Another Race Report from the Maratona

Hopefully you've all read Simon's race report by now, here is my view of events and there will be more to come from the rest of the team once some subtle reminders have been sent.
First off - thanks to everyone who generously donated money to our charity, we have surpassed the original target and the money is still coming in which is fantastic. Second off - thanks to those people who supported us - Epic Cycles (esp. Chris Lines) for the water bottles, servicing and advice, Skate Hut (esp. Ross) for our race tyres and helmet cam, Jaguar Land Rover for the vehicles, Dave Lee for recommending the accommodation (http://www.paracia.it/ for fantastic views and value for money) and transporting two of our bikes, Dr. Garry Palmer at Sportstest (http://www.sportstest.co.uk/) for his invaluable training advice, and last but definitely not least a personal thank you to my wife for supporting my training.
The journey from Warwick to the Dolomites will be the subject of a later post which will detail the misadventures and revelations of a group of men on an overseas expedition....
Back to my race - the final training ride took place on the Friday we arrived in La Villa (the start village), as Simon mentioned I was at the front of the group during our ride up the first (and fifth) climb of the Maratona, the Passo Campolongo, which started in the finish town of Corvara. It was steep at the bottom but that soon gave way to a steadier gradient, I was riding recovery but I slowed up after half way as I realised some of the rest of the team were beasting themselves to keep up. We were chatting with some Dutch cyclists after that point who had ridden the Maratona previously, they passed on some hints for the race and we spoke about how inappropriate our respective home countries were for preparing to ride in this kind of terrain!
What goes up must come down, panting faces were turned into insane grins as the descent back down the Campolongo was jolly good fun.
Saturday consisted of real rest, the World's Best Cappuccino in the morning to wash down a slab of Sacher chocolate cake, a sporty drive to collect Manuel from Brixen train station, a huge smorgasbord of delicious cold meats, bread and salad, followed by another coffee in the afternoon (just to confirm the earlier findings), then calzone for dinner then sleep. The sleep was tricky - not nerves, just the heat and Mark pratting about stretching and showering and flapping!
Alarm went off at 04:30 so we could get to the start line for 05:30, to aid the slower members of the team I came up with a competition - there was a prize for the last one to be ready, they would be carrying the apartment key. I was first out followed by Alan, Chris and Simon leaving the usual suspects to battle it out for the prize. Gav tried to claim that he was keeping Mark company but he still managed to get down about two minutes before Mark.
The start area was already quite full by the time we had ridden the short distance to get there. Garry and Manuel had arrived there earlier so were placed further to the front then we were. The start wasn't until 06:30 so there was plenty of time to implement some weight loss procedures. The TV helicopters were buzzing around overhead which added to the building anticipation of a great day's riding. Dramatic music was being broadcast from loud speakers in the run up to the start which culminated in a brief respite as the start of the lead pen was announced. Our pen started to inch forward and soon we were on our way, although the number of riders made it impossible to ride your own pace, this continued up the Camplongo which helped me to not use my usual starting style - 'the arse on fire approach'. The rider traffic started to ease a little half way to the top so I was able to start weaving my way through to try and get some space for the impending descent to Arabba.
The traffic was still a little heavy for my liking on the way down but I managed to make decent progress past the less confident descenders in time for the immediate ascent of the Passo Pordoi, it was starting to get warm at this point (still only 07:15!). My legs took a minute or two to get back into climbing mode and I soon found a comfortable rhythm which had me moving quicker than the riders around me. Halfway up I spotted a Lowroaders top in the distance I thought 'bloody hell Al's going well!' but as I got closer it turned out to be Manuel (our newest recruit) who looked to be enjoying himself, I gave a brief hello on the way past to leave him to continuing tapping away at his own pace. A few minutes later I passed Dave Lee, who also looked to be enjoying himself, then a bit further on a disembodied voice shouted 'keep going Steve, you're looking good', I waved randomly in the general direction of the voice which I assumed belonged to Garry.
