Fort William Bound...

Morning all! First post in a while. Things have been rather busy so I haven't had too much time to update. Over the last few weeks i've been getting some great training in. I've also been busy with other projects (getting motorbike ready for M.O.T) and work so not much spare time!

I've also had a little race. A couple of weeks ago, the Island hosted the Hebridean Challenge which is a 5-day adventure race through the Outer Hebridies. I got invited down to that to participate in the MTB and Road time trials, but could only make it to the MTB TT due to work commitments. Needless to say, I had a great ride, and even though I was pretty fatigued going into the race, I finished 1st by over 40mins. I should mention that the guys I was racing with weren't MTB specialists by any means, and they had been racing for a few days so there were some tired legs but it was great training none the less, so a really enjoyable event, and great to have it on my home turf for a change!

This weekend, i'm racing at Fort William for Scottish XC MTB round 5. This is one of my fav courses as it has a monster climb followed by technical, fast descent. The following weekend, i'm racing the Scottish Road Race Championships in Hawick too, so plenty to look forward to. Will update soon with the results.

Anyway, got to dash... time for work :-)

3rd at Scottish Champs!!

Evening readers. I'm happy to say that i've just bagged myself another great result of the season with 3rd at the Scottish XC MTB Championships. The race was held down in Glennifer Braes, Paisley last weekend which provided a controversial course which had very little total climbing and long, grassy drags across fields and through a couple of wooded sections.

My good friend Dave Henderson who is dominating the Sport category this year offered to put me up for the weekend, which was great as he lives not too far away in Edinburgh (thanks for that again Dave). We both hit the course on the Saturday to get in a practice lap, but being more of a climber, I didn't hold out much hope of doing so well on the flatter course which kind of resembled a Belgian cyclocross circuit. Despite criticism, I actually quite liked the course and could tell it would really test your fitness to the max, as there was pretty much no-where to rest.

However, come race day, we were hit with some heavy rain and on walking up to sign-in we could see that everything had changed - the course had turned very muddy indeed. The fact that everyone was mounting up 1.5" Mud tyres didn't make me feel any better about the situation though, as I had an almost semi-slick rear and worn Conti Explorer up front, and no other tyres with me. Trying to stay calm, I knocked the pressure down a bit to try and find some grip.

The race was started 200m down a rather steep, World Cup style, tarmac road climb which had been closed off for the race. Being the championship round, Sport and Elite/Expert were all started together, so there was a fair old peleton of riders elbowing and shoving once the start whistle went. I took no chances at this one, and powered up the outside, straight into 3rd/4th position behind Andy Barlow before we hit the mud. The effects of my recent cold were soon evident as I was coughing up all sorts of nasty snot and flegm soon after the start (eww). Half a lap in, I was holding Andy's wheel, closely followed by James Fraser Moodie and another couple of riders. Up front, Gareth Mongtomerie (who had just won the Elite British National race the week before) and Rab Wardel were driving things on. Before long, James Fraser attacked and I followed through, which appeared to leave Andy unable to respond (!!). That was the last we saw of him for the race. The two of us plowed on ahead, but were soon joined by my mate Dave Henderson for the next lap or so (top effort Dave!).

From then on, it was pretty much myself and James battling and trying to stay upright for 3rd position. We kept getting shouts advising 1min to the leaders, but on lap 3, I made a bit of a mistake which gave James a little gap. However, in traditional style, I kept something for the last lap, and came past him just into lap 5, with him unable to follow. With my sights then set on Rab Wardel, who I could see just up front, it was "full hammer" to the finish. Disaster then struck with about 1km to go, as the rear mech jammed up, ripping the hanger clean off!! I proceeded to run with the bike, hoping that i'd make it to the line before James caught me. Let me tell you, the run hurt more than the entire race, I must have gone completely anaerobic for those few mins until I crossed the line, thankfully with James still out of sight.

Beaten up and caked with the finest Paisley mud, I was however quite content with 3rd spot on the podium. Nice to reach one of my other goals of the season. I also figured that the recent interval work must have payed off. I'm definately one of the lightest riders on the start list so doing so well on a flat course must mean that i've upped my wattage output a bit. Just wait for a course where power to weight comes into play - Fort William is the next round and it's on the World cup circuit ;-)

Back on form

Well, thanks to some strong will power and constant lectures from my parents, I took 2 complete days off the bike after the cold hit me and woke up on sunday fully cured. It just goes to show how some proper rest really can help with sickness, as i'm normally reluctant to relax and keep training, only to end up feeling crap with lingering symptoms.

I kept the first couple of days back on the bike nice and steady, with little intensity to be on the safe side, and ramped things up last night with a few short interval sessions. Went on the Hebridean CC club run tonight and can confirm that i'm back to form, legs are feeling *very* good indeed, so very much looking forward to the Scottish Champs this weekend. The entry list shows some fairly top competition, so it's going to be a tough race. Keep tuned for a report!

