The official opening of Odd Down Circuit took place under
glorious sunshine last weekend. A full day of family events and a full afternoon
of cycle racing was laid on for all to enjoy.
I dived in, almost literally, into the 3rd Cat 40min
plus 2 lap race of the circuit. It was also pleasing to see a strong VC Walcot
presence lining up for the 4th Cat race, many of those clipping in
were doing so in their first race. All showing strong performances which bodes well for
future races.
The hot weather made warming up a little easier, and the
slightly added length to the race meant that I going so hard for a warm up wasn’t
necessary. The first couple of laps were great. A very strong performance from
Jon and Paul, VC Walcot dominated the pace of the race. Not exactly the planned
tactic but proved decisive. A couple of laps in a other racers starting coming
to the fore and covering various breaks and changes in pace were hard in the heat
radiating off the tarmac.
Nearly 20 minutes into the race I sensed an opportunity to
make a move, approaching the top hairpin I accelerated hard into and out of the
corner and with another ride started to make a split in the group. Riding very
hard, my heart rate topping 190bpm out of the corner, and sweat pouring into my
face I made a painful mistake in pulling over to allow the other rider to come
through and start to work. We both started drifting together and in what seemed
an eternity of slow motion I could see and sense a touching of wheels. Back to
real time and I was down, bike bouncing around which brought down another
rider. I managed to get up pretty quickly and in New York sitcom style wiggled
around on the spot as the rest of the bunch separated around me and my bike.
I twisted my bars back into a somewhat straight fashion, fixed
my chain, checked my brakes and wheeled down to the nearest commissaire and
asked where I could rejoin the race. Not once thinking about to what extent my
injuries might be. I did not know that at the next hairpin a grounding of pedal
brought someone else down and that was the final straw that created a brake of
6 people to get a lead. I was told I could re-enter the race in the lead group
as that was where I was at the time of my crash, but I would have to see a medic
at the end of the race. That’s when I realised the blood running down my leg and something
fluid coming out of my hand. I picked up speed to rejoin the front group and
again realised that I had no gear changes. I was stuck in one speed for the
rest of the race. If I could just stay with the front guys then at least I could
collect a couple of category points by
finished 7th.
As the rest of the race went on I began to feel a bit of
pain, but adrenaline is fantastic and kicked in pushing me forward. Being stuck
in a gear, luckily not too high or too low, I ended up going off the front
again as I had to keep the cadence going. Not ideal and it disrupted a well-organised
break.
In the last few laps it became more and more frantic and I
could see the heat and speed paying its toll on one or two. Luckily the
adrenaline kept me strong, that was until the final lap. On hearing the bell
the pace went through the roof. I was unable to really follow in one gear and
dug deep to stay in touch on the back. A guy who had raced earlier in the day
in the E123 race was obviously tired, and either though sympathy or his own fatigue
encouraged me to push on at the end a probably let me finish 6th rather
than 7th . Thank you.
When I finished and the adrenaline stopped and the pain
started. The kind medics helped me out as best they could. I tried to shower in
the changing rooms, but the water was so hot I just couldn’t and washed down as
best I could in the sink. I managed to pull myself together and watch the end
of the 4th Cat race, which unfortunately ended with a crash taking
out Phil on the last bend. It wont be long before he sprints to a victory I am
sure.
The last few days have been really painful with washing and
dressing my road rash. It got too bad today that I visted a nurse just to check
for possible infection or something worse causing the pain. Luckily all is ok,
except that it’s not really road rash. It is more of a burn, infact partial thickness
burn that covers about 5% of my body on my shin, thigh, hip and forearm.
The rest of the damage is starched but working ultegra di2
componets, a need for a new rear mech and a new VC Walcot jersey.
What is strange is I can’t wait to heal up and get back out
there and push on for better and better results. I have 10 days to get into a
shape to race a 10m TT on relatively fast course north of Bristol. I hope I can
make it.