The climbing soon turned to flat-out descending which was thoroughly enjoyable on closed roads with the other riders not providing too much of an obstacle. This descent then turned immediately into a climb up the Passo Sella. I looked up to see magnificent rock formations towering over the road which further made the ride an true epic adventure. The first feed station come up and was passed straight by as I had a full water bottle still. The road was then bordered by a band of crazed Tyrollian musicians that were beating the hell out of an assortment of gigantic cow bells and Stone Age Glockenspiels to create a 'unique cacophony' which brought a smile to my face. The Sella climb steepened nearer to the top but it was soon over and more descending then turned into the climb up the Passo Gardena. This was my first stop to fill both water bottles and I was soon on my way again over the Gardena and down a fantastic descent back into Corvara to complete the first loop known as the Sella Ronda. This was where the short course riders would finish their travails for the day, the rest of us were funnelled past to tackle the Campolongo for the second time which was a lot less busy than the first time up. I was feeling fresh at this point and a little concerned that I had gone off too slow but I reminded myself that the Giau was yet to come. The descent off the Campolongo was more enjoyable the second time around (less traffic) and I got got myself into a decent sized group for the short flat blast across to the foothills of the Giau. I couldn't just sit in the group not doing my bit so I moved up to the front, had a couple of turns before the road started going up again and looked round to find the group had shrunk from twenty five to four. The four then parted company as we hit the Belvedere, a short climb before the Giau, where I decided to risk not stopping at the feed station there and instead use my remaining two thirds of a bottle to get me to the top of the Giau (location of the next feed station). It was a gamble but I figured that the weight of a full bladder and 500ml of water would weigh less than an empty bladder and 1500ml of water.
I hit the foot of Giau at 10:20 and it was hot at that point, after the first 300m of climbing I felt a pang of guilt as I knew that the rest of the guys would suffer on this gradient and in the steadily increasing heat. Those thoughts were quickly replaced with the business of climbing the Giau, I felt every percent gradient of that climb, I was riding in whatever shade was available, although the longest shade was provided by a cruel stretch in an arrow straight tunnel that pointed disgustingly up to the sky. The climb opened out into the glare of the sun at the top and I was counting down the metres to the top and the feed station. The gamble with the water bottles paid off and I managed to get to the feed station at the top as I drained the last drop. Two full water bottles, half a banana and a 'convenience stop' later I was ready to descend off the Giau, or so I thought.
The second bend came up a little quicker than expected as I was still in climbing mode after an hour of tapping it out, the view of the descent using the straightest method possible snapped my brain back into descending mode before I left the road. This descent was more technical than it's predecessors but I was soon fluidly carving my way down the mountain, this was nearly interrupted by a rider crashing on a bend just behind me but I managed to get clear to look back to see he was still in one piece, although perhaps a little lighter than he was before the bend.
The Giau soon turned into the final climb of the day, the Passo Falzarego that turned into the Passo Valparola near the top (the significance of this was soon to be revealed). The climb started off sedately enough, the figures stated a 11.5km climb at average of 5.8%, and after 3km there was a flat section. I was soon up to my normal riding speed and enjoying the change from constant climbing and descending. Something caught my attention behind me and I looked around to find that I'd won a fan club of about fifteen riders who were all enjoying my draft, none of them offered to help ride at the front so I didn't feel bad when I dropped them when the Falzarego started to head upwards again. The climb started to drag and at 3.5km to go to the top the mountain had only achieved 1900m in altitude which meant there was still 300m of height to be gained equating to ~9% average gradient yet to come which truly manifested itself as I crested the Falzarego to then spot the final cruel piece of road to the top of the Passo Valparola. This didn't dampen my spirits that much as I knew that the final descent was in sight. The final descent was smooth and fast into La Villa leaving a shallow ascent back to Corvara. There were distance markers counting us down to the finish, at 200 meters to go an Italian in bright green cycling kit got a bit carried away with the cheering crowds and extravagantly sprinted past me after enjoying my draft for a bit. I let him get away as I could see the sharp left hander coming up that marked 100 meters to go, I took the corner wide then stamped on the pedals a bit to overtake the aforementioned Italian sprinter 10 metres before the line, childish I know but I couldn't resist it.
After crossing the line in 6 hours and 25 minutes (6 hours 20 ride time) I was presented with an unusual choice - a disgusting cap or 10 euros in cash. After a brief moment to check I wasn't suffering from heat induced hallucinations I accepted the money and went to get my finisher medal and much needed drink.
Gav arrived shortly after and we then gathered the team together over the next couple of hours to ensure that everyone was fed, watered and surgically separated from their machine.
I think I paced the race correctly as I managed to gain places all the way through the ride and only experienced some fleeting cramp towards the end of the last climb. Regardless of that the ride was thoroughly enjoyable and worth all the effort. My placings throughout the race are below -

