Bikes

 

We went to watch the final of the Tour Series criterium races in Castle Douglas....the are having a four day bike and food festival.

I found some different bikes....

gate

We've had a weekend of helping other people..on Saturday I exchanged racing licenses for numbers...and back again...at the Scottish National 25 mile TT championships,while the Pirate stood on a roundabout for three hours warning riders of traffic whilst wearing a hi-viz vest ( and plenty of other clothes as well!) and waving a red flag.
After we arrived home it was too good an afternoon to  stay in,so we went on a dawdle round the lanes.
Today we had a lie-in...only up at 6.30 am!!...off to Kilwinning this time,to marshal again. This was for the Scottish Junior Road Race champs..six laps of a gently "sporting" 10+ miles long circuit with one short and nasty hill,and plenty of other smaller ones. The Pirate's brief was just to make sure that they didn't turn off the course. It was a lovely morning and we were parked in a delightful spot just by a hedgeful of ripe blackberries...the lunchbox came in very handy!

After the presentation and a rest we returned and rode the course ourselves...at half their speed!! The wind had been rising since the end of the race and we're having gales tonight

 ...and found a gate...

World Championships

I've ridden my first race in the World Masters Track Cycling Championships...500m Time Trial, ridden with a standing start, which nowadays takes place in a starting gate which releases you on Go.....

As my age group is short of riders- only four and you need six for a separate championship-we were riding a 55+ championship.  
So both groups lost out...60+ riders were 4th and 5th....preventing a 55-59 yr old winning a bronze....and myself winning a bronze in the 60+.    We just need to get more of our opponents from the past riding again!!

track success!

We've had a successful weekend at the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists' track championships.

I won a silver in the sprint (making the men work hard!!!..the women ride against men two age groups...so ten years...older) and a bronze in the 500m Time Trial.
The Pirate was rather grumpy yesterday....but won a silver in the scratch race ( first over the line after 10 k wins) and is a decidedly happy bunny!!

All that and my team-mate from Dumfries won himself a gold medal today too!

yo-yo-ing..

Back to South Wales again to race!!

This time we started after a training session on Glasgow Velodrome and headed south on the M74....a much quicker direct journey this time and only 9 hours including the stops.  The Pirate took the wheel for two parts of the journey, so we both had turns at seeing the lovely views en route.

Then back again Monday, including collecting unsold pots from one gallery and delivering them to another that needs more stock !

Tuesday starts early with an MRI scan for the Pirate to see exactly where and how big Craig the Lump is.....

The Pirate is feeling well, so we live in hope.

carrying on

The Pirate had his test results...serious but not so serious.  Now we wait for the next tests to pinpoint the size and location of the problem in a couple of weeks then a conference to decide treatment.

And he says not to worry, that is his job!! He is the one that quotes " sharing is caring, caring is sharing"

His instructions have been to race and train as usual....so we've been to the velodrome in Glasgow yesterday. We're training for the League of Veteran Racing Cyclists' track championships..good practice for the World Masters' Track Championships , 5-12 October in Manchester.

Carry on carrying on it is then, carry on loving him to bits.

The weather is definitely Autumnal, so today is the review of all the outdoor and greenhouse plants, to see who comes indoors.

Tomorrow's weather is forecast rain and gales...of course, this is the day that the Tour of Britain cycle race opens with a stage from Peebles to Drumlanrigg Castle......

On a warmer note, Graham Obree has just set the speed record on a recumbent bike somewhere hot in the USA....56.62 mph...hats off to the man!!

championships over, for now....

We've just had a fortnight in South wales, a week to practice, then five days of the European Masters Track Championships.  
No medals, but we rode better than was expected.  I was complimented on my fitness and form...now onto the World's in Manchester, 5-12 October!! 
Because of the low entry numbers,  I was racing in the womens 50 + group, instead of 60 - 64 age group....but I showed well even in that.  Hopefully there will be higher numbers entering the World Championships.   The Pirate was mostly racing against 60+ or 65+ riders....not a lot of hope when you're 74....

Now we can chill out and have fun with Daughter and Family in West Wales for a couple of days before heading home to Scotland.

just passing....

Visiting a friend again to check emails...you tell people they'll have to phone or write, yet they still send messages online!!  

A phoneline will cost us about  £1 a day...for the massive 4.5 to 8 Mbs....but at least it will be worth it, when we can afford it!!!   So for now we'll carry on with occasional visits.
I really miss blogging, sharing thoughts and images, contacting friends all around the world.

Spring has at last Sprung here in Ayrshire, but the breeze...and sometimes strong wind...is still on the cold side.

We ventured to Yorkshire last Monday...after two hours driving in the rain The Pirate phoned a friend near Darlington...where it was nice and sunny! We left the rain behind after Appleby and Barnard Castle and had a day's grass track racing at Richmond until 4pm when the rain caught up with us again.
It was my first effort at racing on grass...it is very unforgiving, strength sapping, hard work but also  fun!  A very good way to get fit for racing on a wooden track.

I first went to watch the grass track racing at Richmond in 1957, when we lived above a bike shop on the A1 in the middle of Darlington. 
I saw Reg Harris racing, but what I remember vividly was seeing the sun and moon in the same sky!!
The next time was last year, to help the Pirate race there.  Then we had a bit of all sorts of weather, including a snow shower!!

Tour of the Northland

Couldn't miss that one!!

My first view of the Pacific Ocean  at Orewa

 Dry pasture near Whangarei, where the 4 day Tour of the Northland is based. 500 riders in five groups according to ability...plus one hand cyclist

 Our "digs" in Dargaville...

 past splendour...now riddled with wood boring beetle holes, but still beautiful and built with a grand view.

