Hit the North 2012

All pics: Jo Allen

Hit the North isn't any particular type of event, cross, mtb, enduro - it's just Hit the North. That's it.

It defies categorisation really. You can have an entertaining little 'which is faster - cx or mtb?' argument, though to be fair it is almost always won by cross bikes. Dave H set up a carefully calibrated scientific experiment between On One Dirty Disco crossbike and Planet X Dirty Harry 29er mtb to settle this score for once and all - read further if you wish to find out the results.

Either way it lumbers on, this entertaining off-the-wall, hors-categorie of an event. Mint balls, brass and samba bands,a  horizontally laidback atmosphere and a constantly entertaining course - it's got it all. Brant from On One even brought his inflatable Inbred man to stand and menace the brass band in the sub-zero temperatures.

The racing was fast and furious in the frozen conditions with a bigger than ever field of varied athletic types and not-so-athletic types. Favourite memory? Piling into the base of a particularly steep and hard run up, and having to navigate around a large group of fellow competitors, off their (mountain) bikes and having a right good natter. Mid race. But that's the point - whilst I was there to race, they were there to ride. Each getting exactly what they wanted from the occasion.

Of course, in true Hit the North tradition, we weren't going to get away with just minimal mud and fast conditions....  It started snowing on the last lap, slickening up the course a little prior to a mad mass scramble to exit as rapidly as possible from a by then fully snowed up car park and approach road. Which was a real shame, as half the fun of the event is the apres-race stuff - food, chat, eclectic prizegiving and tall story telling...

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 

Ride to live

General guff from me in the current edition (August) of Cycling Active on sale now.......

And then a write up on the Ronde van Oost Lancashire in the next month's mag.

Ronde van Oost Lancashire - 2011

Pic: Andy Waterman

Belgians were out in force for the 2nd running of RVOL up in Lancashire. In no particular order:

Rich Allen
Mark Turner
Simon Nurse
Dave Haygarth
John Elkin
Stef Chandler
Jason Miles
Mark Bradley
Nick Jardine
Alan Dorrington

Last minute apologies were sent by a fair few more too. Duncan and Gavin Long had good excuses though, being over in Flanders for the weekend.

An honorary mention too for Andy 'Never mind the Belgians, Here Comes ViCiOUS VELO' Waterman and Ben Spurrier from Rapha Condor who drove up from London to get in amongst the action. Hope we sent you back with sore legs......

Jonathon Day from Strada Wheels, tied up with the birth of their first child, sent a pair of wheels for me to ride instead. Nice touch. Review of the cobble and cross specific handbuilt Major Toms coming soon...

Pics, chat and general nonsense over on crossjunkie blog

2 more events this Spring

Hot on the heels of Olly and his Spring in the Peak Audax info, and without wishing to detract from what will be a great day out on the bike, can I offer the following events for your delectation?

First up, and also run by one of our own merry band, Jason Miles, comes Hit the North.



Held on 12th February, I am told entries are almost full for this cross/29er/mtb extravaganza. So hurry!

A new course this year, evenly balanced so as not to favour cross nor mtb, this 2 hour ride/social/race (delete as applicable) offers 2 hours of unfeasibly good off-road fun, with a laidback Northern vibe including local delicacies in the form of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls and a full brass band to play you round the venue. Highly recommended and easy to get to using the Manchester motorway network.

Details for Hit the North are here

Secondly, by way of an advance heads up and plug for my own informal ride, back by popular demand - the Ronde van Oost Lancashire. Born out of the frustrations of not being able to get to Flanders every year, this pays homage to the cobbles and feel of the classic Ronde van Vlaanderen, but without the need for a boat (for UK Belgians at least).





This year it is on the same day as the Ronde Sportive, Sat April 2nd. Turn up, ride, and enjoy the pave. Last year we had 35 or so - this year I am expecting considerably more...

Details here

And big thanks to Duncan for the artwork for the Ronde poster. Class.

Possible Belgian Northern Ride...

This might be a good chance to meet up and enjoy a ride.

I'm organising an Audax event in March. There's a choice of two routes, both are mostly traffic free lanes, with plenty of climbing. I usually get a whole range of riders, from those looking to race and make it a very hard training ride, to those content to take it steady, enjoy the cafes and make it back before it goes dark. (Mudguards and beards are no longer compulsory for Audax!)

Spring in the Peak Audax events. Saturday 5th March:

A choice of two routes, (please state if you have a preference.) Both are hilly and scenic rides on some of the best roads in the Peak District. Rolling start between 8 and 9am.

Stanage Surprise takes in the climbs of Abney, Longstone Edge, Cressbrook, Peveril and Stanage.
Details at http://www.aukweb.net/cal/calsolo.php?Ride=11-25

Roaches Revenge takes in the climbs of Longstone Edge the Roaches, Crowdicote and Abney.
Details at http://www.aukweb.net/cal/calsolo.php?Ride=11-170



Any one fancy giving it a go?

