Scottish Road Race Championships 2011

The Scottish Road Race champs were held on Sunday over 12 laps of an 11km circuit at Balfron.  Fortunately although the weather was pretty poor for the womens race in the morning, by the afternoon the sun had come out and although it was very windy we had some good conditions for the race.  The race had a full field of 80 riders with most of the best Scottish riders taking part (the exception being James McCallum who was racing elsewhere).  Our Velo Ecosse team had a decent number of riders taking part again, with the usual guys - me, Eddie, Phil, Lewis and Tom.  I was also surprised and pleased to see Fin return after his crash at Tour Doon Hame.  Stirling Bike Club were well represented as well which was good, with Richard, Eddie and Mark all lined up.

We had a chat pre-race about tactics and the view was that judging by the circuit, and how recent races had played out, that the early break away attempts would most likely get chased down and it would take some time for a break to form.  We judged that the guys to watch were Evan Oliphant, Robbie Hassan and Michael Nicholson - we figured these guys were the key riders and the break would form with them.  The plan was to conserve as much as possible for the first 50 miles (6-8 laps) before doing anything aggressive.  I was pretty happy with these tactics, as I agreed that the early breaks were unlikely to stick, and following the Sam Robinson the previous weekend (when my legs died toward the end) it made sense to be conservative.

The race started with a climb to Boquhan followed by a fast rolling section toward Fintry.  I was just following wheels in the bunch, making no effort to attack, and letting others chase after moves.  I therefore wasn't really paying full attention when a group of 8 or so formed on the up wind section coming back toward Balfron.  The group steadily pulled away, but I wasnt fully aware exactly who was in it.  I could still see Robbie and Michael in the bunch, so I thought "when they go i'll go with them, and we can bridge across, or maybe the break will still get pulled back later anyway".  With some many riders in the bunch it took a hwile to work out that Evan was in the break, plus some strong time trialists (Arthur Doyle, Ali Robinson, Ali Thomson) and 2009 Scottish Champ Ross Creber.

The gap gradually stretched out, and I made a several attempts to get clear of the bunch and form a chase group.  Eventually after several laps trying we got a group of about 10 away, including 4 Endura (Hassan, Young, McCrossan and Cowie), Paul Coates (Via Manzini) Craig Adams (JLS Racing), Ross Crook (ERC) and Peter Murdoch (Cyclelane).  We started working together pretty well together, and made some small inroads into the breaks lead, bringing it back from 2mins to 90seconds.  It was obvious that some of the guys either didn't have the legs for it or didn't have the belief as more and more often riders were missing spells and the chain kept breaking.  The gap to the break then went beyond what we could close, quickly going out to 3 minutes.

Robbie and I were becoming increasingly frustrated with the other guys in the break and made a few attempts to get away together, but it seemed that although the other riders were unable to work to close down the leaders, they did have the legs to chase after us.  Eventually our group did break up.  I ended up with the 2 Murdochs, but by that stage it was race over and we were just hoping we might catch some riders dropped from the break.  I wasn't especially happy riding with 2 big riders from the same team, but I felt pretty good and at least capable of staying with them to sprint it out at the finish.

Up front Evan had dropped his break away companions with a 2 laps to go apparently, and rode to a solo victory.  Very impressive!  Gary Hand took 2nd and Ross Creber 3rd.  We eventually caught Ali McNicol who'd been dropped from the break, but managed to sit in behind us.  The final sprint up Balfron High Street was pretty cool, lined with crowds.  I was expecting it to be tougher and had selected the wrong gear so had to change down mid sprint, which didn't help and took 3rd from our group of 4, and 11th overall. Behind us the bunch were wheeling round.  Eddie made several attempts to get away, but couldnt shake off the pack.  He put up a good sprint though and got 18th.

I was pretty disappointed with how it worked out as I felt strong enough to beat a lot of the gus in the top 10, however I wasn't paying enough attention and strayed away from my usual tactics of attacking early.  Leason learned hopfully.

May Racing

Its pretty much core race season in Scotland at the moment.  Classic Scottish road races, one after the other throughout late April, May and into June.  Pretty grueling on the legs, and also requiring a fairly sympathetic family if you intend to ride every weekend.

