11th September - Long Hill - Buxton.
Long Hill saw a large entry - almost double last years with 71 starters. This course will be used for the National Champs at the end of October so there were some quality entrants including National Champion 2010 Tejvan Pettinger (Sri Chinmoy Racing Team). The conditions were extremely blustery with head/sidewinds for most of the course with some assistance for a short section then a block headwind for the final steepest section. Times, as a result were much slower than last week.
The 4.4 mile course was covered in 13 minutes 49 seconds by winner Tejvan Pettinger (over 19 mph - incredible under these conditions), followed by 2 riders representing European teams.
Daniel Stevens finished a very creditable 9th in 15:09, turning the tables on some old adversaries (17.58 mph)
Mark Stevens finished 44th in 17:42 and Brian Boyle 55th in 19.06 (try Rock instead of Disco in the headphones Bri).
Note to self, always ride straight back to HQ rather than the scenic route (decided to do a loop of Goyt Valley on way back and chain snapped leaving me stranded. In the unlikely event of being spotted walking up the hill in my socks and club jersey wheeling my bike I know it would have left an unfavourable impression of the cycling ability of the mighty Liverpool Century. I hope I have not brought too much shame on the club!
Next challenge - a week off followed by Cat and Fiddle 25th September.
Regards
Mark Stevens
