www.lesleyingram.co.uk

You can't always get what you want . . . . .

2012-01-23T17:03:00.002Z

Sunday the 22nd of January 2012 - the Glentress short duathlon, what was I thinking......

After 8 months off training due to the dodgy knee I was hoping 2012 would see me return with a little more spring in my step. I cut out the alcohol . . . stopped eating a bus load of food and actually started to train. With 2 full weeks in the bag (you have no idea how good that feels) I decided it was time to test out the knee or lack of it. In hind sight I should have remembered the brutality of the GT duathlons, but why would I do anything sensible like that??

It all started so perfectly, I was late getting there, had no pedals on my bike, could still feel my breakfast rumbling around in my stomach and to top it all off when I ran about 100m down the road to the start line I got a stitch - doh! It was good to catch up with a lot of faces that I hadn't seen for a while and get the usual banter. As the race started it didn't take long for me to ask myself why I wasn't still lying in my bed (that's never a good sign). Running has never been my strong point so when you are unfit that feeling is multiplied by a zillion - so I was left with the feeling that I would have rather stuck needles in my eyes - it was brutal. The only positive for me to take away was that although my knee felt a bit unstable it held up.

As I launched my running shoes off, changed in to my bike shoes and put on my helmet I instantly felt more at home. Don't get me wrong my legs were knackered but I just felt so much better. It all started off pretty well, I got into a nice rhythm and manged to pick off a few riders on the ups and downs. As I was passing one weapon on the last section of the descent he managed to quite spectacularly wipe me out . . . . of course the only place I was going to land was on the knee. I jumped back up got on the bike and could instantly feel it- oh oh! I was pretty worried to be honest and instantly thought the worst. After finishing I got home pretty quick - got ice on it and tried to rest it as much as possible.

Today its much better - yeah its had an impact, is swollen and is bruised, but its still in one piece. So although my fitness may have left me, I feel pretty content with the knowledge that I will be able to ride my bike this week. For now that's all I need . . .

So as the rolling stones say . . . . if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need!

See you on the trails

Les

More of a binner than a pinner . . . .

2011-11-23T19:52:00.005Z

I've just sat down and read the blog I wrote back in May when the injury first happened . . . it pulled on a few more heart strings than I ever imagined it would. I still can't really see my knee in those photos, sitting looking at my knee now I see the scar and feel this disappointment, but its short lived because I'm excited - the butterflies and drive have returned and after way too many months I'm back on my bike (you have no idea how amazing it feels sitting here now writing that).

The past 6 months have been nothing short of testing . . . . but as I sit back and look over that time, think where I was and where I now am I can see the light (the tunnel was just a bit longer than I expected). Its weird how you never really realise how much you miss something until someone/thing swipes it out of your arms - I've missed my bike, I've missed the trails and I've missed having great craic with my mates out there (although they all assure me that the biking has been utterly pitiful over the past 6 months and I truly believe them - ha ha!).

So the journey has been a different one - in the first few months I could do very little with my leg so I took sometime to chill out, catch up with friends and and try and train my puppy (yip that's still trying to happen!!). After that I started intensive physio and things seemed to be going well so I returned to the bike . . . . however the extensive bone bruising I had sustained then started to play up and it wasn't long before I was back off the bike. And the story has really followed that pattern for the last few months. My knee is getting there - it feels so much stronger and things that were troubling me are gradually starting to disappear. Racing aside it just feels so amazing to be back on the bike.

Riding has been great and I've tried out a few new things like BMX'in . . that was fun!

But racing is always there . . . and when your competitive its hard to switch that tap off. Sure I've been through the motions - is this still what I want to do, will me knee survive . . . . . .I can answer the first question with certainty - yes . . . .the second I hope so . . . . .I just need to get fit now!

And whats the best way to do that?? Race Right??

So the weekend just passed I entered the Innerleithen Night/Day Enduro - 2 runs in the day, 2 runs in the night - radical! It was soo hard - I think I went from being on the bike for about an hour and a half to 3 hours for the race . . . so by the time I got half way down the 3rd run I was about crying, the 4th well that was just a hold on and hope. I'm guessing things weren't made any easier by the massive stack I had in run 2 where I attempted to use my chin as a brake (that doesn't work out so well!), but it is pretty scary being chased down by Emma Guy - especially when shes shouting I'm coming to get you ha ha! All in all it was a cracker of an event, super tough and I was happy to take 3rd after being schooled by Emma Guy with Katy Winton being impressive in 2nd!

Big shout out to Gary Forrest who won the event - pinned boy pinned!

4 days on and I still feel like someone ran me over in a dumper truck and then reversed back over me - doh!

2 weeks til the Glentress duathlon - anyone got a spare lung!

Hope to see you out on the hills

Les.

P.s Last weekend of The Hub Cafe this weekend - get your little behinds down there #thereisnosuchthingastoomuchcake!!

These things are sent to try us . . . . .

2011-05-22T22:30:00.015+01:00

It's a cruel old world sometimes, you over come the dark Scottish winter and a few hiccups on the way all in preparation for the up coming season. The 2011 season kicks off in March and its a bit of a slow start, but after a few races under the belt and a wealth of training things start to move in the right direction. One thing is for certain when it comes to racing and preparation there is no set formula that you can follow, it differs for all of us and sometimes its appears luck also plays a role in there.

But what is luck? Do you believe in it? I think I do to a certain extent, but I'm not really sure where on when that started. Numerous people in my life have often referred to me a lucky Lesley - but that luck has only ever been applicable to certain circumstances - for example parking spaces and clearing courtyards in petrol stations, but does that open me up to a susceptibility to being unlucky in other areas . . . . . . I don't think so, I just reckon that sometimes bad things happen and no matter how many times you think about how different things could have been you just have to swallow it all up, look forward and start healing.

The 19th of May was the start of the World Cup season for me at Dalby this year. Kerry and I packed up the van and headed down to North Yorkshire - its was all going so well. After the drive down we both felt a bit groggy so we unpacked the road bikes and headed out for a spin - it was an amazing night, the sun was out and it was just was just great to be out on the bike.

Friday arrived I signed on for the race and headed to the course from some practice. The course had altered slightly at the start but was riding great and I just couldn't wait for Sunday to arrive. I was on my new bike an Ibis carbon hard tail sorted out for me by the fab guys at The Hub (www.thehubintheforest.co.uk) supplied speedily from 2pure (www.2pure.co.uk). The bike is amazing, it is really sticks to the ground when you are riding in and the confidence that give you is incredible - happy days.

After practice I headed back to the B&B for a chill before the pro sprint eliminator at night....

It all started so well, I was feeling strong and I was travelling around the course, I pinned it down the stairs and the rest is a bit of a blur, I'm not sure if I caught my wheel in a step or the ramp but I managed to put a ding in the rim - resulting in the tyre exploding off and me hitting the ground pretty fast and hard . . . . .during the process I also managed to roll the front tyre off the rim. But it all happened so fast I still had no idea that any of this had happened, all I knew what that I hit the deck, so I jumped up, picked up the bike and was about to get back on it to continue when I discovered I had no air in my tyres, in fact the tyres weren't even on the rims - it still took me a bit of time to figure that was my race over. I felt a bit stiff and hobbled down to the pit area where I discovered my knee was bleeding.

A trip to the medics tent revealed a large hole in my knee and that was me off to A & E to get stitched up. I was still certain I could race on Sunday and was continually asking in the hospital what the chances were. I could tell they thought the chances were slim but they seemed to humour me and say wait and see what its like in the morning. 7 stitches later I was packed off . . .

When I woke up in the morning my knee was about twice its original size and my movement was so restricted there was no chance I could pedal - at that point I knew it was all over.

I've spent the last few days hobbling about and re going over what happened in my head. But its happened and I probably could have ridden that section 100 more times without a problem . . . sometimes bad things just happen!

In the wise words of Friedrich Nietzsche " What doesn't kill us makes us stronger"

Hopefully it will be a speedy recover I've got a new bike to get out and do some riding on.

So if your about and free over the next few weeks give me a shout, Ive got some spare time on my hands!

Healing time.

Les

Go Fast Eggs!!

2011-04-25T09:29:00.010+01:00

Aberfoyle - Yaaassss! Every year when the SXC release their race dates I always get a few butterflies as I sit and pray that Aberfoyle is gonna be there. It was all good for 2011 and a big thanks has to go out to the guys at Squadra Porcini who over came all the barriers set by the forestry to put on another cracking course (I was told that the race was going to go ahead even if it was around a grass field), thankfully it wasn't and the Squadra Porcini guys put on a real MTB race . . . . . . .the future may not be so certain though!

Last week has been cracking weather wise and our often wet and slippy trails have turned into dusty dry ones . . . . . that takes a bit of getting use to ha ha! But Aberfoyle in my eyes is what Scottish mountain biking is all about, rooty, steep and slippy . . . . so sticking with tradition on Saturday morning the heavens opened and the course was transformed - yee ha! Practice is always pretty funny up there as there is normally a stack of bodies somewhere around the course . . . . I pushed my front wheel into what I thought was a moss corner, turns out it was just moss so my wheel went right through and I did a little bit of roley poly action down the hill (reckon I would have beaten any easter egg). After I had finished practicing the sun appeared and it looked like the course was set to dry up alot! Check out the blue sky below as Kerry and I were making some tea!

Sunday arrived and although it was over cast it was still pretty hot . . . you just knew that was going to make heart break hill a little harder :) Luckily enough Andrea was walking about at registration handing out go fast eggs - phew! The race was pretty full on from the start, a massive up hill followed by a big descent that was split into sections - you really had to work hard through out the whole thing. I was pretty chuffed to take the win with Hannah Barnes in 2nd and Rachel Fenton in 3rd - check us out below:
Feeling a bit tired today . . . . nothing an easter egg wont sort out (Kerry bet your gutted you left your egg in my van ha ha!)

Yee ha

Les

Nature starts to reclaim Dalby . . . . . and the course just keeps getting better!

2011-04-18T09:47:00.017+01:00

There are always certain courses that you look forward to on the race calender and Dalby is certainly one of those for me. There are defined sections of the course, which I guess helps you compartmentalise the whole thing, and as you set off on your practice lap it doesn't seem that bad . . . . . of course you always get crowds of riders lurking around Worry Gill (the 8ft drop) and Medusa where you line choice can be critical! This year nature has decided that it wants to reclaim Dalby again and the smooth sections that once existed are but a distant memory of the past, Dalby has got rugged and its great! So basically you get a full on battering on the descents, there are numerous tricky corners, awkward braking bumps and tricky dips just waiting to grab your front wheel as you begin to tire throughout the race. . . . . and to really finish you off you are then faced by numerous gut busting climbs- oh yeah bring on the race!

Kerry and I headed down on Saturday morning and set up camp (look to the left). Kerry had bought a new shelter for us, but to be honest the instructions were a bit dodgy so I had an idea . . . . . I think it worked pretty well, thankfully it wasn't very windy ha ha! We were lucky with the weather even though it was a tad chilly at night. . . . in the middle of the night when I woke up I thought I had a mummy lying next to me . . . turns out Kerry had just pulled her sleeping back so tight her face wasn't even visible ha ha!

It was a really nice relaxing night as the sunset over the campsite . . . . . . and the moon started to rise over the race village! Race day arrived the sun was out and it looked like it was going to be a cracker.

Check out the photo below of me on the start line (that's my race face by the way- ha ha!), its brilliant to see so many elite females competing at the moment in all the races.

As the race started I got a really good start and was sitting well in the middle of the field for the first lap. It all felt really good, by lap 3 Gabby Day and I were neck and neck and we stayed that way through lap 4 and most of lap 5. I was on the front most of the time doing the work but I felt comfortable there and on the last lap managed to get enough of a gap to get 10th spot. It was a full on tough race out there and it certainly took its toll on my body . . . this morning it felt like Mike Tyson had a few pops at me. . . . . . .

Stunt of the day has to go to Craig Owen who was in front of me on my 4th lap and pulled the biggest endo I have ever seen on a cross country bike off those dodgy little humps after Worry Gill! I still have no idea how he didn't go over the bars! :)

Back to Dalby for the World Cup in May . . . . cant wait!

Les

Time to come out of hibernation

2011-03-28T08:32:00.012+01:00

Its easy to get caught up in winter, travelling to and fro work in the dark, training in the dark and just missing out on that much required sunshine. Every year when winter starts it feels long and difficult, but within a week or so you get in to the swing of things, charging lights and such like just fall in to another step towards getting out on your bike. Then something weird happens and you start enjoying it, night riding is pretty special! When you get one of those clear starry nights . . . well you really don't need much else to keep motivated. Once February approaches you can start to see a difference in the day light hours, you feel refreshed and ready to hang up the lights for the summer . . . .

Then March hits . . . the race season begins and everything changes!

This year it all kicked off for me in Innerleithen for the Alistair Lees Time Trial. Its nice to be close to home to race and this race is one of those must do's if you love a technical course. This year was no different, Steve Deas the course designer put together a brutal 25km loop not designed for the faint hearted. It was mega, the descents were tight, twisty very muddy and fun and the climbs were steep technical and tough. There wasn't any chance of getting a breather out on the course as after ever decent a brutal climb followed and that kind of summed up the whole 25km.

There were broken bikes, comedy falls . . . not so comedy falls but so many smiles! It always amazes me that nowadays cross country course designers seem to be listening to the people carrying the red tape, removing challenging sections of courses and in my view not really moving with the times of the sport or bike technology available. However put a tough tough course on like this one and everyone loves it . . . .Why? Because its such a challenge, when the whistle blows and the red mist of racing descends upon us, its amazing what we can achieve . . . .or stumble over!

I really enjoyed the whole event even though my legs were falling off me going up the last climb. The last descent was also timed in order to award a King and Queen of the descent . . . not so easy with all that brutal climbing in your legs! I was really happy to take both the overall win of the TT and the fastest female descent . . . . (5th fastest descent overall) yee ha. Below is a shot of me coming down the last descent from Ian 'Snap Shot' Linton, in the background you can see Inners. Ian is a good friend and a fab photographer, check out his work at http://www.ianlinton.com/

The following weekend is was time to pack up the van and set off to Kirroughtree for the first round of the Scottish XC series. This of course was also the first road trip for Kerry and I . . . . ha ha I have actually missed them! Stoked to be back on the road!

The course at Kirroughtree had been changed a little and I was slightly disappointed to see some of the natural sections that I love so much to be absent from the course. Some of the new natural sections that had been cut turned into a bit of a run, I'm never really up for that. The race was a bit if a shock to the system but I was happy to take 3rd and get on the podium, Lee Craigie (Torq) took the win with Elke Schmidt (Squdra Porcini) 2nd. That's not my pink bucket by the way (see below).

