It’s been a while since I’ve been moved to post anything here since my dwindling spare time is taken up with trying to actually ride my bikes rather than looking/reading about them. But this Sunday, Ed and I rode out to watch the BSCC Road Race, the first time I have seen such a thing in person. On the way out we were chatting about BMX, TT’ing, getting old and wondering if there was a less crashy way to enjoy racing once I can’t take the knocks of BMX any more. We were also looking forward to seeing PJ blast up Stowey Hill at race pace and cheering on Kieran, Christian and Mark.

After missing the start, Ed and I made our way to the top of the hill to watch the action. The lead cars and motor bikes came through and like a pair of hipsters in our Ray-Bans and Oakley Frogskins, whipped out our iPhones to capture PJ blazing his way to glory. Instead, all the riders were bunched, looking confused and there was talk of a serious accident on the course. A chap from Bath Uni stopped temporarily to assess the damage of his bleeding face and swollen wrist, but despite the best efforts of the marshals to persuade him to retire the adrenalin pushed him on.

The next lap saw even less riders come past us with Kiran and Christian deciding to stop. It was becoming clear that there was a caravan involved in the accident and there was now a neutralised zone around the crash, effectively making it only two thirds of a race. To cut a long story short, the day left a few impressions on me:

1. All kinds of bike racing can be crashy and cause you serious damage!
2. Road racing requires a serious amount of commitment, training and cash money on kit to compete.
3. British Cycling commissionaires should probably have a camera at the finish line. It’s pretty embarrassing to see them asking the locals who won and if anyone had a decent picture!

Check out PJ’s recollection of the day here. /A