Mini Enduro Round 2 2015

The Mini Enduro Series is always a great race for experienced riders seeking a challenge and riders who are just getting into racing. The Mini Enduro Series is brilliant for people seeking a chilled out weekend racing, whilst having that competitive edge between mates. Another sell out event saw it return to the famous Forest of Dean, a haven for mountain bikers riding anything from easy family cycle routes to full on DH tracks which has seen DH legends such as Danny Hart and Manon Carpenter race on. 

Another stunning weekends racing in the sun with bone dry trails was a great antidote to the normal ankle deep bog which the Forest of Dean unleashes on the Mini Enduro Series. These conditions made the trails run super quick and tight races between the top guys and girls in every category.

The trails were a great mix of pedalling and tech which was a great fitness test for the top guys before heading off to the first round of the national series in a fortnights time. 

Stage 1 – Everyones favourite stage. The top section started off on one of the old DH trails before dropping into some really nice flowy jumps and onto a variation of Corkscrew. After dropping onto the middle fire road the trail then dropped into one of the newest DH tracks (bottle opener). Consisting of off camber roots and drifty corners, the trail flowed really nice before dropping into the bottom section with small drop offs and even more roots!!

Stage 2 – One of the most pedally stages, this took riders over to a side of the forest that I haven’t explored before. A new top section started with a short pedal before weaving in and out of trees which made it very difficult to carry your speed. The stage then dropped onto the new section of the free miners trail going around long berms before going into the older section with roots everywhere making it very hard to get on the pedals. 

Stage 3 – Used in the previous Mini Enduro this was my favourite stage of the whole loop. After a sprint out of the start gate, the trail dropped into switch backs which were so dry making it super fast and flowy. After a short uphill it then went into the same section used for the last race, a steep chute with a few line choices. The bottom section was super fast with small ruts that you had to try and keep up right on and carry your speed out of. 

After chilling for a little and chatting to a few mates it seemed like everyone had a really good day riding their bikes.

Stage 4 – Not everyones favourite stage but a great fitness test. Starting off with single track this traversed across the hill with a few climbs making it super physical. After the single track, the trail dropped onto an old fire road which scared me a little because of the speeds you could reach. A small climb and a sharp left hander saw you into the finish. 

Local Boy Joe Adsett narrowly missing out on a podium finish in his first year senior “It’s a great vibe at the mini’s and you almost forget you’re racing. The tracks were super fast and flowed all the way down which made for super close racing. All my runs were pretty decent apart from stage one when I had a crash which cost me a podium”

Racing went really well for me. I felt that I handled the technical sections really well and I felt that I coped on the pedalling. After getting to the bottom of stage 1, quite a few of the guys in my category had a crash so to come away with a clean run was an achievement and I felt that I could be on for a podium. 

Stage 2 also went really well, I stayed on the pedals the whole way down and had a clean run down to the bottom. As stage 3 was my favourite stage I wanted to do well on this stage. I nailed the top and the middle section but as I was coming into the bottom section I went a little quick into one of the corners which was blown out. Unfortunately I crashed here, and after picking my bike up I carried on into the finish. Stage 4 also went well, but being one of the most pedally stages it was never going to be my favourite stage but I felt that it went well. 

Bad Ass Bikes and Intense rider Jack Sowden was looking smooth all weekend and was rewarded with his first ever podium and win in the enduro scene. “Well the race was awesome, felt pinned, kept it smooth and rubber side down. I really enjoyed the trails, especially stages 1 and 3, dry, natural, rooty and with a fair bit of pedalling. To say I’m happy with the win is an understatement, its my first race of 2015 and the first with my new team so to come away with a win was the perfect start to the season for me!”

After chilling for a little and chatting to a few mates it seemed like everyone had a really good day riding their bikes. Once we had got the result I found that I was 6th closely followed by friend and racing buddy Harry Sowden. 6th place was exactly what I wanted but I wasn’t too far behind the winner Jack Sowden.

