After the fun of the BMXical Intensive Training session mid week, Bike Widow Photographer Suzanne McHugh talked me into racing at the weekend at the same track as I had been practising on with Tara, my daughter.
She very kindly said she would sort me a plate out as well. So, I pre-registered on the British Cycling website and waited for Sunday to arrive.
You might ask what I was racing in. Cruisers 40-44. And Experts to boot as well. In my mind I couldn't race Novice even though I hadn't raced in 27 years. I knew I'd be a bit rusty with the old race craft but it was the only way to go...I think.
With the rush of when deciding to race and the actual race taking place I didn't have time to get some race pants, just a race top from Ghost Bikes in Preston. I'd tried a few Moto-X race pants on at Ghost Bikes but found them to be ridiculously short in length. Inches short! Leg length isn't too much of an issue if you're using them for Moto-X as your boots will cover the lower part up. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be wearing Moto-X boots as thats not exactly practical for BMX racing. I would be wearing my trusty Vans and half mast pants wasn't going to be an option. I didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb - you can just imagine the respected BMXers all laughing and joking about the middle aged man in half mast pants. Of course I have a reputation to uphold from 30 years ago!!
Once we'd sorted where we would be watching from when not racing, I went to find Suzanne for my race plate. I was given an empty white piece of plastic but no numbers as there had been a mix up in communication and Suzanne thought Mark was bringing the printed numbers but he hadn't. Then he remembered they might be in his car so he promised to drop it off later on after his daughter had done her practising. Otherwise I would be writing the numbers on with Biro!
My plate arrived and it got put straight on the bike. Me and Alan ( Cranshaw - Molly's dad ) tried to get the backing off but it wouldn't come off so, as you can see, I had pink numbers! Wet it and stick it on where the instructions. When its dry it won't come off. I later found out that the backing was supposed to be removed and the numbers are, in fact, white - what a wally!
Practise.
A couple times round highlighted that some of these riders are quick. Damn quick. Then it was Gate Practise. I did a few to get back in the swing of things, you know, just to be cool. Cough cough. In reality, the few gates I did was enough for me. Didn't want to be too tired for the race, did I?
Race 1.
Lining up in the pens apparently Shaun ( Calvert ) thought it was hilarious I'd come back to racing. Thanks Shaun.
I felt a little out of it in my jeans as everyone else was in proper race gear of one sort or another. Whether it was good or not, I knew a few riders and had to face Andy Hill in my first race - he isn't too bad a rider it has to be said!
Out of the gate after a poor start I pedalled as fast as I dare over the first couple of jumps diving ot the inside of John Hines where I seem to become Lisa `Elbows Out` Hilton and had a tussle with John - all I heard was an "aarr" from him as we banged into each other. Welcome to BMX racing!. He powered out of the corner better than me and I then tried to keep up with him by bouncing around the track in a vain attempt not to come last.
I finished 6th.
And with a very dry mouth and burning legs.
Considering its only 0.3miles around ( I'd previously used my Garmin road GPS device to map a couple of laps ) its damn hard work. Harder than I remember. I wondered how I would cope with another 3 races.
Thinking about it, had I tried too hard ( rather than pump ) or wasn't I properly warmed up ( like you have to in road biking )? Not sure. I'm sure I looked a little unstable to onlookers! But at least I wasn't last!
Race 2.
I can't remember too much about this race except for my daughter Tara shouting good luck at me from across the pens! Again I had to race Andy Hill. No easy races here for the New Boy! I had a slightly better start this time. Slightly.
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| But I'm not so old that it should be Black N White - haha |
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| I know I'm Old Skool |
The last corner is quite a fast tight one and I nearly, very nearly came to grief as my front wheel decided to go its own way. Apparently nobody knows how I managed to hold it ( wife Justine, Friends Neil and Alan all cheering me on ), but I did. Must still have the skills.......ha ha. This time I was 4th!
Race 3.
Again, from the pens Tara wished me luck. She's a star isn't she!
This time I seemed to be a bit more relaxed and enjoyed the race much more.
That might have been because I did an awesome move against Bike Widow Team rider David Lindsay on the last corner. Remember I nearly came to grief last time out? Well, that didn't stop me diving down tight in the corner and underneath David, pushing him high. All I could hear all the way down the final straight was him laughing at my move.
Position 3!!
What's nice about us `older` guys racing is the sportmanship after the race. A pat on the back or a handshake is nice to see. I certainly don't remember that back in the day. David certainly seemed impressed by my move!
Now, for those of you who don't know a BMX race consist of upto 8 riders. If there is more than 8 a number of heats ( or Motos ) are run depending upon how many riders have entered that particular group. In my case, this time, there was 13 of us. So, we had 2 heats with 6 in one race and 7 in the other. At the end of the 3 races everybodies points are added up based on their finishing positions ( First gets 1 point, Seconds gets 2 points, etc ). The top 8 riders then get to race in the A Final, the rest going in the B Final.
Amazingly I had made the A final as the 8th rider. More than happy with that achievement on my return after all these years!
The A Final.
Being the 8th rider meant I was last to get a gate. What happens is the best rider gets to pick his gate first with the rest following in order until the last rider ( me ) gets left with the worst gate. In this case Gate 8 is the worse as its on the outside for the first corner. I'm not used to this as we used to draw pegs for the gates so it was very random and more fair. Maybe?
I had to make a good start.
Sat on the gate everyone was getting set up and balancing in their ready to go positions but Bike Widow rider Ric Sealey decided to flip over his bike on the first double on the second straight which meant we had a bit of a wait. Luckily he wasn't too badly injured.
By this time all I could hear was my heart thump thumping. I seem to remember being quite shakey on the gate once we got stood up again.
The start was shocking as this picture shows. I'm just giving them a head start!
Needless to say it was a tough race. I'd caught them back up by the first corner - might even have been in front of a few, but I was on the outside and got stuck behind Geoff McHugh ( Bike Widows husband ).
I tried to dive to the left of him along the second straight into the head wind but couldn't get him.
Thinking like an F1 driver ( ha ha ) I thought about where I could get him further up the track - trying to plan a move in advance. If I stay wider at the second corner I can pedal around it and might have a bit more speed along the third straight, I thought. Worth a try. So I did it as Geoff went defensive. It worked. Then right on the line I got John Hines as he had seemingly given up but I have been taught to race to the line no matter what so I did.
A 6th place was a great achievement for a rusty old dude as I seem to be now known as!
Really happy with the day. Blackpool is a great track. Its also one of the longest as well.
So do I carry on?
Special thanks to Suzanne for the Bike Widow race plate and her excellent photographs.
As an aside, I have to say that I feel a bit dissappointed for my daughter Tara. There was only 9 in her race which meant there was a heat of 4 riders and a heat of 5. Tara's first race was with 5 riders and she came 4th. The other races she came 5th out of 5. This meant she had 14 points ( 4+5+5). Now the other girl raced Tara in the first race but Tara beat her so she finished 5th. The way the draw had worked out meant this other girl would then be racing 3 other riders in the next 2 races in which she came last in both. So she ended up with 13 points (5+4+4) meaning she got to race in the final. I was gutted for Tara. Not only had she beaten this other girl the only time they'd raced against each other, she didn't really stand a chance of getting in the final as she never got to race againt only 3 other riders. I don't think that is fair. Maybe I should let the organiser know my feelings for what its worth?
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