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July 2007

31/07 -  Hillingdon 

Ian Lowe reports: "Well what with racing at the MOD on my training bike and finding it harder than I thought I decided to go to Hillingdon. This was to be my low point as I was not able to hang onto the faster riders and got dropped twice.

I was riding In the third bunch and finished 2 laps down. A very, very long time since I was lapped at Hillingdon.

This I believe was not due to my fitness or lack of but due to my bike as I was riding my training bike rather than my race bike. When the good hard sprints were put on I just did not have the gears to go with. Anyway, enough said.

I did complete an Average of 41.2 kph for the night and Andy Fowkes who was racing too finished well up there in the second bunch with a very good ride. “Well Done Andy”. He said his average for the night was 45.3 kph, fastest yet.   

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25/07 -  Portsmouth - E/1/2/3

Ian Lowe convinced Mike Inder to join him down at Portsmouth. Mike probably should not have raced what with a sore throat and not feeling 100%. We were racing with the big boys (E/1/2/3’s) so a hard night ahead. The weather was dreadful, pouring with rain and windy and of course from the start it was full on, sprinting each lap to try to break the group up. After about 10 laps Mike was shelled out the back and afterwards complained that he could not understand why. I all be came clear the next day as his pending sore throat and cold broke with flood gates fully open. Sorry Mike I should have not invited you. Well Ian soon was to retire, although feeling strong and hanging on with long finger nails his Trek decided to come apart as it did in the Fred Whitton. Well enough said. With both Ian and Mike pizzed off they went home with their tails between they legs. Ho Hum…..Till another day hey…….

Mike said: "That was pretty grim, my legs felt like lead from the word go and with only 20 riders in the race and three 3rd cat riders it felt even harder. With the wet and the broken surface at Mountbatten, bikes jumped all over the place and it was too easy to let gaps go, which I did with aplomb! When someone said that Ian had punctured I happily baled out to lend him a wheel. Sadly, it was his Trek frame that had let him down (again!), get a Colnago next time mate!"

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Colerne Circuit, 3rds, 21st July

Ian Lowe reports from the 3rds race: "Well after being off work for 3 days (Mon – Wed) with a bug, cold and cough and had not been on the bike since the previous Saturday, I was not 100% sure whether I would race at Colerne Airfield. I was going to leave the decision until as late as possible only because I like the circuit and really wanted to race there.

Saturday came and I decided to go although not confident. I promised myself not to allow my heart rate to go above 180 and if I was hurting I would pull out.

I arrive just as the Cat 4 race started with Jeremy Monk and Paul Redman racing giving much needed support from the side lines. I hope you guys heard the noise. I watch their race and then went and changed to return to watch the final lap. It was really great to see these 2 up front in the top 6  contesting for position. It all came down to a final sprint and was pleased to see both Jeremy and Paul placed 4th and 6th respectively. Well done guys. 

Now the pressure was on me to get placed, unlikely though as I was not feeling on top form. First lap gave me the indication how things were going to be. My legs felt like lead and I felt as if it was a little struggle to just keep up. Every time my heart rate went up over 180 I dropped back and sat in to reduce it. Harder to do than I thought, as at times they front runners were trying to push the pace on and I was just hanging on. I really did not think I would make it to the last lap but I did. 

As the race came to the end, it was going to be a bunch sprint so I decided to try and have a go as it would only be a hard effort for a short period of time. I tried to position myself behind what I though was a strong rider and ideal lead-out man. As we came around the final bend up a ever so slight drag, I was well positioned in 6th place when the sprint started. I could feel myself struggling and tried to hang onto my man's wheel but it slipped away slowly as we approached the finish line. I felt the rush of other riders pass me as I faded badly with nothing left. I really though I was out in about 12 to 15th position but glad to find I had hung on to 10th position and 1 point. Fantastic, as I had not let the side down and also grabbed a place for the club. 

I was even more happy with the result as I had achieved this feeling under the weather. I know you hear people saying things like “I would have be placed better if……”  but felt that, had I been on top form, as I had been the previous week or two, I would have placed in the top 6." 

Average for the race 38.3 kph

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Colerne Circuit, 4ths, 21st July

Paul Redman reports: "After the horrendous Friday rainfall, all the reports pointed to treacherous conditions and traffic galore on the M4.  Even Radio 5 Live was reporting that there was trouble ahead.  With a puzzled look on my face, I zoomed through the supposed calamity on the westbound section and arrived at Colerne without a hitch.

Due to the late-running Junior races, Jeremy Monk and I had a long warm-up although after 10:45am, we didn't want to drift too far away from the start area in case the whistle blew whilst we were still on the other side of the airfield.

