The Brass Monkeys lived up to its name on Sunday. It was bitterly cold and the ground was white in places, but the sky was bright blue above the trees.
I’ve been racing at Deepcut for a looooong time and it was like a trip down memory lane riding round the course. Some sections I must now have raced hundreds of times! There was the bomb hole where I once crashed a new bike within 5 minutes of getting on it. The sneaky gap that once upon a time I could squeeze my narrow handlebars through between the tree and fence while bouncing at warp speed down a rooty downhill! Sprinting for the win with cramp in both legs!
Despite the rose tinted nostalgia and sunshine, the race did not start so gloriously. Soon after we set off my front tyre went soft. It held some air, but handling in the bends became so tricky I was hemorrhaging time and losing places so I stopped to top it up. A handful of riders passed, but shortly afterwards I took a wrong turn and dropped further back. This meant I was stuck in the midfield and being held up badly.
On the second lap the tyre went soft again so I made up no ground. This time I opted for a proper pit stop, spending a minute or more with the track pump and performing a wheel shake to re-distribute the latex in the hope of sealing the hole. Luckily this time it stayed inflated, but putting all the lost time together my race was already ruined.
One of my memories of Deepcut is a story of somebody falling into the canal which the course skirts alongside at several points. This may have been on my mind as I made a total mess of a steep rooty drop which headed down towards the frozen water. My front wheel washed out and I was over the bars and tumbling onto the frozen roots. It hurt and it took me some time to gather myself and the bike together before gingerly getting underway again.
I think all the stress and excitement of the opening laps got to me because once I did settle into the race I didn’t seem to have much va va voom! The course was punchy with lots of short little efforts required as it undulated up and down and left and right. Then there was the long draggy climb towards the end of the lap that just ramped up and up towards the sky!
It was a fairly lonely race once everyone had spread out. I did have a chat with Richie as he came around to lap me towards the end! Otherwise the only racing tussle was with a rider I caught with a lap and a half to go. I was much faster in the technical stuff, but he was strong on the flat and the climbs and therefore able to fend me off when there was any chance to pass. I was tight on his wheel hunting for a way through as we hit a steep climb. As we battled up the slope, both out of the saddle, his rear wheel spun on the icey soil and he fell on his right. I grabbed the chance to squeeze past, just dodging his sprawling legs, only to then do exactly the same thing a moment later and fall flat on my backside! At least I was now ahead and was able to stay there and eventually move away.
The results took until late on Monday to be published - pleased with 7th. (Thanks Tim for the photos, sorry I was not in a good mood for conversation in the rush before the start or during the race either!!)
