Ride Reports 2012

 

 

New 2012 reports below.....

 

Simon does a ukbike skills course

11 go mad in Afan

Tim`s Triathlon

Ashton Court

Peaks trip

QX Duathlon Wasing Park

 

To read all the great reports from pre 2012 click here


 

 

Simon does a UKBIKE SKILLS course

 

A New Hope

As those of you who have had the misfortune to follow me on our wobbles through the woods know, I'm far from the most skilful of riders. The move from hard tail to full suspension has done little to hide my deficiencies in areas of speed and control, and certainly hadn't suddenly gifted me with the ability to get my wheels off the floor when the opportunity presents its self.

 

You'd never know it, but I have tried to learn how to ride better and have been on a number of skills courses in the past all of which had failed to deliver any kind of improvement in my riding, in fact the last course just reinforced a belief in me that I didn't have the ability to grasp the most basic of core skills and as such more advanced skills such as getting air, riding drops and railing berms were all beyond my capabilities (let alone my ability to actually understand what any of those sick phrases actually mean!)

 

 

 

But I had heard tales from a galaxy far, far away of a Jedi master capable of unleashing the force from within even the most unpromising of riders. Access to the teachings of this Jedi master was made available to me as a birthday gift from my gorgeous wife Liz last summer.

In a galaxy, far, far away...

I finally managed to organise my trip to see the Jedi master in mid March, some eight months after my birthday. Disappointingly I didn't need to travel by starship to a swamp covered planet on the outer reaches of the galaxy to receive the benefit of his wisdom, I just needed to travel in my trusty Citroen up the mist covered A1 to the outreaches of Hertford/Stevenage. And my teacher was neither a bizarre green alien nor a white bearded old man; he was the completely normal Tony Doyle of UK Bike Skills, or Jedi to those who frequent the virtual world of mountain biking forums.

 

 

Use the force

Whilst hugely excited about the days coaching, and grateful that my being so disorganised had meant my session occurred a week before our trip to the Peaks, two weeks before I went to the Lakes and only a few months before our trip to theAlps, as opposed to last summer, I was also slightly apprehensive. My apprehension was not related to what the training might entail, more that I would prove to be a challenge to far and be beyond Tony's help despite the numerous recommendations and positive forum postings. I needn't have worried.

 

I won't go into the details of the day, that's covered in the blog link at the end of this rambling load of nonsense, and I wouldn't want to spoil the day for anyone else who is planning on getting any coaching from Tony. All I will say is that it was one of the most interesting, enjoyable, physically and mentally stimulating days I have experienced in a very long time.

 

 

 

Tony's ability to understand how I learnt and more importantly then teach me appropriately saw me ride in way I would have struggled to think possible at the start of the day. The jumps, drops and berms that I looked at in awe as I drove in to Tony's amazing training ground were all being ridden at speed, in control with no fear by the end of the day...it still blows my mind when I think about it now!

 

 

 

I could talk enthusiastically for hours about how great a day it was (apologies to all who have suffered me doing this!) and I still get a buzz thinking about what I managed to achieve. I know you'll all find it hard to believe that anything has changed about my riding, but my ability to gain energy from the trail and carry speed through corners are things that have really benefited me even on our regular rides. Hopefully, my jumping/dropping skills will prove useful at the end of June when we visit theAlps.

 

Thanks Tony for great day, it was inspirational, and the beer was good as well!

 

http://ukbikeskills.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/simons-1-to-1-session.html

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 11 Go Mad at AFAN

 

 

Peering through my fingers checking out the weather report over that last week was a nerve wracking affair. Enduring the drought conditions I was praying that the MTBberkhamsted weather gods were going to play ball and let us have a dry one in South Wales, not generally known for it's sunny climate. So imagine our surprise when we crossed the Severn Bridge and it stopped raining and this big bright glowing thing appeared, no not Pierre's new Orange 5 (soon we understand) but the sun!!!!!

