For now, enjoy Chris’s self-introduction and look forward to more from him:

Words: Chris Kilmurray
Photos: Apres Imaging

My name’s Chris Kilmurray, I’m 27 years old as I write this and an Irishman living in “that” French Alpine town….yes Morzine. I’m a Nukeproof brand ambassador, fitness coach, racer, tea drinker but above all else I’m a lover of bikes. Push or motor, as long as we are talking two wheels and rubber touching earth then I’m smiling ear to ear.

Chris Kilmurray out on a training ride in his adopted home town of Morzine, France.
Photo © Apres Imaging

This love affair with two wheels started in around 1993 watching Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz go bar to bar on 500cc GP bikes on Sunday mornings, I’d be out the door in no time trying to emulate these legends on my BMX 16”. Knee down (or so I thought) on the streets outside my house.

It wasn’t until 1998 that I discovered Mountain biking: ‘hucking’ off kerbs, dodgy pallet/ply-wood jumps, skids, wheelies the usual. After a few years of that carry-on, a few friends and myself found the local cycling club and made our way to the 2000 Irish National DH champs. 14 years old, rigid bike, v-brakes, no armour and scared sh*tless, but loving it nonetheless. The seed was sown and things took off quickly from there, upgrading parts when I could, dragging my dad to races, eventually buying a real DH bike and starting to take it seriously. By 2003 I was racing the full Irish and British DH series and by 2006 I was getting an eye opening to real speed whilst racing UCI DH World Cups.

Chris out on the trails putting his own lessons to good use.
Photo © Apres Imaging

It was through all those early years of riding and racing that my interest and eventually love of fitness and athletic performance grew. I learnt enough to try and improve my own results at first but pretty quickly I ended up in University completing a Diploma in Sports and Exercise Science. My education took a backseat in 2007 when I bit the bullet and decided to dedicate a full summer and winter to riding, racing and training, first racing all summer long based from Morzine followed by a winter racing and riding in New Zealand.

Living in the Alps does have its advantages…
Photo © Apres Imaging

I quickly realised that I probably lacked that little bit extra that makes a rider a race winner at the highest level. However, I never lost the love and interest in all things fitness and performance. So I decided pretty promptly to hit the books again, I completed all my basic Cycling Coaching qualifications and finally got selected to spend two months at the UCI’s World Headquarters of Evil in Aigle, Switzerland. There I completed an intensive coaching course, working along side some world class athletes and coaches like BMX legend Thomas Allier.

Jealous? Does it make you feel better knowing he has to spend several months a year skiing? Thought not.
Photo © Apres Imaging

Now I have my own training and athletic development business (Point1 Athletic Development) working with a wide variety of athletes from World Cup shredders Cam Cole and Tahneé Seagrave to Masters and Junior racers from around the world. But I also deliver Coach-education programs in developing nations through the UCI (they’re not always evil). Tie all that in with having moved to Morzine in 2008 so I could ride the best DH in Europe and explore never ending hidden singletrack as well as guinea-pig all my training ideas in the perfect setting and you’ve got a life that’s full to the brim with the love of pushing two-wheels to their limit.

I try not to limit myself to just a life behind bars though, living in the alps means an ease of access to the mountain life and the sports that follow. Skiing has become a huge passion of mine, whether we are talking 50cm of fresh powder, trying to drag the knucks strapped into a set of race skis or some sweet suffering on skinny little Nordic skis. Skiing has become the white months’ bicycle replacement and added to my education as a trainer. Learning from other sports but especially a close Alpine cousin like ski racing or big mountain slaying is vital to the continuing education and passion of any fitness specialist.

Chris Kilmurray of Point1 Athletic Development.
Photo © Apres Imaging

Mountain biking has given me the most though, it’s provided me with the means to travel the world, riding in amazing places like Iran and others. Years of racing have given me the experience to give my education the direction needed to really help MTB athletes of all disciplines. Mountain biking brought me to Morzine where I can train, ride, test and race on some of the finest mountains possible right on my doorstep and always have a friend from somewhere around the world to do some skids with.

