National Point Series round 1 was at Thetford, A 5 hour drive for us from the Lake District.

We started our journey on the Thursday night and headed for Leicester, we went to Thetford on the Friday morning and got to the venue at about lunchtime.

The weather was really nice and I managed to get in three nice practice laps on the course,Ii was surprised how the course varied from little up hills to nice swooping downhills, I liked the look of this course!.

Just as i finished my last practice lap the heavens opened and there was a huge storm of hails stones and rain. My dad said he was so pleased that we had booked into a hotel for the next couple of nights as he remembered how we struggled last year camping!!

I started to think twice about my trye choice as I had a non grippy tyre combination!!!  Before I decided what to use I went out just to see how the course panned out after a major down pour with a mate of mine Billy Joe Whenman (Marin Elite Sponsored Rider). We flew round the course and we both decided that it would be a good idea to put a mud tyre on the front and a “Racing Ralph”  on the back as the course had changed alot since earlier in the day and was rather sketchy at times.

My dad and I drove to our hotel a couple of miles down the road at the nearby village of Brandon. It was luxury lying on my bed watching telly then having a nice warm bubble bath  to relax my muscles for a hard day of racing the following day.

I managed to have agood nights kip and woke about 6.00am really excited looking forward to the race, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped so it looked near perfect..

After breakfast of porridge and 3 cups of coffee we went to the race, I got my race number and went for a little spin before setting up my “turbo” for some pre race progressive warm up’s as instructed by Adrian ( my coach) to get my legs warmed up ready for action. I got my ipod on and started some nice steady spinning. After about 45mins of spinning.

10 Minutes before the start i got a banana down me for some slow release energy and got my legs covered in muscle rub and tried to keep focused

I watched the Juvenile race set off to a speedy pace along the forest track!, Next race would be ours!.

I went to the start line to be gridded with the rest of the youth riders. Gridding was done from last years results so I knew I would be at the back of the field, I knew a good start is what I needed.

i  was getting really nervous now as I looked around at the other racers, I had a quick gel and got myself in the race zone!.
The commissionaire said “In the next 30 seconds the bell will chime and your race will start!” Then before I could think we were off!. The sound of the clipless pedals clipping in and the gears changing and the rocks flicking up off the forest track I knew it was race time! I got the chain in the biggest sprocket and charged up the long forest track . I knew I had to get in a fairly decent position until we got on the singletrack or I would struggle to get pass people,. I managed to get upto 6th place and was feeling really strong.

 I Stayed with this group and was feeling confident about even making a few more places up!.

We hit the forest track after maybe 2 miles of singletrack through the woods then i attacked like everyone else was doing and managed to get myself up to 5th place.

We then started to turn off the forest track onto another bit of singletrack as we turned off onto the singletrack i nearly twent flying over the handle bars and I hit my ‘goolies’ on my top tube as a lad behind me shouted “Your Mech!”, I came to a dramatic halt as I saw there was a stick partly jammed in my mech.

By the time i had sorted it out it seemed that most of the field had flown pass me, I was feeling so down at this point and was right at the back of the field , I knew there was no chance i could get back up to the position i was in before, I felt desperate and angry with what had happened,
I sat at the back of the field and kept attacking and made a few places only for another problem to happen again, this time was a little more serious,
Myback wheel came out just as i was climbing out this bomb hole, i couldn’t believe what was happening to me,
i couldn’t even get my back wheel back in as my chain had came jammed between the cassette and the wheel. Luckily a spectator ran down and helped me fix it, Thanks who ever you were!
I  was now in last position at this point  and was nearly in tears!, my race had gone from bad to worse,I had just done one lap and had another lap to go.
Iwas so determined to just finish the race even if i was nearly 5 minutes off the back of the field!, I kept my pace fairly high even though I knew there was no chance of getting back onto the field.

I turned the corner and looked up the climb just before the finish and could see a rider in front, I saw him turn his head and put on a little burst but i knew i had to give my all so i just went for it and out sprinted him on the line.
A bad day for me but at least I finished I had always said to my dad I wouldnt quit a race again unless I really had too. I was chuffed that i still completed the race and although I didnt do well I felt strong and determined, maybe next time!!!.

