4hrs of Filthy Fun

With the worlds next weekend, my plan for this race was a nice 4hr cruise around a fun circuit in the dry, but you know what they say about plans....This was my first race on what will be my race bike for next weekend. When I left my house, it was overcast, but not raining, but as I got closer the race track, it was raining hard, and somewhat cooler than I may have expected. Thankfully I threw in a long sleeved jersey with my gear and it was quickly put to use. The conditions were muddy. The kind of conditions that got me into SS riding in the first place.

The race started under light rain conditions, and I started towards the front at quite a frantic pace. The Karingal circuit would be awesome in the dry, but in the wet, there are a number of tricky obstacles, especially the three wooden bridges. The conditions changed every lap, and was even worse as it dried a little and mud really tended to cake the tyres. I was looking for puddles just to wash my tyres. By the 5th lap, a couple of hills were unrideable for me because I had no grip. On the second last lap, my chain dropped of, but I managed to get it back on even-though I could not adjust the chain tensioner.

The last lap was a hoot as I realised I was not going to squeeze in another one and I pushed hard. I crossed the line 4hrs4mins having done 7 laps and no idea of position. I though I was 4th or 5th and was surprised when I was called as 3rd at the presentations. So all in all a top day out, no injuries.