LL/SE CX #7 - Fowlmead

[andyw]

At last, proper cross with that finest of all cycling surfaces, WET MUD!

The weather and the trek down to Kent had apparently dampened peoples enthusiasm for cyclocross and we were back down to a reasonable field of about 80.

I was on the front row of the grid and managed to get a good start (a rarity) finding me in about 5th place after half a lap. There were a few boggy bits and a couple of tricky muddy sections, but thanks to Fowlmead being an old coal mine, the surface under tyre is quite hard, so the riding was still good.

After numerous changes of position, I crossed the line in fourth, having lost a battle for third with Matt Holmes. The sapping sections of the course finally caught up with me with half a lap to go when I went *pop*.

Kevin crossed the line a couple of minutes later to claim 8th place and second Vet after what was a genuinely exciting Vets race. Mick Bell won the category by a number of centimetres from our man KK in the sprint. We think he wanted revenge after Kev unceremoniously kicked their arses at last week's Haloween Cross.

Rick Roberts was the only other Dulwich representative (BOOOOO!!!!!!) and came home in 32nd, narrowly avioiding getting lapped by Kevin.

All that mud and coal silt was pretty uinpleasant to get rid of and it took me half an hour in the shower rinsing my kit before I got to a state where I'm willing to put it in the washing machine. Yuk.
And I'm still picking mud out of my eyes. Double yuk.

All in all though, a good day. I'm still coming fourth (never done better.. ), Kevin's coming in the top 10, and Rick is one step closer to achieving his aim of a Top 20 result by actually turning up to a race on a day when staying at home would have been a much more pleasant option. Result!

Speaking of which:

Seniors/Juniors/Veterans/Women
1 36 Darren Barclay Arctic RT S 8
2 135 Taylor Johnstone Team de Vere J 8 @ 1.37
3 17 Matt Holmes Arctic RT 8 @ 2.02
4 15 Andy Waterman Dulwich Paragon S 8 @ 2.28
5 131 Ciaran O'Grady VC Deal/Hammonds/ACTiV J 8 @ 3.09
6 133 Hugo Humphreys Mosquito-Milani J 8 @ 3.55
7 163 Mick Bell London Fire Brigade CC V 8 @ 4.27
8 161 Kevin Knox Dulwich Paragon V 8 "
9 32 Ed Clark Redmon S 8 @ 4.44
10 159 Jon Lyons GS Invicta V 8 "
AND
32 35 Rich Roberts Dulwich Paragon S 7

[chamoniards]

I deleted my other post.

Yep, a good course and a good race. I was a little surprised by Mick Bell's sprint. Next time I won't leave it to a sprint.

[Deleted]

Actually, i'm getting further away from my aim of regular top twenty results. I was 19th at Fowlmead at the beginning of the season.

The heavy going yesterday exposed my lack of fitness. It's Kevin B that likes the mud. Me, I'm strictly a dry weather man.

[Deleted]

Me and a Dulwich Mark braved a wet Western league yesterday.

Nothing exciting to report. Though having seen Andy's post I feel virtuous for at least braving the elements and surviving my first muddy race.

[andyw]

Vid of lap 2 vimeo.com/7546236

We need to get the skillz skool up and running again.

[chamoniards]

I would definitely like to get over to Mitcham Common for some proper cyclo-cross skills training this Saturday, and on other Saturdays for that matter. I know that it spounds boring to ride around a common but as much as it is nice riding out on bridleways you don't learn much that's useful in a race s as it's not focused on anything in particular.

Looking at that vimeo clip. I ran the climb and Mick Bell was right behind me and he rode it. As we went into it he was just behind me and he couldn't pass me going down so I don't know if it was much advantage to ride it. Maybe it was less effort, but I don't think that the race was won or lost there. In fact in the final lap when I was on Mick's wheel going into that climb he tried to ride it and came a cropper allowing me to pass him and gain 10-20 metres by the time that we were riding away. He caught me though and out sprinted me for the line so I reckon that sprint training is just as important.

[andyw]

You were off the bike and running way too early though. You had momentum on the bike, so even if you stopped pedalling you'd have got halfway up the bank before grinding to a halt, whereas you got off 5 or 6 steps before the bank. Each step is wasting more energy than sitting on the bike freewheeling.

Even the way Darren did it (which was pretty bad) would have used less energy and been quicker

[chamoniards]

I should have tried to ride it but having only got up there once in practice I didn't have the nerve. I felt that it was easier to get off on the flat as it kept the momentum going. I think the way that Darren did it where he ground to a halt and then got off was much less fluid and slower.

[andyw]

thing is, if you're at the head of th bunch, do what you like. Even if you grind to a halt, no ones going to get round you by riding it.

[chamoniards]

It's not often you get the opportunity to do that. Hugo rode that bump well didn't he? Quite impressive.

[Deleted]

I'm with kevin on the run-up scenario. I was overtaking people who were riding it by scuttling up the right-hand side and reaching the corner before them. And I HATE running out of steam halfway up and grinding to a halt.
Had I been able to ride it efficiently, I would of done, but running was by far the better option.