Beach Bums

Round 5 has been and gone, indeed like the grains of sand falling through the hourglass this years Ridley SCX series is drawing to a close. With only Cross at the Castle and all its seasonal joviality to come, its been emotional.

Irvine Beach is of course a well established feature on the Scottish cross scene and under the careful management of Neil Walker and the Walkers Cycling team it has matured with age into the classic it was last Sunday. There are few weekends that I have heard folks say, “yep I could race that course every week” maybe next year Neil should look to a weekend of racing with double points up for grabs, I for one would certainly be up for that.

“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears or the sea”

Isak Dinesan

Irvine if you are unfamiliar, lies on the west coast of central Scotland, in the heart of Ayrshire, where it is gently caressed by the Firth of Clyde and the occasionally brisk westerly winds. The beach offers a classic links terrain which drains exceptionally well and for the benefit of us makes for a great race venue whatever the weather.

The day started with one of those fairly brisk winds and some near zero temperatures but it picked up as the sun opened its sleepy eyes briefly around midday.

Of course the racing can't wait on the weather so first up were the women and V50. Maddy Robinson has been on some pretty formidable form of recent and it was expected that today would see here clinch the series title. No one told Isla Short (Thomsons Cycles) and  Kerry MacPhee (Rock and Road) about this however. Isla went on to win proving how capable she is and still a junior, ouch, and a great ride too by Kerry who has been showing promise all season and finally reaped the rewards. Congrats all round.

“Are you tired of sand being kicked in your face? I promise you new muscles in days!!”

Charles Atlas

Old Dudes on Dunes

V40s up next and numbers slightly down for this round which was a surprise. Still it didn’t stop the red mist descending into one of the most terrifying starts of the season. The sound of mature men, carbon fibre, expensive wheels and hard sand dunes colliding is not one I particularly like and fortunately I avoided both of the pile ups within the first 100 metres. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, most of us in this category are racing to perchance sneak into the top half, it sorts itself out, very quickly, be careful young old men! Anyway off we went, with myself, Russell, Simon, Davie and Gavin flying the VCM flag. I got a reasonable start and then got passed by what felt like hundreds of people on the second lap, nuff said, Russell and Davie worked their way strongly up to within a baw hair of the top 30 while Gavin and Simon once more chasing the top ten and finished 14^th and 15^th respectfully. Good riding giving the conditions and the speed of this race.

the candy coloured clowns, they call the sandmen

The course wound its way around the hard sand dunes above the beach, it makes for super fast racing with good traction and no real let up. Added into the mix is the long straight of soft sand which throws up different lines every lap, a new climb had been added which really worked well and was a welcome tweak to the course. Fast and furious.

Seniors last and the big guns are starting to flex their muscle. Rab Wardell took the early lead and seemed to have it in his pocket but behind him there was some super aggressive racing going on that ultimately led to Davie Lines getting a sniff of Rabs wheel, the rest as they say is history, well done Davie, that was some strong riding. For VCM we had Steve, Ian and Simon here today. Steve never quite made the jump with the Colin May group but eventually overcame James Fraser Moodie for 6^th place. Behind that, Ian was on another flyer and looked to be claiming some scalps for his collection but inexperience got the better of him and he was Rogered on the line eventually coming in 16^th and Simon a couple of places behind in 18^th. Great racing once more.

Ian on a mission

As usual, lots of praise for the organisers, it is a fairly thankless (and insanely time consuming) task but we all do really appreciate the work that goes into putting on a race. And there we have it, one round left for another year, bah humbug. Scottish Championships up next and looking at the pre-entries its going to be a humdinger.

pics by the sidelined Fraser Waters

“To see a world in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

and eternity in an hour”

William Blake

how we all did

Maddy. 2nd

Simon M. 14th

Gavin. 15th

Russell 32nd

Davie 33rd

Chris 43rd

Steve 6th

Ian 16th

Simon F 18th

lanarkshire rules

I was born in Hamilton, lived in Springwell, High Blantyre and Chapelhall, three real fucking beauty spots, Lanarkshire born and bred, nothing to be ashamed off, yet for most of my adult life I have had a hate (and very occasional love) relationship with the place. Returning regurgitates these feelings of repulsion and belonging that is hard to explain. I am old enough to remember a time before Strathclyde Park, not much but just, it marked the beginning of a hopeful new future for the area. I remember being in awe of the prospect of people racing boats here, needless to say I've never witnessed this, even though it does happen. Its an area born out of heavy industry, mining and steelworks being at the fore, needless to say these are long gone.

