2 days to go... Live from Yorkshire

Hardware

I can't decide whether my 'lead' bike should be the 1985 Alan Super Cross with MTB 9-spd triple transmission [1 to 1 low gear] and Spinergy Spox wheels above (super light by my standards - but so whippy it's like riding jelly on springs) or my 2007 Specialized TriCross, again with 9-spd triple 1 to 1 hardware and Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels below (super rigid and directional - but about 2 - 3 lbs heavier). Both sport Schwalbe Landcruiser tyres. Hmmm..... I'll decide on Sunday morning about 09.30 hrs...

My CBRC team mate Chris McBurnie from Albany, Upstate NY, USA has come with this lovely Redline Conquest above, with Redline & Ritchey kit and Maxxis tyres. 36 chainring into 27 block. Very nice and a mid-weight by modern ' Cross standards. I want one.

Weather Report (not the Jazz combo')

The vista today at 13.30hrs across Batty Moor to the Ribblehead Viaduct and Whernside beyond. The weather for Sunday is forecast to be cloudy clearing later, warm (ish) with possible showers at times.

Programme (note: cover in colour for the 1st time)

Finally the Three Peaks 2008 Race Programme, collected from the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe this afternoon - very nice indeed... Jebby in full flow.

4 Days to go... The dawn of the age of Lycra

(photo - Barry Davies Collection - click on image to view full size)

Our last 'Davies Archive' photograph for a few days as we'll be leaving for God's Own Country in the morning - but our thanks to Barry allowing us access to these images. There are in fact some more pictures to display but they'll have to wait a little while - and all these photos will be posted here in a picture gallery in a couple of weeks.

Now. Some of us are old enough to remember the unadulerated joy of wearing saggy & smelly wool shorts and jerseys for racing - and don't even ask about what happened to tracksuit bottoms in the rain...

Barry was the first rider in the UK to wear a lycra skinsuit and coloured shorts - and almost got himself banned by the British Cycling Federation as a result (in fact the requirement to wear black or dark coloured racing shorts remained formally in the rule books until relatively recently).

Here he is in 1980 riding for Trumanns Steel wearing the offending togs near the top of Pen-y-Ghent.

5 Days to go... Pen-y-Ghent lane

(photo - Barry Davies Collection - click on image to view full size)

No apologies from us for using another from Barry's great archive of 'Peaks images.

This one is by way of illustration (exclusively for 1st timers, 'cos old hands will know full well what to expect) of the delights that lurk on the approach to Pen-y-Ghent.

Here he is in 1975 on the way to his third straight win, about half way up the lane from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to PYG before turning right through the farm gate and onto private land at OS map ref. 823743. Beyond that it gets even worse!

The surface shown here is fairly typical of the whole stretch, though some bits are more treacherous still - and bear in mind that riders will be going up and coming back down this lane at the same time. With some of the faster (and nuttier) 'downhillers' reaching up to 20 mph, the closing speeds can easily be 25 mph... So on serious note for a moment then, riders climbing the hill should try and give way to those coming back down. Bikes really, really hurt when they hit you.

Centre Pull Brake Alert! - This time Barry's Ron Kitching team bike seems to be sporting Weinmann c/pulls with "Ron Kit" stickers. If not, they're quite excellent Weinmann replicas. Clearly it's time for centre pulls to come back into fashion for 'cross racing - if only because they were always less tempramental to set-up and use than cantilevers were (and still are) - and because I've got a whole workshop full of them here...

6 Days to go - When Harry met Barry

(photo - Barry Davies Collection - click on image to view full size)

Although not taken at the Three Peaks, we couldn't resist this brilliant picture because not only does it evoke fond memories of how cyclo-cross used to be (no-one - particularly top rank riders; ever seems to finish a 'cross looking like this these days - i.e. like a couple of mischievous and muddy schoolboys), but also because, with 7 victories between them, it shows two of the race's most prolific winners... well at least until Jebby came along that is...

