Cyclocross update

With 5 races done and dusted and only three remaining, the season is sadly coming to an end.

Race Two was possibly the best course I have ridden.


 Race Three was fun.  Due to discovering my headset had seized late Saturday afternoon and learning my frame needed a Specialized Mindset headset (which I couldn't get in time) I was force to ride my mountain bike.

Race Four was COLD and WET!!!! I seriously considered DNFing with two laps to go but carried on to finish.

Race Five was fantastic due to a great course and ideal weather conditions.  Having to race with a dead leg wasn't ideal!

Photo taken by Andy Brown, early on in the race

Photo by Andy Brown - Too many people smiling.

                                               

                                                               Photo taken my Lisa Morgan - Cowbell coaching 

Handle bar got caught up in the tape 

Tape didn't break and I came to a sudden stop

Race over, dead leg for the rest of the race and the following week.

The Cyclocross Season has Finally Arrived!!!

After a long waited hiatus, the cyclocross season has finally arrived.

Cyclocross races are well known for being held in cold and wet conditions but somehow today was an exception.  

During the week, New Zealand was hit by one of the worst storms in 40 years with trees, roofs and roads torn up in the Wellington area.

Image from Google of Petone foreshore

Image from Google of Lyall Bay

I was keen to race B grade but went against better judgement and raced A grade.  With four races already held on the course, it was always going to be a matter of survival and keeping the bike moving forward.  A lot / all of the competitors decided running the switch backs was faster than trying to ride.

Not sure on the final number in A grade, maybe 15 - 20 people.  I was extremely happy to only get lapped by Alex Revell (no shame in that) and not come last.

 

Photo taken by Danielle 

Photo taken by Danielle 

  

Photo taken by Danielle 

RACE VIDEO

Here is the information for the following races.

Start times and categories:

D Grade 20 mins plus 1 lap 9:00am

Kids 2 laps 0945am

C Grade 30 mins plus 1 lap 10:15am

B Grade 40 mins plus 1 lap 11:15am

A(lex Revell) Grade 50 mins 12:15pm

Venues:

23 June Harcourt Park

30 June California Park

7 July Moonshine Park

14 July California Park

21 July Moonshine Park

28 July California Park

4 August Moonshine Park

11 August Harcourt Park 

There’s Adventure Then There’s ADVENTURE!!!

Mike from the Bike Hutt organised a 200km ‘fun ride’ in the Wairarapa.  It all seemed easy on paper; turn up with a bike that can handle gravel roads and be fit enough to ride for 6-8 hours.  Most of us turned up on cyclocross bikes with slick tyres, a few people rode road bikes with 25c or 28c tyres.

We started off together but soon split into small bunches.  I found myself at the front with two guys (Andy and Thomas).   All was going well, we arrived at the first check point (the support van was there with all our gear).  After a quick bite to eat and putting on some warmer clothes as it had started raining, we set off in high spirits.  The gravel roads were fantastic and the heavy rain just added to the excitement.

Everything was going to plan until the map lead us on to a farm.  The road forked, the right went to a heavily locked gate and the track on the other side didn’t seem used.  The three of us discussed our options and as the first gate seemed to go nowhere, we took the track to the left.  We all were unsure of where to go, unfortunately for me, I spotted road makers beside the gates heading into the hills and thought that was the public access route.  Biking through sheep and cow paddocks on road bikes was a little strange. 



Thomas just after he went flying over the handle bars

 

Lost while making our waythrough the farm..



We persisted with pushing our bikes and at the very top, Thomas decided that we were LOST and it was time to turn around to find some of the other riders.  By this stage we had lost Andy.  I started off being very cautious on the downhills but to no avail.  Near the bottom my front wheel locked up due to too much mud causing me to crash, rip my derailleur off and crack three ribs.



This is where the adventure really began, lost, injured and with a broken bike, the priority was to get back to Martinborough.  Thankfully I had a chainbreaker and was able to make my bike a single speed.  Thomas and I agreed the best plan was to get me back to the first check point and wait there.



While waiting we decided to clean our bikes



Waiting

After an hour of waiting, we agreed Thomas would bike up the road the rest of the riders would be coming down while I made my way back to Martinborough.

After biking and walking for about an hour or two I made it back to the main road and I decided to wait there for help.

About an hour passed when a car pulled up with cyclocross bikes and a bunch of riders clambered out.  Turns out everyone had their own adventure and no-one was able to complete the full ride. 

Once we all gathered back in Martinborough, war stories were shared.

I am looking forward to next year!



Alex Revell On A Mission

For the last couple of cyclocross seasons, there has been one rider to rule them all......Alex Revell.

Photo copied from his website

I've had the privilage to race in the same cyclocorss gragde as him and like everyone else, to watch him ride off into the distance. He is fundrasing to get to the World Cyclocross Champions, you can help him by donating through is blog (Click here).

Nothing Wrong With Coming Last....Or Is There?

Even though we are technically still in winter, yesterday's weather was absolutely beautiful, you would be forgiven for thinking it's late spring.   Today was a different story, the low cloud and heavy rain was reminder that it is not spring yet.

I rocked up to the 5th round of the Bike Hutt's Cyclocross Race Series only to find a select few had turned up to race A grade.  As the track was so muddy, I chose not to pre ride the course to ensure my bike would work properly, at least for the first lap.  Mike (the organiser) has a habit throwing in a surprise or two on the start line and this week was no different.  As everyone was lining up guessing what the surprise would be, there was some talk about riding topless; Ken seemed keener on the idea than the rest of us. As we were ready to set off, the starter asked us to all turn around and told us we were going to ride the course in the opposite direction because "the course was getting cut up."  It made no difference to me; I took my position at the back of the bunch and stayed there.  I was duelling it out with Gary (on a 29er mtb with cyclocross tyres) until half a lap to go when my legs finally gave up.  I rolled across the finish line in dead last with a much better understanding of cyclocross racing.

It's nothing like road racing where you can hide in a bunch until the finish line or mountain biking where you can recover on the downhills. It's certainly nothing like triathlon where you save your legs on the bike for the run.  Looking at how the fast people race, I think it's closer to BMX racing on road bikes with mountain bike skills. 

WHAT A FANTASTIC SPORT.  I'll definitely be back next year!!!

Full results here

No video this week as the camera lens cover got a few drops of mud on it.

Thanks to Danielle for the great photos.

Race Three of The Bike Hutt Cyclocross Series

4 Weeks - 6 Races. Wellington's A Great Place To Train.

The winter season of racing has started and the weather has been fantastic.

First up was the Kapiti Cycling Club's Winter Series. 
A great series and I highly recommend it!

Saturday 30th June - 60km Road Race
Saturday 7th July - 60km Road Race
Saturday 14th July   - 60km Road Race   Sunday - Cyclocross Race
Saturday 21st July - 60km Road Race     Sunday - Cyclocross Race

Mel Hamer-Hurst has been taking some great photos of the cyclocross races here


  There is plently more racing coming up, check out some of the club's calendars.

Kapiti Cycling Club here

Bike Hutt's Cyclocross Series here

PNP Cycling Club here

PNP Mountain Bike Series here

Fun Run and Races here