Tracks

A question on a site I sometimes dip in to posed the question 'Where have you been riding recently' which got me thinking about my own saddle time during the past few months, here's my response..

 2014 is, in my mind going to be a big year, I have several challenges set which will require me to be fitter than in previous years, this means I need more training.. Yep, you read that right, training, in order to be able to achieve them.  Two races in the first quarter of the year will push me hard and an imperial century on the road in May means that I need to ensure my hard won form from last year is maintained.

 So, I'll admit where I'm at in order to do this

 

 ..A turbo trainer

 I've been considering one for about 18 months and now that I have it I can vouch for the brutality of a turbo workout if you're prepared to sweat and suffer in equal measure.  It's great for pre dawn, pre kids rides when the feasibility of riding miles on the road isn't possible.  I enjoy it for the simple fact that I'm turning legs and grimacing when others are huddled down under duvets.

 However, despite the UK being currently battered by heavy winds, rain and low temperatures (a natural phenomenon I like to call 'Winter') I have ventured out doors..

 

 It's muddy.  Very muddy.  And flooded.

 Fun though and whilst I long for the dry, dusty, frictionless trails of summer I appreciate the hard miles won during winter for the increase in fitness and handling our soggy mud covered  rides are currently handing over in return for the motivation to resist the pull of warm homes and rubbish tv.

 So, I'm getting a buzz from riding indoors and outdoors at present.. I mean, it's just good to be riding at the end of the day, right?

Biblical

That's the only word that can be used to effectively sum up last nights ride.

Bloody wet to you and me.  With some weather system effectively buggering up any chance of having dry trails until 2030 the stoic few of us in the midweek ride group met in the Forest of Dean to make the most of a bad situation.  Our now regular ride haunt around Ross is currently falling foul of the Forestry Commission who are able to turn any piece of woodland quickly and efficiently into a landscape worthy of an end of the world or war film.

We set off with no real plan apart from try and stay upright and to gain as much feeling of smug as is possible for braving the conditions whilst our nesh mates sheltered in doors.

Heading up the man made trail from the Pedalabikeaway car park we were soon heading to a small piece of raised woodwork that was being put in as a trial.  Whilst we all cleaned it without issue, Matt, who is probably the best rider in our extended group had multiple attempts.  Any time he doesn't do something first time and better than anyone else is cause for much hilarity and woe betide him if he falls off.  Whilst he circled around for yet another attempt I wasn't sure whether to take a photo, or, as H suggested crack out the easel and sketch him riding it.. I'd have had the time

Not a great picture, maybe I should have gone with a sketch..

 

I've not ridden the Verderers trail for about two years and I had a great time picking up the trail again, lots of berms and swooping through deepening puddles whilst the relentless rain pounded down on us.  A strange evening though, wet but humid meaning getting the right level of clothing was tough.. Coat on, coat off..

Sitting at the back through a sweeping section of trail Jamer lost the front end after dipping slightly off trail, he hit a tree dead centre and superman'd it over the bars.. No harm done but he took no time in extolling the virtues of his knee pads to me.

Hitting a well known trail I couldn't believe the sheer amount of standing water and thick mud which lay in front of us, it wasn't recognisable since my last trip down it and if one thing was certain is was that no records were going to be broken as we each (with the possible exception of Matt who had regained his crown as trail maestro) struggled to stay upright and pointing down the trail.

It was here that two things happened, firstly I lost the front end in mud and went over and secondly, I became aware that my cleat had become loose, luckily I fell to the side which I could still unclip from, but the tumble jarred my other knee painfully.  Finishing the trail somewhat more carefully than seconds earlier my mates rallied round and in increasingly heavy rain rearranged my cleat for me.. No lost bolt thankfully but something I need to sort out at home and in the dry.

With the rain now so heavy that our headlights made each raindrop look 6 inches long we headed for a final descent and the sanctuary of the cars. 

The descent in question contained a section of trail I've never cleared before, in thick mud and pouring rain I managed it, getting to the bottom I had an enormous sense of achievement.

