[Closed] So I want to try road racing + build a bike specifically for this

Get MrBlobby to play and you two can TTT away to victory 😉

Not booked in for this weekends Hillingdon TiRed??

Not yet. Hillingdon is convenient, but vets races aside, it's not a circuit I score points on! Not enough technical corners to break up the bunch racing. And I'm rubbish in the inevitable sprint. Cyclopark is much more fun.

Cat 3 only race though this week 😉 If it's similar faces from the WThames races, you should get away from that lot 🙂

I'm not even half tempted;
A) I've got it in my head that racing season is over
B) The missus has me looking at flooring options 😆

Hmm tempting, but I fancy Cyclopark Saturday and possibly Winchester Sunday. Of course, when I win the last vets race of the season tomorrow night, it won't matter!

Nath- I'm still sticking to my theory that the more races I do, the better 'per race' value my bike becomes 😆
It's down to about £42 a race already 😀

I'm 10 days in to trying to salvage my FTP for the race on Saturday and ultimately Big Events in October. 'Just racing' for a few weeks cost me around 6% although my top end improved.
I have sadly pulled a muscle in my lower back whilst chainsawing today so am about to brave the Turbo and see if training is even viable until it's better. If I want to race Saturday, I may have to write the rest of the week off 🙁

Good luck TiRed! Fingers crossed!

Haha I work it out cost per mile...

Current mileage is 4,145 so around 36p at the moment 😆

My current training plan, now I don't have targets is:
Mon - rest & if possible Z1/2 commute
Tues - 1 hour & if possible Z1/2 commute
Wed - rest & if possible Z1/2 commute
Thur- 1 hour & if possible Z1/2 commute
Fri - rest & if possible Z1/2 commute
Sat - 1.5 hours
Sun - 2-4 hours

Also work is paying for a gym membership so I might do some strength stuff...core & legs.. but I much prefer Zwift 😆

I think that will keep me at a sufficient base ready for next years training plan - once I've found some specific races to target.

[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1182605308 ]Last Masters race[/url] of the season last night. Started fast from the usual suspects. I tried to attack and break it up a few times, but was chased down by the bunch (again). Attacked a lap after the Prime too, hoping that the sprint (which I did not contest) would catch people in a lull. No good.

A VC Meuden rider goes up the road and we know he's strong. I tried to bridge, but just didn't have the legs after my efforts. Then two of his team mates broke away, and another group of three. I sat on the front of the main bunch (who I think were expecting me to tow them) letting the attackers out to about 50 metres, and a friend goes off to try and bridge. A lap later I do attack on my own and bridge to my friend, but the five up the road are dangling ahead of us and pulling away - 5 vs. 2 is never going to be a fair contest. Still the two of us are pulling away from the main bunch and my fellow rider only needs two points for his 2nd cat.

Cruise in for a seventh place and three or four more points (depending on the points grading) to go with the extra Brucie Bonus point from Saturday, where I discovered I was seventh not eight. So possibly only six to go! Cyclopark beckons, followed by the Winchester Park and Ride on Sunday, that looks an interesting course. Back racing with the youngster too 😕

Other races I've lined up are Portsmouth closed track and useful to visit Son1, Abingdon, Hillingdon (of course) and Redbridge. Might have to apply some selection criteria (ideally no 3/4 races). Not to mention our TCC Surrey League Ottershaw road race series in October and November. I won't be getting any points in those (E123) 😆 , but I like to show the jersey. So hopefully I might achieve a result or two before then.

Great stuff! Sounds like a fun race and well done on the points.

It's funny how life is all about momentum. After just a couple of weeks of not racing, it suddenly seems an extravagant use of my time with other more pressing things competing.
Nothing a good dose of endorphins on Saturday won't sort out 😀

I keep hovering over the BC page for Abingdon. My hunch is I won't have the legs to mix it at the front in a 3/4 and I'm sick of sitting in a bunch for this year. On reflection, the races that leave me buzzing are the ones where I mark the front 10 all race and get in a few moves. So I'm going to see what happens on Saturday first. More point may change my mind 😉

Do it crosshair!! I keep eyeing BC site but unsure due to my CX debut the Thursday before and velo Birmingham the day after...

