I've missed a couple of xc races because my focus has been on training for longer rides. Part of that was geared around entry in the 6 hour solo category at Torq In Your Sleep.
The last few months preparation had all gone to plan including a 5 hour ride along the South Downs Way a couple of weeks ago. Then the Sunday before the event I had been riding with other members of the Strada Wheels team when Clint took what looked like a fairly innocuous fall, except for the rocks near where he landed. Initially he carried on, but we should have guessed he was putting on a brave face when he decided to skip the coffee stop and head home. Next day we all received a scary photo from Clint of an extremely swollen hand. This meant that he was out of the race on Sunday and the 4 man team was now a rider short. Guess who got the call?
So here I was on Tuesday morning and all that prep for a continuous 6 hour ride was thrown out. I was now looking at four or five 40 minute flat out sprints over a 12 hour race between Midday and Midnight. It was too late to starting tuning the fast twitch muscles, although the endurance training wouldn't be entirely wasted come the end of race day. What did change was the nutrition I'd need to take with me. There was now the need for decent recovery meals for between laps, instead of food I could eat on the go. I also required changes of clothes for the time between racing and lights for the laps after sunset.
The weather on Saturday couldn't have been better. Warm spring sunshine in a clear breezeless sky. I was struck with mild panic on the drive up as I realised I had left the meals I made the day before in the fridge at home! Once I'd calmed down, a short detour to M&S in Camberley resulted in a definite meal time upgrade!
When I arrived at the venue Darren and John already had the pop-up tent ready, close behind the flags and trade stands of the main arena. I unloaded my boxes of tools, clothing and food before Steve joined us and we set out on a reconnaissance lap of the course. The only time we'd get chance to ride together.
We then returned to the tent to plan the day, including the rider order. As the fastest rider Steve would go first. The idea being that he would be able to get us clear of the pack and prevent us being held up in traffic. I would be heading off 3rd, so we estimated my first lap would be around 1.20pm. We cheered Steve and the massive capacity field of riders away at Midday and then it was time for my lunch!
We headed back to the tent, nerves almost audibly jangling as the 3 of us nervously sat waiting for our races to get underway. Daz was up next and he headed down to the pen early as we didn't really know what lap times to expect. Steve however had done the job we'd hoped and was around the 5 or 6th rider to come into sight. As he ripped the convenient, stretchy team bracelet off his wrist to pass it over to Darren, it split and Daz was left with a dangling rubber worm to try and tuck away in a jersey pocket, before he powered away on the opening loop around the campsite.
I was out next. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I sat in the camp chair watching the clock. 20 minutes to go I put on my kit, checked the bike for the millionth time, packed and repacked the spares in my back pocket then went back to the chair, feet dancing nervously up and down as I sat watching an empty course! Steve's lap had taken 35 minutes, we assumed the rest of us would be a few minutes slower.
10 minutes to go I finally got on the bike and went through my warm-up routine. Then with 5 minutes left I went back to the arena and entered the pen with half a dozen other riders all wide eyed and buzzing waiting for their own laps to start. One by one racers arrived, frantically handed over their wrist bands and their team mate dashed away. Then I could see Daz entering the field. I shouted so he would know where to stop, he passed me the broken band and I was off.
I was full to the eyeballs with adrenalin and I'm certain I started much too fast! I tore over the roots and through the woods like I was being chased by the devil! On any fireroad sections I put my head down and drained the battery before ducking back into the twists and turns beneath the trees. The course was rough and I was on my hard tail, undoubtedly not the fastest option on such a course. There were no really significant long uphill drags, just some short out of the saddle bursts required to clear some steeper gradients. The course was bone dry and dusty. So the corners were loose and sketchy, riders having to control their speed, searching for the grip available. There were 8 mile markers and for safety each section was named with a large picture board. 'Double Dip', Sunset Wood' and 'Bridge to Knowhere' just to name a few!
39 minutes after I started I handed over to Jon and went for a short cool down spin and stretch before collapsing in the tent. I felt so much better now my race was underway!
