Don't Panic! - BDCA 100

I have a one time opportunity for a hundred this year, it's the BDCA on my local course near Uttoxeter, it's also the last chance for any aspiring BBAR riders to make an improvement so the field which is limited to ninety riders is stuffed with fast riders wanting to make a difference to their season

Indigestion at the start

As its my one and only '100' I have to take a cautious approach to the effort and I have to get around to qualify a ride for my VTTA (Vets) BAR, the weather has been looking good all week and come the day its cool and light wind from the North which will make a cross wind most of the time, good for this course. It begins to rain as Fiona and i drive to the HQ at Etwall, Fi is my helper for the day and as one of the more experienced ones has numerous other WAGS to help with their duties of handing up bottles and 'hollering' from the sidelines. Fi does not come to many races these days but the course here has a dog leg off the 
main road which makes an excellent staging post for support where she can see me 5-6 times in the race and have access to nice toilets and a McFlurry from the facilities on the main road.

Steady on the way out (10m)

I get under way at one o'clock and after a few more spots of rain it turns into a glorious day with even some sunshine later in the race, difficult to know what to eat for a mid day effort, breakfast was hours ago and I need to keep eating up to the race as with a four hour effort you can easy run out of energy. Riders these days sustain themselves on almost a liquid diet albeit with carbohydrate added and gels on top, you might get a fancy for a banana but with times ever faster you are on the road for less and its a balancing act. I have half a sausage sandwich, BIG mistake!
I trundle out along the A50, I have a schedule for 3:52 a time I have not achieved for a couple of seasons so I need to get up the far end (25m) in 57 minutes (that's over 26mph Av.) to get to half way inside 1:54 so no hanging around. I have Ian Greenstreet (Newbury RC) 4 minutes behind to keep an eye on, we race track and TT's together, he beats me in the shorter ones but in recent years he's started beating me at the longer distances, we are the same age and been racing since the 70's, we go back a long way! I can feel that sandwich working its way back up! Thankfully I have to drink plenty in the first hour to get ahead with my liquid feeding and after a while the sausage admits defeat and retreats to my stomach. Sometimes you have to have to train your constitution as well as your legs

At the Blythe Bridge turn Ian is only 10-15 seconds up and my legs feel good, 25 miles come up soon after (55:40) unfortunately my tyres feels a bit soft, Its one of those things that I cannot tell if its the front or the back or both! but it feels a bit suspect. I carry on to the dog leg to Rocester, Fi will give me a bottle on the way back, I should have told her to get a wheel but I have been flying down the mountain at break neck speed (40mph) and It still feels OK, however going around the small Rocester roundabout I can tell it will not last, in fact it almost bottoms out. Ian is only another 15 seconds up so I have to get to the car without an impact puncture. There's lots of cars all of a sudden and handling the bike is tricky on the narrow aero bars and a softening tyre, I have to go up a gritty channel the inside of a long row of cars. Please don't puncture! I see Fiona and divert to the car, the spares are pumped up and I grab a bottle as well, I loose maybe a minute or more but my heart is racing and I need to get back on the course, I pass a couple of riders I have passed already and I have to stop myself panicking and going too hard, its only 40 miles gone and the hardest part to come.

Pete with the bottle, me with the flat (35m)

In the haste to get a wheel my computer is now not registering so I only have the daytime and heart rate, I go through 50 miles and Ian is now less than two minutes behind (1:50:05 - but I don't know this) I am more composed and its the second lap so I know what I am up against and I just press on. Back up at the far turn Ian is only 20 seconds behind, either I have slowed or he has chased me down, I use my HR to make sure my effort on the mountain has been progressive and not too feeble but still I have to stick with my race as Ian powers past seemingly going several miles per hour faster. Ian's best is not inside 3:50 and he has caught me for at least 2 maybe 3 minutes at 75 miles I seem to be on schedhule. I pick up going down the mountain as I know that the hardest part of the race is over, I have taken a couple of gels and I have another to get me to the finish, I have two bottles and I drain them both before the Rocester roundabout, Ian is about 40 seconds up but I still feel good and I take a final bottle of water from Fiona.
Now getting back on the A50 I see a rider in front, my vision is a bit blurry but he has unusual white overshoes like Ian, another couple of miles and every uphill I gain a good deal, as I approach I see it is Ian, overcooked it catching me and now paying the price in a bad way, I pass him but he passes me back and we get into a bit of a race. I don't want to get into a race situation I just need to finish,

Fiona shows how to hand up a bottle in style (85m)

It's a shame as I feel good but the onus is on the caught rider to drop back in these situations. This is an important race and there are observers out to see that the racing is fair and above board, already this year one of my counting events has had a 'pacing' inquest which delays the result while the whole thing is investigated. I drop back 20 seconds and just bring my race home, I hope I have a good enough time to improve my Vets Standard and my clock suggests I'm ten minutes inside my four hours but sometimes these things are out if your watch does not tarry with the timekeepers, it can be minutes out.
The first indication that things might be better than expected is that Ian says he has taken 10 minutes off his PB 3:41:34 , so that makes me close to my PB four and a half minutes down even with a delay. 3:46:13 is less than 20 seconds off a PB set six years ago, I never thought I would attain that sort of result on a diet of ninety minute rides and hardly any long distance racing. Its over 26.5 mph all the way, I have given myself a week to write about this as I was a bit depressed at going so close I got it a bit out of proportion what a good ride I had done. With all racing seconds are the battle and when you give them away cheaply its hard to take when you have done all the work but don't have the result, I had a better result than I planned or hoped for but. Still not satisfied? What's wrong with me?

'Baz' Charlton on his way to 25mph ride (with Fiona)

Mind you when I look at the other times coming in it is evident that it is a super fast day BBAR elect Adam Topham (High Wycombe) 3:26:44 is the third fastest of all time and there are a slew of PB's to match. Best of all was Barry (Baz) Charlton (Swinnerton Cycles) breaking competition record on a trike, and being the first rider inside four hours, a little harsh on Dave Keene who set the record in 1996 with 4:00:01 but Barry's 3:58:19 almost gives him the set with '10', '25', '30' & 12 Hr. only Glen Longland's 50 mile eludes him and that may be how it stays as he announced that the trike had been sold and he'd bought himself a new Giant 'Trinity'

I have to be satisfied with having a near nine minute improvement in my VTTA plus to 1:12:30 which should boost my 3 distance if I can improve my '50' in a couple of weeks on the same course o7ò

Pictures - Martin Purser/Fiona



BDCA result VeloUK