Recently in Imperial Winter Series Category

The final race of the series which has been incredibly well organised in trying conditions, both meteorological and logistical.

The former has come on the form of snow, torrential rain and freezing gales. The latter in the form of crashes and riders who don't always do as they are instructed.

OK, that's me filibustering to avoid having to write about getting dropped. Shouldn't have happened, simple as that. I left myself out in the strong headwind for too long and paid the price.

Nor should me ambling off the front at a gentle pace for the first lap. All I did was roll off the start and down the righthander. Looked around and nobody had come with me.

Got to the final 90 degree corner before the bunch reappeared just as I hit the block headwind. Weird experience racing with no one for company. Note to self: avoid individual time trials.

Back to getting dropped. It was one of those slow but predictable affairs, like watching a child's 99 slide off the cone on a hot day. I slid through the group, clung on a bit then the engine room went for a tea break and I was off the back and hurting (pride more than legs).

I got back on when I was eventually lapped and had no problem staying in. I even offered to drag Lance Woodman up to the front towards the end for want of some excitement before sitting out the sprint.

Why do I do it given my ridiculously mediocre record? Because it's fun and it keeps me motivated to ride. Martin Porter sums it up when he says

"I may never get a point but it is nonetheless rewarding"

In fact his post is a really good read about why the winter series is good to do and should be supported.

I'd like to offer a massive thank you to Doug, Lucy and the rest of the Collins gang who put themselves through the misery of having to deal with riders who just want to race. Organising something like the Winter Series is a massive commitment which few in cycling have the energy to do well. Those few should always be appreciated and celebrated.

When the sun comes out Hillingdon is always busy and everyone seems to wheel out their sunny day bikes (expensive carbon frame, top-end groupset, deep section wheels). Either that or we're getting towards the end of the series and the beginning of Spring.

(Photo by British Cycling on Flickr)

So the 4ths set off with a big field. That usually this guarantees a bunch sprint and a slightly twitchy atmosphere as everyone sits in and saves themself for the final three laps.

I've been on antibiotics all week which has somewhat limited my training. Sadly I can only use that as a stand-in for "not having done anything about improving my fitness" temporarily.

But I did get in one attack which was nearly the death of me. Cold air is heavy air and hitting the front hurt like standing on a plug: avoidable and stupid, as well as darned painful.

The only regular variable in the 4th Cat race is how much effort people put in before the cavalry charge. This weekend there was plenty so the race clipped along at a fast but not brutal pace with little attacks getting away now and again until a dangerous one looked like sticking late on as legs tired.

Tired legs usually means tired minds and that always heightens the risk of a crash in a finale. Or as Lance Woodman puts it

"The trouble often happens late when tiredness impairs judgment and ambition outstrips common sense ('I can win from the middle of the bunch')."

(Lance is currently sporting a magnificent beard which meant he was all but invisible to me in the bunch. Funny how you learn to recognise your fellow riders solely on the basis of the lower half of their face as you can see it out the corner of your eye.)

Sure enough with one lap to go there was a touch of wheels and a scattering of the pack as several riders went down hard. One chap was wheeled off to hospital with a suspected collarbone fracture. Speedy recoveries all round I hope.

As ever, I was behind the crash but managed to get round it unscathed. My teammate Rich was just ahead of it and had his back wheel clipped but not by enough to bring him down or stop him storming to 5th.

Richard Gearing's perspective on finishing in the points

And there's usually someone who gets a puncture. This week it was the Cycling Silk, Martin Porter:

Martin Porter gets a puncture but still finishes well

(Photo by Lucy @ Imperial RT who organises the Winter Series)

There I am, another futile attack, this time trying to go after the mid-race prime. Went too early in pursuit of my friend James Curry (on the right of shot), both of us reaching our limits well before the line and were swamped by the field.

So I've no idea what the prize was. I'm now determined to find out before the end of the series. It seems like a reasonable alternative to trying to score points. Priorities? Yes, I know.

The rest of the race consisted of throwing a couple of digs in and trying to work on keeping myself positioned in the middle to front third of the bunch which always feels like the least safe place to be in a 4th Cat race.

The back third is of course where the real trouble and on the last lap someone had "a moment" in the middle of the bunch and squirted off across the U-bend at the start of the lap. Cue scattering riders heading onto the grass and hauling on brakes in desperation.

Yes I was behind it, no it didn't affect the likelihood of me scoring points. I rolled across the line in the stragglers. Next week, there is always next week.

