The Cyclists get it
I finally got to a race without back problems and got a win! The race that I won was the historical Dundee Harriers Versus Cyclists event held at Caird Park Dundee. This is a great event that pits the two wheeled brigade against the two legged brigade, it is a mass start with everyone jostling for position till the first corner where the field starts to spread out. If the conditions are firm then it is an advantage to the cyclists but if the conditions are soft then the runners have the advantage.

Today the conditions were quite firm so the cyclists were in command with the first six places going to them and lifting the Team Trophy for the second year in a row, the runners will be praying for a wet and muddier race in 2009.
From my personal point of view it was great to get the lungs and legs opened up for the first time in a race all season, I race next weekend on the 4th in the Stirling Super Cross which I hope to be going as well if not better for.

Ready for the off, two wheels good!
Image by permission of All About Action Photography


Image by permission of All About Action Photography

Cyclists Versus Runners Team Trophy

The first Prize, sorted for New Year!!

Report from Martin Harris on the Braveheart Website

Former Scottish Cyclo Cross Champion Craig Hardie (Craig Hardie Cycles) led the cyclists to a convincing win over the Harriers in the Annual race at Caird Park. Recent dry weather led to a fast flowing course giving the cyclists the balance of power in this years race. The first runner to finish was Mike Carroll in 8th place. Carolyn Stewart was the first lady runner, with Anna Harris the first lady cyclist home.

Full results

Team result cyclists 21 points – Runners 73 points

Results (c)= Cyclist, (r)=runner):

• 1. Craig Hardie (c) 24.15,
• 2. Neil Scott (c) 27.09,
  
• 3. Mike Webster (c) 27.23,
  
• 4. Phil Brown (c) 28.17,
  
• 5. Mike Milne (c) 28.32,
  
• 6. Mark Smith (c) 28.34,
  
• 7. Neil Rait (c) 28.48,
  
• 8. Mike Carroll (r) 29.00,
  
• 9. Neil Young (r) 29.04,
  
• 10. Jonathan Herbert (c) 29.14,
  
• 11. Ruben Toy (r) 29.43,
  
• 12. Colin Nicol (c) 30.14,
  
• 13. Brian Sproul (c) 30.41,
  
• 14. Des Crowe (r) 30.47,
  
• 15. Brian Bonnyman (r) 30.52,
  
• 16. Jamie Crowe (r) 31.20,
  
• 17. Jerry Toy (c) 31.57,
  
• 18. Steve Mason (r) 30.07,
  
• 19. Craig Love (r) 32.08,
• 20. John Cassels (r) 32.14,
  
• 21. Mark Kirkwood (r) 32.34,
  
• 22. Paul Dempsey (r) 33.00,
  
• 23. Callum Chirnside (c) 33.40,
  
• 24. Billy Warden (c) 33.45,
  
• 25. Andy Turnbull (r) 34.02,
  
• 26. Steve Borland (r) 34.17,
  
• 27. Phil Forte (r) 34.33,
  
• 28. Stewart Kerr (r) 34.37,
  
• 29. Scott Davidson (c) 34.59,
  
• 30. Ron Milne (r) 35.32,
  
• 31. Lionel Wylie (c) 37.04,
  
• 32. Mark Stewart (r) 37.31,
  
• 33. Mark Jones (c) 38.54,
  
• 34. Caroline Stewart (r)[L] 39.15,
  
• 35. Bob Thornton (r) 41.05,
  
• 36. Charlie Love, (r) 41.22,
  
• 37. Paul Stewart (c) 41.25,
  
• 38. Jim Foulis (c) 42.08,
  
• 39. Steve Cromar (r) 42.12,
  
• 40. Kate Friend (r)[L] 42.38,
  
• 41. Anna Harris (c)[L] 44.02,
  
• 42. Robbie Spence (r) 45.00,
  
• 43. Eddie Holmes (r) 46.28,
  
• 44. Mark Seery (r) 46.49,
  
• 45. Charlie Wilson (c) 34.09,
  
• 46. Barbara Brown (r)[L] 53.58

Have a good one


Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope you get all you want from Santa

Head Cam
Got myself a Vholdr head cam recently and have been mucking about with it, upload of some of the results below -

Letham Hill Cross

Braefoot Cross

Memories of the tour
Here is a pic of Alberto Contador's TREK Madone which was presented to him on winning the 2007 Tour de France.


Will there be another TREK Madone in yellow come the end of the Tour 2009?

VIRUS WARNING
Just a head's up on a nasty virus doing the rounds on Facebook which will turn your computer into a zombie apparently.
Here is the note I seen about it:

Face Book has sent out a malicious VIRUS!