 

 

 

Early start or not a fair amount of faffing goes into organising and getting stuff ready for a trip away. So for 11 of us to go and thrash our bikes around a mountain Afan didn't let us down. Upon arriving we were soon suited and booted and climbing up from the car park on the gentle climb into what used to be forest. I say used to be, the forestry comission are removing a lot of the trees from the area , as a regeneration plan or possibly to stop R6th from urinating up them all.....
Turning right onto our first bit of singletrack of the day we carried on slowly climbing with the odd teaser of a swoopy turn and bit of descent just to give us a taster of the great tracks that lay ahead.We were basically going to complete W2 which are 2 trails on 2 opposing hills connected by a fire road traversing past the wind farm, which thanks to us having our own mobile wind farm was getting an extra 5 mph on the day of our visit. 

 

 

 

 

Energy was our first proper seat dropping run and memories of the rock garden were revisited for some and overcome as we swooped and splashed our way down. Some of the puddles were rather large and concentrating on picking clean lines and avoiding pedal strikes on the rocks became the order of the day. The nice thing about Afan is that there are plenty of opportunities to re-group, so no one gets left too far behind and then the excited chatter of near death experiences and late breaking bubble to the top. Meanwhile R6th is taking a leak.
The next section is boardwalk with some very tight and gnarly corners and some "sick" rocks poking out ready to grab hold of your wheel and stop the bike in it's tracks , as Bren found out and had a tumble (3 min & 7 secs in the video) but in true fashion jumped straight back up and got back on with it... muttering about bigger shaving cuts and what not.

 

 

 

 

"Goodwood" was shut due to logging work but "Darkside" was open and revealed more "sick" rocks to launch the bike over and hang onto the handlebars as speeds increased and eyes got wider. With the cafe a short trip down the road we decided a Tea and butty stop was in order. Suitably refreshed, Ann retired early to look after her knee and Neil retired because he needed an emergency lie down and rest, (blaming manflu and suchlike)  thoughts for the remainder turned to the climb out from the cafe and as Jeremy revealed probably one of his favourite climbs any where ever... bold statement but I must agree that for technical climbing this is very hard to beat with rocks to deal with, thin singletrack to negotiate and great views  through the trees it is very rewarding to make the summit.

 

 

 

With John T in the lead "Windy point" was dispatched with whoops of joy as corners were thundered round and tyres were pushed to the limits for grip, trusting the bike to instinctively go where it is pointed and daring yourself to hold the brakes off for longer and longer whilst skimming the rocks and tree stumps is one of the reasons Afan ticks certain boxes.
With the wind behind us on the link road it was getting easier now the only riding was descending and the best trails were in my opinion the last 2 being super fast, flowy and at times rather thin. John and i almost daring each other to go quicker and quicker along "Graveyard" and "Zig Zags" and with the room for error diminishing as the trail became steeper and more severe there were moments when the margin for error was virtually zero . All the effort involved with getting to this point suddenly became very worthwhile and the grins on the faces of everyone as they reached the bottom spoke volumes. A great way to finish a ride.

 

 

 

Tired but happy we packed up the bikes and made our way to the Green Lanterns B&B  to rehydrate and melt into comfy chairs. With beer flowing, showers dispatched and piss being taken it was business as usual with finger pulling fart gags, giggling and checking in with loved ones that we were all in one piece having survived W2. Fed and watered we made last orders and with R6th wobbling like an MFI wardrobe (Tom's joke) retired to the fart house for the snoring competition.

 

 

 

Big thanks to:

 

Our drivers Karlos, Jeremy, Pierre, R6th (That was bloody windy on the way back!!!!!)
Pierre for the comedy pants.. shocking pink! very sick!
The weather for stopping the rain long enough to make a great day of it.
Thanks to all who joined in Tom, Karl Lloydy, Jeremy and Ann, Neil, R6th John T, Bren & Pierre for making it such a laugh and giving it your all.
Oh and a mention for those clever monks who invented beer a long long time ago. 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

R4th

For more great pics and Videos from John T go to

 

 


Tim does a Triathlon

 

The usual explanation for entering an event, had a few beers, seemed like a good idea at the time. I had never really liked the idea of triathlons, seemed a bit poncey, the sort of thing people did that aren't any good at any of the sports.


