thejanullrichdietplan

Im a maybe but wont be able to confirm until nearer the time.

A mixed night, enjoyable but also a bit frustrating. First scratch race was too far back (a recurring theme) but felt really good in the sprint just had too much to do. Likewise in the 2nd scratch. Great effort by Billy just a shame he had misread the lap board! Final race was points...doing OK until someone drifted down and we knocked bars / arms. Our bars actually locked together at one point which was a bit scary and it caused me to then collide with Alan...amazed the three of us managed to stay upright. The guy apologised straight away but it was just one of those things and no-one was hurt. Few laps later had moved towards the front and was about to attack when I got knocked again (different rider) managed to stay upright but foot got unclipped and that was race over. Happened pretty fast so not really sure what happened.

The winter timetable was drawn up on the basis of reduced numbers at the drop ins over the summer.....imagine that! Who on earth could predict that when the weather is poor and the daylight hours are less that there would be more demand for track time? Apparently it is also difficult to book onto accreditation sessions - based on the numbers trying to get accreditation during the summer months so they cut back the number of sessions available for the winter and things are backlogged once again.

If anyone is looking for some videos to liven up their turbo or rollers session then there is a user on vimeo who edits cyclocross highlights videos and adds some music and text commentary - I dont know much about cx racing other than Sven Nys and Marianne Vos are pretty awesome and still find it enjoyable to watch so i imagine those of you who know a bit more will get even more out of it. www.vimeo.com/cxhairs http://vimeo.com/78705281

C for me

Races a little bit longer tonight and some big names in the As (and Bs too) so those races in particular looked very fast. The Cs started off with a 15 lap scratch and it was pretty shambolic at times - most riders are alright but there were 2 or 3 who you didnt want to be around. First time ive been in a race where a rider got an official warning for doing something daft. Was a bit far back when the sprint started so felt a bit like the race passed me by. 2nd scratch was 20 laps, didnt do any work - there were a couple of breakaway attempts and others chased them down, made a move with about 3 to go and found myself just behind the front but also high on the banking. Pretty much the ideal place so managed to go and then get a bit of a gap and the win. First one ive had in months! Last was 25 lap points, the aim was to go for the 2nd sprint and then go on from there but didnt have any speed left so ended up just trying to hang onto the group.

Feel bad for recommending them now - had no experience on their customer service etc just the cheap price which i had got evans to match.

Me Noticed this when i was signing up https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/101760/West-Cluster-Session-incorporating-District-Championships beyond my abilities but some of you may be interested

Enjoyable night in the Cs Scratch was ok but couldnt close down on the leaders before the line and finished 4th. The points was hard - the roll out lap had riders spread all over the track and getting told to bunch up - however before this happened he gun went so there were a few of us at the back and having to dig in and close a gap before we'd crossed the start line. This ruined Billys pre race strategy of going for a break after the first sprint. Ended up getting back and taking the 2nd or 3rd sprint and trried to stay out, got caught by someone on the line for the next points then it was just a case of trying to hang on. Colin was finishing strongly and as he moved up to contest the sprints i tried to get on his wheel but couldnt and that was when the elastic snapped and i got dropped, fortunately was near the end so didnt have much longer to suffer! Devil was next and pretty pleased with a 2nd. Almost got eliminated a couple of times early so moved to the front and tried to stay there which i managed thanks to Alan sitting on my shoulder meaning riders would have to go quite wide to come round (was a tactic that worked pretty well and almost paid off for us both with Alan finishing 4th - after having ridden an extra few metres compared to me every lap!). Eventually came down to 2 of us left and i led out the sprint but the other guy came round me in the back straight and i couldnt respond.

Handtec tend to have the best prices for garmin and polar, when i got mine a couple of years ago i got Evans cycles to price match in store - dont know if they still have this policy though. You can get anti-glare screen protectors which work pretty well. Either specific ones for garmin or you can get a mobile phone / ipad one and cut to size

Will stick with the 50x15 for another week then give something else a go at a drop in. I dont have a power metre so difficult to judge if the figures back it up or not but if on the road bike doing a hard effort (one that is longer than a sprint) then about 100 - 105 rpm feels most efficient, which is a lot lower than what i'd be at doing a similar effort on the track. I suppose there is the fixed wheel to take into account though.