When the organiser asked if there were any questions at the start, it only occurred to me a short while later to ask if any planes were going to land whilst we were racing.  I figured the answer would've been "No, don't be so silly!"; but sometimes these facts are important to know and would I be competing for tarmac with a fast-moving Cessna?  With two ladies for company, off we rattled on the blow of the whistle for eight laps on a nice, calm morning and up the slight drag to the top end of the circuit.  I settled in around the front of the bunch, careful not to hit the front too soon as I had no idea what the circuit layout was .... what with it being my first time and all.

After one lap completed, there was a "Come on Paul, come on Jeremy" shout of encouragement from the huddled masses on the start-line.  It was a familiar voice and good to see that Mr Lowe had also made the safe trip in a westerly direction.  Having spent all of the first lap around the first couple of riders, on the top side of the circuit I came to the front to take a turn, conscious though of Coach Lambourne's wise words ringing in my ears about there being no prizes for taking long turns on the front.

On the run back towards the start-line and still on the front, I eased off the pace a little.  Not to conserve energy per se, but as this was still only the second lap, I couldn't remember where the left turn was to dive down towards the bottom end of the circuit.  Realising what was happening, the shout from a few riders back "YOU TURN LEFT AT THOSE CONES NEAR WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE!" was an enormous help in my avoiding taking a left too early and ending up at one of the crash gates.

After my stint on the front, I drifted towards the back of the bunch and behind where Jeremy was.  That is where I stayed for the next five laps; content to ride towards the rear and feeling confident that no attacks would get away.  Jeremy spent the time either in the middle or towards the front and looked to be in good nick.  On the bell for the final lap, the pace pushed up a notch and I had used the start/finish-line to make my move up towards the front.  Whilst riding a couple from the front, a lone rider tried his luck up the drag to the top end of the circuit.

Those at the front shared the work-load to bring him back again and with half a lap remaining, it was clear that the lone rider was slowly being brought back.  With three corners left, we were all scrabbling for a wheel ready for the final corner and short burst to the finish line.  After the penultimate corner, we pounced on the previous lone leader and it was clear his big effort had left him in the red zone for too long.  He went out through the back of the bunch, but fair play to him for having a go.  For most of that last lap, I personally thought he'd got the jump on us and had made the winning move.

Out of the final corner and with everyone out of the saddle, Jeremy had a good line and took a very creditable 4th place.  WELL DONE JEREMY, good effort there.  I didn't quite nail it after the last bend, but was pleased nonetheless to fend off those behind me and with my sixth place, there were some points in the bag.  Many thanks to Mr Ian Lowe for the vocal encouragement as well.  A grand day's work for the Velo crew!"

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Qinetiq Circuit, Chertsey, 15th July

Ian Lowe and Andy Fowkes rode over to the MOD Chertsey race as it was a fine day. Ian's plan, who had been feel pretty strong all week, was to go with every attack possible. This was not just to attempt to get away but to help strengthen himself and using the race as a basis for this type of training. He had resigned himself to the fact it may all come down to a bunch sprint and wanted to at least get something out of it. Andy who has not been on form of late was just hoping to complete as far up the field as possible. 

The race started and without fail the attacks happened almost every lap to which Ian responded. Andy was staying back midfield just playing the waiting game. All of a sudden Ian was not feeling too well as he had done one attack too many and came flying backwards passed Andy who shouted out “Are you OK?” to which Ian replied unconvincingly “Yes”.

With three quarters of a lap rest at the back Ian made his way back up to the front again to carry on with his plan of going with all attacks. It became clear that nothing was going to stick as most attacks were being closed down within a lap. 

With 7 laps to go, riding into the headwind down the straight 9 riders floated off the front. On this occasion Ian decided not to go and so did the rest of the bunch, thinking 'oh well we will catch them'. A lap later it was becoming apparent that the break were making head way and starting to work well together. It was at this time Ian decided to motive the bunch to chase the break and started the through and off. The bunch had about 15 to 20 people working really hard and the break were slowing coming back. Ian was pretty proud to be the main instigator of the bunch pulling back the break. When the bunch were almost back with the break Ian noticed to his horror, a Thames Velo jersey in the break!!!

He immediately dropped off the front but it was too late - the bunch had caught the break. Ian could not apologise enough to Andy as he said he had not seen him go with the break. Andy quite politely said he was struggling but Ian knew that this was a polite gesture to try to relieve Ian of his major screw-up. Andy had done extremely well and was really pleased with his ride as they were flying he said. He then said that were must had been really moving to catch them up and I could only say that we did have a great bunch of about 20 riders working very well, in fact it is probably the first time I have seen that many riders in a 3 rd Cat race work so hard. Sorry Andy.    

The race ended in a bunch sprint with Ian and Andy midfield. Kevin Sparks, now with Agiskoviner won the sprint which made it even more hard to swallow for Ian, as this is one of his mates earmarked to join Thames Velo and was on the verge of 'signing' before deciding to join Agiskoviner.

