Day 1 Friday
Flights and travel went well, and the bikes inside their carefully packed bike boxes arrived unscathed.
I met Andy Verrall in the afternoon, the Rapha Condor full time head mechanic. Awesome guy, and what he doesn't know about bike maintenance can be written on the back of a postage stamp... classic cliche' but oh so true.
Andy gave me a bit of input and then I put the 5 bikes together. We had intended to ride that afternoon, but the rain poured, and poured and poured. We settled for some gym work, well the 3 RAAM riders did whilst Marco (team director) and I swam in the massive pool and enjoyed a much deserved sauna.
Met John Herety for dinner in the evening, he is the Rapha Condor director sportif' and like Andy, is so inspiring to listen to. In fact if we never rode all week, but just listened to the pair of them we'd still come back home better riders & mechanic than before we went.
Day 2 Saturday
P----d with rain all day. But we rode over 80km in the foul weather along with Andy Verrall. I rode with the group today and Marco drove the support van. We intend to take it in turns.
I completed my first ever 16km climb, which by looking around at the stunning scenery was only really in the foothills. It was a good start. The 3 RAAM riders are really showing how good they are now, they have trained hard and are all experienced riders. Obviously I can't keep up on the climbs, but I give it my best on each and every hill.
I rode a lot with Andy on the hills, we were always a few hundred yards behind the others.
Day 3 Sunday
We set off in the van today and made for Marbella. After almost an hour's drive we arrived at the millionaires playground. It's quiet at the moment, well out of season.
I drove & Marco rode first. The ride begun with an awesome climb up high into the mountains. Not sure of the exact distance but the Rapha team do it in around 1 hour 20 mins. Our lads did it in 1 hour and 40 mins. Now those boys are good, but you now get to appreciate how different their level of riding is compared to the pros! Marco did well but was tired when nearing the top, so time to change and I duly got myself ready.
Fortunately he had done nearly all of the climb, and I had only the last kilometre or so to do. Then a massive decent where my Garmin was regularly reading 70kmh plus. probably the fastest that I've ever ridden. Quite scary at times, but the motorists here unlike those back home in the UK show respect for cyclists, so that's one less problem to be worrying about whilst riding at such speeds.
The ride continued in the mountains with lots of climbing and some stunning descents. I completed over 50km of mountain riding and then swapped back with Marco. He rode the last leg and stayed with the group nearly all the way.
To sum up day 3, it was probably one of the best routes that I've ever ridden. Yes only 50km for me and 50 for Marco. The team did the whole hundred and all of us were buzzing at the end.
Back at the complex and there was very little maintenance work to do, the bikes were dry today so just some minor adjustments and lubrication and we're ready for tomorrows jaunt!
We intend to ride (all 5 of us) for around 3-4 hours. no support vehicle... so lets hope Marco and I don't hold them back.
Off to dinner soon for more exciting cycling stories from Andy & John.
Good nite.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Bikes packed and the nearly lost Garmin.
We rode a 50km club ride on Sunday as group of 14 riders. This was fantastic as many of them were new faces, I hope they enjoyed the ride, the company and that they all come back. The pace was casual and there were no nasty climbs. We stopped for coffee at our usual Sunday location... Starbucks, Cranleigh.
As I said the ride went well, but then after de-kitting, putting my bike back on the car for the 15 minute journey home, and driving half of that small jaunt. I suddenly remembered that I had left my top of the range Garmin on the hatchback, when I had removed it from the bike. Damn, stupidly I thought that it might just still be there. Fat chance after travelling up the A3 doing 7omph. A quick turn around and a very quick drive back to the start point, although it seemed to take ages. I was sweating, I really just could not justify a replacement at a cost of £350 right now! But I prepared myself for the worse. Almost back at the car park and a group of club (not sure where they were from) cyclists numbering around 20 rode past. That's it i thought, if it was lying on the road then one of them would surely now be the lucky keeper of my once precious device. I couldn't help but swear very loud in the car at that point.
The final minute of the journey was so dreadful, what really did i expect to find when i got back to the ride start point!!!
What I found was an immaculate Garmin lying peacefully on the road with not a blemish on it. How lucky was that, there sometimes is a god. I've promised my self never to take the device off and not put it straight into the car EVER AGAIN.
Okay that was Sunday, and today Tuesday we packed the bikes and all the tools, nutrition and spares for our long awaited trip to Southern Spain on Friday.
All went well there, lets hope the baggage handlers take good care of them.
See ya soon.
As I said the ride went well, but then after de-kitting, putting my bike back on the car for the 15 minute journey home, and driving half of that small jaunt. I suddenly remembered that I had left my top of the range Garmin on the hatchback, when I had removed it from the bike. Damn, stupidly I thought that it might just still be there. Fat chance after travelling up the A3 doing 7omph. A quick turn around and a very quick drive back to the start point, although it seemed to take ages. I was sweating, I really just could not justify a replacement at a cost of £350 right now! But I prepared myself for the worse. Almost back at the car park and a group of club (not sure where they were from) cyclists numbering around 20 rode past. That's it i thought, if it was lying on the road then one of them would surely now be the lucky keeper of my once precious device. I couldn't help but swear very loud in the car at that point.
