The key turns in the lock, the engine starts.

Bollocks.

Another excuse that can't be used. Glance at the bike, ease off the drive. It's cold and grey, there's nobody around. Through the gears, the engine  protests grow then fade to a steady rhythm. Roundabout, dual carriageway, junction, left, right, wrong, right, right, a curtain twitches. 

The car stops, the engine doesn't. Door opens, he mouths “bollocks”, another excuse that fails to arrive. Kit bag dragged down the drive, bits of bike follow. Food, carefully measured solutions, coloured clothes, pumps, bits of paper, maps. Over the back seat into the boot.

There's three now. Three different smells, three nervous laughs. Concentrate on the view, study the course map, banter, increasing tension.  More excuses, reasons why we won't win, damage limitation, yet  no pedal has turned. I'm new, I'm tired, I don't care (but I do), this hurts, that hurts, we'll see.

Roadsigns, checked maps, left, right, yellow, more yellow, a scrap of paper bearing an arrow, arrival, riders, riders, riders. Wheels in, wheels out, pumps, up and down and up, allen keys, oil, dragon's breath. Whir, whir, oil on gears, sounds, metal sounds, precision sounds, clicks, snaps, sharp sounds. Preparation.

Walk to the desk, smile. Finger down the list, up, down, stop. Final excuse point passes. Number, pins, instructions, leaflets, another smile, another joke. Click, click, click down the corridor, cleat on wood, cleat on stone. Push the door, push harder then recoil. Smells, male smells, piss, embrocation, deodorant, liquid soap, piss. Stand and push, look up, spit, look up again, where is it, where is the piss, look up, spit, piss, breath, breath deep, sigh.

Time to turn, time to walk to the bike, time to decide. Gilet ? long gloves? short gloves? Energy bar? Gel? One bottle, two? Pump, no pump? Dress, adjust, pin, adjust, pull straps, zip zips, clip clips. Exhale, inhale, feel the heart, feel the blood. Conversation, sentences cut short, joke time's gone, start time's close. Ride round, ride round again, adjust, adjust, kill time, wish time on. It's serious now. Time to gather.

Words, directions, advice, more words, information, important information, safety, safety first, words lost, words lost to heart rate, words lost to assessment. Assess the riders, read their legs, read their bikes, read their stance. Confident, loose, nonchalant, at ease. They're winners, they want to win, they want to race, they're going to go fast. If only, more miles, more preparation, lighter bike, more training, more training, if only. Next year then.

Words have stopped, it's time. 

Click, clack, click, clack. Plastic on metal, metal on metal. Riders joining bikes, riders attached to their bikes, riders adhered to their bikes. The sound of commitment. A cacophonic signal of the start. At last movement in a single direction. Movement in unison, order, direction, co-ordination.

Follow the car. Follow the car with the light. Decide, it's early, decide, where to be? Front, middle back? A turn, a roundabout, we're close, too close, brake, lean, brake, adjust, feel the heart, survived. A gesture, pointing down and left, another gesture, down and left, look down, look left, a hole, turn, lean, brake, adjust, point down, point left. Feel the heart, it's early, feel the heart.

The town's gone, the car's gone, it's cold, it's grey. The talking's stopped, we're fast, we're very fast, we're very very fast. It's early, what to do? Hold the wheel, look up, we're fast, feel the heart, we're fast, hold the wheel, look forward, look forward, hold the wheel, take a turn, pedal, feel the heart. Heart pounding, bursting, pounding, need relief, who's next? Need relief, he's there, hold his wheel, feel the heart. Look back. We're alone.

Too early, too early, feel the heart, feel the breath, feel the legs, too fast too early. Look up, look back, what to do? Too early, take a turn, why ? Feel the heart, why ? Too early, look back, look back, riders! Relief.

Relax, drop back. Caught, passed, a hand in the back, catch the wheel, frame it, concentrate, hold it. Look back, riders, look forward, riders. Safety, sanctuary, hold the wheel, hold back, too early, hold back. 

Look right, rider stands, rider looks, rider stamps and stamps and stamps, body sways, rider stamps, rider looks, spit flies, rider stamps, rider's free. Feel his heart, feel his heart, rider stamps, a gap, rider sits. Shoulders oscillate, head bows, rider stands, bike pitches,  rider stamps,  stamping fades, gap closes. Rider sits up. Feel his heart, see his face, red, see his face, drained, captured, a prisoner again. The group moves on, we're fast, together we're fast, our speed imprisons. 

A flag, a waving flag, a turn. Awaken. Watch the wheel, watch it's line, check periphery, lean, check periphery, lean more, watch it's line. Turn. Turn fast. Turn faster than ever. Watch the line, feel the heart, survived. Hear the blood, pedal, hold the wheel, pedal. 