(Photo by Lucy @ Imperial RT who organises the Winter Series)

See that rain? I've not ridden in anything quite so torrential in ages. Or so cold.

On the plus side my white Mavic Razors are not as muddy as they were and look almost white. It's not that I'm too lazy to clean them at home, it's just I've not found a way of doing it without making the sort of mess that gets small children sent to bed without their supper.

The conditions presented an attire question: Wear a rain jacket, gilet or no waterproof? In the end I went with none of the above and stuck with a baselayer and midweight jersey.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm the sort of rider who heats up a lot and sweats it out so when racing in winter I need to find a balance so I don't end up soggy and cold. But mainly the issue is ending up cold.

The baselayer is one of the best I have found anywhere. It's by Falke and has been good enough to keep me feeling comfortable down to -20 in at Kicking Horse. I think it's their Athletic Warm long sleeve.

Men, ask your most trusted female friends and they'll probably roll their eyes in despair that you've only just discovered Falke. I got mine in TK Maxx (Hammersmith and High Street Kensington) ridiculously cheap. Good fortune as I've found them harder to track down elsewhere.

I've never felt damp or overheated in the baselayer and the fit is such that I barely notice it. Not feeling the garment when you're wearing it is always a hallmark of good quality gear for me.

Back to the race.

On the right day I quite like racing in the rain. I can handle my bike pretty well by my reckoning and so cornering in the wet doesn't terrify me. Plus there's a bit more respite when it's wet.

The key tip for riding well in the wet is tyre pressure. I ran my Vittoria Open Pav´e; s at between 85 and 95 PSI which sounds low but gives a very smooth and predictable ride, the latter being key in the wet. The Open Pav´e; just looks right on a bike in the wet which is equally important.

I've been riding my Ridley Crossbow all winter and I've been using it for everything. It copes pretty well with racing as it does cyclocross and commuting. I like that in a winter bike. Biggest gear is 46/12 and at no point at Hillingdon did I feel undergeared for the level.

I spent most of the race trying to sit in the middle of the bunch and I think I did so better than my previous race. Still need to concentrate on not drifting backwards too easily.

There were a few digs but nothing that ever looked like sticking, so it was more a case of staying out of trouble and avoiding the splits that occur in the wet when riders aren't confident through corners.

I stayed up near the front when it started to get a bit lively in the final few laps. Still a few places too far back to be useful and wasted too much energy trying to move up for the sprint.

When it came I was about 15 back but already on my limit so sat up down the back straight. There's no point in burying yourself when you're badly positioned and in no danger of getting a point.

For a different perspective on the race try James Curry or The Cycling Lawyer, Martin Porter, both of whom I race with fairly regularly at the moment and who were in the bunch as well.

Well that was a pretty miserable and frustrating experience for me. How was it for you? I look forward to the Imperial Winter Series as motivation to see me through the winter, but it got off to a mediocre start as I made all my usual mistakes:

• Not holding my position and drifting back through the bunch
• Getting stuck behind dodgy handlers
• Relying on my cornering skills to stay in touch with the bunch
• Losing concentration at key points
• Getting caught the wrong side of splits and wasting energy closing gaps

Net result = Got dropped at some point and rolled in a lap and quite a bit down.

Really frustrating as I'm not feeling that out of shape and didn't feel like I was struggling until the bunch started going away from me. I wasn't alone in going out the back though, James Curry and Lance Woodman, two other habitual 4th Cats like me, both slipped off the back. James and I tried some through-and-off to try and make the most of our time by getting some extra training in.

Lance's analysis is pretty accurate in citing the point at which we got lapped by the 3rd Cat race as where the problems started for the both of us. The Cycling Silk, Martin Porter also reckons this as the bit of the race that created difficulties.

The problem as I saw it was that instead of sitting up and neutralising our race when the 3rd cats came past, the riders at the front lined it out meaning that it took nearly a lap for the whole of the other race to pass us. This wasn't helped by a split in their field and the annoying habit of shouting at our race to keep left and then diving across the front of us rather than staying on the right.

So I got caught behind that split and couldn't move up while burning matches as our race upped its pace to chase riders who'd jumped on the 3rds, despite being told not to.

It's bitterly frustrating getting dropped but better it happen now when I haven't been putting in any effort rather than come Spring. In all honesty I need to ride a decent amount more than the once a week which is all I seem to be able to fit in at the moment.

I can't make it next week so need to get my motivation up for the third round on 19 December. I'll be wearing the bright yellow 68 until I can muster the ten points to move up to 3rd cat (how long have I been saying that?).