REALTEAM 25 TT - Hirwaun S Wales - 18th Aug 2019

4th Overall & 2nd Vet - National Age Record
An unforgiving autumnal weather forecast was not conducive to the super fast times that is the major selling point of the “R25” 25 mile TT course in S Wales.....but of course it’s still a friggin race, and as 2 of my last 3 races had been cancelled due to adverse weather.....I decided “come on weather, let’s be ‘avin you (in my best Delia voice ).....and race the best I could, come what may....and unfortunately (really only) for the very last starters (I was scratch man) the forecast was bang on....

However managed to “knock out” another sub 50mins 25 miler - rescued by a 33+mph average 10mile return with the tailwind - recording 49mins 34secs, annoyingly just three seconds off the podium but some bonus points for breaking my own National Age and Regional Group records - so a fairly happy return home.......👍

Anyhow much more interesting that this time trialling gubbins....really do enjoy visiting this neck of the woods....and on this occasion decided to take a steady cross country route back over the Brecon Beacons into Herefordshire and the Black Mountains, and across to Worcester....very nice indeed, an area I surprisingly have no experience of, so into my bucket list they go, for the day I hang my cleats up, pack work in and get that converted VW Transporter, MTB on the rack and walking boots for the ready...not too sure how long that will be though, I suppose when I start to slow down on the TT machine

[Wrote the above quite dismissively, but yet again, break 50 mins, and it was not a great climate day..that 48mins last year was no fluke, and on the right day, is in danger 💪]

RUTLAND 10 - JEJ N MIDS SERIES - Hatfield - 3rd August 2019

5th Overall

Another race at Hatfield in the JEJ N Mids series, always want to do well in the Rutland races....real quality top end, and it was looking good for quite a while, being top of the leaderboard, but slowly slipped down as some of the latter riders recorded their times (the weather conditions clearly changed ) - although young startled Hayden Allen was on a different planet, very few have broken 20 mins on the potholed challenged course....5th overall (Spindata had predicted 3rd) was fine and first on standard but only 2nd vet (over 40)....solid stuff 

[always want to do well on the Rutland races, of course it is a Sheffrec vs Rutland thang, I guess....can't do anymore than full blast irrespective, and looked promising for a while...but still, not bad ]

SHAFTESBURY 50M TT - Newmarket - 21st July 2019

14th Overall / 1st on Standard
Borage Officialanis!🤷

Hitting Cambridgeshire-Suffolk in the rather high quality Shaftesbury Cup ‘50’ mile TT - solid riding with a 14th overall and just learnt winning the Standard prize (age and gender adjusted)....the time of 1-43-20 also good enough to add to my collection of National Age records and also a North Midlands record....but actually a mediocre speed day reflected in hitting 25 miles in 50min 09secs but taking 53-11 into a fresh headwind on the return, rather unfortunate on what was otherwise a lovely morning.

Adding to the “loveliness” were fields and fields of a gorgeous crop with purple flowers that caught my eye, later being informed this is the aforementioned Borage Officialanis - clearly a commercial crop and apparently used in medicine for various skin complaints.😎

You learn something new every day Few sleeps now until the ‘full fat’ National 25 on Sunday....not sure why I entered, unsure to what is more daunting, being on a pushbike on the A50, or the fact I set off 2nd from last with scratch man, professional, multiple UK record holder and multi champion Marcin Biablocki chasing me, hoping to get a few miles in before I’m caught.....what’s the contact number for Age Concern?