The message is sent out to look like a Face Book friend stating,

" You've been Filmed! Haven't you noticed?"

(the video looks like a You tube link but it is spelled wrong) yuo

Do not click on the link!!

Read more here: Nasty Virus Thingy

The Fly

After having real problems with my back last year, it has been giving me a bit of gip again this year. Once I had completed my Highland Games season I had a few twinges but nothing that was stopping me, onto my first Cyclo-Cross race I started well and was leading the race until I made a mistake falling on my right side which twisted me round. If this was the start of my trouble's or added to it I don't know.

I was going on holiday for a week which should have been a relaxing time and then coming back to get back to the Cross racing in earnest, instead my back got worse until the end of the week at times causing me to limp. Fast forward to now and I have been getting physiotherapy every week to get my mobility better. At the moment I am feeling a lot better but not 100% yet.

Anyway I am back to getting out on the bike and feeling I can push on a bit more. Today I had a great run out on my Fly which was great fun but was freezing leading to my feet feeling like blocks of ice at the end.

Proto XOB

Here is a pic of Travis Browns Prototype Cross XO belt dive which he used at Cross Vegas on Wed past.

Scottish Cyclo-Cross is coming!

Scottish Cyclo-Cross.com

Time, Time, Time.
So I have not had an update for a while but that is not to say I have not been doing anything far from it.
On the Mountain Bike front I was going for the Scottish Mountain Bike Champs on the 22nd of June, the 3 weeks building up to this I was flying and felt I was up for a podium place and getting a medal of some colour. The Champs were at Gleniffer Braes near Glasgow where I have raced before back in the day but it was going to be a different course, the day dawned with bad weather which dampened spirits on the day but I go well in the mud so it does not bother me.

I had changed my tyres the night before as the forecast had said rain and on the practice lap they worked well adding to my confidence, the start was up a tarmac road and when the whistle went I got to the front and battered it only to be passed near the top by about 12/15 riders. I did not panic and by the first descent I got into about 8th then made my way up to 4th to discover two riders had clipped of the front and were away, I then attacked after them and made the junction quite quickly feeling very good. On the technical section I was again feeling great and then felt my back tyre going soft and with it my chance of a medal, I did carry on for the next 3/4 lap with a flat tyre and kept up with the two front runners which shows the form I had.

After climbing off at the feed station I was sickened and my wee girl of 6 was in tears as she has never seen me retire from a race and could not understand why I got a puncture, this is the first time I have punctured a tubeless tyre in a race before and my first puncture in a race since the early nineties.

After this disappointment I was a bit deflated and needed a bit of a break so I took a couple of weeks off to get my self motivated again. I am now feeling good again and have started Grass Track racing last Sunday getting two 2nd places a 4th and a win, this weekend coming I have 4 Highland games in a row which will be a tough week I am sure!

Sam Robinson Memorial Road Race
Sunday was my second road race in two weekends and having the feeling I was getting a bit of form coming I decided to have a plan of attack for this race, my plan was to go for the NVT Climbers jersey which would mean getting over the major climbs of the day in the front to get the points.

After the start there was what seems to be the all to common crash as everybody gets a bit twitchy fortunately I was not involved although I did have to take evasive action to keep out of the way. After the crash the race settled down and 6 riders had ridden off the front which would mean no points for me if I let it go, so before the first hill prime I pushed off the front and went in pursuit of the break which I duly caught just after the prime so there was no points here.

In the break there was a few riders sitting in so the biggest work was done by myself and two others, at the next hill prime at the Dukes pass I managed third and then heading over the Top 'O' the World I bagged second. After this last hill prime sprint my legs started to feel a bit flat and then we got caught back by a group of six riders meaning the pace went straight up with attacks, I managed to hang in till the finishing circuit that would be covered two and a half times. The first ascent of the circuit finished me off and the elastic snapped putting me out the back where I got swept up by a group which I just wheeled in to the finish with.

After getting 31st it does not look very good but as I was up the road most of the day and got joint second overall in the Climber Competition the day worked out pretty well overall.



