Cold, Hamstrings and Hill Climbs

This Sunday was my fourth hill climb at Long Hill, Whaley Bridge an event promoted by Buxton CC.

Since the excitement last weekend of setting a course record up Snake pass and cycling up Holme moss both ways, I hadn’t touched a bike since Last Sunday. The day after racing, I came down with a cold, and took the opportunity to spend a week off the bike. It’s great having a week off the bike, you have all this extra spare time to do useful things, like searching t’internet, to see if you can save a few grams on your hill climb bike. Time well spent, I say.

Actually, it wasn’t quite true that I never touched the bike. Since I hadn’t ridden Time Trial bike for a few weeks, I thought I’d get it out and give a quick test. But, trying to change a wheel I felt a twinge in the hamstring. So spent an hour lying on the floor with a bag of frozen peas hoping this would not be a serious hamstring which would leave me spending next three months pointless seeking to find some weight savings on bike that I couldn’t ride anyway. This was turning out to be a bad  week. But, I think I slightly over-reacted, the twinge wasn’t really any bad pain, just discomfort.

That’s cycling – one week you can be on the top of your game, the next week a slight misalignment in the body and everything changes.

Anyway with a double excuse of cold + hamstring twinge, it made it an easier decision to cancel Saturdays 10 Mile TT promoted by WLCA. Our 10 mile time trial, was the warm up event for the under 18 GHS championship. It was a great success with nearly 150 schoolchildren completing the 10 mile event. It was won in a very impressive time of  00:21:18 by Joe Evans (Velocity RT) very good for a tough course. Nice to see a time trial dominated by youngsters rather than us old ‘uns.

Anyway, Saturday was another day off bike, and I actually managed to do something useful, being a marshall at a 10 mile running race in Battersea Park. There were a few members of the Portugese Paralympic team who came along to hand out prizes and take part. Nice to meet some great athletes, enjoying their Olympic experience – and also finding time to share the magic with other club runners.

But, Sunday was a hill climb, and it takes more than a cold + hamstring twinges to put me off hill climbs. In fact getting up at 5am on Sunday morning, I felt pretty good. No hamstring problem, and cold pretty minimal.

On car drive, an irritating cough appeared, suspiciously starting straight after visiting a motorway service station and downing a dodgy macchiato,. When I asked for a macchiato,, the ‘barrista’ confidently said they don’t do macchiato. I asked if if he could do a single expresso and put some foam of the top. Yes, he can do that. Marvellous – everyone was happy.

Classic shot from 2011 Nat Hill climb

Arriving in Whaley Bridge, it was beautiful day, but I wanted to find some cough medicine for the increasingly tickly throat. Bizarrely I had a dream about having a bike stolen the night before. I never place much importance on my random displaced images which make up my dreams – but I wasn’t going to tempt fate and leave my time trial bike outside the Co-op, even if Whaley Bridge was deserted on a Sunday morning. The shop was empty, but despite carrying my lovely clean, shiny, carbon fibre time trial bike in the air, the lone shop-assistant said ‘ you can’t bring that in here’ – with a rapidity that suggested people bringing bikes into a shop was a daily occurrence in Whaley Bridge. But, I was on-form – after bluffing my way into a dodgy Machiato at Watford Gap service station, I wasn’t going to be flummoxed by this test. He kindly got me some co-op cough medicine and I bought said purchase without ever taking me eyes of bike.

After all that lengthy waffly introduction, I’m not sure if I can top it by describing the actual race. It felt a little low key because I knew I wasn’t going to be racing at 100%.

It was very tough – direct headwind, making the 4.4 miles decidedly hard. It might have been stronger than headwind in national last year. I hope so because my time was 35 seconds slower. But, it was still a good ride. I didn’t feel too bad during race, despite cold – just perhaps holding off a little bit. The predominant feeling of race was going into stiff headwind rather than uphill. But, a time trial bike felt right choice for headwind. I can’t really compare times, because when I broke course record in 2010 (about 12.25, I was on road bike no tribars) conditions were very different.

The biggest excitement in the race was towards the end where there are a series of hairpin bends and double white lines (no overtaking). There was a long line of cars stuck behind a group of sportive riders, defiantly cycling two abreast. The highway code says it is OK to cycle two abreast unless road is narrow and bendy. (which at this point the road mainly was) There were also aware there was a cycle race taking place because they had been asked to single out lower down the hill, but they seemed to get more joy sticking to their guns, gesticulating at motorists and fighting for a rather grey area in the highway code. Good old cyclists eh?. After finishing, I thought about saying something, but I didn’t. Partly because I was out of breath, and partly because they were still gesticulating at the motorists. Harmony and peace on the roads, it’s not too much to ask for is it?

I didn’t lose any time though.

They start them young in Buxton CC.

Back at the HQ, there was a good atmosphere, and good cake.  In addition to flowers, trophy and £35,  I somehow got a very nice piece of carrot cake as well. I think the organisers felt I would benefit from a few more calories.  Many thanks to Buxton CC as usual. I’m becoming a bit of a local in that part of the world these days. Why are all the best hill climbs in the UK within a 50 mile radius of Buxton?

Dan Evans had a good ride to equal his time from 2012 Nationals. Fastest Woman:  Karen Ledger 17.33.8           Fastest Veteran:   Chris Myhill  16.01.0         and fastest team Buxton CC!

I rode time trial bike, with Zipp 404 rear, lightweight front wheel.

Next week Swindon R.C. hill climbs. The week after the Cat & Fiddle!