Progress Report 12 - w/c 15.06.09
i awoke from the deepest sleep to my alarm, 6am, "what day is it? sunday, it's race day!" it was a beautiful morning, the air so still, pigeons cooing and the odd bird whistling ; ) it was hard to know whether i was in fact still asleep. i had loaded the pick up the night before, so only had to remove the tarp i had loosely covered the bike with to keep the due off and not to draw too much attention to the bike, the bright ktm orange does stand out. turning the ignition on i took the diesel engined beast back up to the cottage, driving right under Mary's window, hoping i did not disturb her so early in the day.
the skies were bright blue and the fields of wheat shone in the morning light, the rolling cotswold hills gave way to the relatively flat areas around gloucester as i headed up the 417 to leominster - pronounced "lemster" as i found out yesterday! the setting was a lot more hilly than google earth would have you believe - i need to buy o/s maps in future, give me some contours!! the course turned out to be a great mixture of thick woodland, long steep inclines and drops, a few smaller jumps, a short track section and couple of very bumpy straights, so managed to get into 3rd gear a few times.
unbelievably my bike did not start when the flag came down and sputtered and spurted for the first half mile, where i spent about 20 minutes jumping up and down on the kick start, flattening the battery, trying to keep the engine running. every turn the engine would stop under the low revs. i thought i was going to be packing up only 20 mins into the 2.5hr race. fortunately, what must have been dirt in the fuel, cleared and i had no problems for the rest of what turned out to be nearly 3 hours of racing - so long as you make it to the check in before the 2.5 hr cut off, you can start a new lap, i came in with less than a minute to spare!
thanks to ronnie, my preparation for this race was so much better and it made a world of difference. firstly i drank a lot of water throughout the previous day, i also purchased a camel back and some electrolyte to mix with the water. in the previous races i had relied on lucozade before and during the race, which would have been fine for short periods, i needed something to last 2-3 hours of racing. what i noticed most was the ability to concentrate for far longer, i only had a few very slight bouts of cramp in my left leg and tightness in my fingers. although this was in part due to the more varied terrain in this course, it was mainly down to the prep. furthermore, i only stopped for as long as it took to remove my helmet, refuel the bike and head off again, the rest of the time i was moving.
after the last race i spoke to vet racer about riding styles and bike set up; he said that in the tight, wet, muddy woods, it is best to sit back and let the front wheel find the best way forward, he also said to run the tyres on 14psi, but with such low pressure, fill the tyres with the 'green slime', acting like a mousse. i did neither of these things in prep, but WILL do for the next one, that's for sure! what i did learn in the race was a very useful riding style, in fact it transformed the day. it was similar to learning to carve when skiing for the first time, rather than the sensation of turning but not quite in control and thinging am i going to make it, you placed your leg right out in front of you on the side you are about to turn, but you do this well in advance and it helps bring the front wheel round in the direction you are intending to go, pointing the bike into the runs is also key, as this pushes the rear wheel in where it can grip, rather than slide out away from you and then onto your arse! i followed a rider for some time, getting into a really smooth rhythm, right leg out, into the turn, smooth throttle, left leg out ready to turn, point the wheel and smooth throttle. again i we had to negotiate fat roots, very low branches and narrow gaps between trees - it was like the seen in empire strikes back on those hover bikes - may be not quite so fast, but it sure a hell felt like it!!
i managed to go 5 laps without one fall, but as soon as that thought entered my head i knew i was doomed and it was not long before the impact came. however, it was not what i was expecting; over taking an even slower rider than myself, a thrid biker tried to overtake me on the same, very short and narrow stretch, he caught my handle bars, we were locked together and careered into a fat tree. how i did not go through the tree and smash the bike up completely i will never know. looking down at my bike and then behind to the other rider, he stood up, asked if i was ok, apologised and then shot off. no point being angry, i was just relieved my bike started and i could steer! my front light and electrics were completely smashed though. still, this is racing!
i dropped the bike a couple more times before the race was over and i realised how hard it had been in the last race, picking my bike up countless times, it knackered me out. by being more careful, riding more smoothly and having a my 'fuel' on tap and additional riding skills made this a much better ride. i finished knackered, but not completely worn out as before.
chobe was lying out in the sun when i arrived back at the car, i think we were both as relieved to see one another. she still had water in her bowl and her long length of rope enabled her to find shade around the car as the sun moved across the sky. peeling off the layers, my clothes were soaked to the skin...how did i get mud down there? helmet, gloves, neck brace, shirt, body armour, t-shirt, trousers, pants, knee and shin pads, big boots and socks, swapped for long shorts and flip-flops! i keep thing about the dakar, but from the footage, although the miles are far longer, the route it far more open. i am currently covering 35 miles in about 3 hours, that's under 12 miles an hour. at that rate to cover a 600 mile stage of the dakar would take 50 hours!!!
for me, the race is about patience, smooth riding, following the best lines, minimal stops, staying alert and waiting for the rider in front to make a mistake or to pull over.
