The mercury was hovering around freezing today. ‘Well what do you expect, it’s the Winter series?’ Lucy very reasonably pointed out. Perhaps the temperature explained why nobody seemed particularly to fancy much activity off the front into the biting southeasterly breeze.
Unhappily I got detained by a situation, half an hour in, which I thought was developing into a crash as we passed the 4th cat race through the double bends. The rider in front had to swerve and I had to brake almost to a halt (I cannot help but have my crash alert antennae tuned in at Hillingdon). At the same time the hammer appeared to go down at the front of my race. I sat in with the 4ths for half a lap hoping for a breather and then to bridge the gap, but the speed differential this week was high Accordingly unless I was going to go around and around with the 4ths, I had no option but to sit up for a lap. Shame, but that’s racing and it serves me right for being at the back as we passed them.
Once the 3rds were back around, four riders had got a small gap but it didn’t last. I had no entitlement to take a part in the race now but sat at the back for the ride.
No crashes anyway and apart from the incident referred to, no other bad moments.
Stats: 25.8 miles in 1h04m. Av 24.2 mph, top 30.1 mph.