I am not a fish

The London Triathlon was last week set at the Excel centre in the Docklands. The Olympic Distance Mens race was last Sunday during a very hot afternoon. The aim was to just get through the swim and finish the race! I started off with a nerve racking 1.5km Swim in a nice, clean, warm, Thames Doc….. Apart from swimming right over to the left in the wrong direction, I felt like I was punched, kicked, elbowed and swam over!

I eventually came out of the swim 320th in my category. The bike ride up to Tower Bridge and back was the circuit, I managed to climb from 320th to 250th in the bike ride. After the cycle the run was a circuit along the doc. My legs almost gave in, but with the constant 'come on Chelsea audio' being chanted at me from young cheerleaders and spectators, I managed to pass another 50 people and finish 199th.

I am going to invest in some swimming lessons then have go at a longer distance

Surrey League RR at Walliswood

I rode the third cat Surrey League event at Walliswood on Sunday which saw a full field of 60 riders tackle 8 laps of a 7.6 mile circuit (61 miles). The weather was a bit chilly to start but soon warmed up with a fairly strong southerly wind making things tough on parts of the circuit.

My plan for the race was to stay out of trouble for the first 4 laps then try to get involved on what is a fairly lumpy circuit but with no especially tough obstacles.

For most of the race the bunch seemed fairly happy to plod along with various riders happy to ride hard on the parts of the course suitable for an attack but not hard enough to cause any damage.

Annoyingly, as I was loitering at the back feeding, four riders did manage to get away with two eventually getting dropped and the remaining two fighting for the win. I attacked with about five miles to go and stayed out for a few miles until I was brought back for a bunch sprint to decide the remaining places. It’s a shame no one came with me as I reckon with a few riders we would definitely have stayed away as the bunch crawled along A29.

It’s Goodwood on Sunday…

Festival RC "Roadbike" 10 - New address for entries!

Please note there is a change of organiser's address for entries to the Festival RC "RoadBike" 10 on Saturday 18th September.

Entries on standard CTT entry forms need to go to:
Colin McDermott
223 Hillcrosss Avenue
Morden
Surrey
SM4 4BU

by 7th September 2010 with cheque for £7.50
Contact Colin for more details at 07799505546 or mcdermottcolin@tiscali.co.uk

Festival In Guildford Road Race

After a couple of weeks off of racing I embarked on my first attempt at the Guildford road race.
I arrived early for a good warm up knowing that this 30 minute race was going to be all systems go right from the gun. This included checking out the cobble stones and my particular concern being the fast corner going into market street, which meant skimming french connection on uneven ground at speed when the road sloped away from you as you negotiate the turn.

After receiving some last minute tips from my trainer and coach for the evening Stuart Harris I joined the line up and witnessed the josseling for a good position on the line. I didn't expect it to be quite so aggressive into the first corner and I got boxed out which meant by the end of the first lap I was halfway down the field.

So I made my best efforts to get as far up the field as possible before the race settled down and the gaps got larger. The circuit was very tough and what with my early efforts I found myself really suffering the last 10 minutes although this did not mean I lost any positions in the race. Due to the speed we were going it meant there was little time for recovery, furthermore people were not riding together as it was every man for himself.

Noteable incidents were a blow out for one chap on the market street corner (see above image), plus another guy also coming a cropper on the same corner but on a different lap. Fortunately I just missed the first of the two crashes. I clipped the curb coming onto the cobbled high street through trying to use the full width of the road but that was only a glancing blow and no harm done.
I ended up with two charlotteville guys and although I tried an attempt at breaking away it failed a few laps before the end, so they both beat me over the line. We finished something like 12-14 place. Which considering my start I am happy with.

I must say that racing infront of a large crowds three deep in places and cobbles felt like a real step up and I thoroughly enjoyed it, the fact that the rain stayed away was a real plus. If I am in shape next year I would love to give it ago again, having experienced it for the first time and knowing what to expect.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the warm weather and getting plenty of miles in.

Cut at the Mill (Well more like a dent actually)

I have just been trying to send a blog about my most recent event. Whilst doing so I stumbled across a blog that I wrote some time ago, but due to my poor understanding of the art of blogging I thought I lost my my efforts forever and gave up.

But now back from the depths of my google account please find below what I should have sent several months ago. Apologies I am a numpty when it comes to technology! After much tuition from James G and Trev K, I manage to write my first ever blog. So sorry for the late issue of the festival race in March and my most recent race at Cutmill.

Festival Road race - March 2010

Thanks to those who marshalled and organised etc. Despite having cramp in both legs going over the finish line, due to lack of conditioning, I enjoyed every second. I was a tad worried about the amount of ice that could be potentially be on the roads and pot holes. As I am a new comer to this racing lark, I was relieved to hear that the race was not live until we had gone past the worst areas of ice and pot holes so we could all get our bearings - a great decision!

For me I felt good during the race and managed to stay up in the top 20 or so riders for the most of the race. I made sure I never did too much during the race (as I knew I had not done much training) although on the last 2 laps I had to close some gaps. That was until cramp set in due to lack of conditioning. I had just enough to stay with the race leaders and therefore manage a top ten finish but it wasn't pretty! It would have been nice to bring it home for a home win :o(

Cutmill Sunday 4th March 2010

My first time on this circuit which its reputation speaks for itself. The race saw a couple of crashes that I was thankfully not tangled up in, one being a guy with a puncture looking down at his wheel then proceeding to riding into the back of another guy who also had a puncture with his hand in the air.

The roads contained lots of standing water and pot holes, one of which I hit (of course no one pointed it out) and that dented my rear wheel to the extent new rim is needed. A tad frustrating as they are virtually brand new, but I guess rubbing is racing! Fortunately this didn't stop me completing the race and finishing 12th, again with cramp. But even though it soooo tough I enjoyed in never the less. Oh also my bottle cage shook loose during, so it was necessary to do some high speed maintenance en route.

As James has mentioned we are racing at Goodwood on Sunday, and it would be good to see some of you guys down there......

Festival at Eelmore

I was out for a spin on my mountain bike last night and decided to drop by the Eelmore circuit to see if any FRC riders were racing. As luck would have it Mark Workman was racing so I hung about to watch.

I turned up about 20 minutes into the c.1 hour race just as things were starting to happen. After some sustained attacks a 7 man break (actually 6 men and 1 lady to be precise) got away from the bunch and were working well.

Sensing this was a good move another 3 riders, including Mark, flew across the gap to the lead group swelling it to 10 . Having ridden quite a few Eelmore races, and with the bunch looking a bit ragged, it was pretty obvious they would stay away even with half the race left.

That’s pretty much how things remained with the lead group working well, the bunch working intermittently, and the gap increasing gradually. In the closing laps I gather someone crashed on a corner and few others got dropped so by the time the break heard the bell there were about 7 riders left. Mark attacked with ½ a lap to go but was reeled in with a group sprint deciding things. I think Mark was 7th after an aggressive ride on a deceptively tough circuit. Good work.

Festival RC 10 mile TT champs

The first club trophy of the year was decided today in the Farnham RC 10 held on the Bentley course.
On a gloriously warm day albeit a bit windy for any significantly quick times, John Froud and Mick Gowan were the early starters posting very respectable times of 25.29 and 24.31 respectively. Unfortunately, I suffered a recurrance of some bad cramping during warm up, so didn't even make it to the start line, but Barry McDermott starting at the back end of the field, produced a quick time of 23.18 - a ride that he was well happy with considering the late start to his training this year, and so wins the club 10 mile TT trophy for 2010.
On the plus side for me, I got a bit of a tan waiting for the results to come in - I could get used to that!