A Revolution

To paraphrase a monthly cycling magazine you might know, it is almost as if the proverbial bicycle wheel that is the roadmans' calendar, is just about to complete a revolution. The wheel never stops spinning. One race follows another and eventually the gossip and rumour mills begin to turn regarding the following season. Who's doing what? No matter who comes or goes, the wheel keeps on turning.

I'm sitting writing this on the evening of beginning my training for 2010, I'm actually really excited about the prospect of 3 hours in the rain at the beginning of November. So I should be, times will get a lot tougher than they are now. I'm also really excited about getting on my new training bike... well, I say new, it's hardly new. In fact I think the frame is about 8 years old, 2 years old to me. It's been a training bike before, until a white van decided otherwise. Then it was a TT bike, for all of a handful of TTs I did this season. Now, it's back, made up some interesting components, including the stem from my very first road bike 6 years ago, which is pretty much some scaffolding welded together! The bars, traditional in shape are probably older than me, they are original 3T! Nothing like the new stuff. As well as some luminous green cables, yeah!! Also, I am obsessive about my position on the bike. However towards the end of the season I became unconvinced in my set up. So the switch to old style round traditional drops and a more traditional lever position, I am intrigued as to how it will ride...

It's been 3 weeks since I threw the leg over a bike in seriousness, and that last weekend was not a good end to the season. After a disappointing final road race of the season, one final weekend of competition was to see me ride ''the four hills''. That is, the Brighton Mitre hill climbs on the Saturday, followed by the epic Catford and Bec hill climbs the next day. As fate would have it, I spent the preceding Friday between the bedroom and the bathroom, a day which is best not covered in detail! Needless to say, I did not compete that weekend. 2009 died a death, as a result, I literally cannot wait to pin a number on again.

In the meantime, there's plenty to relive from 2009, some good, some bad. Lets start back in March, where I left off. My last mention of racing was the night before the Wally Gimber, well while it wasn't a disaster, it was by no means a success either!! An early break dangled tantalisingly close from the bunch for pretty much the whole race, it was ever changing in composition as a result of people taking the initiative and jumping across. I didn't. To add insult to injury, one of the more dodgy bunch sprints (for like 15th!) I have contested left us with only a high 20's placing to show. Not good!

The week after however was a different story. My first racing trip to Belgium. Much could be written about this experience, I can recall several details vividly. The most memorable factor was the sheer speed, an average close to 28mph, ludicrous! Another factor; the enormous field, something like 190 riders! Hand in hand with this however, was an exceptional level of bike handling. In Belgium the guys have been racing since they were 12, they know what they are doing, and it shows. Inevitably with a field so large and moving so fast, on a short course with some narrow turns (or ''curves'' as seems to be the Flenglish), there were one or two crashes, though nothing major. Ultimately on a uncharacteristically calm day, the race came down to a bunch sprint for the win. Now I'll not mislead, I was never closer to the front of the race than about 80th wheel! So I was never in contention for the win, Josh however was. Though unfortunately after a previously active race faded to just outside the top 40 (the prize money cut off!). However, we were both placed 41st, along with about 80 other guys. Sometimes, even in Belgium, the judging comes down to an old boy on a step ladder. So respect to him for even getting the top 40 in a sprint that mad!

That'll do for today, unfortunately there's another month of racing frustration to cover before some real positive reportage. After that though the season picked up, although was still far from an easy ride! Until next time...