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Cheers,
The Team at Leisure Lakes Bikes
Monday 10 May 2010
Monday 15 March 2010
Caersws Cup Round 1
First race of the season! Caersws cup, using sections from all over the place they put together quite a nice track, after last years felling session the track was open and flat-out from start to finish!
Conditions for practice on Saturday were great, (dry track, cloudy with very little wind) it had seemingly endless grip which enabled me to really test out the new bike and see what the track could take. With blue sky's forecast for Sunday everyone was psyched!
Unfortunately over night the temperature got as low as -7 and the track was a solid sheet of ice, making areas of the track near impossible to ride. Slowly the track began to thaw but some sections (still in the shade) had to be cut out of the course. Throughout the mornings practice the red flag in and out every 5 minutes. It was almost 11am before the track was looking any better. So they extended practice to 1.00pm and made it a one run race.
I got to the start early, My run was at 3.18pm. With over 70 riders in the senior category it seemed to go on forever! I got the bike in gear, did a few practice starts. Then got on the start ramp heard the beeps and went for it! I was planing to take it easy and just get a solid run, but I was going the fastest I had all weekend and I felt well within my limits. So I kept it pinned! Staying calm and smooth I just pedaled when I could and hit all my lines as if it was practice. Had a lot of fun and the whole run went well got into the finish field and I was in top gear and cranked it through to the finish. I got the win! By 3.3 seconds. I was surprised, stoked, and relieved! I stayed to watch the rest of the racing, where I was surprised again to see that my time would of put me 2nd in expert, and 4th in elite. 5th fastest time of the day!
I'm very happy with my result. Looking forward to a great season. Bring on the nationals! Thanks to every one who came to support me, Sandy Plenty and Leisure lakes Bikes.
Joel Chidley
Conditions for practice on Saturday were great, (dry track, cloudy with very little wind) it had seemingly endless grip which enabled me to really test out the new bike and see what the track could take. With blue sky's forecast for Sunday everyone was psyched!
Unfortunately over night the temperature got as low as -7 and the track was a solid sheet of ice, making areas of the track near impossible to ride. Slowly the track began to thaw but some sections (still in the shade) had to be cut out of the course. Throughout the mornings practice the red flag in and out every 5 minutes. It was almost 11am before the track was looking any better. So they extended practice to 1.00pm and made it a one run race.
I got to the start early, My run was at 3.18pm. With over 70 riders in the senior category it seemed to go on forever! I got the bike in gear, did a few practice starts. Then got on the start ramp heard the beeps and went for it! I was planing to take it easy and just get a solid run, but I was going the fastest I had all weekend and I felt well within my limits. So I kept it pinned! Staying calm and smooth I just pedaled when I could and hit all my lines as if it was practice. Had a lot of fun and the whole run went well got into the finish field and I was in top gear and cranked it through to the finish. I got the win! By 3.3 seconds. I was surprised, stoked, and relieved! I stayed to watch the rest of the racing, where I was surprised again to see that my time would of put me 2nd in expert, and 4th in elite. 5th fastest time of the day!
I'm very happy with my result. Looking forward to a great season. Bring on the nationals! Thanks to every one who came to support me, Sandy Plenty and Leisure lakes Bikes.
Joel Chidley
Monday 1 February 2010
Getting Down and Dirty - by Nigel Martin
There I was lying in the dirt and leaf litter, feeling spaced out and thinking “what the hell just happened there?!” It was the first round of the National cross country mountain bike championships at Sherwood Pines and half way through the second lap of a seven lap race. I was just off the lead group of riders, when, trying to cut the margins tight and utilise all possible lines on the course, I had cut one corner slightly too tight and had failed to spot a small tree stump in the leaf litter which had sent me flying over the bars, doing my best impression of superman! (Although the only thing in common was tight Lycra)
The start had been the usual chaos; when the gun goes off and you’re surrounded by fifty or so Elite riders sprinting as hard as they can, trying to get to the first section of single track in the highest possible position. How there aren’t more crashes at the starts is a testament to the bike handling skills of all the guys. With the pace we set off at you would be forgiven for thinking that we were only racing for half an hour but at the Elite level we’ll spend around two and a quarter hours like this! My preparation had not been as normal as I had spent three months working in Berlin with no bike and only managed two hours of swimming per week to try and keep myself in some sort of shape. After the chaos of the start and the fight of the first lap I was trying my best to keep that self-doubt out of my mind; “I can keep this pace up, god it hurts like hell though, I’m breathing through every orifice possible!”…
… and then I was on the ground. By some miracle I’d had a soft landing. Quick mental self-check; all body parts in order and no sight of blood, right where did my bike go? Pleasantly surprised everything was still working after such a big wipeout, but no time to dwell on my good fortune, I hear a shout from behind. It was the next group of riders, so time to jump back on-board and tack onto the back of this group. The next half a lap was a case of finding my rhythm again, after which I decided it was time to go to the front of the group and get the hammer down to see how many riders I could catch through the race, never say die!
