Hungary for success!

It’s always good when a nice idea turns into a reality.  A work colleague from my part-time job in a bike shop was planning on returning to his home country of Hungary, and by coincidence this just happened to be at the same time as a class 2 UCI race in the small village of Pilisvörösvár and by further coincidence this just happened to be the home town of Barbara Benko.  Well it was just too good an opportunity to pass up!

My base for five days would be the new home of my former work colleague (who had moved in only two days prior to my arrival!) and good friend Peter along with his wife and two children just outside Budapest and less than 12km from the race venue.  The hospitality was amazing from the outset and I was quickly introduced to one of the Hungarian pastimes of wood chopping!  I have some work to do in this department and was lucky to keep both feet on the end of my legs!!

After a good night sleep it was time to go for my planned training.  Then disaster struck.  My lefty fork had no air in it (or so I thought) after pumping it up and letting the air out and fiddling around for some time it became clear it had a major problem.  So with a locked out fork and Peter’s company I set off in search of a bike shop.  After no joy in the first two, and the word being that only one guy in Hungary knew anything about lefty forks I called my friend, Barbara Benko. 

I met Barbi in Israel and have remained in contact since.  A much loved athlete riding for Focus-MIG after two successful years with Rothaus and well thought of in these parts.  Barbi had already helped me by entering me into the race and kindly answered my many questions before I left for Hungary.  A quick call and I was invited down to her father (Laszlo’s) bike shop in Pilisvörösvár (the location of the race) where the mechanic also had a good try before giving in – but in the meantime Laszlo had called another bike shop the other side of Budapest who arranged for the “guy who knew about lefty’s” to meet me in the morning and take a look.  Barbi then let me have use of her own car – a wonderful gesture and showing the amazing hospitality that this nation shows.

The next morning I was rocking down to the other side of Budapest with the funky tunes left in the CD player for company, where the “the guy who knew about leftys” saved my bacon by fixing the broken fork and allowing me to get on course for practice that same day.  Phew!  The course was excellent.  A real old fashioned up and down course but with varying terrain up and some fast breathtaking descents on the way down.  It suited me and was dry as a bone.

My adopted family for the weekend helped me prepare for my race as if they had years of experience with bike racers – great food, quiet time and it was an early night as I looked forward to racing in Hungary for the first time.  I awoke to what I thought was a dripping tap.. oh no… it was rain!  As it turns out it actually helped dampen the dusty course down and gave more grip, which meant I could go faster! 

The race itself went well for me and although gridded at the back I quickly made my way around the outside and into the top ten where I stayed for much of the race having a good battle with a Hungarian and a Slovakian.  I had great support with Laszlo feeding me and Peter running all over the course offering support and encouragement, not to mention the crazy Hungarians singing “beautiful bike” to me as I climbed on my Scalpel every lap.  I eventually finished 11^th after a really tough race – this was just outside the UCI points but I was pleased with my performance.  I had ridden a controlled race and although lacking in the climbing parts I was flying down the descents on my new Scalpel at break neck speed!

After refuelling and getting a good nights sleep, I washed Barbi’s car, did my recovery ride and then made my way into Budapest for a look at the city, some coffee, a massage and some of the world famous Goulash that this wonderful City has to offer!

Suddenly my trip was coming to an end but not before one last ride and an early start on my day of departure was enough time for Peter to show me the amazing trails around the outskirts of Budapest, which was a really fun ride! 

Like Israel, Hungary is beautiful.  As a cyclist you sacrifice… the training, the long cold winter months, the suffering, the injuries and the dedication.  Why?  For everything I describe above.  The sights you see, the beauty in the world that most others miss, the places you visit and the people you meet.  I may sacrifice but I’m privileged.  I love this sport!

I must say a huge thank you to Peter, Anna and their two beautiful children for putting up with me for five days.  Barbi and Laszlo Benko for helping me so much and the mechanics who sorted out my lefty fork.  Without these guys my trip would not have been possible!

There’s no jungle in Israel…

Ben - Haifa Beach

This trip started back on a freezing cold training ride in December when we decided that it would be a good idea to move on to Israel after our usual Cyprus training camp this year. After all it’s not that far from Cyprus to Israel and it would be a great opportunity to look for some crucial World Cup points as well as seeing a new country.

It was tough to organise with accommodation not so easy to come by, hire car insurance issues and a lot more safety precautions to take when moving around the country.

