Winter Racing - 2 wheels - No Engine!

Towards the end of last year I had started to ride my mountain bike a bit, but after the seasons end this became more regular and in a weak moment my business partner talked me into doing a proper race at Thetford Forest!

A couple of weeks before the Thetford race we went up to practice at Sherwood Pines Forest Park where there's a red route which would be a good test.  I did the 8.5 mile lap there in my fastest time so was bouyed with confidence.  I didnt have the energy for a second lap so whilst Lee went off to play I amused myself by doing a few runs down the very first section of the route against the clock to see what time I could set on the short section.  Best I could do was 1 min 24 secs.  Lee had just taken delivery of a new GT Mountain bike so whilst he was cooling down I took it off down the same route to see what the difference was......  I  did just one route and despite fumbling gear changes and not being used to the set up of his bike against mine i straight away did 1 min 16 secs...... 8 seconds gain!  You  know what this means........................   yes  a new bike needed!


A couple of days research and I narrowed the choice down to 2 specific bikes........  one of which I found for sale having been only ridden a handful of times up and down a lane........ and it was less than half the new price.....  so after handing over lots of notes (!) there I was the proud owner of A Giant XTC3 XC Mountain Bike

The Thetford Whyte Winter Series is a set of 4 Races held between November and February and attracts a full capacity of 500 riders to each race.  Classes are split by age group with distance options from 2 laps to 4 hours (!)  So somehow on the first weekend of November I found myself deep in the Thetford Forest lining up with 500 other loons to race bicycles around a cross country course about 6.5 miles long.


It was very much a baptism of fire and not even having been to a mountain bike race before!  I had only been training a few weeks really at this point and had no idea what to expect really!......   My engine tuner Chalky White is a keen and regular cyclist and I had his advice ringing in my ears......  " Don't go off too fast and burn yourself out " .....


I found that on the downhill singletrack swoops I could make up a lot of time.... but then immediately lose it when we hit the open fire track roads and uphill stretches.  I just didnt have the strength in my legs to keep up the same pace on those bits.  I ended the 2 lap race in 19th place out of 34 starters so overall I wasn't unhappy!


I carried on regular training and entered again for Round 2 which was he;d at a different part of the forest.  This time I did at least know roughly what to expect!  The course for the second round included a bit more swooping single track and a few jumps and bombholes here and there which were a bit scary!  I felt stronger for the second round as I was 4 weeks fitter!  This time there were 29 entries and I managed to finish 12th.


With a 7 week gap to Round three to allow for the Christmas period I carried on training.  Round three was f@*#ing cold I can tell you!  The race started in minus 4 and ended around zero! This time I knew a little more so paced myself .... but a little too much on the first lap and got stuck behind a few slower riders through some of the stretches of single track through the forest.  This can be really frustrating as its virtually impossible to pass without forcing a way through. i ended this one in 12th place too .  I checked my times against the winners and found that I was 110% of the winning time in Round 1 but was only 107% at Round 3 so I was definitely fitter and faster!

Round 4 saw a brilliantly sunny day - must be summer! - and unfortunately I was about to learn some important points!  Normally training stops a few days before a race, but on the Saturday I felt pretty good and it was a nice day and after I had checked the bike over and cleaned and lubricated i decided to go out for a nice easy ride....... enthusiasm and boredom had the better of me and I ended up doing almost 16 miles! This would come back to  haunt me!


I arrived at Thetford a little later than the previous races and signed on then set off for a short ride to warm my legs up.  I set off from the race paddock following a couple of guys around the first part of the circuit.  Once we crossed a fire road we turned off and headed down the fire road... I had only planned a short ride and assumed like me they were taking a short cut back.....  then for some reason it struck me that they had no race numbers on their bikes.... ooops .... I was following some guys who were just out for a ride!  Long story short.... I turned around to head back.....   but must have missed a turn somewhere ( all trees look the same! ) and now I was plain lost and disorientated . 


