On Saturday I rode my first ever race out at Trentham East.

Initially I did all the right things; got there early, found the Pig and Whistle, managed to pin on my number without any blood shed and had a good warm up. I didn't see any other Coburg shirts. Luke had warned me about potholes and he was right! Could they have picked a bumpier road
to race on? . But I was not prepared for what was to follow.

About 10 of us took off in D grade and very quickly we were doing roll overs at 40 -45 kph gaining on C grade and I was wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into!  In all the excitement only a cursory glance was sent the way of the little un-marked side road on our left.

Shortly we caught C grade who by now had come to a complete stop wondering whether they should have turned into the above mentioned side road. I was in the middle of the D grade bunch. The guys in front of me kept going at pace, the guys behind me hesitated and turned around with
the C graders, and me and two others came to a complete standstill before deciding to continue straight on. Wrong decision!

The three of us tried to catch the leaders but we had lost all momentum and didn't stand a chance. We did manage to meet up again with the other D graders who had turned around but then one guy punctured, two others dropped off and before long we were back down to three riders. My chain
then came off when trying to shift down going up one of the hills. The chain was stuck between small cog and frame and I had a hard time prying it free. By the time I was up and running again I was totally on my own in the middle of nowhere. So here I am one lap into my first race doing
an individual time trial. To make matters worse, on the next lap a couple of dogs came roaring out onto the road trying to take a chunk out of my ankles - one on either side. I wished I had one of those long Zefal pumps.

I ended up being passed by the A and B graders and eventually the C graders but didn't see another D grader again despite my chain coming off a second time. I only found out after I had finished that the D grade race was abandoned due to the stuff up. But nobody told me this
and I don't know if the other D graders kept going or called it quits early and hit the bar. I was probably the only one who didn't know and ended up riding on my own for 55km.

So I left feeling pretty empty. I have no idea how I went or how I would have gone had we not got lost. I did find the course quite tough. It wasn't flat like I'd expected and hoped for! If this is an easy course then I'm in trouble.  Maybe silly old duffers like me should spend their Saturday afternoons in front of the fire listening to the footy. At least I won't get lost going to the fridge!

Dino Apolito