So where were we? Oh yes, we’d safely arrived at Luchon and as we had some time to kill before dinner we went for a leisurely amble around the town. At dinner we met our riding buddies for the week the lovely Tom and Sonya and Ian also went through with us what to expect for the days ahead – basically longer and more technical as the week progressed. I admit I was slightly concerned with the length of time discussing ticks and their potential removal but then I guess I don’t taste very nice as in all the time I’ve spent in woody areas so far I’ve not had to worry about extracting the little critters.

The first day’s riding turned out to be a bit of a culture shock as I’ve hardly been able to set a wheel off the tarmac at home since Kirroughtree with all the rain we’ve had and I quickly realised that out here you need to be paying a lot more attention to what you’re doing than I’ve been used to of late!

I didn’t opt for leg and arm body armour as I’ve never worn it before but it was available if you wanted it and I guess that wearing it might give you a bit more confidence and also cut down on potential scrapes and bruises. Even though I never thought I would ever be in the position to be contemplating it I’m thinking that it might actually be a good idea to try it out for trail riding so I’m putting this on my list of new things to try for the winter.

Ian and Kate kept a watchful eye on what we were all doing to make sure that everyone had the option to ride great trails that would challenge rather than terrify although I do confess to shutting my eyes and hoping for the best on a couple of occasions. There was some initial switchback practice (after all this area is supposed to be switchback heaven!) and the next day it was pretty obvious why we needed it! That leads me nicely on to the Benque Ridge day.








I was actually quite oblivious to the sheer terror that lay ahead as I was too busy enjoying the awesome climbing but when we topped out and paused at a flattish meadow area I quickly realised that there was rather a long drop down to where we were headed back to. Gulp! Well what can I say; it was all a bit of a blur of seemingly endless narrow tight loose switchbacks (and cowpats) but in fact despite my severe attack of vertigo I realised afterwards that it wouldn’t actually hurt that much if you toppled off so in hindsight it was simply having the conviction to go for it and I’m sure that on a second go it wouldn’t be quite so daunting.







Absolute highlight of the week for me though was the Super Bagneres day as we were blessed with some fabulous weather, which you really do need to totally do this ride justice.

I absolutely loved the long big climb to the top and I was actually quite sad when it was over but the awesome 360-degree views were worth pausing to take in and I found that I was actually in desperate need of calories by then with one of Russ’ famous baguettes quite nicely doing the trick. The journey down was equally awesome and quite challenging for me but I actually managed to ride so much more than I would have done even at the start of the week so the benefits of getting on this terrain every day were easy to see.

The next day was a do-your-own-thing day so we decided to firstly peruse the market in Luchon (definitely recommended if you love cheese and cake) and then swap tyres and bag the road climb up to the Peyresourde. It was roasting hot with the last switchbacks looking well steep from below (but actually weren’t that bad) - I’m now seriously starting to worry about how much I actually love doing these big road climbs given that I don’t even have a road bike!!!!!

Our final day had some mixed weather so we weren’t quite able to make it to the lonely tree but Kate still managed to find plenty of fun trails to make up for it and it was yet another day where I was dreaming of Russ’ cake all afternoon. Sadly in the end we had to leave a day early, as when we contacted the Channel Tunnel they couldn’t guarantee that we would actually get back to the UK on the day we had booked. It wasn’t too bad in the end with just a four-hour wait as I suppose it could have been a lot worse. I didn’t really mind in the end as my legs were starting to feel the terrain and we had plenty of good memories to take away with us.

So how would I summarise our first trip to the Pyrenees? On the basis that if you wanted to you could ride till you dropped then I think this little photo might do nicely!!!!!!!

As a self-confessed Swiss Alp junkie it was a rather unexpected change this year to be zooming off to the French Pyrenees for a couple of weeks but then as I was pretty sure they have big mountains and also cheese and beer it was going to be exciting going somewhere new whilst knowing that we would at least have our basic holiday essentials covered.

We got to the channel tunnel and approached that big sturdy metal girder that says “vehicles under 1.85m” with a slight sweat on as our van is apparently 1.83m tall and well, as we’d not taken the van under one until now we were wondering if the guy was having a bad day when he measured it or whether we’d put too much air in the tyres. Thankfully no scraping noises ensued and the next little bit of excitement was that we were pulled over to be dusted etc (a pretty good thing of course) but unfortunately the delay meant we missed our scheduled train. Of course this little delay was nothing compared to what was to happen on the way back……..


We stayed firstly at a small village near the start of the climb up to the Col du Tourmalet and after spending the first day doing a bit of running and then riding up the valley to Gavarnie we decided that it would be rude not to do the Tourmalet the next day if the weather held.
After our morning run the heavens opened but it still looked possible - it was wet but still warm - so off we went in pursuit of bagging that rather famous Col.

The ascent was quite eventful in the end starting out boiling hot then having to shelter in an empty garage from a torrential downpour whilst contemplating the forked lightning up ahead, then progressing back to bright sunshine and some quite fabulous clear views









(coupled with several emergency stops for jelly beans) before we disappeared again back into the clouds and finally arrived at the top to hardly be able to see anything at all! We quickly layered up and hurtled down at speeds that I probably wouldn’t even drive at but the aim at this point was to make it down as fast as possible to get that crucial 10 degrees warmer.

We were lucky to have the added bonus of making it back before the thunder and lightning returned with a vengeance and needless to say there was much of the monk’s finest consumed as due reward for the days efforts.

This was pretty much the pattern for the rest of our time there and before long we had exhausted what we could reach by foot and bike and we were soon packing up for the short journey over to Luchon.

We were warned that the Pope was visiting Lourdes the day we were travelling (along with about a million other folks) so we took the scenic route to Luchon over the Tourmalet instead although the weather today was less kind when we rode up there – drizzling with rain and only 1 degree at the top - I really felt sorry for all the cold soggy cyclists we saw!

As it turned out Luchon was a bigger place than I was expecting but we managed to find where we were supposed to be with no problem and we installed ourselves in the quaint Le Lutin hotel just in time to sample the cake and coffee which was perfect timing as we soon learnt that the afternoon snackathon was a meal not to be missed! More coming on the food (and of course the trails) very soon!

What happened to August? – Part Two

“I CAN SEE A RAINBOW”

So the week went something along the lines of Mr M popping out a not too shabby 800m in the Vet’s Track & Field league on the Thursday night followed the next day by a three hour drive up to Llanberis to join his three team-mates for a 22-mile mountain marathon with 8,000ft of ascent over seven of Snowdonia’s rather wet and windy peaks. Talk about from one extreme to the other!

As it was a work related event I wasn’t allowed to participate but I have to say that the stress of waiting on tender-hooks at the finish watching Thomas Bach (star of the Mountain Railway I presume) chuff-chuff back and forth for hours on end was emotionally gruelling!!!














Apart from the gorgeous rainbows, the weather was going to be wet and windy and at this altitude pretty cold too so gear choice was a rather protracted affair and concluded in going for the Snow Skins long sleeve as base layer with a Gore Pac-Lite outer, which I gather pretty much did the business.

Breathe-ability and waterproof-ness in one fabric just seems to fly in the face of the general laws of physics but being able to vent on the ups and zip up on the downs over the top of the Snow Skins he stayed warm and as dry as possible for the duration so he was still smiling when they successfully rolled over the finish :-D

“RIDIN’ RIDIN’ RIDIN’”

This has been a good month for having the time to explore from the back door so I’ve been zooming around the countryside putting together new loops in readiness for the gloomy winter months when it will undoubtedly be so grey that I won’t be able to see where I’m going anyway.

Well one trailblazing week turned out to be a bit strange as first off I was riding along minding my own business when a many-legged iddy biddy from hell stung me right through my shorts. I'm generally rather allergic to stings and bites and this one is way up there in the most allergic-ness I've had in some while. Ice and anti-histamine did battle for ages and I currently have a permanent scar as a memento.