[Second year I've done this, of course only cos its fast...but too friggin early in the morning..I'm sure, I just do not get it together 100% so early - I know I can break 1-40...but but...perhaps at 62 post Covid? ]

NORTH MIDLANDS VTTA CHAMPS - Hatfield - 29th June 2019

2nd Overall & 1st on Standard (N Mids Champion 🏆)

Hot Hot Hot were the conditions for Saturday’s N Mids VTTA Champs (the Cleethorpe Shield), one week exactly after one of my most disappointing performances in the National Vets 50 Champs, 2nd on the podium may sound commendable, but serious self inflicted cock-ups scuppered hope of the Champs jersey....it’s now history so move on, redemption of sorts required...so to tropical Yorkshire....🥵

....sub-consciously raced with extra determination, which can be dangerous - and with 3 miles to go and a combination of heat and fatigue, purgatory kicked in, really felt my speed was slipping away, completely ultra wasted at the chequered flag , but surprised to learn of a personal course PB of 20-32, and just ONE SECOND from victory - one friggin second....still pleased with 2nd though in a quality field and also won the Cleethorpe Shield based on ‘standard’ (age adjusted gubbins)...

Later, I wondered about that “one second” - suddenly remembering the hesitant driver that held me up, as they chose not to pass a slower rider with obvious opportunities, eventually I overtook, I had to - so annoying, but of course it would be unfair to mention the gender - we accept it’s an occupational hazard for us “testers” - y’know swings and roundabouts

Thanks to Gordon Wordsworth and team for organising the event, and to Paul (Heggie) for issuing the results.

Right, if I ever see that bloody woman (or was it an old bloke with a flat cap? )👴

[This was seriously frustrating, 20-32 would win 9/10 races on Hatfield...and I did get really held up..although I know Ian G well, and he's a top guy! Not his fault!!]

VTTA NATIONAL CHAMPS 50M - Nr York - 2nd June 2019

6th Overall & 2nd on Standard (National Silver)

Proved to be the worst race of the season, the whole day was a mitigated disaster....started off finding a flat tub on race bike...Kip (Langsett) did a sterling and rapid job on putting on a new tub, but set off late, forgot skin suit (although had backup in boot) then arrived late, all flustered, forgot gels which are really needed in a 50, but worse was to come....chain dropped off in race, and due to the chain stopper (that did not work) struggled to get chain back on, even with brute panic....😡

So, "worst race of the season, hey?" - finished second in National Championship (based on standard, age adjusted) - well beaten by Andy Jackson, but a poor 6th overall, and at least 2 mins down on expectations....hey ho.....a one off - but that's where I set the bar.....😉

[This was a sickener, from 8am and the flat tub...to losing my chain, forgetting gels....and before and after this race I was flying...what made it worse I felt obliged to await the presentation, but there was a huge delay...just wanted to get home and away from there - but second in a National and having this reaction!! It's in the DNA 😎]


OFFICIAL REPORT

The National 50 Mile championship was held on Saturday 22nd June on the V350/1 course near York. 

The men's championship saw a fine win by Andy Jackson with a plus of 31.50. Second and taking his third medal in three championships was Keith Ainsworth (plus of 30.55). Third and moving up one place from last year to claim a medal was Dave Hargreaves with a plus of 29.25.

The women's championship was won convincingly by Karen Ledger (pictured) with an outstanding plus of 33.00. Debbie Moss took silver with a plus of 26.34 and Liz Ball took the bronze medal with a plus of 20.19.

The tandem gold medal was won by the evergreen pair of Murray Kirton and Dave Stockley.

Best club team went to Team Swift (Steve Loraine, Randle Shenton, and Mark Wolstenholme).

Best group team was Yorkshire (Andy Jackson, Stephen Ayres and Mark Wolstenholme).

Thanks to Mike Williams and his team for organising the championship

BIRDWELL CLUB '5' CHAMPS - Park Springs - 18th June 2019

1st Overall / Sheffrec Club and Birdwell Course Record
Gatecrashing the rarely raced 5 miler, the Birdwell Club Champs - a gratuitous attempt in attempting to break 10 mins (not fast, 5 roundabouts?), the course record and the Sheffrec club record on a rare (for this season) warm and fairly still evening. Smashed the race winning by a margin, finishing in 10-08....breaking the Birdwell club course record and also my own Sheffrec club record - good fun, and a great blast, hitting 380w average 😳🚴‍♀️💨💨

[Really good attack on a '5', although as no officials to have the race, there was a debate on whether to cancel...so I didn't warm up properly....really expect a '5' to hurt very similarly to an 800m in running, but done two now, and I'd say 10's are worse for the pain 🤪]


Report from Paul Heggie on FB:
5 Mile Championships tonight
Nearly didn't run-few helpers. Thanks to
Steve Myatt for timing and Christine Minto for marshalling.
A fast night - new Birdwell course record by
Keith Ainsworth of Sheffrec in 10m 08s beating the old mark of Ben Harvey from 2013 by 11 seconds!!
Cheers
Paul - sub 10 if I’d warmed up more Sheffrec Club Record too...