Without thinking I reached for a Joy Division cd to listening to on the journey to Strathclyde Park for round 4 of the SCX Cavalcade. Last years Scottish champs at the same venue still an unfond memory of a hard day on the bike. I was under no allusions that a similar day was in store for me, and the hundreds of others who were making this journey. Arriving in glorious winter sunshine was not something I had anticipated, in fact the warmth of the sun is not something I associate with Lanarkshire, maybe my memories of the power cuts still run deep.

Anyway back to the racing, the course was a rerouted version of the previous champs course mostly in reverse and some new bits, having walked it I opted to not ride a practice lap, I was already feeling pretty shite and a practice lap would probably have been enough to send me back up the road.  What the walk revealed was a lap of mostly country park tracks loosely based around an uphill and a downhill, two shitty flat grass sections (the most cross like bits) and the big chucky carpark, conditions permitting it was going to be fast, nothing really technical and hard to pass tracks.

I should have stayed here

The start of V40 can be a little daunting, with around 80-90 strewn across the potholed, iced and puddled road leading straight to a narrow opening into the first shitty grass bit it was never going to be pretty, how we all made it through that opening is as much down to sheer luck as anything else. From here on in it became an exercise in nursing your way around the course, listening to your drivetrain for tell tale sign of the dreaded chainsuck that claimed too many rear mechs. I couldn't hang with the guys I should have been hanging with, that's the way it goes sometimes. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed this, actually not altogether true, by the last couple of laps I was kinda getting into it but not to the point of eagerly awaiting the news of its inclusion in next years series. For the record I ran Challenge Fango clinchers and loved them, even though this probably wasn't ideal conditions for that particular tread.

It is a real shame there isn’t a better course available here as it really is a great venue and the EKRC guys and girls are a bloody good bunch and do put in some serious effort and support for the Scottish Cross scene, come on South Lanarkshire Council, open up some more of the park and allow a bit more of the grass to be used.

So how did we do? Simon Muir got snarled up in a first lap crash that has left him with a super hefty repair bill. Gavin May (12th) was best placed, followed by Russell Stout then possibly Marty and Fraser, then me and Davie Graham, who was coming back strong after an enforced bike change. Maddy won the womens, which is great, what a season she is having, Ainsley Turbitt finished in there too though its unclear from the results exactly where? In the seniors, Ian Dunlop(14^th) was best of the survivors followed by Addy(15^th) then SimonF (19^th)

Simon F on his second bike of the day

I’m struggling to say much more on this round, some great things, like the pre-entry fast track sign on, sheer genius. And the atmosphere, sunshine, chips, good folks, big laughs and did I mention the sunshine. Well done EKRC for putting on a good show, lets hope that sun keeps shining for our visit to round 5 at the seaside.

both pics by Martin Steele

Strathclyde SCX, thank Q

First race of the SCX series for me yesterday at Strathclyde Park. The crowds were as big as ever, thankfully the parking there is immense. The DS phoned me to say he was parked by the big snowman!! I knew it had been cold the night before but didn't realise it was that cold but it turned out to be a polystyrene one.

After getting over that disappointment I walked the course and felt slightly underwhelmed with a course that was mainly forest path with some grass/mud. Still I was here so lets get ready to rumble. Ah, realised I'd forgotten my turbo trainer. Oh Dear. Thankfully the good guys at Glasgow United sorted me out so I was able to join the VCM massive at the warm up session, Marty entertained us with his rollers tricks while the older hands played safe on turbo trainers.

And so to the start, what must have been the loudest pistol since the guns of WW1 were silenced, went off and into the remnants of the Somme we entered at some speed, we queued to go over the top into the first section of mud, we queued to get over the ditch, we queued to get through onto the blaise path and by the time we got to the run up the queue had diminished due to natural wastage.

Into the first climb and I could see Marty gurning his way up on a singlespeed and ChrisD spinning away, I got within touching distance of them before whoosh we were off downhill to the run up at the bridge, no queue but a bit of shouting was going on from some of the competitors but I just kept my head down and seemed to overtake a few folk. Back onto the bike and joined the end of a queue, I jumped past just before a 90 corner, oops wrong gear, lost a couple of places, back on it, got past the two again and flew down into a, err ditch. Too much speed, too little skills, grr. Back on the back of the queueing group I'd just passed again, I could see a pattern here.