50KM Enduro Race (SUNDAY)
Even though i was fairly gutted about Saturdays race i was excited for the 50km Enduro race on the Sunday, I got myself a good nights sleep and woke up nice and early and got a good breakfast down me as i knew the day as going to be a tough one!,
The race was due to start at 10:30am so i got to the course at 9am and went for a little spin round the course before the race was due start, The start list was nearly 150 Riders,
I got  on the front row as I hate being at the back and getting stuck behind riders , I lined up on the front next tos Bronze World Champs Medalist David fletcher and his team mate Ross Creber……Mixing it with the big guns.
I more relaxed than i was before Saturdays race, then we were off!,
We got a good start and I  was in 3rd place behind Ross Creber, i held that position for maybe 5 minutes until i just couldn’t keep the pace what they were doing!, they were absolutly flying…….more speed work and bigger lungs are what I need!,
I  settled into myown rhythm and felt alot better….phew

Two lads from Orange Monkey race team came flying past me so I decided I would hop on their wheels and stick with them as best I could and managed to get ‘towed’ me around the course,. I stayed with them both for the whole duration of the race until on the last lap I very cruelly attacked and managed to stay away from them. I did thank them at the finish.

I was pretty chuffed on how I raced but next time I will  make sure i dont go off as fast!, I finished 24th in a time of 02:12:20, The winner was Ross Creber who blitzed the rest of the field in an amazing time of 01:47:43!!!…..If only I had stuck with him.

A great weekend ,hame about the result on Saturday. See you at round 2 in Scotland.

PHOTOS ARE ON MY FLICKR PAGE.

Yes the race season is now on the horizon!, Hopefully all the hard winter training will have paid off and ill have a good racing season.My first race of the season is on Saturday 12th of April at Thetford round one of the NPS cross country mountain bike race series (National Series). I will also do the 50kms enduro event on the sunday.

Over the Easter weekend I planned to race at Bradford but was called off due to snow!, I was pretty gutted as we had travelled all the way and got within 10 minutes of the venue when a mate phoned saying it was called off, It was the first national youth criterium of the season so would of been a good race too see how my training had been going.Never mind thats the great British weather for you.

Went down to Manchester the other day to the velodrome to watch the World Track Cycling Championships, It was the first time i had ever been to the velodrome and my god do the track boys fly round the track!, never seen speed like it!, We saw Chris Hoy crowned the World Sprint Champion. What a cracking night.

Wish me luck for the race season!,please keep an eye on the blog for updates on how i do at Thetford!

Sam Russell

A brief update to keep you all informed on what I have been getting up to in the past few months.

The road and mountain bike race season is now over until next year so it was my chance to have a go at cyclo cross. I managed to beg an old bike from one of my dads mates who did the 3 peaks cyclo cross on it about 15 years ago.

My first race was on 6^th October at Clayton Vale park in Manchester for the Evans youth series race, this was my first ever cyclo cross race and I didn’t even know how many laps we were going to be doing.

The course was fairly short with one slight hill up through some trees then on a fast grass section until 2 hurdles you had to get off and lift your bike over. On the start line the organiser said we were to race for 30minutes then 5 laps, so it was similar to a criterium race. I now know that all cyclo cross races do a similar amount of time.

I was doing ok and was in 3 rd place on the 1^st of the final 5 laps when I slipped just before the hurdles, I jumped back up and tried to ride but had buckled my front wheel and knocked out my rear derailleur. I had to jack in so was a bit gutted but it was my 1^st race.

My 2^nd cyclo cross race was on 13^th October the Wheelbase organised race at Outwood park Radcliff near Bury. People said the course was harder than the “normal” type of event because it had a couple of steep climbs that you had to run up and carry or push your bike. I had a good race and although I found it hard because I was not used to the running and jumping back on I managed to finish in 4^th place so was chuffed for my 2^nd ever cross race.

At the start of October I started getting training & coaching advise from Adrian Timmis (ex Tour de France rider & GB World champion elite rider)Adrian is advising me on my training but also my diet and strength training excerses. He is making sure that I keep within specific heart train zones so that I don’t over train.

I have got a single speed bike to do my winter training, it’s a Kona Paddy Wagon with a 42-16 chain set complete with mud guards for the wet and miserable days ahead.A few of my team mates are also using single speeds this winter and I have been told it will definitely help me get stronger and improve my riding style.

I went to St Helens during the half term holidays to see Marc Laithwaite of Endurance Coach (www.theendurancecoach.com) to have a Max VO2 Test and various other cycling related tests. It was interesting to see where my strengths are and what I need to do to improve.

I now know why I am not too good at sprinting from a standing start, but good at long steady climbs. Its in my genes!

I had improved in my power and my overall fitness since the last time I had these lab tests. These new results will help Adrian to plan my training and we will be able to see if the training is paying off when I get measured again in 2 months time.

Polar Heart Rate Monitors (UK) very kindly sponsored me with a heart rate monitor to help me get the best out of my training and racing for next season.

So a BIG Thanks to Polar and all my sponsors.

Grizedale Mountain Bike Challenge –16^th September 2007

This was the main event I was looking forward to at the beginning of the season and wanting to do well in as it’s a well known local event.

