Another (see Lakeland 100) event that was a case of fail, fail again, fail better (only I didn’t fail on the second attempts – but I love the phrase). I properly tore my calf muscle on the first climb in 2009. It went pop, I head a noise (like someone’s over-inflated tyre blowing) and felt a stab in my leg (that I thought was someone’s bars or similar hitting me. Even now I think the three things didn’t happen at the same time. Anyway – DNF, barely started. Hobbled down the hill. Got a lift back to the start. Hobbled up the Pen Y Ghent descent to witness Nick Craig scattering spectators as he chose to take a high line up a grass bank rather than the rocky chicane below that Jebb was on. It was the race winning movce. Fucking ace! Chapeau Nick (for that and some way bigger things). Anyways. Race done. Tail between legs (I’d talked some shite before hand). Off to lick wounds and reflect.

Reflected. Back. 2010. And this time, thanks to some determination on my part and some vital help from others (like being given a new front wheel when I pretzel’ed mine – going off course to be clever only to then hit a bloody great rock in a moorland ditch). Rode with a little more caution after that and finished. Yee ha – as they don’t say up north.