Early starts and long days in the saddle

A day in Majorca:

8:00:
Breakfast at the table, croissants and nutella and a glass of orange juice. Takes about 10 minutes to eat. Then obviously you've got to have a shower to freshen up. Then into cycling kit and nutrition ready for the ride, by this time Ed has finished his hard boiled eggs and Jims finally had some sleep after the 10 o'clock flight over their hotel and realised his arm-warmers are on the right arm, or in short words they've arrived at the apartment.

9:00:
Out on the bikes for 60-70 miles, actually by the time we've finished it'll be 85 miles with a cafe stop or two. In the ride we'll spot the odd pros on their 'get fit' camps or riders on exceptionally flash bikes and a bit of banter. Also we have a official competition of who can sprint to the town sign first whoever's first gets a point.

Recently in the week myself, Callum and Ed have completed the ton (100 miles) which was hard, painful and a lot of gritting teeth and getting on with it moments and to start with in the 100 miles we even climbed up one side of the Valdemossa and the Soller which was fantastic.

2;00;
Around this time we would have arrived back from the ride and we'd have lunch and relax or go swimming in the pool that is the same size as me and as cold as Antarctica. Or go swimming at Eds hotel in their lovely, luxurious, hot, big pool. After this is dinner time either in the house or out at the local restaurant where you can get steak and chips for just 6 euros which is a bargain. Then bedtime for a very well earned sleep!

Josh

josh giddings

 milton keynes national trophy cyclocross

it had snowed that dull morning. but i wasnt bothered because i knew that the snow would turn into MUD! anyway we arrived and what a que to get in they hadnt opened the gates 2 hours before a race.

eventually we got in, parked and trugded all the jetwash and litres after litres of water to the pits. it  wasnt along walkat least. but this was also a good time to have a sneak peek at the course just looking at the conditions all i could see is snow!

i kited up and went for a couple of laps with my dad  we saw and rode the course in more detail: a steep muddy decent, tall log step runup , a huge mudd runup, a 180 degree turn off camber and finally transfer from tarmac to mudd off camber. ooo and a zig zag horrid run up that is also off camber!

when other races were underway the conditions changed to my prediction at the start. MUD. which is quite suited for me. after i had pitted for my dad in the vetrans race i signed on and headed back to the van changed into race gear, numbers on and straight on rollers, i also carry a watch with me before my races to keep track of time, to do a however long ive got warmup😉 the racing timetable was running late. so i had no rush and just a stroll to the start gridd. we waited until the u 16 were gridded then us. i think i was gridded about 12 i was gridded 1st on second row i chose a smart spot then just waited not anxiousely for the start.

The RACE!!

whistle blew we were off i was in a good position but i went backwards because i knew i would save energy for the slightly off camber mudd and it worked i was storming  on the middle line through the pack then round three muddy corners and all downhill to the first pit section no one entered i didnt then two switchbacks and up the zigzag run up i took it steady not full gas otherwise ill blow then a quick remount and down the steep mud downhill of terror!

mid race it was basically a string of riders that i race with locally and in the road season. it was christian and daniel barnes at the front i think then it was always me and finley who always had the better of me on the running but i would catch up on the tarmac and the technical corners.

the last lap came around and i was at the back of the string and had time to make up on the slightly off camber i gained and gained on the run up up finley had put an effort in and distanced me but i caught daniel barnes up and waited till the steps and attacked! and i distanced him and rode hard to catch up finley and christian who had a gap between them  i caught finley up and he got the better of me again on the little runups. coming round the corners into the pits i was in 7th and could get seventhbut i wanted higher i didnt go into the pits and carried on and fight hard through the best stretch of mud for me and i attacked hard and rode straight past 6th and could see 5th infront i pushed and caught up and it was 2 more corners to the tarmac finish i rode straight past and pushed harder just to make sure  he didnt hang on to me i had a gap in the last corner and sprinted until the line i hit it i smiled!

in the end i was 5th the best result of the season and the last race of the cross season.

11th overall in the trophy series im happy with that as a first year!

thanks to everyone that helped through the season

well done to everyone

bring on the road season

   josh

Josh giddings

British national cyclocross championships

So the national cyclocross championships came, I trained for the big event I was ready to turn up and do well. My target was top 10.

 I warmed up around the course to get prepared. Then sign on had opened to collect my numbers and pit pass for my pit man, which was dad😅, then kit on and ready and straight onto the rollers just a quick warm up 20minutes to get down to the start in time for it about 20minutes before everyone was ready u16 and u14 first the u16 called and gridded and over the basic rules said by commissaries then they called us (u14) up and gridded us I was gridded 3rd row because it was done on the rankings instead of the series which I get but you have to deal with it, I wasn't worried or nervous I was rearing to go the whistle blew flew of the start into the first corner on the tarmac BANG straight transfer from tarmac to grass a quick dismount and run up the hill. Not the start I wished for but no panic

Mid race I jumped onto a group with people I race with I was happy but still a lot of gas left in the tank I jumped to the front our group of about ,4 including me, were fighting for about 9th or 10th. It was always me who took the front into the woods and would always come out infront with about 6 seconds  along the Tarmac/start I would extend but they would always catch me on the slippy, off camber, running section where I always took the wrong line. Then suddenly a front flat but it didn't affect or worry me because I've been learning to ride on a flat recently by getting one out on a traning cross ride! Anyway luckily I was at the back of the group so no one noticed I hung on the back and the pits was just round the corner. Changed onto my clean and ready and waiting bike to give some gas! Into the woods first again and this time Christian (my fellow friend) was behind through the whole woods and we stuck together and worked to get away from the rest. DING DING DING 'laaste ronde' as the belgies would say, it was the last lap and coming of the road past the puncture destination up a bank and a run across a 100m section the. A remount and down another little bank and onto Tarmac. Disaster! my chain had threw it self of the rings because the amount of mud on it . The reason of this is I didn't change the last pit section but I was wrong I should have but i didn't I tried to put it on but I could so I ran, the pits weren't far away but I didn't panic. Into the pits and told my dad what the problem was he gave me a new fresh bike and I felt stronger so I pushed until I was dead I caught up 2 u14 boys who have beat me in recent rounds and instead of messing around I went straight past them I grit my teeth and flew along pushed through the sections where I was good, flew through the woods I caught up even more boys and straight past them I ran hard with my bike on my shoulder then down a thick mud downhill onto some Tarmac and into the finish!

I have learnt a lot from my first cyclocross championships like changing bikes at the right time and not to be scared of everyone passing me! You have just got to keep calm.

The course was absolutely superb it was fun all terrain in it! And finally MUD.😉

Thank you to the pit crew and for everyone cheering me on and helping! Well done to team mi racing and the academy!

 

                                             Bring on the road season I can't wait!

                                                                Josh.