The start list was close to 700 riders! So it was going to be a good turn out.

Unfortunately 2 week prior to the event my dad damaged his wrist while out riding and the doctor said he should stay off the bike for at least 3 weeks.

I had to train by myself and keep myself motivated as best I could and get out after school or on Saturday with a mate. I managed to put some good rides in so felt determined and confident that I was reasonably fit My only concern was I had never raced 30+ miles before so didn’t know what to expect.

The day of the race I woke up at 6am, I drank lots to make sure I was hydrated for the day ahead of me and I also managed to have a bowl of cereal and then a bowl of pasta. Yes pasta for my breakfast not something I normally have but I had read that the top pro cyclist’s eat pasta so I thought I need to eat like a champion!!!.

My dad and I set off from home and by the time we got to Grizedale at 9am it was raining and windy.

I had arranged to meet a mate Jack Pullar early so that we could go for a spin and get physced up before the start.

At 10am all the riders came to the start, I managed to get on the front row with some of my team mates. I didn’t think it would matter too much about setting off fast as it was a 30 odd mile race but I was told that if I felt fit enough to go off steady I wouldn’t get stuck behind people in the mayhem of the first few miles.

After a quick briefing about the course over the tannoy, the airhorn went and off we went.

 
Me (76) Start Line.

It was actually a faster start than I had expected with a group of about 10 riders pushing the pace early on, flying up the first climbs and were soon out of sight!!.

We climbed up on a steep forest fire road for about 3 miles which soon had people strung out, I was sitting in about the top 30 after 5 miles and feeling ok but not great. This first climb had been a bit brutal and was tough but it’s a challenge what do you expect, It was a fast start so its also no wonder why I was feeling it a little bit.

My dad was at the top of the climb shouting encouragement and taking photos.

Me (76) at the back of a group after 1^st climbs.

The tempo soon slowed down as we hit a great scenic section called Parkamoor, which I have done many times in training as Grizedale is one of my local training areas.

I was really enjoying this section but still wasn’t riding at my best but got some encouraging cheers just before I entered the woods after the climb out of Parkamoor.

Just Leaving Parkamor.

After the Parkamoor section we were gifted with a great descent down what is known locally as ’DAD’ and ‘GRANDAD’ its always pretty technical in the dry but today in the rain it was rather sketchy trying to steer on the wet and muddy rocks. Soon after the descent we came to a forest fire road that climbed up past Wood Moss Tarn on our left before sweeping down fast to join a ‘footpath’ section I have never ridden before. It was a singletrack descent which was as muddy as hell all the way down to the bottom. I was going fairly well until it came to this gulley full of mud which I found impossible to get any grip and went flying off into the bracken banging my knees and shaking me up!

I was just getting back on my bike when another rider came flying off in exactly the same place, nearly landing on me, he went with a hell of a crash. He sat up holding his nose which was bleeding pretty bad saying ’I think I have bust my nose’. I was shocked and asked him if he was alright he said I should carry on and he would make his way to a marshal. I hope he was ok.

I took the rest of the descent nice and easy as I was still shaken up a little, I came out onto the road which enabled my tyres to clear of mud.

On this section another junior rider had caught me up and he started to try to put a gap on me as we rode past Force Mills onto the turn at the car park at Blind Lane. I knew from experience this next bit of fire road was steep in places and went on for a fair way.

I stayed on his wheel up the first part until it got steeper I then decided I would make a break for it and started to push the pace, getting out of the saddle and using my bar ends to power up.
When I got near the top I looked round and realised he wasn’t chasing, I felt really good knowing that I had dropped him.The track levelled out and I must now have been in about in about top 40 or there abouts as I had lost a couple of places after my fall.
The route then down a section my dad and I call the “Downhill Course” It’s a really nice sweeping single track with a couple of tricky ‘rooty’ sections on the way down.
At the bottom it was another road section where I was joined by a fellow Wheelbase team mate Ian Palmer. We rode together on the road then turned up a steep technical climb on a bridle path. Everyone at this stage were having to jump off and push for the first 100 yards, it was that hard.

We managed to get back on and pedal a short distance before having to get off and push again, It was a killer!! We did manage to ride again and came out at the ‘Red Fox’. Were I grabbed a drink at the feed station.Another sweet single track and a bit of fire road bought us out at Moor Top car park were the checkpoint marshals took our times.

Getting A Tow From Ian Palmer.

I managed to stay on Ian’s wheel for about 30 minutes until we came to this steep climb on a muddy singletrack which I had to get off and push.

