Surrey League RR, Henfold Hill

"To race or not to race?" Again, the same old question was playing on my mind. After a very tiring run of six shifts, working in A+E, I was absolutely shattered... but I'd been given the day off to race and so really ought to race! Steve agreed that I should go for it and described the course as "a bit up and down" (but failed to mention the 17% climb!!)

Thankfully the traffic on the M25 wasn't too bad and I arrived at the HQ in time, albeit rather frazzled. I had planned to ride the course beforehand but Garmin failed to navigate onto the course and instead I ended up riding up and down a busy dual carriageway!

It was a scorching hot day - 30C according to Garmin - it certainly felt like it. I was struggling to get enough fluid down and my body just didn't want to work hard!

The race was 45 miles - 5.5 laps of an undulating circuit with 3 climbs on each lap, including the 17% section. It was a fairly small field - 21 in total - as the Hillingdon GP was taking place on the same day and had attracted most riders.

I had underestimated this race! Attacks came thick and fast, the pace remained high over the climbs and despite the small field, there was some serious racing going on! I was struggling in the heat and just didn't have the legs today... There were a few moments when I thought I had ended up in a break that was going to stick but the bunch was working well together and no one managed to get away for much more than half a mile.

On the final lap, I managed to position myself well for the climbs and going into the final corners, setting myself up for the sprint. (I'm really not a sprinter!) I was really pleased to finish in 6th place overall, despite the heat, feeling exhausted and heavy legs.

Steve was also pleased and asked me whether I would have raced if he'd told me there was a 17% climb on each lap of the course...!!

Sarah