Norlond 50

[Tamar Collis]

Headed up to A10 on Sunday. No ACC but a couple of Bec riders (Keith C and Dom H) were also representing sarf London.

The course was easy enough to navigate....start and finish were just off a long sausage shape stretch of dual carriageway with rbt at the north end and a slip road up to a rbt at the south end. Two laps of the sausage.

Keith and Dom thought it was slightly breezy and a bit rolling. I thought it was definitely rather windy and positively mountainous.

Started off heading north...was total nightmare. After four miles of struggling to get over 20 mph I was thinking of giving up. Heading south was much better though and I started to enjoy myself. I had my 3 min man in sight as I took the south rbt for first time....but then couldn't get any closer to him all the way back to north turn...was doing 14mph on some drags and even on flats was struggling to get over 20mph. And all the time number 19 was tantalizingly just 30-50m away from me.

Crawled round north turn again and within half a mile of heading southwards I overtook him no problem. That was just so weird!

Had taken a large bottle of Torq drink with me and finished it all but still got really hungry on final northwards stretch to the finish. So as well as it being windy and hilly I was now feeling feeble and pathetic. Keith and Dom zoomed past me. I lost the will to live and trundled over the line in a cr*p 2.13.40something...47 I think.

Two other women were riding and both much faster than me - 2.05 and 2.07. Note to self - lose the lard and pedal harder!

Ian Cammish won with a 1.48 or 1.49 I think. Dom second with a 1.50 and Keith 3rd with a 1.51.

[-Adam-]

Sounds tough Tamar, but a good ride none the less...

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Well done for persevering and getting to the finish - the wind certainly picked up yesterday.

[tel]

Well done Tamar, that wind is a nightmare. Hopefully next weekend will be sunny and still.

Terry

[Snoop Doug]

Hey - sounds horrid, two laps of a lumpy sausage doesn't sound like my idea of fun. Still, you got round, good effort

Snoop

[Maria David]

Sounds a real slog - well done for sticking with it !