I was really starting to feel tired at this point and just had to keep my head down and focus on the riders in front. After a couple of minutes riding on my own I finally managed to catch up Luke Webber (Yeti Racing Team) who I know from the NPS series, we rode together for a while. He was feeling the effects of setting off a bit too fast!

We rode along the fire road for about 300 yards then turned off, but some how we had managed to go the wrong way. I was just following Luke so wasn’t sure if we had missed an arrow or it was pointing us in the wrong direction.

We were both really gutted and thought it was race over for us. Luckily I know Grizedale well and managed to get my bearings of where we were and we got back on track.

We must of lost about 10minutes and a good few places in the meantime but at least it wasn’t race over for us

After going off course we did a nasty short but very steep climb which was a real leg burner I got cramp in both my legs, I had never had cramp before and was in agony, I had hit the wall and was really feeling it now!

I kept on riding and Luke said I should keep on drinking, I had already drank one 750ml bottle of isotonic drink but drank some more and had a energy gel which seemed to make things a little bit better.

I managed to ride through the bad patch and we rode along the forest track at a nice steady pace, I was trying to spin my legs to get rid of the rubbish in my muscles.

After the forest track we then went down a technical descent which for some folks would have been easy but for me on my racing hardtail was a real struggle as it was really rocky, the rain was hammering down and I was slipping all over on the rocks.

I decided it would be best to hop off and run with the bike and once I got further down I could see more people were doing the same as me!

I got to the bottom of this rocky technical section and onto the road, I realised that Luke wasn’t behind me, I later found out at the finish he had punctured!

The weather was horrendous it had been raining since we had started it wasn’t just raining but it was windy and cold! Not the ideal conditions but there was nothing I could do about it other than just to ride my bike! We then hit a short road section which then leads to another great climb through some woodland at the back of Brantwood towards Lawsons Ground. It was a hard climb that I had done loads of times with my dad but today I was struggling and then I got cramp again, I kept on drinking but it didn’t seem to work this time! I had to stop for about 20 seconds, I was nearly in tears until it eventually went again I knew I was going to get some more cramp later on in the race but I tried to make sure I didn’t over push it on the climbs and just spin a little bit more I was in about 50^th position which I was chuffed with but I knew I could have been higher up.

We then had another climb up through the woods from Lawsons Ground which was tough,it was slippy as well which made it harder but I just kept on digging deep until I eventually got to the top were my dad was again.

Trying To get on the wheel of a Lune Valley Rider, climbing out of Lawson Ground woods.

I asked him how far was left and he said there wasn’t long left now so I just tried to forget about how knackered I felt and kept drinking hoping I wouldn’t get cramp again.

Along the fire road and then down another bridle path till we hit another fire road and climbed back up to Moor Top to cross over the road back into the other side of the forest.

It was now fast fire road until we turned off onto a single track which was a steep muddy descent, dodgy in parts as my front tyre was slipping all over the place. There was no particular lines to take so I just had to let the bike roll and hope for the best. I managed to get to the bottom with out coming off.

At the bottom we hit the road and a marshal said there was only about 5 miles to go, I headed off on a short road section down towards Satterthwaite, I rode about 5 metres when I was joined by my good mate Pete Thomas( Kent Valley RC) who asked if I was alright I replied “Yes just my legs are killing me” he said he was the same but had cramp in his bottom!!

We turned off onto a bridleway that took us back across the valley to re enter the forest on the other side. At the top of the bridleway we then turned left and joined the fire road that took us back up the first climb we had done at the start of the race.

This was the final sting in the tail.

I was struggling and was in pain like I had never felt before as my legs were just locking up with cramp, I knew this was going to be hard so I just gritted my teeth and hoped that I wouldn’t seize up with cramp again.

We both rode the forest track climb together until Pete upped the pace and managed to open up a gap on me, I really thought my race was over and it would just be a question of hanging on to get to the finish.

I was really disheartened as I saw Pete starting to ride away from me, I then thought that I would have to have another go at getting back to him, the last thing I wanted was to be beaten in the last couple of miles. I was in agony but I gradually upped my pace and could see that I was slowly getting closer and closer to Pete. He kept looking behind to see were I was which only spurred me on to get out of the saddle and try harder.

I think in the end Pete gave up trying to get away, by the time we got to a flat section near the top I had caught him and the feeling inside me was just fantastic.

All I had to do now was make sure I kept in front I kept him front of him down the next rocky descent. I made sure I took the direct lines so that he couldn’t get pass me.

We hit the forest track and I could see the finish line below through the trees now I just flicked the chain up to the big ring and started to grind it.

I could hear Pete about a couple of bike lengths behind me, I had one last corner then a fast sprint to the finish.

I came in a time of 3 hours 19 mins ,and 55^th overall out 561 riders.

