Coast to Coast - 24th September 2011

Myself and Jimmy left Malton at 5:30 with our support crew (Ade & Sam) and headed west to Morecambe. We decided to drive the route we'd be riding to check out the hills, the section I was least looking forward to was between Skipton and Harrogate, looked like some killer climbs in this section. As we pulled into Lancaster the rain started.. We continued through Lancaster into Morecambe, we were here. We decided that it would be sensible to get geared up in Morrisons toilets, rather than stand outside in the rain. One we had got our stuff together we took the bikes off of the pickup and peddled towards the start point. 

Morecambe - West Coast

As you can probably tell from the picture, the weather wasn't great, but after a quick picture and a quick chat to some other guys planning to do the route over 2 days (they thought we were crazy?) we set off. Heading through Morecambe and Lancaster and onto the A683, Before we knew it, we had reached Farleton where we dived off onto a smaller B road, which had plenty of ups and downs, and an unusual amount of HGV's tying to squeeze past us. The rain had stopped now, and we were starting to push on, before we knew it we'd been riding for an hour and managed nearly 19 miles. We joined onto the A65 Just before Clapham and hit a headwind which slowed us down quite significantly.  Then soon after, the rain started again... By this point the map board on my handlebars was rattling rather a lot, and starting to really get on our nerves. As the clock ticked over to 2 hours riding we spotted the support crew (my dad & Sam) pulled up in Mearsbeck. We stopped to have a bite to eat and removed the map board. 

We headed off towards the hills, again in the rain, we soon hit Gargrave, where the sun was shining, it felt good to be out on the bike in the Sun with the wind behind us, the sun stayed with us all the way to Skipton where it disappeared just as we hit the long draggy climb. 2 long miles of steep uphill, Our speed must have dropped to about 5 mph up that particular hill. We resisted the temptation to stop at the cafe at the top and pushed on towards Blubberhouses. The decent before Fewston reservoir was really enjoyable, tight twisty corners and no traffic heading westbound, we had the whole road to ourselves so we really used it. We were due to meet our support crew shortly and we were really hoping that they hadn't parked in the car park at the bottom of the steep climb, because food before a big climb is not good. They weren't in the car park, so we continued on up the hill to the lay-by where Dad and sam were sat. After a quick bite to eat and the removal of the leggings, we headed on to Harrogate, knowing that we'd done the majority of the climbing, and we were shocked that they weren't as bad as we had perviously thought...

We hit Kettlesing bottom which marked halfway, the sun was shining and the sky was clear, looking into the distance we could see Dalby Forest on the horizon, It was a massive kick knowing that we had crossed the halfway mark and we could almost see the end... We hit Harrogate doing 50mph (downhill of course) then we hit traffic, loads of traffic. We weaved our way through the traffic and out of harrogate onto the A59. We set off at speed pushing around 30 mph for the first 5 or 6 miles, but then we were slowed significantly by our necks, Jimmy had it worse than me, but our necks were absolutely killing, we soldiered on, we had to do nothing was going to stop us. A tractor passed us, which was a massive help, we were able to sit behind the tractor and use its slipstream to pull us along at a good speed for about 5 miles. York was getting closer by the minute. Sat in the Lay-by at Nether Poppleton, was our support team, and Cameron, who joined on from there. We sent Dad and Sam to Tescos for some pain killers and continued on until they caught us up. 

We ploughed on, onto the A64 and made it to Thompsons before Dad & Sam caught us, we stopped off for some food, and pain killers. Then continued on the A64 drugged up and pain free, the A64 was fast until we hit Whitwell, which was a slow climb up the hill, well for me and Jimmy anyway, Cam's fresh legs meant he flew up the hill. The top of the hill marked 100 miles. Which meant only 30 to go..

Tramping on down the A64

It didn't feel like we'd been going long before we stopped again for the last checkpoint in Malton, Sam Joined on here, and it was a great feeling knowing that Scarborough was only 25 miles away, we'd be there in the next 2 hours, after a quick banana we headed through Malton and out onto the A169.

Leaving Malton

Sam ready to join the ride - Standing with the Support Vehicle

The miles were soon dropping off, and before we knew it, we were climbing up the two hills into the back of scarborough, a MTB'er passed us up the hill and asked where'd we'd come from, he didn't believe us when we said we'd set off from Morecambe at ten to 9 that morning, he disappeared off up the hill and left us to battle on, Cam had also disappeared off with his fresh legs. We re-grouped and headed to the sea front. We'd made it. We decided that it would be a laugh to ride along the sand, and we got plenty of strange looks from everyone on the beach, well it's not every day that you see someone in full lycra riding along the beach on a road bike.. It was an amazing feeling finally reaching the end of our Journey from the West coast.

We met up with everyone who had come to meet us at the end, and headed back to the beach for some photos and we had a little competition - who could ride the furthest in the dry sand. Jimmy and I made it to the wet sand, but cameron ended up rolling around in the sand... 

