The "No Season" Off Season

 Towards the end of 2019 I felt incredibly burnt out. Lacking motivation and nursing a knee injury that just added to the mental effects of multiple race seasons piled on top of each other. In truth the thought of another season imminently approaching did not fill me with enthusiasm.

If you had said then that the world would stop in 2020 due to an emerging global pandemic, I probably would have thought too much about it. These things happen all the time dont they? Swine Flu? Bird Flu? But they never really effect us in the western world.

Well, wrong. It did effect us, along with every other corner of the planet. Everything changed and all hopes of early year races were gone. But peoples hope was admirable. Even by June, people were still confident about the coming months and when discussing my coming trip to Australia for WEMBO in November "It'll be fine by then...."

(It wasn't fine by then. In fact its worse).

The year passed by in a blaze of fury. The general public's lock-down thirst for bicycles sent anyone who worked in the bike industry into year long struggle of doubling sales, availability issues and long workshop waiting lists. By mid year, with most races cancelled and nothing looking promising, personal riding took a back burner for us all in the shop. Instead long hours were done prepping and fixing bikes and getting all the jobs done that there wasn't time for in the day.

Our spring Majorca "training camp" was canned, as was WEMBO (along with all UK 24hr races) and so motivation to train plummeted to near zero.

By early autumn an opportunity came my way for a career change, and after 4 years at HotPursuit I decided it was time to bite the bullet and move on to pastures new. Like with any new job there has been a period of adjustment needed as I transition from bike mechanic, back into the field of earth sciences. The hunger for bikes, racing and training has returned though. As I stare down the barrel of the traditional XC "off season" I feel myself more and more wanting to hit the trails and start getting some good foundation in again. Which is soothing. Although this year has been an utter shit show for everyone globally, along with the racing cycling community, I feel a slight air of optimism. 

Things will improve if we all do our bit. There will always be more bike races. 

Charging Through 2019...

We seem to be smashing through the year at an alarming rate so far and with not much time to update this blog It's only right that it gets a bit of love.

An early season escape with some mates to the sunny Canary Islands for some mountainous miles was well in need after the usual barrage of winter doom and gloom. Joined by local pinners, Rich Long and Harry Birchil we finished up with 15,000m of vertical elevation and 700km of riding  a week later, and sadly time to leave our little sunny oasis. A great winter warmer, and chance to build some form and moral for the season ahead.

Harry and myself also took our "Heath Robinson" bike packing setups out for a random weekend to South Wales to ride some new roads and enjoy some long miles. Navigating a laden bike around the valleys took some doing, but with big miles come big rewards in the form of stunning countryside. Bike packing is something completely new to both of us, but certainly not the last trip, a proper quality weekend was had with over 21hrs of riding in three days!

For the beginning part of this season I have been dabbling a bit with XCO racing again and with the entire UK XCO being seemingly forward biased in the first seven months of the year, its been pretty busy so far! It's now the beginning of June, and with around 10 races in the legs so far it has shaped up to be pretty fun smashing around the National XC Series races and catching up with familiar faces.
Its great to enjoy the social side of race weekends again.
So far the XC legs have delivered with numerous South West Series wins and a splattering of National top 10 finishes. There may be life in the old dog yet!

Racing the full South West XC series has been great fun this year with some awesome venues making up the calendar. The series is going from strength to strength and every race has new faces appear on the start line. It's awesome to see a really healthy growing XC scene locally, especially in the kids and younger race classes!

So whats next? With mid summers day just around the corner, and the XC season not fully done and dusted with quite yet, I've got one eye on my endurance calendar with the first race being the usual TwentyFour 12 in Plymouth. It must be the 7th year there for me this year but its still an awesome weekend. With a few 12hr solos on the cards next, and Relentless 24hr in Fort William in October being my biggest focus to attempt to defend my British Champ jersey! I'm seriously looking forward to finally getting my teeth into the long races!

As ever, thank you to my sponsors for the continued support through 2019: Hotpursuit Cycles, Fabric Cycling, Specialized UK, MTB Strapon, and the man with the plan Craig at BigHeart Coaching.

