All over bar the shouting....

2012 that is!
It's been an interesting year...I started the year as a climber again and I've finished the year as a bike racer. The conversion was gradual but the effect is quite far reaching. Not only have I changed pastimes but according to my friend Steve Yeoman I've also changed shape!
I quote "Taylor, you've changed! What's happened to your arms? They've gone!"
I hadn't really noticed as I guess it's happened slowly but he's right the biceps and shoulders have all  but disappeared. I had to check whether I could still actually do a pull-up - it's alright folks I've still got a couple in me! (My all time record was 8, so that's not a disaster!)

This was probably the last time I touched rock.....sometime in September!

Getting a spot on the Biketreks Women's Development Squad has had 2 effects:
1. About a million more Facebook messages/tweets/forms to fill in etc.... where do they all come from?!
2. I've definitely been more serious about how much riding I am doing over the last couple of months.

Where last year I was content to go out when it was sunny and maybe go on the turbo trainer occasionally (to be honest I spent quite a lot of time climbing), I can honestly say I didn't do a great deal of riding in November/December.
I have been keeping a diary of my riding for about the last year (anyone who knows of my climbing logbook geekery will see this as no surprise!), it was actually Andy's idea and I'm now really glad I've done it. Aside from the world of strava and garmin connect it has given me a whole bunch of information about what I've done and how I've felt about it. Simply looking at mileage alone over the course of each month has shown me that December 2012 was a bigger month than June 2012 (and that's not counting turbo miles!). I'm hoping that putting a bit of work in now is going to stand me in good stead for next season. I look back on how much I improved between April and September and that was without having been training over the winter months.....surely 2013 can only be better??

So, 2013, what am I expecting? Looking forward too? Well, I'm off to the Costa Blanca on 7th Jan. After I don't know how many trips out climbing and working over the last 15 years, I'm actually taking my bike and no rock shoes! A little training camp for 6 days. It's a special deal for the Biketreks teams, so I'll be riding out with some of the Under 23/Youth lads ....... yeah OK I'll be setting off with them and then hoping they leave a trail of breadcrumbs or something so that I know which way they've gone! So I'll report back when I've survived! We are going here http://www.cyclingholidayspain.co.uk/
Fingers crossed for some sunshine.



Finally a few words about something different:

For the last week there has been a Strava/Rapha Festive 500 challenge been going on - people registered and then logged their rides to try and get in 500km between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Now sounds like a pretty good challenge for anyone but  a friend of mine decided he was going to give it a go despite the fact that he's currently battling cancer. There has been a great team of people who have been out with him on some or all of the rides, I've only made it along on a couple of days. But I'm inspired by Chris's fighting spirit, he had a full day of Chemotherapy infusion on Saturday which unfortunately finished his chances as he's been feeling pretty rough since then - I can't believe how well he's done and if anyone would like to support him he's set up a just giving page in aid of Beechwood - check it out here and his blog here
Keep fighting Chris!

Conversion complete - a bona fida bike racer.

It's been a strange few weeks here in the Taylor world. The world is definitely changing - some kind of seismic shift has occurred! Last time I wrote I was talking about no longer feeling like a climber, well it looks as though the transition is now complete.........
Over the last few months there has been a whole lot going on in the northwest with regards to womens' cycling, the Cycling Development North West agreed have thrown themselves in to running a womens' road race league alongside their existing programme. It may only be 5 races - but it's a major step forward - no longer will the girls have to enter mixed races and get dropped and demoralised - we can race against each other (and still get dropped!!). Manchester Wheelers were a part of this process as we run one of the CDNW races and after I asked people and they all agreed that the Wheelers would be psyched to have a womens race in our event - brilliant! Luckily some of the other events also agreed.

The other thing that happened was a new Womens Race Development Squad was announced, as part of the BikeTreks Race Team. (BikeTreks already have a junior squad and a senior mens team.) My first reaction was - that's brilliant - a womens team based in the North West - looking for people to develop rather than be wads already.....I'm sure loads of people will apply and it'll be great.
The team  (and the CDNW league) is the brainchild of Heather Bamforth, who I met at my first road race in Hull - the one where there were 59 blokes and me, and I basically rode round on my own for a while. Heather was there supporting her husband and riding around the course in the opposite direction and giving me a big cheer every time we crossed. Since then we've been in touch over the CDNW stuff and we raced together at our last race of the season - this time 58 blokes plus we 2 girls! We ended up riding together for quite a lot of the race - the marshals did mention that they knew we were coming because they could hear the talking!

