In order to get blog posts out at the moment, I have to make them short and decisive, like the moment a race was won or lost.

Even at novice level, a mistake or specific moment can be the difference between success and failure. Over 4 years of trying my hand at racing, I have found it worthwhile to reflect on what went wrong in a race and make a point of changing or improving that thing.

Example mistakes
• forgetting to drink or eat until half way round
• slipping back & losing places when taking a drink from the bottle
• allowing yourself to be bullied out of position
• spending time in the wind at bad moments
• chasing down attacks and then paying for it later
• not checking your kit & equipment properly beforehand

Noting your mistakes
I did the Gifford B race at the weekend and it went really well for me throughout, and I got my best placing ever at that event – 22nd – albeit in a big bunch finish. There was 1 brief mistake that stood out- on the last lap I opted to use the wee ring in the drag before Bolton, and forgot to change up when it flattened out until several riders had surged past me. A small thing, you might argue, but losing 10-15 places just before the last big climb isn’t ideal.

Out of your hands (or legs)
Often you hear people say ‘I just wasn’t strong enough’ or ‘I didn’t have the legs today’. It’s always worth pinning this down to something more specific that you can work on. For me, it was the long climb after Bolton. This is where I have always been dropped before, and it nearly happened again. So the remedy will be hill reps at anaerobic threshold HR, to try to push the threshold up.

I was well placed on the last lap, going through the trees before the course starts to climb.
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My output has been flagging like someone on a 60 mile club ride with 1 bottle and no food. So do I drop off completely or put in a few flailing digs? It’s going to be the latter- standards may be slipping but some’s better than none? You be the judges as I spew forth a stream of consciousness on my first race of 2013.

The Gifford road races were traditionally (for me) the first of the calendar, held on the first weekend in March often on the same time as the Dick Longdragon RR In Aberdeenshire and the Corrieri’s Classic 10m TT on the Stirling ‘Kippen flats’ course.

This year it is in April and this is lucky with regards the weather. March has been a pig and I pity the racers who have had their programme disrupted, enthusiasm dampened and early good form wasted by races called off due to snow. It’s no fault of the organisers- I have done Gifford three times before in early march and each time has been dry.

For me April is a better slot though as it gives people a chance to get going. No disrespect to other events but Gifford is a fairly big, well-organised race and it almost seemed wasted to have it so early in the calendar.

The A race has a strong field as usual but without the dominance of one team as we have seen in previous years. Last year could go down as a surprise with junior Tom Arnstein pulling off a result. This year I will be rooting for junior Kyle Petrie, the only Stirling rider in the main event, but he won’t thank me for mentioning his name as he has been laid out with illness recently so might not be at his best. Who else is tipped? Give me your shouts in the comments.

For me Gifford is a course with which I have unfinished business. Dropped horribly in my first year, full of expectation the second, I was gutted to be me with the same outcome, albeit one lap further on. The third year I almost made it to the finish with the lead bunch but lost contact on the climb and trailed in a minute or two down, thirty-somethingth.

I have come to realise it is a testing circuit – if you aren’t climbing on the rivet or descending at breakneck speed, you may be blowing your energy trying to push to the front or spending time in the wind when you shouldn’t. Grab the bottle or a gel and you lose a few places- it can be relentless.

I don’t feel I have any form yet but I have had a pretty good winter and have done some new things in training so should be stronger. I have a lighter faster bike and one more year of experience so who knows. Thanks in advance to Edinbugh RC who always put on a great event.