1969 and both the event and venue are unknown - but here the future 3 x times 'Peaks winner Barry Davies (Sports Motors / Tower Cycles) has either just beaten or been beaten by 4 x times victor Harry Bond (Bradford RCC), who was famously outsprinted into 2 place by John Rawnsley in the first ever edition of the Three Peaks 'Cross in 1961.

Despite that initial setback Harry went on to win the 'Peaks in 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1967 - and nice to note that Barry freely admits that the Bradford rider is still one of his heroes.

Equipment Note: Professional Cyclo-Cross rider using bike with Mafac racer centre-pull brakes (or maybe Universals, hard to see for all the mud...) - NOT cantilevers!

One Week to Go - how to avoid this...

(photo: Barry Davies Collection - click on image to view full size)

One week to go folks! - and courtesy of Barry Davies (see below) the first of a batch of historic Three Peaks photos. This one amply demonstrates (1) the advances in equipment in the last 3 decades (2) how tough the 'Peaks course can be on hardware and possibly (3) the need for proper preparation...

This is George Mason from Wakefield-based club Calder Clarion. Taken just outside the famed Pen-y-Ghent Cafe in Horton-in-Ribblesdale High Street. George has clearly bust his wheel on the super-rocky final leg of the descent of Pen-y-Ghent. The exit from the lane off the peak is hidden in the trees in the left background, and given that in those days the start & finish was at the Sports Pavilion at the north end of the village - he has the best part of a mile left to get home on foot... (addendum 1: Barry Davies has just contacted me to say that he believes that the finish was situated outside the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe until 1975 - so this is a pic of George crossing the finish line and probably explains his relatively cheery visage...)

Failures of this type are rarely seen these days. The worst my 14 stone bulk has ever been able to inflict on a wheel is a small ding in a MA2 rim (but no puncture though - and I only discovered the damage at the finish). Nevertheless Pen-y-Ghent remains a bike wrecker if only because the descent is so fast and rocky.

Best advice would be to use good equipment and not to sacrifice strength for weight. Never use anything new and untried and make sure you are carrying at least a spare tube, repair outfit and tyre levers. Ideally a multitool too - and I always have a CO2 pump; rather than one of those joke MTB minipumps that inflate to about 10psi on a good day...

Barry is unsure exactly when this pic was taken - but the Mk1 Cortina at the side of the road indicates that it's probably late '60s - early '70s and shows a typical 'Cross bike of the time, very few riders at the time had access to specialised 'Cross equipment (in fact most of the stuff we use now hadn't been invented!)

So note the Woodrup touring / training frame with big clearances and clamp-on (?!) cantilever brakes and GB levers. Sprints - probably Fiamme; and tubs (sew-ups) with very little knobbly tread - these are likely training tubs with a heavy file tread at best. There's a single Simplex or Campagnolo bar-end gear change lever, Fiamme (or possibly a Milremo or GB clone) nutted stem and finally the ubiquitous 'bivvi-bag' strapped under a drilled plastic saddle. (addendum 2: A rather closer look at the photo reveals that the frame has actually got brazed-on canti' bosses - and so effectively represents the 'state of the art' for 'Cross kit in those days).

Not seen in this image is the drive train. This is probably a single 40 or 42 tooth ring with home-made ring-guards on either side and a wide ratio 5-speed block at the back - plus steel platform touring pedals with double clips and straps.

George seems to be wearing a pair of leather winter cycling boots which have almost certainly had football (soccer) studs nailed into the heels. Other popular footwear for 'cross at that time were football boots with the front studs cut off and cross country shoes with heavily ribbed soles.
Note also that there's not an inch of lycra or advertising in sight. Wool or viscose club jersey, wool shorts and a long-sleeve shirt underneath.

Unless you were licenced professional rider, to attempt to wear a trade jersey or shorts in those halcyon days might have been an invitation to be officially declared a 'professional' sine die - not a practical option for most club men then*. Hence the poliferation of black duct-tape on shorts and jerseys in some pictures of the time.

