Round 2

The view was stunning as I pulled up at a muddy Bringewood, Ludlow, for round 2.... The mist in the valley made it seem like we were above the clouds...

As for the biking...Boy was on form. With the appearance of the sun I seemed to find my (limited) talent once again and the bike was behaving for a change. The course was long, with muddy roots ready to grab your front tyre given half a chance. The preliminary run of the day provided a smile or two as some of the course I had ridden previously and ensured the throttle was held wide open through these parts... The only ''harsh'' parts of the track, were two jumps. First, one half way down after a pedally stretch leading to the edge of the woods. Jumping into the darkness and with no real landing to speak of. The second, at the finish line, seemed to through ever rider off in different directions and at different trajectories..

Practice day was great, smiles a plenty and only one high speed wipe out. Of course this was down to me not paying attention, having a break and sitting down. To add insult to injury this was the flattest, straightest part of the course. I was enjoying the short break from the intense concentration required for the remainder of the course as I face planted the right side of my helmet into the ground....On the upside, as this was the only part of my body to meet the ground, up to the point I became stationary, injury was avoided!

Race day came, along with the mist. This added to the already low light levels in the wood ensure only one race run on the day was possible. The norm is two.

Two practice runs later, early that morning saw, little improvement on the previous days runs. The jump at the finish did however go one up, as it launched me into the biggest nose dive of my biking career, culminating in me getting winded and feeling like an accordion! My merriment was had by the spectators...

The race run finally came round, and it was all down to that few minutes blitz... Managed to avoid all peril's on the way down and set a time of 3.28, 47th out of 83 and 45 seconds off the leader.

I was happy to have finally set a time, gained the experience, and now know what is expected at round 3, (12th Mar). The bike is running and great, so its just my head, and brakes slowing me down. Hope to leave the fear in the car for the next round.

Will endeavor to get more pics of the action for the next posting....