New shoes for the "Old Shoe"
Comments
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Not sure, but Adam Kenway is still very much at the top of the game.left the forum March 20230
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Looks like your club mate Clark hasn’t done any Open race since 2019
https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/rider-results/11556left the forum March 20230 -
Cancellation fest... another Open Hill Climb cancelled for lack of entries... I was really looking forward to racing up Woodfall Lane on the 24th...
On the other hand, it's probably just as well...
left the forum March 20230 -
First Open Hill Climb of the year last night, just out of Matlock in a lovely village called Winster. Great atmosphere, with the villagers coming out in droves to watch these deranged individuals defying gravity up their local hill. Even the pub was open for the occasion, as it's normally shut on Mondays.
It's roughly a minute of hypoxia... 400 yards at 11% average... a bit more until it flattens at the top. I used a 36x18 and on reflection, I could have been bolder and go for a 17 or even a 16 at the back. Don't have the official time or position on the leaderboard yet... Strava says I did 1:09 on the segment, averaging 526 Watts, actually 560 Watts until the false flat at the end, where inevitably one loses power. I also used a whopping 37 KCal, which I topped up at the local Indian restaurant in Darley Dale (The Shalimar, highly recommended!). Wife was on photo duties, so I got this bonus shot!
left the forum March 20231 -
Yeah he's just local - think he was in our club briefly years ago. Sounds like he's packed up then.ugo.santalucia said:Looks like your club mate Clark hasn’t done any Open race since 2019
https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/rider-results/11556[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Raced up Whitelow Lane in Dore on Friday night. 14th or 15th in the men race, I think, out of 30ish… more importantly I beat a few guys that I wanted to beat, so all good for the rankings. Averaged 360 W over 4:33 minutes, which is my best, Strava says, but just about. I was hoping to do better, but after Covid I suppose I can be happy I am not worse than I was. Had a lovely beef shin and bacon pie afterwards, so all was good. Wife recorded a video, but I am not sure I can post videos here…left the forum March 20231
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Months after you started this thread, I only noticed this morning that Ruabon train station is a very short ride from Horseshoe Pass!
It's on my usual route to see family, but I'm thinking about cancelling next week's visit to avoid potential Covid.================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
You don’t drive?N0bodyOfTheGoat said:Months after you started this thread, I only noticed this morning that Ruabon train station is a very short ride from Horseshoe Pass!
left the forum March 20230 -
Not these days, no, last got behind the wheel ~10 years ago.ugo.santalucia said:
You don’t drive?N0bodyOfTheGoat said:Months after you started this thread, I only noticed this morning that Ruabon train station is a very short ride from Horseshoe Pass!
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2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
Official results 16th in the men race, out of 34. I think it’s the first time I am in the top half of a men only Open race. More importantly, I have beat 3 guys who are ranked B on Spindata, I am ranked C. So I am looking forward to moving to the B ranking at some point… 😃😃left the forum March 20233
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Still ranked C1... a B ranking has to wait...
Not a big deal this year, as it looks as the National will have 600 places on offer across the 4 races, so there should be a ride for anyone who wants one.left the forum March 20230 -
Did a race up Britwell hill in the Chilterns last night, organised by Reading CC... quality field, including the women National Champ. Managed 3:01 at 405Watt... the air was so hot and dry that I coughed for an hour after and my throat is still sore now!
left the forum March 20230 -
Time trial season over. Hill climb season kicks in this week... I have quite a few club events in the area, but also a packed calendar of Open races, leading to the National.
Sept. 3rd Dursley
Sept. 11 Streatley
Sept 17 Sudbury
Sept 18 Porlock
Sept 24 Bushcombe lane
Oct 9 Catford + Bec
And I might add some more... haven't been on holiday this summer, so I feel justified splashing some cash in petrol left the forum March 20230 -
First Open race in a while last Saturday, in Dursley, Gloucestershire. Nearly blew the car's clutch going up Frocester hill on the way there, so I took a different route on the way back.
Lampern Hill, also called Stouts is a lovely climb, all in the shade of ancient trees... starts shallow and then becomes relentlessly steep, but never excessive, I think it tops at 13-14%. I was lucky to have a not too fast lady as my minute man, so I managed to catch her on the line, it always gives you a boost when you realise you can catch your minute man. I managed 6:07 at 347Watt, which is my best power over the time frame... good enough for 24th in a strong field of 39. Winner did something stupid like 4:30... but he is 22.
