.... since I last posted here .... gosh!
Perhaps I should pull my finger out and do a review for 2014, which was an amazing season of racing .
Sadly I only managed two outings this year ....... but managed to get to most of the meetings, although being perfectly honest ... the personal attraction waned over the year!
So... I'll try and pull my finger out and get a review written!
Sunday, 26 October 2014
Friday, 30 March 2012
2012 - Returning to the track!
Last week saw most of the BSSO 2012 riders at Mallory Park for the Official pre-season test day.
I arrived myself all full of optimism and parked up next to my old mate Matthew Gooch who was out to play on his Street Class Jet 200.
Initially felt somewhat rusty as I have sold my road bike and the rebuild of a Jet200 has come to a stop, so I''d not ridden a scooter at all in 5 1/2 months so first lap out felt well odd ! I took my time but the scooter felt nicely quick down the straights so felt OK.
After about 4 laps though I really started to feel the pain from my broken ribs. ( result of a snowboarding accident a couple of weeks earlier! ) It seems that whilst the ribs were up to mountain biking they sure as hell weren't up to the braking forces into Edwinas and the hairpin!
I was pretty glad to be honest when the first session was over as it was pretty painful! I dosed myself up with painkillers and checked the bike over, and all too soon it was back out on track again! The sessions were coming round really quick. After lunch I did just one more session before admitting defeat to the pain as it was making me feel pretty ill and certainly unconfident! The last thing I needed was a spill and further injury!
In the last session the exhaust note had changed and inspection revealed that a mounting had come loose and also the muffler was breaking up. There was also some oil appearing under the engine from the mag housing that was so troublesome last year! A quick patch up and I let Matt go out to do 3-4 laps to see how he enjoyed a modern race scooter. He came back with a grin !
A new seal was fitted and the mag housing bearing re-greased and all cleaned up.
This week sees the first round of the 2012 Championship when we visit the Croft Circuit in the north east for the first time in a few years at the invite of the NEMCRC.
The Lambretta Club GB have been supporting the meeting and we're expecting good numbers of spectators!
I will be doing up on pain killers, but Mallory had definitely put me very much backwards with my recovery for the broken ribs and have been in much pain again since! I shall just have to dose up on the painkillers for the weekend I think!
No pit crew this weekend.... :-(
Sunday, 26 February 2012
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.....
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.
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.
Friday, 20 January 2012
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!
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
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!
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!
Thursday, 3 November 2011
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
.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
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!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
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!
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!
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!
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| 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!
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| 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!
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Donington Park.... If It Wasn't For Bad Luck There'd Be No Luck! Part One
HHHmmmmmm .... the week before Donington had been rather manic getting riders passes mailed out, last minute queries, questions and getting trophies and prize bubbly sorted out.
The van seems to become fuller every time these days as I had marquee, trophies, champagne, tee shirts and of course all the race gear!
I was amongst the first to arrive....... to wind and rain of course! I set up camp and the marquee and during the afternoon a steady trickle of riders arrived. Saturday evening after cooking up tea inevitably the drinking started. I blame messrs Geyton Day and of course Captain Howe for the fact that bed wasn't until well after 1 am..... and you know it must have been a lively night (!) if you are chucked OUT of John Howes motorhome because its late!
First scooter session was a 20 minute practice at 9.05am ..... erm..... yeh.... righto...... we lined up in assembly and were first vehicles on track to sample the full GP circuit. Entering the circuit via the Melbourne loop and into the start straight I followed John Woods along the start straight into Redgate and bang..... in a cloud of dust and gravel John went down..... erm ! first bend! oops!
Practice couldn't end too quick as it was obvious pretty quickly that the gearing was wrong ( a lot of people were immediately changing gearing !) and above all ... a badly slipping clutch after a couple of laps!