 On our way in the Bagage Train, ahead of the riders, going towards the Waipoua Forest, where the biggest Kauri trees are. Tane Mahuta is the name of the biggest one, just off this road,  the girth is 45.2 feet and the total height is 168 feet....it is estimated to be between 1250 and 2000 years old.     Some tree!!

 Looking over dry paddocks to the Tasman Sea

 looking out to sea across Hokianga (natural) harbour from our accommodation in Opononi.

 Jandals on the beach.....Kiwi as !!

j

 another dry sunset

 On the way to Paihia, ....

 coffee stop!!

 car ferry from Opua to Russell

 passenger ferry from Russell, across the bay to Paihia

 All sorts of craft!!

 and all sorts of fishermen too.  This is a Marlin.

 New Zealand has its own style of red phone boxes

 Looking back across the bay to Waitangi, of treaty fame, to Russell, which was the capital city before Wellington.

 The last day of the tour was wet...as it was last year!!  Was this the end of the drought?

 The Pirate won the 70+ group prize by over half an hour, and was the oldest rider in the race.   Not bad over four hilly stages, total 340 km .
Stephen Cox, the organizer  is on the left of the picture  and Nathan Cox (his son) the race director is on the right.
Stephen was a international New Zealand rider on the road and is now the most respected event/race organizer in New Zealand.

We travelled with the MyBike team from Whangarei, fifteen of us, riders and helpers, a disparate crew brought together by the love of cycling.   We made good friends, mucked in together and all worked hard, whether we were on the bike or not.
And the next day?.....mostly, back to dry weather...

reflections

I'm still writing...and this is the one thousandth post....

I've been back training on the track, keeping fit, practising techniques.   I need to get back to using weight training and making pots as my arm strength is down, but the technique is getting better.  You can lose several seconds with a bad standing start on the track!!

Today we are off to the Northlands for the Pirate and our Host to race in the Four Day Tour which starts and finishes in Whangarei, including a ferry crossing south from the old capital of New Zealand, Russell.   The area is the dryest in the country at present, being the first to declare drought conditions officially a fortnight or more ago.
We could have rain this weekend (typical!!) as tropical storm Sandra is having a whirl around....

and back again...

We had a hectic, hardworking week, and I saw New Zealand at the right speed- bike speed.....from a van!!
There was no time and little chance to get on the computer, so now I must go and sort a few of the photos I managed to take.....

Wellington to Auckland...

The seven day tour...

two down, five to go.....

Luckily we are a service vehicle, so I'm seeing the country at bike speed, in a van!!

This is the last hill today, all 3.34 k of up.....with a swoop down into Palmerston North the other side.

The Pirate is doing ok,  D, our Host, is doing well, and the weather today has been not too hot, unlike yesterday's 32 degrees or more.

I can't promise regular updates, but you can follow the link and imagine!!

the week so far

The rain came,  LOTS of it!!  Just when we needed six more dry days....

Then it eased off a little, the mountain bikers were happy because a sandy course needs water and we did our 1.5 k time trial. ( I was the fastest woman of the six who turned up!)
It was the anticlockwise run of the Cemetery Circuit in Whanganui.   Motorbikes ride this (with a closed road!) clockwise and the record is under 50 seconds!!
I did just over 3 minutes, as it was rather wet and slippy underwheel! We all stayed upright, which was good.
Yesterday the rain stopped and the sun rose on a chilly morning.
We joined a group ride, 25 of us for a gentle 30km.
Then a rest before the Straight Line Sprint competition on grass- and 200 metres looks far longer in a straight line!
I won my age group in a decent time, so I'm happy!!

The Games Begin...

With haircuts for all!   (our hostess is a hairdresser, her husband works in a bike shop and they both are cyclists)

 The oldest rider, 80 years old, started when he retired from farming at 70.

 ready for the prologue timetrial stage of 8k to sort out seedings...and off!

 and back again in 14 minutes....

 The first day's headquarters was at an arboretum.

 Off on the second stage, two laps of a 22k circuit.

I rode the reverse way around the circuit, so that I could see them twice and get some riding in my legs.  
I missed one turn as I arrived before the route marshall and managed one big hill down and up before reaching a sign saying "gravel road".....and they say it as it is!!
Apparently the best beach around here is down that way......
So retrace down and up to get back on course.

I like the official escort car for the main bunch...no-one argues with the one with blue flashing lights!

The second day of the two-day, four stage race started overcast, thankfully..and the bunches received  last minute instructions as they awaited the "off", from above Whanganui on the Eastern side of the city.

 then along the flat, past sections and paddocks...

 but that didn't last long!!  (the cars are official support/commissaires cars, the van has spare wheels)   I was in the first aid van.

past a childrens' playhouse....looking just like the farmhouse!

 Down to Hunterville (where the Huntaway dogs come from)

The population in 2006 was recorded as 441....but obviously it serves a wide farming area, mainly sheep, plus passing trade from the State Highway.

 
 The old Post Office, now a Bed and Breakfast, with model sheep in front, and yes, that is a Saltire on the flagpole! (the wind neatly dropped every time I tried to take its picture)

 lunch al fresco, then back for another hilly 60+k back to Whanganui, starting in a flat cherry tree lined street in Hunterville...

                            but not staying flat for long..                                                    

 
 
 and he finished, still upright, still talking coherently, albeit very tired.
Through the hills the temperature on the way back was about 32 degrees.

 Returning across the river to the velodrome headquarters of the race.
Whanganui is called the River City.
Then the prize presentation and the results!