Gareth keeps going despite crashes

Rutland-Melton Classic Road Race - 14/05/2006 - Oakham & Melton

Despite 2 crashes, Gareth was only 8 miles short of finishing the Rutland-Metlon classic on Sunday 14th May.

Gareth's race diary....

'bloody cold, that was how the day started but once we left Oakham the pace meant I soon warmed up. Nice wide roads ensured an easy passage on the first of the two laps of Rutland Water but back on the A606 for the second time and a touch of wheels caused a split in the group which quickly came back together after a rapid chase. I felt a little awe struck in the Lincoln GP last week and made a conscious effort not to let the same happen and i managed to hold a top 60 position for the opening 40 miles of the race.

Into Oakham for the second time and it was eye balls out 40mph through the town as Chris Newton jumped away. Back together again and as the race headed out of Oakham the pace once again went up as we climbed up the A606 and then we turned left onto the narrow lanes where the fun began. As soon as we hit the narrow lanes and started climbing, the race was all together and there was another crash right in front of me. This split the group at the foot of a sharp climb and we had a hard chase for the next 5 miles before we regained the rest of the bunch.

After successfully tackling the first 5 off road 'pave' sectors and the feed, we headed at speed toward another off road sector where I couldn't brake hard enough to make the bend and ran into Steve Marrows and another rider and then hitting the deck.

Big Apology to Steve for ruining his race as there was no way back for us after remounting and chasing hard. As the miles ticked by the weather got warmer but we started to pick up other riders who had either been dropped or more likely had punctured. The race had now splintered to pieces over the leicestershire country side and the it was a real pleasure and experience to have spectators in the villages giving their support. The race was now Chris crossing the countryside like no other race I had ridden as we went over the same lanes in both directions and covered some of the sectors also in both directions.

Approaching the first climb of the Somerberg sector our small group had to dodge the team cars which were stuck in the mud. It was more suitable to ride a mountain bike as I tried to find the driest route through the mud and cow shit which was 6" deep. Once over the top it was a fast downhill decent in similar conditions but I wasn't going to risk a Kamikaze descent to stay with the group - it wasn't worth it and I later found out there had been several crashes as bikes slid sideways across the mud at speed.

After going through the feed station for the final time, I was now on my own and at 94 miles decided to call it a day. Bloodied and disappointed to climb off, I was still pleased to have taken part in a really special race and I will hopefully come back for more next year with more experience in the bank.