Then mid-week I got a commute weather report from Mr M who said it was "a bit breezy with some moisture in the air". Well that turned out to be a bit of an understatement as it absolutely pished it down for the entire two and a half hour ride. I don't think I've been that drenched since my first bike trip to Spain (needless to say I haven't been back - yet) but at least I didn't have to contend with those caterpillars that have acid for blood :-O

And finally one day when I did a bit of "I wonder what's down there" exploring I ended up having to wade thigh high through a muddy ford with my bike on my back pondering everything Mr M had told me about nasty diseases you can catch from doing just that - proximity to farmland is apparently not quite the same as a fresh flowing mountain stream. Hey Ho at least I didn't have my white Sidi shoes on :-/

“DIVERSIONS”

You may have noticed that I've been a bit tardy until now on the weblog front and it's because most of my free time not spent out and about with my butt on my bike was spent with my butt on the sofa glued to the Beijing Olympic coverage, which was fab!!

Of course I've been following all things bike, but I freely admit to being a higher/faster/stronger fan when it comes to Olympic sports so Track & Field always ranks way up there amongst my favourites.

In all honesty it made me rather wistful about my running days of old but anyhow, with the Olympian diversion over for now I'll be back with some more bike related shenanigans soon :-)

Bye for now……

For one reason or another this month was a bit quiet bike event-wise but that doesn’t mean to say that there wasn’t plenty of outdoorsy stuff going on so here goes with the first part of a few highlights………

“IN THE PINK”

Despite the weather being more or less a total wash out for your typical August, I did manage to spend an inordinate amount of bike time swathed in my pink Nalini.

Last year’s Lavarone is still my all time favourite jersey so far and this Peonia is certainly shaping up to be a contender.

Sensible things like great fabric, perfect girl-shaped fit and having three different sized pockets for all those sundry things that you just MIGHT need merged with the almost wet-look pinkiness of it all makes me sooooo wish that it also came in that Nalini blue of last year so that then I could have had two!

“THE (LONGER THAN IT SHOULD BE) TALE OF THE NEW CHAIN FOR TRIXIE”

This month Mr M tackled the rebuild of my trusty training bike which having been raided for parts for my sexy Soda, had been enjoying a bit of a breather whilst the race season was in full swing. Everything was superbly built back up in a lovely retro V-brake stylee and Trixie was back in action!
Recently it was time for a new chain and as you know this is normally a simple five-minute job. Well, job done and as it was shifting perfectly in the work-stand off I zoomed for a ride only to discover that once in action my chain and rings were just sooooo not vibing and after five stops for fettling (which achieved zilch) I resorted to limping home in a rather embarrassingly loud crunching fashion :-o On arrival I was fully expecting to be told by Mr M that it was user error but off he went up the road and to my relief he had exactly the same problem - well at least it wasn't a blond/senior/whatever moment then.

So the rest of the afternoon went something along the lines of:

Swapped out rear derailleur. Nope. Swapped out rear cassette. Nope. Swapped out XTR crank for spare XTR crank. Nope. Swapped out rear mech hanger. Nope. Swapped out chain. Nope. Aaaaaaaargh!!!!! Whilst it was a welcome educational experience seeing almost every Park tool in the box in action we were temporarily stumped until as a last resort we tried a spare set of RaceFace turbine cranks that used to live on my Pisgah (good job I'm really crap at ever parting with anything) and after seeing yet more tools in action, would you believe it, everything was meshing perfect again and Trixie was back in the groove :-D

So there you have it, what turned out to be a five minute chain fit gave me lots of unexpected practice with assorted drive train reconstruction which I suppose can only bode well for my forthcoming support monkey role for another imminent frame build..........

“HOPPITY RIDES AGAIN”

I expect you’ve noticed how the MTB crowd just love to post up pictures of their latest gory injuries so here - as a flashback - is my (OK, in hindsight rather pathetic) one from Kirroughtree that it seems is still managing to cause me a few problems.

Mr M remains (probably quite rightfully) bored to saturation point with hearing me go on about it but although it doesn’t really trouble me on the bike I still can’t actually kneel down on it. I also suspect it’s the culprit in my current saga of ongoing Achilles pain that’s holding up my running so it’s back to the physio for me soon just to check that everything is lined up where it should be. I certainly don’t want it to be misbehaving with a couple of (hopefully awesome) weeks in the Pyrenees coming up real soon!!!!

Stay tuned for part two coming shortly including Mr M’s 22-mile team marathon (foot not bike) in Snowdonia on probably the wettest weekend in August and also how I managed to fit in sooooo much TV Olympic viewing……

This little Scottish road trip turned out to be so good in so many ways that I hardly know where to start writing to do it justice.

We were both a bit down in the dumps after Mayhem and as we had successfully secured a spot at our all time ever favourite B&B we were simply looking forward to enjoying a mini holiday in the Southern Uplands with the added bonus of a race at a location that we had never been to before but everyone we knew that had spoke about it in wistful tones whilst using words like “totally rocks”, “awesome” and “single-track heaven”. Needless to say our hopes were set rather high and we were definitely not disappointed!!!!!

The before
The drive up this time wasn’t too bad especially as we broke the journey in Kendal to check out one of the many fell running shops where Mr M successfully managed to wangle another pair of trail running shoes into his life – a bit like the male equivalent of Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo fetish. We arrived at the B&B in what can only be described as heavy Scotch mist and every stream and river that we passed was busting to the brim - there had certainly been a fair amount of recent rainfall!! After a good night’s sleep we awoke to only moderate Scotch mist so after packing away a five course breakfast we set off for a couple of hour jaunt on foot up the Glen before heading off to Kirroughtree for a pre-ride and to register.

As we drove over though Galloway Forest (Scotch mist was still moderate at this point) I lost count of all the trails shooting off here there and everywhere, it was like being in a sweet shop and not knowing what to choose first.

We arrived at the trail head and I have to admit that a little bit of panic had now crept in as I’m no trail goddess (not even in my dreams) and I knew this would be technically challenging for this (relatively) southern softie. I managed to swallow my panic though when out came my trusty Soda that had done me soooo proud at Fort William and off we duly headed around the ten-mile course to check out what to expect. Well, what can I say?

It was indeed really challenging with slippery roots, rocks of all descriptions, switchback climbs and eye-watering fast descents but honestly, to be allowed this much fun in the space of ten miles surely isn’t allowed? I had now officially joined the ranks of the “totally rocks”, “awesome” and “single-track heaven” brigade and I just couldn’t wait for the race to start so I could go round again and again!!



Race day
I awoke feeling a little bit sorry for myself as I forgot to mention that I had executed an over the bars Kermit the frog dismount knees down onto the rocks during practice on Friday but as I promised Mr M that I wouldn’t go on about it any more, lets just leave it at that shall we.

Mr M himself packed away another monster breakfast marathon whereas I ate like a bird (squiffy race-day tummy) and we duly arrived at the start with plenty of time to set up our home for the day.

The event was on a slightly smaller scale to Ten under the Ben but with the same cool party atmosphere that No Fuss Events seem to have captured so well. In hindsight this was in fact a good thing as with a huge proportion of single-track (70% of the course), a bigger number of riders would have maybe been a bit of a problem.


The race itself went like a dream!! Mr M went off first for the slightly shorter first lap melee and then we just took it in turns until ten laps and ten hours later it was all over. There was no Scotch mist to speak of and even the midges seemed to be on holiday somewhere else for most of the time!!
The banter with the Scotties on the course was hilarious. One guy I kept seeing was ribbing me “where’s your full bouncer lassie?” to which I finally silenced him by saying that I’d actually left it at home because I preferred riding my Soda. Then Mr M was asked if he was wearing the infamous Avon midge-repellent Skin-so-Soft as apparently he smelt like a girl and finally the funniest one of all was the usual “where have you come up from?” (It’s clearly that obvious I was riding like a southern softie) and when I told him he said, “what do you need a mountain bike down there for?” I can’t really blame him though, if I lived up there I don’t think I would bother venturing too far south all that often!!!



And it’s all over

Here’s a funny over the line moment being accosted by Spook for my timing chip whilst being tugged in the other direction towards the Benromach whisky. Did I mention that you get actual whisky for finishing? Dream event sponsor huh!

So that’s it then, the second of our awesome Scottish race experiences done and in our opinion they have each been well worth the travelling distance to get to.

Next biking adventure is, well, I haven’t actually decided yet but as soon as I know then I’ll be posting it up here! In the meanwhile I’m thinking maybe the local Strawberries & Cream Five Miler (feet not wheels) in a couple of weeks so I’d better be getting some practice in (that’ll be running practice, not eating Strawberries & Cream of course!).

