UK Gravity Enduro 2014 Final Round

The 5th and final round of the 2014 UK Gravity Enduro Series was set in the spectacular surroundings of the Lake District. Before this race I had never ridden in the south Lakes before so I wasn't sure what to expect. But what I didn't know is that some the best trails that I have ever ridden were just around the corner.

I arrived on Thursday morning in a campsite near the finish area which was luxury a for us as there were showers and toilets that didn't smell and flushed! Myself and Joe Adsett soon made our way up to do some exploring and to see some of the trails.

We soon found our way to the top of stage 5 and rolled down into the dark and gloomy wood not really expecting much but as we exited the wood we were both buzzin from riding such and technical but flowy top section. We soon made our way down to the second half of the stage where we were hit by some flowy corners and small senders. As we dropped off the second fire road some small ruts caught you nicely and shot you from corner to corner which made it really easy to carry speed.

As we left we hoped the four other stages were as good as stage 5.

We woke up on Friday morning raring to go and soon made our way back up the first fire road climb which took us up to stage 1. Stage 1 consisted of loose ruts and corners which made it a constant struggle to stay clipped in and on the track. After the loose corner it dropped into a more freshly cut section with lots of different line choice going tight or wide into a few tight switch backs. The bottom of stage 1 was one of the hardest parts of the whole race for me as it was a trail sprint then up a grass field and down into the finish arena, so this was a part that I had to try and master for race day.

Stage 2 for me was one of the best trails that I have ever ridden and my favourite stage of the whole race. The whole stage consisted of flowy corners and off camber roots which threw you off line and into exposed stumps. The whole trail for me flowed really well and it seemed that you didn't need to put a pedal stroke in the whole way down.

We then made our way back up to stage 4 as stage 3 wasn't open till Saturday as it's a walkers' path. The climb was quite long from stage 2 back up the hill but it took in some of the most spectacular views I have seen in a long time. After cycling around for about 30 mins trying to find stage 4 we finally found the start and made our way down into the tight twisty woods then down onto a short fire road sprint and back into some freshly cut grass corners which held you really well and made it easy to carry speed.



After a very nice burger and sitting around the fire in the evening I was ready for another day of riding and racing.

Saturday came along and seeding was the main focus of the day. We slowly made our way back up for seeding and I wanted to get down without making any mistakes, which would mean that I would finish lower down the ranking. One decision which I wish I didn't make was wearing googles. Going into the first wooded section I could hardly see a thing but some how I managed to get out of the wooded section in one piece. I kept it clean and managed to come down to finish in 7th place which is my best seeding place so far this year so I was hoping to carry this into the next day of racing.



Racing quickly came along and we set off at 9:20 with a long days of racing awaited us. I was really happy with my racing as I some how managed to keep it clean and only made some small mistakes which cost me a few seconds on stage 4 where I had a OTB on the top section.





After a hards days racing I was really happy to get 5th place and taking my best result of the year. I would like to say thank you to all the UK Gravity Enduro team who put on an amazing series and i'm looking forward to next season of racing all ready.

Mini Downhill

On Sunday I had my first race of 2014 and unsurprisingly it was a wash out to say the least. I travelled to The Forest of Dean to race the second round of the Mini Downhill. On Thursday morning I was very please that Sheepskull had been chosen for this epic race. Me and Sheepskull have some past vengeance that I needed to change. Sheepskull was my first ever track I raced on back in 2011 and to say the least it wasn't my best result, crashing and bending my crank wasn't what I was hoping for.

I decided to mix it up a bit and enter the hardtail category, hoping to do quite well. I turned up on Sunday morning with the rain poring down and I had to drag myself out of the car to sign on. I pedalled up to the start (which some people thought wasn't right) and begun sessioning the top section and making my way down. Over the years sheepskull has grown in excessive breaking bumps which made it a lot harder of my 120mm cotic soul! The top section consisted of roots and a few small burms. This section was hard as it was basically flat and made it a lot harder to carry speed.

 The second section was much easier as there was minimal braking bums and a few jumps which I am quite good at. As you dropped onto the second fire road there was a rooted section that lots of people were standing and watching and many people sliding out over the wet roots. This was a section I knew I had to do well and not slide out on as on my small hardtail would make it much harder. Surprisingly it went much better than I thought it would and made it down onto the fire road. The next section was a flat out section down to the finish line. After dropping down from the fire road you are hit with breaking bump after braking bump until you hit a small drop and a small uphill climb. The final section consisted of two small jumps and a switch back that lend onto breaking bump hell and a final jump into more breaking bumps then you have reached the finish line!

I was ready for my race run freezing cold at the start line trying to stay warm. I heard the beeps and went for it. I tried to put as many pedal stokes in as possible at the start line and went into the first section. I nailed the first section and dropped into the jumpy section. I hit the first jump well managed to cut the second corner well and made my way to the rooty section. Lots of people were spectating on this section so I didn't want to bail here! I went at it a little slow as I didn't want to wash out and that would be the end of my race run. I managed it well and dropped into breaking bump hell! I could feel my forks bottoming out as I hit every breaking bump but I stayed strong and rode through it all. I then came up to the little drop and decided to take the high line which didn't go well as it sent me off line and down the bank. I managed to ride it out but not sure how I did it though! I came into the finish straight and could feel myself ride though the line but NO my hand decided to come off of the bar and sent my OTB and landed next to the line! I picked my bike up and ran across the line! My first race run went ok but I knew I could go faster I went into second place knowing that I wanted to take the win.

I geared up for my second run ready to do much better and beat my last run at the least! I nailed all the sections up the to second fire rode where I dropped in went over the drop and realised I got a flat! The worst thing that could of happened! I took the walk of shame down the hill and joined my fellow hardtail racers!

Overall it was a great day and to top that as I was walking down and I heard 'could Ollie Hooper come here as we need to tell him to stick around for the best crash of the day!'. I managed to get on the podium twice and got given lots of freebies including some nice goggles with roll offs which I could of done with in my race run. 

Thanks to everyone involved with the race and making it such a great day despite of the weather.