2023 Race Blog - The Seven(th) Year Itch!

[Mikku]

Next weekend's weather and therefore racing is looking decidedly dodgy, with a developing typhoon heading this way. Anything can happen in a week though, so fingers crossed the forecast improves.

In the meantime, I've been hitting the training quite hard, at least by my standards. In an attempt to keep at it, I've started a training journal to record what I do. This forces me to do at least something every day, so as not to leave a blank page!! So even if it rains and I can't ride outside, I will do ten minutes of start gate form and practice in the bike shed. Something's better than nothing, right!? I need to keep those now 54-year old legs (and back) moving!!

[Mikku]

It's Sunday afternoon here and I'm sat in front of the pc instead of being out racing.

Rain stopped play at both Oizumi and Joetsu, as I feared might happen. The Oizumi meet has been cancelled altogether, so the next one there is on Nov 12th. Joestu has been postponed by a fortnight, so fingers crossed that goes ahead on the 29th. In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at the training. So far I've managed to do something every day for nearly 2 weeks.

[hotdog]

It's Sunday afternoon here and I'm sat in front of the pc instead of being out racing.

Rain stopped play at both Oizumi and Joetsu, as I feared might happen. The Oizumi meet has been cancelled altogether, so the next one there is on Nov 12th. Joestu has been postponed by a fortnight, so fingers crossed that goes ahead on the 29th. In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at the training. So far I've managed to do something every day for nearly 2 weeks.

Keep on keepin' on!   

[Mikku]

Thanks mate!

Last Sunday's postponed race was... rained off again!!! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised given that the weather up in Niigata, especially at this time of the year, is predictably unpredictable! Nevertheless, I was particularly pissed off because, having missed the previous two rounds, this was the final round of the series and therefore the last chance to race at Joetsu until next Spring. I had also planned to give the Cult a run-out there too.

Anyway, I have two more races to look forward to back in Osaka, the first of which is next weekend. With that in mind I went for an hour-long ride on the Cult today, to give the ol' legs a bit of stamina training.

[Mikku]

Another nice day today, so swapped bikes and took the GT and sprint stand out for some training. Did about an hour's worth of standing start sprints before my body cried enough. Can't say I'm not trying!!

[Chilli Rinse]

You do more than most of us Mick. Keep up the hard work 
It was a shame the last race was rained off. Good luck at Osaka 

[Mikku]

Cheers mate! The car's all packed and ready for its 4.30am departure tomorrow. Not sure the driver will be but such is life!

[Chilli Rinse]

Best of luck Mick. I'll look out for the race report 

[Mikku]

Quick report from last Sunday's race in Osaka. I was planning to take the Cult for a practice session after the race, but they were running their annual relay race afterwards, so I abandoned that idea and just took the GT. On the plus side, there was a large turnout of riders, with 23 registered for the over 30s mixed class, divided into 4 racks, with the top 4 from each going through to semi-finals. I was in the first rack of six and went 3rd/3rd/4th to qualify for the semis. Perhaps more importantly, I survived the damp conditions, with light rain throughout the morning making things tricky and catching out a few riders.

I was feeling quite good for my semi but was left for dead by the majority of the field at the gate, highlighting that I've still some way to go with my starts. That said, I was quite pleased that I could try out the slightly different pedal position that I've been working on at home, namely lowering my lead foot by a click or two on the rear cog. The idea is to keep my head and shoulders more over the front of the bike and driving forwards and downwards. That, and really trying to focus on bringing my rear pedal around more quickly for the second part of the pedal stroke, rather than being too fixated on the "snap" out of the gate. I guess it's all much of a muchness at the end of the day, especially at my level, but it felt a bit better, so I'm going to stick with it.

The next race and the final round of the Osaka series, not to mention my season, is Dec 10th, so I'm looking forward to that. Unfortunately, the winter weather's definitely arrived here, so fingers crossed that it's not rained off.

[Chilli Rinse]

I hope the weather holds out so you get to race the last meeting Mick. Glad you stayed up on two wheels too, that always helps  You are definitely trying to give yourself every chance out of the gate Can you afford to drop a tooth on the front chainring maybe? To help a quicker start, or would you lose too much for the rest of the race to be worth trying? I do not know what I am talking about by the way 

[Mikku]

Yeah, that's the trade off. Tbh, it's my technique that's letting me down, so the only solution for that is more training and practice.

This weekend's forecast is looking ok at the moment, so hopefully I can get a final run out on Sunday.

[Mikku]

Made it to the final round of the season at the Oizumi track in Osaka on Sunday. It was a warm, sunny day - quite unbelievable for the second week of December. There were 12 riders in the over 30s mixed class, divided into 2 racks of 6, with the top 4 going through to the main. Sadly, as soon as the moto sheets were posted, I knew that I was the slowest of the six, so resigned myself to just enjoying myself and focussing on my starts. To that end, I had a good day. I still gave it my all and got a sniff of 5th in the second moto, but that was about as close as I got to upsetting the form book. I wasn't disheartened though, because I didn't expect anything better and tbh, it was just fun buzzing around the track in the sunshine!!

So that was my final race meeting of the year. There's a chance that I may squeeze in another track visit before the year's out and I wrap up this thread with a season review!

[Mikku]

Well, it's New Year's Eve over here and it's raining outside, so no riding for me today. I was toying with the idea of driving down to Gonzo Park for the day but I went for a 2-hour walk yesterday and my legs have had enough! This means I can do an end-of-year wrap-up on this 2023 race blog.

This year I made it to 12 race meetings:-

Joetsu, Niigata = 4 races;
Oizumi, Osaka = 7 races;
And last but not least, 1 race at Royston Rockets in the UK.

Results-wise, I made a few mains and was a little more competitive than last year, with some fun dices. I feel very at home on the GT and have some regular rivals to measure my progress against. Overall, it was a good season, especially racing back in the UK for the first time in 37 years! That experience has inspired me to race abroad again in 2024, more specifically in North America, with a summer trip to Canada and the US on the horizon. Nothing's booked yet but it's a definite maybe!

Bike-wise, I'm still very happy with the GT, so will continue racing that. That said, I have the Cult to play with and may well pick up a bike in the States that I can race over there, then bring back to Japan. Another maybe!

Whatever happens, I'll continue to keep the RAD flag flying and post my exploits on here, with or without photos. Keep it RAD in '24!