split times
place            day time       race time           place overall
Gardena       9:04.20,0      2:24.24,6174.    1060.
Corvara        9:16.07,8     2:36.12,4168.     1017.
Campolongo 9:39.20,2     2:59.24,8167.     969.
Selva Cadore10:25.26,5   3:45.31,1142.     804.
Passo Giau    11:23.43,6   4:43.48,2140.     755.
Falzarego       12:27.15,6  5:47.20,2135.      757.

Maratona D'les Dolomites 2012

Well here we are once again in the blog zone......




Our 2 discovery 4 vehicles (kindly lent to us from JLR) were loaded up with the team kit/bikes etc & we 
regrouped at Warwick services. After many attempts by Mark - AKA David Bellamy to get a pre Italy team photo it was upto one of the other team to get his mobile out & take a quick snap instead. Mark did manage to get his camera working (eventually) for later on in the journey to take some great shots.

  Anyway we set off & with only a few satnav errors from both vehicle which split us up but travelling through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria & Italy gave us some breathe taking scenery which was just simply stunning, but at long last & many hours driving, sleeping getting lost etc we ended up in our destination after a grueling long haul drive.

    

We got there with just another time to take in the first trial run of one of the climbs we were to experience on Sunday, but first we collected our Maratona packs had a bite to eat too. I must admit after the small ride to go & collect our race packs i wasn't feeling great, the heat was getting to me a little to start with & I think the lack of proper food made me feel rather crap. The short ride into town was hard for me as my body was just not playing along & short climbs along the way hurt as my heart rate was 170bpm which made me think have I done the right thing here! Anyway we collected our packs & dropped them off at the apartment then set out to do the first climb the Campolongo.

We started to climb & as Steve was pacing the front we set out rather quicker than I could handle, my heart rate was getting worse until Steve said did we want to slow it down a little, which I was very happy to do. The team then pushed on which soon turned into an enjoyable climb & by the top my body was adjusting to the change in temperature & conditions. What goes up must come down & once at the top we then started the descent which was what I was very looking forward to, all I can say was it was an amazing experience to feel the speed while throwing the bike around bend after bend & even though it wasn't a closed road we all made mince meat of any traffic that got in our way. Nowhere before have I experienced such a thrill & being able to go faster on the road than a motor vehicle.

At the bottom we regrouped all with massive smiles on each & every face, I then thought to myself perhaps I have made the right decision.

We all went back & showered to go out & experience some real Italian food & meet up with some friends that were already out here. We briefly met up with Dave Lee & agreed to do dinner with his team the following day. Dave had suggested a place to eat that evening so we set off & got a table, the food was fantastic the pasta & pizza slipped down like we hadn't been fed for a week. 