Round 2 of the Red Kite Mondraker Enduro series at Coed Trallwm

After being told about the Red Kite Gravity Enduro by a friend, I made the journey to Coed Trallwm Trail Centre to race the second round of the series. The weather over the weekend was amazing, this made the trails dry, loose and very dusty.

The format of racing for this race was very different to other races I have previously entered. On the Saturday you got to practice 3 stages and then in the afternoon you raced those 3 stages and another blind!

I have never raced a stage blind before so this was a new experience for me. I really enjoyed this format as not knowing what was coming up kept you on your toes and you had to ride really smart to get a decent time.

We rolled up on Saturday morning to take a look at the trails and see what the Red Kite Enduro had to offer. After practicing Stages 2,3 & 4 it was apparent that it was going to be an awesome weekend of racing. The trails were very natural with off camber roots, stump jumps and lush loamy steep corners.

The Red Kite Enduro is a great race if you wanted to get into Enduro racing. The trails have a great mix of different terrain but as the racing format is so relaxed you can take your time going up to the next stage.

Simon Nash a familiar face in 4X decided to give enduro a go:

“General opinion was its a good crack with a relaxed atmosphere. Bit strange not having times to follow but meant a lot less stress. Timing system worked well. Trails were mint and certainly more “downhill” than I expected.”

As well as seeing many new faces this event saw a lot of familiar faces including Peter Lloyd from the Whyte Enduro Team.

“I had a very mixed weekend of racing. Put in some fast times but in the end, too many stupid little crashes cost me a lot of time and any chance of a podium finish. The trails, weather and atmosphere all weekend were brilliant though. Steep, fresh cut loam; what’s not to like?”

After having some lunch we made our way up to 4 timed Stages. The event used a timing system that I haven’t used before. You could turn up at the top of any stage when ever you want and with who ever you want. This meant you could socialise with people from other categories! Also when you did get to the top you could go whenever you wanted and you didn’t need to leave a gap between the rider in front so you could ride down the stages in a train with your riding buddies.

So after completing the 4 timed stages we rode down to the cafe, scanned our timing chips in and instantly printed on a receipt were our times. Once we had compared times with fellow riders I found out that I was in 1st place after day one of racing. This was a huge boost but I had to keep my cool as closely followed behind me was Craig Perk.

On Sunday we had to complete the 4 stages that we raced the previous day, another 2 new stages and stage 4 twice. So in total we had to complete 7 stages over a 15 mile loop. Stage 1 was a completely new stage for everyone consisting of awkward tree stumps which were placed in direct line to you hitting your front wheel and going over the bars. Stage 1 was the shortest stage of the loop only lasting for 1 min 18 seconds.

As the day went on the trails got better and better, the stages got longer, steeper and much harder! Stage 4 was everyone’s favourite stage, a completely fresh cut top section was super steep with stupidly tight switch backs which you had to try and navigate yourself around. After completing the top section a short fire road sprint took you into another fresh cut section into the finish.

Stage 6 was also a highlight to me. A mix of trail centre and fire road which you could easily reach speeds up to 35mph! The fire roads led into super drifty corners which you had to take a handful of back brake, stick your foot out, slide into the corner and hope you come out the other side!

A familiar riding club, MB Swindon, were riding this race once again. I spoke to James Scott who I was riding the loop with on Sunday:

“After all the trail centre Enduros these days it’s great to have an antidote to them with the Mondraker/Red Kite series. Proper tracks – steep, fresh cut, tech, roots, drops, loam but still keeping a mid stage sprint or two. More please!”

After completing the loop, from the look on everyone’s face and comparing timing receipts, it seemed like everyone had a great days racing.

I was very happy to take the top spot after having a few spills throughout the day by a healthy 20 seconds. I am now looking forward to racing next weekend and catching up with a few old faces before the first national of the year.

The Red Kite is definitely an event that’s growing in numbers with over 30 more riders entering this round than the last. It’s defiantly getting more popular thanks to its chilled out format and great trails.