Preston Pirates Open Day & Regional Race 10th/11th August 2013

The final round of The North Regionals was held at Preston Pirates newly built BMX track.  So, at least it would be `new` to everyone giving me a bit of a chance after the disasters of the Bradford races! 

On the Friday before the Races, the club had invited Radio Lancashire down to do an article on the new track.  Me and Tara had gone down for a bit of `extra` practise and ended up being interviewed as well.  I had to laugh at the reporter as she said looking to me and another guy “and here are a few dads, would you give it a go?”  Erm, there I was stood next to my bike and wearing my arm and knee pads.  Perhaps she thought that was normal clothing for walking the streets of Preston?  Here is a link to the interview if you want to listen to Neil Brooks doing his bit for the club.  Click here for the interview. 

The race was to take place on the Sunday but with the track being so new the club had organised an Open Day on the Saturday.  This must have been a big success as it was mega busy with tons of riders from the really quick ones to those borrowing the new club bikes and riding a BMX track for the first time.  Hot and Hectic was all I remember! Here’s a few shots from the Open Day.

Sorry, couldn't get them to go together on this blogger site for some reason!

Race Day

As you may or may not know, I was on my new bike which I was still setting up and was running my old Haro’s wheels so it wasn’t quite the finished bike I had hoped for.  But, it was still much lighter than the old one!!

I’m still amazed at the young kids jumping the way they do.  I have yet to grow a pair and man up enough to try.  
Preston’s first straight is a killer and, in my opinion, if you can’t jump or at least manual proper then you will find yourself miles behind by the time you get to the first berm.  Needless to say I can’t do either so found myself battling with the plastic knee man Mr. David Lindsay whom I seem to beginning to have a fair few battles with!!

Race 1 – Like I said, not being able to get the first straight nailed meant I was probably in 4^th or 5^th coming out of the first berm with Mr. Lindsay in front of me.  

Out of the 2^nd berm and over the steep double I slipped a pedal.  Running Nukeproof Proton pedals as recommended by Shaun Calvert, these pedals are damn grippy but if you do lose your footing because you are riding beyond your limits ( trying too manual !! ) then its difficult to get back into the right position!! 

Needless to say this wobble cost me a couple of positions but I pumped the last rhythm section and 3 of us crossed the line together.

Race 2 – same story as race 1 but this time just coming out of the 2^nd berm my chain came off!!  

Pump, pump, pump down straight 3 and 4 and I even managed to not lose my place – no, I wasn’t last!  The commentator shouted “and look at Darren Nelson pumping like his life depended on it”!!  Made my family and other people laugh!  This seems to be about my level as, some weeks later at coaching, Shaun commented that Tara is a good jumper, but I king of the pumpers!  I do like beans!

Race 3 – now with my chain back on, all I wanted to do finish and have a reasonably clean race.  

Into the 1^st berm I was about 5^th but with the dive bomb technique I mastered at Blackpool ( against David Lindsay, ha ha ) I did it again.  Diving under David I came out 3^rd ( still miles behind the 2 fast guys in front ). 

 Along the 2^nd straight David was just behind me on the inside of me, I could just see him.  Mindful of the last 2 races I perhaps gave him too much room and he returned the favour by getting me on the inside of the next corner.  At least I stayed on!  And that was how it stayed to the line.

Final – God, I’m crap at gates.  

Crapper at manualling!  

Awful start meant I was too far behind David to challenge him at all.  Another race to him of the plastic knee brigade!  I finished 4th.

Overall, considering it was only my 3^rd Regional, a good days racing.  Lots of family support too which was appreciated.  Made even better by my Brother & Sister-In-Law, Sharon & Charlie ( Shaz & Chaz! ) who presented me with a framed picture of my little bike ride from one end of the country to the other that I did with my mate Richard Burt back in April.  960miles in 8 days.  

Thinking about it, I’m not sure what is worse, road biking or BMX-ing!  Maybe I’m not so good at either ( now I sound like my daughter Tara!! ).

Now where’s that book - Idiots Guide to Manualing and Jumping For The Over 40’s Who Should Know Better?

Many thanks to Suzanne McHugh of BMX Widow Photography for the pics too!

Oh and here is mine and Tara's standings for 2013.

