Today's Ride

The History Man said:

Out today to find a way cross country to an old haunt. Got acquainted with a recent build. A nice neutral ride. Got a mate visiting for a ride so needed to check it out as he's using it.

Not sure which is the lighter?

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al-onestare said:

Maybe as epic as @Betsy's recent off but not as serious as @Frankenorange' s crashes, I'll add to the tales of woe

Round 4 and the regional SWXC back at Newnham a few weeks ago. Glorious conditions and another amazing course, even better than the previous rounds. This was more technical and the climbs were a little less agressive. Mega dry, mega hot, it was set-up for a belter. My engine felt good and I was holding the very rear of my wave of riders, I'd even passed a few mid-lap 1 which is a big step up.

I'm deeply conscious that I don't want to ruin anyones race, so I perhaps, overly pay too much attention to faster riders behind me. I made the rookie mistake of letting one past on a technical A line decent when I should have waited 20 seconds or so to a safe passing place. The result was, off line I rode straight into a rock at lower speed and toppled over rolling down a very steep ravine.

There's nothing like that feeling of thinking, hmmm, I might stop rolling in a minute

After finally stopping, I managed to clamber back up, dust off the bike and continue down the descent, cursing my stupidity and trying to reduce my adrenaline levels. I'd lost over 5 minutes and was weighing up how to approach the rest of the race. I seriously contemplated giving up but the ego, and to be fair the experience of riding on a great course, out weighed the negativity, so I decided to get my breath back, cruise a bit and see how things would pan out.

Starting the second lap I realised my phone had dropped out of my pocket and was probably sitting somewhere in the ravine. I'd caught up with the last wave of riders, so I rode with them a bit and only then, did I check if I was in one piece. I was, but cut up all over the place, with a great looking bloody hand on my race number "Wilson"-esque

So this time I safely dismounted and clambered back down and thankfully saw my phone face up, with the sun reflecting off the screen. I lost another 3 or 4 minutes and feeling a little better, I carried on, just about making the cut for a 4th lap. Somehow I'd only been lapped once. Passing more riders, I realised I might not be last and indeed, I placed 15/17 in the vets. Had I stayed upright, it would have been an even better but less spectacular story

This is near the end of the first lap, broken and mentally scambled. This simple rocky section felt like something out of Whistler.

2 laps later and back on it... and some front wheel air!!

Chatting with control at the finish, I heard it'd be carnage with spills all over the place. I heard one go over in the same spot as me, a rider I'd passed just before that section.

Round 5 is back at Wheal Velocity, and the remaining rounds are west of Plymouth, so a bit easier for me to get to. I hope the positive, incremental gains I've seen continue, and I can finish the series "strong"; in my terms, I'm absolutely nowhere near the leaders who are a different breed.

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