Emily rides a mini rockgarden
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It was up and about early for the Dirtgirls on our final day of the trip. In
fact, we were so up for it we made it out so early the lift wasn't open! If
you had seen the previous levels of faffing in the mornings you would
understand just how impressive that early start was.
The night before the morning after had been super stormy, packed with thunder,
lightening and torrential rain. Unbenownst to us Dirtgirls it had turned our
favourite tracks into slipperly, slidey scary stuff.
Even so, we tackled the well worn traverse across to Lac Linderet. Only today
it wasn't so well worn, and we were all a bit cautious on the rocky sections.
After getting to Linderet we split into two groups, with some of us heading off
with the lovely Joe for some guided riding, and the rest with Emily and Sara for
some coaching.
The group with Joe had a great tour around the high tops, before descending to
Les Crosets. This was perked up by Joe pointing out some good restaurants on
the the hill - a bonus for this Dirtgirl who's staying on for a few days after the camp finishes.
The rest of the Dirtgirls were riding rocks, and poor old Emma shipped a fairly
scary injury after taking a tumble. It was back to Morzine to get patched up,
and I'm pleased to report she's smiling again!
The groups swapped over at lunch, which meant it was our turn for the afternoon
rocky section. We managed a trip down Puncture Alley without too many
problems, then Emily coached us down a particularly tricky section. Yet
another set of skills to add into our expanding quivers.
Emma tests a Santa Cruz Heckler
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As we set off for our final descent, the rest of the group sped off while Terry
and I hung back faffing around with our brakes. Our attempt to catch up with
the group was thwarted by a wayward bull who luanched himself accross the path
as we hurtled down. After some tricky negotiation we managed to convince him
he was best off the path, but not before making his presence felt in every way.
By this time we all had scent of the beers in Bar Robinson and sped down the
last stretch, bemoaning Elaines puncture for putting an extra 5 minutes between
us and our final destination. Finally we made it, running into the girls from the other group who made it down
about half an hour later.
Much discussion about our week ensued, with all of us agreeing we were heading
home better riders then when we arrived. For some it was about building
confidence, for others it was learning new skills. Caroline reckoned it was
"biiiiiiiiiiiig - I was riding down stuff today I would never have tackled on
Sunday", Debbie reckoned it was "scary, steep, rocky but fun" (but is also
convinced she's getting a full sus for next year!).
Aside from the biking there was also general nodding around the quaility of the
food and accomodation. The breakfasts and evening meals were consistently
excellent, with the full plates cleared off every night.
Ultimately everyone was particularly touched by the patience and sensitvity that
Emily and Sara invested in each of us. No-one ever felt left behind, or
conscious of being a bit timid or slow. We were all part of the Dirtgirls
family and looked after each other for the week. I think I speak for all of us
when I say that we found the atmosphere unique to the Dirtgirls environment.
Caked with mud but sporting huge grins all round we raised our glasses to Sara,
Emily and the rest of the team for a fantastic week all round!
The Dirtgirls week is run twice a year in Morzine, France by FlowMtb.com The next week is August 18th 2007, you can check out the itinerary here.
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