Filling in the Blank Months - A venture into Enduro

I'm back!!!!! 

Here's a quick update of what's been going on at Reluctant HQ.  In June I had an operation which wiped out most of my summer.  The first week of August I was given the OK to ride my bike, good thing as 14 days later I was off for a 2 week trip to Morzine (I didn't lie to the doctors but I did neglect to mention the type of riding I would be doing) I had a great time but struggled on the bike.  Some DH tracks were ok but as soon as anything technical appeared I was stuck, having lost my core muscles meant I couldn't balance or adjust my weight so my holiday was limited to Blue and red trails but I had a great time and was touched when Jill at Riders Refuge presented us with our PDS goodie bags which she'd collected and kept for us.

After returning from Morzine it was very apparent that I need to regain the fitness and muscle that I'd lost so I was relegated to my trail bike.  Off the bike I was allowed to start Insanity training again which hurt but really helped and after just 4 weeks of Insanity I was able to stand on 1 leg and suck my tummy in a bit.

Jed also needed some TLC after Morzine, my lack of physical ability meant I relied on my bikes suspension more than normal and I'd killed my brakes.  Plush Hill Cycles came to the rescue, with Jed, fixing his broken spokes, servicing him and price matching CRC on a new set of Zee brakes.

October brought a tough personal period for me with the Organisation I worked for closing, this was mentally hard and a very bruising experience, leaving our clients without access to service and me without a job.  I was also in charge of the closure, which was a massive amount of work.

Due to everything that happened I decided to miss the Welsh Champs, I wasn't mentally or physically in the right place to race DH and decided to wait for the Mini DH races at FOD to return to competition.  However I wanted a fitness target so entered the Mini Enduro again at the Forest of Dean.

Mini Enduro

So I finished work on the Friday, had Saturday to recover (had worked a 55 hour week) before heading to FOD for the enduro.  My fitness was nowhere near up to the event but I was only doing it for a laugh with Louise (who talked me into doing the race).  The week before the event had been bone dry but Sunday night had brought rain and it continued to shower on an off during the day.  We walked stage 1&4 but I only managed a practice run down stage 3, and a slide down stage 2 both of which suffered from deep mud that was only going to get worse.  Come race time and due to the weather the event was cut down to 3 stages, this was a relief to me and my lack of fitness. Having never done an Enduro before I didn't know what to expect, Enduro riders are definitely a different breed to Downhillers, with Enduro riders taking the event very seriously.  I was relieved that the ladies group still had the same camaraderie that I have become accustom to at DH races.

Stage 1
This had a long pedally bit at the top through mud,  on this bit I caught up a chatted to 2 other women in my class.  My DH racing experience paying off rather than any skills.  The stage had a horrible off camber slime fest part in the middle,there was NO grip and I opted to get off the bike and stay as high as possible, it took me ages to clear this part.  After this the track dived down on a steep section through spindly trees.  I first tired this off the bike as the mud was 6inches deep but I soon realised that the best way was to sit on the bike using my legs as outriggers to brake and steer.  As I exited the bottom I was knackered.

Stage 2 
I knew this stage was going to be a nightmare, in practice this morning it was bad so after 300 plus riders had raced through it, I was dreading what condition it was in.  I arrived at the top dead on my time and after a quick rest started off down the stage.  The top section was again pedally and muddy, but I was able to stay on the bike and attack it, as I dropped off onto the forestry road I was cheered by the friendly marshals.  There was a quick pedal down the forestry road before dropping down the muddiest section of the day, I slid my way down but even my outrigger technique didn't work on this part and I soon came off the bike and given I could barely stand up in the mud I ended up pushing the last few meters of the mudfest dropping onto a more established track to continues the stage. without a hitch but very slowly.

Slog to Stage 3
So after trudging through the deep mud on stage 2 I was knackered but there was no time to rest I had to get back up the top for stage 3.  I pushed up the steep track, jumping on my bike to make up the time when it levelled out.  On the pedally bit across the top I met up with other riders and rode to the start with them.  I was cold, wet, muddy and rapidly getting exhausted.  So glad to get to the top and have a few minutes to rest.

Stage 3 
I'd been dreading this stage, my practice run in the morning hadn't gone well and with the track more cut up I was nervous and considered pulling out.  however my friends would be at the end waiting for me and I would be letting them down as well as myself if I failed to start, I just needed to get down.

I started at the back and enjoyed the top half of stage 3, as I was cold the effort needed to plow through the mud warmed me up and as I couldn't see the wet roots under all the mud I just kept plugging on.  I caught up with one lady earlier on and passed her, just before the hardest part of the stage I caught up with another lady and we rode to the technical part together.  Given the mud and track condition I opted to slid down this section on my bum with my bike in hand.  It was obvious from the marks in the mud that many had fallen off here so as I only had a matter of meters to the end I played it safe, getting down in relative ease.  I called to the other ladies who had gathered that I was down safe and give them encouragement as they made their way down.  As soon as the first one got safely down I wished them well and continued on the stage, singing to myself as I went, soon the woods opened out and I was pointing the bike down to the finish to cheers from my friend and Darrel.  As I whooshed out of the woods I was so pleased I'd not wimped out.

