UK Gravity Enduro - Dyfi, 19th & 20th September 2015

It's the Dyfi race weekend, HUZZAH!

It's Robyn here, I completed the big Dyfi loop on the Saturday prior to completing the seeding.  Having got myself back onto flat pedals for a couple of rides prior to the weekend I was feeling a lot more at home with the bike. From the start you could see for miles, it was a great grassy track with natural jumps over rocks as you descended which give you the opportunity to just let it all hang out on the bike and have fun.  I really enjoyed the slalom style section at the bottom and clocked in one of the better times of the season on my Orange Five.  Couldn't fault my bike set up at all, the Manitou Revox rear suspension came into its own element on the big rock jumps, so smooth and supple.

The stages throughout the races varied from freshly cut steep mud to rocky trail centre affairs. The Michelin Wild Rock R2 enduro tyres really are absolutely incredible on the rocks and roll really nicely, I haven’t had a flat running tubeless on these all season.  Later in the day I few off the bike moments as fatigue set in and was pleased to complete stage five completely clean after a long 5 hours out on the bike!  I came in 19th courtesy of my off the bike moments, I'm happy with that though as the whole weekend has been fantastic.

Dyfi hosted a superb finale to the UKGE series2015. It was a great opportunity to race against a fantastic set of rides. The food from The BillyCan was delicious – lentil soup is perfect before heading up to seed. Steve, Charlie, Liz, Chris and all their workers have put so much into these events and I’m already excited about the return to gravity enduro racing next season. Before I finish my year I have one more Welsh Gravity to complete and then I will start thinking about the 2016 season.

Robyn x

UK Gravity Enduro Series, Grizedale, 27th - 28th June 2015

Grizedale, it is always with great excitement that I approach any kind of race in the Lake District, the scenery there is nothing less than sensational.

I spent nearly seven hours practicing on the Saturday including my seeding run, most of the riding this weekend was across terrain which had been cut in much earlier in the year. The UKGE guys work tirelessly on these races and they deserve real credit for the great effort creating such challenging stages.

Stage five was the seeding run which led down into the finish arena, it started off with a fast pedal over some freshly cut ground which was a gutsy all out push for the first thirty seconds. From there it progressed rapidly across increasingly technical terrain which included a cool drop into a tight right hander the exit speed of which got you straight up and over a long rooted section.  With no time to rest on your laurels you hit some tight twisting tree-lined turns which then spit you out into a full on pedal towards the finish arena. My seeding run went really well, I came down clean and crossed the line with a huge grin on my face. Awesome!

The sun was doing its best to bake everyone in their full face helmets however this was compensated by the scenery on the climb up from Coniston Water which was magnificent. I was with my good friend Gemma Ingall on the practice loop, riding with someone whilst checking out the stages made it all very sociable.

Race day:

Rain was predicted on Sunday for most of the morning; which was soon proved to be correct when it came down in abundance! This made an already challenging course extra difficult where not only were the stages unpredictable, the climbs were more mentally challenging.

Stage one started with a small drop followed by some tight twists across nice slippery roots where I kept as loose as possible on the bike and was certainly being aided by my Michelin encased Sun-Ringle 27.5" wheels. The fast middle section over some drops saw me miss a line and I wasted time struggling to get back onto the track. The stage concluded with a very slippery rock garden which I thankfully managed to glide over to the finish line, I was relieved to have completed the first stage!

Onwards and upwards, quite literally, to stage two. It was here where I was settling into the race having looked forward to this stage's mud, roots and fire road sprints. I really enjoyed it and had some fun on my Orange Five which was flying with aplomb, despite a little wipe out further down, ahem!

Stage three was rocky with the longest of fire road sprints where I stayed strong and finished well. Stage four saw me take a wrong line at the start and headed into the course tape, which was rather clever, I know! After unpicking myself I got the cadence back down to get some time back. For the last and indeed long transition I employed the ‘This Girl Can’ philosophy keeping a positive frame of mind and started to pedal up to stage five, by this time I had been out on the bike for three hours! Yes, this is one hell of a great bike event and it was here where I was blessed with a vista across Coniston Water, breath taking. 

