G8 Events MTB Winter Series. Canada Heights - Round 1

[RichyPoynter]

Just got back from an impromptu MTB race, I was just going to spectate but Michelle didn't feel well so they let us transfer the entry.. so thought why not. (The mentalist was going do it on a cross bike!) It was run at Canada Heights near Swanley, the home of British Motorcross and the course was superb. I think it is rare to get to ride mountain bikes there and this was the first one held there for over 15years. Really good balanced course but with some great technical A lines and hard climbs. Managed to get 2nd place in the 2hr event. Myself and 1st place were together for the first 1hr 15mins and i tried to get rid of him part way through the race but didn't have the legs in the end but pretty happy with the result.

Was a really great course and well run event. I believe the next one is in Thetford which is a bit of a trek but might give it a go.


Here is the link to the website: www.g8events.co.uk/g8-events-winter-series/

[Damian Robertson]

Excellent! Good stuff Richy! Sounds fun. I'll be looking out for a gap in the CX to do an mtb race soon.

[Steve Hanks]

Excellent result Rich!

[MichelleForster]

Thanks for getting me an impressive result in my first race!

[NealMackintosh]

Nice one Mr P!

[WillBeresford]

Woah man that's awesome. Were you in Chinos and a hoodie as well?

[RichyPoynter]

Cheers,

No mate, was lycra clad for this outing, although my taking part was a little last minute... Am thinking of riding at the Thetford event in December but it is quite a way away.

[WillBeresford]

Thetford (in the dry) is one of my favorite courses. In the wet it's a set of pads of lap I found. Grim.

[Steve Hanks]

I might do that one. Way off my best but it'll be a good winter work out.

[Steve Hanks]

I rode round 5 at Hadleigh today. I had no pretension of doing well, just going to test my fitness and winter progress, and also test/get used to a conversion to 1x11 and and Oval chain ring before starting Mud Sweat & Gears.

This time I deliberately started at the back so as not to interfere with front runners due to the above intentions, but yet again there was a crash at the start which I got stuck behind. Hadleigh's never easy (its an Olympic course for a reason) and as it turned out G8 used all the climbs so this wasn't suited to me at all, but of course the red mist descended and I was soon passing lots of people - so many in fact I started to worry that I gone too fast and wouldn't last 2 hours. Even more so when I discovered G8 had included an off-circuit 12% grassy climb which was only 25m long, but with the damp/riders the surface had turned to Plasticine, so many riders included me chose to run the last 10m ramp on the latter laps at 15% as it just sucked your legs away.

So, round and round and swoopety swoop, and suddenly I was on lap 5 approaching the start/finish with 2 mins top go on the clock. I didn't need the extra lap but hey, we're racing right? Finally done, 13th vet so not bad seeing as I haven't really raced since September.

The last thing to mention was the wind - Holy Cow! Hadleigh receives the wind off the coast anyway, but at the top it was chin on the Stem and lowest gear just to make progress in the wind coming across!

[JackCurzon]

Well done Stan. Two hours of lapping all of Hadleigh sounds seriously tough, so extra kudos for doing that extra lap.

[Steve Hanks]

Heh - I had to get that Gorrick toys-out-of-the-pram Monkey off my back before I started racing in earnest.

The agony of Vets category though - If'd have raced Sport or Open I would have placed 6th/9th - aaargh! Can't wait to ride a flatter course now and see how I go with that.