Look around, see the faces, grey faces, red faces, contorted faces, spittle, open months, teeth, breathing, wrinkled, red faces. Catch a glance, empathy, catch a glance, rivalry, catch a glance, camaraderie. Look left, hawk, spit, spit again. Reach, fumble, grasp, pull, lift. Grasp in teeth, pull, drink, drink hard, force liquid through teeth, feel the power, drink, feel the power, drink. Close with teeth, reach down, fumble, position, push, wipe the mouth. Breath, breath, breath. Lick lips, breath.

More turns, more flags, more riders leaving then returning, stasis. Then a murmour,voices trigger gearshifts, riders sit up, a road sign, a warning sign, a black triangle bearing a percentage. It's the hill. It's the big hill. It's the divider. 

We stand, an assembly of riders greeting the headmaster. We stand and stamp, feel the heart, feel the hearts, hear the breathing, feel the legs, feel the legs hard, stand and stamp and breath and stamp and pull and pull and breath and pull and stamp, and squint and stamp. We thin, we spread, the prison gates have opened, breath and stamp. We're over, we're free, look back, look at the gap, look back, we're free.

Now it's time, it's time to gather, time to escape, time to work and breath and pedal and escape. Time to organise, follow the wheel, follow the wheel, take a turn. It's hard, Christ it's hard, fuck it's hard, feel the heart, feel it grasp the veins and arteries and demand the blood, feel it squeeze and beat and bang, crying for blood, demanding blood, feeding the lungs, shoveling the lungs full of blood. It's too much, feel the heart, where's the next man, too much air, too many molecules in the way, too much wind, where's the man, feel the heart, here's the man. Here's his wheel, here's relief, shovel the blood, pump the blood, drag air in, drag air out. Hear the system, hear the fluid, hear the air, hear the wheels, hear the gears, hear the break, live the break. Dread the turn, take the turn, suffer, suffer hard, suffer for the others. Live the break, feed the break, feel the heart.

Concentrate, work, concentrate, work. Look forward, rider meets curb, stutter, motion, noise, brake, turn. See him weave, see him resign, see him fall, avoid, see him fall, hear him swear, see him fall, grass gathers bike, road gathers rider. Relief, his turn, his mistake, his race. Work, concentrate, work. Feed the break, feed the lungs, feel the heart.

Minutes pass, an hour passes, break is caught, the hill, break escapes, caught, hill, escape. Last lap, escape, last chance, escape, feed the break, work, work, top of hill, work, work harder, work HARDER, WORK HARDER, feel the heart, feel the lungs, feel the legs, feel it all, work it all, drag air down dry throat, pump, stamp, breathe. Hang on, last chance, hang on, hang on ,hang on. Together, ten together, ten at the top, ten on the last lap, ten places, ten together, work together. 2O mph, 25 mph, 30 mph, work, sustain, look back, a gap, work sustain, work sustain.

Your turn, your obligation, earn your place, do your work, feel the heart, feel your heart. It's too fast, no matter, do your turn, do it or leave, do it or go to prison, feel free, do your turn, then wait, then do it again.

Eternity, eternity alone, eternity as ten, ten is hard, ten is harder, ten places, ten men. Do your turn, feel the time, wish the time away, wish away the hurt, feel the pain. Pedal, breathe, gasp, drink, pedal, survive, work survive.

A marker, a yellow marker, shouting people, waving people, a kilometre marker, ten men, one kilometre, ten men, ten places, ten escapees, ten riders, a single alligence, broken by a kilometre marker. No more turns, no more empathy, no more sharing, a shattered alliance, selfishness returns.

Look at his legs, look at his eyes, look into his face, watch his wheel. Disorder, glances, cadence, speed, confusion, shouting, confusion, pain, pain, feel the heart, feel the pain. See the finish, push, push push, catch a rider, passed by riders, hear the shouts. Stamp, pedal, stamp, fuck, fucking empty, fuck, try, it's gone, try harder, try, nothing, try, try , try nothing. See the finish, try, nothing, empty, tired, empty, no legs, no air, no blood, see the finish, see the rider, see him finish, fuck, empty, fucking empty. Push, cross, count.

One, two, three, four, five, five, five. Five in front, five, see them shout, five. Five in front. Ten men, five in front, sixth, feel the heart, fuck, feel the fucking heart. Stop. Drink. Sixth. Drink. Sixth, look back, see the group, see the prison. Smile, ten men, ten men escaped, one man won, ten escaped. Feel the heart, feel it slow. Drink. Smile. Drink.