Jenn having fun
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The weekend after the first UK National XC race came the ELBNO and
Merida Spring Marathons, which are run as non-competitive events, so it was a chance for Andy and me to ride together and have a bit of fun.
Andy's new Scott Scale frame arrived in a box on
Saturday morning, and our plan was to build the
bike in the morning then drive over to Builth in
the afternoon. By 3pm, after spending the
morning phoning around after a headset, we cut
our losses and threw all the bits in the back of
the car, figuring we could at least get there in
time for me to get on the start line. Luckily the
Scott race support crew were on site to help,
and after tapping in the new headset we were
just about ready - cheers Phil!
I get a real buzz out of riding at night, and the
short night lap on the Saturday was blisteringly
fast, as a week of sunshine guaranteed a
virtually mud-free course. Andy sat out the
night event in the end, preferring to stay and
fettle with his new bike in preparation for the
next day, but I never miss a night ride, as it
gives me the chance to run my Lupine lights.
I opted for the smaller Edison 4, as I wasn't
planning on being out for more than a couple of
hours, and it was brilliant and faultless as
always. We set off just before 8pm and I got
around the 40km course in about 1hr 45mins,
just enough to stretch my legs and get in the
right frame of mind for the 75km course the
next day. By the time I got back, Andy had the
tent up and the kettle on, and the frame had
emerged as a shiny new bike! Success!
Sunday dawned bright and sunny again, as we
all packed our jackets away and got the
sunscreen out instead. The event started with
a neutralised road section, and Andy and I
made our way to the front to avoid the
concertina effect going on at the back. I was
feeling really good, with not a hint of fatigue
from the night before, and I was looking to
post a fast time. The Spring Marathon is a
great early season tester, I was keen to better
my time from last year.
Again, the course was fast and dry, with the
biggest challenge being picking the right rut. I
did get caught out on the only puddle on the
course - looking back I should have figured
that if it hadn't dried out in a week, it was
probably a pretty deep puddle, but at the time
I just decided to ride on through. It turned
into a comedy moment straight out of a
Heineken advert, as I plunged in up to my
headset and stopped dead. Andy doesn't ride
through puddles as a rule, so luckily didn't follow
me. He balanced on a bit of swamp grass and
held my helmet like a bowling ball to prevent me
from drowning while I fished my bike up out of
the muck.
The singletrack through the woods was great
fun in the dry as all the roots and banks were
completely rideable, and we carried on at a
spanking pace with big smiles on our faces. We
stopped at the second feed zone to fill up well
ahead of schedule, but on the next climb my
rear tyre went down with a big hiss. Andy gave
me his rear wheel so I could carry on and finish
in good time while he patched the tyre up with a
tube. I got back in 3hrs22mins, an unbelievable
50mins faster than last year. Andy wasn't too
far behind, despite going through two tubes in
the last section of the course. All in all it was a
genuinely enjoyable weekend, and one we
wouldn't have missed.
counder1
