ORBiTeer Cycling

Bob Whitear RR

joshracer — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:49:00 +0000

I had to get up so early for this race. At 4:30 no one should have to get up. Dad was of the same opinion. But off we went to the race in Great Yarmouth. We set off from the HQ at 8:30 and as typical of a E123 race the attacks came thick and fast.
Eventually after a dozen or so failed attempts a group of 7 pulled away to around a minute. It was the start of an eighty mile race so I was not panicking too much. But as time went by and we passed the halfway mark our bunch was around 3 minutes down.
Fortunately things started to turn in our favour as the break began to tire and the reasonably flat course allowed a large group (13 of us) to get away from the peleton. All throughout the race gaps needed to be crossed to small groups and I found myself always working with the same rider. He was a reliable, strong rider from CCAshwell. Both he and I made it across to the chasing group and settled into a nice pattern of working and resting. Things began to speed up and before we knew it the front group was in sight. They saw us and began to ride hard but fortunately I was alert to the situation and stormed across the gap with a rider from Metaltek-Scott. Coming into the final lap we bridged to them and then it was a matter of hanging on to the sprint.

I was feeling quite good coming into it but knew that I would have to position myself well as the downhill start to the sprint did not suit my limited junior gearing. I did just this and out of 20 (the chasing group just made contact in the last 2 miles) I came fifth. A good result that gets me a lot of national points.

E2/10 10 mile TT

joshracer — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:48:05 +0000

Another fast ten course! This time on the A11. I was feeling good at the start of this race but there were a lot of fast people around. Setting off with the wind I was quickly up to speed and rolling over the slightly undulating course. The crosswind made hard work of the way out but it was even harder after the turn as somehow there was a head wind. I managed a 22:12 which seems like a fast time (16 second off pb) but it puts me at almost halfway down the field. There was an 18:49 on the board when we left. Henry recorded a 21:04 winning the middle markers.
I felt like I was putting everything into the ride but it turns out I wasn’t fast ebough. The bike was perfect but the rider let it down.

Ixworth Crits Win!!!

joshracer — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:35:06 +0000

The first race was a short 20 minute blast around Ixworth town centre. Each year I look forward to this race with its tight corners and Junior only racing. Not having any adults in our first race means that we can be assured of fast and safe racing.

Unfortunately coming into the final section of the race George fell in a crash leaving just Alex and i to finish it off. The lead group of 7 of us had powered away from the rest of the riders and came into the finishing straight at incredible speed. The sprint was disrupted as we caught a lapped group on the line and Alex crossed the line in third with me bringing up the rear in 7th.

As a result of this Alex progressed to the Invitation A race whilst I had to settle for the B race. I had a good feeling in my legs and I was active immediately. Attacking to get off the front I knew that I had riders (Ryan, Sean and George) holding the pack back. I took both the primes (£15 each) and then soloed to victory. The sharp accelerations and tight corners do not usually suit a rider as big as me but I loved the race and will be going back again.

My younger brother Daniel put in a valiant effort to come in fourth. The video below is a mix of all the different races involving welwyn riders.

Andy Morrison Mem RR

joshracer — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:27:58 +0000

The Andy Morrison road race is run on a small and fast course near Cranfield University. I did this race last year and it was very hot. Today it was 2 degrees centigrade when we arrived. A bit different.

Around 70 riders started the race and the break attempts just kept on coming as we rolled into the first of 18 laps. A particualrly committed rider from London Dynamo went away by himself but did not gain any more than 20 seconds on the bunch. Then around halfway through the race I attacked up the headwind hill section of the 2 mile lap. The gap seemed small enough to cross and it would have been a good move if the two riders who went with me had worked smoothly. Unfortunately for me the rider from High Wycombe decided it would be best for him to jump across alone. In a splendid tactical racing move he waited for me to swing off and then attacked over the top. He made the break and they ploughed on whilst I drifted back to the bunch.

The break won by 50 seconds (a large margin on todays course) and I sprinted in at around 13th. I am not sure if this is in the points or prizes region but I sincerely hope so.

Gruelling Training weekend

joshracer — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:41:27 +0000

This saturday we set out in the pouring rain to start off our training weekend. We managed 105 miles including hill repeats up Offley hill. We all got back safe and sound with none of us really up to doing anything at all for a few more days.

But fortunately we had another ride to do today. A rather short (compared to the day before) 45 mile ride, again in the rain. As a team we bonded well with decent through and off maintained throughout. I really enjoyed the weekend but I am hoping for sun as soon as possible.

Super Scary Ten

joshracer — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:10:49 +0000

Today at 7:07 in the morning I started on what is the scariest 10 mile TT course I have ever seen. The start is a ski slope of a slip road onto a dual carriageway that sees riders hitting speeds between 40 and 50mph. Couple this with some fairly unpredictable crosswinds and its a challenge before you even start to think about getting a fast time.

I ground my way around the course, hugging the side of the road, in a 21:54. As usual the Orbit Software TT bike was perfect and smooth. The fastest time on the day was a 19:56. As is the way with time trials we will not know the full result until later but we think I came around 14th out of 120 riders.

Antelope TTT 2012

joshracer — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:33:15 +0000

The Antelope three up TTT is my one of my favourite events of the season. Held over a rolling 31 mile course, teams of three slug it out to decide who is the fastest. But for those of you who do not know much about team time trialling there is much more to it than strength. Discipline and technique come into play on all bends, windy straights and pace changes. That is why in the build up to this event Henry, George and I all trained together for many session.

On the start I was nervous but ready. We flew up the feeder straight but as soon as we had got going again I could tell that George was stronger than both Henry and I. In this situation the stronger rider takes a longer turn at the same pace and so this continued all the way round our first lap. By this time Henry was faltering ever so slightly and did some heroic turns on the front considering he had a knee injury and was not feeling to good. George did extra long turns and I managed to do my share of the work. We came across the line with a 1:09:04 which is an average of around 27mph. We came sixth out of 80 teams with the winning time at 1:06:47. With £35 each prize money it was worth the trip.

Here we are overtaking the group set off three minutes ahead of us.

Near the Finish

A Quick Update

joshracer — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:19:20 +0000

Unfortunately over the past week or so I have been ill. I have therefore not raced and instead concentrated on my revision for the exams in June. Whilst I was ill Goerge won his first road race in a sprint at the Chelmer RR with a good deal of teamwork being put in by his brother Henry. Our Academy squad is growing all the time with a new arrival Fraser coming 2nd in his first ever race.

I will be taking part in the Antelope Team Time trial this saturday on the Orbit Software Bike. Then on sunday I will be down in Newport again on my track bike for another session.

Beyond Spring Crits

joshracer — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:11:05 +0000

Today was one of the days when I just did my job. Rolling in last over the line I was happy in the knowledge that George had placed well in the sprint for 4th. He got points out of it and we got prize money to share which is always a bonus. All the way through the race I was not feeling my best. Chasing breaks and jumping gaps seemed a lot of hard work. The video does quite a lot of the talking and as I am very tired i think I will let it tell the story.

Testing 28/03/12

joshracer — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:32:35 +0000

Both Daniel and I went to this event. Every three months we are driven down to Hertforshire University where our lactic threshold and VO2 max are tested. This involves a ramp test which is trying to output an increasing wattage until you can cycle no more. I have blogged about this before but unfortunately was unable to supply a video.

The good news is that now you too can view the pain and suffering that goes on at the university. It is worth watching because right at the end of the video my breath apparatus wire gets caught in my pedal and the mask pulls out and then smacks me in the face.