WDMBA ROUND TWO, GETHIN 24th APRIL 2011

WDMBA ROUND TWO, GETHIN 24^th APRIL 2011

Gethin, we hadn’t been there since the dying days of the old Dragon Downhill uplifts when Joel was about nine or ten riding his Kona Stinky 24. I remember that it was a freezing day in mid-winter and the mile or so push at the top from the uplift drop off point to the start of the track was a killer for a nine year old pushing a 40lb bike through thick mud shrouded in freezing low cloud.

So we had to decide, do we enter round two of the new Welsh Downhill Mountain Bike Association series or give it a miss? As last week progressed the weather looked like it would hold for the weekend and by Wednesday evening the boys (having chatted to some mates who had entered) decided they wanted to give it a go. A couple of frantic emails to the organisers on Thursday and they were in, many thanks to them for being so accommodating.

We arrived on Saturday morning to be met by a bright, sunny and warm day. Close inspection of the track revealed a dry, superfast, dusty course which had recently seen some revamping but retained lots of the old character including the infamous rock garden. The boys both got on with getting some decent practice under their belts and by mid-afternoon had completed several runs each without any real incidents. The Rose Beef Cake FR’s were running well with the added advantage that after being dropped off at the top they could flick the Pro-pedal on and ride the mile or so to the start ahead of other riders thus having a clear course ahead.

All the discussion through the day centred around which line would be quickest through the rock garden and as a father I have to admit that I didn’t want to advise them or indeed watch them navigate a successful path through this most challenging section of the course. Even Dan Athertons dad looked uncomfortable when Dan came charging through the section.

By early evening, we all agreed that it had been a successful day. No real hold up’s, the uplift had run smoothly, the boys felt they had the course dialled. So it was off to the hotel for a shower, some grub and a good night’s sleep.

Sunday morning and we were greeted by equally bright and dry weather although thankfully a little cooler. We were a little late arriving but the boys were straight into the uplift queue whilst I sorted out our pits. Again they had a solid practice run each before heading up again for their first timed runs.

Racing got under way at 11.30am with the hardtailers and Juvenile riders kicking off the proceedings. Joel had been seeded middle order in youth category so it was a little while to wait for him to make an appearance. He did duly appear with a time of 3.17.4 which I think put him into 11^th place in category. He declared that he had had a clean run but hoped to be able to go faster in his second attempt. Other more experienced riders in his group were having a torrid time.

The junior category followed in which Isaac had been seeded 4^th. We waited by the finish as rider after rider crossed the line with times tumbling towards the 3 minute mark. Could any junior manage a sub-3 minute run? As Isaac approached our hearts were in our mouths as he went 2.59.51 to put him first with three riders left on track. At the end of the category Isaac was placed 4^th but was confident that he could improve on his time in the second run.

Second runs got underway at about 2.30pm. Hardtailers and juveniles were first down followed by the youth category. Joel had a clean run but was unable to improve on his first time coming home in 3.18.58 a second or so slower but at least it showed consistency on his part. Some of the faster riders managed to get the act together to unfortunately push Joel down from 11^th to 15^th place.

Now our eyes were on Isaac, 4^th last on the hill we waited in anticipation. Could he better his first run? The times were tumbling towards the magic 3 minute mark and when Isaac appeared it was clear that he would break his earlier time. He finished in 2.56.57, a little under 3 seconds faster. This pushed him up into 3^rd place with three riders yet to finish. Could he hang on to that position? Two of the riders went slower but one went quicker which slipped Isaac back to 4^th. He told me later that all the way down the track he was saying to himself that he could win this race and he very nearly did missing out by only 2.38 seconds.

So a good fourth placed podium for Isaac. He is still only a first year junior with the three riders ahead of him all in their second year and a solid middle order result for Joel who we believe was the youngest rider in his category and really still recovering from injury. Joel’s consolation was that he got his own little section in the WideOpenMag edit of the event. He’s well chuffed!

The boys would like thank everyone at Rose Bikes for all the support and are very excited about the prospect of taking delivery of their new Beef Cakes in the next couple of weeks or so.

And as to which race to enter next? They think we maybe taking a little run down to Woodland Riders at Tavistock this Sunday for the final push up race of the winter series.

Joel, Isaac and Duncan Anderson

Scottish Downhill Series Round 1 – Ae Forest

The Scottish downhill series got off to a great start on the 16th/17th of April at Ae Forest deep in the south of Scotland. After a 5 hour drive south on Friday afternoon in glorious sunshine, I walked thetrack as the rain started. The track looked quite technical with a horrid look off camber section coming in to the final section before the drop off. The thick tree cover in the middle of the track had kept the sun and wind out and was still pretty muddy which was a shame as over all the track looked pretty quick.

Saturday the 16th – Practice, Warm and sunny

I met up with my good friend Lachlan Blair and we spend the day trying to get a handle on the middle muddy and continually worsening off camber sections. I just couldn’t get a clean run and all the time the roots were getting more exposed. Four runs later and I felt I was getting quicker but still making mistakes. There's a fine line between speed and staying on and I was struggling to find it.

