We woke to brilliant sunshine flooding the room. At breakfast, we looked out onto the bay, complete with swans and cygnets. We rolled off at 8.15 am, to catch the 9.25am Barra-Eriskay ferry. This was the second time we've ridden this dash to the ferry, and this time was no different - a lengthy and steep climb out of Castlebay, followed by a rather undulating road out to the Ardmor ferry terminal, during which the skies clouded over. We arrived with about ten minutes to go, to find quite few cyclists queued up ahead of us. No problems getting a space on board. While  waiting to depart, I spotted what I thought was a sea otter. On the way over to Eriskay, we saw a bunch of seals basking on a small rock.Once on Eriskay, there's a bit of a climb away from the ferry jetty, but once over that, we zoomed down to the causeway over to South Uist. From there, it's an ever-changing landscape, from the dispersed houses of South Uist to the very wet Benbecula, to the more rugged landscape of North Uist. We only paused for photographs, to heat up some lunch (chili con carne), to visit a craft shop and to buy some supplies at a Co-op.By the time we exited Benbecula, it had become very sunny again, though with a stiff breeze that was a direct headwind between Clachan and Lochmaddy. But the scenery delighted, with deep blue lochans amid heather clad hillside. Eventually Lochmaddy came into view, with the Tigh Dearg Hotel plainly visible - resplendent in red.We rolled up to the Rushlea B&B, and cleaned up a bit. We popped out to the Tigh Dearg for some beer (the Tigh Dearg, brewed by the Skye brewery) and food (excellent baked hake for both of us, followed by rhubarb creme brulee for me and cheesecake for my stoker). Then it was back to Rushlea after a brief stroll.Nature points: Sea otter, geese plus goslings, swans plus cygnets, curlews, an owl (of unknown species).   Road kill points: a hedghog (which is good, these were recently introduced and are playing havoc with ground nesting birds).

After the previous evening's appalling discovery of my failure to properly plan the opening destination of our tour, we were left with a more relaxing start to the day, having been relieved of the urgency of delivering the car to the garage and getting to the ferry terminal for an early departure. Instead, we sorted out our luggage, discarding the cycling clothes brought in case the weather was particularly cold, and took the car to the garage (Hazelbank Motors). From there, we rode down to the CalMac terminal to buy ferry tickets. Boarding wasn't until 3pm, so we set off south from Oban on a little jaunt to the island of Seil, connected to the mainland by the impressively named Atlantic Bridge.Leaving Oban involved cycling up a pretty steep hill which, even in the morning sunshine, had us sprinkling copious sweat. Well, actually, my lady stoker (being a lady) merely glowed. Once over the top, it was a speedy descent to Loch Feochan and a pleasant ride alongside the water. Near the mouth of the sea loch, we turned off towards Seil, along a rather nice 'B' road. This was quite challenging at times, featuring a 15% gradient at one point.We entered Seil by crossing the Atlantic Bridge. This turned out to be a delightful (but very steep) stone bridge spanning a few metres of the Atlantic. A few miles further on saw our first Magnum stop at a small shop, after which we headed back to Oban. At the CalMac terminal, we chatted with a bloke touring on a Brompton. He recommended the nearby seafood stall, where excellent crab and smoked salmon sandwiches were to be had. We bought one of each to eat on the ferry.There was a queue of over dozen bikes, including another tandem. The ferry was really quite empty, and the trip uneventful (except for he drama of a passenger who took a nasty fall, requiring the assistance of a couple of nurses). Indeed, the sea was particularly smooth, and the skies astonishingly sunny. It was even warm out on deck.Time passed quite quickly, lubricated as it was by sampling a pint each of Clansman and Islander beers from the Hebridean brewery. We eventually arrived at Castlebay, and disembarked as a gang of about 20 bikes (so my original estimate must have been supplemented by late arrivals). Many of the cyclists seems to be headed for a hostel close to the ferry, but some others pedalled off into the distance. We made for the Ravenscroft B&B, where we'd stayed a couple of nights  a few years ago. Castlebay was looking lovely as it was lit by the low sun, and we went for a brief walk, taking a few snaps along the way. You can just see Kisimul castle from the bedroom window, though it's rather dwarfed by the ferry we'd arrived on!Tomorrow we head for Lochmaddy, so quite a lengthy day in the saddle. Today we did around 32 miles all told.Nature points - geese, herons, hoodie crows, cuckoos (heard not seen, on Seil and on Barra), corncrake (heard and not seen on Barra).As we passed through the Sound of Mull, sight of the Fishnish to the Lochaline ferry suggested an alternative route from Strontian, which would avoid returning to Oban by the A85 trunk road. From Strontian, we'd cross Morvern to Lochaline, cross to Fishnish, then cycle to Craignure to catch the ferry back to Oban.

