Beyond Mountain Bikes

Beyond Black Park XC 10 – VFTP

James Poole

Along with most of the population of England, the weather has really got me down over the last couple of months. The turbo trainer, long my best friend over the winter months had become my shunned lover. The two hour rides that took two more hours to clean up had become my enemy. The taste of salt and diesel from miserably cold and wet road rides had become my nemesis. I was close to breaking point.

So it was with some excitement that I woke up last Sunday to blue skies and the thought of racing in the Singlespeed category at the Beyond Black Park race. Spring had sprung and with it had returned my enthusiasm for all things bike related. This is what I had been waiting for.

The week running up to the event had been far from the text book taper period. I’d been at a conference in Edinburgh and my training had been a Molotov cocktail of late nights, early mornings and far (far) too much alcohol. I was not, you would say, in peak condition. I arrived early that morning feeling guilty that I had not helped with the previous day’s preparations. I was soon given duties but also managed to ride the course several times. It was typical Black Park. Twisty. Start. Stop. Start again. The faster you rode it the more technical it became. Awesome.

Before long it was time to line up with my fellow racers. I had some previous form from this race having finished third in 2009 so I made my way to the front. However, this was also my first race of the year and I was unsure how much top end I would have. Up at the pointy end, I lined up alongside Lee Gollop of Progression Fitness. I knew Lee was a capable rider having raced against him at the Southern Series. I also knew that on a good day a couple of people from WDMBC could give me a run for my money. I looked down at my new Garmin 500 and my heart rate showed 125 – and we hadn’t even started yet.

I made a good start from the gun. The 32/17 gearing on my 29er singlespeed allowed me to accelerate quickly from the line and I took the lead. I could hear the wheels of a rider behind and on my left. Desperate to get into the singletrack first I edged across slightly just blocking his line. No one was going to beat me to the first corner. Not easily anyway. I actually felt pretty good at this stage. The burning heat from lactic acid was there but it hadn’t built up massively. I pushed on and held my leading position for about 2/3rds of the lap. But the pace was brutal and I could hear riders on my wheel. I looked down at the Garmin again. 201bpm. Pretty close to max.

As we came out of a section of single-track, Lee came past me followed by Rob Holbeche of Pyschleworks. They were clearly running bigger gears than me because I was spinning out and they were pulling away. There was nothing I could do but watch and pedal as fast as I could. I’d got my gearing wrong last year too and despite going taller for 2010 it wasn’t tall enough. School boy error.

By the end of the first lap I was in a group of five riders chasing Lee and Rob. They were still in sight but seemed to be slowly slipping away. We continued to push on and my lack of race preparation was hampering my performance. While my legs felt strong, I just didn’t have the speed and I was gradually drifting backwards.

The last two laps seemed to take forever. By this time the drop-off into the water had been removed as it had become horribly treacherous. I’d been following another rider from my category and he was visibly showing signs of slowing. I knew I was in seventh but I wanted better than that. I needed to attack, it was just a matter of when.

There was a narrow section of muddy off camber singletrack that turned left into a row of pine trees just before the finish. I’d decided this would be the place to attack. Get in front of him before the singletrack and once in front it would be nearly impossible to get past. That was the plan. I timed my attack to perfection and took my enemy unawares. I was into the singletrack maybe 20 metres ahead with the finish in sight. I waited for the counter but it never came. After the race we shook hands and I asked why he didn’t push me for the finish. As it turns out the missing water feature had disorientated him and he thought there was one more lap to go. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

So, sixth place for my first race of the year. Plenty to improve on but some positives to take away too. My Garmin showed an average heart rate of 186bpm for the 1hr 17mins. Pretty scary! Next up, the British Mountain Bike Series at Sherwood Pines. Better kiss and make up with the turbo!

Thanks as ever to the generous sponsorship from Beyond Mountain Bikes and Rapid Racer Products.