*However it must be said that 'Cross in the UK was then run by the BCCA (British Cyclo Cross Association) and not the BCF. Let's just say that the BCCA had a rather more 'pastoral' view on these matters than did the BCF...

Mr Davies regrets...

Over the last few months I've had the pleasure of an exchange of emails with Barry Davies - former Professional ' Cross rider - in fact one of the UK's premier cash men of the 1970s and 3 times winner of the Three Peaks (1973, 1974 & 1975).

Barry is really taken with the Iron Cross concept and had fully intended to ride the event this year.

Sadly circumstances dictate that he won't now be able to make the transatlantic trip this October, but does intend to be on the start line at Camp Thompson in 2009.

Nevertheless, all is not lost because in the meantime Barry has offered to send us some images of the Three Peaks from his halcyon days in the race - and not (he's promised) all of him!

Presumably most of these pix has never been published before, so they should be an interesting addition to the 'Peaks currently rather scant pictorial history.

Watch this space...

Three Peaks / Iron Cross Hall of Fame

Seven riders who have ridden both the Three Peaks & Iron Cross Cyclo Cross (listing below is in date / alphabetical order):-

Albert Greene (USA) - Yellow Breeches Racing ('Peaks & IC both in 2005)

Keith Bontrager (USA) - Bontrager Wheelworks ( 3 x 'Peaks + IC 2007)

Ian Briggs (UK) - Capital Bicycle Racing Club (12 x 'Peaks + IC 2006 & 2007)

Gary Hill (UK) - Capital Bicycle Racing Club ('Peaks 2005 + IC 2006)

Stuart Bowers (UK) - Cycle Sport Magazine ('Peaks 2006 + IC 2007)

Rob Jebb (UK) - Wheelbase (13 x 'Peaks + IC 2007)

Andy Peace (UK) - SIS (14 x 'Peaks + IC 2007)

Top Left: Andy Peace - Science in Sport, Wigwam Hill, Iron Cross 2007 (photo - Bina Briggs). Above centre: Andy Peace & Rob Jebb, 27 x Three Peaks and 2 x Iron Cross between them (photo - Ian Briggs - and as per usual click on images to view full size).

Lance Armstrong NOT riding the 2008 Three Peaks!

But here are four Americans who are... (photos - Bina Briggs. Click on image to view full size)

Keith Bontrager (Bontrager Wheelworks) - MTB guru, framebuilder, wheel designer, innovator, all-round Endurance Cross / MTB expert and 3 times Three Peaks competitor. Coming in from California. *And I've just realised that Keith qualifies for the Three Peaks / Iron Cross 'hall of fame' - as he rode IC in 2007...

Chris McBurnie (Capital Bicycle Racing Club) [centre]. My esteemed team-mate from Battenkill in darkest Upstate New York. Three Peaks debutante and is flying in especially for the event. He (like me) sports a most excellent moustache - or he did when I met him, so he must be an all-round really great bloke...

Alex Anderson (Santa Cruz County CC). Another Three Peaks first-timer from California.

Mark Michel (Bicycle Trip - AKA 'Bike Trip'). This is Mark's 8th time at the 'Peaks. He also is travelling from Cally to be with us again.

Sorry. No pix for the last two riders (despite extensive 'googling' - and the fact that Mark is a 'Peaks veteran, I can't ID him on any of the usual picture galleries) - so if you're out there guys - c'mon, send me a photo...

Reasons to spend extra time in the Dales - 1 Cheese

Ah! Wensleydale Gromit...
Many people riding the 'Peaks arrive late on Saturday (even Sunday morning of the race) and depart straight after the finish, which is a shame because the area around the Three Peaks is stunning and most people miss out.

If you can spend some extra time in the area, there is much to see and we always enjoy a visit to the Hawes Creamery http://www.wensleydale.co.uk/

Hawes is a 30 - 40 minute drive from the Settle / Ingleton area and although the website above is a little uninspired, don't be discouraged it's worth a couple of hours of anyone's time, especially if you're a Cheese (and particularly a Wensleydale) lover.