Looking back at the races complete I'm pretty happy with most of the results I've had.  Aside from Giford where I DNF I had a good string of strong finishes in the early season races.  The Duncan McGregor RR, and Sam Robinson RR yesterday were both really tough and I felt although I rode to reasonable results I had to really battle to get there, and maybe hoped to have done slightly better.  In the Duncan McGregor RR I was unlucky to puncture, but had been working hard even before that.  The Sam Robinson RR yesterday was considerably tougher than the previous year.  The extra lap of the finishing circuit is a real killer, as it adds a lot of climbing and several more miles at a time when most folk are already near their limit.  When I rode it last year I did well, luck was on my side, and finished 2nd behind Evan.  This year I think the overall competition was perhaps stronger, the course and weather harder and I suffered toward the end to finish 6th.

Coming back from the finish at the Sam I took the opportunity to do a lap of the course that will be used for the Scottish Road Race Championships this Sunday.  The course is an 11Km circuit at Balfron which we'll complete 12 times.  Although the circuit doesnt have a big climb on it, the cummulative miles and undulations are going to make it a very hard race.  It will no doubt be super fast at the start, and with a lot of corners I expect there will be a lot of sprinting just to hang onto wheels early in the race never mind trying to get into a break.  To make it harder it seems like the two main uphill sections on the circuit will be up wind.  This will make it harder to break, as riders behind will get a drafting advantage making it easier to close on the riders infront.

The finish is particularly brutal.  There is a fast downhill, pothole covered section, before a 90degree right hand turn onto Balfron highstreet.  The finish is then about 200-300 metres up an increasingly steep hill.  By the finish I'm pretty sure the race will be in bits anyway, but that last kick to the line will be horrible.  Riding it after doing yesterdays race gave a good indication of how my legs might feel - not good!  At the last 2 races James and Ben from Rapha have been the 2 men to watch, however neither are riding on Sunday.  They'll be replaced by other strong riders though, for example Evan Oliphant (Endura) and Michael Nicholson is returning from Belgium to race.  Based on my current form I think a top 10 is achieveable, the closer to the top the better.

After that I've got the Scottish 10mile TT champs to look forward to the weekend after, and then the next Super6 in Ayrshire the weekend after that.... exhausting!

Duncan McGregor Memorial Road Race

Quick write up from yesterdays Super6 RR in Fife.  The Duncan McGregor RR is run on a hilly circuit near Leven in Fife.  I've done it twice before and always found it pretty tough going but I do like the circuit.  This year its a month later than previous seasons so I've got more race miles in my legs and was hoping for a decent finish after riding well in several of my last races.  The weather on the drive through was terrible - torrential downpoors of rain, so heavy the road disappeared at time.  In between the sun was coming out though, so a real mix of weather.


The race started in typical fashion with riders going up the road trying to form a break and these getting chased down, and everyone looking at one another to see who'll jump next.  I went in several of these and some of them seemed quite promising, but the bunch was strong and not wanting to let anything go.  Each time I came back to the bunch it was clear that it was being whittled down.  Having started at about 70-80 riders by the start of lap 2 there were maybe 40-50 left.  Eventually on the back of lap 2 a break did get up the road.  Unfortunately, despite trying to get on Ben Greenwoods wheel to bridge across to it I didn't manage and was in the bunch watching the break ride away.  They gradually pulled out a reasonable gap, but were never too far up the road.  There was some half-arsed collaboration to try and bring the break back, but it was clear the only way a group of rider would work together was if it was a small group, so there was a lot of attacking to try and get free.  Up front the break can't have been working too well as they were still in sight despite the faffing in the bunch.

The break was infact pulled back at the start of the mini circuit that you do halfway round the 3rd lap, just after the most horrific rain shower.  The mini circuit features a pretty big climb and with the race pretty much back together it seemed likely that this was where it would be decided.  Unfortunately at the foot of the climb there was a loud pop and my rear tyre immediately went flat.  I kept going till the bunch had past, and got service from the service vehicle while trying not to panic.  The car towed me back up to the rear of the convoy and I made my way back through it as fast as I could, but the bunch had split up on the climb so I had to weave through riders and then bridge across a large gap to get to the lead group.  I was just recovering and adjusting my rear brake when a group of 7 or 8 jumped of the front.  It took a while for them to get away and I burried myself to try and go with them, but my legs just werent having it and i dangled for a bit before drifting back to the remains of the bunch (only about 12 riders by this stage)

