I Want A Podium: Part 3
The third part in Mike Ayles's ongoing attempt to get himself on an MTB race podium using only advice gleaned from the Bikemagic forum
The third part in Mike Ayles's ongoing attempt to get himself on an MTB race podium using only advice gleaned from the Bikemagic forum…
Well, here I am 'en France' as it were. If you've been following my progress, you'll know that it's going pretty well. At the twentyfour12, I coined the fastest lap in our team. Not satisfied with that lap, I went out for a faster lap and had a bit of a fall!
So, what kind of things am I capable of now? I'm no superhuman or anything, but earlier this week, I decided to go out for a nice gentle ride. It ended up being about 50 miles with me stopping every five minutes and asking, "Je cherché Angouleme". Although a largely unintentional 50 miles, I felt pretty good afterwards. And I found a weird French bike shop - bonus!
I must be getting closer to that podium place, surely. But there's one way to find out - racing! Planning is everything, so of course I've no idea when the next race is. I think that there's a Gorrick sometime in September... But really I'm aiming for next season.
I've been pondering categories of late. My current plan is to start off in the fun category, and when I get into the top ten, I'll move up. Racers, please let me know whether that's a sensible thing to do!
A couple of bike issues. I'm still running the DMR Moto dirt jump tyre on the back and really need to get some lightweight race tyres. I've had my eyes on some Panaracer Razers, which look fast, and a lot lighter than my DMR Moto/ Conti' Vertical mix.
I'm still on flat pedals, but only because of my lack of confidence when clipped in. I'm pretty sure my stack at the Twentyfour12 would've been a lot more severe had I still been clipped in. So I'm tempted to get some clipless pedals with platforms, like Crank Bros Mallets or Time Z Freerides.
One thing I've tried, but not been too successful with, is energy food/drink/gel/jelly beans/cake. I invested a fair amount of money in various types of energy drink/foods - they're mostly gone now, and I must admit, I found no performance benefit. I assume that they must do something or they wouldn't exist, but I just couldn't see the advantage. I reckon I'll just stick to my standard diet and eat sensible things before, during and after races.
As I've another couple of weeks in France with my bike, I'm tempted to go "touring" for a bit - just load up a bag then ride to the coast for a few days or something. I'm sure when I get to the coast, I'll do nowt too healthy, but the getting there should benefit me in some way. I want to ride about 500 miles by the end of this holiday - I'm at about 65 at the moment, so that'll be 435 miles in two weeks, easy.
So here are the things I need to know next:
- What's the most suitable category for next season?
- Are platform clipless pedals a good idea?
- What am I missing about "sports nutrition" products?
- And of course, what tyres should I buy…?
Over to you…
Yeah, at the end of the day the less your bike weighs the faster it goes. Before I get jumped on, it doesn't need to be anal.
For XC racing you do not need a platform/cage type SPD pedal, particularly for the Gorrick's it's wholly unnecessary. Some Shimano M540s are nearly as light as M959s but half the price, and I advise converting ASAP.
You know my thoughts on tyres, I'm a recent convert to Racing Ralphs in the dry, but will continue to use Explorers other times, for now... Again light is good, ultra light versions such as the Conti Supersonic range are a great way to drop lots of weight fast.
I'll be honest though Mike, and this is obviously a general feeling elsewhere, that really, you just need to ride more!
a) for fitness
b) for experience
If you ride enough you will win a race sooner or later, simple as that! Now isn't the ideal time to be doing 'base training' though!
Swapping to a seriously light bike may save you a couple of seconds, maybe even minutes, but it will not help you with knowing how to pace yourself, what your limits are, what to eat etc. That's the kind of thing that's only gained by riding, and racing, more.
I don't want to depress you, but I suggest, if you really want this, you need to do one of 2 things:
1) REALLY sort out your training when the time is right, base training should be done over winter, it should ideally be structured, and regular. I'm fairly confident that if you train properly throughout winter you could easily podium at a Spring Gorrick.
OR
2) Not take it so seriously, you'll get your podium eventually, but it'll likely take longer, but just keep riding as and when you feel like it.
Posted: 13/08/2006 21:58
I should also point out that Sport is a massive leap from Fun, there's Open in between, that's a more sensible place to aim!
I entered 3 fun races in 2002, won all 3 of them, moved to Open, won an Open race at the start of 2004, moved up to Sport, I'm still waiting for a podium in Sport, had a 4th and a 5th this year, that's the closest I've been, and I've got noticably quicker every year!
Posted: 13/08/2006 22:29
so, i would write an update, but i don't really know what to say, or even whether it's worth writing a whole new article.
ok, since my forks are at CRC, and have been for a while now, i've been clocking up the road miles, i've been out doing long road rides with roadies etc..
on monday i shall be going on a training ride with a few triatheletes - wish me luck!
erm, i couldn't do the southern xc rd 5 due to lack of suspension forks
next up is the autumn classic (i think) and i plan to do well in it
erm, i've got used to SPuD's again (on road)
what else.... i still haven't got round to buying some race worthy tyres (reading festival tickets!)
oh, and my dodgy wrist is making a comeback
Posted: 07/09/2006 20:33
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