So anyway, the team was announced and I thought nothing more of it for a few days. I'm a Manchester Wheeler......I don't need a team. But then I thought some more. I've loved being part of the Wheelers this year, it's been great I've proudly sported my jersey at all the races I've attended. But I have been ploughing a lonely furrow - none of the other Wheeler women have been getting involved in bunch racing at all. Viv has been AMAZING at time trialling - not sure how she does it?! Very impressive.
But the thing in bike racing is it's about being part of a team - you watch the professionals and it becomes more and more apparent that without team support the lead rider won't win. Now I don't see myself as being a lead rider or winning but I felt like I want to give it a try - this whole racing as a team thing. So feeling brave and with some encouragement from Andy I decided I had nothing to lose - I applied. So what if I didn't get in? It wouldn't matter I could carry on with what I've been doing this year and improve, but I realised that I shouldn't let the opportunity pass without trying - I'm way too old to ever be any good at this cycling lark but I can give it my best shot!

So, I waited.......... didn't actually know how long I would need to wait so I kind of put it all to the back of my mind and carried on with the rest of life - working, riding, trying to get through the endless velodrome accreditation system!

Then I got a message from Heather - "Read your email" it said.

Flipping Heck - I got onto the squad!! I could hardly believe it! I was jubilant and then I was terrified (what if I was rubbish and didn't do the team proud?? what if..???) and then I was sad! What about Manchester Wheelers? Well no I won't be racing in a Manchester Wheelers jersey next year, I'll be in a BikeTreksRT jersey - which is really exciting!
But will I disappear from the world of the Wheelers? I doubt that very much, I still need people to ride with, I'm still going to want to help encourage the women in the club to get out and ride (and race - although not too quickly ;) ) and I'm still going to the club dinner this weekend!

So it's Hello to my new BikeTreks Team - we are 5 women - Heather, me, Nic Fox (also a Manchester Wheeler), Nicky Shaw and Lizzie Waterhouse - we haven't all met yet and I'm not even sure what's going to happen other than doing our best and enjoying it!
Thanks for having me!

p.s. I'll post a picture of the new jersey when I've got one!

Am I a climber??

I never thought that anything would captivate me in the same way as climbing, never believed that there was anything I would enjoy as much and be as motivated to spend my time doing. I have  identified myself as a climber since I was a teenager and spent my entire adult life totally surrounded by climbers,  my friends, my job, my family - my world has been a kind of bubble. A very lovely bubble which has given me everything I could ever want - amazing friends, adventures all over the world, experiences I'd never have had in a different life, ones that many people could only dream about and for all those things I can only be extraordinarily happy. Then I got a road bike.

I learned through being injured for so long that I need something, to focus my attention on. It's always been climbing and during my recovery phase getting back to climbing was always the thing that drove me on, believing that I could reach the level that'd I'd previously attained. Last summer I'd been climbing a bit waiting for my body to sort itself out, and cycling quite a lot. I enjoyed it, enjoyed getting fitter, having something to do instead of climbing. During the winter I was feeling healed and started climbing regularly, training at the wall, and getting stronger. It felt good, really good. Spring came around and I had the trip to Majorca for work and play lined up. The month before saw unprecedented good weather and getting out on the bike was fun so I missed it in Majorca. But I was climbing well, I was loving the feeling of moving on rock and being smooth and comfortable. I had the focus back, the upwards thrusters were very much firing. I climbed routes back at the level I had been climbing before I was under the cosh of the sore back. I was prepared for a summer of quality climbing and then it rained!!
For the first time ever, I just gave up on climbing, I gave up trying to find the dry rock and the motivation, stopped fretting when I wasn't getting out, or going to the wall. I just stopped. Yes, I've still been climbing a bit, but I've chosen to go riding instead on more occasions, the sun has been out and what I've wanted to do is get on my bike and try hard. I've been loving challenging myself to get faster and stronger, been in turns terrified and jubilant when I've put myself into a race. I can see improvement  and it's been great. I don't think I've been getting that from climbing for such a long time, I haven't been able to see improvement I've been playing catch up, trying to get back to how I was and maybe once I'd proved to myself that I can climb pretty well the motivation seemed to evaporate.

What I have come to realise over the last few months, and even years is that my bubble has been burst, or at least severely stretched!

I've punched out through the irridescent film, out into the world beyond climbing and what have I discovered?? That I've slipped inside another bubble - the cycling bubble! Once again I've found myself engrossed in a life that demands my attention, my energy and my drive to be better at something.

Will I go back to climbing? Is this a temporary phase? Maybe I'll get to a happy balance point where riding and climbing are equally important - or maybe I won't. Either way I'm sure I'll be focused on something that I'm trying to get better at.....

Legwork, Laps and Lundy

Once again it's been a few weeks since my last post, I'm not exactly a dedicated blogger!
Anyway, what been going on? Well, mostly bike riding which I imagine is getting pretty predictable these days. I have been continuing my run of improvement in the Ashton Crit Races, and getting involved in some proper in the bunch racing. And I LOVE IT!!!