So..... great start..... engine apart before the first race! Dave Crampton had arrived and a nice leisurely engine strip somehow became a last minute rush as all of a sudden it was race time! The floorboards weren't even on as riders came past to line up... so i only Just managed to get there in time! But in the rush... the rebuilt clutch wasn't adjusted correctly and as soon as the race started it was slipping..... did my best but it had just about no drive by the end...... oops.... another set of begged stolen and borrowed plates was cobbled together over the lunch break for race 2 and this time Sticky assisted in the final bit with 5 minutes to spare......
I'd hardly even spoken to anyone or seen around the paddock yet - just had myself elbow deep in clutches!
Race 2 it was obvious that the engine felt wrong and underpowered but couldn't find anything obvious except for quite a bit of oil around the casing underneath,,....... hhhhmmm.....
Before our 3rd race - the last one of the day - we had a presentation of trophies and prizes for riders and officials... including the Unlucky Award for Charlie Edmonds after a very bizarre tumble just outside assembly where he fell off and somehow managed to break both the clutch lever and the brake lever and was unable to start a race!
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| Paul and Carl look anxiously around............ |
So after spraying some champagne it was soon time for race three. initially the engine felt ok, then on lap 1 it started to vibrate badly and start to misfire...... game over really so i pulled off and with the engine racing and sounding pretty poorly It was turned off and put back in the van....... after 3 years of finishes except for one fuel 'incident' and one accident I'd managed two non finishes out of three !
So all in all a pretty crap day for me!
I wasn't alone though as the 2.5 mile high speed circuit took its toll on a few engines, especially the Adrenalin team on their Zips..... who hardly had a working engine between them..... although they did have shiny new paint jobs .....
With only a week before the next race at Cadwell Park the engine was quickly stripped to find that the mag housing was loose, the stator plate loose, and the mag gasket had blown out, slightly out of shape crankshaft and damaged main bearings.......... but why had the mag housing come loose again? It had done this at Three Sisters last year!??
Friday, 17 June 2011
Donington Park - Preview
This weekend sees is one of the years biggies as scooters return to the legendary Donington Park circuit.
We will be providing support races to the fantastic Superstars International Series. This is an international series featuring some awesome machinery, and drivers including ex F1 start Johnny Herbert.
I am hoping to make a return to the track after having to miss the Pembrey race. I think racing around the full 2.5mm GP circuit on a scooter has to be an almost unique experience of a lifetime to follow in the wheeltracks of the likes of Ayrton Senna and Valentino Rossi.
I have been fortunate to be able to put this event together after making contact with the organisers BARC two years ago. We raced then supporting British Truck Racing and the spectacle of scooters impressed them so much they were glad to have us back again after I'd contacted them.
As always putting together a race meeting is a tough job, with lots of ups and downs and seemingly endless hoops to jump through. But its all sorted now and the riders are most definitely well up for this one. Stuart Day and John Howe will be making their first appearances in 2011 and will be hunting down the front running bikes.
Guy Topper is on top form currently aboard his super quick DJ250 'Cooler' but at Pembrey and Mallory he was joined by stablemate Doug Turner also riding a heavily developed 250. Multiple champion Charlie Edmonds will be looking to keep them in check despite a cc and power disadvantage. No doubt the likes of James Campen and Chris Geyton will also have ideas on being the front running Group 4 scooters!
Meanwhile the auto's of Josh Brown, Craig Bewey and Joe Ravenscroft will be giving chase too and no doubt be looking very fast round Donington. The bigger cc auto's of Scott Chapman and Keith Terry will also no doubt be picking up their fierce on track rivalry as they also chase down the pack.
Its going to be a biggie!
Pretty much everything is in place now, just missing one thing to make it perfect.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Pembrey - May 20/21st Sitting It Out
Pembrey is a chufiing long way down to deepest South Wales.... 245 miles,
After Mallory I was still struggling health wise so decided to sit this one out from a racing point of view and just go watch.
I arrived Saturday Morning after a good journey down ( apart from a talking to by the constabulary for apparently using a bus lane to get into the supermarket )
The VMCC meeting was not well supported with many people opting to stay away. We still had 31 scooters across two grids though!