After nearly two weeks and 4 races in Cyprus we left the other riders behind and took a one hour flight across to Tel-Aviv and were pleasantly surprised by the modern airport. Security asked a few questions and it was clear that you must be on best behaviour when making your way through the entire checking in procedure.

So far so good, we picked up the hire car, which took a while and then got out our new map of Israel for the “easy drive” along the coastal road from Tel-Aviv to Haifa, where we would be staying for the next two weeks. An hour went by and still no sign of either the sea or a place name that we recognised, we floated through a check point that we had read about in the guide book with no worries and then things seemed to suddenly get a bit spooky. The large roads dried up and the villages were like graffiti covered ghost towns with a lot of dead end roads, shacks and dimly lit streets.

We had wondered into the West Bank!

Port Inn

At the time this was unbeknown to us and after some searching and feeling pretty uncomfortable at 3am in the morning we turned around and headed back the way we had arrived – however as we approached the check point we had previously floated into, we were greeted by a collection of armed soldiers! Although a bit scary they were actually quite nice and after some initial questioning showed us where we needed to go on the map. We were now on our way to Haifa and after getting lost in the streets we finally arrived at our accommodation around 5am! What a start!

Paul - Nazareth

A long lie in and some coffee and we were ready to start our Israeli adventure. We had three races in total starting with two in a row so made our way to the first of the two courses in Mishmar ha-Emek which was a real mountain biker’s course. Steep ups, and technical downs, it was a pleasure to ride. After this we made our way to the Haifa course, close to where we were staying and the venue of the European Championships last year. We were not so impressed by this – it was tough but not so enjoyable, a bumpy ride in what felt like one huge rock garden.

House in Israel

Having got both courses locked in the memory we got a good nights sleep before the race at Mishmar ha-Emek the following day.

We arrived at the course early and got to the managers meeting where we planned to look for a feeder for the day as we were travelling without a coach. It was here that we met Jonathan, who fed us brilliantly for the day. Jonathan was from Leeds but has lived in Israel for the last 32 years and kindly offered us the chance to go and stay with him and his family for the day where they live in Shamir close to the Lebonese and Syrian border, just on the edge of the Golan heights.

The race itself was a mixed experience with Paul finishing strongly after losing a good position with a dropped chain but Ben had to retire after a crash that left him unable to pedal.

The next day was the race in Haifa and we were lucky to once again find a feeder that belonged to the same cycling club as Jonathan. Today the racing went the other way around with Ben completing the race strongly although mechanical issues stopped him from getting into a good position and Paul having to retire, exhausted from the race the day before. Both riders carried good form though and were now optimistic for the final race in Misgav.

After two days of racing we had a nice spin and a well deserved chill out and then planned our week ahead. Although we were here to race and that was obviously the priority – it made sense to see some of the amazing places in Israel. Nazareth was an interesting place with some rustic steep alley ways, cobbled streets and obviously full of history and religion.

Ben & Paul with Megan and team mates

Then came a day neither of us will ever forget. Having contacted Jonathan to see if his offer was still open we were delighted to be formally invited up to Shamir to go on a training ride with his daughter, Megan – a talented Junior rider hoping to forge a career in professional Mountain Biking.

Our drive up involved a routine stop by the Police to check our car and ask us some questions. This seems like normal practice and you tend not to

A normal sight in Israel

panic too much after the first few times. Security is tight in Israel, you are scanned and bag searched before entering every shopping mall or car park and it is a fairly usual sight to see a normal guy carrying a gun whilst out for a meal with his wife and kids!

Dining in the Kibbutz

We had heard of the word Kibbutz a few times since arriving but didn’t really know what it meant. We were greeted at the entrance to the Kibbutz where Jonathan, his wife Maria and their daughter Megan live. A Kibbutz is a gated village where a community of Israeli families live. There is a huge dining area where they all eat breakfast and lunch together and some evening meals. Most of the families work inside the Kibbutz too at the factory or in the Olive fields.

Street riding in the rain

The weather in Israel had been very hot in the opening races but the forecast had showed that a storm was brewing and it looked like today would be the start of it! Jonathan and Megan showed us around their home and then took us for lunch in the communal dining area which had every sort of food you could possibly want before a chat around the dinner table and then we were ready to kit up and go training.

