, 18 Dec, a photo by Andy Waterman on Flickr.Youth races start at 11am Seniors, Womens, Vets, Jnrs is at 1pm Any bikes allowed. You don't need to be a member to race. Anyone can have a go. If your not there. Then you're only cheating yourself Post by @muddysundays
Photo: Andy Waterman - Bradford National Trophy 2009 A 56 acre urban green space in the area of Bradford, that is Peel Park. Complete with ornamental fountain and children's play area. But more importantly it has a significant enscarpment that the Victorians built a terrace along the top of with set of steps leading up to said terrace. So? Well it makes for a very great epic suffering cross
Derby National Trophy at the weekend, finished up in 8th. Happy with the ride. As some big players choose to use it as their Trophy season opener. A photo story from the day can be found on ViCiOUS VELO team site Set up was: Mavic Krysium with Dugasts Condor Terra-X frame with Dura Ace 44t chainring with 11-25 cassette The course The course is rammed with off camber turns and off camber stra
When it got really foggy. I went on a off road ride. This is 7.42am. Overlooking the North Downs from Holmbury St. Mary. The fog looks like a calm ocean. I guess you really had to be there.
... a World Champion downhiller, who is also a Brit and a girl, turned up to a local cross race. Tracy Moseley then rode around on her carbon Trek and went home. I'd like to note the width of a her bars. What is that, like a 46cm. I'd wish I'd gone to gunpowder park instead of staying home to find my MOT certificate. Can you come to another, I'd like you to sign the article about you in Privatee
On Cross Junkie's blog Ok I'm decided, I'm going to watch the World Champs. Bit late to be deciding but I'm sure I can make it work.
Belgium Ride - Photographed by Kristof Ramon. See more pictures in Pave magazine Pictures: Kristof Ramon I don't hate winter, I embrace it. It is this mid point in the transition to winter that I don't care for. While everyone is still trying to hang on to temperatures in double figures, I yearn for it to drop and stay low. Yesterday it was biting and cold, today a little mild. If I wear
Went to Wales for 3 days. Went to ride the berm, drops and single track on a bike with front and rear shocks, a novel experience for me. The specifics are here, Andy was our leader. All you need to know, is that I think I did ok. I smashed my toe on a sticky outty rock when I was ascending White's Level. It has gone a bit purple. Whilst I did 'go on' about it a bit more than I needed to, I'm rat
Had a few meetings around the country and I feared it would have a negative impact on my performance at the National CX Trophy. But, it didn't. Solid 6th. A minute off Delia in 5th, I felt I didn't really put a step wrong This was the diary: Edinburgh from Thurs until Sat. Came back on a 5 hour train journey. Sunday early start to Leicester. Tueday early start over to South Wales bac
Some folks on twitter asked me for tips on dismount/remount. I'm not a National Champion. Therefore I cannot garuntee that my summary of how to get on and off a cross bike is the best way. Helen Wyman or Ian Field or Paul Oldham would probably be a better person to give the best best advice. So this is NOT advice, this is the way I learnt to dismount a cyclo cross bike for a cyclo cross race. Thi
I read in Simon Burney's CX book that one should lift your bike, as weight training, lift it in the same way as you would over a hurdle. So I've been doing 20 min runs, coming back, nicely loosened up and bashing out 2 sets of 20 reps, each side. I've been trying to keep the technique of the movement, working from a good solid core. But unlike in a race, lifting the bike as high as a could. Ju
Meaning When a decisive point at which one's future course is determined. Origin This isn't a particularly old phrase. The first citation I can find of the phrase in that form is from The Times, July 1960: "Even the holders of Government bonds turn out to be chiefly philanthropic institutions and trade unions when it comes to the crunch." What is 'the crunch' exactly? Crunch isn't commonly used as a noun, but it seems that the word was taken up by Winston Churchill, who was fond o
Rarely do I write about things I do outside of riding my CX or road bike or going to a bike related event. All those design things I leave to Benedict Spurrier and his team of colouring monkeys or the Condor Blog as it mostly relevant to that. However I've completed another thing on my list in life. A book. I'm hugely pleased with the result ( i know big head!), thank $%!£ it stayed on budget, t
Went to the crunch today. On the journey I listened to Herve x Kissy Sell Out Mash Up Mix but on Crunch FM channels there was also Jaguar Skills (free downloads) and Electro Swing that I can recommend. I got drenched in sodium, chlorides, ammonia, bit of glucose and some H2O It took 42 minutes to get to the crunch. I didn't like the journey but I'd actually like to go again. My directions
I rode my final road race of the season at Hillingdon. I only needed to get a point for 10th and I wasn't contesting the overall series win so this was just a see how it goes, get as much high energy work in as I could. I went for an out of control long sprint from basically at the club house I wound the pace and opened a sprint on the bottom corner. I started to fade at 100m to go. I always hol
She rode the Nocturne 2011 and various Tour Series races, National Road Races. I've ridden cross against Miss Garner and she smashed me then. I cannot believe that I might one day turn up to a National Series race and ride next to somone that has a rainbow jersey. Such is the dumbness of the British Cycling scene for girls. But at the same time, there is some serious talent, Armistead, Hannah Bar
I have S-Work road shoes for racing and S-Works MTB shoes for cyclo cross. I train in Specialized Pro shoes to keep the race shoes crisp and white. I've spent alot of time in my training shoes and feel fine. I did two rides in my race shoes and now the lateral side left knee super aches even on my road bike. My cleat on that foot for that shoe must be out a few mill or something. I decided to us
Skoda gave me a Tour De France white watch when I went to watch some stages with them. I was going to post about all the loot I'd got my hands on but then I didn't. Yesterday I noticed the bezel fell off and it reminded me. I feel pretty euro with it on. Like I should go out and smash 50km of sunflower littered Franco countryside.
Took myfirst win of the Eastern Cross League for the season and hopefully I have started as I mean to go on.Had a good start which took me up to 4th wheel going into the first bend. From here I wasn't really slowed down only lost ground to the faster vets. Punctured with a lap and a half to go. But it wasn't a spectacular blow up, cruised back to the pit and collected by other b
I have made it a mission of mine to earn as much cycling related 'garb' as possible. Amongst my collection I have a 'green jersey - esq Mark Cavendish balloon man' and an Eric Zarbel signed PMU foam hand. Anyways that all pales to my aim to get a podium SKODA Yeti (a 3ft massive toy). I met a real big one today.
I saw this video ages ago and its a good race.Then I saw @crossjunkie's had written on his blog about womens raceing and reposted the video on his blog (http://crossjunkie.blogspot.com/). So I've been watching it, over and over and over again. Firstly I like how Vos in the first lap sprints super hard from the front. Now that's how you start a race. Secondly Vos comes out of the long descent onto the muddy climb and makes it look flat, while her competitors behind a
Done my first proper cross race. It was muddy and then the sun shone. I was hot and the mud went to sticky heavy gloop. Made mistakes on laps 1-3 by running the short sharp climbs when I could have ridden them. I was riding them in the second half of the race but that was too late. The leaders were always just 30 seconds away. I saw them at exactly the same place and junctions where the course
