Nick:
"8 hours, 2 Naked racers, 2 gears (between us). Only 5 in the entry, demonstrating the single speed racing 'secret' is still relatively safe! However looking at the teams it was clear nobody was there to make up the numbers.......Race on!
A strong start from Andy put us into second place by the first change over. A great first lap considering the hordes of rucksack racers (who as ever 'jumped' the Le Mans start) clogging the narrow trails. I then took the baton to continue the chase in a lap on/lap off strategy. Hard going with little time to rest, but by far the fastest way to race.
The 1st-2nd gap between Velo Bicicielo and Naked Bikes yo-yo'd between 2 and 4 minutes throughout the race duration. Lots of nervous words between us in the handover pit, but hard as we tried we couldn't close the gap to sub 1 minute. This would have put the leaders within range of closing gap proper and having some full on wheel to wheel racing.
With the exception of an unplanned visit to the hard rocky trail surface, requiring a bit of arm bandaging, we raced hard and consistently on what we agreed was a perfect venue and course for multi-lap endurance racing.
So, we were forced to settle for second place. We were happy - gave it our all, well matched lap times, perfect hand-overs, trophy, giant pretzel, podium action, fantastic event as always. Beaten fairly and squarely by the faster team of John and John of Velo Bicicielo. I say faster, they were; 15 seconds a lap on average!
Be it race result or lap times.........Every Second Counts!"
Andy:
"It was great to get out on the singlespeed again after a 5
month hiatus. That break would have been
even longer if it wasn't for some last minute wheel fixing by our main man
Paul. A massive thank you to him for
getting it fixed. Not only team head
honcho and shop owner but a top spanner man too!
Unfortunately that meant no excuses left for
me so on to the race. I volunteered for
the run. Although, to be honest you
can't really call it a run, it's more of a mad scramble over bodies to try and
get on the bike. We'd decided to pick a
clearly visible spot at the top of the hill for me to run to and find Mr T with
my bike. Lesson learned: It's easier to
cycle up a hill than run, so found myself stuck in the middle of hundreds of
riders. On a singlespeed it's not that
easy to power past anyone on a flat straight, so by the time I reached the
first stretch of singletrack it was like the M25 and stayed like it for the rest
of the lap. It's probably a good job the
course didn't pass my van as I would have got in it and driven straight
home. Eventually, lap over (in second
place I think) and a hand over to a very eager looking Mr Towers.
Nick was back within 30 minutes and I was out
for another. This time however it was
like a different race. where did
everyone go? It was like I had the place
to myself. Anyone who's ridden at Ashton
Court knows it may as well be a 6 mile BMX track so getting out for a clear
blast is ace. One gear making it all the
more fun. Our lap times stayed pretty
consistent throughout the rest of the day (Quick Nick giving it "Blue
Steel" then handing over to me for more of the same). Consistently good, but not enough to grind
down an annoying 2 minute gap to first.
Kudos to Mr T for repaying me for that horrible first lap and absolutely
burying himself with double laps at the end.
A top days racing rewarded with a great podium pretzel"
 |
| There's not a shutter speed quick enough to capture Andy in motion! |
No comments:
Post a Comment