Race plans

Race plans starting to come together

This seasons key events are really starting to come together and with the added bonus of my coach Chris Hopkinson returning to the race scene.

My key events will be the UK 24 hour , UK 12 hour, Texas 24 Hour. I am still looking to identify another European event to complete the three 24 hour event requirements to qualify for the 24 hour World Cup.

Slower start to a very long season

Steady start to what will be a long season

Many of you have probably wondered why my blog page has been quiet for a good few months and what I have been up to in the off season, when my season is going to start and my plans for the year.

I have taken a slightly different and slower approach to my season after burning out so early in the 2011 and picking up a virus. My winter training involved a great amount of core stability work while dealing with the introduction of food intolerance's created from a virus I picked up last August after a a series of hard races. I was one hell of a grumpy git around the house while trying to resolve my dietary requirements and can only thank friends and family for all their support.

I opened up my season a month later than usual with some tricky hilly sporting courses which always includes a trip to Lancashire for the tough 'Circuit of the Dales'. The good news is that I am even quicker than last year which has reflected in some great results and in the most competitive fields in the country. Most of my events have felt like national championships with the best riders in the country turning out to race but I have managed top 10 finishes in all events, often with seconds dividing me from a top three result.

My plans for the season are still coming together but I will definitely be racing the UK 24 & 12 hour races while i just finalise my other world cup races.

Team Bus arrives

      Team Bus arrives.......... Happy Days

After years of calling in favours for vehicles for my events a dedicated bus is finally sorted and complete with all sponsors nicely placed.

I must say a big thanks to Spray Guns for tidy up and Signz4u for all the signage.

Happy days. Hope you all like it .

Season's review by coach Hoppo

During the close season, Stewart trained hard and well. Maybe, in hindsight probably, starting training to early and to hard!

The consequence though is that Stewart started the season flying, notching up a win in his first race, followed by various personal bests around the country.

However it was always on the cards that this intensity and growing impressive string of results may not be able to be maintained throughout the whole season.

I believe this situation came to a head at the National 24hr Championships at the end of June, Stewart achieved yet another personal best in this race, but in doing so, had used what strength he had left in him.

In the following next couple of weeks he struggled with a 12hr in which he had neither the strength or the form to achieve what he was easily capable of, and then with various viral infections as he had pushed his body about as far as it would go.

It was a premature end to Stewarts season but many valuable lessons had been learnt along the way. As well as having racked up many impressive race results during the season, Stewart had learnt that he needed to listen more to his body, and when it was telling him that he needed to rest, he needed to take heed!

Also he learnt that possibly a later start to winter training and to gradually ease into the seasons racing might well be a more sensible plan. With this in mind, and with all these lessons learnt, also the fact that he is in excellent shape and with another years experience behind him, I look forward to him having a v.promising years racing ahead of him in 2012.

"you have two choices when you wake up in the morning: go back to sleep and dream or wake up and chase the dream". (Lewis Gordon Pugh)

I have started to settle into winter training but it has taken a long time to get over the a tough season of racing. My last post was just before I set off to the National 12 hour Championships were I could have cycled for 12 days instead of the quick 12 hours that was required from me.

The shear amount of miles had taken its toll and although the 12hours was shorter than most of my competitive events , I simply had no pace to break into my usual top ten placing. When I finished I promptly threw the bike in the back of the van and set off on the family holiday for a well earned rest and some quality family time relaxing in Cornwall.

Unfortunately while away I picked up a stomach bug which has lead to me being unable to train properly, eat certain foods and has now created an intolerance which is still taking time to address. So my winter training has commenced at a much lower pace while under going various medical tests to resolve this sudden intolerance which is extremely frustrating.

Channeling the frustration into positive energy is often a challenge however this has given me an opportunity to review my diet in much more detail and obtain a far better understanding of my nutrition and use my training time more wisely.

Also the purchase of a team van for 2012 has taken on a life of its own being refurbished and embossed with sponsors will prove to be a great asset to the new season and provide a fantastic opportunity to promote all the excellent businesses that continue to support me.

Over raced .... may be

My season has been pretty full on with events and after racing the national 24 hour followed by the Welsh 12 hour championships and then another 100mile TT, I finally needed a break.

Although my mind was willing my legs had simply had enough at the 12hr and even though I picked up my pace after a really slow start it was all over at 225 miles, my lowest mileage ever recored for such an event. Mentally I had to consider this race as a long recovery ride after a tough national 24 hour.

I simply do not like turning out to make the numbers up and a bad result really grates. My fustration finally boiled over when I raced the Bedford 100mile finishing just outside the top 10 on a windy and rain swept morning. I was so angry with my form that I peddled another 25 mile in temper.

It's not until you take stock of the season and that I realise I have raced over 1500 miles in just over 3 months and my passion (often obsession) with the sport forces me to neglect the recovery aspect which is so important if I want to do well throughout the season.

As part of my commitment to my training I sold one of the family cars so i could not avoid the daily commute by bike. To date I have commuted 3500miles as part of my training and there is plenty more of the year left.

My next key event will be the National 12 hour championships on the 14th August and then I will be taking a two week break with the family before returning to my 100mile TT's.

The 'devil's in the detail' and the results will come..

June 2011

The season is fully underway now and the winter training and pre season races are really paying off. I travelled to South Wales to compete in a 100mile TT as part of my final preparation before the National 24hr and got a real taste of Welsh roads with tough climbs and some rough roads but finished a respectable 6th with a time of 4hr.23min which is a good 30minutes down on my usual standards but based on the course was a fantastic time. The lactic rush through my legs when I crossed the line was not the best of feelings especially with another 2miles to go to get back to the start headquarters.

The National 24hour was held near Eastbourne all around the South Downes and yes it was hilly again. Saturday was sunny with 21mph winds followed by rain & fog during the night and then brilliant sun of 32c to finish.

The course was on the open roads and based around 3 specific loops depending on the time of day. Fortunately the night time route was the easiest and allowed me to hold 21.5 mph during the dark hours and really gain some distance.

I only stopped for a break after 11 hours to take on board some food, check mileage and the pace I needed to sustain for the remaining period. I completed the 24 hours covering 444.45 miles finishing well inside the top 10 and scoring maximum world cup points. At the time of writing this I am still awaiting the official result.

My support crew where truly brilliant and without them on board I would never achieve the results I have had to date.

I must also thank David @ Iceni who has provided me all my water for the season which is so important and goes to show that the devil is in the detail with the right 'ph' levels to mix with my nutrition drinks.

During the winter I tend to use tap water with a sports fuel and when training over 5 hours I always get heavy sickness which really goes to show how important it is use such a great product. I can't tell you how many times I have seen long distances riders being sick just after 9hours from using the wrong sports products and not thinking about the detail - 'WATER'

But it not just about using the right water when racing, incorporating it within my recovery drinks has also proven to be a great advantage. I read recently that one of the contributing factors to England's world cup football failure was the 'ph' levels within the water and used within the nutrition drinks. How simple but how naive.

I will be racing 12hr, 100mile TT and 24 hrs over the next two months with a mini break in August.