After the spring floods came the summer floods and after a few dry races the autumn floods moved in . . .

Bulwick estate track.

On 4 August we turned up for a nearly dusty Friday night race at the bumpy and flat track. Lee Goodman got away well and was in fourth after the mass start. His full suspension set up worked well for him on the bumpy woodland section of the track but whatever advantage he gained was swallowed up by others in the group on the long fast gravel sections. Unable to make a break, Lee conserved his energy for the last lap which ended with him sprinting for fourth but unfortunately losing out. Fifth position though was still an excellent result in such a fast competitive group of Seniors.

Vets category.

By comparison Carl Stukenbrock, despite feeling good had a disappointing race. After a good start Carl unfortunately punctured on the sharp rocks in the wooded section where several other riders also came to grief. Carl ran back to his van, fixed the flat and got back in the race, putting in some fast laps to finish in twentieth position.

Fred Edwards had a good race finishing in seventh in the Veterans category and obviously beginning to get the hang of this cross-country racing.

Grand Veteran category

Rob Chaundy got a reasonable start and just managed to squeeze by a few riders before the first wooded single track section. As usual, he found himself chasing Steve Bunn and Vic Barnett in the Grand Veteran category but never really made any inroads on them, finishing in third position.

Cosford

The following week we turned up just north of Rugby for what was generally reckoned to be the best course of the season with its climbs, fast undulations, tricky wooded single track and descents.

Vets and Grand vets

Rob Chaundy got an unusually good start leading everyone up the first long climb. At the very top though four riders squeezed in front just before the fast wooded single track descent. From then on the race was fast and furious and Rob again finished third, which would turn out to be his final position in The Grand Vet series for 2007. Fred Edwards finished eighth in the Veterans and was looking forward to joining the Grand Vets for 2008. Carl Stukenbrock had a good, smooth and enjoyable race in the Vets, and was looking forward to the last round at Pitsford Reservoir.

Senior category

Lee Goodman got a good start and was enjoying himself, pushing hard and passing other riders, but in the final wooded section misjudged a corner and ran straight into a tree, his shoulder taking the main impact but also damaging his bike’s seat clamp. Lee watched from the ground as a number of riders came past. He got back on and finished the race in agony, tiptoeing through the single track and blasting through the wider sections. He picked off riders at a steady rate and managed to finish a very rewarding sixth, collecting some good points. Also in the Seniors and loving the track, Alan Coldray had a good race after a slow start and caught Lee after his crash. Alan and Lee raced together with Alan finishing in seventh. Another good result.

Women’s race

Lynne Coldray was going well until she suffered from cramp on the fourth lap. She hung on for third place.

Pitsford Reservoir,

The final round of the Friday Night series was back at a circuit that tests speed and endurance. Rob and Fred were away on holiday.

Seniors

Lee Goodman, still struggling with his injured shoulder was unsure as to how the race might go. He opted for semi-slick tyres planning to use the bike to its best advantage on the fast open stretches. A good start saw him in fifth place with his main series rivals directly in front and behind him. He saved himself for two laps and then made his move putting a minute into his rivals. The tyres proved slippery in the tighter sections but the strategy paid off and Lee finished ahead and gained sufficient points to place him joint fourth in the series. A brilliant result for his first year in the series and Lee plans to finish in the top three in 2008. Make that No. 1 Lee, you can do it.

Also in the Seniors, Alan rode well and picked his way up the field to finish in twelfth position in the race and also took twelfth position in the Senior category in the series – another very good result for his first year in MTB racing and in a very competitive series.

Women’s race

Lynne liked the course and finished second in the which also gave her second in the overall series. A very good result and, again, we have another potential series winner for 2008.

Vets race

Carl turned a good start into a good finish in eighth position.

Paul Priestley

Rode a number of races towards the end of the season. In round 3 of the BMB series at the tough circuit at Margham Park, Paul was unsure what to expect. There were three lung-bursting climbs made even harder by the heat, followed by fast technical descents that gave riders little chance to recover. Paul battled to stay in the leading group but two riders got away on the first climb. In with the following group Paul pushed hard to stay in touch and they closed the gap in the technical sections before it increased again on the next climb. Paul dropped some places but after three gruelling laps he found a good rhythm and started picking off riders in front of him, finally finishing in eighth.

