Tour of Cambridgeshire

http://www.tourofcambridgeshire.com/

First there was the TT

with a VERY nasty hill  in it. 

The start was inside a big building and with 60 ergos set up for one’s use if required was all set to be very efficient.  However……..first of all the  person holding me was useless tipping me first one way..clip out, then the other…clip out and finally let me go  almost sideways down the ramp…over a minute early!  Luckily I have enough experience to banish all that from my mind and start racing.  I was supposed to have  company in my grade but she didn’t turn up, so once again I won..and was  also last!  I would have placed in the M 70+ and every women’s class down to 55-59.  I  felt I’d given it a good shot despite being  barely off the plane.

Then the was the gran fondo, which despite the pix below was actually 135km..a bit of a psychological blow at 129km when it was obvious we were in far too rural area to be near the Peterborough Arena.

The weather was kind as far as sun goes but unkind when talking about wind……the first and last part of the race was lumpy…the middle bit  really flat as only fenland can be and so  extremely wind effected.  Towards the end of the race I had to decide on battling the wind solo or risk being in a tiring group who were exhibiting sketchy behaviour.  I saw at least 10 bodies on the road being attended to and many many punctures. 

My time was 4hrs 21 mins.  Sadly there was a stuff up with the timing and so there were  no presentations although I went back stage and explained that I was the lone 70+ women racing and please could I take the jersey, medal, flowers and gift voucher anyway..save posting them to me in Aus?

The people living in the villages where there was a whole day road closure were wonderful…..sitting out on the grass, in pubs, etc cheering us on, with no harsh words or tacks to endure. 

This is an event I would recommend..there are  few wriggles to iron out, but generally it was quite quite brilliant.