Bye for now and Happy Outdoorsiness!

Links: www.nofussevents.co.uk

It’s always quite hard to write a nice up beat positive report when you didn’t finish what you set out to do but when I actually reflect on the whole experience it did actually have some areas I can be happy about. So hopefully without boring the pants off you, here goes with my own particular experience of (albeit only part of!) this year’s Giant Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Deer Park.

It’s always quite hard to write a nice up beat positive report when you didn’t finish what you set out to do but when I actually reflect on the whole experience it did actually have some areas I can be happy about. So hopefully without boring the pants off you, here goes with my own particular experience of (albeit only part of!) this year’s Giant Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Deer Park.














The day before
We set up camp the day before in the solo area and as is quite usual for the day before this event, the weather was warm sunshine and the ground was baked hard. It’s at this point you’re potentially tempted to think that things are going to be OK and you won’t need your mud tyres and all that wet weather gear but as it pretty much ALWAYS rains on this weekend at this venue then those in the know bring everything anyway.

24solo virgin Lee set up next to us having brought a tent that bore no resemblance whatsoever to the “what it should look like when it’s up” instructions. This was a mini-endurance event all of its own and as I was trying to keep my stress levels to a minimum (that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) I had to go and hide in Jo’s shop until he and Mr M had figured it out.

We did originally plan to walk the course but by the time we had piffled around, time was marching on and we needed to get back and pack up the van ready for an early start in the morning.







Race day
Jubilee drive was thick drizzly fog as we drove over the top of the Malvern’s to the race but we managed to unpack everything in between deluges and get more or less organised in what was to be our home for the next 24hrs. We set up behind the main solo tent and you could hear the usual “no, I haven’t been doing much really, no training as such, just doing some riding” - I do so love the pre-race psyche-out banter!

The hours before the start really drag. I just want to get going so I’m happy when it’s time to get dressed and abandon my lovely Soda to the mercies of the start funnel melee. It crosses my mind at this point to do some sort of start ritual like Valentino Rossi, maybe hug my SPD for luck or something, but I decide to do the usual and just stand there looking panicky instead.

We were soon off and this time I was supposed to be taking the run REALLY steady. So steady in fact, that it seemed like I was walking and by the time I’d cleared the campsite it was obvious that in hindsight this was a mistake as I ended up walking for most of the first single-track climb behind the inexplicably huge queues of stationary riders. The next lap was a joy though as there was much less traffic but there were definitely certain sections of the course where folks were struggling to ride already and this was even before it got dark, or (inevitably) wet….












Apart from one lap where I had a bit of sickness, I was feeling perky in the leg department, eating and drinking well and looking forward to getting stuck into the night shift and then hopefully would be in good shape for the final morning section. At the end of lap six I rolled into the pits to be greeted by the lovely Jo in full Gore paclite mode swishing her hair like a Charlie’s Angel for the baying paparazzi (aka Mr M) and after a quick hug and a feed I was off again into the darkness.

During the next lap I got caught in the rain deluge so had an extended pit stop to get out of my wet gear and into my beloved Gavia tights whilst downing some hot food! I couldn’t help wondering about the potential state of certain bits of the single-track after the deluge and once back out there again my worst fears were confirmed….

Lap eight was truly the lap from hell - worse than any I endured last year - I spent so much time trying to push/drag/carry my bike that when I finally made it back to the pit my back was shot and I didn’t even bother going through the timing tent to get a lap score. I guess maybe it’s because I don’t actually practice carrying my mud-caked bike for miles over off camber muddy single-track whilst trying to avoid getting run over by out-of-control riders but anyhow it meant game over for me as I didn’t want to risk further injury when I still have lots of other things I’d like to do this year.

In all my Mayhems so far I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many broken bikes and injured riders nor come to think of it so many folks sneaking under the course tape in the dark!

The aftermath

So there you have it, an 11hr or so training ride, followed by a couple of hours of weight training interspersed with impromptu bouts of bike tug of war! Not exactly what I was expecting but then at least my bike finished in one piece as poor Mr M was out the same time as me and whilst on a perfectly straight trail was brought to an abrupt stop by his rear mech burying itself in his back wheel, taking out a few spokes and mangling the chain. Game over for him then too :-o

I’m disappointed of course as I could only really do this 24 solo in 2008 with logistics and stuff, but I’m philosophical about it as (fingers crossed) I have plenty of years left to carry on enjoying new biking adventures. Lots more lessons learned so it’s all good experience and of course many thanks to Neill, Jo and all those that gave me encouragement but most of all, the long suffering Mr M who has to put up with me the whole year!

I’m now looking forward to our next outing as a pair for the ten-hour up at Kirroughtree in Galloway Forest Park. Once we get all the bits mended on Mr M’s beloved Soda and I can find somewhere to get hold of some of those anti-midge hat things we will be back up north of the border to hopefully enjoy some more of Scotland’s finest all weather trails!!

Happy riding :-D

photo credit - Mr Miles

Excitement is steadily building in Casa del Miles for the annual MTB pilgrimage that is Mountain Mayhem. There is the checking over of bikes to do, the getting the substantial amount of ancillary “stuff” in one place and of course the constant not looking at the weather forecast…

Looking back at the photos we have of the three 24hr races that I tackled last year I was trying to choose a few that summed up for me the overriding memories and the three little words that sprung to mind are MUD, FOOD and PAIN. Well four really as above all there was also the YEEHAH factor!

Here’s the first one of; yes you’ve guessed it, mud. Of course you have to expect mud now and again as we do live in the UK right? But it did seem like we had just as much mud over the summer as we did over the winter last year! This particular mud is of the Malvern variety but there was of course a lot more to come of the Cotswold variety and even a little tiny touch of the slimy Catton Park variety.

It was a battle of mind over matter just to keep going in the conditions that prevailed at the 10th Anniversary Mayhem and those of us that persevered to the finish certainly earned our medals! Here’s hoping that maybe the weather gods will have a little more sympathy for us in 2008.









This next one could be one of any number of food items that epitomise one of the most difficult aspects I find of 24hr solo races, which is stoking the engine. Everyone has their own particular recommendations on what to eat and what not to and even when you stumble on what works great for you, this is further complicated by the fact that what works at one race doesn’t seem to be a magic formula that will then work at all races! Maybe it’s because I actually need to enjoy my food and drink that makes it a bit harder for me to just shove down anything that contains the right stuff like it’s going out of fashion but be that as it may, no food definitely equals no pedalling.



The final one is the physical state of my hands (and come to think of it a few other body parts) by the time I’d got to Sleepless in the Saddle. In desperation, as you can see, there was a rather unconventional cockpit set up to the Anthem but it was the only way I was going to be able to hold the bars so I wasn’t going to worry too much about being pulled over by the fashion police.

An adventure at Benromach’s Ten under the Ben.

Even though I am currently sat here covered in midge bites and therefore a rather unattractive shade of well, just spotty, I simply can’t rave enough about what a fantastic event this was.

The party atmosphere was fabulous and the ten-mile course was just awesome - definitely worth putting this one on your list of things to do!

Getting to Fort William from the Southern Mudlands in one go is of course a bit of a mare of a drive but we finally arrived at our B&B, changed into our bike kit and cycled up the glen to search for some food. We sat outside on the decking overlooking Loch Lochy where I went for the most glorious sunset meal of haddock and chips and a pint of Guinness with Mr M choosing the much healthier option of steak and ale pie and chips and two pints of Guinness……



Friday dawned with yet another cloudless blue sky and we headed out to Nevis Range to check out the event venue. It was strangely quiet as most folks were to be arriving later in the evening so as they had apparently more or less just finished marking out the final touches, we decided that we would amble round the course on foot. The first half of the ten-mile course contained most of the climbing (lots of it and mostly straight into the sun) and also included some lovely single-track like in this shot.

The second half was a real reward for all that climbing and contained most of the technical stuff comprising lots of rocks, roots and boardwalk sections. This meant you were potentially pretty pooped when you came to the bits that demanded the most concentration and leg power but it looked as if it was going to be a fantastic blast to ride and apart from one rock drop that I wasn’t too sure about I was really looking forward to getting stuck in.

