So it's been about 10 days since I last wrote, and since then the whole country literally ground to a halt! Great Britain's seemingly perennial ability to be unable to adapt to any weather condition other than rainy grey days meant that when a decent foot of snow fell across the South East, chaos ensued. London Buses suspended (apparently they never did that during the Blitz), London Underground (!) services severely disrupted, not to mention the total lack of overground services and the un-driveable roads. Anybody would have though it wasn't forecast. This is what the roads around where I live have looked like up until last Friday, meaning training has been crap this week. By unwillingness to do everything indoors on the rollers has meant a pretty easy week training wise, which considering I picked up a bit of a cold the day after I last wrote, wasn't so bad.Anyhow, the weekend before last saw Josh and I return to Hillingdon to try to make amends for our dismal display the week prior. Well, we didn't win, that accolade went to a new man to the sport, Angus Macallister (Norwood Paragon). He took off from about 5 laps in, and was never seen again, not until he lapped the bucnh anyway! With the victory gone, both of us were a little unmotivated and so was the bunch. At which point Chris Moores (Also NP) and Toby Meadows (Corridori, but shortly off to Belgium) chipped off the front. Initially Josh was with them but couldn't quite hold them. I had a go at bridging, but didn't have it either. So we waited for the bunch sprint, which we duly controlled. Josh getting it, for 4th, and me just back in 6th. So a better race, but not brilliant. Then again there are bigger fish to fry.
Back to the here and now, even today, one week after the snow fell, whats left still provides a handy bike stand. Having only ridden on the road once this week, I was not entirely sure how well I'd go in our faux season opening road race, the Perf's Pedal Race yesterday. Given the weather, there was a lot of specualtion as to whether it would even go ahead. Though seemingly almost all of the area south of the North Downs clear of snow after only a few days, the course was indeed good to race on. Albeit with a slightly delayed start to allow for a few touches of frost to vanish.
With a fair amount of confusion at the start, we eventually lined up outside the Robin Hood pub. It's a fantastic course, some of which I had ridden before under the stewardship of Steve Calland (another NP rider!) last autumn. It only has a few little climbs, a long twisty and fast descent, and a long drag to the finish line through the woods. Anyhow, I ended up starting way down field once we eventually lined up properly. So I made a point of moving to the front of the race as soon as possible. This was not easy, as soon as the flag was dropped, the race was flat out, gutter to gutter, and very jostly. I admit, I was not expecting it to be quite that fast, or that jostly, a sign of my inexperience.
We had a simple plan today. I was to sit in and wait for the final two laps, then do my utmost to get away in a small group and contest the finish. While my team mates, Josh Cunningham, Doug Baldock, Jason Salter and Jaco Elhers marked everything else. And if there was to be a bunch sprint, I was to lead out Josh. How hard can it be I thought to myself? Having moved closer to the front, it was proving difficult to keep position. The bunch was very fluid, with a lot of moving about. I felt almost like I did in my first few races, when holding a position in a racing bunch is all so new.
Then going up a little incline, where the bunch congealed a bit, I was edged off the road and into the gutter at the side. There was no way back, I was going down, and down I went. I think maybe one or two others fell with me, but I was excpecting several bikes and bodies to land on top of me. But fortunately it wasn't too bad. I immeadiately got back up and on my bike, only to find the chain derailed. So off the bike, chain back on, big push from the neutral service man, and off I went. In a moment the service car pulled in front of me and began towing me back to the bunch. It was not going to be an easy chase.
I was sitting about 9 inches off the back of the bumper, I dared not get any closer. We touched 40mph a few times. After what seemed an age, we got close to the rear of the peloton, where I attempted to get round on the descent, but it was too narrow and too fast and a car was coming the other way. So I bottled it. Then on the next flat section I foolishly moved around the service car, onto the comissaires car, then back onto the bunch. Unfortunately, this took a mammoth effort from me (this was, with hindsight, possibly one of the hardest points on the course to get back onto the bunch), and I was right on my limit at this point. I was in desperate need of recovery. But no, the bunch hit the very climb where I crashed the lap before, accelerated, and I was dropped. Unceremoniously. In the picture, I've just regained the peloton... not for long! (I'm just to the left of the van)Race over. I rolled back to where the team van was parked and got changed. What was almost worse than crashing, was the amount of spectators on the course looking at me sorrowfully, imagining I'd been dropped. Well that wasn't exactly the case, and by this point I was beginning to feel my left arm so I adopted the broken collarbone position in hope they might realise. Stupid I know, but it's not a nice feeling. The rest of my team had a mixed race, Jaco broke a spoke while up the road in a break, and had a similar nightmare getting back on the bunch, eventually capitulating. Jason, suffered from the start, also a non finisher. Doug and Josh rode well, with Josh narrowly missing out on the top 10 in 11th. The race was won by William Bjergfelt of SportsBeans-Willier, from a solo attack on the last lap, while Steve Calland of Norwood Paragon lead home the bunch sprint. The race was quite a lesson for me, particularly in bunch positioning. I was also quite naive going into the race, I really didn't expect the race to be quite so agressive. But with hindsight, given the short distance and prestige of the event, I'm not sure what I expected!! So, lesson learnt. I'm ok, although I do feel like an old man today, and although I haven't properly checked it over yet, my bike seems ok. So it's not the end of the world, but it has definately increased my hunger for this season to get going. For what it's worth I did feel ok with the pace prior to my crash, and I've only just started riding fast again really, so it bodes well. Only a month until my next race... Big training coming up...