The next day we continued to carbo load & what better way to do it than coffee & cake, lots of cake. Then it was time to get our Lowroaders tops on & meet up with the Cycling Weekly crew for a general get together plus photo/video shoot. We all introduced ourselves to Ian Parr who was organising the cycling weekly event. After the general shoots were done we did our raffle to see who would win the signed Team Sky jersey (kindly donated & signed by Team Sky after stage 17 of Giro D'Italia via JLR) 

                              

We did a short video of this event & the winner was Malcome Guy. When we announced the winner sadly he had to go but one of his team members was there to collect the shirt on his behalf. After a brief discussion with Malcome Guy's team member it had a rather fitting story behind his large donation which was great to see that the jersey was going to someone that would appreciate it, it turned out that another one of his team was unable to make it to the Maratona due to the fact he had put himself on the organ donation list & was giving away one of his kidneys. Malcome had said that if he won it that he would have it framed so that they could give it to him as he was unable to do the Maratona, the whole Lowroaders tam thought this was a very fitting story for where the shirt was to end up.

More carbo loading that night with Dave Lee & his group continued to a little later than we would of hoped but then that did take the nerves off the main event a little, well for me anyway. I was starting to doubt myself whether I could actually do what I set out to do. The team were great to one another & we all told each other that the training had been done & that the Maratona would be conquered by one & all. It was discussed a long time ago that the team would ride at our own pace, this way each member could concentrate on their own goal of finishing without pushing too hard just to stay in a group.

That evening in the apartment the tension was showing a little without anyone wanting to show it, you could just tell that everyone was showing signs of nervousness which was perfectly normal. The lights eventually went out but no-one really got a great night sleep, it was very humid that evening & was difficult to settle. The alarm went off nice & early & as we had all prepped our gear the night before we had breakfast & made our way to the start gate. Here we gathered for a little while before we were able to set off.

             

There were all sorts going on people on stilts, music playing people everywhere just anticipating the start. There were helicopters everywhere with film crews on as it was to be televised on Italian TV.

Then it was time, we started to move & slowly we started to pedal, within minutes I had lost all of the team as there were just so many riders, but I thought this is it, this is my race of not just physical but mental too.

The Campolongo was the first on the hit list & as there everyone was still very tightly packed it was to be slow going, mainly because there was just no room anywhere. There were people beside me very heavily breathing & I just kept looking at my gamin thinking this is ok I'm in my zone, breathing was normal & i'm feeling good. My nerves had more or less now dispersed & I was concentrating on the rest of the event.

There was one rider who lost his footing & hit the deck straight on his shoulder, I thought that's got to hurt. I managed to stay far enough away that I wasn't caught up in everyone around him needing to put their feet down.

The next few hills were ok & I was feeling good, I kept my HR down & thought I can do this, the hill climbing was hard & I new the worst was still to come. As the day went on the heat started to get hotter & hotter, but after each hill I new there was to be an awesome reward, the descent I was picking people off in the field like they were standing still, the other riders just didn't seem to want to take the correct lines so I was under/over cutting riders everywhere. I never actually seen any accidents on my descents but there were ambulances loading rider after rider into the back, plus on the descent of the Sella ( I think) there was a rider who was seriously hurt after he had wiped out as an air ambulance was just landing to load him into the back. Marshall's were waiving yellow flags & blowing whistles to warm me to slow for the corners but I could see the line of sight & new what speed I was capable of doing so carried on at my own pace.

The end of the short course came & went & I there was a slight thought in my head shall I stop, then I thought to myself briefly & thought that I can't let the team down so pushed on & more upward.......

The same went through my head for the medium route too but I made the cut to be able to carry on & tackle the dreaded Giau 9.9km long & average 9.3% gradient.