Registration that evening was up at the Snow Goose restaurant with a complementary Gondola ride there and back which was amazing as with the weather being so good, the views of the downhill course and the surrounding mountains were spectacular. Whilst I was doing the paperwork Mr M set about sampling Benromach’s uniquely organic single malt, which he promptly declared, was superb and is now top of his birthday list!!

Race day finally dawned and again it looked like it was going to be a hot one. The venue was now packed full with very friendly folks; bikes and ancillary paraphernalia with the general atmosphere so laid back that it just felt like you’d turned up to a massive outdoor party.

The race briefing was an excellent example of everything being perfectly organised but still feeling spontaneous and before we knew it Mr M was kitted up and jostling in the start bunch for the extended first lap. For long events not having too much of a plan is usually quite a good thing as you then get very used to just making it up as you go along as stuff inevitably happens that you don’t expect so we just took it in turns with the rough notion that it would be great if we could get in ten laps of ten miles over ten hours.

Here’s the usual “just finished” shot of a soggy me with my awesome Soda (who was actually much better at knowing what lines to take over the rocky stuff than I was) before I dove into the relative safety of the van.

The post event shindig was a pretty cool affair too with live band and much general jollification even in the face of the all out midge offensive!! There was a huge prize mountain to give out and, rather excellently in my opinion, it was distributed to loads of random riders via a spot draw based on your race number with category podiums having some lovely little memento trophies.

The drive back home was an absolute mare too but I’ve managed to blot out the travelling aspect and I just keep daydreaming about what was for me the best MTB road trip for some while. The event organisation was great; the actual course was great and all the folks we met – especially our neighbours in the car park - were great. I now realise that I don’t actually even know their names but if you happen to be out there then I am sure you know who you are.

Next big bridge to cross for me is 24hrs all on my lonesome at Mountain Mayhem, which will most probably be a very different kettle of fish indeed. I’m really looking forward to catching up with folks that I know will be there and it has the added bonus of being less than an hour from home! Jo will be there with the girlsruntoo goodies and she has promised to make sugar bombs so that should keep both Mr M and myself buzzing the whole night through. Stay tuned for more random stuff about 24hr solo shenanigans in my next update……………

I’ve done this event solo for the last couple of years so as part of my ongoing plan to do things a bit different this year, it was an exciting change to be stepping out with Mr M in the rather hotly contested mixed pairs category.

I’ve done this event solo for the last couple of years so as part of my ongoing plan to do things a bit different this year, it was an exciting change to be stepping out with Mr M in the rather hotly contested mixed pairs category.

I’m not quite sure exactly how many weather websites there actually are but I am sure that I looked at damn near all of them in the week leading up to this event weekend and they all said the same thing for Sunday - HEAVY RAIN!!!

What I clearly missed in the small print was that an entire day’s worth of rain would actually fall all in one go barely an hour after the finish – how much of a great escape was that huh?!

The forecast meant that we packed everything remotely waterproof as the parc ferme rules mean that unless you are on course you are stuck in your pit for the full six hours come rain or shine and clearly the former is not a terribly fun option without being properly prepared! In the end the only thing I wanted for was suncream, which of course I haven’t even bothered to even buy yet this year…..




Mr M (sort of) volunteered to do the run and first double lap and then unless the heavens opened the plan was for me to double lap next after which time we would single lap to the end and job done.




Here are the usual “bikes waiting for riders” and “riders waiting for bikes” shots before the off……










You might think that racing an event, as a pair is easier than racing it alone but it isn’t really - it’s just different. You have the higher pace and hanging around issues to deal with together with the paranoid clock watching so that you’ll never be the dork who’s not ready when your team-mate comes flying in!!!
The Provelo organisation was as smooth as usual and the course this year flowed pretty well (apart from the couple of horrid plasticine sections) with the descent through the wood awash with the now trademark Enduro6 bluebells. Even in these days of a packed out race calendar this event remains many peoples favourite season opener and there were certainly quite a few famous names to be spotted on course!




The last time I rode here was at SITS 2007 when I was doing my third 24hr solo in just over seven weeks so tackling a six hour as a pair was a welcome change of pace! There were no real race glitches and 11 laps later we were packing away and receiving the bad news from Jo that the batch of sugar bombs she had made were not set before she left. Bummer.


Anyhow here are a couple of final shots of my trusty steed taking a well-earned breather in the pits and my other trusty steed looking a bit spannered after the final lap!!

Next outing as a pair is up at Fort William at the end of May for Ten under the Ben which I am REALLY looking forward to. The last time we rode there was for the National XC Champs a few years ago and as I was a bit of an MTB newbie then, I can remember it being an absolutely terrifying experience. Fingers crossed I don’t break any essential parts of my body I might actually need for Mountain Mayhem!!

My calendar had already warned me that April events were not going to be blessed by the lovely weather that we had last year.

Nevertheless, bikes and ancillary stuff were packed in the van the night before the Merida Spring Marathon at Builth Wells but at 6am the next day we sat in silence, coffee in hand, watching the rain pouring down and Mr M was definitely feeding me the option to wimp out!!

I was quite brave though and we convinced ourselves it would be a good test of bike, kit and body so agreed that after some gruesome muddy event experiences last year this would be the ideal opportunity to find out just how well the Soda’s performed in the welsh mud.

One thing I have missed these last couple of years was that the MTB “marathon” events I did were mostly multi-lapped affairs and my own take is that this format then forces the loss of that “epic” feel that I personally feel a MTB “marathon” should have. Don’t get me wrong, I do also love multi lap events for their own particular persona but I do miss the adventure of an out and back loop when you can be miles from anywhere and have no idea what is coming up or even how far you have to go. This was one of the main reasons we planned to go back to at least some of the Merida events and soak up what is a different experience from the multi-lap event format.

Having experienced the White House Farm parking area after heavy rain before we were pleased that when we rolled up they were suggesting that folks might like to park on the road. The last thing you want to do when you are pooped and caked in mud is to then work out how to get yourself towed out of the parking field.

Despite the soggy conditions the event village was holding up well and there was the usual friendly vibe in the registration tent. By the time we had signed on and caught up with a few friends (including fellow endurance nutter Jezz and AQR team-mate James) it was time to get ready for the off and before we knew it we were zooming through the town in the usual peleton-style to tackle whatever challenges lay ahead.

I’ve done quite a few of these events in the past and it is always difficult to balance the course content to please those that don’t like too much road and those that don’t like too much gloopy forest trails. Looking back on this particular one, there were some forest sections that if you were mid-pack or later you just didn’t stand a fair chance of having a stab at riding as with a whole bunch of wheels already there before you the trail had turned to ankle deep sludge but if you’re not averse to a bit of hike-a-bike then it’s no big deal really other than it slows down your pace a bit. The moorland sections being so wet were totally energy sapping too - not a problem in isolation but combine that with LOTS of steep climbing and a fair amount of hike-a-bike in the mud and you could see why there were plenty of folks out there gradually losing the will the live.

Even by the first feed station I could see that I needed to hugely revise my ride time expectation so I don’t mind admitting that I sneaked some custard creams at the second feed station as a reward for persisting with the long course option. Probably the worst bit I found was when we eventually hit the top of Fforest Fields and I was happily thinking “Woo Hoo not far to go now”. How wrong could a gal be?!?! It was a cruel torture indeed to be turned off the main Builth road not long after we had plopped out of Fforest Fields to do yet another circuit of steep climbs (including more draggy moorland) and then some pretty scary muddy downhills to be spat out not far from where we had originally turned off. Luckily I made some good company for this last section in the form of Dave (who it turns out was actually a road crit racer coached by Torq’s Matt Hart) and we just about managed to stave off exhaustion with lots of good humour and a fab roadie style thrash along the river to the finish.

It was great to finally get to the finish, collect my well-earned tee shirt and catch up with Mr M and James. I even got asked “how was it for me?” by some very nice men from MBUK although I am not sure that I gave a very sensible response!!!!!


Oh yes, my Soda passed the mud test with flying colours, it was brilliant not to have to stop and poke all sorts of icky stuff from here, there and everywhere - definitely the bike of choice for me when the conditions are typical UK gloop.