A missile from Lebanon

It was clear Megan had thought about this ride and took us to meet two friends from her team who joined us on the ride. We then visited various land marks and areas that had been hit by tragedy. This included a helicopter crash close to a neighbouring Kibbutz and a roadside cemetery marking the spot where 12 soldiers had been killed by a missile from Lebanon in the 2006 war. We also visited the local cycling shop (which had also been hit by a missile) and saw some of the young riders on Megan’s team who looked pleased to see us. The bike shop owner, and Megan’s trainer was a great guy who gave us a better discount on some parts we needed than the local bike shops in London!

Children at the local Bike Shop

The rain then started to come down hard but this was no time to go home and we continued to do a mixture of off road/on road and street riding and we saw more neighbouring Kibbutz, Forests and Cemeteries. The ride lasted for nearly 4 hours and on arriving back at the Kibbutz we were treated to a hot cup of tea, shower and then dinner before having to say a fond farewell to Megan and her family.

 It had been an amazing day, not just for the sights we had seen or the ride that we had done but the genuine people we had the pleasure of spending time with. Megan is a mature driven 16 year old who really couldn’t do enough for us and will certainly have a bright future in the sport!

Paul, Ben & Megan

Finally we had a rest day and decided to take the drive down to Jerusalem to have a bit of a tourist day although in true cyclist’s style, we didn’t walk too much! Jerusalem is huge and takes days to see so for us a stroll around the

Aremenian Meal

old city seemed the logical thing to do. An Armenian lunch was a nice experience, as was the almost underground bustling street market. In parts it was a bit dangerous looking and in others spectacular, certainly a place you have to see.

Back to training and some bike maintenance, a bit of shopping and lots of rest ready for Misgav. This will be the final race before we return home to England to get ready for the National Series opener in two weeks time. It’s been a long journey since we set off for Cyprus back in mid February but Israel has been a treat. It’s different, there are no Starbucks, things close at weird times, the weekend is on different days and it is very clear this is a country with a troubled past but the people

Jerusalem

we have met are friendlier than most, and we can only hope that the troubles here are starting to go and that we can come back here to race again soon!

 

Paul Beales/Ben Roff – Orange Monkey-Cannondale

 

Beautiful Israel

 

Ben and Paul go to Israel

We had a short flight over from cyprus with some hard racing and training done it was time to take on Israel! We started our time here with an interesting journey from Tel Aviv airport to Haifa. Managing to wander off in the west bank and be stopped and questioned by armed soldiers started the excitement off. Finally we made it to Haifa at 4am, after what should have been an hours drive turned in to 5 hours!

With a few hours sleep we awoke the next morning to beautiful skies, and 25C weather. We were straight off to ride the two courses we would be racing on back to back days. The first was in Mishmar Hamek. The course was a short but steep one, with tough granny ring climbs and smooth flowing descents with lots of sessioning to be done. We both enjoyed the course and were looking forward to racing it the next day.

The next course was in Haifa its self and from the start was tough climbing, very technical and full-on. After riding the course and taking it all in the focus was on the race the following day and hopefully some points!

On arrival again the weather was scorching reaching a high of 31C! As we warmed up, it was obvious that hydration would be key to todays race and with that we drank 3L each before racing, Hydrated and ready to go we gridded up, with numerous National champions on the line from all over this was to be a tough race. Paul got off to a great start working his way from the back to the front. Unfortunately I got caught up behind a crash at the start and while to sprint back to the front group my chain slipped and I smashed my knee which on the next lap ceased up and put me out of the race. Paul continued to go strong picking people off before sitting in a group for the rest of the race. Not a great start to the racing for me but tomorrow will be a good day!

We arrived at the Haifa course to find more people on the start list, this would make for an even tougher race. Feeling good from the start I worked my way from the back to about half way through the field. Feeling strong I continued to push on and make places but once again a chain slip and the mechanical continued throughout the race eventually leaving me to be lapped. For Paul the race also went badly, with a good start also battling for position, the hard racing and heat from the previous day had got to him and he had nothing in his legs, so decided to rest up ready for the last race while we are here in Israel. Disappointing for the both of us, but both showing good form and looking forward to the final race. Now some resting in the sun on the beach to be done, a few spin offs then hopefully a solid final ride in Misgav!

