Shit day today, my dog had to be put down, god bless him........................................
Monday, 30 June 2014
Thursday, 29 May 2014
May 2014 update!!!!!!!!!!
It's been a while ain't it? 2 young kids equals time + money, simple as that really! Still no chance of getting back racing for the moment but i haven't given up hope just yet!
So me being me and not able to sit on my arse and do jack shit, this year i've decided to try and resurrect my marathon days from years gone by. Been training since the start of the year and currently running about 35 miles a week and hoping to build it up to around 50 so I can run a fast time in order to qualify for the 'London' and get an automatic entry for next years race. Got to admit it's hard work, but then again when I think of some of the enduros i've done, running and training in the pissing rain and howling wind don't seem half as bad as what they've been like!
See ya
Trev
So me being me and not able to sit on my arse and do jack shit, this year i've decided to try and resurrect my marathon days from years gone by. Been training since the start of the year and currently running about 35 miles a week and hoping to build it up to around 50 so I can run a fast time in order to qualify for the 'London' and get an automatic entry for next years race. Got to admit it's hard work, but then again when I think of some of the enduros i've done, running and training in the pissing rain and howling wind don't seem half as bad as what they've been like!
See ya
Trev
Monday, 7 October 2013
Sign of the times?
Read disclaimer >here< before viewing.
Well it's been just over 2 years since I last raced, and to be honest because of the family thing, i've kept right away from it and haven't really kept up with what's going on and who's doing what? For some reason a few days ago i'd thought i'd take a butchers and try and catch up with a few things to see exactly what's been occurring.
F*ck me what a shock i was in for! It seems to me that a huge number of organisers and riders involved in the enduro world have also been bitten in the arse by the current financial situation that lays upon our doorstep.
Midwest Mcc - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
I did a full season with them back in 2009, and can remember complaining about one race i did with them because there was too many bikes racing on such a short course. That day i think there was about 200, now they can't enough entries to even run an event!
Southern counties (SCEC) - No events this year
Family problems have prevented Gary from running any events this year, so you'd have thought that the riders who used to ride with them would have gone elsewhere? Not so.
Track n trail - Cut down on the number of events
I can remember Track n trail having a winter series and a summer series, not anymore as they've seriously cut down on the number of races they now put on.
Action south west (ASW) - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
Another club to have fallen fowl of the 'not enough entries' syndrome.
Xmoor enduro club - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
Jesus christ, i never thought i'd see the day that an exmoor event would be cancelled. These are really top notch races, good organising, fantastic courses and good competition. Lack of entries, unbelievable.......
ORE - Hardly any riders
When i started out in 2006 there use to be up to 30 riders in each class, when i took a look at their results recently there was only 1 expert, 3 over 40's a few clubman and about 10 sportsman. On top of that, it's yet another club that have cut down on the number of races they organise.
Dunmere enduro - Entries down
A really good event and one that was always fully booked every year with roughly 120 riders. In fact in previous years if you didn't get your entry in quick enough you didn't get a ride. This year just over 80 riders competed so numbers were down also on this event.
Weston beach race - Entries down
The 'daddy' of them all some might say because of the location and prestige that goes with it and an event with a great history. The last time i raced it there were about 1,000 bikes on the start line, this year there were about 330.
This lot above is just some clubs from down here in the south west, makes you wonder what's happening elsewhere don't it?
Well it's been just over 2 years since I last raced, and to be honest because of the family thing, i've kept right away from it and haven't really kept up with what's going on and who's doing what? For some reason a few days ago i'd thought i'd take a butchers and try and catch up with a few things to see exactly what's been occurring.
F*ck me what a shock i was in for! It seems to me that a huge number of organisers and riders involved in the enduro world have also been bitten in the arse by the current financial situation that lays upon our doorstep.
Midwest Mcc - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
I did a full season with them back in 2009, and can remember complaining about one race i did with them because there was too many bikes racing on such a short course. That day i think there was about 200, now they can't enough entries to even run an event!
Southern counties (SCEC) - No events this year
Family problems have prevented Gary from running any events this year, so you'd have thought that the riders who used to ride with them would have gone elsewhere? Not so.
Track n trail - Cut down on the number of events
I can remember Track n trail having a winter series and a summer series, not anymore as they've seriously cut down on the number of races they now put on.
Action south west (ASW) - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
Another club to have fallen fowl of the 'not enough entries' syndrome.
Xmoor enduro club - Last race cancelled, lack of entries
Jesus christ, i never thought i'd see the day that an exmoor event would be cancelled. These are really top notch races, good organising, fantastic courses and good competition. Lack of entries, unbelievable.......
ORE - Hardly any riders
When i started out in 2006 there use to be up to 30 riders in each class, when i took a look at their results recently there was only 1 expert, 3 over 40's a few clubman and about 10 sportsman. On top of that, it's yet another club that have cut down on the number of races they organise.
Dunmere enduro - Entries down
A really good event and one that was always fully booked every year with roughly 120 riders. In fact in previous years if you didn't get your entry in quick enough you didn't get a ride. This year just over 80 riders competed so numbers were down also on this event.
Weston beach race - Entries down
The 'daddy' of them all some might say because of the location and prestige that goes with it and an event with a great history. The last time i raced it there were about 1,000 bikes on the start line, this year there were about 330.
This lot above is just some clubs from down here in the south west, makes you wonder what's happening elsewhere don't it?
Monday, 31 December 2012
End of year thoughts 2012!
Content may offend so please read disclaimer >here< before continuing.
Well then, hope you are all well and your ridings been going ok. As for me, what exactly have I been up to since my arm caused me to stop again? One word covers that question, BUSY! Another sibling has come along so that’s now double trouble with 2 youngsters now to cater for. Of course with being a parent again there comes the dreaded ‘lack of a good nights kip’ associated with it! Many a time I’ve made plans to get out on the bike again and go for a bit of practice, only to feel f*ckin knackerd in the morning after getting woke up in the middle of the night. Not only that, with the late nights (or early mornings) that I have when I return home after the gigs, sometimes I only get a couple of hours kip. Not the best place to be if you’re going out on a bike and trying to wring it’s neck! Especially as the years seem to be catching up on me now! As you all know fitness was my forte (didn’t have a lot of bike skills) and to be honest this has also suffered with my training regime with it almost being thrown out the window, call it a ‘knock on effect’ if you like. So, until I get back into some sort of shape I certainly won’t be racing again because it ain’t worth paying good money out on entry fees, diesel, and bike maintenace just to go and have a ride round, is it?
Do I miss the enduro scene? Of course, after all, a few years back i was racing or practicing week in week out, and although at the moment I seem to have a big thumb print on my forehead that says ’Family duties only’, I can tell that I haven’t given up and as Arnie would say, ’I’ll be back’.
Until then, watch this space, enjoy your racing, see you soon.
Trev
Saturday, 31 December 2011
End of year thoughts........................
Please click on the 'disclaimer' link on right side before viewing!
So after spending a year out with injury it was back to racing. After winning the Clubman E1 champs down here in the south west in 2009, it was time to up the game a bit and enter most of the races in the vets expert class. Not an easy thing to do as I’d spent a year out of it and I expected to get my arse kicked, but in the end the races that I did finish I didn’t do too bad finishing about half way in most of them. What I did find a bit strange was that the South West championships this year incorporated an experts over 35 class. Don’t know why that is, as just about every other club or governing body (ACU, AMCA, SCEC, TnT, SEEC, to name a few) start their classes with vets at over 40. Seems even more weird because the South West champs have an clubman over 40 class then it goes back 5 years to expert over 35!
This year it’s certainly been one to forget though (apart from the odd decent result) as I’d had far too many DNF’s and a couple of trips to the ambulance thrown in for good measure. Yet again I sacrificed everything in one race (Dawn to Dusk) in order to get a finish with unfortunately serious consequences as the injury I sustained from it kept me out for the rest of the year. But saying that, if I wouldn’t have carried on riding with it for the rest of that race, I wouldn’t have got on the podium with a 3rd place which I was chuffed to bits with!
Here’s some memories not to forget (or maybe forget!) that’s happened during the year:
*‘Mad’ Jack and his boy Paddy have a right old ding dong with each other over a big mac meal at Macdonalds on the way to the Muntjac.
*Adam Blake posting a time only 2secs slower on my 125 than what he did on his 250f round the moto x track one Sunday whilst out practicing.
*Me witnessing an ACU steward smoking in the pits! (naughty naughty)
*Lifting my mud laden bike over a tree at the Treborough enduro, than having to drag it under another one in order for me to get to the fire road and get towed back to the pits.
*‘Mad’ Jack (again) who got injured at the GBXC round in Devon, making the ambulance driver turn around on the way to hospital and take him back to his van!
*The little strimmer seizing on the track while I was out practicing. It’s just such a horrible thing to experience when you try to push the kick start down and it’s just solid.
*The horrendous cramps I suffered in my legs after the Muntjac, never had that in my life, god knows what happened there!
*My arm being stuck to my inner layer, body armour and race shirt after gashing the thing open at the Dawn to Dusk. I did the injury after about 5 hours and rode round with it still bleeding for another 7 hours or so. Trouble was, when I finished it had all dried and congealed in a big lump and I literally had to ’tear’ away the clothing from my arm! F*ck me did that hurt!
*The girlfriend having to take my clothes off and shower me (nice one) because I couldn’t move my arm when I arrived back from the Dawn to Dusk a bit ‘battered’ from the race.
*Going round the ‘special test’ at the Brass monkeys in 1st gear because the all the bike wanted to do was stall after I’d done a good job of burning the piston rings out earlier in the race.
*Adam Blake going past me similar to ‘a Norwegian Olympian on a luge going down the St Moritz bobsled run whilst in a hurry’ at the Dawn to Dusk. We’d both already been on our bikes for 11 hours or more and he just came past me like I was a 3 yr old trying out a pushbike with stabilizers for the 1st time!
* The horrible rancid smell of my clutch plates that had been totally fried at Treborough. First time I’ve changed a clutch that’s been that bad, the stench of them made my workshop smell for weeks.
January
I started of with a trip up to Dorset for the local police Hare and Hounds, cracking course and well pleased to finish in the end. Next it was to Hellvana which was a round of the SW champs. As you drove into the place the sign read ‘Welcome to hell’, they weren’t far wrong! Really hard going with loads of roots and peaty bogs. Unfortunately for me my chain got wrapped round the front sprocket and suffered a DNF.
February
With only the one race under my belt it was off to the British champs in Norfolk for the Muntjac enduro. As always it was tough! Not the going but the time schedule in which you had to keep to. Not too bad a finish with a halfway position and a better time than what I did it in the last time. Later that month I did a TnT event and finished about half way down the field in the Vets experts. So things so far weren’t going too badly in my ‘comeback’ year.
March
Drama in the brass monkeys enduro ensued when I basically wrecked my piston and barrel in order to get a finish. I’m now left without a bike!
April
More bike trouble after getting it repaired only for it to seize! Oh b*llocks, I’m without a bike again now!
May
Thankfully the bike is sorted, but it didn’t do me any good and while taking an early lead in the race at Nancemellion, I had an off, bent my flamin thumb back and ended up in the ambulance. Next I did an ASW event, an endurocross, 2 races of an hour each, not a bad result with a 2nd and a 3rd. It then off to a SCEC race at Shillingstone forest, cracking course, loved it, done ok with a finish that saw me in the top half of the vets experts. An Exmoor event was next on the cards at Treborough, big lap but I only a few miles of it as I burnt my bloody clutch out, aaaarrrrgggghhh! DNF!
June
We’re now in the middle of British summer aren’t we? Try telling that to the ASW club that organized the Huntsham endurocross event! I only did the 1st race because the ’monsoon’ type conditions forced the rest of the meeting to get abandoned. You know what? It was just one of them days where it rained all day and didn’t stop, personally I would have done the 2nd race if was still going ahead, but with safety in mind (paramedics found it impossible to reach any injured riders in the woods) it was a no brainer to call a halt to proceedings really. A local event at Cardinham was next and I was lucky to make it to the finish as my bearings in my back wheel obliterated completely. Now the next race was a summers day! 90 degree heat and absolutely roasting as I traveled over the Severn bridge (rip off toll charge included) and into Wales for a CTR event. No luck again and another DNF as my clutch master cylinder went AWOL.
July
Just the one race, a TnT event at St Martin where another DNF was the order of the day as my kill switch decided to play up with just a few laps to go which cut out the bike. I couldn’t get the thing started again so had a lonely walk beck to the van.
August
For me this is what I’d been looking forward to all year, the Dawn to Dusk and 12 hours riding a little 125! Must admit I was a bit nervous as I’d been having crap luck all year with the amount of DNFs’ and I was desperate to finish this after having to pull out of it halfway through in 2009 through injury. I needn’t have worried, I did 12hrs and 37mins on the strimmer and finished 3rd well chuffed.
September
Not good with 2 back to back DNF’s at Idless and Woolborough Barton due to my arm which got injured at the Dawn to Dusk.
October
Injured!
November
Still injured
December
Yes, still injured!
