Stoke Hammond '10' 23rd May 2012 - Hot, hot, hot!

At last we had some properly seasonal weather after a pretty unpleasant spring.  Treated to some sunny and hot conditions, we reckoned on some good times (though actually, the humidity did seem to affect some riders). The event was the North Bucks Road Club 10 mile Championship event, so for the NBRC members, there was something to aim at. Well, if truth be told, this would be for Silver behind Tony... Lining up behind riders, I was acutely conscious that I'd marked the hottest evening of the club event season by neglecting to bring a bottle. Not that I ever plan to drink in a '10', but it's nice to drink before and after the event. And there's the generally belief that the aero bottle improves the aero characteristics of the frame. Anyhow, off I went at the allotted time. I found the opening sections not too bad - it was a pretty still night, so no assistance (or hindrance) due to wind. I had no trouble with traffic at any point during the event, which made a nice change. I always take the first roundabout carefully, as it's very heavily potholed and falling off in the first mile would be somewhat embarrassing.  I whisked up the hill pretty briskly, then embarked on the dual carriageway section, for which there isn't too much to report.  Coming off the dual carriageway, I hoped to to crank out some speed.  And I did for a while, but the final mile or so is pretty hard, even on a nice evening, as the road surface is pretty rough and while it looks level, I think it's actually a slight incline.  I finished in 22:47, one of my faster times on this course, and enough for silver behind Tony, I think.

Pos	No	Name	Club	Time	Cat	Vets Std	.+ / -	Vets Std
1	6	Jason Gurney	www.twenty3c.co.uk	21.07	V42	26.09	.+ 5.02	1
2	9	Tony Parks	NBRC	21.37	V47	26.31	.+ 4.54	2
3	3	Jez Honor	www.twenty3c.co.uk	21.55	V41	26.04	.+ 4.09	4
4	7	Adrian Cox	Baines Racing Silverstone	22.30	V51	26.47	.+ 4.17	3
5	14	Rob Saunders	NBRC	22.47	V52	26.51	.+ 4.04	5
6	11	Anthony Batt	NBRC	22.49	S
7	10	Lindz Barral	www.twenty3c.co.uk	22.56	S
8	5	Andy Burnett	Bicester Millennium CC	23.20	V49	26.39	.+ 3.19	7
9	13	Jason Lee	TeamMK	23.25	V43	26.13	.+ 2.48	9
10	8	David Carrington	TeamMK	23.35	V46	26.26	.+ 2.51	8
11	4	Leigh Smith	Team Corley / Alpha RC	23.45	S
12	12	Rob Chaundy	TeamMK	23.59	V60	27.28	.+ 3.29	6
13	1	Alan Lawson	NBRC	26.48	V43	26.13	.- 0.35	10
14	2	Darren Haydon	NBRC	27.06	V41	26.04	.- 1.02	11