Ray Booty ( The Boot )

 

 Ray Booty. A quality Roadman. R.I.P Ray

 

Froome

A quick 57 miles last night over the Peak taking in Beeley and a few other climbs and then back to see how Mr Froome was getting on in the Vuelta.

A key stage yesterday. The race has been pretty good so far apart from that dire Criterium stage the other day. Froome performed well up the climb at the end and made his intentions clear. 

Lets hope he has no bad days and can go all the way to the end.   

 

 

 



Pictured here when I saw him at Samatan in the Tour.

The ultimate in bling

How about these
The latest in womens cycling shoes.
Heels with cleats.

Weasdale Horseshoe Fell Race

Newbiggin On Lune was the venue for the latest round of the English Championships. The Weasdale Horseshoe was not going to be an easy affair as it was devoid of any rocky terrain which is my favourite. After seeing the Ladies set off and come back covered in mud I knew that this was going to be a tough cross country style race and I was not to be dissapointed. The mens race as usual went off at a million miles per hour after hearing everyone on the start line to a man say that they were taking it steady for the first bit. I have heard all that before.

Anyway blast down the field and right on the road then into the boggy section of pasture land before the fell starts proper. I was struggling getting going in the boggy part but the championship is run over a variety of routes so that everyone comes across some type of terrain that they are either good or bad at. It evens itself out in the end.

A tough damp, spongy runnable climb up the fell which zapped me and I was struggling to hang on at one point and the checkpoints seemed to take ages to come. By checkpoint 3 though I picked up a little bit and recovered slightly on the long grassy run back to the start. The final section over the bog again and then just a run back UP the field to the finish funnel.

I collapsed on the ground in a daze.

Not my favourite route but on a dryer day it would be better I suppose.

There is one race left up in the Kielder Forest and that will be the championship done. Hopefully I will have done okay.

Back to rock now I think.

It really does hurt

Anyone who runs and rides a bike a lot will at some point have questioned themselves WHY.
Why do we do this. Its a question some cannot answer. There are many reason why a person puts them self through the pain barrier.
I shot this picture on the Tourmalet when I was on the way down. It would have been nice to have cycled uphill over it. I stopped and laughed.
Just remember if your in a race, training or even picking yourself up after a fall.
Pain at some point will go away.
Normally ten minutes after it does your already planning on the next journey into the pain barrier.

Parwich Fell Race

The Parwich Race was a tough event. My legs were not working at the start when I was warming up, mainly due to the 65mile bike ride that I did the previous night. It took a couple of miles to get into it but I just could not catch the Ashbourne runner in 2nd position and by the time I started to push on a bit he was just to far away. I made ground on the final climb but it was not long enough to catch him.
You get that sometimes with races that don't have much climbing in them. This course is quite technical in places and If you put the many stiles out of your mind it really does make for a nice race.
The hard bit that I learned last year is just to hold on as you run for about a mile on the trail.
I managed 3rd and First Vet which was okay but I was 18 seconds down on last year. And today I turned 42.
Sorry just slipping slightly out of Laidback mode.
Who cares about times. You train, you turn up, you do your best and do another one.
Must do something about my white legs !!!



Mr Organiser

David Denton has probably been responsible for introducing more runners down her than anyone else into fellracing. Now in his seventies he continues to put on some brilliant events. Last night typically he was out there organising the Junior races at the Parwich 5 fell race. You probably could not add up the amount he has raised over the years for charity, and I have no idea how many races he has organised since he started. Without the likes of David we would have no fell races. It does not matter if your in the High Peak, Bowland, Lakes, Calder Valley or wherever. Every area has its heroes. Alan Greenwood, Pete Bland, David Woodhead, Wynn and Steve. All race organisers deserve much respect.   

A view from below

Bloody Ech Stephen your studs are a bit worn !!!!!

Are we getting there

I must have been asked a thousand times over the years about doping in cycling. We seem to have turned a corner these last 2/3 years. The times have changed and the old ways seem to be a thing of the past. We will never eradicate fully the problem of doping.

We are having a fantastic Olympics and the Tour was just something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

The new era has arrived and we have many to thank for that. 

Cycling is becoming popular again and a new interest has developed with the success that we have had. Lets hope it continues and more people will get on their bikes.

Bradley Wiggins summed it up  
Anyone can get on a bike.

My advice to anyone that has just got a bike is to not try and break records. Just pedal and do a few miles. It takes time for your fitness to come and more importantly it takes a while for your backside to get use to sitting on a saddle for long periods of time. Take plenty of breaks and maybe a Cafe stop or two. Get some good quality clothing and cycling shoes and go from there.
If you have yet to purchase a bike. Pleeease Pleeease Pleeease get the correct size. This is paramount.
So many new riders get a bike that is too big for them. It is now much easier to get sized correctly. It can cost initially but is worth it.
Like doping, bike fitting using the old black art way is a thing of the past unless you get fitted by someone who actually knows what they are doing.
So all you need then is a milkshake in your bidon and your away. 

Cracken Edge Fell Race

Hayfield hosts many fell races and the Cracken Edge race is one of them. Now run by the Kinder Mountain Rescue guys. They are the people that will save your life if your in bother in a remote place. So donate a few quid each year.

The fell race is a pretty good route. A tough long climb that has boggy parts and is pretty technical on the descents. Only a small section of road in the 7odd miles. I am told about 1400ft of climbing.

By the time you head back up to Big Stone on the return journey your legs are screaming and you just want the finish to come quickly. It does and your soon in the finish field fighting off the biggest flies that the world has ever seen.

Pennine had a good turnout and I am sure we won the team prize but I could not hang around so had to come away early. We had the first lady with Steph Curtis and there was some pretty notable performances from our lot and we even had Dave Ward take part after doing his Paddy Buckley round a couple of days before. Some new club members were present as well which was good. Strange though I now start to feel old as I line up to race.

About 140 lined up which is a good turnout for a midweek race.

Good support on route from Andy Howie at Big Stone.

I managed 4th place after an epic battle with Stephen Pike of Staffs Moorlands AC.

 Winding gear at the Quarries

Signs to the summits

Technically Not signs to the summits but to the Col's

For those who have not ridden any of the climbs of the Tour. You get a little reminder every kilometre of what is still to come.