WEMBO World 24hr Solo MTB Championship 2018 - Fort William

The Scottish Highlands in Autumn is a stunning place to be, but given the time of the year can also throw up some serious surprises when it comes to conditions. The guys at No Fuss Events had put on a cracking course at the Nevis Range, utilising the 2007 XC World Champs course, off piste trails and even UCI DH World cup track, with some brutal climbs and stunning descents put together in a nice 13km package.

Saturday morning came and so did the rain (OK, drizzle at this point). Everyone was gathered at the start line for a rolling start behind motorbikes and a traditional bag pipe send off. The first lap was slightly shorter, utilising a long fireroad climb to the highest point of the course instead of heading into the first singletrack climb on the lap.

The clock struck the hour and we are moving. Super twitchy at the start here with a lot of super energetic, overly keen 24hr racers sprinting for position and banging bars still with 23 hours and 55 minutes to go. As we climbed it started to settle, and the bar bashers slowly went backwards and I moved up to just ride at my own comfortable pace. By the end of the lap I was on the wheel of 8x World Champion Jason English, which I decided wasn't a bad wheel to follow?

The first 8 hours seemed pretty warm. It was drizzling, but a solid 15 degrees, and just a summer jersey and knee warmers were pretty much perfect. The course was beautifully hard. Dirty climbs that were hard to clean without pushing into the higher heart rate zones, and rough descents that took their toll on hands and arms as you hammered down. I started to dabble with some warmer jerseys as the night set in, but was quickly finding myself too warm on the climbs or too cold on the descents but didn't appear to be much of a problem. I was sitting perfectly to plan in 8th position or so, and feeling comfortable come the mid point of the race as the weather started to deteriorate.

I started to feel slightly funny around then first loosing my head slightly, then my vision. I started to make silly mistakes on descents and my legs weren't feeling like they should. I came round into the pits around 1:30am and my crew stoked me up and pushed me back out there. I was slowing, but still moving and not really loosing that much time. But my legs and head where getting worse, and the heat was draining out of my rain soaked body as it hit a cool 4 degrees. The wind on the top of the course was like riding into treacle and soon whipped away body heat built up on the climb.
I've never really had any huge issues in 24hr races up until this point. Sure, the dark moments come deep into the race as usual, but this was something different. The familiar voice of my buddy Peter Nadin came billowing from over my shoulder like a pissed off drill sergeant. After battling his own demons earlier in the race, he had decided that I was not going to suffer a similar fate. "Get the F*#k on my wheel" he shouted as he came by. I did as I was told.....

As we entered the pits together he explained "Lets not piss around in the pits yeah? Quick turn around and get going". But I couldn't. My legs wouldn't turn, I was cold and blurry eyed; my body was shutting down. I slumped in a chair and stared at my mum and dad who were looking back at me with probably equally blank expressions, and a few moments later I heard Pete leave the pit next door. At the time I was thinking "This is it. That's a years work all gone down the pan" and shut my eyes. Ten or fifteen minutes passed, I could still hear the bustle of the pits around me in my ears, but my body wouldn't move. I opened up my eyes and sat quietly for a while longer with my crew looking at me still quietly with the race slipping away from me slowly. I started to take in as much fluids, hot coffee and warm fluids as I could manage. Chucked a fresh set of kit on, and got my bike and lights sorted. In what felt like a few minutes, I had lost over an hour and a half stationary in my pit, dropping from 7th overall, into 13th place.

Feeling better for a full kit change I clambered back on my bike at what must have been around 3 or 4am. Goal change time now: "lets try and salvage a top ten yeah?" I said to my crew and off I went into the still biblical rain. It was apparent on the first climb on that lap that the legs I had come into the pits with some two hours prior were not the same legs on board now. My cross country legs had appeared and I was moving. Properly moving. The guys around me in the standings were lapping in the 1:10 - 1:20 range, and I chucked out 55 minute laps three times in a row, even to the bewilderment of my mum, when I surprised her in the pits nearly 10 minutes earlier than expected.

The trails were soggy but only a few sections were muddy, and they were still riding great. I was able to focus enough on the descents again to really wind her up and let the bike have it. This is the time in the night during a 24hr race I love, when my head gets into the right zone. It was just a shame it didn't show up 2 hours previous!

