I had watched the event grow from an idea to fruition. Phil Chinn whose dream it was to bring cross back to Fareham had worked tirelessly for weeks to make it happen.
Its only 4.3 miles from my door to race HQ... whats not to get excited about this race? situated in Fairthorne Manor, home to the YMCA and an outdoor centre, it was practically in my back garden.
A decent training block in Danish forests over Christmas was to be the Ace up my sleeve. While everybody else is getting porky or struggling in the horrendous weather , I had been riding pretty hard around some of the best singletrack I have experienced. This was to be my last opportunity to break the top ten.
Kit issues had been resolved with both race wheels buggered, I swapped to my training Fulcrums with latex tubes and Mud2s. Heavier but round and with a working freewheel :-)
New Years Hangover had long since faded , but in its stead a heavy cold, sore throat and a tickly cough had remained. My wife begged me not to race, but I figured, either go race in my Giraffe Onsie or flick the battle override switch and cough bits of lungs up . Last race of the season...with the next one is September so plenty of time to recover...what the hell
Apparently it hadnt stopped raining for the last few weeks, and the course had to be changed slightly. Despite this it wasnt too waterlogged. I felt crap, the loaded car refused to start so I pedalled down to the venue, sans pit bike, trackpump, toolkit etc... ahh well; shit or bust. If it goes wrong I can always blame the snotty cold.
Sign on was in a lovely warm cafe, and I soon met up with the regulars, leaving my rucsac in Deans car.
Half a warm up lap and soon my fingers warned me that I had the wrong gloves on. Thin race gloves discarded and my fingers soon warmed up again , cosy in big winter sealskins :-)
The Course.
A draggy uphill start across a slushy field, left hand corner and choose your line back down before the inevitable bottleneck at the first bridge. Deep wheel ruts slow you into a left hander and a gentle slope takes you down to the second bridge. Soft grass. not slippy, just deep cuts and power sapping. A slight off camber slither to a short field section. These corners were pretty firm and easy to ride cleanly. A cool section riding between a felled tree and a decent straight and wiggle before Phils Bridge was revealed. When Phil had talked about it I had imagined a narrow awkward rickety affair, but this think was a testament to their effort and commitment, you could easily pass three abreast or a small tank over it.
A deep puddle with multiple lines... short tarmac and then the first uphill wooded section. hard turns through the woods slight drop off, and then back up the steep bank again. A log to dismount over ( though chainrings scars bear witness to braver riders than I) and a deeeeep slurry corner (Endo optional). Section of deep sticky mud and down hill to the tarmac again. SPRINT... right hander and up a grassy slog , hairpin and desent to a sand bunker . Drop over a bank and onto the near flooded lower part of the field (Ted) another hill, so cut up it was easier to run and a few straights across the fields to the finish line.
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| one more lap and I will be crawling pic Graham Robins |
So how was the racing?
Still not gridded, and frustrated but I managed to push forward and get onto the fourth row. Not very confident, but the whistle went and I kind of clicked. I dont care if my lungs are not working, I will use snot as a secret weapon if I have to, I am going to give it my all. A fluffed clip but I was making up spaces by the turn. I eased up with elbows flailing going into the bridge so I could chose my own line. The first down hill section was like treacle, but I had a good line out over that slick bridge. Meander around the field, over Phils Bridge and up into the woods for the first time.
In warm up I had decided to run this bit.. A good call. On the first lap most riders chose to graunch their way up.. while I simply breezed past running .. I reckon I overtook at least five riders on this bit. a Twickenham guy stalled and fell into me, but I fended him off with my shouldered bike.
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| Woodland run up pic:Ben Darnton |
Smooth dismounts and remounting for the crowd near the big trunk and nearly endoing into the deep slurry puddle. Judging by the crowd, it was a good spot to watch.
The drop down to the tarmac abruptly ended in a deeper than expected puddle, scrubbing off any hope you had of carrying speed.
The race was already strung out. The usual faces were around me and things settled down a bit. Tim Costello of Southdown Velo slipped and went down on an inoccuous patch in front. I managed to nip through. It wasnt long before he had made the positions up, so I eased left and let him past.( no point in holding him up )
A spread out crowd had braved the weather and lined parts of the course. As it was my local race, I warbled a snotty passing "Happy New Year" as I wheezed past familiar faces.
I was catching up on Pete Hutchison of Cotswold, but Martyn Dymond of Whitesport was gaining on me. He was motoring with the V50 championship within his grasp. I held him off as long as possible, but my 30 miunte nemesis took hold and I started going slower and making mistakes. Each run a little slower, a tiny pause before accelerating out of corners. Each second and each tiny mistake eating into my lead.
By now the drizzle was more persistent and the course had degraded further from slurry to soup and from gloopy to a mire.
A short field section was 3 inches of treacle and running was the faster option. The wind had picked up as well and sections of tape had torn free flapping wildly and making navigation of the small wooded bit interesting .
Martyn caught me and I congratulated him as he passed me. My lungs were burning and the nose wipe patch on my glove was speckled with blood. I gingerly snot rocketed to watch a pink marbled specimen flail away... oops I wont do that again... The last run up couldnt come soon enough. Ed Gurney of VC Venta was miles back and to cheers of encouragment from Henry and the Fareham Wheelers gang, I crossed the line for a respectable 13th. Damn chuffed considering.
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| Chatting to Ben: pic Graham Robins |
One of the seniors posted a You tube clip of a lap... take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxxxlt6gy2Q
Thats the last one until September :-( now what?
What went well:
Simply finishing was a bonus, I shouldnt have raced , but its local and the last race of the season.
No mechanicals...shite floppy heavy wheel but it worked. Gears crunched a bit towards the end, but I will make the leap to 10 speed over the off season.
Good descisions on when to run. Commit and sprint ---dont trudge..
Time riding in Denmark over Christmas, was great. technically a better single track rider. Look through the corner to where you WANT to go ... not where you are going.
Not so good.
I probably damaged airway linings somewhere and and am likely to get a horrible cough that wont shift till February.
30 Minute gremlins. I get tired and sloppy . I think because I lack depth in my fitness.
I took a risk with no spare kit. the car wouldnt start so I couldnt carry anything, but it was a big risk.
Ben didnt race the seniors, so I had opportunity to try some new heckles.. and September is so far away.
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