I had not done much swimming, in fact I had not done anything more than lay on a Lilo with a gin and tonic in the last 20 years. I don't really do running either, i hate running outside. It just seems like such a waste of time, "what did you forget your bike?" I use the treadmill at work, the flashing lights and buttons keep me entertained.  The last two pairs of "runners" i have had have never been used outside  but this would be ok I was thinking I'll just ride hard on the bike.

 

I was a bit late for the start so i got changed in reception.  William tried to do the same,  he kicked off when he was told he could not come in the pool with me but was happy enough following me up and down the pool side, which gives an indication as to my lack of speed.  It started badly.  I decided to throw all the experience gained on both my 15 minute practice sessions at hemel out of the window.  It is just like riding a bike, go mental, as fast as you can from the start.

 

I set off fast, overtook the OAP in front, she was having none of it though. Just as I surfaced for air (breast stoke you see, can't do crawl) I managed to catch a tsunami sized wave full in the face, inhaling the whole lot. I thought I was going to drown.  I stopped stood in the middle of the pool,  burped a lot then some more and tried to swim on. It didn't get much better.

 

The bike ride was slow, i was still burping clorine. i had no idea which way to get out of the transition and headed out on the running course. I got stuck at some traffic lights for ages and there was a marshal there so i had to sit and wait.  I later found out the marshal was there to record your number and knock off 1min 15 for "delay and lost momentum".  He had been shouting at me but i thought he was having a go about something so ignored him.  Turned out i had forgotten to put my number on.  The run was tortuous, I think William over took me for the second time that day running into the finish.

 

I was annoyed with my result, I had worked hard I thought.  It was not reflected in my 200th place in the swim, 76th in the bike and 104 in the run. But on reflection I probably could have been better prepared, worked a bit harder.  I'm going to do another, I've got unfinished business.


400m 10min 45sec
20km 37min 18sec
5km 23min 45sec

99th overall out of 225

Tim

 

 

 

MTB Berko hits Ashton Court

 

While the rest of the crew headed north to the Peaks Claire and I instead ended up going west to Bristol and the new trails at Ashton Court  a couple of miles outside of the city centre and recently redeveloped. 

 

 

 

Having read about all this in the March issue of MBR and with a new bike to deliver to my sister it seemed like a good chance to check out Bristol's riding scene and, to say it's so close to the city centre, it's pretty impressive. There are certainly tons of mountain bikers about everywhere and with a trail like this on the doorstep who's to blame them.

 

 

 

Well surfaced and full of berms and pump sections the Nova trail is only a few miles long and blue graded so not too demanding, though the local racing snakes obviously love ragging through it at silly speed in their lycra and on their carbon 29ers. We were taking a slightly more gentle pace, diverting via the optional red section in New Barn Wood that features a few rock gardens and little drops to liven things up.

 

 

 

 

 

Near the end of the loop we diverted into adjacent Leigh Woods where there are more fresh (official) trails and a few steep and muddy (unofficial) ones dropping down the steep sides of the Avon gorge. Worth exploring if you're there. The main trail has some red sections to divert along too, one tight'n'twisty gully section actually quite tough and ending on a cheeky rock roll/step sequence. A bunch of aforementioned racing snakes were sessioning this section and all but one squealed to a halt on the rock roll with any number of excuses about the wrong carbon in their handlebars or too much rebound damping in their grips. While they were making their excuses Claire serenely cruised through on her Five, smoothly rolled off the rock and pedalled out of the gully. "Oh. Well. That's how it's done then," said a crestfallen racing snake.

 

 

 

With Forest Of Dean and Afan nearby you wouldn't make Ashton Court a specific destination but if you want to combine a day in the city with a bit of riding - check out the Mud Dock bike shop for after ride snacks and drinks - it's well worth a look.