The local delicacy (and real Wensleydale is only made in Wensleydale) is made most days of the week and the creamery tour allows you to see the process from start to finish if you have the time.

The on-site cafeteria restaurant is excellent and has, as you might expect, a 'cheesy' menu - "soup to nuts" as it were - though it's best to avoid it at the lunchtime peak as the wait for a table can be extended. There's a gift shop too, where you can buy... you guessed it - cheese! - and cheese ephemera.

Hawes itself is a attractive market town - if a bit touristy, and of course inhabited by loads hill-walkers and psuedo-walkers (the latter are the ones with immaculate "North Face" anoraks and slacks - and quite spotless hiking boots and usually the ladies carry a handbag). Hawes is also a focal point for a lot of the motorcyclists who love to come in packs to the 'Dales at the weekend and try and commit suicide on the local roads. Great for m'bike spotters - but try and avoid them on blind bends if you're out on your one-man-powered version.

If a cheese-based feast is not to your taste, there are loads of pubs and tea shops in the town where you actually eat meat-based products...

TIME TO READ THESE NOW...

Just over three weeks to go now - and the final start list for the 2008 Three Peaks Cyclo Cross has been published today (see below).

No patronage intended to the 'old hands' - or indeed the new ones, but it's perhaps an appropriate moment to remind first timers to read the Three Peaks race regulations very carefully, because they are unique to this event.

You'll find them here:- http://www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk/regulations%20for%20competitors%202008.pdf

and here:- http://www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk/instructions%20for%20support%20vehicles%202008.pdf

However in summary (ONLY - and please don't let it stop you reading both the above files):

1) Full Cyclo-Cross bikes only. No MTBs (modified to 700c wheels or otherwise). 35mm maximum tyre width.

2) Straight handlebars are allowed but must be no more than 50cm wide. Bar ends / extensions are not allowed.

3) Bike changes etc., are permitted, but there are 3 'service' points only - Cold Cotes, Ribblehead Viaduct (Batty Moor) and Horton-in Ribblesdale - and note carefully the parking restrictions for following vehicles in these areas. Riders found taking mechanical service outside of these areas will be disqualified.

4) Support vehicles must only follow the official route indicated on the map - i.e. Austwick / Clapham / Cold Cotes / Ingleton / Ribblehead / Horton / Helwith Bridge (for example, they are not permitted to drive from Helwith Bridge to Horton-in-Ribblesdale after the start).

5) Riders must carry a whistle and a Bivvi Bag* at all times. * Easily obtainable for approx £3 - 4 from all outdoor shops in the area.

6) Riders may be required to carry a lightweight waterproof jacket too - depending on forecasted weather (listen for tannoy announcements prior to the start).

7) 'Stop' times will be in force at Chapel-le-Dale (12.30hrs) and Horton-in-Ribblesdale at the entrance to Pen-y-Ghent lane (14.30hrs). Riders arriving after these times will be obliged to withdraw.

Note that any rider who is in breach of the published reg's (or indeed if a breach is committed by a support vehicle) they can be disqualified.

Now back to the funny stuff...

Final Definitive Start List for the 2008 Three Peaks Just Published!

Pen-y-Ghent looms through the cloud in the background as just 40 riders wait for the start at the first Three Peaks in 1961 [40 was the legal limit for massed start races on public roads in the UK for decades]. 400 will line up for the 2008 edition. See the start list below (Photo - John Rawnsley Archive - click on image to view full size)

It's here:- http://www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk/entry_list_2008.htm

Worth the trip for these alone (Final Part)

(Photo Chuck Armstrong - http://www.elementoftheeye.ifp3.com/ click on image to view full size)

They look OK to me... (the socks I mean)

Worth the trip for these alone (Part 2)

Rob Jebb on his way to winning his socks in 2007 and an excellent chance to irritate people (photo - Bina Briggs. Click on image to view full size)

Fellow 3 Peaks enthusiast, rider and blogger Dave Haygarth has puckishly commented below (with regard to the rather fine Iron Cross Sox that every finisher gets):

"Jebbster wears his at almost every cross race which is very irritating as they look like school socks on him and don't go with his kit".