Once again there was a lot of folk sitting on and only 2 or 3 willing to try and get over to the lead group.  Realisticaly I should have sat in a bit more at this stage.  The race came round over the brow of the hill before the final desent toward the finish and there was a strong cross wind, so at this point myself and a few others managed to break clear.  We worked pretty well together, but there was no way back to the lead group.  I took 3rd in the sprint from our group of 7, so 10th overall, which considering the puncture isn't too bad.  James McCallum took another impressive win, he's going well just now, better than i've seen him ride in previous years.  I've no pictures from the race

Next races coming up are a 10TT at Cambusbarron on Wednesday night, and the Sam Robinson RR this Sunday.  The 10 will be my 1st of the year and a good practice before the Scottish 10 champs at the end of May.  I've finally got my hands of a proper TT bike so i'm looking forward to trying it out.  The Sam Robinson RR at Balfron is another local race, and one of my favourites, taking in the Dukes Pass.  I expect it'll be another hotly contested race especially as the organiser has got £200 up for 1st place.  Rather annoyingly the race has been categorised as RegionalC+ on British Cycling, which means the points are rubbish.  I don't know why the organiser would do this as its unlikely any 4th cat riders would consider racing it anyway.  I'm not chasing points this year, but it does seem a bit frustrating.

Tour Doon Hame: Stage 3

Another cracking day today with brilliant weather and some fun racing. Todays stage started in Dumfries again and finished in Castle Douglas. Going round to the north over the moors past Moniave the terrain was quite hilly again today and probably slightly tougher than Sunday.

We were all expecting a brutal stage as Rapha and Endura tried to over turn the slim lead held by Raleighs Matt Cronshaw and it did start very fast however the Rapha rider Zak something or other took an intermediate sprint and a time bonus early in the stage which put them in the lead and they controled the pace from then on. It ramprd up again with about 30miles to go which resulted in a split but luckily I was near the front at the time and stayed the right side of it.

Coming into the finish there was a nasty sting with about 5miles to go in the form of a steep climb which finished off a number of other riders. So coming into the finish I was in a group of about 50 riders. Despite having good intentions of contesting the sprint, when it came to it my legs were cooked and I rolled in near the back of the group in 45place. I didn't loose any time however while a lot of others did so moved up the GC to 55th overall. Not an incredible result but I'm happy enough with it. Tomorrow will be a shock having to go back to work!
Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com

Tour Doon Hame: Stage 2

Much better race today! The sun came out and it was a great stage starting and finishing in Dumfries. The stage ran back up through Wanlochhead again going over the Dalveen Pass then the Mennock Pass again. After those hills it was a run round by Monaive along some windy wee roads back to Dumfries for a super fast sprint finish by the river side.
After the first 10miles or so my legs loosened up a bit and felt ok. Unfortunately my team mate Fin was brought down in the Neutralised zone at the start and broke his arm/elbow. We saw him at the end with a stookie on so must have been nasty.

Dalveen Pass was actually pretty good. I felt really comfortable going up and was the right side of a split going over the top. Coming down the other side was actually harder though, as there was a cross wind and the speed picked right up so only just managed to hang on. The groups came together before the climb up to Leadhills anyway and that was ridden at a pretty comfortable pace too.

I seem to be finding I'm fine going up the hills and can easily move up the bunch then, but on the flat or downhill when the speed is really high I struggle to hold my position and drift back. So I spend the race trying to move up on the hills then drifting back on the decents. Pretty annoying and a lot of wasted effort, but unfortunately I'm not great riding in large fast peletons.

The finish in Dumfries was pretty exciting too. It was absolutely flat out into town through a few suburbs dodging parked cars and traffic islands round a few sweeping turns and down by the river across the line. The bunch was still pretty big at around 100riders but I did my best to get as far forward as I could, although even then only managed 57 place! Pretty happy with the day though, much more my kind of weather. Tomorrow looks like it might be a tough one again but I'll be happy to keep out of trouble again and get to the finish as best I can
Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com

Tour Doon Hame: Stage 1

Brutal, savage, hardest race I've ever ridden. Stage 1 on paper looked like the hardest stage and the weather today only made it tougher. 3 cat 1 climbs and 92 miles in the pissing rain. At the finish there were riders climbing into the showers fully clothed almost hypothermic, myself included! It took me about half an hour to stop shivering.
It had started off pretty warm and only a bit damp but as the race progressed in started chucking it down and the temperature seemed to drop too. Once you're soaked through its almost impossible to stay warm anyway.

The pace was brutal. Compared to an average Scottish race it was a completely different game. Up the first few climbs I found it manageable but it was on the flat and the downhills I really found myself struggling to hang onto a wheel. Moving up the bunch was such an effort and once you've moved up you're almost immediately going back again. I kept finding myself in the last 20 riders sprinting to close gaps.