Sherwood Pines is the flattest possible course for a ‘mountain bike’ race, so it tends to result in tactics as used on the road, but don’t be fooled, just because it is flat it is not an easy race, far from it. When racing, it is completely relentless, there’s no time to rest. If you’re not hammering through bumpy single track then you’re powering along rolling fire roads.
So there I was dragging a group of around eight riders who were able to sit in my slipstream on the fire roads, now if you’re a road racer you’ll be thinking, ‘god he must be stupid, you should be sat-in saving your energy’. Well, that’s not my thinking when I’m in racing mood on the MTB, and in single track sections there isn’t that advantage so I knew I would be able to drop some riders out of the back of the group. Plus, the race is in front of me and I’m not interested in playing games this early. Slowly group got whittled down and we had started to catch some of the riders in front who had started to blow, but there were still a few riders I couldn’t get rid of. “Damn, how am I going to beat these guys?” I dropped back though the group thinking ”Are any of them looking weak, who looks fresh, (if that’s possible this late into the race)? When and where should I attack? I was sure someone else would launch an attack soon so on the last lap I decided to put out one last massive effort to try and drop the four others still with me. I timed it well, choosing to give it everything going up a single track ‘climb’ and into the following technical section in the knowledge that if I broke the guy directly behind me the others wouldn’t be able to get around him until the next section of fire road, by which time I should have got enough of a gap that I’d be gone.
One problem, it didn’t work! They were just as determined to beat me, as I was to beat them, touché.
OK, plan b, recover and wait for the sprint at the end. Unlike in road racing it is typically better to lead out in a mountain bike race, however, that isn’t what other people had planned. Others decided to launch attacks, but my legs were too battered at this stage of the race to respond to two of the guys. They remained only a few seconds in front right until the finish, but you never lose hope though. It’s easy to make a mistake when at your limit and the majority of oxygen is going to your muscles and not your brain, verging on the brink of unconsciousness. They could have easily slipped back into my clutches. It was not to be the case though; I finished the race in a sprint against one other guy and was placed eighteenth.
I was a mix of emotions, moribund from the effort I had just given, 49 Km off road in two hours nineteen minutes. “Damn that was fast”, I didn’t even come out of the big ring all race! Happy from how good my legs had felt and dismissing the doubts I’d had about my lack of off-season preparation giving me a real morale boost for my performances the rest of the season. But despondent, oh what could have been a much better result if I’d not crashed, I could have been in the front group where it would have been me slipstreaming others.
The next week after a mountain bike race is general spent recovering, the efforts are so vicious that it really can take three days to a week for your legs to start feeling better again depending on how your ‘form’ is.
If you fancy giving racing a go the cross-country scene is really showing a renaissance at present and there are categories for all standards of ability and racecourses for all preferences. Including everything from the cross-country distance, to marathon racing (typically 100KM), to 24 hour racing, which can be done as a team or solo if you are mentally inclined! Also the first round of the Mountain bike World Cup is being held in Dalby forest in April this year, a rare opportunity to see the world’s best riders fight it out. Ticket details are on the British Cycling website.
The best web sites for information on events are the British Cycling and xcracer.com the main hub for XC racing in the UK, where you can enter on-line for just about every race in the UK and know that you are instantly in the race without having to wait for a start sheet to come. The main series I race are the National Points series and the Midlands Series that has been growing in popularity each year. If you want any more advice just get in contact with me through the club.