When I think back to the start of the season when I was getting shot out the back of the group almost from the start it seems like a million miles away. The last few races I've done have been brilliant, it started with a couple of damp races where there were only a few riders and we all stayed together and I thought it was just because there weren't many people and the races were slow. Then came a sunny week and a field of about 30 and somehow there I was, still with the group, making my way in the bunch, hemmed in on all sides and although not exactly relaxed handling it OK. In fact I was even giving other people a hard time for wobbling and doing random manoeuvres.
The not so great thing about there being a bigger field is it's harder to score any points. I was particularly gutted a couple of weeks ago to finish 11th when points go down to 10th! Bugger!! Still I never thought I'd score a single point at the beginning of the season so have to be pretty pleased.

Check out the new wheels - defo go faster!

Thanks for photography Mike Hutton who decided he'd come along for a laugh having been a keen cyclist himself a few years ago....I think he might be psyched for another road bike.

Next on the agenda was my first road race, now I realise that I've once again gotten myself involved in a completely male dominated sport - but really, 59 blokes and me - is that right??? No, would be the short answer. I'm a bit disappointed that there aren't more girls around who are willing to give this racing lark a go. Anyway, the 59 chaps and I set off on what I had assumed would be a flat circuit just outside Hull ( good opportunity to go and visit my sister!). Firstly the 7mile circuit was not flat and secondly it was helluva windy out there! The loop started with a short downhill and then turned onto the main drag, not super steep, but a headwind and uphill enough to make it hard work. After feeling quite chuffed to stay with the group on the uphill section I was somewhat disappointed to loose contact on the not very steep but very fast downhill half of the course. Anyway, so the short of it being I didn't last long with the 59 blokes, but at least I kept riding around in splendid isolation. I eventually got lapped as I was losing heaps of time on the headwindy uphill section as I couldn't hide behind anyone, but still I carried on and only when I got back to the start finish knowing that the peleton would be finishing shortly after did I stop to wait and watch the finish - imagine my surprise when only half the field finished.....where did they all go? Why would you just stop riding as soon as you got dropped - surely that's a waste of good training time?? I was bemused to say the least.
So hardly a lightning start to my road race career - still hopefully it'll get better?

Dan on Double Diamond

Back from our jaunt to the east coast and we had to prepare to pootle off down to the south west and the fabled isle of Lundy. Now this was to be my third visit.....the first one in 2007 was sunny and lovely, but half the large team came down with the Lundy plague as did most of the people on the island so we were chucked off. The second in 2009 was windy,wet and utterly miserable in terms of back pain so we left early. I was hoping for a repeat of the 1st trip but without the plague. We set off from Ilfracombe and after a brief spell attempting the watch Olympic action, then trying to go to sleep the only other available course of action was to spend the rest of the journey vomiting up the chips I'd eaten before getting on the boat. Grim! Now I have a question, why would you have a boat designed for cruising along the rivers of Germany and then use it as a sea-going vessel? The bottom os too flat, the rolling and general up and down-ness it particularly seasick causing - and frankly the Bristol Channel is not the place for the MS Oldenberg - dear Lundy please get a better boat!! It would save your poor staff for a whole heap of cleaning duties and stop them from getting sick themselves.
Andy and Dan were made of sterner stuff than me although a high degree of concentration was required.

Me on Albion

Once we arrived on the island things looked better, the sun was shining, the crags were dry and there was no sign of the plague. The next morning I awoke to find that the old back had decided that camping is really not what it was keen for and a protest should be staged, this protest lasted for 5 days and left me hobbling around and moaning! 2 of the days were wet and foggy so on those at least I had someone to talk too. I read a LOT of books. By the thursday I decided that I was mobile enough to give a bit of gentle climbing a go, so we headed off to the Devil's Slide for Albion which was very pleasant, followed by an alternative to Satan's Slip called Fear of Faust - that was me done for the day. On the positive side the skies had cleared and the sun was beating down so the suntan has been massively increased from the previous pasty white - now slightly off-white! Thanks Dan for the photos on the Slide.

Andy on Fear of Faust

The last climbing day brought even hotter weather and after Dan had managed to tick Indy 500 (after having been to do it several times on other trips and been forced back by dampness) we headed for the Marisco Tavern and an afternoon of paying cards in the beer garden.
Then it was time for the dreaded boat return journey - but by some fluke it was almost calm and sunny and an altogether pleasant experience.

Our constant campsite companion - never gave up on the possibility of food!

I think I can safely say that I will not be going back to Lundy and camping, I think those days are over!! Maybe if we stayed in the bunk house or one of the houses.........but with so many other places to go I think my next island might be Lewis.....check out Climb for Mike Hutton's article with loads of pictures of Andy.

Busy little legs!

