In this instalment of meet the Muckle, I interviewed Grace who was kind enough to tell us about her experience of being in MCC.
By the way, if you have any Muckle Q&A requests, please do get in touch or my next edition will probably be about John’s favourite sandwiches, or Colin’s heart rate data from the 90’s
How did you first get involved with Muckle CC and what was it like joining the club?
I joined Muckle when I moved down to Newcastle as a postgraduate student. I didn’t really know anyone in Newcastle and thought that joining a club would be a good way to meet people. Everyone was really welcoming and friendly and it was also great for getting to know the best roads for riding around Newcastle.
I was also interested in getting in to racing a bit more, and joining the club meant that I went along to my first races in the area with a few familiar and friendly faces which made a big difference.
You’re one of the most successful Muckle riders and have an impressive palmares, which of your results or performances are you most proud of?
Haha nice of you to say that.
It has to be my 3rd place at the Cyclocross national championships earlier this year. It was really unexpected and I had only decided to race because it was fairly local to me.
Winning the Muckle hill climb not long after I joined the club was also a memorable one! (Looking forward to racing the National hill climb championships at Prospect hill later this year!)
What sort of challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Last year I planned to race the full national xc series but due to a prolonged illness and an injury early in the season I ended up missing a few of them and not being very fit for the ones I did manage to race. I focused on doing what I could at the time, which involved a lot of skills practise and no proper training… Once I was back racing it was motivating to see the improvements I had made in that time technically even if I didn’t feel very fit!
You’ve done well on the road, mountain bike, and cyclocross. Do you have a favourite discipline and why?
Mountain biking is definitely my favourite.
I hadn’t done much mountain biking at all before joining Muckle and when I joined I was much more focused on road riding. I actually met my partner through the club and he got me in to mountain biking… since then I’ve ridden my mountain bike more than any other bike and it’s by far my favourite type of riding. I love being out on the trails and getting away from everything. I find it easy to switch off from everything when mountain biking, especially on technical descents where you have to give it your full attention.
I really enjoyed racing the cyclocross national championships this year too and plan to do a bit more of that next season.
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve received that’s supported your cycling?
Thats a difficult one, but something that has helped me a lot is learning how to work on and maintain my bikes. There’s always something that needs doing and being able to do it yourself and keeping on top of maintenance means fewer missed rides.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into racing, riding with a club, or improving their cycling?
Just go for it! If you’re thinking of racing, give it a go. Maybe try some different disciplines and just see what happens.
What are your goals for year ahead? Longer term?
This year I’m hoping to get some good results in the national xc series, and hopefully do some bigger races abroad. I’m actually writing this from Banyoles in Spain a couple of days before my first race of the season, and also my first race outside the UK. There are some big names on the start list so it will be a cool experience.
I’m obviously also looking forward to the National Hill Climb Muckle are hosting on Prospect Hill!
Longer term I’m hoping to be able to race XC world cups!
Komentáře