Yes Dave, but (1) Jebby did actually win the race so why not rub our noses in it? (1a) It's fun to irritate people sometimes (2) I would suggest that nearly all socks look faintly ridiculous - without exception, ever, and (3) I hadn't really noticed anyway, that aesthetics feature very highly in any racing kit design...

As it happens, the sox in question are a superb match for the now highly-sought after "Iron Cross" racing jersey that was merchandised by YBR specifically for the 2005 and 2006 races. Red & Black as I recall - very smart.

There were a few of these excellent jerseys still available at Camp Thompson last year - and I was standing there with some $$$s in my sweaty mitts but none sadly were in my sizing - i.e. 'Super Fat Pig size'...

IRON CROSS 6 - ADVICE FOR ENTRANTS & TRAVELLERS

How to Get There

US residents can ignore this first piece – go straight to “Race Location” below.

There are of course many airlines that fly transatlantic to the ‘States, principally from London & Manchester – British Airways, American, United etc., - and our personal favourite for an overall excellent ‘Economy Class’ experience – Virgin Atlantic.

NOTE / DISCLAIMER: We don’t work for Virgin and have no business connection with them, so we must stress that this is our subjective opinion.

Virgin offer comfy seating, regular snacks and meals and on most of their aircraft - excellent interactive, seat-back in-flight entertainment. Additionally they have a generous baggage allowances which effectively permits you to take both a suitcase and a bike bag FOC as part of that allowance despite their published restrictions on dimensions (best to let them know about the bike bag a few days in advance though).

Aim to fly direct into either Washington Dulles (IAD) or Baltimore (BWI). Both are about a 2 to 3 hour drive away from South Central Pennsylvania. New York is also an option – but it’s a 5 hour drive and you’d have to negotiate the urban conglomeration around the city before striking out onto the New Jersey Turnpike and beyond…

Expedia, Lastminute and Opodo are good places to go to book flights and of course all have concessionary rates for Car Rental too.

There do seem to be more flight options to Dulles, but it can be a real nightmare getting through Immigration and Customs – AKA Homeland Security (allow 2 hours to do that!) and the road system in and out of the Airport can be confusing for a first timer. Some of our American friends say that Baltimore is better in both respects, but we have no experience of BWI and accept that advice untested, as it were.

In that regard, PLEASE make sure you check this following site carefully before you make any transatlantic bookings:- http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm

It’s a long way to go to find that they turn you back to the UK because you don’t have the correct documentation or Visa…

Also note that Homeland Security insist that you provide them with an address that you will be staying at on your first night in the USA (this of course will be your hotel or B&B – see “Where to Stay” below).

Rather than map-read, our advice would be to hire a GPS / TomTom from the Car Rental agent, or bring your own with USA mapping loaded onto it. Thus all is ease and comfort. However there are other online resources to help you…

Race Location

The Iron Cross Weekend’s activities are all based around the YMCA Campsite at Camp Thompson, near Fuller Lake in the Michaux State Forest. As everyone reading this piece has access to the www, simply go to http://www.googlemaps.com/ and paste this data into the search box - Pine Grove Rd @40.041304, -77.270806

This is the exact location of car parking for the race, and Camp Thompson lies at the end of Ice House Road (only official vehicles are permitted along the latter – which is unmetalled and also the start point for the Iron Cross on Sunday morning).

Where to Stay

Harrisburg (1 hour from start), Gettysburg (1 hour), Carlisle and Shippensburg (both 30 mins) are all good options. However bear in mind the race start time and the fact that most Motels / Hotels in the USA don’t / won’t serve breakfast early enough for you to feed and be “on the road” in time. Thus closer is better.