At the good all-weather circuit at Ringwood for round 3 of the Southern XC, Paul and two others quickly dropped the rest of the pack. Paul dropped back to third where he finished after racing for two and a half hours. A good result to go with his victory at the previous incredibly wet and muddy round.

The Midlands XC series race at Cannock was held on 5 August,  one of the hottest days of the year, on a course that would test everyone’s climbing and descending skills. The five-mile lap comprised four long climbs, interspersed with shorter single track climbs leading to excellent single track descents through the woods and open rocky sections. The pace was high and Paul decided not to go off with the leaders and hoped they would suffer with the heat. Even on the first lap a couple of riders started going backwards and Paul found himself in fifth place. As the race progressed riders struggled and even the leader ‘hit the wall’ on the last lap. Paul was now in a position to push hard and he finished in third place, recording the fastest lap time of all the riders on the last lap.

On 19 August at the Southern MTB XC Championships at Alton the riders were promised a ‘technical fun’ course. That was until the weather broke. It turned the great single track sections into thick mud and made the race a long hard slog. Paul got an average start and was in about eighth place entering the first single track section. He gradually worked his way up and, after two hours of hard racing, finished in third position.

Ben Roff, having won the Youth category of the Friday Night series went off to the Welsh National Championships at Barry Sidings near Rhondda Heritage Park. Although wet, the rain held off and as the course had some really tough, long climbs, Ben decided to take it easy at the start and build into the race. He trailed a couple of Youth riders and Vets up the first climb before making the jump to pass them at the top as they entered the first single track section. He felt better than expected and was a minute ahead by the end of the first lap and leading by three minutes at the end of the second, allowing him to relax a bit on the final lap. As Ben’s mum was born in Wales he was pleased to discover he qualified for the championship and as a result was crowned Welsh National Youth Champion. A brilliant result.

Southern XC races

On 2 September Robert Chaundy, Simon Cannings and Paul Priestley rode the Southern XC races (in different categories) on the 6.2 mile circuit at Yately Heath.

Grand vets

Rob lined up with the Grand Veterans. The polite chatting at the start all proved very superficial once the flagged dropped and there was a bit of elbowing on the first fire road section. Rob got away well holding a comfortable third place but as the riders approached the first section of single track he was suddenly swamped and found himself down in about tenth and had to push (and elbow) hard to regain some places. The pace was hot from the start and in sixth place at the end of the first lap Rob was passed by old foes Dennis Boltwood and Michael Thayer. Rob latched onto Michael and managed to pass and drop him on a climb halfway round the second lap. He then set about catching Dennis who, as usual, rode superbly in the single track sections but was slightly slower on the fire roads and climbs. Several times Rob caught him only to have to drop back after being held up by back markers. Towards the end of the third lap Rob made the pass and despite clipping a fence was surprised to put 33 seconds into Dennis and finish in fourth place.

Masters category

For Simon, the Masters race was his first XC outing for some while. He started in about twentieth position but was up to ninth by the end of the first lap and eighth by the end of the second. Unfortunately his gears started slipping and he had a couple of tumbles but managed to maintain eighth place.

Expert category

Although Paul Priestly won the Experts race and took a lead in the series he had mixed fortunes. Both he and his main rival suffered punctures but Paul recovered more quickly and fought back better through the other riders on the course.

Ben Roff

On 22 September Ben was back in Wales for the Freerange Sports Optics XC series and the Trek Marathon series at Coed-Y-Brenin. The course had a lot of tough climbing and plenty of hard technical single track, made more difficult by the recent rain, and there were rivers running down most of the main tracks. As it was so rocky Ben knew he would need to avoid punctures of which there were many throughout the day. The start was up an extremely long climb. Going up the hill the group split into two with about four in the group ahead of Ben who was in a group of three. Part way round the first lap Ben managed to jump across to the lead group and moved into third at the top of the hill. The leaders were very close. The down hill was technical and had a lot of ‘rock gardens’ in it where it was easy to take the wrong line. Ben was still in third at the end of the first lap but going back up the hill he managed to catch the second-placed rider. He then jumped him and managed to pull away. He went flat out down the course all the way to the finish and managed to close the gap to the first-placed rider from two and a half minutes to just one minute to record his best National series race finish yet and determined to do better in this series next year.