VTTA '10' TT - E2/10 - Newmarket - 13th June 2019

3rd Overall / 1st on Standard / National Age Record

STOP PRESS: Old Man Disappears Down The A11 In Wind Vortex🌪
Four days later, and I just had to get back on “the horse”.....driving through torrid rain back to Newmarket, fortunately the rain cleared by the start, but the strong winds didn’t....so fast times were in very much in doubt for this 10 miler, strong headwind out and hitting 1/2 way in only 10-52, a new PB (sub 19-11) was surely impossible, and the secondary target, the durable National Age Record was a tall order (19-49) - however, what a return on the rolling course and what fun (in a masochistic sort of way)....in the biggest gear possible (58/11) and often ‘spinning out’, before I knew it, the chequered flag was there....a return in 8mins 36secs @ 34.2mph avg - with an official time of 19-40, giving me 3rd overall and a new National Age Record....🚴‍♀️💨💨

Now this is funny...checking Strava - which is useful for race day metrics, out of interest I checked the all time fastest segment for that return leg....meaningless really of course, ‘segments’ have to be done on the same day (or time) under race conditions to have credence....but hey ho...it looks good....and it made me chuckle....so there I am up there with an ex World best hour record holder and faster than Bialoblocki - have a look! 😝😂

National VTTA 50 Champs on a rural circuit east of York next Saturday....really looking forward, roll on😊

[Not to be taken for granted this performance. the conditions were really awful...the wind was so strong on the outward five miles, that there should have been no chance to average greater than 30mph....50kph...and read on, I repeated it, on the same course in the National 10 on the same course...]

VTTA NATIONAL CHAMPS 25M - Newmarket 9th June 2019

Two visits to the rolling lands of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in the last week....firstly, the second attempt in my quest for National Vets TT supremacy LOL - the National Vets 25 Champs....very early start, unusually felt garbage by even 10 miles, but this is racing, and there is only one option...persevered, dug even deeper, hurt more and ultimately ‘rescued’ a commendable 50mins 43 secs, not quite 30mph avg....but was it good enough for another champions jersey?

NO! Just 17 seconds in 2nd behind World O50 TT Champ - Kev Tye, an amazing athlete, (a sub 48min ‘25’ man) so no shame; and it materialised that most had a tough morning too, with relatively slow times, perhaps the very early start is not conducive to such onslaught? . Had a great chat with Kevin, and talk about chips off the same block...

[Mmm...sort of confident before...and as it was on the E2..top quality entry, but very early start, just does not work for me...but in fairness was the general consensus...biggest gap Kev Tye got on me in 2019..and it's closing all the time..in fact by the end of the season it was 1-2 😊]

NORTH MIDS CHAMPS - SHEFFREC 25 - Hatfield Woodhouse - 18th May 2019

Mixed result, club champs but also double up with the North Midlands Champs....quality 8 in start list with unreachable three at front...but other places up for grabs, and......I came bloody 8th, even with a PB, Olympian Adam Duggleby broke 50 mins, which is so rare at Hatfield....Sheffrec easily took the regional team prize with Liam, Andy and myself...and was first vet, first age and stuff....but y'know...I want more 💪

[Not one to be remembered, coming 8th, when you know there's really eight fighting for those places...sort of...is a bugger...but a PB on shitty Hatfield...at what age? BUT THAT IS IRRELEVANT 😎]

