We asked Gary for an update on his busy season:
My first season racing for ABC Centreville
Buxton Mountain Time Trial
My first event in a Centreville Jersey was the 2014 Buxton Mountain hilly TT, a great season opener which is run on good Friday every year by Buxton CC. The course starts in Longnor in Derbyshire, goes over the Axe Edge climb and loops round to Longnor in 11 mile laps. Normally it’s 3 laps but this year it was in the RTTC series, so only the senior riders did 3. The women, juniors and vets only had 2 laps to do, so in near perfect conditions – sunny with a light wind, I got a time of 1:11:51. This is a hard event and it goes back to 3 laps next year, but the best part is back at the HQ: they do the best coffee and cake.
East Lancs 25 on J2/9, Cheshire
The next target was to improve my 25 mile TT times, which were rubbish. So I entered the East Lancs 25 on the Cheshire J2/9 course. It was organized by my old club, so doing a bad time was not an option. I had to nail this or cut my bike in half and walk away. I don’t remember a lot about the race as I was in the zone trying not to be beaten by too many East Lancs riders. I crossed the finish line dead. Back at HQ I saw I had done a time of 1:04:56, a PB by 2:32. My TT times are getting better.
Road racing
Road racing is were it’s at: it’s a moving game of chess. After being taken out twice in crashes at the Tameside crits early in the season I decided that crit racing at 52 is too dodgy. I don’t heal as fast as I used to. So I started racing with the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists (LVRC) up against riders my own age. “Makes sense.” I hear you say….except as I was about to find out, some of these riders are ex pro’s; and continental riders turn up. I entered the Darley Moor 3 race series, run on a motorcycle circuit near Ashbourne, which is exposed and always windy. In the first race I couldn’t believe the speed: 5 laps in and this was hurting. A quick look down at the Garmin: 31mph. That explained the pain. I soon got used to the changes in speed, from 21 to 32mph. I finished in the peloton in all 3 races.
The next race was a Percy Stallard Series event at Burton Fleming in Yorkshire. Fast lads from all over the country enter this race. The race was run over 45 miles on open roads, with 5 laps going through the village and a mile drag to the top. The finish was half way up, with a killer headwind. On each lap the attacks happened on the climb. I managed to get into a break on lap 3, but we were caught a few miles later. On lap 4 a four man break got away and stayed away to the finish. I was in 10th place in the peloton with 200yds to go, when the sprint started – I went from there to near the back in an uphill sprint. I have to work on my sprint.
Hill Climbs
I have a love/ hate thing with hill climbs. At 11st 3lbs I can’t beat the law’s of physics, unlike Olaf and Rick who are lightweights and fly uphill. So I go after PB’s:
Bury clarion h/c 2:56
Snake pass h/c. 16:58 PB
Beard cup h/c. 6:17. PB
Track Racing
Track racing on Manchester velodrome is my next thing, having got my accreditation. I normally do Structured Quality Training (SQT) once a week and Iv’e registered on the ACT (Association of Cycle Traders) Track League on a Monday night. Hopefully I can get a race soon, but it’s hard to get on, with it always being full. The most interesting thing that happened at the track was being asked by two other riders if I would like to be in a composite team riding the Tour of Malta 4 day stage race next year. I can’t wait for that one.
Gary Lake
Here are the links:
League of Veteran racing Cyclists
Structured Quality Training at Manchester Velodrome
Association of Cycle Traders Track League, Manchester Velodrome
A great feature!
You have had a busy year Gary! Keep it up and you will continue to go faster.