The race may have been on the Sunday, but the punishment started on the Saturday night. For some reason, halving a cask of wine with a friend sounded like a good idea. Throw in some vodka shots and you have a recipe for a messy night. Fast-forward to 3am and I’m catastrophically drunk in a taxi, slopping a mince pie all over myself. This was maybe not the best pre-race strategy but definitely in keeping with the spirit of the event.
’Luckily’ for me I had cleverly pre-entered the race, motivating me to scrape myself off the sheets and drunkenly pedal up to the skills area, arriving with minutes to spare. I quickly suited up in a flattering mesh top, fairy wings and pink wig combo and then the race was on.
I won’t go into too much detail on the race, except to say that it was treacherously muddy, wet and windy – blown off the bike windy. Going up Ridgeline, a slippery and rocky downhill track, was a unique experience I’m glad to have had but won’t be rushing to repeat.
For me, today was everything I love about mountain bike racing – a good morning out with some mates and some laughs, no-one taking it too seriously and everyone out to have a red-hot go to the best of their abilities. It was great to be able to share a few beers around at the end and meet some very good sorts. Unfortunately the weather didn’t play ball but well done to everyone tough or stupid enough to come out for a punt – and shame on those who didn’t for missing a good time.
The ride home was miserable but after a long shower, a pizza in bed and a solid nap it was soon forgotten.
Chur to Andy and Owen for putting the event together – you boys created a great casual atmosphere, a fun course and some sweet spot prizes. Mad props for those brave enough to risk the elements and help out with marshalling etc, and to the sponsors for putting up some goodies. I even managed to bag myself worst dressed, netting me a cap and some surprisingly comfortable socks. I look forward to more of these sorts of outings in the future.
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