The race really seemed to blow appart on the desent prior to the climb up to the mennock pass. The pace had been flat out for the previous 20miles and folk were getting tired and cold. Going up the Mennock it broke up further. I cracked on the desent losing contact with the group I was in. I think the cold affected me pretty badly and also the relentless pace.

The race was puncture tastic and there were several crashes due to the wet roads. Luckily I managed to avoid both today although I only just missed one crash early in the race and had to chase back on, luckily getting back into the bunch on one of the climbs. Hopefully I'll stay lucky tomorrow. I finished the stage on my own in the end 8minutes behind the winner. Not too bad considering but only go enough for 85 place!
Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com

Tour Doon Hame

Scotlands biggest road race event is this weekend and after a bit of uncertainty it looks like we're actually going!  3 days, 270miles and feck knows how much climbing!  I'm looking forward to it and excited but nervous.  Last years experience of the event was one to forget, failing to finish stage 1 after a double puncture and having to spectate for the following 2 days.  Hopefully this year, as part of a proper team and a lot more support it'll be a different story.

The event is based around Dumfries.  Stage 1 starts and finishes at Moffat and takes in some decent climbs around Wanlochhead.  Stage 2 is run around the hills again this time north of Dumfries itself and Stage 3 is further west again, this time finishing in Castle Douglas.  Theres 140 riders entered, ranging from hobby riders like myself to full time contiinental Pros and even ex Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backsted.  From my point of view its one of the simplest events of the year - theres 2 objectives: 1. Avoid crashing 2. Avoid getting dropped.  Theres no expectation that I try and get in a break, win a prime etc, just finishing will be an achievement and from that point of view its quite nice.

Looking back to last year what I'm not looking forward to is the stress of riding in the bunch.  Although theres a full police escort and rolling road closure, riding in a bunch of 140 at 30+mph is stressful.  Last years experience although brief was useful.  One of the things I learns was that the amount of time you can loose on the hills is enormous compared to how little you loose in a small split on a flatter stage.  Loosing 5minutes is nothing and not worth stressing about - at the end of the hilly stages riders will be 30-40+ minutes down!

Looking at the start list I think Endura look like the strongest team.  I'd pick their rider Jack Bauer (2nd last year) for the GC.  Lots more information at http://www.tourdoonhame.info

Break building

The break climb the Whistlefield on lap2. pic courtesy of PaulH via flickr

I've gone a bit blog tastic recently, but there seems to have been plenty to blog about!  As well as the excitement of mothers day yesterday there was also round 2 of the Super6 at Helensburgh.  2 weeks since my last race and a month on from the black day at Giford, the race at Rosneth was a sucessfuly day out.  I didn't quite win, but pre race the target was a top-ten, so getting on the podium was great.

The race started and finished in Helensburgh with the race involving a run up to Gareloch, the three laps of a circuit taking in Coulport, Cove, Rosneth and the Whistlefield climb back at Gareloch.  So a pretty demanding course to go with the impressive entry list, featuring 4 of the Scottish Commonwealth Delhi Games Road team plus all the other usual big names.

The first lap was pretty full on.  I find the start of races one of the hardest parts.  Everyone is fresh, and determined to get themselves in the break.  The general format for Scottish road race is a break will get away up the road, work together to open a huge gap and its game over for the bunch.  So the presure to get in the break is high.  The first few breaks are often chased down, but that doesn't mean you can just sit in and wait because then you might miss it.  The hope is others will chase and tire faster than you do, which is when you need to strike, making a big gap as fast as possible, therefore discouraging others from trying to bridge.  At the same time you want others to come with you as you cant ride the race alone, you need others to help.  You also need riders from each of the strong teams there, otherwise you can be sure there will be others in the bunch chasing you down.

So the effort getting into the break and making it stick is huge and repeated. Since the first few breaks won't always stick you need to be able to get in there, then recover, and potentially go again several times more, which is why its often called a selection.  Whose the strongest? Are each of the teams represented?  Are the riders willing and able to work together?  Although the course for yesterdays race involved a lot of hills, the breaks weren't made on the uphills.  When the break that finally stuck went the group I'd been in had just been pulled back as we crested a hill on lap 2.  Counter attacking is often a good idea, so myself and a few others who had recovered quickly after the climb nailed it down the decent as fast as we could.  So the break was made on the descent rather than the climb.  The ability to get in the break I think was due to being able to recover quickly.  I think this is partly why doing hill reps helps.  You bury yourself on the way up then get a limited time to recover riding back down, before doing it again.