Last but not least………….Big thanks to Thor motorcycles whose helped me again this year by repairing and getting the parts in double quick time for me when I needed it so I could get back on the track again quickly.
My expenses
Entry fees.................................723
Diesel........................................539
Petrol.........................................212
Insurance + tax (Bike).......................170
Insurance + tax (van)........................458
Servicing + mot (Van).....................188
Memberships/licences.........................48
Tyres (Plus tubes and Mousses)...............312
Nutrition (Drinks and gels)....................98
Lubricants (WD40,Chain lube,Grease, etc)...64
Jet washing.......................................8
Cleaning solutions.............................98
Maintenance of bike(Engine,clutch,footpegs,grips,levers,cables,bearings,pads,sprockets,chains,radiators,seals)............................1128
Plastics...............................................176
Backgrounds/numbers.............................28
Race kit.............................................227
Practicing..............................................70
Tools (Various).......................................43
Oils for bike.......................................157
Total.........................................................4,747
So after spending a year out with injury it was back to racing. After winning the Clubman E1 champs down here in the south west in 2009, it was time to up the game a bit and enter most of the races in the vets expert class. Not an easy thing to do as I’d spent a year out of it and I expected to get my arse kicked, but in the end the races that I did finish I didn’t do too bad finishing about half way in most of them. What I did find a bit strange was that the South West championships this year incorporated an experts over 35 class. Don’t know why that is, as just about every other club or governing body (ACU, AMCA, SCEC, TnT, SEEC, to name a few) start their classes with vets at over 40. Seems even more weird because the South West champs have an clubman over 40 class then it goes back 5 years to expert over 35!
This year it’s certainly been one to forget though (apart from the odd decent result) as I’d had far too many DNF’s and a couple of trips to the ambulance thrown in for good measure. Yet again I sacrificed everything in one race (Dawn to Dusk) in order to get a finish with unfortunately serious consequences as the injury I sustained from it kept me out for the rest of the year. But saying that, if I wouldn’t have carried on riding with it for the rest of that race, I wouldn’t have got on the podium with a 3rd place which I was chuffed to bits with!
Here’s some memories not to forget (or maybe forget!) that’s happened during the year:
*‘Mad’ Jack and his boy Paddy have a right old ding dong with each other over a big mac meal at Macdonalds on the way to the Muntjac.
*Adam Blake posting a time only 2secs slower on my 125 than what he did on his 250f round the moto x track one Sunday whilst out practicing.
*Me witnessing an ACU steward smoking in the pits! (naughty naughty)
*Lifting my mud laden bike over a tree at the Treborough enduro, than having to drag it under another one in order for me to get to the fire road and get towed back to the pits.
*‘Mad’ Jack (again) who got injured at the GBXC round in Devon, making the ambulance driver turn around on the way to hospital and take him back to his van!
*The little strimmer seizing on the track while I was out practicing. It’s just such a horrible thing to experience when you try to push the kick start down and it’s just solid.
*The horrendous cramps I suffered in my legs after the Muntjac, never had that in my life, god knows what happened there!
*My arm being stuck to my inner layer, body armour and race shirt after gashing the thing open at the Dawn to Dusk. I did the injury after about 5 hours and rode round with it still bleeding for another 7 hours or so. Trouble was, when I finished it had all dried and congealed in a big lump and I literally had to ’tear’ away the clothing from my arm! F*ck me did that hurt!
*The girlfriend having to take my clothes off and shower me (nice one) because I couldn’t move my arm when I arrived back from the Dawn to Dusk a bit ‘battered’ from the race.
*Going round the ‘special test’ at the Brass monkeys in 1st gear because the all the bike wanted to do was stall after I’d done a good job of burning the piston rings out earlier in the race.
*Adam Blake going past me similar to ‘a Norwegian Olympian on a luge going down the St Moritz bobsled run whilst in a hurry’ at the Dawn to Dusk. We’d both already been on our bikes for 11 hours or more and he just came past me like I was a 3 yr old trying out a pushbike with stabilizers for the 1st time!
* The horrible rancid smell of my clutch plates that had been totally fried at Treborough. First time I’ve changed a clutch that’s been that bad, the stench of them made my workshop smell for weeks.
January
I started of with a trip up to Dorset for the local police Hare and Hounds, cracking course and well pleased to finish in the end. Next it was to Hellvana which was a round of the SW champs. As you drove into the place the sign read ‘Welcome to hell’, they weren’t far wrong! Really hard going with loads of roots and peaty bogs. Unfortunately for me my chain got wrapped round the front sprocket and suffered a DNF.
February
With only the one race under my belt it was off to the British champs in Norfolk for the Muntjac enduro. As always it was tough! Not the going but the time schedule in which you had to keep to. Not too bad a finish with a halfway position and a better time than what I did it in the last time. Later that month I did a TnT event and finished about half way down the field in the Vets experts. So things so far weren’t going too badly in my ‘comeback’ year.
March
Drama in the brass monkeys enduro ensued when I basically wrecked my piston and barrel in order to get a finish. I’m now left without a bike!
April
More bike trouble after getting it repaired only for it to seize! Oh b*llocks, I’m without a bike again now!
May
Thankfully the bike is sorted, but it didn’t do me any good and while taking an early lead in the race at Nancemellion, I had an off, bent my flamin thumb back and ended up in the ambulance. Next I did an ASW event, an endurocross, 2 races of an hour each, not a bad result with a 2nd and a 3rd. It then off to a SCEC race at Shillingstone forest, cracking course, loved it, done ok with a finish that saw me in the top half of the vets experts. An Exmoor event was next on the cards at Treborough, big lap but I only a few miles of it as I burnt my bloody clutch out, aaaarrrrgggghhh! DNF!
June
We’re now in the middle of British summer aren’t we? Try telling that to the ASW club that organized the Huntsham endurocross event! I only did the 1st race because the ’monsoon’ type conditions forced the rest of the meeting to get abandoned. You know what? It was just one of them days where it rained all day and didn’t stop, personally I would have done the 2nd race if was still going ahead, but with safety in mind (paramedics found it impossible to reach any injured riders in the woods) it was a no brainer to call a halt to proceedings really. A local event at Cardinham was next and I was lucky to make it to the finish as my bearings in my back wheel obliterated completely. Now the next race was a summers day! 90 degree heat and absolutely roasting as I traveled over the Severn bridge (rip off toll charge included) and into Wales for a CTR event. No luck again and another DNF as my clutch master cylinder went AWOL.
July
Just the one race, a TnT event at St Martin where another DNF was the order of the day as my kill switch decided to play up with just a few laps to go which cut out the bike. I couldn’t get the thing started again so had a lonely walk beck to the van.
August
For me this is what I’d been looking forward to all year, the Dawn to Dusk and 12 hours riding a little 125! Must admit I was a bit nervous as I’d been having crap luck all year with the amount of DNFs’ and I was desperate to finish this after having to pull out of it halfway through in 2009 through injury. I needn’t have worried, I did 12hrs and 37mins on the strimmer and finished 3rd well chuffed.
September
Not good with 2 back to back DNF’s at Idless and Woolborough Barton due to my arm which got injured at the Dawn to Dusk.
October
Injured!
November
Still injured
December
Yes, still injured!
Last but not least………….Big thanks to Thor motorcycles whose helped me again this year by repairing and getting the parts in double quick time for me when I needed it so I could get back on the track again quickly.
My expenses
Entry fees.................................723
Diesel........................................539
Petrol.........................................212
Insurance + tax (Bike).......................170
Insurance + tax (van)........................458
Servicing + mot (Van).....................188
Memberships/licences.........................48
Tyres (Plus tubes and Mousses)...............312
Nutrition (Drinks and gels)....................98
Lubricants (WD40,Chain lube,Grease, etc)...64
Jet washing.......................................8
Cleaning solutions.............................98
Maintenance of bike(Engine,clutch,footpegs,grips,levers,cables,bearings,pads,sprockets,chains,radiators,seals)............................1128
Plastics...............................................176
Backgrounds/numbers.............................28
Race kit.............................................227
Practicing..............................................70
Tools (Various).......................................43
Oils for bike.......................................157
Total.........................................................4,747
Update...........................
Well after getting the arm checked twice now at the old doc’s, it seems there’s not a lot I can do except rest the thing. The injury is lot worse than I first thought, it appears that whatever managed to go through my arm at the Dawn to Dusk has torn into my muscle on my forearm and only rest will cure it. It’s at times like this that you wish you were 20 again, take half the time to heal! Mind you I will say that the girlfriend is extremely happy because unlike last year (when I was injured for a long time and went out every Sunday to watch races), this time I’ve kept away from all the bike racing and been decorating the house!
Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Ali Gilbert who had a nasty ‘off’ at a local event a couple of weeks back. Ali spent 9 days in hospital after basically smashing his knee to bits which broke all the ligaments in it as well as breaking his knee cap. Bloody horrible things knees to damage, I now about them because I’ve got an artificial ligament myself in one of mine. I spoke to Ali on the phone the other day, he’s in good spirits but will of course be out of action for long time, real shame that because he really was starting to put some good results in and was starting to ride really well. Get well soon mate…………..
Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Ali Gilbert who had a nasty ‘off’ at a local event a couple of weeks back. Ali spent 9 days in hospital after basically smashing his knee to bits which broke all the ligaments in it as well as breaking his knee cap. Bloody horrible things knees to damage, I now about them because I’ve got an artificial ligament myself in one of mine. I spoke to Ali on the phone the other day, he’s in good spirits but will of course be out of action for long time, real shame that because he really was starting to put some good results in and was starting to ride really well. Get well soon mate…………..
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Wolborough Barton- 18th September 2011
(Pic by Sue Pitman)So the South west championship road show moved on to Woolborough Barton which was up near Newton Abbot. Just about everyone that rode last week was up here today, so I wasn’t short of a decent natter and a bit of banter with anybody! After doing a pub crawl yesterday on a push bike in which the route was some 40 odd miles around half of Cornwall, Rod Mclean was here and full of beans and raring to go (must be fitter that what I am) and looking forward to putting his body through yet more punishment!
After last weeks dismal display concerning my injury I’d thought I’d give it another try to see if it was any better. Woolborough Barton is a cracking track with lots of woods with a few fields thrown in for good measure so you can have a decent blast and open the bike up a bit. I’ve fond memories of the place as I had a win here back in 2009 so I was of course looking forward to riding it again. Perfect riding conditions today as the weather wasn’t too hot with the overcast sky overhead making it a nice temperature to start the race in.
So to the start then which was (not) conveniently placed on a hill side. Tim Cotton who was lined up next to me had to get off his bike to kick start the thing because the hill we were on was to steep for him to sit on his bike properly! As the flag dropped I fired up the little strimmer into life and was about half way in the pack as we made our way winding through a couple of fields before we headed out into the woods. Before I’d even done half a lap I knew things weren’t good again with my arm, and just like last week before I’d even reached the end of it, I had half the bloody field overtake me. I came round lap scoring and thought ‘Do I do another lap to see if the arm gets any better?, or call it a day now?’, I decided to go out and try another lap, but again it was absolutely useless and I had no option but to come into the pits and take a breather.
After about an hour it was back out to do another couple of laps, but again I had no choice but to pull back in the pits as my arm was killing me, so I had to call it a day. Gary ‘nothing gets in my way’ Mcoy was hobbling about in the pits on one leg after having an argument with a tree, turns out that he’d actually broke his leg! Obviously something did get his why today then! Best of luck with your recovery mate.
So after watching all the action from the sidelines (yet again, and too many times this year I might add) it was off home with my tail between my legs sulking like a kid that had just had his sweets taken away from him!
Finishing position: DNF
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Idless woods- 11th September 2011
Nice, a South West round of the enduro champs just down the road about 20 mins away and not bad weather to go with it as well, slightly overcast, but warm, so it was all systems go and I was really looking forward to this one as 90% of the course is all woods. After riding the strimmer in the Dawn to Dusk I was feeling quite good about it all and couldn’t wait to get started, but my arm was still in a bit of pain from that tasty ‘off’ I had so it was fingers crossed on that count.
I got there early and got parked up next to Adam Blake and Ali gilbert, and with a quad race starting beforehand, we took a walk down to the start to watch them off. So with plenty of time in hand and literally nearly every enduro rider from around the Cornwall area riding today, I wasn’t short of a conversation or two! Young Rich Tucker was wondering about looking for a helmet to borrow as he’d forgotten his, he get did get one in the end and judging by his result at the finish (2nd overall), who’s ever it was, that was probably the fastest that helmets ever been round Idless!
After a couple of hours it was time to get down to the start. The starting area wasn’t the best, with 26 experts crammed into a fire road that was about 20ft wide simply didn’t go. In fact there were 3 rows of us, so no room at all to be honest and it was literally ’bar to bar’. Not usually like this at Idless, but because Pendennis mcc had changed the layout of the course, this had prevented them starting the race from the usual position. I managed to get squeezed in on the 2nd row, so at least I wasn’t at the back. Important to get a good start at this course as well, as after a few yards it immediately goes into some tight woods.