Im in Thinking of putting a bigger gear on - currently have a 50x15 which is 90 inches (from what i've read track gears are measured slightly different from road gears) and have a 49x14 available (94.5 inches) which seems to be quite a jump so not sure if it is sensible or not. What are you all riding? (Or is it a secret )

Well done everyone some seriously good times. My PB for the Elliston climb is over 4 minutes

Yeah the A devil was race of the night, some great tactical riding (plus the legs to back it up!)

In the Cs, hopefully my legs will be there too this week

Yeah good day out, great weather particularly when you see what its like in Florence for the road race. Tough pace on the way back particularly with the wind - apologies for missing a few turns on the front was suffering a bit at times! this was the descending technique from the u23 champ that i mentioned (Matej Mohoric)

I was pretty hopeless tonight, felt like i was going to throw up during the points and ended up just rolling round trying to hold on and the first scratch was more of the same. By the last scratch i was starting to feel a bit better although didnt end up with anything but at least it felt i was in the race rather than a spectator. The 3 in the As were looking good and really stepping it up and Alan in the Ds is looking stronger by the week, not long until the breakthrough win i think.

Who is in tonight? Im in the C group

Yeah good day out, weather was surprisingly warm. The novice race started off a bit more serious than i was expecting with Walkers CC having their riders working together with (what sounded like) a road captain telling them what to do. When we got to the first climb their rider at the front peeled off his job done and he let their better climbers through - I was fearing the worst at this point! However got over the first bit ok then it levelled off a bit and the pace picked up again and managed to get in a group of 7 and we had a small gap of a few wheel lengths down the descent then the next ramp it grew and that was us away for the rest of the race. I climbed ok and was pleased to stick with the group over the hills and wasn't doing much work on the flat either so was feeling good. I started to think about what to do next and on the false flat before the descent to Port Bannatyne i attacked thinking it was about a mile to the finish line and got a good gap. However after about 1.5 miles the finish line still wasn't in sight and my legs were gone so ended up getting caught and not being able to respond - ended up 5th i think. Should have sat in and waited for the sprint but for a short while it was fun doing the attack and being out on my own with just the lead car in front. Average speed was 22.5 mph so maybe i should have entered the APR - however i've never done a road race before so didnt know what to expect and i was surprised that it was over 20mph and also that i didnt get dropped on the hills. Although if i'd been in the APR i suspect that would have happened!

Going to be tight for time but will try to make it. The curry, pakora and naan bread ive just finished probably isnt the best of preparation though

I didnt realise this was in the afternoon so i might be able to make it and give the novice race a go...what time do you need to be over there to sign up at?

Good luck, sounds a tough course going over Shillford road 5 times. On a related note it took me weeks to get the Hell for Leather strava KOM off of James McCallum but its going to be destroyed tomorrow!

Good night overall but would be nice to have a bit more track time as there were only 3 races tonight and the distances were a bit shorter too. Good to see so many Wheelers and Jets, by far the biggest representation of all the clubs. Overall legs felt better than last week although the results didnt really show it much. First up in the C was a 30 lap points and the sprints were fast - 2nd sprint was 45 mph, thats the fastest i've seen at the track league so far. Normally the sprints in the points are a bit slower than in the scratch but not tonight, well done to Alan for winning this. Second up 15 lap scratch - my positioning was pretty woeful on this, thought i was being smart and was marking Kevin Stewart but i guess the distance was too much for him. Third another 15 lap scratch - managed to get a second, helped no doubt by the field being a bit smaller! Managed to avoid doing any work then there was a Thomsons rider about a half lap ahead, i attacked with 5 to go and managed to bridge however by that time the other Thomsons rider had got away from the group and was on my wheel and came past. Rider of the night was Richard - 2 breakaway wins in the Bs and also i think in the top 3 in the points.

Me too

Sounds great (although absolutely horrible at the same time!)