The generosity of club members knows no bounds – the sheer gratefulness of the club towards the race organiser was truly humbling!

The race itself saw Jackie Weston take her new steed to a fighting first place, ahead of a storming pack with a fine tuned handicap working to near perfection.

Jackie arrived having abandoned the Peugeot 404, swapping it for a fetching Pinarello with all sorts of carbon goodness on it.  Clearly on a mission, she lined up at 11 minutes with a group of riders including a large number of juniors, a revitalised Geoff Allen (also sporting a new ride) and the redoubtable Ray Phillips, race face firmly in place.

Jackie took Adam Bourke with her as they broke away from the pack around the culvert on the leg out, only to have Adam suffer a puncture.  She left him there for Dene to sort out and gave the Pinny it’s head with an impressive time trial to the finish,looking nervously over the shoulder as the pack closed in on the final straight.  She was too good for the large bunch finish, John Scott-Hamilton popping clear of the bunch with a bike mauling sprint worthy of a Kevin Costner film all of its own (possible title:  “Broken bars of broken dreams” – wish I remembered I had the camera in the car).

The confusing finish gave Jack Parker and Dave Rubie some consternation as we struggled with who exactly was in that big finishing bunch, you know who you are and corrections are welcome.

Fastest time of the day goes to The Cannibal again, who put a clear  second into Mick Hoult.

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Upon returning to the car, it was noticed that some fantastically generous presents were left in the footwell, including a nice new iPhone, enough CO2 canisters to lift the temperature by 5 degrees, an odd sock, about 14 dollars in change and an incriminating looking business card for a house of ill reknown.  Sadly, the owner of these items reclaimed them shortly afterwards.  Indian giver!