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)