i cleaned the bike on the way home, and at 430pm when i had put the bike away, i flopped onto chobe's duvet in mary's paddock. 3hrs of driving, 3 hours of riding, 1 hour of cleaning, the rest of my 10.5 hours was taken up with packing, loading, unpacking, re- loading, registering, changing, eating and drinking.......it's a pretty full-on day.
once again, CEC did an awesome job.
the skies were bright blue and the fields of wheat shone in the morning light, the rolling cotswold hills gave way to the relatively flat areas around gloucester as i headed up the 417 to leominster - pronounced "lemster" as i found out yesterday! the setting was a lot more hilly than google earth would have you believe - i need to buy o/s maps in future, give me some contours!! the course turned out to be a great mixture of thick woodland, long steep inclines and drops, a few smaller jumps, a short track section and couple of very bumpy straights, so managed to get into 3rd gear a few times.
unbelievably my bike did not start when the flag came down and sputtered and spurted for the first half mile, where i spent about 20 minutes jumping up and down on the kick start, flattening the battery, trying to keep the engine running. every turn the engine would stop under the low revs. i thought i was going to be packing up only 20 mins into the 2.5hr race. fortunately, what must have been dirt in the fuel, cleared and i had no problems for the rest of what turned out to be nearly 3 hours of racing - so long as you make it to the check in before the 2.5 hr cut off, you can start a new lap, i came in with less than a minute to spare!
thanks to ronnie, my preparation for this race was so much better and it made a world of difference. firstly i drank a lot of water throughout the previous day, i also purchased a camel back and some electrolyte to mix with the water. in the previous races i had relied on lucozade before and during the race, which would have been fine for short periods, i needed something to last 2-3 hours of racing. what i noticed most was the ability to concentrate for far longer, i only had a few very slight bouts of cramp in my left leg and tightness in my fingers. although this was in part due to the more varied terrain in this course, it was mainly down to the prep. furthermore, i only stopped for as long as it took to remove my helmet, refuel the bike and head off again, the rest of the time i was moving.
after the last race i spoke to vet racer about riding styles and bike set up; he said that in the tight, wet, muddy woods, it is best to sit back and let the front wheel find the best way forward, he also said to run the tyres on 14psi, but with such low pressure, fill the tyres with the 'green slime', acting like a mousse. i did neither of these things in prep, but WILL do for the next one, that's for sure! what i did learn in the race was a very useful riding style, in fact it transformed the day. it was similar to learning to carve when skiing for the first time, rather than the sensation of turning but not quite in control and thinging am i going to make it, you placed your leg right out in front of you on the side you are about to turn, but you do this well in advance and it helps bring the front wheel round in the direction you are intending to go, pointing the bike into the runs is also key, as this pushes the rear wheel in where it can grip, rather than slide out away from you and then onto your arse! i followed a rider for some time, getting into a really smooth rhythm, right leg out, into the turn, smooth throttle, left leg out ready to turn, point the wheel and smooth throttle. again i we had to negotiate fat roots, very low branches and narrow gaps between trees - it was like the seen in empire strikes back on those hover bikes - may be not quite so fast, but it sure a hell felt like it!!
i managed to go 5 laps without one fall, but as soon as that thought entered my head i knew i was doomed and it was not long before the impact came. however, it was not what i was expecting; over taking an even slower rider than myself, a thrid biker tried to overtake me on the same, very short and narrow stretch, he caught my handle bars, we were locked together and careered into a fat tree. how i did not go through the tree and smash the bike up completely i will never know. looking down at my bike and then behind to the other rider, he stood up, asked if i was ok, apologised and then shot off. no point being angry, i was just relieved my bike started and i could steer! my front light and electrics were completely smashed though. still, this is racing!
i dropped the bike a couple more times before the race was over and i realised how hard it had been in the last race, picking my bike up countless times, it knackered me out. by being more careful, riding more smoothly and having a my 'fuel' on tap and additional riding skills made this a much better ride. i finished knackered, but not completely worn out as before.
chobe was lying out in the sun when i arrived back at the car, i think we were both as relieved to see one another. she still had water in her bowl and her long length of rope enabled her to find shade around the car as the sun moved across the sky. peeling off the layers, my clothes were soaked to the skin...how did i get mud down there? helmet, gloves, neck brace, shirt, body armour, t-shirt, trousers, pants, knee and shin pads, big boots and socks, swapped for long shorts and flip-flops! i keep thing about the dakar, but from the footage, although the miles are far longer, the route it far more open. i am currently covering 35 miles in about 3 hours, that's under 12 miles an hour. at that rate to cover a 600 mile stage of the dakar would take 50 hours!!!
for me, the race is about patience, smooth riding, following the best lines, minimal stops, staying alert and waiting for the rider in front to make a mistake or to pull over.
i cleaned the bike on the way home, and at 430pm when i had put the bike away, i flopped onto chobe's duvet in mary's paddock. 3hrs of driving, 3 hours of riding, 1 hour of cleaning, the rest of my 10.5 hours was taken up with packing, loading, unpacking, re- loading, registering, changing, eating and drinking.......it's a pretty full-on day.
once again, CEC did an awesome job.
Labels: tydakar
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