Two wheels will always make me smile and the fitter you are the bigger that smile will be. Stay tuned for my ‘zeros to heroes’ series of features starting soon here on Bike Magic.

You’ve been out riding all afternoon, you’re home and it’s 4pm and you’re ravenous. You reach for some cheese and onion crisps, a Snickers bar and a coke. An hour later and you’re hungry again, this time you pick up the phone and order a pizza, oh and some chips and while you’re at it, plus another coke. Then it’s Monday and your trousers feel a little tight. Not to worry ‘cos you’re riding again on Wednesday. Sound familiar?

Julia Revitt out on the burn!
Photo © Julia Revitt

It’s easy to think that you can get away with bad food choices because you are active. But you only have to look at the percentage of portly riders at Cannock Chase on a sunny Saturday afternoon to realise that strategy is possibly not working. Strained cycle jerseys are not the only outcome of this lifestyle – think about the strain on your heart or your cholesterol levels. Stop to think for a moment and you’ll come to understand that this lifestyle is not healthy at all.

That’s the bad news but here’s the good: it’s easy to change. Eating healthily doesn’t mean boring, bland vegetables for dinner every night. How does a chicken burger sound? What about a steak ciabatta? Home made chips? Sweet and sticky flapjack?  Mouth watering now?

Here are some simple steps you can take this week that will make a difference to your waist band.

Plan ahead

If you know that you’ll be back from your ride at 4pm, have some flapjack ready or maybe some teacake. This will keep you going for about an hour so have a curry in the slow cooker or a steak ready to flash fry. Planning will stop bad food choices.

Taking food and drink out with you when you’re riding is a great way to stop feeling so hungry that you’ll eat anything. I’ve been there – at the end if the ride when you’ll happily give away a limb for some hot, salty, vinegary chips from the ride centre cafe. But now I make sure I have something tasty in the car ready for my return, my favourite being tea cake – it’s sweet enough to satisfy and contains slow releasing carbohydrates to keep me full enough for the drive home. Then it’s a home made pizza for tea – topped with tomatoes, chicken strips, red and green peppers and mushrooms – all prepared in advance ready to pop in the oven as soon as I’m back.

Moderation

You can have a Snickers bar, but only once a week as a treat. I know what you’re thinking but you’ll really enjoy it and won’t have to feel guilty about eating it as it’s your once a week treat. Don’t go for the double Snickers though, just stick to the normal size, savour it – enjoy every mouthful.

Portion control

Slow down, relax and enjoy your food – we’ve evolved from cavemen who had to eat their food quickly to stop it being stolen from a passing sabre toothed tiger – you don’t have to worry about that! So, slow down, you’ll notice you’ll feel fuller earlier because you’re giving your body time to notice you’ve eaten enough. Don’t be afraid to leave food on your plate – just adjust the quantities next time. Switch off the TV and chill while enjoying your food.

Habit

Change one thing at a time rather than everything at once, that way you’re more likely to stick to the changes. These changes will take a few weeks to get used to before they become new habits.

Here are 5 small changes you could make over the next few weeks:

1      Put some effort in! Ride in a harder gear faster, pedal up that hill rather than push, don’t stand around chatting at the different trail section. Burn, burn, burn those kcalories.

2      Before your next ride, prepare a meal for afterwards. Make sure you have the ingredients ready, that they are fresh and the meal is inviting.

3      Reduce your chocolate consumption. If you’re eating a bar every day, cut it down to every other day. Then next week, cut it down to twice a week, aiming to get to once a week as your goal.

4      Beer. Don’t do it unless you want to look pregnant. Once a week is enough and in moderation.

5      Cross train. Get walking, running, mowing, vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, jumping, skipping – get active at least once a day. It can be as simple as taking the stairs rather than the lift, walking the dog or cycling to the shops.

