Carnethy was represented at Love Cross 2016 by Alan Renville and Mike Lynch, in the paired event. Love Cross is an urban cyclocross event, and forms part of the Shimano Tweedlove Bike Festival of events that’s going on in and around Peebles at this time of year.
It’s fair to say that it’s more of a fun event, than something to be taken particularly seriously, but that didn’t stop a fair few decent riders making the trip. Last year’s winner, Rob Wardell, for example, is a pro rider and former Scottish Cyclocross champion. Alan and I decided on our shiny cross bikes, with SPD pedals, both of which were a mistake, as the course was dominated by short bursts of distance between obstacles that had to be taken off the bike. Unless, of course, you chose a mountain bike or fat bike, in which you went over or through them! The idea was to alternate laps, the laps being approximately 1km in distance, and from the off it was obvious that we’d made the wrong bike choice (I think this was evident from the solo race, where two mountain bikes finished ahead of an age-group national cyclocross champion). It didn’t help that after the first stair climb, I bounced the bike down and lost the chain. By then I think we were at the back of the field and had to work very hard to even make up a couple of places by the finish. The laps were hard work too, surprisingly hard, and even though we only rode for a total of 4km each, we were knackered between each lap. So, lessons to be learned for next year: mountain bikes and regular pedals/shoes!
Results are somewhere, probably, but we, er, didn’t get a podium.
Mike Lynch