Colour, Nose, Palate, Body, Finish

The past few weeks have been pretty quiet for the guffers. Injuries, illness and just good old life have put an end to any plans for quality time on two wheels. This weekend may provide a glimmer of hope, but and it is a big but - there's an event taking place in Glasgow, no it's not the UCI World Cup. The guffers will be joining forces to see what else can come out of finely crafted and cared for strips of timber. The nose will be in fine fettle, as for the taste buds, they will be squeezed, smoked and pulled in all manners of directions by the wonderful delights on offer at the Glasgow Whisky Festival. Ah, the joys of a weekend dram in the Arches. 

Sareheids will hopefully be minimised by a strict routine of taking the time to plot a path amongst the stalls. If you believe that, you will believe anything.

We'll do our best to stay upright

just because...

one careful owner

contrast

There have been many jokes and quips about the inclement Scottish weather, with a favourite being 'just wait 10 minutes and it'll change'. let's consider last weekend in the West Coast; Saturday greeted those rising from bed with a wonderful clear blue sky courtesy of a high pressure and a light northern breeze. All was good, in fact very good.  The family where about to enjoy a treat of going to the recently opened Sir Chris Hoy velodrome. Once in the car and underway, it didn't take long before the kids level of excitement could be measured with the classic question 'are we there yet'? True to from, this hit home every few minutes.

Upon arrival at the velodrome, I was struggling with the fact that the venue actually exists and is no longer an evocative CAD image. This is not a criticism of other major building and civil engineering works following the plan, budget or even running at all - Edinburgh trams anyone? It's just a sense that Scotland has been waiting for this for a long, long time.  The velodrome is a pleasant geographical and historical reminder to Celtic Park on the opposite side of London Rd. Cycling has most certainly come home to the East End of Glasgow.

The last time a major cycling event was hosted at Celtic Park was in 1897. More than 20,000 cycling fans watched Dubliner, O'Neill winning the 10 mile race. The prize money was £300, not bad for 1897. A manual worker at ship yards would be earning approx. £40 per annum, so putting your body to work on a bike was quicker way, and more than likely a safer way to make a living. The current tracks stars will be back competing in Glasgow at the UCI World Cup from November 16 to 18, let's hope that the prize money is more than £300!

This guffer had been invited to attend the Thunderdrome, courtesy of Graeme Obree, my day job does have some pretty good perks. Soaking up the atmosphere and spinning round from the track centre watching the racing unfold was a treat that I'll remember for a long time. At times, you would literally be stopped in your tracks by the site of yet another legend from the sport. My daughter's autograph book is now filled with Dan Martin, Stephen Roche, David Millar, Sir Chris Hoy and let's not forget Graeme Obree. Sean Kelly, the Dowling brothers, Tiernan Locke and a host of many others where there and no doubt putting in a spot of 'practice' before the Braveheart charity dinner. The opportunity to watch Hoy and his famous contemparies doing what they do best was simply superb. The added bonus was watching Graeme Obree on Old Faithful doing a few laps. As Graeme got into his tuck and showed us all how it's done the cheers and applause from the crowd raised hairs on the back of my neck. Just imagine what the atmosphere would be like if an hour record was attempted at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome.......

I'm sure that those of us that are parents do have idealistic notions of what it's going to be like taking our kids to a major sporting event. This guffer's first experience of a sporting event in any form of arena/ground/muddy field and was in stark contrast to the velodrome experience. Going to the local football Derby aged 6, frozen to the spot, watching, listening to the crowd and attempting to show some form of interest to what was happening on the pitch was poison in comparison to the velodrome. The real treat was the opportunity for me and my Dad to spend time together without any other family distractions. At one point between races, I was sitting back relaxing watching my daughter taking pics and speaking away with other guests. I started to imagine a scene of a Dad and Daughter going to their seats together for the first time in Celtic Park for Saturday's game. Celtic didn't fair too well on Saturday, if they where Celtic fans, the Thunderdrome would have been money well spent. 

Just for the record, my my daughter's first experience of a footie game was the 2012 Olympics opening round, France v USA (ladies) at Hampden park, she loved it and supported USA right to the end, thankfully they went on to win Gold - ah, the romance of football.

