The Finest Beers Available to Humanity + Ebay = ……

Well….. In this latest reoccurrence of the seemingly oft visited equation, I’ve ended up with a Wolber Profile 20 tubular wheelset!!


Maybe I want the full cyclocross experience? Maybe I’ve got ideas of grandeur? Maybe, with tubulars in place on the X-Wing, I’ll be able to claw my way through the field to 89th place? Who knows?

Anyway, I have no experience in this department, so a little trip to the forum for advice is needed I feel……

Get Cross - cx skills course

Thinking of riding the Peaks this year? Already riding but want to go faster? Wanting to get into cross? Myself and Dave Haygarth are teaming up with MTB legend Ed Oxley to help you brush up on those cross skills - Get Cross:

Get Cross: A one day course to improve your cyclocross skills

Ed Oxley brings his extensive knowledge from countless mountain bike skills courses to teach betterbike handling.  Ed has taught hundreds of riders better bike handling and brings out the best in everyone.

“The best money I’ve spent on a mountain bike was learning to ride it properly. By the end of the morning I was riding stuff properly that I would previously have balked at. Highly recommended”

Alan Dorrington and Dave Haygarth join Ed to look at applying those skills to a race day.  Shaving seconds off every bend, climb and descent is not just about being the fittest. This part of the course will look at the recce, the race line, and how to apply Ed’s flowing riding skills when under the pressure of a race. Shaving five or ten seconds per lap in a ten lap race is worth a great deal, so put the turbo down and let’s learn to ride smart.

To book please contact Ed ed@great-rock.co.uk or 07939 205563

Saturday 10th September at Lee Quarry, Bacup

Cost £70 

G' day all!

Howdy folks,

For those members who don't know me, I moved from the UK to Australia (Sydney) late last year as a consequence of the impending recession gloom and as a reaction to general itchy feet. So far I've adapted and of recent months have started to enjoy things.

Riding wise, I've become more of a roady since arriving with cross still in its infancy and MTB enduros (a plenty) being a possible longer term but expensive substitute. I never thought I'd ever race a criterium but thanks to my new local road club I've jumped in head first and with some good support, I seem to have gotten a bit faster thanks to perseverance!

More recently I came across a hardcore cross group from Melbourne who were staging a series over the winter months (May - September here) so decided to part with some cash and fly over to check things out.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect race wise as the group seemed more focussed on the beer and frites. Further, I'd no idea of the fellow competitors I'd be facing. On the day I was pleasantly surprised to find a well organised event with 3 categories to choose from including open, A category and B category. Having done plenty of cross last season with progressively improving results I decided on A category and joined the remaining field of 50 or so including some national level road and MTB lads.

The race was set at 50 minutes plus a lap and took in a 4 minute lap comprising of a predominantly lumpy, grassy circuit with a far dosing of barriers and off camber sections. Having learned the hard way last season I ensured I'd dialled the right lines during the many practice laps and made sure I was well gridded. The race got under way with a decent start and after what seemed like forever I managed to secure 10th spot which I was happy with having mentally aimed for a top 10 place.

Here's a great little video of the event creatively compiled by the gorgeous Kathryn Feldmaier who I couldn't miss snapping away pre race - props to Dunc for the good looking kit!

http://vimeo.com/25482981

Summer Cross Rounds 5 and 6

Round 5 – Brigshaw School, Kippax

Considering the afternoon’s torrential downpours that plagued the Leeds area, the blazingly hot sunny evening that greeted Belgians Rich, Waggo and me John P, was actually a pleasant surprise. In addition, the excellent course, which I thought was a return to form, comprised fast open stretches of playing field, some single track through a small wooded embankment, a step climb, and a sandpit, had not suffered from the rain, and remained essentially intact and fast. My race consisted of the now familiar fortnightly tussle for the lower ranked positions – but a good enjoyable race was had across the varied course - finishing 68th - and also within a sizable group of 8 lappers. So overall fairly pleased - but boy was it hot!!

Round 6 – New College, New Hey Road, Huddersfield

How long is New Hey Road? It’s a chuffing long I can tell you. Having spent half an hour asking for directions and doing countless u-turns, I realised that simply setting the Tom Tom to ‘New Hey Road, Huddersfield’, thinking “That’ll get me near enough”, wasn’t going to get me anywhere ‘near enough’. A quick phone call to the Mrs, who found the proper post code for me, confirmed this. A frenziedly mad last minute dash across the outskirts of Huddersfield followed and, thankfully you’ll be pleased to read I’m sure, I made it. I managed a 5min warm up too. The massive 100 competitor field encompassed Belgians Alan, Dave, Rich and me, and also included, for good measure, the Nick Craig’s and Renee Saxton’s of this world. Continued, essentially dry weather resulted in another hard and fast course, and with no dismounts, running sections or hurdles etc. engineered into the lap, the relentless pedalling commenced straight from the hooter. An early entanglement with another rider resulted in a couple of bent spokes and buckled front wheel – which, in all fairness, didn’t really hinder my stately progress all that much, and I rolled in in 89th position. However, who knows, with a fully functioning bike, I may have been able to give Nick Craig more of a run for his money! Next time……

Thanks to Jo Hanglebads for the Photos.