The day was very tough but it made me realise I can race over 30 miles and people have said it can only make me a better rider for future races.

My team mate Lewis Craven won in 2hrs 33 mins just over 8mins clear of Barrie Clarke in 2nd and my mate Jack Pullar in 3rd place.

The Selkirk Merida, a lot of people said this would be the best course of this years Merida series.

I had arranged to travel up to Selkirk the day before the race with my Wheelbase team mates Stuart Reid and Lewis Craven.

The weather forecast for the weekend, for the whole country was hot and sunny with rain spreading into the Scottish borders later on Saturday night; it rained all day in the Lake District where I live.

After being excited all day, Stuart, Lewis and Steve Clarke (ex National junior MTB champion) picked me up from my house at 8pm in the nice new Wheelbase van.

Stu had been down to Staffordshire racing in the National Fire & Police road Championships, things hadn’t gone to plan for Stu as after only 5 minutes another rider brought him down damaging his shoulder, splitting his 3k carbon bike and snapping his handle bars. Not a good day!!

We got to Selkirk around 10pm, which was good timing considering we stopped twice for a bite to eat and had to drive around Selkirk for a while trying to find the rugby ground where the race head quarters and campsite were. We found a good spot to put the tents up and the weather was just beginning to turn for the worse.

The rain began to hammer it down and I eventually nodded off at about 1.00am and managed to get about 5 hours kip, I woke at 6am and it was still raining!

The race was going to be an interesting one, a mud fest for sure with all the rain we had over night. I rang my dad to see if he was still coming up to support me, he was on his way as he set off early. It’s always nice to get the support from my family when I am racing; it certainly spurs me on that’s for sure!

We had breakfast early and I then went to sign on and get my race number. The profile of the course looked good; it was 28km with 900 metres of accent. I particularly enjoy the hills, so was looking forward to the chance to push myself over a hard steep course.

Feeling fairly nervous, I got changed and went for a little spin up the road for a couple of miles just to get my legs nice and warm and to get the blood flowing and focus my thoughts.

With about 20 minutes to go I noticed that most of the 1400 riders had started making there way over to the start line, I glanced over to the van were Stu and Lewis were putting a new cassette and chain on Lewis’s bike.

I went and lined up on the front row to save them a place at the start hoping they would get the bike sorted before the off.

With about 10 minutes to go Lewis and Stu finally made there way onto the start line and got on the front row with me, the nerves really started to kick in now, I just wanted to get going.

At 10:00am we were off, I was right at the front row riding next to Nick Craig and Stuart Bowers (Scott UK). We did a 2km road section then did a left turn up a steepish forest track.

I was leading at this point with Nick Craig sat on my wheel following. It felt good to be pushing the pace at the front with the pros, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the pace up for long and soon slowed down letting the pros take over.

I got into my own rhythm and felt really strong; we took a left turn up this very steep climb which was a painful sight to most people as we had been riding for about 5km at the point.

I saw my dad who gave me encouragement and told me not to forget to take drink on. We then turned up again into the mist up another long climb which had some riders having to walk as they slipped out, I managed to ride it all and overtook a couple of riders just before the summit.

Once we got over the top of the climb we came out onto exposed moorland we turned down a singletrack which was about 20 inches wide but in places it was just the width of your front wheel.

It was a mud fest all the way down, I thought there is no way everyone was going to get down it without a crash ,people were starting to have problems with clogged up rear mechs.

My tyres were clogging up and I kept sliding all over the place when I touched my brakes, I saw one guy in front of me go skidding off into the bracken and then he went flying, it made me chuckle.

We hit a forest track which was a relief as it gave me a chance to get rid of the mud from my tyres and get them gripping again!

We climbed up through the forest and I hopped on the back of someone’s wheel and followed them up to the top of the climb. We then came to a rocky and muddy descent, I was feeling pretty sketchy coming down this descent as I sure didn’t want to go down the steep banking on the left, my back tyre was slipping all over the place so I kept the speed fairly slow keeping my hands off my brakes as much as I could and managed to get down to the bottom in one piece.

We were soon back on the forest track for another climb which I really enjoyed it was just a big long drag up to the top of the forest, once again I stayed on someone’s wheel as I realised it worked for me on the previous climb. At the top of this hard forest climb it flattened out and I managed to have a quick energy gel to get some energy back into the system.

I knew that we would have to head back down and soon got onto another muddy descent; to be honest I was looking forward to the challenge! I soon realised that what I thought was a nice decent was getting worse the further down we went. About ¾ of the way down it was turning into a real muddy bog; I would hate to think what it would be like for the 1300 odd riders behind! There was an extremely steep banking further on which I could see riders in front hopping off and walking down as it was that steep, I stupidly decided I would try and ride down it. I did one pedal turn as I went over the edge and soon thought “ Oh s**t ” this is seriously steep, it was approx 7 meters long covered in slippy mud all the way down to the bottom.

