Steve Dennis writes…
On Sunday I was lucky enough again to be chauffeured up to Essex to
ride the Unity CC 25 on the E9/25 starting at Writtle near Chelmsford.
(Actually I only entered it to get out of trundling up and down the A22
all morning in the ESCA 50).
Robin Johnson picked me up at 06.30 and we arrived well in time for
his start time of 8.48. I was off at 9 O’clock and was familiar with
this course having ridden it the previous two years.
It looked like it was going to be good day with warm sunshine and only
a slight breeze out of the north west. You start in a north westerly
direction so at least that got a bit of the head-wind out of the way
first off. The course then climbs steadily to a place called Leaden
Roding where you bear right at a mini roundabout to climb steadily
still through High Roding then decend to turn at Dunmow.
The next five miles were into a head-wind off your right shoulder till
you reached Leaden Roding again where I was flagged down at the
roundabout by the marshall because of an approaching car. My back wheel
locked up. Sod it – a new tub and all. After getting back into a rythmn
again, the next seven miles were a blast – reaching 42mph at one point,
eventually crossing the finish line in 52mins 56secs – a six minute
winning margin and new course record by 9 seconds.
Essex as been good to me so far this year. Let’s hope the luck
continues!
Robin didn’t have such a good day with sore legs from the previous
day’s 10 he could only manage 1:17:46.