There were a few small sharpish hills prior to the Giau, I had stopped at the feed stations prior & took on-board my caffeine gels & electrolyte drinks then I hit it, I must admit I started climbing & thought I can do this in one without stopping, but I was wrong, the heat got to me & I started to feel a little light headed & really sick. I ended up stopping around 8 times the sweat was poring off of me, but I was determined not to walk any part of the any hill. I may have stopped but I did not take one single step as that would off just done it in for me psychologically. I'd reached the top of the Giau & started to feel a little emotional, the one thing that kept me going around all the hills was a mental picture of my fiance Emma plus when I found it really hard I remembered what she had told me prior to leaving. Emma had said to me remember it doesn't matter how hard it gets & how much pain your in, that to remember why your doing this event & that is for the children of Birmingham Children's Hospital & that they will be suffering a lot more & a lot longer than the few hours that I will be, plus that I was also doing the event to remember a friend & bother of one of the other riders 'Nick Rawlinson'. This thought really helped out & inspired me to finish no matter how bad I felt.

The final climb & I new at the top that this was it that I had reached the worst of what the Dolimites could throw at me, there was a feed station there & I looked down & thought no need to stop so pushed on. In minutes I looked up & didn't remember that there was another kick up till the end which was a killer, but I did it even though my legs had almost given up. The last section which felt like forever was slowly done & when I could see the 1000m banner the euphoria that I felt was so intense as I new I had done what I doubted that I could do, I crossed the line at an official time of 9hrs 6mins 58 secs (garmin time 8hrs 35mins 6secs which included the ride to the start).

I would like to thank all of the team for their support of the past months with training & all the emotional times that I had to endure, plus Garry Palmer from sportstest for the training programme that got me prepared for this. Also I could not of done any of this without the support of my family especially my fiance Emma, her words of wisdom, encouragement & just all the love she gave to me to help me with this incredible journey. 

One last note before I blog off & thats to the rest of  Team Lowroaders - WELL DONE ALL

  

Dragon's Sting

Well I'm back again with another blog to update my up's & down's that was the Dragon Ride. Early start meant getting up around 04.30am & try to get some breakfast down my neck, with the nerves running high as always this was not going to be pretty so a small bowl of cereal it was. Alan arrived at 05.00am followed a few minutes later by Gavin & Steve in vehicle 2. Mark had left prior so we thought we would meet up later on in the morning.

We arrived roughly on time but with the traffic queuing into the event itself we ended up starting slightly later than planned. We had lost Steve & Gavin as we entered the event car park due to Steve needing to water the plants as we queued. We parked up got our kit on my nerves was running high & the legs were just not feeling their best. Some days you just know you’re going to have a good ride & others you know it’s going to be tough & this was one of those days for me, I felt my legs were tight & new it was going to be a hard day, the weather had held fairly well considering the days leading up to the event. We got ourselves & bikes ready & made our way to the event village & down to the start area, upon brief discussion with Alan we decided to carry on just the two of us as we were unsure if the others had already set off or were still getting ready. 

As myself & Alan had decided to take the medium route out of the three that were on offer, this was made on a couple of reasons the first was that I didn't like the look at one of the hills on the longer section & with never doing a sportive of this calibre before thought it wise to do the shorter loop & finish than to stretch myself too much only three weeks prior to the main event. The other factor was I knew I could do the distance of the medium route as I had previous done this distance, whereas the longer I was just unsure that my legs would hold out for that time, plus with all the climbs added in as well.

Anyway as we were in the stands waiting to set off I noticed a few Kenilworth Wheelers around us & within a few minutes we were all aloud to be on our way. There were some slow riders which we soon took care of, then got onto a bunch which also seems to be going slower than we would of liked so we passed them & decided to sit on the back of the group which was going a little quicker (this was our first mistake). Well Alan seemed to be flying & in good form, me on the other hand was up into threshold territory & starting to feel it, this is where I should of just eased off & done my own ride (second mistake which I would pay for later).

It wasn't too long before the Dragon started to breath down our necks & throws a few little but sharp climbs in the mix, these were dusted off pretty well overtaking a few riders as we went. We then hit a slightly sharper climb 'Cimla' which had a much bigger gradient of around 17% which had us out the saddle attacking the hill a little too hard. We then had a decent into Neath which I managed to get stuck behind a car going too slow. We continued on up another climb before stopping into the first feed station. I refilled my bottle & decided to eat a energy bar but could only stomach half as it was just too dry. As we got back on the bikes my legs felt really bad, tight & uncooperative but as time passed they eased up. 