Last climb and drop and we were back at the carpark, but not before the final problem of the night made itself known.. My forks had completely seized, something was up and it's the sort of something which needs the bike to be dropped off at Revolutions to sort.. and only 4 weeks until the new one turns up...

Arse

Mucky Nutz Bender Fender Review

Love them or hate them, mud guards are an important part of any UK riders armoury.

I admit to hating them, even to the extent that after countless Mountain Mayhem Battle of the Somme type mud experiences I steadfastly refused to adorn my bikes with them.  Beauty is in the eye of the bikeholder and I didn't want to spoil bike lines with massive great big wings stuck out over the rear wheel.  My brief flirt using a 'free with a mag' crud catcher ended with a crash and I could never be arsed to buy and fit another.

 

I first came across the Mucky Nutz brand on another blog, the writer explained the lightweight nature of the item and that it was fixed only to the saddle rails to allow ease of fitting and removal.  I promptly ordered on and it has been with me (either on the bike or in the rucksack) since.

 

Up front though, I've not had much and during a ride a couple of weeks ago I saw a lad with a Bender Fender.  I liked the low profile design and the same simple design which copied across from the rear guard.   Heading to the website when I got home I browsed through the units on offer and then found the Bender Fender 'Lite' in the clearance area, having been reduced to £4.50.. bargain. 

When it arrived it was flatpacked in an envelope with a 30" length of double sided Velcro zip tied to it.  Fitting was a breeze (even for a technical incompetent like myself).

 

Firstly I cut the Velcro into 5 same size lengths and then fed it through the hole in the fender, around the fork stanchion and secured it on itself.  I’d read a review that it could be a little tricky to fit, but I guess taking the wheel out means free uniterrupted access.  I worked on the side fixings first and then on the fork bridge, pulling each one to align the fender over the wheel, balancing coverage and clearance.

 

Overall, fitting took me 5 minutes and a quick spin of the front wheel showed no areas of rub. 

So far, so impressed.

 

My first ride out was a perfect opportunity to test the function of the fender.  The weather has been truly atrocious, heavy and prolonged periods of rain have turned even the most weather resilient trails into a series of puddles and the hardiest of riders have been calling off rides.

 

Into the Forest of Dean and I was keen to see how the guard performed, I acknowledged when I placed the order that due to the short length, I was still going to get some splash up but I admit to being incredibly impressed, even through horrible thick mud and then free flowing water the guard performed incredibly well.  The down tube was testament to the effectiveness of the bender fender at the end of the ride, looking far less spattered than normal.

 

Not only is it efficient, but it's low profile looks mean that for me, this is going to be a permanent fixture to the bike and will be transferred when the new one arrives in a few weeks time.

 

For a simple, effective and good looking solution to the eternal problem of mud in the UK I highly recommend anyone get the Mucky Nutz Bender Fender!  Available here

Balancing Act

Our normal weekly ride went ahead as planned last night and, I'll make no bones about it, it bloody hurt.  Not just because we started the ride with the temperature hovering at around -5 and pointing downwards either.

 Pulling into the carpark there were already 6 other riders shivering around their bikes.  Getting kitted up as quickly as possible I soon noticed that I only had one glove.  Amongst the typical (and only to be expected howls of derision given the unwritten rules of the group) Al  bravely offered to lend me his spare set.  Gladly accepting I got my helmet out of the back of the Landy and found my second glove nestled in the straps; cue more howls of derision.

We set off as quickly as possible and, before a few hundred metres had been covered, our first problem manifested itself.. Rex's glasses fell apart, a few cold, foot stamping minutes for the group and we were on our way again.

 The fire tracks were covered in a few inches of snow and the going was tough, the forest seemed transformed into a new and unrelenting world of lung freezing air and ice rink trails.

It became quickly obvious to me during my efforts to keep up with the quick moving group that time off the bike has really affected my legs, where I was previously powering up hills at the front, I was reduced to bringing up the rear with no answer to an unrelenting pace.

