So… that was hard. No, I mean REALLY hard.
As with most serious time trialists/trialers (does anyone know what we’re actually called?) I sit and watch the various meteorological websites during the 2 or 3 days leading up to a race. As far as I can tell, being a meteorologist requires more guesswork than science, as you can bet your house on whatever the BBC, Met Check or the Met Office says is usually the complete opposite of what actually happens. For instance, Met Check currently says 18 degrees, 9mph winds, 11mph gusts. Interesting. It’s bloody freezing and blowing a gale outside. Well done there.
So, when Kerry spent the last week providing me with constant weather updates I started to get slightly impatient. My preferred method of weather detection is to walk outside the front door. It’s pretty accurate. Unfortunately, Met Check was spot on. We were going to have a helpful tailwind on the way out and one hell of a headwind on the way back.
As it happens, despite all my worries from Wednesday (for those who haven’t read my last post - I sucked big style in the Barnesbury Club 10) I went out and got myself another PB of 23 minutes 45 seconds. I should say at this point, the course was only 9.95 miles long because somebody had the cheey and audacity to get married in the church at the startline, so the finicky of you will say that the time doesn’t count. Well, using what I believe were quadratic equations (again, I could be wrong there - I was never good at maths) I worked out the full 10 miles would have been done in 23 minutes 52 seconds. Still a PB. By my reckoning, I finished 3rd in Category C. Ray Bell, a rider who traditionally beats me, was my minute man. All through the race he was getting bigger and bigger in front of me, so I knew I’d done well.
It was also a good night for Kerry. Despite being quite petulant because she didn’t get a PB and ended up being “La Lanterne Rouge”, the future Mrs 22 Stone Cyclist went round in 29:17. Considering she’d lost 2 weeks of cycling through her accident, is currently a bag of nerves when it comes to anything related to bikes, and was once again vomiting for Britain all day leading up to the race, she was already the winner by turning up. A massive step has been taken in getting her confidence back and hopefully putting to bed her fears after her horrible accident.
So, this week there will be no recovery ride. The first Cramlington 10 recovery ride was when her last bike got stolen. The second Cramlington 10 recovery ride resulted in her accident. We could take the “third time lucky” route, but we’re not going to. You will find us in a beer garden somewhere in Northumberland enjoying a well deserved rest.
Have a good weekend, everyone!