Friday 21st September
I am not sure if I have made a wise move here. I have entered two cyclo cross races in London. They are races that I have done before, and have had lots of fun in them when I did them in previous years. So it was only logical that I get my entry in for the Rollapaluza Muddy Hell Halloween night cyclo cross and also the Rapha Supercross race at Alexandra Palace. Like last year, these races will be on consecutive days (27th and 28th October).
In fact, there will be less than 24 hours between them since the Rollapaluza event will be on Saturday night, and the Supercross will be at lunchtime on Sunday. I enjoy riding cyclo cross, but I just don't know if while being in Milan I will be able to get in decent practice. The idea of doing these races with very little off-road practice is a scary thought.
Anyway, I have got my bike sorted, and I have my flights booked to go back to London that weekend. All I need now is to get in the training - the tricky bit. While I can get out on my road bike and put in the efforts, I think I will be harder pushed to find places in Milan to practice off-road riding. I have been told that there are a few trails around the Naviglio, though they will be flat.
For hilly off-road rides I will have to go to Milan's only hill - Monte Stellar. It's only a small man-made peak, made from rubble and ruin from World War II. It'll have to do, and since it is only about a mile long, I will just have to get used to riding up and down it umpteen times just to get in a decent training ride. As for practicing night riding, that'll be out of the question. I will just have to wing it on the night.
The Ally Pally race is pretty hardcore as well. For that, I will practice carrying my bike up the stairs to my flat on the 67th floor. Hopefully I will get through the weekend without shaming myself too much. At the moment, the throught of doing these races feels a little scary though!
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