Scottish Independence

Audax was a word that I had heard many times associated with riding a long distance, the word itself means audacious. The Audax philosophy is that of unsupported rides, with no outside help or feed stations, you are truly independent.

A cursory glance at the http://www.audax.org.uk website will show you that there are many events taking place all over the country with standard distances of 100 km, 200 km, 300 km, 400 km & 600 km even the short rides are pretty long.

I decided to dive in at the deep end, as I have done a lot of long rides in the past, however 300 km being the furthest I had ridden until I signed up for the ‘Old Military Roads 400 km’ Audax event. Starting and finishing in Stonehaven on the East coast, journeying over the Cairngorm mountains to Inverness and back again it seemed like it would be a real challenge and give me an opportunity to explore the vast wilderness of the Cairngorm National Park.

I readied my bike by making sure I had enough space to store my supplies, treated my bike to a new set of cranks and bought an extra battery for my light, as I anticipated cycling for most of the night.

I arrived in Stonehaven weary after the long drive up from Sheffield. I did at least manage to get a good night’s sleep in the hotel, except for waking a little early due to some nerves starting to creep in, as the magnitude of the task became more real in my mind.

We left the bustle of the market town at 10:30, as a group of around 15 riders. The weather was perfect, sunny and only a gentle breeze. I made a conscious effort to start slowly, as my legs are more trained for speed than distance, having just completed a season of XC racing.

It soon became clear that there were some strong riders in the group keen to press on and the peloton quickly began to fragment. I remained in the front group and chatted to most of the riders, having friends can certainly be helpful if you suffer a problem in the middle of a deserted glen.

As we reached the first climb, Cairn ‘o Mount, I was careful not to push too hard but gently pulled away from most of the other riders to reach the control at the top of the hill, where the organiser was there to greet us with a chocolate bar for our efforts.

After a fun descent and some undulating roads, we reached the banks of the River Dee, where it promptly started to rain, hard. I stopped under the shelter of a huge tree and put on my waterproof and overshoes, which must have kept the water out for all of 3 minutes, after which the water infiltrated every corner of my being.

A well timed café stop at Ballater for coffee and cake saved me from some of the worst of the rain. The cyclists piled in and made good use of the radiators to dry out everything from waterproofs to caps.

Getting back onto the bike proved difficult, the clouds and chilly mountain air had cooled the valley and still being soaked, it was difficult to warm up. I sped off from the other riders shaking with cold, pushing the pace to get my temperature up quickly. As the road turned skyward and climbed up a beautiful glen, the sun finally withdrew from the clouds, illuminating the purple heather and dancing with the shadows across the hill tops.

I descended into the next glen alone, as the road flattened out I looked towards the next corner and saw someone lying in the field. As I got closer I could see there was a motorbike on top of someone and a man trying to pull it off him. I dropped my bike and ran over to pull the heavy motorbike off the man, who looked to be in a bad way. I looked at my phone and had no signal, so ran to a nearby cottage knocking on windows and doors, but no one answered. I tried my phone again and this time I had a signal and called 999. I managed to find the details of where we were on the Audax route card and explained the situation to the operator. A couple in a Landrover stopped and used a blanket to keep the motorcyclist warm.

It dawned on me as the other cyclists streamed past that it could be a long time until the ambulance came and I was not in a position to wait. I made sure that I wasn’t needed and made my way back to my bike and resumed riding.

I felt shook up and really powerless, I didn’t know if I should have done anything else, but I was in the middle of nowhere and needed to continue riding. As I came back to the other riders I explained what had happened and continued onto the Lecht, a steep pass that takes traffic all the way up to the ski centre.

The climb was savage, it started very steep, then kept flattening out a little before kicking up again and again. As I neared the top the rain started again and I began my descent into the rain with a headwind that made each water droplet feel like a needle piercing my cheeks.

