Monday 27 May 2013

Scottish Downhill Series Round 2, Glencoe, 18th & 19th May 2013

Hey guys and gals, Nick's back in the crib and here's the low down from the SDA's Glencoe weekend.

Up to Glencoe to race some bikes this weekend and instead of being ghetto-camping we were rocking a Hobbit hole, oh yeah baby!

I guess you all kinda know I love the super steep technical shizzle courses and Glencoe is no exception to this rule, it's a technical and steep bike breaker from hell!  It's well known that people do one run and then go home, tsk, ya pussies!

There were some course changes at the last minute due to loads of snow up the top and the weather had been damned rough, as a result the SDA boys had to use a different track. 

On the course.... after the very top's pedally section you have some long flat out straights interlinked with drifty gravel filled corners.  These tidied themselves up after a few runs minds.  As practice continued some big holes were developing as a lot of people were braking into the corners, I started taking the inside lines which were pretty fast and much smoother.  Totally on it.

Practice was going well then the weather took a turn for the worse. So the laminated tear offs and the new Powa Products DFender mud guard came out. The DFender went on so easily and was stable as hell unlike a lot of other mud guards I've run before, top marks guys, it definitely did the job.  The track was by now really beaten up, though I'd take a final practise run.... famous last words!

(Photo copyright of Karen Brumwell)

I set off cruising it with the intention of looking at lines and using it as a nice steady cool down, not wasting too much energy pedalling on the top.  Suddenly I'm flying through the air the hit the deck with the worst pain in my leg.  For a split second I'm thinking I've broken my femur and try to stand to see what the damage was.  It's clear I have the ultimate of all dead legs!  I hobble about and see that I clipped a pedal off a boulder at the side of the track (must weigh 30 kilos) and Tommy who was riding behind me said I moved it three or four feet!  .....and THAT was why I was in pain, d'oh!  Now that I knew I wasn't dying thought it best check my steed.  Incredibly the bike was absolutely fine, god knows how and I knew Burgtec pedals were tough but not that tough!  Definitely the best pedals out there, get some!

It was too painful to roll down the courses so I asked a course marshall to help me back to the top of the chairlift for the long trip of shame back to the pits.  Later inspection there was just a tiny mark on my leg, really disappointed considering the pain I was in, I wanted a massive bruise!  Wasn't sure if I could race the next day and nothing painkillers and a good kip couldn't sort.

The next day my leg was giving me some serious gyp yet I decided to hit a practice run and see how it went, although it was painful I was determined to race.  Back up for my first run.... as it had been a while for me since my last run down the track it had become rutted up, in some place big holes appeared.  I was reasonably happy with my first effort, hard going up the top but pretty much on it and confident I could go faster even though my leg wasn't working properly.  I did go quicker but only by half a second though, was just happy to finish after picking up an injury. 

Very impressed with Powa Products DFenders and my new team-issue Sun-Ringle A.D.D. Pro wheels too which were strong as hell and kept true after crashing my tits off!

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