Thetford Winter series Rd 1: Well done to all the plumz racers there but especially Hollie who wins again, Lloyd 3rd , and Singlespeed Dave gets a superb 15th.
Well it was a pleasure to be out riding on Sunday, 50 miles of fast flowing dry singletrack with as much grip as you liked. You could throw your bike around like it was on rails and there were several sections that were super swoopy. Ace.
Oh yes, the race, knew there was a reason we were all there. Well I let antone else put up there versions but here’s mine.
After 2 mins silence, it was I thought a madder than normal start, even though it was a long section of double track the fact that it was downhill meant there were even more fast starters than usual up front. The girls had been sent of like hares in front and we just caught them at the first tight singletrack. Almost dead stop as me and MrRing eased up.
By the time we got by the track was deserted, Lloyd sped off as I settled into a heart rate I thought I could manage for 4 hrs. It was great just being able to ride the deserted track as fast as you wanted, but unless you see who the riders are up front early on you have no idea where you stand in the race. (looking at lap times I was 7th for 2 hrs)
2 hours in an it finally got a bit busier as I caught riders but the empty track had meant no real let up and the legs were screaming, the 2hr Vet leaders came by and I tucked in behind them easily I even followed John McAndrew who was 2nd for ¾ of a lap and passed him on the last climb but then had to force myself to ease off; two hrs to go I kept saying to myself, but this was fun.
I thought I’d blown it, the Lactate was screaming in my legs so I decided to do whole sections in the middle ring to spin a lot more. This seemed to work and after a slower lap, the 2hr racers left the track and it was back to blasting on the clearing super singletrack.
(At this point apparently I’d passed a
Starting the last lap I lapped Gregg and still felt good, so with nothing to lose I pulled the trigger and gave it everything. You can usually notice riders who you are lapping, they come back to you real easy, but I love the thrill of seeing someone slowly appear; you know they are on your lap just by their speed. First one down was Milton Keynes rider Lee Goodman in the under 40’s he woke up as I got to his back wheel but then shouted some expletives as I kicked the big ring up the climb and left him for dead, feels good ;-)
Then another rider appeared, I shadowed him in the singletrack then again just eased away, this was different though I never knew it at the time. I’d just passed Paul Simmons of Koxx/Thetford racing to grab 5th and then put another 90 seconds into him. The legendary last push is still there, and if only I’d known as I was only 100 secs behind 3rd place at the end and my last 3 laps were all faster than theirs.
Bring on Round 2!
Here's each riders fastest lap, just shows you Tuesday night guys that the fast guys on the road don’t mean nothing when it gets twisty and muddy. I also put in the difference between each riders fastest and slowest lap. This shows up riders who go off to fast and then blow, and those that can be consistent. I’m well pleased with my difference for a 4hr blast. Gregg certainly found his limit ;-)
Fastest laps table
| | Fastest Lap | Slow-fast |
| BigRing | 31:34 | 4:00 |
| Jack | 33:41 | 2:45 |
| Stew | 35:10 | 3:23 |
| Rich | 35:17 | 4:56 |
| Brad | 35:41 | 5:13 |
| Gregg | 35:44 | 15:34 |
| Dave | 37:10 | 5:43 |
| Brownie | 37:31 | 1:29 |
| Tom | 38:08 | 2:30 |
| Gray | 38:30 | 2:48 |
| Bob | 39:11 | 3:56 |
| Hollie | 41:28 | 5:59 |
Should be loads of pictures out there too.
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