Anyone who has ever been mountain biking with me has probably heard me talk about my chimp. The chimp talk all began back in 2015, in the run-up to the Plean CX race, when my friend Rob put on a series of cyclocross skills coaching sessions for a group of us. Back then, I wasContinue reading “Chimp Training and the Gremlin of Steepness”
Tag Archives: Cycling
Pedalling Through Lockdown
In common with, it seems, just about everyone else in the country, I have been doing a lot of cycling recently. It’s been a good way to cope with the many challenges of the COVID-19 lockdown. Don’t get me wrong; I am in the immensely privileged position of having a nice house with a garden,Continue reading “Pedalling Through Lockdown”
A Very Good Day
Sometime back in the summer of 2018, when I was constructing my training plan for the upcoming cross season, I set myself two goals: To beat my previous time in the 3 Peaks CX race. To get on the V40 podium in one or more of the Scottish CX Series races. Well, I smashed myContinue reading “A Very Good Day”
Training for Grit (or, What I Have Learnt from the Superquaich)
I love the Superquaich. By the time the SQ rolls round, it’s a nice change from the routine of the SCX series. The SQ is a bit different, a bit weird, a bit edgy. Course features that would probably not make it into a British Cycling race start to appear (because let’s face it, anythingContinue reading “Training for Grit (or, What I Have Learnt from the Superquaich)”
A Linlithgow love story
I’ve posted this photo before, but I’ve never really talked about what it means to me. In 2015 I decided that, since I had a cyclocross bike (which had spent most of its life with slick tyres on the road), I should enter a cyclocross race. So I entered the West Lothian Clarion‘s “Last Gasp”Continue reading “A Linlithgow love story”
SCX 3: Return to the Spiral of Doom
Last Sunday was round 3 of the SCX series at Lochore Meadows in Fife. I knew it would be very different to the previous race at Callendar Park – the course is much less technical: fast and flat with no respite; and, of course, the infamous Spiral of Doom. We vets were gridded behind theContinue reading “SCX 3: Return to the Spiral of Doom”
SCX 2: Callendar Park
I’m going to try to blog a bit more often (we will see how long that resolution lasts…). I am also going to change the name of this blog as soon as I think of something appropriate – “Not dead, not last” was my tongue-in-cheek motto when it was entirely probable that I would be lastContinue reading “SCX 2: Callendar Park”
3 Peaks CX – the return
Approximately 10 minutes after crossing the finish line of the infamous 3 Peaks Cyclocross last year, I was thinking to myself, “I can go faster.” So after getting round in 5 hours 11 minutes last year, this year’s mission was to break 5 hours. I have been training hard for months, self-coached this time, withContinue reading “3 Peaks CX – the return”
E(CX)ess baggage
I’ve been meaning to write a kit list for all the junk equipment that I cart about to cyclocross races before the end of the season, so come next Autumn I don’t have to worry about remembering everything I need. I thought I’d post it here in case it’s useful to anyone. For the race Skinsuit/jerseyContinue reading “E(CX)ess baggage”
Winter training
Looking back over my training journal, I’ve been saying that I need to make a training plan for about 2 months. Between the triathlon club and the bike club, there are loads of training sessions that I could attend; plus my weekly Pilates class; plus I was toying with the idea of joining the localContinue reading “Winter training”