This weekend Kerry and I were on our travels once more, heading south to Sherwood Pines just outside Nottingham. While everyone in Scotland kicked back and enjoyed the sun we were down there freezing our little behinds off . . . . can you believe it??

The course was good despite the fact the course was mainly on the flat! Lots of tight twisty singletrack was cut through the trees keeping the amount of firetrack to a minimum. This type of racing is hard! I was racing on the Lapierre Pro 500 hardtail (look left), aint he something else. To make things a little harder for us all the race got moved forward by half an hour and it was the weekend of the clocks changing-oh oh! Kerry and I weren't sure if our phones updated automatically so we had to set alarms half an hour apart . . . thankfully everything went to plan!

There were 19 starters in the Elite Women's field which is so good to see. The photo to the right is of us at the start, that's me front right as you look at it . . . . .to be honest that blur was how most of the race felt. The pace didn't ease at all and it was brutal from start to finish. I finished in 13th, happy with the result! The Podium read as Lene Byberg (Specialized Factory), Annie Last (Boardman Elite) and Lily Mathews (100% Me). There were alot of fellow Scots down for the race and a hec of support from them all during the race . . . Cheers guys!

Next one Dalby

See you there

Les

Time to step it up with a visit to the Big Dog!

2011-02-25T17:29:00.008Z

I have always had a lot of respect for Graeme Obree. He was definitely a man ahead of his times the way he trained, prepared, altered bikes and never ceased to give up when is so often appeared that ever door was closing on him. I remember reading his book (that was no easy feat), it was very dark in places mainly driven by his illness and I often found it hard to relate to certain parts of it mainly due to the fact that I am very different from him personality wise. As an athlete and more particularly an athlete living in Scotland I got a lot from the words he wrote along the way. One sentence always sticks with me where he states there is no such thing as bad weather . . . . only a poor choice of clothing! That still makes me smile as I think about heading out in the winter for a ride never quite knowing what the weather is going to be like or how many layers to wear . . . . after 5 years it is still very much a work in progress and I often get it wrong but life is all about learning right???

I'm very proud to be Scottish and learning to mountain bike here has definitely provided me with an incredible foundation to build my skills. Where else can you ride in the mud, snow, sunshine and rain all in one simple 2 hour trail ride? Throw into that mixture some of the best varied trails out there and you have the perfect ingredients. Anyway before going off on too much of a tangent I will get back to my earlier point the weather, the beautiful Scottish winter. I think training through a Scottish winter definitely makes you stronger but this year for a week I packed my bags (well actually sat on them to make them shut-mental note to still work on the packing skills) and flitted to Gran Canaria (aka Big Dog) with two trusty accomplices (Emma & Tracy) for some hard graft, quality roads, sunshine and swimming in the sea - total torture.

We hired some bikes out there from a fab shop Free Motion (www.free-motion.net/en) and were off into the hills for a week. It was great, the sun was shining, shorts and t-shirts were on and the temperature was sitting in the mid 20s all week. What was even better was that the day light hours were extended, so it was nice not to be surround by darkness so much. For a day we headed out on the mountain bikes descending from the top of the highest mountain on the island. The trails were amazing, dry, dusty, rocky, twisty and open it had it all . . . even a few technical climbs to round it all off. I think my favourite part of the ride was a section called the jungle trail it was amazing! We had a great guide for the day - Emo - cheers dude!

So although I think that Scotland, more specifically the Tweed Valley is the best place to live, train and just ride in . . . . sometimes its nice to get away.

It makes you appreciate it all the more when you come home.

Roll on the summer

Les

Squirt save the day again!

2011-01-12T20:47:00.005Z

December proved to be an exceptionally cold month in 2010 hitting the record books as the coldest December in over 100 years and the second coldest calender month on record according to the Met Office - brrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Shock horror though it was actually Scotland's 5th driest December ever - most of the time that would put a big smile on my face but the truth was it was still raining, it just fell as snow instead - doh! After the first bit of excitement from the snow wore off . . . getting snowed in, boarding and skiing in Innerleithen and how can I forget the episode of extreme tarping (not for the faint hearted that one) I started to get bored being trapped indoors training. However Scotland's weather wasn't up for becoming predictable and in the same month we experienced more sunshine than normal, this along with an increase in temperature resulted in a speedy thaw . . . mega!

I made the most of the thaw and got out on the mountain and road bike as often as I could. It felt amazing being back outside on the bike you just cant beat it! The mountain bike trails were soaking so the bike was getting a bit of a bashing out there and I don't need to saw anything about the amount of salt on the roads and how it was trying to eat my road bike for breakfast. This was a dilemma and I needed a solution . . . . dun dun dun , then I received a little gift from Squirt. Squirt Devil bike cleaner and Squirt Devil degreaser - goodbye muck and salt hello clean sparkling bikes. Whats even better Squirt have done it again delivered a fab product that is non solvent based, non hazardous and 100% biodegradable. Since I already use Squirt long lasting dry lube on my chain I don't have to spend 3 hours trying to clean it with degreaser as it self cleans - result.

All of the above results in me getting indoors quicker after a ride and that helps aid my recovery. So instead of spending hours out cleaning your bike in the cold winter months, switch to Squirt and get inside and get the kettle on!

Not sure what I would do with out those guys.

Not familiar with the products check them out at http://www.in2dust.co.uk/

or simply visit The Hub in the Forest to buy some produce http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/

Happy Winter riding

Stay warm

Les

Snow Angels . . . . .

2010-11-28T22:24:00.005Z

If the weather looks like this outside . . . . . . .

Don't just head straight for the rollers or turbo . . . . . . it's still possible to get out on the mountain bike and its great fun!

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi1CTcmPp7Y

Don't get cabin fever this winter!

Les

Time to dust off the cobwebs and get back on the bike!

2010-11-20T19:01:00.011Z

It's always good at the end of a long season to have sometime off to recuperate and catch up with friends and family that I have missed during the Summer months. This years off season has been great . . . . although I never actually stopped biking I have spent the last month hanging out with friends on the trails refreshing my memory of what it's all about. . . . it's been amazing!

Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year to ride my bike, the colours are awesome in the forest and its just so refreshing with that little nip in the air. So I've dusted off all the cobwebs and returned to training.

It's great to be back out there doing it all again, but don't forget to stop and have a look around sometimes.

Happy Riding

Les

The adventure begins

2010-07-19T07:20:00.005+01:00

It feels like I have been waiting forever for this weekend to eventually arrive. Last year after the British championships when I qualified to compete in the world cups I knew I was going to embrace it. Its all been a bit of a whirlwind this year but I am frigging loving it. I have been planning this trip for more months than I can remember and for the last week or so I have suffered extreme brain fry trying to organise everything, but on friday Kerry and I set off on our little summer adventure - woop woop!

Isn't it funny how easy it is to wake upin the morning when you know the reason you are getting up is not work :) there was no need for the snooze button on friday! I literally bounded out of bed, but part of that was panic because I still had a heap of packing to do- eek. It didn't take long for me to get into a rhythm and before I knew it Bob was my uncle, Mary was my aunt and my bags were packed. That proved to be the easy bit . . . . the difficult bit was trying to fit 3 weeks worth of kit, clothes, bikes, camping stuff, food and most of the contents of my flat into the van, oh yeah not to forget all of Kerry's stuff. By we cracked it, check it out below:

I can find anything in there . . . . or maybe just the coke :)

Chi Chi (the van) also got a makeover for going away, check him out below with his show girl Kerry.

Just after midday we were off, what was left behind was left behind (let's face it judging from the picture above it wasn't much) the adventure starts here!

The first leg of the journey was only down to Birmingham but the journey was a bit of a more to be honest - Friday M6 need I say anymore!

On saturday we got upfairly early and tackled the next 3 hour of the journey,again we got caught up in a bit of traffic on the M25-we are so noy use to that. But we made good time and got down just after lunch, unfortunately there was a bit of hanging about though as course practice didn't open until 4pm. But eventually we got there and I was pleasantly surprised 30 minutes south of gatwick there was a hidden gem of mountain biking hidden in East Sussex at Pippingford estate. The course had some really tough climbs but to counter that it had really fast sweeping descents, if they didn't make you smile you are so in the wrong sport! So I left practice on a high, good course now all I required was a good night of rest to prepare.

My race wasn't until 2.30pm on sunday which was really weird, it totally throws you when you are use to racing at 10am, there is a whole other meal invovled - yikes! The temperature was starting to rise and the nice organisers put our race up to 5 laps, there was no way around this is was going to be a slog out there!

As with most races you get to about 2 hours before the event and then the time flys in! So there I was stood on the start line in blistering heat for the 2010 British Champs. We were off . . . the start was a horrible drag up a lumpy bumpy field, my legs were screaming at me on the way up but I knew I just had to get to the top as there was a descent to follow. I was lying in 6th and stayed there for the first lap. On the 2nd lap there was a bit of a confusion at the feed zone and I missed my 2nd bottle - nightmare in the heat but I just had to get on with it . . . . I had now moved into 5th and was closing on 4th. As I approached the 3rd lap I could see 4th place just up ahead, I worked hard and attacked coming out of the feed zone and thats where I finished up. I'm stoked, a few errors in there but it is all starting to come together.

Yee ha

Les

Dam good at Dalby!

2010-07-05T10:55:00.001+01:00

The season seems to really be rolling in fast now especially since it was time to return to Dalby for the 4th round of the British XC. I'm starting to get to know the course at Dalby pretty well so I wasn't really expecting any differences for the race. Sadly this year Dixon's hollow was taken out at the end, it's a small 4x stylee track that is just so much more fun and feels like a little reward at the end of each lap so I guess I was pretty sad to see it go. Apart from that the course was pretty much the same old, with a few added braking bumps. There had been a few heavy down pours in the days leading up to the race so some of the berms were slippy as, actually I just fell down the first one - doh! The rain had passed by the friday however as the temperature was starting to rise so I wasn't too concerned.

Saturday morning was another scorcher . . . . . it's not good for us Scotties that are only use to an average of about 14 degrees (well maybe it has been a little higher this year). To the race . . . . . I actually got a really good start leading the field out and being able to dictate the pace at the first 180 degree corner, before the first technical section Rossara Joseph nipped in front of me so I followed her wheel down that. Later Mel spath came past and on the next section of the track my chain came off - doh and fell all the way back behind my cogs. I had to get off during which time the whole field passed me - nooooooooooooooooooooo! Once fixed I was back on track and fought my way back to 7th where I eventually finished. All in all it was a great race, really tough but that's the way it should be. Can't wait til the next one

Les

They know how to mountain bike in Wales!

2010-06-02T15:00:00.006+01:00

Bank holiday weekend and another mammoth trip south for some epic racing in Wales! Kerry and I got up in the wee early hours of Friday morning and headed to Cardiff for the big Welsh weekend of racing! The journey down wasn’t so bad, a little slow at the hot spots of Manchester and Birmingham but otherwise it was a relatively good trip. That is mostly due to the fact that we now have a sat nav, so our days of wondering around aimlessly are distant memories at the back of our minds. . . . . . . . .well almost normally we have at least a few recalculating episodes. It has however brought new challenges to the table, it always predicts time of arrival so a currently favourite game at the moment is beat the sat nav – not that I’m competitive or anything :)

Saturday was the XC event and boy was the weather horrible it just poured with rain the whole time! It’s funny because like most when I look out the window in the morning and see horizontal rain coming towards me my initial thought is to jump straight back into bed, but this Saturday I was glad I didn’t. Margam park hosted the racing this weekend and a new track had been cut for the race, mixed with the rain it turned into two and a bit hours of cracking fun! The climbs were not for the faint hearted and the descents ha ha they were just amazing. There were loads of off camber sections where the bike was just drifting the whole way down, other parts of the course turned into massive mud slides where it was a case of get off the brakes and go for it, I had a rather impressive power slide on the go at one point. I finished 9th in the race and was stoked with the result. Rossara Joseph took the win, with Lee Craigie 2nd and Cait Elliot taking 3rd slot!

Lewis Kirkwood continued his impressive form in the juniors finishing 5th, nice work!

Normally the day after a race is a relatively chilled out affair but that was not the case this weekend as on Sunday the marathon events were taking place. I entered the 75km race which consisted of 3 25km loops. I was a bit apprehensive that such a big loop would lead to a rather boring course, but once again I was more than impressive with Margam. The first 5km of the course was a rather brutal climb that was followed but some really tasty climbs and descents. A big thumbs up to the course designers, its one of the best enduro courses I have ever ridden. I really enjoyed the event on Sunday and even though my legs felt a little tired at first it didn’t take long for them to warm up. I managed to win the marathon – yee ha!

Kerry and I stayed with some family friends this weekend – Rob and Ann. They showed us how hospitality was done Welsh styleee and we truly had a fantastic time. Big thanks to you both and all your family, it was so nice to meet everyone. Hope to see you all soon.

Kerry was a star once more having to deal with the pouring rain on sat and like normal not being bothered at all by it.

Cracking weekend, I defiantly want to see more of Wales and what it has to offer mountain biking wise!

Yee ha
Les

At last an actual mountain bike race at Aberfoyle!

2010-05-24T16:05:00.003+01:00

For the last few months I have literally been pulling my hair out trying to find my motivation for racing! Granted we didn't endure the best winter for training over here, but it felt like more than that. At the beginning of the season I was content with racing myself fit, but after a puncture at Kirroughtree and a few non-races I was really struggling to find that fire in my belly. I couldn't put my finger on the lack of motivation and panic was starting to set in. Isn't it funny how things workout sometimes? It appears that Aberfoyle was all I was waiting for!

I know I sound like a bit of a broken record sometimes but seriously how good was the course at Aberfoyle?? The climb was a killer, a real heart breaker but I concurred it 4 out of 4 laps - that was a good feeling! And the descent well it was just awesome, natural tracks with more than enough to keep you on your toes - the rain on saturday night certainly made it more sleek. Sadly on sunday I appeared to have forgotten how to descend and had more than my fair share of crashes, it was rather scary to be honest. But on my 4th lap as I crossed that finish line a massive smile appeared, all the panic had gone, I was just waiting for a proper mountain bike course to race on! I finished 3rd on the day - stoked to be honest as it was my first XC podium of the year. Lee Craigie (Torq performance team) was once again on impressive form taking the win, with Elke Schmidt (squadra porcini) finishing in 2nd.

The Glentress Riders were out on form as usual with Hannah Ferguson taking the win in the Youth Females, Lewis Kirkwood winning the male juniors and Jake Law finishing 7th in the masters - gid work guys!

