PTW

'No rain until around 1pm' said Derek the weatherman. I pondered the words as the rain lashed down and I was showered with spray from the wheel in front.

The day had started with such promise. Jez had picked me up and we were off to Raglan for the Welsh Veterans Road Race. The route was 4 laps of the Abergavenny Handicap course, which is a loop between 2 roundabouts. You get to one on the twisty, undulating old road and go back on the A40 dual carriageway.

In retrospect the signs were there when we signed on, smaller field than expected, the nervous laughter. We changed and went for a quick warm up. Returning back to the start for the briefing, I made the mistake of taking my yellow lensed glasses off. It was now I saw for the first time the dark and foreboding sky.

Before we'd had a chance to reconsider, we were off. The neutralised zone took us from the services, across the dual carriageway and around the roundabout. For once the neutralised zone was just that and at a sensible pace, unlike certain other races this year. Once on the old road the flag went down and we were racing. This of course meant two things. Firstly, someone went flying off the front (Forza rider) and secondly, it started raining. I think the rider out front instantly regretted it as he didn't get more than 100m away from us and kept looking longingly back to the warmth of the peloton. However, he'd made his decision to go and we let him dangle out there for most of the first lap. On the return along the A40 a Pontypool rider tried to bridge the gap but didn't quite make it and was left in no mans land. A few attacks were starting to come and in a brief lull I went off the front hoping to take a couple with me and maybe as a group we could establish a break, but for whatever reason I was instantly chased down. By the start of the second lap we were all together and the familiar pattern of rapid accelerations out of corners and the top of the hills started to emerge. Myself & Jez were making our presence felt at the front, Jez taking a monster 2 mile turn at the front at one point|

Coming into the final lap I made my last attempt to get clear and briefly broke clear but alas I was chased down again. The final lap was then a lot more cagey, everyone looking, waiting for the big attack. It meant the pace now quite erratic, you only had to stand up on the pedals to cause panic. I also found myself where I'd avoided all race, boxed in at the back. Its the worst place to be as all the accelerations are felt harder and for longer. At the end of an acceleration I decided to try and get out of the situation by dropping back and accelerating up the outside. That was the plan and it would have worked fine had the peloton not accelerated again. I spent the next mile out of sync with group, accelerating to catch up when they were resting, trying not to fall too far behind when they accelerated. It was a battle I wasn't to win and with the roundabout in sight, they were gone. What I miserable ride back to race HQ that was! There is nothing more depressing than crossing the finish line with no-one there. Still I was top 25 and lead the race 4 or 5 times and if you'd told me that this time last year I'd never of believed you!

In the end Jez was 12th and if he'd realised where the finish was, would have been top 10. Despite the wet and cold it was a brilliant race and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it was 3 hours before I could feel my toes again.

Excellent write-up Mike and well done to you both!

Brilliant write up guys! What a way to finish the season - well done!

Excellent ride and write up boys,nice to see that you were prepared to have a go ,in such difficult conditions , look forward to next year