Oulton Park 16th June Get On Your Bike Charirty Event

A while ago I saw an advertisement for the chance to ride around Oulton Park motor racing circuit in aid of the North West Air Ambulance on 16th June.  I thought I'd give it a go having been watching motor racing there for many, many years.  The event was called Get On Your Bike.

Its not often you get chance to ride on the same tarmac as such legends at BTCC stars Jason Plato, Matt Neil ( current stars ) or Andy Rouse and John Cleland ( 80s/90s ) and Gerry Marshall ( from the 70s/80s )!!

The day arrived and we set off just after 7am on a dull, windy Sunday morning.
I had entered in the `Speed Demons` 2 hour slot as the rest of the day was being devoted to a more family orientated ride.
I'd borrowed my mate Ric's ( who I did LeJog with in April ) Time Trial bars ( TT Bars ) just to see what a difference it would make.  They'd been a bit awkward to fit as I didn't want to trap the brake/gear cables under the bracketry - my first attempt had the brakes coming on when I turned the bars!
Anyway, they where on, so I might as well give it a go!  First trial ride at home was a bit wobbly to be fair!

To be honest there weren't a lot of us taking part, maybe 30 or so.  The racing circuit looked quite empty except for a few clusters of riders going round as we where so spread out over the entire International Circuit of 2.7miles.

I took the first lap easy to warm up a bit and then went for a fast lap.  Dropping onto the bars I noticed quite an increase in speed without having to pedal any harder. Great, this might be quite a quick lap then!


Turning the first corner ( Old Hall ) I sped down The Avenue on the approach to Cascades which is a slight descent.  The wind was quite strong and so my speed didn't increase by as much as I had expected.  This wind seemed to hold me back all the way to Island Bend and the banked Shell Oils corner.  The next section of the circuit was the chicane called Foulstons and then it was the first climb on the circuit Hill Top.  I say climb but its nothing like the long climbs we would normally attempt but boy was it a bit tough.  When you watch the racing cars climb it you just don't appreciate the angle.  Its only short but its relatively steep so I was out of the saddle trying to keep my momentum up as much as I could.  After that it was the descent into the chicane at Knickerbrook - the place where a lot of overtaking and crashes happen but not for me, I was all alone huffing and puffing!

A quick right, left, right saw me approaching Clay Hill and the next climb.  This time I was well out of the saddle and it was quite an effort to stay above 15mph having dropped many gears in a vain attempt to keep my cadence up!  How I wish I had an engine on this bike!  The bike also started to make some strange clunking noises too!

Approaching Druids I noticed that the marshall was on the outer edge of the circuit which was unusual as all the other ones where in their proper marshall posts.  A quick wave to him as I, probably looking a bit daft, took the racing line around the right hander.  Racing line?  Maybe I think I am in a Touring car or racing bike!!  Well, a slow one as I was only doing maybe 25mph!

Under the bridge and into Lodge Corner where for many years I had watched loads of racing with my mum, dad and brother.  For us, this corner as quite a few good memories of some good racing.  
I can remember when a load of Renault 5's ( yes that long ago ) all crashed side by side into each other and then the last one slammed into the side and rolled over all of them.  

For my mum, however, her memory is good but in bad/strange way.  A very young Jonathon Palmer ( I think in an F3 race? ) crashed heavily into the tyres and had to be cut free.  With no ambulance nearby my mum had to drive him in our car around to the Medical Centre on the inside of the circuit.  Thats her claim to fame, a moaning in agony Jonathon Palmer!  

Wonder if he remembers!  

Maybe we should email him and remind him he owes my mum a favour or three - might get a free go around the track in a race car!

Anyway, I digress.  Back to the cycling.

Lodge Corner descends into a slight dip and climb called Deer Leap which then gets you onto the Finish straight.  I crossed the line wondering now that I'd done a couple of 10mile TT's if I should continue to do another lap - I'd only done 2.7miles so I should be able to, right?  Nope, as soon as that wind hit me I gave up.

So that was it.  A lap of Oulton Park.  Done.

And that was what I did for most of the time.  One fast lap.  One slow lap.  Quite funny pedalling past people whilst in the TT position only for them to come past you on the next lap as you trundled along.

