XC Feed Zone Stand Photos

1. This was the stand in its first testable format - the beech joint at the top will be replaced with the 3D print and a different cage mount will be used to support two cages.

 2. As the 3D printed component was not yet ready, the beech joint was used again, however the cage mount is here and the stand supports both bottles.

 3. An exploded view of the tripod assembly.

4. Close-up of the pin and slot of the height adjust mechanism. The pin slides in the slot and you just lift and twist to set the height of the stand - there a 5 heights.

 5. Another view of the height adjust mechanism

6. The tripod assembly on the workshop floor. Holes for pegs are visible in the feet.

7. The stand supporting two bottles (OK I know they are half full but I can't peg it into ashphalt...) 

8. Close-up of the tipod connector (It's not green, the light was funny)

9. Close-up of the bottle cage mount. The larger hole fits the tube and the cgaes fit in the holes and grooves to stop them from rotating.

10. Cages fitted into the cage mount. 

If you want to see any more photos of different parts of the stand, post a message on XC Racer.

Thanks,

Kim

Winter Training

Winter training is going well, this is the first time I've written a proper plan and stick to it. Weekly riding time is up to 6 hours, I'd like to get more long rides in but with college commitments, this is about as good as it will get at the minute. I'm feeling fitter than ever and increasingly ready for a great season this year!

The dates and venues for the Southern XC series have been announced (they are on the website). QECP looks to be a good round - my home race of you like! I'm planning to get up there as much as possible for plenty of climbing practice. Also looking good are the Wasing and Crow Hill round, I really liked the courses last year and hope I can go faster this year! Checkendon and Porridgepot Hill are new venues for me so it will be good to race somewhere new.

See you on the trails,

Kim

New Year New Start

To kick off 2014 I've been planning some of the things I want to achieve this year and making a list of events I want to compete in. The number one goal is the get into university - but spending all my time doing A-levels will drive me mad. I'm still undecided whether I want to spend most of my year on the water or on riding a bike - I'll probably split it between the two and end up incredibly busy and forget that I should probably schedule time for revision and school work...

Sailing

After last year more time sailing is definitely a priority! My boat is in need of some love - paint needs stripping and replacing, foils need some attention and some of the fitting need replacing. Since I'm not sure what the yacht situation will be next year (owner is selling the boat) I want to spend more time in my Europe but also try my hand at sportsboat sailing.It's something I've not really done yet and I also want to learn some new skills on a boat (perhaps I'll give trimming a go!). A definite target is the Europe nationals, other commitments meant we missed them last year so I really want to race them and at least one of the traveller events. My club racing also needs more commitment - I had good results this year but wasn't racing often enough to translate the results into series wins.

Cycling

Racing XC last year was great fun - big learning curve, lots of friendly new people and great racing - I'm definitely going to do it again this year. I also want to ride in new places and complete different events; my sights are set on some MTB sportive style rides as well as a 2 or 4 hour endurance race (bit of training required there!). The one ride I really want to do is the round the harbours bike ride in Portsmouth for the British Heart Foundation. It's local and every year we say we will try and do it but sailing commitments end up on the same weekend. The ride is not particularly challenging but we've said we'd do it for so long that it seems now is the time to do it! The BHF are also organising a 35 mile along the South Downs way which is also on the list.  Another challenge will be a road sportive - I have a spot at the New Forest Cycletta event this year which should be good fun. I'm still coming across rides that I want to do, the next challenge will be fitting them in!

The final aim for this year is to update this blog more frequently. It's working in harmony with my aim of a training diary that will be filled in daily. Last years attempt at recording training was good but I didn't do it daily so big chunks of the year are missing. I also started recording my sailing but that was even less frequent. Keeping a log of everything I get up to is my number one priority and number 2 is finding lots of things to get up to!


All the best for the new year, 

Kim

RTI Race Photos

Finally got round to posting some of the photos I took during the race. We finished in 7 hours, 41 minutes, putting us 88th in group and 298th overall - not our best results but we weren't expecting them to be. It was nice to not be soaking wet all day and Northerly winds meant the RIB run from Hamble to Cowes was dry (thanks to Ian at C2 RIBS). A 5:50 start was an early one but plenty of coffee fixed that! HEre are some of the photos I took during the day...

Reach to Hurst castle then a run down to the Needles

Approaching St. Catherines Point

Gusty conditions round the back of the Island

Crew were still awake, 4 hours of racing left...

Approaching Bembridge Ledge bouy

Beating back up the Solent, looking a bit too nice for a RTI

Approaching the finish line

Links

Round the Island Race

Round the Island Race - 1 Week to Go

It's nearly time to get up early for the Round The Island Race so here's some information about our entry this year.

