We arrived on Friday to a nice day, a few mates had texted and said the trails were wet and slippery. After an awesome meal we drift into our rooms to get a good nights sleep...zzzzzzzzzzz
The forecast was right! We woke to rain and a lot of water on the ground.
Only the dedicated turn up to the startline...
Off we went across the river to start this awesome event... after some conversation on the flat gravel road we headed up the 1st climb, by the top there where 9 of us, we drop down and cross the river to complete the start loop... the next climb had a sharp pinch at the end and it sorted out the men from the boys, or in this case the boys from the men! Anton, Craig, Ben and Brad (aka the whippets) pedaled away, Tom and Nick were just in front at the top, I managed to pop past Tom before the yankee decent and set my sights on Nick... too much time on the roadie! I slipped and slid the whole way down, I didnt feel comfortable for a lot of the ride, I found my groove and kept pushing.
The tracks were wet, the mud was slippery, I was surprised how well the trails held up to the beating we gave them.
After chasing Nick for just over half the race I managed to get on his wheel... this was short lived as we got into the lower dog stream single track and Mr Roadie came back...
The gap didnt seem to grow or shrink much between us, it was a good honest race and no doubt will be the 1st of many this season.
After some final attacking to try and close the gap on the last climb, I started the last and what I deamed as the worst decent in the race. A clay based puddle infested slip n slide, with this done a short squirt to the finish....
5th overall and 2nd to Nick in the Open Men (couldn't get the pinner) Great result for me and highlights how far I have come (beating last years dry time by almost 5mins) and what I need to work on.
I was riding a Medium Scott Scale Expert 29er that I had leant to me and found it an awesome machine to ride, light, stiff and fast! The slightly slacker head angle makes for a very stable decending bike, with a longer top tube and shorter stem, the steering is still positive and maneuverable in the tight techy stuff... Not long now until I will be on board my Large Scott Scale Pro for some much needed trail time to get the skills up.
Well done to all the competiters who toughed it out in the wet and cold conditions, I'm sure your mechanics will love to service your bike after that mud fest.... Give the guys at John Bull a call to get your ride ready for the up and coming summer season!
Till Next Time....
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