Scarborough - East coast - 130 miles from Morecambe

Cameron, Jimmy, George & Sam

Thank you's 

Jimmy - Big thanks to you for riding with me, without you it would have been a hell of a lot harder 

Dad & Sam - Thanks for being the Support Crew, without you, we would probably still be at York

Morgan - Thanks for lending me your bike buddy, rode like a dream

Everybody who Sponsored me - I've raised over £600 towards the Camps International trip to Kenya all thanks to your sponsorship, Thank you

The Queens Head, Amotherby - For your generous donation

Specialist Cars, Malton - For your generous donation

Ian Brown Tyres, Malton - For your generous donation

Big Bear Bikes, Pickering - For your generous donation & support

Average Speed - 17.6mph

Distance - 129.26 miles

Total Riding Time - 7hours 20 Mins

GF

UK Gravity Enduro - Round Two - Kielder Forest

 www.ukgravityenduro.co.uk

Round Two – Kielder Forest, Northumberland	11th – 12th June 2011
Round Three – Innerleithen, Tweed Valley	15th-16th July 2011
Round Four – Eastridge, Shropshire	6th-7th August 2011
Round Five – Afan Forest, West Glamorgan	10th-11th September

After waiting months to get my chance to actually have a go a racing, the four week wait for round

two seemed to take even longer.

The experience at Ae Forest had got the bit well and truly between the teeth, and in between the two events, I could think of little else other than getting faster.  I spent more time gym training, getting as much MTB time as possible, and if all else failed, simply peddling the long way home from work.   By the time Kielder came around, I felt considerably more prepared.

You’ve got to dry ‘em somehow!

Having spent a couple of holidays at Kielder in recent years, arriving there on the Friday evening felt familiar, and this helped to remove the element of unknown that hung over Ae.  I was ready to race.

I short recce walk with my support crew (wife Helen and Greyhound Marac), and the taped up stages were looking well; fast, interesting, but most importantly, dry. A Gravity Enduro race with dust? It won’t last....

The race weekend consists of a timed qualifying run (seeding) which usually starts at around four, then racing commences on Sunday morning in order of seeding, with the slowest first.  The idea is that you have time to ride around the whole course on Saturday, usually five stages, and get an idea of what to expect on Sunday. Once you’ve checked out the stages, you qualify, and then get ready for the race. At Ae I was preoccupied with the qualifier stage, which meant I didn’t recce the whole course before racing, and ended up doing some stages blind. I’d learnt my lesson, and a full day’s practicing was in order.

Up and off for practice by about nine on Saturday, and rolling round to stage one and I was already recognising faces from Ae.  It seemed I wasn’t the only one bitten by the Enduro bug, and everyone seemed happy to be back, comparing notes from Ae, and some already had done a loop of the Kielder course on Friday.

The loop took a couple of hours, back in time to bung another practice run in on the seeding stage, then homemade flapjack (more power) and wait for seeding. Qualifying came and went, and then I went for a practice of Stage two, by far the longest stage I’d seen in the contest so far.

Race morning, and rolled out of a slightly misty campsite and into the woods. Stage one was the homemade stage, using none of the existing trail centre, and carving its old school way through good old off camber grass banks, and plenty of roots.  Its funny how the off piste stuff reminds you that it’s bad to get too accustomed to trail centres.  Some of my old skills had gone missing in action, and less Dalby Red Route was the prescription. 

 Stage Two, feet up, flat out.

A long plod up a fire road to Stage two was next, a good chance to gauge the mood of fellow competitors.  Some had put lots of training in, while others had not had the chance due to the usual stuff that stops us doing cool stuff all the time (work/DIY/kids/relatives – you delete as appropriate). Two themes remained constant though, it was good to be back behind a number board, and the Rock Shox Reverb seat post is top of the upgrade list.

Now, stage two was going to be a tester due to the length.  I’d ridden it twice already in practice, and had decided that suited me well, and was definitely somewhere I could claw back some time from the more technical riders.  It was split into two by a fire road, and slight uphill bit in the middle.  My plan was to ‘pump & flow’ my way through the first bit to preserve energy, and then nail it on the second.