The final minute of the journey was so dreadful, what really did i expect to find when i got back to the ride start point!!!
What I found was an immaculate Garmin lying peacefully on the road with not a blemish on it. How lucky was that, there sometimes is a god. I've promised my self never to take the device off and not put it straight into the car EVER AGAIN.
Okay that was Sunday, and today Tuesday we packed the bikes and all the tools, nutrition and spares for our long awaited trip to Southern Spain on Friday.
All went well there, lets hope the baggage handlers take good care of them.
See ya soon.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Rapha Condor Sharp - Training camp, Malaga
Now I'm getting excited! On Friday 12th February I'll be flying out to Malaga, Spain with the Sharp4Prostate Race Across America Team. This is a team of four excellent cyclists from my cycling club Velo Club Godalming & Haslemere, who are participants in this exciting race during the month of June. More about RAAM another time.
As the team mechanic I have been invited along with the riders and the team director, to join the Rapha Condor Sharp pro team at their training camp. We'll be there for eight days, which I'm sure will be a fantastic opportunity for all six of us.
www.raphacondor.cc/home
The riders will receive lots of professional advice on their techniques and get to ride with the pros, awesome! The team director will be doing management type things and lucky old me, I'll be shadowing the team head mechanic Andy Verrall. Andy is going to assist me in taking my mechanical skills one step further to be a race mechanic. I find this quite exciting and I know there is much to learn. Additionally I will be riding too. Yes I've been told to take my bike as well.
So prepping the bikes first thing in the morning, then being beasted on the hills, followed by maintenance at the end of the day, should all make for a slimmer, healthier, and more knowledgeable Richie... Oh and maybe a slight sun tan too?
In the meantime another weekend is now upon us, there's another road bike to build and hopefully a 50 - 60km casual ride to be had on Sunday.
Also, been commuting on the fixie this week, yes only short journeys (for those who know where I live and work) but i just love riding it. I hope to use the fixie on one or two of my overseas adventures this year, maybe London - Bruges or London - Amsterdam.
Enjoy the weekend, bye for now.
As the team mechanic I have been invited along with the riders and the team director, to join the Rapha Condor Sharp pro team at their training camp. We'll be there for eight days, which I'm sure will be a fantastic opportunity for all six of us.
www.raphacondor.cc/home
The riders will receive lots of professional advice on their techniques and get to ride with the pros, awesome! The team director will be doing management type things and lucky old me, I'll be shadowing the team head mechanic Andy Verrall. Andy is going to assist me in taking my mechanical skills one step further to be a race mechanic. I find this quite exciting and I know there is much to learn. Additionally I will be riding too. Yes I've been told to take my bike as well.
So prepping the bikes first thing in the morning, then being beasted on the hills, followed by maintenance at the end of the day, should all make for a slimmer, healthier, and more knowledgeable Richie... Oh and maybe a slight sun tan too?
In the meantime another weekend is now upon us, there's another road bike to build and hopefully a 50 - 60km casual ride to be had on Sunday.
Also, been commuting on the fixie this week, yes only short journeys (for those who know where I live and work) but i just love riding it. I hope to use the fixie on one or two of my overseas adventures this year, maybe London - Bruges or London - Amsterdam.
Enjoy the weekend, bye for now.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
The Good, The Bad, and The icy Hell of the Ashdown.
Well as my title says, there was some good, some bad and plenty of ice at the event.
A team of five from the club, we felt strong and prepared for the event, and decided to try and ride together as a team. Groups of eight riders were set off from the start, and we along with three others were the very first of the day!
Uncertain whether this was a good thing or not, I kept my mouth shut, head down and rode, and rode, and rode. It was cold and there was plenty of ice out there. After half an hour or so our five had become three and we were well out at the front of the whole ride. Problem number one, no one to follow. These events are much easier when there are riders ahead, as you know you probably are still on route and also it allows for small objective targets like catching the person in front and overtaking etc. When you're at the front there are no such comforts, only the thought of dozens of riders catching you up and overtaking!
None came though, and after an hour or so we hit the really bad ice. In and around a small village named Dormansland, the country lanes were unbelievably icy. In fact it was so dangerous that two of us had to push our trusted steeds for some of the way, but only after a couple of low speed spills. No damage done to bikes or bodies, we soldiered on.
Colin the stronger of us never had to stop for the ice (he is such a good rider), so he left us and went ahead trying for a good time. Marco and I rode hard once the ice had passed, but all the time I was becoming increasingly aware that no one behind us was in sight. Now we're definitely not that good that no one would ever catch us. The alarm bells began to ring.
We passed a feed station/timing check point and the marshalls informed us that only one rider had passed through. Brilliant, Colin must be pleased and doing extremely well!
