Wednesday December 05, 2007
Jen Crosby's Racing BlogBlogging my first race season.... |
Wednesday December 05, 2007
Sadly, this is the last entry I'll make on this blog, as I'm leaving the company tomorrow. I'm not sure how much racing I'll be doing next year yet - I'm still really trying to regain my confidence on the bike, and until I know what's happening with my job I won't really be able to make a commitment. I'm hoping I'll get at least a couple of rounds in, as I don't really seem to be able to stay away, but we'll see ;o) My main reason for this posting though, is to say a huge thank you to those who have followed my escapades on the bike over the past couple of years. I've been amazed how many people seem to have followed my progress, and knowing that people are reading and also supporting me with their kind words, has been a massive lift and encouragement in the bad times and the good. So thank you all again, and I wish you all the best of luck in your future ventures. :o) ( Dec 05 2007, 03:43:22 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [2]Monday September 24, 2007
The trackday went brilliantly! I was, as expected, incredibly nervous before I went out, but with the sighting laps under my belt I felt just great. My bike was running perfectly (thanks Andy!) and I got back on as if nothing had ever happened. I had my knee down within a couple of sessions, and felt great on the bike. Admittedly, I was plenty slower than when I last rode, but I wasn't pushing at all as the intention was to just get used to being on the bike again. I did the morning sessions, but by the end of the last one my back was starting to get very painful. It was ok while riding, but as soon as I stepped off the bike I could barely walk! I took some painkillers, but in the end did very few laps in the afternoon, not wanting to push, and being happy with the work I'd done already. I came away grinning, so excited that I can still ride the thing! I was so petrified that I'd get back onto the bike and hate it, be too scared to ride and just not be able to do anything. It would break my heart to hate something I've been so passionate about for so long - saying it like that makes it sound a bit ridiculous that that fear would even be a factor, but that's how it felt. But thankfully it just wasn't the case - I loved being back on my bike again! So much so that I've put in an entry for the racing at Brands this coming weekend... ;oP Massive thanks to Toby and Nick who helped me loads to get the bike ready very late the night before, and were incredibly supportive all day. Thanks guys! ( Sep 24 2007, 01:07:45 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [2]Tuesday September 11, 2007
Well, the time has finally come. This Thursday, I'm heading to Brands Hatch with Toby to ride my ZXR for the first time since the crash. Andy P has been an absolute superstar, he's rebuilt the bike for me, putting the engine in a new frame and building it all back up again. There's a few little jobs left for me to do, but otherwise we're good to go. We started her up for the first time last weekend, and my god was that a sweet sound to hear! I can't wait to be hearing her scream at 12k again as I fly round Brands!! :o) As I guess you might imagine, I'm incredibly excited about riding again. For the past 4 and a half months I've been going to race meetings and trackdays, and as much as I love watching, I've been longing to be out there myself. I can visualise and imagine how it feels to ride, and I feel that buzz in my tummy when I think about it, and I can't wait to have that feeling again. Of course, on the flip side, I'm absolutely petrified. It's been over 4 months since I've ridden any bike, and I'm nowhere near as fit or strong as I was. What if I can't ride because it hurts (I don't think it will, but who knows)? What if the bike feels really different? What if I'm just rubbish?? As much as I know I need to just relax and go enjoy being able to do what I love, I can't help but put pressure on myself. I guess that's the nature of being a racer. Rationally I know that I need to ease myself in, and just enjoy being back out there - at the end of the day, it could so easily have been the case that I may never have been able to do this again. But of course, in the back of my mind, constantly being pushed back, is the thought of me crashing again. It's amazing how vivid the memory of that crash still is when I let it come into my head, and if I let it appear at the track, I know I won't be able to ride at all. I honestly don't know how I'm going to reconcile that until I get there. I guess I just need to hope that the excitement of riding again will squash the memories that I want to keep buried. So, armed with new leathers, new back protector and lid, and a rebuilt bike, I'll be there, riding, in 2 days time. Oh my god. ( Sep 11 2007, 10:28:25 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkMonday June 11, 2007
So, I'm walking again! I went to the physio last Wednesday, and took my first tentative steps in nearly seven weeks with the aid of the parallel bars in the physiotherapy gym. I actually welled up as I took them, it was indescribably amazing to be walking again. It was also nowhere near as hard as I thought it was going to be! My legs are really very weak, and my muscles, particularly in my lower back and in my calves are incredibly tight. That's by far the mostly uncomfortable thing I've had to contend with. There's no pain from my pelvis anywhere, although I can feel that the ligaments are weak and stretched as it's quite easy to overbalance, so I need to take things fairly slowly. So now starts the next stage of my recovery - walking with the crutches. But I feel so much better about things - I feel much more able and positive about life. I really feel like I'm now truly recovering, making progress. I feel ready to take on so much! Possibly too much, and I'm often reminded by my friends that I need to take things slowly, and make sure I'm healing up right. And I know they're right, I'm just excited. I even sat on a bike on the weekend (I was helping out with bleeding the brakes). Man did that feel good.... I can't wait to be ready to ride again. When the time comes, it's going to be an incredible buzz to be back out there. ( Jun 11 2007, 07:29:33 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [2]Saturday June 02, 2007
