Thought I’d share my last month’s goings on, anything but a normal month on bikes. I’ve been quiet on this forum, been re-building my bike, for reasons I’ll explain.

I started racing at Dunsfold on Tuesday nights, in the Elite Handicaps (usually a scratch) which pretty much means everyone off together - E1234, around 90 riders on average. It’s a race around the Dunsfold Aerodrome. The Top Gear track. Usually 32 miles. But with the Elites at the front the pace is brutal.

Some background: I’m pretty fit now, I ride around 100 miles a week + which includes the commute. I rode the British Sportive last year in 6.5 hours, rode 90 miles at the weekend in 5hrs 10… did a couple of 4th cat races last year, with a crash and a dnf (puncture)

But to put the recent racing in some context… I started riding a road bike seriously at the age of 34 - joined a club in Surrey and started to lose weight, get some legs, climb a lot and train. I’m 5′ 8″ and I used to be 13.5 stone back then - sort of Big Daddy on a bike at the time. Now 38, I’m down to under 11 stone. I’ve started racing 4th Cat (obviously, seeing as I haven’t done it before) and I’ve done four races at Dunsfold.

Race 1: a DNF - pace was brutal, average 173bpm - peak 186 when I got dropped out the back of the airfield. Got lazy, found myself at the back, the long piece of elastic started to stretch and I was done. Had to sit up and sit out. Damn. I thought I was fit, this was a real eye opener. Fitness was good, but speed and ‘thinking’ were lacking.

Started to get some great tips from my Uncle, who use to be an Elite racer in Manchester in the 70s and 80s and a good friend who used to race as a 2nd Cat. Tips about when to accelerate, where breaks were more likely, how to position myself in a pack, how to make sure I held my position and not get bullied to the back…etc…

Race 2: finished 60 out of 90. Really happy to finish, fitness good and started to think about my position, didn’t get dropped because I was always pushing ahead at the right times and rode home with some other 4ths in the 3rd group on the road. 170 average, speed at 26mph average over the 32 miles.

Race 3: 50th out of 90 - finished just shy of the main group after a good sprint, finished with 3rds and 2nds. Pace was hot - 176 average. Top speed 33mph (it’s all flat!!), averaging around 29mph. I was baked at the end of this one, but happy.

Race 4: I’m missing from the results (but they know and may amend, but no one cares if outside the Top 10 ) Finished =29th in the 2nds and 3rds group again. Narrowly avoided a big accident - one of the Elite riders from Felt lead me back to the bunch - this is where my HR peaked, trying to keep up and stay on his wheel

So I’ve been having a ball down here in Surrey, now racing in team colours. Jersey looks amazing. Jos has done a great job for our rep. In race 4 I broke from the lead group for a laugh and two riders chased me down, sat on my wheel and mentioned rollapaluza ringers LOL they don’t have to worry about me just yet I’m now looking at doing some road races and some 4th cat races to hopefully get some points….

Then my bikes bust. My Spec Roubaix rear freehub failed and needs replacing under warranty - this is the reason I didn’t do the Chiltern 100. It broke on the Friday. Now being repaired and I’m selling it… I commute on a cheap Dolan. It’s front mech cable clamp threaded two days later and I had to place an order for a new one. So I was left with my De Rosa. Rode out for training one night. The front mech cable snapped. Got home in disbelief that all 3 bikes were bust. Tried to replace the front gear cable, only to find that the old problem with the De Rosa had returned. All the internal cable routings had gone rotten again. This happened before and if you read my previous thread on the bike, it was at the factory in Milan for 12 months being repaired under warranty. So now it had gone again, so I did a David Millar and threw the bike down the garden and left it there for a couple of days.

Spec is still in for repair, parts on back order. Dolan back on the road with a new clamp. But I stripped the De Rosa, sold the campag parts to a friend. Bought a new frame, scoured the internet for good deals on frames, wheels, group etc. and spent the last two weeks building my new bike.

A long post, but there you go - my interesting month. Hope to get out on a club run soon.

Pete

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