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Well done, much better than I did. You geekhouse is cracking btw.
I flatted on the second lap, tried to run for a bit, gave up after realising I didn't have a spare tube so couldn't fix the pinch puncture and had an early shower. Bit of a blessing in disguise but I would have loved to have raced more than 1.5 laps.
If you're going to the next one I'd love to chip in for a lift from north london if the offer is still there.
Who else is racing the Rapha cx next weekend?
fredtc
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Well that was a carnival of ineptitude on my part.
I did a warm up lap and realised clinchers weren't going to be much use. I let some pressure out and did some mini loops of the top section, then promptly got a pinch flat on the rear about 10 minutes before the start. A quick dash back to the car for a tube change got me back to the start just in time to be gridded.
The race started out ok, slipping and sliding down to the bottom where I promptly fell off just before the course starts going up again. I tried to remount and get riding about three times but couldn't get any traction; most of the back end of the field came past in the process. Once I got to the harder surface and remounted I realised there wasn't enough pressure in the rear tyre. Faced with a choice between another pinch flat and no grip I chose the latter and stopped in the pits to pump some air in. Thanks to the kind lady who held my bike.
I restarted in dead last and set my self the goal of just finishing. I got into a bit of a rhythm and started picking my way through the back end of the race over the the next few laps, despite falling off twice on the steep drop at the start of the descent. I made most of my places up on the run and the steady drag to the top, then got reeled in again on the down hill.
At the start of the fifth of sixth lap I had a bit of a sickening moment when I found I'd lost all power in my brakes. I think the mud had worn the pads down. I picked my way down to the bottom with one foot on the ground most of the way and hoped it was the bell lap. It wasn't. As I crossed the line at the top I threw the towel in, as it would have been a bit hazardous to stay in the race.
Despite not finishing, that was probably the best race of the year. Cantis, clinchers and a front derailleur were not my friends though. I'm looking forward to racing there next years on discs, tubs and a single ring. I might even finish.