So I survived an Enduro, I'd not say they are my kind of thing.  Firstly the riders are so serious about the competition, more like XC riders that DH.  However I really enjoyed the challenge, especially given the weather conditions and mud.  I like to try new things and I'd probably do one again as the fitness aspect was good to make me focus on more than technical ability, the event also reminded me of what a great bike my Yeti is and how much my riding has progressed since I took up DH.

So now I was back to racing it was time for me to get back to racing DH.

Reluctantly not riding!

Well to cut a long story short, I've not been riding since my last Time Trial on the 29th May, which I didn't finish!

What I though was a stomach bug that plagued me the week before the Aberystwyth came back with a vengeance, what followed was a 2 week nightmare that resulted on the 10th June to me being admitted to hospital crying in pain and the next day operated on to remove a rather large growth in my abdomen.  So strictly no riding for 6 weeks, and a load of drugs.  I'm now 4 weeks post operation and slowly recovering, though not as fast as I'd like.

So what does an active person do when they are told to do nothing.

Well on Saturday I accompanied Darrel to attend a Dean Trail Volunteers (DTV) Dig Day.  We'd been intending to help out at a dig day for over a year, but our schedule and races tended to clash so we'd never made it.  However Darrel had brought a new frame of one of the guys and with me laid up there was no missing this one.

I was going in a supervisory capacity, as unable to do much to help.  So here's what happens at a dig day.

Meeting time is a relaxed 9-9:30 in front of the cafe, Alan Grist Chairman of the DTV was there as we pulled up and introduced us to the other guys digging.  After a relaxed chat, it was time to head into the woods.

The plan was to work on a skills section of the free-miners trail, this section would have balance beams and skinnys on it with trail linking the obstacles together. Picking up our tools we were given brief instruction on how to dig the trail and then let loose.  Darrel worked one way with another Alan digging in the opposite direction.  Me, I watched for a bit but not being one to sit still I helped with what little I could do and took pictures.  The atmosphere was cheerful, and the more experienced diggers gave tips and as well as the physical work there was a healthy banter.

We talked about the boar and my disappointment that I've never seen one in the flesh, of course there was bike talk, and we even stopped to watch the bikers riding the wooden drops to the side of us.  The banter kept coming ad the trail grew, and at last it was ready for DTV Alan to start adding some rocks from one of the pits in the forest to form the base of the new track.

Those that know me will know that Darrel is a plumber and used to manual work, so it was odd to see him sweating as he dug away, it wasn't easy and was physical but a great work out for those look for an alternative to a gym session.

Once the trail was dug the soil needed to be removed from the side of the track as the Boar have a habit of refilling the trails if topsoil is left to the side :) As Darrel's strength started to fade, Alan came over to let us know it was finish time.  the 2.5 hours had flown by and looking back I was impressed at how much track had been dug.  Digging it however is only the start, it would then need filling with rock, gravel added onto the top and then 'whacker plated' down.  All this work is done by hand!

As we packed up tools and headed back to the centre for a well earned cuppa, I looked back over what the small group had done and felt a massive sense of achievement.

After a drink and chat at the centre, Darrel went off to ride and I placed myself at the edge of the DH tracks to watch.  As I walked up I heard a couple of guys on AM bikes moaning at the state of the bottom of one of the trails, I bit my lip as I walked past (normally I would of said something but still feel vulnerable).  If the 2 guys had come to help this morning the difference those extra hand would of made would of been finishing the whole section and getting it filled with rocks. OK the dig this morning wasn't on the DH tracks, but the sooner the sections on the Freeminers are finished the soon the guys can start work on the DH trails.

The dig day was really good fun, we were made to feel welcome and no-one moaned about me not being able to do much.  It truly is a case of any little help you can offer will be gratefully accepted.  In the future, before you go and pay for a gym session why not save the pennies and pop down to your nearest trail dig day.  You'll learn a new respect for the trails you ride, you'll appreciate the work that goes into developing and maintaining them and you'll have a great workout.

With the DTV volunteering doesn't come without it's perks, anyone who digs on the day will get a free drink at the centre, if you attend 10 dig days you will get a free parking pass for the year.  By helping out you get to talk to the people designing the trails and give your input into the developments of the centre.  You also get to meet new people and make new friends.

I'm hoping to be attending the next dig day, why don't you give it a try, miss a mornings ride in return to build trails that last years.

So if you are inspired to give Trail Digging a go the next Forest of Dean dig day (which just happens to be DH trail maintenance) is on the 19th July at 9am

The DTV can also be found on facebook here