Tag Archives: fixed

Goring, Woodcote & District Lions 10k 2012

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(… not to be confused with the Goring 10k in March)

2012 is going to be more about running than cycling for me so I thought I’d jump in at the deep end and race both a parkrun and a hilly 10k this first weekend. Saturday was my first run round the Oxford parkrun alternative poor weather course though I knew the layout from volunteering last week. So no muddy bit through the woodland but according to my Garmin a little bit over distance. I kept a steady pace and was happy with 24:20 for 3.18 miles 12th of 40 runners. Several of us had the unusual and slightly surreal experience of lapping Ed Mezzetti who has won at least twice before – he’d volunteered for tail-runner duties which raised a few smiles.

Sunday morning was to be a bit of a workout what with setting out at 8:15 on the fixie for the ride to the 10k start at Woodcote. I took the lansey route through Ewelme and Ipsden and got to see several Red Kites sitting about on the ground and on fence posts for a change. Maybe they just hadn’t got started with their day’s work of gliding about effortlessly impressing the tourists or maybe they just know the right place to be for a bit of fresh non-veggie breakfast. They are a scruffy lot when you get a closer look!

A few lumps on the way and an uphill bit of A4074 just before Woodcote meant I was already feeling a little knackered as I peeled off my outer layers ready for the start at the village green. I refueled on gel and water then ran a couple of laps round the field before joining the throng at the start where I was having a chat with Linda (veggie moving towards vegan) and Graham (not at all veggie) when the race started and the first few hundred metres evolved from a slow jog to a chaotic sorting out of positions as we left Woodcote and eventually settled into pace.

A mile or so, already descending, and we turned right into Elvendon Lane and continued the long downhill towards Goring. A few cyclists struggled up the other way but there were only a couple of motor vehicles and they patiently waited (having little choice). Down and down enforcing a fast pace but very aware that the hill at the end was going to be even longer that I remembered from last time I ran this in 2009.

About half way and we bottomed out and started to climb, I’d done my homework on the profile and knew this wasn’t really THE hill – just a bump on the way. I grabbed a cup from the water station and walked 3 paces while I downed it, too chilly a morning for a wetting. Soon loosing height again and a tiny lad outside a farm was offering high fives to any takers. In the bald Chiltern foothills we could see the crossroads ahead now where the race turned right and figures could be seen running up the long, steady climb back to Woodcote. Whether this is called Mile End Hill or Catsbrain Hill the OS map doesn’t make clear but the Hill bit felt about right.

The 2 mile gradual ascent slowed us all down, I accepted it and took it steady. A bunch passed me but 5 minutes later several of them had fallen back behind. A girl hopefully said, ‘the tops just round that bend’. I shook my head. A few walkers, one guy seesawing between stopping and retching then dashing on ahead. I’d vaguely hoped to scrape in under 50 minutes, my last run on this course being 52 something. But at last the top and the clock just ahead clicked over the 50 saving me a fruitless sprint. I found the effort to avoid getting passed and finished in something like 50:21, 149/408 (Friday after the race now and the results still ain’t up but never mind).

Hung around a few minutes to catch my breath and cheer the next few in. Linda finished shortly followed by Graham. I wandered back to my bike and downed a Trek bar to refuel for what felt a long and tiring ride back though pleasant with a bit of sunshine. Funny how only a few months of not riding long distance and a not very hilly 38 mile return trip starts to feel like a long way!

Andy Reading 10k 2011

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Not for the first time it was a chilly ride out to Chesterton for the Andy Reading 10k though a tailwind meant I arrived in plenty of time without wasting energy reserved for the race. I collected my timing chip then striped down to vest and shorts maybe a few minutes early as the quarter hour waiting to start was rather cold and I had to resist running full pelt up and down the field just to keep warm.

We were led onto the road and started promptly, a lap of the village before the seemingly long road over the motorway bridge to reach the airfield. This was a PB attempt for me and after an on target first mile I saw my pace drop a little along here but it was slightly uphill and into the wind so I didn’t worry.

I seemed to be going well round the airfield, picking up a few places and managing to keep my pace under 7:30. A shout of ‘come on vegan’ just after halfway pushed me on a few seconds. The last mile of airfield was again gently uphill and into the wind and, while I was feeling good and was aware that mile 6 should be fast enough to recover a bit of time, I could see the PB wasn’t going to happen.

A funny little hairpin then back onto the road and I managed my fastest mile of the day retracing back over the motorway. Through the gate then about a 100 metres of grass to the finish where I managed to scrape 46:26 192/462, a course best and second fastest 10k to date but 27 seconds too slow for a PB. I was happy with this result and reckon I could have managed the half minute faster on a still day. If I had any doubts about whether I’d put enough effort in they were soon dispelled by the moaning from my legs as I struggled the fixed gear up the not very big hills on the way home!