I just have to say thanks to Leisure Lakes bike shop for all the support they give me towards racing!
Happy trails.
Saturday 30 January 2010
Monday 24 August 2009
National Points Series – Round 4 – Caersws 16/08/09
It was a windy weekend in Wales for the 4th round of the National Points Series (NPS) held at Caersws, Powys. The track is well known for its steep incline and relatively short runs, making every split-second count.
The track was very similar to that used for the 2007 Nationals with some nice variations all the way down to the finish. As the riders left the start ramp there was a big step down jump to clear straight out the box, and with the strong winds blowing sideways this was not one for the feint hearted. There were many lines to choose from up top making it very interesting and with a steep and technical mid-section including further jumps and drop-offs it felt very tight and fast. After crossing the bottom fire road the track was flat-out wide open with big swooping turns and drops including a big table then an amazing section of gap jumps into the field. The final field section had some man made wooden jumps incorporated, but these proved very awkward as the cross winds continued to throw riders off throughout the weekend.
Saturday is now all day practice with no seeding run, but the riders found it hard to get a rhythm going and pushed for pace throughout the morning session, after lunch they found the rhythm and lit it up for the final afternoon runs feeling comfortable to leave the venue ready for race day on Sunday.
An early start Sunday morning saw all the team members on the first uplifts of the day, bagging two practice runs before seeding.
First off for her seeding run was Emma Wareham in the Elite Womens category posting a solid time of 2:05.746 placing her 5th and 10.473 secs off 1st place Katy Curd.
Next down were the Expert Men with Andy Woodvine (Woody) going first, with an inconsistent run, crossing the line with a time of 1:46.614 putting him 18th and 6.845secs off the leader Luke Marshall.
Then it was the turn of Richard Challinor (Chally) who crashed out on the steep switch backs, but got back on and posted a time of 1:48.228 putting him back in 23rd and 8.459secs off the leader.
The final team member to hit the track was Jethro Whitfield (Jed) who after a big crash in practice earlier that morning posted a solid run of 1:46.714 putting him 20th and 6.945scs off the leader.
Everyone in the team knew that they were capable of more and wanted to prove this in the race runs.
Again Emma was the first member of the Leisure Lakes team to prove herself in the race with an amazing run of 2:02.790 knocking almost 3 secs off her seeding run and putting her on the Elite Womens Podium in 3rd Spot.
Now it was the turn off the Expert men with Chally going first with a blinding run of 1:40.868 taking almost 7.5 secs off his seeding run and putting him on the Podium in 5th spot only 1 sec off the leader Kyle Farrow.
.JPG)
Then it was Jeds turn posting a quick race time of 1:45.262, 1.5 secs faster than his seeder placing him in 15th position.
With Woody being the fastest qualifier this meant he was the last team member to do battle, and he brought it home with a time of 1:42.701 almost 4 secs faster than seeding and putting him in 12th spot.
Overall it was an outstanding weekend for the Leisure Lakes Downhill Team with podium postions in Elite Women and Expert Men and a further twelve and fifteenth position finishes in Expert Men.
I would like thank everyone for their hardwork and we look forward to the next round in September.
Sandy Plenty (Team Manager)
The track was very similar to that used for the 2007 Nationals with some nice variations all the way down to the finish. As the riders left the start ramp there was a big step down jump to clear straight out the box, and with the strong winds blowing sideways this was not one for the feint hearted. There were many lines to choose from up top making it very interesting and with a steep and technical mid-section including further jumps and drop-offs it felt very tight and fast. After crossing the bottom fire road the track was flat-out wide open with big swooping turns and drops including a big table then an amazing section of gap jumps into the field. The final field section had some man made wooden jumps incorporated, but these proved very awkward as the cross winds continued to throw riders off throughout the weekend.
Saturday is now all day practice with no seeding run, but the riders found it hard to get a rhythm going and pushed for pace throughout the morning session, after lunch they found the rhythm and lit it up for the final afternoon runs feeling comfortable to leave the venue ready for race day on Sunday.
An early start Sunday morning saw all the team members on the first uplifts of the day, bagging two practice runs before seeding.
