Jellied eel

It's becoming a habit - Wednesday night is Eelmore night! Yet again I found myself travelling down the A3, past Guildford, over the Hogs Back and down to Aldershot. It's a similar route to that I used to take when I worked at Nokia in Farnborough years ago - a relaxing drive with very few holdups considering that I usually go in rush hour.

I won't repeat my views of the circuit again here otherwise I will sound like a moaner! The riding however seems to be better controlled than at some other circuits, and the standard is generally higher - there's some agression, but less of the shouting and language. The behaviour seems a bit more mature, even though there are plenty of younger riders.

About halfway through last night's race I found myself at the front into the headwind on the front straight. OK, let's see how the legs feel, I thought, and upped the power a little bit. I fully expected to look behind me and see the bunch strung out, so was surprised to find I had opened up a reasonable gap. OK, don't panic Captain Mainwaring, keep going. I lasted 1.5 laps before slowing to see if anyone was going to join me. Eventually I was joined by two other riders - one pushing the pace and one sitting in. Great, if we work together we might have a chance to keep this going. I made an effort to pull through and my legs just told me to forget it. Oh dear, back to the bunch for us all!

Three laps to go and I move into the front 10 or so riders - exactly where I want to be. Final lap, still in top 5 or 6. Back straight, holding position well. Final corner, at speed, still in top 5. Front guy slows drastically out of the corner, now we're all playing silly buggers messing around before the inevitable bunch sprint. Sod this, I feel like Fabian Cancellara, I'm going to burst out of the bunch and go for it from 800m out - I'm off! Great, victory is mine, eat my dust! 600m out - oh, hang on, I'm not Cancellara. I'm 2nd. 3rd. 4th. Bunch come steaming past. Finish near the back. Cursing. Schoolboy error. Legs of jelly.