My 24th completion of the most wonderful cycle race in history and again a contented, warm, relieved and melancholy Dave is here to get his thoughts down before they blend into the myriad of complex memories of the previous 23. The race that keeps on giving.
21 today. I turned a corner last year in the 3 Peaks cyclocross. Getting my hand smashed in by a car door less than a couple of weeks prior to the 2018 race forced me to make peace with the race, and get round it at a much more manageable pace. It was the first …
As you may know, I’m a glass half full type. But we all have our limits. Yesterday was a tough day. The Three Peaks Cyclocross is always tough. If it wasn’t, we’d just ride / run / walk faster until it becomes tough. It’s a flipping race. But then, yesterday had its own special place …
Continue reading “Three Peaks Cyclocross 2018 – The “twenty” edition”
I really enjoyed the 2018 3 Peaks fell race. I took a ten year gap following a ‘never again‘ moment in 2007 after my second finish. Both had been respectable finishes under 4 hours and I’d have been happy to put the pain of that race behind me and leave it to gently subside.
A stellar year for the Haygarths It’s a fixed date in my diary. My 20th start in the 3 Peaks Cyclocross was, like other years, just another year of ‘of course I’m doing the 3 Peaks‘. But this year’s 3 Peaks stands out in a lovely way in that it not only saw the return …
Continue reading “2017 Three Peaks Cyclocross – a family affair”
My immediate reaction was that my performance was lacklustre. 43rd position after such a struggle of a day is certainly nothing to write home about. But the story of the day is (still, sorry) how much I love this race. The passion for it just doesn’t seem to diminish as it throws punches at me …
Continue reading “3 Peaks Cyclocross 2016 – undying passion”
No surprises in telling you that the 3 Peaks cyclocross, the 54th edition of which is taking place this Sunday is my favourite race. With any an annual event, it’s always going to feel special. Part familiar, part rare, part scary and part exciting.
I’ve never read The Tale of Two Cities but that incredibly well-known opening line from a novel sums up my 2015 3 Peaks. Okay – it wasn’t quite the worst of times – far from it – but when things are going really well, it seems to emphasise the problems when they come. And they came. But more …
Continue reading “3 Peaks cyclocross 2015: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times””
No matter how I try, I can’t just let the 3 Peaks Cyclocross happen around me.
A gap year I’m coming back. The race that first sucked me in in 1995 has provided every emotion to me in the intervening years.
I’m tired. It’s probably not the best time to do this, but it’s important to try and gather thoughts fairly soon whilst still fresh in the head. My 16th attempt at the three peaks Cyclocross yesterday was a tough one. It was the same for everybody who took part. The weather forecast had been bad, …
I had a bad sleep last night. My clavicle broken into two pieces is reasonably easy to get comfortable when I’m upright and in a sling, but lying in bed it’s hard to. But that’s what this is about, to an extent… getting comfort and keeping still when you get there.