Big thanks to Squadra Porcini for a fab course, great marshals and for being so helpful on saturday practice. SXC two thumbs up for race and venue - smashing!

As always big thanks to the Hub, Squirt and all my other sponsors. Kerry for the bottles and mum and dad for the encouragement.

Yee ha

Les

P.s well done to my sis-in-law Lisa who ran the Edinburgh marathon in 4:10, first one and all that!

10 hours of carnage at Fort Bill!

2010-05-19T14:59:00.004+01:00

I'm pretty sure last year as I crossed the finish line at 10 under I turned to Kerry and said - job done . . . . I'm happy with that, stoked at the result but I don't know if I will ever do it again. . . . .

The 15th of May 2010, it's 10 Under the Ben and guess what I'm on that start line!

I have one word for the start - carnage! This year a Le mond style start was adopted where what felt like millions of competitors had to sprint, hobble and drag themselves 100m before getting on the bikes. During the whole thing I remember feeling scared, everyone was trying to push you out the way and snap at your heels . . . . . . I couldn't even see the ground I was suppose to be running on. Somehow I survived and for 9 hours 44 minutes and 13 seconds spent a considerable large amount of time riding my bike!

The guys at No Fuss again had done a great job adding new natural sections to the course, but I will never thank them for putting that little steepy climb in there :) ha ha it was killing me by the end but I did manage to make it up 8 out of 8 attempts -BOOM! The weather decided to remind us that we were in fact in Scotland as we experienced showers / heavy rain and even a little sunshine.

I found the event a lot harder this year, but think the weather played a role in that as the ground got wet the natural sections began to mud up and some sections felt like you were riding through toffee, towards the end of the race it did start to dry up though! I managed to get 9 laps in on the day that included a highland cow falling on top of me (well a lass dressed up as a highland cow) and a close encounter with a tree that left a dent in my helmet and a bruise on my head - doh! I won the female solo category by a lap with Hannah Barnes taking 2nd and Dorota Bamkowska taking 3rd. I'm stoke with the whole result as I actually finished 11th out of 184 solo's yee ha! Graeme Short (Glentress Riders) was also out there finishing 4th in the vets - but I didn't actually see him the whole event - just shows you how many folk are attending these days! Dick, Ali and Scott got 3rd in the vet male trios!

A big thanks has to go to Kerry for supporting me as always, couldn't have done it without ya. G for cleaning my bike between laps and getting me in the shape to do the damage in the first place. A big thanks has to go out to the guys at No Fuss for another gid event. Also to all the marshals for all the support and encouragement the whole way round - they were magic! And for all the nutters up at the event from the Borders who gave me good chat even if I was moaning at times :)

I had never seen so much mud on my bike at the end and after a few washes and a visit to The Hub it is back happily in working order.

Aberfoyle this weekend - I'm only gutted the course has had to be changed because of one lady and her dogs - thing we may have just lost one of the best XC race venues in Scotland.

Onwards and upwards

Yee ha

Les

The stuff dreams are made of!

2010-05-04T09:03:00.003+01:00

At the end of last year I was super excited when I realised that I had acquired enough UCI points in order to compete in World Cup events. I still remember waiting for what felt like weeks for the race dates and venues. Sadly Fort William lost the XC World Cup event but I was stoked that Dalby (North Yorkshire) had been successful in their bid. Resulting in the first round of the World Cup travelling there for 2010, which meant that my first ever experience of a world cup would be on home soil - that was pretty exciting!

I didn't really know what to expect from the event to be honest but I knew that it was going to be pretty massive when I started to get butterflies in my stomach the Monday before the race . . . . . in fact I am getting those butterflies once more now just thinking about the whole event!

It had been a bit of a manic week for me at work but Kerry and I eventually set off at 8am on Friday morning. The journey down was relatively simple - partly because we had been down that way before, but we did take a slightly different route this year. Co-pilot Kerry was on top of her game though! It took around 4 hours to get down which gave me plenty of time to register and get a practice lap in. I raced at Dalby last year as part of the British XC series so I knew that it was a good course, the best bit was that they had continued to develop the course cutting in even more technical lines and creating proper chicken routes that added on time! Thank you course designers! It's one of the toughest courses out there to race on, the hills are not massive, instead steep and mostly in quick succession of each other - that certainly starts to wear you down as you get through the laps. Furthermore there is little recovery to be enjoyed on the descents since they are technical - yee ha so concentration levels have to be up there! Its just fab!

After practice it was a quick scoot to the B&B to drop off all my stuff then back into Pickering for the pre-eliminator sprint race. A short 2 minute circuit had been created around the town that encompassed short climbs, a grave-yard, steps and a rather sketchy gravelly section. The format for the race was individual time trials and if you were quick enough you progressed onto a 4cross-esk race in which 4 people raced around the circuit together with the top 2 of each race getting through. The locals got right behind the event, loads of folk came along to watch and cheer all the riders on, bands were on the street playing music. I progressed into the first 4v4 race but didn't get any further - it was amazing! Home to bed to try and sleep :)

Saturday was another early start - up, breakfast and then back down to the course to get some more practice. After 2 laps I was pretty happy with my lines and decided enough was enough. It was pretty cool as Kerry and I then managed to spend a little time wandering around the race village before watching the junior race. Katy Winton cycled to a very impressive 5th place in the junior females, with Kenta Gallagher taking 13th in the junior males and Grant Ferguson 23rd after fixing a broken chain! Saturday night was much more relaxed - a quick bit to eat and then feet up for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning arrived and to be honest I just couldn't wait to get to the race. Everything seemed to go past pretty fast and before I knew it I was away warming up. We got penned 20 minutes before the race before every individual rider was called to the start line . . . . . there were 95 riders in total. I was gridded 2nd last row and was actually struggling to see the start of the riders - ha ha it was wicked. Positioned right in the center of the row I knew the start was going to be a fun one! It wasn't long before 1 minute to go was called out and everyone began to creep forward, by 30s I couldn't actually move anymore as I was surrounded by people. And we were off, it was fast and I mean fast, bikes and riders were flying around the place and the game had well and truly commenced! For an hour and a half after that all I can tell you was that I was beasting myself big style! I ended up finishing 81st - sweet! The crowds out there were amazing, everyone was cheering you on trying to keep you going!

I'm sitting smiling just now writing this piece because it was just so amazing. The podium read as follows: Irina KALENTIEVA, Willow KOERBER, Katerina NASH, Georgia GOULD & Julie BRESSET.

What an event to be a part of!

Yee ha

Les

Nae hill's at Sherwood!

2010-03-29T14:20:00.004+01:00

Getting back into racing certainly does pack a punch and already the whirlwind of last weeks race and a 40km TT midweek left me slightly weary! Sherwood pines is about a 4 and a half hour journey for me so I guess its not too bad! However it just seemed to take an age to get down there and I was proper tired by the time we arrived. It was time for a quick kit change and a practice lap. There is one thing that you always know about Sherwood Pines, it's gonna be flat and it's gonna be fast and yep that pretty much sums up the lap. After the lap it was time to get some food and find the travel lodge.

The travel lodge was about half and hour away and did the trick for the night. They even allowed me to take my bike into the room, which actually allowed me to get some sleep during the night . . . . . . not waking up every 5mins to peep through the curtains! All I had to do was remember to switch my clock to go off an hour earlier! :)

Sunday arrived, my phone managed to change the time by itself (it's just amazing living in the 21st century) and everything was going nicely to plan. The race was tough from start to finish 5 laps of flat out effort with very little recovery out there. I finished 13th pretty happy with that result to be honest!

Other Glentress riders were out in force as usual with Katy Winton taking 2nd in the Junior females, Lewis Kirkwood 6th in the Junior males and Hannah Ferguson taking 4th in the Youth females. Nice one guys!

A few weeks off now to train like a beast for Dalby

Yee ha

Les

That's Life!

2010-03-22T14:13:00.008Z

The racing season has defiantly crept up on me with a bit of a bang this year. I'm not sure if it's to do with the weird winter we have just experienced where lets face it, biking became a little tricky and my skills have been used more in the sports of snowman making and extreme sledging (not for the faint hearted!), but I'm just not really sure where the time has gone. So now its March and the start of the SXC season . . . . . . . . here we go again.

Most of Saturday morning was spent by me running around like a headless chicken, not quite fully remembering what I required to race, blatantly packing way too much stuff and in the end being content that I knew I had a bike, shoes, shorts, top, helmet and gloves and lets face it anything else was just going to be a bonus! Did I mention how sweeet my new race bike is??? Check it out below:

So off Kerry and I set for Kirroughtree and our first road trip of the season. All went according to plan and we arrived around 3pm in the afternoon. I popped off for a quick scoot around the race route and once again was more than happy with what Kirroughtree had to offer, actually it was even a bit better than last year as more sections of fire-track road had been taken out and replaced with natural sections - now we are talking! After a quick lap it was back to the B&B ( http://www.muirfadbedandbreakfast.co.uk) to chill-ax before the race the next day. Muirfad is one of Kerry and I's favourite places to stay when we are travelling around, Sue and Basil always make you feel very welcome in their home, it you are ever over that way you should definitely pop in and see them.

On Sunday morning everything felt good and I was really excited about getting out onto the race to see how everything was going. The race went really well up to the last lap where unfortunately I got a puncture, after a bit of faffing and a dodgy gas canister I eventually finished, coming in 6th, not quite what I was hoping for on the day but just makes me even more hungry for the next SXC! Sue Clarke took the win, with Lee Craigie 2nd and Elke Schmidt 3rd.

Fellow Glentress Riders Hannah Ferguson and Lewis Kirkwood got 3rd in their categories. Graeme Short finished 18th in the Vets.

British XC next week

Yee ha

Les

It just had to snow right!

2009-11-30T09:12:00.008Z

Lets face it November's weather has challenged the best of us! Part's of the country have experienced almost a years rainfall in 24hr, the Tweed almost doubled in size over night and on more occasions than I really care to remember I have had to contend with soaking wet feet (don't you just hate that!). So it was of no surprise when I woke up on Sunday morning, looked out the window and I saw the rain streaming down the window (first thoughts were this bike is gonna be fun and slippy), but I wasn't prepared for the snow that was about to follow - it defiantly has to be the first of the Glentress Duathlons with weather like that ............ha ha!

For the first time I can remember the first duathlon was completely sold out - it's really nice that the series is seeing the support that it truly deserves. Pete, Elspeth and the rest of the gang had once again set up a flawless race course that only ever guarantees one thing . . . . . . . . its gonna be tough out there but surprisingly fun too (don't be fooled normally the fun part is only sensed when you are actually finished and alot of the time I think it is just relief :) he he!)

At twelve o'clock sharp we were off (thank goodness because it was freezing!), it was as rapid as usual as everyone battle for a position on the firetrack road, the lungs got a bit of a shock with the lack of recent racing and just the sheer coldness of the air. The course was the same as last year but due to the wet weather the descents were a little more interesting - I was loving the slippy-ness! It caught more than a few people out as I watch some rather sore looking face plants in front of me! From there it was up and down, up up and down with a little more up before returning to the transition area. By this stage my hands were pretty numb and the whole task of taking off a pair of biking shoes and attempting to tie up laces on running shoes was providing to be just a little too difficult - after a few to many minutes I was off out on my run. My stomach was going berserk, it kind of sounded like a washing machine - yuk! The whole run was a bit torturous for me as I just really felt that I didn't have a lot of energy, at which point it really started snowing (check out how happy I am in the photo below), it was made slightly worse by the fact that it was an out and back run so I could see the girl leading and the other competitors chasing me down-eek! I managed to hold on to second place after Elke Schmidt who was flying at the front of the field taking a convincing win and finishing in 8th spot over all! The whole race was pretty tough and I never really felt like I had a second gear - must have forgotten to pack my gear box!

Once again a really great tough event!

Thanks to the bike patrol - that half covered digestive biscuit and cup of tea at the end were the best I have ever tasted! The only thing that was missing was a bit of Carl's banter, but you guys did him proud!

Happy to have a rest today!

Les

Something green and shiny to make you smile during the dark winter months!

2009-11-10T15:46:00.004Z

Another season down . . . . . . .

I don’t think I’m alone in the feeling that the 2009 SXC series was defiantly one of the best yet! There were surprises around ever corner, some great new courses, some great twists to old courses and as always some great folk out there competing and supporting! However the mere mortals among us drew a great sigh of relief as we crossed the finish line at Drumlanrig as that signified the end . . . . . . at last time to put the feet up for a while and recovery.

Don’t get too comfortable thought! Winter is fast approaching and if you get stuck inside too long with you feet up, well it may just become a bit of a habit . . . . a bad habit! As the nights draw in and the nip in the air turns into a bit more than a nip, that bad habit might just become to tough to break- be careful (eeeekkkkk)!

Winter is a funny old time especially in Scotland, the weather is unpredictable to say the least and even with his best efforts Michael Fish has a pretty poor chance of predicting what is actually going to happen! But that kind of adds to the excitement I guess, I enjoy being out on the mountain bike when it is wild and the wind is blowing a hooley around you, it’s pretty cool! Last winter however my patience got tested on more than one occasion after getting frost bite on the road bike, being blown with my bike completely off the track and for more times than I care to remember attempting to cycle in snow that was just silly deep (great for playing the longest skid though!). But my biggest hate of the winter has to be that after every ride you seriously have to strip your bike if you want the components to last even half the winter, and that’s just boring! Especially when it’s freezing outside and I would rather be sat in side with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit!

But this year it’s going to be different . . . . .

With a little help from my buddies at The Hub (the bike guru’s that they are) my eyes were opened to a hidden little treasure . . . . . The Genesis IO-ID. Genesis are pretty smart cookies and at a last somebody has actually designed a bike suited to withstand British winters and all that they can throw at us, plus they are pretty sweet to ride too (always a bonus). The IO-ID is a pretty trusty little stead, it has a really nice geometry, an apple green Reynolds 520 double butted frame (it’s cool check oot the pic’s), Rockshox Recon race forks and Shimano 575 brakes. But that’s not the impressive bit, the rear hub is a Shimano 8 speed Alfine that proves to be a winner on so many accounts – the restricted gear ratio is ideal for improving power over the winter, there is no derailleur so go mad, ride over heather and such like without a care in the world yee hee! The bike is a little heavier than a normal hardtail because of the rear hub but again the weight gain is perfect for winter training. But the genius bit that just makes me smile is the reduced maintenance, no rear cassette or derailleur to clean after ever ride only a simple chain! Thus meaning I will be spending less time cleaning my bike and more time enjoying the nicer things in life – remember the tea and biscuits!

