Looking forward to a bit more road in 2012

        I did two crits in 2011. One at Hillingdon and one at Paulhaguet in Central France. I loved the French one so much (despite the kicking..) as it took me back to racing there in my early 20s and so in 2012 I'm going to be riding in a few select races for VC Riom back in the Auvergne. 10 years on since I was last out there, I'll only be doing a few races but now that I am accustomed to life in the mud there's a part of me that just cant wait to feel the roll of tarmac again. 
        The smell of melting tar in the July sun, the ding of the last lap bell, the old boy who steps out into the bunch on his way to get his pastis, the fading light of a nocturne in the middle of nowhere, the prime that never was and the roll call of people you befriend in hope of being fed.
Class of 2001, I salute you!