It must be 20 years since I went to Pembrey last, and I had forgotten just how crap it is for spectators. For the racers the main problem first off was the very blustery wind which seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time making things very inconsistent. Rain was in the air too.
I parked up with Chris Geyton who \i was going to help over the weekend. Chris had just taken his newly built engine down to Replay Scooters for some dyno testing and was puzzled by the results which showed a major drop in power from the regular dyno used by SRP to develop the engine. Its was even more puzzling as once on track Chris was just flying. He was right on it and was up with Charlie Edmonds for the first few laps and matching his lap times. Race 2 was wet and Chris was all over Charlie as they both tried in vain to chase down the super rapid Group 6 monster of Guy Topper.
The wet 2nd and 3rd races really made me wish I was out there as I always do so much better in the wet! Although watching race 1 in the wind gave me no such desires !
The auto races were great to watch with Scott Chapman and Keith Terry swapping places in a right old ding dong. Once Scott had his bike fully sorted though he was away in race 3 and mixing things with the fastest of the zips.
The changeover between races is really quick at Pembrey and with a lower entry more of the VMCC classes were combined, meaning less races overall. So we had negotiated an extra race on Saturday to give us a 3 race day. The races were 10 laps long so these were long races all weekend and some of the riders were looking a bit jaded come Saturday evening!
Saturday night was best described as wet and windy! I'd eaten my burgers and bacon so went down to the bar with a few of the other guys . A nice evening ensued with the usual scooter and racing chat and assorted garbage being spoken and worlds put to rights. Of course the heaviest wind and rain was as we came to leave the bar and walk back to the van...... so 10 minutes was spent waiting in the foyer for the wind and rain to die down before making a run for it!
A sleepless night ensued kept awake by wind and rain before Sunday broke to reduced wind ( well - a bit ) and a strange yellowy gold thing in the sky!
Sunday saw Guy Topper and Doug Turner flying away again on the Group 6 bikes, Charlie Edmonds again being the fastest of the Group 4 bikes, with Chris Geyton and John Woods both having a right old tousle...... but as I watched from the hairpin I heard the tell tale click from Chris's bike of another broken gearbox...... just like he did at Mallory as well!
Oh well.... overalls on and gloves on to help sort things out! Chris stripped the race bike whilst I stripped the spare engine to get the gearbox out of it. We ended up having to swap everything including the layshaft due to the damage.
In the last race Chris's motor had gone right off...... 60 laps over the weekend had taken its toll I think.
This was the first time in 2 1/2 years that I had been a spectator and it was kind of nice not to have the pressures that a race weekend brings. The journey home continued my hate / hate campaign against Wales when I caught a speeding ticket. Nothing to do with Wales is ever good for me it seems..... bloody place!
Hopefully I'll be on track for Donington Park next weekend........ My least favourite type of circuit but its an experience to ride the classic full GP circuit as ridden and driven by heroes like Rossi and Senna.
After Mallory I was still struggling health wise so decided to sit this one out from a racing point of view and just go watch.
I arrived Saturday Morning after a good journey down ( apart from a talking to by the constabulary for apparently using a bus lane to get into the supermarket )
The VMCC meeting was not well supported with many people opting to stay away. We still had 31 scooters across two grids though!
It must be 20 years since I went to Pembrey last, and I had forgotten just how crap it is for spectators. For the racers the main problem first off was the very blustery wind which seemed to be coming from all directions at the same time making things very inconsistent. Rain was in the air too.
I parked up with Chris Geyton who \i was going to help over the weekend. Chris had just taken his newly built engine down to Replay Scooters for some dyno testing and was puzzled by the results which showed a major drop in power from the regular dyno used by SRP to develop the engine. Its was even more puzzling as once on track Chris was just flying. He was right on it and was up with Charlie Edmonds for the first few laps and matching his lap times. Race 2 was wet and Chris was all over Charlie as they both tried in vain to chase down the super rapid Group 6 monster of Guy Topper.
The wet 2nd and 3rd races really made me wish I was out there as I always do so much better in the wet! Although watching race 1 in the wind gave me no such desires !