The route soon split from the longer Gran Fondo where we met the 'Coelbren' & for some unknown reason this was one of the few parts my legs felt ok, I hadn't realised that Alan had dropped back until I reached the top. Alan soon regrouped & we were on our way together once again. The routes soon rejoined & we hit the 'Glenneath Bank' this is where my troubles started, I felt my inner thighs start to cramp up & thought if I stopped I could stretch out the cramp. This was not to be & so climbed back on & road through the pain, I had to just grit my teeth & power through it & after which seemed a lifetime (more like 5-7mins) they passed or so I thought. The cramps soon returned alternating between the left & right leg.

The main climbs still lingered in the distance the 'Rhigos' & 'Bwlch' both of which I just got into a rhythm as with my legs cramping up meant that Alan had left me behind. The climbs just seemed to be never ending but soon they were out the way & then the fun of the descent started. I looked behind me & in front but there were no other riders to be seen, so I went for it with hands on the drops & was pedalling hard until I couldn't pedal any more. I tucked in my arms & tried to get as low as possible to get that extra mile an hour, the experience of descending down such a long way was just awesome. The one thing that did go through my mind near the bottom though was that as I hadn't seen any riders or signage had I made a wrong turn, I started to doubt myself & thought I would have to climb the descent I'd just come down, but then I say a yellow sign with an arrow pointing the way..... the relief was such a good feeling.

With around 12 miles to go Just after the main descent of the Bwlch I managed to meet up with another rider who upon discussion decided to ride together to try help each other out by slip streaming (I think I ended up tucking in behind him the most) but the general chit chat took our minds off of things & we soon reached our goal & the finish line.

I collected the goody bag & medal but felt a little disappointed in myself as I felt I could have done better if I hadn't got cramps in my legs. My overall place was 275 out of 1368 riders & official time was 05:28:57.

Even though I wasn't overall pleased with my effort after chatting with the team & looking at the overall results I have changed my opinion that I did pretty well, even though my legs cramped up I still finished with the top 20%.

The whole team did really well & I think Alan has done a fantastic turnaround from 9-10 months ago to how he is now as he was on fire throughout the Dragon.

After chatting with Dr Garry Palmer from Sportstest he gave me a recommendation where I could get a sports massage, which showed up that my quads & other leg muscles were extremely tight. 

I have learnt that going out too hard & having tight muscles in my legs were probably the main cause of the cramping, Hopefully with a follow up session & taking it easier when I start I shouldn't have the same problems in the main event in just over a week’s time.

Keep your eyes open for a final blog installment after the Maratona soon by the team.

  

Kneeling before the Dragon

Its about time I updated the blog again with the training leading up to the last Sportive ride.

After the positive impetuous of the second Sports test the training continued with renewed vigour with only a month to the Dragon Ride and prime reason behind all the training......The Maratona des Dolomites.

The Endurance fat burning sessions which had helped me loose all the weight until now were reduced in duration in  favour of more Threshold sessions to help build prolonged power and simulate hill climbs.
For the uninitiated, threshold sessions are also known as Fartlek or interval training, designed to encourage your body to become more accustomed to performing at a higher anaerobic level for increasingly longer periods.
To obtain threshold meant increasing my physical effort to achieve a 154 to 164bpm heart rate. Although during the sessions I found I could easily reach 168bpm without negative effects from lactic acid build-up.
The threshold interval was then maintained for 5 minutes initially with 1 minute recovery between intervals. This would be repeated 5 times increasing to 8.
Longer intervals were then introduced from 8 to 12 minutes with 2 and 3 minutes recovery respectively.

Overall I tried hard to maintain the level of training required, but it was difficult with the poor weather conditions in May and the beginning of June. Threshold training in the wet conditions is always tricky with a higher risk of a fall on fresh mud and gravel washed onto the roads.