As the flag was raised the bike in front of me didn’t start so I had to quickly steer the Gasser round it and made my way down the short straight and into the woods. Not a great get away and I was more near the back than the front. What a superb course this was and a real tester in places as the constant tree rooted forest floor underneath you, kept you on your toes at all times. A few small fields joined the sections of woods together and a couple of fire roads were in amongst the woods as well, so it did give you a chance to open the bike up a bit. There was nothing major in the way of any obstacles or steep hills, but hard work in same places because of those lovely slippery tree roots. All in all I reckon about 6-7 miles in length.
Things for me went a bit ’Pete Tong’ early doors, and within about 10 mins from the start of the race the arm which took the brunt of that ’off’ 2 weeks ago had completely seized solid. I tried to carry on but it was useless, I just couldn’t hold on to the bars and twist the throttle and when it gets like that, it just becomes dangerous. I wasn’t even half way round my 1st lap, so the only thing I could do was to get to the end of the lap and stop in the pits, take a breather and see if it would subside. How the hell can you ride for over 12 ½ hours in a race and then not last 10 mins in the next one? Unbelievable and bloody annoying as well. So at the end of lap I pulled into the pits and waited for the arm to ease up a bit.
So after a good 45 mins milling about and having a chat to various people, it was back out on the course to see if I could do anything worthwhile. I followed Ollie Hicks round for a couple of laps before I had to come in again because my arm just went solid again. Adam (Blake) tapped me on the shoulder as I was stood there feeling sorry for myself. He’d DNF’d, and also Ali Gilbert had some rotten luck and suffered a puncture, so it was game over for those two. With time getting on I went out and did another lap, but that to be honest was a waste of time as well and I was gonna call it a day when I spotted Andy Smith pulling into the pits. He’d taken a nasty tumble and had bent his wrist back and was going to retire, but I persuaded him to take a breather and do another lap before the clock run out so he didn’t get a DNF, that way he’d at least get some points on the scoreboard towards the standings.
So with about 10 mins left me and Andy went round and did the last lap together. Oh well, at least the results won’t show me getting a DNF either I suppose! Not a good day then, shame, it was such a good course and ‘right up my street’ as they say. Time now for me to go to the old doc’s and get my arm checked out me thinks.
Finishing position: 25/26 (Experts)
I got there early and got parked up next to Adam Blake and Ali gilbert, and with a quad race starting beforehand, we took a walk down to the start to watch them off. So with plenty of time in hand and literally nearly every enduro rider from around the Cornwall area riding today, I wasn’t short of a conversation or two! Young Rich Tucker was wondering about looking for a helmet to borrow as he’d forgotten his, he get did get one in the end and judging by his result at the finish (2nd overall), who’s ever it was, that was probably the fastest that helmets ever been round Idless!
After a couple of hours it was time to get down to the start. The starting area wasn’t the best, with 26 experts crammed into a fire road that was about 20ft wide simply didn’t go. In fact there were 3 rows of us, so no room at all to be honest and it was literally ’bar to bar’. Not usually like this at Idless, but because Pendennis mcc had changed the layout of the course, this had prevented them starting the race from the usual position. I managed to get squeezed in on the 2nd row, so at least I wasn’t at the back. Important to get a good start at this course as well, as after a few yards it immediately goes into some tight woods.
As the flag was raised the bike in front of me didn’t start so I had to quickly steer the Gasser round it and made my way down the short straight and into the woods. Not a great get away and I was more near the back than the front. What a superb course this was and a real tester in places as the constant tree rooted forest floor underneath you, kept you on your toes at all times. A few small fields joined the sections of woods together and a couple of fire roads were in amongst the woods as well, so it did give you a chance to open the bike up a bit. There was nothing major in the way of any obstacles or steep hills, but hard work in same places because of those lovely slippery tree roots. All in all I reckon about 6-7 miles in length.
Things for me went a bit ’Pete Tong’ early doors, and within about 10 mins from the start of the race the arm which took the brunt of that ’off’ 2 weeks ago had completely seized solid. I tried to carry on but it was useless, I just couldn’t hold on to the bars and twist the throttle and when it gets like that, it just becomes dangerous. I wasn’t even half way round my 1st lap, so the only thing I could do was to get to the end of the lap and stop in the pits, take a breather and see if it would subside. How the hell can you ride for over 12 ½ hours in a race and then not last 10 mins in the next one? Unbelievable and bloody annoying as well. So at the end of lap I pulled into the pits and waited for the arm to ease up a bit.
So after a good 45 mins milling about and having a chat to various people, it was back out on the course to see if I could do anything worthwhile. I followed Ollie Hicks round for a couple of laps before I had to come in again because my arm just went solid again. Adam (Blake) tapped me on the shoulder as I was stood there feeling sorry for myself. He’d DNF’d, and also Ali Gilbert had some rotten luck and suffered a puncture, so it was game over for those two. With time getting on I went out and did another lap, but that to be honest was a waste of time as well and I was gonna call it a day when I spotted Andy Smith pulling into the pits. He’d taken a nasty tumble and had bent his wrist back and was going to retire, but I persuaded him to take a breather and do another lap before the clock run out so he didn’t get a DNF, that way he’d at least get some points on the scoreboard towards the standings.
So with about 10 mins left me and Andy went round and did the last lap together. Oh well, at least the results won’t show me getting a DNF either I suppose! Not a good day then, shame, it was such a good course and ‘right up my street’ as they say. Time now for me to go to the old doc’s and get my arm checked out me thinks.
Finishing position: 25/26 (Experts)
Friday, 2 September 2011
Dawn to dusk- 28th August 2011
I’ve been waiting 2 years to do this race again and to finish the job off properly this time by actually getting to the end of it and crossing the line with the chequered flag out!
Personally there was a lot at stake for me going into this race, as well as the money laid out in order to do it, I actually had to miss 2 days of my holiday with my family (didn’t go down too well that) as they’d already gone off to meet up with friends of ours and join up with them for a week away. And then of course there was the ghosts of the 2009 race that still haunted me as well as the rotten luck I’ve had so far this year, no pressure then! One thing I did have in my favour though, I was feeling quite fit with all the training that I’ve done recently so I was confident that at 47 yrs young I knew that if everything went ok, I’d be able to do the full 12 hours and hopefully get a decent enough result.
So it was off to the valleys of Wales then and to meet up on the Saturday with the large contingent of Camel Vale mcc riders who’d also traveled up there to take part. A mixture of young and old and a mixture of different types of races that we were all taking part in, 24hr team, 24hr iron man, 12hr team and 12hr iron man, among the riders were: Arthur Johnson, Hannes Tannzer, Jed Treleaven, Adam Blake, Colin George, Steve Jose, Steve Jay, Scott Johnson, Richard Jay. After the usual chit chat when I arrived it was off to watch the start of the 24hr races which started at 7pm, at least it wasn’t raining but it was a bit chilly all the same and the wind seemed to have got up a bit judging by the giant ‘windmills’ that littered the sky line for miles propelling themselves round at a vast rate of knots. After watching a bit action and hanging around the pits to see how the riders were doing on their first few laps, it was off to get some kip in readiness for the big day.
I got up about 5.30am, had a bit of ‘ready made’ breakfast, lobbed my gear in the pits and made my way down to the start to line up. It still seems a bit surreal getting ready to ride a motorbike in a race at 7 in the morning! But once you start lining up for that ‘le mans’ type start it all seems to go. Off went the hooter then and we all ran to the bikes where I kicked the little ‘Gasser’ into life and made my way along the MX section before we headed out into the forest. Didn’t make a bad start and was probably about 7th or 8th as we left the arena proper where all the spectators were stood watching.
The course itself basically consists of mile upon mile of forest trails with a bit of open quarry thrown in so you could open up the bike a bit. Some of the trials are quite stoney, some quite rocky, some are narrow, some aren’t, there are also some climbs, some downhills, a rocky stream that you rode along and 3 ‘extreme’ or ‘hard’ routes that were there if you wanted to save time by using them. Lets be honest, you don’t really need that much of a tough course if you’re doing 12 or 24hrs on a bike as it’s all about stamina as you just have to keep going. The 3 extreme sections weren’t really that bad, the 1st wasn’t actually anything at all, it just had a tricky little drop off involved in it. The 2nd was a steep downhill that had to be taken with a bit of care, I suppose if you were to walk up it from the bottom, then you’d have a job to, very steep, but the dry conditions didn’t make it that bad. The 3rd one was again a very steep rocky hill, but this time we went up it, but again with things being dry it wasn’t any problem. Just after this we had to go through a rock infested gully in order to complete the section, bit tricky at first, bit once the laps wore on you got used to it. So a decent enough lap and about 13 to 14 miles in length.
I was on a 2 lap strategy before I pitted, I knew it would be a close thing with the 125 nearly running dry, but it all worked out fine every time even though I was close to going on reserve a few times. So after the first couple of laps it was a quick pit stop and back out I went, everything ok so far! Lap 3 no problems, lap 4 I had a bit of a hiccup when I had a stupid little ‘off’ on the rocky gully in the extreme section no3. I picked the bike up and kicked her back into life only to find that the throttle was sticking wide open, what the f**k is going on here then! Took me minute to suss out what was going on, but found the problem. Where the throttle cable goes into the top of the carb, this had become twisted where it had got snagged on the rocks so was in effect opening the throttle wide open, a quick ‘yank’ on the cable and all was well so off I went again. Another pit stop then and a quick refreshment break and then it was back out on lap 5.
I had a little bit of bother on this one as another rider had me off. I went to pass him on his left hand side and he lost control just as I was level with him, we locked handlebars and down we both went. When I picked the bike back up I’d noticed that the front brake lever was broke, luckily I could still operate the brake as there was still half a lever there so no need to stop and replace it, phew, relief! Lap 6 was the lap that nearly put me out of the race. Whilst going at a fair old clip along a downhill stone/slate infested track, my front wheel washed out and even before I had time to mutter to myself the swear word beginning with ‘F’, I hit the deck hard. I won’t forget in a hurry the sound of my helmet scraping along the bits of slate that protruded from the forest floor as I went down, but to my horror one of the jagged pieces of slate went straight into my elbow. I’d hit the deck with so much force that it had twisted the body armour round and left my elbow exposed to anything that would to stick into it! Straight away I could feel the blood ouzing out and my arm was absolutely killing me, not good. The bike faired slightly better, just a smashed hand guard, a severely dented exhaust and a side panel hanging off. I took a minute to gather myself together and got back on the bike and rode off again to complete another lap. I was thinking on the way back round do I go to the ambulance (again) and get my arm sorted and then carry on? Or do I just keep going and hope I don’t injure the thing again. I still had about 7hrs to go but I decided to carry on as long as I could grip the bars and twist the throttle I’d be ok, so that’s exactly what I did.
Onto lap 7 and 8 then and these 2 laps were not pleasant as that ’off’ that I’d had really took the wind out of my sails and I seem to be cautious a lot more than I had been previously. I didn’t have any problems though and I made it back to the pits with a sigh of relief. Laps 9 and 10 went ok and I was starting to feel a bit better about things again even though my elbow was still killing me. It was at the end of this lap that I was absolutely ’Hank Marvin’ so a longer pit stop than usual was taken to try and stuff as much food as I could into my mouth in the shortest space of time.
At this stage I knew I could get 14 laps in and maybe 15 if I was lucky, with that in mind I knew I’d stand a decent enough of getting a good finish. So back out I went to do laps 11 and 12, no problems with these and although I was going maybe 8 or 10 mins slower than my fastest lap earlier on, I was conserving energy and that was the important bit. Another 2 laps completed and it was back into the pits again to get fuelled up, take a drink and get going again to do laps 13 and 14. These went without a hitch and I was overjoyed when I came back round to lap scoring with 8 mins to spare. A quick ‘splash and dash’ and it was out on lap no 15, my last lap!
Funny old thing this lap, you’ve got your fingers and toes crossed praying nothing goes wrong and you get to the finish. Also you have to tell yourself that you don’t need to do anything stupid and not to take any risks. I did this lap in virtually splendid isolation as there was hardly anybody left on the course apart from a few riders that I passed that were still going round struggling a bit trying to finish. So it was with a huge relief and a big smile when I finally entered the arena for the last time and saw the clock and the chequered flag waiting for me. I hadn’t got a clue where I was position wise, but that was a good thing as I felt I’d done my own race going by the clock without the added pressure of people telling you your place and you’ve either got to get a move on and catch up or keep riding fast to stay in front of whoever is behind you.
I got back to van absolutely ‘cream crackered’ and could hardly speak, I’d gave my all but chuffed as hell that at 47 yrs old I’ve rode a 125 for over 12 ½ hours and found out that I’d managed to get 3rd place. At least knowing that dampened the pain somewhat as I tried to remove my kit from my blooded elbow. Not only had the under layer that I wear beneath my body armour had stuck to the wound, but also the body armour itself! The blood had simply seeped through everything and dried and there was nothing I could do except tug away at my clothing and rip open the wound again in order to get my kit off. That bit hurt more than actually doing it in the first place because you know what’s coming up that’s the trouble!