With the clocks changing in the early hours of Sunday morning there was a slight glimmer of hope that the forecasted weather front wouldn't materialise.....how wrong was I to be. I'd signed up for the Glasgow Couriers Cycling Club, Halloween Howler cyclocross race at Glennifer braes on the outskirts of Paisley. Has any form of profanity been used on cyclesguff before? I'm not sure, so this maybe a first. The only word that I can use to describe the conditions is, shite! It was so bad that the seniors race was held off for thirty minutes as the previous race entrants tried their best to finish. 

a place where shoes are lost

Due to the conditions, the senior race was then reduced to 40 minutes and a lap (great decision).  I know that cross has a reputation for being tough, and the past few experiences of blue skies had lulled me into a false sense of security, but that race was bonkers. Cyclesguff salutes those that organised and endured the event, those that where mad enough to came along, spectate and cheer us on. As for the riders, let's hope for the blue skies to return. One memory that I'll take from that race was the view out over Glasgow. It could have been the cold beginning to shut down my brain, but I could swear that there was a heat haze over a certain part of the East End. The balmy climes of the velodrome certainly have an appeal for the winter days ahead.

Stay upright and warm

subtle

It's time to put away the summer bike (when was it!?) and swing a leg over another trusty steed. The Lemond with it's cannibal orange is anything but subtle, however this is....

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/196129-lance-armstrong-memoir-fiction-joke-by-charity-shop-goes-viral/

update and not so subtle...


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/open-letter-lemond-demands-mcquaids-resignation

Stay upright

rest day

There was a cross race today, but this guffer decided to head out on the local, gloopy trails. The total distance was a smidge over what a cross race would total. The elapsed time was double and my legs where still burning on the return home....work to be done for next weekend.

Stay upright

wiggly worms

if you look closely....

There's a childhood joy of being head to toe in mud, and for those of us that had the delight of growing up with a sister, worms just added to the fun! I'm sure many of us have chased screaming siblings around as they attempted to escape from a brother who had his hands full of muddy, slippery, wiggly worms - good times.

Recently, cyclesguff has been spending a lot of time in mud. The Scottish Cyclocross season is under way. So far, the conditions under tyre have been wet, gloopy, slippy and sticky. The blue skies above have helped to quickly dry out the mudpack on legs, arms, face etc just in time to shake it all off before heading home. The two event courses to date have been very different with today's Auchentoshan race (sadly no whisky) being an absolute blast. Today was quite possibly one of the most challenging hours I have spent trying to stay on the bike in recent years. The course had it's fair share of interesting sections, the kind of places where dog owners loose their pooches. The advice of; sit back, loosen the grip and hold on was well received, but you could just tell that the crowd was baiting for mud and blood. Talking of crowds, the numbers were down on last week and the encouragement as riders clambered up the various 'walls' could have been better - come on, cheer us on!

Last week's event benefitted from a wonderful weekend of sun and families making the most of Callendar Park in Falkirk. The course was less technical and almost encouraged riders along as they flowed through sections and could even catch breath on a gentle descent of blaze. 

In starck contrast to today's brutality, the meandering course allowed riders to dismount at will and steep sections and ramps could be ridden with gusto. Whether this was strategic decision at the hands of the series organisers remains to be seen - give those new to the sport a 'gentle' taste of mud and they'll be back. 

I thought only dogs did that...

The starting field at all levels is impressive. What isn't quite so impressive is the feeling when you are catching someone, only to realise that they are going slower due to a mechanical. This is obviously a feature of cross, but for me, it doesn't tick the same box as catching someone on a climb. That subtle feeling of reeling in the red rag at cross is an entirely different beast. It's fair to say that I didn't catch that many people, so the feeling may change, then again, so had my fitness levels.

Stay upright

Park Life

football pitches get everywhere

With all the news surrounding the opening of the fabulous Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, tickets selling out in minutes and the teasing list of riders turning up for the Thunderdrome on the 27th October, the news regarding the refurbished 400m (402m to be exact) velodrome in Caird Park, Dundee could easily be overlooked. Credit is due to all who had the persistence, passion and commitment to see this through.

http://www.braveheartfund.co.uk/ArticleView.asp?id=15106

It also happens to be the place where Sir Chris Hoy won his first Scottish Scratch Race Championship title.

I have many fond memories of frenetic schoolboy and junior races being held there. The events also commanded good crowds and a lost dog making it's presence felt was usually the order of the day. The training was always fun, but started with being handed a stiff brush to remove the detritus from the excesses of the teenage drinking sessions from the night before. The track also had a reputation of removing skin; a tumble learning to ride fixed on a tarmac surface (or was it concrete) resulted in bruised pride and a few plasters. Thankfully, this didn't happen too often, once was enough.

I've not visited the track for many years, but the next time I'm back, I'll stop by and hopefully have a ride. In the meantime, tonight's malt and memory trigger is a Glen Elgin. The nose is initially smokey, followed by toffee. Taste has a hint of liquorice with peppery spice that lingers on the lips. It's from 1986, fitting as I was thirteen years old back then and quite possibly on my way home from a late season trip to the track before the weekly club meeting.

The sublime Glen Elgin malt was a kind gift from Routemaster General and was handed over after we completed the first round of the 2012 Scottish Cyclocross Series - a wee report is on it's way.

Stay upright