Have a look at my previous articles on Bike Magic to find out the best times to eat and drink out on a ride and the best foods and drinks. Make those changes and stick to them.

Energy in/energy out

You might be out ‘riding’ for four hours but how much of that was spent pounding the pedals or humping up hills? It’s easy to over-estimate how many calories you’re burning while riding and therefore misjudge how much you can eat afterwards.

The best way to find this out is with a heart rate monitor and software that interprets the results. I like using a Garmin but there are many other options available. Be careful if you choose a phone app for this without using a heart rate monitor as this will probably give you averages rather than actual figures.

Remember, if you’ve burnt 600 kcalories riding – you would have burnt 200 kcalories without moving from your sofa – so you’ve only really used an extra 400.

Check out my website www.findyourbalance.co.uk for some great recipes including the chicken burgers, curry, flapjack and tea cake mentioned earlier. Here’s to happy riding and comfortable waist bands!

CycleOps JetFluid Pro turbo trainer, perfect when you’re forced indoors and still want to train.

The key of the JetFluid is the PowerTuned flywheel that makes it feel just like you’re riding on the road. It’s very smooth and the power curve is consistent. There’s no manual setting of the resistance, instead you simply use the gears on your bike and the harder you pedal, the higher the resistance the flywheel provides. It’s a very consistent power curve.

Because the flywheel is very well cooled and operates at lower temperatures, it’s very quiet, which is handy if you live in a flat and have other people living in close proximity. I’ve used turbo trainers in the past that sound like an aeroplane is taking off in your kitchen. It’s also very sturdy, the folding metal frame is reassuringly heavy and stays planted on the floor even during the most intense workouts. The left leg can also be extended to level things out if used on an uneven floor.

Single leg extension to get it level on wonkly floorboards.

The Quick-Lock cam lever is fast and easy to use and it takes a matter of minutes to fit the bicycle into the trainer. It can accommodate wheel sizes from 650c to 29in, making it ideal for road cyclists and mountain bikers alike. I use mine mostly with a road bike, but there’s nothing to stop you slapping your mountain bike in it or your commuting flat-bar bike. If you’re going to use a mountain bike, it’s best to fit a slick tyre to the wheel for the best performance.

The price sets it apart from the entry-level trainers and yes it sure is expensive (though you can spend a lot more). I’ve been using this actual trainer for the past couple of winters and it’s been absolutely reliable. I’ve used cheaper trainers but they’re commonly very noisy and not that stable, and the feeling of the JetFluid’s resistance makes it worth the extra investment. If you’re planning to make turbo sessions a frequent part of your training, then I reckon it’s worth spending the extra.

The yellow lever makes setup a doddle.

They’re not a lot of fun, and commonly referred to as tortuous. And that they are. But what they are is an invaluable method of maintaining and improving fitness when you can’t face the outdoors, or you want to do some very structured and specific sessions. It’s never going to replace riding outdoors, it’s not trying to do that, but if you want to supplement your outdoor riding with some hard indoor sessions, the JetFluid Pro is a highly commendable trainer.

Verdict

Very smooth and realistic riding experience that is extremely quiet and accommodates any road or mountain bike wheel size.

Price: £315

More information: CycleOps JetFluid Pro Turbo Trainer

What CycleOps says:

1. PowerTuned technology provides smooth, realistic accelerations and inertia.
2. Cooler operating temperature delivers long-lasting performance and stable progressive power .
3. Pro Series frame offers quick installation and removal of bike with ability to lock resistance unit in place for transport and storage.

Hydrate correctly to avoid ruining your precious time on the bike!

Words and photo: Julia Revitt

As we saw in my previous article ‘Nutrition before riding’, nutrition plays a huge role in setting you up fully fuelled for a great ride but nutrition is only half the story. I’m sure you’ve all felt a pounding headache on a long, hot ride where your helmet seems to be pressing against your skull. Or you got back to the car and just felt sick and not able to eat anything. This is due to dehydration.

