Sunday 18 November 2012

This Dusk 'til Dawn 2012 Race Report is brought to you by the word Podium!!!!!



This is going to be the shortest race report I will probably ever write. Managed to wrangle together a team of chums to slap on the shiny new CycleAid kit and get it very dirty in Thetford Forest. They didn't turn up, so I got another team together ;) We started, first two riders back hated the conditions, Kim loved it, then it was my turn. I loved it and devoured the pan flat 10 miles course as quick as my little legs would carry me. Best race feeling I have ever had. Finished, transitioned, rested, and refuelled. My next lap wasn't for a few hours, so I made the most of it. 2nd lap was pretty much like the 1st, except I was passed by one person - but I think by then they were rocket-fuelled elite XC racers lapping us, so it was to be expected.

The third lap was accompanied all the way round by sheer cramp. I tried pedalling it out on the first few miles of fireroad, but that didn't seem to do the trick. So I just pushed through it and managed to find that I could ride at a similar speed to the previous laps, assuming I could shut off the pain. By this point it was getting pretty cold and foggy. By this point, some of the team mates were beginning to suffer, so myself and Lewis took turns on each lap. I managed to drink away the cramp before my final lap, and pushed hard. When I got to transition, I saw my team mate waiting next to the chap on the 2nd place team! Thinking that I had passed their rider out on the course and we were now up into 2nd place, I was somewhat excited and suggested my team mate should get riding "very" quick. At least I am pretty sure that was the word I shouted at him in front of a large crowd of people ;) Within 10/20 minutes, it dawned on us that the chap was waiting for his rider who was a lap up on us. Darn! However, he didn't know that, and was waiting in the transition area looking ready to go like a coiled spring.

Anyway, we had done enough to secure 3rd place, and onto the podium we went. A fantastic race and a fantastic team effort. Quite possibly the hardest I had ever pushed and in similar conditions to XC, which really isn't my usual stomping ground. The next day at work, a new contractor had started - as I got out of my seat to shake his hand, I was overcome by leg pain and looked like I was having a seizer  My boss said "Oh, don't worry about Ian, he likes to hurt himself."

Since then, I haven't really ridden much, due to reccurant asthma problems. More on that next time...

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