So its been six weeks and we are off to Anglesey, a two day meet. Saturday looks good but its going to be wet on Sunday. After enjoying the ride last time out I leave my gearing alone, see if it works here.

With not riding for a few weeks I take my time during practice and get myself all streatched out on the bike, and in the short session it was hard to tell what the gearing was really like, but it felt useable.



Race 1
I'm way down the grid, as the lights go out I'm not quite set and i'm slow away from the start. and as i go round turn 1 I get caught up behind a gaggle of riders with no way past, into turn two and i'm still getting blocked. Its a lot harder when your way down the pack, just can't get going everytime I start to build some speed there is someone in the way  
A lap or two later its settled down a bit and I'm trying to work my way through the field.



As I come up behind the #69 bike I just find it a struggle to get a clean pass, I show him a wheel once or twice but just can't get past. This must of been 2 laps, it feels like I have been trying to get past for a while an as we go in to turn 2 (the banking) i run in a little deeper and ride round the out side of him. When I look up the road I'm a long way back so i push on trying to pull them in, as i cross the line the lastlap flag is out so i keep pushing, but i don't seem to be catching the bikes infront up, but they are to far up the road to be fair. Going into the banking for the final time i'm running in at a good pace just starting to tip the bike over in to the right, and move my body weight off the righthand side, my right foot slips of the peg and kicks forward, and my ass crashes down in to the seat. So i'm hanging off the right with my rightleg kicked out straight infront, this really upsets all the bikes suspension and its bucking and weaving all over the place (i thought i was off) I manage to get it upright and slowed up and get myself set and the bloody #69 bike comes round the out side of me, just like i did to him last time round. I get going again and catch him up but not able to get back past.



That was hard work, made me feel very unfit. A six week break is no good =P
Looking at the timing sheet i'm slow been faster here, not sure if its down to just having a bad race or me not being race fit, as i said the bike felt fast, I thought it was going well, just couldn't get it going.

race 2
I get a better start but still could of been better, but at least I don't get caught in the middle of a clump of riders, its slow going but i slowly get past a couple of riders before the flag comes out.



Looking at the timing sheets afterwards i'm still way down on my pb's so i set about changing the final gear ratio. I go one tooth bigger on the rear, a little more acceleration. Wish it was as simple as pressing menu button  

Lightwieght open race 3
This is an extra race and i don't always enter this one. not as many in this
It sort of plays out like race two, I manage to get past one or two but nothing special, feels like i'm riding fast but when i get back and look at the time sheets my best lap is even slower than before.
Its a wasted day i'm not fast enough.

so its beer oclock i'll worry about it tomorrow    





I'm up bright and early Sunday and i start putting the final ratio to its base setting, change the front by a couple of teeth.
While i'm doing this it starts to rain and i put the wets on, all before anybody else is up.
I go out for practice and it is pouring down, keep getting a steamed visor, but my pace feels ok. Last time i was here in these conditions i ditched it, i don't really want to do it this time.
Before race 1 starts and it stops raining the wind is up a bit and it looks like it might not rain for a while, I hate this, its starting to dry but its not dry, and its still cloudy and some of them are gray.
what to do.
After a lot of i don't knows and shoulder shrugging i leave the wets on.

Race one
Yep and its not rained just done the sighting lap and its almost dry, nothing i can do about it now. people are on differant stuff, some wets some drys. But for me it is going to be an exspensive race. On the 2nd lap someone goes down hard and its red flagged. They don't send us back but they form us up on the grid again, its a long wait and in that time it starts to rain again, 1 more sighting lap and at the end some of them pull in, starting to get to damp for them, I went ok respectable in the conditions.

Race two and three sort of went the same nothing really differant, lapped ok in the conditions.
overall it was a wasted weekend, but it did get me bike fit, took me a week to get over it.
couldn't find any wet pics i guess the photographers didn't want to get there kit wet  

but i do like this one from Saturday #25 is not looking where he is going, he only has eyes for me =P



Aintree two weeks later
Just as i'm finishing getting my stuff together, i get a call from one of the lads who helps me out, saying he has been called in to work, nothing he can do.......DOOM
An as the other lad who helps had already said he couldn't be there offically, I need someone to help out first thing in the morning.
So i do some last min phone calls and manage to get a back up support crew, are kid and a few of his mates.
But i think that then sent me off course slightly.
But at the last min the lad makes it =) so i have one offical pit crew
We get set up and go over the club house, it has been beer oclock for some time =)
I don't know how it come about but are kid and his mates ended up playing pool with the manager/grounds man of the place, and campfire comes up. I don't like the sound of this, it is after all a race paddock. But trying to talk are kid out of it when we have been told its ok (still feels very wrong) is never going to happen. So the full camping experience was enjoyed.
Not sure what time i went bed, but it was too late and i was too full of beer, an as i open my eyes its clear, that my head aint.
i struggle through the morning routine.
Practice went ok
qually race
its not a very large feild only 25 bikes on the grid, and i pick 25 out of the bag for my grid slot, Boooo!
Everything seemed ok struggled to get past the #17 bike felt like he was holding me up but couldn't put a move on him. I had passed a few but not enough 13th.
When i get back and look at the time sheets i have sneaked a PB lap so thats something. But thats as good as it got.



its been a few hours and the heat is starting to get to me, starting to think i might of had one maybe two too many beers last night, not good.
Championship race
I'm in 13th on the grid (or 12A as its marked) lights go out and i make a good start think i'm doing alright, feels like i'm being held up but unable to make any passes I drop a few places before the end.
when i get back and look at the time sheets its my fault really slow way off my own pace.