tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42707650124844562682012-01-18T13:18:37.432ZRichard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-36123883958466557752012-01-05T20:59:00.001Z2012-01-18T13:18:37.443Z

It’s early January and I’m sure most people have given up or forgotten about their New Year’s Resolutions.  Out of principle, I don’t make any resolutions in January, instead I tend to review things once a quarter with an annual reflection in the autumn. The highlight for 2010 was the 24 hours of Exposure race in Newcastelton.  Racing alongside many blog authors who I follow, it was

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-14222712088437963392011-10-15T20:09:00.006+01:002011-10-16T15:15:50.240+01:00

‘Why was I wearing shorts?’ My legs screamed as the icy cold air tore through their muscles.  Leaving home early, I promised them they’ll thank me later once the sun comes up. Taking it easy up Reigate Hill, there was an air of expectancy; I was going to have a good ride.  The weather forecast was good, the trails were dry, and I had recovered from a heavy gym session earlier in the week.

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-14156984351626040752011-08-29T18:57:00.002+01:002011-08-29T19:06:38.406+01:00

“3 scoops of energy powder per bottle with a gel, and an electrolyte bottle every 3rd lap with 2 gels.”  The pre race briefing for Torq 12:12 was very detailed as meticulous notes were taken.  Having ridden this race solo last year, I knew the challenges that lay ahead for the riders.  This time, instead of riding I was staying in the pits providing support.  Involved in the race from a

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-91646812212524106262011-08-23T12:27:00.007+01:002011-08-24T19:05:42.810+01:00

As the trees parted revealing the dry twisty trail, with the wheels gliding over the knobbly roots, I found an incredible sense of unity with the bike. Flying round the blind corners looking to catch the next rider, a sense surrounded me that this was the moment. The moment for which riding is all about, giving your all for the buzz, the excitement and the passion of racing on two wheels. The

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-25539746651595081532011-06-07T18:15:00.027+01:002011-06-23T13:13:43.482+01:00

So you’ve sat on your bike for 24 hours, pedalled your socks off all night, created several buckets of sweat, burnt off 23,000 calories, consumed 30 energy gels, drank several gallons of liquid, and not slept for 30 hours. How do you recover from this? Oh, and your legs ache, your arms ache, your back aches, your neck aches, you’re covered in mud, you don’t know what you want and you can’t think

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-46764295873254432562011-05-10T16:26:00.025+01:002011-05-31T12:58:17.890+01:00

Very clean before the start Stopping overnight, we completed the 400 mile drive to Newcastleton in Scotland where Rock UK were hosting the 24 Hours of Exposure.  As one of the very few events in the world dedicated to just solo riders, it attracted top riders from 7 countries jostling for the coveted title. My brother Dave provided support for the weekend, where we also joined forces with the

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-47265987671293614542011-04-28T21:01:00.003+01:002011-04-29T21:10:14.725+01:00

Am I ready to take on the UK Mountain Bike Solo Championships?  In a word, No, but I’m prepared as I can be.  The months of planning are soon to become reality when the starting gun fires for the start of 24 Hours of Exposure on 7th May.  Riding with the top endurance riders will be an honour, yet daunting as I rub shoulders with those who write the many blogs and tweets I follow..  Preparations

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-42419556041703398182011-03-31T10:43:00.002+01:002011-06-30T21:33:11.128+01:00

A few people have contacted me saying they would like to have a go at the South Downs Double.  To act as a reference for other potential South Downs Doublers, here is some information that may help. The main difference between the SDD and a race or event, is that you have to organise your own ride.  Few decisions are made for you, so it’s a matter of making appropriate choices to help you achieve

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-24987073605807479192011-02-24T20:46:00.001Z2011-02-24T20:55:32.990Z

Endurance racing is definitely my strength so its time to enter my first official 24 hour race.  Starting at the top, I've picked the UK Solo National Championships, also known as 24 Hours of Exposure.  It has recently been announced that it is now the European Solo Championships, no pressure then? The prestigious event takes place on 7th May 2011 where I will be riding along side a few other

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-18105902755535352322010-12-20T20:54:00.009Z2010-12-21T08:22:06.129Z

When was the last time you did something for the first time? In 2009 I stretched myself to complete the South Downs Double, and in 2010 I’ve achieved many more things for the first time. Here are a few; * Visiting a gym was a new experience in January. I must have enjoyed it as I’ve been back 139 times. * Pilates was something quite new at the gym where I’ve balanced (in)appropriately during 60

