streetliferacing

How on earth did i end up winning the thetford mtb summer series?

2009-08-16T19:42:00.003+01:00

After three exciting races and only 10 crashes (i say only!) i managed to claim the overall junior prize for the thetford mtb summer series. As the round 1 was my first mtb race i was filled with intense anticipation and nerves. After winning this round i assumed it must have been a fluke or a very good day! Round 2 brought more crashes and a rather bloody knee but i eliminated my concerns that

24hour to 23minutes

2009-08-05T14:56:00.003+01:00

Its been some time since my last entry, and in that period a fair amounts has happened. Training has been up and down due to busy work and family loads, but I have been getting just enough of the right miles in. Missed the round 2 of the summer series due to illness (not a nice one either), but managed to recover in time for what is so far my favorite mtb event of the year, the Bontarger 24/12.

Lotus cycle race league 2009

2009-08-02T21:14:00.002+01:00

How did i end up winning the Lotus league? I never set out to win it, the 3 mile pan flat wind exposed circuit hardly suits a rider weighing less than 10 stone, the corners on the circuit were hardly technical either so bike handling and power to weight ratio didn't count like it has in probably all my other wins, i knew i could do well but not win it.I was consistant,7 races in the top 5,

Thetford Summer round 2 at Brandon

2009-07-29T18:14:00.003+01:00

Having been dominant in the 2hr race in rd 1 at Tunstall Forest we knew we would be up there at the front in rd 2, i turned up with slicks front and rear but with Glenn's course knowledge and recent rain i decided to change the front tyre after signing on, with no gridding that also meant no warm up what so ever as riders started forming on the start line over half an hour before the 2hr start,

Bungay tt.

2009-07-28T21:26:00.004+01:00

Bungay 10 july 28. I arrived feeling good and after a short warm up i was ready to go. It was extremely windy on the way and out and it turns out a disc rear wheel was probably a bad choice. Nevertheless i set a superb time considering the conditions 23.19, second only to Liam Gentry. Considering i am only 14 i think that it was a fairly decent time. I am very pleased now and am going to regret

Great day had by all

2009-06-23T23:06:00.002+01:00

Midlands champs XC at Hanchurch Woods. It was a fine sunny day at a pictureress woodland setting, with some trade stands and the all essential burger van. The course was technical and physically demanding, but the best that I had ridden all season with it’s lose rocky and rooty climbs. The descents were steep and

The Dragon Ride...

2009-06-19T20:13:00.002+01:00

Cheers Tim for giving my access to the Blog...Here's my Dragon Ride review..Well the 'B Team' were out at The Dragon Ride on Sunday, what an event.The largest sportive in the UK, 118 miles and 3000 m of climbing as one of my mates reminded me, that's like climbing Ben Nevis 3 times! Bigboss, Tim and I drove down on the Saturday afternoon, pre ride preperation consisted of a meal in the Beefeater,

Not bad for a lightweight.

2009-06-11T10:14:00.003+01:00

Am i the 1st sub 10 stoner to win a main race at Lotus?? probably.After last week's race where we dominated as a team this week was completly different, from the 5 riders last week only 2 took to the line this time, myself and Tim, fortunately alot of other riders failed to show in the damp conditions and a rather negative race ensued, any attack was soon brought back and though i got some good

TTTT - team time trial Tim

2009-06-09T09:40:00.002+01:00

Alots happened since my last Blog, rode the Fred Whitton challenge again, a never again experiance until 2 days have passed and you decide it was good after all, Thetford Mtb race where i thought i could walk quicker yet still finished 4th out of 150 riders and we got a 1, 2 at lotus where i'd been away for the last 4 laps and got caught on the line by Ben.Whilst the racing speaks for itself in

Bad Day.

2009-05-25T09:51:00.002+01:00

After waking up early (6.15am) to ride with Tim.G and some other people, i didnt exactly feel too good. Then 45minutes down the road i realise my cassette is lose and casually say to Tim.G, can you just check my gears please. At this point i find myself embarassed to say that i had forgotten the mavic washer of my wheels and had to be picked up by my ever so slightly frustrated Mum. As if

Turning 30, its all uphill from here!

2009-05-17T20:53:00.004+01:00

Taking part in the Fred Whitton and the first of the thetford summer series on the same week that I turn 30 has taught me two main things, a)I love riding road bikes,b)I love riding mountain bikes. The week has also made me realize just how different the two diciplines really are. The Fred Whitton was an awe inspiring ride, the landscape was beautiful, the weather was unpredictable and the hills

Ixworth 3/4ths

2009-05-05T10:59:00.001+01:00

I was pretty nervoous coming into this race - i seem to forget its 'only' a 3/4 & still get really motivated to put in a good ride - i guess it's cos it's the closest crit to home, and i know i can do well.The win has eluded me though, and i've been riding it for years - best result was 4th in the Elite race, and since i've dropped down to a turd cat, i've finished no lower than 4th.Anyway, i

Ixworth Criteriums

2009-05-05T07:53:00.002+01:00

On the day of the Ixworth crits, i felt good, my legs were strong and i thought i had tapered just right. I got to the start line my stomach buzzing with anticapation and my head full of tactics and things to do in the corners. After a confident first half with me pulling on the front for probably too long, the attacks started coming thick and fast. Annoyingly no one else seemed willing to do