Race start time was now only 15 mins away and after stopping a guy to to ask him found I was a good 2.5 miles from the race paddock!  oops!  I consulted his map and headed off in what I hoped was the right way ... flat out......  I could hear a loudspeaker then through the trees saw the red flag.... phew......  the first classes had all gone off and there was less than 3 minutes to the start...... and i was about knackered from riding back flat out!  No time to top up drinks.....

Watch the left hand side coming towards camera... black / yellow clothing with red helmet

I managed to shuffle ( push ) my way to the second row and was still getting my breath back as the horn went to start the race!  I just went for it and pushed hard and after some elbow banging through the single track and a rather solid clash of handle bars  I was in 10th place at the end of the first lap and had passed about 20 riders of the next class that had started 3 minutes earlier.


On the second lap I got caught up in a couple of other peoples crashes including one going down through the fast sweeping single track when I was just lining up to pass a guy when he hit a tree root and binned it!  As I was only about 12 " behind him I had nowhere to go and after running over him found myself in a heap on teh floor with my feet still attached to my pedals|!


At about 75% race distance the previous days mileage and the 11 miles 'warm up' suddenly hit and my legs were shot!  the two crashes and my jelly legs meant a couple of guys had snuck past and I just didnt have the strength to chase them back down.....  All part of the learning curve though!  Don't train too much!  I ended the race 13th.


The final points totals for the race series are not published yet but I am 6 / 7th overall so was quite chuffed with that for my first foray into cycle racing at the grand old age of 48.


Getting so into Mountain Bike Racing over the last few months has been an absolute godsend really and I have really benefitted from being outdoors and away from all the stresses and shit in life.  I am a stone and a half lighter than at the end of the  scooter race season and a 34" waist for the first time since my late twenties!  Which can only be a good thing.

Detox over....

After 9 days of Aloe Vera gel it was kinda nice to have a change!   The whole Clean 9 program was not actually as hard as I expected it to be and I definitely felt stronger physically for it!


Its hard to describe but you really do feel cleaner inside..... kind of like your pipes have been cleaned out!


End result was 9 lbs weight loss, and as part of the program you take various body measurements.... all of which were between 20 and 40mm smaller by the end!   The program 'encourages' your body to burn fat from all over it so you really do feel like you have lost the weight and physical size.


I really thought I could well feel weak during the process but once past day 5 it was quite the opposite.  Going out for an evening 10 mile mountain bike ride, twice during the last few days of the detox I actually set new personal best times for a 10 mile distance, and no aching legs the following day!


Would I recommend it.....   Yes definitely!

Nine Days to Clean!

Last Thursday I started the Forever Clean 9 programme .

This is a system which lasts 9 days and is designed to cleanse your system and lose some weight and burn away fat ! I have always been sceptical about this sort of thing but my business partner did the same system last year and benefitted from it so I thought I would give it a try, thinking also it would give me a focus after a stressful time .


See the details here >> http://www.nutri-lean.net/step-2/clean-9.html


 So for the first two days the programme was the same ..... Drinking Aloe Vera gel, taking Bee Pollen, the natural appetite suppressant Garcinia, a powder shake, and plenty of water! Notice the absence of any food!!!! I enjoyed a chicken & mushroom pie and chips the night before. Felt like the last meal of a condemned man lol.


The first day was pretty tough by the end. The Aloe Vera gel is certainly an acquired taste!!!! The vanilla shake was not bad and tasted like very weak custard! By evening time I had a spitting headache (which I had been warned about ) and a very disturbed nights sleep . 


The second day was said by many to be the hardest to get through, but for me wasn't actually as bad as expected. I wasn't as hungry as I expected to be either. I did feel a lack of energy though which I guess is understandable.


On day three the same process of Aloe Vera Gel etc could be supplemented by a small meal in the evening of 600 calories, which ain't that much really! This was made harder by the fact that I was seeing my brother who had booked a meal at a traditional fish and chip restaurant! I just had a small dish of 2 homemade fish cakes and a few chips. By now I had actually got quite used to the process and whilst I felt hungry I wasn't ravenous and actually if it wasn't for being out for a meal I could actually have gone a full third day without a meal. 