Even more impressive, the first woman was in the top 10 overall, I think!
Down to Goring for Streatley hill next Sunday, should be another good race.
left the forum March 20232 -
@ugo.santalucia you may have seen this already but Tom Bell (you know who he is) has authored training manual specifically for hill climbs. Bought it a few days ago on the release day and although I’ve only skim read a few chapters it’s promising to be an excellent read, and as you’d expect quite in depth.
Have a look here if you’re interested :
https://www.highnorth.co.uk/store/p/hill-climb-handbook0 -
Just had another silly thought as regards training/practicing for Old Shoe...
Something close to this year's national comp https://www.strava.com/segments/901876?hl=en-GB
Zwift radio tower climb https://www.strava.com/segments/14120182?hl=en-GB
Set up an alternative email Zwift account and cycle up Mountain or Mountain 8 to just before the radio tower turnoff, on a spare device that will run Zwift.
On another device that isn't using the new UI, use the old UI "join" feature to teleport to your alt rider.
Use you bike's power meter rather than turbo, if possible, to connect to Zwift.
Do radio climb; recover; quit; repeat.
Each Zwift account gets 25Km of free trail each month.
There's probably better options of something like Rouvy, might even be a decent Old Shoe on there, or you could upload a GPX file. Certainly on official HD vids, you have the option to teleport back to the start when you pass the finish line, I've done it for Denbigh's "Road To Hell."
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2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo1 -
Another Sunday up a hill... luckily, Reading CC are used to organise events in difficult circumstances (see National 2020, as the nation was divided in tier zones), so instead of doing the stupid and obvious thing of cancelling it, as others did, they cleverly rebranded it as the "QE2 memorial Hill Climb", which I think is a better way of going about things. A rather large and strong field gathered at the bottom of Streatley hill, which is a not so impressive escarpment, but what lacks in length, it makes up for in punch. An average of nearly 13% over the 800 or so yards, to climb 92 vertical meters, definitively one for the power to weight ratio fans. Going through my memories of the National, I always thought I didn't go hard enough at the bottom, so I made sure I didn't repeat the mistake... of course that means that two thirds of the way up I was pretty much toast and began losing power... I managed to finish in a dignified manner and was staggered to find out my time of 3:21.99 was exactly the same as the one I clocked two years earlier... down to the cent of a second. Strava thought I did 2 seconds better and eventually I was granted another second, due to some timing corrections. The remaining second is probably down to the different timing method. At the National they used electronic devices, that set off as you cross the sensor, so probably a second after the timekeeper says "GO". Overall, I should be reasonably pleased... the Spindata algorithm thought I would be beaten by a Junior and instead I edged him by a good 8 seconds... take that, bloody youngsters! 28th of 36 at the end and 6th Vet of 12, but a very strong field, if you think that Brendan Hirst of RRCC was 24th, with a time 18 seconds faster. Onwards and upwards... I have a tour of the South West next weekend, with races in Sodbury and Porlock... I might even stay a day longer, following Charles III's advice of not bothering to come to work next Monday...
left the forum March 20231 -
I could have sworn I saw you had climbed "Draycott Steep" and possibly even "Draycott from the lowest point." Maybe one to do on the way home? That middle bit on New Rd will make the Old Shoe gradient seem easy! ================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
I did yes... 2018, possibly... I was a bit fat back then and it was really hot that day!N0bodyOfTheGoat said:I could have sworn I saw you had climbed "Draycott Steep" and possibly even "Draycott from the lowest point." Maybe one to do on the way home? That middle bit on New Rd will make the Old Shoe gradient seem easy!
left the forum March 20230 -
I am lucky enough to have an 8 minute climb not too far, so that is good practice for the timeframe… I did 332watt recently, which was quite decentN0bodyOfTheGoat said:Just had another silly thought as regards training/practicing for Old Shoe...
Something close to this year's national comp https://www.strava.com/segments/901876?hl=en-GB
Zwift radio tower climb https://www.strava.com/segments/14120182?hl=en-GB
Set up an alternative email Zwift account and cycle up Mountain or Mountain 8 to just before the radio tower turnoff, on a spare device that will run Zwift.