 

Dan



 

Peaks Trip March 23rd - 25th

When a strategically timed office move meant the self proclaimed founder of MTB Berkhamsted couldn't make it (bottle job) we knew we were in for a good weekend. Leaving at 9.30 in Jeremy's van the forecast for the weekend ahead was looking good. The drive up the M1 was kept interesting by the suicide bombers in an old Nissan who kept pulling in in front of us. Soon off the motorway we were heading into the Peaks National Park and taking stock of the beautiful country we live in. 

 

 

 

At the bunk house the plan was to dump the gear off and head over to the Chatsworth Estate (looks totally different on Shameless) for a gentle ride. But then something quite ironic happened.............we were all waiting for Karl! Who, with Godders and Tom had decided to go down to Hope cafe and fill up on jacket spuds. Anyway, half hour later we headed off to Tim's folks house on the estate. Saddled up and ready to go, we went for the hardest ever gentle ride ever, anywhere ever! Never buy a second hand car off Tim, hes not to be trusted. Joking aside it was a good ride with some good climbs and some nice down hill bits. Rounded off with what felt like a camel gallop across the fields down to Chatsworth house. Back at the Newmans house we were putting the bikes back in the vans when we heard the words "would anyone like a sausage roll?" bikes dropped and we were all in the back garden stuffing our faces. Tim, can you pass on a very big thank you to your Mum and Dad for their hospitality........I would also like to thank everyone else from holding back with your usual sense of humor - I think we might get invited back for once!

 

 

 

 

Back at the resort we were suited and booted and ready for a bit of Hathersages' finest cuisine. After a few pints in the boozer at the bottom of the hill we wondered up for some nosh in the Scotsmans Pack (that's the name of the pub, not Scottish Steves pants). Orders placed Crispy Chris the Doc was in like a cuckoo and stealing starters off the old forgetful ones. Suitably stuffed and re-hydrated we headed back to the bunk house. Standing outside and enjoying a few pints of - our sponsors - Tring Brewery's finest we could hear a scratching and screaming. After further investigation we managed to track it to the basement where we found this crazy old guy had been locked away for years doing goodness knows what........ 

 

 

 

Saturday morning was upon us before we knew it. All of us were woken by the lovely smell of bacon sizzling away but due to a slight miss calculation only some of us were quick enough to get some! Now joined by Dave who had driven up that morning and after a bit of pointless fettling we were ready for the ride. Riding down the misty lanes towards the the village the air was full of tails (or bulls*#t) of previous trips. One thing I've noticed is how all the trails have dangerous names, The Beast, Serpents Path, One Eyed Trouser Snake etc.......but I was keen to ride them all, no matter how hard. After riding up and up and up and up we were on the top of some hill or other by a television mast staring into the fog. After a wee snifter on Pierre's hip flask we were ready for the off. Buzzing along another hill we got to the top of a nice downhill section leading to Bradwell. With a nice technical section at the top following a small stream the then opens out to a steep section which funneled through a gate. Albeit tougher to do than last time our riding has improved considerably and we all spanked it......except Lloydy and Martin the Marin.

 

 

 

After a quick stop at the Quick Stop we headed up stupid hill with another stupid name. The sun was well and truly out and even though I had taken on quite a lot of Tring Brewery's energy drink the night before I was flagging. Anyway, being aroused at the thought of riding down The Beast I made it to the top. Heading down one at a time it was only when I got to the bottom I found out the others exploits, a busted handle bar, a dig in the ribs, several over bar incidents and more touching cloth moments, but all down in 1 piece (except Johns bars).

 

 

 

Down the road for a bit then guess what................up another hill, followed by a cracking bit of down hill to Ladybower reservoir and some pie and gravy. Last climb of the day up the Steps of Death through the Devils Drainpipe and along Satan's Trouser Leg (I've made those names up, but you get the idea) only to find the rest of MTB Berkhamsted cheering me on by shouting names of body parts at me. The final downhill of the day claimed a few more scalps but nothing serious. Just as luck would have at the end of the ride there was a boozer where we enjoyed a well deserved pint or 2. A short ride back to the resort and Brennan started to prepare the evenings banquet. With the 3 s's out of the way we weren't disappointed, a cracking beef stew, mushy peas and mash hit the spot and was nicely rounded off with Martins cupcakes!!

