Event Reports

A short but fun course with just two types of going, and they were like chalk and cheese.

I must admit that this was indeed a very picturesque venue. Located in a lovely flat valley floor the access and parking was up there with the very best I've ever seen. With a small river flowing through the grounds of the derelict mansion it was just a short walk over a bridge and you were next to the course and pits.

There were two halves to this event. From the start you went up onto the gently sloping hillside and twisted and turned around in the trees that covered it. Following a narrow track the exposed rocks and roots made this a reasonably technical section. Caution was always needed as it didn't take much to get caught out. The course then exited the trees and went onto the valley floor where Steve had laid out a big special test type thing. With only a few short straights it was fast corners and switchbacks all the way to lap scoing. I'm sure there were lots of smiles on this bit as it's not often you get to open the bike up in the bigger gears on long sweeping corners.

The format for this day was three races. With the course being pretty tight it woudn't have been wise to have too many riders on it of differing standards. Passing was tricky but there were a few places where you could let others past without slowing down. The race length was two hours, and to be honest, this was enough. It was pretty rough in the trees and after a spill the day before I wasn't at my best. My start wasn't that great but we all stayed pretty much in a line riding the course. I quickly settled in and just kept knocking the laps out. I didn't get passed that much and didn't do that much passing, so I can only assume people were lapping at a similar pace which was good as you weren't being hassled all the time.

The sun shone all day, there wasn't much dust and I really enjoyed myself. It was two types of terrain I like riding and doubt anyone went home unhappy with what had been laid out. A slightly tough but enjoyable days riding.

And a bonus was the fact the ground was so dry both myself and the bike were only a bit dusty come the finish so no cleaning required. Now I could get used to that!