1 6 Gary Hand Pedalpower.org.uk/Endura RT E 03:20:53
2 71 Chris Thomson VC Astar/Anderside 2 12
3 19 Graeme McGarrity Dooleys Cycles RT 1 same time
4 1 Gordon Murdoch Pedalpower.org.uk/Endura RT E same time
5 76 Philip Brown Velo Ecosse 1 same time
6 18 Arthur Doyle Dooleys Cycles RT 2 same time
7 7 Scott MacRae Pedalpower.org.uk/Endura RT 2 same time
8 15 Callum Wilkinson Bicycleworks 2 19
9 48 Stuart McManus Glasgow Wheelers 2 01:30
10 59 Rab Wardell Sandy Wallace Cycles 2 01:31
11 20 Paul Rennie Dooleys Cycles RT 1 03:39
12 36 Tom Anderson Falkirk BC 3 same time
13 85 David Robinson NFM Race Team 2 same time
14 58 Ian Taylor MTS Cyclesport/Inkland 1 same time
15 2 Kevin Barclay Pedalpower.org.uk/Endura RT 1 same time
16 75 John Walton VC Azzurri 3 05:19
17 39 Steven Dunn Falkirk BC 2 05:26
18 37 Neil Cameron Falkirk BC 2 same time
19 35 Lewis Oliphant Equipe Velo Ecosse 2 same time
20 73 Keith Gibson VC Azzurri 3 same time
21 72 Ronnie Batey VC Azzurri 2 same time
22 52 Alister Watt Granite City RT 1 same time
23 30 Colin May Edinburgh Road Club 4 same time
24 64 Robert Hassan Rockhard Racing 3 05:29
25 10 Steven Ward MTS Cyclesport/Inkland 2 05:30
26 60 Daniel McShane Omagh Wheelers 3 05:33
27 50 Michael Nicolson Glasgow Wheelers 3 05:36
28 55 Josh James Kinesis UK E 05:39
29 24 Stephen Russell East Kilbride Road Club 3 05:53
30 47 Alan Thomson Glasgow Couriers 2 06:07
31 54 Craig Hardie Hardie-Bikes.com 3 06:29
32 23 Paul McInally East Kilbride Road Club 2 08:17
33 51 Keith Smith Glasgow Wheelers 3 same time
34 42 Craig Moffat Falkirk BC 3 08:40
35 33 Stuart MacGregor Equipe Velo Ecosse 1 10:13
36 49 Graeme Neagle Glasgow Wheelers 3 10:14
37 5 Blair Gibb Pedalpower.org.uk/Endura RT 3 10:16
38 22 Michael Summers Dunfermline CC 3 same time
39 11 John Brown ActiveCycles/Corbridge 3 same time
40 32 Alistair Simpson Edinburgh Road Club 4 same time
41 28 Alastair Easton Edinburgh Road Club 3 same time
42 61 Callum Gough Omnipex RT/Bioracer/Museeuw 3 same time
43 8 Jason Roberts Glasgow Nightingale CC/Sapphire 3 same time
44 69 Dougie Young Stirling BC/Wheels of Callander 3 10:21
45 12 Collin Humphrey ActiveCycles/Corbridge 1 10:24
46 14 Raymond Turner Activecycles/Corbridge 3 12:28
47 27 Tim Blathwayt Edinburgh Road Club 4 27:18:00
48 56 Tom MacDonald Lomond Road CC 3 27:21:00
49 45 Jamie Kennedy Glasgow Couriers 4 28:37:00
50 34 Alastair McNicol Equipe Velo Ecosse 4 29:01:00
51 26 Georges Avraam Edinburgh Road Club E same time
52 25 Guto Williams East Kilbride Road Club 4 34:34:00
53 21 Jed Martens Dunfermline CC 4 same time
54 77 Trevor Wilson Walkers Cycling 4 same time

Dura Ace 2009
Pic of the whole new Dura Ace Grouppo:

Dura Ace 2009
Some Pics of the new Dura Ace Groupset which will appear towards the end of the year hopefully.

Carbon lever thingies

Rear Mech with Carbon bits?

...kin Fast Superfly
After getting some quality down time on the Gary Fisher Superfly I am absolutely smitten with it. The ride you get is fantastic which I have really noticed when climbing, there is a small technical ascent that I have never cleared on a 26er but with the extra traction the 29er wheels give you I managed to clear it. On some of the tighter single track I have had to hustle it round a bit but as it is so stable this is no probs.


It is mega quick on the road also even with 30psi in the tyres as I managed a ballistic 42mph behind a truck on a flat road the only thing that stopped me going quicker was the gearing as the 44x11 spun out at that speed.
Superb...Superb....Superb

New Squadra HARDIE-BIKES.COM :



This is the new shop team colours which I will be flying about in the races this year and hopefully picking up the odd podium place here and there.

New Superfly
Here is my new Superfly which I have just received and I am setting up ready for the first outing. The Superfly is as stock apart from the Hope Mini Pro Brakes (160mm/front)(140mm/rear)and the Inform Bontrager saddle, after a quick car park test the bike feels good so I can't wait to get on the dirt with it.

