This was the first time the Brogborough '10' course had been used for an NBRC club event. The course was first used a few years ago when the new link road to the Bedford bypass was opened, thereby rendering the old A421 quite quiet. It features a gift start hill that doesn't need to to raced back up. On the other hand, the road can be quite exposed, and the surface leaves a bit to be desired in places. The Marston Moretaine roundabout needs a bit of care on the outbound leg, because the exit lane doesn't seem in line with the entry lane!
On the evening, the weather was fairly breezy - what wind there was provided a bit of side and a bit of tail wind going out - though there was enough crosswind to make things a bit twitchy at times.
I was number 17 in a field of 21, and as I lined up at the crest of the hill in the lea of a big articulated lorry, dark clouds were gathering as the temperature dropped. A few big raindrops fell, and I think we all felt a bit apprehensive!
I set off down the hill, feeling reasonably good. There were a few minor twitches due to the wind, but nothing alarming. The outbound leg had been widely expected to be roaring fast, but I guess the real direction of the wind was not going to allow that. At times my speed fell and rose for seemingly inexplicable reasons! I had no trouble with traffic at the first pass through the Marston roundabout and only got slowed slightly at the turn roundabout. I had Andy Wickham in my sights by this time, and on the return leg used him as a target (I eventually passed him shortly before the finish).
In the return leg, my speed seemed to fluctuate quite a bit, but by dint of keeping in a quite big gear, I kept things rolling well enough. The last half mile seemed absolute torture to me! I finished in 22:30 to take second place behind Jez, who did a splendid 21:11.
Results
| Pos |
No |
Name |
Club |
Time |
Cat |
Vets Std |
.+ / - |
Vets Std |
| 1 |
4 |
Jez Honor |
Equipe Velo |
21.11 |
V44 |
26.18 |
.+ 5.07 |
1 |
| 2 |
17 |
Robert Saunders |
NBRC |
22.30 |
V55 |
27.09 |
.+ 4.39 |
2 |
| 3 |
12 |
Simon Moss |
Equipe Velo |
22.51 |
V41 |
26.04 |
.+ 3.13 |
4 |
| 4 |
21 |
Lindz Barral |
Equipe Velo |
23.02 |
Sen. |
|
|
|
| 5 |
13 |
David Carrington |
TeamMK |
23.21 |
V49 |
26.41 |
.+ 3 20 |
3 |
| 6 |
6 |
James Barlow |
Albarosa CC |
23.28 |
Sen. |
|
|
|
| 7 |
19 |
Alan Crane |
Chronos RT |
23.29 |
V46 |
26.27 |
.+ 2.58 |
6 |
| 8 |
16 |
Andy Wickham |
NBRC |
23.35 |
V44 |
26.18 |
.+ 2.43 |
9 |
| 9 |
8 |
Ant Newland |
Bossard Wheelers CC |
23.45 |
V49 |
26.41 |
.+ 2.56 |
7 |
| 10 |
3 |
Mick Atkinson |
TeamMK |
23.50 |
V46 |
26.27 |
.+ 2.37 |
10 |
| 11 |
11 |
Trevor Hook |
TeamMK |
24.34 |
V57 |
27.20 |
.+ 2.46 |
8 |
| 12 |
15 |
David Price |
NBRC |
24.52 |
V47 |
26.32 |
.+ 1.40 |
12 |
| 13 |
9 |
Paul Woodham |
Bossard Wheelers CC |
24.58 |
V63 |
27.59 |
.+ 3.01 |
5 |
| 14 |
18 |
Ian Markham |
Chronos RT |
25.26 |
V46 |
26.27 |
.+ 1.01 |
14 |
| 15 |
7 |
Trevor Watson |
Bossard Wheelers CC |
26.07 |
V56 |
27.14 |
.+ 1.07 |
13 |
| 16 |
14 |
Ross Andrew Callacher |
Leighton Buzzard Roads CC |
26.23 |
Sen. |
|
|
|
| 17 |
2 |
Clive Faine |
TeamMK / NBRC |
26.26 |
V68 |
28.42 |
.+ 2.16 |
11 |
| 18 |
20 |
Luke Daniells |
NBRC |
27.06 |
V42 |
26.09 |
.- 0.57 |
15 |
| 19 |
10 |
Dave Crane |
Chronos RT |
33.41 |
V50 |
26.45 |
.- 6.56 |
16 |
Katja Rietdorf (#5) didn't finish. Timekeepers were Steph and Tony, with Dick doing the pushing off. Bryan, who's hand was recovering from an operation was sort of general factotum and jacket curator.