The afternoon passed uneventfully. I lay in the grass as the sun shone down. Now we had a good idea of lap times we drew up a chart of when we each next needed to be in the pen and the cycle of recovery, warm-up and racing began. Once we'd all done a lap we checked the live leader board in the event marquee. We were 3rd with a few minutes gap in front and behind. Darren was frustrated that he'd gone the wrong way briefly on his first lap and to compound his dark mood a dog then pissed on his leg as he was standing looking at the timing screen!
My second lap was one of huge frustration. Darren handed over to me just after the entire 6 hour field had just completed their first lap. Therefore I quickly came upon long snakes of slower riders picking their way cautiously over technical obstacles on the course. I felt I had time to stop and do a crossword as I crawled along, trying to pick them off one by one. When I reached any wider sections I shouted out "Rider coming through" and sprinted past as many as I could, but that only got me up to the back of the next queue. It felt like I was hemorrhaging time. Aarrgh!
The sun was still warm in the sky as evening approached and the laps ticked by. My 3rd lap was joyous in comparison to the previous one. The few riders I caught let me straight past, and all those tyres had pushed the loose dust and stone off the racing line so you could be much more confident taking speed into the corners. On a high, I practically skipped up to the tent after my lap and when I got there my colleagues were also beaming because we'd moved up to 2nd place. All we knew at that point was that the leaders had fallen back, but were now 6 minutes behind us and chasing hard.
My 4th and potentially last lap was due to start just after 9pm. There was still some light in the sky as Darren handed over to me, but as soon as I got in amongst the trees it was pitch black. I knew the course by now, but it looked very different riding with a bar light and head torch. Some of the roots cast long shadows looking larger than they were and other obstacles seemed invisible until you were right upon them. I didn't know how to pace myself, all I knew was I was going slower. It was downright scary as times and as fast as I could go, but I worried I was losing time and the other team might make up all those minutes during my lap. So it was almost music to my years when I found I had lost only 30 seconds on that lap.
The gap yo-yo'd as different riders in each team completed their laps. However, the chasing team were generally faster, but we learnt that they had lost a rider due to an accident that had cost them the lead, so we hoped they would start tiring. Looking at the hours remaining Steve and Darren would both have to do a 5th lap, but Darren was spent and on the verge of cramp. We had a team meeting to consider who would do the extra lap. The others talked about us letting 2nd place go to the chasers because we'd still be safe on the podium in 3rd even if we didn't send out a final rider. I wasn't having that!
So it was that as 11pm approached I sat huddled in the tent trying to stay warm in the chill night air. Steve had gone out for his 5th and final lap to try and build me as big a time cushion as he could. The last time check back to the chasers was nearly 6 minutes, so I hoped he could stretch that out by another minute or hopefully more. I would be up against their fastest rider. In the (hopefully) very unlikely event that he did his fastest lap of the day that would mean I'd have 42 minutes to complete my lap. My last lap time in the dark had been 43 minutes, but surely I'd be slower, fatigue was setting in.
No warm-up this time. I started to strip off with just 5 minutes to go until we expected Steve in. We knew there was a chance that after their challenging day, if they saw me go out and if the gap was big enough the other team might not send out the final rider, settling for the consolation of the 3rd step of the podium. Therefore I took my phone with me, if it rang I would know they had called off the chase. Still, It would be several minutes until I knew, so I had to set off like my life depended on it!
The legs were heavy, but all that endurance training paid off as I pushed the pace for the first 4 miles. I could see light through the trees behind and worried it was my chaser and he was going to reel me in before the end of the lap. Then my phone buzzed!
I couldn't trust it wasn't just a coincidence. Perhaps it was just my Dad ringing to see how the race had gone. So I dug around and fished the phone out of my pocket just as it rang again. This time I answered and it was Steve. He told me we had it in the bag and just to head back. Euphoria! However, it was dark and I was in a strange wood, with no idea of the way back unless I followed the course. So it was that ten minutes before midnight I crossed the line to cheers and the announcement of "Strada Wheels finish 2nd in the Veteran Team category". Time for a fist pump and a shout to the stars! Despite relaxing after the call I obviously had happy legs and my final lap time would have been quick enough even if they had chased. What a great day it had been!
