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