Midlands XC Rd 1 – Hanchurch Woods
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010Second XC race of the season headed to the venue of Hanchurch woods just outside of Stoke-on-Trent. I rode the venue a couple of years back when it debuted, a little claggy & slow going at the time on virgin trails. This time it was dry, hard & FAST! Aware of the 4 lap format now, (must have changed it last year as I learnt on the start line at NPS Rd1) I tried to get somewhere near the start for the drag strip up the fire road before turning left up the main climb. The other advantage of getting near the front was to keep ahead of the dust cloud stirred up by the 44 riders in the sport category.
First lap & I hardly see my heart rate drop below 180 bpm, I can’t keep this up, I need to settle down into a rhythm, I estimate there’s around 12 riders in front, too many for my liking! As usual the first lap is a bit manic & as the race settles I find my groove, I’m feeling almost OK. Sure there’s a gradient here & there that is a little hard to find the right gear for.
For the first time ever I have someone to hold out a drink bottle for me mid race! I given riding buddy Lee Monks & his girlfriend Kelly a lift up too, Lee’s racing in the same race & may as well dish out 2 bottles rather than 1, Cheers Kelly! Funny thing that always happens to me, I fall off! Right at the feed zone, getting cross rutted whilst riding one handed putting my bottle in, in front of everyone! What a wally!
Lap 3 & The singletrack at the top of the first climb, I think I hit every single pebble (there are none), root, stump or mound there is to be hit, I’m all over the place, what’s that all about!? Too much road riding? I stick to the job & collect my flow.
End of the 3rd lap & I’m 11th, that’s not really good enough, despite my from being a little iffy. Hey presto! I’m catching the odd rider here & there, some are obviously back markers & some perhaps master riders that have blown. Nonetheless it’s a bit of a mental boost & knowing what’s left to do I pick my pace up for the last haul. I catch a couple of riders that are working together, I know the one is in sport as he passed me earlier, he wears yellow shoes. I sit on the back for a little bit to rest up & judge the pace of the pair & what’s needed to pass without towing them along. We approach a section where there’s some line options, a sizable log hop or a longer chicken route. I know the chicken route is slower from taking it on the first lap, I’ve gone for the hop on the second & third laps, I do the same for the last lap, Yellow shoes & company take the chicken route, I’m gone! No attempts to tag on. My gap increases through the remaining singletrack, I’m hauling, just feeling the edge of grip as I pump round the corners. I cross the line in 9th with the 8th placed rider in sight but just that little too far, another 100meters & maybe, just maybe…
Lap times…
1st – 0.23.07 2nd – 0.23.05 3rd – 0.23.29 4th – 0.22.52
If my memory serves me well, the last race here my last lap was also the fastest.
I noticed on the start list a name that goes back to my primary & secondary school days, Chaz Davies, same one? You bet! Growing up only a few miles apart, only to run into each other for the first time in quite some time. At a low key bit woodland… Incase you don’t know, Chaz races motorbikes, fast ones! He’s ridden in the moto gp & set some impressive achievements, check his site out, http://www.chazdaviesracing.com/index.htm.
