Girl Racer

So it's been a month since I last posted and it's mostly been raining! 3 glorious weeks (well nearly!) in Majorca and I had some climbing psyche I was ready to get out there and try and get started back into the UK climbing scene.........but all that's really happened is a mostly wimping around on plastic and not a great deal of that!

Got quite chilly at the Churnet  - thanks Ian Hey for this photo.

That's not strictly true I've had a few days out, one sport cragging around Dyserth (North East Wales), a days bouldering down the Churnet Valley and today I went to the mighty Hobson Moor Quarry - a crag of my youth! I decided I better remember what them strange lumps of metal were for and how to put them in, in preparation for a little trip to Pembroke at the weekend with the lovely Bristol Ladies - Mandi and Elinor. A rare treat to get the 3 of us together and that without small people as well - amazing! Thank you Will and Mrs Currey.
There will be more on that when I return!
The morning trip to Hobson Moor also meant that  I managed to chalk up my first E-point since before the back chopping palaver - so feeling quite pleased with that.


So apart from a bit of climbing I've been trying to beat my legs back into shape. I was feeling quite strong on the bike before heading out to Majorca, and distinctly weak and pathetic upon my return! Despite this I decided I should start getting involved in some racing and where better to start than at the Ashton Circuit where I'd been for the training sessions earlier in the year.
There is a race each week now for Category 4 riders and Women which is great as it's a bit better for me as I can at least have people to aim at rather than just being by far the worst person in the field! The other good thing is that because there are more than 6 women we get to have our own race within the race and so ride the whole course rather than being pulled out with 5 to go if you've already been lapped.
The first race was frankly terrifying - felt like hundreds of people (actually 55) and all going really fast. I had a terrible start and went out the back immediately, I then spent most of the rest of the race with one other girl and then lost her in the final lap as we were overtaken by the main peleton which meant I came last  and 3 laps down on the bunch - oops!
Week 2 was an improvement - foot went into pedal first go, I stayed in the main bunch for a lap or so and then I pedalled around with a MASSIVE bloke who really wasn't getting any benefit from sitting behind me for some drafting! I, on the other hand was getting plenty of shelter when it was my turn to follow. Also there were other people behind so I wasn't last, a definite improvement.
Week 3 and Andy came back into the peleton and promptly put in a performance I can only dream of at the moment and came 3rd earning himself his entry fee back and some points which mean he'll be bumped to to Cat 3 before he knows it and will have to go in a different race to me! The race this week was definitely slower and I stayed in the bunch for 4-5 laps which was quite a boost. As I went out the back there were 2 other girls and we then hung out together taking turns on the front for the rest of the race and only got lapped once. As the final lap came around I started to think about how to beat the other two to the line and so decided that leading from the front was NOT the best idea so I played a bit of cat and mouse until the younger of the other two went ahead. As we rounded the final bends she tried to up the pace and shake us off but I was locked onto the back wheel ready to spring out in the home straight. Channeling Mark Cavendish I went full speed ahead and hurtled past her to cross the line in front - oh yeah!! Might have been the sprint to avoid last place but felt good to win it. Not sure how many girls there were so no idea what position I got or if it earns me points but there's a chance.............