Shattered Crystal

So, the first Crystal Palace of the season. A useful point at which to reflect on the progress a year makes.

Palace '08 - Last year was my first of racing and, at 38, I came to it fairly late, with moderately good fitness and a fair bit of enthusiasm. Went from 4th Cat to 3rd Cat after I forget how many races, but more than I thought it would take. I remember planning to move to 3rd Cat by the beginning of June, but got there at the beginning of May instead, so it probably took about 10 races. Most of these were at Hillingdon, which on reflection is an easier circuit for a 4th or 3rds race. Anyhow, once I moved up to 3rd I decided to give Palace a go. A clubmate had gone and described it as:

Start, sprint, 180 degree corner, sprint, corner, sprint, scary fast blind bend, sprint, off-camber corner (watch the inside pedal), uphill incline, ow, ow, ow, corner, sprint. Repeat between 25 and 30 times.

Wow what a difference from Hillingdon. Narrow, bendy, swooping, picturesque, bumpy, exhilarating, exhausting, painful. I was dropped in my first race there on Lap 1, struggled around on my own for 3 laps, then started to catch the other riders who were regularly shelled out the back of the bunch, ending up having a decent training ride.

Palace '09 - Lost contact with the bunch on the second lap. I was sitting too far back and could see the gap appearing about 10 riders ahead. The gap stretched a bit and that was it - about 15 of us were out of the main bunch. We carried on at a fair pace, picking up a few other dropped riders, and that was it - end of race, nothing to sprint for. Better than last year I guess, and nice to get back to a circuit where you corner with your head in a bush! I felt the same after lap 2 as I did after lap 15 as well, so my recovery is quickening. It's a funny place, Palace, you never know really how you are doing, how many riders are ahead, how may have dropped off and gone home, how often you have been lapped/lapped others, how long you will have to wait to get your licence back afterwards. Organised chaos really, but good fun. I'll definitely be back this season.