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It was my last weekend in England for a while so I headed over to Sheffield to stay with Eóin and do some hardcore xc in the Peak District.  On Saturday we went for a longish ride on some lovely muddy, rocky, snowy, slippery, technical trails! Although the snow was still deep in parts, it was nearly all ridable and a good chance for some skills practice.  After living in York for the last couple of months, it was such a luxury to be able to ride from the house and be on the trails in less than 10 minutes.  Hopefully recent training is starting to pay off, I was feeling pretty strong – we did 60km/4hrs without too much hassle, and got back in time to go to the pub and see England get beat in the rugby.

On Sunday Eóin had organised a handicapped ‘ghetto race’ along some of the local trails with Sheffild Uni MTB club.  Unfortunately it had warmed up overnight and a lot of the snow was melting, making everything really wet, muddy and icy.  The course was quite technical and a lot harder to ride than yesterday, especially the climbs.  Still, there was a good turn out and it was really enjoyable.  I’m not sure the handicaps were too fair, I set off 15 minutes behind the first guy – a bit much to make up over a 40 minute race!  Good training though, and good to be reminded of how hard racing is.

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Starting to up the intensity of training rides now – the racing season is fast approaching. Yesterday I was scheduled for lactic tolerance intervals.   I always find the first one tough, after the first 2 minutes time starts standing still and you have to fight part of your brain that want to take it easy.  After that I seemed to get into them and find some sort of weird enjoyment in the pain, it actually feels good to ride hard.

I was lucky not to be out on a long spin though, I just made it home in time to avoid another big load of snow.  I’m pretty sure it wasn’t forcast but it went on all day – hopefully it will be melted by the weekend!  Although I’m going to have to get used to it, Liechtenstein won’t be much different! hmmmm.

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Last Saturday I headed up to the Lake District to meet up with Eóin and two guys, John and Rich, that we met in Spain a couple of years ago who now guide for CycleActive up there.  The weather was perfect – dry, frozen trails, sunshine, and snow covering all the surrounding mountains (but not the trails!) made for amazing views.

It was such a nice change to be able to ride everything after the sloppy, muddy riding I’ve had in Yorkshire recently.  Loads of fast, rocky trails, tough technical climbs and descents, and climbs that last longer than a couple of minutes!  The lads are all pretty quick going down so it was good trying to keep up with them.

After 4 hours and 60km we were all pretty tired but buzzing from a great day out in ‘proper’ mountains.  I came back wondering why we don’t spend more time up there, and dying to get out on the mountain bike again.

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Last week was rather frustrating both on and off the bike.  The excitement of snow wore off pretty quickly as it made training very difficult – icy roads, freezing cold and wet weather were not pleasant – never thought I’d actually want a turbo trainer but I seriously considered buying one.  I took my bike on the train to Malton for a mountain bike spin in Dalby Forest one day, only to abandon it after an hour because  the deep, frozen snow was just unridable.  After riding 15km into a headwind on the way back with icy, sleet driving into my face, I had to sit and wait 45minutes for the train home.  I was soaked to the bone and couldn’t stop shivering – thank god I discovered the little station cafe for a big mug of hot tea and some friendly Yorkshire hospitality!

Then the promise of work as a guide in sunny spain got me all excited but didn’t happen in the end, and I spent a lot of time trying to sort out sponsorship for a new bike which seemed like it was was never going to happen.  However, it turned out ok in the end, I survived the cold and managed to get most of my training done, got in a great mtb ride in the Lakes, and the new bike is waiting for me in Dublin – more to come…!

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I woke up this morning to 10cm of snow covering everything outside – something that doesn’t happen in York too often!  Rather than risk heading out on the road bike, I thought I’d make the most of the weather and went up to the attic to dig out my dad’s cross country skis.  I got quite a few funny looks walking down the road to York Racecourse with a pair of skis over my shoulder (particularly as its totally flat and when people see skis they immediatley think of downhill!).  I had a fun hour sliding around a lap of the field in the sunshine.  I suspect I won’t be able to walk tomorrow as the muscles you use are totally different to biking ones!

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I got quite excited when 2 new helmets arrived in the post yesterday morning
courtesy of Met, one for road training and the other to keep nice and shiny for racing.  I tried the road one this morning, it was great, really lightweight and comfortable with loads of vents (not that I needed them in the freezing fog today, but I’m sure I’ll be thankful in a few months time!).  They both look very nice too!

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On Sunday I was up in the Yorkshire Dales for a mountain bike ride.  The skies were blue and it was fairly warm in York, but when we arrived in Reeth, the hills were covered in a layer of snow. The first part was ridable and great fun, drifting uncontrollably down moorland tracks. Unfortunately the exposed mountain tops were a different story, a freezing cold wind and really deep snow meant that no matter how hard I tried, the only way through was walking. The views were spectacular but I didn’t spend too much time enjoying them.  It got so cold that the only way to change gear was with the palm of my hand, and at the start of each descent I had to stop and warm my fingers enough to be able to pull the brakes! I ended up cutting a big loop off the ride and found an alternative route down some really technical slippery walking trails (shh!) instead, and then doing a big technical climb for a second time so that I still got the miles in.

I was pretty tired by the end, 3.5 hours of pushing through the snow was really energy sapping.  A ‘recovery’ drink beside a huge log fire in the village pub was a welcome reward.

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An abnormally long Christmas break from uni, along with a lack of architectural jobs in Dublin at the moment, has meant I’ve moved back to York in England for a couple of months of living with parents.  Normally it would drive me crazy, but its been a great chance to get out training without having the distraction of a 60 hour working week in architecture.

I’ve been doing lots of road riding, mostly because lack of transport and being surrounded by really, really flat countryside means mountain biking opportunities have been limited. Still, it makes for good base training and I’m sure I’ll be glad of it when the race season arrives.  Yorkshire is hardly a typical pre-season international training camp location for cyclists.  While other people have headed off towards the Mediterranean, I’ve had to contend with icy roads, frozen water bottles and numb fingers.  Still I can’t complain, I’ve more or less managed to avoid excessive rain so far!

I have managed a few good mountain bike rides too.  Riding a selection of full sus bikes on test for ‘What Mountain Bike’ through the mud and roots of Harrogate woods would make anyone love winter biking. I was doing my best to keep up with my brother Eóin and Guy but they’re pretty damn quick!  Took me a while to realise just how fast you can go down stuff on big bikes like those, they’re great fun for a change.

I’ve had a few trips to the North York Moors too, also great fun despite the muddy conditions.  Its like a big sponge up there at this time of year, must be great power training, driving your way through thick, sloppy mud! It can be frustrating, but if I’m in the right frame of mind I can get really into it. It gets slightly dodgy when technical, rocky descents are covered in a layer of wet mud too, I end up accepting I can’t be in control of the bike and going for it.  Good for an adrenaline rush!

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