Sunday the 17th – Race Day, Hot and sunny

One practice run on the morning didn’t improve things with a few more falls. I went in to my first race run still unsure how to handle the middle section but soon found the extra adrenalin of racing seemed to do the trick and I was flying error free. Half way down however I was brought up by a red flag. Someone had fallen in the final drop to the finish and was blocking the track. At the bottom I was told to get back up quickly for my re-run. Again I was running well. Fast and error free down over the drop off and in to the big berms. On braking for the tight left turn in to the last drop the front just wouldn’t stick and I went down straight in to a photographer on the outside of the corner. On getting back up and on the bike I found the reason. A front flat. I must have clipped a rock on the exit of the fast berms and not noticed until I needed to turn again. A slow run the last 100 metres got me in 30th of 43 riders. Not a happy bunny at all. My second run in the afternoon was uneventful and maybe I was over tired or something because although if felt OK I was off the pace and came in 7th eventually dropping to 13th.

I started the weekend seeded 6th and thought that was about right so although I had a great time, 13th doesn’t feel like I got what I wanted from it. Last year I’d have been over the moon with 13th so I shouldn’t complain and it is still a decent result.

That should be my last race on the 2010 Rose Beefcake as I’m reliably informed that my 2011 bike is at last on its way. Fort William world cup course next on the 14th/15th of May let’s hope I christen the new bike with a good result.

I’d like to thank Rose Bikes UK for my bike and the SDA for running another great event.

Euan

Photos by Ian Linton and Paul Cram

Charlie Watts pre-season training.

Rose Bikes - Hey Charlie, how’s it going?

Charlie Watts – Good thanks man, just back from a session at PORC.

RB - Cool, been practicing into the mulch pit there? what new tricks have you learnt for the new season?

CW - Yeah, its great there, i got truckdrivers the other day

RB - Is that a 360 barspin or two barspins?

CW - 360 barspin. Also got 360 no handers and double whips

RB - Sweet, what comps are you hitting up then? Have you got any road trips planned?

CW - I’m going to hit all the dirt wars comps and hopefully Riva again in Italy. I”m still not old enough to drive but a couple of my friends are so we are going to have another week in Cornwall in the summer hitting up the track and anywhere else we can find. Woburn is always an awsome place to ride so I’m going to go there loads this year also PORC.

RB - Are you getting anything different on your Rose Bruce this year? Or are you going to run it stock?

CW - Well from the pics i have seen the bike looks amazing so I wont need to change much maybe the handle bars and seat, swap them for some lighter ones. I’ll have a play around with the rear wheel too, I need to see if there is anyway i can get around using the massive axel it comes with. To be honest though, I’m just looking forward to getting it and starting the competition season!

RB - Cheers Charlie, looking forward to another great season!

Winter Series Results.

The results for the Scottish Winter Series are in and Rose Bikes Flow Team rider Euan Hird finished with a 3rd place overall!

We're all really stoked on this and hope that Euan and his 2011 Beefcake DH carry on the good results through the summer. Next stop, Glencoe BDS.

BDS Rd 2 - Moelfre

What a great weekend!! The sun was out and the racing was fast and close.

Katy came away with a solid 5th while Joel and Isaac Anderson came down with a 29th and 16th respectively.

The 2011 Beefcakes are expected this week so the next round should be one to watch.

Photos and video to follow soon!

Jonny

Euan Hird, Final round of Scottish Winter Series

Round 3 – Scottish Winter Series – Innerleithen

Saturday Practice

I’d walked the track by torch light on arrival on Friday evening and went to bed really looking forward to what looked like a fast track. The strong winds were getting right in to the trees and for my first time a dry track at Innerleithen looked like it may happen. Saturday morning however changed all that. Heavy rain overnight had turned the ground back to porridge. My practice runs were OK but I never felt like I was managing to get the better of the mud and even my Muddy Mary tyres were just filling up especially in Innerleithen’s infamous bottom section. This left the crucial final turns to a bit of pot luck. With the track changing all the time I cut the day short mid-afternoon and decided to focus on Sunday morning practice to really get a feel for my race runs.

Sunday Race Day

I woke to find blue skies and a good breeze. A quick look at the bottom section of track confirmed the ground had dried out quite a bit overnight and would continue to improve as long as the rain didn’t return. I only did one practice run just to check the track and grip levels before going back up for my first race run. My first run was pretty clean and felt quick enough for a decent time. I crossed the line to hear “that’s Euan Hird of Rose Bikes in the hot seat for now” I proudly took up my position but only stayed there for long enough to open a free Red Bull before being bumped off by Niall Morrison who beat me by less than a second. By the time clear favourite George Gannicott crossed the line I had fallen back to 5^th but was still pretty chuffed.

When the time came to start my second run the track had dried even further so I set about a ‘balls out’ run for a shot at the podium. Everything was going well until I drifted wide on a very fast corner and slammed in to a rather large tree. Badly winded I set off again and tried to make up the lost time. I crossed the line breathing through gritted teeth only to find I’d lost 4 seconds on my first run making me one of few whose second run was slower than their first. This was good enough to hold on to 5^th but I really felt a podium was possible today.

I came in to the weekend wanting cement my top ten series position with an ultimate goal of retaining 5^th. Today’s result actually improves my final standing to 4^th. The 2010 Beefcake DH was flawless throughout the series for which I’d like to thank Finlay Paton of Rose Bikes UK who loaned me the bike until my 2011 bike arrives.

A two week break now before the SDA series starts with round 1 at Ae Forest. Another long drive south but I’m looking forward to it already.iHird

Photo - Paul Cram