I'm torn. A 3/4 is just too hard for my fitness in the surges but in the bunch too easy for much training value.
I should decide tomorrow night 🙂

One of my biggest problems is thinking too much- that much should be painfully obvious by now! Even mid race, I find myself acutely aware of things that others wouldn’t even notice so my mental game needs to be top notch to have any chance of putting in a good showing.

Trying to work out what work I had to get done this morning to leave my mind clear for the race, I stood waiting for my toast to pop and suddenly wondered where I had parked the buggy last night (Polaris Ranger D1000 if you’re wondering) as it wasn’t on the front lawn.

I tried to remember why I had left it down the farm and then slowly realised it was long gone! Probably in the bowels of a grain lorry heading to Ireland as we speak.

So, the morning was spent literally shaking with anger, panic, stress and worry about the resultant mess! The police were as helpful as they could be and came and took a detailed statement etc.
But by 10:30, the dust was settling and the nausea subsiding enough to suddenly remember the race.

Game plan then. As mentioned, I love the thrill of getting off the front so that was as far as my aspirations took me. Get in a break. Callum was due to be there and sure enough, he was and I helped him fettle his gears. This kid is strong! He finished just out of the points in a 70mile 3/4 road race the other day and eats 90mile 22mph club rides for breakfast looking at his Strava. He’s also faster than me up Streatley Hill lol

Anyway, as we chatted, I said “I’ll be honest mate, my goal today is to mark you. You can win this thing and I’d love to try and come with you. I won’t hold you back though- if I can’t hang I will drop back and block for you.” Which he seemed both happy and flattered by- he clearly doesn’t know his own strength!

As we warmed up, I developed my own gear problem and nipped back to the car to screw the life out of my inline adjuster. I didn’t risk the Allen key in case I frayed the cable. It was ok but just rubbed enough in certain gears to drive me potty!

My back has been getting better each day but I hadn’t tested it on my race bike. Despite the painkillers, it was a dull ache all race but I can’t say it held me back, just kept me on my toes.

There weren’t many friendly faces there beyond Callum. Fighty McFight face was there and as sketchy as ever although stayed upright today at least. There were a few familiar people from the recent West Thames races but nobody I knew as such and one guy I recognised from Thruxton.

A quick note on my fitness in case it’s interesting to anyone, from a peak mid-season of 318w FTP and 85kg, I’m now 89kg and my FTP is down to 300w. I’m a few days into a salvage operation for that and aim to try and get some back by the Big Events race in October.

Off we went and the Comm said 45mins + 5 laps. The first lap was steady but a couple of Rapha Cycling Club guys and a few other strong folk looked to be chomping at the bit. The first few laps were brutal. I think everyone thought the same as me, that they were strong enough now to just rock up and ride away to points. (Ok, I didn’t really think that but I knew I had a good chance)

Attacks started on the next lap and were pretty serious efforts. I just jumped from wheel to wheel and covered the lot. Callum was always there mixing it, usually in the front 3-5 wheels. It was nice as we naturally gave each other more room in the corners and could rely on each other not to shut the door as the bunch meandered around in the headwind sections. As usual, the forecast 7mph was more like double figures!

As the laps ticked by, Callum was more frequently the guy making the moves rather than following them and I still kept trying. We rarely got a significant gap though and we would generally get countered and have to go again. Fun perhaps but it was starting to take it’s toll.

In my hyper-aware state, I was able to notice that my NP was 320 so far- over my pb FTP let alone my current one. And it felt like it too. So when Callum launched after the Apex of Brians (anti-clockwise today) I decided I was holding him back.
Of course, the rest of the players had clocked me covering every move and no doubt expected me to do the same again. I shifted to the drops, did my best impression of a fast rider but didn’t churn out any more power. By the time we had rounded the Bus-stops, he had a great gap and people were starting to twig. I kept up the façade a little longer and then just sat up and coasted around the last corner. Callum was way down the straight and happened to look back. He realised he was well clear and pressed on.