 

 

 

Exhausted from the riding, with a healthy glow and satisfied with a double portion of Brennan's finest inside me it was another top weekend. 

 

Special thanks to Lloydy, Brennan, Martin`s wife for the cupcakes ,Tim and his Mum and Dad and the drivers for making it happen

Tony


Click here for more photo`s and videos on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

QX Duathlon - Wasing Park - Feb 26th

 

 

 

It's not every morning you pull back the bedroom curtains and see Lloydy and Steve standing on your doorstep (well, there was that one other time but the Police were very helpful and no more was said about it).

It could only mean one thing - it was Duathlon day and they were 10 minutes early.

We should have been joined by Lawrence but unfortunately he turned his ankle whilst running earlier in the week and couldn't recover in time - better luck next time Loz.

So the three of us set off to the picturesque Wasing Park, just south of Reading for the QX Off-Road Duathlon (6k run, 18k bike, 6k run) with a spring in our step and a sat nav on a our dashboard.

We were there in plenty of time to get the bikes in the transition area and make full use of the facilities to cater for those last minute nerves. Lloydy must have been pretty nervous, he asked for a newspaper before he went in.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day and getting warmer and warmer as 11am and race start approached. We had a bit of time to size up the competition and saw there was the usual mix of super keen carbon/lycra types right down to the ladies bike next to mine in transition which had a bell on it. I was hoping it would still be there after I finished the first run otherwise the owner was in front of me!

 After a quick briefing it was time to get on with things, there was a blast of the horn (insert sniggering here) and we were off.

 The terrain was fairly predictable to begin with, tracks across fields and forest roads, fairly dry with the odd soft bit. The field started to stretch as the pro types (including this guy www.jezcox.com) scampered off and the rest of us huffed and puffed. Lloydy was doing a better job than me and Steve who spent most of the race very close to each other.

The run took us across some open fields and back towards to transition area only to cruelly send us back up a boggy hill before dropping down through some woods to pick up the bikes. It felt a bit long and according to my wrist GPS was more like 7km than 6 - thanks!

 

 

 

I'd lost sight of Lloydy by this point but Steve was only 10 metres behind me. Transition went fine and it was nice to get out on the bike for two loops of 9km through tracks, a little bit of singletrack and one, yes one, bit of downhill).

It was hard work on the bike, very pedally and not much relief as it wasn't very technical.

Where it did get more technical though you did find you could catch people, amazing how much even very fit riders slow down on twisty stuff. Just a shame there wasn't more of it. I slowly caught one such rider in a tight wooded section and then promptly fell on a corner as I got a bit excited trying to overtake him.

At this point Steve appeared on my shoulder and we both hared off and soon overhauled the guy in front again.

There were other slower riders to pass too, like the two ladies riding side by side on a trail having a good old natter to each other. I passed them by going off the trail to the right. Apparently when Steve passed then seconds later they said "Thank you for shouting louder than that other man"!!

 

 

 

We also know Lloydy got plenty of props - getting comments from other riders along the lines of "Christ, you're on a sinlglespeed!".

Steve passed me towards the end of the bike leg and we both stared the run just a few metres apart. No sign of Lloydy who was blazing a trail further ahead.

The second run on these things is just to be endured, it's really hard going and you have to work quite hard upstairs not to just pack it in (well, I do).

I think me and Steve egged each other on, not that we had enough energy to speak but it put a bit of pressure on both if us.

We were passed by a couple of runners we'd passed on the bike leg but apart from that were holding our own.

I wasn't looking forward to the final boggy hill but we did nearly catch the guy in front who kept losing his shoes in the mud. A bit of light relief from the pain.

