The First Post

The first post should be something interesting, something worthwhile right? Ah, well not this one. Here I'm just going to talk about why I've set up this blog.

Firstly, it's a really good way of tracking my progress. It will allow me to look back at the races I've run and how I felt after and during them. Otherwise I'm sure they'll all just blur into one hazy mess of high speed lunacy.

Secondly, it lets me get my opinions about cycling news down on paper and out there, instead of crammed up in my head. With cycling becoming more and more modern it's inevitable that the media attention has shifted. From focussing purely on the races and results in the past, to looking more socially at the sport and discussing the personal lives of the athletes. This means that a shit storm will stir up every now and again over some doping control tests, or some outrageous crime committed in the peloton. No doubt I'll want my say in it.

I'd also like to give some context to this blog. This is my first year racing properly, I entered one race last year. It was the junior category at the MK Bowl, long story short: it was hard, I wasn't prepared, I didn't like it and I gave up after the first lap. I had no idea how fast it was going to be and how serious people would be taking it. I had expected to turn up and be racing against a bunch of guys my age or younger. I thought they'd be on rickety old steelies handed down by their grandfathers. Meanwhile I, on my flash new Giant Defy, would toast them easily! How wrong I was. Despite the fact the category I'd entered was for the under 16s I'm fairly certain I was the only one who fitted the bill. Everyone else was significantly taller and older looking. They thrashed me on their slick carbon racers. 

I didn't race again for over a year. This time I raced in the senior 4th Cat race*. This was a much better choice, the guys were more experienced and not so prone to crazy manoeuvres. Also I had improved significantly and was much better prepared. I'd like to point out that I've only raced in 4 races this year, so I'm not at all experienced, and that brings me onto my final reason for starting the blog. I'd like to share the experience of coming into the cycling world and starting racing from the perspective of an over excited and inexperienced, young rider. 

My third race of the season, and my mild breakaway success. To be quite honest I don't
think they were pushing particularly hard to pull me back. But it felt phenomenal, I had
broken away and was leading and adult race all on my own. I survived for 2 laps before
being caught just before the bell lap.  *If you're not familiar with how the British Cycling
racing system works the adult categories go 4/3/2/1/Elite. 4th being entry level.
[Photo credit: Ashley Lewis]