Der Ronde

In case anybody is up for it, the entries for the 2011 Tour of Flanders are open as of tonight! Link is here I'm down for the 260km version, like a fool. Fraser K who took some photos on our behalf (and happens to be a good friend of mine!) is coming along too!

So, who's in?

3 Peaks - we came, we rode, we were photographed

The 2010 3 Peaks race is well documented on honourary Belgian Dave Haygarth's (seen below) seminal Peaks blog so I won't repeat anything here. My own take on the whole rocky affair can be found here too.



Suffice to say there were lots of photographers and spectators out on Sunday, and lots of shots aimed at, shouts shouted toward and general love for, the Belgians. Dunc would have been proud to hear it all.....

So here is my own little selection of piccies of me (Alan), Rich Allen, G, Richard Knowles and Simon Fox - missing in the thick of it are Winkie who shunned a Belgian strip for some reason (tut tut) and Simon Nurse who rode in green but rocked the team windjacket after. We were aided and abetted by Mark Turner, Jo Hanglebads and Mark Bradley and Gemma Nurse. And probably others whom I didnt get to see on the day. A massive thank you to all the helpers as it really makes all the difference on a logistically complex event like this.

Going back to the images, superb shots in particular can be found from the Belgian friendly Cheryl King and Richard Seipp both of whom are represented below.

As he did in the race, winner Rob Jebb (1st shot below) leads us up the impossibly steep first climb and into the fun:

3 Peaks Cyclocross Preview - 26 September

In case you hadn't noticed, at the heart of 'Belgian' identity is the winter discipline of cyclocross. If, as a new Belgian you aren't already riding cross, then you will be soon, by osmosis, peer pressure or sheer curiousity down to the fact that the rest of us bang on about it so much. As an old hand, then you know what you are in for already.

However, masquerading less as the Cinderella, and more the Ugly Sister of the cyclocross world is the 3 Peaks Cyclocross, a unique annual event occupying a very Northern (as in England) niche and representing a very different part of the cross world. It is staged in the Yorkshire Dales National Park every year at the end of September and so they say, is the toughest and biggest Cyclo-Cross event in the UK. I wouldn't argue with that as such.

Here are the stats:
Total distance: 61kms (38 miles)
Road: 28kms (45mins - 1hr 5mins)
Unsurfaced: 33kms (2hrs 15mins - 4hrs 40mins)
Unrideable: 6kms - 8kms (dependent on individual ability & prevailing conditions)
Total climbing: 1524m (5000ft)

Hidden in there is some scary and rocky terrain, an allegedly neutralised bunch start of 500 riders on narrow roads behind a car, and a whole world of pain. Oh and 3 bloody great mountains, not Peaks - Ingleborough, Whernside Penyghent.

Yes it is that steep! (Pic:Wig Worland)

There is of course a merry, nay select, band of Belgians competing this year - Alan (Crossjunkie), Winkie Thin, Richard Knowles, Richard Allen and Simon Fox. Jez Hastings is also riding as his Team Wiggle alter ego but we all know he is Belgian through and through.... Most have ridden before, none I suspect are undertaking it lightly. Spare a thought too for their pit crews who face a GB rally style driving experience hotfooting from rendezvous to rendezvous with spare bikes, wheels and bottles. This is a cross race after all......

Rich descending Penyghent, the big dark lump in the background (pic: Wig Worland)



Alan in original black kit ascending Simon Fell/Ingleborough (pic:Wig Worland)


Heightened anticipation, nervousness and obsession are common traits among all Peaks entrants at this time of year, with just a week and a half to go till what is usually for most the biggest race of the year. And probably the hardest too. Most do Peaks specific training which often involves variations on a theme of carrying a bike up rough 45 degree slopes for endless periods of time.

Friend and honorary Belgian, Dave Haygarth runs a great 3 Peaks blog with all things Peak related contained within. Check it out for more insights into this unique race even if you have no intention of riding, just marvelling at the stupidity of riding up and down mountains on cross bikes. Better still, come along on that last Sunday in September and support your intrepid band of Belgians at Ribblehead or even better, half way up Penyghent when a friendly shout or bottle of water won't go amiss. That said, by that point we will probably all be looking for a wandering Vetinary with a bolt gun to end our suffering........

Cross technique - getting on

Over the recent Bank Holiday I ran a cross skills session in Burnley, attended by Belgians and friends of Belgians, and it was a timely reminder of the need to get specific with your specificities as the new season looms large in the calendar.

Mark T, Adam L, Eleanor, Richard K, myself and a good few others including a clutch of kids either re-acquainted ourselves or discovered from scratch why cross is so accessible to get into and yet so engrossing to master.