Unfortunately I hit a small tree stump which was slap bang in the middle of the descent; I went flying and got catapulted over the handle bars right to the bottom of the banking. Everyone around me was laughing and asked if I was ok. I looked around to see were my bike was and realised it was still at the top of the descent! I certainly didn’t attempt to ride back down again.

We finally got down to another forest track which was a relief and my tyres cleared and I could get some traction. I was feeling strong at this point and was in about 60^th place overall; I knew I could go faster but thought I would pace myself until the latter stages. I hadn’t noticed anyone with a similar number to mine so thought I must be leading the 28km or at least well up.

After cruising along the forest track with a small group for about 1.5 km we came to the feed station were I grabbed a banana without stopping.

A little further on we got to the turn off point were my race separated from other distances. I asked a marshal at the turnoff if anyone else had come through; he said that I was in the lead.

I quickly ate my banana at the start of the climb then started to really push the pace as I was unsure how much of a lead I had. I glanced back down the hill and couldn’t see anyone. I knew my dad would be around the top of this last steady climb as I had seen him first time round. I came around a corner and looked up to see my dad waving to me at the top of the climb which made me feel better. I was beginning to struggle. I grinded away, holding on to my bar ends with my head down, gritting my teeth. I was in agony but I knew once I got to the top it would be downhill all the way to the finish.

I had a brief word with my dad then shot off down the descent; halfway down a photographer from ‘Sleepmonster.com’ took a couple of photos of me descending down the rocky track which was pretty cool. He said I had made very good time, and told me the finish line was very close now.

A final river crossing then down a farm track till I finally hit the road which would take me toward to finish!

I came in 1^st in 1hour 34mins it was a great feeling and I had enjoyed every minute, even though it was hard work!

My dad was really pleased and we went to clean my bike and waited for the 2^nd place rider to come through. He was a good friend of mine Dougie, who lives in Hawick and came in under a time of 1 hour 48 minutes, I had beaten him by 14 minutes.

We were both really chuffed with our results; we congratulated each other and spoke about the course and how our race went.

This was certainly the best course I have ridden to date. I had a great weekend and really enjoyed the race!

As for my team mates

Lewis finished 4^th in the 100km event

Stuart came 2^nd in 75km

Steve came 3^rd in 75km

A good weekend all round.

Jesus Christ!!… I’ve never been so close to death!

I’m Only 15 years old and i thought i was a “Gonna” today!,

Well after sleeping in till 10.00am it was going to be a late ride today, I set off from my door just after lunchtime, the weather forecast last night was showers later in the day so I hadnt made the best choice setting off late.

As I set off it started spitting and the clouds were black as coal !, I headed up the steep rocky track which i normally go up for some good climbing training, after about 500 metres up the track i got a puncture. This was the 5th puncture since I got my new bike (week old bike) … I took the rear wheel off to fix the puncture and noticed the side wall was split.

I knew the ride I had planned would have to be  cut short! I fixed the puncture as best I could.

The rain was coming down extremely heavy and I was just waiting for sky to errupt. All of a sudden it thundered and then flashed lighting. I was metres from getting struck by lighting the ground vibrated under my feet it was that close!, iIhad no were to take cover as I was half way up this exposed mountain!.

Oh my god it was one of the scariest things of my life ,thunder and lightening were so loud and right above my head I thought i was a gonna!..It was so scary.

I put the rear wheel back on my bike and had to make the 12 mile journey back home as fast as I could.

It was thunder and lighting all the way home with torrential rains!.. It was pretty damn scary!… I was all on my own too which made it that little bit more scarier!

After a busy month of hard training and a new steed!, I haven’t managed to get around to writing on here for a good while but as today is my well earned rest day, I have time to give you a brief update to what i’ve been getting up to and what i’ve got coming up!..

My new bike.

new Steed!, After Deciding a while back that this was the bike i really wanted i finally got it!, And I have to say I am totally over the moon with it!, I got a Trek 8900 Full XTR groupset with Fox F100X forks its a dream to ride and hopefully i can get some good race results on it!

My training has been going well recently, I have been doing various types of training which has made me a better and hopefully a stronger a rider.

Ive certainly noticed a difference on how fast I can attack the hills and then power over them to keep the pace going. I have also been training with some top riders which has helped me and get little new tips on how to improve my riding. To name a few Helen Jackson (Number one Adventure Racer in Europe), Jack Pullar (Kinesis UK) , Brian Singleton (Global Bikes, Torq Energy) .