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-17854720671158715882010-12-04T17:08:00.003Z2010-12-04T17:12:32.782Z

Snow covered the ground in abundance whilst Reigate Hill was littered with abandoned vehicles.  This gave the perfect excuse to go for a ride.   The 6-12” deep powdery snow flared up from the wheels covering our feet and the bikes like ‘clean mud’.  Pedalling down hill was a novelty making any forward movement hard work.  Balancing skills were honed with the front wheel often going into opposite

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-23518025327933177582010-11-07T21:04:00.000Z2010-11-07T21:04:39.220Z

When asking a friend what events he wants to do next year, he replied “Nothing much. I would love to do the South Downs Way in a day, but I haven’t got the time to train for it.”  He later said that when he finds the time he will then put his mind to it. Having a goal for the next season is essential if you want to improve and stay motivated. You will never find the time for training if you don’t

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-70841484917114899222010-10-10T17:02:00.007+01:002010-11-08T19:38:38.720Z

2010 was my first proper season for MTB racing where I achieved some pretty good results. Following a recovery training programme after winter illnesses, I entered the 8 hour as a pair with Keith Reed.  It was Keith’s first big MTB race where we came 4th out of 21 pairs. The mud made Set2Rise a difficult race in May.  After the 12 hours I was still buzzing finishing 9th out of 48. Storming along

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-64668034604685323122010-09-27T20:11:00.005+01:002010-11-08T19:39:39.452Z

Arriving early at the Hawley Lake Sailing Club near Camberley I prepare for the XTM Enduro that is part of the XT Festival.  The organisers All About Triathlons planned a weekend of multidiscipline events where for the first time they arranged a specific MTB race.  The race was only 4 hours attracting over 100 riders. Setting out on a couple of practice laps, I soon realised that it was not

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-9842169765834586602010-09-01T12:23:00.005+01:002010-11-08T19:40:03.141Z

My last major race for 2010 was the Torq in your Sleep organised by Gorrick near Yateley. There was no let up in my meticulous planning for the 12 hour endurance race as detailed lists were prepared and everything was packed into the relevant boxes for the day. Arriving at the campsite soon after 9am, we set up the gazebo and other equipment right next to the track. I say ‘we’ as I had the

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-74786125271680284922010-08-19T12:38:00.007+01:002010-11-08T19:41:06.912Z

Redhill Cycling Club hosts a Time Trail season where the 9 mile races on the Horne circuit are opened up to mountain bikers. This usually attracts a handful of mountain bikers where the competition is very intense. A mountain bike with knobbly tyres is the necessary criteria, so I fit the smoothest knobblies I have with the highest pressures they will take. The suspension is locked out to

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-84248791518980161402010-08-16T21:27:00.006+01:002010-11-08T19:41:33.160Z

One of the pinnacles of my MTB calendar is the Big Dog race in Brighton. The atmosphere last year was so friendly where the whole event is organised on a not for profit basis. Driving down with Jon & John from Redhill Cycling Club, we erected the gazebo in a prime location and donned our new club jerseys. Gareth, Keith, Alex Matt & Monica joined us to fly the flag for Redhill. My personal

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-78564214733570665752010-08-01T16:48:00.003+01:002010-11-08T19:41:54.635Z

The lure of the South Downs Way beckoned again as the BHF hosted another of their well organised events. My specific challenge was to beat my personal best time of 11:17 hours for the 100 miles. Arriving at Winchester, we saw a large group of about 50 riders set off at 5:30am. Not wanting to get caught up with the masses, we held back for a few minutes. I was riding with Julian, Mark and Chris

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-68821681973631036772010-07-05T13:01:00.004+01:002010-11-08T19:42:10.667Z

Last Friday evening I went for a gentle ride on my own. It was a refreshing experience as I normally push myself hard when riding solo. This particular ride was different as I was marking up a course for the Reigate Trail Break event the next day. Placing the orange signs and tape at the junctions was an opportunity for me to give something back to the cycling world. It’s so easy to ride a marked

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-50596088270385182682010-06-21T13:24:00.003+01:002010-11-08T19:42:30.387Z

Jumping at the chance for my son Dan and me to ride at the Calshot velodrome, we headed down to Southampton to join up with Sutton Cycling Club. Dan was with a group for experienced tack riders whilst I joined the beginners as it was my first time. Riding a fixed wheel track bike with no brakes was a new experience that I quickly picked up. The most difficult part was riding in close proximity