Even though Threshold training can simulate hills, I'd previously discovered there was no substitute for the real thing and steeper hill climbing utilises different parts of the leg muscles not always exercised during interval training.
In theory my training should of been enough but I didn't feel confident in my own hill climbing ability before the Dragon Ride, so to avert some of my nervousness I arranged a few longer rides with more climbing around Edgehill.
Without doing too much distance the best I could achieve was just over 1000 meters (3280ft) of lower intensity climbing covering 60 miles. This was well short of the expected 3300 meters and 200km of the Dragon Ride Grando Fondo route, even the Medio route was more than this, but it gave me more confidence.


It was now a few days before the Welsh Dragon Ride and a major test of whether I was physically and mentally strong enough. I admit I was nervous, it had been 2 years since I'd ridden such a tough sportive.
Only time would tell................I decide to tackle the Grand Fondo.

A race in the sun. A race in the rain. In Memory of Nick

This blog post is overdue somewhat but I wanted to group these activities together so I didn't swamp the team blog.
Back in April Chris Rawlinson arranged a ride to carry his brother's ashes to the top of Sunrising Hill on the Edge Hill escarpment. We meet in Leamington by Nick's flat and set out as group of 10-12 riders, all the Lowroaders were present along with Manuel Buck and Nick's close friends. We tackled some Strava segments on the way in true Nick Rawlinson style (giving it the berries) and give the Sunrising segment a good go. Chris was riding hard and was quick, especially considering he was was carrying Nick's ashes! The ride served as a reminder that Nick may be gone but he won't be forgotten.
On the 13th of May I raced in the Halesowen Road Race (2/3/4) held on the Astley circuit near Stourport on Severn, I had entered this with Nick to introduce him to tough road racing. I raced this last year and the rolling course made for some hard racing, Nick had been a bit worried about the distance but was looking forward to getting his teeth stuck into competition.
When I received the start sheet at the beginning of May I contacted David Viner, the race organiser, of Nick's sudden departure. David arranged for a minutes silence in memory of Nick at the pre-race briefing which allowed for quiet reflection on a lost friend and a reminder that we have to make the best use of the time we have on this planet.  The race itself was tough and the 2nd Cat riders were making it hard going for everyone, the course was 5 laps totalling 113km, the average speed was 40kph! Unfortunately for me I got caught up behind a cramping rider at the end of lap 3 and lost contact with the bunch, despite my best efforts I couldn't regain contact.
The Banbury Star Road Race was to be this year's target race for Nick and I. Neither of us had raced this one before but we knew that it incorporated three climbs of Edge Hill (our personal favourite) and we were brashly confident that we could cause some chaos come the 3rd of June. I contacted Dave Anson, who the race organiser for the Banbury Star, to let him know the sad news. Dave arranged for a minute silence, allowed me to ride with Nick's race number as well as my own, and then allowed me to lead out the race in Nick's honour. I had given Dave a link to Nick's blog posts for Team Lowroad so he could get a feel for what Nick was like as a racer and a person. The race Commissaire said some nice words and also asked me to say a few, keeping in line with Nick's sense of humour I pointed out to the other riders that Edge Hill (also know as Knowle Hill) would have been even more unpleasant if Nick had been riding that day. I then lead the race out of the HQ and onto the course, this was a poignant moment for me so I did as Nick would have done and 'gave it the berries' for the first 25 minutes on the front of the bunch. There was heavy rain and a strong NE wind which only added to the intensity of the race. The climbs up Edge Hill were spectacular as riders that were unfamiliar with the hill blew up and dropped off the back. By the last lap the field was whittled down from 80 to 25, on the last climb I just lost contact with the main bunch of 20 (that contested the final sprint), I missed the back of that bunch by 10 metres and ended up a minute behind but overall felt pleased with my performance in a tough race. I will be targetting this race next year in an attempt to win it (so will taper and train accordingly) and Dave Anson has said that I can ride as #26 (Nick's number from this year).