A great day it was too for Camel Vale mcc, 2 first places, 2 second places and 2 third places. Pick of the bunch was Adam Blake who annihilated the champ/expert field in the 12hr iron man with 19 laps to claim 1st place. Also a mention must go to Colin George who collected a 3rd place in the ‘nutters’ class, the 24hr iron man in the vets. After the prizes were given out it was back off to the van for an early night to get some well deserved kip. Without a doubt this is definitely one of those races that you must do at least once in your life, hard work it was, but a great experience and unforgettable. Good stuff!
Finishing position: 3/32 (Vets)
Here’s what I munched through during the race:
1 packet Jaffa cakes
1 meal replacement drink
12 gel bars
1 honey sandwhich
6 slices flapjack
2 handfuls of jelly babies
4 litres energy drink
2 litres water
Personally there was a lot at stake for me going into this race, as well as the money laid out in order to do it, I actually had to miss 2 days of my holiday with my family (didn’t go down too well that) as they’d already gone off to meet up with friends of ours and join up with them for a week away. And then of course there was the ghosts of the 2009 race that still haunted me as well as the rotten luck I’ve had so far this year, no pressure then! One thing I did have in my favour though, I was feeling quite fit with all the training that I’ve done recently so I was confident that at 47 yrs young I knew that if everything went ok, I’d be able to do the full 12 hours and hopefully get a decent enough result.
So it was off to the valleys of Wales then and to meet up on the Saturday with the large contingent of Camel Vale mcc riders who’d also traveled up there to take part. A mixture of young and old and a mixture of different types of races that we were all taking part in, 24hr team, 24hr iron man, 12hr team and 12hr iron man, among the riders were: Arthur Johnson, Hannes Tannzer, Jed Treleaven, Adam Blake, Colin George, Steve Jose, Steve Jay, Scott Johnson, Richard Jay. After the usual chit chat when I arrived it was off to watch the start of the 24hr races which started at 7pm, at least it wasn’t raining but it was a bit chilly all the same and the wind seemed to have got up a bit judging by the giant ‘windmills’ that littered the sky line for miles propelling themselves round at a vast rate of knots. After watching a bit action and hanging around the pits to see how the riders were doing on their first few laps, it was off to get some kip in readiness for the big day.
I got up about 5.30am, had a bit of ‘ready made’ breakfast, lobbed my gear in the pits and made my way down to the start to line up. It still seems a bit surreal getting ready to ride a motorbike in a race at 7 in the morning! But once you start lining up for that ‘le mans’ type start it all seems to go. Off went the hooter then and we all ran to the bikes where I kicked the little ‘Gasser’ into life and made my way along the MX section before we headed out into the forest. Didn’t make a bad start and was probably about 7th or 8th as we left the arena proper where all the spectators were stood watching.
The course itself basically consists of mile upon mile of forest trails with a bit of open quarry thrown in so you could open up the bike a bit. Some of the trials are quite stoney, some quite rocky, some are narrow, some aren’t, there are also some climbs, some downhills, a rocky stream that you rode along and 3 ‘extreme’ or ‘hard’ routes that were there if you wanted to save time by using them. Lets be honest, you don’t really need that much of a tough course if you’re doing 12 or 24hrs on a bike as it’s all about stamina as you just have to keep going. The 3 extreme sections weren’t really that bad, the 1st wasn’t actually anything at all, it just had a tricky little drop off involved in it. The 2nd was a steep downhill that had to be taken with a bit of care, I suppose if you were to walk up it from the bottom, then you’d have a job to, very steep, but the dry conditions didn’t make it that bad. The 3rd one was again a very steep rocky hill, but this time we went up it, but again with things being dry it wasn’t any problem. Just after this we had to go through a rock infested gully in order to complete the section, bit tricky at first, bit once the laps wore on you got used to it. So a decent enough lap and about 13 to 14 miles in length.
I was on a 2 lap strategy before I pitted, I knew it would be a close thing with the 125 nearly running dry, but it all worked out fine every time even though I was close to going on reserve a few times. So after the first couple of laps it was a quick pit stop and back out I went, everything ok so far! Lap 3 no problems, lap 4 I had a bit of a hiccup when I had a stupid little ‘off’ on the rocky gully in the extreme section no3. I picked the bike up and kicked her back into life only to find that the throttle was sticking wide open, what the f**k is going on here then! Took me minute to suss out what was going on, but found the problem. Where the throttle cable goes into the top of the carb, this had become twisted where it had got snagged on the rocks so was in effect opening the throttle wide open, a quick ‘yank’ on the cable and all was well so off I went again. Another pit stop then and a quick refreshment break and then it was back out on lap 5.
I had a little bit of bother on this one as another rider had me off. I went to pass him on his left hand side and he lost control just as I was level with him, we locked handlebars and down we both went. When I picked the bike back up I’d noticed that the front brake lever was broke, luckily I could still operate the brake as there was still half a lever there so no need to stop and replace it, phew, relief! Lap 6 was the lap that nearly put me out of the race. Whilst going at a fair old clip along a downhill stone/slate infested track, my front wheel washed out and even before I had time to mutter to myself the swear word beginning with ‘F’, I hit the deck hard. I won’t forget in a hurry the sound of my helmet scraping along the bits of slate that protruded from the forest floor as I went down, but to my horror one of the jagged pieces of slate went straight into my elbow. I’d hit the deck with so much force that it had twisted the body armour round and left my elbow exposed to anything that would to stick into it! Straight away I could feel the blood ouzing out and my arm was absolutely killing me, not good. The bike faired slightly better, just a smashed hand guard, a severely dented exhaust and a side panel hanging off. I took a minute to gather myself together and got back on the bike and rode off again to complete another lap. I was thinking on the way back round do I go to the ambulance (again) and get my arm sorted and then carry on? Or do I just keep going and hope I don’t injure the thing again. I still had about 7hrs to go but I decided to carry on as long as I could grip the bars and twist the throttle I’d be ok, so that’s exactly what I did.
Onto lap 7 and 8 then and these 2 laps were not pleasant as that ’off’ that I’d had really took the wind out of my sails and I seem to be cautious a lot more than I had been previously. I didn’t have any problems though and I made it back to the pits with a sigh of relief. Laps 9 and 10 went ok and I was starting to feel a bit better about things again even though my elbow was still killing me. It was at the end of this lap that I was absolutely ’Hank Marvin’ so a longer pit stop than usual was taken to try and stuff as much food as I could into my mouth in the shortest space of time.
At this stage I knew I could get 14 laps in and maybe 15 if I was lucky, with that in mind I knew I’d stand a decent enough of getting a good finish. So back out I went to do laps 11 and 12, no problems with these and although I was going maybe 8 or 10 mins slower than my fastest lap earlier on, I was conserving energy and that was the important bit. Another 2 laps completed and it was back into the pits again to get fuelled up, take a drink and get going again to do laps 13 and 14. These went without a hitch and I was overjoyed when I came back round to lap scoring with 8 mins to spare. A quick ‘splash and dash’ and it was out on lap no 15, my last lap!
Funny old thing this lap, you’ve got your fingers and toes crossed praying nothing goes wrong and you get to the finish. Also you have to tell yourself that you don’t need to do anything stupid and not to take any risks. I did this lap in virtually splendid isolation as there was hardly anybody left on the course apart from a few riders that I passed that were still going round struggling a bit trying to finish. So it was with a huge relief and a big smile when I finally entered the arena for the last time and saw the clock and the chequered flag waiting for me. I hadn’t got a clue where I was position wise, but that was a good thing as I felt I’d done my own race going by the clock without the added pressure of people telling you your place and you’ve either got to get a move on and catch up or keep riding fast to stay in front of whoever is behind you.
I got back to van absolutely ‘cream crackered’ and could hardly speak, I’d gave my all but chuffed as hell that at 47 yrs old I’ve rode a 125 for over 12 ½ hours and found out that I’d managed to get 3rd place. At least knowing that dampened the pain somewhat as I tried to remove my kit from my blooded elbow. Not only had the under layer that I wear beneath my body armour had stuck to the wound, but also the body armour itself! The blood had simply seeped through everything and dried and there was nothing I could do except tug away at my clothing and rip open the wound again in order to get my kit off. That bit hurt more than actually doing it in the first place because you know what’s coming up that’s the trouble!
A great day it was too for Camel Vale mcc, 2 first places, 2 second places and 2 third places. Pick of the bunch was Adam Blake who annihilated the champ/expert field in the 12hr iron man with 19 laps to claim 1st place. Also a mention must go to Colin George who collected a 3rd place in the ‘nutters’ class, the 24hr iron man in the vets. After the prizes were given out it was back off to the van for an early night to get some well deserved kip. Without a doubt this is definitely one of those races that you must do at least once in your life, hard work it was, but a great experience and unforgettable. Good stuff!
Finishing position: 3/32 (Vets)
Here’s what I munched through during the race:
1 packet Jaffa cakes
1 meal replacement drink
12 gel bars
1 honey sandwhich
6 slices flapjack
2 handfuls of jelly babies
4 litres energy drink
2 litres water
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Last few weeks?
Well what have i been up to the last few weeks?
I've not been on the bike much, but i have done some serious training in order to try and get fit for the Dawn to Dusk this weekend 27/28 August. I've ran 2 half marathons in the last 3 weeks in order to get some stamina in my legs, as your legs always seem to be the first thing that gets cramp (for me anyway).
I've entered the 12 hour ironman in the vets class, so i'll be giving it a good go as i'm still a bit 'pee'd' off after having to pull out of the event with injury in 2009 when i was going really well. This year hasn't been too clever so far, so i'm hoping my luck will turn for the better and this race would be a nice change of fortune for me wouldn't it? Fingers crossed, 12 hours is a long time........................
I've not been on the bike much, but i have done some serious training in order to try and get fit for the Dawn to Dusk this weekend 27/28 August. I've ran 2 half marathons in the last 3 weeks in order to get some stamina in my legs, as your legs always seem to be the first thing that gets cramp (for me anyway).
I've entered the 12 hour ironman in the vets class, so i'll be giving it a good go as i'm still a bit 'pee'd' off after having to pull out of the event with injury in 2009 when i was going really well. This year hasn't been too clever so far, so i'm hoping my luck will turn for the better and this race would be a nice change of fortune for me wouldn't it? Fingers crossed, 12 hours is a long time........................
Husaberg test day- 6th August 2011
First time I’ve been to one of these test day things, and I’ve got to say hats off to St Blazey motorcycles for putting it on, and unlike other rip off manufactures test days where you have to pay for the privilege of actually going on one of their bikes, this was all free.
I got there early afternoon and of course being an enduro bike day there were a few local riders down there, Dan and James Hull, Tom Merrit, Adam Blake, Steve Jose, to name a few all having a go on a few of the range of Husabergs. I first went the 125 (obviously) and set about giving the little strimmer some welly around the short little mx track that St Blazey had set out for the purpose.
I got there early afternoon and of course being an enduro bike day there were a few local riders down there, Dan and James Hull, Tom Merrit, Adam Blake, Steve Jose, to name a few all having a go on a few of the range of Husabergs. I first went the 125 (obviously) and set about giving the little strimmer some welly around the short little mx track that St Blazey had set out for the purpose.
When you ride these bikes that are brand new with very little hours on them, you do have to try and look beneath the obvious. The obvious being every things shiny, it looks good, and everything works as it should! Actually with all the 125’s I’ve had a go on there isn’t that much difference in power between them all (TM excluded), but the way it delivers it is a different matter. I found the Husaberg a tad more friendly than my Gasser, not so ‘toppy’ and certainly less revs were audible when I slipped the clutch exiting a corner to pick up speed. As I nailed the thing down the short straight, again the power I felt was a little bit shall we say ’relaxed’ in the way it delivered itself to get up to the high revs. Whilst the back of the bike behaved itself very well, I did have a problem with the front end as it nearly washed out a few times on me as I was going into the corners. Whether that was down to the suspension set up I don’t know, but it certainly wasn’t the tyres, brand new Metzelers six days, exactly what I use. I've had no problems with them, so there's no reason why a 'Berg' should.
Overall I did enjoy the 20 min session on the 125, in fact I liked it so much, I went and had another session on it later on! Would I buy one? It’s a tough call, I will be looking at getting another bike later on this year, and I’ve still got quite a few choices open to me regarding the strimmers, Gas Gas, KTM, Husaberg, Husqvarna, TM, YZ, RM, so there’s certainly no rush on that score.
I did a bit later on try to have a go on the 250, but just as I got off the 125 again, they were packing up the whole lot of the bikes. Oh well, must try and get down there earlier then next time.
Practice- 31st July 2011
Just spent a couple of hours down at the local MX track with Adam (Blake). Took it easy and just rode round and enjoyed it. Now listen to this.......................................
Adam did a couple of 'fast' timed laps on his 250 'ginger' 4 banger, he did one in 3 mins 4 secs, and another in 3 mins 5 secs. So i gave him a challenge, 'how about doing one on my Gas Gas strimmer then mate', 'go on then' Blakey said. So with just 1 lap to get himself warmed up on my bike he was off on his fast lap. Guess what? 3 mins 6 secs, f*ucking unbelievable! just 1 second slower than a 250 4 banger. I was chuffed (thats the fastest that bikes has ever been), brilliant stuff by Adam, and seeing as he's a well built lad that weighs about 15 stone, doing that time on a 125 is nothing but top class. Fair play to him!