IO-ID’s are extensively used on The Hubs hire fleet, but are only used a maximum of 35 times before retirement, at this point good homes are sought for each and every bike! The only prerequisite is that when you purchase one of these little babies you promise to have fun on it! Each bike is fully serviced after every ride and again before going on sale (many with brand new components) so in many ways it’s as good as new. So if you fancy grabbing yourself a little winter bargain you can pick up an IO-ID for only £499, check them out at http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/Bike/Bikes_For_Sale.html or head along and have a chat with the dudes at The Hub (they really do know what they are talking about!). Still not convinced? Hire one of the bikes out for the day and take it for a whizz around the trails, then if you decide to buy the bike you will be refunded the hire charge – spiffing!

So tell me what you would rather be doing this winter . . . . cleaning your bike or drinking tea? It’s a no-brainer for me!

Yee ha

Les

Tinto Tinto it aint no disco disco!

2009-11-09T10:13:00.006Z

The 2009 season was a tough one that was for sure! I had peaks in my fitness that were just incredible and on the whole was stoked with the outcome of the year! It is a pretty full on year racing straight through from April to September, so by the end of the last race I drew a big breath of air in relief for the rest that lay ahead. I took a month off training which gave me time to recuperate and regenerate in prep for 2010, it was great catching up with family and friends and hitting the trails only for fun helping me to remember why I started mountain biking in the first place - yee ha!

As October approached it was time to shake off the cobwebs and get back into training! Its so bizarre how quickly your body starts to shut down after a period of rest and the first few weeks of training were quite intense! But somewhere along the windy road my body started to remember what training was and I started to recover between sessions - relief big style! So for now its full steam ahead.

Saturday the 7th was Tinto hill race and I just had to go back and try it again. It's funny when you participate in sports events and you forget all the bad memories and only remember the good . . . .dam it :) It was a cracking day and that attracted lots of runners with a record 298 people attending! When I was stood at the foot of the hill I was flooded by bad memories of what lay ahead and they did not disappoint! I always find it really bizarre during running races at the volume of people that are around you, talk about people coming into your personal space . . . . . at one point I looked up and I had a guys ass in my face . . . not so pleasant! The climb was tough as usual and all the false peaks got me again :( but I was faster to the top - yipee. The descent was pretty loose and slippy in bits but fun . . . . as the gradient flattened out towards the end of the race I got passed by more than a few whippets - gutted! On the whole though I was a whole 3 minutes faster than last year - result! I finished 160th out of the 298 runners, 10 spots up on last year :)

The last few days have been tough, my body is broken and stairs are my nemesis!

A slighty tired

Les

The Big Finale!

2009-09-23T10:15:00.005+01:00

Its gone . . . its over . . . . 2009 sxc done!

The last round this year was at Drumlanrig Castle, and as always it was a great end to the season. The course was pretty slippy on Saturday, probably the worst I have ever ridden it . . . . . at some points I felt like I was in a ping pong machine with my little hardtail, loose as a goose! The course was great, some of the roots are now super exposed and its just a real hard core race out there, not much opportunity to let off the gas! The new section of the course was fabby, really flowing but you had to be careful not to lose your front wheel in some of the loose corners! By the time Sunday had arrived the sun was shinning and most of the course had dried out- it was just the perfect end.

The race was a UCI cat 2 so our start was delayed until 2 o'clock, I would be telling fibs if I said I didn't enjoy the lazy start to the day! Melaine Spath (DU Cycling club) won the elite females, with Lee Craigie (Square Wheels) having a great race finishing in 2nd spot and Lily Mathews (100% Me) in 3rd spot. I finished in 4th and was chuffed to bits with that! That result also secured my 2nd place overall in the series - sweet!

The rest of the Glentress Riders were lapping up the technical course too with Lucy Grant taking the win the the girls juvenile field. Katy Winton won the youth females closely followed by Hannah Ferguson. Lewis Kirkwood also had a good race finishing 4th in the youth males with Sam Waterston in a great 6th place. Jake Law sat this one out spending some quality time with his newly born daughter - aawwww! Graeme Short had to deal with a tough Irish invasion finishing in 13th in the male vets.

Another season gone - that is such a mad feeling!

I have loads of shout outs that's for sure!

To my sister Kerry for traipsing the whole country with me, putting up with my bad moods (normally because she cant read a map - he he) and with out fail always being there on race day feeding me and trying to give me encouragement, even though I look like death sometimes!

The G man for his time and dedication to my training. Without his support I would not be where I am now!

The hub and everyone there for looking after my bike, giving me great advice and support, and putting up with my banter all year :)

Squirt / Luvians / Bloc / Tunnocks / Polar and Baillie Gifford for all the support during the season.

The Wednesday night gang! Training is always an easier thing to do with you guys around. Cheers G, Gary, Graeme and Rue!

A big thanks to the SXC for another great year and everyone else involved that makes the season run so smoothly.

And anyone else that I have missed - thanks!

Time for a bit of feet up before winter training starts . . . I'm excited already

Yee ha

Les

Aviemore at it's best!

2009-09-07T11:04:00.004+01:00

Round 6 can you believe it? In some ways I can . . . . . . my body feels pretty tired but I'm just not really sure where the summer has gone, but it certainly has gone that I'm certain of! The nights are drawing in, night lights have been rescued from the back of the cupboard and dusted off - eek its all a bit mad!

Aviemore what a course! . . . . its gruelling, technical and tough and everybody loves it! Seriously I have never heard anyone say a bad word about Aviemore. It has been puzzling me why the course is loved so much, especially when it is pretty technical at sections, but my conclusion is that somewhere down that descent no matter what your skill level is you cannot help but smile because it is great fun, sure there are some pretty challenging bits but that's what we all need to make sure we get out on our bikes out of the shed and practice. The firetrack road is tough and it exposed every rider without enough miles in their legs, the natural climbing was great and slippy, the descents were awesome ranging from varied sweeping single track to rock drops and that great section at the end of the course that was just uber fast . . . . .love it! But I think the course at Aviemore sends out a really strong message about the mountain biking community, they like to be challenged so lets not shy away from some of the great tracks Scotland has to offer and race on them more! A big shout out has to go to everyone involved in the course design at the weekend, those guys got up super early on Sunday morning and pre-rode the course just to make sure everything was ok for the race . . . . cheers guys!

The race for me personally was a shock to the system, in August I picked up a viral illness which resulted in me being off the bike for a month and boys could I feel that, I actually felt like I was going backwards on the firetrack climb but it was all made worth while every time I got to the top for the descent - yaaaoooo! Ciara Macmanus made the trip over from Northern Ireland and took the win in the Elite females, followed by Lee Craigie (Square Wheels) and Ruth Fraser-Moodie (Pedal Power) in 3rd, eventually I finished in 4th spot but was pushed all they way to the end by Mona Petrie who subsequently finished in 5th! Gid racing.

Fellow Glentress riders were doing a great job out there too: Lucy Grant took the win in the Juvenile category. Katy Winton won the youth. Lewis Kirkwood finished in 5th in the male youths and Sam Waterston in 11th. Finally Graeme Short finished 11th in the vets.

Hopefully I can find some climbing legs for Drummy

Yee ha

Les

Team Ingram get Durty down at St Mary's Loch!

2009-08-03T09:57:00.007+01:00

Really has it been a year??? It would appear so . . . . it was time for team Ingram to dust off the cobwebs and prepare for the DURTY triathlon 2009 yee ha! The team was made up of my sister Kerry - the swimmer, me - the biker and my sister-in-law Lisa the runner! It was truly a horrible day down in the Scottish Borders . . . . literately started raining from the minute we woke up, but I would be telling fibs if I didn't admit to having a slight grin on my face because the rain only signalled one thing in my eyes . . . a slippery sleek mountain biking course ha ha!

Team work . . . . . or Kerry doing all the hard work you decide!

So Kerry was off on the first leg and was skimming along the water like a dolphin . . . . . . well actually I couldn't really see her because there were so many people in the water but that's how she was swimming in my mind! It took her a mere 16:47mins to complete the swim, get the wetsuit off, swing it around her head and tag me! Yippee now for some fun! I was feeling pretty good out there knowing that I only had 2 main hills to climb, the first one was going well and I was reeling people in all the time so that was a great motivator, after the first descent I could only see another 2 riders in front - yikes. On the final steepest hill I caught one of the guys and the other was in throwing distance and putting up a pretty good fight. When I got to the top of the ascent I knew there was a tough boggy section before a fast loose descent, I put the work in along the bog section and caught the final guy at the start of the fast descent . . . . I was on my little full susser so I have a lot of fun getting down that descent! It was a bumpy ride back to the transition where I tagged Lisa for the run (not before she gave me stick about having to be the first runner out . . . no pleasing some people ha ha! See the photo above). Lisa whizzed the 5k 26:16 minutes - sweet! We won the team event and were 2nd overall in the sprint event! Check us out below in the roasting Scottish summer!!!

It was a great day out and such a nice way to spend sometime with the family! Thanks to everyone who came along for the day to cheer us on! Oh and nice one to my little nephew Adam who has recently learnt to ride his bike and was showing me his skills! Next generation of Ingram mountain bikers in the making already - get in!

Yee ha

Les

The Garmin Challenge Glentress

2009-07-29T10:01:00.002+01:00

This year so far we have been getting slightly spoilt with the dusty dry courses that have prevailed upon us in the land on mountain biking, but it looks like Scotland has remembered its original climate (boo!) and has returned to being rather bleek! On Sunday the guys from Bike radar and Garmin descended upon Glentress for the 3rd Garmin challenge event! It was a bit rainy and a bit yukky but pretty good fun out there on the mountain bike I have to say!

The event was class, really easy, pitch up, sign on , get a Garmin unit attached to your bike and follow that route! Check out the full report at:

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/winner-of-scottish-garmin-mtb-day-revealed-22589

I'm going to have some fun with my new Garmin Edge that's for sure!

Yee ha

Les

This is what its all about . . . . . The British Champs 2009

2009-07-21T10:07:00.011+01:00

It's been a while since I have felt like this . . . . . . it is now Tuesday, my body is officially broken, if it doesn't hurt or is not bruised it has just decided that right now it doesn't really want to work properly! I went to the limit this weekend at the Champs - holy smokes it was fun!

Innerleithen what a place! For ages now I have always wondered why the Scottish Borders lacks mountain biking events especially since in a relatively short radius you are absolutely spoilt for choice! This weekend the small usually quaint (except on Saturday nights) town of Innerliethen played host to both the Downhill and XC 2009 British Championships! It was super exciting and the whole place looked awesome!

The XC course was not for the faint hearted, the climb was mega with enough steep little kickers in there to keep pain levels above threshold . . . the descent was mental and the field . . . . god that was just horrible! It was proper mountain biking and it was so refreshing! My race was hard, probably the hardest race that I have competed in yet. There wasn't much space for a breather out there and I had my fair share of problems but at the end of the day that's just what racing is all about! An eventful third lap resulted in me ripping my cleat out of my shoe - seriously I still have no idea how that happened. Anyway it left me trying to descent by putting the carbon sole of my shoe onto the pedal, yip it wasn't that much fun and pretty scary to be honest! I was just chuffed to get to the bottom, kind of in one piece, where Graeme kindly lent me his shoe for the final lap, it may have been a few sizes too big and my heel kept popping out on the climb but it was so good to actually be able to ride like I know I can on my last descent. Hats off to Sue Clarke (SIS) who took the win in the women's field on a proper hardcore track! Followed by Jenny Copnall (Look RT) in 2nd and Sharon Laws (Halfords Bikehut) in 3rd. I finished 8th and am mega chuffed with the result, first top 10 in the British yee ha!

The rest of the Glentress riders were on form too with Katy Winton taking the win and becoming youth Champion, Hannah Ferguson returned to racing after a pretty horrible accident mid week and finished 4th - good riding girls! Lucy Grant was 2nd in the Juvenile catgegory. Lewis Kirkwood also made the podium finishing 3rd in the Male youths and Sam Waterston finished 12th. Jake Law and Graeme Short claimed to take this one easy but they seemed to be motoring when I saw them! And Last but by no means least Neil Wilson won the Vet's Downhill category - sweet riding guys!

I'm still buzzing from the whole weekend, it was so cool to race at home and have so much support out there so thanks to everyone who came along to watch! The marshals were awesome too thanks for all the chat along the way! The course was awesome and everything ran really smooth on the day. I think it was really cool that both events came together for the weekend as it something that never happens and it was really nice to catch up and watch friends and team mates riding in the Downhill, for the future I reckon it would be good if both events could run together but possibly on separate days for example like they use to do at Fort William for the World Cup. After all its the British Champs, its a really big deal to all the riders involved and each and everyone one of them deserves the limelight for a day!

G man you are cool, I never would have managed those hills without your wisdom! Kerry respect as always! Sarah thanks for the last bottle!!

Special thanks to The Hub, Bloc, Luvians, Baillie Gifford and Tunnocks.

Time for some more sleep I think

Yee ha

Les

Girls are Loud . . . . . . boys are rubbish :)

2009-07-13T09:31:00.011+01:00

This weekend Kirroughtree played host to the next in the series of the No Fuss 10 hour events! Seriously what a host and what a course! At last a course that wasn't made up of relentless hours of firetrack road it was sweet!!!!! There was just under 300m of climbing per lap (see the course profile below!) and it was a real course for the power houses of the mountain bike field! The bitterness of the climbs and hard efforts were immediately whisk away by the fast flowing singletrack descents! If you didn't smile out there seriously you need to have a word with yourself! There was one relentless climb (you all know the one I mean!) in there, where the lactate filled the legs, it was always a relief to get to the middle section of the climb where it eased off for 1 second or so before the rest of the climb kicked in - ouch!, its only saving grace was its shortness and you knew when you got to the top a treat was in store all the way to the finish line! It just goes to show that you can actually put together a proper mountain bike race without an overkill of fire track! Two big thumbs up to the organisers at No fuss for this one yaaaa oooo!

The weather even held up! It was proper scorchio during the day and the rain that was due to arrive a tea time was delayed for a few hours until the race was finished! Well done to whoever was in charge of that one ha ha!