So here I am, 6 weeks and one day on from the accident. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions, and there's still more to come I'm sure. Being in a wheelchair has been pretty mad - it was certainly a novelty to begin with; I was so determined to be as independant as I could, and make sure that coping was no problem. Getting around the house has been ok - with the bedroom being relocated to the dining room there was no problem there. Red and Ben have been amazing, and have done everything to make sure I'm comfortable. The first day on my own, with them at work was a bit scary and lonely, but I knew I'd be able to manage. So often Red would come home after work and I'd be able to tell her about something else I'd managed to do that day that I couldn't do before. My strength has returned pretty quickly to be honest. Red would come home after work and take me out shopping, just so I could get out of the house, and they'd always make an effort to get me to wherever they might be going, no matter how much hassle it seemed. And so, thanks to my friends, without being able to stand, walk, or go anywhere without my wheelchair, I've been to trackdays, race meetings, dinners and barbeques over the past few weeks, which has been brilliant. For the first couple of weeks I was still regaining strength, my stomach muscles and my legs, even though I wasn't putting weight on them, were pretty useless, and it was hard work moving about at all. But as I've grown stronger, particularly in the last week or so, I've become increasingly frustrated with being in the wheelchair and being stuck at home. As a consequence I've become a bit grumpy, and snappy, and I feel horrible because of it. I've not been the easiest person to live with for the past 10 days or so, I'm sure, and I want to apologise to Red and Ben for that. I feel like I've been selfish, and self-absorbed. People say that I'm entitled to feel a bit down, and that I'm handling it well, I've been through a lot, but to me there's no excuse for it. My friends have been the largest part of my recovery, and I should never, ever give them grief, after everything they've done, so I'm very, very sorry for being such a pain in the @rse. I saw the consultant at the hospital last week, and I've now been referred to a physio to get me on crutches next week. It's brilliant news, getting on crutches is the thing I've been looking forward to it for weeks because it feels to me like I'll have a whole lot more independence back. I should be able to get out and about, walk to the shops at the end of the road, get the bus into town or the train to see friends. The wheelchair is hugely restrictive with that – curbs, and even the slightest hill makes it really difficult to get about. Just the logistics of getting anywhere on your own – a single step into a pub or a shop or a restaurant mean I always need someone to be there. I have a whole new realisation of what it's like for people who are permanently in a wheelchair. The planning it seems to require to do anything is phenomenal, and frustrating. So I'm looking forward to the crutches. I'm sure I'll get annoyed with them too after the 6 weeks I'm supposed to be on them, but at least I'll feel like I'm getting somewhere, and doing something. Walking will be a challenge, sitting in a chair just doesn't feel like progress. Being the impatient and stubborn soul I am at the moment, I decided that as the consultant said it was time for me to start weight bearing I'd do just that. Now I know he meant to wait for the physio, but... I stood up for the first time in 6 weeks. It was a very very strange feeling. My muscles are definitely weaker, but it wasn't painful, nor difficult. It felt odd being at a different height again, everything looked different. It feels almost like my centre of gravity is lower somehow, I'm not sure how to explain it. Once stood I can't move (well, I'm too worried to), even twisting a little from my hips feels unstable, and I suspect it would be very easy to over balance and fall over. I think I'll wait for the physio for anything more challenging. But each time I stand it feels easier (I've been doing it a few times a day), and I'm really excited about trying to walk. I've wondered whether this whole experience has changed my outlook on life. It's something I've thought a lot about – that crash was the closest I've ever been to not making it through something. So does it make me want to live my life differently? I'm still undecided on how it's affected me. I guess at the moment I'm just keen to work on my recovery. But having said that I have the urge to do some things I've not done before, or I've always wanted to do, and I guess that's got to be fallout from the whole experience. I don't know, I'll have to think more on that one. Well that's probably enough ramblings – I have far too much time to think these days. I'll no doubt post once I'm on my feet (and crutches). ( Jun 02 2007, 09:32:58 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [1]Monday May 14, 2007
Long time no write again, but I promise this time I have a good excuse. As I mentioned in my last entry, I went to Cadwell Park to instruct on a trackday. I didn't manage to get home again for two weeks. Red and I travelled up the night before, and set ourselves up in the collecting area. In the morning, all was going well, we'd done the sighting laps, and I'd been out in the fast group for a couple of sessions to have a play, as no one had asked for any instruction. In the final fast session before lunch I went out again, wanting to put some good flying laps in. A few laps in, coming down the back straight at the top speed of the bike, I approached Park bend. As I reached the braking point, I went for the brake lever....and it wasn't there. I reached for it again, assuming I'd just missed it, but it had completely disappeared! Time slowed for a while, as I realised that this was going to be a big crash. I thought about how I could slow the bike down – but in the end I realised the best bet would be to make a tactical dismount. As the bike ran onto the grass, I took a deep breath. I had no idea how this would turn out but I knew it wasn't likely to be great... I threw the bike to the left, and myself to the right, landing on the ground still travelling at over 100mph. The next thing I remember was lying wedged under the tyre wall. My right leg was trapped between two tyres about a foot up and I could feel the full weight of the wall on top of me. Within seconds a marshal was stood above me, and I begged him to get the tyres off me, but he said he couldn't until the medics arrived. Thankfully they arrived in mere seconds it seemed. I knew immediately I'd broken my pelvis – I could feel it straight away, but I also had a lot of pain in my back, and in my right leg, which was still trapped in the tyre wall. The medics got to work really quickly, and freed my leg which relieved some of the pressure on my twisted pelvis, but it was absolute agony when they tried to straighten my leg to get me on the spine board. One of the poor medics had to sit for ages holding my leg up while they sorted the rest of me out!! They of course gave me plenty of morphine to try and help