The influencers and those that inspired….starting at the top!
Dave Maloney, you git, Christmas 2012, the Blake pub, Sheffield…multiple pints, and you again were telling me I should try racing, cos “I was getting so strong” on the willy waving club circuit (such a hypocrite btw, after wearing a number, I came to detest those LOL)
Rob Pears, Kev Tye and later Ian Guilor: unbelievable over 50 year olds that were smashing open races all over the country…all three I got to know really well, especially Ian. It illustrated what could be possibly achievable (with my running background), I had no real interest ultimately in “age cat” racing and these guys set the bar to compete universally.
Early on (2014) Pete Read (RIP) invited me for some testing, and told me “what’s, what” in his direct Yorkshire tones….set the training straight and told me it could take 7 years to reach a peak. I remember thinking, heck, I’ll be bloody 60 by then…no way I’ll be racing then? In fact 2018 / 2019 were arguably my best years - reaching my highest National ranking (A7 - A to E, 1 to 20) affectively top 7% in the ranking system….he was right!
The darkest moments 2015 - Consultant Rheumatologist and Sports Medic, Simon Till, diagnosed my long standing acute Achilles pain as non physical. A defence mechanism by the brain ostensibly to protect the body, in this case from my mental health state. I hadn’t exercised for nine months and couldn’t even walk the dogs without a shooting Achilles pain, racing was over, surely. I’d seen top consultants and also physios without resolution. Simon sent me out to recommence riding, and to learn to ignore the brain and defeat the pain. This really helped me years later in racing.
Chris Sidwell wrote a brilliant piece for Cycling Weekly on this, it can be accessed here on my personal blog, under PHOTO ALBUM
By the end of 2016 I’d hooked up with Richard Simmonds (via Chris Melia, ta x) who became a great friend as well as my coach, and still is the former. A quality racer too in the past and decent runner….Richard set all my training, although very relaxed and flexible. Top guy and we had lots of laughs!
I’d raced on a £2k off the shelf Planet X TT bike up to the 2016 season, recording decent performances…but I’d climbed the levels, and I knew my peers were on much better bikes. I bought a Trek Concept….it felt really smooth and quicker in training, but my racing results were not that much better…
In the space of 4 weeks in the season of 2016, two individuals took me to a different level. Firstly, I’d done a 10, in the most horrendous windy conditions near Newark…the top National level boys at the time couldn’t break 20 mins, but a rumour quickly spread that someone had done a sub 18-30! Nah, impossible? But it was true, his name Dan Bigham…shortly after in Mallorca, I met an old Uni mate of Dan, he told me about his aero testing setup at Derby velodrome. I messaged Dan, and almost immediately I was meeting him and his “assistant” Jonny Wale….cyclings Morecambe and Wise! I made the mistake of asking Dan what cDA is, 10 mins later, with Jonny laughing in the background, I had to stop Dan, he’d already lost me after 30 seconds! Jonny, relayed, that in a recent CW interview with the Derbados boys….they affectionately described Dan, as the most boring man in cycling! Oh how we laughed…
Suffice to say, 3 hours later, Dan gained me 38 watts in those conditions and outdoors this equated to approx 20 watts.
Really pleased Dan has made it on and off the bike, I really liked his approach and how he challenged and defeated the stifling convention, typically BC….how they didn’t snap him up early on is beyond comprehension….and he’s so unassuming. I contacted Dan during this last Winter break, to ask advice on whether I should be retested, he was super busy with Ineos at the time, but still found time to write me a really lengthy detailed response, typically on how the landscape had changed since 2016….that’s the nature of the guy.
At the same time, for similar reasons, a friend’s coach, John Morgan, offered to analyse my Training Peak files. John was surprised how high my cadence was in racing (mid 90s) and suggested I drop the cadence to at least mid 80s….this is the aerobic vs strength situation, but most National level guys, he stated race at least in the 80s…big heart / lungs vs big legs! Almost overnight I gained another 20 watts….by the end of 2016, I was flying. My racing cadence eventually steadied at between 78 to 82.
With hindsight that completed the jigsaw…progression after this was just simply by the passing of time, and working on Richard’s training, the season ended on a real high, and now I was regularly mixing it right up there at the sharp end, in open races….role on 2017!
And so it continued and with Richard, we progressed, my most successful years were still ahead, and yes, Pete Read was spot on, I was heading for my 60th year, and still to reach my peak!
APPRECIATION
Probably not an exclusive list but I tried!
Furthermore, not so much inspired or influenced by, but certainly massively appreciative of the following…
Andy and of course Kip and the boys at Langsett Cycles, and Paul Doel at Mallorcan Bike Hire.
All my training buddies practically all in Mallorca but not exclusively: Chris M, Angela, Tracy, Donna, Danni, Mark (especially), Zu, George and so many more!
Youngster and especially Kenny in Sheffield for your general support.
All the North Mids boys and girls and of course the VTTA and CTT members - Peter McInally, Chris Lea (especially), Ala Whitehead, Paul Heggie, Trevor Mayne, Gordon Wordsworth et al
All the National VTTA members I grew to know so well, Ian Greenstreet, Andrew Simpkins, the amazingly inspirational Rachael Elliot, and of course Tony Farrell (who I re-engaged with after over a 35 year break from our Liverpool running days).
Tony, Andy and Stuart at Lindsey RC. Apologies it was only one year, but in all those racing years I’d never really had a team, so, as short as it was….thanks!
And finally, and far too many to mention - a thanks to all the organisers and competitors I’d met and got to know at different levels throughout the country…
GRACIAS!
EL FIN!
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