Early Start
An early 6am alarm call this morning and out the door at 6.30am. Despite the impromptu disco last night in the flat below I feel OK. First to arrive outside Gareth's house but I'm soon joined by Mark B, Mark O and Chris. All five bikes loaded in the back of Gareth's Pargon wagon and we set off for Dunsfold for the race.
The Circuit
Dunsfold is an airfield so as you would imagine the course is pancake flat. It's also famous for being the Top Gear test circuit. Thankfully Clarkson's not doing donuts in a hot hatch when we arrive. After signing up and pinning our numbers we do a quick circuit - it's more or less a giant 'O' shape and very exposed. Thankfully we have perfect conditions, very light wind, dry and mild.
The Race
The flag drops and we're off. The first corner is neutralised but once the official car turns off, the pace doesn't really pick up. Infact apart from the slight increase in speed on the corners it's a relatively stately procession. There are a couple of breaks but the peloton closes these easily. Another break of three goes off and puts a 100m on the pack - no Paragons so the blue train organises a superb chain to bring the escapees back.
Trouble
At the far end of the circuit the curve is sharp but badly marked. Not ideal. At the near end there's two giant airplane size Cateyes and a great big hole to be avoided. Not entirely sure what happened but I end up going wide and my bike fixes itself on a collision course with a plastic cone. Smack - I hit it right in the middle but amazingly I'm still upright. My chain is off however and suddenly I've moved from near the front to near the back. The racing gods have smiled on me today though, I'm able to re-engage the chain and power back to the front of the group. A close shave.
and we're off...
Out of the blue the pace doubles - is this the last straight? There's 20 or so ahead of me and half are racing to the line! I dig deep and cross the line, no idea what position and then we hear the bell! This is the last lap. I find myself in third wheel, the leader is setting a good pace - there's no way he can keep this going and I'm just cruising in the slipstream. Just before we enter the last corner two or three riders come by and I jump onto their back wheel. Final corner - no incidents.
The Final Straight
I must be in fifth. I follow the wheel of a Redhill CC rider and suddenly it's just me and him with 100 metres to go. I'm well within the zone in his slip but shit, he's angling to the right exactly where I am. This takes me out my stride so I step out my saddle and make my move but earlier than planned. I feel like I'm riding like Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, the power's on and I'm tearing to the finish line. I punch the air! Victory - welcome to Cat 3 hell!
An early 6am alarm call this morning and out the door at 6.30am. Despite the impromptu disco last night in the flat below I feel OK. First to arrive outside Gareth's house but I'm soon joined by Mark B, Mark O and Chris. All five bikes loaded in the back of Gareth's Pargon wagon and we set off for Dunsfold for the race.
The Circuit
Dunsfold is an airfield so as you would imagine the course is pancake flat. It's also famous for being the Top Gear test circuit. Thankfully Clarkson's not doing donuts in a hot hatch when we arrive. After signing up and pinning our numbers we do a quick circuit - it's more or less a giant 'O' shape and very exposed. Thankfully we have perfect conditions, very light wind, dry and mild.
The Race
The flag drops and we're off. The first corner is neutralised but once the official car turns off, the pace doesn't really pick up. Infact apart from the slight increase in speed on the corners it's a relatively stately procession. There are a couple of breaks but the peloton closes these easily. Another break of three goes off and puts a 100m on the pack - no Paragons so the blue train organises a superb chain to bring the escapees back.
Trouble
At the far end of the circuit the curve is sharp but badly marked. Not ideal. At the near end there's two giant airplane size Cateyes and a great big hole to be avoided. Not entirely sure what happened but I end up going wide and my bike fixes itself on a collision course with a plastic cone. Smack - I hit it right in the middle but amazingly I'm still upright. My chain is off however and suddenly I've moved from near the front to near the back. The racing gods have smiled on me today though, I'm able to re-engage the chain and power back to the front of the group. A close shave.
and we're off...
Out of the blue the pace doubles - is this the last straight? There's 20 or so ahead of me and half are racing to the line! I dig deep and cross the line, no idea what position and then we hear the bell! This is the last lap. I find myself in third wheel, the leader is setting a good pace - there's no way he can keep this going and I'm just cruising in the slipstream. Just before we enter the last corner two or three riders come by and I jump onto their back wheel. Final corner - no incidents.
The Final Straight
I must be in fifth. I follow the wheel of a Redhill CC rider and suddenly it's just me and him with 100 metres to go. I'm well within the zone in his slip but shit, he's angling to the right exactly where I am. This takes me out my stride so I step out my saddle and make my move but earlier than planned. I feel like I'm riding like Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, the power's on and I'm tearing to the finish line. I punch the air! Victory - welcome to Cat 3 hell!
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