me out, which kept me going for sure, but it sure as hell hurt. I was apparently at the side of the circuit being attended to for about 40 minutes. Red had been brought up to see me, bless her she looked white as a sheet, but it was wonderful to see a familiar face, even though the medics were amazing. They'd called an air ambulance out for me, which arrived fairly promptly, and thy finally had to get me to straighten my leg out for transporting me. So that hurt a lot!! Once on the board I was relatively comfortable, and well morphined up, and they loaded me into the helicopter to go to Lincoln County hospital. Red followed along in the van, and met me in A&E. A&E was a complete blur of people – so many coming in and out of my vision which was massively restricted by the fact that I was fully strapped in round my neck and back. Lots of questions, lots of talking about me in the background. They X-rayed me on the table there, which I could thankfully pretty much ignore (I have a bit of a phobia of scans and X-rays), and due to the damage to my pelvis they then put me in a special brace which tightened round my pelvis to hold it in place. They also said I'd need to go for a CT scan.... which I immediately freaked about! I told the doctor I was really scared of having the scan, and they tried to reassure me, but I knew I'd have to go through with it, obviously! 15 minutes with a machine around my head, chest and pelvis, making horrible churning noises and making me feel sick was not the highlight of the day! I was pretty glad for the huge amount of morphine I'd been given, and I just closed my eyes and tried to go to a happy place! The scan showed indication of a fractured vertebrae in my lower back, although they were quite happy that it was pretty stable. The doctor also told me that my pelvis wasn't going to to need surgery as it was primarily ligament damage, and that I'd be transferred to a ward. I was very relieved about not needing surgery, I've never been under general anaesthetic and I'm totally petrified of it! Red was with me all the way through A&E and up to the ward, and she'd managed to call all the people that needed to be told, so that was a big task out of the way, thanks hun! I was put onto Stow ward, and was left to rest for the night once it was made sure I was comfortable. In the morning I was already fed up of having to be flat on my back and unable to see anything in the ward around me. My back was still hurting a lot, and I was on regular pain killers through the night. Fairly early on the consultant that had been assigned to me, along with his team of about 8 other doctors, came by and drew the curtains around the bed. It was pretty intimidating, a whole load of people stood around me taking notes and staring, all only just within my vision with me still being flat on the bed. The consultant explained that my pelvis was indeed broken, and that they'd have to operate on me to plate it back into place. As soon as I heard that, I didn't really hear anything else he was saying. I was absolutely petrified at the thought of having to have surgery, and I was desperately trying to choke back my tears while there were still so many people around me. Once they'd left, I cried for ages, feeling like a right wimp, but just totally overwhelmed by it all. They scheduled me in for surgery that morning, and I was wheeled in about 11.30, in tears yet again, much to the distress of Red and Greg who came as far as they could with me. Once they left me, one of the ward nurses Natalie looked after me, and she did a great job of trying to calm me down. The consultant came to see me before I went into the anaesthetic room to see if I had any questions – which I did seeing as I wasn't in much of a fit state when I'd seen him earlier that morning! With my questions answered, he also informed me that the suspected broken vertebrae was actually not broken after all, which was great news! Then it was off to be anaesthetised, and I was ridiculously worried. I guess not surprisingly, it was all over very quickly – the anaesthetist was great, and next thing I knew I was back in my bed in the ward. I pretty much slept the whole day while the anaesthetic wore off, but when I woke up properly, the difference was amazing. The pain from my pelvis had completely gone – the only discomfort was the wound where they'd cut me open. I was really stiff and sore all over though, and I didn't have any strength or muscle in my legs to be able to move them. I've done quite a bit of muscle and tendon damage to my right leg, although it's slowly regaining strength now. So then started the epic two weeks in hospital. Red and Greg both stayed up for a few days, and my sister and niece, and friends Kat, Mike and Vikki stopped by to visit. It was lovely to have familiar faces around, especially being so far from home! After a couple of day the doctor gave me the ok to sit up in bed, which was a huge relief, and finally I could see the rest of the ward and talk to people! I was told that it would be expected that I'd be out of bed and into a chair (not walking, but transferring using my arms) by the end of the week. It was little stuff like that that kept me going during the week, knowing that I had something to look forward to. The other thing that I was excited about was that Bemsee were up racing that weekend, so I'd be able to see all my friends, and get updates on the racing as it happened. Somewhat annoyingly I was massively disappointed by the doctors who decided that I'd not be able to get out of bed that week after all. My consultant was away for the latter part of the week, and basically the junior doctor didn't want to make the call to say I'd be ok to get into the chair. I was really gutted, as I'd been desperate to finally get out of the bed, I'd been stuck in it for a whole week by then! The weekend finally came though, and my friends at Cadwell did a great job of keeping me informed of how the racing was going. It was horrible not being there though, I hate missing race meetings! I had visits from loads of people, which was lovely. On Saturday evening Toby, Nick, Greville, Greg P, Red, Ben, Pat, Vikki, Andy and Steve turned up – I was so pleased to see them all! They'd only managed to get there at about 8.20, after sorting themselves out after racing, and visiting hours finished at 8.30, so I was worried it was only going to be a short visit, but the fantastic nurses offered to wheel me in my bed out to a side ward, where we wouldn't disturb the other patients, and they let everyone stay as late as they liked. We even ordered in pizza!! My stomach was absolutely killing me from laughing, and it felt great to be smiling so much again. It was a fantastic evening, and lifted my spirits so much – thanks a million to all of my wonderful mates!