Look here: - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ We’ve only ever had one dud from this site (in Gettysburg and if anyone wants to know what it was – email me privately, we’ll be happy to “share”!).

Generally speaking US Hotel / Motel ‘chains’ offer a good quality of clean comfortable accommodation, but remember that breakfast is not always included in the price. We’ve had good experiences with Quality Inns ( http://www.qualityinn.com/ ) but most other chains offer similar levels of service.

Also have a look at http://www.visitpa.com/ – there is lots of general tourism advice and access to private home B&Bs and Guesthouses bookings – and they even sponsor a Cycle Team!

Finally you can book a space in the bunkhouse accommodation at Camp Thompson itself. Very Cheap indeed - $20 for the weekend.

Log cabins, fresh air, clean showers & latrines, fantastic atmosphere all weekend and only 30 seconds from the start! Bring your own sleeping bag and catering and bear in mind that there’s no heating in the bunkhouses (a raging log fire in the central admin building though). It can get very cold at night in PA during October.

Places can be booked by going to the race registration page here:-

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=6654

If anyone wants any further advice / insights into Iron Cross logistics for race entrants, please feel free to email me privately at Lemansgtman@ntlworld.com . See you all next month.

Worth the trip for these alone

I'll be trying to publish my promised 'travel guide' to the Iron Cross (how to get there, where to stay etc.,) later on this evening. In the meantime here's a bit of a taster.

Mark Laser and the YBR gang are very good at what might be called the 'domestic' aspects of organisation - i.e. the little things that make the difference between a great event and one you can hardly recall riding the following week.

Every starter at the Iron Cross (aka 'IC') gets a goody bag of stuff including a most excellent T-shirt. I haven't seen this year's version yet, but it'll be good, and last year's was actually a wicking undervest with the race logo etc., rather than just the usual cheap generic cotton Tee...

And, every finisher gets of pair of IC socks just like these. Surely on their own, worth a 3500 mile flight?

I'll be wearing mine to ride the Three Peaks (only 4 weeks to go folks!) so if you want a preview of this epitome of socky elegance try and spot me at the Vets / Ladies / Junior start at Helwith Bridge on September 28th.

This week I am mostly riding...

...or The Tour of the Cornfields (Cambs - UK)

I rode the second edition of the Tour of the Cornfields Cyclo-Cross Sportive yesterday. Soon to be a classic I guess (and indeed this year's event was oversubscribed weeks in advance), the event is based on a 59 mile loop round Bassingbourn in South Cambridgeshire and has a field limit of 175 (this year at least).

http://easterncross.users.btopenworld.com/cornfieldssportive2008.htm

A very nice event indeed and about a 50/50 split between blacktop and off-road. Even though there aren't many hills on the course (well none actually) - nonetheless it was excellent training / practice for the 'Peaks and the Iron Cross in that it provided 4 hours* of hard riding over what was some tough terrain - mainly due to the bumpy nature of the tracks around said cornfields which made it difficult to get into any sort of regular cadence.

I got round in 4hrs 11mins (riding time as per my Garmin) - about 4hrs 25mins (actual elapsed - inc. 1 x stop for feedstation and 1 x because I went off course).

*Note: It's a sobering thought that Rob Jebb was able to get round roughly the same distance in the Iron Cross last year about 30 minutes quicker with some substantial hills in the way!

I was using my trusty ex-'Peaks / Iron Cross Specialized Tricross Sport in standard trim except for swapping the wheels out for a pair of Spinergy Spox carbon 'blingers' which I bought on ebay some time ago and needed to dry-run to see if they would stand up the rigours of the 'Peaks / Iron Cross double header.

Answer affirmative. With Schwalbe Landcruisers @ 70psi it was a trouble-free day over the miles of teeth-loosening single track...

No pix of the event itself (I was riding it y'see) but here's a nice one of the rig I used being admired by an attractive young woman I met outside the event HQ at Bassingbourn Community Sports Centre.