Mud, Sweat and Gears 2012

bigdawg

ok so up at 5.30 yesterday, 90 minute race and beat 2 me's by nearly 40 seconds - had o make a real push up a hill on the 3rd lap to make a break...!

So who else was out riding yeaterday...

VWsurfbum

No riding here, after spending hours sat night cleaning and fettling the bike :twisted: But did still go over thorndon, just took the snowboard instead

evo3ben

Went out yesterday for an easy ride in the snow. Didn't turn out an easy ride in the end lol. Fell off 3 times just couldn't get unclipped quick enough.
Roads clear today so some on road big gear hill reps and finish with some hill sprints. Recovery tights rest of day I think then and easy longish ride tomorrow. Was on the trainer saturday doing cruise intervals. I do get bored on the trainer easy though but intervals break it up a bit.

C0LL0

I was out yesterday, took a ride down the seafront to shoebury, then did some hill sprints on the way back, got up pier hill quicker than the bmw car that followed me onto the road, they even congratulated me when they caught me at the top, which was nice. sore elbow though after a fall on the seafront.

bigdawg

jesus I tried to ride in to work today (shoebury to southend) near impossible now - after pier hill it was walking to the office and most of shoebury is resembling an ice rink - the cycle path is just a series of icy bumps....

Not looking to going home tonight...

stylish

I just spent some time on the turbo again, no ice in the garage! although it was really cold to start with.....

Walking the kids to school was a nightmare, so there was no way was i going out on the bike..

VWsurfbum

i was going to do a local loop, but theres no way if a car with 4 wheels is slipping all over the place on flat ground there was no way i was taking two wheels over bumpy ground!

bigdawg

bizarrely riding home last night wasnt that bad - main roads were clear and once I got to shoebury nipped up behind the coastguard station and most of that was clear too, no ice on the path either which was a bonus...

But gave it a miss this morning just too cold...

C0LL0

I've resigned myself to coming to work in the car, instead of the motorbike this week, my garage is just shear ice outside and down the road. I would say the car is warmer but I'm using her indoors' little micra, I think it was designed to carry penguins from zoo to zoo, the heater blows out cold air on the hotest setting. doh

VWsurfbum

Check the coolant level!

Sarpullido

Checked tacx website and it appears to be a new world of virtual training I've just discovered! Never fancied turbo trainers or things like that but a virtual race against oneself or others looks more interesting! Can you create courses and load them into the machine?

For MSG 2012 I might be able to do first round only!

VWsurfbum

Just been looking on the MSG site, thought i'd look into how much to book all the races, that way it would force me to do them? but no option to do all, or at least no benefit in paying to do all in one go?

Still undecided, 1) if i want to do them at all, 2) what catagory to go in if i did.
starting at 14:00 in the afternoon will just cause so much grief to me, (from her indoors) then doing the 1hr catagory again isnt moving me forward at all?
My mates i'm sure will be doing the 1hr, i could go along with them for a laugh, but it could be spent going somewhere fun not some flat woodland in suffolk/norfolk etc. :?

bigdawg

VW speak to Matt about that may be something they can change - I was thinking of doing the same thing..

Sarpullido - yes you can. Personally I prefer the real life videos (the mtb ones at least), but you can create virtual courses, I dont know however what it would look like on the screen - I keep meaning to find out the contours of langdon hills (but dont have a garmin) and then programme that into the tacx...

One of hte best 'courses' in the virtual world is the velodrome that one def gets you fit..

C0LL0

I'm with you VW on the race to enter, I want to continue with 2 hour races but can't do it at 2 in the aftrennon, so for round 1 i am entering the open 1 hr race, if things change I'll change back to the 2 hour veterens race, but I do want to enter all the races now so that I have to continue with the training other wise I'll just be lazy and not push myself.

There's no saving in entering all races now is there? except the £80 prize draw & free entry to the mid week ride

VWsurfbum

C0LL0 wrote:

There's no saving in entering all races now is there? free entry to the mid week ride

which 3 out of the 6 is over an hour and a halfs drive away and finishing work at 18:30 rules this out to most sites anyway :?

C0LL0

Round 1, 1 hr open race.........then wait to see if things change for round 2 in regard to what time the race starts

Langdon hills race, veterns class, it's close enough to me to be able to do this in the afternoon.. so thats what I shall enter today

C0LL0

done, entered the above races......

bigdawg

must remember to do langdon hills this weekend - being a national round im guessing ti could sell quite quickly...

C0LL0

Went out for a run on Thursday eve, my thighs are still burning, havn't been jogging for about 6 weeks, It'll be another 6 weeks before I go again.

What terrain is Tunstall forest, hilly, flat ????

ollie51

Tunstall, is like thetford, as in the races (not the red/black routes). It's also more sandy, has loads of berms, a few bomb-holes and doesn't have as many rhythm bump thingies, in terms of hills it has a couple of short sharp climbs, nothing like langdon hills though, but mostly flat.

stylish

It depends on which bit of Tunstall they use, The bit where the 2 winter series races ran on was much flatter than the area used for MSG last year. I quite enjoyed last years lap, apart from the piece of stell that flicked up in the big bomb hole and snapped my rear mech clean off the hanger! After looking at the broken bits, we spotted large bits of broken glass and more metal in the bomb hole, right on the line!

Better start looking at getting an entry iin asap, before it starts to book up.

evo3ben

Signed up for all 5 rounds in 'Sport' catergory 8) Bit of a mere booking it all though as having to go through BC and sign up etc.

stylish

I looked at the sign up page and thought it was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, luckily i didnt hit the enter button, as under the orders of the Consultant it looks like i wont be doing anything until the Summer Enduro.

But i dont suppose St Johns can put stitches back into an eyeball.........

C0LL0

stylish wrote:

But i dont suppose St Johns can put stitches back into an eyeball.........

I'm sure they can, just depends on where you want your eyeball sewn on to

C0LL0

Less than a month away now to the 1st race, need to get some fast hour riding training done

VWsurfbum

training just doesnt seem to be happening here. broke the rear mech off on sunday, so need to source a replacement before sunday!

bigdawg

Ive def been getting faster over the last couple of weeks - just hope I havent peaked early and start getting slower in the next few weeks...!

Pirahna

Unlike last year I've been doing some training. My aim is to move out of the bottom 10 in the vets. Also been slimming. I'm on a mission to shift 2 stone before the first race which is looking achievable.

I've been using a HRM and for training and Strava on an iPhone to log the routes. Getting a bit fed up having training data all over the place and I don't take the phone out on the mountain bike, so today I've ordered a Garmin Edge 500.

bigdawg

id love one of them - I could then quite accurately program every course we do int omy turbo...

VWsurfbum

Well new hanger ordered and hopefully it will be here before Sunday. I will attempt (I think) some sort of training on Sunday, eg non stop for an hour or two?
Still not 100% I'll be racing but if I have nothing better to do I will, I know the second race I can't make as im playing with Porsches at Silverstone. Unless they change the format of times I don't think I'll bother.