Monday 14 May 2012

Southern XC Champs; Wasing Park


I have not ridden my bike since Wales because of a sore throat/cold so I had no great expectations going into Sunday’s Southern XC Championships. The thought of racing had kept me going all week long but when I was struggling to speak on Sunday morning I did question whether it was wise. After a couple of Strepsils and a gentle reccy lap I was starting to feel a bit better but how my legs would react after a week of 0 exercise was still a mystery.

After weeks of miserable rain we were gifted a couple of days of sun which did wonders for the course to the point that it was dry and dusty for almost the whole lap. Thank God for that is all I can say because this could have been a full on bog slog if things had gone the other way. Much of the course is loamy soil with exposed roots which have a habit of becoming unridable very quickly. The course was very similar to previous years with a slightly reworked, and less to my liking, start and a new near-vertical drop-in by the lakes.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Dyfi Enduro 2012


On Saturday I headed over to Machynlleth for the annual, and by now legendary, Dyfi Enduro. Because of a hangover I was delayed in setting off and didn’t make it there in time for the usual reliability ride around the Mach 1 loop so just pitched the tent and headed to the pub. You might notice I don’t take the event too seriously. It’s a fun event with a great course and I like to do as well as I can but it is also a good opportunity to catch up with people I only see once a year and eat my body weight in the finest fish and chips in the land.