So after waking up at 5am on Saturday and then soaking up the cream of Belgium racing at Koksijde cross race and then onto Gent for the 6th day of the 6 day racing. Before walking up and down at 2am in the rain to find a taxi. Somehow we got back to the Holiday Inn and no one remembers telling the driver where we were staying.
So 10am Sunday morning and blam. Its raining, its cold and I'm thinking darn I've done that English thing again of not properly dressing for the conditions. No mudguards and my legs and feet are soaked through after the first 5 mins.
Rapha classic soft shell (they should do a girls version that should be sweet). Anyway so it had its first outing along the canal as a contingent of mainly brits rode under the direction of Andy Verral.
Whilst I appreciated being warm I also was slightly gutted that I was dousing my new jacket in mud - but then again its not just any mud Belgium mud.
It was a great ride, in wind and rain. Not fun to begin with but it made it more rewarding after. Then the rain stopped and a blue - ish sky crept through. Then we smashed it up the Molenberg. Then rode a bit more. Not a car in sight. Belgium is where its at.
Kristoff Ramon took some really nice looking photos and that made it even better.
Jon Cannings organised the ride and it was a bloody good idea.
After I ate steak and a load of frites covered in Peppercorn sauce. I ate a big bar of Milka chocolate with crispy bits in it.
So 10am Sunday morning and blam. Its raining, its cold and I'm thinking darn I've done that English thing again of not properly dressing for the conditions. No mudguards and my legs and feet are soaked through after the first 5 mins.
Rapha classic soft shell (they should do a girls version that should be sweet). Anyway so it had its first outing along the canal as a contingent of mainly brits rode under the direction of Andy Verral.
Whilst I appreciated being warm I also was slightly gutted that I was dousing my new jacket in mud - but then again its not just any mud Belgium mud.
It was a great ride, in wind and rain. Not fun to begin with but it made it more rewarding after. Then the rain stopped and a blue - ish sky crept through. Then we smashed it up the Molenberg. Then rode a bit more. Not a car in sight. Belgium is where its at.
Kristoff Ramon took some really nice looking photos and that made it even better.
Jon Cannings organised the ride and it was a bloody good idea.
After I ate steak and a load of frites covered in Peppercorn sauce. I ate a big bar of Milka chocolate with crispy bits in it.
Re Post below: LONDON LEAGUE is so the hardest league, lets just face it. the Porc (22nd Nov) race was bascially trying to get riders to kill themselves riding down a mountain bike course with berms and then ride up a massively long hill. A load of mud rammed into my chain had to dismount on the climb and I know I wouldn't be able to get going. I then had to run up the hill. It burned, my muscles were on fire. Then the when on the flat I was finally able to remount the legs didn't want to turn. Lost my lead and finished 2nd.
First post: 
A few of my dear crossers have run off pot hunting in the Central league (shant name names). Whilst its not that much further than some of the London League races - a comment about the central league is always followed by "yeh but its for whimps..."
A few of my dear crossers have run off pot hunting in the Central league (shant name names). Whilst its not that much further than some of the London League races - a comment about the central league is always followed by "yeh but its for whimps..."One way to settle it would be a quick look at the lastest result from the inter-areas. But at the same time some important folk will have missed that race. It comes down to two things. Competitors and courses. The feeling of the Southerns is that it is miserable up North. Raining and cold, they recieve much more of a mud bath than our mild fun cross mud. The London league welcomes over 100 competitors every week to its courses and other leagues may not be so popular. Does that make it harder or is it just because the population is denser?
North West looks like it could be troublesome with characters like Jebb getting involved, but on questioning some other riders (again from the south) they say its the Notts/Derby league that dishes out the pain?What about Wessex? Weak. But Hargroves are from that neck of the woods and they didn't just spring up because there isn't any competition did they or is it that there is some great cx to be had?