As the final kilometer approached I thought I'd give one last effort and moved alongside and briefly past Steve. This prompted some good healthy competition and we finished by sprinting for the line. If we weren't totally f***ed before then we certainly were by then. 2 hours and six minutes of proper effort.

 

 

 

I pipped it but it was a dead heat really. Lloydy was waiting for us on the line having come in 6-7 minutes before. We all agreed it was a good challenge, very hard work but enjoyable in that weird way that those things are.

We retired to the local Fuller's pub for some carb replacement therapy, tired but satisfied with our effort.

Provisional results tell us the Lloydy came in a fantastic 12th, with me and Steve 18th and 19th  (a draw really). This was out of a field of 50 or so and we are waiting to hear if we were the top placed team, we think we might be. Not a bad days work.

See the full results

 

This race was fuelled by Tring Breweries - The Athletes Choice.

 

Dave


Peaslake Visit - Feb 26th

 

 

Them there Surrey Hills... 26 Feb 2012

My last visit to Peaslake and the surrounding trails was a rather muddy slippery and scary affair, so imagine my delight to find ourselves in the middle of cycling mecca for most things with 2 wheels and dry loamy trails that dare you to go faster..... and the sun was shining!

 

 

 

After a 9am start and blinking in the morning sun, Jeremy (elder), Pierre, Martin, Rich 3rd, Dan, Clare and myself loaded up and made our way in a sort of convoy towards Dorking. I say sort of because trying to keep up with Dan's company GTI steed was pretty hard in 2 vans. On our arrival it seemed that with a bulging car park and more Orange 5's than you could shake a stick at we weren't the only ones who thought a blast around the Surrey Hills was in order.

 

 

 

 

Padded up, coffee'd up we made our way up the first climb of the day and into the sandy surroundings and took in some of the amazing views right across to the South Downs. What you need to remember with riding here is that it can be steep, like hanging right off the back of your bike steep with very big eyes and trusting the bike to keep rolling forward and not do anything unexpected, to the other extreme of fast swoopy trails with some lovely jumps and berms you can really tear into whilst threading your way through the pine forest.

 

 

 

 

 

After sessioning "Barry knows best" a couple of times Dan's knowledge of the amazing trails with which to test the skills and help build our confidence for the Alps, then performed some jumps that Dan does make look easy but had the majority of us diving down the chicken route (me included). 

 

 

 

 

 

With the obligatory tea and cheese straw stop at the Peaslake store we bumped into MTBBerkhamsted newbie Tom (2nd) and his mate Mark who were showing us how it was done on hardtails and joined us for the rest of the afternoon.

 

 

 

We made haste after refuelling and worked our way through at least another 6 trails with varying degrees of crikey thats steep to blimey that was fast and loving the grip the soft tyres and perfect mud were creating, then bimbling up the shortish climbs to either, navigate our way to the next trail or do the same trail again but with better knowledge of which tree stumps to miss with your pedals and which line to attack and stay off the brakes whilst remembering to occasionally blink and breathe.....

 

 

 

A real blast, very enjoyable and looking forward to a return visit. Oh and am I the only one that has aching shoulders today?....

 

R4th

 


Southern Trail Ride & Whyte Winter - Feb 25th

 

On Saturday I did the 40km standard route on the Southern Trail Ride & Whyte Winter 50 in Shalford in 2h 55mins 27 secs.  Missed gold by less than 10 minutes which is a bit disappointing as I have had a vicious bout of Man Flu which has prevented me from doing any riding for a month - in fact since the last Southern Trail Ride that I did with Tim and co. on the 14th of January!  
 


 

The race was well organised, with excellent route markings.  Trails were very busy with a hell of a lot of horse riders and walkers on them.  It was a nice Spring day, very pretty countryside, trails were generally easy going with some muddy bits, some sandy patches and a couple of absolute lungbuster hills... maybe not for you but I really struggled with these ones.  There was a fair bit of road including a very steep downhill with a wicked curve in it which I took way too fast and very, very nearly connected with a massive Landrover Discovery coming the other way.  There was a water stop but no food, which wasn't an issue as it was only 40km.  All in all very enjoyable and nice to do some riding in a different part of the world.