At last we had some properly seasonal weather after a pretty unpleasant spring.  Treated to some sunny and hot conditions, we reckoned on some good times (though actually, the humidity did seem to affect some riders). The event was the North Bucks Road Club 10 mile Championship event, so for the NBRC members, there was something to aim at. Well, if truth be told, this would be for Silver behind Tony...Lining up behind riders, I was acutely conscious that I'd marked the hottest evening of the club event season by neglecting to bring a bottle. Not that I ever plan to drink in a '10', but it's nice to drink before and after the event. And there's the generally belief that the aero bottle improves the aero characteristics of the frame.Anyhow, off I went at the allotted time. I found the opening sections not too bad - it was a pretty still night, so no assistance (or hindrance) due to wind. I had no trouble with traffic at any point during the event, which made a nice change. I always take the first roundabout carefully, as it's very heavily potholed and falling off in the first mile would be somewhat embarrassing.  I whisked up the hill pretty briskly, then embarked on the dual carriageway section, for which there isn't too much to report.  Coming off the dual carriageway, I hoped to to crank out some speed.  And I did for a while, but the final mile or so is pretty hard, even on a nice evening, as the road surface is pretty rough and while it looks level, I think it's actually a slight incline.  I finished in 22:47, one of my faster times on this course, and enough for silver behind Tony, I think.

Pos	No	Name	Club	Time	Cat	Vets Std	.+ / -	Vets Std
1	6	Jason Gurney	www.twenty3c.co.uk	21.07	V42	26.09	.+ 5.02	1
2	9	Tony Parks	NBRC	21.37	V47	26.31	.+ 4.54	2
3	3	Jez Honor	www.twenty3c.co.uk	21.55	V41	26.04	.+ 4.09	4
4	7	Adrian Cox	Baines Racing Silverstone	22.30	V51	26.47	.+ 4.17	3
5	14	Rob Saunders	NBRC	22.47	V52	26.51	.+ 4.04	5
6	11	Anthony Batt	NBRC	22.49	S
7	10	Lindz Barral	www.twenty3c.co.uk	22.56	S
8	5	Andy Burnett	Bicester Millennium CC	23.20	V49	26.39	.+ 3.19	7
9	13	Jason Lee	TeamMK	23.25	V43	26.13	.+ 2.48	9
10	8	David Carrington	TeamMK	23.35	V46	26.26	.+ 2.51	8
11	4	Leigh Smith	Team Corley / Alpha RC	23.45	S
12	12	Rob Chaundy	TeamMK	23.59	V60	27.28	.+ 3.29	6
13	1	Alan Lawson	NBRC	26.48	V43	26.13	.- 0.35	10
14	2	Darren Haydon	NBRC	27.06	V41	26.04	.- 1.02	11

Another weekend, another '10'! This time on the Leighton Buzzard course (F12/10). This is a course that I always feel ought to be quicker than I find it - unfortunately it suffers from a heavy surface, is exposed and has a roundabout to cross  twice, where one often gets held up by traffic. But, hey, it's another race...The weather was a moderate but blustery wind, and it was reasonably warm (but still cool for an afternoon in late May).  I arrived at the start line with a few minutes to spare. While being held by the pusher-off, I observed that there was an ominous road kill alongside - fortunately I don't think there were any accidents out there! The timekeeper seemed to take some pleasure in teasing me about my recent spate of punctures (of which, more later).I started in reasonably good style, but pretty much straightaway got stopped by a line of traffic at the Billington roundabout (you can see the drop in speed on the Garmin trace). Despite dropping down a gear, it still took a big effort to get back up to speed again. This was a bit tough, as the outward leg was pretty heavy going, with a nagging cross wind. Reaching the turn, I once again got stalled by traffic at the roundabout, before I set off on the return leg.The return was mostly considerably faster than the outward leg - but despite this wind assistance, there were some real hard sections. I reached the Billington roundabout dreading a further holdup, but passed through smoothly. So, all in all a pretty uneventful event, no problems with traffic (other than at the roundabouts). I would generally expect to do around 23:15 or so, so my 23:29 was about what I expected!Oh, and to return to the subject of punctures. This time it was Tony who was afflicted: just as he neared the start, his front tub punctured.  He dashed back for the spare wheel, but unfortunately he'd forgotten the track pump so he rode the event on a slightly soft tyre. Didn't seem to affect him too much - he beat me by just over a minute! 

