A cold, two broken teeth and then flu (actual flu, not man-flu) – is that all you’ve got?..
You may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet over the Yuletide break. I went on a bloody brilliant ride with Louise and Lee (www.eatsleepcycle.com) on Christmas Eve and felt like I had some kind of cold – down on power, but hey-ho I thought, i’ve got a few days off to recover. Then I raced my clubs traditional Boxing day TT (Turkey Trot) and immediately came down with toothache and the flu – it must have been a reaction to coming third behind my boss and our apprentice!
I’ve spent the last week back on the bike training like mad hoping that everything is behind me. My legs are in a right state! After several races in a row before Christmas I was starting to get some strength and now it feels like I’m back to the start of the season again!
East Kent CX and VCDeal put together a fantastic course at Betteshangar this weekend and the weather was spot-on. Nice and cold – nice and muddy. Conditions I’ve been waiting for for months. It seems like we haven’t had a proper ‘cross season for years now, but Betteshangar more than lived up to it’s reputation and despite my poor result I really loved it.
The best bit for me were the last two laps. I always go well at the end, but with two to go, a lapped rider made a balls-up of one of the steep banks and lay spread eagle in front of me. I spent ages getting past him and lost sight of the two riders I was with, but suddenly something just clicked. I started taking much better lines through the flat corners that I’d been struggling with and somehow found a little more power.
When I caught back up to the two guys I was racing with I took the chance to go straight past – there was a long straight at the end of the lap and my sprinting is crap so I decided to try and break them and get a little gap before we got there. It worked and as I climbed up the last hill towards the pits I looked around to see no one – just time to catch two more back-markers and then straight to the showers to warm up!
Cheers to Geoff and his wife (www.boarsonbikes.co.uk) for the cheers! Also another few people that I couldn’t see through all the mud, and Pip! Cheers to Dave Haywood for the photos.
Photos by Glen Whittington and Dave Haywood.
Glen rides for the Southborough & District Wheelers. He races mountain bikes, road bikes, TT and ‘cross at local and national level. He receives personal support from Helly Hansen, Scott Sports, The Velo House, and the.æight.bicycle.cømpany. Glen runs The Velo House with Olly, a coffee shop, workshop and bike shop welcoming all cyclists and non-cyclists, based at 5 St.Johns Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 9TN – 01892 554 505 – glen@thevelohouse.com. He also contributes to Simpson Mag @eightbikeco #aeightracer