The auto races were great to watch with Scott Chapman and Keith Terry swapping places in a right old ding dong. Once Scott had his bike fully sorted though he was away in race 3 and mixing things with the fastest of the zips.
The changeover between races is really quick at Pembrey and with a lower entry more of the VMCC classes were combined, meaning less races overall. So we had negotiated an extra race on Saturday to give us a 3 race day. The races were 10 laps long so these were long races all weekend and some of the riders were looking a bit jaded come Saturday evening!
Saturday night was best described as wet and windy! I'd eaten my burgers and bacon so went down to the bar with a few of the other guys . A nice evening ensued with the usual scooter and racing chat and assorted garbage being spoken and worlds put to rights. Of course the heaviest wind and rain was as we came to leave the bar and walk back to the van...... so 10 minutes was spent waiting in the foyer for the wind and rain to die down before making a run for it!
A sleepless night ensued kept awake by wind and rain before Sunday broke to reduced wind ( well - a bit ) and a strange yellowy gold thing in the sky!
Sunday saw Guy Topper and Doug Turner flying away again on the Group 6 bikes, Charlie Edmonds again being the fastest of the Group 4 bikes, with Chris Geyton and John Woods both having a right old tousle...... but as I watched from the hairpin I heard the tell tale click from Chris's bike of another broken gearbox...... just like he did at Mallory as well!
Oh well.... overalls on and gloves on to help sort things out! Chris stripped the race bike whilst I stripped the spare engine to get the gearbox out of it. We ended up having to swap everything including the layshaft due to the damage.
In the last race Chris's motor had gone right off...... 60 laps over the weekend had taken its toll I think.
This was the first time in 2 1/2 years that I had been a spectator and it was kind of nice not to have the pressures that a race weekend brings. The journey home continued my hate / hate campaign against Wales when I caught a speeding ticket. Nothing to do with Wales is ever good for me it seems..... bloody place!
Hopefully I'll be on track for Donington Park next weekend........ My least favourite type of circuit but its an experience to ride the classic full GP circuit as ridden and driven by heroes like Rossi and Senna.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Mallory Park - Easter 2011
Well..... Mallory Park at Easter seems a long while ago..... Maybe that's because it was !
I havnt updated the blog for ages now..... Apologies..... But a few months of illness and other pressures have meant I have not really had the time nor inclination to update if I was brutally honest !
We had a successful test day in early April, with the main changes to the scooter being the new paint job, a new Guy Topper designed and built exhaust, and a new Dellorto carb. A few other changes included a new Jahspeed race seat which looks great !
So....... With gearing modified with what was learnt on test day it should be close to spot on..... Which it was.
unfortunately in the run up to Mallory I had a very stressfulntime and was feeling pretty I'll really so was not in the best frame of mind for racing.
First race I got a great start, but then after first couple of laps drifted back as fatigue quickly set in really. A good tousle with new rider James Lancaster was good fun.... James is also on a Replay tuned and prepared bike. His bike has a little more BHP on the dyne and James being young whippersnapper of course he only weighs 4 stone so he was carrying good straight line speed.
I was parked up with Chris Geyton who will be riding under the Team Replay banner this year whilst SRP is in 'sabbatical '. We wholes away the time between our two races by stripping his engine to replace broken gears! Chris had actually managed to complete the race despite having Two broken gears. I stripped the spare engine to extract the gearbox whilst Chris stripped the race engine to allow us to swap them over and get him out in race two. The change went smoothly in the warm sun and of course as always attracted the interest of spectators keen to see the insides of a broken engine!
in the second race I had a (thankfully rare) mechanical gremlin and the gear cable slipped and it lost me first gear as I tried to select it on the start line! I had to pull away in second as it wouldn't select so naturally I was eaten up off the line by the rest of the pack. Adrenalin kicked in and I put my head down and quickly caught the tail enders back up, and on lap 2 went back past James Lancaster through the Edwinas chicane. This was to be short-lived though as up to the hairpin I still could not properly select first gear and then as I progressed on even 4th was tricky as the slop in the cables just seemed to get worse.