My fastest lap?  Well, no were near what the proper racers do but still quite a respectable 22mph average in 7mins 7 secs.

Overall, though, I have to say it was worth the experience.  Billiard table smooth tarmac is a dream to ride on.  How I wish the British roads could be more like a racing circuit!

BMX Racing - Blackpool Regional 23rd June ( The North Round 6 )

Oh dear what have I done?
After the fun of the BMXical Intensive Training session mid week, Bike Widow Photographer Suzanne McHugh talked me into racing at the weekend at the same track as I had been practising on with Tara, my daughter.
She very kindly said she would sort me a plate out as well.  So, I pre-registered on the British Cycling website and waited for Sunday to arrive.
You might ask what I was racing in.  Cruisers 40-44.  And Experts to boot as well.  In my mind I couldn't race Novice even though I hadn't raced in 27 years.  I knew I'd be a bit rusty with the old race craft but it was the only way to go...I think.

With the rush of when deciding to race and the actual race taking place I didn't have time to get some race pants, just a race top from Ghost Bikes in Preston.  I'd tried a few Moto-X race pants on at Ghost Bikes but found them to be ridiculously short in length.  Inches short!  Leg length isn't too much of an issue if you're using them for Moto-X as your boots will cover the lower part up.  Unfortunately I wasn't going to be wearing Moto-X boots as thats not exactly practical for BMX racing.  I would be wearing my trusty Vans and half mast pants wasn't going to be an option.  I didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb - you can just imagine the respected BMXers all laughing and joking about the middle aged man in half mast pants.  Of course I have a reputation to uphold from 30 years ago!!

Once we'd sorted where we would be watching from when not racing, I went to find Suzanne for my race plate.  I was given an empty white piece of plastic but no numbers as there had been a mix up in communication and Suzanne thought Mark was bringing the printed numbers but he hadn't.  Then he remembered they might be in his car so he promised to drop it off later on after his daughter had done her practising.  Otherwise I would be writing the numbers on with Biro!




My plate arrived and it got put straight on the bike.  Me and Alan ( Cranshaw - Molly's dad ) tried to get the backing off but it wouldn't come off so, as you can see, I had pink numbers!  Wet it and stick it on where the instructions.  When its dry it won't come off.  I later found out that the backing was supposed to be removed and the numbers are, in fact, white - what a wally!






Practise.  
A couple times round highlighted that some of these riders are quick.  Damn quick.  Then it was Gate Practise.  I did a few to get back in the swing of things, you know, just to be cool.  Cough cough.  In reality, the few gates I did was enough for me.  Didn't want to be too tired for the race, did I?

Race 1.
Lining up in the pens apparently Shaun ( Calvert ) thought it was hilarious I'd come back to racing.  Thanks Shaun. 

I felt a little out of it in my jeans as everyone else was in proper race gear of one sort or another.  Whether it was good or not, I knew a few riders and had to face Andy Hill in my first race - he isn't too bad a rider it has to be said!  

Out of the gate after a poor start I pedalled as fast as I dare over the first couple of jumps diving ot the inside of John Hines where I seem to become Lisa `Elbows Out` Hilton and had a tussle with John - all I heard was an "aarr" from him as we banged into each other.  Welcome to BMX racing!.  He powered out of the corner better than me and I then tried to keep up with him by bouncing around the track in a vain attempt not to come last. 

I finished 6th.  
And with a very dry mouth and burning legs.  

Considering its only 0.3miles around ( I'd previously used my Garmin road GPS device to map a couple of laps ) its damn hard work.  Harder than I remember. I wondered how I would cope with another 3 races.  
Thinking about it, had I tried too hard ( rather than pump ) or wasn't I properly warmed up ( like you have to in road biking )?  Not sure.  I'm sure I looked a little unstable to onlookers!  But at least I wasn't last!

Race 2.
I can't remember too much about this race except for my daughter Tara shouting good luck at me from across the pens!  Again I had to race Andy Hill. No easy races here for the New Boy!  I had a slightly better start this time.  Slightly.  

But I'm not so old that it should be Black N White - haha

I know I'm Old Skool

The last corner is quite a fast tight one and I nearly, very nearly came to grief as my front wheel decided to go its own way.  Apparently nobody knows how I managed to hold it ( wife Justine, Friends Neil and Alan all cheering me on ), but I did.  Must still have the skills.......ha ha.  This time I was 4th!

