So it was a late start to the season but the Lydden round on the 17th of April finally arrived.
Race one and two were deliberately low key affairs with getting the feel of the bike being the key issue. The plan for the Saturday was drop back from the main group and then race the stop-watch in my son's hand and wind down towards a competitive lap time without the angst of traffic. Also the fact that that I was relatively new to Lydden needed to be taken into account.
Race three. Well I remember getting ready but then it all goes a bit hazy. My next clear memory is of a nurse saying "Don't worry." and that was about 24 hours later.
Bother. The current story I have been told is that while lapping me an LC in the leading group pulled across my front on the exit to Chesson's Drift, the long right hander that brings you back towards the paddock and that he touched my front wheel with his rear and it all ended in a red flag.
The Medical Centre apparently counted seven broken ribs but the number seemed to decrease over the next few days so I hope they are just cracked but still aligned but the left collar bone is definitely one broken bone and my lower chest is definitely not happy. The general marks and such match a wheel crossing my chest from left to right so perhaps I don't want to remember what happened.
Many thanks to the TZR/LC folks who immediately rallied round and collected my equipment and stuff and especially for Martin and Anne (Tymar Racing) who dealt with the bike, Paul Hogan who provided a bed for my son in his trailer for the night and Charlie Blackmore who stored away my road bike for several weeks.
The one annoyance is people who now ask if all the damage and pain down the years and the residual inconvenience I'm stuck with now was worth it. Let us be quite clear on this point. It was.