Brandon Bash

2009-05-03T15:49:00.002+01:00

2nd May i planned another MTB workout wth Glenn Stanford over at Brandon with a full on timed lap of the round 4 winter series lap, Tim Bonnett and Shane Ashby also came along for abit of a team get together, resplendent in our new team kit, we left the car park together, Glenn and Shane tore off like it was the start of a cross race, with an untried slick tyre on the front i was dropped along

Rubber Legs

2009-04-29T18:55:00.001+01:00

I've got Ixworth crits on Monday - my first outing in the slimming black & red of ESTCCN (catchy eh?!) so thought i'd better get used to making efforts when ones legs are shot from constant accelerating.The plan was to adapt my normal 30 seconds sprinting, 4'30 recovery, into 30 'on' 30 'off' - thinking that after 2 or 3 i'd be getting rubbery.The problem was, i seemed able to cope - i thought,

Hello team mates

2009-04-28T22:07:00.006+01:00

Better than expected!

2009-04-28T21:57:00.004+01:00

After a day of nerves and butterflies I finally rolled up on the start line of the evening 10m TT. Wasn't sure what to expect as I haven't really done anything like it for such a long time. Had a taste of what was to come doing a 2up with Shaun last week round a twisty sort of hilly route and that wasn't pleasant. Any way in my head I thought I should at least be able to do a 25 ish time although

Nerves 2

2009-04-28T09:58:00.002+01:00

Well it was neither good or bad. I'd say somewhere down the middle. There was plenty of force in the legs but not much pedlin. Was strong enough to start the winning move but not fast enough to keep up! Following a race like that (painful) there are two ways you can go, up or down, the good news is based on this morning troshing 3 hours (starting at 5.30) the answer is up. Long live the espresso.

Torq Gels

2009-04-25T09:11:00.002+01:00

Knocked out another 4 hour ride yesterday my 2nd in 6 days with a couple of 50 milers inbetween including a 2up 10 with Tim B during one of them, anyway i'm not normally a fan of gels, after consuming them you can either throw the wrapper away littering the countryside or put the sticky mess back in you pocket, quite windy yesterday, well i thought it was as i was below 15mph in places on the

Hammer Hannan rides again

2009-04-24T20:00:00.004+01:00

There was a point I reached last night after a training ride with Joshua, a point that was sharp, and painfully obvious, young legs can climb fast. I have always thought I was a good climber, steady power, strong to the top and quick out with quick recovery, that was until I realized the difference between me and our youngest member, speed. I have been training up gas hill in Noz for about three

Nerves

2009-04-23T14:34:00.002+01:00

Well its been about 22 year since my first race and I've ridden a shed load in that time, but one thing that never changes is the gradual fear/nervousness that creaps in leading up to a race, never more so that the first one of the year.4 days before the race it's already started. For me this consists of butterflies and and gradual lightening of the legs that make you feel like getting out of

Back in Business

2009-04-23T09:47:00.002+01:00

Felt good to get into some kind of routine again this morning with my longer route into work. Only 26 miles but felt good and raring to go for a longer ride home. Been a bit down recently with recent bugs and illnesses that have kept me off my bike so good to be getting back and trying to catch the rest of the team up. Roll on those miles…

Ye Olde Train Station

2009-04-22T09:08:00.007+01:00

On my journey into work today, the train was fortunate enough to be delayed at Saxmundham for 20 minutes.What options did I have?? – Ride in from there to Ipswich (as I had my kit with me), or go find coffee? – no brainer really.But what I wasn’t expecting was to be taken back in time, to a 1940s proper train station caff – complete with dusky old man serving coffee for the paltry amount of just

Welcome to the dark side!

2009-04-22T08:07:00.007+01:00

Thank you all those which encouraged me to take part in the Godric 10TT on Tuesday night, never will I be the same again. I have a little place I go sometimes in my head when I'm riding, I dont like going there but occasionally you have to, and thats where I spent 25mins and 14secs of last night, it is a place where my thighs go to die and my saliva turns to powder!So thanks for the shove towards

Coffee...

2009-04-21T13:01:00.002+01:00

There's no better place to dink cofffee in Ipswich than with a view like this.. 'coffee link' does the best i've found as it's run by foreigners!!Rest day today as i've got a bit of a sore throat, and don't want to 'kill it' before my 2nd race of the season this Sunday. Feeling good after a few weeks of intervals - the form's a comin'

Image test

2009-04-21T12:28:00.001+01:00

Shaun, 'the great' Aldous

Test

2009-04-21T11:52:00.003+01:00

Test from my mobile - apparently it does work!!

First Blog

2009-04-21T11:40:00.002+01:00

I've been struggling to set my mobile phone up to be able to blog from it, and failing miserably - apprently, I can't do it from a T-Mobile phone - but it's from email - why should it matter??So - using the old fashioned way - first post, so will be a littel dull - i'll ahve to think of something spicy for subsequant posts...Bye for now world.

Welcome

2009-04-20T22:19:00.006+01:00

Welcome to the new blog from Streetlife's Extreme Sports Therapy Team. Keep an eye on here for what we have been up to in training and races and general ramblings from the team.