After turning up early and with very few people about, I took a few spins around the course while it was empty. At 6pm I was the oldest person on a bike by at least 13 years. Pushy parents enquiring if I was doing the junior race quickly advised that I was, in fact, riding the wrong way round the course. Their relief, on realising I wasn’t a junior, was clear. At the same time a small boy was protesting that the number 10 was “SO NOT 12 YEARS OLD†if he was THAT talL. So feeling prepped and relaxed I sat on the grass whre I met a very friendly, over-weight bulldog. A few moments later I was covered in slobber and realised why this dog was so fat… he’d made off with my carb and protein packed Go chocolate bar.
Teamwork
Hoorah… the ACC posse began to arrive and we even had our own little yellow area on the grass in the middle of the track. There must have been nine of us racing plus Marky Mark in support (Thanks for coming Mark).
The Shadow, Serge and Hal all gave me good tips about the cornering and what to expect. There was a reall buzz about the place and I appreciated what it was like to be a member of a large, friendly club, No one was too distracted by their own race-prep to help me out, unlike a number of other large London clubs who’s names we won’t mention.
With a late start of about 7.30pm, the top chaps got to start first.. followed a few seconds later by the 3rd/4th men, then us girls… all six of us this week.
Right Charlie
The machine that is Charlotte Blackman being so quick, the remaining five girls were divided by the first nasty hairpin bend. I stayed with them for the first lap but then my handling and over-cautious braking let me down. On the tight bend I lost the front four riders, which left Lisa (Scarlett) and I to battle it out for 5th and 6th place. For a few laps we had the track all to ourselves, but the 0.9 mile circuit was too short to keep the boys back for long, and when they came through to overtake, things got a little scary.
In an instant, the boys were flying past as Lisa and I tried to hold the inside line as tightly as we could and even then we were briefly forced onto the grass. From now on there was no respite, but despite the fear it was the most exciting thing I have ever done. I got such a high from every lap, pushing a little harder each time, trying to attack the hill with a bit more power, leaning a little more on every corner and concentrating on my line while constantly watching out for faster guys coming flying past. Unfortunately you cant jump on the back of the men’s race, but you can go ride with them up the hills as long as you don’t draft. Somewhere in the midst of all this excitement I lost Lisa and was riding alone but it didn’t feel like it with the number of riders on track.
My name is...
I felt like I had a full support team. On every lap, in every overtaking bunch, there was an Addiscombe rider giving me a shout of encouragement. telling me ‘good effort Chloe’, ‘keep going Chloe’ ‘dig in Chloe’ or ‘have you brought a cake Chloe’. It was brilliant, thanks for the support everyone.
Soon the whole race knew my name and everyone was giving me a shout. Each time up the hill I thought my legs were going to quit but by the time I got back on the flat my legs amazingly came back to life within seconds. I was really enjoying this self-imposed Time trial. In a flash the race was almost over as the bell rang out at me with a lap to go.. if you’re not in the lead group they finish the girls race a few laps early to clear the track for the men’s sprint. A very nice chap gives you a shout and tells you when to pull off. So about 15 miles after I’d started I felt stronger than I did on lap one.
Care in the community
At the finish there was a real sense of community, with all Addiscombe members grouped on the green and sharing stories of achievements and disappointments before we all packed up and pedaled in a big yellow and black group back to Croydon.
So on refection the race is fast and a little bit scary, but no more so than riding in a 17’s club-run group with Mo Jaffer or being overtaken by cars on the A23. There is one tight corner but its really no worse than the right turn out of Coulsdon station. The down hill section is a bit like ‘Little Switzerland’ at the back of Box Hill and as for the speed, well its inevitable that Charlotte is going to drop us but she is an elite and you can happily ride on your own or find someone to battle it out with.
I'll be back
My view is… I got dropped on the first lap this week... SO what? You have to start somewhere. Next week I’m going to see if I can hold on for two laps. So to all other ACC girls, come along next week and we can all ride around the course before the race so you feel a little happier about it. Lets Race!
Chloe
(Editor's note: - sorry for the remaining grammatical errors but this story has already taken longer to sub than the fu**ing race took and I'm going to bed
Huw)
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Bring on 9x4 !!! 
