Dissapointing race at Modbury

Modbury race looked like fun, few more hills and 80 riders, But the race was over before it started.. The car went off and so did most of the bunch as we had a few miles before the flag drops and racing starts, Then we waited as the bikes went out then they let us off.. Well that was it race over, the car had gone off so fast the bunch had sprinted before the race had started to get the free draft and our small group had been screwed over... We set off hard to catch and we soon shelled a few in our group of about ten riders that then quit the race, We soon picked off a few riders from the main group and ended up with 3 MDCC riders and 3 Wheelers plus a range of other clubs. MDCC at first set the pace but it was slow and we all then joined in at the front and pushed the pace on and our group picked off more riders, By the last lap we had a few solid cat3 boys and now we had about 6 Wheelers and the pace was now being pushed along and a few more riders got shot out the back, Coming in to the final climbs a lone rider jumped off the front of our group and had a good 5/6 second lead and looked to be getting away, I moved up the pack and then put down some power jumping off the front and soon catching the lone rider before the top of the hill and kept going, As we made the turn in to the finish i had a look back waiting to see all the Wheeler and MDCC boys on my wheel but i had a lead and so put my head down and stomped in to the finish ahead of the pack with ease. Cant wait to get on the Rocky Mountain Bicycle next weekend for some real riding.

Ilton racing

Flat, Sprinters track, Crashing, thats wht seems to come up when talking of Ilton but i thought i would give it a go, Turned out a lot of fun, Not a lot of action till one lap to go and then the pace went up as it was clear we were going to all stay and a bunch sprint looked on the cards, Things started to go a bit sinlge file with a few turns to go and i was down in about 20th spot, I moved up coming in to the last turn and then had a great three way sprint for the line coming in 13th.

New whip

 We have just got back from our 4 day trip to Scotland to find my new road bike has turned up! Good times and such a quick bike, Strava PB's & KOM's already racked up. This weekend we will be racing at Ilton.

Locals

Thanks to the MoreDirt crew for this little feature.

Spring race 3

The last round and again in group2 of 3 and we make a pack to work with each other and with a good group of lads we put down the watts and show how lucky some people were to get away with results in the other two rounds. Not only do  we catch group one in under 10 miles we drop group 3, Our first lap was faster than any lap a Cat4 did in the complete series and faster than most of the Cat123 riders. Out of my Strava followers my lap was quicker than any lap done by Myles Gerrard, Peter Housley, James Davey, Liam Bard, Martyn Leach, Julian Moger, Nick Weddall and my training buddy Stu Ross. Lap 2 was also a fast lap, my second fastest ever, Sadly i picked up a slow flat on the final lap and paced in to the finish. Great three weeks of racing and just goes to show what you can do with just 4 hours a week of riding if you have some talent, Time to get the hard work done now ready for the summer.

Spring time race 2

Another week and another Spring Time Pursuit, These odd ball events kick off the year and like last year and for many other riders this is a great spring board for the year with the goal to feel stronger from each round, Round 2 i was again in group 2 with a solid group 1 starting 2mins ahead of us, Lap one and i was feeling strong and did a large part of the work and we cut the lead down to just 1min, Few people wanted to work but we gave a pace line of sorts a try but we only took another 20 seconds off the group in front and it was time to cut back on the work and wait for the quicker riders from group 3 to join us, With just the last rolling hill section to go we were joined first by a few riders, Exeter Wheeler rider with a MDCC rider latched on to his wheel followed by another bunch of 4, As we headed up the climb it was clear that the pace was not going to catch the lead group and at the back of the pack i put a fun effort in, some 10 seconds later of sprinting we were at the front and kept on going before getting sucked back in to the pack to finish race 2 with a strong ride.

thanks to rutrainingtoday.co.uk for the photo.

Springtime Pursuits Race 1

Here we go again, last year i got dropped in the first few miles while doing very little at the back and then that was it solo effort for almost 30 miles!I soon wised up and loved the next two events even if the results were still piss poor i was back road riding.  This year my plan was to stay in my group for as long as i could and do very little at this first round, I was in the second group and i soon found myself at the front doing my turn and pushing on? (what! plan out the window) but the group was a mixed bunch and riders jumping off only to drag them back it was no shock that we failed to catch all of group one and the last group that had dropped down to just 6 or so riders joined us at the mid point of lap 2 of 3, With three MDCC riders controling the pace line it was up to a great effort by a exeter wheelers rider to try and jump clear as we went over the line for one to go and this split the group to bits, I mist the jump and held on to a small group of 5 riders as the rest got shelled out the back for the last lap and took a easy last lap in the draft to finish a fun first pursuit. roll on this weekend!