Training camp and first race of the season

It's been a while since my last update as there is only so much you can write about cycling in the winter but some of the adjectives I may have used are: freezing, wet, grim and hilly.

With that in mind I decided to take the opportunity to go on a team training camp to Lanzarote. It could not have come at a better time as I was getting to the point where I wasn't enjoying waking up early every weekend to go and cycle in apocalyptic conditions (weak I know). 

The camp was very successful apart from one day of excruciating cramp. I got around 20 hours riding in with the team and more importantly some very defined some tan lines. It was also a good opportunity to get to know my new teammates for this year. I already knew some of the team from racing against them but there were a few I had never met before and got to know on the trip. I think the team we have are capable of winning huge races this year so I will look forward to racing with them.

I arrived back in the UK last Thursday and after a quick turnaround I was racing in Liverpool on the Saturday at the Eddie Soens Memorial. The race is cycling's answer to a demolition derby with several high speed crashes thanks to the range in ability within the field of competitors. Without going into too much detail there were 3 big crashes in the 30 lap race, the first 2 I managed to avoid. The final crash was with 500m to go and involved around 15 rides who decided to crash in front of me leaving me no where to go other than into the Tarmac. Thankfully I was able to ride away from the incident and rode back to Manchester velodrome via Manchester high street at 2pm on Saturday (thanks to my garmin).

The end result of the crash was a swollen knee and some lost skin. Crashing always puts doubts in my head whether it's worth racing. After a contemplative ride back and watching an afternoons racing at the velodrome there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to recover and have the successful season that my hard work over the last 5 months deserves. After a couple of days off the bike and a week of walking like I've shat myself my knee is almost recovered in time for my next race.

My next race (tomorrow) is the Jock Wadley which is my home race and attracts the best riders in the country. Last year when I raced the event it was arguably one of my best performances of the year having finished 13th in atrocious conditions. I am looking for an even better result this year and hoping my knee holds up!