Kent Spring Half Mar-19th-mar-2026

29/04/2026 | 2E0YRE - Tony Klinakis Radio Website

No drama this time, except that I was a little late getting up. I didn’t make it to the briefing point in time, but I got to my marshall point about 10 minutes before the race began.

Single radio, the Quangsheng, split frequency operation on the MB9ABH repeater. The signal was touch and go - at times it was perfect, and at other times there was QRN that meant I couldn’t get a word.

I nipped around the Ashford Golf Club for a coffee when there was a lull in the race. The staff are surely not accustomed to serving yellow-vested radio-totting bearded patrons. Snotty service, which I can forgive, horrible coffee, which I cannot.

I just realised something as I was writing this blog post. I was looking for the coordinates for my marshall point, M3. Only I wasn’t there. I was at M2, which was just around the corner. What can I say - changes in personal life (the good kind) must have made me a little absent-minded. I’ve marked both positions on the map so you can see where I was versus where I should have been.

The drive to Ashford was wonderful. A sunny and mildly windy day, and a slight delay in leaving the house, meant that I could ride in a manner that riders call “spirited”. That means you still respect the limits around villages - you don’t want to a) get a reputation with the locals, or b) see any yellow cameras sprout up - but nationals are fair game. And fair game they were.

The marshalls were lovely. I didn’t get their names but they were gentle people, former runners themselves. After the race I went back home, in a less spirited but still spirited fashion, and went on with my day.