time of year.

quiet rides.

j.

Iberian Adventures - part 2.

I’m not sure how to begin to explain what the Saturday race was like – I’m still trying to digest everything we saw! 110k, 80% off road, 3970m of climbing (and descending) through some of the most amazingly remote scenery and terrain. The area we were riding in was very sparsely populated, but the villages we did ride through were like stepping back in time…chickens, goats, sheep and cows running around the streets and ox pulling farm carts along the roads. We also rode through an abandoned village called Drave which sat at the bottom of a gorge only accessible by a fantastic techy, rocky descent and climb back out with a pretty sheer drop off the side of the (which very few folks other than Chris and I rode…all those toothy descents at Ciclo paid off!). The village was very isolated, but had a lovely stream to re-fill water bottles and camelbacks (and dunk heads in because it was about 30 degrees by this time!). We also rode across rocky moorland plateau, roman cobbled tracks, pave roads, knee deep snow melt streams, buff singletrack, dried-up stream beds, scree slope descents, medieval packhorse trails…..you name it, we rode it. All the little churches we rode past seemed to play fantastic tunes with their bells, which sent us off on the next climb. Top that all off with encouraging shouts of “Forca!” from locals and other riders, it was quite amazing.

We were both so awe-struck by what we saw that we ended up stopping periodically just to take it in and take photos. Obviously that’s not the best race strategy, but it was a bit of an adventure too, so we didn’t mind.



It was a big old day’s riding and we both really suffered with the heat. I was at least a little bit acclimatised after my week in Spain, so didn’t suffer quite as much as I had last year, but Chris was really suffering by mid-afternoon and we had to make frequent stops at any stream or fountain we came across so that he could dunk his head in to cool off.

The organisers knew that we’d be suffering with the heat, so they periodically appeared by the side of the trail to make sure that we were okay. When we eventually rolled over the finish line, we got a big cheer and big hugs and smiles from them all. We had taken a lot longer to complete the day than we had expected, because we had to slow right down in the heat (and also because we stopped several times to take in the views and take photos), but we had still managed to pass lots of other riders, mostly because we were able to ride most of the techy stuff and make up a lot of time that way. So we certainly weren’t very high up the leaderboard, but we were far from last…there were still teams coming in after dark!



We decided that because we’d taken so long to do stage one and Chris was badly de-hydrated and broken because of the heat, we wouldn’t really be able to finish day two, then make the 6 hour drive back to Spain. So, instead of racing day 2, we took the tourist option and went sight seeing before heading back over the border to Spain.

So, Portugal beat us again, but we’ve decided that we’re definitely going to go back to try the Geo-Raid again next year with a bit more time for travelling before and after the race so that there’s less time pressure.

Jac.

Iberian Adventures (Portugal 2 – Jac 0)

Jac's been on holiday. She calls it racing but we think it's just an excuse for an early tan... ;)



After last year’s mixed success at the Trans Portugal, when one of the riders I met there suggested I try the Geo-Raid, the idea of another adventure was just too much to resist. However, the logistics were a bit more complicated that I hoped they would be.

The Geo-Raid is a 3 race series organised by Ciclonatur (the folks who run the Trans Portugal, which in itself indicates a bloomin’ good race and great hospitality and food). The series consists of 3 two-day enduro races all of which are pairs races. Like the Trans Portugal, there’s no course marking – it’s a GPS based race. Also like the TP, the race is handicapped. The idea is that everyone should finish by a given time in the evening, so depending on age and gender, you’re set off at different times in the morning, with the fittest, fastest young lads being set off last. The series is spread across the spring, summer and autumn, with each race being held in different areas of Portugal.

After not very much persuasion, we opted to have a bash at the first race (mostly because we knew that the races later in the year would be much, much hotter and, after the heatstroke at the TP last year, that would be an issue!). The first race was based in a small spa town called Sao Pedro do Sul in the north central mountainous region of Portugal. Both of the two days start and finish in the same place, so we could make Sao Pedro our base for the weekend.

However, as I said, logistics were a bit of a problem. After we’d entered the race and started looking at how we’d get there, we discovered that there are no flights from Scotland to anywhere other than the Algarve in the very south of Portugal. It’s an awful long drive from the Algarve to Sao Pedro on not very great roads, so that wasn’t going to be an option. What we came up with was a grand plan to fly direct to Madrid, hire a car and boot it westwards to Portugal. We figured it would be about a 5 or 6 hour drive from Madrid to Sao Pedro, so, for a weekend, vaguely do-able.

