I did a mountain bike race at the weekend. This is the first time I have entered an official race for years and I've only done two before now. The first one was when I was Cardiff Uni in what must have been about 1992 and was at a course near Port Talbot. Seemed like a good idea at the time (as everyone else was entered for it) but it was just grim. It was a horrible rainy day and involved three laps of a hard course - something for which I just was not a) prepared and b) fit enough. I did finish, but was completely blown and practically hypothermic by the end and vowed never to race again.
The next one was not long after we moved to Leeds (1997 I think), near Pudsey at Tong Hall. Some of the guys we'd met biking locally were entering so I had a go. That one was pretty good actually and I did OK, but I was fitter by then.
This weekend's jaunt at Lightwater near Ripon looked like a decent event, the weather has been great, so I thought what the hell, turned up and entered on the day. There were a few others from the North Leeds group also signed up so it was a bit of a team atmosphere.
The course was 17 miles (3 laps) round the park grounds, undulating more than hilly. Lots of hardpack; a bit of tarmac; some great bits of quick singletrack; into and out of a quarry, and some grassy fields to cross. One or two cheeky technicalities and some short sharp drops and climbs gave it all some interest. 17 miles is maybe 90 minutes so therefore basically a continuous burn - an exercise in who's legs can last the longest?!
I was really pleased that I paced it well. I thought I'd gone off too hard on the first lap but settled in comfortably, stuck at my pace and just about managed to hold it until the end. I clocked 1:24:30 which put me 13th in the 80 strong Vets category, so I was pretty pleased with that.
Not bad at all. There's life in this old dog yet!
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