I recently signed the Sense about Science petition in favour of their GM wheat trials. I have just received the following email which suggests that the Take the Flour Back pressure group are afraid to discuss the issues around this GM work in a public forum.  I can only conclude that they realise their opinions of this work are without merit compared with the efforts that the Rothamsted scientists have made in engaging with the public and explaining the nature of their work.The research is legal, and has passed all regulatory hurdles. The actions of Take the Flour Back are to be deplored. I urge all to read the information at the website and sign the petition.

Dear Petition SignatoryYou supported the appeal by Rothamsted scientists against plans by a group to take direct action against their research into whether GM wheat can warn off aphids.The Take the Flour Back group is pursuing this action but had agreed with the researchers’ proposal to debate their concerns before 27th May.  The researchers organised a neutral venue and chair for a debate. Unfortunately Take the Flour Back has announced they will not take part. There is a timeline of the exchange between Professor John Pickett and Take the Flour Back at http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Content.php?Section=AphidWheat&Page=ProtestThere’s lots of other discussion going on. Professor Pickett will be on Newsnight on BBC2 at 10.30 tonight. Many of you left comments on the petition asking about aspects of the research and we have received many questions and points by email and twitter. The scientists at Rothamsted, and colleagues at institutions doing related work, have been responding to many of them; some of this is now up on http://www.senseaboutscience.org/pages/rothamsted-appeal.htmlPlease send the message far and wide: forward the scientists' appeal to your friends and colleagues, share the petition on Facebook and use Twitter hashtag #dontdestroyresearch.http://www.senseaboutscience.org/petition.phpBest regardsSíle Lane

This was my first ride on the Stony Stratford course in 2012: of the two prior outings in the NBRC calendar, I didn't ride the first because of an open event, and the second was cancelled due to rain.  So I hadn't got a clear picture of how the roads had survived the winter (the course normally has some pretty dreadful stretches of tarmac). In the event, I did reasonably well - slightly faster than this time last year.My ride out the the event was rendered slightly alarming by traffic volumes - indeed I retreated to the redways for part of this ride. The experience was  alleviated a bit by being merrily peeped by a passing Mavic car. And, no, they weren't offering puncture repair assistance! I arrived in time to sign on as #18. To my chagrin, Tony turned up and singed on a minute behind me. Still, I thought, that can only persuade me to put some back into it...I started off down the road behind some bloke on what appeared to be a single speed mountain bike - I passed him right on the first bend. I found it heavy going on the ride out to Beachampton (successfully avoiding some serious road imperfections), but that was nothing compared to the climb up to and through Nash - here my excess body weight told, and I felt like I was dragging the bike through deep treacle. Once through Nash, I found myself rolling along pretty well. Or so I thought until Tony came rumbling past just before the turn. I was horrified by this and decided I just had to put some back into it!Coming out of the turn roundabout, I was about 30m behind, a gap which grew slightly on the run back to Nash. But on the descent, my excess body weight became more of a benefit than a hindrance, and this coupled with my monster top gear started closing the gap on Tony.  Of course I never quite made it, and he began to draw away from through Beachampton and on to the finish.All in all, a reasonably encouraging effort. I finished with 27:49.Results (at the NBRC website) 