The group re-formed after another café stop and everyone settled into a steady pace, working well together. After a short stretch on a cycle path to avoid a busy main road, we then turned into a quiet valley as the light began to fade. We climbed up for what felt like an age until we reached the top of the narrow road, to be met with spectacular views along with a nail biting descent over gravel, cattle grids and wooden bridges.

Eventually we made it to Inverness at around 9.00 pm in a group of 5 tired and hungry riders. We stopped at an Italian restaurant with kind staff who looked after our bikes and fed us with huge and tasty pizzas. This would be the last place we would be able to stop before morning, so we loaded up with supplies from a supermarket. Although the security guard wouldn’t let us bring our bikes into the store, a kind local cycle enthusiast looked after them while we perused the aisles like dazed bees moving through a field of flowers.

We made sure that we had plenty of food and drink to last us through the long night, including an extra drink in my jersey pocket in the form of a banana milkshake.

The darkness of night soon descended and we pressed on, eating through the miles steadily. As we moved along we seemed to climb up through the landscape for ages and then drop down huge descents that would also last for an extraordinary length of time. The silence of the quiet roads was only broken by the occasional HGV servicing the many whiskey distilleries that emitted a heavenly aroma across the gentle cool breeze.

The rowdiness of the Highland Saturday night began to infringe upon the ride. As the small town pubs kicked out cries of ‘ET’ resonated across the Spey valley, homage to the last time they had seen a bike being ridden at night no doubt!

My eyes were beginning to play tricks on me now and our bright lights reflected in the puddles left from the occasional shower started to reveal images magnified by my imagination. I was beginning to loose my strength and energy.

I developed a sickly taste in my mouth which made me not want to eat or drink anything. I forced down small sips of water a little bites of cereal bars to keep my fuel levels up. A badly timed puncture did nothing for my enthusiasm at this point and I was at a low ebb.

The wildlife kept me awake, with a hedgehog and a rabbit crossing the road, keeping me on my toes.

As the sun began to rise, I found a renewed energy and sped up one of the last steep and long climbs, which I paid for on the next climb!

With one last stop at a petrol station at around 8.30 am for a much needed drink of water and a salt filled bag of crisps, we pushed onto the final climb, aptly named the slug.

We all pushed hard up the final climb with a sense of urgency, perhaps because we simply wanted to stop riding now!

With nothing but a pleasantly fast descent back into Stonehaven we were back at the point where we had been nearly a full day before, 23 hours to be exact.

The event organiser was there to welcome us along with a much needed bowl of soup. I was now past the point of tiredness and sat at the dinner table as the other riders arrived one by one, discussing the route in detail it was clear the suffering had been worthwhile, what a ride.

A Season of the Nutcracker MTB XC Race Series

My excitement had been building, it was nearly time to race again. Having moved my way up to the ranks of Expert from Sport in the previous year, I expected to be at the back of the pack coming into the new season, despite my devotion to my training over the soggy winter months.

The first race at Dalby was on the XC World Cup course and attracted a large field. I started strongly and despite my caution and slow speed on the slippery Worry Gill, where someone had earlier fallen and been airlifted to hospital for their injuries, I made up time on the long climbs and finished a respectable 5th place.

Getting married in April just as the race season is getting going certainly made for a challenge! I love racing but I can’t deny I was far more happy to be on honeymoon in sunny Spain and France for 3 weeks. Still, I managed to shoehorn a little riding into the trip, although cycling along a muddy canal towpath on a tandem brings different challenges to my usual training rides.

Despite my best efforts, the casual lifestyle of drinking coffee and wine at any time an establishment would facilitate such indulgence became habitual for 3 weeks. No amount of winter miles on the bike would offset the damage I had done to my fitness.

I returned from our travels having gained a loving wife but also an unhealthy drinking habit and a penchant for the gastronomic marvels of le patisserie.

It was time for Round 3- the Regional Championship, having missed Round 2 at Gandale, I was ready for some racing and I trained for a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, despite this on race day I felt under-prepared.

