More Haste Less Speed

There are a number of mountain bike races organised throughout the year by a bike club called Gorrick. The club is based in Swinley Forest in the Crown Estate and they do a great job in maintaining the trails there, the routes are in great condition and are generally unaffected by bad weather. The club also runs the Gorrick Hundred Enduro Challenge which I try to enter in May every year. This weekend was round 4 of the Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series cross country races and Ben, my 14 year old son fancied having a go, so we both planned a day of racing. Unfortunately with the clocks going forward we ended up rushing out of the house and in my haste I left my bike shoes at home, I also neglected to check the race worthiness of my bike having not been on it for a few weeks. Without my shoes and only in trainers I decided to enter the same race category as my son: the Fun category comprising just 2 laps instead one of the 3 lap more serious categories. The course was in great condition, a slightly damp surface on a firm base and the route was surprisingly hilly with a combination of longer gradual climbs and short steep hills. The downhill was quite technical with winding single-track to follow; not the ideal terrain for riding without being clipped in to the pedals. I bounced around the bike on the descents and having discovered soon after race start that my bike wouldn’t drop into the smaller gear set I couldn’t get any control on the damp root laden climbs; so I opted out of trying to get a fast time and waited for Ben then we cycled the route together. All in all a nice race in which to participate and Ben is now keen to enter round 5 in three weeks time. I am always impressed with the size and quality of the racing field at these events, having come from Mountain Biking in the Alps I have always had the impression that I am a proficient Mountain Biker but I generally fair pretty poorly at these events coming in the bottom 30%. I shall see how I get on during the Enduro in May as I have a few years of results to compare should be able to see if my l’etape training has helped my MTB bike fitness and endurance.