 Finally, some good weather!  The wind dropped to more modest levels than of late, the rain went away, and this strange shiny thing in the sky illuminated us all and raised the temperature to more satisfactory levels. Oh, and I am finally beginning to feel like a bike rider again, as I recorded my best '10' time so far this year.Breaking with tradition, the Bossard Wheelers '10' moved this year from the F12/10 on the Leighton Buzzard bypass, to my local course near Brogborough (the F15/10). The Bossard Wheelers are on a bit of an upward trajectory at the moment, and seem to have an influx of riders, a new strip, and a website. The F15/10 has been much-touted as a quick course, featuring a descent from the start that riders don't need to ride back up. A number of test events used the course in 2011, but it's not been until this season that I've had the opportunity to have a bash at it. My experiences prior to this event had been less than satisfactory. I was still ill for the Team Salesengine '10', where I recorded a career-worst 24:48, while my supposed 2-up ride at the TeamMK event left me distinctly deflated.Seeing as how this is a local course, I did of course ride out, taking a longer route through Ridgmont. I noticed many groups of kids with unfeasibly large rucksacks congregated at various points along the route. One such gang passed comment on my bike - in return I asked what they were up to. Apparently it was some Duke of Edinburgh thing, though I'm uncertain why Phil the Greek would be so keen to have groups of teenagers looking baffled in the countryside. Still, at least they had decent weather for it.The HQ for the event was in the Marston Social Club, about 3.5 miles and two level crossings from the start. Signing on was in the bar, and a succession of lycra-clad old blokes (as usual for a time trial, the majority of riders were veterans) must have entertained the drinkers there!Once up at the start, there's little scope for riding about, and I ended up chatting to some of the other riders, and not actually focussing on the task in hand. I was a bit remiss in not getting the computer started exactly as my minute man started. Anyway, after a bit of jibber jabber with Richard and the timekeeper (which seemed to focus on the recent deflationary debacle at the TeamMK 2-up), off I went as fast as I could down the starting slope. Once on the course proper, things always get a bit more interesting - it undulates a bit, and there seemed to be exposed sections. This made my speed seem to vary quite a bit. I did spot David Jones taking snaps out on the course, and I had my very own tifosi out to support me![caption id="attachment_1893" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Having spotted the photographer, it's always good to hold one's stomach in! Photo: David Jones"][/caption]Crossing the first roundabout seems to need a bit of attention as the entry and exit roads are offset. I maybe could have taken that a bit faster, but I'm naturally a bit cautious. I took the turn roundabout reasonably well (though I did thank the marshals, so maybe I wasn't going hell for leather). The return leg was a bit tougher I thought. The wind seemed to be a bit blustery and sporadic, and didn't really give consistent assistance. But I suppose the counter to that is that it didn't give consistent hindrance either. The last half mile seemed pretty hard. I finished with 22:39, my fastest '10' so far this year. Despite Geoff's efforts at the results board to offer me a 21:22, honesty prevailed! Still, I made it to 10th place - at least some form may be returning.Overall, the course doesn't seem as fast as claimed. But it's an improvement over the F12/10 as its traffic levels are quite low.Results (top ten places)

1	54	Ian Knight	Team Corley Cycles	21:18
2	70	Luke Clarke	Team MK	21:19
3	40	Tony Ball	Team Swift	21:22
4	50	Simon Cannings	www.twenty3c.co.uk	21:30
5	45	John Lacey	Hemel Hempstead cc	21:38
6	5	Alistair Sponel	The Pony Shop ( USA )	22:03
7	55	Andy Sharman	Baines Racing	22:13
8	66	Ian Baynes	Hemel Hempstead cc	22:25
9	17	Nigel Hale	CC Ashwell	22:27
10	30	Robert Saunders	North Bucks Road Club	22:38

 

Another day of very heavy showers and blustery wind didn't bode well for tonight's club event on the Astwood sporting '10' course. I had pretty much decided to ride the event no matter what the weather was like, but I found myself running a little late by the time we got home on the tandem.  I reached Astwood in time to see the early riders start, signed on, had a bit of a chinwag, and then rolled off for a short warmup.  I soon found I needed a nature break. This delayed my return to the start line, where I found no-one except Tony and Bryan (timekeeper and pusher off). In fact as I reached the line I heard Tony say "5, 4, 3, 2, 1...go". And off I went...I found the outward leg to Chicheley quite tough, and mostly because the wind was twitching my front wheel quite badly, particularly where there were gaps in the hedgerows. In fact I wasn't much above 25 mph for a lot of that section, which is normally quite fast.  Reaching the sharp left after Chicheley I need feel a bit of wind assistance, but as the course meanders through the countryside, the wind never really seemed to add too much help! Fortunately the temperature was a bit warmer of late (last time at Astwood, my fingers got so cold it was difficult to hold the bars!).I had no real problems until the last mile or so - the fast descent before the final climb had quite few twitchy moments then just as I was approaching the finish line, my gears decided to jump up a gear, making a huge noise and denting what little remained of my momentum. I finished for a tied third place (out of 12 riders) in 24:16. I'd been unable to start the timer on my computer until about 15-20 seconds had elapsed due to my almost late start, so I didn't have a terribly good idea on how I was going.This was the second event on the replacement tyres (Bontrager Aero), which not only haven't punctured so far, but aesthetically speaking look pretty spiffy on the H3 trispokes. Maybe that's Puncture Bob banished for the time being!Results (at the NBRC website) 