After the BMC film project I had a date with the longest bike ride I've ever done. Back in the early spring I persuaded Catrin and Andy that signing up for the Etape Eryri was a really great idea and what's more going for the Mawr route was the only option. Now unfortunately the British summer wasn't exactly helpful with long sunny days to go out training being at a minimum. Yes, I know I should have gone out in the rain......but it just seems wrong on a lovely bike, and it's also a bit worrying with them wee narrow tyres. Anyway, the day finally came and after the first half hour Andy was fed up of riding at such slow speeds so he chipped off and we didn't see him until the end. Catrin and I pottered around at our own speed - which had moments of being reasonable quickly but mostly wasn't. I am happy to report that we were pretty good at riding up hills though and managed to overtake quite a number of folks along the way. I was doing well until about half way round when the old spine started to give me some gyp. Now trying to press on pedals with a sore back is not easy, but after a double dose of painkillers and quite a bit of poor Catrin waiting for me (thanks Cats) I got my second wind as we reached Pen y Pass and hurtled down the Pass and along to the final climb over Waunfawr.  We arrived back into Caernarfon in beautiful sunshine. It was like a french village hosting a mini Tour de France. And what was even better was the on-hand massuers who would give your legs a going over for a very modest fee - thanks!!
103 miles with 1650m of up - pretty bloody tiring!


Since then I've been trying to get some miles in, doing a regular 10mile time trial and racing some more at Ashton circuit. This has finally led to a tiny bit of improvement. I've equalled my TT PB, and then by a miracle at this weeks Ashton race I actually managed to stay with the main group and finish without getting dropped and hence without getting lapped. I was PSYCHED!! Even got my first ever race licence points. I think the training is starting to pay off. Andy's insistence on some sprint sessions on the turbo have helped me hang onto the wheels of other riders when they accelerate as is the case coming out of the hairpin at Ashton. I will admit it was a small field and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the fastest race ever, but I really felt like I was involved in the race for the first time and I really actually enjoyed it.


Meanwhile climbing seems to have taken a bit of a backseat........which is less than ideal as we are off to Lundy in about 3 weeks - better get myself back on some rock, or will that be plastic?

It's a wrap.

Classic route Valkyrie - no excuse with cameras everywhere!

Phew, well that's been a busy week! After the miracle of sunshine in North Wales we all headed over to the Peak and the Don Whillans Memorial Hut at the Roaches became our base for the second half of the shoot. The Whillans Hut is a curious place, built into a huge boulder/rock face, the kitchen area is rather damp with the rock making the walls, in fact there was an indoor water feature for most of the first evening! The rest of the house is more conventional and we all had a comfortable stay - although we would like to suggest to the BMC (who lease and look after the hut) that some comfy sofas would be a massive improvement - the wooden pew type benches in the lounge area are very difficult to lounge on!!

Trev and I had permission for a morning off on Wednesday, so I did a quick lap of the Llanberis Pass - Gwynant circuit (well, Ok not that quick!) before we headed over. We arrived at the Roaches and the rain had already begun, it continued to turn into a complete downpour which meant we weren't able to get any filming of climbing nice routes done. The rest of the crew arrived that evening and we suffered a few midges and a BOILING night of not much sleep before waking to the sunshine and wind - what a result! Midges were kept down and the rock dried out.
With loads of different things to film we were razzing around and filming things in a somewhat random sequence - luckily Ben and Rich know what order things are supposed to be edited in, and Jon and Dave kept a good track on what we needed to do.

Cameras everywhere!

Trev powering up through the roof on The Sloth

Managed to get quite a bit of actual climbing done over the course of the day, Valkyrie, Sloth, some bouldering, and all with a bit of sun. How good is the Sloth - unbelievable territory, and luckily HUGE holds. I've never done it before so that's another route off my ticklist T-Rex and The Sloth in one week - pretty good going, suppose I ought to lead Sloth next time.....

So, this is how you place a cam!

I'm slightly concerned about how this film is going to turn out, especially as Rich and Ben were filming some of the more random things I was doing, they were gleefully saying that they'd got great footage of my trying to warm up at the bottom of T-Rex - Rich said he couldn't believe how long I was jumping up and down and dancing around! It was really cold!!

Jonny G cranking on Mushin'

Even Ben Pritchard managed to take a  little break from filming to get on Mushin' 

Andy and Mac came out to hang out with us so there are more photos from this part of the week - thanks Andy!

Film star!!

About 2 months ago I had a somewhat bizarre phone call from Jon Garside (BMC person and friend, and one of Andy's regular climbing partners). He wanted to know whether I would be interested in becoming a film star! The next in the series of the BMC "Essentials" series was due to be filmed and this time it was Rock Climbing. For some reason Jon thought I'd be perfect for the job alongside Trev Messiah as "the experts"!!
So obviously I decided that hanging out with Trev and Jon and Rich and Ben from Slackjaw didn't sound like too much of a hardship so said yes.

