Back in January like a lot of other people I made a list of goals I would like to achieve in 2017.
Half way through the year I thought it was a good time to look at what I have achieved and what is left to go.
Whistler – heli-skiing didn’t go to plan this was probably a bit ambitious considering my skill level on a snowboard, however we did go back country ski touring which was great fun and gave us an experience of something totally different we had never considered before.
24 hour pairs race – Fitness and timings didn’t come off for this one.
Complete the South Downs Way – Still to do
24-hour solo mountain bike race – despite the biblical rain and a broke bike I made it across the finish line in 2nd Really happy with my achievement at Pivot 24:12.
Mont Blanc expedition – this has been moved to 2018
Bike down Snowden – hoping to complete in October
Bike packing with Mum – Still working on where…
The first time I wrote this I was upset by how little I had achieved. After a good run I decided the way to finish this post was to look at how my goals had changed and why maybe some of the things I thought I would do had moved.
The first thing is my unwritten goal this year was to grow my cycling club Pedal 2 Pedal. This has been successful. I have started Saturday sessions once a month and have been fully booked for the first term. I have run 10 summer holiday camps which all filled up and from that have new children waiting to join my club. I have taught 8 children how to ride their bikes. This has taken hard work and commitment to plan, market and deliver these sessions but the hard work has paid off and Pedal 2 Pedal has grown from strength to strength this year.
Martyn and I have also found a new love for the water and have been kitesurfing, taking up a new hobby requires commitment and time to learn and develop your skills. I have really enjoyed a new challenge and pushing my body in a new direction has been rewarding and given me something new to get excited about and a reason to strengthen my whole body and not just my cycling legs!
Partly to do with having a dog that needs lots of exercise and partly down to having two friends who introduced me to it, I have started running! Not far, I am up to 6 miles. Running is great it gives me the head space and ‘me’ time that I crave from cycling with the same ‘I am working hard’ feeling that cycling for 3 hours gives me. I also brought my first pair of new trainers since I was about 16!
Had fun with friends glamping, walking, cycling and running. Racing is a lonely business, yes you meet great people and races are full of friendly faces but training and racing and the commitment to put racing above everything else takes its toll on your personal life. Having to be strict with yourself and eat the correct foods at the correct times and go to bed on time and not rink and putting going out on training rides over going out with friends was starting to make me feel isolated. This year I have fully embraced spending time and making memories with family and friends. I am happier for it, although maybe not as fit!
Overall I am pleased with amount of ‘stuff’ I have done this year and will continue to work towards my other goals.
Every summer I run holiday camps for beginner and advanced young riders. These are a great opportunity for youngsters to get outside during their summer holidays and have fun on their bikes and learn some new skills.
Over the course of an hour and a half we move around the trail at Queen Elizabeth Country Park practising different techniques on different parts of the trail based on the group’s ability.
I usually run a beginner and advanced group so that I can tailor the activity to suit the group’s ability.
This week I have also ran a mixed ability group, the advantage of this was being able to use the more experienced riders to do demos not only did this mean the beginners got a visual representation but the more advanced riders got to talk through how they would approach a trail feature and demonstrate their skills which made them feel more confident in their ability.
Here are a few pictures of what we get up to on camps:
If you would like to book your child onto a camp please contact Hannah.
Visit Pedal 2 Pedal for more information on camps and coaching for adults and children.
Whether you’re riding on or off-road after working hard to get to the top of the hill it’s good to be able to recover and enjoy the descent.
In this blog post I am going to give you my top tips for going downhill on your bike with confidence.
Mountain Bike:
Going downhill on a mountain bike is the most exciting part, most of the time, gravity takes charge and with good skill you can navigate down almost any terrain whilst the countryside zips past, with the wind on your face and the ground undulating underneath you it’s a thrilling experience, as long as you feel safe and in control that is.
Here are my tips on riding with confidence downhill on a mountain bike.
Get your body in the correct position. Make sure your feet are level on the pedals, this is called the ready position; raise your bum off the saddle so you can move around on the bike. Have a bend in your knees and elbows, your heels should be down pushing into your pedals.
Keep two fingers over your brakes all the time this allows you to gently squeeze them on as and when you need them. Use your back brake before your front brake.
Stay relaxed. Your knees should be pointing slightly outside your toes, not gripping your frame and your upper body should be loose. Do a few shoulder rolls and you will soon find out if you have tensed up.
Look where you want to go. This sounds like an obvious one but looking further ahead enables you to pick the best line down the trail so you can flow down the single-track not losing any speed and avoiding obstacles.
Practise makes perfect. Practise your descending technique on hills you feel comfortable with and as you feel more confident move to steeper longer descents.
Road bike:
The speeds you can reach on a road bike can be incredible, to enable you to be safe on the roads here are some key points you should follow.
Controlled braking. Control your speed using periods of braking with both your front and rear brake together with equal force.
Descend on the drops. You can get more leverage on the brake levers if your hands are on the drops, rather than the hoods.
Body position. If you want to slow up use your body as a wind brake by sitting up.