For a change, it didn't rain today. But it was heavily overcast and remarkably cold for May. Another change was on the tyre front: as recommended by Gerry, I had ordered a pair of Bontrager Aero R4 folding tyres, in the hope of avoiding further puncture misery. An added bonus lay in the aesthetic arena: black tyres with white logos happen to look damned fine on my bike.I was feeling a bit tired and jaded en route to the course.  I'd never ridden the F2D/10 before (and neither, I think, had Tony) - fortunately we arrived in time to drive round the course and recce out the turn. The course was a pretty straightforward dual carriageway course, with a only gentle undulations and a lengthy turn (if that makes any sense!). While the rain held off, there was a stiff wind from the Northeast, which was cutting across the course. While it gave some assistance on the return leg, it did make the outward leg quite tough at times.  I had no trouble with hold-ups at any roundabouts, though occasional motorists came closer than I thought strictly necessary! For about the first time this season, I felt comfortable on the time trial bike, with the exception of some masculine discomfort later in the event (of which the less said the better!).I crossed the finish line with a result of 22:52. That's still a bit slower than I'd have liked, but I think it may be sign of returning form. At last. 

After my recent spate of punctures, I can be forgiven for feeling that I was never going to make it to the end of a time trial. Or even to the start.  So at this point, I'll cut to the chase and say that on this evening, I contrived to make it to the finish line.Of course, what would this report be without a puncture.  As it happens, I generally ride my time trial bike to work and go straight from work to the race.  Today was no exception, and I rolled away from the house with all hope that my ride to work would be uneventful.  For a change, it wasn't actually raining.  Unfortunately, about one and a half miles from home, b-l-a-a-p! My front tyre exploded.  I could see a 5mm gash with fragments of green latex exposed. After a minor verbal explosion which included a large proportion of the four letter words offered by the full breadth of the English language, I stopped at the road side to effect temporary repairs to puncture #7.  After using a patch to hold the cut together and putting a new tube in, I gingerly rode home to sort out a better repair (with a replacement tyre*).Somewhat miraculously, I made it both to work, and down to the event in the evening, without further mishap.  The event itself was ridden in dry but heavily overcast conditions. There was a pretty strong wind, and it wasn't warm.  However it was a tail wind up the hill to the dual carriageway section, and enough of a tail wind to the turn to make the outward leg rather brisk.  Unfortunately the converse was that the return leg was pretty brutal at times.  I was caught by Tony about halfway back from the turn, which came as no surprise to me.  On the final stretch to the finish, I was having quite a bit of trouble holding a straight line, such was the buffeting from the wind.  I finished in 23:46, which was OK, I suppose, a little slower than my last outing on this course, but relative to other riders I think I'm improving.*as I write, I'm still awaiting the real replacement tyres, ordered online following Saturday's debacle.Results (at the NBRC website)

Not only was this a classic Team Grumpy domestic 2-up disaster, but it was an event marred by course problems (changed from 25 to 15 miles due to roadworks) and by bad weather (blustery rain showers), but ultimately an excellently organised event with a very plush HQ at the Marston Forest Centre.Team Grumpy had regrouped the evening before, and had spent quite a bit of time looking glumly out the window at the gathering elements. On the day, it was cold and windy, but the rain had backed off to quite light precipitation. We were down as scratch riders in the 6 team 2-up section of the event. This had given us some cause for concern that we might be cruelly humiliated following our recent illnesses. Still, we went over to the HQ to do our best.The HQ was comfortable and warm, but 4.2 miles from the start of the F15/15. Fortunately we had allowed plenty of time to get to the start, as about halfway there, I heard the characteristic 'pssh' and my front tyre went down. This, as regular readers of this miserable blog of cycling cockups may recognise, was my fifth puncture of the 2012 season. Gerry dashed back to the HQ to get the spare front wheel (a Xentis) pumped up, while I limped back on a rapidly softening tyre. Quickly getting the wheel installed, we debated driving back to the start, but felt we had enough time to ride. Of we went, for what was a very brisk warm-up.We made it to the start with about 4 minutes to go, in time to see a team start (the team in front of us did not start). Unfortunately, as we arrived at the start, we heard...another deflating sort of sound, this time from my back tyre. With the comedy of errors now complete (and how we wished we'd driven to the start - the car had a spare back wheel in it), I tried to persuade the start time keeper that since we'd reported in time for our start, we shouldn't get a late start penalty if we were delayed from starting due to repairing a puncture. But that cut absolutely no ice, and I was left forlornly looking down the road as my team mate rode off for a solo ride.I rolled cautiously back to the car and got changed, and waited for Gerry to reappear. When he did finally return, he was terribly cold and wet and not particularly happy with his time. As we'd expected, there was a strong and gusty head wind on the out bound legs of the course (pretty similar to conditions a few weeks ago at the Team Salesengine '10' on this course), which made it heavy going.Having had six punctures on my time trial bike this season, enough is enough. I have now ordered new tyres.