The sun was up around 8am leaving a 4hr dash to the line. I was sitting pretty now, making my way through the field and chirpily speaking to wry faces I recognised. I managed to catch Pete up again, overtaking him and one other on a fast section. I'd love to say what I said when I passed, but its too cheesy for me to put down....

10am came and as the rain came down (Still) I was up to 5th, exactly where I wanted to be. Could this really be happening? The pit crew were keeping me on my toes though, a late charge from Matt Jones was on the cards and he wasnt a million miles back. Keeping the pressure on I snuck an extra lap in and came down the mountain a final time to finish gone mid day to a rather brutal looking Nevis Range car park, and some rather relieved looking family and friends.

I came to Fort William expecting a brutal race, and hoping for a top 5 finish. Both of which happened and I'm stoked! Yes I'm slightly gutted things went wrong, but its these moments that define us, and pulling through the dark times make the sweet times even sweeter. One thing is for sure, less than three weeks after the race, I'm hungrier than ever and already planning 2019....

I am truly thankful to my huge list of sponsors who make this all possible. The excellent bikes from Specialized UK, great kit from Fabric Cycling and general support from Hot Pursuit Cycles and Bike Glove Store. The build up to this one was massive and having two identical Specialized S-Works Epics was a 24hr racers dream!

Craig Bowles at Big Heart Coaching for putting me in the best shape possible leading into this race. Im so thankful to call him my coach and friend.

I'm also truly blessed to have been able to share this experience with my entire family, including my Mum, Dad and also Sister, Brother-in-law and Niece and Nephew who had never been to a race of this size before. They all took turns in the pits pushing me back out, keeping moral high and generally giving up their time to stand on a cold, wet Scottish mountain side in October for me and my sport. A truly heartfelt thanks.

Torq In Your Sleep 12:12

As what seems to have become tradition so far this summer, beautiful riding conditions were halted on race weekend for torrential rain and mud for the annual Torq 12:12 around Minley Manor hosted by Gorrick.

The Minley course is always top notch, with some of the best English singletrack snaking through the estate grounds with classic sections such as Sponge Bob, Banksy and Double Dip all making the cut again this year. Carrying on the pairs racing theme for this Summer I partnered up with endurance hot shot Chris Noble to get some good racing and solid intensity in the legs ahead of WEMBO.
Sadly the weather forecast was right though and come the noon start on Sunday the heavens opened and the stunning course quickly turned to a brake pad eating slop.

I was out first and got round in touch with the speedy team boys in the lead group but with course conditions rapidly deteriorating my rapid Hutchinson Skeleton file treads weren't cutting up to the job. With Chris out then on his first stint for lap 3 and 4, I went on with the mud tyres and fresh brake pads and we were back in business, steadily increasing our lead all the time.

Come mid way point the rain had stopped and the course was drying rapidly (as the brake pads were dying rapidly..) turning the slop into a sticky slog. Still the laps kept ticking away and the lead increasing.

Possibly the best two laps of the race were the 10pm two lap stint with saw the course coming back to it's best, and brought home the goods for us with time to spare. A quiet, fun course at night really is a dream to ride! It was nice to finally chat with Chris at the end too. It's funny how little contact you have as a pair over a 12 hour race!

Thanks to Gorrick and Torq as usual for the great event even in such challenging conditions. It's great to get some more time between the tape with this race forming a solid training session ahead of WEMBO in October.

Photo Credit: Kevin Sheldrake & Zoe Buckland

Pivot TwentyFour 12 2018

British summer time has been great so far this year. That was until the annual Pivot TwentyFour 12 hiatus, where winter dutifully resumes for the weekend. After last years washout i think everyone was looking forward to a sunny weekend of bikes and racing in the beautiful Newnham Park. But of course it wasn't to be...

A quick good luck cuddle with my nephew before the the start.

This year I broke solo tradition, and paired up with good friend and local ripper Rich Long for the 12hr race. We have been riding and racing together for years, but this was our first time teaming up. Rich has been lighting up the local and national MTB scene all year, so I knew he was on good form. I was just hoping my diesel legs would deliver some respectable lap times to not let the side down!