Finally on Monday the consultant came and told me that I could transfer to a chair with the help of the physios. It was just fantastic being able to get out of bed!! I could finally go and have a shower as well, something I'd been going on about to the poor nurses all week! That first shower was the nicest I've ever had I think, being wheeled under the hot water was just heaven!! I could also spend the day sat in a chair next to the bed, which although I found a little uncomfortable after a few hours, at least meant I could eat sitting up properly. The consultant also told me that I'd be coming back down to Bournemouth finally, as long as the physios and the occupational therapists were happy with everything. During the whole conversation with him I assumed he meant I'd been transferred to a hospital down here, but in fact he meant for me to actually come home!! I was pretty confused as to how all that would work, especially when he explained that I'd be unable to weight bear (i.e. stand or walk) for another 6 weeks! He explained that I'd be in a wheelchair for that time, followed by another 6 weeks on crutches after that, and that the occupational therapists would sort out how it would all actually come together to be possible in a practical sense. I must admit, I was over the moon at the prospect of coming home, being able to see my friends down here at home instead of in hospital, and just generally feeling more comfortable with being out of hospital. I called Red straight away, babbling away excitedly, not really even clocking what this would mean for her and Ben in terms of the house, and looking after me. She was worried about how we'd manage, how I'd get around and stuff, but once I'd spoken to the Occupational Therapist, I explained to Red how it would all work ok. Once I'd seen the physios too I felt a lot better. They showed me how to transfer myself from the bed to the chair on my own, and were happy that I was strong enough to manage just fine. It felt like a long week, just waiting to get everything sorted so I could come home. Apart from the wheelchair, there was some other equipment that had to get sorted before my arrival. Between the OT and Red, we had it all arranged so that it would all be there by Friday, and I'd been told by the discharge nurse that they would be able to have an ambulance take me home on Saturday. At the very last minute though that fell through, and I was left on Thursday thinking that I might have to stay another whole weekend before getting home. I was pretty upset – I had my heart set on getting home now, and each day was getting more and more frustrating. But, to the rescue came Pixie Pete. Pete is a St Johns Ambulance man, who does a huge amount with Bemsee, and in true Bemsee-looking- after-it's-members style, Pete fixed it so that he and a colleague would come and get me on Friday afternoon and bring me back home to Bournemouth. I'm massively grateful to Pete and Ian for coming to pick me up – I know it was a big undertaking, coming from Brands to Lincoln, then to Bournemouth and back up to Brands all in one day – that is a lot of driving!! Im so grateful to them both, it was amazingly kind of them. Coming
home was amazing. Red and Ben rushed out when I arrived, Red with
glass of red wine in her hand for me!! They'd put up a big 'Welcome
Home Jen' banner outside too!! So there were have it – I'm a week on since I came home now, and I'm managing pretty well really. I've actually been surprisingly busy with various bits and pieces! I even managed to get to Brands Hatch this weekend for the racing thanks to Ben and Steve for helping me get there, and thanks to everyone, but especially Steve, Toby, Pat and Vikki for helping me out during the weekend. It meant a lot to be there, and I had an absolutely brilliant time! The next step is to see a consultant at Poole hospital in about 3 weeks time for a follow up appointment, and he'll then refer me to a physio, and I'll hopefully be set to get on my feet with the crutches!! I can't wait!! I know I've mentioned a fair few people already, but I want to say thank you again to some of them. For starters, the marshals and medics at Cadwell Park, who did an amazing job; also the air ambulance crew and all the A&E staff who looked after me so well when I was absolutely petrified of everything. I owe a huge thank you to all of the staff on Stow ward in Lincoln Hospital – they work incredibly hard, doing work I could never do under extreme pressure. They seem to have the utmost patience with people, some of whom don't always seem to be grateful for what is being done for them, and their compassion and kindness is second to none. I can't say thank you enough for looking after me so well in the two weeks I was there. Thank you to all of my visitors, and those who sent cards and left messages on the forum, believe me, things like that kept me sane!! Pete and Ian, and indeed Bemsee for helping me to get home. I think the biggest thanks has to go to Red though – she's an amazing person, who I'll forever be grateful to for everything she's done over the past few months for me. Thank you!!!! ( May 14 2007, 03:42:41 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [4]Thursday April 19, 2007
Tonight Red and I are heading off to Cadwell for a trackday tomorrow where we're both instructing on the 400s. I haven't been to Cadwell for a while, and it's not one of my strongest circuits, so I'm looking forward to some quality time on it. I suspect my performance on track tomorrow will dictate whether I put an entry in for next weeks race round there. What I really need to get out of the day is the "grin factor" - I'm hoping some time in the fast group with Red will spur us both on! In other news, I've also now got myself a road bike! Yes, after two and half years riding solely on race tracks, I'm back out in the big bad world of cars and road furniture. I haven't actually ridden it yet, I'm getting it MOT'd on Saturday, and all going well it will be whizzing me up to work on Sunday morning. The bike is a Honda Bros 400 - very, very kindly supplied by Toby, who is, as usual, the bestest. :o) I'm looking forward to having a bike again, although I am a touch apprehensive about my road riding skills now it's been so long. I'm hoping it'll come back to me easily, like er, riding a bike. I also managed to get myelf over to Poole Quay last Tuesday, a big bike meet that goes on every week in the summer. I went with a friend, Justin, who's just passed his test and bought himself a Hornet 600. It was cool wandering around looking at the bikes, brings back memories of Boxhill in my younger days. It's probably a good place for me to go meet people too, I'll have to try and get there again when I can. Next time hopefully I'll get to actually go on a bike! ( Apr 19 2007, 09:14:22 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkWednesday April 18, 2007
