Despite being the third round of the series this was my first race with The Gravity Project and also my first ever Downhill race. I’d heard the series was a good place for new racers as there were no BC points on offer and everyone was fairly relaxed. Somehow I’d managed to rope my girlfriend along as a photographer/emergency driver and we arrived at the quarry near Farnham at 9.45, the wheels on my car spinning as I tried to manoeuvre the slick wet chalk on the car park. We were a little later than intended, I’d missed the track walk and by the time I’d signed up practice was well underway. From the carpark its a short walk up past a great looking pump track located in a old barn (closed on race days), it’s clear that these guys know a thing or two about digging decent tracks. The main gathering area for the track is about two thirds of the way down the course and provides a good spectator spot with riders visible as they weave down from the top of the hill on one side and descend into the quarry on the other. I was starting to feel a little nervous as I ‘d almost slipped over just walking the bike to this point and wasn’t sure my tyre combo or Minion and High Roller were up to the job. The quarry has similar chalky mud to Steyning which can be pretty lethal in the rain.
To get to the start hut it’s a push up climb around the opposite side of the quarry, there were a few other riders queuing for the start who were cool about it when I mentioned it was my first race and I suggested that they might want to leave a few extra seconds before following. Time for my first practice run. There was grip on the chicken-wired start ramp but as soon the tyres hit the trail I felt the front wheel squirm and rear fish-tail as I tried to accelerate. The course starts in a straight line with a few humps to pump, the bike was fidgiting as it unweighted at the top of each hump and I almost slid out within 10 seconds of starting. The track then takes a sharp right instantly followed by a pair of steep humps, the second one is off-camber and sweeps down out of the woods onto a pedally straight that ends in a small north-shore style step-up which a lot of riders, including me, were casing as they stuggled to get the power down.
Back into the woods and a series of flowing banked turns that came out on a ridge with a narrow line to get a round a tree. Amazingly I was still on the bike and on the track. A couple more turns and the course starts the steep decent down the hill that’s visible from the main camp. A narrow rocky line down a cutting in the hillside with a drop to the left, scary even if there was safety netting. Next a steep rocky switch-back, for me the most difficult part of the course which claimed a few victims with some over-the-bars action, a couple were even unlucky enough to fall over the edge and down the steep hill, thankfully without injury.
The line continued with a few more little jumps and a sharp flat right-hander, down a short steep slope to flat past the main camp and spectators onto a small double and down into the quarry.
A banked right turn rolled down fast into the gully and up the other side into an off camber left, I was trying to carry enough speed to get back up the other side but as soon as my tyre hit the bottom of the gully it washed out and I was sliding on my chest through the tape. No harm done except to my confidence, back on the bike and I minced through the last few turns, followed by a chalk rock garden at the end of the course.
Three or four more practice runs and I managed to stay on the bike but it was still really sketchy. I’d come to the race naively hoping to finish above the bottom third of the field, now I was just hoping to finish and not to come last! There was a quick lunch break with race runs scheduled to start at 12:15, the riders gathered at the top of the hill and it was a good chance to have chat with some more experienced racers. Everyone I spoke to was friendly and chilled out, there was a great atmosphere despite the grim conditions. Somehow I’d ended up with the number 2 plate and was second down the hill. My first race run and the track was still soaking wet so it was just a case of getting to the bottom in one piece, I posted a 1:27. The rider behind me was experienced and posted a 1:15 so I felt ok with my time as it wasn’t quite as embarassing as I first thought. The track dried out a bit for the second run and I found some grip by leaning the bike more and getting the side-knobs working on the turns, for the first time I started to feel confident and the run was ok until I hit the gully where I lost it in practice, somehow I kept it together but lost a bit of time. I posted a 1:20, seven seconds better than my first run. I knew I could go faster now I had more confidence but it wasn’t to be as I was tired, pedaly through the sludge and walking back up the hill had taken their toll and my last run fell to pieces at the steep rocky switch back. I literally had to stop or else I would have binned it badly. After that I lost my rhythm and posted a 1:22. That was only enough for 65th out of 78 and 23rd out of 25 for my catergory.
Despite the poor result, it was a great day and I can’t wait to enter some more races. The guys at the Gravity Project do a really good job, the marshalls are friendly and were helpful when I told them it was my first race. The spectators were cheering all the riders with a bit of friendly heckling. It was also great to see some fast talented riders and study how they attacked the course. Adele also deserves a thank you for standing in the cold all day with the camera and even helping unclogg the mud from my bike between runs!
The future races in the series are at Rogate on the the 3rd of June and back at Froyle Quarry on June 30th. I’m hoping to attend both, you don’t need a full-on downhill bike, my Alpine 160 was more than capable and there were even a few riders on hardtails.
