CX Nationals Rd 4, Derby

I missed this as I was running, but it's a brilliant course down Moorways...

Koksijde World Cup, Superprestige

Full footage, brilliant tough course - skip to 1h10min to get to the exciting final lap or so. British Women did well, 3 in the Top 10 !!

D&W 3h Mini MM, Hayfield

Start,2,18,22,19,16,20,15,21,4,
23,7,8,14,12,11,10,9,5,3,Finish

17.5 miles and 1,050m ascent, 2h46min (15 mins early)
4th out of 160, pleased !

Wow - my legs didn't like that one !

First race in ages, probably all year for fell races so my hopes were not high - perhaps Top 10. Started off OK up the Pennine Bridleway to South Head, bit slow but generally enjoying it.

I started to feel less comfortable going down the first hill though towards checkpoint 22. Tarmac.

It's the general leg tightness / hamstrings feeling short / calves perhaps not stretched that made me feel like I was taking even shorter strides than I used to (and I've always got short strides!)

I noticed I wasn't catching people up as quick on decents as I probably used to but that's not a surprise really with all the cycling.

Blue skies made the rest of the day a joy, but the climb out from Birch Vale up towards Rowarth soon took the edge off that. Ascents were now slow too !

Then came the hard route choice bit - from 15 with 1 hour left do I (not feeling confident about my ever slowing pace!) go for it and head for 13 (25 pts) then be in danger of getting back well late or sweep up all remaining controls apart from 13 ?????

Well, I bottled it and missed out 13. I've just checked my splits again and I was actually at checkpoint 12 with 1 hour to go. Now I think if I'd have known that I'd have gone for 13. Anyway, as it started to pan out I was in line to finish really really early (20 minutes) so I snook in the 5 pointer too which I wouldn't normally do as it was out my way.

I think missing 13 was the wrong choice, but I was not confident in my legs. It's also the first time on a D&W running event where I've not covered the whole of the outside circumference of the course. Well, I am over 40 now !

A great day topped off with a cracking Raspberry scone, jam and cream in the great little Hayfield T Shop with Krish, Helen and Pete Baker.

Results here

MTBO Dark Peak 61km Enduro

Victory !!  1st out of 81 on the long route.

Teresa and me headed up to Chapel for a relaxed 830-9am start. Driving through really thick fog on the way up we thought it was going to be a trudge, only to be greeted by blue skies and cloud inversions north of Buxton.

Edale Panorama - cloud in the valley, clear up top !

A great hard day's training - beating Pat Higgins by 6-7 mins which is always good as Pat's a great rider. Really good riding from Chapel over some new stuff around Rowarth - a nice climb and descent logged there for future rides !

Route took us from Chapel past Birch Vale, Rowarth (all new to me), then PBW back down to Hayfield - Roych Clough - Rushup - Edale - Hollins Cross - Castleton - Bradwell - Dirtlow Rake - Peak Forest - Chapel.

Got a bit muddy and gloopy round Hollins cross - the climb up was extremely slippy mud and the descent down was actually not too bad.

Results here

NDCXL Round 10, Holme Pierrepont

Exiting the bombhole - probably too steep to walk up 

 Well, that was my favourite race of the league so far...

* Awesome weather.
* Lots of fast bits
* Damp under tyre, so no mudfest
* Some tricky sections too

Still only got 51st out of 150odd, so top 1/3rd.

That was what a race is all about - a brilliant hour.
I'd not done any hard cycling all week apart from easy cycles to work everyday, but to be honest I felt better for a break from hard training. I was even looking for to doing a final final lap only to be lapped by the winner (Dan Booth) a few hundred metres before the finish line.

Results here

Carnage going round the bombhole area !

CX Nationals Rd3, Southampton

UK Climbing iPhone App

Just discovered this amazing App on my iphone which auto links to UKClimbing and UKHillwalking Top 10 photos of the week.

Some awesome shots on there at the moment including this one which is just mesmerising.

Previous weeks Top10's are also available to download too !

MTBO 3hr Winter League 2, Grindleford

Route fm Grindleford :
1,16,17,18,21,19,22,20,11,9,5,13,12,15,3,6,7,8,10,,4,2. And relax!

38 miles and 1,900m climbing : 2nd out of 162 = Pleased!

What an amazing day and to be honest what a surprise.

All I'd done since Tuesday was stretching really - been feeling very lethargic and legs just ached. Lots!

I wasn't optimistic, but a coffee in Grindleford cafe first soon sorted Dave n me out.

Setting off in glorious autumnal sunshine - it was clear that it was going to be a fantastic day in the saddle no matter what. Heading out from the start, my legs were filled with lactic within 100m. Not a good sign and typifying what I'd been feeling all week so not unexpected. Things didn't get any better as I went up Sir William Hill either. Going up hill has never felt this bad!

Anyway, thoughts of jacking and having a scenic ride came and went. I saw a guy heading to control 1 in front of me on a Whyte. Soon caught him up, but as soon as he saw me behind him I caught the racing glint in his eye. Right ! That's it ! I thought - nothing else for it but to try and welly it up the hill and see what happened. Thankfully from that point on, legs felt pretty good, not great.

The route evolved as I went on and soon noted how a sweep along the top, down the left along the bottom then up to Wellington Monument followed by an inner loop over the Calver quarries was a logical route choice. Pleased I spotted it as it did seem to flow all the way.

Beaten in the end by Oli Holmes who I more than expect to beat me as he's a top elite rider (and he doesn't pay for his Orbea bikes!). Oli's route was similar but he slotted the 15 pointer in near Pilsley. I couldn't even see a BW marked on the map, so instead of this one I did the awful 'rocky' one for 10 pts up near the quarries.

With hindsight, I think if I'd have missed that one out I would have got 10pts less, but not lost 13pts in being 8 mins late, so may have ended up with 295pts instead of 292pts, but it's irrelevant as Oli got 308 or something.

Hathersage Outside afterwards topped off by a blue skies drive home and very very very tired legs AND arms! Not felt that empty for a while.

A good feeling though.

Beat Killian, Andy Douglas, Pat Higgins so very pleased with that.

Results here

CX Nationals Rd2, Beaumont Leys

Colour coordination - Paul Oldham & Hope

Beautiful day.
Really enjoyed watching this one.
It really is very VERY good spectating at one of these. Only bettered if it had been the womens race too !
Cycled home, 50 mile odd.
Great Flickr album from Joolze here
She never ceases to amaze.