 

 

Cannondale make great walking sticks

That was frustrating! Last Saturday i didn’t even complete one lap of the hilly 6km course based at Margam Park in the heart of South Wales.
Preparations for the race went to plan and i was feeling very confident as we were called up to our grid positions.
The only thing that was not going to plan was the weather, during Friday night the course went from being bone dry to soaking wet and incredibly slippery especially on the descents! And that’s where the weekend took a turn for the worse.
About 3km into the first of the six laps we had to complete, i was negotiating a slippery off camber decent which in hind sight i was taking to fast for the conditions, I slid sideways and landed on my right hand side in the undergrowth with a thump, still clipped into my pedals.
As i unclipped myself from my Cannondale Taurine i felt a sharp pain from my lower leg, i glanced down i could see blood gusshing out from a hole in my shin and a white shiny thing??…………….. my shin bone!
I used my Cannondale as a walking stick as i hobbled down the single track trying to stay out of my competitors way. I made it to the medical point at the bottom of the decent where a marshall radioed for medical assistance and from there i was taken to A&E. Five stitches later and a two hour drive back home, I’m typing this blog reflecting on what could have been. Before the accident i felt great, positioned perfectly for the the single track in ninth position waiting to pounce on one of Margam Park’s long steep climbs. But as they say ‘that’s racing’ and although I’m fed up of typing this, i am still full of motivation and firmly believe i can finish inside the top ten this year at National level. I have the equipment and the team behind me to do it and with that in mind i will not stop trying!
I have a compulsory two weeks off from any training so i have been using this time to clean and service my training and race bikes, i think my local bike shop are sick of the sight of me! Its good to have this break although it is not wanted. I will be back better than before, after all it has been a busy year with a lot of international racing.
My next event is the Welsh championships which takes place in Buith Wells on the Sunday 27th June.
I will be using this race as preparation for the fourth round British National Series which take place in Dalby Forest the weekend after.
Team mate and current Welsh Champion Ben Roff will be looking to defend his jersey, which i know he will do right down to the finish line! Best of look to him and my other team mate Alex Baker. This young fellow is full of racing and has suffered with some rotten luck this year but has handled it  like a true pro, i think Dalby will suit ‘the mag’ down to the ground, quite literally.

For now, Full Gassss!!!

Chris Andrews

Time flies..

Wow. A new year; a new decade. It only seems like yesterday that we were rolling out for 2009, but it just keeps on getting better and better. New plans, goals and races mean this year is looking to be our best yet..and with 2009 being a hard act to follow..it’s fair to say we are all deep into our winter training regimes. The wet, miserable rides of November have been replaced with the freezing cold and snowy rides of January, so it’s fair to say we, and our equipment, are about as versatile as it gets! Blink and you’ll miss it, because building on this base of endurance is just around the corner, along with intervals and power workouts.

See you on the trails, most likely covered in snow, with rosy cheeks and a frozen Torq bottle in hand..

Have a great 2010!

Fin.

Well, that’s it. The racing season is over for another year, so it’s time for a bit of rest and recuperation. I say it’s time; but with November just two weeks away, planning for winter training is in full swing. However, all’s good at Monkey HQ, and everyone is having some fun making the most of the dry trails and indian summer. we experienced in the past few weeks.

Back home here it’s starting to get a bit chilly, and I think it’s fair to say that winter is approaching. However, with the lack of structured training on hand at the moment, there’s still lots of time for bombing around the woods, as well as starting my bit of running for the year and getting the legs ready for the long runs of the winter.

The forest is amazingly dry at the moment, so evening rides with dying sunlight are the perfect way to end the season; and what a season it’s been. With the best year of racing so far for the team, 2010 looks to be a great year for all of us…but lets not get too bogged down in that yet. There’s still time for some great riding before the conditions take the inevitable dive for the worst…

See you on the trails,

The Monkeys

(and on the iPod this time round : My ‘Winter Running’ iMix..check it out on iTunes!)

Last of the Summer Sun…

It’s that time of year again… summer is coming to an end, but what an eventful one it has been! With limited races, I took to racing around the woods everyday in the holidays, coming back and only having to wipe a thin layer of dust off my bike. The highlight, however, undoubtedly for us all would be our trip to the Pyrenees, staying with our great sponsor Les Sorbiers. Tackling monster climbs and hairy descents by day, and eating the delicious local cuisine by evening, its safe to say we came back with as much power in our legs as was humanely possible…not to mention a few cuts and bruises for good measure. All good things have to come to an end unfortunately, and before we knew it we were back home, cleaning bikes and back into our own training programs.

With just one last British XC round left, effort is still high until the small break that October holds…

Keeping it upright (At home anway!)