Just as everything was going so well...

Hello readers. At the moment, i'm sat in the house doing as little as possible as i've been hit by a bad cold. Feeling pretty weak/tired with it and the nose is streaming so decided the best way to get better quickly is to lay off training. Not a happy chappy, but I haven't had any illness since the new year so I really cannot complain as we are half way through 2008 already (where has it gone to?!).

The Scottish XC MTB Championships is on next weekend, and as you can imagine, it's not exactly the best preparation but these things happen. On the positive side, the speed work i've been doing in the last two weeks has brought through some of the best form i've ever had, so I think that i'll still put in a good performance if this cold clears quick enough. Very surprised how quickly i've responded to the speed work, i'm really feeling that the large amount of base training over the winter has payed dividends for this. I did a pretty hard 65mile road run last sunday and walked into the house feeling fresh as a daisy.

I've never been a fan of taking medication when you are sick unless you really need because it never seems to do much for me and just fills your system with stuff it isn't used to. So, at the moment i'm just drinking lots of (non caffeinated) fluids and sticking to my healthy diet, while watching the premium section of http://www.cycling.tv/, which is keeping the cycling adrenaline flowing ;0)

Peace out people.

Back to the plan...

Well that's me back into the training regime after a 5 day rest period off. It kind of felt a bit strange not to be riding the bike, but it was great to just relax, and take the chance to catch up with some things that i've been meaning to do for a while but not had the time to. Last weekend, I went fishing with my father and sister in some cracking weather, and we managed to catch 4 brown trout which was just great. I was also permamently hungry, so can confirm that after eating my way through the kitchen and sleeping loads, i'm fully recovered! Thankfully the weather has held out, and the sun is still shining so it's been a joy to do anything outdoors.

After a layoff, I always go back into things with re-kindled enthusiasm so this week i've been up before college every morning doing interval training on the turbo, followed by an easier, recovery session in the evening. I figured it was a good time to start some speed focused training as i've not been able to do any structured speed work yet this year with the busy race schedule i've had over the past few months. Things seem to be working very well indeed so far, the legs are feeling very good and I can feel benefit from the speed work already. Last year, I really started riding on top form after this type of training session, so hopefully i'll respond well to them this year too.

The Scottish XC MTB Championships is on the 22nd of June so I won't be racing until then, instead i'll just be focusing on training leading up to the event. If last years course was anything to go by, it was fairly flat so it may not suit my build so well, but the course is all-new so with any luck, I might be blessed with some tough climbs. Currently on day 2 of rest after a hard 4-day block, so will be enjoying the sunshine tommorow with a 60miler in the morning and easier, recovery session in the afternoon. Adios for now amigos!

Scottish XC Round 3 - 2nd Elite/Expert

Howdy people. Just got back on Monday from the 3rd round of the Scottish XC MTB series which was (for once) held nice and close to me at Fyrish, just outside Dingwall. I'm still grinning about this one as it's pretty much my best result ever, so i'm very pleased. What's also good is that it could be regarded as my "local" race as it's as close as it gets with just a 60ish mile drive from Ullapool after the 2hr 45min ferry crossing.

Arriving at the course on saturday, I soon realised that this one would be a true test of skill and fitness. The course was described as "old skool" by many, meaning that there wasn't anything in the way of man made groomed berms or surfaces here. Instead, what you basically had was a lot of climbing up some very steep and loose fireroads, through some wooded sections and then a long, natural surfaced singletrack descent through the trees which was full of holes/roots and technical bits to really catch you out. A real nice course!

Myself and Dave stayed at the friendly Fyrish B+B where we recieved a nice warm welcome, with the lady owner even letting us use her kitchen to knock up some Pasta the night before the race, having failed to find somewhere locally that actually served Pasta (Dingwall people appear to live on chippy's and indians...). Anyhow, the B+B brewed Pasta satisfied the fueling strategy perfectly, and after a good nights sleep and some pre-race oatmeal, were good to go!

It appeared that i'd have a good fight on my hands at this one, as Ross Creber (Science in Sport/Trek), Andrew Barlow (Whyte Bikes), James Fraser Moodie (Pedalpower) and Kenny Riddle (An ex-scottish champion) amongst others, were all registered at sign-on. Not so bad I thought, a top 5 and I would be happy. However, I had the gut desire to really lay things out today and try and beat Andy as he's only been winning from me by a small margin in the last few races.