But when I realised I’d not be able to do my usual spring trip to Ciclo Montana in the south of Spain as well as a spring trip to Portugal, I had to get my thinking cap on. I came up with a bit of a plan which worked out… just. I flew out to Malaga from Glasgow then headed up to the Sierra Nevada for 6 days of “uphill traversing” and “toothy” singletrack descending with Mark and Jacky (although Mark factored in a lot more uphill traversing to give me some extra training for Portugal…. thanks!) before heading to Granada airport to catch a flight to Madrid where I met Chris.

Everything went smoothly and we managed to meet up in the massive Madrid airport, get the hire car and start the drive across La Mancha, Castile y Leon and across the border into Portugal. As far as road trips go, it was pretty good! Dramatic mountains and flat plains, oh, and the massive monument in El Escorial (built by Franco in a similar style to the giant Jesus in Rio).



The drive took a lot longer than expected, so we didn’t arrive in Sao Pedro until almost 10pm… just in time to get lots of hugs from the Ciclonatur folks, build the bikes, sign on, cram some food in, then bed. We were starting at 07.32 on the Saturday morning because of our handicap (me being a girl – not that being a girl is a handicap, but…) so not much time for socialising.

On the start line, my usual doubts set in when I saw the other teams. There were 8 teams all setting off at the same time as us – 7 mixed teams and one male team who were a bit older. The other mixed teams all looked REALLY fast! The usual leg check showed up some really strong (and all very tanned) looking legs and well as team kit that implied some pretty pro riders. Oh and there was also one girl with a tat on her calf…a sure sign that she’s a strong rider (you wouldn’t get a tat on your calf unless you were confident that your muscle tone was good!). Hey ho, my Minx jersey was MUCH prettier than their team kit and much more recognisable…it is more recognisable in the photos on the Geo-Raid website!

We ended up with an 8 minute time penalty before we started though, because our GPS went a bit wonky and started trying to tell us how to get from home to the start line. So we had to try to fix that before we started. Anyway, once that was fixed, we were off....



To be continued...

To spend your days in the sunshine

Sunshiney rides and ice creams, get 'em in while you can.

Vikki

The weather

Isn't it odd? Its bright and should be warm but its cold. But the trails are dry and the roadies are out in force.

I went on my first 'Chaingang' on Tuesday. Was dropped twice but fought my way back. First road race this weekend.

Am I excited? No I feel rubbish - under the weather. Why do we always talk about the weather?

So i'm having yet more rest days (surely they're only rest when you're not doing sport?) and hope I feel better by the weekend.

So frustrating.

new adventures in lo-fi

blissful weekend after blissful weekend.

south.



north.



more north.



common denominator? good friends.

onwards, into summer...

j.

F-B-R-O-T-Y

A Scottish Minx writes...

Because it’s been so snowy up this way over the last few months, it’s been kind of difficult to get out for any big off road rides – the hills are still pretty snowy! So, after months of being limited to trail centres, I needed somewhere different to ride.

So a few weekends ago we caught an early train from Edinburgh to Dundee to start the First Big Ride Of The Year. The plan was to ride the Fife Coastal Path from Dundee back to Edinburgh over 2 days.

The Fife Coastal Path is a 150 kilometer, mostly off road, trail that goes from Newport on Tay in the north of Fife all the way to North Queensferry in the south of Fife. The trail follows the Fife coast, as the name suggests, through Tentsmuir Forrest (which was an area of sand dunes which was forested by POW’s during the 2nd World War), past Leuchars RAF base, through St Andrews, along some isolated beaches to Fifeness, then along the south coast of Fife through some pretty little fishing villages in the East Neuk like Crail, Anstruther and Elie, then on through the more industrial / old mining parts of south Fife, through Kirkcaldy then on to North Queensferry.

