Back on Track Rd 2

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BY: phil Morris

Published: 30th April, 2012

After missing the 2nd round of the NPS I felt I needed to try and redeem myself, and the next race on the calendar for me was Rd 2 of the back on track series. The race was at Top Barn Farm and last year I did a race here and it was great!
So I pre-entered and also entered my little girl as she is getting quite a taste for this racing lark!
In the week leading up to the race it was becoming clear that the weather gods were very unhappy about something!! So Hali-Rae's race didn't look like a great idea and we decided it wasn't worth dragging the kids along if the weather was going to be that bad!
On my own again, but no jibbing this weekend as I felt I'd let the team down a bit by not doing Dalby!

Waking up on the day of the race to fairly horrible conditions was not good and on route to the race I came across a couple of downed trees!

I arrived at about 1230 and had planned to do a practise, but decided not to bother in the end thinking it wasn't worth getting wet and cold before I even started!!

It was a small field but a strong one, so it was going to be a tough race. After chatting to a Maddie Horton who had done the 1st race I knew it was going to be a slog!

It was soon time to line up and I was shivering like man possessed! Off the start I initially had a good start but rapidly lost a lot of places. I just couldn't seem to go at all, think it was because I had got so cold. I did finally manage to get some sort of rhythm and started to get back past some riders. The only problem was I had lost a load of time to the leaders and had to get past riders from the masters and sport cat that had past me on the start straight! I found the first lap to be grim with my hands feeling numb and my feet felt as if they had been chopped off.
By the end of the lap I had managed to pass all the Sport and master riders and was riding with Adam King, and Mark Davies had a decent gap on us. Not a lot changed during the lap and I have to admit I did think of calling it a day at the start of the 3rd lap. I gave myself a talking to and decided to man up!!
On the 3rd lap I finally managed to get some feeling in my fingers which went a long way to improving my moral! By the end of the lap I had managed to get a gap on Adam and had gained slightly on Mark. Lap 4 I managed to catch Mark and get past, I think he may have had a puncture. But the guys up ahead had a good gap on me and I was still trying to find my happy place.

I was now up in to 3rd as Lee Westwood and pulled out and this made me first Expert. The next 2 laps were a matter of survival for me and I was pleased to finish in 3rd even if it has left me mentally scared!! (And very cold)
Well done to Dan Fleeman and Neil Hayward for taking 1st and 2nd and to anyone who finished for that matter.

 

I raced the welsh cross series last year and I can honestly say that this was colder than any of the cross rounds, so much for summer time.

Despite all my moaning about the weather once I had finished I did have a pleasing sense of achievement, and maybe a small amount of enjoyment creped in!

Thanks to the organisers for another really friendly well organised event and given the weather that can't have been easy!

Thanks to Mark Evans for the pics.

As always thanks to my sponsors.
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