Tour of Flanders

What a brilliant race! There seem to be too few big pro road races where the big favorites have to stick their necks out and make aggressive bold moves. the closing 40K of yesterdays Ronde was brilliant. Dave Harmon described it ad being like a club race and I think that's exactly what it was. Like a boxing match the riders took it in turn to hammer each other. Cancellara was absolutely awesome once again despite not managing a repeat of last year.

Chavannel was superb as well although what Quickstep were playing at was beyond me. With Chavannel up the road, opening up a nice advantage, inexplicably Boonen goes on the attack. But that just acts as the que Cancellara had been waiting for and he then drops Boonen, catches Chavannel and tears off like a freight train! The later in the closing stages when its looking like coming down to a sprint between about 12 riders and set up for Boonen to take it Cancellara has one more massive dig. Only Nyens and Chavannel can hold his wheel. But instead of sitting on waiting for Boonen to come back Chavannel decides he'll start coming through! They might be wearing the same jersey but they didn't appear to be riding for the same team.

So Nyens wins the sprint. First time he'd been at the front for the whole race and it was the last 200yards. That's road racing though I guess! For me the heros were Cancellara, Chavannel and Gilbert though. They're the guys I want to ride like!

Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com

Packing

Having decided  pretty much what I need to take on tour I thought I'd better check it all fits in and the bike still moves.  I'm pleased to say it does fit! with a bit of room to spare (although the spare space will be filled with food when the time comes).  The bike still moves as well, infact I am quite pleased following the very short test I have done with how the bike rides.  Its obviously heavy, but I can certainly ride it up decent gradients, and along the flat it rolls fine.  I loaded the front panniers with a good amount of heavy kit to balance the larger volume of kit that will be mounted on the rear.  I found this works pretty well, and provided I'm going in a straight line and the surface is good I could actually ride no handed which was a bit of a surprise.  Might seem like a daft thing to be doing, but its pretty handy being able to remove a gilet, or get a snack from your back pocket without having to come to a stand still.  The Continental gator-skin 28mm tyres I've got fitted are just a new pair replacing what I've been riding on all winter.  I find they're pretty good for comfort, soaking up bad surface well, and super durable.

Since the weather was great today I took the opportunity this afternoon to have a go pitching my new tent in the garden.  Its a Wild Country Aspect 1 (made by Terra Nova).  Being a one man tent it's obviously compact, but I think the size is good compared to other lightweight backpacking tents on the market.  It pitches outer first, with the inner already clipped in, and its up in about 5 mins, with another 5 mins faffing to get the guys set right.  There's guys at either end you cross over which provide a lot of extra stability, so once its up and pitched properly its really solid.  I was pretty pleased to find inside its really cosy and there is a reasonable amount of porch space, certainly enough room to cook, although there's not going to be a huge amount of room for storing kit.  Its also good for head room, as the picture shows, you can easily sit up anywhere inside it.  Packed away its fairly compact although quite long, but it fits on top of the rear rack with a bungee cord no problem.

Tomorrow is quite a big day cycling wise as well.  We've got round two of the Super6 Road Race series through at Helensburgh, and the Tour of Flanders to watch on the telly later on!  I should probably be more focused on tomorrows road race and less on preparing for my cycle tour, but to be fair, the preparation for the race is already done and its too late now to be worrying about whether I've done enough.  I've been training harder than ever before in the last month, and I feel like I'm starting to get to where I'd like to be fitness wise.  At the same time though the competition tomorrow is really strong, and everyone seems to be going well at the moment.  So once again I'm not sure what to expect results wise, but this time I am looking forward to the race.  The course is certainly one I relish riding and its good to race good competition.

Tour of Flanders looks like a fore-gone-conclusion.  A 260km grand circuit of Belgium taking in numerous cobbled climbs, its one of my favourite classics, and it looks very much like Fabian Cancellara will romp away in the last 50K once again.  It will be exciting viewing never the less!  Who knows maybe Tom Bonnen, or Slyain Chavanel can cause an upset.