Race 3.
Again, from the pens Tara wished me luck. She's a star isn't she!
This time I seemed to be a bit more relaxed and enjoyed the race much more. 

That might have been because I did an awesome move against Bike Widow Team rider David Lindsay on the last corner.  Remember I nearly came to grief last time out?  Well, that didn't stop me diving down tight in the corner and underneath David, pushing him high.  All I could hear all the way down the final straight was him laughing at my move.

Position 3!!

What's nice about us `older` guys racing is the sportmanship after the race.  A pat on the back or a handshake is nice to see.  I certainly don't remember that back in the day.  David certainly seemed impressed by my move!

Now, for those of you who don't know a BMX race consist of upto 8 riders.  If there is more than 8 a number of heats ( or Motos ) are run depending upon how many riders have entered that particular group.  In my case, this time, there was 13 of us.  So, we had 2 heats with 6 in one race and 7 in the other.  At the end of the 3 races everybodies points are added up based on their finishing positions ( First gets 1 point, Seconds gets 2 points, etc ).  The top 8 riders then get to race in the A Final, the rest going in the B Final.
Amazingly I had made the A final as the 8th rider.  More than happy with that achievement on my return after all these years!

The A Final.
Being the 8th rider meant I was last to get a gate.  What happens is the best rider gets to pick his gate first with the rest following in order until the last rider ( me ) gets left with the worst gate.  In this case Gate 8 is the worse as its on the outside for the first corner.  I'm not used to this as we used to draw pegs for the gates so it was very random and more fair.  Maybe?
I had to make a good start.
Sat on the gate everyone was getting set up and balancing in their ready to go positions but Bike Widow rider Ric Sealey decided to flip over his bike on the first double on the second straight which meant we had a bit of a wait.  Luckily he wasn't too badly injured.
By this time all I could hear was my heart thump thumping.  I seem to remember being quite shakey on the gate once we got stood up again. 
The start was shocking as this picture shows.  I'm just giving them a head start! 

Needless to say it was a tough race.  I'd caught them back up by the first corner - might even have been in front of a few, but I was on the outside and got stuck behind Geoff McHugh ( Bike Widows husband ). 
I tried to dive to the left of him along the second straight into the head wind but couldn't get him.

Thinking like an F1 driver ( ha ha ) I thought about where I could get him further up the track - trying to plan a move in advance.  If I stay wider at the second corner I can pedal around it and might have a bit more speed along the third straight, I thought.  Worth a try.  So I did it as Geoff went defensive.  It worked.  Then right on the line I got John Hines as he had seemingly given up but I have been taught to race to the line no matter what so I did.

A 6th place was a great achievement for a rusty old dude as I seem to be now known as!

Really happy with the day.  Blackpool is a great track.  Its also one of the longest as well.

So do I carry on?

Special thanks to Suzanne for the Bike Widow race plate and her excellent photographs.

As an aside, I have to say that I feel a bit dissappointed for my daughter Tara.  There was only 9 in her race which meant there was a heat of 4 riders and a heat of 5.  Tara's first race was with 5 riders and she came 4th.  The other races she came 5th out of 5. This meant she had 14 points ( 4+5+5).  Now the other girl raced Tara in the first race but Tara beat her so she finished 5th.  The way the draw had worked out meant this other girl would then be racing 3 other riders in the next 2 races in which she came last in both.  So she ended up with 13 points (5+4+4) meaning she got to race in the final.  I was gutted for Tara.  Not only had she beaten this other girl the only time they'd raced against each other, she didn't really stand a chance of getting in the final as she never got to race againt only 3 other riders.  I don't think that is fair.  Maybe I should let the organiser know my feelings for what its worth?

BMX - Original Old Skooler returns......

A while ago I took my daughter Tara down to Preston Pirates BMX track to see if she would like to have a go at it like Daddy used to do.  Now she has just started racing this year and has competed in the last 2 rounds of the Preston Pirates Winter Series ( almost winning her debut race but losing out by a wheel to Jessica Briggs ) in the 10-12yr old Novice Females.  She has now progressed up to the Expert class and ridden at The North Regionals in Lytham and Leeds.  It isn't easy but at least she is enjoying it.

