Back in November, I committed to racing at 24 hours of Exposure - the UK and European solo mtb championships at Wasing Estate on 11/12 May. It would be my main challenge for the year and something I have been working towards for nearly 3 years.
I started training for this race with my fantastic coaches Kate and Ian Potter from A Quality Ride Coaching over 7 months ago. And now there is less than a week to go!
There have been many hours in the gym, quite a few hours in the pool, some very wet and muddy rides over the winter, a few dry rides when the sun finally appeared in the last few weeks, some late night rides and some early morning rides. I enjoyed a week in the sun in Portugal with AQR, some great riding in Wales with friends and plenty more rides that I seem to have forgotten, perhaps blanked out in the sea of mud that was the British winter......
In March, I bought a very nice new Scott Spark 29er from my sponsors at Mountain Trax to add to my Scott Scale 26er. Both bikes have had their fair share of shiny new parts and are prepped and ready to go.
Now I just need to pack up the rest of the stuff on my big list of spares, kit and food and it will be time to go. I'm both nervous and excited but as I have said to the many people who ask me why on earth would I want to do a 24 hour race? My answer is always the same: I get to ride my bike for 24 hours, what's not to like!
Now I just need to hope that I don't end up with 'The Final Countdown' in my head for the whole 24 hours......
Massive thanks have to go out to the people that have supported me in this adventure:
Mountain Trax- for their sponsorship, support and bike fettling over the last 3 years Kate and Ian Potter of AQR Coaching- for their belief in me, their knowledge, advice and support Four4th Lights - for the loan of lights to get me through the dark hours of the race Anne Dickins and Jenny Heron - for physio advice to get my body functioning efficiently Mum and Dad - for love, support and financial aid to buy my new bike Tim Beresford - for being the one that started it all by helping build my first mtb and for agreeing to be chief spanner at the race Bridget Beresford - for letting Tim out to ride when I have come to stay, listening when I needed to chat and helping me to shop when I'm not riding my bike! Jo Holtom - for the hours in the gym, the hours on the bike, mutual love of Daniel Craig and for agreeing to be chief Faffy-feeder at the race Gaz Hurst - for bringing me some flip flops, understanding how to get rid of "stressy Faffy" when she makes an appearance and agreeing to make sure I keep the pedals turning for 24 hours......
And to the friends I haven't seen for a while, I promise that normal service will resume soon after the race....whatever that may be!
What do you do when
your coach challenges you to ride at a time you
wouldn't normally choose? You get up early and go and ride as the sun
comes up!
Night-time riders
Daytime riders
Kate Potter (AQRCoaching) had given me a 4 hour base training ride to do this Sunday – but she wanted me to take on the mental challenge of riding at an
unfamiliar time as part of my 24 hour race preparation. A plan
began to fall into place which included my good friend Smiler (who is
also going to be my pit crew chief at Exposure 24hr) joining me for a
very early morning ride.
We got up at 4.30am, everything was ready – clothes laid out, bags packed, bananas on standby. By 5am we were in the garage doing last minute bike checks and powering up our Four4th Lights and we were soon on our way.
Yes, that is AM, not PM!
Kit ready and waiting
We enjoyed sections of the aptly named (for this time of year) 'Christmas Pie' trail, a few muddy fields, some pleasant, leafy descents and a view from the top of Puttenham Common. With nearly 3 hours of night riding completed the light gradually crept in. Sadly it wasn't the sort of day for a spectacular pink morning sky, but it was a great ride, even if it was a little muddy and if we were yawning more than usual!
The best thing was that the bikes were washed, the bodies were showered and we were sitting down for breakfast by 10am!
Thanks to: Mountain Trax, Kate & Ian at AQR, Four4th Lights and Smiler :-D
Before I shattered myhip socket, I had planned to race my first 24 hour solo this year.
Sadly that wasn't to be. I did however manage to fight my way back to
reasonable form and did five races, reaching the podium in each one.
The highlight of the year was completing a 12 hour solo at Bontrager
24:12 in Plymouth in pretty difficult conditions and placing 2nd. The Mountain Trax crew were out in force with the boys team also reaching the podium in the men's 12 hour race and everyone (especially team director John) doing a great job to keep the wheels turning in the team pit.
Relieved that the mud-bath was over!
Anti-mud-bath...
Despite leading for the first 8 ½ hours, the mud and a torn tyre took its toll and the top step was a step too far. The aftermath involved a lot of time cleaning some very muddy kit!