The week had been getting closer and my climbing rate didn't seem to be getting much higher but I figured I'd manage to still mostly look vaguely competent, and as the lovely people at Mountain Equipment had said I could have some shiny new kit, at least I'd be looking smart!!Thank you - loving my new Cabrera Hood jacket, been climbing in it both days and the Bastion is AMAZING - I've been jealous of Andy's for months so very happy with that! Bastion's not out in the shops yet but keep your eyes peeled. Also a thank you to Lyon Equipment for sorting me out with a new helmet and harness.
Half the film is being shot in North Wales which is where I'm writing this and then we are heading over to the Peak for some more action for the second half of the week. I must confess I was somewhat concerned that the monsoon had fully set in and we were going to be really struggling to get things done, but by some miracle - I think Jon must have sold his soul to the devil, we have been blessed with sunshine and dryness. Yesterday we headed into the Pass for some old favourites, Shadow Wall and Cemetery Gates.
Filming does involve an inordinate amount of time not moving all that quickly, and that's with Rich and Ben who are basically amazing and the help of Jn and Dave Rudkin to keep things running smoothly.

Today's mission was a wee bit more exciting - Jon had decided that it would be amazing if we could go and climb T-Rex down in Wen Zawn. A route which meant there was loads of stuff to show and discuss and film for the DVD. Now T-Rex is a route I've always kind of wanted to do, but been rather intimidated by the horror stories of slimy, greasy, off width crack climbing on the first pitch, so whilst I was happy to go and climb it there was ABSOLUTELY no way I was going first!! Over to you Trev! Luckily it was in perfect dry conditions today. After an almighty battle of squirming, thrutching, getting your helmet stuck, swearing and then laybacking at warp speed so as not to fall off I managed to arrive at the first belay, just about warm after being almost made of ice from belaying. The tides and film schedule meant no sun for us until leaving the second belay - brrrrrrr! I think Ben was highly entertained by the swearing and grunting that was coming through from my mic during the pitch but I suspect it won't make it into the film unless they get one of those bleeping things!!
Pitch 2 - also Trev's, was altogether more pleasant, lots of traversing and the crux is a kind of down step so the gear is below your feet when you make it as a second, but generally pretty nice.
Then it's a romp along the last pitch of Dream of White Horses and off to the pub for a nice dinner!!
I can safely say that I won't be doing the first pitch again anytime soon, but the other two - happily!

Off to the Roaches tomorrow, fingers crossed for some more sunshine.
DVD - out in time for Christmas apparently!
Signed copies will be available ;-)

Lynx in the Lynx's

Yesterday before the monsoon season kicked off again I went climbing with Keen Youth. We went to Wildcat in Matlock Bath. A crag I have never visited and neither of us had ever climbed at, Dan had visited before to take photos.
The approach is geriatric dog friendly - well theoretically unless said geriatric dog decides to wander off the obvious path and then go rolling down the slope! Luckily he seemed to avoid any injury and spent the rest of the day hanging out with rucksacks and helping Dan and I finish off our cold pizza lunches.
Unsurprisingly many of the route names at Wildcat have a catty theme, we decided to go for the Rockfax Top 50 routes on our first visit. Finding them is no easy task with the trees in full leaf, but we managed to navigate our way to the base of the right bit of crag and started on Lynx (HS 4b,4a). Luckily once in the right place some kind soul has scratched the route name on a boulder at the base! This was also the first outing for a new pair of Boreal shoes I managed to acquire after a lot of trouble - it's impossible to find small Boreal shoes to try on, I ended up making a bit of a wild guess based on a completely different model! Anyway, they arrived and I have now worn them for their first and very aptly named route, I think once they've stretched  a little bit they'll be fine but the left foot was pretty sore, which doesn't make for using the feet too well!

Lynx climbed we continued on to Golden Yardstick a pleasant VS and finished off with Cataclysm - a better HVS. All very enjoyable especially once I retreated to worn in shoes!! Thanks Dan for a good day.

Today as the monsoon has arrived and I'm a bit weak and feeble I didn't go out on my planned bike ride......it's not looking good for a stunning performance in the Etape Eryri in a couple of weeks time!
Whilst I'm on a bike theme -  did my first couple of 10 mile time trials over the last 2 weeks. Good time the first week, not so good the second, but it was definitely windier, tomorrow I'm on marshalling duty instead which earns me a bucket load of points for the Club Points table, way more than I'll ever manage otherwise!! Then back to Ashton for some more circuiting on tuesday - again I'm hoping I'll be better than last week which was frankly pretty poor even by my standards!!

Here's a bit of film from a few weeks ago - don't think the guy behind is gaining much drafting advantage!!!

Girl Racer

So it's been a month since I last posted and it's mostly been raining! 3 glorious weeks (well nearly!) in Majorca and I had some climbing psyche I was ready to get out there and try and get started back into the UK climbing scene.........but all that's really happened is a mostly wimping around on plastic and not a great deal of that!

Got quite chilly at the Churnet  - thanks Ian Hey for this photo.

That's not strictly true I've had a few days out, one sport cragging around Dyserth (North East Wales), a days bouldering down the Churnet Valley and today I went to the mighty Hobson Moor Quarry - a crag of my youth! I decided I better remember what them strange lumps of metal were for and how to put them in, in preparation for a little trip to Pembroke at the weekend with the lovely Bristol Ladies - Mandi and Elinor. A rare treat to get the 3 of us together and that without small people as well - amazing! Thank you Will and Mrs Currey.
There will be more on that when I return!
The morning trip to Hobson Moor also meant that  I managed to chalk up my first E-point since before the back chopping palaver - so feeling quite pleased with that.