Snetterton Report - spectating, not racing :o( It was with slightly mixed feelings that I set off for Snetterton on Friday afternoon with Ben – I was really looking forward to a weekend's racing, but I knew once I got there and saw it all I'd be wanting to get out and race. Whatever though, I was determined to have a good weekend – the weather forecast looked great, and the racing was bound to be good, and for once I'd actually get to see the boys at the front of the Superbike400 do their thing instead of missing it all while racing myself. We picked up Toby en route and arrived at Snetterton pretty late on Friday night, so after a quick run up to the bar to say hello to everyone, I got my bed setup in Greg P's van (thanks Greg!) pretty quick so I could head off to sleep. Saturday morning saw the circuit covered in mist, but it soon cleared and turned into a gorgeous sunny day! All of the usual guys were set up near each other – Nick, Greg, Oli and Pat in the garage, and Andy and Steve in an awning just outside, and everyone seemed to get out in practice and feel reasonably good out there. The 400s were out in race 2 – and it was all of the 400s, SBK, Clubman and Rookie, so there were a lot of riders I wanted to see! Andy had asked me to do his pit board – I've not done one before so was a bit apprehensive. I asked Vikki to help me out, which turned out to be very amusing throughout the weekend as she had a bet on that Pat would finish ahead of Andy in all of the races, so it all got a bit competitive between us!! Doing the pit board turned out to be quite tricky, especially as so many of the changes in track position happen in the last corner, not giving a lot of time to get the board changed! So I apologise to Andy for the number of times I got it wrong! It was kinda fun doing it though, although the downside was I seemed to miss everything else that was going on, as I was concentrating on where Andy was each time! Race one saw some good results for our guys, 3rd for Pat, 4th for Steve and 6th for Andy. By lunchtime it was pretty hot outside, and everyone was out chilling in the sunshine. I love meetings like that – the sun just adds to the atmosphere, and the mood in the paddock is just brilliant. We were all sat in pit lane just reading magazines and chatting, it was great! Having said that, I was desperate to be out on track – if I'd had my bike there I would have paid my money there and then to enter! Race two had everyone worried, as a sidecar had dumped oil round from turn one, all the way down the back straight, on the racing line for both turn one and two. It showed in the lap times that it was causing problems – everyone was a bit slower. It was a good race though, with Pat grabbing another 3rd, and Andy and Steve battling it out for 4th and 5th. All of the riders seemed very unimpressed with the oil spill though, it always kinda ruins things. Saturday night we all piled into Pat's van and drove into town to get some food in a local pub. It was a good night, everyone seemed to have a laugh and enjoy themselves. Sunday morning again brought the mist, but by 9am it had cleared and was already getting warm. I'd caught the sun a fair bit on Saturday, and it was obvious it was going to be a scorcher Sunday, so I made sure there was some sun cream to hand! Steve decided to take his spare bike out for a run in practice after making some changes to it having put it on the dyno on Saturday, but came back in having had it cut out on him for some unknown reason – we were hoping he wouldn't have to end up riding it! Everyone else seemed happy enough, and ready for the days racing, although the oil line was still there from the day before, and was still causing grief. Race one saw Andy finally get the better of Pat (unlucky Vikki! ;o) with Andy getting 4th, Pat 5th. Steve DNF'd due to a problem with the bike – it was only firing on 3 cylinders, so the boys all set about working on the bike to try and find the problem. After hours of work, they still couldn't work out why it wasn't running right, so they dropped out the engine and gave it to Bob Farnham to look at during the week. Having had problems with the spare, it was a little worrying that Steve would need to now ride it, but with little choice he lined up on the back of the grid on it. I was pretty occupied with Andy's pit board again, and a proper good race was developing between him and Pat again, causing me a Vikki to get silly and competitive again! Steve made a blinding start, but it wasn't until much later in the race that I realised how much ground he'd made up! He'd got his way up to 6th, and had he had another lap would have almost certainly got Phil Polden for 5th – absolutely blinding ride Steve! He also managed to smash his best lap time, putting in an impressive 1:16.7. Not at all bad for the spare bike which seemed not to be running properly in the morning! Meanwhile, Andy and Pat were properly battling it, and swapped places on the final couple of laps. Approaching the final chicane on the last lap, Pat was leading Andy, much to Vikki's delight, only to be outbraked by Andy on the entry to the sound of my very loud cheering(and Vikki's groan of disappointment!) - he definitely had it into the chicane, and was looking spot on for getting fired out, but then just gave it too much gas on the exit, and lost the rear!! I couldn't believe it!! Thankfully he got up and was ok, but what a race! It was a real shame, he'd done all the hard work to get the place, only to lose it at the last minute – gutted for you mate! It was a fantastic race though, I really enjoyed it! Greg P didn't have much luck either – his engine went bang (again!) in lap 2, can't believe it's happened again, that sucks. :o( Other congrats go to Radka, for getting 3rd in the Clubman 400 on Sunday afternoon; Max for taking a full set of Rookie wins again, and also getting high up enough to have scored SBK points – good effort, especially for your first time at the circuit! Also good results from Simon too! Well done to Greg for putting in some great lap times before the bike blew up. Oli took a whole heap of trophies home from the Clubman 600 too, and Nick was flying, despite not being allowed to complete the races, he looked like he had a blast! Also massive well done to Shaun Jones for his debut races in the Minitwins – Shaun is the guy who I donated my rookie bib too, and he did himself absolutely proud picking up his first championship points having started the weekend in 36th on the grid. I'm very proud of you, and the grin said it all!! So all in all, a great weekend – I really enjoyed myself. I've come away with a half decent bit of a tan, and a new need to get back out on track. Next outing on the bike is Cadwell where I'm instructing on Friday. While I'm not currently entered for the following weekend's racing there, I'll see how I get on on the trackday and make a decision from there. I am definitely feeling the need to race again now...I don't like missing rounds much! ( Apr 18 2007, 07:08:41 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkTuesday April 17, 2007