Eynsham 10k 2011

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I was hoping for a reasonable time at the Eynsham 10k on the last Sunday of November but was not going for a pb as I remembered the course having a couple of minor bottlenecks and twists and turns, also last time I ran in 2009 the timing was gun to chip though this year it turned out to be chip to chip. I gave my legs a rest the day before by volunteering at Oxford parkrun instead of running and, on the day itself, only slightly regretted upping the gear on my hack fixie as I tried not to knacker myself riding out to Eynsham into a rather stiff headwind.

Dropping things at Oxford parkrun registration

We gathered at the start down the Old Witney Road dead end where I said hello to a few familar faces, lots of local clubs represented at this event as it’s got a well deserved good reputation. I was running in my Vegan Runners UK vest and despite some earlier worries the temperature was just right. Off we went, slightly downhill past the school where we would finish, through some older parts of Eynsham then out onto the road heading towards Swinford Toll Bridge where I could feel the wind on my back. Turning north I seemed slow a bit but this was very slightly uphill, I’ve yet to run a really, truly, flat course. Then out onto the A40 cycle track where the wind slowed down proceedings though I was pleased to pass a few without blowing up.

Glad to turn south, both out of the wind and slightly downhill. Then past Old Witney Road and we were into the second lap. Lots of local support cheering us round the course, being as it’s 2 laps we get a double dose. I skipped the water station as I felt fine and didn’t start flagging till the second charge along the A40 where the 9k marker had more of an ‘oh no, not another kilometre’ effect than an optimistic ‘nearly there, time to speed up’. The finish was on the school field and after letting one runner past I resolved not to let the shadow on my right shoulder also beat me. I tried hard but he trumped me just before the line and turned out to be George who was very pleased to have got a 4 minute PB. I was happy enough with my 47:48 276/612 – a course best and a season best that could have been a tiny bit faster without that wind.

What with the Eynsham effort, intervals run this Thursday and the Andy Reading 10k entered for next weekend I thought I’d settle for a slower parkrun this Saturday. I had a couple of beers the night before and while I pushed myself I stayed well clear of the vomit zone. My Garmin reckoned I did 24:15 but the results make it 23:37 14/36, 1 second short of my pb. I’m aware there were some timing hiccups so this may or may not be genuine but I’ll accept it graciously  🙂  Edit later same day: seems timing hiccups were full scale belches so 24:15 is correct but apparently still 14th position.

What’s this got to do with solar PV? Nothing, but as a footnote about ten days ago our Generation meter reading passed 2147kWh which is the predicted annual output based on the Standard Assessment Protocol adjusted for location etc. This is the figure they quote you when selling the system and as our system was commissioned 19th January 2011 we are almost 2 months, admittedly not very productive months, ahead of target. So yah boo sucks to all the naysayers who reckon the predictions are made up or exaggerated!

Moreton Marlborough DIY

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Maybe it was that this was to be the last in my current monthly series of 200k brevets, or maybe because both my last long rides had been followed by a fair amount of pain (very sore legs for August, toothache for September), but my anticipation of the October ride was that it would be more chore than adventure. Just to scrape the icing off the cake the forecast was predicting a 16mph southerly wind to slow me down.

I was going to ride whatever so about 8am Saturday I headed south on my Moreton Marlborough DIY-GPS AUK Perm – after about 500m I turned round and headed north after realising I was following the line on my GPS in the wrong direction. I was snug in winter bib-tights and warm gloves and hat and, what with the wind behind me for the first leg, I was soon enjoying the autumn leaves in the morning sun along the rolling road through Islip and Bletchington then onwards into the Cotswolds.

Roughly following the River Glyme and just out of earshot of the A44 I followed quiet, often unfamiliar, lanes. I stopped a bit before Moreton-in-the-Marsh for a snack and a photo. I peeled off my coat and changed into mitts and cap as the day was warming up nicely. Down below I could see the distinctive chimney of Bliss Mill just outside Chipping Norton.

In and out of Moreton without stopping, the GPS track meant I didn’t need any other proof I’d been there, then soon turn right signposted Evenlode into that headwind that I’d managed to forget to worry about for most of the last 50 kilometers. Familiar lanes for a bit now following part of the return leg of the Poor Student 200, then continuing south after Shipton-under-Wychwood to climb long and steady then descend into Asthall where there must have been at least 10 different couples out walking their dogs, I wondered if it was some sort of event.

A headwind is a pain at the best of times but on the fixed wheel, my 72″ gear a little too high, it was particularly draining. I’d rise out the saddle as my cadence sunk then make myself low in the saddle again as my wind resistance went up with my increased profile. It’s not the legs that suffer so much as the back and shoulders. Still, Moreton 20 miles behind me so ‘just’ another 30 miles to Royal Wootton Bassett and that should be it for the againsterly. This might not be much fun but was surely good for the stamina.

A quick stop at Bampton to buy water, a stop somewhere else for a flapjack. The climb up to Coleshill was stiff but I stayed on board as the local CTC outing was descending and waving greetings so it wouldn’t do to get off and push. Different lanes through Purton, I’d obviously been feeling adventurous when I mapped this route out many months back.

