2012 comes to an end

So another year on the bike comes to a close. Its been a odd but good year on the bike,photo shoots and coaching along with racing: 3 podiums in XC, 5th in the X-fusion enduro series, 68th in the Rapha worldwide 500 challenge. We started the year as a factory MTN Cycle team rider.. but it was clear come Feb that any new bikes that were said to be on the way were not coming, So we killed it all year without a bike frame sponsor and ended the year with a bike frame sponsor on the cards for 2013.. But with a new love for road riding and getting back in the hills freeriding that deal would fizzle out. So bring on 2013, we have a load of challenges and events to hit up along with skills coaching to make another packed year. Have a good one tonight peeps.

THE BEAST FROM THE EAST

The Exmoor beast event has been rated as one of the hardest and in the top echelon of sportives thanks to its demanding loop and terrain. Still 1,500 riders take part in either the 100k or the extreme 100 mile beast. The events run by former Royal Marine training instructors and will again be brutal. The event in 2013 will be on the 20th of October so wet weathers almost a guaranteed done deal, I have raced on the road but never done a sportive.. So im jumping in with what looks like two wet feet and will ride the 100 miler.

River crossings are all part of the beast..
join in?  http://www.exmoorbeast.org/

Rapha 500 .. Day 5.

Well thats it all done, a nice little 122 mile spin today put the Rapha to bed. Moving me to the 68th rider to get to 500k (out of 14,k+ riders worldwide)  and 12th rider in the UK,  We said we had a plan at the start of the week and it worked.  Godd luck to the rest of the Rapha 500 riders. Till next year.

Rapha day 4 part 2

As planned we started in Barnstaple today and went for two loops of the Taw mid week group ride. I like this loop as it has some good sections, Long climbs, flat and some long quick downhill sections, It was a real blast and i felt very comfortable smashing out another 40+ mile ride. You go up past muddiford where i took part in my first ever xc race back in the 80's and an area i trained on the road back in the early 90's, It would be my first ride up this long hill solo in about 20 years and it was cool to see i got up it quicker solo than i have in the two Tuesday night rides that i have done, It was also the first ride this week that i have done without my rain coat, loved it.  I have to say i feel fresh and with a nice 54.9 miles for the day banked for the Rapha challenge. Its not looking good for day 5! Rain and high winds all day are on the cards and a challenging route planned...

Rapha 500 day ..4..part1

Windy as hell and rain coming down sideways, We got out for a short 12mile spin, A few days ago a local KOM of mine got smashed by 2 seconds. so on our way round we dug in and and got it back, We are now 50% done on the Rapha event and the plan will be to get another ride in later today, speeds will be low thanks to the high winds..

Rapha Festive 500 day 3

Day three was a 7am start, lights on as where we live street lights are a thing of the future, Today we set off on a new loop i have not done before, After a nice mellow start we clicked off 25 miles and was feeling good, legs felt good and we got the power down and clicked off a solid 50 miles today in the rain and wind again with out much trouble even getting another PR on the way. Almost half way now and it feels like the days when i trained back in the 90's. Kind of liking it and its great prep for the challenges i have set myself for next year.
As i write this i move from 2,000+ to 425th out of 13,000 riders. good luck to all the Rapha 500 riders.
follow me if you like  :  http://app.strava.com/athletes/951069

Rapha day 2

The plan was simple, same as day one but with a few miles more on the out loop. Weather looked like it should be better, but day 2 was even harder than day one. I did the extra miles and put in a real hard ride even if the av speed and the time did not show it, thats because as i got going the rain came down what i dont mind but it was the wind.. Almost blown off the bike heading to Tiverton and almost a dead stop on the loop home. Such a hard ride, Day 3 will be a new loop..
Plus side i got a 4th on a strava section without trying, same section i got a PR on day one.
Other than that things are good, legs felt a little dead as they would as i have just had a week off the bike before giving the Rapha a crack and before that i was only doing small rides with less than 1 hour 20 a week as my av. But feel im riding still within myself and looking forward to a new loop and maybe a dry ride?

Rapha ride 1 report

So the plan was a 35+mile ride, But we clocked up a solid 45 mile ride (75k) for the first day, Things should be going good, but the rain was coming down hard, so much that the lanes were a good 6" in water and over the top of the main hill on exmoor we had to have my front light on as you could only see about 10m in front, But the big news was that my legs were blowing at the 35 mile mark and the last 10 miles were slow and hard going, I have only done one longer road ride in the last four months as the Rapha's the start of my longer riding ready for my challenge i have planned for next year and its clear this is going to be a lot harder than i thought. Dog walking this morning before i hope to get another 75k on the board.

Rapha challenge day 1..

Just a coffee away from starting the Rapha event... Rain keeps on coming down and finding a loop not under water for today maybe a challenge in it self, after Sundays flat tyre thanks i think to a sharp stone in a  puddle we hope todays wet fest goes a lot better.. I have added my lights to the Tarmac comp and also a second bottle cage for later in the week, i have a plan of sorts.. as im sure the other 13,000 others have! good luck to all the #festive500 riders on the Rapha challenge .

check the coaching blog for more details.
http://trailheaduk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-festive-500.html

Kicks off in the morning! #festive500 .
Good luck Rapha 500 riders. 

Rapha Festive 500 Ride 500km between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve

http://app.strava.com/challenges/2012-rapha-festive-500

Im not sure i have the time to do this.. but we will give it a crack and see how we do.. #festive500

Brechfa, Wales

Just had a great stay up in Wales for a week, see the trail head blog for more details.

http://trailheaduk.blogspot.com/2012/12/brechfa-wales.html

1992 7UP BMBF National Mountain Bike Cross Country Round 3 NEWNHAM PARK ...

plymouth back in the day.. retro flash back for you..

greg lemond = my hero growing up.

http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-continental-with-greg-lemond

New Trail: Afan Bike Park.

will be hitting this up in the new year  :)

KORE 2013 / 2014..

 Pump track bike gets some fresh plastic pedals, i love these pedals on my pump bike.

 Went for the new bling looking 2013 dirt jump kore stem and OCD bars cut to 770mm.

 the new 2013 flat pedals from KORE-USA,

 35mm bore stem and xxl bar size! very cool. got the bars still uncut at 800mm

 above and bellow, testing some carbon proto bars,  thats all the info i can tell you for now.