Adam did a couple of 'fast' timed laps on his 250 'ginger' 4 banger, he did one in 3 mins 4 secs, and another in 3 mins 5 secs. So i gave him a challenge, 'how about doing one on my Gas Gas strimmer then mate', 'go on then' Blakey said. So with just 1 lap to get himself warmed up on my bike he was off on his fast lap. Guess what? 3 mins 6 secs, f*ucking unbelievable! just 1 second slower than a 250 4 banger. I was chuffed (thats the fastest that bikes has ever been), brilliant stuff by Adam, and seeing as he's a well built lad that weighs about 15 stone, doing that time on a 125 is nothing but top class. Fair play to him!
St Martin- 17th July 2011
I was hoping for my luck to change then as I traveled up with ‘mad’ Jack and Paddy for a TnT race in Dorset (I thnk!), anyway it was a couple of hours drive away so not too bad. Now I have done quite a few TnT events in my time and the majority of them do have a lot of fields in their courses, so I was expecting myself to ‘pin the little strimmer’ to near the end of it’s life trying to keep in front of the bigger bikes! Well, I wasn’t disappointed then was I, because that’s how turned out!
I did see a few other riders around the start area who’d also traveled to do the event, Simon Thomas, Rich Batstone, Gary ‘nothing gets in my way’ Mcoy, so had a quick natter and then back off to the van to get changed. The adult event was first followed by the youths race afterwards.
So to the start itself then and I got a crap one as the Gasser failed to fire into life! Well to me that means 1st kick, she did start after about 3 or 4, but my chance of being up there with the pack to the first corner was gone. So the course was a field, a small undulating kind of moto x track, then another field that was off camber, a jump that was in a field which led to a small wooded section with a climb, then guess what? Another field, another small wooded section (I mean small) and then about 3 more fields back to the start/finish area. The only really interesting part of the course was that all the champ/experts and vets experts had to go through a small extreme section consisting of a few tyres that were stood on end. There were about 4 or 5 of these and it did make you sit up and concentrate, I did then no problem every lap although some riders were finding them tough to get over and I did see a few riders go over the bars. Overall I reckon maybe a 4 mile lap at most.
One of the small wooded sections contained about the grand total of 10 tree roots, 2 of which were close together, and believe or not, riders were getting stuck on them which was causing choas! Couldn’t believe it, even my 3yr old could have rode over them on her push bike! Sods law it was then because as I went to pass a guy that was stuck on a tree route, his back wheel suddenly gripped which caused him to fall to one side just as I was level with him. I took evasive action and had nowhere to go but into the fence by the side of me. Sods law again then as I tried to carry on but realized my back wheel was caught up in a load of wire that had been ripped from the fence as I went into it. Thankfully a spectator came to my rescue and he helped me untangle the wire, still cost me a good 5 mins and that was disastrous seeing as it was only about 10 mins a lap. So effectively after losing half a lap which ain’t to clever when your in the Vets experts class against the bigger bikes on mostly a course which has a lot of fields, I got the bit between my teeth and went for it.
After doing the usual pit stop I was certainly ‘on’ it as I was trying to make up for lost time and with about 30 mins left I began to overtake a few riders in my class as they were tiring. Precisely 2hr and 38mins into the race when I was just coming round to lap scoring, my bike suddenly died on me! I kicked her and nothing, again and nothing, checked the usual sort of stuff but couldn’t find anything which might have caused the bike to die and not start again. So reluctantly I pushed the bike a couple of hundred yards back to the finish and gave my transponder in and rolled back down to the van. Another DNF!
I really don’t know what’s going on this year, 5 dnf’s, 2 ambulance visits, and a lot of broken pride! I once went from September 17th 2006 to February 1st 2009 , 45 enduro’s without a DNF, and now I’ve had 5 of the bloody things in 7 months. Lets hope that the 2nd half of the year brings me better luck then……………..
By the way, finally found out the cause of the engine dying, faulty kill switch.
Finishing psotion: DNF
Foxhill woods- 26th June 2011
Wales here we come then! It was a trip over the Severn bridge to do a CTR event, never done one of these before so I was looking forward to seeing what they’re like. I went up there ‘mad’ Jack Twentyman and his lad Paddy, Jack was riding again after his injury, and Paddy had entered the race as well. Unbelievable weather today, absolutely scorching as the sun was beating down on us from a totally clear blue sky, what a difference a bit of sun makes when your getting changed for an event. At the start line riders were actually taking shelter under the trees, not from the usual outbreaks of rain but from the sun, it really was a scorcher!
So on to the start itself then and I was entered in the o 40’s but because it was a small class we were mixed in amongst the rest of the front row on the line. Off we went then and I didn’t quite nail it and ended up in a bunch of riders as we made our way across a couple of open fields and into a massive woods that went up and down like a rollercoaster. What a fantastic course this was and right up there with the best, lovely flowing trails, tricky tree roots covering the floor, drop offs, hill climbs, ruts, a few slippery sections, hard and easy routes to take and just a couple of short fields that led back to the lap scoring area so you could clear the bike out and have a little blast. I reckon the course was about 7 miles in length. Carl Tiley (ex british champ and vastly experienced) runs CTR and who organizers these events certainly knows what’s what, and if this one is anything to go by then I’ll certainly be back for more. One of the hard routes was a very steep climb that was littered with tree roots as you went up it, then just when you’d made it, think again my son, The last few yards that was near vertical had small rocks/stones on top of soft soil so getting grip was tough. The first couple of laps I did it I had to dragged up to the top, my front wheel was inches away from the top but couldn’t get that last bit of grip as the hill steepened to make it up there. I wasn’t the only one believe me, bikes were getting stuck either side of me as well. Made me laugh what one of the welsh spectators said to me as I finally managed to clean the thing on another lap, ‘well done mate’ he said ‘you’re man enough to by a drink now’! Must of thought I was a youngster!
So in the searing heat (and getting hotter) I did an extra long pit stop to make sure I stayed hydrated, and then it was back out again for the last hour. This went wrong for me again as I went up a small climb and my clutch packed up! I’ve just bloody put a new one in! This time though it wasn’t the clutch plates, the seals had gone on the master cylinder which left me with no pressure when I pulled the lever in (bloody hydraulic clutches) Game over! Luckily for me I was at the top of the hill, so I rolled down slammed her in gear and made my way back to pits in 1st and retired.
Finishing position: DNF
So on to the start itself then and I was entered in the o 40’s but because it was a small class we were mixed in amongst the rest of the front row on the line. Off we went then and I didn’t quite nail it and ended up in a bunch of riders as we made our way across a couple of open fields and into a massive woods that went up and down like a rollercoaster. What a fantastic course this was and right up there with the best, lovely flowing trails, tricky tree roots covering the floor, drop offs, hill climbs, ruts, a few slippery sections, hard and easy routes to take and just a couple of short fields that led back to the lap scoring area so you could clear the bike out and have a little blast. I reckon the course was about 7 miles in length. Carl Tiley (ex british champ and vastly experienced) runs CTR and who organizers these events certainly knows what’s what, and if this one is anything to go by then I’ll certainly be back for more. One of the hard routes was a very steep climb that was littered with tree roots as you went up it, then just when you’d made it, think again my son, The last few yards that was near vertical had small rocks/stones on top of soft soil so getting grip was tough. The first couple of laps I did it I had to dragged up to the top, my front wheel was inches away from the top but couldn’t get that last bit of grip as the hill steepened to make it up there. I wasn’t the only one believe me, bikes were getting stuck either side of me as well. Made me laugh what one of the welsh spectators said to me as I finally managed to clean the thing on another lap, ‘well done mate’ he said ‘you’re man enough to by a drink now’! Must of thought I was a youngster!
So in the searing heat (and getting hotter) I did an extra long pit stop to make sure I stayed hydrated, and then it was back out again for the last hour. This went wrong for me again as I went up a small climb and my clutch packed up! I’ve just bloody put a new one in! This time though it wasn’t the clutch plates, the seals had gone on the master cylinder which left me with no pressure when I pulled the lever in (bloody hydraulic clutches) Game over! Luckily for me I was at the top of the hill, so I rolled down slammed her in gear and made my way back to pits in 1st and retired.
Finishing position: DNF
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Cardinham- 18th June 2011
Well a local event just up the road about 10 miles away, nice one! This was held by a club that have only just started up this year CEB ATV (I think that’s right!) and they hold a quad race in the morning and a solo event in the afternoon. A good local crop of riders were present, hold on, in fact, 99% of the local riders seemed to be present and it was constant ‘alright mate’ to just about everybody I set my eyes on as I got signed on. The weather was warm and by all accounts from what had been said it wasn’t a bad course either with a mixture of woods and fields. Anyway, whilst the quads were finishing their race I got myself off to the scrutineer to get the bike checked. A nightmare ensued as it failed! What the f*ck! And to be honest the guy was right as my back brake decided not to work completely!
So after a little tinker around (Thanks to John Robinson who very kindly lifted my bike up for me in order we could balance the thing on a couple of jerry cans and then lifted the thing in the air so I could get the back wheel out) it was best to bleed the system as a few ideas floating around thought that I might have air in the system. Off up the field I went to Jed Treleaven’s van ( Son of Mr Gasser himself) to see if he could help a bit, but bleeding wasn’t any good and with the sighting lap approaching fast I had to leg it back down to the van as all the other riders were down at the start line. I was still in my civvies and not even changed yet and I still hadn’t past the scrutineer because I hadn’t got my brake working. The guy that checked my bike (scrutineer) came up and suggested that I tried moving the ride height of the pedal? So it was out with the tool box and off with the pedal to adjust to screw to see if that done any good. It had improved but it needed more, so yet again it was off with the pedal and down with the screw, but by this time the riders were on their sighting lap and I still hadn’t got changed! So it was fingers crossed as I tried the brake again, and bingo, she was good! With the riders now back from their lap I literally had a couple of minutes to get changed, dump my stuff in the pits, get the bike checked, and get down to the start line.
Phew! Just made it, was sat there for 5 mins next to Adam Blake on the line, and then we were off. With only 7 of us entered in the experts it wasn’t hard to get a bad start! Anyway, I think I was about 5th as we made our way across a field and into a wooded section which had a nasty little drop in it that was about 10ft high, near vertical, and as you went down it you plunged straight into the muddy water that I presume was some sort of small brook running through the woods. It was then out the other side up the rutted muddy bank along a few more fields, into another little woods, a couple more fields, more woods, more fields then back to the lap scoring. Nothing really tricky but some of the course was very slippery and just one blip of the throttle at the wrong time, and you’d be on your arse! I reckon the length of the track was about 4 miles, so quite a lot of laps in the 2 ½ hour allotted time.
Obviously with a few fields involved I was wringing the strimmers neck for all it’s worth, but nevertheless I was going alright and so was the bike and definitely not losing any ground against the bigger bikes. Everything went smoothly and I pitted at about the hour and half mark and went back out again not really knowing where I was because at this stage there just seemed to be traffic everywhere as you were racing against what seemed to be like every bugger, short course, lots of riders equals traffic! With about 30 mins left and coming round to that drop off that went down into the water, I saw a bike that had up ended itself and there were 2 marshals there trying to pick the thing up and get it back up the right way and push it out of the way. I had to look twice as it Tim Williams who’d gone over the bars and got himself in a right old tiswas.
I was on my last lap when I had one of those stupid little ‘offs’ just before a little climb, bloody annoying as I was just thinking to myself that I’d hadn’t dropped the bike so far today. When I got back on the bike I saw red and went off charging off like a bull in a china shop back to the finish line only to clip a tree and cut my index finger open, ouch! I knew straight away it wasn’t that good as I could feel the warm blood oozing through my glove.
When I got back to the van it was plain to see that I’d have to go and get the cut cleaned up in the ambulance, off I went then, and when I stepped in it, it happened to be the same paramedics that had treated me down at the Nancemellon race, And they remembered me as well! Small world eh?
Not my day at all I’m afraid because when I got the bike back home it sprung to light that one of my bearings in the back wheel had completely disintegrated. The ball bearings had gone inside the hub and had been rolling around for most of the race around the spacer that lies inside. Like a washing machine on fast spin, this had gouged grooves into the spacer (see pic) and it also made the bearing case seize against the hub! Lucky there not more damage was done then. So quite an eventful day then, I’ve certainly had better!
Finishing position: 5/7 (Experts)
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Huntsham- 12th June 2011
RAIN!!!! It rained when I traveled up to the ASW event in Devon, it absolutely peed it down when I was there, and was still raining when I traveled home!
Went up to this one with Paddy Twentyman who was riding in the youths race, while I had entered in the o 40’s, the format being an endurocross, 2 x 1hr races which seems to be popular with some clubs as you seem to be getting more and more of these type of events nowadays. As we arrived in the downpour it was wellys and waterproof jackets on in order to trudge across the muddy field and get signed on. There’s nothing worse than getting soaked before a race, so it was a ‘just sit in the van’ job until the youths race had finished before I made my way at the last minute across the field and up to the start line. The rain wasn’t easing at all as we made our way off the line and round the course for the sighting lap, which turned out to be um…………rather a muddy one!