Since we were travelling by train to the start, we had an extra few kilometers from the station in Dundee over the Tay Bridge to Newport on Tay (it’s probably not really more than 3 or 4km, but since Chris managed to leave his helmet on the train, we had to ride about a bit to find a bike shop before we could get started….my new Favourite bike shop, Bike Worx, opened half an hour early to serve us…how nice is that?). We also had an extra 20 km or so at the other end from North Queensferry back to home in Edinburgh.

Since we still have limited daylight, we decided to make an overnight stop in Elie and sample the delights of the Ship Inn. We stayed in the wee B&B next door to the Ship Inn, so we didn’t have to stumble too far to get dinner and a beer on Saturday evening (or to far to go home when we started falling asleep in our beer at 8pm!).

Since this was the first big ride I’ve done since last Autumn, I had completely forgotten that you’re meant to eat lots. So I bonked big time on Saturday. It didn’t dawn on me that I’d bonked…I just thought my legs had given up and I’d lost any fitness I had, it was only when I sat down despondently to look at the view and had some of the tonnes of food I’d stashed in my pack and pondered how I was going to manage to get to Elie before it got dark, that I realised that I had hardly touched any of the food I’d brought. Oops.



Somehow we managed to get lucky with the tides this time and we were able to ride almost 10 miles along pristine (ish), deserted beaches over the 2 days with nothing but views and our own tyre tracks in the sand. The only down side of that is that riding in sand for that long is pretty hard going, but it was worth it.

We were super lucky with the weather too and actually managed to take of some layers on Sunday. It wasn’t anywhere near warm enough to try exposing any skin to get some colour into our blue legs, but reducing it to 3 layers was a real treat!

With just 30 km to go, I managed to get a monster thorn in my front tyre…..so monster, in fact, that it went right through 2 sides of the tyre! The weather gods took pity on us though and made the sun shine even stronger and the wind die down completely while I fixed my tyre and got a new tube in.

Once we crossed the Forth Birdge, I could almost smell home, but there was still 20 km and that hill at Barnton before I could get that mug of tea and cake that I felt I’d earned. So near yet so far but we made it and the cat was ever so please to have us home again.

Next? My bags are packed and I’m ready to fly out to Spain tomorrow morning for a week of riding big hills before heading back to Portugal to have another go at racing there. Not the Trans Portugal this time – a 2 day enduro. Hopefully I’ll get a wee bit of sunshine but not quite as much heat as last time!



Jac.

What is it about walking?

I am learning to be patient with my knee. On the wise advice of a friend I'm not getting frustrated by the hills I have to either avoid or walk (I'm not allowed to ride anything that requires me stand on the pedals), and instead making the most of the swoopy corners and briefly sunny trails that I can ride. I've gone back to the pool and am loving swimming early morning laps and that lovely feeling you get when you minutely adjust the angle of your hand and immediately go faster for no extra effort. I know it makes me strange, but I don't get bored with counting tiles. And in the absence of allowed running but the need to get out of the house when I probably shouldn't be forcing the knee through more rotations for a second day in a row, I've even been (whisper it), walking.

I can't deny that I have enjoyed the ease that comes with just grabbing a jacket and being out of the door in ten seconds flat. I have loved getting reacquainted with the contents of my Shuffle (I know some people listen and ride - I can't), tracks from compilations dear to my heart, old favourites, sentimental stuff. (We shall not speak of the spontaneous dancing....) It's even been fun striding through the rain. But despite all of this, and even though seeing an hour's window of opportunity this evening I dashed out with what felt like enthusiasm, I reckon that I still really really don't like walking. Can anyone explain?

Minx

Time trials on 16 inches

Been a bad few weeks and my legs are twitching, not in a good way.

On the face of it starting a "proper" job that entailed being in an office 9-5 , 5 days a week didnt seem so bad. Until that is I realised quite how much riding I used to squeeze in when I "worked from home"...

Having crashed & burned quite badly on my first sprint race of the season I realised something creative had to be done.

Until its light enough for me to actually want to get up at 5am and cycle from Crowthorne to Old Street where I work then my chosen mode of commutership is a season ticket and a Dahon Curve folding bike...

....in Red:-)

I'm a girl... colour is very important and lets face it for £3oo there isnt going to be much of a "spec" to get excited about!

