Nottingham Clarion '50'

With not so much as an evening '10' in my legs I decided to enter a few events as I have the National Masters Track at Newport at the end of the month and the need for a bit of speed to go with my slow but steady miles thus far this year, I'd not topped 200 miles in a week until mid May when I rode to and back from London one (long) weekend but I had managed 30 miles every other day to work and kept my weight down with a diet of less carb's and soup so I was just hovering around 14 st and twitching for a bit of racing action (but nothing hilly)
To be fair the weather has not been the best but when it suddenly heated up mid May everybody was able to strip off a layer and get excited but with the long Diamond Jubilee weekend approaching the temperature took a nosedive and on Sunday morning I awoke to 7 degrees and torrential rain. Not one to put thing off! The only concession I made was to not ride fixed which I had made a rule to do at every opportunity this year and this being a pan flat course on B roads round the Vale of Belvoir would have been an excellent place to start but the conditions and the access to only one break to go with the one gear made me think better of it.
21 DNS and 4 DNF from a field of 44 tells its own story! The first man I bumped into was scratch man and last years winner Matt Sinclair "I've got too light a tyre on the front" (only brought the one) I ventured thinking of the rutted and pot holed roads I'd just rattled down in the car to the HQ at Plungar even got a mention on the Start sheet so maybe I should have payed more attention. "I've got two 6oz tyres on" says he, now Matt's a similar build to me (On the hefty side! used to be a footballer - I bet he wasn't a winger) "Your gonna puncture" says I and sure enough he did after 3 miles of starting effort into the wind and a wet walk home. I took a spare (as I mostly do - being a bit Old skool) as a precaution against worn shoe plates.
With no idea of what to expect of my fitness but you don't just loose it, Do you? Fifty miles is a long way to race but with a circular course covered 2 1/2 times at least I would only ever be 4 or 5 miles from the HQ but to prevent the ignominy of packing I decided an start easy , the aforementioned West wind made sure of that but a circular course well broken up the wind and soon I was on the A52 and speeding wind behind to Bingham, the one thing I could do nothing about was the water, spray from the passing cars wetter than those revellers on the Thames up to their ankles on bilge water. I pressed on trying to keep my RPM at a hundred more to keep warm than anything else, memories of last years Anfield '100' when riders were almost in a state of hypothermia at the end (year ago tomorrow), I caught a few riders Cambridge & Fenland Clarion (well it was the official Clarion Champs) but my computer was still set for my last race and that was............. a 3Km pursuit so not only was my watch in KILOMETERS but it was bleeping ever single sodding one of the buggers to the end! EIGHTY of the bleeders.........really annoying! As I tried to work out the Km/miles conversion in my head (it's always good to have something to occupy your mind when in a state of concentration)
My back and shoulders began to feel a bit under pressure after ten miles and for a bit I thought this was going to be a long two hours but then I had to make a bit more effort as I came into the wind and I forgot about the pain in my back as the pain in my legs got more persistent but pulling into the wind to complete the first lap was OK, low gears, getting my feet around, over some blasted rumble strips (that we had to cover three times Grrrrrrrrrr!) Why do they need to put them out here in the middle of nowhere? On a perfectly straight road, I suppose we have to be thankful that the powers that be have not decided to put LIGHTS! like they have on so many other courses Grrrrrrrr! Take a bit of drink, staying hydrated in the rain, it all seems so surreal but if I don't then I know that cramp and fatigue will be not far behind, I'd used isotonic, the stuff for long hot days in the saddle, knocked it up the night before, what was I thinking?
Only a lap to do now, I pass a man (for the second time) on a bike loaded up with carrier bags of rubbish going the other way with a long straggly beard and about three coats on! heading to Grantham in the pouring rain, I think to myself 'In forty minutes this will be over and I can go back to my normal dry life' but what will he do? I feel sorry for him and want to shout encouragement but It would just be lost in the traffic noise and the rain, I hope he has somewhere dry to stay, but I think he probably hasn't.

First event of the Season (pic Michael Butler - Inform-Images)

Last lap and the photographer gets me going up the only rise on the course, I try and look effortless and poetic but I probably grimace too much, once more into the wind, legs not as sprightly now, computer annoying, speed bumps annoying, rain annoying but I'm really quite enjoying it, I'm doing an OK ride, my speed is over 41Kmh so that means 25mph and not slowing, I take a look over my shoulder, Scott Walker (MG Decor) not caught me for 5 min and nowhere in sight, maybe he punctured? Third time down the A52, glorious finish, the tramp has gone, I was sad to miss him, maybe he found somewhere dry? 1:57:56 a good ride 4th place and first Vet 50+  Walker wins it with1:54:05

Full Result