mountainmorgy

Howdy all! So it's been another big gap, I know, I'm pretty awful. I can't even use "training too much" as an excuse now as it's October and I've had a total of two (albeit erratic days off between days of feeling a bit crap) weeks off. Lots of fun stuff has happened, which I will in time enlighten you all about. However, after a fairly unanimous twitter vote (if you don't already have me on there feel free to follow @mooleur - it's a bit sweary, as you can imagine) it has been decided that tonight's blog post will be a big huge shouty rant. The other option for tonights blog, other than a big rant, was a geek post about winter riding and gear, which I will definitely be posting about in the near future, as it's getting very cold and extremely wet. So you have that to look forward to if you don't quite enjoy my incessant moaning! So let's get on to it. Today's rant, I've been sat about today wondering what exactly I *sh...

Well that's it. My first season done. Six months of intense learning. This year alone I've done somewhere around 400 hours of training, circa 10,000kms of road covered, just over 50kms of vertical climbing, 15 races, 5 time trials and a 500km ride to Paris later. It's no lie... I. Am. Knackered. I've been told by Jamie, my coach, to take a week off the bike. Incidentally a week is the longest amount of time I've spent out of the saddle since I first started cycling last March. Jamie originally advised me to take two weeks, because he's sensible and knows what he's doing. Unlike me, the ever zealous newbie, who demanded I attempt to squeeze in one last race after the National Championships. Oh yeah, you're probably wondering how that went aren't you... Well, it was good fun. The trip was a nice relaxing bit of time out for my partner and I (who also raced alongside a scutch of other lads from the Isle of Man). It was great to get away with other ...

Here it is! As if by magic the season is drawing to a close, and what a close it is with my second to last race being nothing less than the TLI National Road Champs. Last few races have been a bit of a nightmare, I've been tired and the season has started to take its toll. However, there is one last fight to put up and this happens in England on Sunday. There's only four women competing, that's only three people I need to get past at the end to finish my season with a good result. So, short blog post because I think I'll have plenty more to talk about after the weekend! Fingers crossed! 

OOooooops! Apologies all for taking two months to update this thing. You may have guessed that since the big move I've been incredibly busy! Well, all has been going swimmingly here on the Isle of Man, we've been blessed with some great weather and as always the exposure to the terrain here has benefited my overall fitness greatly. I was going to do a geek-post but I think it might be prudent to update you all on where I'm at with racing, as it's drawing near to the close of the season 'n' all. Training here is EPIC. So I've done a few handicaps (25 miles long) - these are insane. In England we raced HC's like we'd race crits, very similar, typical kind of fast race. Over here, the handicaps are done in through and off (where riders in a group rotate in a pace line to share the burden of the wind at the front and maintain a higher speed), until of course you hit the last lap and then it's carnage. This really hurts, with pro's in the...

Well here I am, all recovered and ready to get back into training following the 2013 HotChillee London to Paris ride. Yes, that's over 100 miles a day for three days, finishing in epic style alongside 400 odd fellow velocipedes along the Champs Élysées, finishing up to a huge reception under the Eiffel Tower. It was quite the experience, completely different to the adventure of the Alps, so here goes; It's Wednesday afternoon and my friend Mark and I arrive with bikes and bags at Imber Court, we're relatively early but the start line is already busy with energy and excitement. I chat to my fellow cyclists and ride captains, swap advice and prep my bike ready to put in the lockup for the morning. My hands, by this point, are already shaking with nerves. We're greeted with a fantastic opening speech by the HotChillee guys, introducing the likes of Fondriest, the two Mansells, Downing and Roche and also some guys who I have grown to appreciate over course of the event s...

About time for an update on my endless plight to seeking glory! Let's not beat around the bush, how's the racing going? Well, I'll start from the beginning and work my way up. I'd like to cover as much as I can if anything to help encourage any ladies out there that might be feeling a bit too nervous to take the plunge. I posted about my first couple of races a few months ago, a big crash on a warmup lap and some end of table finishes - pretty unspectacular start. So far I've not come last place yet, which to me is an achievement in it's own. I've raced alongside some truly amazing women such as the likes of Boddy and Barnes from MG Maxifuel, the CTC and Wyndymilla girls, could go on but really I'm namedropping.... it's quite something to be able to say I've competed with women at this level! That's one thing I will credit the small competitive field for, it gives us newbies a fairly humbling chance to try our hand at riding with the wom...

Hey guys! Random earlier than normal but actually still late post. For those of you that don't know, I'm riding to Paris on the HotChillee Londres-Paris bike ride in two weeks, in the very same works team that got me on the bike in the first place. Last year we managed to raise a couple of grand for UK Youth, a charity which does great work with many disadvantaged but bright and talented kids across Britain. The ride itself is over 300 miles long and lasts for three days, it's tough and it's lumpy and I can tell you now my bum is going to HURT. We finish up in Paris for a Grand-Tour style mass finish which is sure to be absolutely thrilling. Luckily I've been placed into Group 2, this means I can attempt to contend for the women's GC, which should be interesting and very challenging! Let's not diverge from the real matter at hand though, many people are doing this huge challenge because they are trying to raise awareness for their chosen charities, ...