The official annual Easter 3-day Surrey League cycling race was cancelled this year. To avoid disappointment I created my own version of the 3-day event. It comprised of
- Surrey League race at Milland Hill on Saturday
- Surrey League race at Milland Hill on Saturday
- Surrey League race at Cutmill on Sunday
- The Steying Duathlon on Monday.
Due to my lack of bike fitness it was always going to be a difficult challenge but it turned out to be a real lesson in suffering.
The first race started with me arriving late after a drive in torrential rain and making the start line with a minute to spare. Luckily once the race started the rain eased up and the conditions were reasonable. I felt quite comfortable in the bunch until we got to The Hill, which turned out to be a fairly short climb but topping out at 25%. I got over the hill in the bunch but I knew straight away that I didn't have the legs to do it 6 more times on each lap. I tried to get away from the bunch with a couple of riders on the descent to get to the hill with some time to spare, but we were caught before the hill and sure enough I couldn't hold the wheel on the climb and got dropped. Unable to get back on the descent I rode hard for the next 5 laps on my own with nobody from behind catching me. In summary: a tough day and a big mistake even entering.
The next day was another Surrey League road race, this time held on the Cutmill course. This time the hill wasn't as steep but it was quite a bit longer and the course was dotted with big potholes in many places and featured a nice hairpin bend covered with gravel. Even before the start I knew that I didn't have the legs to race this after the previous day, but decided to give it a go and try to stay in the bunch for as long as possible. This time it turned out to be 4 laps as I got dropped on the 5th ascent of the hill and this time it was like someone just turned the lights off - darkness and I couldn't even go steady anymore. I've managed to ride easy for 2 more laps on my own without being caught by the bunch to make sure I finished what I started, but it felt like a very long 14 miles. To add insult to injury I was marked as the dreaded DNF in the official results. Another mistake to even enter this.
Easter Monday featured the Steyning Duathlon. After 2 days of racing I knew this was going to hurt. Right from the gun my legs refused to cooperate, I tried my best but my pace just wasn't there. Onto the bike hoping that things might improved and straight away I made a mistake and my velcro strap in one of the shoes came out loose and I couldn't put it back in so I had to resign to riding with one shoe open. The course was quite windy with some rolling hills and I never really got into a rhythm. My power was down by about 30W to what I expected, so I just had to try to do the best I could with what I had left. Coming into transition I was so tired that the lights switched off again and I couldn't see my run shoes for about a minute. Strangely enough this probably gave me a little bit of much needed rest and I felt better on the second run. I was even able to pick up the pace a bit and was finally passing some people. To little too late though and eventually I ended up finishing in 44th place overall an 6th in my age group.
Very hard weekend , but I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Now a little bit of rest and putting in some final touches to my preparation for the London Marathon.