Talk about poking the hornets nest!! Riders streamed past, one or two in full on sprints. Several shouted muffled comments but one guy said “If you’re not going to race, then get out of the f***ing way!!”
“I AM racing!” retorts I wishing I had had some wise crack ready.

I upped the pace to get a tow and watched as Fighty McFight face (I think he’s called Adam) nearly wiped out the guy who had been shouting at me and they angrily shouted at each other whilst one guy reached Callum and the others started a hard chase.
I was so pleased my tactics had worked and felt it went a little way to repay the good Karma Jesper had given me.

Sadly though, a few laps later, it was back together again. I was recovering nicely, my mind was wondering how I was going to do my work without a buggy tomorrow morning and time was ticking on.

Freshly caught, it was time for Callum to chill, drink and recover right? Uh no, he was soon off again and got a gap not long after. One guy was with him and another bridged.
With the finale approaching, I chugged back my drink and waited for the five to go sign.
Next lap, 3 to go appears! I know it’s minor but it annoys me when they say +5 and then don’t show you 5 to go. Anyway, too late now, time to get up the front.
I moved up where ever I could gain an advantage and was soon hovering in the front bunch. Last lap and I felt I was in as good a spot as any.
A bit of apathy had set in though and getting in the car safely overtook sprinting to victory (well, 3rd lol) as a priority. I made up a few more spots and started looking for a gap as we approached the final bend. I was fresh and had no reason not to expect good legs.

Deciding to go right, I positioned myself nicely and got ready. With that, two simultaneous near misses occurred, one to my left and one to my right ending with a scrape and a guy on the grass but everyone staying upright.
I pushed on again just in case but the good spot was gone and I got 12th or 13th I reckon.

Callum ended up dropping the other two and finished alone for his victory! What a ride by him.

Anyway, home in one piece, enjoyed blocking for Callum and now back to reality to sort this mess out!

Well done CH, to race after such a crap morning and get within a whisker of a point is bloody good going in my books!!

I've got a little experiment ahead: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/lchfketosis-diet-anyone-tried-it

Probably should have raced Hillingdon myself. 25 keen third cats at Cyclopark, a windy day ready to break the pack, but only about five wanted to do anything (except sprint at the end). I attacked on the first bend on the first lap to string it out. Got 10 seconds with another couple of riders, but aside from one young man (who was great all race), the others looked too scared to try. Anyway lots of attacks from a few riders, three away and reeled in, ten shed off the back, and the inevitable sprint. I'm last in that sprint. Maybe I should have sat in too! I could have held that pace all afternoon. But you have to do something in the race.

Anyway, my young clubmate who sprints well got his fifth place and second cat. So some good news. Sadly my efforts to shred the pack saw his supporting dad off the back.

More races to come but a 7am TT this morning just showed that I worked very hard yesterday.

CH my usual retort for blocking is that "it's a team sport". Tactics in a 4th cat race, whatever next? I once led a clubmate out in a sprint for him to get his points, then peeled off and sat up. That didn't go down well, but it's a team sport. Get in a team and get stuck in!

Lol! Yes, they were pretty peeved. I can definitely see the attraction of a well drilled team. Being able to feel useful on an off day or to help each other achieve goals adds another layer of interest and intrinsic motivation.

Was it Johnny joining the attacks? Black guy in West Drayton kit?

Trying to get away again with Callum
[img] [/img]

Blocking for him a couple of laps later
[img] [/img]

I see bent elbows!

Nice write up TiRed!!

Barely! I had been working on it too but my pulled muscle made it agony. I don't have the appetite for Abingdon 3/4 so I think Big Events will be my last race of this season.

Which means I'll still be a 4th Cat next year!!

Any news on the replacement Winter Series???

Crosshair..common sense prevailed for me, and I didn't book Abingdon due to velo Birmingham Sunday.
I didn't make the Swindon cross Thursday either though due to people in hospital in Bec's family...