BIRDWELL WHEELERS 10 - Hatfield Woodhouse - 11th May 2019

2nd Overall / Power PB!
It’s a Sheffrec CC double at the Birdwell ‘10’ at Hatfield Woodhouse - congrats to Liam Bromiley for a convincing victory, followed by yours truly...course PB and power PB for a ‘10’ miler (356w) para mi - beer time 🍻

Significant in 2019, that although I did not break any PBs (except the 5 miler) mainly due to weather conditions, better indication is breaking power averages, which I did on Hatfield twice...finishing with 360w average....💪

[Great performance, no chance against a fit Liam (ex Giant UK Team Cat1 (Elite?) racer) - but he is 20 something LOL ]

WELSH OPEN NATIONAL 25M CHAMPS - Hirwaun - 5th May 2019

14th Overall & 1st on Standard (Welsh National Gold)
WELSH OPEN NATIONAL 25m TT CHAMPIONSHIP
With a combination of an open National Championship and the added attraction of arguably the fastest 25mile TT course in the UK, it’s understandable that in S Wales on Sunday the event was eagerly anticipated and fully subscribed.
However any hope of a plethora of PBs were dashed by the cold conditions and the consensus in the HQ afterwards that we all seem to experience a permanent headwind - how does that happen? 🤔
The times reflected this with the men’s winner, a young pro Tom Ward recording ‘only’ 47-15 and last years ladies all round champion Alice Lethbridge not even breaking 53 minutes.
So in that context my 3rd sub 50min 25mile TT @ 49mins 41secs was commendable and encouraging for the target of a PB, later in the season....the only disappointment was that I hoped for a top 10 finish overall, but just missed out....although it was very tight at that sharp end.
Supplementary bonus was recording another National Age Record and taking home the Welsh National Age medal 🥇
Back to regional basics for the next two weekends on the lovely windswept potholed course at Hatfield Woodhouse, I can’t wait 😎and then a well earned mini break!☀️

[I would've killed for a sub 51mins 3 years ago, and now "knock sub 50min efforts out" for fun, almost, putting 3 mins into the UK's top female time trial lists...and still fvckin moan.....😝]

VTTA NATIONAL 10 CHAMPS - Surrey / Sussex - 28th April 2019

2nd Overall / 1st on Standard (National Champion!)
NATIONAL VTTA 10mile CHAMPIONSHIPS - SUSSEX / SURREY
So, the two previous races on the Lincolnshire Wolds were (inadvertently) perfect preparation albeit without strategy. For some reason assuming a course in Sussex would be flattish, it was rather a surprise when I drove the course the night before to discover it rather gnarly and rolling. ⛰
Suffice to say, it went well – a sub 21 mins that I hoped for would be outstanding, on that course, so seeing 21-07 when I crossed the line was near as damn it and pleasing, and I knew could well be a winning time. 🤔
And so it proved, after a series of close calls in 2018 , at last I won a National VTTA Championship, probably a “10” is the hardest distance for me (with age, endurance ability declines slowest, so the longer the event , relatively, the performance improves) – of course the plan is to now target the longer races later in the season – and hope to collect more Champion jerseys - why not? 😉
An added bonus was the early start which enabled me to drive up to Tooting (through leafy Surrey, and not so leafy sarf London) to hook up with my old mate, Mr Charlett, and hit some celebratory beers, up town. 🍻🥳
Chatting with genuine interest to some marathoners but not daring to mention that I’d earlier only done a piffling 20 minute bike race - I didn’t wish to explain 😎
Welsh Open 25 next on the agenda on “that” fast course…young hitters out though, so top 10 would be nice – with a super fast time…. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
Thanks to Kimroy Photography for the action shot, about three miles from the finish, hence the pained look and the presentation photo was, believe it or not the best of about 20 photos 😜

[Long way to drive (although I did plan the Tooting visit and long term Uni pal, Gaston), inadvertently the two Lincolnshire Wolds races were perfect preparation - very confident that if I raced even slightly below par, on 'standards', who could beat me?..and so it proved..but did genuinely think I would win at least a couple more National titles in 2019...but it just did not happen...a divisive world though are 'standards'....with Trikes and aged men, (I have) no chance 🙄]