There's another of these events in April
It's in Princes Risborough so a lot closer to all of us than Shalford.  If it's the same one as I did last year, there will be some savage uphills but lots of fun and not nearly as many irate horeswomen as Shalford.  Hope we can get a few more MTBerko riders involved.

Alastair

 


 

 

UCI Track Cycling World Cup - Veledrome , Olympic Park

by junior member Danny (age 9)

 

I had a great day when my dad took me to the new veledrome at the olympic park.

We first went  to meet dad`s friend called gary then we went for a walk and saw the river and big ben, we then went for a drink in a pub where we talked to two old men who like betting and having a drink.

 

 

 

We then went to Stratford to get some food at Jamie Olivers pasta place at westfields  which was nice but he was no there!

 After food i was getting excited as we went to the olympic park and got a bus to the velodrome, when we walked in it was amazing really big and lot`s of lights.

 

 

 

The cycling was fast, much faster than my dad and his friends!, i saw chris hoy but he didn`t see me. I also saw Victoria Pendleton and Jess vanish win a new world record and in total Great Britain broke two new world records.

 


 

I also saw the bbc man who does the football show and the grand prix, I also saw a crash between to girl riders.....

 

 

 

We all had a great day and I really enjoyed it  - I think the olympics are going to be really good this year, i have tickets for the football at old trafford!

I hope you like my report and my dad`s couple  of photos......

Danny

 

 

 


 

 

Trailbreak Shackleford Ride  - Saturday 14th Jan

 

Had a great day at the races on Saturday. We did the trailbreak Shackleford ride. The start was just past Guildford so we met at 7am in Berkhamsted, arrived at the start just after 8 then got registered and ready to ride by 9. It all went like clockwork; rich even brought a flask of tea for the journey. It was Rich the sixth's first race so he chose to do the the 25km. I did the 40km along with Alistair, Rich 3rd and Claudia (who we bumped into when we got there) and Iain bravely took on the 50km. The course was rolling really fast with some great bits of downhill and most of it really dry.

 

 

 There was a good variety of rocky descents, drops, swoopy bits, boardwalk, sand and woodland with only bits of Tarmac although Iain said there was quite a bit on the longer route. There were a few scary moments when you could not tell if the tyre width frozen ruts would flick you off and a few drops I followed Iain down that were probably best not to know about. Dam those big wheels.

 

 

Giddy excitement at temperatures that felt so cold that my fingers were numb in no time meant I went off a bit too quick at the start and forgot to look out for the others. But then I had to stop to faff with my back wheel and as the feeling started to come back it became really painful. This coinciding with the arrival of Iain, I was please to see him as it would be much better riding together . None of the other riders asked if I was ok which annoyed me. I always (mostly) shout to check if they need anything  I have absolutely no intention of stopping but I think it is good to show camaraderie.

 

 

Once I stopped in a race and gave someone a compressed air cartridge to fix his tyre, tosser passed me on the next hill. Anyway, I rode with Iain for the first 25km when the routes split. I could not believe the speed we were making, I kept doing the sums in my head to check my computer. The weather was stunning, misty with blue skies and after a while it felt like we were the only people on the course.

 

 

We did discuss stopping to take photos but as the riding was going so well there was no way either of us wanted to slow down so sorry there are not many pictures. I pushed hard for the last 10km only to cross the finish and be told I had come from the wrong direction. I was livid so went off to do the loop I missed. I was so angry though that the last 4km bit was my fastest of the race. We didn't know the times when we finished, we were just all over the moon to have had a great day. Looking at them now though I think we all did really well and are keen to sign up for more

Tim

 

Results.......

50km - Iain 25th  

40km - Tim 2nd,  Alastair 50th,  Rich3rd 98th,  Claudia 99th

25km - Rich6th 11th

 For the full results click here


 The route we took.....