It was the last round of The Bog Trials and that can only mean one thing, burgers. As usual I had a nice long sleep on the way down to the race. When I awoke I was surprised to see the sun was shining. As was becoming tradition, we stopped to get some doughnuts on the way which we share with the other riders. I was a little worried that they were going to melt (or worse still be eaten by Josh). I used the rest of the journey to catch up on some reading.
When we got there we put on our kit, unloaded the bikes and cycled down to the start line to collect our race numbers. I lead Molly and Josh on a pre ride of the course. The pace was high so I think someone must have had their Weetabix. After the pre ride I put on some warm kit while I watched the other races.
The under age race was up first. They shot off the start line like lightning. By the time that I got my cow bells from the bag they had already zoomed past. I couldn’t believe how fast they completed the first lap. Molly and Josh were off the front and had a small gap to the third place rider with one lap to go. As they were approaching the finish line we knew it was going to be close. Putting each other under pressure they exchanged glances…who was going to go first? I couldn’t make out who crossed the line first and they are still arguing about it but the race results show Josh as the winner. The finishers had a look of exhaustion but happily munched on their Krispy Kreme doughnut.
The B Race was up next and my dad looked focused. He had only gotten a few hours sleep the night before so was very tired but that didn’t stop him putting in a few big efforts. He hung on throughout the race to secure the final step on the podium. When he got his breath back he was straight over to the grill and gobbled down a delicious burger.
I was excited to line out in the women’s race again. It was a small field of four but where it lacked in numbers it made up in strength. It was a tough race competing against some amazing women, Laura, Kathrine and Sinead. I focused on a few things that I wanted to work on from the previous race the week before.
Exhausted, Josh lay on the ground beside our gear. He had a fluffy dry robe on and was wrapped up in extra layers. He had fallen asleep, his eyes were closed and you could hear him snoring.
Post race, I had a burger and I have to say it was one of the best I’ve ever had. I even think Josh had an extra one and took another for the journey.
We had the prize giving and as happened last year, were awarded a unique prize…a sod of turf!!! What a fantastic race series.