Season's over.....for the road at least.

Crikey where did that go?
My last post was ages ago, I kept meaning to update and then not quite getting around to it....ah well so this will be a brief highlights/lowlight whistle stop tour of the last couple of months of the season then!

On the startline at the National Crit Champs, next to Lucy Garner.

SO - here goes - erm..... right lets start with the last of the National Series racing - they were mostly crits even though it's supposed to be a road race series. I went to Sheffield - AMAZING loads of climbers and other mates around the circuit shouting and cheering. Only got lapped at 7 to go so only just got pulled out before the end of the race which was great. Then it was the Ryedale GP, another one in conjunction with the mens premier calendar so a big event, and a big course to go with it. I had a ride round the day before and boy is it hilly, proper hills with 17% gradients in a couple of places - I knew the only way was to try and not get dropped - but unfortunately that's what happened shortly followed by a mojo disappearance and a climb off - I'm not sure a week which contained the Sheffield race, and the National Crit champs and then this was exactly what I was in need of at that point in the season. So not my best performance but even Andy didn't tell me off so I must have looked really miserable!
Oh yeah, Crit Champs - in York, hard bumpy cobble section, crash in first couple of laps which I got the right side of and then they had to restart - boo! But stayed in for a while and was on the telly again and then I got dropped and almost immediately pulled out - bit of a shame but good experience.
Last National Series was Stafford - city centre crit - brilliant fun, very small field ended up in the second group on the road, didn't get lapped, and finished in 18th place - pretty happy!

Stafford GP

Stafford GP

So next the final round of the CDNW Womens League - I was sitting in 3rd place overall after the first 4 rounds and hoping to hang onto it at least. But, having gotten myself a bit wound up and feeling anything but relaxed for the entire duration of the race I just didn't have the speed left in the legs at the end to go with the last move of the day and didn't do very well in the sprint and was disappointed in myself really. Also meant that I lost a place in the league and ended up 4th overall.
I know, I know that's still pretty good, and if I'd known that at the start of the season I'd have been ecstatic but in the event I was not best pleased with myself.

The next event was the Manchester Wheelers Lads and Lasses 2-up TT - now being a bit foolish when this was suggested by Si Bridge I'd immediately said sounds brilliant can I have the same Si Bridge as my partner, knowing how Andy feels about TT-ing and also that he hadn't been riding his bike. As the date drew closer, I was regretting this, Si is a complete TT-ing wad, well actually general cycling wad, and the reality was beginning to bite that trying to even sit on his wheel was going to be somewhat difficult! So the evening dawned rainy but thankfully it held off for the actual race and we set off. The startline banter went something along the lines of "Just shout if you want me to slow down, and the same if you want me to speed up.....I'll start easy" Right oh I said. A few hundred metres into the easy start Si shouted OK? Shall I go faster?, Yes I shouted back and faster we went.
At the end of lap 1 we were a little bit inconvenienced by an Audi TT and Range Rover making random manoeuvres but soon got back up to speed. I was feeling pretty good here, well tucked in and not struggling too much so after the next half lap I yelled that he could go a bit quicker if he wanted and we did. Then came the final mile and my turn to make the pace, somewhat harder, but I dug deep and we sprinted for the finish. No idea of times but feeling like I'd tried hard - at this point Si complained that he couldn't believe I'd asked him to go faster and that his heart rate was already at about 180bpm at that point - ooops! Anyway as it turned out we lost by a single second to another team.
But such a great event, everyone loved it and it's set to become a annual fixture.

Following the success of hiding behind Si, he suggested, as had Andy that I make the leap from the 4th/Womens race at Tameside to the 2/3/4 race - longer and faster. Hmmm, well might as well give it a go and Si was prepared to act as my guardian angel it seemed so I lined up with the big boys! The race started fast and I struggled to stay in contact and got dropped after a couple of laps, so I just sat up and waited to be lapped and then the real fight began....latching onto the Bridge's wheel I did my utmost to stay in the bunch, moving up whenever I got the chance and getting towed back on a couple of times coming out of the hairpin. I managed to stay on for about 10 laps before losing contact again, then getting back on again and then getting dropped at around 5 laps to go.
But the best thing was that I loved it! It was such fun, everyone was riding really well and I felt safe and like I could move around the bunch OK.
Andy was watching and he and Si were exceptionally complimentary about my efforts!
Week 2 and the race set off a bit more slowly, and do you know what I was right in there, sneaking forward at every chance and staying out of trouble and away from the back at the hairpin to aid the exit.  Si said he was looking for me to make sure I wasn't getting dropped and the next thing he knew I was in front of him and looking in control - "My work is done!" he said before getting on the front of the group, upping the pace and resulting in my getting dropped! Anyway so I stayed in for 16 laps of the 35 lap race which was nothing short of a miracle as far as I'm concerned - then got back in for another 10 then it was the last couple of laps and the pace went sky-rocketing and getting back on was never going to happen so I rolled around and came home 19th - well chuffed with that.


The rest of the season had highlights of improving my Club 10 time again by a handful of seconds - happy with that. Getting registered for the Track League for some velodrome racing fun over the winter....more on that in the next post. Coming second at the TLI National Road Race (not actually a highlight in reality coz I should probably have done better).
And finally actually winning a race - not just a category, but first over the line - very pleased with that, last race of the season and back at Marsh Tracks in Rhyl where it all started this year.