Day 4 was the first time I got weighed - I had lost a full 6 lbs in weight! I went out for a short ride on my mountain bike and found energy ran out fast ! I measured waist hips and chest and had lost 15 - 25 mm in size. Thighs had lost 20mm too!


Day 5 saw my energy levels returning to normal and I was quite into the pattern of everything now and it was getting easier with every day. The Aloe Vera Gel is still an acquired taste though! 


Today is day 6 and I was a little hungrier today so the small evening meal of turkey breast mince, pineapple and rice was most welcome! I felt energetic and fit so this evening went out for a ride on my mountain bike setting a new personal best time of 45 minutes to do 10 miles including going through town so I was quite chuffed with that !  at the end of the ride I felt strong and sure I could easily have done the same again!

Coast 2 Coast Challenge 2012

This summer I have been doing quite a lot of cycling, and have been really enjoying it.  Its helped a lot with fitness and played a big part in me losing almost a stone in weight since Easter!


I needed something to keep me going over the dark winter months - last year I cycled a bit in the autumn and stopped as soon as dark nights and cold came!


I have always fancied doing some sort of challenge and a conversation with my business partner Lee ( a semi pro BMX racer and 2009 British Champion !!) led to a discussion about riding the Coast2Coast Route from Workington to Tynemouth.....   across the Lake District mountains and the Pennines......


A bit of research reveals that there is a well established cycle route of 145 miles or so......   which most people attempting complete in 4 - 5 days or so.   So......  seemed like a good idea..... however.......   Lee has a young family and his BMX racing takes him away regularly on weekends so he doesnt have the flexibility really to be away for a week riding across mountains - especially after a 10 day trip this year to race mountain bikes in South Africa!  

The route.....  showing options at each end!

So..... a plan was hatched to do the ride in 2 days!  There was no alcohol involved.... just enthusiasm!  The 2 day challenge involves riding 75 miles a day with some very big climbs, one coming at the end of day 1!  So this certainly ain't going to be an easy thing to achieve by any stretch of the imagination!



I decided if we were going to do such a challenge then we really should make it a charity ride and see if we can raise some serious money for a good cause.  A few mentions and a few people want to join in..... crazy fools!   So at the moment we will be joined by my son Miles and his friend Chas, racers Chris Geyton and Scott Chapman and top Tuner and keen road cyclist Chalky White.


So I have now begun a fairly serious training and riding regime.  I have done 200 miles - predominantly off road miles - in October and the aim is to steadily increase this until the ride date in May / June 2012 ( exact dates not confirmed yet ).  As we will have 75 off road miles to ride each day we are likely to be in the saddle for 7 hours a day if we averaged 7.5mph.  Sounds easy speed to average but the very steep uphill sections are quite long so we will have large sections where we slow right down!


Heres a couple of videos to show the kind of thing we'll be doing!












 I am probably now fitter ( and thinner!) than I have been for some time! But to really do this challenge I'll need to be building up to regular 6 hour rides by May, and of course start to try riding UP some serious long hills!   


Why couldn't I just 'Gofor a bike ride!' lol 


.

Straight Lining It - Scooter Shootout

Ocober 2nd saw the inaugural Scooter Shootout event at Elvington Airfield.  The event was to be for scooters only and with a wide variety of classes .... there was something for everyone!

I hadn't actually made up my mind to go until the day before, so the scooter was untouched from Cadwell Park the week before!  Arriving at Elvington about 9.30 there was a good number of people already there, and for me a nice mixture of old and new faces.!

Scrutineering done and checked.... it was nice to have Miles around for a change and he helped out pushing the scooter around to scrutineering ( Wayne Rooney!)

It seemed that the organiser were a little overwhelmed at the numbers to sign on and it took me almost an hour to get to the front of the queue!  Once done however there was noise test (!!!) which recorded me at a whisper quiet 99db (!) I doubt the noise tester will go to heaven!

So......   as I lined up for my first straight line sprint since around 1989 it all seemed a bit strange and I really didnt know how it would go!

There were some familiar faces among the spectators as I shuffled forward to the starting position.  The race organisers had told us that we were not running the 'pro' lights system, which meant that the lights would be;

White - to show we were in the correct position.

