Is that the next Laurel and Hardy?No it's me and Steve Jose having a bit of a laugh after both suffering DNF'S.
Yes i'm the skinny one on the right!
(pic by Debbie Tucker)
I was really looking forward to this one, it’s run by Exmoor enduro club who always put on good events, there was a nice turnout of riders, and most people I know were riding it as well. For those of you that have followed the blog from the early days you’ll know that this was where it all started for me 3 years ago, bloody hell do I remember that or what? Ambulance job!
So with only just under a 2hour drive I set off early and got there with plenty of time in hand so I could take a look at the ’extreme’ section of the course that the club always put in on this event. Got parked up and off I went to have a sneaky look at it which this year consisted of a pile of logs about 4 high with a nasty drop off the other side, and a row of about 20 tyres to ride over. I was in two minds weather to have a go at it as I didn’t want to have a silly ’off’ and wreck me or the bike because I had the Dawn to dusk event to think of in a couple of weeks time, so today all I wanted was to have a nice blast round and get home in one piece. The weather today was overcast but dry, but judging by the youths race earlier, conditions were tricky as most of them were arriving through the lap scoring caked in mud.
Just about everyone I saw last week I saw this week again, so needless to say whilst getting signed on I was chatting to a lot of people and even a few new faces that had recognized me, bloody nora, time consuming these ‘local’ events!!
So after running out of breath it was back to get changed and then down to the start to get ready for the off . I was hoping for another decent start but I had more chance of taken Natalie Imbruglie out for dinner then I did of getting the holeshot because I dropped the clutch too soon and stalled it! 2nd kick and away she went, but all too late and I got to the 1st corner about halfway in the pack. From there on we went through a couple of fields and entered the woods where it all went a bit ’Pete Tong’. Trying to make up places I clattered against a bush which had rather thick branches the size of a broom handle sticking out of it, I thought nothing of it, but within a couple of mins there was steam coming out from everywhere, oh bollocks, just lost my coolant, looks like I gotta leak somewhere then!
I stopped and tried to inspect the damage but couldn’t see anything, but knowing that I had all the lap to do, I took it easy and crawled round, that is until more bloody steam was coming out so I had to stop again and wait for her to cool down. I decided to stop and help a few people get up the hills and also a rider who went down in front of me on a steep downhill. He took a bad fall, but thankfully after a couple of minutes and with me directing the oncoming bikes round him, he got back on his feet and carried on. Not wanting to seize the bike I stopped again just opposite the ’extreme’ section to have a look at everyone going through it and had a chat for about 10 minutes to Mike Boyles who came over to ask what was up. Steve Jose then came round and stopped next to me and told me he couldn’t carry on because of his back, so we both had no choice but to call it a day. After deciding to have a go over the logs and the tyres, I said ’follow me’ to Steve and promptly got stuck on the smallest single log of all before we even reached the real test, embarrassing or what? Thankfully I got going again quickly and made it through the pile of logs and the tyres and back to the start where I pitted, game over for me.
After getting changed and putting the bike away me and Steve went down to the logs and tyres to help a few of those riders that were having trouble getting through that ‘extreme’ section, basically we were picking them up off the floor and putting them upright again so they could carry on! Debbie Tucker was down there snapping away like mad getting some decent shots one of which included Adam Blake doing a bit of ‘showboating’ while doing a wheelie all across the length of the tyres. Phil Harris bottled this section, that is until me and Steve stood right in front of him on his last lap as he was coming down the hill and demanded he went through it, he did and promptly came off at the first attempt to which he muttered under his breath ‘I’m knackered, why I did I listen to you Trev’! Fair play to him though, he got back up and did it 2nd time around.
Everyone who finished that I chatted too thought it was another top class tough event and relieved to get to the end. Adam had a good finish in the champ class, Rich Tucker had bike problems that put him well down, Gary McCoy finished the event on a ‘borrowed’ bike (sorry I didn’t have anything stronger for you Gary than tobacco at the end, but I just don’t smoke that kind of gear mate, only joking), Andy Smith done well in the Clubman 2st and surprisingly Phil Harris finished 2 races in a row. Well I might as well report on everyone else coz I didn’t do anything did I!
What is it this year and the Exmoor events with me? Combe Sydenham I didn’t get the chance to start the race because of a rad leak, Storridge woods I got injured and then my chain wrapped itself around the front sprocket, and now Rifton Barton!
Finishing position: DNF