To the race - yaaaaooooo! After the solo efforts at 10 under the Ben I decided to kick back a little on this one and entered the race a part of a female quad . . . . . only thing was that there wasn't much kicking back as I was part of a totally magic team! Team name: Girls Are Loud, members : Lee Craigie (Square wheels), Emma Guy (Glentress Riders), Tracy Brunger (Glentress Riders) and myself (Glentress Riders). Since we were the only female quad and being the competitive little animals that we are, we competed in the male quad category! The laps were fast and we were all truly loving it out there, chasing people down, hoping for a clear run on the descents and just having some good old fashioned fun on our bikes! We didn't really know where we were in the standings for well over the first half of the race, when Lee went to check. We were pretty happy when she returned informing us all that we were in fact in the lead by a staggering 50minutes . . . . come on boys ha ha! Anyway that was kind of job done, the boys just couldn't catch, imagine that girls that can really mountain bike! We finished 12 laps in 10 hours 24 minutes a whole lap ahead of our fellow competitors! Check us out on the podium below wearing our make-shift beards to fit in with the boys ha ha:)

Graeme short also put in a impressive performance completing 10 laps in 9hour 49mins and finishing 3rd in the solo male vets! It was his first podium - yaa hoo! Nic Jenkins and his team Lady and the Cramps just missed out on third spot in the trios - good effort guys! Nic was definitely having way too much fun out there, showing off with bunny hops and all!

Big thanks to all the team for making it such good fun! El Captanio Kerry for time keeping, holding bikes and keeping everyone in line as normal! Lee's Aunt Ruth for great banter and cousin Sue for amazing legs massages before our 3rd laps - god that so helped me round! The guys at No fuss for another cracking event, all the marshals for their time and encouragement out on the laps! And as always my sponsors : The Hub, Bloc , Tunnocks , Polar, Luvians.

Champs next weekend at Inners . . . . . . . . its all gonna be a bit mad!

Les

Fort Bill hosts the Scottish Champs and boy what a course!

2009-06-16T09:34:00.022+01:00

Fort Bill played host to the Scottish mountain biking champs and it was a refreshing change from the previous 2 years at Paisley! Anyone use to the course at the Bill will automatically think of the characteristic massive uphill, followed by the long winding man made descent! But when I arrived on Saturday I was so surprised by 2 things . . . . . the lack of midgies (it's a miracle) and the totally awesome course that unravelled right in front of my eyes! The start was pretty much same old same old, up the boardwalk, the horrible dusty fireroad climb (that still reminds me of the first 24hr race I competed in, not nice!) catch your breath over the bridge (formally from Glentress), along a flattish part of track and prepare yourself for the horrible climb . . . . . .or maybe not it was taped off yipee! The rest of the course was awesome, very little climbing (what there was it was steep and sharp) a great natural descent that put a big smile on my face from ear to ear! Well done to the course organisers so refreshing to race on landscapes that are representative of what Scotland has to offer the mountain biking community!

Race day

Once again the sun gods blessed Fort William for another scorchio day of racing (don't believe me??? Look at how blue the sky in in the picture below!)

Preparation phase:

Getting the race number sorted on the bike (left), and yes G is making sure I'm doing it right :)

Chilling out and having a laugh on the right (my arm isn't really that big!), but I will claim it as muscle!!!

Racing time

Before I knew it was 11 o'clock and off we set. Pictures below are of the start, Lee Craigie (Square Wheels) in the Blue, Sue Clarke (SIS) and myself in the Glentress Riders colours. The start was as rapid as ever up a dusty firetrack road before we looped onto the race circuit.

I had a pretty good race and felt I was riding well. Unfortunately I had a massive stack on my third lap just over cooking it slightly on the natural descent! I was wearing a GPS unit from work (GPSports Pro) which also has an accelerometer built in so you can measure the G-force during impacts. I hit a massive 12.4 G on that stack - gee whizz!!! I so would have made Emma's sequel video with that effort- ha ha! It left my handle bars slightly squint but I manged not to lose too much time and was stoked to finish 3rd in the race and 2nd in the Scottish Championships - yee ha! Sue Clarke rode an awesome racing taking the win and Lee Craigie in 2nd spot (also taking the Scottish Championship).

It was a great weekend for the team too . . . . . Lucy Grant and Katy Winton were both crown Scottish champions in the juvenile and youth categories. Lewis Kirkwood finished 4th in the race, getting a podium 3rd for the champs. Sam Waterson put in another good performance finishing in 10th. After severe blood loss from midgie bites (I didn't see any) Jake Law finished 5th in the Masters- he he! With Graeme Short picking up 11th in the vets!

Accommodation for the weekend was the Stronchreggan in Fort William where Bronwen, Graeme and family gave us a very warm welcome! Those guys have some of the best beds I have slept in away from home! Nice rooms, good food and what a view from the front room . . . the dolphins even gave us a visit in Loch Linnhe - that was pretty sweet. Check them out at : www.stronchreggan.co.uk

Great weekend, great course!

Yee ha

Les

10 Under the Ben

2009-06-01T09:19:00.013+01:00

I'm not sure if I took a wrong turning on the road on the way up to Fort Bill this weekend, but it felt like I was in France . . . scorchio! The best thing about the heat . . . .nae midgies, the worst . . . . . . I had 10 hours of cycling to do! Ouch!!

So after a few years of entering such events as a team, G and I decided it was time to go solo, yikes!

Look left, thats me on the podium (in the middle). . . . . . pretty happy it's all over! (8 laps in 9:49:11), Katrina Brown (blue top) 2nd (7 laps in 9:27:19) and Helen Findlay 3rd (7 laps in 9:57:12).

Here is the story of how it went:

The start . . . . oh the start! The start is always an interesting one at 10hour events. Take a few hundred people and some how try and spread them out on a firetrack road before entering singletrack sections of courses, lets be honest its always gonna equal disaster! This year a couple of trials guys led us out on motorbikes to try and spread the field. They held a relatively easy pace (something that was nice when compared to the madness of the XC races), however instead of speeding up to spread the field more, they held the pace, before long we turned off the main road, the track narrowed, people slammed on their brakes and the carnage started! It was pretty mental cycling along as everyone jostled for places, a few guys hit the deck! At one point one guy cycled into me, we locked handle bars and then he was sent flying off to the side, bit to close for my liking! Before you knew it you were into a small descent where I lost my first water bottle of the day - doh! I didn't panic though knowing I would be through transition soon enough where I could collect another bottle!

Lap 1 - Felt good, it was really warm on the open sections of firetrack road, there were a few hold ups at some of the natural sections of the course, on the whole I was pretty happy with how things were going!

Lap 2 - Everything was ticking along nicely until about 5 minutes into the lap when I reached down for my water bottle to find there was nothing there noooooooooooooooooooo! First reaction total panic, thinking in this heat a lap without fluid could be race over! First plan . . . to check out everyones bikes and see if anyone was carrying a spare bottle, I got slightly fixated by this, more so as my mouth got dryer (so sorry if I saw you out there and I was looking rather strangely at you!). Anyhoo that plan wasn't working, no one had a spare bottle oh oh! Then just like a knight in shinning armour a motor bike guys went scooting by, I managed to shout him and ask if he had any spare water . . . . . . luckily he did! He went up to the top of the hill and gave me a bottle as I passed! So I had fluid and managed to finish the rest of the lap in an ok fashion!

Lap 3 - hated it, it felt horrible . . . . . I wanted to go home! It was hot, hot hot!!!

Lap 4 - Felt better again but it was starting to get soooooooooo hot! Feet were getting a bit sore!

Lap 5 - My feet hurt really really badly! Not a good lap, could hardly stand on the pedals during the descent. Started to question my sanity (yip that was an easy one to answer :) !!!)

Lap 6 - Straps were undone on the shoes, two clicks of the ratchet on (they were hardly on my feet!), stream dunk every lap, water need . . . . more water! Couldn't really remember what number of lap I was on, everything was merging into one! Met some nice people on the course, good banter!

Lap 7 - Its all downhill from here I'm pretty happy!

Lap 8 - Last one woop woop! Great feeling, wrist feeling a little sore but so delighted to almost be finished!

Feet were painfully sore, lay in the back of the van for a while and felt a bit sorry for myself! (I know I can hear the violins playing!)

So that was it 8 laps in 9:49:11. I finished 1st in the female solo category and 14th overall out of 177 male and female solo competitors! Yaaaaaaaahoooooooo! God that is such a good feeling! On reflection I really enjoyed the event, some parts of the course were a bit boring but guess you will always find that cycling around and around and around the same course!

Graeme Short (Glentress Riders) also put in a great performance completing 9 laps in 10:30:21, finishing 5th Vet and 10th overall, yee ha!

I was maybe out there doing the cycling on the day but 3 great people made it possible for me to achieve what I did - Kerry, G and Sarah! Those guys stood out in the baking heat for hours making sure that at the end of every lap I had everything I needed! Kerry suffered from heat stroke because it was so warm but that didn't shift her and she stay right to the bitter end making sure I was cool. G is not only responsible for getting me to the start line in such good shape he also kept my biking running smooth, had a few mad dashes to the other side of the track when I had forgotten a bottle and kept me up to date with what was going on behind me! Sarah was a little Pikka, running around like usual making sure I was tickety boo!

Kerry and I stayed at Achnabobane Farmhouse for the weekend! We got a lovely welcome from Neil and Elizabeth and truly enjoyed staying there. Although its called Spean Bridge the accommodation is only 2 miles up the road from the Nevis range so you don't have to worry about all the Fort William traffic . . . . perfect! Nice rooms and great breakfasts! They also love mountain bikers :), if your up that way check them out at - http://www.achnabobane.co.uk/.

Ok, this blog has been a bit of an epic but a few more thanks are in order - to No Fuss Events for another well organised event! All the marshals / helpers that were out there on the day always cheering and asking if you were ok! And last but not least all my sponsors (The Hub, Bloc, Luvians, Baillie Gifford & Tunnocks).

Fort William next weekend for the world cup???? Who's gonna win? Come on Rue!

Yee ha

Les

Baggies to the death!!!!

2009-05-21T10:32:00.012+01:00

Peebles cycling club held their first open time trial of the year so I decided it was time to bite the bullet, leave the mountain bike in the shed (boo hoo) and entered the world of the road monsters/time trialist's . . . . . . scary!!!

It was all a bit of a mad rush to get down the road, get changed, pick up Gary . . . . . . sorry change into the Goonie mobile so we would arrive in style ha ha! I had no water, no bottle . . . forgot my purse mmmm it wasn't looking too good :) When we eventually arrived at the sign on we got a few special looks as we spilled out of the van in our MTB baggies, we didn't really fit in with the whole aero theme that was going on that was for sure :) Don't think matters were helped when Gary asked if it was ok to use elbows ha ha!

The course was an out and back and although I have cycled that road loads I didn't really understand where turning point was, I'm a bit rubbish like that so just nodded my head and pretended I knew! Karl (bike patrol) was at the half way mark . . . however we were told that we had to cycle round him . . bit difficult when he was standing in the gutter :) It was pretty tough that's for sure10 miles of pain . . . I think I almost coughed up a lung when I finished :) Finished in 28:58 and I'm happy to take that for my first go. Gary Forrest pulled off an impressive 27.12, with Dick Hamilton getting 29.36 . . . he was wearing flatties and five 10's!!!!!! Jake Law schooled us all finishing in 26.38 and last but by no means least Hannah Ferguson finished in 32.52!

Really enjoyed the event . . . . . maybe one day I will venture to the dark side once more!

Les

Lots of laps at Laggan

2009-05-20T11:34:00.009+01:00

Friday was abysmal, winter appeared to have returned and the weather wasn't looking too hot for the race at the weekend! I headed home to Fife on Friday to get some TLC from the family Ingram before heading up North on Saturday. I arrived up at Laggan just after midday and headed around the course for a pre race reckie! One thing is for sure at Laggan . . . . . you know it's going to be a fast race! The course was similar to the one I had raced a few years back apart from a natural section that had been added to the climb and a smoothing out of the descent . . . . . mmm slightly disappointing!

Out of no where the sun was shinning on sunday which was ace! The Elite/Expert females had one of the biggest fields that I have seen in Scotland which is such a great thing to see! The start was mental (but it always is) as everyone tried to battle for a position before entering the singletrack descent! On the first descent their were riders and bikes sprawled all over the track, it was quite a sight! Lee Craigie was as dominant as ever and took an impressive win, followed by Anne Edwing and myself in third - yaaaaaaaaaaaoooooooo!

To the Team . . . . . Lucy Grant continued her good form finishing in second spot in a very tight race. Hannah Ferguson had a day of misfortune, after suffering 2 punctures resulting in her having to push her bike round most of the course she later found out she had been disqualified because her dad helped her realign a wheel that wasn't working right . . . . maybe I'm being cynical but the fact that she was the only one in her category (Youth Female) and she pushed her bike so far not giving up should we not be praising that . . . . . . .some people and power just don't mix! Rant over :) Lewis Kirkwood and Sam Waterston finished 4th and 10th respectively in the youth males! Jake Law finishing in 5th in the masters race. Last one Graeme Short finished in 10th in the vets! Yee ha well done guys.

After the race everything got launched in the van and once again Kerry, Chi Chi and I hit the road . . . . . destination Fort Bill to catch the tail end of the downhill. G was over all weekend collecting some data from the boys (Gary & Graeme) during their race! It also gave me a chance to catch up with the downhiller's in the team, with Neil being very quick to point out it was old man 1, whipper snapper Alex nil . . . . . his words not mine ha ha! Good Craic at the Bill!

It turned into a bit of an epic day and I had a slight boob that made it even longer by failing to turn off for Edinburgh on the M9 - doh and promptly headed for Glasgow! That is such a pain in the bum I tell you . . . you have to drive for miles to get back on track! AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGG! One day I'm going to drive to and from a race and not get lost, miss a junction, hit a animal and so on and so on . . . . . . one day!

2 weeks til 10 under . . . . . yikes what have I done :)

Les

Dalby got it so right . . . . but sadly I got it so wrong!

2009-05-11T11:15:00.007+01:00

Last week was just one of those weeks, every hill I encountered was just a little tougher than usual, parked automobiles were playing tricks on me, the wind was always against me (why does that always happen when your tired), my eating was crap and it just generally felt like something was missing/not quite right . . . . . . but could I put my finger on it?? Its always a tough one, I tried not to worry about and instead be positive, relating it to the reduced volume of training and hoping my body was just being a little lethargic in preparation of what lay ahead at the weekend, I was pretty sure it would all return to normal . . . but that didn't really happen! Time for a bit of re-evaluation I think and possibly a little less chocolate this week :)

It took a little longer than I expected to travel down to Dalby, mainly due to the fact once you leave the motorway you have to follow tight, twisty little roads through a number of very busy and slow moving villages. Even when the roads opened up into the country there were so many 40mph drivers cutting about whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy???? :( The journey also had a bit of a yukky twist when a pheasant decided it would be a good idea to jump out in front of the van, I thought we had missed it but it did that whole start to fly then sink 2 feet thing that they do . . . . . and oh dear no more Mr pheasant! Chi chi (my van) kind of got splatted with all this horrible yellow stuff . . . seriously what is that? And clear jelly looking stuff . . . yuk! So we had to take a detour to find a car wash! Put me off my food for a good 5 minutes that did!