Winter Series will be run by Tony Gibb's promotion company -details have not been announced yet, but he's run the Full Gas series at the Velopark.

As for Abingdon tomorrow - For those that are about to die, I salute you! [b]EIGHTY points-hungry 3/4 riders[/b] on a wide pan-flat course 😯 . No thanks, I'm going elsewhere! (probably a club ride and some fixed training).

80 at Abingdon is probably safer than 50 at Hillingdon.

A crash will still happen though 😆

Callum got close but was squeezed out in the final corner for about 15th I think. His max speed was 36mph! Where the heck do you do that at Abingdon!!! Mega tailwind perhaps!!

Thinking of an afternoon/evening practice session at Hillingdon if anyone fancied it? It will be one of the first three weeks in October.

Only if it's not wet 😉

I can only get there for 6:30-7, by which time it’ll be pitch black 😆

My cycling is a bit weird at the moment.... I’m commuting Mon-Fri still (when it’s not raining), but I have no real desire to take the racing bike off the turbo at the weekends. It’s weird - I’ve kind of lost my confidence to cycle at the weekends? But I’m fine commuting into central?!

(Not sure if I posted this earlier but a few weekends back someone used their car as a weapon against me - it’s probably this 😆 )

Precious little snowflakes the pair of ya 😆

#HTFU

I barely ride my MTB in the wet on full knobblies.

There's no way i'm using the semi-slicks in the wet !

It doesn't make any difference. Just knock a few psi out and you'll have more grip than we'll need for the speed we'll be going 😆

If I turned up at 6:30pm and made you go over 15mph I'd never hear the end of how you'd been there since 2pm 😆

Oooh...I'm a maybe! Depends on time/ date

Looks like the 11th October @ 13.30 or so Leigh.

Daddy daycare day for me...hopefully next time!

Ah that's a shame mate. Like you say, another time 🙂

Well consistency pays off 😆 Managed to get 3rd place in the Thruxton Cat4 series.

That I did enough races to qualify without upgrading says more about my summer mind you 😀

Looks like Joe can't make that afternoon so could potentially move it around if anyone else wants to play.

TiRed and other knowledgeable Hillingdon folk- how do you pace a lap for TT (solo breakaway) purposes? The main reason for going is to see how many (if any) laps I can do at a pace quick enough to get me off the front but I'm curious about how to manage the 'hill' v the rest of the lap.
Say you were doing a 25mph lap, how fast would you be going up the hill and how fast down the straight? (Assuming anti-clockwise but interested in both).

I'm hoping I can do two or three laps @26mph which would give me a confidence boost for trying a proper move but even if I don't, it will at least help focus my tactics.

Just been looking at the new winter series (Cheers CH).

Looks good (PDF download):

Not sure I'll be around for it (hopefully(will update in due course)).

CH, try your FTP out at first?

No 3/4 race 😀 . Should be more of the same. Still need to go find 7 points though. One race was cancelled, and another at cyclopark this weekend for negative tactics.

I might be able to pop over to Hillingdon for the afternoon.

Sadly Joe can't make that afternoon now so I've taken up an offer to go elsewhere for the day.
Can try and sort a time that works for more people if anyone else fancies it too? Suggest some dates and I'm flexible on time (got a good front light too 😉 ).

Nah, FTP won't get me close- I'm thinking it's going to be around 360 average with 380 up the hill and 340 until I spin out on the downs!

In case anyone is squeamish, a warning that I will be trying out the new kit 😆

Just been looking at the new winter series (Cheers CH).

Looks good (PDF download): https://www.fullgascycling.co.uk/app/download/5812980255/2018+Winter+Series+Dates.pdf

They're all now on the British Cycling website. Here's Round 1, entries open tomorrow:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/166501/Lee-Valley-Winter-Circuit-Series--01

I did a Regional A road race on Sunday. Done very little all year (although more than recent years!). My seaosn started with a DNF at the Eddie Soens then a DNF the next day in a race at Pimbo (North West) which was one of the wettest coldest days I've ever had on a bike. 80 starters, fewer than 30 finishers in horrible weather. That was back in March.

