Out and about- 13th December 2009

So it was off for a short drive just a couple of miles down the road to watch the Xmas cracker run by Camel Vale. This is always a good event with a great atmosphere and a decent course. I rode it last year and really enjoyed it, so you could say I was a wee bit pee’d off about not being able to join in this time around.

Being the sort of bloke I am with not much ‘blubber’ set around my frame, I wore 2 pairs of trousers, a t shirt, shirt, jumper, tracksuit top, a coat, a hat, and 2 pairs of socks in order to keep warm in the near freezing conditions. Felt a bit like a Michelin man with all that bloody gear on!
As soon as I arrived and got out of the van I clapped eyes on just about every bloody rider who’d done the South West champs this year, so I wasn’t short of a conversation or two. I suppose the good thing was, I had plenty of time on my hands because I wasn’t racing, and when you’re the other side of the fence as it were, there’s not much rushing about to get ready for the start so you can talk away to your hearts content!

I headed straight for the infamous ’whoops’ section that caused a few problems to most riders last year in order to see a bit of action and help out (albeit with one good arm) in case any body got in a bit of bother. Soon enough as the 1st lot of riders came through, the ‘whoops’ took there toll with several coming unstuck, and along with Mike Roose and Colin treleaven amongst others, we all dug in and helped everybody get back on their feet and on their way again. Shame Sue Pitman wasn’t there taking pics at this point of the course as she would of got a nice one of me picking up her other half John off the floor when he decided to do a bit of showboating by planting his ‘Husky’ and himself face first onto the forest floor!

Steve Jose and Adam Blake turned up, and after watching a few laps on the tricky ‘whoops‘, and with everything quietening down a bit, we decided to go walkabout and explore the rest of the course. What a cracking track it was too, and I must admit that I was a tad jealous of everybody riding, but me thinks there’s gonna be quite a bit of that to come yet as I won’t be able to do much for a while.

After it was all over I stayed around for a bit having a chat and asking everybody how they got on. Made a nice change to watch an event from start to finish, but my god, for enjoyment it doesn’t come anywhere near than actually riding yourself does it?