Point to note, this checkpoint was near the end of last years event. Alarm bells ringing louder now!!!!!
Okay another half an hour and we pass through a very small village, and there are riders everywhere, coming from three different directions. Shortly followed by the recognition of a marshall and a country lane that we had ridden down at least an hour ago, it dawned........we had got it badly wrong.
Somehow Marco and I had missed a turn or taken an extra one. As far as we knew, we had followed the signage and the marshalls correctly. The familiar country lane that we were on took us right back to what we considered the most dangerous roads that we had already ridden on.
We stopped, swore, huffed, puffed, swore again (well I did) and made the decision to abandon the ride. We then casually rode back to the start which was about another 7 or 8 km or so.
Imagine my horror when the marshalls at the finish point began congratulating us on our success. Fuming, I put the bike onto the car rack, threw my sodden cold cycling kit into the boot and made to the canteen to warm up with a coffee, and of course to calm down. Marco helped me with that.
It transpires, that somehow we deviated from the original 110km route, and actually ended up doing the shorter 50km route. Now the good bit, unbeknown to us we actually did very well and the reason that the marshalls congratulated us on the finish line... We came in second! How good is that. See the results page for yourself.
http://www.hell.gb.com/LeftMenu/FinishList.aspx?id=5
So all in all not a too bad outcome. Okay the 50k route only had 80 or 90 finishers compared to 400 or 500 finishing the full course, but if ever there was a plus point after such a monumental mess up, well coming second was it.
Would I do it again next year, probably not. Twice in a row with ice and snow was bad enough. Also the question begs, Should Catford CC have allowed the ride to go ahead, given the weather?
Who knows, I dont. Check some of the cycling forums for varying opinions on that.
Now what happened to Colin after he left us, well that is another story... 139km later, lost, cold and still not finishing the route. That one can wait.
See you all soon.
A team of five from the club, we felt strong and prepared for the event, and decided to try and ride together as a team. Groups of eight riders were set off from the start, and we along with three others were the very first of the day!
Uncertain whether this was a good thing or not, I kept my mouth shut, head down and rode, and rode, and rode. It was cold and there was plenty of ice out there. After half an hour or so our five had become three and we were well out at the front of the whole ride. Problem number one, no one to follow. These events are much easier when there are riders ahead, as you know you probably are still on route and also it allows for small objective targets like catching the person in front and overtaking etc. When you're at the front there are no such comforts, only the thought of dozens of riders catching you up and overtaking!
None came though, and after an hour or so we hit the really bad ice. In and around a small village named Dormansland, the country lanes were unbelievably icy. In fact it was so dangerous that two of us had to push our trusted steeds for some of the way, but only after a couple of low speed spills. No damage done to bikes or bodies, we soldiered on.
Colin the stronger of us never had to stop for the ice (he is such a good rider), so he left us and went ahead trying for a good time. Marco and I rode hard once the ice had passed, but all the time I was becoming increasingly aware that no one behind us was in sight. Now we're definitely not that good that no one would ever catch us. The alarm bells began to ring.
We passed a feed station/timing check point and the marshalls informed us that only one rider had passed through. Brilliant, Colin must be pleased and doing extremely well!
Point to note, this checkpoint was near the end of last years event. Alarm bells ringing louder now!!!!!
Okay another half an hour and we pass through a very small village, and there are riders everywhere, coming from three different directions. Shortly followed by the recognition of a marshall and a country lane that we had ridden down at least an hour ago, it dawned........we had got it badly wrong.
Somehow Marco and I had missed a turn or taken an extra one. As far as we knew, we had followed the signage and the marshalls correctly. The familiar country lane that we were on took us right back to what we considered the most dangerous roads that we had already ridden on.
We stopped, swore, huffed, puffed, swore again (well I did) and made the decision to abandon the ride. We then casually rode back to the start which was about another 7 or 8 km or so.
Imagine my horror when the marshalls at the finish point began congratulating us on our success. Fuming, I put the bike onto the car rack, threw my sodden cold cycling kit into the boot and made to the canteen to warm up with a coffee, and of course to calm down. Marco helped me with that.
It transpires, that somehow we deviated from the original 110km route, and actually ended up doing the shorter 50km route. Now the good bit, unbeknown to us we actually did very well and the reason that the marshalls congratulated us on the finish line... We came in second! How good is that. See the results page for yourself.
http://www.hell.gb.com/LeftMenu/FinishList.aspx?id=5
So all in all not a too bad outcome. Okay the 50k route only had 80 or 90 finishers compared to 400 or 500 finishing the full course, but if ever there was a plus point after such a monumental mess up, well coming second was it.
Would I do it again next year, probably not. Twice in a row with ice and snow was bad enough. Also the question begs, Should Catford CC have allowed the ride to go ahead, given the weather?
Who knows, I dont. Check some of the cycling forums for varying opinions on that.
Now what happened to Colin after he left us, well that is another story... 139km later, lost, cold and still not finishing the route. That one can wait.
See you all soon.
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