Blimey - really...10 months? Yep, time flies when you're having fun on the bike...
Well since the last update I completed the TransRockies and WOW what an experience it was. The full blog can be found on Bike Radar so I won't relive it all again here (as tempting as it is) but suffice to say I would really recommend it....just try staying on your bike..it makes it much easier! (advice to self for next time :-) )
Anyway, so what next?...well this year is about just having fun on the bike and developing my business. I've recently started distributing Velocite Bikes www.velocite-bikes.co.uk and this has taken over a lot of my time. Part of my marketing of the brand is the sponsorship of racers - as it's a high performance brand - and Elite XC rider Maxine Filby is flying the Velocite flag in National XC for us this year with plans to expand the team next year.
So at the opening round of the National Series at Sherwood I was sat trackside talking Velocite with riders and public and watching the racers flash by with envious eyes. Anyone who has never seen a National XC race up close really should. The speed, fitness and bike handling of these guys is truly outstanding.
Well guess what...standing there in the March sunshine a crazy idea came to me (dangerous when that happens!) and a knowing smile grew across my face. A smile that may well turn to a grimace or two over the next few months! So what was my latest hair brained idea?!
Simple. I'm going to take this 6ft ex American Footballer and transform him to race in the Vets class next year at National level (I turn 40 this year I'm afraid...older but no wiser eh?). I don't expect to win races - crikey no - or even finish top 50 to be honest but that 50th place will be my podium...that's my goal. That's my focus, my drive and my ambition for 2013.
So this blog now becomes a training diary once again with a very different aim...to race and compete in one of the most competitive categories in National XC racing. Just reading that back I need a lie down...feeling rather giddy now :-)
But hey...I like a challenge!
So there you go...2013 seems a long time away - a year to be precise (maths is a strong point of mine) - but the TR training taught me one thing...in training terms a year is nothing. This blog will now chart my transformation and hopefully follow it through to a top 50 placing in at least one race next season. Let the fun begin!
Any tips or advice is heartily welcomed.
Enjoy your riding til next time and stay safe.
Mark