A healthy male adult is made up of 60% water and a female is 50% water.  This water is lost through sweating, urinating, and breathing. Just a 2% drop in this level can impair your performance.

The symptoms of dehydration are:

• Thirst
• Impaired brain function
• Intense thirst, strain on cardiovascular system, lack of appetite
• Decrease in blood volume and urine, dry mouth, lack of energy
• Nausea, sleepiness
• Lack of concentration
• Hot skin, increased pulse and rate of breathing
• Dizziness, difficulty breathing, confusion and slurred speech
• Muscle cramps, delirium, inability to rest
• Blood volume too low and renal failure

It is vital to start your ride fully hydrated; you should start to sip water or a sports drink (about 500ml) about 2 hours before the start.

There’s no need to drink gallons or you will just need to go to the loo a lot and then lose all that hydration down the toilet! Just sip pleasantly until the start of your ride. Use your urine colour to guide you – it should be a pale yellow. Unfortunately, alcohol is a diuretic and should not be consumed before, during or after riding – sorry!

Stay tuned for my next installment on nutrition during riding followed by hydration during riding.

Julia Revitt

www.findyourbalance.co.uk

Each Nectar Sports Fuel Cell packs 20g of carbohydrate in a flavoursome gel that is easy to digest, and keeps you pedalling for longer.

The body can absorb between 60g to 80g of carbohydrate per hour – these Fuel Cell’s contain just 20g of carbs, which isn’t a lot, so is best combined with an energy drink to get the necessary energy to keep riding. The sachets are small, and the gel has a watery consistency compared to other gels. This makes them very easy to digest, because it’s more like a drink than a gel really. They’re very sweet and best washed down with a glug of water. If you find thick, sticky gels hard to stomach, the Nectar Sports Fuel Cell is a good choice.

A range of four flavours are available, I tested Orange and Summer Fruits and both tasted just fine. They’re made with a fuel carb mix, this means they combine glucose and fructose, which the body can absorb quickly. Keep topping up with these gels on a long ride and you’ll notice you don’t flag as soon as you would if you were to only drink water. That means you can keep attacking the trails and hills with the same verve as at the beginning of the ride.

Which just leaves the price. Nectar Sports Fuel Cell’s are sold in boxes of 24 costing £36, which works out at £1.50 per sachet. They’re currently selling them online for £24 which works out at £1, making them easier to stomach, as it were. As a comparison, a Torq gel offers 29g of carb per sachet and is around £1.35.

Verdict

I like the consistency and the taste, but they’re a tad expensive and lacking on the carb content compared to other gels.

More information: Nectar
Price: Currently £24 for box of 24

What Nectar says:

Nectar Sports Fuel Cell is a unique Dual Carb source energy gel that delivers over 20g of fast absorbing carbohydrate in each 40ml sachet. This is the first compact LiquiGel that’s both easy to carry and to drink. Previously when selecting your energy gel, you’ve had to choose between: (1.) Easy to drink but big & bulky; (2.) Small & compact but sticky and hard to consume. Right now Nectar Sports Fuel Cell combines the best of both worlds, compact and easy to drink.

The 2:1 Dual Carb source (Glucose:Fructose) has been scientifically designed to help promote endurance levels during prolong exercise, delivering up to 40% more energy to the working muscle cell. It also provides a B Vitamin energy complex to support energy production, helping delay the onset of fatigue, and sustain energy supply for longer.

Designed to be consumed before and/or during endurance based activity, Nectar Sports Fuel Cell will help to push your performance boundaries, without causing any gastrointestinal discomfort (full or bloated) which is commonly seen with other products on the market.

Available in 4 flavours: Blackcurrant, Lemon Lime, Orange and Summer Fruits. Suitable for vegetarians.

