Photo: An unplanned start to the Granfondo

If you’re having a bad day, there’s always someone else having a worse one. I was reminded of this during the Granfondo Squali.

The day didn’t start well. It should have started at 05:30, but I switched the alarm off and fell back to sleep. I woke up again at 06:03. I had planned to leave the house at 06:15 so my day started with a different type of race. Fortunately I had prepared everything the night before, enabling me to leave the house at 06:25, using up all my travel contingency time, but no breakfast.

Pop. The sound that cyclists dread. I had a puncture on the way to the starting grid. Could I get to the grid and change the tube before the race started? Marco, helpful as always, and I performed a pit stop style change. Not the three seconds of an F1 team but three minutes was pretty quick, and in time to start the race.

12km into the granfondo my day got worse. Despite an average speed over 30km/h I was passed by the “FINE GARA CICLISTICA” (END OF CYCLING RACE) car. I know we started at the back of the field, but to fall behind the race car so soon was demoralising.

Soon afterwards two ambulances passed us. I later learnt that the Race Car had been called forward to attend a crash. As we passed the three vehicles at the side of the road, we just looked forward. Someone else’s, or several people’s, day was a lot worse than mine.

Incident free for the rest of the day I finished the 93km / 1,549m course in an official time of 4hr 4m (1hr 40m behind the winner) helping our little club to eighth place.

Not such a bad day after all.