Over the winter i’ve been riding my Cotic BFe hardtail. I wanted to give my Bird Aeris a break from the slop and use the opportunity to go back to basics and learn how to ride a bike without 150mm of ‘get out of jail’ on the back end. So when I was looking at races early in the season, i thought screw it, i’ll ride the BFe, should be fun! Part of me saw an opportunity to get a good result in a relatively small category, expecting that hardtail racers would be newbies who haven’t yet taken the plunge and spunked a few grand on a full sus, not realising the only people who race hardtails are actual lunatics!
My first race was Round 1 of the Welsh Gravity Enduro Series at Afan. An isolated area of South Wales, 20 minutes North of Port Talbot. I didn’t know what to expect of the trails, I certainly didn’t expect trails straight out of the Colorado Desert! Usually races at this level with select some all weather trail centres stages and other fresh cut off piste stages. This race featured three stages of stone and rock, a novel change from the norm, but presented it’s own challenges.
Stage Map
I camped in the van on the saturday night, in the hope I could get a decent night’s sleep before the race, sadly the wind and hail was like “not round by ‘ere butty!”. Feeling like death and with the prospect of a 4 hour drive home after the race I was keen to get up the hill early and get finished. I had a game plan, but that soon went out the window when I heard people’s experiences from last year’s race. The Mash Up format is well designed for grassroots racing, allowing riders the opportunity to re run stages to improve on times, especially valuable if you mess something up or crash, the limiting factor is usually fitness and endurance.
The view from half way up to Stage 1
So, up the hill I headed, with a sense of purpose, leaving other riders in the wake of my hardtail pedalling efficiency. With just three short stages there wasn’t a great deal to think about, it was just a case of pushing hard and not over cooking it and coming a cropper. I started with a run at stages 2 and 3, two very exposed stages that headed straight down back to the trailhead. Stage 2 started in the trees and just as you left the cover there was a cheeky little technical rocky climb. From there it was rocky drops and turns finishing with a balls out sprint finish. Stage 3 was hell on earth and a hardtailer’s worst nightmare. With very little flow and extended flat rocky sections that just set about snagging your rear wheel, you really had to grind it out to keep your speed. Towards the end were some sizeable drops and features that needed consideration on a hardtail, opposed to the full on attack had I been on a full sus.
Stage 3 was a lick!
Back up the hill I went to find stage 1, only to be greeted by a great long queue. So there we stood, shivering. By the time I got to the start of the stage my legs were stiff, my fingers and toes were numb and I had lost the sense of urgency that racing requires. After the stage I looped around for another go at stage 1, but the queue was now somehow twice as long! I chinned it off in a huff, happy with the lines I took, but disappointed with the lack of energy and urgency I displayed. This would prove my downfall, but I simply could not have stood in the queue for another 20+ minutes. On the way back I rode Stages 2 and 3 again. I made a pig’s ear of S2 nearly heading over the bars right at the finish, but my S3 felt better having hit some better lines over the drops and technical areas and given everything on the flat rocky sections.
The hydration belt prevented my back getting too sweaty.
Throughout the morning the wind was picking up and the snow / hail was coming down thicker. Fortunately most of the climbing was done with the wind behind us, however there were significant stretches of trail that were into the wind. There is literally nothing more demoralising than turning a corner during a race stage, only to be stopped dead by the wind and having to grind your way out in an aero tuck to the next switchback or area of cover. The ground was getting increasingly moist and some corners were feeling the effect of hundreds of riders roosting them apart, all of this was degrading riders’ ability to improve their times as the day went on. For this reason I finished my race just after midday after just 2 hours on the hill. I felt tired, I was demoralised by the weather and I was reluctant to get wet again after having dried out over a hot coffee and lunch in the cafe.
Live times when I decided to sack it off.
At this point I was surprisingly sat 3rd out of 16 riders. With the prospect of a podium spot I kicked my heels for half an hour or so before someone nudged me back into 4th. I decided to make a move and start my drive back accross the country, feeling very contented with fourth, but feeling quite vulnerable I checked the live timings every hour or so when I stopped for a toilet break or a bite to eat. To my dismay I was slowly dropping down the rankings as lads were heading back up the hill in the miserable weather and somehow improving their times! I ended the day in 7th, still a respectable result for my first race on a hardtail, but I can’t help thinking I could have improved a couple of places had I rerun stage 1!
Standings at the end of the day.
As always with the WGE, the race was well organised, a fun format that allows you to race with your mates and have another go if you foul a run up. I will definately race the BFe again, it was brutal, but so much fun and rewarding. Here’s looking forward to the next round!
tyred n cranky 