Round 3 Mugdock Cyclocross

Results | Photos

I took part in the 3rd round of the Scottish Cyclocross Series hosted by Glasgow Mountain Bike Club today. All I knew about Cyclocross was what I had heard from my friends Graham and Alex and what I had read online. 

"Races are fast, furious and muddy. Normally lasting around hour, a typical race will take short laps of singletrack, grass, tarmac and hurdles with short running sections. Although less technical than XC mountain biking, the courses used in the Scottish series are a stern test of rider's abilities."

And they weren't lying. The racing was action packed and completely relentless. I slipped and slided my way round each lap holding on as best I could. The muddy course had the pit teams working hard with bike swaps almost every lap for the leaders. I didn't have that luxury but did have an awesome support team in the form of Alex, Oran, Lexi, Seonaidh and Rosie. More cowbell! 

I finished 21st out of 62 riders in the mens senior race.


Footage from the race shot and and edited by my friend Alex on a GoPro HD camera.

The Cairngorm Charmer

Results | Garmin Data - Run 1 | Garmin Data - Bike | Garmin Data - Run 2 | Photos

My good friend Alex and I joined over 120 competitors from all parts of Scotland to completely ignore the wet and misty weather at Cairngorm Mountain on Saturday and take part in the fifth annual Cairngorm Charmer duathlon event.

The event sees teams of two complete a 12 mile lap by running and biking around the Cairngorm and Glenmore forests with a challenging (but charming) last mile hill climb back up the Allt Mor trail to the finish line at Cairngorm.

We both put in fairly respectable times and ended up finishing in 4th position overall, 2 minutes away from a podium place. Overall fastest time went to Inverness pair Ross Nixon and Donnie MacDonald who set a new record time of 2.19.13 retaining their title from 2010.

There was a great social and competitive atmosphere at the event (despite the weather conditions…) and we'll definitely be back to try and get on the podium!

The event is organised as a fundraising event for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and through generous donations we raised £400.

Team results:

1. Dangermouse and Penpusher - 02:19:13
2.  Bald and Balder - 02:27:00
3.  Third Again? - 02:30:35
4.  Dangerous Brothers - 02:32:34

Individual performances:

1. Cris (9th overall) - 01:14:34
2. Alex (16th overall) - 01:18:00

On the gun - Me and Donnie MacDonald of team Dangermouse and Penpusher start run 1

Run 1 - Elevation Loss: 1,004 ft.

Run 2 - Elevation Gain: 994 ft

Handover with Alex

Alex finishing

The Dangerous Brothers! 4th place is underated.

Dalbeattie Hardrock Challenge 2011

Results | Photos

Freshly recovered from my injury I took park in the 2011 Dalbeattie Hardrock Challenge at the weekend. A 10 mile trail run followed by a 16 mile mountain bike.

It was muddy, it didn't stop raining and I suffered cramp on the bike part but thoroughly enjoyed it. In the solo category, out of 40 entrants I was 4th overall with the 2nd fastest run and 10th fastest bike so delighted! Perhaps leave a little more in the tank for the bike part next time and not forget my Gamin watch.