These rides with the experienced top guys are extremely hard and fast but make me a fitter rider and I feel more confident knowing that I can push the pace if needed, I have basically been doing more race specific training but trying making it as much fun as possible.

I haven’t done any races since the Sam Houghton challenge,.

I am aiming to do the Selkirk Merida which is next Sunday (5th August) ,I Will be going to the event with two of my team mates Stuart Reid & Lewis Craven ( Fred Whitton record holders)

I am hoping to impress them with a good result but my main aim is just to enjoy myself!,

Iam Really Looking forward to this event as the organisers say its the best course they have in the Merida Series!, I feel fairly confident but i just need to put a good effort in and you never know!.

I recently did a long distance ride with a good friend mine Phil Chaplow and felt pretty fit so hopefully ill be feeling the same next Sunday!

Hopefully next month Ill be writing of another good race result!,

Fingers Crossed.

Thanks For Reading.

Sam

I set my sights fairly high for this race as it was on my door step and was setting off from outside Wheelbase in Staveley. 

 There were two separate races a Long Course and short course, the Long course being for people who were over 16 years old or if under 16 you have to ride with an adult .

I asked the organiser if I could ride the short course on my own as I knew my dad wasnt up for riding the long course and he wouldnt of kept up with me on the short one.

The week prior to the race had been a hot one and so was race day it was absolutely boiling!, I made sure i kept on drinking all my water i had with me to keep me hydrated.

It was a staggered start from 12.00am I decided to set off at 1.00pm so that I would have people to chase.

We set off out of the mill yard and after 10 metres on the start of the climb up hall lane I made my attack to lead the race! Irealised I made the right decision as no one came with me, i kept the pace going as i was attacking this tough road climb but just kept the pace on and eventually I hit the off road sections which is were I made up a lot of ground on the groups in front, there were some tough sections which I really enjoyed.

The day had been a great success for me!, 

I Came over the finish line in a time of 01:55:58 and managed to win the race by 55 minutes in the end so my attack at the start really did prove to be the right thing to do!!..

Rob Jebb won the long course.

Thanks For Reading.

Sam

What a weekend!!
Well I’ll start at Sherwood Pines the 2nd round of the NPS race series.
My Dad and I arrived on Friday afternoon and pitched our tent, the weather was looking a bit dodgy with grey clouds and forecast for rain.
I managed to get 2 really good laps in on the course and my first thoughts were that the course was “Bloody Hard”
The course had some very steep bankings one of which I couldn’t even ride up, some tricky log drops, some fast singletrack and short sections of forest road sections.
I kept thinking if it rains tonight, tomorrow will be hell especially the single track and tree roots.

By 8pm the storm arrived and it hammered down all night.
I was starting to worry, I knew I had to get an early night as tomorrow was going to be very hard and it was an early start, so I got myself to bed at 9:30pm the rain still hammering it down.

I woke at about 8am and was pleased that the rain had stopped, the sun was out which helped to dry the tent.
I had a good breakfast and then had a good spin on the bike to get warmed up.
By 9:50am we all lined up for a 10am race start, I was so nervous but managed to get a good position on the line and was feeling slightly better, there is nothing worse than a bad start on the line.
The whistle went and off we went, I had a desperate start as I had slipped my front derailleur into the smallest ring on the chainset and was spinning like crazy.
By the time we hit the forest track I was in a really bad position stuck behind a small group, I knew I had to work hard if I wanted a good result.
When we hit the first singletrack section and I was stuck behind a group of about 5 lads who were going slower than I wanted to go, I needed to get pass them.
I made a move on the singletrack section, managing to just get pass but taking some brambles with me!. As we hit the forest track I made a serious effort to catch the next group ahead, I put on a bit of a burst and managed to get with them just before we went back on another singletrack section which was really “routy” and slippery. I had to watch my speed as I didn’t want to over do it and come off.
I stayed at the back of the group until I hit the forest track and then I made a move for it, I managed to get to the front of the group and as we hit another section of singletrack I realised that the group behind wern’t pushing hard.
I lead this group for about 10 minutes, and I felt I was doing ok. I could see a group of about 3 riders up ahead so I decided to push a bit harder, as I started to chase the group ahead we came up to a log drop which you could either go around (which most people did) or over it, stupidly I decided that it would be a lot faster if I just flew over the drop but I under estimated it and only realised when my front wheel got on it that it was slippery as hell, before I knew it I was off the bike lying in the mud, winded and my morale at rock bottom.
I was really gutted as I could see all the rest of the group I was leading ride off while I sat in the mud!
It just wasn’t my day so I decided it would be best to drop out.
My dad was fairly pissed off as he thought I looked strong and doing really well when he had seen me out on the course.
I had to tell my mates that I had given up which made me feel even more gutted and I kept on saying to myself “why did I drop out I should of kept on going!” but it was too late.

