Merida Brass Monkeys Winter Enduro Series Round 1

This was the first of a four round series, organised by the Army Cycling Union, and was also to become my introduction to bicycle racing. Now, for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with enduro off road racing (as I was until today) it seems, it is much the same as a cross country race with the main difference being that the terrain is far more technical than that demanded in a XC race. You'll see a great deal of very technical and narrow single track, with occasional fire roads to link it all up.  The course chosen for this race was peppered with exposed tree roots, some off camber and lots of short but steep technical descents/climbs, quite challenging all in all and plenty of "offs" to be seen. Although just one off for myself as my chain slipped when I grabbed a bunch of gears for a climb.

For this race in the series the laps were 7 miles long and there was a choice of two or four hours or, a one hour for beginners and a three hour for the hardcore vets. All plus one lap. This event was a sell out with over 500 riders in attendance.

I was to set off on the two hour with a friend Toby. The three hour event had started one hour earlier and the four just another hour before that.  We headed out to the start line with a keen 10 minutes to spare, only when we arrived we found the rest of the two hour field were an awful lot keener than we anticipated.   So we started off quite a bit further back than we would have liked! Lesson learnt.

The first lap was really just one big lesson for me, and somewhat a bit of a scolding for starting so far back. It was very tough to overtake once in the wooded single track, and with so many guys and girls in front, all wheel to wheel, as soon as one fell or another struggled to push through a technical section this would cause a bottle neck. This in turn also meant that the inertia gained from a descent could rarely be carried up the following hill. As the field started to spread out over the coming laps things did improve. This was a good thing for me because I felt quite empty after lap one and since I would probably be out for a third lap I needed to find a more comfortable pace and get back to carrying my speed through corners and over climbs. (Why do people drag their brakes going down hills only to then peddle harder up the other side?).  Toby had made some significant progress through the pack and gained some valuable time back. Overall he finished his third lap in 62nd place in a category of 95, some 12 minutes ahead of me in 73rd.  I'm pleased to have taken part today and I'm happy to walk away with my first race under my belt. But more importantly I've gained some valuable (if not frustrating) lessons that rookie racers like me need to learn and I'll be taking these forward with me to my next race. Unfortunately I can't attend the second round due to unavoidable commitments but I'm hoping to get out for the third round in January.  Tickets on sale if anyone fancies a go to http://armycyclingunion.co.uk/?page_id=24

Matt Schubert