Arriving safely at the top of the stage with a couple of minutes to spare the rain began to ease off.  I went out on a hard 'all or nothing' push from the start however my fatigue was showing with a couple of silly lines in the loose rocky sections at the bottom.  With that said I crossed the finish line in eighth place completely exhausted but happy.

Robyn

x

UK Gravity Enduro Round 5 - Dyfi, 18th August 2013

Steve and I first raced at Dyfi last year for the final round of the UK Gravity Enduro!   The track compared to the rest of the rounds with it being pretty damn fast and loose, sick!  We liked it so much that we headed back down there in February for Steve's 30th Birthday Bash. But, sshhh!

We rocked into the venue on Thursday evening and it didn't half piss it down all through the night.  Met up with Helen Gaskell and Sarah Newman who had brought along Helen's little sister Bex Baroana who turned out to be the secret missile of the weekend!  I have to say that one of my favourite bits of the weekend was following Bex down Stage 3 and hoping to god I wasn't going to follow her over the side of the cliff!  One word for Bex: 'Loose'!

We all rode together on the Friday to practice the stages and my legs just felt dead, I had changed my whole group set to Shimano which meant I was pushing a harder gear, good for the long term though I must admit!

Practice went well, some of the stages were brand new and we sectioned some of the lines which seemed to be getting a bit blown out from the rain. Steve Parr and his merry men fixed it all up for race day though, hats off to those guys.

On Saturday we took it easy and just practiced Stage 5 which was also the qualification track.  It was really grim during the quali's though, incessant rain and windy.  I didn't seed that well, I didn't really have the best of tyre choice considering the course conditions to be honest.  The track consisted of a lot of flat grassy turns.  Steve seeded OK but again similar issue with tyres.  

Photo copyright of Doc Ward

Here's Steve with a run down: qualifying was on the crazy side especially due to our tyre choices. The track was super wet and down a field so you can imagine the battle on a worn out daft tyre... nonetheless I scrapped my way to the bottom a little sideways.  Think I qualified somewhere in the top 15, further back than I would have liked as this kinda track usually suits my riding. .....

(Angie) Race day came around and Steve felt he had his work cut out, originally his aim for the weekend was a top 10 but after qualifying he knew he would be happy with a finish in the top 25.  It would be hard though as much as we both love riding at Dyfi, we both knew that the race pace was gonna be off the map!

Stage 1 was cancelled for us due to some dude breaking his hip or something along those lines, poor bugger!  Wishing him well.  This kinda played in Steve's favour because that particular stage a had a pretty big pedally section and like me his legs were knackered!

This was also Steve's first time using the new Thomson dropper seatpost and he was getting some envious stares from other riders, ha!

Sunday is an early start for the girls, we're always off first but it does mean we get to watch everyone finishing which is cool.  My first three stages were OK however on Stage 4 my chain came off, then after hearing a 'Pppppssssttt....' noise and thinking it to be a flat tyre I stopped, got out all my puncture repair kit stuff and then realised it was just water hitting the hot disk brake rotors!  Looking back I can laugh about it but at that point in time I was fuming! Gggrrr!  

Photo copyright of Doc Ward

Still on Stage 4 I trucked on and came into a fast left hand berm, it was here that the bike stopped dead and I went face first mouth open into the biggest puddle ever. I kid you not it was huge.  (Think of those old Thelwell horse cartoons and you're not far off!)  My goggles filled up with water and I couldn't do anything but jump back on my bike with twisted bars and laugh manically the rest of the way down!

Copyright of Thelwell

(Steve:) I was super happy with the rest of the event, everything was going well and I managed to keep smooth solid runs throughout three of the stages.  I finally found myself at the top of the final stage, soaking wet through with the rain, willing myself to stay on the bike and finish off what could have been prefect day... hahahahhaha, spoke too soon, It wasn't to be.  I was all over the place, drifting uncontrollably everywhere and stacked it twice, once into the only tree on the track and the other towards the bottom, slap bang on the floor!!  Shit happens eh!  It's funny really and I still laugh my arse off thinking about it.  I need to crash more, it keeps ya honest, only joking but I loved it!  