A number of others have also recently contacted me for help with the jumpy on bit of cross so here, by way of public service announcement, are some crossjunkie nuggets of gold..........

Difficulties mounting are totally common to us all, at least to start with. I assume dear reader that you are right handed and are getting on from the left. Otherwise reverse these tips. Alternatively, get really flash and become ambi-jumpstrous! Find a smooth patch of grass/football playing field and prepare to look like a loon while you practice the following....

There are 2 tips to bear in mind at all times:

Visualise and practice landing on the inside of your thigh - your right thigh if you are getting on from the left side of the bike. As you get better, you will get more accurate and closer to any vulnerable areas(!) but you still land just on that part where your groin is. You actually don't need to jump at all if you get used to sliding onto the saddle gently.

Always think about your right foot coming smoothly down and onto the right pedal. Follow the arc your foot makes as you swing your leg over and push down through the air till you make contact with the pedal. It does help if you are getting off the right way, right foot behind your left and then a twist of the ankle to unclip. This keeps the pedals roughly where you want them to be - right pedal forward.



Break it down as follows, starting these exercises at walking pace and building up speed from there:

1. Walk along side the bike and practice rotating your hips and swinging the right leg over and onto the saddle, landing on the right inner thigh and sliding slightly onto the saddle to get central. Just do it walking speed for now, but think about that right foot coming over the back of the bike and onto the pedal. Don't jump yet, that comes later. Get smooth at this before going onto step 2. Do it with hands in middle of bars and hands on hoods. Practice over and over. It's like a hurdler movement in many ways - all hips, not height.

2. Jog along side the bike. Do the same but with a very small hop off the left foot. No height, more a gentle udge onto the saddle. Think right foot down onto the right pedal. Try different hand positions too.You should be able to hop gently over and onto the saddle without a big leap. Try to dial out the stuttering of the left foot we all go through, by learning in stage 1 exactly how little you have to jump.

3. When you are smoother and more confident, build up the speed. Even flat out, the top guys hardly jump, just nudge up and over.

Though I can do it in my sleep nowadays, I still do technical drills once a week or more to make sure that they are absolutely rock solid in my mind and muscles for when I am gasping for breath and under pressure in a race. Whatever level you are racing at, it is worth it for the satisfaction alone, of a perfectly executed mount.



See you in the mud somewhere.

Belgians ride Cumbria 4th july

The last in our trilogy of esoteric and proto-classic rides is this Sunday, 4 July.

Phil Malcolm has crafted a worthy cobbled and rough lane ride around some parts of Western Cumbria you are unlikely to have seen before.

Meet 10.30am in the carpark of Cockermouth Sainsbury's CA13 9QF. Phill will guide you to the free car parks nearby and is organising the after ride food and Belgian beer requirements at the local pub.

Expect the unexpected - don't miss it!

Belgians watch the Brits

Pic: Ian McVety http://www.flickr.com/photos/40814262@N08/sets/72157624376597504//show/

Supremely challenging, relentless, savage, brutal - the pundits had a field day describing the course for the British Road Race Championships. And it was everything they said it would be.

Except these were mine and Mark's local roads, our Sunday morning ride territory, our training grounds in a tucked away corner of East Lancashire. We like to think of them as challengingly hilly, good for a workout, and beautiful to boot. It seemed a little harsh to describe them in the same language as a war zone, but that is not to underestimate the attrition of multiple laps and an unusually hot summers day.

We rode through green lanes, unmarked roads and leafy byways to get to our viewing points to watch the Womens race. Halted for an hour after a slightly predictable (narrow, bumpy, technical descents + big nervous bunch = ????) but rather nasty crash, there was less viewing time available for me, and half the number of laps for the riders.

No matter, it was a simply superb race, uncertain right to the end and full of gritty and stunning performances from the main protaganists. And a worthy winner too.

Mostly Mary Townley

Here's the juice on mine and Mark's mid week adaption of the classic off road Mary Townley Loop, part of the Pennine Bridleway and traversing around East Lancashire and Calderdale's finest hills:

7 hours out and about - 6 1/2 riding time

Temperature - 24 degrees, wind - nah. It felt hot. Damn hot.



Liquid intake - insufficient leading to a begging at nearest house water incident.



Chips and mayo? Oh yes.



Leffe on draught? Passed up, just.

Getting lost and having an inadvertant but pleasant adventure? De riguer for this sort of thing.



Suitability of cross bike for a mostly off road and rocky 50 miler? Adequate but a little harsh on long stretches of uneven packhorse sets with 65psi.



Longest stretch of cobbles ever ridden outside of Flanders? Up from Watergrove Reservoir, near Whitworth, nearly a mile long, in the middle of nowhere and going nowhere. Bizarre.