Milan San-Remo Vs The Dick Londragon Memorial RR

The race season is still only just getting started and the action from last weekend will already take some beating.  La Primavera, the first monument of the year lived up to its pre race build up with an action packed finale on Saturday afternoon.  Come Sunday it was the turn of the Scottish amateurs in the Dick Londragon RR.  Same sport, bicycle road racing, but in reality the two were not really anything like one another.  The weather near Aberdeen was far better than Italy for starters!

The finish of MSR included some of the biggest names in the sport, but once they had the final selection of 10 riders after the Poggio there was no cooperation between the riders.  Out of a 300km race the main contenders had been almost unseen, with their team mates working on the front keeping the peleton moving and chasing down any breaks getting more than a handful of minutes.

The Londragon RR on the other hand, the selection for the break was made in the opening 20km, and included all the usual contenders.  After a lot of jumping about pretty much everyone you'd expect to get in the break had got in it, and they then proceeded to work together to ride away from the bunch.  The finale was, from a participants perspective, more exciting than MSR.  Getting away from the final group of 5 with about 2K to go, thinking I was going to win, getting caught by Evan and coming home second.  It was a great race.  The circuit, the roads, weather, result was all good.

Races like MSR and pro cycling provide inspiration, but its races like Sundays that are the best.  Taking part yourself rather than just watching.  Training, thinking about the next race, wanting to do better.  2nd place on Sunday, after the opening race at Gifford was a relief, and a motivation.  This season can be a big success, with some more work, its still early and things are looking good!  Pic at the top is taken by Emma from Granite City

First weekend of the race season

So Monday morning after the lows and highs of the first races of the year. Saturday at the super6 was a rollercoaster. New bike, new kit, lots of expectation, major let down. I felt pretty good at the start. We had a warm up rather than standing about getting cold and I felt pretty good. On the first lap I was really keen to get in the break and dug deep first time up the climb to go away with a few others. Unfortunately when we looked back at the top the bunch had obviously been chasing hard and our gap was tiny. After that I felt I was on the back foot a bit. I made another couple of attempts to break on the following laps but nothing was getting away. By the end of lap 4 I was struggling a bit and lap 5 my legs gave up completely. Out the back, dropped for probably the first time in a race!

I felt really low after and despite telling myself all the sensible reasons why it had happen I was pissed off about it. The idea of going to Knockhill for the MTT on Sunday was not appealing. But on Sunday morning I felt a lot better and Laura kind of encouraged me to go which was nice. The weather was pretty good. Bone dry and a bit of wind from the west. The first few miles are all up hill which was good as I almost immediately could see riders in front and start checking them off. Jamie Kennedy provided a good pacer as he was a minute ahead so p was able to gradually reel him in.

Surprisingly my legs felt pretty good and using the new garmin computer helped keep an eye on the clock, distance, heart rate etc. I'll maybe write a bit more about the garmin once I've used it a bit more.

Anyway I got round the 25mile course in a little over an hour which was good enough for 3rd place. After Saturday I was pretty relieved with that!

Pic at the top is another shot of my new bike which now has new wheels too! I rode it for both races and its an awesome but of kit!
Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com

New bike and other nonsense

Last night included a much anticipated trip through to Velo Ecosse in Edinburgh after work to pick up my new bike and other bits and pieces. The new bike certainly lives up to expectations. I'll try and include a quick pic of it below. Its a Giant TCR SL1 and the guys in the shop have done an awesome job building it up with some really nice kit. Yet to get some wheels for it but since we're away to Toms in Switzerland tomorrow I'll not get a chance to ride it straight away anyway. Quite looking forward to the maiden outing though but will be a shame to get it dirty!

Latest controversy in the Scottish cycling community seems to be the critisism aimed at folk like me who've left their clubs to ride with new teams for this season. I obviously don't have a problem with folk shifting teams or clubs, my view is its part of the sport and riders should be allowed to develop. If a club has invested time or cash developing a rider its up to them to make sure they've agreed some kind of tie in if they're worried the rider might leave. In mine and I guess most other situations I had nothing from the club in terms of support other than what all members get. Having put plenty into the club in recent years I don't feel I owe it anything. Joining a focused race team if you're into racing is a no brainer especially once your involved and are the benefits.

So now that's all sorted, I've got a sweet new race bike and everything is set for the first race of the year I'm starting to really look forward to it. The trip to Toms will provide a good chance to take a break from work and spend some time with Laura and Oli. And Tom and Nat too obviously! Hopefully we'll get the chance to explore a bit round Geneva and where they live and just chill out before getting back to hectic goings on back here.
Robin Wilkins
my blog: http://thewheelabout.blogspot.com