National Circuit Series/Classic Series Rd 5, 6 Jun 2021
With mixed health and form leading up to this race, it was always one I was going to be doing for the experience, rather than in any expectation of a result. However you always hope for a good day, and I felt pretty good on my activation ride the day before.
On turning up at the course it was a nice morning (although with potentially some rain in the forecast). A drive of the course (an 11.5 mile circuit that we would ride 3 times) revealed a whole load of potholes (thankfully well marked by the race organisers) and a rough surface in many places, with a rolling rather than hilly terrain. I found myself wishing I had brought my secondary wheels (with wider and tougher tyres) but it was too late now! After a steady warmup and a last-minute gel it was time to get to the start and be ready for the off.
The early part of the course was a fast-ish downhill, followed by long drag up again, then a fast but windy section by an airfield, and then some more ups and downs leading into another long drag up to the end of the lap. My plan was to pace the first lap fairly cautiously and try and be consistent over the three laps. By the end of the first lap I was already really tired, despite the caution, and was actually tempted to abandon, particularly as the route went right by the car park! I planned to have a gel every lap so I took another one and struggled on for the second and what turned out to be my slowest lap (over a minute slower than the first one!) - I also struggled with indigestion which isn’t like me, and decided not to take my third gel.
On the last lap I rode the downhill section better, getting a PB on this and the flat section by the airfield, which meant a reasonable finish to a disappointing ride. I think in my head I was riding it like a 50, but actually it was more like a 25 plus a bit (it wasn’t anything like as hard as the earlier 42 mile hilly). But even accounting for this it was a poor performance that left me feeling rather frustrated.
Tim Phillips
