Since the aborted 12 hour I'd been suffering from a different type of crisis, not a crisis of form or fitness, No! I was pretty sure I had the condition to do a good ride but that of anxiety. A feeling of inadequacy stemming from things outside my control, you can try and control as many of the factors within your control but what do you do when that's not enough? Back pain, headache, listless and unable to sleep, that's no way to prepare for a performance that's going to define a season
I rode the Nottingham Clarion '25' the intervening week a respectable 57:36 for 4th place on 'B' roads on the Vale of Belvoir, then a broken chain in the midweek '10' on 'fixed' well at least some of my bad luck is disposable but it's still annoying.
So to the Team Swift '100' pretty much the whole of my season was going to rest on this one ride, an overestimation I know but 3:54 my best so far would not get me a place in the BBAR top 10, with the way things are looking, with faster times 'across the board' in '50' '100' and 12Hrs. I would be outside with comparable speed to last year so I had to pull a decent ride to get my campaign back on track. It would be almost unbearable to ride another 12 hr. with nothing at stake, push yourself to the brink once more with no chance to make the grade when you know you are up against real riders with real times in the bank, it's no wonder I'm anxious
The Swift event up in N Yorkshire on the A168 between Disforth and Northallerton (turn) x 3 laps always a good one for me and has provided me with my seasons best the past three years, a good field Hutch (going for Comp record?) almost better than the National. I'm not off until 3.00pm so almost a day to while away (nerves) with all the riding done only the racing to do now, I'd been out in the morning for a customary stroll and got soaked before 2 miles so came home and called it quits.
A bit much wind than everybody would like, the weather these past couple of weeks has been changeable to terrible (ask anybody on a 'staycation' holiday) but to ride a 100 mile time trial at top speed in it another matter. Rain I can deal with, wind well that's why we produce such good sailors, because there's way too much of it on this island we call home, get on with the race, a bottle of fluid and a gel with coffee, bang it all in and see what transpires. It's a fast opening leg so the five mile ride to the start at Rainton Lane enough to be getting on with although there are riders in the lay by going 'nuts' on turbo's! 20:24 for the first 10m the first warning that it's going to be hard the other way but I'm not here to shirk a bit of pain and some grovelling it's a 'hundred' after all, you don't ride these and get off thinking "Nice day to be out on the bike" you race the whole way these days and all that 'aero' gimmickry ameliorates the wind (or that's the theory) the pain was always there - riders love it!
Coming back into the wind does not feel too bad, keep aero but keep relaxed and concentrate only on the next bit of road, then the next bit, the next and so on, don't panic. I have to do this three times so do not blow it on the first lap, keep something in reserve for the next time that will be crucial. At 50 miles I'm 1:51:17 but have done two downwind to one upwind and the second half will be the reverse so not to get too excited. Fi gives me my first bottle, its not a hot day, I will not need much more than this. I catch my four minute man Peter Greenwood (Clayton Velo) and he hangs around a bit too long, I cannot afford to alter my pacing to shed him but a couple of hard efforts on little rises as the second hard lap finishes sees him off. I have a Gel at the end of each lap as a present, use every trick at your disposal, whatever gets you to the end.
Riders are packing, Hutch is gone as he has no need for a slow agonising ride, the pain is relative but I would have liked to see what I do against him, seventeen others along with the fourteen DNS's for this excellent promotion, bit of a pity but when you have a sub 3:50 (3:45 some!) on the books not starting can be easy, stopping once you are into the race more of a battle but those little voices in your head that start as soon as the knot of pain in your chest and legs begins to slowly 'garrote' your senses
I lay down in the lay by (is that why they are called that?) I've never had to work that hard before, back pain and a headache in the correct context! Shows how much it means/how much I want it after a while I can sit up, Fiona is looking on a bit distressed, it's not good for her to see me in this condition, it makes it all look too serious and not just a sport we do for a bit of fun but I've done it and I've got the time to go with it, 4th again on the day (with all the dropouts!) but a credible performance maybe things are looking up!
Nott's Cl. Result
Team Swift '100' Result
BBAR Latest
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