Event Reports

Well, just thought I'd let you know how I got on at my first time card enduro.(I entered clubman,must be mad)

I got my bike prepped during the week prior to the event,well new tyres and a clean air filter(it’s a yam,you don’t have to do much more) set my alarm for 5 in the morning and drunk lots of water as I got cramp at the Brinks (think that was due to too much beer on my holidays the week before though).

Anyway, Carl picked me up at 6 am and as soon as we got on the M60 we were greeted with a sign saying part of the M62 was closed (joy),then later another saying there were problems on the M1(even more joy),after getting to the event a little late we were happy to see a few friendly faces from the club,Craig,Andy and Geraint.

We signed on and then went to get the bikes examined, all was ok but Carl had to put his No plate back on to be passed.Then it was down to the maths,a bit daunting to a novice like me but Geraint showed us how to fill the cards in and how to calculate the checks.

I was setting off a minute before Carl which I thought was good because if I got stuck or broke down he could help (wrong, it ended up being the other way round).Anyway off I went as if I was on a Sunday ride out, nothing like the start at a Hare and Hounds. After about 5 mins into the first section a rut sent me off course a little, at speed, and ended up heading into a fir tree (not much else to hit really) and with my eyes closed I hoped for the best.I managed to nose butt a branch and stopped to asses the damage and found lots of blood trickling from under my helmet. Just then Carl and a few more riders passed me, I got going again and made it to the first check with a few minutes to spare.

The event had a bit of everything wet ruts, dry ruts, little jumps, small bogs (which Carl got to know intimately), tight woody sections, fire roads, steep down hill bits and an excellent steep up hill which I enjoyed immensely.

When I got back to the pits to refuel and powder my nose, (you got 10 mins in the pits after each lap) Carl and I had chance to reflect how things were going.After he had stopped laughing at my hooter, we both agreed that it was worth the journey.

Neither of us had lost any time on the first lap, but that was soon to change as the times on each section on the second lap were tighter.

I set off again 1 min ahead of Carlos and soon he passed me again (b@st@rd) but not for long, as I was getting closer to a little boggy bit I saw a figure I recognised,yep it was Carl trying to push his bike out using his crotch against his handlebar pad, not a pretty sight for a grown man, even though I think we”ve all tried it at some stage when stuck in a rutted bog.

As a good mate does I stopped and laughed (no I didn't, well ok, a bit then). I helped him get it out of the rut and got on my way, in front for a change. When I got to the next check that’s when I found out I had lost 6 mins (that’s what you get for helping a mate!) I think I would have been a little late any way, but on the next check I had made 3 mins back but once you’ve lost it you can”t get it back.

Back in the pits at the end of the 2^nd lap I got some more fuel and a butty then had to do my maths again to add the mins I had lost onto my next check times. I was really enjoying it now I knew what was coming up and when. I took Geraints d'vise and stopped at tricky bits to assess it first and found I wasn't getting stuck in bogs (like some riders (Carlos))

Now on the final lap and only a couple of riders passed me (was I getting better or had riders dropped out, the latter I think) Carl had set off 1 mins before me this time as he had only lost 4 mins and I lost 6 mins, see it gets confusing doesn't it?

The last lap was good, even better when I saw THAT figure again in the same rutted bog, (when will he learn?!) as I scooted around the bog I gave a loud "yeehaa" as I passed (he was out of it by now) I could tell he was goosed by the way his head lay on the tank and his elbows rested on the handle bars. I carried on and finished the rest of the lap without incident and dropping no more time. Job done!

The results aren't out yet but does it matter if you had a good one? I'll definitely do another one so it can't be that bad.

Many thanks Simon.