A better day

A better day. Still no points, and I rolled in right at the back, but definitely a better day. The final Hillingdon 3rds race in the winter series was faster paced, which seemed to suit me better. I felt fitter than previously and had very little problem holding my position near the front of the bunch. When I dropped back at the mid-point for a couple of laps to have a breather and some long, steady swigs of energy drink I never doubted I would be able to move back up again easily. With five laps to go I found myself on the front – a bit of canny soft-pedalling allowed me to slip back to 4th or 5th, where I stayed until two laps to go. Then someone decided to force their way through a gap that wasn’t there, cut in from the inside of the hairpin turn and slowly die up the slight incline, boxing me in. Suddenly all my speed was scrubbed off, about 10 riders had stormed by on the other side and I was left looking for a gap to move into and get off this guy’s wheel. By the time I managed to get out from behind him I was mid-pack at best, so held back about 10 metres from the bunch in the final lap to give myself room to avoid any last-minute mishaps.

Frustrating really, but I feel that for once I did nearly everything right. Still, it all happens in the last couple of laps, where I am still failing to get it right!

Goals for 2010...

Having pondered my lack of racing success so far (well, avoiding crashes is some sort of success I guess) I thought that it would be worthwhile setting some goals for the year. So here goes:

1) Spend next to nothing on bike upgrades. I have all I need - really.
2) Don't injure myself and miss a whole summer of cycling.
3) Do a time trial. A '10' will do, on a road bike, in under 24mins.
4) Gain double-figure points as a 3rd Cat. Not so easy, judging on past performance!
5) Complete the long route of the Time-Megeve sportive. No time goal.
6) Complete La Marmotte sportive in 10hrs 30mins. Hey, I'm heavy and don't go uphill very quickly.
7) Lose another 4kg of bodyweight prior to 6). That will take me to 79kg for a height of 185cm.
7) Finish near the front of the bunch in a Palace 3/4 race.
8) Buy a house. The most important goal.

Will I ever break my duck?

Another Hillingdon (the penultimate race of the 09/10 Winter Series) and another null point. There seemed to be more riders in the 3rds on Saturday, but a closer examination of the results shows the numbers were about the same (I didn't look at the results too closely as I knew I was way, way down the list).

45 minutes + 5 laps this week, no crashes, a slightly faster pace and an annoying headwind up the home straight that made for slightly negative racing. I managed to stay in the top 10 spot for the first 15 minutes or so, but then took a breather near the back and found it impossible to move up again - same old story. Last week is the final race and, despite having made less than half the races, I feel I'm getting stronger. I think that's where the frustration is creeping in - on Saturday I finished having felt that I had hardly exerted myself at all.

Despite the frustration I've enjoyed the races for the most part - they're really well attended and well organised events.

In other news, I've now been a crisp-free zone for a month - a real sacrifice because it was my snack of choice!