It was a great sense of personal satisfaction to have completed it in one piece; it definitely gave me that “epic adventure” feeling I was looking for!! Of course as with most endurance events the “enjoy” part usually comes the day after and as expected I woke up the next day rather creaky but already planning to sign up for the next one at Ruthin!!

Event link: www.mtb-marathon.co.uk. You’ll find four choices of distance: 25km, 50km, 75km and 100km so something potentially “epic” for everyone!

Time seems to have suddenly flown by with lots of things happening - some good and some not so good - so here follows an entirely random collection of, well, the fun stuff.

Looking back it seems that most of March was actually spent lurking around in various woods either on two feet or two wheels.

Here is one of Mr M’s lovely shots of my Soda and me heading down the local leaf chute. Nothing like hurtling downhill in hub deep leaves not having a clue what might be underneath to add a bit of excitement – well at least you know there will be a nice soft landing!

Midland Counties 6 Stage Road Relays at Sutton Park

I had a bit of a panic a couple of weeks ago when I realised that I hadn’t really done any running since the Wyre Forest 8 in February AND I was committed to running a leg of the Midland Road Relays for our local club in early April. Eek. Now you might think that running three miles can’t possibly hurt that much but even more acutely so than in biking, running at speed can inflict pain on so many new levels and getting dragged along with a bunch of uber-fast track fit runners at a pace that is way out of your league has the potential to hurt quite a lot actually.

This might explain the look of slight terror whilst getting ready in the back of the van although I was rather pleased to have fourth leg so that the potential to self-destruct wasn’t quite so great!

Luckily I managed to miss the heavy hail showers and paced myself well enough that it didn’t feel like my arms were sprouting out of my ears during the final long uphill. Result!!

2008 Spring Lamb Award

I don’t really want to admit just how many photos of sheep I actually possess (those that have found our Flickr might have an inkling about this) but this is the time of year when I am frantically scouring the fields on my rides to spot qualifiers for Spring Lamb of the Year Award.

Competition was quite fierce and although I won with sheer quantity, Mr M pipped me to the win on sheer quality with this amazing Ride ‘em Cowboy shot.

Bring me the horizon

April is where it normally starts to hot up a bit - not in a weather sense as I can actually see it snowing again out the window as I type – but with events coming up thick and fast.

Apart from another solo outing at Giant Mountain Mayhem, my overall objective for 2008 is to go for different events and formats from years before in an effort to improve my overall speed on the bike in the hope that I can get fast enough to do justice to the events still on my wish list. On the immediate radar are the Merida Spring Marathon at Builth Wells followed a few weeks later by a multisport weekend at the always brilliant Wiggle Enduro Six Hour (this year featuring a 10km off road run on the Saturday) and then nicely capped off a week later by the so-popular-it-sold-out-in-a-few-days Howies Dyfi Enduro. Stay tuned to hear the lowdown on how they went and if you are going along of any to these then please come and say hello.

Oh yes and finally, don’t forget that Jo will also be bringing lots of cool girlsruntoo stuff to the Enduro 6 at Catton Park and run-shop-bike sounds like a pretty good event format to me….

When we spotted this event being promoted we thought what a brilliant idea it was that you could come and have a great days riding on some top class trails knowing that just by entering you would be helping to raise funds to help some very good Rotary causes including the Institute of Cancer Research and Wales Air Ambulance. It was a 50km timed event that you could do either as a three lap solo (which I signed up for) or a two or three person relay and for an inaugural event it was brilliantly organised by the local Mawddach Rotary Club, and has to be one of the most friendly and welcoming events that we have been to in a very long time!

We were loading up the van with our only-just-built-last-week shiny new Cotic Sodas on the Saturday in nigh on gale force winds and the Sunday weather forecast for Snowdonia contained phrases like "avoid coastal areas", "extreme wind chill risk", "hail showers", "gusting winds" and "hill fog". Undeterred we were up and on the road before the birds were even awake and after travelling through almost every description of weather we arrived at Coed-Y-Brenin and headed for registration.

We got the Sodas ready for action and I layered up with lots of warm clothes (including faithful Skins top, PI long sleeve and gavia tights) as I knew from riding the Tawr trail before I would most likely be out there for quite a few hours! The event was chip timed and you could start any time in a half hour window so you basically picked a likely little wave of riders and off you went. The course itself turned out to be a real toughie – in my opinion harder than the marathon course last September with some of the fire road sections replaced by tricky single track and evil loose rocky climbs. I was sooooo glad that it was 50km and not 100km!!

It was when we hit the first section of tricky single track (which was actually towards the end part of the Tawr loop but run backwards as a rather nasty twist) that I was totally impressed with the Soda. I had only ridden it for the first time last week at Sherwood and hadn't actually raced a hard tail for several years (being a full suspension endurance type of gal for a while) so I wasn't quite sure what to expect around a course like CYB.

My theory is that if I can master a hard tail around here then that would surely mean that my skills were improving so I just put total faith in my Soda with its super-plush Magura Durins and I was really amazed just how confidence inspiring it was. I'm not generally the bravest person on tricky rocky courses but it just ate up technical sections that I thought I might not be able to clean and it clearly loves climbing, climbing and then climbing some more. I also quite liked the sensation of zooming down loose sections with rocks pinging here there and everywhere knowing that I wasn't losing chunks of paint and carbon :-)


The marshals were brilliant (still smiling despite several hail storms!) and encouraged everyone to give it their all to complete their own personal challenge. Us girlies on course were probably getting more than our fair share of support as there were only a few of us giving it a go amongst the men folk but I hope that this will change for next year when word gets out what a superb little event this is!!!

Just over three and a half hours later I was zooming down to the finish line for the final time and Mr M was there waiting for me, already cleaned up and poised to take the usual unflattering photo of me covered in muck.

Back then over to the café for a well-earned cappuccino whilst we waited for the presentations and the random draw to see who had won the “pot of gold” although the guy who won this had apparently crashed out and broken his nose so maybe not so lucky after all?

All in all it was a cracking enjoyable day and amazingly well organised for a first running. There were some nice touches such as the free shuttle from the registration area to the start for your gear etc, the dedicated parking area, the “pot of gold” draw and the fact that it wasn’t a totally mass start straight into the single-track.

I do hope that more folks will be able to make the trip next year, as it is a worthy way to make a contribution to some good causes by just having a great day out on the trails.

Check out: www.mawddachgoldrush.org.uk
Photo Credit:Mr Miles

It's not often that you are driving to a race quite so fixated on the temperature gauge but Sunday was certainly one of those days. I had already been up the garden at stupid o'clock in the am with my head torch to break the ice on the bird bath and fill up the feeders so I knew that maybe I needed to worry about what tyres for ice.....

Heading out west to Coed-y-Brenin for the first round of the Dragon XC Series we were treated to some spectacular views when the sun came up - somewhat different from the weather we had for our last trip over this way for the Marathon Champs last September when it took about six washes to get the grit out of my shorts. This was to be my first XC race since 2005 and I was really looking forward to doing an event that would be a couple of hours at most instead of at least six!


We got there in plenty of time, signed on and decided that as it was just too cold to stay hanging around the still minus-something car park, a brisk walk of the course would do the trick. Unfortunately around half way round we realised that the course was longer than we expected so had to run the rest of the lap back to the van to get togged up to actually make the start line! Not the best relaxing preparation but at least I was VERY warmed up!

As we hung around waiting for our wave to start my hands and feet started to freeze again but we were soon on our way up a short section of tarmac before diving into the single-track climb. At this point I was about mid-pack and getting stuck in when disaster struck. An extremely keen chappie decided to ricochet off a fellow rider whilst trying to get through a gap that probably wasn’t actually there and slammed into me taking us both straight down on the deck. The spectators thought it was great fun yelling “riders down, riders down” but by the time I had got back up and on my way I was pretty much dead last in our wave – a rude reminder of how frenetic an XC start can be!!!! Oh well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, I wasn’t too worried though as there was pretty much a few miles of solid climbing ahead and plenty of time (and space) to hopefully make up some places.

The course was very similar to that used for the marathon champs course last year with the evil twist of replacing a section of nice smooth fire-road climb with an energy sapping rocky climb instead. It was a hard but really rewarding course to ride and it’s the first race I’ve been to that the cheery marshals were warning you to watch out for sheet ice!!