Tan/dust lines and salt stains on clothing? Guaranteed.

Travels and travails in Roubaix

Gary is a 'Belgian' through and through. OK so he seems to sport a bewildering array of 'other' jerseys, eschewing the classic monochrome look for the most part, but we will forgive him for that - he's one of our own at heart.

I had the privilege of riding the Flanders sportive 2 years ago with Gary (far left) - he's one of those lithe, lean effortless type riders packing a climber's genetics and the technique to match. He dropped me on every climb and rode the hardest cobbles with style and grace when all around were losing theirs. If they had any to start with. Impressive stuff.

Come to think of it, that Flanders trip was a proto Belgians affair really, with Winkie making up the trio, and all now signed up Belgians members.

Gary went off to complete his double of Classics monuments last weekend with possibly the hardest one day ride on the globe for amateurs - the Paris Roubaix Sportive.

Here are some of his random recollections, preceeded by the text I got on Sunday night after he finished:

Oh. My. God. Words can't describe how hard that was. Torrential rain, blazing sun, had it all.

- Seeing Rob's quick release open after a particularly bad section of pave. Scary.

- Riding all of 100 yards on Saturday and wondering whether I'd be able to finish that section never mind the whole thing.

- The detritus of bottles, tubes, pumps at the start of the Inchy pave.

- Researching who Jean Stablinski was/is.

- Looking back at the Arenberg trench and getting shivers down my spine. That was mainly the cold, but it was exciting too.



- Seriously considering the possibilities of dying in the thunder and lightning in a northern French industrial estate.

- Thinking that the pave couldn't get any worse and then hitting the l'Arbre section and almost ceasing any forward motion.

BUT...

- That moment of turning into the velodrome and onto the track... was possibly the greatest cycling moment I've ever experienced. The only slight scare was when I went way high on the track and for one second thought I might go skidding down the banking after hitting one of those ads.

I didn't. It was f*cking ace.

The use of the big ring and an inscrutable expression riding through the chaos of the Arenberg have been duly noted. Chapeau. We shall call you Flahute. Like it says on our new jerseys. I think.

Romiley Floubaix

Duncan had been planning this for weeks. A collection of snatched walks with the dog, forays on motorbike and then some pioneering efforts by bike.....


Floubaix? Well, take the short sharp cobbled climbs of Flanders, add in some classic Cheshire lanes and gravel tracks (including strada bianchi) and sprinkle liberally with some ancient Roubaix-esque pave. There you have it - Floubaix.

Romiley Floubaix

Map your trip with EveryTrail

Update: here comes the link

I think we all needed a bit of soul riding this weekend - coffee, chat and chilling round this great area. Dunc led myself and Mark round the route that, despite my previous and considerable knowledge of the area, yielded some absolute gems for the connoisieur. He found us a petit Arenberg, so rough that it has claimed several of Dunc's bottle cages on recce and a full blown, arrow straight grand Arenberg that is the closest thing to Northern France's finest you will ever find in this country. Riding on Dunc's wheel down these 16th Century cobbles, seeking out the centre ridge, for a moment I glimpsed what must the nerve shredding intensity of Roubaix, dodging the holes from missing cobbles, fighting to keep the bike straight, trying to relax amongst it all.

Like my Ronde, though only around 40 miles in length, this route wears you down with cobble, gravel and lots of up and down. No big climbs, but a hard parcours nonetheless. It flows beautifully, assuming you know where you are going, making great use of the small features as well as the overall landscape. We finished with latte and carrot cake in a great cafe in Marple Bridge, watching the elegant young ladies of well-heeled Cheshire going about their ritual Saturday shopping.

Oh, and if you like checking out how the other 2% live, then there are properties all over the shop that redefine the word 'mansion'.



PS Take some fat tires with you - your bike and bum will thank you.

ronde update and briefing

Find last minute details here - with the exception of an accurate weather forecast.....

Ronde van Oost Lancashire April 3rd 2010

Calling all Belgians, calling all Belgians.........




Come and join us for the real deal in East Lancashire on Sat 3rd April - cafe at the car park for post ride dissection, weather guaranteed (not saying what sort...) and of course more cobbles than you can shake a 24mm Pave tire at.

It is fair to point out that both routes are challenging and require a reasonable degree of fitness, though the Achtervolgers group will miss out some miles and a fair amount of extra climbing from the full route without foregoing the Flandrian feel. We are running it as a 'Gentleman's and Ladies' ride and will ride together and look after each other in time honoured fashion, though I suspect there may be some action on the climbs....

Maury and Wolfram (and Jez)- we realise that attending this may be a stretch too far for you all but we will have you along in spirit. Bon courage!

Route desciption here

Route Cue Sheet here

Disclaimer: This is a social ride, not a competitive event. All riders participate entirely at their own risk and liability.