I was told I might never race again.....

....so I thought I'd better prove them wrong.

It's now been nearly 11 months since my crash and I've got another 6 months of training under my belt thanks to the expertise and support of Kate and Ian at A Quality Ride Coaching. I also had my last visit to see the surgeon at Southampton and will now be referred to the hospital closer to home for annual arthritis check-ups. Hopefully the need for a hip replacement will be further away than the surgeons originally thought.

In February I enjoyed a trip to the brand new Olympic Velodrome to watch the UCI Track World Cup. Some fantastic racing by the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish from the British team.

Back in March I met up with the rest of the 2012 Mountain Trax Race Team at the local Gorrick Spring Series for an updated team photo. Great to catch up with the team - already some great results so far this season with plenty more sure to come as the summer progresses.

Photo courtesy of Vermont Images

I took the plunge at the start of April and decided to enter a race. The 2 laps of the Masters category at the local Gorrick race seemed like a good place to start. It was tough, the climbs were hard and my lungs hurt in a way they hadn't for many months! But I finished in 2nd place and remembered what my race-face felt like and was so glad I decided to race.

Photo courtesy of Jason Robinson

Then things got busy! I spent a day at Sherwood Pines with Kate and Ian Potter - we worked on cornering, bomb-holes, looked at my bike-fit and chatted about coaching. All in all a really encouraging day that made me feel good about my riding and ready to take on the challenges I've set for myself this summer.

I'd also been asked to make 2 wedding cakes in April and May (one of my other hobbies!). One cake for my brother and his (now) wife and another for university friends. So there was a short hiatus whilst I made cakes, sugar flowers and sugar people. Luckily both went well - the cakes and the weddings!

All of a sudden May was in full swing and that meant my first enduro race for some time was lurking around the corner. I headed down to Erlestoke Twelve, run by SPAM Biking and supported by Charge Bikes and Four4th Lights, with friends from the Tunnel Hill Trolls. I was entered in the 6hr solo, starting at midday in about 28 degree heat and bright sunshine - makes a change from the norm!

Off the start line...on the tail of James Dymond from AQR! (Photo: J Robinson)

The race was tougher than I remembered endurance racing being. I got a great start and missed the traffic on the first lap, enjoying the swoopy and twisty singletrack; gritting my teeth through the climbs and drinking nearly 5 litres of energy drink during my 7 laps. The body parts that I expected to hurt - mostly my legs and lungs - didn't seem to suffer too badly. Then again, in endurance racing it's often the bits you don't expect to hurt that do! The dry conditions meant hard ground - combined with carbon-soled shoes and feet not used to endurance racing this resulted in very painful feet from the 2nd lap onwards. Throw in hands that are still toughening up and trying out my team shorts in an enduro for the first time, by lap 4 I was on an emotional roller coaster. I was close to tears several times but promised myself a change of bib shorts and some painkillers when I got back to the pits.

It was a good decision - although lap 4 was slower than the first 3 and was followed by a 7 min stop whilst I changed shorts and got some pain relief, I was able to carry on. The act of unclipping from the pedals also helped ease the burning sensation in the balls of my feet, so I did this each time it got too much to bear in the rest of the race. I managed to pick up the speed a bit for the last 3 laps and was pleased that I was able to carry on and finish the race.

I had no idea where I was positioned as I approached the last mile, although I did know I had lapped one 6 hour female rider. I exited the last piece of singletrack behind a girl who looked tired but I didn't know if she was a solo rider, or perhaps doing the 12 hour race. I still had gas left in the tank, so I pushed ahead - she didn't chase and I later found out she had been in 2nd place and I had pipped her at the post! I was more than pleased not only to have finished the race with a respectable number of laps, but also to have made it onto the podium and to receive some very nice prizes from Charge and Giro. Plenty of things to take away and think about before the next race but good to be back in the enduro saddle again.

On the podium with Jacqui Easton (Dirt Divas) (Photo courtesy of Jo Dymond)

Next up, another 6 hour race at Bristol Bikefest. Then the challenge of the year so far - 12 hour solo at Bontrager 24:12 on the year-anniversary of my crash.

Thanks as always to my sponsors Mountain Trax for their support (and for the recent carbon bling we've added to my bike!); Kate and Ian Potter for their coaching expertise and never-ending positivity; Jo Holtom for keeping me company on training sessions and sharing tent-space at Erlestoke; Sam Jones for joining training sessions and Dan Duguid for extra bike bits; the Tunnel Hill Trolls 'Pink Ladies' team (and partners) for a good weekend in the sun; and finally to the Cotic/AQR race team for letting me share their pit and offering plenty of encouragement at Erlestoke.