With the cross season at the mid way point it’s time for a review of the season so far strictly from a shop perspective. The headlines as far as I’m concerned are those that haunt me from school – COULD DO BETTER! As far as the other half of Hub Velo is concerned there is a neat symmetry to the year’s cross – his report reads – HAS DONE BETTER! So what is it with this cross symmetry. In my defence I would say it maximises club interest as the symmetry is pretty much perfect week in week out no matter what the venue, no matter what the conditions and no matter who is in the field. If Mike finishes third I finish third last. If Mike finishes second I finish second last. Luckily for me he has only won one when we’ve both raced and low and behold I finished last. In my defence there were a number of DNFs from the reverse podium battle that I have found myself in the middle of. I’ve tried to do things differently in desperation – there has been hardly any mud so far. So with that knowledge last week I ran tyres at a very high pressure. At the start I asked Mike what pressure he was running – very low he said. He came second. Any guesses for me? On two occassions I’ve been on the real podium – embarrassingly collecting Mike’s prize when he’s had to dash off but who will know that when the pictures appear and people say that fat, old bloke did well to finish third against those finely tuned athletes. I assume they all think it was like the Foinavon Grand National win. I’ve resolved to do better in the season’s second half and I will as long as my deadliest non club rival stops riding into to me – you know who you are with your red, white and black kit! I’ve had one success this year at least. At one race whilst awaiting gridding, where you are called to the line in order based on performance, the commissaire had called the first sixty names and then said these crushing words “And the rest of you.” Hold on I shouted – we’ve paid our entry fees like them surely we should get a name check. Too late but the next week they mentioned us all. I think as the weather gets wetter and colder this little victory could see a change in fortune as the front half get wet and cold and wait for the 83rd place on the grid to be called. Then I will shatter this embarrassing symmetry. Gary