Roving reporter Santiago was on hand to take the scoop on how it went and catching my breath on a rock here’s what I had to say:

“I was sure I could detect the faint taste of blood from breathing so darned hard but it was a real nice change from doing endurance events and great to see that it was so well supported. Despite the freezing temperatures most folks hung around for the presentations, which was only right and proper, as the organisers had gone to a lot of trouble to have a proper podium and trophies for the top three in every category. The course was top fun and a decent length, marshals cheery and the general atmosphere very welcoming to all abilities so all in all pretty amazing value for money really. Well worth supporting if you are in this neck of the woods.”

So there you have it. First outing of the season and from now on events are coming up thick and fast so stay tuned to hear how it’s going. Happy riding x

(aka Roc Fencing Wyre Forest 8)

Next stop in our quasi off season was the local Wyre Forest off road 8(ish) miler and because I had discovered somewhere in the small print that if you finished you would get chocolate I had decided that I would give it a go and join Mr M on the start line. I duly sent off my entry and back came number 86 so that said to me that my target should be to try and finish in less than 86 minutes.

In anticipation that it may actually be warm enough for bare legs, I went over to see Jo and Heather a week or so ago to hunt out that mystical pair of running shorts that would not make me look like a woolly mammoth. Not unexpectedly, running shorts are usually designed to suit folks that run and it seems quite difficult to get the right fit if you are rather strapping of thigh like many cyclists (including me) tend to be. After much girlie faffing and trying on by me, Heather very patiently helped to find my perfect match - the Pearl Izumi Splices.









The weather for race day turned out to be gorgeous and the whole event itself was extremely well organised by local club Amazingfeet.

In my heyday I was a not-too-shabby club runner and although my heyday is now getting on for a couple of decades and almost a stone lighter ago, I do clearly remember the pain of going through the first mile marker way too fast.

Restraint early on was clearly the order of the day as looking at the course map it indicated the first two miles or so were more or less downhill followed by two miles or so of VERY muddy bridleway, then another couple of miles of up and down and finally about two miles uphill to the finish. So that’s all that stood between my finishers goody bag and me. Mmmmm.

The downhill start was taken nice and steady and the muddy section we were warned about at the start turned out not to be that gruesome and once I got to the water station at around half way I was feeling not too bad. I’ve no idea how you’re actually meant to drink out of those little cups full of water whilst actually running, I must have lost half of it down my shorts.



Next was the mostly uphill half - I had done the long climb to the finish many times on my bike so pretty much knew what to expect - pacing is key unless you want to die a horrible death. In the end it was not quite as painful as I was expecting (maybe as I found a totally new dimension of pain from my MTB race season last year!!) and as a bonus I also managed to finish 13 minutes inside my pre-race target.

Waiting at the finish was my beloved Mr M poised to take the always-unflattering post-race drool-faced photo (see above). I placed an unexpected 4th in the F45 category whilst he’d had a rather great day in the office scooping 7th overall, the M40 trophy and men’s team trophy!

Next stop is back on the bike at Coed-y-Brenin for the Welsh XC Series this weekend. After two years of endurance only racing it will be my first short course XC race since 2005 and I’ve got a sneaky feeling that it’s going to hurt….

As you will probably remember from my earlier weblog piece, in addition to guided holidays in the Pyrenees, AQR regularly offer a range of mountain bike Technique & Skills sessions at Sherwood Pines and due to popular demand from lots of us girls Kate and Ian Potter are offering a day that has a Ladies mountain biking theme to it but where their partners can easily tag along too.

Why not get the year off to a good start and learn some stuff that will stand you in good stead for many biking years to come. Don’t worry about what level you are currently at as there will be groups that will cater for both novice and more experienced riders and all will be welcome.

Key info is set out below but if you need any further details or a booking form then please contact kate@aquickrelease.com and she’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Allow a little extra time for a reply at the moment though as she’s currently still in Australia….

SUPPORTED BY - Sherwood Pines Forestry Commission
A Quick Release Holidays
Cotic Bikes
TREK WSD
Bontrager Wheelworks and Components.
DATE – 1st March
VENUE – Sherwood Pines Visitors Centre
COST - £35 per person or £50 per couple.

Just to give you a bit more an idea of what’s involved, here are some further details direct from Kate…………

“WHY?
As a female biker who only discovered mountain biking through my partner, Ian Potter, I want to encourage more women out there to try mountain biking. Mountain biking has allowed me to see parts of the UK and the rest of the world that I may never have experienced otherwise. I have made new friends, gained confidence and improved fitness in a natural environment rather than a gym or indoor sports hall. Plus it has meant quality time with my husband as I try in vain to rip his legs off down our favourite piece of single track....but more importantly mountain biking is just so much fun.

Now I know there are more and more women participating in mountain biking today then ever before. However there are still many women out there who don’t know what they’re missing out on. Then there are more experienced lady riders who simply don’t know where or how they can advance their skills and understanding of how their bike works. Furthermore there are a lot of women who have contacted AQR who would just like to meet other ladies involved in the sport.

THE EVENT
AQR are running a day of mountain biking for women that will involve technical skills coaching, trail side mechanical workshops and bike set up. Cotic and Trek WSD bikes will also be available to test ride around Sherwood Pines with COTIC and TREK staff to assist you on the day.

Partners and male friends will also be catered for on the day. This can be particularly helpful for newcomers to the sport who would like to go out riding with their partners, but who don’t have the confidence to do so in case they are left behind. AQR will pass on helpful tips on how experienced riders can encourage their partners to improve their mountain biking when out riding together. Plus ladies will also meet other like-minded women who share a love for mountain biking and discovering more of the great outdoors

AQR will cater for all ability levels with the option of beginner and advanced workshops and guided loops throughout the day. Ladies new to mountain biking will be able to learn basic technique and bike handling skills, while more experienced riders can move on to more advanced skills and trail craft.

MOUNTAIN BIKE PHOTOGRAPHY
As an extra option Joolze Dymond (check out www.joolzedymond.com) will be offering a mountain bike photography workshop on the day. If you fancy learning more about mountain bike photography then this is an opportunity to learn some tricks from the trade. There are only 8 places available, with the choice of a full day or half-day workshop.”

Hopefully we’ll see you there!

USEFUL LINKS:
A Quick Release Holidays www.aquickrelease.com
Cotic Bikes www.cotic.co.uk
Trek WSD www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/2008/women
Bontrager Wheelworks & Components www.bontrager.com

So here we are then, January in the glorious Mudlands. The superb frosty weather we had a while ago is now a long distant memory and the grumpy weather gods continue conspiring to produce what seems like an endless string of barely light days.

January is my least favourite weather-wise so it feels rather like a poke in the eye with no endless hot, dry and dusty summer to look fondly back on to help you make it through the gloom to Spring!

Fortunately January is also the time when it gets rather exciting as the MTB event calendar is more or less out there and you can start feverishly signing on the dotted line for whatever blows your skirt up. In addition to some old favourites I’m going to have a go at some new stuff but before I piffle on about that here’s a random collection of what I’ve been up to lately.

XC without wheels
Our particular festive season was dotted with a few coughs and snuffles, lots of scrummy food and a healthy dose of our favourite monk’s nectar. 2008 sort of crept in without me really noticing and all of a sudden I was also another year older.

Now I've not done a running race for, well, probably a decade and a half (eek!), so although I’ve been dabbling in a bit of cross training I really don't know what on earth possessed me to agree to turn up and run in the County XC Champs the very first weekend of January.

So there I was, freezing on the start line in what felt like my underwear staring at my lily white cycling legs and counting my goose bumps to take my mind off the inevitable pain to come. It was all suddenly seeming like a very bad idea but before I could say, “Where’s my bike?” off went the gun and it was way too late for me to wimp out. Off I trotted around the muddy course in a sort of mass-in-motion fashion - for Lord of the Rings fans out there it was definitely Gimli-style (but without the beard) rather than Legolas - and when I finally plopped over the line I had clearly scraped out parts of my lungs that haven't been used for while. Well that’s gotten one new experience under my belt for 2008 already!