So now my days in the office are punctuated by two time trials trying to shave seconds off my commute at either end of the train journey without getting squished by a taxi, bus or white van man... although i have hit two pedestrians who just stepped onto the cycle path either not looking or not quite appreciating the speed one can get up to in top gear on a folder...and i get to spend a good 10 minutes a day practising track stands.... which are really not easy on a fold up bike. I always thought I would hate to commute to London everyday & when i thought i'd like to be able to ride everyday, this wasnt quite what I had in mind. But when I throw my leg over the two spindley stalks that pass for a stem and a seat post at 7am every morning I actually smile...

And then attempt to set a new speed record over speed humps on 16 inch wheels......:-)

Elaine

Walk this way

I did a LDWA (Long Distance Walk Association) Challenge today, the 18 mile Two Crosses event. As part of my marathon training I entered as a runner, not a walker, but seriously these LDWA types could lure me into abandoning running shoes or bike wheels in favour of some good old fashioned red socks and leather boots. They truly know how to lay on a good do! The first check point had a marquee, containing a buffet, more sandwiches, cake, jelly, hot soup, pies, biscuits and sweets than I knew what to do with. Further round the route another checkpoint had salted nuts and a selection of alcoholic beverages. The wobbily navigation following the wee dram of scotch was purely coincidental! Upon completion there was even more food and gallons of hot tea. Might be the only time I run 18 miles and end up in calorie credit.

If you fancy doing something different to your usual weekend activities and are looking for a way to have a fun and challenging day in the hills you could do a lot worse than look up your local LDWA and eat your way round a few miles of countryside.

Vikki

Updates

Fi writes:

Two substantial things have happened since I last blogged. Firstly, I went to Sierra Nevada for a week of gravity-loving, cactus-dodging, boulder-grazing madness. I can't describe the exhilaration of taking to the network of 'Danger-of-Death' rides, including the Extreme Towpath and Elephants Tail each morning after a three course breakfast.

It could actually be described as more of an eating holiday punctuated with cycling breaks. The food was amazing! And i learnt to ride steep twisting steps as we plunged down the mountainsides through little white villages desperately clutching to the (often sliding) landscape.

The other event of note was a wee running race I took part in on Friday night, starting just before midnight. You may have seen the news about Sir Ran Fiennes crashing his car in Stockport on Saturday lunchtime? Well he did the same race as me. The High Peak Marathon - 44 miles of bog, snow, mountains, rocks, icy flagstones, home made flapjack, luke warm hot chocolate and a sun rise that turned the snowy Pennine Way slate grey then bluebird blue.

Because we like drama, we settled on a sprint finish with another mixed team to squeeze in under the coveted 11 hour mark (by 9 seconds!) leaving them stranded another 19 seconds after...

What remained of the weekend was an interesting mix of mashed potato, sausages and gravy, sliding down handrails to ease the searing pain in my quads and making plans for next year (to go nearer 10 hours, obviously!)

A snowy Kinder Scout at dawn. If you haven't seen it, make a plan...

social.

Cheated by the weather forecast, we struck forth for the Dales regardless. Friends of easy company, skinny tyres and grubby bar tape, a brace of tea stops and just enough climbing to stay warm. Well, I thought so, anyway.



Bimbling home alone at dusk (the friends living on the other side of a substantial hill) there are curlews looping over the fields and the sort of light which hints at summer evenings to come whilst sending you deeper into your collar. It's not been a fast 70 miles but that doesn't matter, not at all; a lazy average means more time for catching up and being cheerful, feeling lucky and loved in equal measure, more time for coffee and cake, the things that sometimes matter and mean more than going fast.

A quietly good day.

j.

exhibit a

who needs enemies when you have friends who will take you out on a 'rolling' 3 hour road ride in the first spring storm of the year and then send you home with red velvet cupcakes for tea?

:)

j.

By the book

The book said 30 minutes and 3 spanners worth of difficulty. 3 days and 3 bike shop visits later to buy various missing or mangled bits and the task is complete. The sense of satisfaction as I successfully test rode up and down the street........... priceless.