Round 3 was at my favourite course at Aske near Richmond, with a bit of everthing including tight single track, rocky sections, open fast tracks and steep climbs, it suited my riding style. There was a strong field due to the allure of being crowned Regional Champion and the race was tough in really hot conditions.

I started strongly but I really suffered in the heat and my lack of training showed. I started dropping places towards the end of the race and was overtaken 200 metres before the finish to settle for 6th place.

I had given everything I had and felt horrendous after the race, being very close to both throwing up and passing out in a quaint tea room in Richmond, under the concerned glares of the locals and my wife.

After the pain and disappointment of Round 3, I was very motivated to train harder and worked hard to improve my fitness on the bike and my speed, doing hill reps, interval training and some extra miles for good measure.

The next race was at my local track at Parkwood Springs, so in theory I should have had the advantage of local knowledge however last year’s race was frustrating, as I ended up crashing on lap 1 and having stitches in my knee. Trying not to repeat this I practiced the trail a few times on the week of the race and got my lines dialled.

The day of the race was perfect conditions- dry trails, warm but not hot and sunny. I started well and settled in 4th place but was making up ground for 3rd and felt strong. I knew the course and felt that I could push for that extra bit of speed through the jumps and flowing berms. I came to the bottom of the course a couple of laps in and one of my fellow riders had had a nasty off and was lying in the course bleeding, so I stopped to help her and got a marshal from higher up on the course. By this time I had lost around 4 minutes.

In two minds about continuing, I asked the next rider round what category he was in. The answer came back “Expert”, so I was still in with a chance. I hopped back on my bike and worked hard, making places up to finalally work my way back to 4th. I had given a bit too much energy though and was passed for 5th close to the finish.

It was back to Aske for Round 5 and this time I felt like I had trained hard and hurt myself in training so maybe the race would hurt a little less than last time! The course was a little muddy after some showers which turned the bomb holes into sketchy mud pits where things could quickly go wrong.

After a fairly relaxed start sat behind a junior rider, I quickly took the race on and opened up a good lead on the rest of the field. this was a little dangerous though, as I was going to have to motivate myself for nearly the whole race on my own, which I can find hard.

I managed to keep my mental strength however, and pushed hard on the last lap to finish a long way ahead of the rest of the field and onto my first win at a Nutcracker race!

With only the series finale left at what it said to be “the hardest XC course in the country” at The Dales Bike Centre, I was sat in 2nd place in the series. Last year’s race here was far from ideal however- I managed to fall on one of the notorious loose and steep rocky sections taking most of the skin off my left leg, then ripping a tyre sidewall and walking back to the finish over the arduous course. To compound my already bad day of racing, I then had my car broken into in Leeds on the way home and my beloved XC bike stolen.

Going into the race this year, I was comforted knowing that it would take a near death experience for it to be worse than the previous year’s craziness!

The race started strongly up the long climb up to the limestone edge and I settled into second. Once we crested the hill onto the short downhill section I made my move into the lead and pushed to drop the rest of the field. The second place rider came back to me on the windy climb and we worked together to gain time on the rest of the field.

I managed to extend a lead going down the tough rocky descent, only to be overtaken by the Junior National Champion, which spurred me on to maintain a good speed.

I stretched out my lead over the other Expert racers and continued for most of the race alone other than a short stretch again working with the rider in second over the windy top section, who then dropped off the pace.

I slid down into the finish area well clear of the rest of the field to claim my second victory and the series win overall!

The Nutcracker races are brilliant and have guided me through the murky waters of XC racing, learning the ropes as I have progressed. The marshals are fantastic, always cheering you on just when you need it and the courses are second to none, with the fantastic Yorkshire scenery that provided such a scenic backdrop to the Tour de France, being the perfect place to race on knobbly tyres too.

Bring on 2015, I’m sure It’ll be a (Nut)cracker!