Dragon Breath

That's the last big training ride before the Maratona done. Having raced the Banbury Star Road Race the weekend before I didn't feel that excited about riding the Dragon given the route last year (which included two climbs of the same side of the Bwlch) but I soon got into the party mood. A fast group was forming soon after the start so I helped tow it along with one other rider (who has recently finished 27th on the Fred Whitton Challenge). I have received a telling-off from Dr. Palmer in the past about doing this but I was still in race mode and the legs were willing. After 2 hours we hit the Black Mountain and the legs still felt good but the climb to Roman Camp was starting to tell me that I had started too hard and I needed to back off at which point I let the group go to concentrate on riding at my own pace. Due to admin problems I had to stop longer than expected at the second feed stop. Underway again I was still feeling flat but the gradients of the Devil's Elbow didn't seem to be as extreme as the signs suggested (for me at least) and my legs started to recover once the Gran Fondo route rejoined the Medio route for the final three climbs of the day - Glynneath, Rhigos and the Bwlch (from Treochy).
The Rhigos and the Bwlch were the main reasons behind my suggestion that we make this the final warm-up for the Maratona so that the guys could experience the type of gradient and length of climbing that we will be seeing in the Dolomites so that they feel more confident their climbing abilities. This nearly backfired as some of the team were disappointed in their performance but this has to be put in context - for us the Dragon Ride was a training ride, for the majority of the other riders the Dragon was their season's goal for which they had tapered for and arrived fresh, our goal is the Maratona and to have ridden the Dragon on fatigued legs is impressive achievement.
The goal now is to recover whilst maintaining fitness which done by reducing training volume but maintaining (or increasing!) training intensity. This is also the time to sort out any remaining bike fit or clothing issues (I've ordered new shorts as the previous pair seems to have a personal vendetta against my posterior).
On a personal note I would like to say that I have been impressed with the determination shown, and progress that has been made, by every team member since last last September and I'm proud to be associated with Team Lowroaders knowing that everyone will give their best on the 1st of July - Nick wouldn't expect anything less.

Exciting Times!

Two weeks from now the team will be in Italy on the eve of the main event!  All of the training is finished having completed the Dragon ride so the bikes will see a little less use during the final run in.

The nerves feel fairly settled now, but it was a different story after the first major climb on the Dragon ride.  I think I went at it a bit too hard on the Black Mountain and there was a stint during the middle of the ride when I was questioning how well prepared I was for the Maratona.  Stomach cramps and heavy legs were getting me down, but it's funny how things work out, because I was able to get back into a good rhythm and make a strong finish.  I posted a silver standard time which did not align with how I was feeling during the ride and I was quite shocked by the result to be honest!  In my view it reinforces the training methods and advice that Dr. Garry Palmer at Sportstest has been guiding the team with.  Thank you Garry!

I still have one or two things to iron out over the next couple of weeks.  The main one being the return of my Trek (or a Trek!).  Unfortunately my TCT5000 was letting the seat post slip - something I noticed a few weeks back.  Having been returned to Trek for inspection it was determined that a crack had developed in the frame :-(    Trek stood by the lifetime warranty they provide for frames and sent out a Madone 4.7 as a replacement.  I was hoping it would be ready for the Dragon, but it wasn't to be.  I picked up the rebuilt bike last Thursday and am looking forward to getting a few miles done before we head out to the mountains!

The second one is 'seating'.  Either my shorts or saddle (or both) are not quite up to scratch for the several hours required on the bike and this became pretty clear about two thirds of the way around the Dragon route.  My saddle is nothing special, so I have invested in a Specialized Romin Comp and will see how this goes with my current shorts over the next few rides before I try anything else.  I know it is a bit close to the event to be meddling with 'contact' points, but I figured the way things were on the Dragon, I have nothing to lose by trying something else.  I'll let you know how it goes later this week and post some pics of the 'born again' Trek too.