After Bontrager I took
a well-deserved rest. I'd been training for nearly a year – almost
as soon as I was out of hospital in one form or another – trying to
get back my fitness and working on rebuilding the strength in the
damaged leg so it was time for a break. I rode my bike in the Peak
District, caught up with family and friends and generally had myself a nice
little rest.
By the end of
September, I was ready to get back into a training routine and what
better way to kick start this than a week in Luchon with my brilliant
coaches Kate & Ian Potter of A Quick Release Holidays on a
coaching week.
We climbed hills, we
practised corners, we worked on our balance, we practised switchbacks
and we went down some big hills. Big grins all round – a fabulous
week away with a great group of riders.
October rolled around –
the days got shorter and training began in earnest. The goals for
2013 have been set – a 24 hour solo and possibly a couple of 12 hour solos later in
the summer. For the first time in a long while I decided to join the
gym – access to a range of cardio machines, a 50m pool and various
classes seemed much more enticing than the turbo in the dark, dank and cold
garage!
I'm nearly 8 weeks into
winter training now – it's hard but rewarding and I'm really
enjoying the variety that Kate builds into the sessions. I'm not
allowed to run anymore so we are mixing in walking, swimming, aqua
classes and a range of other cardio work alongside bike sessions and
core/balance work. Plenty of different sessions to keep me amused!
Today I took up the
challenge and made it official. I have now entered 24hrs of Exposure,
taking place at Wasing Park in May 2013. It's just over 6 months away
– I can't wait!
My fantastic and
inspirational coach, Kate Potter from A Quality Ride Coaching, sent
me this quote a few months ago. It feels very appropriate now that nearly a year has passed since
my crash and, with my biggest challenge so far just around
the corner, I want to celebrate just how far I have come.
To mark the 1 year anniversary of my accident, I am racing 12 hour
solo at Bontrager 24:12 – in just 6 days time.
Final training is going
well. Plenty of resting, mixed in with some riding, some hill reps
and a sneaky bit of racing.
I hadn't planned on
racing at Mountain Mayhem this year – I was supposed to be
providing pit support for friends from the Tunnel Hill Trolls – but
one of their riders broke her hand 4 days before so I offered to help
out by doing a few laps. Well, I'm sure the stories of the 'muddiest
ever Mayhem' (read my friend Lou's blog for more details!) have
reached most corners of the world by now so those 'few laps' turned
out to be just 2, very long laps! Despite a lot of walking, pushing,
slogging, sliding and pedalling through bogs I got plenty of sleep
and a physio session with Duncan from Midas Physio this week has
meant that my legs are now feeling pretty sprightly and ready to go
for next weekend.
Other than working,
this week will be spent getting all my kit clean and ready, sorting
out the bikes, packing everything up and relaxing! On Friday morning
I'll be heading down with my friend and fellow solo racer Jo to meet
up with the Mountain Trax team and get everything set up. The team
are staying in some self-catering accommodation off site so a hot
shower and good night's sleep should be guaranteed. Nice to have a little bit of
luxury – which will be good if the weather isn't so pleasant!
My only goal for this
race is to finish – proving a point to any of the health
professionals who thought I might not race again. Whatever the
outcome I have a bottle of champagne ready to enjoy when it's all
over!
Don't forget – if you
can spare a bit of cash for a good cause, I'm raising money for
Wiltshire Air Ambulance who airlifted my when I had my cash.
Donations can be made on my JustGiving page. Thanks for your support!
Thanks as always to
Mountain Trax, Kate and Ian at AQR Coaching, Duncan at Midas Physio
and my family and friends for their ongoing support.
...but what if you're not allowed to run and they say there is a Le Mans start!
As I lined up for the 4hr enduro at Bristol Bikefest last Sunday with fellow Mountain Trax team mate Tyrone and friends Anth and Matt from AQR, this dilemma was foremost on my mind. It has been recommended by the various physios I've seen in the last 11 months that to preserve the longevity of my hip joint I shouldn't do any running, so the prospect of a 1/3 mile jog up a gravelly fireroad to collect my bike at the start of the race wasn't high on my to do list.
So I walked.
AQR Race Team Manager and friend James Dymond was looking after our bikes, but the boys were long gone by the time I was even nearing my bike so James walked down to hand it over and save me some time. I was already the last person up the hill.
