CC Luton, the LBRCC invasion and birthday bash.

What a great day for the Luton CC reliability trial, great weather, thirteen club riders and my birthday to boot. As usual we rolled out of Energié to ride to the start and get a little warm up in. Signed in, paid up and with map in pocket we set off for the 100km ride. Now I had hinted about it being my birthday, and expected the club to look after me like a elderly Lance protected by his Postal bodyguard. Obviously the boys weren't singing from the same hymn sheet as me! Though you could call the ensuing pace as postal or full retard, and to be fair we held it together far a good while until a long climb just before Bovingdon saw the club group get broken up by traffic. Sadly for me all the other green jerseys had had kept clear of the chaos on the hill and were hammering along the false flat past Chesham onto Great Missenden. That left me chasing like mad much to the delight of all and sundry sucking on my wheel. With legs starting to fade I got a shout from behind, RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT I just overshot a tight turn into an ascent only to see everyone I had been towing disappear into to the sun. You should have heard my language, even the leaves fell off the trees! Still I'd put in a stint that would do me good later. Heading towards the Lee I caught up with Stuart, I think the second casualty of the pace? and for a moment I had a wheel to share. Then I made a schoolboy error, confusing a through road with a junction on a hill I changed down whilst braking, then realizing I was on a crossroads sprinted across. SNAP my chain broke. I waved Stuart on and the whole world cycled past as I fixed the chain (carry a quick link folks) Job done I was on my way again. Reaching Buckland Common I almost caught a few more riders from the fast group. Though try as I might I chased and chased through Berkhamsted through Tring and to the base of Toms Hill I couldn't get on. All the solo chasing had now taken it's toll, and stupidly I chose not to eat all ride. So I had to weave up Toms Hill, a cheery Slapton Wheelers rider went past but I couldn't keep on his wheel either. So with Toms Hill done it was a case of going as quick as to Ringshall before turning left to summit the Beacon. And once over the beacon it is downhill ALL THE WAY home to event HQ in Edlesborough. Back at HQ we stopped to chat about pace, incidents and generally how good the whole ride was. I think that this is now my favorite reliability trial. Thank you Luton CC. So after tea and cake, the clubmans staple we rode off home, well back to Energié to cross the T's and dot the I's. Great stuff......virtual handshakes all round.