LAST weekend I was at the Ladies Tour of Norway; a Women’s WorldTour stage race where the final stage was 160km. Next month I’ve entered the Glasgow Sprint GP where qualifying is decided by a flying 200m time trial. I’m thinking of changing my name to “Jack”. Or more fittingly to “None” after returning from Norway with a DNF next to my name, barely making it to the halfway point of that final stage before getting dropped.

I rode home that day with a rider keen to finish as a point of principle (I on the other hand just wanted to find my team van in the feed zone so I could crawl into the back seat and sob) and who asked me what was wrong. I explained there was nothing wrong, I had simply not trained hard enough over a prolonged period of time and this was the consequence. She told me she was ill.

In between these two extremes –160km in Norway and 200m in Glasgow – I’ll get to do what I’m actually best at when I race an omnium in Dudenhofen (Germany) next week, resplendent in the rainbow stripes of the world champion. This race will be a return to where I won my first UCI omnium in 2015. Not an honest victory though, I have to confess.

The rider who came second that year was a team-mate, one Laura Kenny (Trott at the time), who put in a graciously unenthusiastic bid to bring me back when I went to take a lap in the points race finale. Graciously non-existent. Or: the multi-world and Olympic champ let me have it. Oh well, I still got the podium sash.

There will be no such free passes this time round with Laura busy attending to little (for a human, large for a baby, average for a cat) Albert Kenny. The race start sheet it yet to come out but I’m hoping there will be a competitive field there even in Laura’s absence. Of course I know the three British riders I’m flying out with (Eleanor Dickinson, Megan Barker and Emily Kay) will make it a tough couple days. Assuming rain doesn’t ruin play.

Dudenhofen is an outdoor track you see, so we will be subject to the whim of the elements. Much like the outdoor track where I started out in track cycling: Meadowbank velodrome in Edinburgh.

Before the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome was built in Glasgow, track cycling in Scotland was owned by the east coast. I even raced for an Edinburgh club because that was where the scene was. That club was City of Edinburgh Racing Club and previous members include Callum Skinner, Craig MacLean and Sir Chris himself just to name those with Olympic medals. The list grows embarrassingly long if you name all those with international achievements. Meadowbank velodrome and City of Edinburgh RC had a monopoly on Scottish track cycling.

All this success was built on Afzelia hardwood timber. Which sounds far more romantic than the concrete surface of Dudenhofen velodrome, and rides nicer when in good nick, but just doesn’t cope with decades of exposure to wind, rain and crashes quite the same.

On Saturday, 31 years after hosting a Commonwealth Games on its boards, Meadowbank velodrome will be ridden for the last time. I’ll be riding circles in Germany at the time but from what I’ve heard many riders and enthusiasts will be travelling to Meadowbank to pay tribute to the venue with a closing day gala. And a cheeky fastest lap competition whilst they still can.

After that, the once world-class velodrome that now rides somewhat like a piano, will be laid to rest. An emotional attachment to a sports venue sounds insane of course, but it’s the physical tie we all have to the memories created there. A lot of those memories are of sitting around waiting for it to dry off after rain so we can get on to ride, but I’m sure next Saturday will be a beautiful day regardless of the weather.

And in line with all this talk of times ending, this is also the last of my regular columns in this paper. Good news for the editor who has surely stopped believing my promises to submit on time next month, bad news for my mother who can no longer make joking complaints that she hears more about my life here than face to face.

The decision was made by me to allow more time for an upcoming project, but I was sad to make it. The mistreated editor has kindly said I can always send over copy should I feel compelled to air my opinion on something, so if you want to keep me writing be sure and drum up one substantial controversy that I can’t resist lambasting.