So what are we going to do about it? Take some of David Arthur’s advice in his 10 Motivational Tips article perhaps? Go on a diet? Simply vow to ride the bike more maybe?

Will you be at the gym busting big weights, eating less or simply enjoying more time on the trails? Photo by Paskaru76 via Flickr

What does everyone on here think is the best way to get down to race weight or to find the extra motivation that we all need to balance out the pie eating?

Who doesn’t care and would rather just carry on eating pies and suppin’ beers for that matter..?

Let’s get a discussion going in the comments box below.

Ordinarily, the middle of May would signify the mid-point of the race season.  This year, the middle of May signifies the start of my cross-country training. 

I declared ‘I’m out’ of the national cross-country scene at the end of last year, and decided to target endurance events.  Having now won 12 Hours of Exposure and the Gorrick 100 I am leading the British Endurance Series.

Unfortunately I can’t do any of the other races in the series (including the national marathon champs) due to work commitments, so I’ve been looking for something else to train for.  Having thought it might be nice to do a bit of XC again, Jay and I started trawling the event calendar.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that a) Jay and I organise the South West Series – so can’t race in it, b) the Welsh series has imploded, and c) we have work booked on the dates of the Southern series, the only XC event available to us, within  two tanks of diesel range,  is the National Championships.

This posed two questions:

1) Do I want to buy a race licence for one event?

2) Do I really want to put myself out there in elite again? Or could I get away with sloping off into the masters cat? Or better still somewhere where I’d be invisible like sport men?

After much thought and discussion in the Horton household, the answers we came to were:

1) No not really – but it seems I can buy a half year licence for half the price, as the champs is halfway through the year.

2) No – I’ve always said I would race in the hardest category available to me; otherwise it’s just pot-hunting, so Elite it is.

So now I just need to do some serious training.  In nine weeks I need to bang a considerable amount of speed and power into my training if I am going stand a chance of putting in a respectable performance.  Because I always ride my bikes as ’off the shelf’ (I don’t understand the bike well enough to make any significant changes), I know that my Fate Expert is as equally suited to XC as it is to endurance.  So it’s all about me and my legs.

Sooo, the cunning plan is to smash quality sessions in the week and hit the most random ill-suited events at the weekends by way of preparation. The motley assortment of events we can go to are:

1)      HellRider. Racing as a team round an 8 hour MTB duathlon. Anything that feels as painful as that is bound to must be good for you.

2)      Bristol Bike Fest as a mixed pair. I’m just thinking of it as the mother of all interval sessions, coupled with practicing self-control when tempted to tell your teammate to ‘bog off’ when you don’t want to go out again.

3)      TwentyFour12 as 24-hour pairs. Just because we can. Difficult to justify, difficult to see as anything more than a marriage tester (racing with husband), and with only 2 weeks between it and the National Champs I may live to regret it, but think of how much food I can eat afterwards!

So actually I’ve got seven weeks to bang some speed and power into my legs, and two weeks to lie still in a darkened room and hope to recover from the horror that will be 24 pairs.

Maybe it’s not the best training plan I’ve ever come up with, but I like a challenge.

In conjunction with my attendance at these races, I will be continuing to offer demos on my fleet of Specialized Fates (Women’s specific carbon 29ers).  The Fate program has been incredibly successful so far.

Any girlies interested in trying out a Fate 29er without having to fork out for it first, should contact me on info@fullysussed.co.uk.  You can even race on it as part of the demo if you fancy really putting it to the test.

Maddie Horton

Mountain Bike Instructor (www.fullysussed.co.uk)

Read our interview with Maddie here.

In little under two months time I’ll be flying south to Cape Town to race the Absa Cape Epic, a multi stage mountain bike race across wild landscapes covering more than 100km a day.

The trouble is I haven’t ever ridden a mountain bike race before.