I eventually reined myself in and was smoother and got away from the other VCMers to see a stunned looking Miffae holding his bike and someone lying on the track, but was on a mission by then and pressed on getting into a good rhythm and making up a few more places. Heart rate high, speed reasonable then BANG!!!

Rear mech and hanger wrapped itself into the chainstay. Drat. Off I ran towards the pits but with a ten minute lap it was always going to be long one. Whilst everyone passed me they passed on their commiserations which was comforting. Grabbed the second bike and set off again on clinchers this time. BTW Challenge LIMUS are fantastic. Grabbed a few more places at the tail end of the race. Provisional results have me at 30th, so all in all I'll take that.

Thanks to EKRC for the event, you know what, I liked the course at the end up.

Bring on the sand at Irvine.

Thanks to Michael Martin and Martin Steele for the photos

Sound the Alarm!

Blowin' in the WInd

Knockburn Loch – 3rd November 

Thanks to cojacal for the photo

Joan and I enjoyed a relaxed drive up to Knockburn on Sunday morning for round 3 of the Scottish Cyclocross series. My parents had volunteered to look after the kids for the day so our journey was free of the usual ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ type questions. Knockburn Loch is a scenic venue and the approach over the Cairn O’ Mount is spectacular.

As soon as we arrived it was obvious from the number of layers that most people were wearing that it was really cold. We stepped out of the warm car into a biting wind. Watching the Under 16s race it was clear that the course was in much better condition than I had expected. By all accounts the dedicated team from Deeside Thistle had spent Saturday setting up the course in attrocious conditions. A walk around the course confirmed that it was holding up well. I don’t normally have time to walk the course but after puncturing on a hidden rock last year it was good to get a chance to have a look. Once again Maddy made it on to the top step of the podium.

As the vets race got going it was time to warm up, in the most literal sense. I was on the rollers for a good ten minutes before I even felt warm enough to take off my down jacket. Thanks to the compact nature of the site I was able to warm up whilst enjoying the unfolding battle between Russell, Fraser and Chris with Martin close behind. The three of them spent the whole second half of the race within a matter of seconds of each other until Chris had the misfortune to roll a tub on the last lap. Ahead of this battle strong rides from Simon and Gavin netted them good finishes.

After walking over to the finish line to watch the finish I got so cold that I had to jump back on the rollers for five minutes to try and warm up again. Soon enough it was time to line up. I don’t think I’ve seen so many layers reluctantly removed at the start of a race and it looked like Maddy ended up collecting most of them. The start of the race all went a bit pear-shaped, from what I can recollect my thought process went something like this:

Called up in about seventh or eigth place, nice one. I have the pick of spots on the second row, I’ll slot in behind Steve, perfect. Quick look behind. Oh no, Davie Lines is on my wheel, please don’t let me get in the way of the favourite. BANG, left foot clipped in straight away and we’re off. Everything is going well so far. Here comes Davie on my right, I better ease off slightly. What the hell am I thinking, it’s not likely he’s going to struggle to get past me. Now I’m getting swamped just before the corner. I’ve run far too wide.  No problem I’ll just take a completely different line to the one I practiced up the short rise. That’s not really working out. Chaos ahead of me and I’m off the bike before I’ve even got to the sand. How did I end up back here? 

Fortunately I managed to stay calm and over the next lap or two I moved back up towards where I wanted to be. I spent the first half of the race riding with Addy, sometimes just ahead, sometimes just behind. We were slowly catching up with Ian and Sean Gordon. Addy started to press on as we caught Ian but I wasn’t able to stick with him. I slowed and dropped a fair way behind Sean before managing to get back to a better tempo and catching back up. Through the singletrack section I was riding as hard as possible to close Sean down whilst also trying to keep ahead of Davie Lines so that I would have another lap to get past Sean.

Heading into the final lap I knew I had to get a gap on Sean as he had been hopping the low barriers at the end of the lap. I went as hard as I could down the side of the loch but I couldn’t get away from him. He then got a gap on me going up the hill so it was just a case of rolling in to the finish, safe in the knowledge that there was no-one behind us.

Thank you to all of the volunteers who spent all day out in extremely cold conditions. It was much appreciated, especially given that many of you had been out in even worse weather the day before. Well done to Jac who did a great job as commissaire and it was great to see Chris back out racing in the seniors race.

Did I mention it was a bit cold?