A couple of crits at Tameside (average mid-pack finishes) in May.

And then I decided almost on a whim to do a Regional A over near Ormskirk. 60 entrants, only about 45 actually showed up due to the poor weather forecast. As it turned out it was dry but a horrible crosswind over the circuit which was never a tailwind! We had headwind, cross-head, cross and cross-tail!

Rather predictably, all the 2nd Cats promptly rode off the front after a flurry of attacks split the bunch in the crosswinds leaving all us 3rd & 4th Cats sitting there not really doing much. Solo attacks were pointless into the wind, very few people actually wanted to work so it came down to the break of 12 contesting most of the points and a half-hearted and mostly very mistimed sprint into the cross-headwind so it was fairly easy to sit in the pack and pick people off as they parked up after launching their sprint too early. I ended up 26th which wasn't too bad given my near total lack of road racing this year!

Good effort though crazy legs!

You’re racing against one of my cat 2 friends up there, I remember him describing one of those races.

Annoyingly on paper we were both identical stats wise, bar his extra cm of height. But he takes wins regularly 😆

Great job by Callum today at Abingdon. He got in the break to finish 6th in the 3/4's to secure his Cat 3!

Apparently Abingdon was horrendous in the wind with 2/3 of starters not finishing...!
Saw the Hillingdon series advertised somewhere today, lost my patience with BC website before I could work out if I can make any.
Think Lee Valley might be a bit of a stretch with a 2 hour trip each way....

Club Champs today at Hillingdon. Attacked on second lap, got a gap with another on the third. We three vets then proceeded to pull away, eventually lapping the main bunch.

Of course I was third in the sprint 🙁 but then I am 10 years older than the other two. And 25 years older than the first Senior across the line 😀 who's a fantastic second cat and racing tomorrow.

So for consistency you want to be lapping in team time trial at 2:10-2:15/lap. We nailed that for an hour.

Awesome! Well done. Sounds great fun 🙂

That's interesting thanks. At 2.15's I don't think we'd stay away but 2.10's would be a certainty with a good gap.
I still want to get back there at some point before Big Events and see what my power requirements are solo for a given lap time too so I know what my options are. I'm basing my training around an 8 or so minute hard effort at the end.

I think I could potentially do the last three or four at Hillingdon Leigh that's all. Sounds like there'll not be a waiting list so I may not even be able to commit to any in time.

I'm not doing any 3/4's there I don't think- after seeing all the West Thames carnage, it's a dangerous combo at Hillingdon in my opinion. The point hunting 3's drag the slower 3's along who in turn tow the 4's way beyond their comfort zone. You end up with newbies lapping the final lap at 29 or 30mph when in a Cat 4 only, they'd be doing 27 max. For anyone relying on a sprint, this means negotiating them all which is when the problems seem to start.

I'll have the 5th and 12th November free, I can't make the cross races those days for family stuff.
Would prefer 4s probably after a couple of months or so away from road racing...!

If the forecast stays the same, I may head to Hillingdon Tuesday afternoon and do some flying laps if anyone wants to come with. Probably leave here (Newbury) about 12:30.

Been running some numbers through Bike Calculator and it's going to be touch and go I think.

Drops/hoods for 26mph is saying 360w/430w

Drops/hoods for 25mph is 326w/386w respectively.

I guess I won't know whether I learn how un-aero I am or how inaccurate my Stages is 😉

Hmmmm. Not really sure what I learnt 😆
I may need my collarbones shortening or another 3 stone of weight loss.

Considering my position was an averagely aero hoods position, I'd say my results matched the Bike Calc predictions pretty well

[img] [/img]

Nice effort CH!

Tune that 5 min power and attack with 2.5 laps to go 😆

Well done. And yes, I think bike calculator is pretty accurate for Hillingdon. Pretty flat and a short circuit.

I was looking for a few consistent laps. You've got quite a nice calibration. Now try five laps at 2:15-2:20. Then five easy. Then five more etc.