Link to RTI page: Old Pulteney Kurketrekker

A Beneteau First 35, crewed by friends with far too many years experience between us. We start at 05:50 (It really is that early) and in good conditions will be looking to complete the course in 6 - 7 hours. 

I'm the media representative on board and will be on Twitter, posting race updates when I'm not on the foredeck as well as communicating with the press office who will be posting a live race blog. The boat is registered for tracking - search for 'Old Pulteney Kurketrekker' on the Official GPS Race Tracker - it should show our course as we race round the island but 2 years ago it stopped transmitting at St Catherines Point after the phone in use received a call, family that were following us thought something bad had happened but we were OK so use with caution.

Please show your support for the race on Twitter if you can - JP Morgan Asset Management (the title sponsors) are donating £1 to the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust for every tweet containing #raceforall. They're aiming to raise £3000 to help children and young adults on their way to recovering from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illness. It's a fantastic charity and the trust will be competing so please show your support by tweeting! More information here: The Race For All Tweetometer and The Ellen Macarthur Trust.


Here's a photo from the 2011 edition:

We are approaching the finish line at Cowes after approximately 7 hours of racing in 20 - 25 knots and heavy seas, I'm third from the left. Photo by Paul Wyeth photography.

See you on the water!

Southern XC Round 2 - Crow Hill

A rather different race this time...

Rocked up at Crow nice and early, got bike numbered up and was out on my practice lap early. The course was great, and open start area with a steep dip just to spread everyone out a bit; the first section was just like riding at home - flat and open but lumpy with the odd muddy puddle. After a short section on a farm track, the course entered the next section of singletrack - slightly uphill and incredibly rooty and slippery made for good riding. The rest of the lap was similar - the hills were short and sharp and there was more technical downhill sections to make the riding good. I chickened out on some sections and let the HR settle by walking, crashing on the practice lap would not be fun. Lots of very short steep section meant weight shifting and gear selection were key. In short the course was great and I couldn't wait to race on it.

Bike all ready to go! 

(Does it say something that I kind of wanted 69?)

I lined up for the start and could feel the nerves kick in. As it was also the Southern Championships I didn't want to be in the way of anyone who stood a chance so when the gun went I held my lane and tried to find some space. By the time we were out of sight of the start arena the group had spread a little but a bit of jam formed as everyone entered the first section. I found a wheel to sit behind at a good pace and rode as smoothly as possible to avoid pushing up the HR too much - there were 3 lap left!

I quite literally hit the first steep climb - shifting down a little too quickly, spun the legs and then while trying to shift up again my front wheel came off the ground and I went sideways. I ran the bike for the next 30m of the climb before a unplanned cyclocross re-mount (was pretty pleased with myself for that, had a bit of a grin for the next few minutes). The rest of the lap went great - my legs felt great and the climbs seemed easier since round 1 (bit more training and technique paid dividends). I even managed to overtake the girl in front of me - an adrenaline boost carried me back to arena where I realised I'd lost my bottle. A shout for a new one in the feed zone and a pro style grab-drink-chuck manoeuvre remedied that problem and I settled down for the next lap.

The first section was great, I decided to have a bit of fun on one of the hairpins with a motocross style drift with foot dab - not sure if it was quicker but I felt cool doing it. At this point the junior men were starting their practice laps and were flying past me. I heard a rider call from behind me with a feminine voice and got frustrated as I wondered how fast the pro's must be going to have lapped me this early - right until the 12 year old boy flew past me (sorry for thinking you were a girl). Just before the first farm track section there was a mud filled dip on the track. More riders were churning it up and it was deeper than on my first lap. I didn't think I was going much faster but I must have hit something badly as I managed to flat both tyres. Well, if you're going to do it you may as well do it properly...

Flat Tyre Number 1...

...And Number 2

In typical fashion I flatted at the furthest point from any of the marshals so a walk up the track followed (it was further than I thought, I was walking for 10 minutes) until I found the marshal and discovered I was about as far from the start arena as the course could get.... A walk back through some horse filled fields eventually got me back to the start where I gave dad the bike and walked back to the car. This was not how I wanted the race to end - my legs felt good and the bike was riding well. The course was good and felt I could achieve a good time but apparently it was not my day.

It wasn't all bad though, I got to watch some of the pro's ride one of the technical sections and after a chat with an ex-elite rider some new tubeless ready wheels might be coming from my sponsors (or my parents as they call themselves). We stuck around to watch the start of the junior, vet, grand vet and super vet men’s races and to see the women’s presentation. I found that as there only 3 juniors they'd given me 3rd place even though I had retired (not bad at all!).

Junior Podium

A somewhat frustrating day but lots was learnt. The races really highlight what I need to improve in training and with my exams nearly over I have more time to ride. My training plan has been suitably tweaked - a little of bit of change is good, it freshens rides up a little and gives a bit more motivation.