All Ian could say to Andy on the ride home was 1000 apologies and that he owed him big time. This from Ian: "Andy I am really sorry mate. I will endeavour to be more aware of what is happen around me in future. You were in the points - which is what you needed and I took that away from you."

Average speed from Ian was 40kph, which was up on the previous of 38.7kph.

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Hillingdon CC Road Race, Oakley, 15th July

Paul Redman reports: "I was happy to admit before the race that any kind of finish would be welcome.  The grim reality of my latest infection meant that my aim was to do at least two laps of the 8.5 mile circuit and see where we were.

Young Jeremy was with me on this one and after the usual pre-race instructions from the Commissaire about being good boys and so forth, off we rolled from the start in the centre of Oakley village.

.... except we didn't.  Whoever was driving the lead-car developed an immediate "clutch - bite" problem and we were forced to freewheel up to the first corner whilst they re-started the engine.

The course was described as having a few lumps, but our main foe was the strong south-westerly wind.  On the run-down over the first M40 crossing, the pack was immediately given a good lashing from the wind.  I had tip-toed my way towards the front down the right-hand side and took a bit of a turn up there, but being careful to not do too much.

The ascent over the second M40 crossing wasn't too much to cause concern, although the pack up front seemed to slow down considerably, almost as though they were tackling the Tourmalet or something.  After the super-sharp right near Worminghall, we zig-zagged our way back to Oakley to complete one lap.  So far, so good ....

On the second lap, the pace seemed to increase a notch and a few speculative single breakaways were attempted, but their leads never got much above a couple of bike-lengths.  The Prime at the end of lap two was keenly contested, although I had already decided to stay well clear of any shenanigans there, thank you.  I later heard that on the run-up to the line, there'd been some riders bump into one another and ended up being dropped.

I had survived two laps and didn't feel at death's door and so onwards I continued.  On the back stretch during the third lap, I had the audacity to launch my own attack.  I'd been near the front for the first part of the lap and had then drifted towards the middle having taken a turn on the front.  Moving back out onto the right-hand side, the pace had been easing and with apparent ease, I rode down the outside back towards the front once more.  When I was level with the third or fourth rider from the front, out of the saddle I went to launch a blistering(!!??) attack.

When the cry went up of "Watch out!!", it was already too late and I had the gap.  In all, I opened up a lead not more than about 100m, but by this stage my lungs already felt like they were about to burst through my ribcage.  Going over the M40 for the second time on that third lap, the fun was as good as over and I was resigned to taking my place back in the main bunch.

It had been apparent for a while that this race would come down to the bunch sprint.  The pace on the last lap was higher still and a few riders began to tail off the back, our own Jeremy included unfortunately.  After the tight right-hander near Worminghall, we were all out of the saddle to keep in a good position on the final run-in.  At the '1km to go' sign, the riders on the front lifted the speed another few notches and I clung onto the back of the newly-formed split and looking over my shoulder, it was clear that nobody behind was coming with us.

Happy with my lot, happy to not be on the floor, happy to not be bleeding, happy that my clogged-up lungs hadn't burst; I coasted over the line at the back of the first bunch .... probably just nudging into a Top 20 slot.  Now that I've finished in one piece and in front of the 'Last Vehicle In Race' car, I think the next aim is a Top 10 slot perhaps.  Well .... okay .... Top 18?"

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Velocitybikes Circuits, Portsmouth E/1/2/3, 11th July

Ian lowe hungry for more points, ventured south again on Wednesday. Here's how he found it this week.

"After I had a good race on Tuesday night at Hillingdon I was really up for Wednesday at Portsmouth. The usual 2 hour slog through traffic down to Portsmouth and signed on. I was the only Cat 3 rider in the field of 20 - of which 2 were E’s about 3 1’s, 2 Juniors and the rest bar myself were Cat 2’s.
The usual course of events started almost from the gun. Sprint, Jog, Sprint, Jog, Sprint, Jog…… lap after lap until we dropped 3 riders who eventually decided to opt out of the race. Now with only 17 riders left the big boys started to have a go at trying to break away. Eventually 5 broke off the front and rode away and re-joined us so we were now a lap down. We went through the "Sprint, Jog" sessions again and then 4 riders broke off again. I hesitated as I was pretty tired and not sure if I could keep up the relentless pace so I decided to hang back. They then lapped us. I believe 3 of the 4 were from the original 5 which lapped us first. So really there were 6 riders in all who had lapped the bunch and had booked their places in the top 6.
It was going to be a bunch sprint for the minor places. With about 15 minutes to go when I found myself floating off the front with 2 other riders. We then put a couple of quick laps in and one other rider came across. We were slowly moving away from the bunch and had about half a lap on them with about 5 minutes still to go. I was the weakest riders of the 4 and struggling. The inevitable happened, the bunch started to close and we were soon back with them.
About 3 laps after that we received the 5 laps to go signal. The pace soon increased while everyone was jostling for position. Two laps out and it was almost 6 or 7 abreast at 90% max speed. Then it just exploded. I followed the wheel in front of me and when a rider on my left tried to push me towards my right. I kept my line and in hindsight this was the wrong thing to do on the night as he then cut me up and I baulked, which lost me about 2 or 3 places. The guy I rode with and finished with last week was behind me and came through to grab 12th place. I nicked 15th place and was gutted as I should have had 12th or 13th but that’s life. These guys can sprint.
I have a lot to learn and the Sprint, Jog, Sprint, Jog is helping me become stronger, hopefully. I really enjoyed the last 2 races at Portsmouth in a kind of sadistic way as I am pretty knackered afterwards and for some of you who know I am a lazy trainer and do the minimum I can to get by. So racing helps me keep the race pace up! Average for the night was 38kph."