As much as this meant I had quite a lot of traffic to endure for the first couple of laps of the race I was enjoying myself on the bike. After waking up on the Friday morning with the beginnings of a cold and still feeling run down from racing at Erlestoke the fortnight before I wasn't sure how my head or legs would feel during the race. But the all-weather track at Ashton Court is great fun - swoopy singletrack with fun berms, sneaky rock gardens and a few short climbs thrown in for good measure.
Footage from Bristol Bikefest 2012 (Cycling Bristol on YouTube)
I'd been able to fit in a practise lap on Friday evening so was happy with the course and Ian Potter (AQR Coaching) had looked at my bike set up again to help with the hand pain I had suffered at Erlestoke. I was able to keep up a good pace, and for once didn't feel too slow on the climbs and was keeping my laps consistent.
Knowing I had lost a lot of time by walking the start I wasn't too fussed about where I was position-wise, just enjoyed the singletrack and the fact that it wasn't raining given the forecast! It was as I came through after my 5th (and penultimate lap) that AQR chum Kirsty let me know I was only 2 minutes away from the 3rd placed solo girl and that if I pushed I would catch up and make the podium.
Talk about lighting the touch paper!
With shouts of encouragement behind me from the AQR pit crew, I got back into the big ring and gave it everything. Within 2 miles I had gained 45 seconds on my previous lap and kept the pressure up on the next climb, finally glimpsing what I thought was my competition as I approached the main climb halfway round the course.
So I was sneaky, caught her on the climb and sat behind in the next section of singletrack, gauging how she might be feeling, how she rode the singletrack, looking for where I might have the advantage. This also gave me the chance to catch my breath after pushing hard for the first half of the lap.
The singletrack was quite pedally on that section, so when after few minutes another rider asked to pass, I followed suit and went in front, double checking she was in my category. With cycling helmet and kit on it's not always easy to be sure of a rider's gender in a race. Add in my short hair and there have been plenty of times I get asked 'can I come past, mate' during a race to then hear the surprised 'oh, sorry, you're a girl' when I say yes! But it can prove useful and sometimes I have been able to get away with a sneaky manoeuvre in this way. Not this time!
She had clocked my overtake and as we headed into the quarry section of the course she had kicked it up a gear to try and stay with me and I was pushing hard to try and get a gap through the fast, bermed singletrack whilst also trying to stay within my self-imposed 'safety and comfort limits'.
We exited the section close together onto the short sandy climb that followed. Granny ring engaged I kept it easy and concentrated on getting to the top, glancing back to see I had a small gap. As we hit the flat section at the top I got back into the big ring and did a short sprint to gain some more distance, putting a couple of riders in between before entering the last, rocky section of singletrack.
I knew she wasn't far behind but kept pushing, concentrating on smooth corners, carrying my speed and then relaxing down the rock gardens and steps in the final section. There was probably less than half a mile to go as I got to the last hill, up the field. I still had a gap - maybe 200 yards - which I knew should be enough. When I reached the flat section before the finish I took a last look back to check I still had a gap and then started sprinting, leaving nothing to chance.
Heart rate was through the roof, lungs sounded like a smoker but I'd gained a 30 second advantage, got onto the podium and was only 2 mins down on 2nd place. Much more than I'd expected given the disadvantage of the Le Mans tart. Big grins all round. It was a successful day for the Mountain Trax team with a 2nd in the 4hr Vets Solo for Tyrone and 3rd for me in the 4hr Womens Solo.
Women's 4 hr Solo Photo: Tyrone Fletcher
Thanks to the AQR pit crew for their support and encouragement over the weekend; to Kate and Ian Potter for coaching and advice; to my sponsors Mountain Trax for their ongoing support and also to my friend Hannah who put me up in a comfy bed and fed me for two nights so I didn't have to camp!
I've been recovering this week - my cold turned unpleasant so I needed 2 days off work to recharge the batteries. Back into gentle training over the next week as it's only 3 weeks to go until the big one - 12 hour solo at Bontrager 24:12!
My 12hr solo at Bontrager is essentially on the 1 year anniversary of my accident. To honour this and how far I've come in that time, I'll be raising money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance who airlifted me to Salisbury post-accident (I'm still in the video on their home page!). Without the support of the public, they wouldn't be able to keep the helicopter in the air to help people, like me, who need to get to hospital in an emergency.
I'm aiming to raise £1917 by the end of the year - this amount is enough to keep the helicopter in the air for just 1 day. If you'd like to offer your support for this worthwhile cause, please visit my JustGiving page and give whatever you can. Thank you!