Well done to Will Verney who won the race and was in a class of his own.

I have to put my race behind me and forget about it and put it down to experience.

Well after a bad race on the Saturday I had to try and make up for it on Sunday at the Merida Marathon in Penrith at the Cumbria Bike Fest.
I had entered the 28km race and knew it was going to be just as hard as Saturday’s race if not harder as I would be racing against adults not just my age group.
I registered for the race at about 8am, the race was starting at 10am with about 1600 people in total entered for the different distances.
The set up was really good with lots of different stalls and activities going on, there were loads of people, I knew it was going to be a massive race!.
I was a bit worried because everyone would all be setting off together, that’s approx 1600 people all setting off together!.
Half of them were doing the 86km route with the others doing the 47km or the 28km races.
I got to the starting grid at 9:30am and thought I needed to be in a good position so that I didn’t get mowed down in the charge.
I made sure I was in the first few lines of riders just behind some of the elite men. I felt really confident and knew it was going to be my day.
I looked around to see if I could make out other riders numbers to see if they were doing the 28km race but it was impossible to tell so I knew that I just had to go for it from the off.
At 10.00am the race started and I shot off with the front group,I realised I was racing next to Nick Craig (Scott UK) who was doing the 100km,we hit a road section and I was going as fast as hell, I must have been in the top 20 at this stage.
I was feeling great but also fairly knackered this was only 10 minutes into the race and I knew I had a long way to go. The 86km ,47km and 28km were all riding together and I was really enjoying myself.
We were all chatting to each other and people were encouraging me to keep it going. After another road section it soon went quiet as I headed off on my own as the 28km riders split from the 86km ,47km riders.
I headed off on a narrow single track and a marshall said “Your First” I couldn’t believe it, I was so shocked I was actually leading a race.
The feeling was amazing but after about 10 minutes of riding on my own I was feeling bad as there was no one to speak to or cheer you on.
I knew I had to just keep this lead, I hit a fantastic singletrack which went for about half a mile.
After a short climb I came to a gate where my dad was waiting, he gave me an energy bar and a drink which made me feel a little bit better.
I knew I still had a fair way to go as I set off on another short road section,I kept on pushing hard even though I felt like crap.
I came to the bottom of this steep grassy climb, I looked towards the top and thought this is a big one there is no way I would get up there.
I put it in a low gear and just kept spinning managing to keep going on the grassy hairpins.
By the time I got to the top my legs were cramping up, I was knackered but I kept shouting to myself “Come on Sam!”.
I looked back down the climb and could see the 2nd rider just on the road and knew that I had a massive lead.

I was out on my own, I was winning and I wanted to prove myself that I really could win a race. I kept on pushing my weary legs around the crank and hoped that the finish was soon.
There was a sense of relief when I could see a forest in the distance I knew that I must be close to the finish line.
I kept on going for it and hoped there would be no more climbs, but unlucky for me there was another climb up into the forest were my dad was waiting, he gave me encouragement and said that it was very close to the finish, I was cramping all the way up the climb but I could hear the tannoy at the finish area.
I managed to keep it going even though I had nothing left in my legs but it didn’t matter so much because the finish was there!.
I finished the race in 1 hour 34 minutes the time keepers were shocked when I came through they said I must of been flying!,
The feeling of winning was fantastic, I was over the moon with the result and especially pleased to win the race against all ages by over 14 minutes.

After the race they even wanted me for 2 minutes to do a little interview over tannoy, and the photographers taking photos of me, They treated me like I was some professional racer!.

Now I know how good it feels to win I will want that feeling again!!!.

Sam

Had A Busy time on the bike recently.

Been Getting a lot of miles in on the road , managed to do a lovely local 40 mile ride after work on Sunday which was great. Had a day’s rest to recover on the Monday and boy did i need it!, Tuesday did 35 miles .

Tonight (Weds)I have just done my local( Kent Valley CC) 10 mile time trial race at Milnthorpe,

The first time I rode this course was in August 2006 when i had only just started competitive cycling,managing to complete it in 30:52.

Tonight my time was 26:52 knocking nearly 4 mins off my previous time:) .I was 1st youngster which was also a great achievement for me.

What a cracking way to finish the week!

Ive got a very tough month coming up with the National Point series round 2 Mountain Bike race at Sherwood pines on the 12th May, then on the 13th May Im competing in the Merida Marathon at Penrith. (25km).. So yeah i need to make sure i keep on top of it all and hopefully i can do well..

Keep In Touch,

Sam