Trossachs trauma

Ah, how quickly we forget. There was a reason why I hadn't raced since 1997. Essentially I'm not good at it. Not gifted in any cycling department. Can't sprint, can't climb, can't descend, poor time trialist, not technically gifted nor good in the wet. Off-road? Worse. Overall? Not. Good.

But time being the great healer and early-onset Alzheimer's helping me not remember, I decided October 2013 was time to have a thrash around a race I last rode in 1986, the bona fide classic time trial Tour of the Trossachs. The route was the same, more or less, and I was curious to see what the ravages of time and hours of sitting at a desk do to an 'athlete.'

Well, guess what? It wasn't pretty. Even with the lightest bike I have ever ridden and the smartest of smart SRM PowerMeter technology, it started slow and then got slower. For some reason I thought I could ride 'flat-out' for 28 hilly miles without eating or drinking. Even as I type it seems like unfathomable stupidity, although I'm fairly sure it wouldn't have made much difference to my performance.

How bad? At one point in the Trossachs, toiling on the mini Braes of Greenock a concerned motorbike marshall rode parallel to me, looked at me sideways and asked "Are you OK?" By that point I was digging in the pocket of my jersey, delusional and glassy-eyed, hoping to find a fluff-coated Jelly Baby.

Shortly after  I asked a marshall 'How far?' hoping and expecting the reply 'Three miles,' so when he actually said "Eight miles to go" I almost burst into tears. I was even praying for a puncture on my expensive new tyres that never came. I was so far gone I was more or less freewheeling down hills.

I should have known. I had had a DNA check for a story I wrote for Cycling Weekly and even my genes have been officially, scientifically verified as being 'not good' for cycling either. Apparently I have a small aptitude for sitting on my arse, rattling a keyboard and giving it the smart talk. However, since I've had about 10,000 hours of practice, perhaps that shouldn't be a surprise.

So maybe I shouldn't bother with those number safety-pinned on the back type races? Maybe I should go for those big number zip-tied on the front Sportives? In truth, I'm not suited to them either, though I think that's more psychological than physiological.

Actually, genes be damned, if I get my, um 'nutritional strategy' sorted for the Trossachs in 2014,  I reckon I there's some room for improvement. For the record, I was fourth from bottom of the results board. And one of the riders behind me had punctured, stopped, repaired his inner tube and carried on. Yup, as I said I'm not blessed, as a high-output road racing cyclist I make a good fatberg. There's no getting away from it. Not. Good.

The race was won by flying vet (as in animal doctor) Silas Goldworthy who went on to win the 2013 Scottish individual pursuit title. There's a report on the Tour of the Trossachs and pictures on the Velo Veritas site by Martin Williamson, who took the pic of me (above) on the Duke's Pass. It was, in so many ways, all downhill from there.

we got some new riders. part 2

So we asked them, 

1. Who you are and how do you ride?

2. What music can make you punch through concrete?

3. Who will play you in 'Velo Club Moulin' the movie?

And this is what they said;

Ian Dunlop

1. I'd describe my riding style as no mincing around, I like to go for
it and give it my all no matter what's put in front of me.
Love a hill climb as much as a tough technical decent. My skinny legs
let me down on fast straights.
2. There are far too many to choose from but this is a definite
contender. It gets the blood pumping every time!
Queens of the Stone Age - You think I ain't worth a dollar but I feel
like a millionaire

3. This is a tough one, not much of a movie man.......Stunt Man Mike
(Kurt Russell in Deathproof) If he's got the same skills on a bike as
he does in a car I'll be laughing.

Don't f*ck with Ian Dunlop

James Porteous

I'm a lapsed Scotsman. Spent 3 years in London not riding anything other than a 6 mile commute, got fed up, and moved back up to Edinburgh. Currently doing my track accred at Glasgow, breaking Alpine's hire bikes at Glentress, and riding on roads that don't have traffic lights every 12ft. I also make sandwiches, take photographs and study Brewing & Distilling at Heriot Watt.

