My first race

[Phil S]

Hillingdon May 11th.
First of all, a big thankyou to Toks, who came along to encourage me! My first race was a nervy affair to start with (went to the bog about ten times before the start). Being totally green I accidentally entered the second cat race. Luckily this was remedied last moment!
I was surprised at how fast the pace was, although I didn't find it uncomfortable at any point. Oxford Uni and Sigma were well organised at the front, so I rode their wheels and did a few turns myself. All in all, once I calmed down a bit I felt pretty strong - always in the top ten or so.
We were given 3 laps to go, then on the final lap the higher cat race came around again and we all pulled in. The agreement was that we'd let them get ahead a bit, then pick the pace up on the penultimate bend and contest a sprint... then the plan changed to doing one more lap. Fair enough. So, on this "final" lap I got into a good position and on the final bend I made my break for glory. I was out in front, winning my first race! Sure enough I was approaching the line in first position, then the bell rang (I was so green i didn't know there'd be a bell!) and we were told to do one more lap.
Unfortunately I'd used a fair bit of energy on the final break and before I knew it, two thirds of the race whizzed past me. It took a hell of a lot of work to get back in there and on the final drag I was boxed in on the inside with about 25 riders ahead of me. As soon as I spotted the slightest inkling of a gap I hammered down on the pedals, but couldn't get back to the top six in time. Toks reckons I was between 9th and 14th roughly.
My immediate reaction was disappointment and annoyance that there'd been such confusion. Today, though i'm very happy with my showing and I know what racing is like now. Now I'm raring to go again and looking forward to racing with Toks and working for each other.

[siwickm]

Excellent stuff. I remember my first race at Eastway and I had no idea what was going on. They were ringing bells, waving flags and blowing a whistle on different laps which meant nothing to me. They were having primes on certain laps which I did not know (you get points for winning the lap), so everytime a whistle was blown or a flag waved I was thinking that we only had a lap to go or the race had finished. I got really confused but all good experience.

Cheers

Marek....

[Toks]

So there you have it! just 7 months of regular appointments with his bike and Phil S becomes Addiscombe CC's sole representative in yesterday's 4th Cat race at Hillingdon...Let me tell ya guys the boy did us proud and looked really strong - he should get his first points very soon...So whaT ABOUT YOU NON RACERS, STILL NOT TEMPTED HUH?... Let me tell you in all honesty if you can survive Saturdays thru and off without feeling like you're lungs are gonna explode you're definitley ready for 16-20 laps (approx 30-40mins) at Hillingdon. Its pretty much the same speed as the thru& off but you don't have to worry about cars...Don't do Eastway as you're first race unless you're super strong, Crystal Palace looks tough as well. Hillingdon's probably best for newbies...Ok no more lecturing!!...But, just like SUPER AJ did last year I'm gonna continue to bang the 'give racing a go' drum. If it's your first time and you want someone there to give U moral support, hold ya hand, lead you out, whatever - let me know - I'll be on this Saturdays club run (skinny black dude on the really clean GIANT bike).

Take Care, Toks.
PS Back in late March I was dropped doing thru and off on the dual carriage way. 'IF I CAN DO IT, YOU...!' Yeah Exactly