My new Carbon wheels had turned up on Friday. so after replacing the bearings, I installed them late Saturday. I swapped over the pad cartridges and installed the TRP carbon brake blocks. A quick test wide up and down the, revealed that braking in the wet on carbon rims is shit. Not to be put off I quickly scooted out to the nearby field and spent 15 minutes cornering around the grassy knoll. It didn't help. With a degree of disappointment I erred on the side of caution, took the wheels off , changed the cartridges back to KoolStops an put my Old wheels back on.These were newly shod with brand new Mud2's with Gucci Latex tubes, so it wasn't all bad.
Dean and I mooched up to Basingstoke in the SCS van with a wicked tailwind and after queueing for a while signed on and started pinning numbers on.
I bumped into Murray, who suggested that I speak to the commissaries to ask about being gridded. nervously I approached Ian and asked about gridding. He was more than happy to oblige and seeded me 12th.
So not putting enough pressure on myself then, if ever I had an opportunity to get that elusive top ten this race was to be it.( Luck 1, Murphy 0)
Back to van to get ready, only to find I had left my Garmin at home, and stupidly i left my shoe insoles in my road shoes. bugger.. not the best of starts.( Luck 1, Murphy 2)
Ah well, soon ready to start a few practise loops, chatting and eyeing up the course and assessing the opposition. I came a real cropper on a leafy, off camber downhill left hander and took a full flyer over the bars. breaking ( of all things) the ratchet on my shoe which left me unable to tighten it up properly.( Luck 1, Murphy 3) Luckily my floppy right shifter was tightened up with an allen key hastily borrowed from a helper in the pits.
The Focus had duly been deposited down the back row of the pits, with the mindfulness to at least leave it in a sprinting gear.
The course was another cracker.... A long tailwind straight into a tightening right hander, a pair of grassy 180,s before back out into the headwind across the field. an easy bank, awkward off camber before skirting behind a building , over two humps and off along the flat edge of the field.
hairpin, straight then a last slidey left hander. . Through a tight woodland section onto the fastest part of the course towards the pits and into the 'BMX' bit. The BMX section were a few humps and a delicious berm, that was crying out to be hammered around.After this it was off to Soggy Bottom, where the going got a bit claggier , topped off with a really slippy left hander. The gentle climb back out was easy and open.with only a full speed negotiation of a tree to content. Once back up to speed the rhythm was upset by a pair of corners before a quick acceleration to run at a steep bank. left at the top of the bank and a sheltered raised pathway to the top of the off camber downhill ( where I came a cropper)hairpin, another bank, followed by some short sharp hairpins up meandering up and down the banks. a quick scoot to the middle of the field , hairpin then running into the barriers and HQ before starting off on the next lap. It was great to finally see a set of barriers after practising them I was keen to give them a go at race speeds, even if there was a corner right in front of them ( supposedly to stop bunny hops).
After two full laps as a warm up and to test the course and before long it was time to line up at the start. Gridding started, and I was duly called up to the second row. If there was ever a wheel to line up behind it was Crispins, ( the current league leader). This is it. make it count...
I will start you in the next 15 seconds....." PEEEEEP" and we are off, with a clatter of shoes clipping in as the rush of wind gathered pace.
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| I am right in the middle with a pink cap peak |
Being gridded is fucking ace. despite my previous good starts this weekends was bloody great. no switching, people held their line, while it wasn't polite, it wasn't a maelstrom of twitchness and needless aggression.
the first few corners soon lined us out a bit and I was in about tenth place. It spaced out and I found myself racing with guys who are usually a few places ahead. A Beeline Cycles guy made a fuckwit barging move through, but he soon faded within the next 1/4 lap. I worked up to Simon ( Meadwell) who had out sprinted me last week at Reading, and managed to get a gap on him. Then worked past a Pedal On guy and a Cotswold Velridjen rider looking very pro in Marcel Marceau white gloves. I was comfortable, and felt that I was riding well, closing in on the Junior Joe and riding in around 7th or 8th place for a fair while. The tricky off camber stuff was no problem, and the Mud2's were a real improvement on the Challenge Grifos on the wet grass.
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| Photo Graham Robbins |
The thing is I was just past the pits, so as racers were just passing me I didn't know what I was supposed to do.
Basically I did the wrong thing. I shouldered my bike and worked back along the course to the pits, via a mix of on course and on a dodgy bit I ran through the brambles. I threw the Hiver in a heap and grabbed the Focus. Its first use in anger and final vindication of having a pit bike.
I was off chasing hard. A very cool Charllotville Wheelers guy saw my predicament and let me pass, but I was soon up onto riders, intent on riding their race ( and fair play) I rode hard, very hard, completely red lining for most of it and took a lot of risky lines through Soggy bottom. I attacked after each corner, and slowly i managed to pick off riders. All of the barrier practise stood me in good stead as it was one of the best places where smooth transitions really helped to attack; but often the route through was blocked by a slower or hesitant rider.
Riding hard I ambitiously called the line as I passed slowing riders , even so much as shouting at riders
" this is a fucking race not a road ride!!" and as I went through the Bell I attacked again repeatedly sprinted out of each corner to finish as best I could.
I rolled over the line, at least I finished, and not in last place, but feeling pissed off to have squandered the opportunity to get that top ten. within a minute two of the commissaires came over to have a discussion regarding my run back to the pits.
The rules state that a rider "Any rider passing the exit of the pit area must continue on the course until reaching the next pit area. " ( Rule 10.1)
I was fortunate to receive a warning and not be DQed. The commissaires were genuinely cool guys, keen to advise and help riders instead of waving rule books, even going as far as advising me on my poor cantilever setup. A massive thanks to them.
Overall a very disappointing race. I had one good chance of a top ten, but missed out. even though I raced well, that hollow empty ness meant that I was twitching and keen to get stuck back in, to which I almost signed on the Seniors race. Ah well thats racing. I have had it all my way up until now. A lesson to be learned.----> Make sure the pit bike is good to go ( the brakes were rubbing and tyre pressure wasnt quite right)
I managed to work myself back up to 27th , so not tooo bad I suppose.
What went well:
Getting Gridded was brilliant.
The weather, although very windy, the course remained pretty dry, even the appropriately named soggy bottom, didn't really live up to its name.
Mud 2's were a big improvement on the Grifos.
Latex tubes feel nice ( though I don't know how much was the tyre or the tube)
Barriers were smooth and fast.
Bad:
Poor preparation: Missing GPS, forgotten insoles
Crashing during warm up. then stressing about a wonky loose shifter.
Puncturing. getting a warning
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