Hiatus - Life Updates ~ Sept-Oct

I've been quiet.

September was a busy month - a mix of long-days out on local lanes, trips away to see friends and celebrations (anniversaries, birthdays, etc). It was also a busy, busy period of job applications, interviews and pitches, which hasn't given me a lot of time to pause and reflect.

The good news - I have a new permanent job! The type of job i've been waiting for - a great career move and the financial stability to start getting excited about new trips, upgrades to the bike(s) and potentially other life changes. Obviously, that means a reduction ride time, and perhaps a shift in what I need (ie. 6 hours a week means I hardly need loads of bikes) so i'm reviewing my initial bike upgrades in favour of more specific adventures as well as more targeted weekenders.

Given it suits me more, my (fairly light) indicative schedule leans a lot towards gravel:

• Sherwood Pines Glorious Gravel long (Jan-March)
• Scarborough / North Yorks Moors (TBC - Date)
• Norway Gravel (recce) ?? (May)
• Slovenia Glorious Gravel (June 3rd-June 8th)
• Dunwich Dynamo > Suffolk (20th July tbc)
• Provence (Ventoux) - (31st - 5th September)

I'm also hoping I can apply for a Glorious Gravel season-pass to cut the costs of the rides and jump onto one's as/when my schedule is light/I can. Otherwise, I also want to try and get a couple of Audax's under my belt, body, mind and time permitted.

For now, it's back to (probable) damp weekend club rides, indoor sessions and hopefully some slippy, sloppy gravel winter fun!

Delayed Post: Scarborough Shores!

The highlight for June - the Scarborough Shores gravel ride.

Sherwood Forest glorious gravel was tough for loads of reasons - my longest ride on gravel, the weather was all over the place (sweating, hailstones, super early morning start in the car) but this was tough in the opposite way - longer, steeper, and far more solo riding.

I travelled up to Scarborough by train the day before, staying at my friend Will's for the weekend, a good friend and housemate from university. Will was chaffeuring me around, so real luxury for a non-driver! Weather good, no hiccups.

After a very comfortable nights sleep, a prepared breakfast and a drive to the start, I felt pretty refreshed, despite a small niggling cold (which actually turned out to be Covid).

The ride itself - brilliant. I started out riding well within myself to get through the initial blast of the winds along the coast front, before we started climbing into Newby towards Hackness. The route itself started out a fairly half-half mix of road and off-road sections, with a very steep 15% climb after the first feed stop.

After that, we were firmly into mixed off-road terrain (near Low Dalby) towards Langdale End, and onwards towards Whitby. As I set off fairly early at the start, with many 'early' people doing the medium route (and me the long), I ended up riding solo for a lot of miles, enjoying a mixture of the woods, open plains and the moors while also wishing I could sit in a wheel from time to time to take respite from the wind. This section had a cutting headwind which made the ascent and final topping off of an 8-mile gradual climb through the moors tough (and tougher than I hoped!) but satisfying to complete and made the descent (out of the wind) like a warm hug. I hid in the draft of two friends (doing their first Glorious Gravel ride) for a while, before the route turned back towards Scarborough. The view of Robin Hood's Bay was worth the slog for sure!

From there, the route moves along the old Cinder Track (a disused railway track - Moors to Sea route on a map) which was technical in places - both through mud, concaves, dog-walkers and other cyclists.

Once back into the Scarborough New Town, we finished the route with a climb back to the beginning (up Quarry Hill). Many could've done without it - a finish on the beach would've been nice!

We settled for a beer and a hot wrap, a clean shower and then to the pub for the Champions League final. Great weekend.

March - A Mega Month.

March - what a month! After taking winter training quite seriously this year (indoor FTP tests, intervals, and a lot more bike time), last month was the first real test of that. I'm really glad (and slightly relieved) that it stuck - my legs feel good!

The first and main highlight of March was my first gravel sportive, a long-route around Sherwood Forest with Glorious Gravel. It was a good first target for a few reasons - it's local(ish) to me, early enough in the year to encourage solid winter training, a push to get outside on the mucky stuff, and, as a by-product, creating and collecting some valuable routes for a gravel club I am (tentatively) putting together...

Off-piste in the fields, Ketton Quarry in view

Sherwood Forest Recap: After a super-early get-up time and a two hour drive we made it Sherwood. Initial forecasts in the week suggested the weather would be fair with some gusty winds. Well. I wish I owned a Dryrobe. Hailstones, rain, really gusty wind whipping across the field. Fun.

Excited (and chilly) at the start line

The aim was to have a fairly social paced sportive, going with some club members, many who prefer to take it easy and enjoy the views. With it hammering down at the start and very cold, I was really eager to setoff and warm up, but unknown to me, my club friends weren't behind me at all... I cycled on, setting a decent pace (aiming to meet them at the first feed stop), bumping into a chap called Mike, who, I could tell, was of a similar ability to me, and we paired up and got chatting. After a natter we kicked on, setting a great pace and I quickly decided (competitive streak activated...) that I'd race this one, and test myself, rather than wait around. After missing the first feed completely, hitting some CX-type patches and not wanting to stop for coldness, we literally caned it for the first 30 miles. It's hard to summarise the in's-and-out's, but everything about the cycling and route was brilliant - real mixed terrain, very stimulating and technical lines, something I just do not feel road cycling often.

Mike (who I met and paired with for the sportive)

We stopped at the second feed gasping for a coffee, some warmth and respite from the wind. Cafe legs kicked in back on the bike, and with the headwind in our faces again we pushed on pretty hard to to the finish. After picking up our medals, uploading to Strava and demolishing a hot breakfast wrap, it was a quick pack up and leave, which was a shame as the weather stopped the post-race enjoyment, which I'd heard was one of the best parts of a gravel event. Oh well, one goal ticked off the list.

Results: To my complete surprise - I did really well, coming 4th in my category, and only narrowly beaten by second and third place (although the guy in first place put nearly 30mins on me - machine). It's probably a bit arbitrary and silly to put that much credence into being '4th', but it feels like a really good payoff and dedication. As someone who considers themselves relatively new to cycling, and not very good at all, it has really encouraged me to train harder and see what I can achieve. Results really do help, no matter how they present themselves.

Outside of the result, I loved riding my new Standert. I'm so pleased with the way it feels (steel is probably not the obvious choice), with absolutely no issues in terms of speed, comfort and overall ride feel, with a bonus few nice comments about it from other participants making my day. Can't wait to do it again. Recap complete.

Nothing beats official pictures! 

Outside of the Sherwood sportive, the other milestone (and big test of the winter training) was our first structured club training ride, a really lumpy 100k ride at 1200m+. Knowing quite a few of these hills, and struggling up some of them last year on a similar ride, it was a pleasant surprise to really enjoy the day out, feeling strong and not suffering. With a few big days out in late April and May coming up (an Audax in the Peak District and our second club training ride in the Cotswolds), I feel i'm on the right track.

March also saw me complete my first Strava 600k badge; another pleasant surprise. Tick, tick.

Now to look forward to April. The days are longer, the sun is poking its way out more often and its finally warmer, so hopefully a fair few days in shorts and short sleeves and many evening rides in the light.