Alex

And on the ipod this time…Dizzee Rascal – Maths + English

Sun, Dust and Evening Rides

Had a bit of a busy time lately, and a fun time it’s been too! Last weekend was the BMBS at crow hill, and after loads of rides around Epping, it was fair to say I was as ready as ever for fast singletrack! I was really pleased with my 4th, just slightly missing out on the podium, but I wasn’t too disappointed. A really great weekend in all, and I just managed to keep up with Ben in the marathon (for 2 and a half laps) until I totally ran out of steam (and torq gels!).

Back home I’ve been keeping it fun, doing loads of after school rides that turn into hour long epics, racking up as many miles as I can in the evening sun. With no mud in sight, and seemingly endless singletrack  it’s hard to come home sometimes, especially when you have 6 weeks worth of coursework to catch up on. That reminds me…

See you in the dust!

Alex

(And on the iPod this time: Sigur Rós – Takk)

Single ring chain device… Like Oli B’s…

There was a lot of excitement at Dalby……and not just the sort of excitement reserved for big weekends in remote forest with lots of secluded parking spots on offer!!!!

Oli Beck was riding a single ring set up and he had ridden it at Houffalise the week before. Now this needed some more investigation, when I caught up with him  it was a 36t front chainring running a 11t-34t rear cassette. Also there was  a new prototype chain device from MRP which was adapted from one of their excellent downhill devices. Mmmmmmmm  I thought. If they can do that then it should be pretty easy to do the same thing. A few hours later surfing the likely web sites and I had  found what I thought was the answer. DMR do a very nice and minimalist chain cage that looked like it might do the job and you can’t get much better than a Middleburn chainring. So a couple of clicks later I was waiting for a nice new 36t Middleburn hardcoat ring and a DMR Chain Cage to arrive. Unfortunately it didn’t all arrive until Thursday which meant that we had to fit it that night so that Ben could race in the Friday Night Summer Series the next night at Daventry. Of course it wasn’t that simple…. The mounting brackets did not fit onto the Seat Tube, so some serious re-engineering was required. It wasn’t possible to come up with the final solution that night so Ben and I agreed that he would run an experimental set up on Friday (this meant that there was only one mounting point on the seatstay and it needs two, so we both knew that if it went wrong it would mean the chain throwing off the ring and maybe causing all sorts of problems. I mackled it together as best as possible and we set off for the race looking to gather data for the final engineering solution.

Wow what a night! Not only did the device work but Ben went from the back of the 150 rider field to the front and was running in a battle with Adi Scott for 4th place. The device was working …. with a bit of noise and rattling, Ben and I knew we had to add some spacers here and there to make it work properly and the second mounting point was necessary for strength and stability, but, My God! it was working fine. On the last lap there was a steep, stinging climb to the finish and this is where the lack of ratios might hurt, but, despite dead legs Ben came out of the last corner and began the uphill sprint top the line with Adi trying to pass him. as they neared the line Ben rose out of the saddle and thrust ahead to take the win in the Juniors and 4th place overall. The new device had worked and the next day I bought some bits and pieces, engineered the mounting points to allow two brackets and added washers here and there to give a better chain clearance. The pictures show the final set up and in the bargain Ben has saved over half a pound in weight, most of it from rotating mass. Mission accomplished, now we have to see if it is rideable at Margam????

Ben

P is for Preparation

Just 3 days away from the 3rd national race of the year, and my preparation for the race is in full flow, so I thought I’d give an insight into my race prep. Since it being half term, I’ve been enjoying large amounts of bed-time, mostly getting up at 9, so I can get 10-11 hours sleep. Hydration is key, especially drinking water, and staying away from energy drinks until the big day. About 3 bottles a day is enough, so you need to go for a pee every hour. No rides this week, but lots of short, intense turbo sessions so I don’t feel flat on race day. My top workout in a week before a race is as follows. For each number of days leading up to an event, you do (x) number of 1:30 intervals, with 3:00 recovery in-between. Along with a 15 minute warm up, and 5 minute cool down, a recovery is certain by the next day. So if it is a tuesday and the race is on sunday (five days away), you would do five 1:30 intervals. Make sure you really go at them though. I usually do a maxium of 2 of these a week before a race.

I find that one of the most important things to do pre race is stretching. Preferable once warm (eg after a turbo session), and followed by a hot shower, you can feel like a difference person afterwards. Anyhow, back to resting, which includes quiet forest walks, and then afterwards a nice cup of tea!

On the iPod this time: Royksopp – Junior

Alex