Yellow - Prepare to start

Green - Go - in our own time.

This meant that you didn't actually have to try and anticipate the lights.... once green then the timing wouldn't start until we actually broke the beam.  I don't think this info had made it as far as the spectators as there were several comments about various people ( me included) being slow off the mark....  but we were racing the clock not the other guy!

The first couple of runs went ok, but under full power i missed a gear - the selecter is a little worn really which didnt help!  The first run felt flippin fast as I passed the finishing boards.... the runway was a bit bumpy in places and was different at speed compared to the smooth circuits we normally race on and somehow felt faster than road racing.

Once the runs were done, we got a card which gave us the quarter mile time, or just past the 1/4 mile markers was second set of markers which was the 500metre terminal speed trap.    I was 83 mph on this on the 2nd run.  The 3rd run was after a break to let the engine cool.......  this one seemed to hook up well and I was chuffed to see 86.2 mph on the timing card!

A couple more BSSO group 4 bikes had now turned up so what was a bit of fun seemed more serious now! As the scooter had been untouched since Cadwell I had left the gearing as it was.  Sprinting seems to be a black art as far as gearing goes and it feels like if you talk to 3 people you'll get 4 answers!   So at lunchtime i figured I might try dropping the gearing by a tooth on the front.... thinking acceleration would be quicker........

Trusty Martin Clarke was around to dive in and help with the gearing switch so it was compelted quickly during the lunch break.

In the afternoon there were much longer queues as everyone was now signed on so the turnaround was a bit slower!

The runs completed on the lower gearing were not any faster though!  All I was doing was revving out a bit too early and whilst I could match the top speed and did slightly drop the 1/4 mile times I couldn't go any faster.

Upon reflection I  reckon I should have actually highered the gearing slightly with dropping a tooth on the clutch bell and concentrated on start technique!  I could possibly have downjetted a little too......   I tend to run on the 'safe' side, so that could have made a difference.   No matter...... despite this I did actually get the fastest speed of the BSSO Group 4 bikes , the fastest speed of any 200cc Lambretta, and was quicker than all of the fast road scooters!  This was the bit that really surprised me as there were some very well prepped RB and TS engined scooters there including 230's and 250's  so I was actually quite surprised that not one of them was close to the top speed of the Grp 4.

Coming away from the Scooter Shootout I have to say it was a top day and I thoroughly enjoyed this different form of scooter sport.  The day had been a brilliant success for the organisers with over 100 people taking their scooters down the strip and over 600 people in attendance on the day! This is certainly enough to show the demand for the event and as a first effort it was great!  in 2012 a weekend is on the cards and I fully expect Scooter Sprinting to be a big thing next year!   There was a huge buzz about the day on the forums afterwards and I have been in touch with the organisers to co-ordinate dates for 2012 so theres no clash with any BSSO race dates.

I was certainly buzzing myself and I must admit the event has made me rethink things.   Chalky has some ideas for a new engine and I have bought a engine casing to start work on a sprint specific engine for 2012.  I fully intend to do much of of this straight line stuff in 2012!

The basis of a new 2012 Sprint Engine!

Giving It A Miss...

After the run of bad luck and non-finishes in the first half of the season, coupled with some health issues that weren't going away I took the decision to miss the remaining races.

I also stepped down from my organisational roles with the BSSO and decided to concentrate on getting my health back to where it should be.

I had a huge amount of support from my fellow riders and had some wonderfully touching emails and messages.  I went to Pembrey, Lydden and Mallory as a spectator and managed to spend a fair time stripping engines and gearboxes for Chris Geyton!

The engine casing was repaired and the bike checked over for any other issues.

I spent the summer trying to relax a bit and get better.  I started cycling again and changed diet, and after some professional assistance started to feel much better by the end of September.

So half a stone lighter and feeling much better I decided to enter Cadwell as a last chance to be on track.  Unfortunately I managed to find myself banned from the race by the BHR committee which was a bit of a shock and somewhat of a storm in a teacup.  Its a whole subject on its own.... but lets just leave it that its now been sorted with a small apology from me and a big one back to me !