Trek Marathon

Youth category

Ben was also entered in his first Trek Marathon race the next day as he thought it would be good to experience back to back races before next season. Having raced the National XC series he was a little apprehensive. Ben’s legs felt OK but he didn’t know how he’d hold up for the race. It was a much bigger pack consisting of all ages including adults so he pushed himself to the front of the pack to avoid getting stuck in traffic. The riders set off at a quicker pace than the day before with two riders going ahead at the front. Ben was pulling away from the fourth and fifth riders up the hill but towards the end of the lap they caught and passed him. They managed to pull out about a 20 second gap and catch the second place rider. On the last bit of single track going down to the start/finish Ben hit a rut which hadn’t been there the day before and he went straight over the handle bars. He got back on, luckily only bruising his hip and went through the start/finish in fifth place. Going up the first hill again he managed to catch up again and overtook fourth going in to the single track. On a steep technical section the third-placed rider had taken a bad line and come off, Ben managed to get past him as he tried to get going again, pulling away up the next hill. Ben then set about catching the second-place rider and the leader. He caught and overtook the second–placed rider on the hill. Going round the rest of the track Ben went flat out all the way and managed to close the gap to the first man to 20 seconds but remained in second place at the finish. Another good ride.

Masters Women category

Lynne and Alan Coldray were also at Coed-Y-Brenin. Lynne, riding in the BMB XC masters women category, found the conditions ‘grim and wet’ and the eight-mile course treacherous in places. Lynne found herself in fourth place going into the first corner when she was pushed wide and lost about six places. Things remained fairly static despite pushing as hard as she could on the climbs and scaring herself a few times on the descents. Lynne finished in tenth place in her first national points series race.

Masters Men Category

Alan Coldray was also doing his first national points series race. Half way up the first climb the rider in front of Alan span and the rider behind promptly ran into his rear mech causing his chain to come off. By the time he had recovered he was second to last. Alan gained a few places on the long climb and on the single track but on the flat found the other riders ‘just too fast’. Alan wasn’t enjoying it, but then other riders started to puncture and it started to rain again so the conditions began to suit him more and he ended up enjoying the race., but classed it overall as ‘not a good day at the office’.

Expert category

Paul Priestley was at Coed-Y-Brenin as well, riding in the expert category. He had not pre-ridden the course but took the first long climb in his stride, then, on the rocky descent, started to pull away at the head of his group with another rider. The gap remained constant and Paul managed to drop his companion on the second lap, finishing in seventh place.

Forest of Dean (60 km) Enduro

Lynne and Alan Coldray were in action again at the Forest of Dean (60 km) Enduro and were looking forward to the wooded single track. The start was steady with a bit of a race to get into the single track, then it settled down again. Alan and Lynne paced themselves letting riders pass and go ahead – to be caught and passed later on in the day. The steep but ridable climbs led to some great single track descents which seemed to get better each lap. There was only one muddy section that was like ‘velcro’ but otherwise surface conditions were perfect. Alan suffered some cramp but it passed and he really enjoyed his final lap, finishing 17th out of 41. Lynne kept up a steady pace throughout and finished first in the 4-lap women’s category. Both were really pleased with their results and greatly enjoyed the event with its friendly marshals and riders.

Southern XC series - Borden

On 30 September Paul Priestley took in the final round of the Southern XC series held on a fast flowing course near Borden. The weather was comparatively good and the experts category set off with the super masters category and Paul was in second place overall. On the third lap he made his move just before one of the bermed descents and quickly put in some time on the second-placed rider. He continued to pull away and won the race and the series title. Another brilliant result.