The temperature soon affected our bikes, first victims were our camelbaks, attempted drinks of water resulted only in the scrunch of ice.  Brake fluid thickened, mechs stubbornly refused to shift and gear cables stuck in their hoses.

Approaching the last singletrack of the night we dipped close to a local pub.  Brightly decorated trees lined the carpark perimeter and warm light spilled through the windows into our separated world of ice and snow.  A wistful final glance and we turned back into the Forest for a blast down Dr Johns.

 A couple of hours after leaving the carpark we were back, hurriedly loading kit and bikes into cars and heading to our respective homes for warm showers.

 It occured to me during the ride that fitness is a fickle thing, whereas a month ago I had biking legs and lungs, a few weeks off the bike and on the roads has seen my fitness shift towards running.  I guess that's what makes triathletes impressively fit, they are constantly stretching themselves in different ways and, to compensate they become rounded and adaptable athletes.  This is the start though, my first season of competition is still months away and I have a winter of preparation between then and now.

I'm aware that the weather has become a national talking point of late (lets be honest, when is not a talking point in the UK?) but I thought I'd share this with you, a comment passed by a very straight talking mate.. 

 "It's not the BIG FREEZE, it's not the new ICE AGE FROM HELL or any other bollocks that our lying, brainwashing media try to make everyone panic with. It's WINTER. Thats right, that simple WINTER. That being the same, simple, straightforward winter that has happened since the last ice age, every year for approximately 2,000,000 fucking years. Probably just time to get your big girl pants on and deal with it."

In Defense Of Winter

My work mate, riding buddy and head of FKK Racing has recently posted about winter training. I'm assuming here that you'll disappear off to read his thoughts on the subject so I'll pause a moment to await your return..

Hello again.. this just be my take on it but he doesn't paint a very positive view of the season that Britain seems to spend 9 months of the year entering, suffering or emerging from does he?

I've got a different view on the subject. I have to admit, I didn't used to have, but my change of heart has been born out of numerous dealings with wet weather that saturates to the bone, cold that chills to the core regardless kit used and darkness that stubbornly resists giving way to daylight.

I've come to realise that riding in the winter is, to all intents and purposes the yang to summer ridings ying. It's nature's payback for providing us with dry trails, sunlight dappled forests and balmy evenings when rides can finish late with only shorts and t-shirts being required. People often moan at the start of summer that they aren't fit, the fact they spend the winter months slumped on the sofa watching Top Gear repeats on Dave seems to be lost on them. In the same way as I believe the best descents are hard earned by grafting an ascent, those summer trails are all the sweeter for seeing them at their worst

I have a friend in the army, he often says that if you can train in the harshest conditions, anything else will be easy. To back this up, my best year of competition followed a difficult winter of training in preparation for an early year half marathon. Slogging through the cold, the rain and, more often than not, the thick mud that covered my favourite trails saw me hitting the frictionless summer singletrack full of new found strength. I admit, Ad does have a point, pulling on running or biking kit when, just the other side of the door the visible countryside is being battered by wind, rain snow or sleet is tough. When you're there though, so what? once you're wet you're wet, if you're cold you can warm up either through effort or reaching home and the comfort of a warm shower. Mud washes off, skin is waterproof and, to the best of my knowledge, the fondest memories are forged when the going is toughest.

Getting out there in the dark months separates us from them.. whilst we pound pavements or nail singletrack, the fairweather athletes and, even worse, the non-athletes sit, stagnating, hollow-eyed and oblivious to the world outside their windows.

I'm even backed up by scientific evidence (I'll note now this will be a rare occurrence on this blog so don't expect it too often) Research done by the University of Northern Arizone has found that training in cold air teaches your body to be more effective in it's use of oxygen, further more, Peter Clough at the University of Hull here in the UK found exposure to cold helps alleviate stress.

A double whammy it seems, ignoring the elements will not only give you a well deserved mental edge over your summer riding mates who hang up their kit at the end of September till the following year in favour of an increased waist line, it will also, seemingly will give you a physiological one too.

Winter Training? I'd love to