Having survived the scary high speed winds in the Priority Express wagon that was kindly lent by said courier company, Matt (also a Bike Shed employee) and I found what looked to be a dead flat race course around a pond. Thankfully, the practice lap unearthed some of the steepest and most sketchy wooded sections I've seen in an XC race. Grins a-plenty!
The race turned out to be another test of survival. I suffered a crash on a fairly easy section (day dreaming) during the second lap which seemed to kick me into action, some deep digging ensued and I smiled my way to first place in Sport, constantly keeping a watch over my shoulder to make sure Bike Shed Boss Richard, was kept rightfully behind me on his new Genesis Fortitude single speed! (Rich did go on to win the Masters category!) Here seems like a good place to say another "Well Done" to the Back On Track Bash organisers, volunteers and marshals. This was a great race even in the horrible conditions!
Having reviewed Sunday's results, I'm quite happy with my race; there was some reasonable lap times (comparing to Experts and Elites) but I still feel like there's an untapped reserve hidden in my body that I'm not yet accessing. It's early days in my racing career, time will hopefully unlock the speed and power that I'm sure is there!
Big thanks to:
Priority Express Couriers for the ongoing support with transport.
Bike Shed Wales for bikes and race kit.
Promotion Dynamics for making sure my limbs stay intact.