Max's Two Hill Climb Races in a Day

Max at Hinton Hill

Saturday morning dawned with a pretty bleak outlook for two races in one day - an early start from Cardiff was in order for a 9.30am rendezvous at Lacock village hall, for the Chippenham Wheelers-hosted event. I almost didn't get out of bed, especially as (getting my excuses in early) I'd had a cold for the last week, and wasn't on top form. Nonetheless, bike and kit in the car, and onto a sodden M4. I made it in plenty of time for my start slot (10:44) but not enough time to recee the course - a very important aspect in a hill climb, so you know how to pace it.

I bumped into Tim H in the car park, who kindly bought me a coffee and (completely understandably!) explained the absence of a club ride! Cue then, half an hour of sitting on my rollers, gently steaming in the rain, trying to warm up.

I managed to time my warm up to perfection, with only 70 seconds of stationary-sitting before starting and set off into the unknown. Tim H had talked me through the climb in detail, which helped massively, and I felt I paced my effort really well. Unfortunately, I just couldn't go as fast as I knew I could, especially over such a long hill - my legs were fine, but my lungs couldn't keep up. I'm still waiting to get the official results, but I believe I finished 19th out of 40, with a time of 5:34 - within 50 seconds of the winner.

I then shot off for a light lunch with Mama Girdler in Marlborough, before heading to Hinton for the afternoon's event, hosted by Severn Road Club, and the last in a run of 30 years of hosting the event for the organiser Paul. The weather had done a complete U-turn and, alongside the sun, I was chuffed to see a support team of Tim H, Malcolm and Andy P turn up whilst I warmed up in the car park. I had plenty of time in hand, and rode the hill a few times, making mental notes of certain points to accelerate, slow down and all-out sprint for the line! This course was much shorter - 0.8km at 1-in-7 - and hence easier to pace, albeit, being right on the limit for the whole thing. I was really happy with my warm up, only had 60 seconds stationary before starting, and emptied the tank before the finish, so really couldn't have done more. The MCCC support team were a great boost with only 150m left to go. I finished 17th with a time of 2:23.4 - the winner (who was only 16!) clocked 1:56.8.   

Both events were followed by tea, cake, presentations and a couple of speeches - hill climbs are really 'wholesome' events, where competition is friendly and everyone will offer you advice, help or just a chat. A really enjoyable day in whole, and the Hinton event especially is one that i'll make a return to in the future.