16th March 2014: Betty Pharoah Memorial Road Race (cat 3/4)

This was a journey into the unknown. My first competitive bunch race of any kind on tarmac. I've done my share of hill climbs and time trials in the past, but I had no idea what to expect of hammering round in a bunch. So, straight in at the deep end with a 50 mile race on a fairly hilly course - although a better description would be 'rolling' by South Wales standards.

Perfect weather conditions and 15 other Cardiff Ajax team mates starting the race helped to keep spirits high at the start. A neutralised roll through Cowbridge was followed by one of two main climbs on the three-lap, 15 mile course as soon as the flag dropped and the race began for real. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself moving up on the climb, and surprised but slightly panicked to find myself in a group attacking off the front within the first few miles! We didn't get away and I curbed my enthusiasm, reminding myself the aim was just to stay with, and finish with, the bunch. The second climb of the lap was a reminder of this as I found myself drifting inexorably backwards, unable to get on anyone's wheel. I recovered from that and after being towed along at 30mph on rolling roads it was time to start lap 2.



Having found my level and realised I wasn't going to get blown out the back of the bunch immediately, but under no aspirations that I was going to figure in the finish, I tried to move up and make myself useful to my team mates who did have such aspirations. Up the second climb of the lap I found myself near the head of the bunch with the remnants of a break being reeled in - and Kryzsztof, one of our best hopes for the race, doing the work to bring them back. Well I couldn't have him wearing himself out, so it was time to see if I could handle a turn on the front. I dragged the break back and carried on for as long as I could, hoping to do some damage at the back of the bunch and prevent any stragglers on the climb getting straight back on - with the ever-enthusiastic Kryzsztof urging me to go faster! When I peeled off I went back through the pack like a bowling ball as I tried to recover, going from 1st to 60th in as many seconds.

I never got near the front again, learning the valuable lesson that position is everything in a big bunch and moving up is far from easy, even if cyclocross has given you sharp elbows and a willingness to ride through gaps that are a bike plus 6 inches wide. Besides, by the final climb I was starting to run out of steam, and gave up any hopes of being any use to the team (little did I know that by this point Kryzsztof had made it into what would prove to be a successful two man break and earn him second place). As we hit the last kilometre of uphill drag to the finish and everyone geared up for a sprint, I finally went out the back of the bunch and finished about 30 seconds behind. But since I'd come into the race thinking that might happen in the first kilometre, I went home happy enough.

I enjoyed myself a lot and went home relieved to have held my own, but reassured that I haven't missed my true calling in not giving road racing a go until now. Next on the list: a criterium....

23rd February 2014: Red Kite Winter XC Series, Coed Trallwm

Today was a toss-up between a (first ever, for me) criterium or another visit to Coed Trallwm. Well, once a mountain biker always a mountain biker...

Angela from Ajax, who is just starting out racing XC, was also racing so we headed up together and some company on the drive into mid Wales was good. Less good was the rain that started falling a few minutes before we got out of the car and continued non-stop until we pulled back out of the car park several hours later. Combined with a fairly strong wind this guaranteed a 'challenging' day. First challenge - unpack bikes and change into riding kit without getting cold and soaked. After sign on and a bit of lingering in the warm of the cafe there was just time for 30 minutes of warm up and a quick change into dry gloves (to prolong the inevitable) and deliberate over what to race in. With the rain showing no sign of letting up I kept my warmest base layer on under a jersey and stuck a lightweight rain jacket on top of that. Time to head to the line.

Having been here only a few weeks ago I had some idea what to expect, and so unlike last time hadn't ventured far in practice/warm up. Indeed the sprint up the first mile-long fireroad climb was all too familiar, albeit with a fairly strong headwind, leading to the slightly bizarre sight of the first dozen of us lined out in single file, fighting for wheels and shelter from the wind as if this was a road race. This peloton gradually fell apart and I crested the climb in fifth, with a bit of a gap behind. This evaporated completely in the next kilometre through a very grassy boggy section. Not my forte at the best of times, and it was critical to choose the right line. I didn't, and lost all of the advantage I'd eked out to a group behind, and then some.

The rest of the lap was spent dipping out in and out of stuff I knew from last time, in between sections I didn't. A couple of the downhills were new: one was twisty, fast and fun, the second was more technical and seemed to be surfaced with some magic combination of mud and pine needles that offered no grip at all.

Throwing shapes or getting out of shape....? Photo by CAC Photography

By a lap and a half things had settled down and I found myself alone - nobody in front of me to chase, no visible threat from behind, so now my biggest rival was the weather. It still poured with rain, and this combined with a strong wind on some of the more exposed sections. One switchback descent begun by pedalling into a strong headwind downhill, rain stinging the eyes, before turning through near 180 degrees halfway down and suddenly accelerating effortlessly to 30mph as the headwind became a tailwind.

I crossed the line pretty much soaked to the skin and immediately headed off to get warm and dry. Sitting in the cafe by its very welcoming stove the results were announced and I was pleasantly surprised to find I'd managed third overall in sport. Sixth overall again, same as the last round. So a couple of XC races under my belt before spring has sprung, and hopefully conditions can only get better for the next six months!