For my last big race for the 2011 season, I set off on Saturday morning with Ham (Wiggle mechanic extraordinaire) on the road to the 12 hour race at Thetford.

Infamous for its soggy conditions over the last few years the weather didn’t look too bad as we departed but once on our way the clouds quickly built up and the gloom gathered over the sandy Norfolk pine forests where the race is held.

I had been warned by fellow colleague and mechanic Ben Jeffery that the course was very sandy so had packed in the spare brake pads just in case. On the practice lap I could see what he meant – long forest bridleways making sharp, sandy turns into lump single track.

Testing done I tried to relax and wait for the start. 8pm arrived and we were all waiting on the line for a rolling start behind a quad bike. It was a manic sprint to get well up front trying and avoid any kamikaze handling manoeuvres and the surface was very slippery around any corners. Carnage avoided we set out on the first lap, incorrectly trying to chase down a rider from the pairs category going well into the red in the process.

Letting the team riders go away I got into a rhythm although I was already having some issues with the grinding paste of sand and mud that was quite effective in eating any hint of brake pad and cassette on the bike. Things went from bad to worse in the second lap when the rain got a groove on and my lighting decided to cut out for a solid 20 minutes, though I managed to maintain my position on the track with either perfect handling in the tricky conditions or pure reckless abandon!

However, the constant rain and lack of certain light had taken its toll, soaking me to the skin, chilling the core and putting my mind in a bad place. Only 3 and something hours in I called it a day and headed for the pits.

This has been quite an anti-climatic end to the season for me after some good initial results in the longer enduro races but I am determined to now look forward and learn from this experience to become stronger and better prepared for the 2012 season.

A great thank you to everyone who has helped me this season at Wiggle especially Jason and Ham for enduring all my random babbling when I’ve pretty much lost the plot 18 hours into a race!

Get your lights out and have some fun riding on the trails in this lovely British weather… I’ll probably see you out there!