Pre race preperation...

Saturday morning was to be a spin out on the road bike to loosen the legs up in preperation for sundays racing...

I had planned to go out on my own and devise something around 20 miles and relatively flat as i know these rides are meant to be gentle but my brain won't ever let me ride my bike like that so its always all or nothing.. at least if it was flat i couldn't work myself too bad.

As it happened 8.40am got a text from my road riding and racing good friend Stuart... he was back from working away and wanted to go out on Clarion club run.. perfect as it would be relaxed and any efforts to raise the pace would be reigned in by the other riders out for a more sociable run.
Stuart (Pryce) was my motivation this year to get road racing and get the 3rd cat license, we had set the target of getting on the bottom rung of the road racing ladder at the start of the year.. and by july we had got there..me with a cheeky bandit effort travelling to win a race in another region and Stuart with a more consistent campaign with a few top finishes... anyway he's smaller and lighter than me, kicks my arse on climbs and can always find the right wheel in a sprint so i gotta take all the chances i get..

The run was fairly local and at a really steady pace.. me and Stuart peeled off and rode the last 15ish miles on our own at brisk pace but still being able to hold a good conversation about the world of geotech engineering... sounds dull but hey i'm studying it and its good to talk to someone in industry..

Got home with a nice 50 miles done.... a little more than i wanted but at a steadier pace then i would have done on my own so in the long run a better choice..

Managed to get bike to bike shop in afternoon to fit the SUPERSTAR Components BB and Headset....

Dave at TSW Cycles fired them in quick smart and they look and work great, got Dave to set my bike up so i could get full range of rear cassette from the big ring... I knew from experience that i wouldn't need to use the middle ring at Thetford and from a mental point of view i love to be in the big ring, makes me feel fast.. stupid i know but every little helps.

Rounded the days preperation of by watch 'The Flying Scotsman' .. not the train but Graham Obree.. the man is a living legend.. he truly is a machine, its a must see film for any cyclist or anybody in general really.. touches some delicate aspects of his life but true strength of the man has seen him though with support from loved ones and he is a truly great cyclist.. an underdog... hell he embodies the Shoestring Racing concept.. he did what he had to do with what he had.. and came out on top.