no not the company, the ice and snow.
As other friends have commented, Ramon and Rob. So far this winter is turning into a bumper and the Christmas pudding hasn't even been covered in brand and set alight.
The UK is gripped by a fantastic winter and whilst others complain and find it hard to deal with, I am pinning for the horrendous walkins, the spindrift and the hot aches. I have seen friends posts about some great success (Rob) and have many things to look forward to, like 5 days away with Nik seeing what is in, accessible and climable. Then Jan is a law to itself, watch condition and try to get a couple of weekends, pulling, scrapping and teetering up some challenging fear inducing routes.
As others head for the comfort of Christmas' eating, drinking and relaxing, it is likely the training for a certain trip to Kandersteg will increase, both in and "around" the home and at un-disclosed locations across the South of England. Then end of Feb and March are bound to bring further bounty in the hills and mountains of the UK. I am getting very excited!
So I cross my fingers for the cold conditions to remain, to my friends off to comps - wishes of great success and to all safe and uber winter climbing trips and adventures.
It is so close now I can feel the spindrift trickling down the back of my neck and into my jacket.
S
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Brass Monkey Rnd 1
A quick round up.
It was cold as expected as I arrived and found Phil (who dived smartly for the warmth of his car to await his race) and then Roly, racing the 4 hrs also.
My chosen weapon was the SIR 9 SS, which would be a mistake. Perfectly warmed up and organised I lined up and we were soon under way. The course was frozen solid in mant parts and had far too much bitumen and fireroad for a SS to be competitive.
Having said that the course was still technical in parts and well designed, maybe the course design was due to the disaster of the frickin wet and wild first round last year. Disaster is mabe a bit strong but it was a tough race.
It was apparent this was going to be a fast race and it certainly turned out that way. Whilst the first 1.5 laps went well, a recurring problem reappeared. The curse of the sinking seat post, frustrated I stopped tightened and promptly snapped the seat pin. Half a lap out of the saddle was bound to hurt.
As I lost time both from the incident and the repair, I lost contact with the other SS races, in total about 15 minutes was lost and the repair had not done the job, twice I had to raise the saddle and gingerly tighten the pin.
During my chaos Roly and I passed each other a few times, but both managed to finish within a few minutes of each other on 6 laps a lap down on the winners.
Whilst a bit frustrated, 29th with the problems I had on a fast track isn't too much to complain about.
Next race 28th and should be a SS 29er dream, but just in case te guys at Cycleworks and I have a backup plan. Fingers crossed for a better result.
S
It was cold as expected as I arrived and found Phil (who dived smartly for the warmth of his car to await his race) and then Roly, racing the 4 hrs also.
My chosen weapon was the SIR 9 SS, which would be a mistake. Perfectly warmed up and organised I lined up and we were soon under way. The course was frozen solid in mant parts and had far too much bitumen and fireroad for a SS to be competitive.
Having said that the course was still technical in parts and well designed, maybe the course design was due to the disaster of the frickin wet and wild first round last year. Disaster is mabe a bit strong but it was a tough race.
It was apparent this was going to be a fast race and it certainly turned out that way. Whilst the first 1.5 laps went well, a recurring problem reappeared. The curse of the sinking seat post, frustrated I stopped tightened and promptly snapped the seat pin. Half a lap out of the saddle was bound to hurt.
As I lost time both from the incident and the repair, I lost contact with the other SS races, in total about 15 minutes was lost and the repair had not done the job, twice I had to raise the saddle and gingerly tighten the pin.
During my chaos Roly and I passed each other a few times, but both managed to finish within a few minutes of each other on 6 laps a lap down on the winners.
Whilst a bit frustrated, 29th with the problems I had on a fast track isn't too much to complain about.
Next race 28th and should be a SS 29er dream, but just in case te guys at Cycleworks and I have a backup plan. Fingers crossed for a better result.
S
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