Sometimes I need to remind myself that there is a bigger picture to think about, this is made even harder when you’re met with the raised eyebrows of those you find yourself chatting to before the start of a race. So whilst it may appear to be sheer lunacy to go for a 70 mile road ride the day before an XC Race, or to ride every day for a week after a tough event, the greater plan suggests otherwise!
I’ve been fretting about not doing enough miles or spending enough hours in the saddle for the big 24 hour solo in August, so I’ve come-up with a schedule to try get me to August with some element of structure, and to incorporate all of the other events in the calendar as part of an overall plan! The hard bit about this for a competitive wee soul like me is that there are certain events that I will inevitably find myself rather more jaded than I’d otherwise like!
Unlike last weekend’s Friday night shenanigans (pics of the pole-dancing incident fortunately too poor to publish…), I’ve been quite a good boy this week, I did try to take-it-easy on Saturday’s road ride and I succeeded in restricting myself to a couple of beers at Postierich and Sacha’s barby.
Mansell Lacy is a few miles outside of Hereford and deep in the heart of “Banjo Country”. Its been over 10 years since they hosted a Cross Country race. We got there just after 9am and with the race due to start at 11 there was plenty time to mess about and do a couple of laps of the course.
At 3.4 miles it is a short lap, but with 650ft of ascent in each lap brutally packed into a couple of short sharp hills and one big one, it managed to encompass everything I’m good at, everything I’m hopeless at, and throw-in a couple of eyeball-poppers for good measure!
The Veterans race is again the most heavily subscribed of all the categories and arguably the most fiercely competitive race of the day. I’d got enough points from Round 1 to be allocated a 3rd row grid position, leaving all the other nutters to fight for their spot on the grid behind me.
So with Big-Ring engaged, we’re off… a mile of up-hill sprint spreads the field out a bit before turning hard right off the estate road and dropping steeply to cross a stream with a 4ft muddy bank to get back out. I’d tried this several times in practice and still couldn’t get it, finally figured that the pressure of the race would carry my through it, wrong! I stall on the bank get passed by 4 others as I’m flailing about trying to clip back into the pedals! This is almost immediately redressed as the track kicks steeply up-hill and I regain my original position.
Again we drop steeply off a short bit of estate road and rip across off-camber roots, and trees that get harder to avoid every lap. There’s a horrid root section that despite the lovely dry weather had retained plenty very slippery sticky mud. My cunning plan was simply not to fight it, leaping off the bike and carrying it over the mud and slippery roots, kept my tyres dry and mud free, it was a good plan and rewarded me with a couple of places.
Flying past the other side of the main arena, hit the short but very steep wee pull as fast as you can before dropping down to start “The Big Hill”. A long, long ascent up a dirt road with 5 steep hairpin bends, and in the 28 degree heat, it’s brutal, and it’s the bit that suits me best! A short little respite at the top, before plunging very steeply into the darkness of the trees some good momentum is needed here to get up the vertical wall on the other side! A fun little roller-coaster section followed by a fast bit of dirt road followed by a good wiggly bit through a big bed of nettles (so nearly fell-off here), over a log, round some trees and we’re back at the start!
With every lap that goes past I get to enjoy riding this course but it would be a very different proposition if it were wet.
After the usual full throttle start, I find myself battling with a couple of others, fighting for position we swap and change several times a lap before finally on the third lap I pull enough of a gap on the big hill, to take me away from the fight.
It’s yet another new feeding strategy, carrying half a bottle of drink saves 250 grams of unnecessary weight (that’s lots!), so Lizzie has to work a bit harder today in the feed zone, passing me a fresh bottle every lap. I’m also taking a gel every lap and that does succeed in making me feel sick by the time I get to the last one!
Starting the last lap I’ve got a sufficiently comfortable gap behind (as long as I don’t do anything stupid) and the next place up the road is too far out of reach, so I just have to put in a steady but careful lap to protect my position. I spot Lizzie cheering me on as we rip past the other side of the arena, her feed station duties done for the day, but I’m too focused on my line and speed to wave! The heat is getting to me, particularly on the “Big Hill”, I’d been getting that shivery/tingly sensation that meant I was overheating… and not drinking enough! But I’ve mixed my drink a bit too strong and that’s not helping!
Crossing the finish line, Lizzie’s there to meet me and confirms that I’ve finished 15th of 44… the day’s objective was to finish in the top 20, so I’m happy with that, a good improvement from last time out and a few more championship points on the board too.It’s starting to emerge that there is a little feed zone community forming these days, our little helpers need to go and fight for their spot, retrieve the empty bottles we throw at them, and shout the right encouragement in the brief moment that we flash past and snatch a fresh bottle from their outstretched hand. They are utterly invaluable.
I'd better get Lizzie a proper bottle carrier… I think she’s getting bullied by the others for not having one!
Click here for Garmin Data
Photographs courtesy of Roy Bevis
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