ABSOLUTE ABSOLU BEGINNER
Peter McBride, now a 2nd category racer, recalls the exhilaration of his first race in 2015…
“I started cycling, in 2011, to lose weight – at 15st.2lb and 5ft 7in, I was a big lad! I joined my local club, Banfield CC [in Northern Ireland] and with advice and plenty of encouragement from the senior members I progressed up to the fast group on club rides. I then started making my way up through the club’s confined handicap races until I was in the group just before scratch race level. By then I had got my weight down to 12st and the club suggested I should try open racing.
“My debut came at the Noel Taggart Memorial GP on 26 June 2015 - 58 miles with a full field of 80 riders. I was as nervous as hell, if I’m being honest - this was an All-Ireland open race hosted by my own club. I can
remember it as if it was yesterday. It was the middle of June but in true Irish tradition it was lashing with rain and blowing a gale. I had lots of ‘good luck’ texts, though it didn’t settle the nerves as I could hardly sleep that night. I had lots of riders giving me advice such as, ‘Hold the wheel’, ‘Don’t look down when getting your bidon’, ‘Never look behind you if you hear a crash’ and ‘Don’t be scared to get the elbows out in the sprint’.
“With all this information overload I thought I was going over the top in World War One rather than into a bike race. I thought I better give my wife [Paula] and kids [Sophie, 13, and Ryan, nine] an extra kiss that morning when leaving the house! I can’t really remember the actual race except for a downhill section at over 40mph with a traffic island right at the bottom. This was really well marshalled, so it felt safe and helped settle the nerves after the first lap. The other part I remember is the long drag up the Scarva road and then the sprint finish. I was near the front, maybe in 20th position, when the speed started to increase in anticipation for the sprint. I found myself in new territory and even though I still had plenty left in the tank I found myself going backward and being swallowed up by the surge of riders who were all scrambling for position. This was a completely alien experience to me - exciting but also scary beyond belief. I could hear all the advice I had been given in my head and just wanted it to be over. And within seconds it was. I had survived.
“I finished in the main bunch and felt marvellous, outstanding, on a different level. It might have been the lowest category of racing, but for me I had just won the Tour de France. I still have my stats: average speed 25mph, average heart rate 170, average power 270 watts.
“I had two teammates who were also making their racing debuts and we were all so happy that everyone had finished and no one had come down.
“The main lesson I learned? Stay near the front and don’t panic if someone nudges you or is leaning against you.
“In my next race a month later I settled more quickly and wasn’t as jittery. I prepared the same way but this time I found it easier to sleep and I really let myself enjoy the experience much more.
“There was a big climb, which I cramped on but I managed to bite the bars for long enough to get over the other side and finished in the bunch. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, my advice to any new racer would be to go out and enjoy it. If you’ve trained hard enough you will be fit enough.
“At the start of last season, I’d decided that if I didn’t get enough points to move up a category then this would be my last season. But I came second in my very first race and got enough points to move up.
“And I raced the Noel Taggart again – the race where it all started - and finished sixth.”
To find a race near you for 2020 and get the licence you need to take part in British Cycling-sanctioned road racing, head to their website at britishcycling.org.uk, or cyclingulster.com in NI