My longest session there on my own is 55 laps on the TT bike. The Westerley 10 segment is 11 laps anti-clockwise. So always multiples of 11 🙂

I was ideally looking to influence my race day strategy but I'm still not aero enough sadly. Looking at the last Big Events lap times, even a three lap solo finale would need 3x 2.07 laps to stick. That's a lot of Watts 😆

So considering my goal is to avoid the last lap sprint, my only hope is to follow someone else going for it. Even the meagre draft of one strong rider would help I'd say.

My one lap power pb is around 500w but delivering that on race day isn't likely to happen. Would need to play with the app to see what that might buy me in terms of speed....

Barely enough 😆
500w buys me 28.5mph in the prediction and the final lap of the Big Events race in May was 28.4 😀

Perhaps I'll stick to Zzzzz---> sprint after all 😉

I did bung in a couple of sprints at the end today. One was ok. 33mph max with 10secs at 998w. We have options 🙂

Perhaps I'll stick to Zzzzz---> sprint after all

I did bung in a couple of sprints at the end today. One was ok. 33mph max with 10secs at 998w. We have options

As much as you want to ride off the front and impress us all with your new found speed, you have to keep in context (as i think you are doing) that others also have the speed. They're all working just as hard as you on diet and training, they're putting the TR miles in, the CX miles in etc..

Your strength is your sprint.... That's it mate, that's what you've got in your locker. Assuming you can re-find your 1100-1300w sprints there will be very few people who can beat you. If you can get to the front 4-5 with 200m to go and in a position where the HR and legs allow it, you can stick it up at the pointy end with the right sprint, right gap in the bunch and the right roadcraft.

Thing is, I'm always going to be worrying about walking the dogs when I get home and feeding my pheasants the next morning.
Hillingdon sprint laps are flipping scary!! That's the main reason I've never unleashed a proper effort there. Instead of elbowing dodgy folk out of the way and pushing on, I concede a little here, a little there with an eye on the potential crash and even though I've nearly always still got the legs to do them over, there's either no room or there IS a crash 😆

There's also the other thing- I'm aiming to get my Cat3 next year, which will mean racing the 2/3 race at Thruxton if and when I manage it. So to have remotely enjoyable races once I move up, I need to get faster anyway- a lot faster!

So to have remotely enjoyable races once I move up, I need to get faster anyway- a lot faster!

Yes,, but you're not going to manage that in the next fortnight.... Stick with what you know and what can possibly work IMO.

No but I have a lot in the past 7 weeks. It's all a (power) numbers game. Keep growing my FTP and the amount of time I can hold various power targets for and I'll get there.

I can't upgrade now- this is my last race of the season so I just as well use it for proof of concept.

I'd rather try and get away, blow up and get caught for dead last than do another depressing sprint for 15th where I'm still fresh.

Decision made then 🙂 enjoy !

Ah. It seems Full Gas are running a Cat 4 only at Hillingdon on 2nd December. I'm free that day so may give it a spin 🙂

and no points available that day either, it may mean the point chasing warriors don't play!

No but I have a lot in the past 7 weeks. It's all a (power) numbers game. Keep growing my FTP and the amount of time I can hold various power targets for and I'll get there.

Seems more of a time trialling mentality to me. Are you not basically trying to compensate for the fact you don't actually want to get into a sprint? There's no problem with that, I don't do many crits because I wasn't keen on ending up on the tarmac because some other moron couldn't ride, but if that's your strength it seems a bit weird to be focusing so heavily on trying to eradicate that.

Nah, I'm not trying to eradicate it- I already have some sprint based workouts planned for the taper week.
I guess it's all about training my weakness (sustained power) and racing my strengths.

As it is, I don't get anywhere near my fresh peak wattages in a race as I'm too tired. Raising my ftp will cure that too.

and no points available that day either

But they can't get them on the 2nd Dec, as on the organisers website they say BC will be refreshing so no points available.