So apart from a bit of climbing I've been trying to beat my legs back into shape. I was feeling quite strong on the bike before heading out to Majorca, and distinctly weak and pathetic upon my return! Despite this I decided I should start getting involved in some racing and where better to start than at the Ashton Circuit where I'd been for the training sessions earlier in the year.
There is a race each week now for Category 4 riders and Women which is great as it's a bit better for me as I can at least have people to aim at rather than just being by far the worst person in the field! The other good thing is that because there are more than 6 women we get to have our own race within the race and so ride the whole course rather than being pulled out with 5 to go if you've already been lapped.
The first race was frankly terrifying - felt like hundreds of people (actually 55) and all going really fast. I had a terrible start and went out the back immediately, I then spent most of the rest of the race with one other girl and then lost her in the final lap as we were overtaken by the main peleton which meant I came last  and 3 laps down on the bunch - oops!
Week 2 was an improvement - foot went into pedal first go, I stayed in the main bunch for a lap or so and then I pedalled around with a MASSIVE bloke who really wasn't getting any benefit from sitting behind me for some drafting! I, on the other hand was getting plenty of shelter when it was my turn to follow. Also there were other people behind so I wasn't last, a definite improvement.
Week 3 and Andy came back into the peleton and promptly put in a performance I can only dream of at the moment and came 3rd earning himself his entry fee back and some points which mean he'll be bumped to to Cat 3 before he knows it and will have to go in a different race to me! The race this week was definitely slower and I stayed in the bunch for 4-5 laps which was quite a boost. As I went out the back there were 2 other girls and we then hung out together taking turns on the front for the rest of the race and only got lapped once. As the final lap came around I started to think about how to beat the other two to the line and so decided that leading from the front was NOT the best idea so I played a bit of cat and mouse until the younger of the other two went ahead. As we rounded the final bends she tried to up the pace and shake us off but I was locked onto the back wheel ready to spring out in the home straight. Channeling Mark Cavendish I went full speed ahead and hurtled past her to cross the line in front - oh yeah!! Might have been the sprint to avoid last place but felt good to win it. Not sure how many girls there were so no idea what position I got or if it earns me points but there's a chance.............

The water in Majorca don't taste quite like it oughtta....

Actually the water in the apartments we were staying in tasted quite alright really.....

Buf! at Alaro Trying to look relaxed in tufa-land! (Vicky Askew photo)

So Majorca, what a nice place. This was my 8th visit to the island, the first two I didn't take a harness just a lot of rock shoes, several chalk bags, multiple bikinis and a towel.......travel light when it's a DWS trip! After that I've been on more conventional sports cragging trips and this was the second that was work related.
Majorca is a great place for taking people on sports climbing holidays, there are loads of really nice crags, mostly with easy walk-ins, a good range of grades, friendly bolting, sunshine and everything on the entire island is pretty much within 1.5hours drive. Perfect venue!

Andy checking out Cova del Diablo!

Now I've done quite a number of climbing holidays over the last (I'm not saying how many actually - a lady never reveals her age!) number of years, most of them on the Costa Blanca and now a couple of Majorca and it's a frankly brilliant way to kickstart not just the clients season but also my own.
The working bit involves getting a load of mileage in, often interspersed with a few tricky routes as nearly every client I've ever had is psyched for me to get a bit of climbing in too. In fact sometimes I have to beg for mercy when they are trying to post me up desperate looking routes with some misguided faith in my abilities!

Andy not trying too hard at Tijuana - elbow rehab!

Andy trying hard on a route at Les Perxes

Oli in outrageous terrain for 6a+ at Sa Gubia week 1

Andy and Chris cooled off in week 3 at Cala Magraner!

Kwan multi-pitching week 3

On this trip Andy also came out so it was great to have a week off in between courses to get some routes in for ourselves. Typically the perfect blue skies and sunshine we'd been enjoying in the first week deserted us for a few days, which meant that Andy indulged in some ridiculous upside down climbing and I rested up for a couple of days ready to unleash when the time came. And yes the time did come, I really surprised myself by being vaguely competent. I know I've been climbing indoors over the winter and starting to feel like I could pull again but it's always different when you head outside. I suppose I've always been better on real rock in the past so I shouldn't be so surprised but it was nice to feel like I was really climbing again and committing myself to not just getting on routes but trying to do the moves.  I actually managed to break back into the 7's in the second week which is a bit of a milestone. One of them was definitely dodgy....but if Rockfax says it's 7a+ then who am I to argue?