Late!! Lydden Hill Race Report I've put off writing this report so long – partly because I've been stupidly busy, and internetless at home, but perhaps mostly because I didn't fancy reliving the weekend much. I'll try and remember the details... I actually quite like riding Lydden; it seems to be one of those love it or hate it circuits, but I find it quite a lot of fun. The test day was no different – I had an absolutely fantastic day! The sun was shining, the bike was running well, and I felt brilliant riding it. I started off fairly steady, the track was really cold to start with, but gradually worked my way through the morning sessions feeling more and more confident. By the end of the very first session I'd managed to knock a second off my previous best lap time around the track, and by the end of the morning I'd managed to put in a few 45s, a full 3 seconds quicker than last year! I was flying, and feeling amazing on the bike, and I was massively excited about racing on the weekend. We all had Friday to chill out, and Pat kindly let us head over to his house to grab a shower and watch some telly. It was a welcome rest, but I was properly chomping at the bit to get out and race now I felt so confident. Saturday morning came, and I headed out for a cold practice session. I was hoping it would dial me straight in, but it really wasn't a great session at all. I don't know whether it was just that it was cold, but I was only putting in 48s, and just didn't feel as confident for some reason. I tried to put it out of my head and think about the race ahead. Gridded 16th, so not too bad, although I wasn't too happy about being on the inside for turn one. The track was damp, it had started to drizzle but it definitely wasn't worth putting on the wets. Lights on, lights off, and I made a pretty good start off the line, and managed to dive up the inside of lots of riders, getting myself in the middle of the pack nicely. Made it round turn one and headed into Chessons, but two riders went down in front of me. They were out of the way causing me no trouble, and I saw a space ahead which I needed to head for quick. Too quick. I whacked open the throttle, and before I knew it the back was round on me and I was sliding across the grass. My first thought as I was sliding was for my collarbone: I'd not gone down on my shoulder thankfully, and I could feel as soon as I stopped moving that I hadn't hurt it. I'd gone down on my arse a little hard though, and I'd managed to slam my hands into the floor too, so they were tingling a bit oddly. I got up behind the tyre wall and watch as the marshall collected my bike, but I couldn't really see the extent of the damage as it was on the other side. I was feeling a bit shaky, and shaken, but I was perfectly ok, and on the plus side, it meant I got to watch the race! I realised the crashers in front of me had been Adam Lyon and Greg P – his first ever crash! Thankfully they were both ok too though :o) I was properly annoyed with myself for stacking it so early, and not allowing myself to utilise all the good work I'd put in on the practice day. The bike was looking a bit broken as well – apparently it had caught in the grass and flipped a bit. Obviously the fairing was all broken, the screen, the fairing bracket was bent, bent exhaust, broken clipon, broken throttle parts, and worst of all, my nice shiny lovely PVM master cylinder (very kindly lent to me by Rob) didn't look in too good a state either. I started to try and get things off to assess the full extent of the damage, and see whether I had enough spares to try and get out again in the second race. Before I knew it, Aaron was on the case, and pulling bits off to fix – what a superstar! We changed over the brakes for a standard master cylinder, and swapped all the rest of the broken bits. It was looking increasingly unlikely that I'd get out in time for the next race, but Aaron persevered despite my protests – in the end I think he and about 5 others were working on my bike to get me back out in time! I owe a massive thanks to Greg P for lending me his spare fairing, and to Steve for lending me the throttle parts from his spare bike. And thanks to everyone who helped on the bike – but the biggest thanks has to go to Aaron for being a proper amazing superstar. Seriously, you're incredible mate! We got the bike down to scrutineering, and I went straight to collecting from there – that's how close it was with the timing!! It was definitely wet by now, and the bike had the wets on. I don't mind riding in the wet really, so I wasn't worried, although I was a bit flustered from trying to get myself and the bike back out in time. Starting from the back, I made a pretty rubbish start, but was ready to try my best and try and get a good race out of it. It was going ok, but my visor started to steam up really badly – to the point that I really couldn't see, particularly coming into the braking zone for the left hander. I was torn – I was finding riding really hard, I couldn't see, and to be honest my head was more messed up than I'd thought it would be from the crash, but I didn't want to let everyone down after they'd worked so hard on the bike! I pulled in in the end, I just couldn't end up crashing for a second time, especially with Greg's fairing on. Very disappointing though. Saturday night we all went out to a local pub to celebrate Red's birthday. It was a cool night, enjoyed by all I think! And thankfully, being Lydden, racing didn't start until lunchtime on Sunday, so we all enjoyed a lovely lie in. Sunday was dry, and the sun was threatening to shine. I really needed to get my head sorted and show what I could actually do but I wasn't sure how I was going to achieve it. Starting from the back again for race one, so no pressure off the start. I took off chasing Rob Pragnell, who I know I can beat round Lydden, but I just couldn't seem to ride. I just could not open the throttle properly, presumably scared of losing the back like I did on Saturday morning. It was ridiculous – I knew what I was doing wrong, but I just couldn't seem to put it right, it was so frustrating. I trailed around at the back, racing no one, and nearly got lapped. It was absolutely horrible. Race two in the afternoon was pretty much the same – I rode like a complete ****. I'm not even going to bother with more details than that – after such a fantastic start on the practice day I was bitterly disappointed with my performance. Definitely my worst race weekend to date. I decided not to race the next round, at Snetterton (report to follow – as a spectator of course), partly because of my head, but to be honest mostly because I'm skint. I'm not 100% sure when I'll be out again – I'd like to get out at Cadwell in two weeks time, but I really don't know how possible that's going to be. Watch this space, I'll let you know... ( Apr 17 2007, 07:12:46 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [1]Wednesday March 28, 2007
Lydden Hill - report coming soon i'm in the process of moving house at the moment, and I don't have internet access at the new place yet, so please bear with me, I'll be doing the writeup soon! A short summary would be - rubbish weekend. :o( ( Mar 28 2007, 07:37:11 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkWednesday March 21, 2007
Finally! Race Report - Brands Indy I can't believe it's nearly time to set off for Lydden when I haven't even managed to do this write up for Brands yet! My life has been somewhat hectic recently, so I just haven't had time to do it, I apologise. So, the first round of the year. I
spent all winter begging for the time to go quicker, I wanted to get
back to the paddock and onto that grid so badly, and finally it was
time again. As previously mentioned, I was somewhat gutted that I