Heath Warren

Vets category

On 7 October Rob Chaundy and Simon Cannings took in the first race in the Gorrick series. At Heath Warren Wood they enjoyed the usual exciting, varied, dry and rideable course with some tricky technical sections in the ‘Paintball’ area and some loose rooty climbs. A reasonable start saw Rob in fourth place just behind Michael Thayer. Michael was missing all the corners and eventually skidded sideways right across the track. Rob just avoided T-boning him and moved into second place. Meanwhile the leader had disappeared but Rob caught the second-placed rider as they began to catch the tail enders of the vets race. Rob was able to move up into second place and tried to put in some extra speed to build a gap but at the start of the second lap Rob lost second place and then third to a recovered and very fast Michel Thayer. Rob immediately lost ten seconds which soon stretched to about twenty and seemed unable to pull it back. He plugged on for two more laps and finished fourth.

Masters category

Meanwhile in the masters category Simon secured a brilliant second place. After the frantic fire road start he had settled into second place but was unable to catch the leader. By the end of the first lap he had opened up a large gap over the third-placed rider and the positions were held to the end of the race.

Dusk till Dawn

Lee Goodman turned up on the Saturday afternoon for the ‘Dusk till Dawn’ race to find a massive field of riders and went out to ride the course which had bomb holes, flowing single track, fast fire roads, roots, fast bermed corners and many other features. Darkness fell and everyone put their lights on. Lee was using his newly bought Lumicycle lights which gave him as much light as he could have wished for and which he would recommend to anyone. As a solo rider, Lee’s strategy was to ride three laps then take two laps out. He reckoned he was riding as fast in the dark as he would in the light and was passing people lap after lap. After seven hours he began to get cold and came into the pits to change into warmer kit, sit down and have something to eat. This was nearly a fatal mistake as he had to really force himself to get going again and was circulating very slowly until he put the pain in his legs to the back of his mind and restored his rhythm. He pitted again at the end of the ninth lap and took on more food and gels and refilled his camelbak but didn’t stop long enough to let his legs stiffen up again. Gradually dawn broke and he put in two fast laps and decided, mistakenly it turned out, not to stop for food before the last lap. About three miles into the last lap he hit the wall and was left with a tortuous eight and a half miles to finish. Lee was really pleased to finish in eighth place and the pain left him (for about thirty seconds). Next year he would like to do the race as part of a team. Any volunteers-

 

The Coldrays were also at the ‘Dusk till Dawn’ race, arriving early to get a tent set up and pre-ride the course. Riding as a team, Lynne took the first lap and did well to miss a number of crashes on the congested track. Alan took over for the second lap but regretted not riding his full suspension bike as he could feel every bump. After his lap he handed over to Lynne again, this time to do two laps each so they could recover and get something to eat. Lynne was also on a hard tail and the harsh terrain was beginning to make itself felt on the wrists and lower back.

After two two-lap stints they went back to one lap each, then back to two. During Lynne’s two-lap stint her lights failed and she had to finish the lap with only a helmet torch. Alan had to go out again early and started to cramp up so they now decided to stick to a one-lap each strategy. Lynne took a tumble but was unhurt and it got her adrenaline flowing again. Alan did the last lap trying to stave off the constant feeling of cramp waiting to bite and found it frustrating trying to pass slower riders without risking a fall. As he came over the finish line the announcer gave Alan and Lynne fourth place (out of twenty) in the mixed teams which they were very pleased with, having moved up from seventh place during the night. ‘All in all a great race, and everyone was very friendly.

Thetford Marin winter series

Lynne Coldray ended the season on 11 November doing the two-hour enduro in the Thetford Marin winter series. Lynne set off in the middle of the pack on the six and a half mile course, made up of single track and fire roads, and was held up at the first bomb holes. She spent the rest of the first lap trying to pick her way through the slower riders in the single track before the field began to spread out. Her second lap was good and Lynne was enjoying the course but on the third lap she seemed to ‘lose her legs’. By the fourth lap she was in considerable pain but kept going to come in fourth out of 14 women and determined to do better in the next race!

Over the year TMK MTB riders have been out in force, sometimes in very difficult conditions but we have enjoyed our successes and, indeed, some of our less good results have still been fun too. Now we’re looking forward to a drier 2008.

 

ROBERT CHAUNDY........................