Photo copyright of Doc Ward

So that was our last UK Gravity Enduro of the season.  Helen Gaskell took the win for the Elite women with Sarah in 2nd.  For the season overall Steve finished up 9th and I was in 6th, not too shabby, we're both chuffed with that.

Next race is the infamous Tour De Ben!

Biking, Biking, Mushrooms....! 

UK Gravity Enduro Rnd 3, Hamsterley Forest, 25th & 26th May 2013

Hey everyone, it's Angie here, let's get y'all up to speed......

After a wet and cold start across the first two rounds it was great to see that Steve Parr had ordered in the sunshine for Round 3 of the UK Gravity Enduro Series at Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, well done that man!

Hamsterley is our local stomping ground being only 30 minutes away.  It is the first place where I learned how to ride and indeed how to crash a bike..... back in 2005 on the back of an Intense M1, hardcore!  Even now I still love the place, there’s something there for everyone; cross-country trails, downhill track, dirt jumps a-plenty and one of the country's best 4-cross courses.

Steve and I were aiming to get some practice in on Friday afternoon but due to a few mechanical issues with Steve’s bike we never got out, it was actually chucking it down as well…it’s grim up North!  I was actually pretty happy that it was raining though, some of the tracks at Hamsterley get seriously loose in the dry, it’s like riding on marbles.  Fun to ride in general but scary as hell to race on.

(Photo copyright of Doc Ward)

Saturday morning dawned and after a good sleep we got to Hamsterley early to practice the five stages and allow enough rest time before seeding in the afternoon.  We started off by smashing Stage 4, called 'Special K/Brain Freeze', it's pretty trail centre-esque, with it's, dare I say, forged trails but it's also really fun to ride with a steep and sharp up hill sprint in the middle.  I remember last year when T-Mo overtook me up there, like a goddamn express train, she's so powerful! 

Stage 1, the 'Beehives', was next, this one has long been my favourite secret track in the forest.  A secret no longer after a National Enduro event has flung its way down the hill.  It starts off with some mint off camber rooties, awesome in the wet, and then into a pedally tight n'twisty section.  It flows really well and is a total hoot to ride. 

You need to head across the river for Stage 2's aptly named 'Route 666', by this time it was getting on for late morning and the sun definitely had his hat on, ooopht, sweaty!!  Stage 2 starts off being really flippin' pedally alongside a wall before dropping down into the rut-strewn tree cover.  There had been a new wooded loamy section cut in which I was loving however Steve couldn’t get his wide bars through easily and he was getting a bit sweary, hahaha!  Next up was Stage 5, the 'Transmission' route.  (Please don’t ask why we practiced in such a random order!).  The 'Transmission' is the longest, fastest and most Strava’d stage out of them all, it's an all out modern trail centre track.  You should be able to find it easily on YouTube if you fancy a look.

Seeding runs started about 3pm, the girls were up first, it’s always interesting to see where people are going to place. Steve was nervous too and didn’t feel like he was on it, possible down to clipping his bars in practise.  He placed 3rd in Masters though and I was 4th in the Elite so both of us went home feeling pretty happy. 

We got some practice in on Stage 3 before we left, this was the downhill stage taking in the old NPS track, a great track starting off at the top of the 4-cross with a tricky rocky and rooty left hander in the middle.  (Lee here: that ain't the old NPS track, the original old-school NPS track no longer exists due to forestry cutting *sad face*).

(Photo copyright of Doc Ward)

Sunday was another hottie, I'm not complaining at all though, not after all the winter snows we had during the so-called spring!  The girls were off at 9.30am and Steve at 10am so we were up with the larks again.

