Sussex-MTB

This report is a ‘two into one’ due the manic business of my life recently. To begin with I found myself on the start line of the 2 hour category at the 3rd round of the Brass Monkeys Enduro. This was to be a continuation of the Daddy Recovery – I’ve been whingeing for a while about Asthma issues and what seems like continuous colds and bugs since before Christmas, and then I got a shock from the Dr about weight. (No details, safe to say the ‘Big’ part of my name is more apt than ever before…)

So, to the race – a massive entry and a conservative approach meant I found myself way down the field at the off, and a very slow climb in amongst the masses. This ended up being no bad thing today, as I was able to ease the pace up gently and protect my lungs. The course was steep (for a Gorrick anyway), with two very harsh and long climbs per lap, plus a few other climbs and some really sweet singletrack descents and technical challenges.

I settled in a really started to enjoy myself. I was on summer tyres which were fine for the vast majority of the lap, only turning my bike into an uncontrollable sledge on a few particularly muddy sections, but that added to the fun!

This was turning into a really good event for me, as is often the case I was finding that I could make up a huge amount of ground on the fire road sections, particularly the climbs. It seems that people concentrate on speed in the singletrack, pop out onto a fire road and pause for breath. I find that these aged ‘roady familiar’ legs can really motor at this point and pretty much every section I caught and passed many riders. The big climbs were littered with hunched over guys plodding up on foot, pushing their bikes, which is great for me! So, a cheery wave, maybe a sarcastic comment about it being a bike race, then I’d hammer into the distance… I have to admit to being caught and lapped by the lead pair, but it was pretty cool and good fun to try and stay with them for a while, watching their amazing finesse and technique as I clattered and slid along behind. I stuck it out for 10 mins!

I managed to be pretty consistent over the 3 laps I completed, and finished 24th out of 118 in my category, which I was pretty chuffed about. There was a really good vibe (as usual) at this event, with loads of riders on a top notch course and top organisation. A good day’s riding! (Sadly no pics for this one, but Joolze got a few, here: http://joolzedymond.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewImage=130230&q=2643&ingals=1 .

So, fast forward 2 weeks to the 5th Feb. For those who don’t know me, I run as well as ride, although I’m not great at it, and I’d lost my running mojo somewhat over the last few months, but I’ve done a few ‘multisport’ events and offroad duathlons before, and loved them. So, here I was, with most of the family, at Pippingford Estate in the Ashdown forest (the only place in the South of England that was raining solidly all day) for the Human Race Tuffman Duathlon. My event consisted of an 8km (2 laps) run, then a 13km (2 laps) mtb, finishing off with a further 4km (1 lap) run. But before I set off, my brother (a proper runner) had entered the 8km run only event. He set off 15mins before me, and ended up 7th out of 200 runners, having flown round the muddy slop of a course. Well done to him – the standard had been set!

On the start line, I took up a moderate position, a few rows back from the front, and on the gun set off at a good pace across the grassy bank. I settled well into the run, which could be described in two words – hilly, and muddy! We plunged down the hill, into the slop, then turned and back up again. It felt like this was the pattern for the whole lap was 4km. The final climb was a really steep and nasty 1km track, which would appear 5 times as it was also in the bike leg, and it was tough. A made it up to finish lap 1, and was met by my personal rent-a-crowd supporters who did me proud…

I took a drink on board from my supporters and cracked on with lap 2. By this time I was beginning to notice a blister forming on my left foot – due to a crease in my sock added to seriously wet and muddy feet. I pressed on, ignoring it as best I could, and actually enjoyed running in such a beautiful place, despite the cold, wet weather. (I think I was enjoying it more than the family were!) I crested the final climb again, dreaming of getting on the bike and making up ground on the others. It seems that most people who do these events are primarily runners who dabble in biking, so I’m usually able to blitz past people on the bike.

I entered transition, changed shoes and grabbed my bike. It felt good to get pedalling and I caught two guys in the first two hundred yards. The bike leg consisted of 2 laps of a different course, the first having an extra loop, making it significantly longer than the second. Pretty quickly I was into the singletrack mudfest, on which were many inexperienced riders who were really struggling and IN THE WAY! It took a long time to clear them, but I was having fun. There was soon a long granny ring climb which led into a bermed downhill section which was a blast, and ended in a really steep slope that people were falling off, just looking at! The lower section, which went past 6 lakes and joined the steep climb was a real filth fest and difficult to ride fluently. I completed the climb, again passing many people and got on with lap 2.

As I got round and along the lakes section again, I collected a stick in the derailleur. I should’ve removed it, but I was tired and all was still working, so I pressed on, until I dropped into the granny ring for the climb – and crunch! The transmission completely jammed up. It took me 4 or 5 minutes of stress to get one granny ring gear working for the climb, and an XTR derailleur fit for the bin…

So, I singlesped very slowly to transition, cursed at my luck and donned the running shoes again to complete the last 4km lap. Straightaway I felt that blister again, which I hadn’t noticed on the bike, and it became progressively more painful, until, after about 10 mins, I couldn’t put my foot on the ground. I called it a day at this point, feeling that there was no point in wrecking my foot completely. I’d really enjoyed the event, despite things going wrong towards the end, and was pleased with my performance. Next up, Gorrick Spring series round 3…

Big Daddy