After a spell of fine sunny and warm weather, this event took place on a windy and cold morning - conditions to which I'd become unaccustomed! As usual for events on the F11/10 course, I rode out to the HQ, a distance of about 24 miles (including a ride from the HQ to the start) - this was rather good as I mostly had a rising tailwind, and it offers an excellent warmup. I was a bit concerned about how strong the wind would be and its impact on my ride, as I had decided to ride my deep section front wheel.
I reached the HQ in good time, but by the time I rode up to the start, it seemed to be even colder. I decided to keep my woolly gloves on! The F11/10 runs along the A41 as it bypasses Tring and Aston Clinton. It has the notable feature of a descent that riders don't ride back up, so it is usually considered a fast course. But in my experience this depends quite a bit on the wind direction (though the top riders don't seem so badly affected). The course is also notable for pretty poor road surface, with much of it very rough. The organisers had noted several new pothols and flagged them up with fluorescent paint. As it turned out, this worked well.