Vicky trying hard in week 1at Alaro

We went to some new crags (to me) which was great and some different areas of crags I've visited before, and as usual I now have more routes that I REALLY want to do and as usual they are nearly all WAY TOO HARD! Oh well, I'm sure it's good to dream. The biggest disappointment was not getting to go to Fraguel, I've never even attempted to go there before but Andy was keen and I knew there was a few things I would be able to have a good go at, but when we arrived the road was shut due to some fires! Rubbish. Ah well, looks like I'll need to go back again.

Attempting to demonstrate it's "all in the feet"! (Photo- Vicky Askew)

And next time I am definitely taking my bike, or hiring one in advance. I was gutted to discover that there were none left and I couldn't get out for a ride. Never in all my life have I seen so much lycra, hundreds and hundreds of mostly german lycra clad people pedalling around the island. Up and down the awesome alpine style passes, along the wide open flat roads and hanging out in the numerous cafes everywhere. I think the biggest problem would be deciding what to do every day - maybe a split trip where I get someone to bring the climbing gear out a week later would be the answer and then I couldn't be tempted away from the saddle so easily?

It's all about the bike...

Well, it's nearly all about the bike anyway! The last couple of weeks has seen a return to the saddle, now that winter seems to have given up the ghost and left us alone (pretty good result I reckon!). I've been taking advantage of some great weather and some equally rubbish weather but either way it's been kind of fun.
Sunday I met up with Catrin for a ride around Delamere Forest - much rolling terrain and tiny lanes and some slight off-roading (thank you Garmin for not quite knowing what's a road and what's definitely not!)

Monday I went along to a training session at Ashton Circuit - specially set up by British Cycling's Jenny Gretton for us girls. It was dark, it was raining, we had to ride 4 abreast round really sharp corners, I got totally worked, managed to outsprint the other people in my little group 3 times out of 4, had a puncture and no Andy to fix it (yes I did it all by myself) and I absolutely loved every minute of it - can't wait until next week and gutted that I can only make it to 2 of the 5 sessions.

Andy racing at the Ashton Circuit last summer (blue knees if you are wondering!)

Today saw me out in the most beautiful sunshine - almost like summer, I even had shorts on, although with a pair of kneewarmers - can't be too careful! Catrin came over and declared that she was keen for a "beasting", well I can confidently say that she got one, and for that matter so did I!!!
The last few rides, well ok pretty much everything I've done so far this year has been relatively flat, bit if undulation but not exactly big hills. Today that was all to change, we left my house at about 10am and headed off towards the Peak District, starting with the very pleasant Long Hill, down into the Goyt Valley, up to the Cat and Fiddle - cue first burning lungs of the day and complaints of tired/weak legs.
Next we headed down to Wincle via Wildboarclough, on to Gun Hill - Gun Hill is often ridden by the Tour of Britain and usually provides some good action, thankfully we were going down the long steep side to head to Tittesworth Reservoir. Here we had a well earned stop for some sugar (Coke) and salt (Crisps) and energy (hot cross bun with cheese) before tackling more up to get to the Roaches, rode all along the bottom and then around the back via Newstone and Baldstones to get to Flash (ah-ahhhhh, saviour of the universe.......) the highest village in Britain ("Bollocks" said Catrin "Surely there are higher places in Scotland??" Probably but they  might not be officially villages??)
By this point the legs were definitely feeling the strain and the will to try and ride quickly had left, that was until the AMAZING descent which is going down Axe Edge into Buxton - I love it!!! Clocked up some good mph's and then dragged my sorry carcass back over Long Hill and home. Thank God for sofas!

Thanks Catrin for top days out, more next week.........

In between I also managed a day out on the Grit - yes real rock climbing! Keen Youth (Dan Lane) needed to collect a camera lense and he was adamant that the sun was going to shine so we headed off to Hathersage, collect said lense and then went up to the Curbar end of Froggatt and the Froggatt end of Curbar. Now I remember a couple of route names from that end of Curbar and having done the routes when I was a bout 15 - but I think alzheimers must be setting in, I did the same routes and I didn't remember a thing about them!! Really fun day out, nice short routes, didn't get scared, managed to put gear in with only a few monumental faffs, and didn't at any point get cold or miserable - what a total result! That's how climbing should always be - I guess I might have to break out of VS territory and see what difference that makes???
And Dan was right the sun shone!

Dry-tooling maestro!

Who'd have thought it, me coming home with a prize for dry tooling and Andy coming home with nothing??!! Ok, ok I admit he wasn't in the same category as me, being male and he didn't compete in the round on saturday because he'd just had his neck and shoulder pummelled by a massage person, and yes he'd have been able to complete all 5 problems with barely breaking into a sweat but the fact remains I won and he didn't!!

