BVK Race Report (!)...
After a little gentle persuasion and Jedi Tricks from our esteemed club secretary and some other people, most notably those racing in the Masters Category, my entry was moved up to the Elite race. With half an eye on next season I thought it would be a good opportunity to get used to taking an absolute kicking every week to ease next years weekly disappointment :-)
Now that I effectively a pro rider, I no longer have to worry about the logistics of racing, and my Team Car arrived on time despite Driver John spending his whole morning waiting on a Vet and up to his arm pit in a cow, or something like that... I think he said.
Arriving at Gortin we were greeted with the kind of rain you see in old movies, the type where you know there is some guy just out of shot holding a hose and soaking the lead actor. We decided to carb load rather than sign on in the hope it would pass. Thankfully It did. Just before the bladders gave out. Unfortunately the Morning races were out on the course and shredding it up nicely. Is this anyway to treat the waiting Elite riders?
A merry band of us went out for a practise. I knew John and Peter were trying to coax my "pro lines" out of me so I deliberately rode like a turkey and slipped and slid around the course, stopping and starting and ruining their flow. All in the plan lads. I decided, while it was very muddy, that because the tyres were clearing and there were two absolutely brutal climbs on the course that I would be better with an intermediate front tyre and lower profile rear. I had a nice set of mud tyres in the Team Car, but on heavier rims. The mental battle over tyre and rim choice raged in my head until I found myself standing on the line with the original pair of tyres still on.
A quick look around showed some of the clever men had swapped to muds. My heart sank a little. But Bouyed by the lack of pressure and anonimity lining up against the likes of Aiken, Adair and Boyd, I didn't panic.
Grimley blew the whistle and off we went. Not sure what to expect, I held back a little. It all seemed very civilized from what I am used to. The pace quickened but I wasn't in any danger just yet. Ray O'Shaunessey then came through at an approximated 40mph. Everyone went nuts and off we went to the first trail. Everything was still pretty tight through to the start finish area on those first few minutes, but the pace was lifting ever higher. I didn't know how to really pace it for the extra distance so I had decided to just ride hard but not go into the red too much.
Got past the Under 23's and the two mad Juniors. Onto the first killer climb and I dig deep, the lead men are already at the top! Tomasz Michalski decides to show his power and comes past. Still, no pressure on me, as Bryce would say... I was just racing myself (!)
Into some slippy trails and back out onto the pressure climb of the day, The Waterfall. I managed to clean it on the first lap, dropping Tomasz who lost grip and had to run. It was to be the only lap where I managed to get up it in one attack. Every subsequent lap the tyres had clogged and couldn't clear before it meaning a lot of wheel spin on the early slopes which were approaching 30% gradient in places! The decision to leave mud tyres behind was to bite me hard.
I plodded on alone, aware of the threat behind. Caught up with early lead out man, Glenn Kinning on lap 2. He looked to be suffering, possibly due to his bike carrying an extra couple of Kilo of mud around his rear shock. Again plodding on trying to stay smooth and maintain a consistent effort when I suddenly catch Roger Aiken. I double take to make sure it is actually him, but yes, I have caught the dodge! He may have broken his bike, but that is a mere sidenote surely?! A quick mental calculation reveals I am now 4th in the race and 3rd Ulster rider as it stands. I would have taken that if offered earlier in the day.
The race dragged on, the legs were feeling it a bit now but I was still riding not too bad. I decided I could push on harder in the final half hour, but the bike was clogging up badly around the fork and rear stays dragging me a lot. Team soigneur, Lisa, was instructed to get me bottles of water ASAP! I was able to wash out most of the blockage going through the feed/tech zone and was a lot happier, but almost immediately i started to suffer bad
chainsuck which was causing real issues pedalling through the draggy points and up the steeper slopes. After easing the bike around the penultimate lap, Lisa had another water bottle for me which did the trick, completely clearing the small chainring and no more chainsuck!
Maintenance! by
barry_kellett99, on Flickr
Coming through the finish line was a relief. I was pretty happy how the race had gone. I was a minute and 20 seconds off 3rd spot proper on the podium as Poor wee Matt had suffered bad cramps towards the end. Maybe the tyre choice could have played a part for me there, so it was a good lesson for future races.
Well done to all the club racers.
Zoe and Christopher in the under 8's, Kelly in the Under 12's. Brother Ben with an excellent 4th in the boys U12.
Robert Davison putting in a strong performance in the S4 race despite me unwittingly standing on the race course in front of him at one stage.
Well done to Adi Booth, John Shanks and Peter Ritchie all in Masters. A really tough category to step up to on the day, a good 30% longer than the races they normally race.
Well done to Caldwell cycles on a great event, and Martin again giving up his day to ensure everything went smoothly and professionally.
IMG_8506 by
mike.armstrong43, on Flickr
IMG_8673 by
mike.armstrong43, on Flickr
IMG_8710 by
mike.armstrong43, on Flickr
IMG_8596 by
mike.armstrong43, on Flickr
Thanks to Mike Armstrong and Willie Boyd for the photos (Both XMTB)