1. Mostly brute force and aggression, with a bit of speed thrown in for short periods of time. Hence getting into track.

2. Guerilla Radio by Rage Against the Machine. Grrrrr etc.

3. Tough one. Leonardo diCaprio because some drunk in a bar once told me I had the same haircut as him.

JP digging some off road treads at an early age

Jenn Hopkins

1. Slow, slow, quick quick slow. Also precise, averse to small talk and fond of sky.

2. One piece of music that can make you punch through concrete!! (you one angry grrl)

3. Who will play you in Velo Club Moulin the Movie?
Tank Girl's boots.

representing up north (nice helmet coordination)

boots for kicking/dancing

Keep on knockin

SCX Round 3

Round three of the SCX already, how time flies when you are having fun.  Knockburn Loch near Banchory is the furthest north that SCX takes its jolly little cavalcade and what a setting as glorious as it is daunting. After a smooth signing on (gotta love the pre-entry) it was straight into a team walk around the course which revealed a pretty tough little loop with a chunky slice of everything and mostly on that gritty, granite, sandy, soft but grippy soil unique to eastern highlands. It was going to be a tough day, a biting wind blasting in from the North Sea wasn’t going to help.

Very quickly it was time for action and the women, juniors and V50+ men set about it, great to report no real surprises here, Maddy is showing great form this season and looked pretty comfortable leading the womens race from start to finish, keep up the good work sister. Behind her Kerry MacPhee (Rock and Road) was having a real good race and looks like one to watch for the future. I must give a special mention for Brendan Roe, who is totally bossing the V50+ and again was looking smooth and in control. 

two wheels on my wagon. . temprorarily 

Another good turnout for the V40, with 76 finishers, these starts are pretty daunting as the cavalry charge for the holeshot takes place.  Fortunately I got through the start unscathed and popped out the singletrack in a relatively good place. Trying not to get too excited by this I did my best to settle into the race despite the frenzy of riders that the first laps bring. This was a pretty challenging course with very little let up or time to let your mind wander, you had to be ‘on it’ 100% as there was plenty of room to lose big time, and so it was I set into battle. In a small group containing Russell (VCM),Frazer (VCM), Neil Raitt and Graeme Short (I think) we ploughed on exchanging places for most of the race. Russ seemed to be slowly creeping away but then near to the end he was real close again, Frazer nipped past me on the 7th lap and I was hell bent on reclaiming that spot so on a rash line up the gritty riser into the wooded singletrack I made a pass, awesome I thought and shite I then thought as my tub popped off the rim. I floundered around trying to get it back on to not much avail, eventually running it home after the leaders had lapped me. Arse. Good riding from Russell(31^st), Frazer(32^nd), and Martin Steele who was gaining every lap and finished a very respectable 35^th. Despite the tub roll, I managed to run it in ahead of McComisky, which at least readdressed the balance after Callander Park. Ahead of us the usual suspect took the lead and for VCM, Simon Muir came in a good 13^th with Gavin May 14^th, respectable all round.

newcomer, Ian Dunlop, how high can he go?

Seniors next and by now the course was definitely a different beast, lines were slower and the loose gritty stuff had became much looser, the faces at the end of this race told the story. We had another good turnout with Stevo, Gordy, Ian, Simon F, Addy and first appearance of the year for Chris Marquis. From the gun this was fast, Stevo quickly finding himself at the sharp end in with his arch nemesis Colin May (Velo Club Edinburgh), these two have been bursting each other at every race so far this year, ahead of them a welcome return for Davie Lines(MG-Maxifuel) who powered ahead and stayed there for the rest of the race. Further down the ranks the VCM collective were knocking seven shades of shit out of each other and all who were around them, new boy Ian Dunlop in only his 3^rd proper cross race had taken up the mantle and was powering to what looked like a possible top ten finish, behind Addy Pope seemed to struggle to find his pace but quickly did and was with Ian for most of the race afterwards. Simon failing to make the jump always seemed to be a couple of places behind. Meanwhile up front Stevo and Colin May had finally shaken Sean Clark and Dan Whitehead to battle out the remaining podium spots. But the hard finishing May once more stepped up to the mark and took second in front of Steve, still our second podium of the day, so we really mustn’t grumble.

Simon F, charging

Addy, also charging

Organising club Deeside Thistle, you deserve an almighty pat on the back, great support and marshaling and everything running like clockwork, I love this venue, hopefully it will become a regular fixture. Next stop the notorious Strathclyde Park, traditionally a pretty savage encounter and usually similar conditions, bring it on and also first showings this year for sly old fox Davie Graham and new signing Teri Wishart. Boom

How we doin

Women

Maddy Robinson 1^st

Seniors

Steve Halsall 3^rd

Iain Dunlop 13^th

Addy Pope 15^th

Simon Fairfull 17^th

Gordy Mackenzie 26^th

Chris Marquis 38^th

Veteran 40+

Simon Muir 13th

Gavin May 14th

Russell Stout 31st

Frazer Waters 32nd

Martin Steele 35th

Chris Duncan 45th

That's Entertainment

Hallocross – Thursday 31^st October

 

 

I’m not quite sure where to start with this one.  119 riders, many wearing costumes, in one race at night mean that it’s all a bit of a blur.  

