Mattie Dodd journal: from muddy trails to gala tales

First-year under-23 Mattie Dodd is one of our journal contributors in 2023. Riding for the UCI Continental Tirol-KTM development team, he is supported by the Rayner Foundation. In his latest post, Mattie shares his off-season experience, discussing his energy-filled transition from bike-packing across South-West England to attending the Rayner Foundation’s annual fundraising dinner.

I’ve never been someone who’s been particularly easy to be around during the off-season. I’ve been told it’s a bit like having an overexcited puppy to look after, given I’ve got far too much energy that’s suddenly not being used on a bike. That leads to me being very eager to get back riding again quite quickly into my time off.

This year, I managed to find a way to use that energy in something bike-related, a two-birds, one-stone type affair. This activity being the bike-packing trip I mentioned in my last journal that eventually came to fruition. With more excitement going into the trip than actual planning, it looked like it could have easily been a classically underprepared, overenthusiastic endeavour – the consequences of that being a whole host of interesting situations. Luckily, through either sheer luck or brute force, it all managed to go ahead without any major disasters.

There were plenty of stretches that bore a closer resemblance to a cyclocross field in Belgium than the idyllic gravel stretches of rural America

It was a superb few days of gravel riding, my first encounter with this emerging discipline. That being said, starting off the back of Storm Ciarán meant there were plenty of stretches that bore a closer resemblance to a cyclocross field in Belgium than the idyllic gravel stretches of rural America. The four day ride took me from home in London down to Brighton, before heading across the Exeter via the South Downs and Old Chalk Ways.

I managed to finish the trip without (catastrophic) incident or accident, but found myself in some incredible parts of South-West England that I’d never have really been able to ride in otherwise. It was the perfect way to smooth the transition from off-season back to normal training and is definitely something I’d love to do more of in the future when I’ve got the time between racing.

That week, however, couldn’t have finished in a more different way to how it started. One Saturday, I was covered head to toe in Sussex mud, and the next I was dressed up in my best suit and tie for the Rayner Foundation dinner. Travelling up by train on the day of the event, I managed to avoid the chaos going on in London that weekend. I then spent the few hours exploring Leeds a bit before trying to salvage from deep in my memory the now nearly forgotten act of how to tie a tie.

The event is the yearly fundraising get-together of riders and supporters of the Rayner Foundation – the organisation which supports many British riders racing abroad during their U23 years, some of the past recipients have even turned out to be half-decent at riding a bike in some big races. I’ve been lucky enough to be supported by them during the latter half of this year, so of course showed up along with 16 other Rayner-funded riders from this year who were in the country.

On my table alone, a third of the people sat down were riding in the WorldTour this year

The Rouleur Live may have been the headline cycling-related event that month, but the Rayner dinner boasted just as many household names from the sport in an unsuspecting corner of Leeds. Olympic medallists, world champions, iconic British cycle sport legends – they were scattered everywhere throughout the New Dock Hall. On my table alone, a third of the people sat down were riding in the WorldTour this year.

Rayner Foundation Dinner 2023 – New Dock Hall, Leeds, England – The Dave Rayner Class of 2023 with Jos Ryan. Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

The lack of distinctive team-issue kit and helmets being worn led to me spending a slightly embarrassing amount of time trying to recognise who the people around me actually were. The easy identifiers of a specific bike brands or riding style having given way to suits and shiny black shoes made the first half an hour much harder than I’d like to admit.

The initial identification problem overcome, the evening lead onto speeches, auctions, food, photos, and finally for some, dancing. My distinct lack of talent in this final activity lead me to stay far away from the dancefloor. The auction items included some true gems for collectors – again, like Rouleur Live, except bidders could actually get their hands on the items in front of them as well as raising money for a brilliant organisation.

The end of the evening also marked the end of my off-season. I’m super pleased to be back riding now, cracking on with my first winter without school “getting in the way”. I’ve got a few camps mixed in along the way before starting my second under-23 year, having extended Tirol-KTM.

Thanks for reading my journal entries this year, I’m glad that people have been interested in reading the gibberish that I manage to get down on paper. I’ve really enjoyed writing these entries, and hopefully a few people have enjoyed reading them as well.