In which Tony gets his racing mojo back and I have (yet another) punctureDespite the glorious start to the day, the forecast for the afternoon was somewhat dispiriting: more heavy showers. So it was with a certain degree of unenthusiasm that Tony and I set out for this afternoon event over on the N1/10 near Sawtry. I haven't been going well since my last bout of illness, and Tony seems to have lost his keenness for racing: we were hopeful that we'd both get our 'racing mojo' back at this race. We drove round the course before heading in to the race HQ, where signing on was in a strange green edifice that mostly resembled a container. This was conveniently located next to a sports facility that appeared to be hosting not only 105 bike riders and associated marshals, timekeepers and refreshment personnel, but also two cricket teams (with their associated helpers) and two football teams (and their associated helpers). Peculiarly, though all three sets of sportsmen/women were all intermingled, they appeared to be studiously avoiding eye contact and inter-sport communications were just about nil.Anyway, Tony and I drove off to park somewhere nearer the start. At this point, it was quite sunny and warm, though with a stiff breeze. I set the bike up and went off for a warmup. It seemed pretty clear that the wind was a cross-wind, but probably favouring the return leg. The N1/10 is on the B1034, the old north road, which runs along the side of the A1(M). It's quiet in traffic levels, but undulates quite a bit as it rises for intersections with and bridges over the A1(M). One roundabout in particular was singled out for attention on the start sheet, because it not only featured incoming traffic from the motorway, but had an unfeasibly sharp exit turn. Oh, and some significant potholes...Off I went, immediately feeling I had to push hard in the cross-wind. But at least I felt as though I had some energy to press out. My speed was fluctuating depending on how much shelter I had from the wind, and of course on what the gradient was. I made it through all the roundabouts without delays, including the 'difficult' roundabout (which was enlivened by two small girls cheering riders on with clacking plastic hands). I rode past David Jones, out taking pictures as usual. I sucked my stomach in just in case (recent photos from the Jones camera do indicate I have at present got the stomach physique of Bart Simpson), and pressed on towards the turn. I was almost at the turn when I felt the unmistakeable sensation of a wheel rim bumping on tarmac. Sure enough, I had a front puncture*. About 4.5 miles from the finish. And even further from the car.Well, at least it wasn't raining. Yet. There were dark clouds looming as I began the trudge back. Fortunately, a lady who with her motorcycle riding husband was checking the event for adherence to CTT regulations offered me a lift back to the finish area. This was really kind, and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't ask her name. I was at the start area to cheer Tony off, then I walked back to the car. Somewhat embarrassingly, I noticed that we'd parked very close to the back of an 'Adult Shop', so goodness knows what people thought of two lycra-clad blokes in a parked car in that location.So in the end I did less than half of the race, while Tony did a good 22:17. He said he'd had difficulty with the wind blowing him about at times, but fortunately neither of us suffered from rain. Back to the green portacabin to hand in our numbers and to wait for results. Once again cricketers (who were having their tea break with an enormous spread of sausage rolls and the like) and cyclists mingled without communication. I am sure there's an interesting sociology project in there somewhere.From Sawtry it was back home through heavy showers for a Spanish-themed dinner of Paella and a chocolate and membrillo tart. So not all was bad in the day.*This is puncture #4 of the 2012 season, but the only one that has occurred during a race. The others were either before or after racing.