I needed to get on and actually race. I’ve raced cyclo-cross and road races for many years, but that meant I had so many questions. Would it be the same, what would the start be like, how much should I wear, will I get hot, what is it like to race with a back pack, what if I get a puncture? I needed a dress rehearsal as soon as possible. Scanning the calendar, the Brass Monkey series would be my earliest chance.

Come judgement day, the weather gods had been good to me. Dry with the sun trying to break through the clouds over Surrey, fairly warm. Ten minutes until the off and folk started to congregate near the start. So I followed like a sheep and joined inconspicuously at the back of the crowd of riders.

A klaxon sounds. The race starts, here we go, heart rate increases.

And, nothing really happens at least at the middle or back of the field. There’s no blast of acceleration and frightening high speed jostle for position. There is a gentle echo of riders clipping into their pedals. We all just edge forward, calmly waiting to cross the line.

That’s how it began and would continue. Respectful of each others own personal fitness and ability as we rode ourselves against headwind and hill. I enjoy it. I liked doing lap after lap, getting my technique better riding each section faster.

Riding with a bag isn’t too bad. Not everyone does it, and it’s not essential to have one.

Stash it all in the pit. Put your waterproof, extra tubes, gels, water bottles and the kitchen sink in your own little area in the pit. Find a space and mark it out with something distinctive so you can find it again during the race.

It’s more of a talk and ride situation. People yell ‘yeehaw’ on the downhills. I was riding with one chap who turned and said “I’ve got nothing left,” I didn’t know what to say, but all this chatting and cheering bolsters ones resolve.

Riders are competitive without being rude. Faster riders let you know where they are and ask to pass when you are ready.

People want to help? My saddle slipped mid race. I pulled over in a spacious bit out of the singletrack. Played about with an Allen key. Couple of riders passed me and asked if I needed help. From punctures to chains, everyone is trying to help the competition.

It’s warmer than riding out on the road. I got pretty warm in the trees. Next time I’ll go for a lightweight long sleeve and ditched the knee warmers. Bags make you warmer too.

There is always someone up ahead. There’s always a figure in the distance to spur you on and aim for, ride to them or keep them in your sights.

Do what you can. I raced as many laps as I could in 2 hours. After 1 hour 40minutes I’d ridden two laps. As there was time remaining on the clock, off I went out for another. My final ride time was close to 2hour 30 minutes.

Lovely grub. There was a very efficient little truck selling baked potatoes and a variety of toppings after the race. Good portions too. Mule Bars were handed out left right and centre. And I got handed a free recovery shake as I crossed the line. If I forgot my nutrition, I would have been aright.

You don’t need all the gear. These local mixed ability races had it all from super carbon bling, like my own Scott Spark to aluminium hardtails. Cyclo-cross bikes aren’t permitted.

Be prepared to get off. We started on a nice wide patch of mud, and then weaved into the first single-track section of trees. With so many riders trying to get into a small space, there will be a bit of a traffic jam. Be prepared for a bit of harmless nudging and you’ll need to get off and quickly run. It’ll only happen on the first part of the first lap.

Less to think about. The course is routed for you. No stopping and map reading like a weekend ride. It’s a chance for you to just head out and ride and improve your ability whilst riding at speed.

Mementos. You keep your number. I’ve pinned it to my notice board. Sentimental, I know.

Atmosphere. I stood in the crowd at the start listening to the harmless chit chat. We’re not silent, serious and focused. The atmosphere was filled with fun. It was reassuring for my first race outing.

I rode the Gorrick Brass Monkey Winter Series. Enduro style of race which is a test of stamina and generally lasts longer than 2 hours. Results are posted live as riders come through the finish. You get a smart trophy if make it to the podium. There is a resident photographer to capture you mid race.

Read the previous blog here.

Photos © Joolze Dymond. See her Brass Monkeys photo gallery at www.joolzedymond.com

Oli’s strength and conditioning coach Andy Wadsworth from Mylife personal training explains more about how Oli is progressing in his bid to qualify for his fourth Olympic games.