First off for her seeding run was Emma Wareham in the Elite Womens category posting a solid time of 2:05.746 placing her 5th and 10.473 secs off 1st place Katy Curd.
Next down were the Expert Men with Andy Woodvine (Woody) going first, with an inconsistent run, crossing the line with a time of 1:46.614 putting him 18th and 6.845secs off the leader Luke Marshall.
Then it was the turn of Richard Challinor (Chally) who crashed out on the steep switch backs, but got back on and posted a time of 1:48.228 putting him back in 23rd and 8.459secs off the leader.
The final team member to hit the track was Jethro Whitfield (Jed) who after a big crash in practice earlier that morning posted a solid run of 1:46.714 putting him 20th and 6.945scs off the leader.
Everyone in the team knew that they were capable of more and wanted to prove this in the race runs.
Again Emma was the first member of the Leisure Lakes team to prove herself in the race with an amazing run of 2:02.790 knocking almost 3 secs off her seeding run and putting her on the Elite Womens Podium in 3rd Spot.
Now it was the turn off the Expert men with Chally going first with a blinding run of 1:40.868 taking almost 7.5 secs off his seeding run and putting him on the Podium in 5th spot only 1 sec off the leader Kyle Farrow.
.JPG)
Then it was Jeds turn posting a quick race time of 1:45.262, 1.5 secs faster than his seeder placing him in 15th position.
With Woody being the fastest qualifier this meant he was the last team member to do battle, and he brought it home with a time of 1:42.701 almost 4 secs faster than seeding and putting him in 12th spot.
Overall it was an outstanding weekend for the Leisure Lakes Downhill Team with podium postions in Elite Women and Expert Men and a further twelve and fifteenth position finishes in Expert Men.
I would like thank everyone for their hardwork and we look forward to the next round in September.
Sandy Plenty (Team Manager)
Thursday 6 August 2009
NPS XC National Champs
What a weekend! One minute it was sunny the next torrential rain. Saturday was practice day. This was a hard course with one big up and one big down. It was a very technical climb with lots of roots off camber, rocks and of course lots of mud. Once you got to the top of the course the views were amazing but there was no time to admire them. It was time to descend, which was the hardest descent I have ever ridden let alone raced, it was the red run of a downhill course. Very technical, steel, big roots and a rock gully. Once you hit the bottom it was straight back to climbing, no rest bite on this course!
I had a good race. No mechanicals and I beat a few expert riders, which has given me the confidence, as this is where I’ll be next season. All in all an excellent weekend on a “proper” mountain bike course ~ Neil Hayward
I had a good race. No mechanicals and I beat a few expert riders, which has given me the confidence, as this is where I’ll be next season. All in all an excellent weekend on a “proper” mountain bike course ~ Neil Hayward
UK National Champs 2009 - INNERLEITHEN
It was another wet weekend for Team Leisure Lakes (minus the quarantined Rich Challinor), who once again headed north, this time to Innerleithen for the UK National Downhill Champs.
The track was a mixture of old and new – some slippery straights led into the first wooded section where the fastest riders hopped high above the roots. Jump over the fire-road and it was into the darkness; flat-out through the ‘tunnel’ and back into the daylight through some ruts, briefly turning back into the woods before launching onto a grassy straight and round a widely taped corner - rumour has it that Peaty wasn’t even sniffing the brakes through here…
Down a long rut and drop steeply off the fire-road, once again returning to the woods for some typical Inners-tight-corner-action, leading nicely into the brand-new finish section. Somewhat reminiscent of Llangollen, the track wove steeply down through a series of switchbacks and into a final greasy, off-camber chute which would claim many victims over the course of the weekend.
Several hours of rain meant that conditions were far from ideal as practice started on Saturday. The two mile ride to the uplift, combined with the push up to the start of the track made it hard to get in more than five runs. Tom, the team’s legendary mechanic was busy all day keeping the bikes running smoothly in the mud. Tyres were swapped by the dozen as the sun appeared and dried the course out, only for the heavens to open again as practice drew to a close…
After a less-than-peaceful night’s sleep, thanks to the noise from a nearby all-night rave (yes, RAVE!), it was race day. More overnight rain had left the track greasy and the team unsure as to how conditions would be for seeding and race runs.