Yes, on Saturday we headed over to Rock Over Climbing in Manchester for the final round of their Great Winter Rock Over League, which is a bouldering competition all afternoon followed by a dry tooling competition for those daft enough to have a go and waving the pointy sharp things around. There were 4 rounds but Andy and I only managed to get to 2 of them due to being away and stuff, but we were keen to get along to this last round as the previous one we went to was really good, nice problems, friendly atmosphere, daft climb-off final and lots of prizes - winner!
Unfortunately someone decided to shut a pretty key road on our journey so we spent nearly 2 hours in the car getting to the wall so only had about 1hour 20mins to get out bouldering scores - wasn't the best either of us has ever done, but I still got chucked into the climb-off by default as I think some other women refused!! The climb-off involves 1 problem and being timed. I neither finished the problem or was the fastest - hey ho, good to keep the side up for the older folks - the other girls were teenagers!

Ok, not indoor dry tooling but the only photo I can find of me wielding tools!

Anyway bouldering over, Andy went to have a chat with the free physio folks from Global Therapies about his lumpy neck, they gleefully inserted their thumbs and left Andy feeling a little bit like his arms didn't work anymore and with the advice that he shouldn't do anything for the rest of the day. So this meant that although I hadn't brought any pointy things with me Andy gave me his and pretty much demanded that I get involved. He'd brought along his super shiny and super curved Ergo's so I had a go with them. The format is that there are 3 top-rope short routes and then a couple of long traverses on the bouldering wall. I managed 2 top-ropes first go, and then had a go on the traverses - one of them involved having to climb through a hula-hoop halfway along, which I managed and then fell off getting out of a rest stop a little further along. Not too bad and having then seen most other folk fail to get through the hoop I felt quite chuffed! The next traverse all went pretty well until it came to going across the underside of a roof - holds were a long way apart and I haven't quite got the figure of four thing to try that so off again. The final top-rope was steep and got pretty tricky in the middle as you went up to the top of the panels and then launched out into a chain and a hanging board. I blame the hopeless inability to deal with leashes for not getting up that so well, but I did have a go at the whole thing after a brief sit on the rope.

So, climbing over and with scores in it turned out that I had won the round for the girls class (think I was about 3rd overall including the boys) and the series........ the prize.......... a pair of Boreal shoes when I decide which ones I want and a 12 session pass for Rock Over - awesome!! Oh and a bottle of wine too.
Pretty glad Andy persuaded me to get involved in this round and the earlier one, shame he wasn't fit to climb as I think we might have managed a clean sweep for the round at least!

Winter......ah yes I remember now!

It's been quite some time since I wrote anything on this blog. When I started it it was a winter blog...... last year I missed out on winter so it changed a bit. Well this year I am mostly missing out on winter by living in the Peak District but I have just had my hit to Scotland so thought I'd share what I've been up to.

My main reason for heading north of the border was actually work, I had a week hanging out with the University of Derby students. We had a great week of mixed weather and pretty lean conditions but managed a day on Aonach Mor, a lap of Dorsal Arete, some Ice Factor action and then I got nasty snotty germs so sent Andy out for an extra day whilst I stayed snuggled up under a duvet.

Team photography - pointing their big lenses at Andy

Next on the list was Andy working for Mountain Equipment over at Alltshellach on the winter skills courses for Cotswold staff, and boy did they have some good kit testing conditions - a whole lot of damp and windy days out.

Then we headed east for Lukasz's Photography Workshop, Andy was the model and I was the safety/chef/logistics/anything else person. Luckily the sun shone and the crags were white so all turned out perfectly.......a bit more snow would have been good but can't have everything.

Enjoying some scottish spindrift.

Work over, Andy and I decided that it was high time to get me back on a proper winter route. Now Andy has a slightly over inflated view of my ability to mixed climb - I know I'm incompetent and have not the faintest idea what I'm doing, Andy just thinks I'll be fine!! That's the trouble with these people that are too talented for their own good! So he decided that we should head into Coire an-t Schnechda and get on The Message. All sounded fairly feasible, but after a weekend of beautiful cold and super calm conditions it had of course, decided to start being quite breezy and snow, so the route was somewhat buried by fresh snow. This does not make it easy to spot the placements for your axes and crampons especially when you have no idea what you are really looking for either! I think I'll gloss over the crux pitch.......I suspect it was good there wasn't anyone else close to us on the crag to hear the wailing that was going on. More than once I heard myself say "I just don't know how to do this. I don't understand how to get up here" and other phrases along the same lines, some might not have been quite so polite either!
It's a very strange feeling to be standing on a crag looking all around at the various holds and just not knowing what to do.......I know it would be super easy if it wasn't covered in snow and I was wearing rockshoes, but I wasn't!

Anyhow, I survived and managed not to drop any axes although it was a pretty close thing at one point with me catching the axe between my thigh and the crag! Phew, I don't think I'd have been too popular if I'd chucked a Nomic off the crag.

The look of confusion.....

The next day we were back west and heading out with Dave Macleod for a blast on his project which became Castle in the Sky - check out M.E. blog and Dave's blog for more on that.

Now back home and happy to have done a route but think I'd have preferred something a little easier in hindsight......or maybe just less buried in snow would have been better, that's what Andy tells me anyway.
Good PINK jacket though - thanks Gus.