Inspired by Paul and his Pearson I wanted to race today so having looked at the BC website Hillingdon looked the best bet. The weather was really miserable on the way over and I was hoping that would put a lot of people off and I would be able to bag a few cheeky points to get to 3rd cat status. Pah, who needs dignity? Out of the blue my girlfriend said she'd come along and watch/take pictures, this was a bit of a surprise as you could say that she isn't the worlds greatest cycling fan and it wasn't the greatest of days to be stood at the side of a windy cycle track.
On to the race and I was having a lot of fun, a guy from Thornton RC had a dig on the 2nd lap and I followed but it didn't come to anything and after another lap we were gettign reeled back so we sat up. The rest of the race was pretty similar to 99% of the other times I've been to hillingdon, people putting in digs occasionally only to get pulled back and the effort easing up on the long straight into the headwind. Had a few little goes myself but I'm not strong enough to zoom off into the distance and none of my paltry attempts at a show of strength turned into anything.
The girlfriend had the camera with her and feeling reasonably comfortable (I could still breath and feel my legs) I decided to get on the front so she could get a glimpse of her hero in action. Unfortunatley for me the timing didn't work out too well, the lap counter was only for the E,1,2 + 3 race and we were told at the start that we'd be given 3 laps notice when the commisaire felt we'd had enough. Unfortuneatly for me he decided we'd had enough just after I finished showboating for the missus. This left me feeling rather spent as "three laps" was called from the start line and the group picked up the pace for the end of our race.
Anyway, I stuck with the bunch to the finish line but didn't contest the sprint. I really enjoyed today, was a bit concerned that having been particuarly lazy recently I might not last till the end with the bunch. We were so lucky with the weather, it was raining all the way there, I got the bike of the car and it stopped, raced, put bike back on car, showered etc and it started raining again. The standard of riding was pretty reasonable I didn't hear anyone shouting at each other, I think about 25 or 30 started and few were dropped or had mechanicals.
Theres another next week and then I think the organizing club has finished with their series. There may be another race being run by another club but you'll have to check. If anyone is interested in racing at 4th Cat only races between now and the end of October let me know and we can car share or I can offer a lift...
Some photos the missus took:
Me in the bunch
[img]http://i37.tinypic.com/2vjr6ok.jpg[/img]
Me just before the sprint
[img]http://i34.tinypic.com/1076xsm.jpg[/img]