So, because I used to race BMX during 1980 and 1986ish, I bought a cruiser to help encourage Tara when we went practising at our local BMX track mid-week.  For those not aware, a cruiser is a bigger version of the nromal BMX.  Standard BMX's have 20" wheels whereas a Cruiser has 24" wheels.  They are supposed to be more forgiving I'm told?

To be honest it was quite scary the first couple of go's.  Even though our Club track is Preston Pirates, our local track is actually Blackpool ( Stanley Park ) and its a fast long track with some big jumps. Gaining confidence bit by bit both myself and Tara took part in Preston's coach Shaun Calvert's Intensive Training session at Blackpool on Weds night ( 19th June ).

It was mental.  Absolutely knackering.  Shaun's training involved us doing a variety of different activities in a bid to improve our bike skills and fitness

The first activity involved us doing gates 2 at a time chasing your partner around the full track at racing speed.  That was quite tiring in itself!  Water, I need water!  Just staying on the bike at these speeds takes some getting used to.  Its been 27 years since I've ridden a BMX!  I still haven't got the bottle to jump properly and only just starting to be able to lift the front wheel to sort of Manual over a jump.  Having said that, after some advice by Shaun to lift my bars bar turnign over the stem, the lifting is a little easier.  A little!  Those that can manual proper look awesome and so smooth.  I'm just about hanging on and more often than not, banging the front wheel againt the upside of the second jump!  I guess it will come with more practise!
My training partner Russ seemed quite suprised at my speed - I'll take that as a compliment!!

 

After that we had to ride our bikes on a grass course marked out by cones.  The idea being because the corners were tight you would need to use your arms to pull on the bars and accelerate out of the corner.  Again this was racing against your partner.  We also had a bamboo cane or 2 to bunny hop over along each straight!!  Not that I'm competitive or anything but I would have won each go had I not gone down like a sack of spuds at the 2nd corner leaving Russ to take an easy victory.  Shaun thought it hilarious that the first to crash was an original old skooler!  More water needed too!

Back to the track we all lined up on the first jump facing the start hill.  The idea was we had to roll ( free wheel ) down the first jump and when Shaun shouted `Go` we pedalled hard up the start hill.  Again, good solid practising for using your upper strength to acclerate the bike.  I don't think Lisa Hilton liked it too much as she didn't always make it to the top - I think she was saving herself for later!

I think we did some more racing around the track but as I'm getting on a bit, the memory isn't quite the same!

To finish we had a relay race around the grass course.  What a laugh this turned out to be.  Great team building and making friends.

Russ Clegg we already knew from our little evening sessions ( in the jeans )

Richard Sealey ( in black and white )

You can just see me in this photo over the first jump!

 

Lisa ( Elbows Out ) Hilton

Amanda ( I need the loo ) Stileman

 

Michael O Murcho ( on the right, tongue hanging out, going to get ya! )

Andy Hill ( who apparently knew my name and used to race back in the day as well against the likes of Wayne Llewellyn, etc.  Andy, I haven't seen you name in any of the old BMX Bi-Weekly mags I've just found on the internet!!).  He's in the red/blue Sky jersey

 

Coach told us what we should do but, of course being the kids we all were, none of us listened to him so I suggested he showed us what to do. Good on Shaun for showing us!

I, of course, make a fool of myself at the same corner as I crashed out on, on my bike. This time on foot!  Unfortunately for me, but not for everyone else, Bike Widow Photographer Suzanne McHugh was on hand to capture the evidence.  Cheers, really appreciated! He he.   It was the cone that jumped out at me, honest!

Ric and Lisa then decided to have a little scrap much to the amusement of the rest of us!

 

Fancy being picked on by a girl, Ric!

At the end I had jelly legs.  Considering I class myself as fit with all the road cycling I have done, BMX is completely different and, obviously, uses different muscles.  Hard work but good fun.

Big thanks to Shaun for the session.  Thanks to Suzanne for the excellent photos and many thanks to Molly's mum Diana `The Bag Lady` Cranshaw for looking after our water bottles!!

Back for more?  Maybe.........