Capernwray 01_04_12

CDNW Race at Capernwray - April 1

It was certainly April Fools day with the temperature being a chilly 3 degrees Celsius. Despite this it was time for the fourth CDNW league event at Capernwray, just north of Lancaster. I was the only rider from Southport CC in this race, but, many ex-club riders were also racing, notably John Findley of Bill Nickson Cycles RT & Simon Deeley of High On Bikes RT.

The race consisted of 5 laps of a 9 mile circuit, combining to make a total race distance of 45 miles. There was 600 feet of climbing per lap of which 300 feet occur on the climb of Sunny Bank. Like to guess where the Finish line was? The roads were a mix of double track B and unclassified roads plus several miles of unclassified single track with quite a few pot holes. After finding out last week that having a pre-race ride the day before a race helps, I decided to ride the 30 mile commute to and from work yesterday. I was up at 06:00 and out of the house by 07:00 for the 1 hour journey to Capernwray.

After the normal race preparation and a rider briefing, at 10:00, all of the riders lined up outside race headquarters ready to start the race. The race started under neutralized conditions with a short 2 mile ride to the start/finish line located at the top of the climb of Sunny Bank which hits you with a maximum gradient of around 13% towards the top. As expected, there was attack after attack with a lot of junior riders pushing the pace at the front of the peloton. Quite a few riders trying their luck to establish a break away early on. Most of the attacks were chased down instantly and easily caught. However, one rider managed to stay clear of the main bunch for a while.

With 1 lap to go, I was comfortably sat in the main bunch. However, at the bottom of the Sunny Bank Climb, my chain decided to come off whilst changing gears. Despite spinning my legs quickly in hope the chain would jump back on, it remained off. Whilst trying to avoid other riders that were quickly passing me, I got off the bike and put the chain back on. But, by the time I did this, the main bunch were way ahead of me. One mechanical problem and that was the end of the race for me. Very annoying, but, part of cycling unfortunately.

The well-deserved win went to a fellow Junior Andy Leigh of Velocity RT, followed closely 3 seconds later by Ryan Pike of High On Bikes RT. Another good race which proved, as expected, to be very different from any road race I have done before!

CDNW Capernwray Results

Josh Townson. Posted 03/04/2012

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