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-69736507331469409242010-06-01T12:49:00.008+01:002010-11-08T19:44:08.724Z

Avoiding the Bank Holiday traffic on the A303 we reached Erlstroke near Devizes in plenty of time. With virtually a free choice in the field, we set up our camp on the side of the Set2Rise track in preparation for night's ride. This was the first proper outing for the new Redhill Cycling Club gazebo, which proved to be an invaluable shelter for the night. Downing a late pasta lunch then grabbing

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-34953130058882604662010-05-25T21:42:00.002+01:002010-11-08T19:42:51.869Z

With 3 months off the bike I had lost all my fitness and piled on the weight. As the weather was pretty wet and the ground sodden, I joined the road cyclists in Redhill Cycling Club to regain some level of fitness. Gradually increasing my ability, I progressed from their Beginner to Intermediate group. Joining a gym for the first time ever, I take up their spinning and Pilates classes. My core

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-36789499420947077192009-12-31T21:38:00.000Z2010-06-04T21:40:11.995+01:00

What does someone do after achieving the awesome goal of the South Downs Double? It took a while for the reality of the achievement to sink in and the realisation that I had accomplished something so magnificent. I was never good at sport when I was young, and only took up cycling 7 years ago. This makes it all the more remarkable. When you reach the peak of a mountain, the usual way back

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07517701328967665153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-37118154519107464582009-06-30T16:26:00.011+01:002010-06-09T13:03:56.576+01:00

The plan was to set out on the Friday evening from Eastbourne, ride 100 miles through the night to Winchester, then use the motivation from the BHF Randonnee riders to help me back to Eastbourne. The few other Doublers started from Winchester, where several have done it Alpine style (unsupported). My admiration goes to those who can ride for hours on end, self motivated and self supported. I

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-76958594330112814462009-06-15T12:26:00.002+01:002009-06-15T12:30:45.042+01:00

The past few weeks have been full on with training and all the other preparations for the big ride.The training has involved several back to back long rides, many on the South Downs Way to familiarise myself with the route. Thanks to my detailed documentation compiled from loads of photographs, I can now ride the whole route from memory without referring to the signs, a map or a GPS. Eating on

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-30690239332221296112009-05-25T21:02:00.005+01:002009-05-28T19:24:05.164+01:00

Getting stuck in the Holiday traffic on the A303, we made our way to the Set2Rise event just north of Stonehenge. Arriving in a field with a burger van and some portaloos, we found others erecting tents and assembling bikes.Set2Rise involved a mass start of 120 riders at 6pm. The idea was to complete as many 8 mile laps as possible before 6am the following morning. Gareth, Marcus and Matt formed

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-18190586818592174212009-05-18T19:13:00.014+01:002009-05-19T21:03:09.902+01:00

Contemplating a 200 mile ride requires far more organisation than a quick jaunt around the hills with your mates. Even a 100k enduro can seem straightforward in comparison. Here are some of the things that I have been doing over the past few months whilst off the bike.The RouteBefore taking on the Double, I had ridden the SDW route from Winchester to Eastbourne about 3 times. Riding it the

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-33930042296526735992009-05-11T18:18:00.000+01:002009-05-11T18:19:22.547+01:00

The 100k Trail Break ride on the South Downs fitted neatly into my training schedule for last Saturday. Another well organised event is the Bucks Off Road Sportive last Sunday, where they had a 121k route. Wanting to build up my endurance, I entered both events for a full weekend of riding.Setting out on the South Downs we initially hit a 600 foot climb. Conserving energy I took my time to

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-62138712333599138082009-05-01T21:47:00.002+01:002009-05-05T15:18:47.274+01:00

Back in September when I started thinking about the Double, I realised that my fitness needed to severely improve. I didn’t know anything about my heart rate except that it ticked a bit faster when doing exercise, and I had no idea about warming up or stretching. I just liked to get on my bike and ride.Extending my weekly rides from 30 to 40 miles was the first step, but I was aware that a lot

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4270765012484456268.post-68099323808320231832009-04-24T13:22:00.002+01:002009-05-01T21:51:08.199+01:00

In previous years I have increased the stakes moderately for my cycling challenges, where this year I am going for something truly amazing. Steve McDermott said in his book ‘How to be a Complete and Utter Failure’ When setting SMART goals, instead of using the A and the R to mean Achievable and Realistic, have one or two goals that are Awesome and Ridiculous!The South Downs Way stretches 100

Richard Sterryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02710653223490136201noreply@blogger.com0