Lined up waiting to go, and rider after rider pedalled off into the stage until it was finally my turn. Counted down by the marshal, and I’m off into the first section of standard issue red grade singletrack.  Steady. Trying to maintain a steady pace but not over exert in the first part of the stage was never going to be easy, the temptation to give it all you’ve got is overwhelming. Steady. Down and over the large rock slab with built in water feature, keep pumping. Steady. Some sneaky up bits, and get glimpses of riders still making their way to the start, all shouting to go faster. Steady. Next rider is twenty seconds behind, but there will be another one twenty seconds in front of me. Steady.  Is my strategy really a good idea? Have I just dropped a load of valuable seconds? Steady. Then the trail breaks out onto the fire road climb, keep it in the middle ring. Steady, then through the gate onto the second part of the stage – go, go, go! Fast, narrow woodland singletrack, with some rocks buried just out of sight under the greenery. I’m giving it all I’ve got, and constantly reminding myself to stay off the brakes. The gradient is dropping off, and I’m wondering how much longer when I catch sight of the rider ahead of me.  This is a bit like hitting some kind of MTB Nitros switch.  He is in my sights, and I keep increasing my pace, convinced that my strategy has resulted in the gain.  Onto the final stretch where the main road comes into sight, narrowly miss the photographer (get out of the way – I’m racing!) and drop onto the flat for the sprint to the line.  Close, but just out of reach as I make the last lunge to beat him to the line. The next rider behind me seems to be a while.  I wonder if my strategy had helped.  Won’t know until I can analyse the time when I get home.  Helen is on hand to hand me some more SuperPower Flapjack (no illegal’s before you ask!), and it’s off to stage three. (I was 14 seconds up on rider in front, and 29 seconds up on rider behind).

Mick Hucknall sorts the timing systems out...

One of the great things about the Gravity Enduro is the variety of competitors that line up together at each stage.  At one end there are those who want to try out racing for the first time (me, for instance), then at the other are some former and current World Cup Level Downhill competitors, such as Chris Ball, Crawford Carrick-Anderson, and Helen Gaskell.  To watch these guy’s roll in at the start of a stage is quite something and leaves you in no doubt that you’ve got a lot of work to do if you really want to do well.  At the start of stage three, the line of sight means you can watch each rider some way before they disappear out of sight. A crowd gathers as the last of the Senior category, Mr Crawford Carrick-Anderson drops in. Watching him progress into the stage and everyone else looks like they were freewheeling. He honestly looks like a video on fast forward.  A few riders later, and it’s my turn.  No holding back on this one, a short, rock drop infested mini downhill run.  Some sketchy moments later, and it’s all over, next rider down a bit to close behind meaning he’s caught me up.  Stop mincing.

The day progresses through another rock fest at stage four, where I manage to let the bike go a bit more, and then it’s back to stage five. By this point, I’ve already ridden this stage three times, as it was used as the seeding run yesterday, so confidence is high.  Waiting time on the final stage isn’t long, and I barely have time to adjust my suspension from climb to descend when I’m called forward. The number given at the first round in Ae will stay with me the whole series, so when the marshal yells ‘597’, it’s just a minute before you are counted down to launch onto the final stage.

Stage Four, stay off the brakes – use the force.

The final stage is a good mix of Kielder’s Deadwater trail, but does involve quite a bit of pedalling, so no room for complacency. I take particular comfort from a section midway down, that looks just like Dalby’s Wetmoor Dyke (aka the Bombholes), a personal favourite, and as I see tyre marks showing other riders missing berms or dropping into the drainage ditch, I keep focused in using the familiar trail to get every last bit of speed I can. Pedal, pedal, pedal down into the final bit of woods, where I can hear AC-DC on the tannoy at the finish line.  This is worth at least five MPH more, and I manage a two wheel drift as the track crosses the tarmac road to the finish line. 

The Job is done, and this time I feel like I’ve given my best.  There is always room for post-match analysis, but I honestly feel the progression from the last round is monumental, and crucially I feel more at home strapping on a number board, and ripping my bike faster than I have ever previously gone.  134^th place out of 172 riders feels good, but unsure how this correlates with my previous result of 165^th out of 229.  Fortunately, a web site called roots and rain (www.rootsandrain.com) helps out with the analysis, and is a useful training tool to help you see where you have improved, and where you need to work harder.

I pack the bike away, (support crew have already packed the tent and everything else), and we go to watch the presentations, then home. 

Ten minutes into the drive, and the sunshine gives way to heavy rain, the exact opposite to Ae. As Helen drives the winding road out of Kielder, I’m knackered and nodding off while my over active mind is simultaneously processing the correct line through every bend and dip our car passes through. I think I’m getting into this racing lark.

Will Downhill Racing - NDH Round 4 - 21/7/2011

After a disappointing turn of events at the BDS National Champs, I wanted to make sure I gave my next race everything I could throw at it, and what a weekend it turned out to be! As we arrived on Saturday I learnt this race also was classified as the Yorkshire champs, so double points were awarded. I had not walked the track, but as soon as made my way down the shallow gradient I soon got a feel for the slippery, wet, but fast rolling grass.  Every run felt faster and faster, with the sun drying out the grass allowing me to really hammer every corner.  I was feeling quietly confident about my race run the following day.

We returned on Sunday to find the track was soaked, and the tractors couldn’t get up the hill, so we had to push up! After a hasty tyre change I just about managed to get enough feel for the track ready for my race runs. Both went great, and I finished in 8^th place of 22. Great! After ending the weekend on a high note, I can wait to hit the much feared Alwinton track at the next NDH.