I counted 11 of us this morning for the 3 laps of the Sheriff race circuit. We rode as 1 group until Sheriff and then split into 2 groups, with Damien acting as DS for team 'biscuit' and me DS'ing for the second group- perhaps we should be called the 'wafer' group as we're not quite up to the biscuits' standard (yet...)?
The biscuit 6 headed off and my gang of 5 wafers followed shortly after. Our group worked well together for the first lap and a half and then reduced to 4. We picked Liam up at the start of lap 3 and continued to work well, until Stillington, that is!
Unfortunately a shower during lap 2 had left the the roads damp and greasy, and despite easing off on the corners, as we negotiated the right-hander just before Stillington, John Mc went down at the front of the group, leaving me with nowhere to go except straight over the top of him
John was battered and scraped in a few places and I smacked both of my knees pretty hard, but we both got off pretty lightly, considering.
After picking ourselves up and checking the bikes (which, as was pointed out several times, was the most important issue
) we restarted and continued the third lap, however by the time we reached Sheriff Hutton Bridge for the third time I started going backwards and finished a good few hundred metres behind the others.
I guess they then continued on for another loop. I turned round and headed home at a very steady pace.
Great work by our group with tidy through and off on the lumpy part of the circuit and Muzzy's patented line-out on the flat 10 which worked very nicely.
I have the three laps at an average of 21mph. Happy with that given the lumps, the wind (especially from Stillington to Moxby Lane) and the small group size.
This suggestion was excellent, and I believe that it is probably more beneficial for building race fitness (other than by racing) than any of the flat circuits we've been doing. I don't climb well at the best of times, and tackling the drags on this circuit at something approaching race pace can only do me good.
It's also a really good suggestion as it gives me an extra half hour in bed
How did the biscuits fare?