day after boxing day enduro 2012

[6daysextreme]

anyone doing it this year?
It is at Bagshot using both sides of the M3
I have ridden there twice this year in deep mud both times - really exhausting but double big fun
It is something to behold to watch the experts/championship boys in full flight.
I will let you know how it goes

Rich

[newsh]

There will surely be no shortage of mud, our pond is about twice it's normal size and lapping at the door of the garage. Its the highest it's been for about 20 years!

I'd love to join you but I'm having lunch at my sister's and in the evening my mum says I have to stay in and wash my hair..

[6daysextreme]

John, you probably did the right thing. It was far tougher than expected. That was one difficult race. The rain was sheeting down from early morning and i made sure i arrived early as parking is not so easy at Bagshot. Luckily the worst of the rain eased as we lined up for the Le Mans style dash for your bike start.
There were 320 riders and around 40 in my class. As we set off there was the usual carnage at turn one and then it was single file rut riding. It was very muddy, slippery and wet. After the first steep hill we entered a tunnel taking us under the M3 to the southern section. This has some pretty gnarly hills and as usual there were lots of stuck riders at every section. I picked my way through managing to coax the excellent KTM 2 stoke power to climb everything with comparable ease. there were not many areas to rest just the odd hundred yards of fire road. Having ridden there twice recently there is often a section of track i recognized, gaining an advantage by knowing the best route is a definite bonus. Finally i arrived back at the tunnel to return to the north side. At the entrance to the tunnel were a couple of pallets stacked into an apex which got pretty slippery when covered in mud from so many tyres. The last section of the lap seemed an endless rut until finally dropping out into a very muddy twisty section at the bottom of another hill with a log to cross without run up. At the top of the hill were many spectators right next to the pits.
With Lap one complete i felt a slurp would be welcome, check the fuel, pads and decide whether to remove my rain jacket. Rain had just started again and I was not that hot so decided to stick with it. As I went through the time check i realized lap one had taken 90 mins! Dagnabit. Must do better.
Lap 2 did not seem quite as bad, by then the riders were spread out over the 8 mile lap and lots had already thrown in the towel. At some of the worst boggy sections were very helpful marshals pointing out the best route and assisting stuck riders. I misjudged a corner and found myself sitting on the side of the bike with my foot under it. After extracting the offending limb i arrived back at the pits area for another drink. The fuel was still only half used and all else seemed ok. If I can get a wiggle on I might just get another lap in.
So lap 3 felt interminable but by then all the best lines are obvious and it is well worth pushing yourself to the end. I arrived back at the time check a minute and a half before houring out.
The results coming out the evening of the race is really well done Witley club and i have to say it was all very well organized, marshaled and marked up. It turns out i came 55/320 and 6/60 in my class. Very very hard though. Until one has done one of these events it is difficult to explain how tough it is. However they are very addictive and already looking for the next one. ahaha.
Forgot to say there were two sections where there was an easy or hard route. Now usually i like to try the hard routes to see how hard they are but this time i had seen the hard sections before the race and decided they were definitely not for me. One was a jump off a 3 foot concrete slab then around the corner a few logs to get back up it. on top of it though was not big enough for a bike length and drop back down - nasty. The second was to climb on top of a pillbox (2nd world war type) that was at the top of a very steep hill so that the drop offthe other side was about 15 foot. At the riders briefing we were advised that only the championship and expert riders should attempt it. I didn't. It was hard enough just getting around the lap once!

Rich H

[Raleigh Chopper]

Feel absolutely exhausted just reading this ! Still getting my head round 90 minutes for one lap , does that mean you were racing for 4.5 hours!
Great report and well done on your results.

Derek T

[6daysextreme]

it not normal for 90 mins a lap. Just so long, hard and lots of riders.
Actually i rode (can you call it racing? Surviving perhaps) for 3 hours 58 mins.
Check out utube BXDE 2012

When is the next one? Can't wait

[kris]

well done rich !

you deserved that 2012 best competition rider award as issued at the annual awards ceremony !!

will you make it a hat trick in 2013 ??

[Luke B]

You went round the log right ?............