Look ahead for hazards. It’s important to spot hazards early, which means looking well ahead down the road to anticipate any potential obstacles, changes in terrain or oncoming traffic. Wet drain covers, painted lines, speed bumps, gravel and leaves should be avoided were possible.
Set your speed before a corner. This applies off-road as well; setting yourself up to carry the speed you are comfortable with around the corner is important for smooth, safe cornering.
I hope you have found these tips helpful. If you would like to find out about coaching or have a question please comment below.
Mud bath. Just about covers the weather for my first ever 24 hour solo race. Pivot 24:12 is based at Newnham Park in Plymouth, an old mountain bike cross-country course I have ridden sections of it before and was excited to return.
A mixture of wet weather and a dog who likes to try and go through the side of the tent meant an early start Saturday morning to travel down to the venue.
We arrived into a wet campsite full of brightly coloured tents, loud music and plenty of bikes. The event had a real festival feel to it and a friendly atmosphere. We pitched the tent on the side of the course and I prepared my food and drink for the next 24 hours. I was going to try and stay on natural foods and had plenty of dates, salted peanuts, malt loaf, bananas and cheese scones. I also had Cliff shot bloks and SIS energy gels. Hydration wise I had Dirolyte which is a great as it doesn’t taste of anything but replaces all your electrolytes.
My plan for the race was to ride for 7 hours until 7pm then have a hot food break and then continue to 1am when I would have a little sleep before continuing again around 4am. As this was my first 24 hour race my goal was to survive and ride for over 15 hours. Knowing my body I knew I needed to have some sleep in order to keep going until mid-day on Sunday. So I would break up two riding stints with a nap.
Plan in place, number board attached and food in my pocket I headed to the start line.
A key area I need to work on is getting to these mass starts earlier! I was way down the field which meant as soon as the race started I had to work hard to get through the crowds of riders, some in sumo suit fancy dress, this wasted valuable time. I didn’t let it worry me though I kept checking my heart rate and reminding myself to pace it, after all this was a marathon not a sprint.
The course was a 14km loop which consisted of one main gravel hill climb (The Cliff Climb), lots of fast twisty singletrack through woods, a bomb hole run, a river crossing and a grassy descent. If it had been dry this would have been a really fast course, the rain however had other ideas. As the laps added up so did the amount of mud you had to push yourself through, I had to stop a few times to unclog mud from my gears but apart from that I was feeling strong and going well. I had stuck to my food plan and was drinking as much as I could, the mud was making drinking hard my water bottle tops were caked in mud, so I was drinking muddy water some of the time which wasn’t pleasant. Martyn would get out snacks ready for me and fill my water bottles up. Having a good support crew is really important for endurance racing you need people ready to wash down your bikes, sort out food and keep egging you on when you start to flag. Luckily I had pitched next to a mechanic who helped me out with washing the mud off my bike and oiling my chain to keep things working. Thank you bikecity.biz
On my third lap I was making my way back into the arena when I heard a crunch, stopping, I saw that my rear mech and hanger were caught in my wheel. The only thing I could do was get off and carry my bike until I made it to the arena where I got some help, frustratingly I had to have a new rear mech which was an expensive and timely process! I took this opportunity to have some warm food and change my soaking wet clothes.
Back in the saddle feeling a little flustered I made my way back to where I had come off course and continued.
The night shift.
At 8pm as planned I pulled off and had a hot food break and a well needed cup of tea before fixing on my Exposure lights and heading back out. In the dark the course felt different the rain sounded louder and the descents were harder. After the Cliff climb was the motivation station reaching this point where the gazebo, dressed in fairy lights boomed out loud music was one of my favourite places on the course it was just before a long wooded section which in the dark was eerie and mysterious. It felt longer and there seemed to be no one else around as I made my way through the mist. I was soon joined by a twinkling light up ahead and had to work hard to catch them for the long fire road descent which took us back up to the motivation station before swooping off down more singletrack.
Once I had got over the idea I might get eaten by the bogey man, riding at night is an interesting experience your other senses come to life as your eyes adjust to the change in lighting I could hear the rain clearly, the crunch of a branch I was suddenly aware of the water dripping down my face and the cold in my fingertips. I felt alive.
To enjoy mountain biking at night you need a good set of lights, ideally a head torch and a handle bar mounted light this helps increase your field of vision. Having a head torch is great and the Exposure Joystick I was using was great through the wooded sections and bomb holes as it allows you to move the light in the direction you need it. On my handle bars I had an Exposure Strada which created a large field of vision in front of my bike.
Nearing the end of my second dark lap I had lost all use of my back brake because of the mud and was having to manage my speed with my front brake, starting to feel tired as well I decided to pop into the mechanic tent to get it looked at.
Riding into the arena the rain was being blown sideways under the big lights it was easier to see just how heavily it was coming down.
