Mud, Sweat and Gears Round 1 - 17/03/13

So, following my last race I'd since finished servicing my bike. My mechanic at Thomas' Cycle Revolution was good enough to fit my bike in (to work on it) before he went off on holiday so I could race on the 17th. Winter had well and truly destroyed my bike, but in return it gave me a great foundation to build on for the summer. I've been told that not training during "off season" is like bringing a knife tow gun fight. I made a point of riding in all conditions,, particularly at night in the rain. I've always struggled with night riding, so I've been working really hard to overcome that. Anyways back to the point, over the last couple of months my bike has had; *ehem*

1 replacement Hope Race X2 lever (damaged in the crash)
1 SRAM XX Trigger Shifter Barrel Adjuster (damaged in the crash)
1 ESI bar end (damaged in the crash)
A set of Alligator I-Link cables (Jagwires - damaged in the crash)
Titanium bolts for my Hope Race X2 levers
2 x Swalbe Racing Ralph's
Replacement headset bearings
Replacement Lefty hub bearings
Replacement BB bearings (didn't need these)
Free-hub rebuild
KMC X10SL chain
Alligator Race X2 pads (front and rear)

"What crash?" I hear you ask, I'm going off at a tangent again but it's a funny story. This is before my first race at Gorrick by the way... Whilst on a training ride with Will I decided to hit a kicker at about 20-25mph, this wouldn't usually result in a crash but it was extremely wet, and I landed on the soaking wood decking; the phrase "slippery when wet" comes to mind. Fortunately for me, my brake lever took the brunt of the crash and I was relatively unharmed (not including the huge bruise I had on my right leg). The lever was literally bent at a 90 degree angle. I' amazed that it didn't snap, but thats Hope technology for you! Will (quite rightly) had a good ol' laugh about it, after ensuring I was okay of course. What I hadn't realised at the time was the damage to the right trigger and my Jagwires. All things considered, I still think I got off lightly, as I could have ended up in the River/swamp Colne).

Hope are quite often described as "over engineered" I prefer "well engineered"

Anyways, after spending a small fortune on my bike, it felt the best it's ever felt and was ready for racing, which was more than could be said for me, who was still recovering from food poisoning. I very nearly pulled out, but after my disastrous race at Gorrick, sorry Will's disastrous race at Gorrick. I was determined to enter, and to finish; even if I was last. Unlike Gorrick, I felt relaxed, because I now knew what to expect. I met a guy on the line who told me it was his first race. He then revealed that he hasn't eaten anything since breakfast, so I gave him an energy gel and made a friend in the process.

As soon as the whistle went; I was off. Coming up with some creative lines to gain some places. I started quite far back, so, really had to push on the first lap. I definitely struggled. I realised just how much the food poisoning had taken out of me, but I had to finish. Half way through the second lap I got caught in a little "micro battle" (as Ollie calls them) with a fellow (classic) Cannondale rider which was really good fun. Unfortunately he beat me by a couple of bike lengths, but I wasn't fussed; I was just pleased to finish, plus it was really good fun to ride with him. Will met me at the finish line and took my bike off of me, which was a nice touch, it's always nice to feel the support of your team mates. I was 27th out of 69 riders. Better than half, which was a very positive result for me considering. I know that I can do better, but the result has given me something to build on, and more importantly has definitely motivated me to train harder!

Me coming through at the end of lap two, with my rival me!

I really like the vibe at these events, I found myself chatting away with complete strangers. It's amazing how well people get on when they have something in common. It's almost like a brotherhood, which is something I've missed since I quit skateboarding. Hopefully I made a few friends, we'll see!

I met one of my girlfriend's work colleagues; Charles who I'd previously spoken to however briefly before hand. It was really nice to finally put a face to the name, and more importantly I beat him. That's what you get for making fun of my Lefty! Granted he's a lot older than me - but still! Charles, if you're reading this, next race I'll beat you by 10 places!

Shortly after my race, Ollie, Paul and Tony arrived and we promptly got the team gazebo up. Before we knew it, it was 14:00 and time for them to race. Paul was in the masters, Ollie and Will were in the Junior, and Tony was in the Sport categories. 20 minutes went by and what can only be described as "The VC Revolution Train" came blasting through! However come lap two the VC Revolution Train was no more. Ollie came steaming past, with no sign of Will or Paul. Eventually Paul came past and a few minutes later, Will. I spent the rest of the race waiting for Tony to come past who was struggling, the same way I had. Like me, he didn't give up and finished the race.

Ollie was absolutely flying! He won by an impressive 9 minutes!

Ollie won by a landslide, Will came in a respectable 3rd and Paul was 4th in the masters. I met each of my team mates on the line and checked they we okay in the same way Will had for me. Will was disappointed with the result, but he'll bounce back, with a vengeance. Paul and Tony were hurtin', it was just as well I was there to take their bikes in the end, Tony could barely walk haha! After the race he went off to grab a bacon and egg roll, he came back to the gazebo with a roll almost as big as the ear to ear grin on his face. He'd definitely earnt it!

It was a great day out, I really enjoyed everything about it and feel more motivated than ever. I particularly liked hanging out with the team. Round two is in Braintree and a little over a month away. It's on! I'm aiming for a top 10 finish this time!