What a cracking track it was though, right up my street as it was nearly all woods with hardly any fields, and with the weather being what it was, it made sure it was going to be a tough 1st race as the course had already been cut up from the previous youths one. Nothing in the way of any difficulty mind, no hard routes or climbs, but just loads of deep muddy ruts, general gloop and slippery tree roots, a good test then. A small circuit and probably about 5 miles in length, wouldn’t really be much trouble in the dry, but of course todays conditions made it interesting to say the least.
Nothing worse than waiting there on the line in the peeing rain waiting for the race to start is there? So I was glad when the flag dropped to get us underway. I got a cracker and got the holeshot into the first corner before some big 4 banger came flying past me on the straight just before we entered the woods. From here on in I comfortably stayed in 2nd place until about the 45 min mark when I had a stupid little off, after I got back up, picked the bike up and got all the mud off the grips and my gloves, I’d lost a place. Try I might I couldn’t make it up again, and with the race only being an hour long I ended up in 3rd about 10 seconds being 2nd place. What I couldn’t believe was that some riders were either taking a rest in the woods or pulling out half way through! What’s wrong with um them? A little bit of rain and mud and they start crying, it’s an enduro for gods sake, and only an hour long at that!
So after getting plastered in mud and having a good soaking it was back to the van to get dried a bit and ready for race no2. But hold on a minute, there seem to be no action going on with the next youths race that was due off? Me and Paddy took a walk up to the signing van only to find out that the rest of the event had been cancelled due to the weather. Well disappointed there’s nowt we could do, so it was off back home via off course the nearest Macdonalds!
Finishing position: 3/12 (vets)
Treborough- 30th May 2011
Was really looking forward to this one which was held by the Xmoor club as they always put on decent events with proper enduro courses to test you. Travelled up there with ‘mad’ Jack who was still injured so wasn‘t riding, and his lad Paddy who’d entered the event. A whole load of riders, most of which do the SW rounds had also traveled up to do it so I wasn’t short of anyone to clap my eyes on for a chat!
Within 20 minutes of stepping out of the van the weather had turned rather dismal, then it turned more dismal, then it just turned into something like a scene from the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ as mist, fog and general gloop descended upon us. In fact it was so bad that you couldn’t even see the end of the start straight that led into the woods! And then it started to rain as well! But that didn’t dampen the spirit, and I know for a fact that the hardened souls of the Xmoor club had run events in far worse conditions (other organisers take note) and it was nice to clap eyes on Mark and Debbie Tucker at the signing on van who were full of cheer (that doesn’t mean they were p*ssed by the way, not at 8.30 in the morning anyway!), so had a bit of a laugh with them, and then it was back to get changed and all that.
So to the start then and it was a big field of experts that had assembled on the line including plenty of us over 35’s mixing it with the youngsters. As the flag dropped I didn’t get too bad a start, but disaster struck me within 20 seconds as my ’rip n rolls’ failed because the cannister that holds the film had became detached and I couldn’t roll of any bloody film! This led to me getting completely ‘filled in’ following the bikes in front of me as they spat the mud into my face,. I just couldn’t see were I was going and bike after bike passed me until I had to stop and take my goggles off. By this time I was bloody well last, not a good sign then and it turned out to be the shape of things to come!
After a few minutes I’d made up a few places as riders were getting stuck on some of the slippery hills, I’d also had a little off but nothing spectacular. After about 10 mins we meandered down through the woods and into a deep rutted boggy section, this causing problems and I get held up by a bike that was stuck in front of me as he struggled to get himself free from the mire. Sods bloody law then it was that I too got stuck too, and to cut a long story short……………………my flamin clutch burnt itself out!
So stuck in a 3ft boggy rut (why do we do it?) I managed to haul the bike out and drag it to the stream at the bottom that was about 20ft away and park her up. The other side of the stream was a slippery little climb that was also causing hold ups as the riders were struggling to get to the top, so no chance of me getting up there then without a clutch then because I couldn’t even slam her into gear and ride up it, I tried but it wasn’t gonna happen. I stayed there and helped some of the riders who’d got stuck as the marshals had their hands full with riders queuing up as every passing lap ensued. The 1 hour mark passed and I was till there helping out as the situation had got no better. After another hour (yes 2 hours) I was still there helping out, but at least the field had thinned out a bit so it wasn’t as manic as before.
It was a this point that I really should think about getting back to the pits, but I couldn’t push the bike back through the boggy section, and I couldn’t push the bike up that slippery as ice covered muddy climb, so my 2 routes of escape were basically as good as chocolate fire guard! Another 30 mins passed and I was desperate to get back now as I knew the race would be ending soon so I went walkabout down through the stream which was shrouded in all sorts of undergrowth, to see where it led too. Good news as it led straight out into a fire road, so I knew if I could get the bike down through the steam about 200 meters, then I’d alright to get a tow back. Unfortunately the bad news was that there were 2 fallen trees blocking my path, so I tried to move them, or at least move them enough so I could get the bike passed them. No chance there then, and even the ‘HULK’ in a bad mood wouldn’t have been able to move the buggers let alone a 10 ½ stone beanpole like me. So then what do I do? I walked up and down a couple of times removing as many twigs, branches and brambles as I could along the stream and surveyed the 2 fallen trees to see if I could get the bike passed them. I knew upon looking that I’d have to lift the bike over one, and drag the bike under another because of the way they were laying and the shape of them, so it was off back to get the bike, scrape as much mud as I could off to make it lighter, and set off on my quest to get to that bloody fire road and freedom!
After 5 minutes of pushing the bike through the water came my 1st big test and tree no1. This was the one were I had to physically lift my bike over it in order to continue as I couldn’t get the bike up the bank either side (I tried) because it was just to steep and too high. I got the front wheel up ok and rested it onto the top of the fallen tree, but now the big test, to get round the back and lift the whole thing up from the ground to over shoulder height, push the bike and slide it onto the exhaust, push it over and slide it off to land it on it’s front wheel. It’s amazing what the body can do when it has do, and I reckon that thing must have weighed at least about 100kg with still loads of mud attached to it when I lifted the thing, but I did it. So now it was another trudge through the water about another 50 meters or so where I came across tree no2. This one was different, far too high to lift the bike over it as it had too many thick branches on top of it, and yet again with the banks either side of the stream being too high and too steep to get the bike up, I had to go under it. I layed the bike down into the water and pushed the front wheel under the tree as much as I could and crawled under myself to get to the other side. So now I had to drag the thing through the under side of the fallen tree, and when your kneeling down in rocky water and when your p*ssing with sweat, tired and flamin well starving, believe me, it ain’t easy. I didn’t really care about the state of my plastics or anything on the bike getting scratched, I just wanted to get the thing out and get to safety. After about 5 minutes of tugging on the bars I managed to drag her out and push the bike back down to the end and out into the fire road. I felt like bloody Superman after doing that! (Completely knackered though)
By now the race was over but I’d managed to stop a few riders who were still on their last lap and told them to send a quad back down to me so I could get a tow back. Within 10 mins the ‘search and rescue’ party had arrived in the shape of a beaming faced Mark Tucker. Jesus, I’d never been so pleased to see him in my life! So after hitching up a tow rope to the quad, I managed to get a tow back to the pits where at last I could enjoy a nice cuppa and something to eat.
Well you have to take the rough with the smooth in this game and doing what I did today will certainly live in my memory for a long time.
Finishing position: DNF
Monday, 11 July 2011
Shillingstone forest- 22nd May 2011
This week it was to an SCEC event up in Dorset at Shillingstone forest and really looking forward to this one as I’d rode at the place a couple of years ago and it was a super course with 90% of it being woods. I traveled up there with Adam (Blake) and managed to get a day entry as a few riders had dropped out leaving us a space. We got parked up near to Gary (nothing gets in my way) Mcoy and Nick (super smooth) Life, so had a good bit of a chat and the usual banter whilst getting ready. Gary told us a great story about him peeing someone off on the course and then getting clobbered by the bloke whilst being stuck in a rut! Gary Mcoy annoying someone? Hard to believe that ain’t it? A few other lads had made the trip up to Dorset which included Paul Ford, Rob Ellick, Rich Batstone, Jed Treleaven, Andy Smith and Phil ‘smiler’ Harris, so I wasn’t short of conversation or two with anyone then!
So onto the race then and what a tight start it was too! 19 riders in the vets experts and we must have had all of about 10 yards before we hit the first corner! A rather somewhat tight start then and I got crowded out and ended up about mid pack as we set straight off into the woods. Tight wooded trails were the norm for a couple of miles so to overtake anything I front of you, you had go off line a risk what was lying there in the undergrowth, but that didn’t matter to me as within 5 mins of starting I promptly got stuck on a fallen tree and most of the riders in my classed passed me as I had to get off as push the bike over it!
What a superb course and venue this was, there were some absolute peach of some climbs, some really long runs where you had to pin the strimmer all the way to the top, loads of roots, beautiful tree lined trails, some steep downhills , and a few really long fire roads where you could twist the throttle back as much as you liked (scary in places!). The whole lap I reckon being around 7-8 miles in length. After that 1st lap mishap I came round to the lap scoring and looked at the TV that SCEC have which shows your position in your class as you swipe your transponder, fantastic idea that, but I wasn’t too impressed as I was lying in 15th. Some fast lads in these Vets experts and wasted time means losing places especially in those first few laps when every ones going hell for leather with the old adrenaline pumping.
So after the first few laps I settled down and began albeit slowly to work my way back up the field again. Must say that there were 19 riders that started in the o40’s and I was the only one on a 125, that says something, maybe I should be on a 250 or a 300 to make life easier? But the thing is, when you ride a strimmer and it all goes well, it’s so rewarding to beat the bigger bikes knowing that your under powered and it’s all down to the rider.
With an hour passed on the clock and with no further mishaps I’d moved up to 11th and was really enjoying myself, my kind of course!
The usual pit stop for fuel came at about 1hr 40mins where Paul Ford was there to give us a hand after he’d got a puncture and had to retire from the race. Just after the 2 hr mark I’d got up into 10th but didn’t seem to be making much progress however hard I was trying! I kept on pushing and pushing until with 10 mins of the race left I came round to the lap scoring so I knew it would be my last lap, and guess what? Right in front of me were 2 riders stuck together racing each other that were both in the same class as me. I was now on a mission to pass them both so that I could move up a couple of places on the old scoreboard. I got on their back wheel and within 10 minutes I’d passed them both and now it was the time the push even harder to make sure they didn’t get me back. I took some big risks on the fire roads ‘pinning it’ on that last lap and nearly ‘lost it’ a couple of times when I nearly lost the front end a couple of times , but I managed to hold on to the thing and there was no way I was going to lose any places now after pushing for so long.
I just missed out on gaining another place as well because right at the finish line I was just a couple of bike lengths down on the rider just in front of me who was also in the Vets experts. So overall not too bad a day and was quite pleased how it all ended up and enjoyed racing on a superb course.
Finishing position: 8/19 (vets experts)
So onto the race then and what a tight start it was too! 19 riders in the vets experts and we must have had all of about 10 yards before we hit the first corner! A rather somewhat tight start then and I got crowded out and ended up about mid pack as we set straight off into the woods. Tight wooded trails were the norm for a couple of miles so to overtake anything I front of you, you had go off line a risk what was lying there in the undergrowth, but that didn’t matter to me as within 5 mins of starting I promptly got stuck on a fallen tree and most of the riders in my classed passed me as I had to get off as push the bike over it!
What a superb course and venue this was, there were some absolute peach of some climbs, some really long runs where you had to pin the strimmer all the way to the top, loads of roots, beautiful tree lined trails, some steep downhills , and a few really long fire roads where you could twist the throttle back as much as you liked (scary in places!). The whole lap I reckon being around 7-8 miles in length. After that 1st lap mishap I came round to the lap scoring and looked at the TV that SCEC have which shows your position in your class as you swipe your transponder, fantastic idea that, but I wasn’t too impressed as I was lying in 15th. Some fast lads in these Vets experts and wasted time means losing places especially in those first few laps when every ones going hell for leather with the old adrenaline pumping.
So after the first few laps I settled down and began albeit slowly to work my way back up the field again. Must say that there were 19 riders that started in the o40’s and I was the only one on a 125, that says something, maybe I should be on a 250 or a 300 to make life easier? But the thing is, when you ride a strimmer and it all goes well, it’s so rewarding to beat the bigger bikes knowing that your under powered and it’s all down to the rider.
With an hour passed on the clock and with no further mishaps I’d moved up to 11th and was really enjoying myself, my kind of course!