With the weather looking threatening but generally OK for the Saturday, I took to the start line at 12pm to lead out the field in the freshly delivered LDLR British Champs jersey. Straight into  a double lap smash fest, but no traffic and the trails were running oh so good! With the first stint done the baton was handed to Rich for another two lap stint. An approach we stuck to throughout the race, and seemingly worked well ticking off the laps matching each others pace bar a few seconds for the full 12 hours!

Back into the camp ground on the opening lap. Photo Credit: Michael Travers

Things were hotting up in the 12hr solo race too, with only a few minutes separating the top five deep into the race. It was hard to watch, as I had loads of friends racing, all of which could have easily delivered the goods. With a late burn up from endurance racing virgin Seb Lloyd in second rapidly catching the flying on form Chris Noble it was all to play for in the last hour. It finally settled with Chris taking the goods from Seb, and a stellar gutsy ride from Matt Jones in third. Tense viewing for someone who doesn't usually see the solo racing from those side of the tapes!

Rich tapping out the laps like clockwork. Photo Credit: Michael Travers

Come 23:30 our race was pretty much done. Rich was heading out on the final lap to seal our lap and 15 minute advantage over second place. It was here when the weather finally broke, deciding to deliver the past two months worth of rainfall on Plymouth over the next 6 hours. With the course now resembling a river, and gale force winds bringing trees down on course, the race organisers took the difficult, yet wise decision to stop the race at 07:30 on Sunday morning on safety concerns. This must have been a hard pill to swallow, especially for the 24hr Solo's, but in hindsight was the wisest option.

Night time falls, and rain along with it... Photo Credit: Rich Long

So that was the 2018 Pivot TwentyFour 12. Two years in a row a washout, but still a fantastic event with a brilliant atmosphere. Next year WILL be dry.......
A big thanks to the the new organisers of this event for their heroic efforts in the dramatic conditions. Not an easy first year, but an excellent job was done!

BBC Spotlight South West Interview

A few days ago I had the pleasure of filming for BBC Spotlight with local correspondent, Andy Birkett.
It's great to see mountain biking in the news and work with someone who is passionate about getting such sports into the mainstream media!

Big thanks to: BBC Spotlight, Specialized UK, Hot Pursuit Cycles, Fabric Cycling, MTB Strapon, and Big Heart Coaching!

Awesome to air the new Pro Vision kit for the first time too! This kit is seriously trick and is super comfortable to ride in!

Longest Day Longest Ride British 24hr Championships

Taking up the gauntlet for this years British Solo 24Hr Championships was the awesome crew from Loaghtan Loaded MTB for the Longest Day Longest Ride 24hr on the Isle of Man. A relatively small event, but with a big reputation. The race course was set up in Conrhenny plantation, overlooking the coast line just half a mile from the famous Creg Ny Baa corner on the TT circuit. If there’s one thing this island isn’t short on, it’s two wheel history...

Having been greeted on the boat and shown to the race venue by crew members Will and Sue Nulty it was clear that the hospitality of this event was going to be quite like non other. Registration was down in Douglas on the Friday night which saw us all collect a HUGE goody bag (including a custom LDLR jersey, food, bottles, and nifty gadgets) from the organisers and sponsors. An awesome touch compared to the usual out of date energy bar at most races! 

The glorious view from the Conrhenny Campsite.

A short course of just 3.4 miles, but packing plenty of punch. Tight twisting singletrack (all with apt names, such as: Mr Tickle, Doubters Pass and Knights Trail), some flat out descents, and a couple of snotty climbs made the going deceptively hard work. A drop into boardwalk section was thrown in for good measure to keep tired minds on their toes.

After the islands three week previous stint of incredible weather it was only just right that it should piss it down on the morning of the race. Jackets and overshoes on as the clock ticked close to the 12 noon start,  and as if by magic the weather decided to behave, and the course dried wonderfully after a few hours (taking overshoes off whilst moving is somewhat fun...).

