I usually find the events on the club's Stony Stratford course not to my liking - the course runs out via Beachampton and Nash to turn at a roundabout on the A421. The outward leg therefore has a fair bit of climbing and usually acquires a new set of potholes over each winter. In the event of roadworks or other interference in the course, we revert to a back-up course. In the backup course, riders bear left soon after the start and proceed via Calverton and Whaddon, to turn at the A421 (at a roundabout just along the road from the normal turn). The course retraces and finishes short of a give way junction. This is closer to 10 miles than the usual Stony course.
The replacement course is a bit more of a challenge in some ways, overall the road surface is atrocious, very rough and bumpy (though fortunately the road up towards Whaddon has been substantially repaired), and it has several sharp corners, spiced with numerous cars parked on the road.
On the evening, I just couldn't get a sense of rhythm and found myself rattling and clattering around the course. I didn't have any trouble, as one often does on this course, with people manoeuvring cars in and out of driveways. But I found myself riding very cautiously round the bends and past the parked cars.
On the return leg, I completely misjudged the short but very steep climb between Whaddon and Calverton, which really knocked the stuffing out of me! Altogether a rather unsatisfactory ride. Jez Honor showed the rest of us how to do it!
Results
Pos
No
Name
Club
Time
Cat
Vets Std
.+ / -
Vets Std
1
11
Jez Honor
Equipe Velo
25.06
V44
27.54
.+ 2.48
1
2
7
Trevor Hook
TeamMK
27.30
V57
29.00
.+ 1.30
2
3
12
Robert Saunders
NBRC
27.35
V55
28.48
.+ 1.13
3
4
4
Ant Smith
TeamMK
28.11
Sen.
5
5
Mark Simmons
Open University CC
28.52
V42
27.44
.- 1.08
8
6
3
Mick Atkinson
TeamMK
28.53
V46
28.04
.- 0.49
4
7
13
David Price
NBRC
29.00
V47
28.08
.- 0.52
6
8
10
Ant Newland
Bossard Wheelers
29.09
V49
28.18
.- 0.51
5
9
2
Karlo Porter-Price
Open University CC
29.48
V51
28.27
.- 1.21
9
10
8
Paul Woodham
Bossard Wheelers
30.47
V63
29.41
.- 1.06
7
11
6
Finn Hanson
TeamMK
30.50
V51
28.27
.- 2.23
10
12
9
Trevor Watson
Bossard Wheelers
32.18
V56
28.54
.- 3.24
12
13
14
Wayne Thomas
NBRC
32.58
V64
29.49
.- 3.09
11
14
15
Luke Daniells
NBRC
33.23
V42
27.44
.- 5.39
13
15
1
John Pick
Chronos RT
41.34
V70
30.49
.- 10.45
14
Timekeepers - Tony Farmborough and Bryan Scarborough.