This was a day which, rather than April showers, we saw April downpours.  This was a pattern all day.  Indeed, I declined to take my time trial bike to work due to horizontal rain (usually I ride the bike to work and go straight from work to the evening '10').  I was still swithering about whether to race when I got home, but conditions brightened slightly (as they do) and off I went.Now, I've used the heavy rain symbol not so much for the race itself, but for the conditions around the race.  I could see extremely dark clouds obviously emitting heavy showers up ahead, and in fact they looked to be on top of Astwood itself. Reaching the meeting point, I discovered five other apprehensive-looking cyclists (but I think not many of us had ridden up) and the start crew.  So it was definitely race on!I ended up as last rider, at #6, and as Lindz and I waited to start, the rain started again.  Thus dampened, the ride itself wasn't affected too much by your actual rain (though the highways were really wet, with significant puddles).  I had fitted a rear light in a vain attempt to increase my visibility to traffic, and I took every corner with some trepidation.In the falling light, I could barely read my computer display.  Actually, that might be characterised better as beng due to a combination of failing light, ageing eyes and steamy glasses.  Anyway, I could see by the time I turned at Chicheley that I wasn't exactly on a ride.  But I did feel a lot better than in recent events, notably the Team Salesengine '10' and the Beds RCC '25'.  No really pressing problems occurred - not traffic, no potholes, so little to report other than the generally wet and depressing conditions.  It did feel as though there was a bit of a headwind out to Chicheley, but thankfully nothing as bad as we'd seen earlier in the day.I finished in 4th place with 24:54, which isn't quite as bad as it sounds given the conditions (I think). Things got really bad on the way home.It was just starting to rain as I set off. I have to say at this point that several people offered me a lift home, so what transpired was really my own fault.  The rain got really heavy, and after a bit I was so drenched that any further rain wasn't really much of a worry.  I was felling a little cold on the descent from Cranfield though!  What really took the biscuit was puncturing just over 2 miles from home, then getting caught at the village level crossing.  I decided I wouldn't stop to repair the tyre, as my fingers were pretty cold, it was pissing down, and the light was failing fast, so I bumped home on a flat rear tyre, in my own personal cloud of blue language.I suppose this is character-building, but this is the third puncture of the year, and in fact happened in exactly the same place as the last one!Results (at the NBRC website)

Well, it may have been sunny, but it was pretty cold. Indeed, we had to melt ice off the car's windscreen before we set off to the race HQ in Roxton.  While temperatures did rise just above freezing, it did remain cold enough for knee-warmers and full finger gloves.  What was a bit more troubling was the strengthening wind, which whistled across the flat fields around the F1B/25 start. One problem I has was that one of the remarkably high tech Boa shoe fastenings on my left show decided to snap as I was tightening it up.  This wasn't the end of the world, as these shoes have two laces - it just left my foot floating a bit in the shoe. [The possibility of one of these shoe fastenings breaking was discussed just the other day over at timetriallingforum.co.uk]Of course, this made the southbound leg pretty comfortable, at least until reaching the 'lumpy' bits near the turn.  Actually, I got through the first two roundabouts without obstruction, only to be stopped by a lorry and a caravan at the third. At this point, I was feeling pretty optimistic, though the last three or four miles where the road, though not exactly hilly is rather severely undulating, was a bit tough.  Of course I had the continued optimism from the knowledge that the F1B/25 turns at hight altitude than it starts and finishes at.  There should, therefore, have been a bit of gravitational assistance against the growing headwind.Unfortunately, someone appeared to have inverted the gradient - there didn't seem to be much, if any at all, descent on the way back to the finish.  Indeed the effort, compounded by the cold air, made it quite hard for me to ride efficiently in an aero tuck.  Despite a late surge, I could manage a 1:03:54, something of a disappointment.  Perhaps I'm still recovering from that recent cold. Upon investigating the Garmin trace (see below), it's clear that the return leg is (overall) a descent, so that headwind on the return leg must have been pretty brisk.  After grabbing quick cuppa and a quick chat, we left before all the results were in.

Typically for an early season evening event, this was a a rather cool evening, with showers cruising past, though fortunately, riders didn't experience too much rain while riding.  I approached this event in some trepidation after my disastrous outing at the Team Salesengine '10' the previous Saturday.I was quite late arriving, and ended up as last rider to start, at #11. Setting off, it was immediately clear that I was nowhere as weak as last Saturday.  The race itself was quite uneventful, despite higher traffic levels than I'm used to on that course. In fact a red lorry that was making me nervous on the approach to one of the roundabouts turned out to have a very considerate driver and gave me plenty of room.  The only irritant on the traffic front was the final two roundabout, where I had to stop due to traffic entering from the right.I finished with 23:43, having experienced the apparent speeding up of time during the closing stages of the race - I'd hoped to do a mid 23.  But still, it was progress from my last open '10'!Results (at the NBRC website) 

