The 10/10 Race - Hurricane Rainford Edition

Tonight's Tuesday 10 mile time trial at Bickerstaffe, the 8th round of my 2016 campaign, was also the last of the season hosted by Liverpool Phoenix, who have done a grand job of running a series that otherwise would not have continued at the end of last year. I arrived at 5:50pm and picked off race number 10, before enjoying a good long chat with various characters who I've come across on my travels this season. And then, out of nowhere, the HMCC hordes arrived (Charlie Stirrup having also arrived while Eddie Hirst was more of a last minute entry) and the Saints/HMCC conglomerate would feature no less than ten entrants, including first-timers Mark and Claire Lane, and John Lynch, whose participation particularly intrigued me as he's done lots of long rides this year and stepped up with sister Vikki to the Race group; for her part she would be one of the many cheering us on at various places on the course together with Garry and Linsey Lyon. Having fielded no end of questions I set off for a lap of the Bickerstaffe Road Race circuit in a gangsta-style hoodie as a warm-up (that must have spooked the locals no end) where I certainly noticed just how harsh the crosswinds were (isn't hurricane season about to kick off in America? Thought so) and worse still, I had Pinarello Man tailgating me on his evening training ride. He turned right at the Ben Lane junction while I continued back to base, to fit a skull cap and earplugs under my helmet, go for one last piss stop and eat the second of two Kellogg's Nutrigrain bars I'd brought with me, and I barely had time to catch a quick word with Mark and Tom Hanlon before heading to the start line. Number 9 only just arrived on time and I even asked him "if I catch you can I have your disc wheel"..........it turned out later it was a disc cover on the inside of Planet X 90mm tubs. Maybe not quite as good as Savannah Morgan's Giant SLR-1 Aero wheels, but what is (order went in last week, the rest of the Zipp 808 fund going on things like bathroom cabinets and settees from Stoker's of Ormskirk). Finally, as 7:10 arrived, it was time to head down the starting ramp to begin the windiest TT I've done in many a long year.

My first mile was a quick one hitting an average of 30mph, but as the wind gusts blew debris across the course just prior to the downhill S-bend I moved out to avoid it only to nearly get taken out by Rusty White Van Man. Ye gods. I swung hard onto the A570 cheered on by a group of Phoenix riders who did 125 miles the other day in preparation for the forthcoming National 12 hour event, but the long slog to the north end of the course was impossibly tough, as my speed dipped to 22mph just before the roundabout. At least I got some light relief in the form of traffic who were very courteous to me, and then a learner driver giving me a bit of a tow onto the tailwind section at 30mph! How kind of them. This gave me all the impetus I needed ot pull away from Ridley Cheetah man (my two-minute target no less) and I set about making myself as small as possible as I boosted the cadence to get me over 30mph on the run back to the Wheatsheaf island, at least until Peugeot 107 Man took a share of tonight's ROTR award by passing me just before having to cut across my path for Rainford train station. Two prats in the books and we hadn't even got to half distance yet, what a night. Anyway, I got up another good turn of speed all the way to Mossborough Island, where the traffic calmed down a bit but I was about to get tottally whacked backwards by wind gusts of over 30mph - and there were still two and a half miles to go. Seriously, by this point I was regretting doing that sub-39 minute 10k training run in the wind yesterday afternoon as my legs were aching more than they have for quite some time, and it was a relief to get to "the tunnel" at the Wheatsheaf roundabout with just over a mile to go knowing there were no more exposed roads. With the finish line now very much in sight I had the presence of mind to think YOLO but not enough breath to shout it, as I heaved on the base bar and sprinted as hard as I could to avoid setting a season's worst. Amazingly, I avoided this by one second, finishing in 23:19, only eight second slower than a much calmer night two weeks ago and a single second faster than the Oven Bowl back in June!

I eased up and started chatting to Howie Bolt who's got a size 54 version of my Cannondale Slice up for sale, and then saw Alan Treanor, who'd just tied with tonight's leading lady Hannah MacDonald of the Liverpool Century (the hosts of the "road bike only TT on 17 September no less, dates in the diary now please) on 23:45. I dashed inside for carrot cake and a cup of tea, before waiting for my two St Helens Tri teammates and the HMCC cohort to come in. Top of the Conglomerate League tonight was Tom Hanlon, his 22:39 being very close to his all-time best and good enough for seventh overall. After me Alan Treanor rounded out this select podium; what a masterly performance from someone who's only just done IMUK and didn't even ease off after that, preferring to get battered by Wilko in Yorkshire just a week later. John Lynch was first of the newcomers, his mid-27 result (exact time to be confirmed at the time of writing) putting him around a minute ahead of Mark and Claire Lane, and the best thing about the evening was that everyone seemed to forget about the monstrously difficult conditions and enjoyed themselves so much. Given how popular the night proved to be, and given how successful the St Helens Tri TT championships were last week, what price an HMCC "5 laps of Pimbo" special to run on Sunday 4 September after the road race? I'd be up for timekeeping duties as someone who couldn't count towards the HMCC standings anyway, but don't expect me to have the breath to shout YOLO 60 times if it proves as popular as the hillclimb..........

Now for the results, brought to you by tonight's Conglomeration Winning Bike, the Cannondale Supersix Evo:

Distance: the usual

Time: 23:19

Final Position: 12/48

Village Idiots: 2

Riders Overtaken: 3

Post Race Nutrition: 10/10 (Carrot cake and tea at the finish followed by onion bhaji starter and chicken makhanwala with a bottle of Stella)

REJECT OF THE RACE: Rusty Van Man and Peugeot 107 Man

(Just imagine what language would have come out if Vikki had borrowed Gemma's bike and had set off at number 10)

Three easier days for me now before the long trip to Sedbergh. Well done to all who raced tonight, in particular the first-timers, next step the West Lancs Triathlon on Bank Holiday Sunday? Go on, you know you want to!