Kirton Off Road Centre 2nd of June 2019
I had decided I wasn’t going to do this, it was too far to drive. And the last time I checked no one had entered the Women’s Grand Vet race anyway. But I’d got the itch to race, and as I have a tendency to do, I changed my mind at the last moment. For the second week on the trot I’d been through another of those times where life, which in this case should read work, had been conspiring against me to stop me riding as much as I’d like. I was afraid my lack of mileage was going to take it’s toll on my fitness. With Round 4 of the National Points Series a little over a week away, this was preying on my mind. I wanted a good workout and I thought a session at race pace would be just the tonic. So it was that on Saturday Night, after an unplanned day at work, I was loading up my car and planning my journey to deepest Lincolnshire.
Even though I’d loaded the car, I wasn’t fully committed. After week at work with lots of early starts I was feeling tired, and the idea of yet another early get up wasn’t very appealing. I fancied a night slumped in the chair, watching trash on the telly (actually the Giro D’Itallia), drinking beer and eating crisps, followed by staying in bed on Sunday morning for as long as it took until I got up. Going racing meant this wouldn’t happen, well not entirely. I did have a couple of beers and a packet of crisps, but I was wide awake at 04:30 and I knew I wasn’t going back to sleep, so racing it was.
I wasn’t psyched in anyway for this race. I wasn’t even looking at it as a race, it was going to be a training ride, that’s all. Despite this the further east I got, the more I could feel my pre-race nerves build. On the final leg of the journey down the A15 I was itchy and restless. I wanted to put my foot down, but I couldn’t. The car in front was going a tiny bit slower than I wanted, and it was winding me up. I ended up following it all the way to the race venue. We parked on opposite sides of what passed for the car park, and when the occupant got out, it was Virginia Roberts (Albion Racing)! It turns out I would have a race after all. If Virginia was there, I was convinced Maddi Smith (Bolsover and District CC) would turn up too, but she didn’t.
When I did my practice laps of the course, I didn’t like it. There was a lot of very twisty, dizziness inducing single track, not many opportunities to get passed back markers, and it was a flat as a pancake. I could foresee being stuck in an enormous tailback if I wasn’t one of the first into the tight stuff. Not only that my heart rate was stupidly high. I put this down to all the constant accelerations out of the corners. I realised that unless I was really careful, there was a good chance I’d blow up in the race. I was going to have to pace myself, I was going to have to take it easy.
The moment the whistle blew I forgot everything about pacing and went off like a rocket. I wanted the win and I was going flat out to get it. I was the First into the single track and already passing the last of the group that went off before us. Once I was in the thick of it, I thought I’d be able to back off a bit and save a bit of energy for later, the problem was it just wasn’t happening.
At the end of the first lap I had a small lead over Virginia Roberts, and I was desperate to keep hold of it, but I was fading fast. I kept telling myself to conserve energy and ride smooth. Halfway around the second lap I could hear Virginia coming up behind me and I needed luck on my side. But on what passed for a climb on the pancake flat course, disaster struck. One of the guys had come a cropper and was lying across the track. He didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of trying to get up and when he did, it only made maters worse. I’m ashamed to admit it but I lost my temper and uttered a few words that weren’t appreciated! I had to dismount, Virginia too, and she ran passed me on the climb. I was facing my old demon, leaping back onto my bike. While I was faffing about with pedals, Virginia was riding off into the distance. And to make maters worse, that guy who was lying on the track, the poor fellow who had a tongue lashing, he was off down trail in front of me as well. I guess that’s karma! I’m sure he didn’t mean to fall off, but in the heat of the race I couldn’t see that.
The game over sign was flashing in my head, but I ignored it. My legs were dead, Virginia had got passed, but I still wanted the win. I wasn’t giving in. I was going to catcher up. I was going to push on as hard as I could to the finish, at least that’s what I kept telling myself.
In the end I got second place, out of three Grand Vets, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The Vets, Grand vets and Super Vets all started together, 30 seconds behind the Youth and Juvenile riders. So lets have a look at some lap times. The Elite Female race was won by Sam Burman, and a rough average of her lap times was about 24 minutes give or take. Her fastest lap was 23:41, and she did 4 laps in 1:37:25. My fastest lap was my first at 22:53, then 23:24, and finally 24:15, with a final time of 1:10:33 , but I only had to do three laps, so we were about the same, give or take. Then when you look at Virginia’s time you realise how good her ride was. Her lap times were 23:03, 22:42 and 22:48, with an overall time of 1:08:33, a full 2 minutes quicker than me. She won the ladies race, at least our ladies morning race, outright. And somewhere in there she had a run in with a tree, which left a nasty scratch across her face. I have absolutely no doubt she could have kept that pace up for another lap. She was definitely the fastest woman on the day, and if we were racing with the elites, I’m sure she would have won that race too.
I need to mention the Juvenile and Youth girls as well, they kept me honest and my ego in check. All the youth riders did fantastic rides, Erin Avill (RFDA) 1:16:52, Daphne Jones (Mid Shropshire Wheelers) 1:14:25, Isla Mason (Team Empella Cyclo-Cross.com) 1:12:05 and Leah Clegg 1:09:53, yep, she beat me. The Juvenile girls were even quicker. Libby Bell’s (Leicester Forest CC) quickest lap was 22:36, a tad faster than Virginia Roberts best and a full minute quicker than Sam Burman’s fastest. Libby finished her two laps in 45:34, when she gets older there will be no stopping her. Harriet Limb (Matlock CC) took second with 49:02, and Bethany-Ann Jackson (Leicester Forest CC) was third, 50:48. It is humbling, but I saw the brilliance and commitment of these girls at HSBC National Points Series Round 2 at Hadliegh.
Going back to my second of three, come on ladies, get on your bikes and ride! At least Carolyn Spears (Kendal CC) had some company in the Super Vet’s race for a change. She normally rides alone, but on Sunday Ruth Sutherland (Bolsover and District) was there as well. Unfortunately for Carolyn this meant her normally guaranteed win had to be worked for, and she didn’t work hard enough. Ruth Sutherland took the win in 1:18:33 and Carolyn came in at 1:19:16. And another big up for the over 60’s, Ruth and Carolyn, on time would have been 2nd and 3rd in the Vets race, 3rd and 4th in the sport race, and 1st and 2nd in the open female race! How good is that?
So there you have it, older women on mountain bikes rock! So I’ll say it again, come on ladies get on your bikes and ride!
And one last thing before I go, no mention of gender!
Lulu-R's Cycling Times 