In the Senior Women’s category, Emma Wareham had a frustrating race run, catching a Masters rider who fell in front of her in the switchbacks. Having crashed on the final chute in seeding, Emma was annoyed not to have a clear run through the section this time around, but with the Senior Men already on their way down the hill, there was no time for re-runs. Although the incident cost her valuable time, she was pleased to come away in 7th place with a time of 3:56.4.
With no Chally, it was left to Jed Whitfield and Andy Woodvine to fight it out with the nation’s top riders in the Senior Men’s Championship. After putting in a solid performance in seeding, Jed was unlucky in his race run, with his chain coming off at the top of the course, writing off his chances of a good result. This meant it was all down to Woody who, having clocked an outstanding time in his seeding run, was feeling the pressure. Always the professional, he didn’t let it affect him and stormed down the hill in a time of 3:02.6 to take 33rd place – a fantastic result!
Although initial thoughts about the track were mixed, it turned out to be one of the best tracks so far this year and definitely worthy of the National Champs. Innerleithen is often slated for being over-used but the combination of retro sections from old tracks and the awesome new finish made it an all-round quality weekend. Yet again Team Manager Sandy Plenty brought home another good result, finishing 6th in Masters 1 – massive thanks to him for all his patience and hard work (and for getting the van stuck in the field)!
Next stop: NPS Round 4 in August (wherever that may be)…
It was another wet weekend for Team Leisure Lakes (minus the quarantined Rich Challinor), who once again headed north, this time to Innerleithen for the UK National Downhill Champs.
The track was a mixture of old and new – some slippery straights led into the first wooded section where the fastest riders hopped high above the roots. Jump over the fire-road and it was into the darkness; flat-out through the ‘tunnel’ and back into the daylight through some ruts, briefly turning back into the woods before launching onto a grassy straight and round a widely taped corner - rumour has it that Peaty wasn’t even sniffing the brakes through here…
Down a long rut and drop steeply off the fire-road, once again returning to the woods for some typical Inners-tight-corner-action, leading nicely into the brand-new finish section. Somewhat reminiscent of Llangollen, the track wove steeply down through a series of switchbacks and into a final greasy, off-camber chute which would claim many victims over the course of the weekend.
Several hours of rain meant that conditions were far from ideal as practice started on Saturday. The two mile ride to the uplift, combined with the push up to the start of the track made it hard to get in more than five runs. Tom, the team’s legendary mechanic was busy all day keeping the bikes running smoothly in the mud. Tyres were swapped by the dozen as the sun appeared and dried the course out, only for the heavens to open again as practice drew to a close…
After a less-than-peaceful night’s sleep, thanks to the noise from a nearby all-night rave (yes, RAVE!), it was race day. More overnight rain had left the track greasy and the team unsure as to how conditions would be for seeding and race runs.
In the Senior Women’s category, Emma Wareham had a frustrating race run, catching a Masters rider who fell in front of her in the switchbacks. Having crashed on the final chute in seeding, Emma was annoyed not to have a clear run through the section this time around, but with the Senior Men already on their way down the hill, there was no time for re-runs. Although the incident cost her valuable time, she was pleased to come away in 7th place with a time of 3:56.4.
With no Chally, it was left to Jed Whitfield and Andy Woodvine to fight it out with the nation’s top riders in the Senior Men’s Championship. After putting in a solid performance in seeding, Jed was unlucky in his race run, with his chain coming off at the top of the course, writing off his chances of a good result. This meant it was all down to Woody who, having clocked an outstanding time in his seeding run, was feeling the pressure. Always the professional, he didn’t let it affect him and stormed down the hill in a time of 3:02.6 to take 33rd place – a fantastic result!
Although initial thoughts about the track were mixed, it turned out to be one of the best tracks so far this year and definitely worthy of the National Champs. Innerleithen is often slated for being over-used but the combination of retro sections from old tracks and the awesome new finish made it an all-round quality weekend. Yet again Team Manager Sandy Plenty brought home another good result, finishing 6th in Masters 1 – massive thanks to him for all his patience and hard work (and for getting the van stuck in the field)!
Next stop: NPS Round 4 in August (wherever that may be)…
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