Off the start and into the climb. Ross Creber, being a full time cyclist and british olympic development squad rider, really ripped things apart with a mega fast start, with everyone breathing out their rears trying to hang onto the pace up the climb. I did my usual kind of thing, starting a bit slower but keeping an eye on Andy, and after the first lap, I was right on his wheel, dicing for 2nd position. I felt within my comfort zone on the climbs so decided to hold position and let things unfold. Lap 3 came and James Fraser Moodie appeared to be closing on us. After seeing this, Andy attacked hard and pulled out maybe 30-40 seconds on me, but I just kept the current pace going as I thought it was too early in the race to be digging deep. James never managed to close me down completely, and dropped back during the next lap, where I started to close in on Andy again. Lap 4 and I was on his wheel again, and I could tell he was suffering so decided to make the move. Into the climb, I stepped things up a gear, which proved successful and I arrived at the top of the course solo (although hurting quite a bit) and knew at this point I was home-free unless I made a major mistake on the technical descent. I soon arrived across the line in 2nd, 2mins in front of Andy, with Ross winning, being a good few mins in front of me. A very tough race indeed, but with a very euphoric outcome. Such a good feeling accomplishing what you've set out to do!

Right now, i've decided to take my first rest week of the year for both a physical and mental break, so have been relaxing and doing a bit of walking and stuff. All the racing sure takes it out of you, i've been sleeping like a baby for 10-11hrs the past few nights and am constantly hungry. I like to think of it as repair mode. I haven't even taken my bike out of the Van! My sister is also home at the weekend so we are going to do a spot of Trout Fishing, and i'm also planning on getting the motorbike (Honda Fireblade) on the road.

That's it for now, catch you people later :-)

British NPS/Whyte Enduro Rnd 2 Report (3rd/3rd)

Hello fellow cycle readers! I've been meaning to type this one up all week but i've been pretty busy, while also trying to concentrate on recovery as it has been a tough couple of weeks.

Due to my home location up on the Isle of Lewis here, British National races are normally pretty much out of the question due to the travel/cost involved, but as the second round was visiting Drumlanrig Castle (just north of Dumfries) this year, I thought i'd take the opportunity to mix it with the "big boys". Like most of the British NPS, the XC races are on Saturday, followed by the Whyte Enduro series on the Sunday which I hadn't initially planned to do.

Making the most of my time off work, I hadn't lifted off the training since the last race so was feeling a bit more tired than usual. Myself and Dave H from Pedal Power kipped at his dad's hangout just outside of Glasgow the night before, fueling up on some Pasta I knocked up, and headed down on the Saturday for the Race. A quick pre-ride of the course showed it was pretty much the same as last years SXC so it didn't take long to familiarise myself with things. I really wanted to try and go with Andrew Barlow (Whyte Bikes) at this race, but as I hadn't raced an NPS before, I was gridded right at the back so it didn't look possible.

With the race under way, the field bottle-necked at the first singletrack section. I was trying to nip through and pass people where possible, but with so much single track, I was being held up considerably. However, after 3 laps of the 5 lap race, I had worked my way through the main traffic and found a good rythm, passing riders along the way. Thankfully the Rockhard Racing crew offered to help at the feeding zone again, with the big man Alistair Crichton handing out my bottles, giving great encouragement as always (Cheers mate!). In the closing stages, I managed to get the hammer down properly and made my way up to 3rd place, finishing 25seconds down on 2nd. A great result! I got to step up onto the podium for the second time in a week, and recieved a nice glass trophy. Full Report on XC Racer.com . My buddy Dave Henderson also had a great race, winning the Sport Class!



Having finished the race feeling a lot fresher than normal (or so I thought), I decided i'd try and make the most of the weekend, and do the Whyte Enduro the next day as training. Dave wasn't so keen as he was feeling slightly ill, so after trying to "blag" a lift from various random people, Rockhard came to the rescue once again, this time in the form of Alistair Crichton's wife's people carrier. (hope she didn't mind the muddy seats Al!). Waking to an early 7.30am start, I met himself and Morven Brown (Rockhard's fast female xc racer) and we headed on' down to the race for some Enduro action!

The legs felt slightly heavy but after a gentle warmup, I was good to go, and entered the 75km event. The start was pretty fast, with some guys going off at breakneck speed (not a good idea for a 4hr+ race) so I paced things easy to start with. After an hour or so, I was joined by another couple of riders, and we were slowly making our way up the field. Eventually, I ended up riding with a Nevis Cycles rider doing the Vet's race, who put in a big attack with well over an hour of racing to go, so I dropped back and decided to hold pace. Single track... roots... Singletrack.. roots, then more Singletrack and roots, mentally this was turning out to be a tough race. However, before I knew it, I only had 15km to go so started to up the pace. I passed another couple of riders and crossed the line with a strong finish. Not knowing where I was placed, Ben Thompson from Nevis Cycles informed me I came in 3rd (!!) so it was a step up to the podium once again for the 3rd time in a week! Rockhard's Morven Brown also had a great race, placing 3rd in the Womens 50km, so it was smiles all round :-)

Feeling rather "toasted", it was back up to Glasgow to satisfy the post-race munchies at my Sisters flat, after which I decided to indulge in a single pint of fine spanish to celebrate. Big thanks to Alistair Crichton and Dave Henderson, who helped make a good weekend of racing even better!