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