Then Royal Wootton Bassett at last for a rest and a munch from the Co-op where a ladybird appeared at the checkout, from my wallet or out of my hair I suppose, and the lad at the till had a laugh while I rescued it and put it out the door. Then back on the bike and off I headed for the first of the two climbs over the Marlborough Downs. The headwind was bad as before, seeming worse because I thought it was over with, I must have forgotten that Marlborough is south of Wootton B.

I rode the first climb but walked the second, it was probably faster and my back was having a moan. A young chap casually threw his drink can out his car window as he drove down the hill. The following long descent was difficult in the cross wind and my VC&AC cap was whisked off my head to disappear into the distance, a speck of yellow in my mirror. Fortunately I’d a spare at home as I wasn’t going to stop.

Through Marlborough then, at long last, no headwind. I danced up the climbs and spun down the descents like I’d just remembered to take the handbrake off. Turning north after Ramsbury I thoroughly enjoyed the climb up over Eastridge, the tailwind helping make easy work of it, Red Kites up above, fields full of seagulls, a startled deer dashing off. I’d been craving chips with lots of salt and vinegar for a while but not enough to stop at Membury Services. Shortly after Lambourn it was time to switch on the lights and put my warm gear back on for the last couple of hours riding.

I enjoyed the ride back in the dark. Mostly flat and familiar but with that eeriness of only really being able to see in the patch of LED headlight. I listened to music and watched carefully for potholes disguised as shadows in the poorly maintained lanes. Briefly an owl joined me, just long enough for me to stop looking at the GPS and miss my turn. Then over Boars Hill and back into Oxford where I probably confused my local DIY organiser by continuing on past the official ride end to the chip shop before remembering to press ‘stop’. 12 hr 15 min overall for about 220km so not fast but plenty of time in hand (the limit being 14 hours).

That was the 12th and final ride in my current Randonneur Round The Year series, all on fixed wheel. I was also pleased to find I could still crank the fixie round an Super Randonneur series, that’s 200, 300, 400 and 600km validated rides each with a 15kph overall minimum speed, while managing to run a bit as well. I look forward to having a break from the long distance rides for a while now but, being as that was my 9th RRTY and there seems to be a new badge for completing 10 of the darn things, I suspect I’ll be struggling round another four seasons sometime in the future.

 

Frieth Hilly 2011

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Setting out for the Chiltern village of Frieth a bit before 8am I was wondering whether I was overdressed for the ride what with winter boots, waterproof, leggings, gloves and hat. Soon enough I was glad of them though as I left Oxford and found myself surrounded by cold fog. I stopped and turned my rear flasher on. Winching the fixie up Watlington Hill was hard work and maybe not the best preparation for a hilly 10k run but at least it warmed me up. Red Kites were just about everywhere.

I met up with fellow VC&ACs Mary and Ade at the start, Simon turned up later but we caught up with him at the finish. By 9:30 the sun had broken through and it was turning into a fine autumn morning, warm enough for shorts and vest and perfect for a run in the woods. The vicar said his bit then we all gathered on the road for the start. Dead on 10am we were off!

A flattish start along the road then soon we were on a path through woods then a field with great views of rolling mist in the valleys far below (in fact a lot of this turned out to be smoke from a bonfire but it looks much nicer when you think it’s mist). Then down a twisting path through more woods and continuing down over fields, the sort of descent it’s best just to let go and pray for the best on. I passed a few on that downhill but seeing Ade, who had passed me earlier, way ahead down at the bottom suggested he’d gained many places. We joined the road and got a chance to settle into a steady pace for a bit through the villages of Fingest and Skirmett where the landlord of The Frog offers support in the form of a free pint ‘2nd time round’ (this is a single lap course).

At the end of Skirmett we turn left and start climbing, then soon right onto a track where we continue climbing. My earlier 8 minute miling is reduced to 10 at best and this continues for a good while as we gain height through the woods. A few are walking and passing isn’t always easy. I try and push harder as I hope to get under 53:40 which would be a course best but my breakfast is threatening a reappearance so not too hard.

Eventually, after a zigzag through the woods that stumped any sense of direction I might have retained, the course flattens out and that feeling of being on top reappears. We join a bit of road, this is Parmoor I think, there is a sign warning drivers that the Marlow Half will use these roads in a couple of weeks, a reminder to those of us entered that we will be climbing back up here first weekend of November.

A track round big fields with views and I’m still in with a chance of a course best so try and keep the pace up. Then we turn left onto road and it’s not far to go but still a last hill to climb – Frieth is probably the highest point of the race and that last 0.2 of a mile is where we regain the remaining height.

The photographer missed me this year (2011) but here I am in 2009 being beaten up the last hill by a gorrilla.

Then we turn back into the school and the announcer encourages us each by name. I cross the line in 53:29 142/286 so get my course best and just scrape into the first half of the field. The Frieth Hilly is a great race in lovely countryside and always well organised and fun.

Back on the bike with my tired legs the climb back up to Christmas Common goes on for ever, I keep pedaling though I suspect it would be quicker to walk it. The stretch from Watlington back to Oxford seems to take ages but I actually get home just a bit after 1pm and despite 42 miles round trip on the fixie and 10 hilly kilometres run I’m already looking forward to Marlow.