So I was allowed a race at Cadwell ahead of their committee meeting where I got the chance to put my side.....

I concentrated on just getting finishes.  The tablets I have been taking mess around a bit with balance, and after a summer off and the lack of track time, I really struggled with corner speed but the engine felt strong with good straight line speed so hopefully the mag housing problems are now cured!

This was the final round of the 2011 Championship and was my worst year yet !   Oh well...... its behind me now and I have 7 months to concentrate on health and wellbeing for 2012.

6 times back to back Champion Charlie Edmonds has retired so Group 4 will be wide open next year!

Cadwell Park....... only bad luck continues!

Sorry to have been so long before another update ........   but I have had a couple of months scoot free!


So...... after rebuilding the engine after Donington I was hoping for a bit better luck...  but alas... no!


We were racing on the full circuit and after a trouble free practice,   we lined up for race 1.  i was midfield on the grid of auto's and geared scooters at the right hand side of row 5.....  in front of me was fellow Replay Rider Rob Sumner, in front of him was Tony Rudd who was also behind his teammate - James Campen.


As the red lights went out I got a great start and went right at the edge of the track and was immediately past Rob Sumner and fast approaching Tony Rudd.  As I did Tony suddenly slowed and then the next thing I knew he had slammed his brakes on......  Bang!!!!!   nowhere for me to go but smack into him under almost flat out acceleration.  I didn't have time to brake myself and Tony was just launched into the air!


Watch the video below to see more!

I managed to stay upright after what felt like a pretty big impact but sadly Tony was headfirst into the track!  i slowed and saw him get up which I must admit was a pretty big relief!  I was now flat last but carried on and made up a bit of track space......  adrenalin was flowing for sure!


As I came across the start line at the end of the first lap I saw Tony on his feet having moved his bike so i breathed a sigh of relief!


As the last lap approached.... something didn't feel quite right.  There was a vibration and then shortly after coming over The Mountain, and going through the left right left flicks of Halls Bends the back end stepped sideways and there was a screeching noise and I stopped rather suddenly... but managed to stay somehow upright!

I pulled off to the inside of the track where a check at the rear end revealed the rear wheel at a crazy angle to the bike!  The rear hub had sheared and had an almost perfectly formed hole in the centre, leaving the nut attached to the layshaft!

How about this for something that could really mess up your whole day!? >>


I had to push the stricken bike down to the start line and await recovery back to the paddock!  Phil reaney obliged with the recovery van and after a lengthy delay I was back in the paddock!


The sheared hub was a source of amusement and interest to many people..... having such a failure certainly makes your bum tweak I can assure you that much!


Luckily Rayspeed had brought a couple of hubs for Chalky and I was able to borrow one of this in order to get out for race 2.


I went off to find Tony Rudd and make sure he was OK.  He was a little battered and bruised as was his scooter - which had a smashed headset and damaged hydraulic disc.   oops!


In the evening I did find a good use for the holey hub though!

Best use for a holey hub!?

Race 2 - well...... a smooth start!   If a little over cautious!


The scooter was still vibrating and didn't feel right at all.......   on lap 2 down park straight a misfire started, so I nursed it around to the track exit by the mountain praying it would keep going as its a chuffing hard push back up there and I didn't want two recoveries in one day!


Pulling up by the van the motor popped spluttered and died!


Game over!


I dejectedly started to strip it to check it out.  Sure enough the mag housing gasket was yet again blown out and the casing covered underneath in fuel......  i spun the flywheel off and sure enough, stair plate was hanging off!   After removing all the nuts by hand(!) the maghousing just pulled straight off too! No need for extractors here!


The cause was now clear to see!  There was a rather large crack in the crank casing on the transfer port behind the maghousing!

Rather Large Crack That Really Shouldn't be there!

I must have missed this crack on previous inspections, but at least it explained why I had been having the problem with the mag housing coming loose.  Previous engine inspections had been carried out with the barrel off the engine, so there was no tension on the casing.  With the barrel on the hairline crack opened right up ..... with it off you can hardly see it!


So....  bad luck continues - no race finishes!