Conditions on Sunday were amongst the worst I have ever
experienced at a bike race. Every turn of the pedals sounded like I was
grinding stones through a mangle. Grit and dirt flooded its way into every nook
and cranny of bike and clothing. The churned mud offered no grip, the rear tyre
spinning and fish tailing. It wasn’t just forward motion that was a challenge,
I had no brakes at all from the end of the first lap after my brake pads ground
down to the metal. Rain fell incessantly all day and by the end of the race
some of the puddles were deeper than my bottom bracket.
It had rained overnight and was still pouring as I slithered
the car into the quagmire that doubled as the carpark at Minley Manor. I wasn’t
keen on even getting out of the car and was soaked before I reached the
starting line. There is no ‘Masters’ category at Brass Monkeys so I was feeling
old as I nudged my way into the huddle of soggy riders. The rescheduled race
times didn’t really work from my point of view. Starting 15 minutes after the
massive 200 strong 2 hour field, we were almost immediately upon the back
markers. In such treacherous conditions many were really struggling and making
your way through was complicated by the ruts and puddles which didn’t really
offer many alternative lines.
Unusually for a 4hour race I had a race long duel with a
couple of riders. We repeatedly swapped positions over the first few hours,
taking turns to slip and slide ahead, occasionally even getting out of sight,
but before long we’d end up back together. We started to shout comments to each
other about the conditions, trying alternative lines and generally just falling
over in the mud! It wasn’t until lap 4 that I made the decisive break and I
don’t believe either of them were foolish enough to join me for lap 5!
In a strange masochistic type of way it was enjoyable. At
the very least it was an experience and a race I’ll not forget. I added to my
run of top ten finishes by slithering home in 8th.
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