Scottish CX Championships

Sunday saw a long drive to Lochgelly in Fife to Lochore Meadows country park for the Scottish Championships of cyclocross.
The course there is usually a mixture of thick mud, clay loose mud, thin mud and some mud however the dry cold spell made it unusually only slightly muddy with a lot of frozen patches.
The main arena had its usual clay like tendency which heavied the legs before the huirdles, while the other part of the course had a well worked out spiral where you worked your way to the middle then back out again. (see the fly by on the strava link for a fuller understanding).
I started out strongly enough but seemed to settle into a mid table non race unable to catch riders in front but with no one catching me. I managed 7 laps with winner (one for the future) Harry Johnstone managing 9.
I was pleased with my 60th place. It sounds tame but out of a population of 5 million that isnt to bad.
I do have a chequered history with the champs. In my first year(2010) i was 17th but in following years have not fared so well. 2011 - DNF broken bike, 2012 did not finish broken bike, 2013 missed through eye injury, 2014 didn't go as it was in Aberdeen and 2015 missed through (footballing) injury.
So with that in mind finishing this years champs was a bonus.
That is the Scottish series over for me with the last round in Mull however there are a few dates still to go.
18th of December I will be taking part in Irvine Running Clubs "Harriers V. Cyclists."
After Christmas I am registered for the first 2 rounds of the mini series Super Quaich which has  no age categories but based on your seasons rankings placement in A or B races. (I'll be a B Movie)
The first 2 are at Rouken Glen then Ayr Burners Doonbank Trofee in Rozelle.
Im hoping to get in the Thistly Cross at Dunbar followed by Dig in the Dock, where this year Helen Wyman will be racing.
Cross is muddy, painful, hard on your bike, forces you to drive the length and breadth of Scotland and makes you feel totally ineadequte on a bike however I love it and can't wait for the cross 2017 brings.

SCXChamps - Round 5 - Irvine Beach

This was my first race at Irvine for 2 years as last year was missed through injury (footballing) so it was great to return.
The course was a new layout but running really fast with old classics like the roller coaster like big dipper and the leg sapping sand pit to traverse.
This season has not been great on the wellness front and a slightly upset stomach didn't help my efforts as I was sick on the move in lap two.
However I managed to steady myself (apart from the fall on the last lap) to reel in a few of my weekly sparring partners to claim 55th.
This turned out to be my best result of the season on what I'd probably like to call my home course.
Next up is the Scottish Championships at Lochore Meadows in Fife which if memory serves is a mud bath.
After that I am finished with the Scottish series as I wont be going to Mull for the final round but hopefully after Christmas I will be taking part in all 4 rounds of the Super Quaich.

SCX Champs 2016 Round 3, Fife College, Dunfermline

For Remembrance Day the Scottish Cyclocross series did its best to replicate the conditions of the Somme with plenty of mud to get in to every bearing of your bike and every part of your body.
By the time the Open race started 500 riders had been over the muck to make it slippy at best hellish at worst.
Again I tried to push hard at the start to get a better spot but the first corner was a massive dismount into unrideable mud.
There were more flowing rooty parts of the course which made up for the mud slog parts and I didnt need to make a bike change which I have had to do in muddy races in the past.
As last week I finished in the 60's (66th out of 100) and was pleased again to be beating some people and reeling in a few that in previous years have beaten me.
It sounds depressing to come that low down a field however the sport is ever increasing its popularity and the guys winning theses races are up to 18 years my junior and really top class athletes with international experience.
The great thing about cross though is that in every race you can have your own wee mini battles....which right now I seem to be winning.

SCX Round 3 Strathyclyde Park

Some unseasonably dry weather greeted the riders at Strathclyde Park for the 3rd round of the Scottish cyclocross series, which made a change from Srathy's usual rain soaked mudfest, where I go home with hypothermia and without my rear hanger.
There were just shy of 600 racers across all the races and 97 in the seniors. The weather made for some fast racing but the gravel climb still bloody hard wet or dry.
I pushed hard at the start to get further up the field at the kick off which I think helped me gain a few places and I had a good strong race beating a few folk I usually just come behind.
61st doesn't sound great but I felt I made ground on the next level of rider and I am 15 places better than the last race so definite improvement. Especially  pleased as once again I went into the race with a heavy cold so I am looking forward to a similar, if not better result at Fife college in Round 4 next Sunday.

SCX Round 1 Callendar Park

A double round of antibiotics in august and September followed by a chest infection leading up to the 1st race of the season was not a good sign and didn't leave me feeling confident for the cross opener.
I was cheered however by unnaturally good weather for cross standards and a fast race was in store.
With 100 riders in the seniors race (600 racers across the day) it was going to be a busy start and I learned you can lose 20 places by not muscling further up the starting grid. I also got caught up in the first corner in the melee and fell over allowing a few to pass.
It was a fast dry race, which I enjoy and I settled into the usual mid pack race with 3 or 4 riders coming out on top in my own personal battle, again annoyed to see the same distance at all points, separating me and those riders who got a better start position.
I did have some problems dismounting which were explained when I realised I had a loose cleat on my right shoe.
I came in 76th. Could have been worse, but could have been better with some lessons learned before my next race.
On a plus note it was good to race under my new club colours of Loudoun Road Club.