Vikki

hills.

i'm sure i've written before about not being a natural climber, but just to recap: i'm not one.

however, i've been living in the land of ups and downs for a year now and something has changed.

partly through necessity: the only flat road for miles around is the valley road and in its usual traffic-choked, pothole-ridden state it's just not a very nice place to be. so the options are up, and then down, repeating as required.

and i've found myself coming around to climbing.

the rhythm is there, the ability to spin, to tune the noise out, all things i was lacking which have flourished im their new habitat. there are a few places i've not yet dared to go on my standard double: mytholm steeps is one of them (and as matt said, it's been magicaly de-steepened in that picture). i figure that any road steep enough to scare you all the way down it should definitely be avoided all the way up. however, i am feeling strong(ish). i put in a nottooshabby time on cragg vale last week with all sorts of excuses to convince me it could have been better and i think the time has come to see just what these legs can do.

once the snow melts, anyway.

j.

Viva Espana

This little Minx is going to Sierra Nevada tomorrow morning for a week of dry dusty trails, swimming in the pool, chatting with mates and running in the mountains.

Just been for a very muddy run through the woods. It has started raining now. I am very cold. I am very much looking forward to some sunshine!

Fi

Safe and sound

They only slept a few hours in 7 days. They trekked, mountain biked (at one point 13.5hrs non stop), the kayaked in freezing seas, trudged over mountains thigh-deep in snow. They swam across a freezing river, towing their kit. They worked well together, bit the bullet, dug deep.

They are the first team in history to win two editions of the Patagonian Expedition Adventure Race two years in a row.

They are now sleeping and eating, safe and sound, at the end of the world in Chilean Patagonia, swapping stories of their heroics with the other teams who trailed in their wake.

I am so proud.

F

gentle reminder.

it's coming.

won't be long now.

but it's still not quite as warm as it looks. yet.

j.

Patagonian Expedition Race

I have to share.

My boyfriend is racing for Team Helly Hansen Prunesco in Patagonia in the 10 day non-stop multi-sport expedition adventure race. They'll be trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, climbing and other stuff like coasteering and obviously navigating themselves through the wilds of Patagonia. There are 6 checkpoints in 10 days. They'll barely sleep during the race and return to England a battered over-exhausted mess of broken bodies and adrenalin-fuelled sleeplessness.

Last year they won the race in 6 days. Will they do it again?

I am, needless to say, a nervous wreck. I am on twitter (I had to learn how to use it) constantly to check their progress (currently second). It is so exciting.

Adventure racing is so much fun... www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com

Come on The Prunes!

Brass Monkeys

Last Sunday was the last of the Brass Monkeys winter Enduro series and the first time I have actually had a roast dinner during a race!
The event series was organised by Gorrick & The Army Cycling Union and sponsored by Merida. Riders had to compete in all 3 events to qualify for the series points and each event was about a month apart. The courses were all in new locations and the trails were a good combination of short sharp & interesting and technical enough to be an advantage to local riders. Round 1 was a freezing monsoon of sideways eardrum piercing sleet, Round 2 was bright, cold and very icy and the final round was sunny day, perfect trails and lots of smiles.

Round 1, at Rushmoor Arena, was just a war of attrition and only the really stubborn or stupid survived. Post bike maintenance was quite painful on the wallet & I took out a razor blade thin brake pad backing and threw away a nearly new chain.

Photo Joolze

So having entered the first one in the 4 hour solo class meant I then had to do the other 2 in the same class….pants…. I nearly froze my butt off on the first round and was still so cold by the time I got to the pub that I had to hold my pint with both hands!
So I was quite looking forward to Round 2 at Ash Ranges waking up to brilliant sunshine on the 28th December. A fast rolling course along with the new set of rubbers I got for Christmas and I did get a bit cocky on one particularly icy corner and slapped a knee down onto a frozen ground with a wincing thwack.

In between Round 2 & 3 I contracted the obligatory winter girl flu (much worse than man flu, we just don’t go on about it) and wasn’t sure I was even going to be able to ride. A couple of menthol inhalations and a really good blow later and I was talking about just doing the one lap to qualify for the points to get 2nd in the series. I had never ridden Parkhurst Hill before and it was a really great trail, lots of climbs to ensure I hacked up the remaining lung and some tail twitching descents to make sure I didn’t fall asleep.
Sadly the lungs were not happy to convey the oxygen to the legs as they usually do so I just did the two laps. Stopped and chatted to a few friends along the way and then went to the pub for Sunday lunch and a pint and got back just in time for the presentations to pick up my 2nd place series trophy! Now THAT is the future of racing for me……

Elaine