This was my first trip to the Yorkshire dales and I was not disappointed. They have hills and some of the gradients you had to drive up to get to the race venue were well exciting (I know it's sad when you get excited about hills). The work that has been put in at Dalby is fantastic, it's a real mountain bike course that's for sure! It's hard packed surface makes the course roll fast but you have to be careful of the speed at some sections as it's fairly lumpy and bumpy and I got a little too close to a few trees at some points. Then there is the drop . . . a whole 6 feet that provided enough comedy on the day that will see many fans returning to watch mountain bike racing forever! On practice day it was face plant central and those that escaped luckily did a massive endo that was so out of control it made you feel a little sick! The mass of 30 or so riders gathering around it on the practice lap lead me not to have a shot, thought I would just save that for race day . . . . makes it more interesting ha ha! The climbs were brutal, the granny gear was out and you had to work so hard just to keep the front end on the floor at some sections. I really hope that Dalby is successful with the bid to be a venue for XC racing in the World Cup, I think it would be really sad if the UK did not have an XC round!

For loving the course so much I was a bit disappointed when things just didn't go my way on race day, think I forgot to pack my climbing legs (you always forget something right!). I loved the descents and was riding so smooth through them, even the drop I nailed it. Don't get me wrong it was fun but more of the p.a.i.n kind of fun! I finished in 11Th spot. Katherine O'shea (Torq Australia) took the win in the Elite females. Hannah Ferguson continued her impressive form finishing in third spot and Lewis Kirkwood in 6th - well done guys!

Accommodation for the weekend was the pent house suite at August Guest house near Rosedale! Mary and Michael certainly give a warm welcome. Michael likes to think he is a bit of joker however his jokes about the Scots were a bit poor ha ha! Maybe he will have some better ones for the next time we visit :) Racing brings alot of travelling and that can sometimes be a difficult thing, but when you find a bed and breakfast like what Mary and Michael run it makes it all worth while. The food is also amazing in the morning its just a pity I have to limit myself so much on a race day - Mary did try her best to force feed me mind! Thanks for making me want to come back and spend more time in Yorkshire! Check them out at http://www.augustguesthouse.co.uk/ and be sure to pay them a visit if you are down that way!

Onwards and upwards for Laggan

Les

Throw away the slicks, get some studs on and prepare for Aberfoyle!!!

2009-04-27T09:57:00.006+01:00

The SXC series made a very welcome return to a golden oldie this weekend returning to Aberfoyle. This was my first race at Aberfoyle and if all the pre-race hype was anything to go by it was going to be a goodie . . . . . Yaaaaaaa! The course was tough from the onset steep technical climbs with steeper more technical descents . . . it was a dream come true. Hat's off to the course designers at Squadra Porcini (www.squadraporcini.com) you guys know how to put together a MTB course that's for sure! During practice on Saturday the course was stowed out, the craic was good as loads of folk were falling off and screaming as they rode the descents . . . I even did a swan dive a one point (I reckon is scored a 9 and a half!), best to find your limits on practice day . . . . . ha ha!

To the race . . . . . it was a flying start like usual with Hannah Ferguson (fellow Glentress Rider and Youth Female) taking the lead . . . . . . man they are like whippets :) It wasn't too long until Lee Cragie (Square Wheels) took over the lead and did her usual pace setting. As Lap one passed I managed to get on Lee's tail, both being closely stalked by Hannah. Lee continued to dominate the race in front of me for the remaining 3 laps although I kept getting painfully close to her at the bottom of the last descent only for her to scoot off again on the climbs! Lee took the win but I was so chuffed to finish so close behind her . . . looks like that hard winter training is starting to show!

Hannah continued to look impressive for the remainder of the race and took the win over Katy Winton. Lucy Grant continued to dominate in Juvenile field. In the Youth men Lewis Kirkwood finished in 6th and Sam Waterson in 9th . . . good work guys! Last but by no means least Jake Law finished 3rd getting his first podium . . . yee ha looks like the whole team were enjoying the tough technical race!

Accommodation for the weekend was the Braeval Old Mill Bed & Breakfast. Those guys were brilliant, very warm and welcoming and biker friendly too! They even locked our bikes away in the garage over night so they would be nice and safe! Breakfast was great and those guys certainly know how to make fresh bread that's for sure! If you are ever up that way go and give these guys a visit. Check them out at : http://www.trossachs.co.uk/ad-braeval.html

Thanks to Kerry for standing in a rather miserable feed zone for a few hours, The G-man for getting me in shape to do the damage that I did, Emma and Tracy for those shout outs around the course, and all the marshals / organisers and supporters!

The sheer toughness of the course has left me feeling a bit wrecked today that's for sure . . . . but that's what a proper course should do isn't it?

Time for a bit of feet up :)

Yee ha

Les

Slicks were in order at Sherwood.

2009-04-06T10:12:00.007+01:00

It was an early start on Saturday morning to head south for the start of the British XC series. Things were going well, the van was all packed up nice and early, the tunes were on and Kerry and I were on the road . . . yippee! I forgot one important factor though . . . . . . Kerry is no TOM TOM and she takes shortcuts like my Dad, on average adding 15+ miles to your journey grrrrrr! (could be worse I suppose the last time we were heading for London).

Sherwood pines played host to the first round, the course was certainly different to what I am use to that's for sure! Really flat and fast, I did have to giggle when I saw that the roots and tree stumps were painted white just in case your eyes failed you and you couldn't see them :) If they plan to paint the roots at Inners someone better start the job now because it will take them a while he he! After the practice lap I changed to slick tyres as there was really no need for anything else! To keep my sanity during the lap I created 3 jumps that gave me a little something to smile at each lap. To be honest I though I was going to hate it out there from start to finish but I didn't, it was just a different kind of challenge. It was a case of putting the bike into a big gear and pedalling until your legs would no longer go round! Where a course like that sits in terms of mountain biking I'm not sure, but maybe we are just spoilt for choice up in Scotland!

So I finished in 15th spot which I am well chuffed with. Last year at this time the big guns were taking a lot more out of me during a race so it feels good to see something coming back after a gruelling winter! Hopefully its a sign of better things to come!

Hannah Ferguson was on form finishing an awesome 5th with Katy Winton finishing in 7th spot. Lewis Kirkwood was also flying round the course at a great pace finishing 11th overall, well done guys!

Its good to be home and in the hills again!

Les

A fast & furious start to 2009

2009-03-30T14:56:00.013+01:00

Winter seems to have flown past at an unbelievable rate this year (can't say I'm too gutted about that!) and within the blink of an eye the snow has melted, spring is in the air and the new racing season has commenced- yaaaaa!!!!

The first round was at Kirroughtree, a new venue to the SXC circuit and a brilliant opener to the season. Kirroughtree is not known for hills so I didn't really know what to expect from the course. However it was a physically demanding course that encouraged you to get your bike in to the biggest ring you could push and try and grind it out for as long as possible! The roots started to polish off nicely as the laps progressed which kept you on your toes and oh that stinger climb was a fun one (you know the one I'm talking about!!). Although the climb may have left you starry eyed, it was impossible not to smile during the descent that followed! Job well done to the course designers at the break-pad it was a fun opener!

The race was also the first event that featured all the XC member of Glentress riders . . . . . . check out our cool new logo above! So to the race, man the first lap was tough, my legs were screaming at me the whole way round but somewhere during the second lap I managed to find a better rhythm that kept me going til the end if the race. I finished in third spot behind Lee Cragie (square wheels) and Adela Carter. I'm pretty chuffed with the result, winter has given me a good base and hopefully a few more races will help with speed. Looking forward to the next one already in some sadistic way:)

Lucy Grant put in a blinding performance, smoking me on the first lap to win the juveniles. Katy Winton was equally as impressive winning the youth category, with Hannah Ferguson pulling off an impressive 2nd spot! Lewis Kirwood finished 4th and Sam Waterston 14th in the youth males those guys were flying! Graeme short took a hefty tumble during an epic sprint to the line, which messed him, his bike and the other competitor up pretty badly. In the end up he had to run it in, still finishing in 7th spot . . . .good man Graeme! And last but by no means least Jake had to encounter a gruelling 5 laps, finishing 7th in the masters race - yahoo!

Thanks to Emma and Tracy for their cheering throughout the race, Kerry for feeding me and supporting as always. And everyone else who gave a shout out as I grunted my way through the course. Also job well done to the SXC organisers - great opener!

For anyone heading over to Kirroughtree in the near future the place to stay is conifers leisure park (http://www.conifersleisurepark.co.uk/), check them out! The lodges are awesome, completely biker friendly and just topped off a great weekend!

Not long til the next one, feet up and some easy pedalling this week I think.

Thanks as always to the G - man, everyone at the Hub, Squeezy, Luvians , Polar, Baillie Gifford and Tunnocks.

Yee ha

Les

Some proper XC racing at Inners - ya hoo!

2009-03-16T11:23:00.005Z

Innerleithen has featured heavily on the downhill race circuits for years now . . . it has taken a while but at long last the XC market is moving to the venue too! For those of you who have not ventured to Inners yet you are missing a trick! The courses are sweet, tough climbs, awesome downhill's and lots of natural stuff along the way! This weekend Inners played host to the Alistair Lees memorial time trial. The course consisted of a 20km loop not set out for the faint hearted, the climbs were brutal, mixed with some awesome descents. God it was like a proper hardcore XC mountain bike race . . . . it does make you ask the question should they not all be like that? Ok so that's a discussion for another day but the short answer to the question is YES!

I loved the race on so many levels because it was a true test of a whole variety of skills. The weather even behaved which was a pleasant surprise! I managed to finish in first position which was awesome, picking up queen of the descent along the way! G fitted me up with a GPS unit before the race and I managed to clock 40.6km/h down Cadonbank - sweet! (not bad on a hard tail eh). I was out on my new racing weapon an Orange Evo 8, which the guys at the Hub sorted out for me the week before - yipee! The bike was sweet it's tres exciting!

The G-man once again was unable to race but fingers crossed he will be back in action ASAP. Jake fellow Glentress rider put in an impressive time while lugging a lot of suspension around the course . . . . . . . . . . his hardtail will be in the huff! Graeme Short also put in an impressive time . . . . . life in those old vet dogs yet :)

And last but by no means least welcome home to Mississippi Forest . . . it was such a nice sight for me after I had finished the race to be presented with a nice white bum and shaved legs! Some people will do anything to go faster ha ha! It's good to have you back Pumpy Pie the chat just hasn't been the same without ya!

Cheers to the organisers and marshals

Les

DOMS they really are not nice!

2009-03-03T11:55:00.002Z

Day two after the race and things are just getting tougher and tougher. I swear if I stop moving for too long I am going to get stuck in that position! Anyone want a game of musical statues? I would so win at the moment! Oh the joy of DOM's!! Stairs have now become my nemesis - you should see how many I have to tackle at work its not funny (and thats just to get a cup of tea!).

Reports in from Jake yesterday were that he had turned into John Wayne . . . . god help him today!

Oh they joys of racing on the hills.

Going to try and spin the legs out later on the rollers to help remove some of the rubbish!

Here's to tomorrow and hopefully a less painful body.

Les

Fun and Frolics at Glentress

2009-03-02T09:51:00.005Z

It may have been muddy and slippy under foot but the sun started to shine on Sunday (1st March) at Glentress. It was the last in the series of the Glentress duathlons and Pete and Elspeth made sure they put together a gruelling course! The bike course was tough, enough steep little climbs to keep the legs screaming and a few muddy descents to keep you on your toes and make you smile!!!! I was slightly concerned the whole way round the bike route as I had a little too much play in my headset! Thankfully it held together, but I'm not sure that I would like to ride with it like that again!

With the bike over it was time for the run and again it was a tough one, steep climbs with lots of boggy sections! I was pleased to get round the run unscaved and boy was I glad to get over that finish line! So I finished in first and with it took the series - yee ha!

Jake was on fire on the bike but think the run was a little harder for him! But lets be honest anyone who enjoyed that run is just not right in the head :) Yee ha to the Glentress riders! Unfortunately the G man had to sit this one out, hopefully he will have a speedy recover though I'm missing my training buddy!

Ta to everyone who turned up to support on the day your cheers were much required! Also a big shout out to everyone involved in organising the series it was a cracker!

Not long til the start of the XC season now - yee ha!

Les

Wiggle it just a little bit!!!

2009-02-20T16:15:00.000Z

With the new XC racing season fast approach it is now the time to get all your kit and equipment ready! G purchased himself a sweet Rocky mountain XC bike from wiggle this week. Yahoo!! Seriously it really is that exciting! But what is even better is that the lovely people at Wiggle are offering a refer a friend scheme at the moment, where if you refer a friend (must be the first time they have used the site) and you are an existing customer, Wiggle will donate 10% of their first purchase in vouchers to you to spend on what ever you want! So G finally succumbed to my constant nagging about Wiggle and joined up. Sweeeeeet looks like I’m almost sorted with kit for the new season now too!

Check it out at www.wiggle.co.uk

Yee ha

Les :)

In the words of Gary Forrest G is a monster!!

2009-02-20T16:13:00.001Z

Saturday the 14th of February was the famous Carnethy 5 hill race! This one is not for the faint hearted taking in 5 peaks in the Pentlands! Of course that isn’t quite tough enough for the hill runners so this year they decided to throw some snow into the equation too! I wasn’t that upset about watching this one from the side lines especially after the long road bike I had put in on the morning. So Chris and I donned our cheer leading outfits . . . . . . . ok maybe they were more wellies and as many layers as possible and went to watch the G man race! (Its was cold!).

The conclusion from the race is that G is in fact a monster! Finishing an awesome 11th in the record breaking field of 499 finishers that dude was well chuffed! Yee ha looks like all the hard training is paying off!!

I guess we will need to watch this space to see if I am still on the side lines next year!

Les

Skids are for kids unless your having fun :)

2009-02-10T14:09:00.013Z

With most of the UK covered in snow it is of no surprise that my training has been taking all types of unexpected twists and turn!!! Every morning there is a fresh blanket of snow covering my street and conditions on the hills are mad! This weekend brought on a rather unusual form of mountain biking . . . . . . on the road! The climb out was brutal not really made any easier by the horizontal snow slamming into you face!

On the route back G and I had loads of fun playing the longest skid competition which G won, or I let him so he wouldn't cry :) Check out the pics of us attempting to get some descending in!

