Downhill Racing in Lincolnshire

Steve, Duncan and Matt came over to Market Rasen yesterday for a mini DH race. As I am on Baby Standby duty it had been deemed sensible for me not to race, so I did a bit of filming. Here it is...

Market Rasen Mini DH from MonkeyBoy on Vimeo.

November Misery

The month started with some rain and mud cross racing in Louth. Enjoyable? Maybe, sort of. I did learn that a 32mm wide michelin mud tyre does have a lot of grip though.
After that I have been poorly with sore throat, cold etc so almost no playing out so far. Rubbish.

Here are some amusing pics from the cross then. I'm not sure that the misery of the pouring rain comes across fully...

Octoberfest

A little update on what I have been up to this month. It started with Dusk Til Dawn. I missed this last year due to being broken after my solo attempt at SITS. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise with the awful weather that the event suffered. This year I was back for another solo attempt. My first solo was just before I got married. This time it is just before I become a father - nothing like a significant event to focus the mind. Both times I have been given number 79 too.

In short, it was ace. Dry, dusty and sandy. I rode my inbred with a nice low 32:20 gear. This let me spin along on the flat bits, pootle up the (gentle) hills and go faster than a lot of folk on the singletrack. The singletrack that was possibly the best Thetford singletrack I have ever ridden.



I exeeded my own expectations by managing 8 laps (about 85 miles) even with my pitiful summer of riding behind me.

After D2D I was then straight off on my holidays with Claire. This involved a healthy dose of doing nothing in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, combined with a nice old skool XC ride in the Dales, and a couple of days blasting around Whinlatter Forest while Claire took some slow walks in the forest and enjoyed the cafe. The momentum from this has now been kept up with weekly night rides in Sherwood forest after randomly meeting a few guys there. I then stumbled across a 4 hour enduro race at Sherwood. This was attacked with a more sensible 32:17 ratio, and got me a (just) top 50% placing with 5 laps of the forest. Ace.

Mountain bikes are brilliant, but I think I am going to have to re-learn to love the road bike now the weather is finally fading.

Of course there is always 'cross, but my competitive streak is struggling to come out yet this winter.


Pictures to follow once i find them...

BC Bike Race 2009 - the whole gory story.

Nikki (Canada) just sent me an epic tale of bicycles, racing, and... err, well... mostly bicycles and racing to be honest. Here it is, in all it's glory (click on it).

Cyclocross in the flatlands

And so it begins again. Another 'cross season has started. After missing the first round of the Lincolnshire League last week to do the Sherwood XC race, my season has begun. Time to remember the pain and joy of racing once more. So Sunday saw me lining up at RAF Cranwell on a sunny (too hot) Sunday with 50+ others to blast around in the dust.







A long course including a steep gravel descent, horrid run up and some nice singletrack through the woods took its toll on me, especially combined with the hot weather. By my last lap I had finally got back into riding a cross bike, able to jump off and on smoothly and handle the twitchy bike through the woods and over roots with only 35mm tyres and without 130mm of suspension fork.

I got an absolute beasting but remembered why i enjoy cross. It hurts but there is always someone to have a race with. Hopefully now I have remembered how much I need to push, and can move up a couple of places next time.

For contrast, this weekend will be Dusk til Dawn, and after missing last years mudfest due to injury, I am looking forward to it. Am taking the singlespeed (with a low gear) and aiming to enjoy it.


I did also get asked where my friends were (after the other Fig Rolls came cross racing at Christmas) I said they all thought it was too fast and had been scared off...

XC Racing is ace

when it is warm and sunny. Did the last round of the midlands XC today at Sherwood Forest. Thought I would use the singlespeed to get a bit more time in on it before dusk til dawn. Hmm, I forgot that I really am not a short course racer. Ouch. The elite mens leader lapped me 3 times I think, so I was hoping that I wouldn't have to go out for my 4th lap after I had started cramping and run out of drink. Yes I did. Oh well, at least it was fun.

Almost no fireroad and constant singletrack = smiley Matthew. Just a shame by back now feels broken and my legs don't work. Having done 2 hours of pain, as of next week it's back to the local cross league for just 1 hour of horror every Sunday. Good times.

Mrs. Lea enjoyed it too, she had a picnic blanket, a picnic and a book to read. She thought it was much better that all the other rubbish bike races she has been to (SITS 08 in particular)