Monday, October 27, 2014

Message from Chris

Chris Smith       4.16.1           70th Overall
Many thanks to all who came and watched us suffering up Pea Royd Lane, Stocksbridge Nat Champs Hill Climb. I took 70th position overall with a finishing time of 4.16.1. Brilliant conditions with new surface and a stiff tail wind finish. I was honoured  to have the chance to ride today as the event was fully oversubscribed by excellent riders from all over the UK. Felt I gave a strong solid performance alongside fellow competitors.
 

 THE HILL CLIMB

By Simon Warren

Ten...
That's the moment you know it's real, the time keeper's call of ten seconds to go. This is happening, you are here, a waking moment. You're going to have to attack this hill and force your body into a place it doesn't want to go and one that it will try everything to get out of.
Five...
And five fingers are held in front of you. All the training, the sacrifice, the self discipline, watching the scales, the early nights, this is why, this is it, focus.
Four...
You grip the bars, you look ahead, you empty your mind.
Three...
You fill your lungs to pack the muscles with oxygen, you'll need every last drop.
Two...
Focus, you CAN do this,you're GOING to do this, focus.
One...
Silence
Go...
Spin at first, your speed has to be perfect, overdo it at the start and you'll die a thousand deaths. You know the course, you know what to do, you can't think, it's too late for that, there is only time for action. You have to find the sweet spot, to float, fueled on adrenaline. You must preserve your reserves, but never hold back. Adrenaline doesn't last.
Suddenly you sense the effort, your'e breathing as hard as your heart is beating fast, you are at your limit. 30 seconds in and you've reached maximum, the primeval instincts that have kept man alive since before history are now telling you to stop, to back off, ease up. You can't listen though, you can't give in, you have to push.
Your eyes focused as if staring at a singularity, oblivious to all except the metre  of tarmac in front of you. Don't think, don't rest, push, take the pain. You are now deep into oxygen debt, you simply cannot supply the demand so the body diverts it to where its needed the most. Your eyes blur, you begin to lose sensations in your extremities
 but there can be no rest.
Time is standing still,it's hyper real, you are experiencing life in such rich detail, this is what your body CAN do, this is WHO you are, WHAT you are, PUSH, PUSH.
The crowds shout your name but you hear no noise, you see the finish line but it gets no closer, PUSH. You're barely able to hold yourself up, your legs are consumed by lactic acid and your lungs burn, desperate for air. At last there is the line, the end to eternity,
 one final lunge, one final revolution, done.
You fall into the arms of an official, empty, your chest on fire and your mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood.
You've been to the edge, it was two minutes that lasted a lifetime, the Hill-Climb.