The pace was pretty hot at the front of the race with Keith Forsyth and Nigel Smith lighting the front of the solo race up from the gun. I eventually settled into second behind a flying Keith, around 10 minutes back, which was how the race stayed for over the first half. With the loss of daylight came my own demons (and midges!). Keith was seriously moving, and the mood in the pits was tense.  Lots of people were suffering on course, and whilst the gap to Nigel and Peter Nadin battling for third was growing, I just couldn’t close the gap to Keith.

Stunning skies and prime singletrack. What more could a 24hr racer ask for?

Whilst taking on more food in the pits the familiar blue and white I-Cycles jersey of Mr Forsyth came hurtling by putting me a lap down. On a short course (circa 20 mins) this wasn’t realistically a big deal. So undeterred I went out for another stint.
Through the night there was awesome support on course from various groups, including a few lads armed with a crate of Guinness, an air horn and speaker. Having some rowdy support is excellent and I personally love it. I'm obliged to wheelie on demand much to the disapproval of race organiser Gary. "Wasted energy max!" he would call. Worth it though...

Luckily for me, I love night riding. With the early hours of the morning approaching the feelings had improved and I was back ticking off the laps again. Again the short course really helped here, as you were never far from a familiar face. The mood on course was upbeat as the sun began to peak through the clouds at an unbelievable 3:30am and everyone started to put hot laps in. A cross over point on course meant a few tense glances were exchanged with Keith as we passed. The gap was coming down... 

I managed to pinch my lap back from Keith and then kept pushing for the lead. At some point in the early hours I managed to take it before stretching the gap to a healthy distance over Keith. Around 8am when the pits were alight with the smell of bacon I managed to catch Keith to go two laps up. We exchanged a bit of friendly banter as  for the first time in 20hrs of racing, we hadn’t even come eye to eye.
With the bacon still filling my nostrils I was back out on course. It's not over until that clock ticks over for the last time, so plenty more laps were still to come my way.

Fun twisty singletrack with stunning views.

With a fairly comfortable but close eye being kept on the super strong looking silent assassin Nigel Smith now in second, and an ever dangerous Matt Jones in third, words in the pit were being exchanged about event records and the current record holder and islander Steve Kelly was trying to abuse me into another 5 laps. Seriously?!  

Of course I had to have a crack, and a slightly inebriated Ger Jackson was sent out in borrowed kit (My shoes, Steve’s helmet, and Gary Kirby’s Bike) to keep me company for the final two laps. The final lap became a great social affair with fellow brit Peter Nadin (Newly crowned Grand Vet British 24hr Champion), Adrian Beale, Ger and myself chatting of the madness that had unfolded and ticking of that “one more lap”. 

Picking up the awesomely crafted LDLR trophy with the legends of
Nigel Smith and Matt Jones as company.

Retaining the British for a second year feels awesome, but a week later and I'm still just buzzing from the event as a whole. The guys from Loaghtan Loaded have put a superhuman amount of effort into growing this event, and to see it bloom into now one of the countries premiere 24hr races is simply awesome. The little things that usually slip by larger race organisers to do lists, all got ticked off at LDLR. Chapeau guys!

Race Stats:

Laps - 71

Distance - 234 Miles

Elevation Gain - 8694m

Calories - 11,600

Shout outs:
Thanks to Loaghtan Loaded (Especially Gary / Clare Cooper) for hosting one of the most memorable races on the calendar. Will Nulty and Susan Nulty for their insane levels of hospitality and enthusiasm. Stephen Kelly and Ger Jackson for moral support and wise words when those demons started to bite! 

Mark at Fabric for keeping me running on the best saddles and consumables going.
Specialized UK for simply the best pair of bikes anyone could ask for. The Epic FS is stunning to ride and didnt miss a beat.
HotPursuit Cycles - Long suffering of the barrage of 24hr related talk.
Craig Bowles at Big Heart Coaching. Anything about endurance racing this man doesn't know is seriously not worth knowing. If you're looking for a super friendly, relaxed coach who can deliver serious results, look no further.
MTB Strapon for the awesome little straps that find themselves all over my bike and kit.

Last but no means least my long suffering pit crew consisting of Mum and Dad. Always overlooked in a "Solo" race are the long suffering pit crew. Impossible without them, you are never truly alone in a solo 24hr race. They put up with a lot of shit, and work tirelessly on the build up and during the race.