I would say that my stages went well, a few messed up lines and a couple of stalls but nothing serious until Stage 5, same track as seeding.  I felt like I was going way faster but went into a corner on 'Nitrous' too hot and rode off the back of the berm. Absolutely gutted!!  I still finished 1 second faster than seeding so it was a shame that I crashed with a "what might have been..." looming over in my head.  Steve had good runs but felt like he could have gone a bit quicker on some sections, he changed his tyres between seeding and race run which was probably a bad choice in hindsight!  They may have been grippier but it looked like they slowed him down a tad.  This reflects what I was saying earlier, Hamsterley Forest is an awesome place to ride, yet its looks can be deceptive, you gotta know the type of trails you're gonna be riding to get the best of it all with good tyre choice.

We had to wait a few hours, impatiently I add, for overall times and positions.  Steve did mint with a 5th place, he could have done better as I said but he can't grumble with a category that big.  I came away with 4th in the Elite category and I must say I was flippin' buzzing!  I’m normally down the pack at this level but felt really happy to put in some respectable times this weekend.  Big thanks to Helen Gaskell’s tyre choice advice I reckon!

All in all a mint weekend, can’t wait to ride my bike again.  Summer is here at last .......touch wood!!

Angie xx

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UK Gravity Round 2, Innerleithen, 27th & 28th April 2013

Seagull's 'ere!

So I guess this is a little late for the write up (Lee: yep.... been tapping my foot impatiently here!) but life's been getting busy for us both this year with the big house move!  Finally got around to it though, here's our take on round 2 of the UK Gravity Enduro Series. 

(The selfie!)

The race took place at the legendary mtb venue of Innerleithen.  This crazy hillside has been a favourite of ours for years, it dosen't seem to matter if you're crashing your brains out in the mud or spitting up dust in the dry!  It's actually claimed many injuries for both of us over the years, from broken wrists to dislocated fingers and torn ligaments. I first raced there on the back of The Development bus back in 1999 (back in the 'Teesdale Development' years!) if I remember correctly, but shit, that makes me feel old! Nonetheless the point is the place still totally rule the roost! It's fast, dangerous and damned fun.....

(Copyright of Steve Wyper)

Arriving at the venue on the Friday was an exciting time; last year's race totally favoured the downhillers with steep fast technical tracks, we expected more of the same again.  For me though it didn't really live up to the expectations, it seemed the emphasis was more on fitness than fun, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not really how my lazy arse does things!  They had three tracks I really loved though so I came home smiling any how!

(Copyright of Ian Linton)

It was great weekend regardless, it was challenging and that's what it's all about.  Results wise we were both pretty happy with how it turned out considering how physical it was.  By her own admission, Angie found the race demanding, she pushed damned hard though and put in some awesome times. She didn't finish as high as she'd have liked but she wasn't off the pace by a long chalk just a smidge back from the big dogs up front, she's putting up a good fight in the Elite women's category.

(Copyright of Ian Linton)

I struggled with the pedally tracks as usual, but dug deep and did my best, staying clean for most of the day.  Track 4 made the whole weekend for me, it was a blend of everything really, trail centre type stuff with an awesome natural start and finish, muddy as hell down a steep shoot!  My arms were battered but I was laughing my arse off the whole way.  After a long day I finished up in 16th position out of over 140 entrants in the Master's category, not too shabby. 

(Copyright of Steve Wyper)

Overall it was a tough weekend racing for us both and probably everyone else, but it was also good one too racing with our weapon freinds and being treated to huge curry on the saturday night made all the difference, thanks for the hospitality from or little flapjack-making friends!

Curry night; the lovely Tracy B at the back next to the Segull and Angie then T-Mo and James Richards

Oh, and I forgot the main thing, big thanks to the team boss Lee Walker for sorting us out in time for the race, not only with all the product support but if it wasnt for you Big Dog I wouldnt have had my bike ready in time to compete.  Big thanks for pulling some strings to get me sorted. :)

The Weapons! Seagull, Sarah Newman, Helen Gaskell, Angie Coates....muddy as hell and loving it!

Next up is round 3 or the Gravity Enduros at Hamsterley Forest, our local wrecking ground... We're both buzzing our socks off for that one!!!

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