However after a week of running and biking through knee deep snow on sunday I decided enough was enough and headed North to sample the skiing conditions! They were amazing, best snow I have ever experienced in Scotland. There had been another 2 foot drop of snow over night so it was as good as powder in the morning! Whats even better there was no wind (honest I am not telling fibs) and the sun was shinning (thank goodness for my trusty bloc eyewear)! Yee ha!

Hopefully the weather will improve soon as I am missing proper mountain biking so much (I need my fix)!

Les

Another cold one at the Tress!

2009-01-26T13:50:00.004Z

So it was the second winter duathlon at Glentress yesterday!! I tell you what this series has been named well (WINTER), frozen solid in the first round and snow in the second, my family were building snowmen and sledging at the transition (Some mums just never grow up, ha ha!) To be honest I was really looking forward to the race and had a slight glimmer in my eye at the thought of racing in the snow . . . . . it's not like I haven't had plenty of practice this winter after all! But unfortunately it was deemed to dangerous and the bike route was shortened for everyone's safety.

To mix things around the format of this race was changed with the run first followed by the bike . . . this was going to be fun! The run was great, a really nice 5k loop winding through the forest with enough slippy bits to make sure you were paying attention! There were more than a few fallers that's for sure! I managed to survive the run, make it through transition with all the kit I required and get on the bike in what I consider not too bad a time :) So it was the Fusions official return to racing after being out of action for a few years!!! The guys in the hub fixed it up for me a few months back and it was loving being back in racing action. I was shocked when I cycled past G after only 10 meters to find out he had a puncture when he got to his bike, total bummer after a strong run! I found it more difficult to settle in to the bike but think that was just due to the run being first and my body not really having a clue what was happening to it! I managed to start picking people off on the climb and a few crazy maneuvers in the snow on the descents gradually saw me starting to move up the field! I even managed to catch up with Jake and we played a game of cat and mouse for the rest of the ride . . in the end he beat me by 4 seconds grrr!!! Ha ha thanks for all the support out there Jake! The bike was just a little too short for me on the day and I finished in 2nd position overall behind Mhairi MacKenzie. I'm starting to get a nice wine collection on the go due to the prizes!

So another great day of racing. Thanks to everyone involved in its organisation I'm sure it was a bit stressful because of the snow.

Oh and a special shout out to the bike patrol guys for providing tea and coffee afterwards, helped me warm up a little . . . . just a little. And one more thanks to the nice guy who won a helly hansen baseball cap as a spot prize and gave it to my nephew, you made his day so he could show off to his brother.

Off for more training

Les :)

Festive fun but please no more turkey!

2009-01-05T15:00:00.005Z

I was hit with the cold just before Christmas which put a stop to training for a while and left me lying around on the sofa watching trashy telly!! I was frustrated even more by the fact that I had just got a new road bike and also my old Fusion race bike had been rebuilt! Two clean bikes sat in the flat are not healthy for recuperation thats for sure!

So the festive holidays have come and gone in the blink of an eye just like usual! I spent some great time out on the trails having loads of fun, instead of trying to cram everything around a working week. I was back at home for christmas although my visit was a short one ths year, that most certainly didn't stop my mum trying to feed me up!

So 2008 has now gone and past and all the excitment of 2009 and a new race season lies ahead. I am already tres excited about it! The start of this year has been cold (was out running in the snow last night)but it has made some of the natural trails so perfect to ride on! I know G has a few training treats up his sleeve for me in the coming few weeks. Yee ha!

Mississippi (Gary Forrest) is still living the high life in NZ! Oh I am bitterly jealous!

Here's to a fast and furious 2009

Les

A lucky new shirt and a reward from all that hard winter training!

2008-12-01T15:42:00.002Z

There is more change for 2009 . . . . I am delighted to announce that I am going to be riding for the Hub next year (http://www.thehubintheforest.co.uk/). Everything has been a little mad recently getting everything sorted for next year but it now feels like everything has fallen into place. Winter training is going really well! G has been beasting me that is for sure!! I know nobody will believe this but there have been a few occasions during training where I have been a grumpy little mare, G has been surprising me lots with new training exercises (they are not always pleasant!) but most of the time I eventually have to start laughing and that’s what has been getting me through! Cheers for the perseverance G!!

So Sunday just past (30th Nov) was the first of the Glentress winter duathlons. It was so so cold, everything was frozen! That’s never a good sign when so many things on your bike can freeze! The guys in the Hub fixed me up a sweet little Genesis hardtail to race on and it was brilliant. I really enjoyed the bike and would highly recommend that if you haven’t had a shot on one you should get down to the Hub and hire one out for the day! So back to the race . . . . the bike route involved a lot of hills and too few descents for my liking but I really enjoyed it! My lungs had a bit of a shock as they haven’t been use to working that hard for a while! Once I got settled in it was full steam ahead, there were a few dodgy corners out there due to the frozen ground and I was drifting a little too much on some of them but some leaves came to my rescue on the worst one! Yee ha! I got off the bike in 29th position overall, 1st female so I was pretty chuffed with that! Made it through transition, found my shoes (which has been a difficultly in the past) and was off into the run. The start of the run was really tough, it felt like I was running on stumps because I could no longer feel my feet, my stomach was also making noises that resembled a washing machine(oh oh). After a few minutes I managed to get past all that and settle into the run. The run was a toughy but I managed to hold on long enough to get my first win, yee ha! One to the mountain bikers!!

The G man was on fire coming off the bike in second place and finishing 3rd overall! He managed all that with a frozen beard too ha ha!

So it looks like all the winter training and that lucky new hub shirt have really paid off!

Looking forward to the next one already

Les

Its not cold in Scotland its freezing!

2008-11-19T09:38:00.003Z

To break up the winter training a little and chill-ax (apparently thats the new cool word!) Kerry and I packed our bags and headed north for the weekend. I love road trips it means I can sing along to songs for the whole journey . . ha ha its beautiful, just ask Kerry :) The weather was good, dry and clear but oh my god it was freezing! Always a good excuse to stop for lots of coffees and bowls of soup . . . mmmmm! Check out Chi Chi on your right, he was having a rare sight seeing trip! In the photo he is on route to the gondola at the Cairngorms, although a little frightened by the wind he braved the trip well!

It was good to get away and do some training elsewhere at the weekend. On saturday I headed to the old race track at Aviemore, god it was good fun! It still makes me sad ever year when it doesn't appear in the racing calander. On sunday it was off to Laggan for some narly riding around the black, that route still asks a few too many questions about my riding . . . . but I am most certainly getting there!! After all rocks are pretty scary right :)

I am also delighted to announce that Tunnocks have continued to support me for the 2009 series. A big thanks to those guys as without that kind of support I would struggle to race the whole season. Next time your in the shops remember go for the tea cake option!

Yee ha

Les

It’s not a joke, it is scary . . . . It is Tinto hill race!

2008-11-10T12:18:00.008Z

Check it out thats me number 136 on my way up the hill!

This time of year is always a funny one in the world of biking! The 2008 season is a distant memory, the rest after the season has gone and believe me that is a good feeling as the cobwebs start to build a little too easily, and you find yourself entering a funny transitional state. You remember what it felt like to be able to climb up the hills so comfortably it was bliss, but unfortunately that feeling has been lost. My legs feel heavy getting back into training, things just aren’t easy but I guess that what makes you work that little harder because you know in a few weeks things will start to improve and when you hit that stage man it just becomes soooooo addictive!

So I am now in my 4th week of winter training and things are going really well on and off the bike! This is an exciting time as I am currently trying to secure sponsorship for the forthcoming season and of winter training is starting to kick in. So this year when G and I sat down and started to plan things out, he suggested we try something a little different at the start of winter training to help keep me fresh. So that’s what led to Tinto hill race being set down as the first goal of the season. Now don’t get me wrong I am no hill runner, I had to go out and buy some shoes and actually get into the hills and do some running. Generally I found the ascents are tough and on the descents you just kind of have to let yourself go and hope for the best! Their was something really nice about Tinto, registration was in a village hall, there were lots of bustling runners around and the atmosphere was really friendly and it only cost 3 pounds to enter. Their aint much you can get for 3 pounds nowadays! After registration G, Graeme (number one supporter) and I headed to the hill and all was looking good! So after a little warm up we were sent on our ways, the climbing was a toughy and went on a bit too long for my liking, but when I got to the top and started to descend I found the true beauty of the hill race and I love it. There were a few dodgy points on the way down, for example when I got a double stitch that lead to an intense feeling I was seriously going to barf. Then you cross the finish line and as if by magic all those horrible feelings start to disappear, maybe that was helped by my spot prize of a hat! So I survived, check out the heart rate and altitude graph of the race below, Polar have really enabled me to analyse my training to the best quality this winter. I finished 170 out of 260 and was 11th female overall, not bad for a rookie ha ha! After not feeling that great G pulled off a great race finishing 13th, well done G man you rock!!!

So it is now a few days after the race and I'm a little stiff but hey it could have been a lot worse, G says I didn't run fast enough down the hill, I say if you want to go fast down a hill get on a bike!

Yee ha

Les

Polar come on board for 2009!

2008-10-31T14:31:00.002Z

It is with great delight that I can announce Polar are joining the team for 2009. I am now fully equipped with an S725x so that I can meet all my training demands. This watch not only monitors heart rate but also provides altitude readings so I can get a full break down of both my ascending and descending during training!!! No more hiding G will be able to tell how many hills I have really been climbing! Furthermore I can also attach a wireless speed sensor so can gage speed and distance during training, lets see how pinned I really am on those descents.

So for this winter I’m going to be in the right training zone, I guess the question you have to ask yourself is will you be in the same position?

Check out the range of heart rate monitors at www.polar.fi , there will be a heart rate monitor there to suit your needs thats for sure!

Get out there, get monitoring!

Les

Bloc joins the team for the upcoming 2009 season.

2008-10-31T14:00:00.000Z

I almost feel like I blinked a little too fast this year and missed summer all together! And now we are in autumn, the trees are changing and Jack Frost has made his first appearance . . . . . . . brrrrr! I had a nice break at the end of the season jetting of to Cyprus to chill and catch some rays. But those memories are now in the distant past and winter training has commenced. Week 1 was fairly brutal, my body went straight into shock forgetting so quickly how it feels to train, my poor old muscles were in pain and it was difficult to get out of bed in the mornings! (not the best way to start your day). It sure feels good to be tired from training again! Unfortunately the weather has not been kind torrential down pours all weekend led to some of the scariest riding I have done in a long time! I guess it’s good to be on the edge sometimes! With all the rain there is a hell of a lot of mud around that isn’t good for the old eyes . . . . and we all know how important our sight is! Bloc eyewear have come to the rescue and joined the team for the upcoming 2009 season. Each Bloc product offers 100% UV protection and is specifically designed to perform in extreme environments (check out the products at www.bloceyewear.com). My most used product at the moment in the Stealth W93 electric blue from the interchangeable range, being able to change the lens means that I can used the glasses for riding in any type of weather. A big thanks to the team at Bloc!

So I am now in week 2 of training and it’s going well.

Yee ha

Les

The season finale - Glentress forest

2008-09-26T13:24:00.001+01:00

It is always quite difficult to get to grips with the last race of the season and my body was starting to show cracks due to the harsh season it had endured, in fear of complete shut down I tried just to enjoy this one. I was excited since it was a round at home which meant I could sleep in my own bed the night before, yippee as sad as that sounds you don’t know how happy it makes me. The girls at the hub were kind enough to show me the course the week before the race so I was able to get a little more practice than usual, always a bonus. The course was fantastic real proper hard climbing with some horrible little stingers waiting there to catch you out. The descending was pinned and technical, mostly natural with lots of roots and mud, it was a mountain bike race an a half! I think a special mention has to go out to Andy Wardman who spent relentless hours designing and cutting sections of the new course, it was a cracker!

So to the race, the Elite female were changed to go off a 2pm and compete in a 5 lap epic! I’m not sure that epic quite does that justice because it was so hard. Melanie Spath (MAD/Torq/Kona) made the trip North of the Border and took an impressive win, followed by Tracey Brunger (Glentress Riders) in 2nd and Lee Craigie (square wheels) finshing 3rd, I finished 5th on the day and was pleased with the performance.

So its now all over for another year, this year has been a pretty special one for me. I have reached the best physical condition I have ever been in and managed to get a lot of races under my belt. So I now have a few weeks off where I can rest and recover and eat a little more cake than normal J. Then its back to the hard graft and winter training, this year is going to be great. Watch out for me in 2009.
Enjoy the winter
Lesley Ingram

A black and blue round 6 at drummy

2008-09-26T13:23:00.001+01:00

The last day of August and man did it pour!!! I turned up to the event in flip flops but they quickly had to be changed for wellies and full waterproofs on arrival, nice! So everything was going smoothly and I decided to pop down to the van just before the start of the race. So I was coasting down the road but I was met with a steady line of riders making their way to the start line, being the courteous kinda girl that I am I jumped onto the verge only to find the only pop hole there. It wasn’t pleasant, all of a sudden travelling at speed and no longer holding on to handle bars . . . oops! So it wasn’t long til I hit the dirt, the only problem was that it wasn’t dirt at all in fact it was a concrete road. So I kindly donated a substantial amount of my skin to that and gave my head a good whack on the way down! I jumped quickly back on to the bike poured some water over the cuts and headed to the start line. Good race preparation!!! My mum’s face was a classic as I pulled up with blood running down my arm and looking a fine state. There was not time to worry though as we were being grided on the start line so off I went. I felt a little sick when I finally stopped at the start line, so I popped a jelly bean and before I knew it we were off . . .

So race prep scored a zero but somehow I managed to pull out a pretty good race result. In fact it was probably my best race . . . Bryan thinks someone should be present at races more often to hit me on the head before I start, but I would like to give that one a miss. The course was the same as the British I raced early in the year however it was much harder due to the rain, cutting up the course and making the roots slippy as! But in some sort of sadistic way I really enjoyed it out there! Lee Cragie took and impressive win looking strong throughout the race, with Ruth Fraser-Moodie taking second and myself third.

A bit thanks has to go out to everyone who came to support me on the day, it wasn’t the nicest of weather for those guys!! Cheers I really appreciate all the support. Also to the guys at the St Johns Ambulance who helped clean me up after the race.

It’s now the day after and I am still suffering from a cloudy head and a rather sore body. I will survive, 3 weeks to recover for the last race of the season at Glentress.