Thanks to Southern XC for another great event - the course, the location and the people were all fantastic. I can't wait for the next one (where I will finish properly!)

Southern XC Round 1 - First Race

Well that was an experience... Brutal and tiring but all I know is that I have to do it again! My first cross country race was amazing, although I'd been thinking about it all week as soon as I turned up at the venue the adrenaline started flowing and any plans went out the window. 

Rocking up at Matterley Basin in the morning made me start wondering what I'd go myself into. You didn't need to get that close to see that the climbs would be killer even though I'd seen photos of the site already. We got my bike down and I couldn't wait to ride the course and actually race. After signing on and picking up my race number I got kitted up and ready to ride.

'I totally know what I'm doing'

'See, the number's the right way up'

We headed over to the start line to ride a lap of the course. My race didn't start until 10:30 so riding the couse at 9 was ideal. The place was swamped with children riding full on XC race bikes (carbon frame, expensive groupsets and choice of tyres ect), I felt somewhat out of place on my £650 Halfords bike (albeit quite a nice one at that, well I think so anyway). Dad wanted to walk as much of the course as possible so we started up the first climb (about 10m after the start line) at walking pace. At the top we entered the first woody section and it felt like proper mountain biking. Dad agreed to meet me later so I found an easy rhythm and found some flow. For about 2 minutes. The first tight corner was off-camber and blind into a rooty section. I had a graceful slide on to my side. Deciding to take it a bit easier (I didn't wan't to crash out before the race) I got to the first climb. Short and reasonably steep (500m and 8% gradient so says Strava), I knew my legs were going burn after the race. The next bit of techy singletrack was great fun - until my glasses steamed up and I was riding blind (more fun than I thought actually). We were spat out of the woods and confronted with the big climb. 20% gradient with 100m of flat halfway. My legs were screaming 'STOP!!!!!!!!' but I carried on. By the time my legs were feeling better we faced a rather nasty bump. Two 1.5m high lumps with a run that was just about the width of your pedals to fit though and some slick mud to mix it up a bit. This was followed by a switchback climb that led to a field and the final section of the course. I did it 35 minutes and although I knew I could go faster on some sections, the number pretty meaningless at the time.


Getting back to the car for a drink and a banana I realised I had a massive grin on my face (like I'd just won the lottery). I was super stoked for the race - 2 laps flat out!

Being by the line made me really nervous. I don't know why, it was some grass with spray painted lines on, nothing scary about that. When the bloke made the call for all the women I was bricking it. Stood on the line made me realise I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I remember the bloke calling names and then reading some rules and then all too soon it was time for the start. 

Sally Bigham (271) of Topeak-Ergon Racing was in the same start...

'OK I have zero idea what I'm doing now'

The gun went and we started up the first climb. I realised had no plan so would just find someone whose pace I could match and follow them for a bit (great plan). I don't really remember much of the actual race, it's kind of a blur however I distinctly remember wanting to throw up after the big climb on lap one. I didn't and just pushed on instead. 

'I think I'm going to throw up'

I finally found some flow

By lap two I realised that I was being overtaken by 12 year olds on their race machines. That did not sit well especially as I crashed ( read: fell off sideways in a particularly ungraceful and unimpressive manner) and ended up pushing my bike up the main climb and the switchbacks. After attempting to get back on my bike and getting nothing but wheelspin before I could clip the other foot in I felt a pain in my leg. In my typical fashion I ignored it and rode on. Seeing the line at the end of lap two was amazing. I realised I'd done it and completed something I'd wanted to do for the last year. I wanted to cry but I was too tired and there wasn't enough water to cry out when I realised how much I was sweating (yuck). I looked down to address the pain in my leg and realised that the pedal had spun round and whacked me in the shin and I had a nice line of blood down my left shin. The sense of accomplishment was huge and all I could think was that I had to do it again. 

(Short of Breath) 'I did it!'

After recharging with the chocolate milkshake I'd been saving (probably the best milkshake I've ever had) we headed over to the start area to see what was going on. We watched that start of the male juniors race (crazy) and had a look at the trade stands - according to my father I did not need some high powered lights for night riding. To get back I bought some bits from Torq and had a nice chat with the guy on the stand. Dad wandered off to find some results and in the process discovered that on the day, the number of laps had been changed to 3 for the female juniors and as I'd only done two this was incredibly frustrating. Still the women's race results were announced and I'd come third in the juniors! OK, it was out of three and I was lap behind but I still came third dammit, for my first ever go I was super chuffed to even be on the podium.

Pride of place on the trophy shelf!

Despite being knackered and finding a huge bruise on my leg I know I'll be back for the next one! A bit more training and some experience will no doubt pay dividends and after an awesome first race the only way is up - hopefully I'll do the right number of laps next time!

See you next time,

Kim



Links
Southern XC
Torq
dhb
Boardman