We set off on our merry voyage of discovery up to Manchester's National Cycling Centre for the latest installment of the Revolution Series featuring non other than a certain Mr Cavendish, Alex Dowsett, Geraint Thomas, Ed Clancy, Peter Kennaugh, Ed Clancy, Matt Crampton, Magnus Backstedt to name but a few.
Nice journey up there, Daren driving, Mr Pimms supplying the picnic and Steve and I sat in the back taking the mick out Darrens inability to stay upright on the bike earlier that morning.
Rolled into Manchester at bang on 4.45....right by Man City's ground....suffice too say there were a fair few people around. Luckily City had had another good result so we were saved from a northern bashing. I was asked to translate if we got spoken to but luckily the windows stayed up and we avoided any eye contact with anyone with a scarf on and a pale blue shirt. We did get held up for a short time giving Jeff enough time to go and mingle with the local plod and find out how long the road ahead would be blocked for. They seemed to hit it off as he was gone for a while, must be the dazzle of the pin stripes.
We were soon on the move again and quickly found our destination where once again Jeff was our ambassador as he shot off in his stripes (they must be go faster) too find out where our VIP parking place was....oh did I not mention, we were VIP's for the evening which meant free entry, a slap up meal, as much booze as your bladder can carry and prime location in the centre of the track....superb.
Something very odd was going on as we had to give our names to a car park attendant to allow us entry. Darren said his surname and the bloke practically grovelled and bowed and pointed us in the right direction to a lovely cozy spot in the corner of the VIP car park....did I mention we were VIP's?With wristbands attached we were soon pointed in the direction of the track and through the tunnel and into the centre. Having never seen an indoor track myself I was amazed at how steep the banking is, really surprised me, you don't really see it properly on the old goggle box at home. Darren spotted the free bar and he was away, no sign of his poorly shoulder as he swiftly started ordering the pints. I had volunteered to drive back so stuck to cokes.
Before long the riders started to enter the centre and we were right by the Sky team area giving us a chance to speak to Alex Dowsett who is a very pleasant chap indeed. Darren was falling in love with him and as the beer flowed through the night so did the chat up lines, the tail of the fall earlier on in the day came out as did the begging for the track mitts. Joking aside Alex had a lot of time for us and we were all having a good laugh with him. He's now following Darren on twitter as he said he would, top bloke.
The racing was excellent, such a great place to view it from. Cav got an excellent reception from the crowd which continued through the night. Highlights are on ITV4 this monday at 7pm. Managed to take a few pics, selected ones below. Time flew as we were wined and dined and just enjoyed the whole event and soaked up the atmosphere. The beer was still flowing as was the wine and it was beginning to show on Darren and Jeff. Luckily this was the latter end of the evening and before we knew it we were heading back to the car, not before bumping into Alex again in the lobby, I think he thinks Darren was stalking him
.Safe drive back, amazed I only had to do one comfort break though this was mainly due to the fact Daren and Jeff were sparked out in the back of the car the whole way back while Steve kept me company up front. A very foggy journey, finally arriving home at gone 3am.
I'd just like to say a big thanks to Kate for the tickets and a huge thanks to my comrades for the evening. It was a brilliant evening from start to finish. A very long day but well worth the journey. Cheers guys.
[img]http://i41.tinypic.com/behs2f.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/9r2li1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/900m55.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/ac2wjc.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i41.tinypic.com/168ssqx.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i42.tinypic.com/245exk2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i39.tinypic.com/2n6dy4g.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/291nadz.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i42.tinypic.com/2qa8f43.jpg[/img]
Amazing who you nearly get run over by in a bar these days.
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/35mhd00.jpg[/img]
The now famous Shadow and Darren with some bloke called Alex Dowsett
[img]http://i43.tinypic.com/313hmkk.jpg[/img]