Yee ha
Lesley

10 more in the Moray

2008-09-26T13:22:00.000+01:00

The forecast looked really gloom predicting heavy rain all day Saturday, it sure was sad to think that we were still in August and it seemed that summer had well and truly passed! However to our great delight Saturday morning was sunny and it lasted the whole day, what were the chances? So it was back on the bikes for another 10 hour event . . . . . I would like to say that I was looking forward to it but I do hate to lie. After a long discussion with Geraint as to why we actually compete in these gruelling events we decided it was mainly due to the enormous sense of achievement that you feel once they are complete, because it aint much fun out there (ha ha !!!!). The most surprising thing is that no matter how much you say I will never partake in any form of ultra-endurance event ever again, some how as the weeks pass and the painful memories fade you start convincing yourself that actually it wasn’t really all that bad and before you know you are standing in a line of people waiting to collect your race number. . . . . . . .

This was my first time mountain biking in the Moray. As far as a course goes for a 10 hour event the lap wasn’t too bad. It was deceiving at first as the hills didn’t seem that bad but my legs were screaming otherwise. The man made sections of the track were different, lots of humps and obstacles that weren’t tricky by themselves but sometimes their positioning on the track caused a few close ones. There was a lot of pedalling involved in the lap but I really enjoyed that aspect. The last section turned into a bit of a mud bath due to our delightful summer, it was really hard grafting through there and the hidden roots kept surprising you throughout all good fun really.

So for this event Geraint and myself decided to join forces, coach and athlete together would that ever work? Well there is a simple answer to that question yes it did, there were niggles about time taking to pass over the timing chip but I guess that says a lot about the kind of people we both are. We functioned great as a team and managed to churn out 11 laps in 10hours 23minutes finishing first senior mixed pair and 4th overall in the pair category. You see there is still life in that old dog (G) yet (ha ha!)

Another fine mess was back on form completing an impressive 8 laps in a time of 8 hours 37 minutes. Fergus Lamb decided to hang up his downhill bike for the weekend and try his hand at 10 hour events. In true downhiller fashion he had to make things a little more difficult for himself, only riding with a rear brake. That didn’t slow him down any on the descents what a surprise!

Lesley Ingram

SXC Round 5 - Fort bill

2008-09-26T13:20:00.000+01:00

Another trip to Fort Bill, another magnificent day and a different course once more! Fort Bill was the first course that I ever raced on so it always feels special returning there! I enjoyed most of the course that amalgamated sections of the new world cup course with sections of the old, it had a little bit of everything to keep everyone interested. I was slightly disappointed that the toughest climb had been taken out as that one is a real tester, but fear not there were plenty of other testers out there!! The biggest has to be the inclusion of Nessie, to make things worse it was wet at the top so you were already drifting before you were properly in the corner, from there it was a case of getting off the brakes and holding on for dear life! I had a few close calls but you always get that with racing, its part of the thrill. Unfortunately the sting in Nessie’s tale caught out a few riders, I hope all those guys recover well! The last section of fire track at Fort Bill always gets to me, when you are on your 4th lap it really feels like it is never going to end!! All in all it was another good day racing!

Ruth Fraser-Moodie was on top once more in the Elite Women’s field, followed by Annabel Simpson and I claimed 3rd spot. Lee Cragie put in an impressive performance after returning from a knee injury and also having to deal with a puncture during the race finishing 4th over all. Fort Bill is notorious for punctures, must be jaggy rocks . . . . or evil trail trolls, not sure which! It really is great to see so many women getting involved in the sport these days, must have been one of the biggest line ups yet!

A big thanks to everyone up at Fort Bill supporting me and making sure I had enough fluid out on the course! Also to Matt for giving my bike a makeover just in time for the race!

Next race Drumlanrig . . . I love it there!

Yee ha

Lesley

SXC Round 4

2008-09-26T13:17:00.001+01:00

SXC Round 4 Gleniffer Braes – The Scottish Champs

It is now June and it looks certain that we have had our summer as the rain clouds gathered over Paisley. So this years Scottish Champs returned to Gleniffer Braes for a second year running. I was most impressed as we rolled up to the race venue on Sunday to find that road closures had been put in place for the race and Rock Steady security were there to make sure everyone behaved! There was a buzz around the race venue maybe this was amplified by the fact that it was the champs, sponsorship flags took heavy presence around the start/finish zone and the organisation of the race seemed to be perfect. A bit thank you has to go out to the Rock Hard racing group who had evidently put a lot of time in to the race organisation. Furthermore to the marshals who stood out in the pouring rain supporting every rider that passed, they are stronger people than I am!

So to the race…..well there was a bit of a dilemma at the start as riders assembled at two different points on the hill, a few marshals were late in getting to position so the riders were left penned in and rather cold on the start line, in true Scottish tradition the rain started to get a little heavier at that point. Before long we were set on our ways and the games started. It was not possible for the course to be marked out on the Saturday prior to the race so I was left to ride my first lap of the race blind. The course in general was not my cup of tea, too flat and no real descent in there. Hence I struggled from start to finish. I actually preferred the course that was used the previous year as it incorporated the hill of gleniffer Braes. Ruth Fraser-Moodie continued her domination of the women’s field and won the race, followed by Vicki Barclay in 2nd and Katrina Brown in 3rd. I finished in 4th spot, slightly disappointed but that type of course just does not suit my type of riding. Sadly Lee Cragie had to sit this one out due to a bad knee injury.

So I now have a few weekends off before the next round at Fort Bill. I will be spending that time enjoying my biking again and heading out on some of the trails I just haven’t had a chance to over the past few months. Happy days.

Lesley Ingram

10 Under the Ben

2008-06-10T11:30:00.001+01:00

Even the midges decided to leave the Nevis Range on Saturday due to the soaring heat! Honestly people would not believe you if you told them it was that warm in Fort Bill! So you kind of have to ask yourself at what point does participating in a 10 hour mountain biking event at temperatures soaring over 25 degrees even begin to be a good idea? (Remembering we are Scottish and 10 degrees can pass as a good summer’s day!). The truth of the matter was that all in all it was a great event, organisation was spot on and there was a really good vibe floating around the course as riders of all abilities embarked on a very tough physical challenge. I think there was somewhere in the region of 840 riders competing in the event whether individually or in a team, that’s a pretty phenomenal statistic right there! And boy did it make the start interesting as a sea of riders attempted to file onto a fire track road, luckily I followed Geraint at the start and he got us positioned nicely up at the front of the field. The lap was 10miles long and very physically challenging, it incorporated long gradual climbs on fire track with tricky descents laden with rocks waiting to catch you out, it was dusty dry and front wheel wash outs were inevitable. At roughly the half way point the course crossed over the downhill track and lead onto the XC world cup course, there all riders were faced with a tough little climb before a brilliantly long descent, water crossings, natural sections and north shore also featured throughout the course. It was a real mixed bag and had something there for everyone to enjoy – well done to the NO FUSS team it was a cracker. The heat only added to the physical challenge as parts of the course were relentless due to the fact that there was no shade.

The Alpine Bikes team were out in full fledge and a massive bow of respect has to go to all the guys that completed the event solo. Geraint Florida-James put in an awesome effort completing 9 laps in 9h 58mins finishing in 9th position overall in the senior male category. It took over 7 and a half hours before he stopped for some food, his ride was eventful with objects entering places they shouldn’t but the less said about that the better! Andy Dodds also put in an impressive performance completing 8 laps, he was looking very cool out there with the shades on! Cheers for the shout out, it was good to eventually meet! And last but by no means least to Bryan Shedden (the boss) who completed 6 laps during the event! However questions have to be asked as Bryan appeared to be a bit illusive during the whole event and was not seen by anyone . . . . . . is he earning so much money these days he can pay people to ride for him??

I took part in the event as a pair with Ruth McKean. Ruth encountered a nasty fall in the first lap when her forks exploded as she descended a rock drop, if riding the rest of the lap on a broken bike wasn’t enough we since discovered she completed the lap with a fractured wrist and a torn rotator cuff muscle in her shoulder. So any normal person would stop here but on no not Ruth, she well and truly earned full downhill status by going out for a second and third lap. It was a bumpy course and those vibrations must have been a killer not to mention the fact that she couldn’t brake or change gear! So we were pleased to finish overall 2nd in the female pairs! Sadly you will find that we are missing off the podium but after 10 hours of riding we had to head to the hospital to get things checked out, not quite the celebration we were hoping for! Matt from the Innerlethien store put in a very respectable performance, his team Another Fine Mess finished 37th overall in the male senior pairs (a very competitive field!). Every time I saw Matt out there he had a big smile and was telling me how much he was enjoying it!! I wish I felt like that while I was out there! Laura’s team from head office, Defibrillators At The Ready also did well completing 5 laps. I take it you managed to find your bike Laura???

All in all it was a lot of fun out there! Good luck to all of those daft enough to embark on the next 10 hour event!

Lesley

SXC Round 3 - Fyrish

2008-06-10T11:29:00.001+01:00

When the sun is shining you really can’t beat Scotland it is awesome. Once again the sun gods were looking down on the SXC as the races headed to the Highlands. The 3rd round was situated in the Black Isle at Fryish. The course was excellent a real joy to be on another mountain biking course. The climbs were relentless, the descents were narly and there were so many little pot holes there waiting to catch you out. I got caught out twice on my first two laps as I tried my best to do my diving swan impression, yip I think that one needs some more work! And the obstacles weren’t just in the forest, I had a bit of a close call with the ambulance luckily I didn’t become a proper casualty for them!

Ruth Fraser-Moodie was on form again leading the women’s elite race, with Lee Cragie finishing second and I was third all be it a bit off the pace. I feel like I am starting to get stronger now so hopefully my form will continue to improve during the rest of the season, just not used to this hot weather I suppose.

Geraint Florida-James finished 10th in the Masters category after a few gearing problems, never a good sign on a course when you really need the full spectrum of all your gears.

10 under the Ben next week

Yee ha
Lesley Ingram

NPS round 2 - Drumlanrig Castle

2008-06-10T11:28:00.001+01:00

If it’s the wow factor you are looking for and you haven’t made the trip to Drumlanrig Castle yet I seriously recommend you head down that way sometime soon it is amazing!! The best thing is that I’m not just talking about the scenery and setting but the trails are amazing!

The NPS organisers packed their bags and headed north to Bonnie Scotland for round 2! The course was brilliant, a few killer hills followed by great rooty / technical sections. One thing is for sure there is no time for a quick snooze at Drummy because the roots are waiting for you and they will catch you out! The temperatures were soaring . . . . . yes soaring and yes in Scotland! So it looked all set for a day of fantastic racing. Jenny Copnall stamped her authority on the elite women’s race with yet another fantastic performance. I finished 13th overall and was much more pleased with this performance. Things are starting to come together! My trek loved the technical sections and felt so responsive through out the race. I even caught myself smiling during the race (I know many wont believe that and don’t worry it was short lived), courses like Drummy remind me of why I started racing in the first place!

Thanks has to go out to Rik at the bike shed for a great course, I’m looking forward to the SXC round there already!

Time to rest and recover now before the next race, it’s a busy old month.

Yee ha

Lesley Ingram

Full results: www.britishcycling.org.uk

SXC Round 2 Dalbeattie

2008-06-10T11:27:00.001+01:00

So it was off to Dalbeattie on the West Coast for round two of the Scottish Cross Country Series. The forecast predicted showers all day (weather men!!), however it was surprisingly warm in the morning with the rain only starting after lunch. The start was a bit manic a 500m sprint down fire track leading onto a tight left hander over a rock into some single track in the woods. I managed it unscaved however it did become a bit of a spectacle later on in the day with the 2pm starts mainly due to the large numbers of racers, it got nasty with bikes and people flying around the place! The course was tough it had fast sections of fire track with lots of natural rooty and rocky sections – (nice work trail builders!). As the race progressed a combination of the rain and riders did their best to churn up the course which made certain sections tough. In places it was manic with riders falling off their bikes wherever you looked! Defiantly one for the spectators that was for sure! Ruth Fraser-Moodie was back on form and won the elite women’s category, however Lee Cragie was snapping at her heels for a large part of the race finishing 2nd. I finished 3rd which I was pleased with even if I did cough up a lung or two along the way.

Geraint Florida-James my coach and another Alpine Bikes rider put in a strong performance finishing 6th in the Masters category after only his first race (looks like there is life in the old dog yet!)

A big shout out has to go to the guys at Stewarty Wheelers for all their hard work in setting up the course and being so helpful on both Saturday and Sunday, you guys were awesome. Also to everyone at SXC for working so hard and achieving another great day of racing.

And last but by no means least to everyone at Alpine Bikes (especially Matt) for making sure my bike was in tip top form for the weekend, I would be lost without you guys.

Full results can be seen at www.sxc.org.uk

Cheers

Lesley Ingram

NPS round 1 - thetford forest

2008-06-10T11:20:00.000+01:00

I set off first thing on Friday morning and headed south for the first round of the NPS in Thetford. Man it was a long journey and like ever road trip there were issues. After driving for several hours I was more than relieved when my sister took over the wheel for a while. This gave me an opportunity to get some much required shut eye, however when I awoke I was slightly concerned that all the signs were reading M1 not A1! Slight hiccup, a bit of mad panicking and a whole lot of heckling we managed to get back on track (sorry Kerry but you know you won’t live that one down for a while!). The journey took just over 7 tiresome hours, not ideal the day before the first race of the season that’s for sure.

So Thetford- mmm- well it was certainly different to what I’m used to! On the Saturday morning there was a real buzz around the race venue as everyone gathered and waited slightly nervously to find out just how well their winter had actually gone. At around quarter to one all the elite ladies were ushered into their racing pens. This is when the nerves really kick in. This was one of the biggest attendances I have ever seen at a race with four rows being occupied at the start of the grid. I think my heart rate was sitting around 110 on the start line, obvious signs that my body was getting ready for battle. 3, 2, 1 and we were off, the pace was brutal from the onset, it didn’t take long for my heart and lungs to start screaming at me due to the distinct lack of racing during the winter. The course at Thetford was very flat with small interlinking sections of twisty single track through the trees. The sheer nature of the race, 50.8km long, a severe lack of mountain (big ringed it all the way) and a hot day left me struggling. By lap 4 I had blown so badly I wasn’t sure if I would complete the 5th lap- (added just half an hour before the start) but some how I managed. Jenny Copnall won the race in convincing style showing everyone her intent for the rest of the season. I may have been a bit disappointed with this first race of 2008 but then it’s just made me more determined to get the preparation right for the next race at Dalbeattie in 2 weeks.

Overall I have many positives to take from the weekend and my coach has been busy fine tuning my training so that I am fighting fit for the next round. Yee ha!

Lesley Ingram

Full results at:- www.britishcycling.org.uk

2008-06-08T19:36:00.000+01:00

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