THE SIR TOUR OF PAIN
In the beginning, the TOP was a ride over a shorter distance than what has become the norm on more recent events. The aim was to capture all of the HK Island hills that might figure over a week or two of regular SIR-rides in one big ride. Our total inability to ride without explosions of testosterone though meant that points were introduced for each hill and there was fierce competition on every segment featuring on the scorecard. The format was simple: one SIR would carry a whistle and each segment was neutralised until the “whistle-blower” gave the signal. We didn’t quite do track-stands on Magazine Gap Road, but we were not far off doing so. At the top of each segment, positions were recorded on the scorecard. You had to ride all the segments to get any points in the final summary. This opened up for some interesting tactics in trying to figure out who was going out too hard and unlikely to make it to the end; or those deliberately pushing the early pace only to skulk off home in a taxi (oh it’s been done) half-way through - the pain of the ride may have ended there but the pain of the online joshing would last for weeks. Pacing always paid off. The last segment was Luke’s, aka Satellite on Cape D’Aguilar, and the top three finishers on that segment were awarded double points; in other words, 6, 4 and 2.