This turned out to be be one of my poorest 10 mile performances I can recall. In my defence, I can say that I was still under the weather from the cold that knocked last week's racing on the head.Today was really rather cold. Not as who should say sub-zero or frosty, but that awful nagging clammy sort of cold that seems to be unusually penetrating.  I rode over the the HQ for this course (a social club in Marston Moretaine), as the F15/10 is about as local a course as there could be for me.  The start is about 3 miles from the HQ, and well sign posted by the organisers.  Still, by the time riders reached the start at the top of Brogborough Hill, most were complaining of the cold. Indeed, the pusher-off was complaining of cold hands - apparently due to a metal frame (these do seem to be becoming as rare as hens' teeth!).Anyway, at the allotted time, off I went, rapidly accelerating down Brogborough Hill.  One of the attractions of this course (which I was riding for the first time) is that riders don't ascend the hill on the return leg. Anyway, by the time I reached the bottom, I was really very cold, and upon reaching the level part of the course I was required to pedal.  It was at this point that the after effects of last week's illness became manifest. I had nothing there. My legs felt just hollow.  The head wind in the outward leg was cold and rather problematic, but I think the main problem was a near complete lack of strength.  In fact, I nearly packed within the first two miles.  But I pressed on, noting the slow speed.  I was caught by #16 before the turn, and by #17 on the return leg.  The return leg was a bit swifter as the wind was assisting, but at no stage was I likely to do a halfway decent performance.  I crossed the line in about 24:45, possibly the worst performance in an open '10' I can recall.Still, at least I've made a return to racing. And there is a season ahead of me.  The coming week sees a midweek club '10' and the Beds Road CC '25' on the F1B/25 on Sunday 15th April.

As I write this, I'm looking out at the weather, which seems to me to be a glorious morning for a time trial - brilliant sunshine with a gentle breeze, albeit a little chilly judging by the frost on the grass.  And about now (8am), I should be getting the last of my kit together before cycling over to the race HQ.  So, what's the problem?  Another blasted cold, that's what - I learnt my lesson about training and racing with a cold a few years ago.  This gave rise to Team Grumpy's fifth rule:

Never train or race with a bad cough - it will destroy your entire season.

As you might gather, I have indeed caught another cold. It's intensely frustrating, particularly as the Icknield 30k is my usual season-opener open event.  I do hope this doesn't foreshadow another wretched season beset by illness.

I woke to find rather thick fog, but by the time came to ride up to this week's North Bucks Road Club club event on the Astwood course the fog had pretty much lifted. The same could not be said, however, for Astwood and the time trial course, were the fog was thicker than ever.After a bit of consultation, it was decided to cancel the event due to poor visibility.Oh, and the title refers to my puncture en route to Astwood. This would have been my third event of the 2012 season, and my second puncture while riding to or warming up for an event. 2012 may be shaping up to be classic puncture year.

 I woke to a grey drizzly morning, and then the weather deteriorated into quite heavy showers.  So it was with a distinct lack of enthusiasm that I pedalled up to Astwood for this morning's club time trial.  In fact, by the time I reached the course meeting point, the rain had eased quite a bit (but I was pretty wet and dirty by then).  But the wet and blustery conditions seemed to have deterred most riders, as only four turned out: a pair from Team Corley, Ian  from Chronos RT, and me.  And I was the only rider on a time trial bike.Heading out from the start, I got stopped after only a few yards, due to a line of traffic on the course. I got rolling again, to find that I was fighting a blustery wind all the way down to the first turn at Chicheley.  Never mind, I thought, it'll be easier after the turn.  It wasn't.  In fact the blustery wind didn't seem to give much assistance anywhere, and I felt I made quite slow progress what with taking the corners rather gingerly due to the wet roads, and dodging considerable numbers of muddy patches left by tractors.I finished in 24:42, which I'm quite pleased with... After a short chat with Tony after the event, the rain was back, so I hurriedly cycled back home to get cleaned up. 

Pos	No	Name	Club	Time	Cat	Vets Std	.+ / -	Vets Std
Two up TTT
1	2	Matt Jones	Team Corley Cycles	22.59	S
	1	Mike Smith	Team Corley Cycles		S
Solo TT
1	4	Rob Saunders	NBRC	24.42	V52	26.51	+ 2.09	1
2	3	Ian Markham	Chronos RT	28.08	S