The usual pit stop for fuel came at about 1hr 40mins where Paul Ford was there to give us a hand after he’d got a puncture and had to retire from the race. Just after the 2 hr mark I’d got up into 10th but didn’t seem to be making much progress however hard I was trying! I kept on pushing and pushing until with 10 mins of the race left I came round to the lap scoring so I knew it would be my last lap, and guess what? Right in front of me were 2 riders stuck together racing each other that were both in the same class as me. I was now on a mission to pass them both so that I could move up a couple of places on the old scoreboard. I got on their back wheel and within 10 minutes I’d passed them both and now it was the time the push even harder to make sure they didn’t get me back. I took some big risks on the fire roads ‘pinning it’ on that last lap and nearly ‘lost it’ a couple of times when I nearly lost the front end a couple of times , but I managed to hold on to the thing and there was no way I was going to lose any places now after pushing for so long.
I just missed out on gaining another place as well because right at the finish line I was just a couple of bike lengths down on the rider just in front of me who was also in the Vets experts. So overall not too bad a day and was quite pleased how it all ended up and enjoyed racing on a superb course.
Finishing position: 8/19 (vets experts)
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Dowhills- 15th May 2011
After the fun and frolics of last week, I decided to give it a go at a enduro cross meeting held by the ASW club. I’ve never done one of these events before, it’s two 1 hour races with a break of about an hour in between in race. I traveled up to the venue with ‘mad’ Jack and his boy Paddy, Jack wasn’t riding because of injury, but Paddy was entered in the youths race.
An overcast and chilly day it was as I got signed on and the bike scrutineerd. Not that many riders I knew floating about, in fact the only person I saw to have a natter to was Phil Studley and that was it. With the youths race 40 mins or so in length and the first adults race not starting until another half hour after that, I had plenty of time to go walkabout and check out some of the course which seemed to be plenty of fields with some woods thrown in in between that I could see in the distance. Good thing was with Paddy racing before me he’d tell me what the course was like when he’d finished, always handy that when someone’s rode the course before you and they can tell you to look out for the dangers such as wild bears, unexploded world war II bombs and not forgetting real life scarecrows such as ’Catwaezle’.
So then, with the 1st youths over it was time to get lined up, warm up the engines and get ready for the flag to drop. The thumb wasn’t feeling too bad and I was hoping it would see out an hours racing, although it has to be said that this was probably the moment I needed a nice 2 stroke 300 to try and take it easy on my right hand so I wouldn’t have to do so much work with the throttle all the time. Oh well, at least that’s something I can look forward too when I’m about 50, few years yet then!
As the flag dropped for the 1st race I got a flyer and made it into the corner in 2nd place, but with about 3 flat fields to cross before we hit the woods, it wasn’t long before I got swallowed up by a couple of the bigger bikes as the big 4 bangers thundered past me, although I didn’t do too bad and made it into the wooded section in about 4th or 5th. The woods themselves were excellent (just not enough of them), nice flowing trails, a beauty of a steep climb which caught a lot of riders out on the first lap, a couple of gnarly descents, and a bit of tight stuff through the tress before with went back out across a couple of more fields, along a short rocky stream section, yet more fields with a couple of uphill jumps thrown in, and back to the start. Quite a short course and I’d say only about 4 miles or so.
So onto the 2nd lap then and when I got to that steep climb in the woods, there were 3 or 4 riders stuck half way up it all clambering about trying to get to the top, not one to be waiting around these days, I saw a gap and went for it, sods bloody law then when just as I was about to go past someone, he over balanced and stopped me in my tracks. A quick dismount, a bit of heaving with the bike to get around him, and I was on my way again. With around 20 mins gone on the clock my right hand wasn’t good, it really started to hurt after last weeks ‘off’ and I was seriously thinking about pulling out and stopping and I thought to myself I’d give it another couple of laps and see what happens.
Although a bit down on pace with my hand killing me, I managed to finish the first race and got a 3rd so pleased with that. With about an hour and half before we raced again, I managed to get some pain killers down me which helped a bit so I was looking forward to getting on the strimmer again and giving it another go.
So onto race no 2 then and as the flag went down I got another flyer and managed to get the holeshot into the first corner. My lead only lasted a few corners though because as we got out into the open stuff once again, a couple of those big noisey 4 banger things flew past me and as the same as the first race, I made it into the woods in about 4th or 5th. As the race went on my hand felt a lot better and I started to ride a lot better as well, and with no real drama’s I pushed hard for the hour and ended up with a 2nd place this time around.
So a good day in all and nice to do one of these enduro cross meetings which makes a bit of a change to the normal hare and hounds/enduro events. Highlight of the day for me though was stopping at Macdonalds on the way home for a cheeseburger and chips, can’t beat that can ya?
Finishing position 1st race: 3/12 (vets)
Finishing position 2nd race: 2/12 (vets)
An overcast and chilly day it was as I got signed on and the bike scrutineerd. Not that many riders I knew floating about, in fact the only person I saw to have a natter to was Phil Studley and that was it. With the youths race 40 mins or so in length and the first adults race not starting until another half hour after that, I had plenty of time to go walkabout and check out some of the course which seemed to be plenty of fields with some woods thrown in in between that I could see in the distance. Good thing was with Paddy racing before me he’d tell me what the course was like when he’d finished, always handy that when someone’s rode the course before you and they can tell you to look out for the dangers such as wild bears, unexploded world war II bombs and not forgetting real life scarecrows such as ’Catwaezle’.
So then, with the 1st youths over it was time to get lined up, warm up the engines and get ready for the flag to drop. The thumb wasn’t feeling too bad and I was hoping it would see out an hours racing, although it has to be said that this was probably the moment I needed a nice 2 stroke 300 to try and take it easy on my right hand so I wouldn’t have to do so much work with the throttle all the time. Oh well, at least that’s something I can look forward too when I’m about 50, few years yet then!
As the flag dropped for the 1st race I got a flyer and made it into the corner in 2nd place, but with about 3 flat fields to cross before we hit the woods, it wasn’t long before I got swallowed up by a couple of the bigger bikes as the big 4 bangers thundered past me, although I didn’t do too bad and made it into the wooded section in about 4th or 5th. The woods themselves were excellent (just not enough of them), nice flowing trails, a beauty of a steep climb which caught a lot of riders out on the first lap, a couple of gnarly descents, and a bit of tight stuff through the tress before with went back out across a couple of more fields, along a short rocky stream section, yet more fields with a couple of uphill jumps thrown in, and back to the start. Quite a short course and I’d say only about 4 miles or so.
So onto the 2nd lap then and when I got to that steep climb in the woods, there were 3 or 4 riders stuck half way up it all clambering about trying to get to the top, not one to be waiting around these days, I saw a gap and went for it, sods bloody law then when just as I was about to go past someone, he over balanced and stopped me in my tracks. A quick dismount, a bit of heaving with the bike to get around him, and I was on my way again. With around 20 mins gone on the clock my right hand wasn’t good, it really started to hurt after last weeks ‘off’ and I was seriously thinking about pulling out and stopping and I thought to myself I’d give it another couple of laps and see what happens.
Although a bit down on pace with my hand killing me, I managed to finish the first race and got a 3rd so pleased with that. With about an hour and half before we raced again, I managed to get some pain killers down me which helped a bit so I was looking forward to getting on the strimmer again and giving it another go.
So onto race no 2 then and as the flag went down I got another flyer and managed to get the holeshot into the first corner. My lead only lasted a few corners though because as we got out into the open stuff once again, a couple of those big noisey 4 banger things flew past me and as the same as the first race, I made it into the woods in about 4th or 5th. As the race went on my hand felt a lot better and I started to ride a lot better as well, and with no real drama’s I pushed hard for the hour and ended up with a 2nd place this time around.
So a good day in all and nice to do one of these enduro cross meetings which makes a bit of a change to the normal hare and hounds/enduro events. Highlight of the day for me though was stopping at Macdonalds on the way home for a cheeseburger and chips, can’t beat that can ya?
Finishing position 1st race: 3/12 (vets)
Finishing position 2nd race: 2/12 (vets)
Friday, 24 June 2011
Nancemellion- 8th May 2011
Well it has to said that Nancemellion isn’t one of my favourite places to ride an event round. Sometimes the organization leaves a bit to be desired shall we say? And I never seem to have much luck down at the place. Anyway, it was a local event just down the road, and a chance to have a blast on the bike.
For a change it was nice weather and the sun was shining as I pulled up into the field to get parked up. Most of the usual local motley crew of faces were to be seen which included Adam Blake who decided to change his exhaust on the morning of the race because he had ‘nothing better to do’!
For a change it was nice weather and the sun was shining as I pulled up into the field to get parked up. Most of the usual local motley crew of faces were to be seen which included Adam Blake who decided to change his exhaust on the morning of the race because he had ‘nothing better to do’!
So after a bit of banter and chit chat, it was off down to the start. Rather than walk I managed to cadge a lift off of some poor unsuspecting bloke on the back of his bike who was riding down there, Don’t ask, don’t get eh? Now then, I’ve said this before about this event, where the hell do we all line up then? There wasn’t even anything on the start line to tell us what groups to line up in. Come on Camborne and Reduth motor club, just print the classes on a bit of A4 paper and tape/pin/attach them to a stick and hey presto, Job done! So bike numbers were all over the place although most of the over 40’s (I say most) the class I was in, were lined up together.
Onto the start itself then, and I got an absolute flyer and like a scolded cat I was gone and managed to get the holeshot. The course itself was a big improvement on previous years with some nice tight gnarly rooted woods, a small piece of mx track and some grassy hillsides. Nothing really challenging and I thought it flowed quite nicely although there was a few sloppy bits to get stuck in if you weren’t careful.
So, I was out in front of the o40’s class and going well and led for the first 2 laps until disaster struck (The nancemellion curse) when I has a silly little 5mph off turning a tight corner. The front wheel slid away and as the bike went down my thumb got caught between the front brake master cylinder and the throttle housing and I couldn’t let go. With my thumb trapped I had to down with the bike and when it hit the deck my hand went one way and my thumb another, ouch! It bent it right back and I knew straight away it wasn’t good. I got back on the bike and rode off, but it was useless as I couldn’t twist the throttle properly let alone hold on to the bars and I knew it was game over. Within a lap I’d lost the lead, then another place, and I was beginning to go backwards, I just couldn’t do anything so rather than come off again and make it worse, I decided to crawl back to the van and seek some medical attention as my thumb was flamin well killing me.
So in the ambulance I went and after a check up they told me that I’d done the ligaments in my hand just at the base of the thumb. 4 ice packs later and with my hand throbbing like it’s been hit with 5lb club hammer, I decided to watch a bit of the action for 10 mins and then make my way home rather slowly in the van because I could hardly turn the steering wheel round the corners!
Finishing position: DNF
Sunday, 24 April 2011
GBXC- 24th April 2011
So it was off to watch a round of the GBXC up in Devon with ‘mad’ Jack and his lad Paddy. Quite a few from Cornwall had made the journey up as it was only about an hour and half away. Nice bright sunshine greeted us and conditions were dry, so a good days racing was in store and I was looking forward to seeing some top riders in action.
After watching the youth race it was back to the van to see if Jack needed a hand to get ready, and in true ‘mad’ Jack fashion, he decided to take out the bearings on the shock linkage and re-grease them with only about 30 mins to go before his race started!
With minutes to spare Jack went down to the start line and me and Paddy walked down to the bottom of the hill to get a better view of proceedings. So the flag dropped and the Elite group of riders set off with Jack getting second into the first corner. After another couple of twists and turns the riders came blasting past us with Jack in 3rd place, but just as the last of the elite group past us, Paddy had noticed that there had been a crash just yards away to our right and that he thought it was Jack. We rushed over and sure enough Jack was lying still with his bike a fair way from him, so I knew it must have been a fairly big ‘off’ and a fast one at that.
Within seconds the marshals were right there and with Jack motionless on the track, they quickly diverted the rest of the field to a different part of the track whilst the paramedic arrived. While Jack was being checked over I went to pick up the bike, it wasn’t in too bad a state just a few things bent, handlebars, levers, and plastics. After a good 20 mins with the paramedic doing a thorough job, it was then decided that Jack should go to hospital for a proper examination as a suspected broken collarbone and ribs were diagnosed.
The paramedics vehicle was a 4x4 and this has to remain on site, so an ambulance was called from a nearby hospital, and as we were down the bottom of a hill and basically right on the track, it was decided to meet the ambulance at the nearest point on the road to make access easy for it. I then got on Jacks bike and followed the 4x4 paramedics car across some fields, through a farmyard and out into the road where we stopped and waited for the ambulance to come and pick up Jack.
Now then, I’ve got to ride his bike back to the van, load it up, and take Paddy home, but I couldn’t go back the way I came because I was going against the flow of the bikes the wrong way round the course! I asked the paramedic whats the best way to get back to the paddock? The only way was on the bloody road! So off I went on the YZ 250 and went ‘round the houses’ along a few country roads in order to get back to where the van was parked. Ok, we all know I’m a 125 rider, but I have rode a few 250’s in my time, but I’m telling you, this thing that Jack rides is a beast! I opened her up a few times just to see what is was like, and just like it’s owner, its ‘mad’. Bloody nora, how he holds on to that for 3 hours god only knows!