Santiago; Sheep of Destiny

Oh yes, during the festive season came the unexpected arrival of new race mascot Santiago and over the coming months you will probably be subjected to seeing a unique sheep’s eye view of the 2008 race season rather than just listen to me rattle on about it.

With access all areas expect a brutal appraisal of the various highs and lows of our efforts at the races and maybe also enjoy a keen insight into exactly how much slacking (red wine drinking and chocolate eating) might actually go on behind the scenes. Anyhow, the woolly S will be on location 24/7 and telling it like it happens so you can read it here first.

Well with January almost done and some start numbers in the bag I’m finally feeling that the worst of the winter is behind me (kiss of death, famous last words etc). I can’t really say with any honesty that I’ve been truly loving getting outside on the bike this last month and as a consequence I had to endure an excruciating visit to Helga’s House of Pain (aka the Physio) where I had a bit of a ticking off by Neill for spending way too much time at the movies on my trainer. Ok, I am not ashamed to admit it, I become VERY bored VERY quickly having to do all my riding (and running for that matter) on pieces of tarmac and concrete but after this nice little introduction to the joys of RSI for legs (another new experience) I guess it’s time to go find somewhere rocky…….

TTFN

Before I go here’s a lovely shot by Mr M to prove that there is still the odd gorgeous sunset to be seen over West Malvern - even in the depths of January.

I am off now to pop the kettle on and continue pawing over the events calendar, as whatever sort of event takes your fancy there is certainly plenty to choose from!!

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the sudden appearance of a cheeky little link on the left to AQR and are wondering what’s going on. Of course the avid weblog readers amongst you might recall that I donned AQR colours for night-time adventures at the recent Dusk ‘til Dawn 12hr and the huge excitement for 2008 is that in addition to being lucky enough to have the continuing and amazing support of my friends at girlsruntoo, both myself and Mr M will be part of a newly formed AQR Race Team under the direction of skills guru and guide extraordinaire Ian Potter and elite MTB endurance and XC racer Kate aka Mrs Potter.

AQR have just in fact been nominated for the prestigious Singletrack Reader Awards 2007 under the Best Holiday Experience category and offer a superb array of skills coaching and holiday options so hop on the link and have a good look around to see what takes your fancy. The lovely Joolze has also been nominated under Best Photographer category (you’ve seen lots of her cool photos already on this weblog) so I for one will be getting Singletrack issue 39 and casting my votes!
In my opinion the all-ability skills sessions offered by AQR are worth their weight in gold. We went up to Sherwood Pines a couple of times recently and had a brilliant time being taught the mysterious arts of cornering, manuals and bunny hops by trail gurus Ian, Kate, Jon and Paul. Well maybe my bunny hop was more like an ant hop but at least it gave everyone a good case of hysterics with my rather excessive rear wheel lift!!

Seriously though, whatever level you are at there is a whole bunch of stuff you can learn that will help you ride faster and in fact it is sometimes better if you are able to learn this stuff at the outset of your riding exploits as then you don’t have any bad habits to unlearn!!

You see in this shot here I’m now going sooooo fast that Mr M almost missed me!!

Of particular interest to us girlies in 2008 is the all-ability ladies day scheduled for 1st March (our men folk are also most welcome as there will be two groups) when you can hang out and learn all those things you might have been afraid to ask in a welcoming social environment. It is bound to be great fun and Kate is just in the process of finalising all the surprises in store so if you fancy coming along then keep an eye on the AQR site for how to book - of course Jo doesn’t actually know this yet but I will be trying to talk her into coming along and keeping me company 

This brings me nicely on to what will be the noble steeds of choice for the AQR Race Team which as you’ve probably guessed from the logo are Cy’s super sexy cycles Cotic. If you haven’t been lucky enough to catch one up close yet and are wondering what all the fuss is about then pencil 2nd March in your diary for the COTIC BIG DAY OUT where you can see them and try them so again, keep an eye on the AQR website for details. I will also be posting up some photos of my sexy new Soda on the weblog when the frame arrives in the New Year - I can’t wait to put my lucky gold Chris King headset back into active service 

The team will also be fuelled by TORQ energy products and I have to say that I am starting to go a bit cold turkey when I don’t get my daily dose of banana and mango recovery drink - it’s almost worth four or five hours on the turbo trainer to be able to have an extra big double helping although I think that my butt might actually beg to differ!!

Here for your amusement is a rather bizarre shot by Mr M of yours truly on the trainer watching movies in the comfort of our kitchen. I never really enjoyed resorting to the trainer but this year my inner hamster appears to be gradually taking me over……..

Anyhow, if you need to keep those legs either spinning or running then it’s worth checking the Torq stuff out as they do a great range of natural tasting flavours in drinks, bars and gels so there is bound to be something in there you might like (still waiting for someone to bring out marmite flavour though) or if you don’t really dig flavours (which I quite often don’t at 3am in the morning in a 24hr race) then there is of course the trusty no-taste neutral.

So that’s it for my piece of exciting news. I’ll of course keep you posted on the full team story as it unfolds over the winter and all that’s left is to wish you all:

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Catch up with you all again soon in 2008 when by then I hope you will have all pencilled in your forthcoming adventures for the year and I can also share with you mine…..

Now THIS is what I call Tadasana….

I’m waiting for the early morning fog to clear before layering up for another chilling to the bone on my bike and I couldn’t help but think wistfully back to one of the best parts of the year which had my very favourite ingredients of Mr M, huge snow capped mountains coupled with some gorgeous weather. This shot by Mr M (I’m the little dot at the bottom) just about sums up my dream day’s riding in Toblerone country…..

Scanning around the web reading my favourite blogs I noticed that this is also the time of year when the MTB racing crowd kicks back a little and reflects on what a glorious or disastrous year they had so here follows my (albeit a little late) effort at a retrospective on my particular year that I guess, on balance, was a mixture of both……..

The before
Around this time last year I could be caught happily clutching a pint of beer at the Real Ale Wobble in blissful ignorance of what pain and suffering was to come.

After several 24hr races as part of teams I did my first 24hr solo attempt last year and absolutely loved it. It’s a very different experience to riding on a team and although I got through this first one pretty well (probably mostly on sheer adrenalin) there were obviously lots more weird and wonderful things to learn about this ultra-endurance malarkey.

So that’s pretty much how it happened really, I thought why not do all of the big three 24hr solos in 2007 and accelerate my learning curve - sort of a crash course but hopefully without the actual crashes.









The During
By the start of the season proper I had been lucky enough to meet up with top gals Jo and Heather at girlsruntoo. I’m sure they actually thought I was quite mad at the time but Jo threw caution to the wind in deciding to support me in my efforts and she has been tireless in coming up with brilliant clothing solutions to all the crazy situations that I found myself in – just ask her sometime how wet she has ever seen a base layer!!!!!

Before the 24hr challenge there were some marathon and 6hr races and these certainly had a few ups and downs of their own including the high of seeing the smiles on Jo and Heather’s faces after nailing the ladies day at Catton and the low of bailing Mr M out of hospital from a suspected femur fracture after the Sherwood marathon.

So what about the big trio then? Well apart from lots of time spent contemplating the reflectivity of Mavic Crossmax wheels and of course the constant support of the long suffering Mr M, there were so many highs and lows that it’s difficult to squash the list down so it won’t totally bore you to death.

It was certainly a huge learning experience and has given me plenty to think about as the winter season approaches but I’ll give a short wrap up a little go though so here are some key memories…..

First there was Giant/T-Mobile’s Mountain Mayhem (mud, rain, white tops, Jo in a dog blanket, tassels and custard) then there was Bontrager’s Twentyfour12 (glorious sunset, more mud, more rain, Jo’s boiled potatoes, slippery roots, Neill’s dedicated pit support, making the podium and getting on TV) and finally there was Kona’s Sleepless in the Saddle (really sore hands, sunburn, my only puncture all season, red wine, shaking Pat’s hand at the finish and the shock of being presented with a new USE Joystick - from Rory himself – for completing my epic trio and not dying in the process).



The after
It’s only since I’ve had a little break from the bike that I’ve come to realise just how spent I really was at the end of the season. I suppose somewhere along the line I reached the point where I was so used to riding with tired legs that I actually forgot what it’s like to have one of those rides where you burst out of the box like a coiled spring ready to maul. Thankfully I’m now starting to enjoy what that feels like!