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Hillingdon Crit, E/1/2/3, 10th July

Four of the Velo at the mid-week racing at Hillingdon this week. In attendance were Ian, Mike and Andy Fowkes who all rode over like the hardman that they are and Harry Bulstrode who played the professional by driving to the circuit and refusing pre-race tea and cakes!
A decent turnout in sunny and warm conditions, with the usual array of dodgy wheels. All of us looked fairly comfortable in the race, with any groups getting away given a short leash and reeled in each time. The mad gallop for the line was hotly contested by Harry, but he couldn't get through the wall of riders and had to settle for 15th. The rest of us came in with the bunch behind - more than happy with staying in one piece, with the average speed for the race knocking on door of 44kph.

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Surrey League Handicap, Kitsmead Lane, 5th July

Ian Lowe and Paul Redman turned out for one of the local handicap races in miserable wet and cold conditions. The numbers were down on the night, with both riders placed in a 9 man 3/4 group. Initially, the group didn't work - but with 'gentle' encouragement from a few of the stronger riders, the group got a move on. The first lap seemed to go okay and Paul was taking his turns on the front fine. Paul started to lose contact with the group going up the slight drag on Chobham Lane into the fierce wind and then he started to suffer from a stitch quite quickly …. Paul said “Funny that, I don't recall having a 3-course meal an hour before the start!” Ian had decided to lay low for the first few laps after a nightmare start the night before at Portsmouth and only taking turns on the front after recovering at the back in the shelter. Ian said “My legs were certainly feeling the after effects of the previous night’s race.”

Paul got tailed off from the group with another rider. As the group started to pull away, Paul said “My lonely race began in earnest.” The next group (of four riders) caught him many laps later on the drag up to the Chobham Lane/Longcross Road roundabout. Paul wasn't even able to get a wheel and they disappeared off. On that particular stretch (up the drag and into the wind), Paul found it particularly tough going by himself.

Paul had more joy when the 2nd's caught him up. He stayed with them for two laps although this time he chose to take a turn on the front every so often as Paul said “I didn't want them to catch my team-mate Ian who was ahead. Tactics …. good, huh”.

So with the original group down to 7 and no sign of the scratch group behind, Ian said “We pressed home the advantage by working until the last corner which was a great effort as all 7 worked extremely well to stay away.”

Paul said “My cornering into Kitsmead Lane from Longcross Road was visibly quicker than the 2nd's. I put this down to either my brave and fearless nature, my new Michelin Lithions or the fact that the 2nd's were more interested in self-preservation than I was. Even when they eventually dropped me on Longcross Road, I caught them up again going up Kitsmead Lane thanks to my cornering. At the bell though, they were gone and I was left to do the last lap alone. That was until the Elites/1sts caught me on the crossing over the M3 and they too were gone. Even the 'broom wagon overtook me. The positive thing was I stayed on and upright this time. There was to be no A&E visit to St.Peter's, thankfully. Hwever, Gary Bullock didn’t fair so well. I wish him a speedy recovery after he got knocked off his bike when on his way over to the race.”

Ian was well placed, but missed the jump and after looking over his shoulder saw the other 2 were in no fit state for contention. Now in 5th place with a strong rider in fourth, Ian sat on his wheel up the first drag through the dip and up the second drag with just a few inches between wheels when Ian noticed that he was starting to fade as they crested the rise. Ian’s words were “I was really hurting and was pretty happy with 5th place when suddenly something happened which has not for some time, I forgot the sheer pain and kicked into top gear, Oh yes, I had top gear alright, I had just forgotten it was there. So over the next 75m I slowly ever so slowly crept past and snatched a creditable and hard earned 4th place in the race.”

Ian said “My head is good and I am getting into the mood to want to fight for places. Gary, sorry to hear about your mishap and wish you a speedy recovery chap, thank God you did not break your arm, all the best, matey.”

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Velocitybikes Circuits, Portsmouth E/1/2/3, 4th July