Bontrager shoes
I have heard about these in the pipeline but this is the first pic I have seen, modeled on Travis Brown's tootsies.

Session 88
Coming in mid summer will be this new TREK Session 88 which will come in Downhill and Freeride guises. The frames will have a Fox DHX 5 shock and utilise the ABP back end which made it's debut on the EX range this year, look to save your pennies till mid summer at least for this baby. The first airing of the Session 88 will be the Sea Otter Classic over the weekend 17 - 20 Apr.



Another better pic here courtesy of North Shore Mountian Biking

New Beastie

Here is the Madone 5.5 Pro I got during the week and after the first few rides all I can say is WOW! this thing is a rocket ship. After getting it built up the only thing I have changed are the wheels which I had on my Lemond Tete de Course, one other thing I will be changing is the stem for a slightly longer one to get my reach to the bars totally dialed in.

This is the first time I have used the Sram Double Tap groupset in anger and so far I can say I am getting on great, the only thing i can say is the hoods anr not as comfy as Shimano but it is maybe just cause their a slightly different shape to what i am used to. One thing to point out is I am using a 10 speed Campagnolo Record cassette which is working perfect with the Sram Force rear mech.
Once I have a bit more time on the Madone I will update on the progress with pros and cons.

RAD

Pushing on
The last few weeks I have been building up the miles again after having two colds in February which knocked me back a bit.
At the shop it has been busy of late which is great for this time of year as the weather has not been great for the last four weeks.
New stuff in are the Bonty Speed Limit Brake set:

Spot the riders
The first of the Euro races are kicking off with the Challenge Mallorca and here is a pic from the first stage which was won by Philippe Gilbert of Francaise des Jeux.

Boom Boom gets it
After Big Lars got the win at the world cup last week this would have shouted out warning signs. Today Lars Boom capitilized on his good form to take the first UCI gold medal of 2008.
Sven Nys did get stuck in and a great third is probably no consolation to "The Cannibal" who would have desperately wanted the gold for himself. Another rider Erwin Vervecken looking for his third title in a row has had an up and down season leading up to the World Champs so a fourth place is probably a good result considering.

Result:
1 Lars Boom (Netherlands)
2 Zdenek Stybar (Czech Rebpublic)
3 Sven Nys (Belgium)
4 Erwin Vervecken (Belgium)
5 Radomir Simunek (Czech Rebpublic)
6 Marco Aurelio Fontana (Italy)
7 Sven Vanthourenhout (Belgium)
8 Christian Heule (Switzerland)
9 John Gadret (France)
10 Klaas Vantornout (Belgium)

Cyclo-Cross form
With the Cross World Champs in Treviso Italy this weekend it looks like Sven Nys is a bit cooked as his young upstart team mate "Boom Boom" Lars took the win in last weekends world cup round from Hoogerheide in the Netherlands. The other way to look at this is "The Cannibal" Sven is holding back for the big win!

Lars Boom goes on to win.

Cough!! Cough!! Wheezee!!
After a great run out on the good old fixie for 65 miles or so last Sunday I had a small cough at night which unfortunately then turned into a cold from hell which has knocked me for six all week, so all this week I have been trying to recover drinking fluids and generally feeling a bit sorry for my self. As my wife would say I have a case of the dreaded Man Flu!!

The Cafe Run
Last Sat going round the usual Cafe route the Cycling Club turned into the Ramblers club as the road was covered in black ice for a 1/2 mile or so, there were a few fallers but gladly no injuries. I did witness one guy fall get up and remount to promptly fall back down again!

Ramblers CC

Class

A very very very Black day
On the 15th of Jan one of the best Scottish and British cyclist Jason MacIntyre was killed when out training, I did not know Jason personally but did follow some of his fantastic results over the last few years.


If anything of the last two years were to go by then the 2008 season would have been even better and bigger for Jason. My thoughts go out to Jason's family and friends.
You can read more about Jason and donate to his Memorial fund at the Braveheart Cycling Fund.

Pedal, Pedal, Pedal.
Get'in the miles in is the mantra at the moment and hoping the weather is kind to make the miles pleasurable, well Sunday past was one 'o' those days when all the days previous and after were crap this was a great run round the roads of Fife.

Happy New Year!!
So another year has passed by and I hope you had a good one and 2008 is even better, for me 2007 has all been about a knacked back and getting back to fitness for the Cyclo-Cross season at the end of the year. 2008 will be a year of enjoying my cycling without any back twinges which should mean I can compete in what I want all year.

The past few weeks have been about chilling out, getting a few easy runs in on my Surly fixie to keep the legs turning and letting the head clear before the real training starts for 08.