I should really start with an apology for not wearing a costume this year, a manic week at home and work meant that real life got in the way.  Fortunately plenty of other VCM riders had made more of an effort.  Chris, Martin, Maddy, Gavin and Simon all had great outfits.  My 5 year old daughter was unimpressed when she discovered I hadn’t taken the chance to get dressed up.  She has spent the week since the race bombarding me with ideas so I promise to sort it out next year. With Ian and Russell also racing and Addy and Fraser marshalling there was a good turnout by VC Moulin.

Gavin May looking good

This was another Scottish cyclocross race which almost doubled in size from last year.  Fortunately the Tri Centre team had moved it to a new venue which accommodated everyone.  This race always has a great atmosphere and this year was no exception.  Even the thunder, lightning and rain in the hours before the race didn’t seem to have dampened enthusiasm too much. 

The combination of wet weather and the size of the field meant that it was likely to be muddy so I had decided to race my single speed.   At least this way if I broke it I wouldn’t have to fix it before the SCX round at Knockburn a couple of days later. 

After a bit of milling about chatting and a quick look round the course it was time to line up.  Partly by luck I got a prime spot on the second row of the grid, right next to Rab Wardell.  A good start (why can I never do this in an SCX round?) saw me avoid the inevitable chaos in the first few corners and I came out of the first section in a good spot.

The rest of the race was pretty eventful and I would imagine that was the case for most of the field.  It was really difficult to tell who anyone was.  It took me half of the race to work out that it was Scott Logan in the red cape despite the fact that I had spoken to him before the start.  We must have passed each other about a dozen times in the course of the race.

After the first lap a ‘Treacle Scone’ shortcut was opened.  This was much easier than the alternative route but it did involve trying to duck under some surprisingly hard sponges soaked in treacle and avoid getting hit by well-aimed flour bombs.  I thought this was one of the best aspects of the race.  It was a well thought out idea which really suited the spirit of the race.

On several occasions I got caught out by riders on mountain bikes with disk brakes.  There’s not much you can do, other than take to the bushes, when you are travelling faster than them and you don’t really have any brakes.

In the second half of the race the course started to get much slippier in places.  My front tyre washed out on a fast right hander and before I knew much about it I was on the ground.  Unfortunately Dennis the Menace was right on my wheel and he collided with my bike and came down too.  Even more unfortunately Dennis the Menace is the reigning Scottish Cyclocross champion, sorry Rab.  I’m still not quite sure what he was doing behind me half way through a race, the only time I normally see him is fleetingly as he laps me.

In the last few laps my helmet adjustment broke and every bump seemed to make my helmet fall over my eyes.  On one particularly big bump my light switched itself into strobe mode.  I spent several minutes unable to see anything and cursing the person behind me with the flashing light.  Eventually I looked round and realised there was nobody behind me.  After fixing this I passed Simon Kirkness who seemed to have lost his #SVENNESS.  It turned out that there was a more practical reason, his lights had gone flat.

By now my Garmin was showing over 50 minutes in a 45 minute race and there had been a lot of ringing of bells last time I crossed the line.  Ian and Paul Carmichael were just ahead of me so I gave it everything I had for the last couple of minutes to get past them.  After sprinting for the line I started to come to a stop.  After briefly wondering why nobody else had stopped it dawned on me that there was a lap to go.  They both passed me and I managed to get on the wrong side of someone.  By the time I got myself sorted out they were long gone. 

After the race there was some tasty food on offer from Wild Rover Food before the presentations.  Well done to Maddy with another win in a fantastic season.  I can’t believe Simon Muir didn’t pick up a prize for his amazing creation (picture to be added soon).  Thanks to all of the organisers and volunteers for putting on a great event.  It was a blast.

Maddy showing KirkNys who's the boss

How did we do?

Maddy – 1^st Female (30^th)

Ian - 10^th

Simon Fairfull – 11^th

Simon Muir – 21^st

Gavin - 33rd

Russell – 38th

Martin – 45^th

Chris – 57^th

^{Photos by Addy Pope}