There was no real option but to cruise round and just get a finish and collect some points.
The meeting proved pretty interesting for the spectators as some unusual faces were having superb days. Guy Topper was absolutely flying on the cooler 250 and was phenomenally quick leaving the rest of the field trailing by a country mile........ And Guy also had a major hand in preparing Doug Turners group 6 bike which was also going extremely well propelling Doug up to the front. Also notably fast was John Woods on the blue SS 90 which has really come on now John has it setup right.
So overall for me a disappointing start to the season really, illness and stressful times had conspired to mean that I was not really mentally in the right place for this racing malarky. :-(
Friday, 22 April 2011
Replay Scooters New Web Site
Replay Scooters new web site.
Rich Addison has created a new web site for Replay Scooters with a page for the Replay Race Team.
This year the Race Team will consist of myself, Rob Sumner, Dave Crampton and our new young rider James Lancaster. Hopefully we will be joined at some time during the year by returning Ed Hocking as he recovers from injury. Also running for this year as a Replay guest rider is Chris Geyton.
check out the new site and team page at Replay Scooters
Rich Addison has created a new web site for Replay Scooters with a page for the Replay Race Team.
This year the Race Team will consist of myself, Rob Sumner, Dave Crampton and our new young rider James Lancaster. Hopefully we will be joined at some time during the year by returning Ed Hocking as he recovers from injury. Also running for this year as a Replay guest rider is Chris Geyton.
check out the new site and team page at Replay Scooters
Thursday, 14 April 2011
2011 Race Bike Photo Shoot
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Stopping power
To go with the fancy new paint i decided to go with a new coloured brake hose!
This year I have routed the hydraulic hose differently with a more direct route rather than the concealed route that is more popular on road bikes.
Chiggy Chambers at www.lambrettaupgrades.co.uk has a great reputation for various specialist products including custom made HEL hydarulic hoses. Lambretta upgrades are the only Lambretta HEL specialist. Hel hoses are the official suppliers to the British Superbike series.
If you fancy a challenge try the HEL Braking reaction timer here >>> http://helperformance.com/extra/reaction-timer.php <<<
Thanks to Chiggy for sorting the coloured hose out pronto...... great quality products from a scooterist!
Click the logo to visit the web site!
This year I have routed the hydraulic hose differently with a more direct route rather than the concealed route that is more popular on road bikes.
Chiggy Chambers at www.lambrettaupgrades.co.uk has a great reputation for various specialist products including custom made HEL hydarulic hoses. Lambretta upgrades are the only Lambretta HEL specialist. Hel hoses are the official suppliers to the British Superbike series.
If you fancy a challenge try the HEL Braking reaction timer here >>> http://helperformance.com/extra/reaction-timer.php <<<
Thanks to Chiggy for sorting the coloured hose out pronto...... great quality products from a scooterist!
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
2011 Rebuild Update
Well... the last few weeks have been pretty manic both workwise and scooterwise!.
The new 2011 paintwork is about complete ( just toolbox door to re-do ) .
Chalky at Replay completed the modifications needed to the exhaust to fit.... it looks awesome with a very long stinger ! ( more details and new pictures to follow!) . Chalky is currently working on a new inlet manifold to fit the DellOrto carb I will be running this year and that is sheduled to be fitted next Monday........ which is all a bit last minute for the Mallory Park Test day on Friday!
This week is being spent reassembling everything. The forks have been totally stripped and rebuilt with mainly new internals.... there was always something amiss last year that we couldn't quite get to the bottom of..... so hopefully this rebuild into new forks will clear that up!
A new Jahspeed seat has been fitted..... all very streamlined!
There'll probably be a rush of blog posts over the next few days to bring everything up to date.......
In the meantime, heres a couple of teasers for you! The Senna 'Double S ' is of course a tribute to the all time hero Ayrton Senna. June sees a cinema documentary being released which will surely add more to his legend!
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