hadn't got a spot on the practice day, but that did give me a few
freedoms I wouldn't otherwise have had. I spent Friday cleaning the
bike, getting new tyres fitted, changing the gearing and other little
maintenance tasks which I could carry out at my leisure instead of
having to rush about. No bad thing at all. I was sharing a garage
with all my friends – the LP racing guys, Oli, Pat, Aaron and the
Palmers, and James next door, and it was great to actually be there
with them instead of traipsing up the paddock for a natter every 5
minutes ;o) Red also came along for the whole weekend, driving up
with me in the van on Thursday night, and she was her usual superstar
self all weekend helping me with tyre warmers (apart from when she
burnt my front one out Saturday morning arrived in no time as usual, and I was dying to get out for practice, seeing as I hadn't actually done a lap around Brands since December! The session went ok – I was putting in vaguely decent times and I felt alright on the bike. I did feel distinctly like I'd missed out not riding the day before though – Saturday's session is usually just a tidy up from the day before, just getting those last minute concerns out of the way, but it felt like I had so much to do in so little time. With all the practice I was going to get now over, I was definitely looking forward to the racing, even though we were pretty late in the program and it wouldn't be for hours yet. I was gridded 18th out of about 30-ish riders, so was fairly happy with that. The usual race fear was kicking in good and early over lunch, and I was really itching just to get on with it. Finally we were called to collecting, and I sat on my mock grid spot with that familiar feeling of excitement mingled with trepidation. I'm not sure I really had any kind of plan together, I really just wanted to finish the race in one piece and try and get into the 55s with my laptimes. My fastest last year was a 54, so if I could manage 55s in the first round of the year I'd be happy. The scary thing is the boys at the front are doing 51s!! Not that I needed concern myself with what they were doing, my race was going on way back behind them. My start wasn't too bad, and I spent the first few laps chasing and finally overtaking my old sparring partner from Clubman 400, Rob Pragnell. Looking back my riding was a bit laughable to be honest – I think I'd forgotten how to handle the hecticness of a race, and my laps were very ragged and inconsistent. I actually felt like I'd ridden a bit like an idiot to be honest, it's not my style to be like that at all! I put it down to the long break though, and assured myself that the next race would be better. I finished in 18th, and managed to get into the 55s, so I wasn't too unhappy with that. It felt like race
two was ridiculously late in the day. The sun was already getting low
in the sky making some of the corners a little blind on the entry!
I'd made sure I'd been eating and drinking plenty to try and combat
my usual appalling afternoon performance and I was actually feeling
pretty good as we formed on the grid for the race. I made a good
start, and by lap two I found myself on the tail of James Williamson,
who to my surprise I managed to pass. I knew he'd not like that
very much and would be right on my back wheel, so I concentrated on
putting in some good smooth laps to try and keep him at bay. It
seemed to work – I felt a lot more in control in that race, getting
my markers sorted and being consistent, so although I actually didn't
beat my previous race's lap time, I felt like I'd ridden better, and
given myself a better chance of beating it at some point over the
weekend. I finished the race in 15th – which I was very
chuffed with – my first championship point! Saturday night was
spent in the bar, as you might expect! It was a good night – we
watched Steve and Andy pick up their well deserved trophies before
grabbing some food and starting on the bar. The usual dancing and
messing about shortly followed Sunday morning I decided it would be a good idea to get out for practice, and I think it helped me get my head in gear ready for the days racing. Race one had me getting a pretty rubbish start off the line, and getting pushed to the inside of the track for Paddock Hill. I tipped in for the corner and found a bike smacking right into my leg as he tried to pass me up the inside! It stopped me from getting on the power early enough as the bike settled itself down, so I lost a few places, but no harm done. The race felt a little hectic – Pat Mills crashed out (for the third time this weekend, poor guy!) in a rather big one at Surtees, and Rob Pragnell went out at Druids a couple of laps later and both of those crashes seemed to put me off my stride more than I'd have liked. But Rob's crash enabled me to close on James again, which gave me a bit of incentive to try harder and catch him. I was doing really well – closing on the brakes at Paddock and Druids – something which I'd never seemed to be able to do before – and I was getting to the stage where I was thinking about where I was going to put my move on him, but then I made a stupid mistake at Graham Hill, and just seemed to drop off after that for some reason. I couldn't get back on the back of him in the two or so laps we had left, so had to settle for where I was. Final position 18th, but I managed to beat my Saturday morning time, even though it was still only in the 55s. Sunday afternoon –
my worst race of the weekend traditionally and this didn't
disappoint. I was really tired and although I tried really hard to
make sure my head was sorted, I don't think I really achieved it.
I found myself just settling into a comfortable rhythm in the race,
never pushing hard enough to make much ground and challenge myself.
I pulled in a little bit disappointed with myself to be honest.
Final position 21st Overall through the weekend, I actually really enjoyed myself. I can't tell you how great it is to be back out on the grid again! It's a whole new challenge this year, and although I realise I have a lot of work to do yet, I'm not unhappy with the start I've made. I really have missed racing the bike, rather than just riding track days, over the winter – there's nothing like a race to make you feel like you're really riding a bike. I think the only
bad thing I can say about racing in the SBK400 class is that I don't
get to see the fantastic racing that goes on at the front. By all
accounts the class delivered some first class battles as usual, and I
missed them all! Huge congrats to Steve and Andy Palmer for some
stunning results, this year is going to be a great one for you guys,
that's abundantly clear. Also massive well done to my fellow rookie
graduates Greg and Gary, who put in some stunning results for their
first non-rookie race. My condolences go out to Pat Mills though,
who sadly didn't finish a single race this weekend due to some bad
luck with the bike. It was heart-breaking seeing him constantly
fixing up the bike after showing in practice how dominant he was
likely to be in the races. Somehow I don't think he'll let that get
the better of him though! I'd like to just point out while I still
can though that I'm ahead of him in the championship at the moment.