I stood in a queue to wash the mud off my bike and then took it to the mechanics tent where I waited under the light trying to keep warm. Teeth chattering away I made the decision to have a well-earned rest for a few hours, so after my brake was fixed I headed back to the tent, put some oil on my chain and peeled each sodden layer off. I have never been so muddy! A quick baby wipe shower got most of the mud from my arms, legs and head. My plait was caked in mud and I decided to embrace the mud and get some sleep, after a midnight snack of cheese scone and blueberry muffin of course! It took me ages to stop shivering my whole body was frozen, Luna (the dog) was a great foot warmer.
4am. The alarm started ringing but not quite loud enough to drown out the rain on the tent, I decided to have another hours sleep… 5am I slowly wiggled my way into dry clothes and sorted my bike out as Martyn made porridge and a cup of tea.
Making my way back to the arena to start another lap I felt re-energized, my mood boosted by the appearance of the sun and blue sky! I set off on what was meant to be my first of five laps… The mud had turned to gloop not dissimilar from trying to ride through pva glue and it wasn’t long before I was pushing my bike up a sticky climb at the top I jumped back on, pushed down on the pedal and heard the heart sinking cracking sound. I didn’t need to look, I knew what had just happened although part of my brain would not register there was a problem. I got off and pushed my bike further around the course stopping before the climb to assess the problem. My derailleur was bent out of shaped but had flung itself back I unclogged all the mud, three pedal revolutions later I was back with my feet on the ground unclogging yet again. This time the bend in the derailleur looked worrying, for a split second I wondered if I could push my bike round… that’s not a good idea the rational part of my brain decided and so it was with great frustration that I walked back to the arena with my, yet again, poorly bike.
The mechanics couldn’t fix the issue and had no more rear mechs to buy so my race was over. I felt disappointed that I couldn’t finish my race the way I had planned but the lesson learnt was that you can’t plan for everything and sometimes things happen which are beyond our control and we have to just go with the flow. (I am not usually good at doing this). I washed my bike down and headed for a shower. Martyn made me a cup of tea which I enjoyed in the sun as he packed the car. Leaving the arena I decided to just see where I came as I dropped off my exposure lights and couldn’t quite believe it said second place! I needed a second opinion so ran to the car and got Martyn who confirmed that yes my eyes were in good working order.
I was really shocked and felt a little bit of a fraud as I had only done 9 laps and had a nice sleep so hadn’t been through the sheer pain and suffering some had. I worked hard for those 9 laps and had solid lap times which I am really happy with. I need to practise getting to the starts earlier which I think will help my overall position.
I enjoyed my first 24 hour race the conditions were super tough but I kept positive and kept pedalling (until my bike broke) I think this event will be one to add to the calendar for next year.
Top tips for a 24 hour mountain bike race:
See it as an adventure, enjoy the ride
Have a good person to help you out and motivate you
Have a selection of snacks you never know what you might crave at 2am
If the weather looks like it might be wet take lots of changes of clothes it’s better to spare some time to get warm and dry (don’t forget dry gloves and socks)
On Saturday I will be racing 24 hours solo in the Pivot 24:12 at Newnham Park in Plymouth.
I am not sure physically or mentally if my body is ready for what I am about to put it through but then again I am not sure you can ever be 100% ready for anything which is demanding mentally and physically all you can be is prepared for all eventualities.
I haven’t really had a chance to think about the race properly until this week when I went to start packing and suddenly felt a wave of excitement/panic about what I have to do.
It will be one of the biggest races I have ever taken part in and as it stands my goal is to just complete it.
I know my body isn’t great with no sleep so my plan is to try and ride as much as I can during the day and then at night every 3 hours take a little break and if I get super tired maybe an hour power nap which hopefully will re-charged the batteries enough to get back on again!
My friend asked, so what do you pack when you’re going to be in the saddle for 24 hours the answer is a lot!
Clothing wise I have a shorts and jersey change for every 6 hours on top of this I have a selection of Grip Grab arm and leg warmers some light weight and some rain proof!
One thing I know from experience is cold feet mean a cold body so I have 7 pairs of socks for over the 24 hours. I will also be taking two pairs of shoes and over shoes just in case!
For my top half I have a hat to go under my helmet and a base layer along with two warm jackets and a waterproof.
Being able to change into dry and comfortable clothes will make the whole situation more bearable. I hope!
Overnight I will be using Hope lights to light up the trail these are good lights and I will be using a head torch as well as a handle bar mount for optimal lighting.
Nutrition:
During the race I will try and eat as much natural food as possible I will supplement this with gels when I need too. My plan is to eat around 60g or carbohydrate an hour which is the equivalent to 1 banana, 1 energy gel and 2 large dates. This is a lot of food but if I eat enough I should be able to maintain my energy levels for the duration.
From experience I will crave savoury foods so hot snacks when I stop will include pot noodles, porridge pots and cheese sandwiches and maybe some ham and olives!
I will be drinking mainly water but have some Vitamin C tablets and Dirolyte as well to keep on top of my electrolyte replacement.
Every new challenge brings a new experience and opportunity to learn something about myself, my ability as a cyclist and to push my body out of its comfort zone.
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