Stoke Hammond '10' 13/4/11

This time trial, the second counting event in the 2011 series of NBRC time trials, was the first evening event.  Somewhat disappointingly, the rather pleasant weather of recent days had disappointed us, and was replaced with dark, cloudy skies and cool (if not cold) conditions.  There was also the sense of a comedy of errors, as a group of shivering cyclists gathered at the club room to await the start-line crew.  At 15 minutes to go, we decided they must have been down at the start area, so we all dashed down hurriedly... Once there, we got proceedings in order quite quickly.  In fact Lindz was so late getting there he had to act as pusher -off for the first couple of riders while Dick dashed back to his car for the numbers.  The evening wasn't just cold, it was quite breezy, with a headwind facing the riders as they started up the inclines to join the dual carriageway section.  Once on the dual carriageway, the breeze could be felt tugging at my front trispoke. On the encouraging side, this event was the first time since last season that I've felt comfortable riding in the aero tuck position - a problem that almost certainly results from my back injury back in February.  I finished in 23:37 - not too bad, I feel, for the conditions and in relation to recent events.  Simon won with a great ride, chased by Steve (who was clearly stung by his performance in the New Year's Day event!) and Lindz.