10@Kirroughtree

I can possible say I am a "veteran" of the 10 hour mountain bike endurance race having completed 10 Under the Ben 3 times, but only ever as a team, so it was with a bit of joy I noticed a "10@Kirroughtree" run under the same format(10 hours 10 miles a lap most laps wins).
The joy was 3 fold. 1. I love Kirroughtree 2. Its closer than the Nevis Range and 3. Nows the time to try it solo.

My aim for the day was to do as much as I could. Winning was out of the question.  A foot infection and the ensuing  antibiotic treatment in the week previous depleted my reserves a little and my transition to Roadie has taken me away from my first love of Mountain Biking.

In what turned out to be a great day weather wise the trails were dusty in all the right places and the off course rooty sections never got too unmanageable (there were still dabs a plenty). I did sweat rather profusely over the course of the day but managed to ride for a solid 9 hours before I could do no more.

I managed 5 laps with a larger break after lap 3 to get some pasta in and clean up the chainring tattoo I gave myself crashing on lap 2.

I forgot how much i love Kirroughtree and mountain biking although despite finishing 9th in the seniors section I think my next visit will be a one lap affair with some coffee at the end!

The Caldeonian Way - Ayrshire to Inverness

Day 1 - Brodick to Oban
I had been reading about the Caledonian Way for a while. A section of the NCN 78 from Oban to Inverness following the Great Glen across a mixture of cycle track, forest roads and canal tow path.
This in mind when my mate Tony asked for a suggestion for this years summer trip this is what I suggested.....with a twist. We cycle to Oban as well from Ayrshire.We stayed in Youth Hostels all the way there and appeared (at 37) to be the most youthful in every one.
Day 1 we were dropped off at the ferry terminal at Ardrossan for the hop over to Arran to start our cycle in Brodick. I wanted to start from home but given Tony hasn't done much cycling this year owing to a house move and new child I though asking him to push a 110 mile day was a bit much.
We cycled of from Brodick and headed north over the Bouglie to Lochranza and then back to mainland with the mini ferry to Cloinag.
The route from there on to Oban was a mixture of many short but sharp climbs with the odd shower thrown in (and a stop for macaroni in Lochgilphead). For what was to prove the rest of our journey over the 3 days we were helped along by a nice tailwind so the showeres were deemed acceptable under the circumstances.

Day 2 - Oban to Glen Nevis

Day 2 took us on cycle track for the vast majority of the day from Oban to the Corran ferry. It was nice to be off the main road but this part of the journey wasnt the most exciting. Maybe it was the cloudy, drizzily day but the scenery wasnt as inspiring as the Highlands can be.
Once at Corran we took the very short ferry journey over Loch Linnhe to avoid the A82. We continued west to what we hoped would be the passenger ferry back over and into Fort William. When we got there however the ferry wasnt due for another 2 hours. Faced with waiting in the middle of nowhere for 2 hours or cycle round the top of the loch  to Fort William for 2 hours we chose the latter........and got heavily heavily rained on meaning we arrived at Geln Nevis youth hostel soaking and miserable. This was fixed with hot shower and a burger from the local inn (full of fellwo wet hikers and campers).

Day 3 Glen Nevis - Inverness

Day 3 provided us with a great tailwind and a sunny weather window which followed us all the way to Inverness.

We started by climbing and cycling along the towpath from Fort William at Neptunes staircase on the Caledonian Canal. When it reached Loch Lochy we then had to follow a forest track road round its edge (although still part of the NCN 78) which was rough and had a few challenging climbs.

At its end the relief of smooth tarmac was palpable although we shortly rejoined the canal path along the banks of Loich Oich and then onwards alongside the canal again to Fort Augustus where we rewarded ourselves with coffee and macaroni pies.

The fuel was going to be needed shortly. We headed out onto the road which leaves the A82 and goes south of Loch Ness into Inverness. The climb which started this road was the hardest thing I have done on a bike. It was steep, long and with laden panniers was hard hard work.

An hour later at then top we were rewarded with no scenery at all as we were actually in the clouds however the reward did come with the decent back to the loch side.

We followed the singletrack road all the way into the suburbs of Inverness and worked our way to the hostel, the nicest of the trip and a well deserved rest.

Day 4 - Inverness - Home

Day 4 we caught the train home to Glasgow central. It was pleasant to sit in a soft seat for a few hours and read some magazines.

Upon arrival in Central station Tony and I parted company. He opted for a lift home in the car and I opted to cycle from Glasgow back home to Darvel.

I loved every bit of this journey, wind, rain, hills and all but it's always nice to come home especially when youve racked up 400km in the legs over 4 days.