On another device that isn't using the new UI, use the old UI "join" feature to teleport to your alt rider.
Use you bike's power meter rather than turbo, if possible, to connect to Zwift.
Do radio climb; recover; quit; repeat.
Each Zwift account gets 25Km of free trail each month.
There's probably better options of something like Rouvy, might even be a decent Old Shoe on there, or you could upload a GPX file. Certainly on official HD vids, you have the option to teleport back to the start when you pass the finish line, I've done it for Denbigh's "Road To Hell."
left the forum March 20230 -
Porlock Toll Road was lush...
left the forum March 20230 -
26th of 43 up Bushcombe lane... probably not my finest performance, but very steep climbs don't suit me... it was a case of fighting to get to the top without falling off. I did enjoy it though, one of the best events in the calendar for sure... will come back for more.
Later in the day, we won the Interclub Hill Climb trophy, which doubled up as Club Championship... third place and bronze medal there... so all in all, a rather successful day... until I dropped and broke my Garmin...
left the forum March 20231 -
230 quid later, including speedy delivery, and tomorrow I should have a new Edge 530 at the door. It was cheaper on Decathlon, but I never bought from them and I need it quickly... it only occurred to me later that maybe they had a pick up option from Coventry... oh well
So the moral is... well, don't drop your Garmin!
EDIT: typical... I unglued the glass screen and opened the device... basically the monitor had come unplugged from the motherboard... re-plugged it and it now works fine... but obviously now it is no longer waterproof, as the tacky stuff they use to glue the screen is gone. I suppose I could fit some silicone under it, but I'll pass it to my wife instead, she never cycles in the wet, so it shouldn't be an issue. At least I salvaged it. This is my second Garmin fix
left the forum March 20231 -
Weekend of local glory... whilst anyone who is someone went racing at Monsal.
I took second place in the Coventry CC double header up KH5 and KH6, in a field of 15, which was nice.
Then on Sunday I took my winter bike and pedalled to the the Coventry RC Bob Hill Memorial trophy up KH32, a rather long and shallow hill in Maxstoke. Typically low turnout of 5, only one of whom in the non-Vet category... I managed to get a maiden win... on the heavy bike of course... left the forum March 20230 -
I raced up Belmont hill just outside Bristol last Saturday... a beautiful hill and a great event on a closed road. 150 turnout across 3 races (men/women/juveniles). Managed 52nd in the men race out of 88... should really be 50th, as two riders were gifted a minute by mistake (typical man missing and starter forgot to leave a minute gap), hopefully it will be rectified in the results. More importantly, I got a new best of 379Watts over 3:48... so power is on the up... which is good because I am doing some horrible intervals at the moment: these 45/15 series are awful and if they don't produce results, I'll never do them again!left the forum March 20230
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Just looked up the Old Shoe segment to see if any aliens have published a practice run ahead of the big day in 16 days time...
Tom Bell did ~7.2W/Kg for 5mins55secs at the end of last month.
Four forks sake!
https://www.strava.com/activities/7879701863/overview================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
Going there tomorrow to put down a mark… I have seen Simon Warren did 8:45 yesterday with a good dig… bit worrying as he is a tad faster than me and I was hoping to go under 9. I also know his power meter under reads, so 310 might be a bit more. I am hoping to do 320-330.left the forum March 20230
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Just seen Tom Bell did more practice runs today, including 5mins47secs!
Will we see sub 5.5 minutes on 30th?================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
you mean 5:30? I think so, it depends on wind direction... long term forecast seems to suggest a nice southerly.N0bodyOfTheGoat said:Just seen Tom Bell did more practice runs today, including 5mins47secs!
Will we see sub 5.5 minutes on 30th?
I don't even think Tom Bell will win this year... so far he hasn't shown the same form as last year.
My prediction
Feather 5:20
Bell 5:35
Laverack 5:50
Biddle 6:00
Bussell 6:05
In the women race Illi Gardner should win, with Bithja second and probably Rebecca Richardson 3rd
left the forum March 20230 -
Noticed the final mile of Penbarra climb on Rouvy (free 30 day code from Strava challenge at mo) is very similar to Old Shoe elevation gain, could be decent alternative for pacing if you have a turbo that can do ~15% gradient simulation.
https://www.strava.com/segments/23042678?filter=my_results&gender=all
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2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0