So after making it back to the van on the YZ (trembling with fear), me Paddy and Dennis Harrison ( a mate of Jack’s) loaded up all the gear in readiness for the journey home. But wait, what’s this? An ambulance pulls up next to the van and Jack gets out! He’s only made the ambulance driver turn around on the way to hospital drive up the road and bring him back to the van so he can get changed! You gotta laugh ain’t ya? You just never know what Jack’s going to do next?
So finally after getting changed he was off to hospital and me and Paddy made the journey home. An eventful day then!!
News from the hospital was that Jack had suffered a broken collarbone, broken ribs, and a damaged liver, but knowing him, he’ll be back before you know it.
Boscastle- 23th April 2011
This event was ran by a new club that had set itself up to organise H&H races for quads, sidecars and solo's. Ths first thing i knew about it was when Steve Jose phoned me up and said 'get your bike in the van, the race starts in 2 and half hours, see you there'! Now i know what your'e gonna say when i tell you that the phone call woke me up and it was 11 o'clock in the morning, no i'm not a lazy b*stard coz i didn't go to bed until 3am because i was out the night before gigging and living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle! (seem to be doing a lot of that lately) So to be honest it was all a bit late for me to get organised, so i'd thought i'll go and watch.
I turned up with about an hour of the race to go, not many competitors going round the track i must admit, probably about 20 or so? But a few local ones having a blast round on a Saturday afternoon that i knew anyway, so at least i could have a good laugh.
Highlight of the afternoon was me and Ali Gilbert (who pulled out after breaking his forks on his 'ginger' machine) watching Trevor Vercoe lap Steve Jose, and Matt Tilley doing his best to emmulate 'Dancing on ice' whilst getting it all wrong and ending up on his arse through a wooded rooty section!
The course was a mixture of woods and fields but nothing too technical, and i think the club did alright in putting on their first event. Hopefully next time might get a few more riders involved and i might get a bit more notice so i can ride it!
I turned up with about an hour of the race to go, not many competitors going round the track i must admit, probably about 20 or so? But a few local ones having a blast round on a Saturday afternoon that i knew anyway, so at least i could have a good laugh.
Highlight of the afternoon was me and Ali Gilbert (who pulled out after breaking his forks on his 'ginger' machine) watching Trevor Vercoe lap Steve Jose, and Matt Tilley doing his best to emmulate 'Dancing on ice' whilst getting it all wrong and ending up on his arse through a wooded rooty section!
The course was a mixture of woods and fields but nothing too technical, and i think the club did alright in putting on their first event. Hopefully next time might get a few more riders involved and i might get a bit more notice so i can ride it!
Monday, 18 April 2011
Thats better!- April 17th 2011
Hey hey, picked up the strimmer and took her down the track for blast. No problems and it went like a dream. In fact it went a whole lot better than it has done for a long time! Having that barrel done (again) has made the bike a hell of a lot more responsive and crisper when you open her up. So, a big relief today for me and can't wait to race................
Monday, 4 April 2011
Yor avin a larf - April 3rd 2011
No i ain't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!So, i picked up the bike on friday, barrel re chromed, new piston, rings, etc,etc and waited for Sunday to come around so i could run her in a bit down at the MX track.
After another late night through gigging (early morning actually, 3am) on the Saturday, it was off down the track to let the little strimmer loose. Nice day too it was, a bit windy but lovely sunshine, perfect! No trouble starting her, 2nd kick and bring a ding ding, up she fired. I sat there warming up her up for a couple of minutes before i headed out on to the track for a nice easy ride round to run things in. I was on my 3rd lap when all of a sudden she started to rev and suddenly died on me. Strange i thought? Checked a few things, petrol on, throttle ok, plug not loose, kill switch not stuck, so then went to kick her over.................................................SEIZED SOLID! What the f*ck? um........... not happy was an understatement. With just 7 mins on the clock the strimmer decided to commit suicide rather than be ridden by me. How inconsiderate after all we've been through together?
On a more serious note i have not got a clue in the world as to what caused it, but at the moment it's being looked at, and i'll leave it at that.
Monday, 28 March 2011
On yer bike! - 27th March 2011
Well my little strimmer's out of action at the moment due to a few things that needed doing which should have been done a while back. The barrels been sent off to get that sorted so a new piston can be put in and also i smashed into a stump a few races back and bent part of the frame that the back pedal attatches to, so thats got to be straightened out as well. So until i get her back which should be sometime this week (fingers crossed) i'll have to play the waiting game.
After gigging last night i didn't get to kip until about 3am so i was a bit 'cream crackered' so a long run was out of the question. Instead i took my little girl out to Dunmere woods (where the enduro's held in October) on our mountain bikes and tried to teach her a few things on how to ride a bike over rough ground, Oh what fun!
Hopefully be back riding next week..................................
Monday, 21 March 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Brass monkeys- 13th March 2011
(Pic by Debbie Tucker) First of all a big thanks to Thor motorcycles who managed to sort out my bike on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm the day before the race so I could ride on Sunday. I’d just finished putting the numbers on the bike at home and giving everything one last check when my clutch (which is a hydraulic one) decided to blow it’s seals on the master cylinder after I pulled the lever in. A quick phone call to Thor and within half an hour they had the thing out and repaired it for me.
So to Sunday then and I was really looking forward to this one but also hoping that I wouldn’t have a repeat of last years event when I did some marshaling and went and did my elbow in after I had my cortisone injection. Fingers crossed then and off I set at about 6am for a couple of hours drive up to Devon. A chilly start to the day but with bright sunshine overhead, it looked set to be a corker of a day.
With this being the 2nd round of the South West champs all the usual riders were present who’d made the trip up from Cornwall and a whole lot more from the surrounding counties as the event was sold out. To me that wasn’t surprising as there’s not many events that offer a 24 mile lap with a variety of terrain, and also with it being a timecard event, it was a proper enduro!
With me milling about before the start, I wasn’t short of a chat or two bumping in and stopping for a chin wag to just about everybody who got in my way. Mark and Debbie Tucker were in the signing on tent getting the riders organized, so at least all the competitors were assured of some smiling faces when signing on instead of the usual miserable ones that you seem to face most of the time! Now I’ve got to say that numbers is a strong point of mine, and that’s why I seem to have about half the amount of riders coming up to me at a timecard event to work out or check their times for them. Imagine then to my horror, when Ali Gilbert came up to me and asked if his times were right and were in fact 10 mins out! (by that I mean 10 mins more than what they should be). A big drum roll ladies and gentlemen please for Mr Steve Jose, who not only worked out Ali’s times wrong, he also did it to Matt Tilley’s as well!!! Whilst back at the van getting changed Paul Ford and Richard Batstone dropped by and asked about ’mad’ Jack, so I didn’t disappoint and told them a few story’s about the ‘legend’ that I’ve acquired along the way!
So it was down to the start then and today I was in the vets experts and we had 3 laps to do with 3 special tests, so lots of riding and a good challenge. Just after 9.30am I kicked the strimmer into life and off I went with John Hinkley (who was on the same time as me) out into the road for about a mile before turning down a lane and into the woods where the special test area was. With this being the 1st lap we had basically a sighting lap of the test as we wouldn’t be timed on that section until laps 2,3, and 4.
This was a test and half I’m telling you because of the nature of it. We started off in very slippery tight hilly woods that had the usual stumps and roots in, and for good measure a couple of log hops were thrown in before going out into some extremely slippery fields moto x style, then across some undulating meadows, before heading back into the woods which included a muddy rutted water filled ditch (that was causing a few problems to a few riders) another log hop and more off camber slippery trails. An extremely long test and hard work especially with it being so slick as you were either going up or down in the woods constantly over all the stumps and roots. I reckon it must have been at least around 4 miles in length and unlike the test at the Muntjac a few weeks back, this was a lot harder believe me.
I can’t begin to describe a 24 mile lap, but lets just say it had almost everything thrown in there, a bit of road work that linked each set of woods together, water crossings, marshy bits, off cambers, stoney climbs, muddy ruts, ‘flat out’ field sections, mud infested ditches, and a whole lot more, superb course and I can see why clerk of the course Simon Thomas spoke to the ACU about this becoming a BEC round at some point. At about 2 thirds distance we had a time check, this was a slack one so no need to rush and I got there with plenty of time in hand as did everybody else. Mike Roose was in attendence nattering to all and sundry and generally ‘geeing’ all the riders up as well supplying a few with a much needed ‘ciggy’!
The 2nd check point was back to the start/finish area and this was tight in terms of time, I think I took this one too easy to be honest and ended up 2 mins over, should have pushed a little harder, but with 48 miles still to go I didn’t want to go and do something stupid so I wasn’t too disappointed. Onto the 2nd lap then and with our 1st test coming up and me knowing things were a bit ‘tricky’ because of it being so slippery out there, I let a few psi out of the back tyre and this worked wonders for me. I had a good first special test, no mishaps and went well, and the best bit was when I came to that big muddy water filled ditch half way round, there were 3 riders stuck in it and I thought ‘f*ck this’ I ain’t waiting, so I launched the 125 through the middle of them and went through it and up the other side without a problem leaving them there wallowing about like Hippo’s in a mud bath, Well pleased with that as I knew that all those 3 had started in front of me on the test so I’d make a lot of time on them.
From here it was onto the slack check and with no problems I made it with plenty of time in hand. So after a bit of a rest things got now even tighter as we had to make it back to the start area with even less time than we did on the 1st lap, and I ended up losing 4 mins. So 2 laps gone and 6 mins down, it was a quick splash and dash and out again to do one more lap but still with 2 tests to go (as we had to do an extra one after we’d finished as well) My second test went even better and I was flying, a good time and was well pleased and it was the 2nd fastest in the vets experts on that particular lap, I felt good!
Me and Steve Jay then rode round together for a while, but I lost sight of him after I got stuck in a horrendous rutted mud filled ditch somewhere in the woods and got pulled out by a marshal, but I didn’t waste much time and I made it to the slack check with plenty of seconds left on the clock. So from here on in it was back to the finish, and with this being the ‘tight on time’ one, I knew I had to push as hard as I could to try and not loose much more time. Just before getting back to the Start/finish area there were a couple of fields that you could open the bike up, I was absolutely nailing it and flat out in 6th gear, in fact I was even sat back on the saddle ‘Weston beach race’ style trying to get more speed out of the strimmer and trying to gain a few seconds on the clock hoping I wouldn’t loose anymore time. I did loose another 2 mins, so 8 mins altogether, but now the fun started as just as I handed my time card in to Mark (Tucker) get checked, my engine died! I kicked and kicked her but no good, she wasn’t going anywhere so I pushed her back to the pits. I still had another test to go and I was desperate to finish after riding for so long so I got a bump start from a few lads and she fired up down the road and off I went towards the special test.
The Gasser was struggling, it didn’t want to go anywhere and all it wanted to do was stall, I knew straight away that the piston rings had ‘gone’, no compression whatsoever, so if she stalled again it would be game over. I got to the test and all I could do was to keep the revs up in 1st gear hoping she would keep going and get me to the end. Every yard felt like an eternity as I had to work the throttle and clutch twice as much to keep her going so I could at least get some sort of finish. This test really was taking forever but I couldn’t even change into 2nd gear otherwise it would stall, I crawled round and those slippery hills in the woods were a nightmare as I daren’t let her conk out. With the finish in sight and about 100 yards to go she’d finally had enough and died on me. I was gutted, just another 20 seconds and I would have been home and dry!
So with the bike full of mud and weighing what seemed like a ton, I began to push it uphill towards the end of the test. Luckily for me the entire Scott family were nearby, both Ashley and Ben had suffered DNF’s so went down to the special test to watch with their mum and dad and came to my rescue! We all pushed and heaved and after about 5 mins I finally made it to the end of the test. But………… I still had to go about a mile up the road and hand my timecard back in back at the start/finish area and with the bike out of action I certainly wasn’t gonna push it back, I was cream crackered! So I dumped the strimmer against the hedge (couldn’t find a skip) and started walking. Just as I started going back I saw 2 women and a little boy getting into a BMW who’d been watching, maybe I could cadge a lift back? So I went over (plastered in mud on my race kit and boots) and asked!! Surprisingly they sad yes and I jumped in the back (after apologizing about the mud I was transferring from my kit onto the upholstery of the car) and off we went. I was sat in the back with the little’un and his mum turned round and said to him ’we didn’t see daddy did we’, so I asked who ’daddy’ was and what number was he? Jesus it’s a small world sometimes ain’t it? ’Daddy’ was none than Paul Ford who I’ve known for ages! Would you credit it?
So after finally getting back and handing my timecard in and finishing god knows how many minutes overtime, it was off for a good old natter with everybody and to hear all the hard luck stories (mine included) before I made my way home picking up the stricken bike en route.
Although it went a bit 'Pete Tong' at the end today, i really enjoyed it, i had good test times and i'm slowly starting to get my bike fitness back which makes all the difference over a long race or event.
A big thanks to Paul Ford’s Mrs for giving us a lift back and to the Scott’s who came to my rescue and pushed my bike up that bloody hill and back to the end of the test.
Finishing position:17/22 (vets experts)
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