Sorry Pat So, next, to Lydden.... ( Mar 21 2007, 08:30:31 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkThursday March 08, 2007
It feels like an awfully long time since I've posted about getting ready to set off for a race weekend! The van is packed, I'm on an early shift at work, and this afternoon I'll be making the oft-driven trek to Brands Hatch for round one. My first year in the Superbike400 class, this is going to be a year of learning - less about getting trophys and more about beating my lap times and personal targets. And how do I feel about it all? Well it's completely different to how I felt this time last year - back then it was the prospect of being out there for the first time, experiencing something new and incredible. This year, I pretty much know what to expect - I've ridden with many of the racers on track with me, and I know the kind of lap times they're doing. On the one hand I'm really positive about it all - racing with faster riders will undoubtedly help me to improve, and I really want that to happen, and I'm sure I'll have some fantastic races this year. On the other hand, I'm going to be further down the grid, something which I think might be hard to swallow for a while. It would seem that the psychology of the second year is very different to the first. It's all too easy to think negatively about how my riding will be, but I'm determined that I should remain positive and focused. I know I can improve this year and prove to myself that I can achieve my goals. More than anything else, as ever, I'm going to make sure I have the time of my life and love being out there, and to be honest, I don't think I'll have too much trouble remembering that. Being around the paddock, hearing the bikes, it just sweeps me up in it all and I'm totally under it's spell again. Racing, as Rob so often reminds me, is ace. ( Mar 08 2007, 07:42:52 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink Comments [1]Wednesday March 07, 2007
Oh - I ought to mention, I've changed race numbers for this year. I'm now #34 instead of #43. Look after #43 for me Steve - I'm sure you'll do it justice ( Mar 07 2007, 09:43:43 AM GMT+00:00 )Permalink
Uh oh. I had a call from the race office yesterday saying that there was no room for me on the Brands test day this Friday!! When Tracey told me my stomach just knotted - I *really* need the practice!!! My first race in the Superbike 400 class, having not ridden in anger around Brands for months, with a new front end on the bike too, and I don't get any more practice than the 15 minute session on Saturday morning! PANIC! Ok, so now I've had a chance to let that sink in a little, and having whinged at a lot of my friends who've tried to reassure me, I guess it could be worse (somehow). At least I know Brands, better than any other circuit, and at least I have had *some* testing at Lydden. It also means I can spend Friday doing some of the stuff to the bike that I would otherwise have had to do on Thursday night. And I've saved about £100. And the forecast looks rubbish. Not to mention, there's nothing I can do about it anyway. I really need to learn to have some confidence in my ability, and be positive. Thank you to my friends for reminding me of that. ( Mar 07 2007, 09:39:12 AM GMT+00:00 )PermalinkTuesday March 06, 2007
After spending an evening at Toby and Ale's house on Friday night, the three of us set out for Lydden just after 6am. It's a long old trek down there, but we made it in pretty good time, and found ourselves at Lydden with time for a tea and a spot of breakfast before having to get out on track. It was very quiet as test days go, and thankfully we had no problem getting power for the tyre warmers and battery chargers; we were just hoping that it stayed dry as we didn't have a gazebo to shelter in! Despite it being absolutely freezing, the weather seemed like it was going to play ball, and we didn't get any rain throughout the day. I wasn't exactly nervous about testing, but I was concerned that I would need to put in some effort to try and at least *feel* like I was riding half decently. The first session was pretty slow - for one the track was stone cold meaning the grip was fairly bad, but also I just wanted to ease myself in a little. I pulled in from session one feeling ok, but I seemed to have forgotton how to use the brakes with anything other than a pathetic weedy and way-too-early effort. So that was aim number one for session two - set the braking markers and move them forward each lap. Brake hard!! The next couple of sessions were better, and I slowly wound up my speed and gradually got better on the brakes. I was trying to get on the throttle harder through Chessons Drift, the long right hander, and trying to make sure my body position was half decent. By the final session before lunch I was feeling much more confident, and I had a fantastic session having a good race with some of the other riders on track. That session finally gave me a little re-taste of what it's like to race - that need to get ahead of the guy in front, or get back the rider who just overtook you. I chased hard and made some good overtakes, and generally felt a lot better about the prospect of racing again! After lunch the sidecars joined the parade, with them going out in the first session. And sadly, one of them dumped oil all the way round Chessons Drift. By now the sun was out, and I was really getting into it, but that oil really put me right off my stride! It was reasonably avoidable, but it was just at the point where you want to get the power down in the corner, and the oil's presence meant that had to be delayed slightly. I just couldn't seem to get my head round it very well for some reason. I pulled in early from that session, having completed maybe 8 laps, and I did the same in the following session. I think partly it was just that I wanted to finish on the high of my last session before lunch, but I was also pretty tired, and found myself losing concentration. I really didn't want to be crashing the weekend before the first race! I skipped the final session and started to pack up just as it started to rain... All in all not a bad day, and it certainly gave me some much needed faith that I could actually still ride a bike. Big thanks to Toby and Ale for putting me up for a couple of nights, and well done to Toby for a really successful day's testing - you looked great out there!
( Mar 06 2007, 08:29:55 PM GMT+00:00 )Permalink |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
They'd totally sorted the house out
for me, and arranged to pick up my wheelchair too, so I had a bedroom
sorted downstairs all ready for me to move in to. Ben had even built
a ramp up to the back door for me, so I can even get in and out of
the house myself!! Everyone has been so supportive since I've been
back – I realise it's not a trivial thing having to look after
someone in a wheelchair, even if it's only temporarily. Red has been
a complete angel, going way beyond what I would have expected from
any friend – she is an absolute godsend.
) and paddock stands and generally keeping
my head together and keeping me calm.
