I have been racing seriously since I was 24 years old. I started racing when I moved to Jersey as I had always been cycling since a young boy when I used to go out with my dad at 14 years old. I took a break from racing for roughly 10 years to raise my two daughters.
I was then asked to do an etape du tour in France with some friends and found my love for racing again. Since then, I re-joined the local club in Jersey and soon found myself racing for Jersey against Guernsey and came second in the interisland games. I enjoy circuit racing, time-trials, road races and end of season hill climbs. I race twice a week throughout the season and train twice sometimes three times a week. I find my strongest discipline is on the circuit and I am still competing at a high level due to my experience and knowledge of the circuit track such as riding the right lines, confidence through cornering and being able to sprint at the finish. Sometimes its not about being super fit or having the best bike (I haven’t got £15,000 ha-ha) it’s about perseverance, experience and quick thinking.
The time-trials in Jersey are difficult due to the short roads, junctions, concentration (I tend to drift off and think what’s for tea) and the speed limit only being 40mph 😉! The key is having the right mind set and lots of practise on the TT bike which can be tough as I enter in to all the race disciplines.
I spent the winter months in Rochdale and joined the ABC Centreville club and went out for club rides. This gave me a change of scenery and different terrain to experience (after eating one too many mince pies over Christmas I found this challenging). The club was very welcoming, and I enjoyed riding with new faces. It was overall a breath of fresh air (minus the weather which made me realise the southern softie I had become). I found the club to be really well organised and very attentive to each individuals abilities.
I still find myself winning trophies in my senior vet division and I won’t quit until I’m old enough to need stabilisers again! I hope to get back to seeing you all soon and getting out on those challenging rides together. In the meantime, I’m just going to keep cycling in my shorts and sunnies ha-ha!
John Taylor
