Hard Day in January '18

Report

Hard Day 2018

The Golden Age is an expression now often used in writing about cycling – the ‘golden’ time varies according to the writer’s taste but whenever it was, it isn’t now. However, the 2018 Hard Day seemed to me as though it was indeed from a Golden Age.

In the past, looking at the riders as they assembled for previous HD’s I remember thinking each time that at least one or two didn’t look up to it and would need nursing or sending home early, but when I arrived at Café Nero there was no one who fell into that category. As it turned out we did lose one after the Berinsfield stop but essentially my judgement was correct. On the return the group stayed together remarkably well – almost as if they’d been training and racing together for years.

It should be mentioned that this year’s route was significantly harder than the one used in the past. In fact I would not have dared to include the very harsh climb from Turville to Christmas Common – yes, I’ve done it in the past, but not on fixed and not in January. Also the climb from the Thames at Wallingford via Ipsden to the top of the Chiltern ridge is far harder than the main road route we’ve used previously. Of course, YAL’s route is better than mine – as long as the riders can do it. This year they could!

You all rode so well it was hard to decide on the Most Meritorious Ride award. Traditionally this has gone to the rider who gets to the finish against the greatest odds – a version of the ‘no pain, no gain’ theory. This year there was no one off the back, no one visibly struggling. I considered suggesting Oli, not because he looked weak, but because, in my eyes, he looked the most stylish rider. However, back at the finish it did become clear some one had been suffering more than the rest, he just wasn’t showing it while on the bike, which is highly commendable. In the Old Red Lion it became clear that jaeyukdapbap had been battling against knee pain for miles. So for staying cheerful and continuing to work in the group while in pain the award goes to him.

Not surprisingly, almost everyone looked tired at the finish. The only exception was Thuekr who was clearly the strongest rider. I guess he’s not just fit, but also has a natural gift. As some one who put a lot of effort into racing for a meagre return in successes, I find it a bit shocking that Thuekr does not seem to have any ambition to race. However poor my own record may be, I’ve ridden with enough successful riders to recognise some one who would almost certainly be competitive at national level…at the least.

Actually, I don’t think there was anyone on this ride who would not find success if they raced. It is a puzzling change for some one of my generation, since when we started as young club riders it was a given that we hoped to progress to racing.

I must mention YAL; without him the ride would not have happened. He did a great job of organising beforehand and on the day made extra work for himself by shepherding puncture victims back to the group (eight punctures in all, I think). He is also another stylish rider in his own right. Let’s hope he’s prepared to take this on again next year, which would be the event’s tenth anniversary.
I do have some pictures, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.

Afterthought.

I may rewrite this for publication outside the forum. I’m fairly confident VeloUK would take it, and there may be other possibilities. If I did this I couldn’t use forum names – they’d be meaningless and look weird to non forum readers. I need your guidance here: would you like me to try this, and what (if anything) should I call each of you?