Yeah it does say that. Seems a ludicrous piece of nonsense even by BC standards 😆

Just noticed this thread came back to life...!
Ch was working Tues so couldnt have joined you...one day!!
Dec 2 is sandwiched between 2 late shifts....work eh?!
Hoping to get a couple of hours local Monday if you are around.

Would have loved to mate but Monday is recovery day and most of my riding is Turbo-tastic at the mo 🙁

It is handy having my Hillingdon dataset now, I can at least give my TR sessions some real life context.

But they can't get them on the 2nd Dec, as on the organisers website they say BC will be refreshing so no points available

Points reset. All results from 1st Dec go towards 2018 licence points so the BC system is resetting everyone, allocating their 2018 category based on 2017 points.
Trying to do that AND award points immediately is a recipe for disaster so if the weekend races fall very close to 30th Nov / 1st Dec, they're put in as non-ranking.

I managed to gain the grand total of zero points this year based on 5 races. 2 DNFs, 2 mid pack finishes in crits and a 26th place in an end of season road race.

Every year I think about getting back into racing...

Finishing the year with 17 points 🙂

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!

One of the clients for Fridays shoot emailed my boss for directions on Saturday!!!!!!
My boss made a mistake with the scheduling.
So I can't race 🙁 🙁 🙁

I'm so gutted I can't even get my head around it right now!!

35 points but running out of races. Needed a sprint on Saturday 🙁 . Nobody wants a breakaway in a Cat 3 race. In fact it's the most miserable negative racing I've ever been involved in. Much prefer working for a team effort in a 2/3 RR.

Hillingdon is sold out on Saturday too. Desperation everywhere it would seem.

Hillingdon is sold out on Saturday too. Desperation everywhere it would seem.

You've got Lee Valley or Cyclopark on 4th November.
Then a Cyclopark on 11th Nov and a Lee Valley on 18th.

That seems it until early December when the Hillingdon Winter Series kicks off but that's after points reset.

Yeah I saw the Cat 3 was full! 18 left in the Cat 4 though oddly. Perhaps the extra couple of quid is an issue for some??

I'm redirecting my anger to CX to see if I can bag an XC, Road and CX point all in the same season!

crazy, I'd seen all those. Velopark is hard to get to, but I might try. Not raced there and it has a bit of a crashy reputation. Cyclopark was just "chase the guy spoiling our sprint" in my last race. We may as well have had a sprint after 20 minutes. I attacked about five times to break up the group and succeeded in shedding about half the peloton, then was robbed (again) in the sprint! So different when you race vets.

Club are hosting Ottershaw series, and they are a lot more attractive.

Needed those five points from my first ever DQ earlier in the season 🙁

Well that's it for this season. Just the one road point and £70 prize money for me.

32 Crits at three circuits. No punctures or mechanicals and just the one time on the deck.

It's certainly focussed my attention and I know what I need to do next year!

2017/18 goal = 3rd Cat 🙂

Rode the Big Events. About 40 third cats. Got into a break with one other and stayed away for six laps, only to be reeled back in with four or five to go. I really must work on sprinting as I was mugged again.

The less said about Ottershaw, the following day, the better (off the back on the first lap!).

Still a few more races at Cyclopark, but it's not going to happen...

Probably heading to Hillingdon with Nath on Monday if anybody fancies joining us? Looks sunny. Flexible on times but daylight preferably 🙂

Yeah I've got the day off with nothing but Hillingdon planned so can work around times.

Prefer not to be travelling in Rush hour though!

Going to dust off the racing bike 😆

Back to 3rd cat for me next year, did a lot of LVRC early on, got sick and didn’t ride enough (or well enough) BC to get my 25 points.

Will be 46 in Feb so it’s decision time...push for 2nd cat again or focus on racing with the old dudes in LVRC and TLI

Anyone else the wrong side of 40 and still racing BC?

A couple of the guys on my club still race BC, one early 40s, one nearly 50. The guy who's early 40s got his 2nd cat this year.

Seems there are still a lot of 40 year olds racing BC and still going quicker than me in my late 30s.