Well that’s pretty much it for the MTB retrospective so I’ll leave you with another of Mr M’s fab shots of me pondering the November sunset from the top of Malvern in my new favourite winter essential the Gore Alpine jacket - it really is a revelation how little you need to wear under this jacket and still stay warm! Check back again soon to see what I’m getting up to in the off-season and what I’m looking at doing next year. I’m rather hoping that the next few weeks will include some adventures on two feet instead of two wheels as we all know that cleaning muddy shoes takes a lot less time than stripping down your beloved mud caked steed 

This is so cool I’ve just got to sneak it in to start with – poster boy Mr M spotted in glorious Technicolor in the changeover area! Nice one Joolze.

Anyhow, back to the beginning. After clocking up over 100 hours of racing already this season I was rather pleased to be this time riding as part of a trio for Kate & Ian Potter’s A Quick Release Holidays comprising myself, Mr M and jolly nice chap James.

We had plenty of time to set up camp and fit in a super-fun daylight ride around the almost twelve mile course before the atmospheric dusk descended and the temperatures started to fall. I was volunteered to do the slightly longer first lap melee – apparently as my bones don’t break very easily - so I togged myself up a few layers and lurked around the rear of the start pack in true soloist fashion (hard habit to break!).




Here’s a great shot by Mr M of the arena lights circling through the trees – it was a rather surreal experience, something akin to being in the front row at a Deep Purple concert (Oops! Showing my age!).

Rather conscious of the fact that I probably wasn’t in possession of the required zip in my pace for shorter distances I did my best to try and zoom round my first lap. It did feel to me a bit like zooming although in reality I guess this is clearly a relative perception! Anyhow it wasn’t too shameful and it was great fun to have the excitement of the changeover to James and handover from Mr M and also having the chance to be part of the never-sleeping camp scene in between laps that of course I don’t normally get the chance to enjoy when chugging round solo.

We were all enjoying pretty consistent laps with nice smooth handovers and after a steady start (courtesy of yours truly!) we were rather pleased to be gradually making not too shabby progress up the leader board. At around the halfway point the low cloud decided to clear and opened up a fantastic vista of starry skies although unfortunately the price you pay for this is what felt like nigh-on freezing temperatures and in between laps I was wearing almost every item of dry clothing I could find in the van!

There really isn’t anywhere else that I have ridden so far that is (and gives you backache) like Thetford and I particularly love riding here in the dark as with a bit of imagination (OK for me maybe ALOT of imagination) you can rail through the trail just like Rossi.



The tight twisty single-track here is also somewhere that you DEFINITELY need a light on your helmet and I was lucky enough to be able to run the hot-off-the-press USE Exposure Lights Joystick Maxx. I’ve had the original race bar light and joystick for a while now but boy does this baby take it to a new level.

I only ran it on the ride setting (in theory 10 hours run time) but it was certainly well bright enough for this course and a very noticeable improvement on the original.

Dawn finally came around and with it, thankfully, some slightly warmer temperatures as by this time I had actually run out of dry clothes. Blimey I can’t believe I’ve actually written that, surely no self-respecting girlie EVER runs out of clothes!!! In the end we had stealthily crept up a few places during the night and James did a storming final lap to bring us home in a creditable 5th spot in mixed overall and 3rd spot in the trios.

This originally quite cult fringe event has now gotten so big that it’s attended by most of the racing big-hitters and sold out early but it fortunately still manages to retain its fun, folksy atmosphere and most importantly it still hasn’t actually rained on race night!

It was such an enjoyable end to my longest season so far but now it’s all over I have very mixed emotions. Racing friends that I probably won’t see much of again until next year and the rather yucky prospect of starting winter training when we haven’t actually even had a summer. Anyhow, at least I have a bit of a break now before I have to start worrying about digging out my winter booties.

Time for reading, time for thinking and hopefully time for Fish ‘n’ Chips by the sea……..

The cuts and bruises had only just about gone from my last visit to Coed-Y-Brenin so it was not wholly unexpected that I was more than a tad nervous waiting on the start line in the pouring rain for the final round of the National Marathon Series which for added eek factor also doubled up as the National Marathon Championships.

CYB is of course well famous for its tough climbs and gnarly man-made technical riding loops and with my riding this past year focussed on going long, time spent honing my not-that-spectacular technical skills was rather less than I somehow felt it needed to be at this exact moment!

Having got to the start line already soaked and grubby with about thirty seconds to spare I thankfully didn’t have too much time to ponder this and before I knew it we were off – well sort of - and into the bottleneck at the entry to the first single-track climb.

I was at the back of the pack anyway so hopped off and ran until it thinned out enough to get a clear run. Then basically it rained and I pedalled and I pedalled and it rained. It reached the point where I thought it just wasn’t possible to get any wetter or for the grit to get in any more places (!) and as you know I haven’t exactly had a run of dry races this year!! There were cheery faces and cheery words in the feed zone and also the climb up to it (thanks guys and gals!) but mostly they were just gazing at the mud-splattered riders as if they were all totally mad. Of course everybody knows that we are actually the totally sane ones and it’s the rest of the world that is quite mad…..

My good ol’ skins top was doing its best and just about kept me above shut down temperature and I’m still amazed that my PI gloves perform faultlessly even when caked in mud and still manage to come up almost as good as new. Unfortunately I think I might have killed by PI butterfly socks this time but luckily they are mostly black so hopefully they will live to fight another day!

The laps ticked on and on and six or so hours later I safely arrived at the finish with no mechanical problems to speak of and in one unbroken piece, well apart from that rather painful crutch/headset incident when I forgot I’d had new brake pads! I was sooooo glad that this time my category race distance had been set at six laps as in the end only five of the veteran men actually posted more laps than this!
So was the course as terrifying as I was expecting? Well in a nutshell, no. Yes it was very challenging, there were hard climbs and lots of places where bits of rock were just waiting to shred your tyre, grab your wheel and/or face- plant you into the deck but it was such a fun rollercoaster of a course – the one I dreaded most but in the end turned out to be one of my favourites of the year.







So I guess that’s the National Marathon Series in the back of the net for another season and as I successfully retained my veteran title I’m of course dead chuffed with how it’s panned out.

Just one more MTB event to go and for a change I’m part of a team for the super-fun twelve-hour night race at Thetford - Dusk ‘til Dawn. Even if it’s not raining there the overnight “moistness” of this forest can chill you to the bone when hanging about between laps so this will be the ideal opportunity to try out some of my latest gear including a fabulous pink Odlo evolution warm zip neck base layer and Gore’s Alpine jacket in a yes-I-know-it’s-not-practical-but-I-love-it shade of bluebell.

Then it will be just about time for a bit of a rest and then probably a bit of a change so watch this space and see what adventures are coming up next…..

Catch up again soon!

NEXT RACE REPORT:
Dusk 'til Dawn at Thetford Forest 6-7th October

Once the euphoria of SITS had worn off I freely admit to feeling spannered. I’ve therefore been taking a few weeks of R&R to indulge in a bit of intensive recovery and just do whatever takes my fancy.

To sign off on the 24hour stuff for this season though here’s one of my favourite shots taken by Mr M of dawn over the solo tent at SITS. Sweet memories.

Here now are a few random snippets of what I’ve been up to since the triple biking epic - the rather pudgy bit around my middle might indicate that I’ve been doing rather too much recovering of late though and maybe I need to get off my butt sometime soon 

Little green courgette….

OK so maybe it's not very exciting for everyone but this is the first courgette I have grown - EVER.

Following the photo shoot it is sat in the fridge but I'm really not sure whether I have the heart to hack it into pieces and eat it just yet.....

Run Charlie Run

I’ve done virtually no running since before Mayhem and venturing out again was not surprisingly a bit of a challenge as although my lungs are saying “yay let’s go!” my legs are saying “noooooooo!” It was great though just to slip on my running shoes and pootle off down the lane and across the footpaths – very pure sport - nothing mechanical to worry about. Just need to decide now with Jo which distances we are going to go for in the upcoming Forest of Dean Winter Trail runs (and of course what really cool outfits to wear!). I can feel a shopping spree coming on…