Cheyne court farm- 22nd November 2009

This was the last round of the Midwest Mcc championship. Due to having missed the last round in favour of the South West series, i'd lost my lead and had dropped down to 3rd, but it was still all to play for, and what with the torrential downpours we'd had all across the country this week, i'd knew that conditions would be tough this weekend no matter where you rode. I much prefer it when it's like that, probably due to fitness being my main asset and not my riding!

So it was a long drive up to Bath, it p*ssed down with rain for most of the journey and when i got there the usual 'will i make it into the field with my van' thought instantly entered my head as every blade of grass had been churned up into a sea of mud with all the traffic that had been wheel spinning on it. Thankfully i made it.

After signing on, i went to the pits which were ankle deep in sloppy mud, nice! I took a quick look at the 1st corner after the start as well, mud, mud, and er........................mud! To be honest i couldn't wait and in these conditions anything could happen (they certainly did to me anyway).

I met Pete and Dan Lawry up there who politely tried to blackmail me into joining the Kingston club next year! After a bit of a chat with the pair of them, it was back off to get changed and get myself kitted up.

So with the rain now subsided, it was onto the damp start line to wait for the flag to drop. Off we went then and i was probably about 5th heading into the first corner when 2 riders went down just to the side of me. I had to take avoiding action and almost come to a standstill as i got pushed to the outside which in turn let almost every bugger go past me. As i turned the corner i got splattered in the brown stuff following everybody as we hammered it through the first couple of muddy fields. I did make up a few places but i wasn't happy, and as i nailed the 'gasser' going up a mud infested climb trying to catch up the leaders, i lost it, and ended up on my arse. As i picked the bike up i wrenched my elbow and i knew straight away that it was bad, in fact i had to rest for a few minutes before i could carry on. When i got into the wooded section it was a real struggle, i couldn't hold on properly and in those conditions where you need a bit of strength to make it through all the mud and deep ruts, my arm wasn't good at all. I hit the deck again and had to pick the bike up again which in turn killed my elbow, and i had to take another rest.

I crawled back to the pits and took another breather and thought about doing another lap to see what would happen, i hate a DNF, and i'd have to be on my knees in order for me not to finish, and even then i'd try and drag myself over the line, but if you can't even hold onto the bars properly because of the pain, and with still 2 and half hours still to go, i knew it was over and i retired, gutted, bye bye any chances of winning the vets championship.

So it was long and rain infested drive home, and it just goes to show all about the highs and lows of racing.

Finishing position: DNF