Due to the Dig Day shuffle and the incredible turn out for Saturday’s bike track building extravaganza in Corsley I expected to spend Sunday as a Lonely Tony, raking each course into a groomed and buff state before being stalked and ultimately eaten by a herd of deer.
The reality however was a turnout that amazed me with some people even coming out for their second day of digging, eager to add a new entrance to East 17, begging to improve the Puppets drainage, petitioning to add a new section in the top woods and desperate to clear the meadow section, all tasks that I was very happy to accommodate (after bribes, threats and favours).
Eight hours, 16 people (I think) and one completed checklist later – having navigated leaves, pink wafer biscuits, logs, badgers, soggy mud, orientation accusations and a boy racer visit – it was home time and time for a very well earned sleep.
Thanks to everyone for your help, see you next month.
A little while ago I wrote an article for The Ride Journal about The Allotment; how it came to be, what it means to me, and how important it is to the club. On Thursday the article was published along with a wonderful illustration by Matt Wellsted that was commissioned especially for the piece. If you click on the bottom image you will be able to view it at a higher resolution, which should be big enough to read…
Saturday was set to be wet and gloomy. The allotment had suffered more rain in the lead up to the 2nd round of the TickerTape Winter series than it had done in ages, the trails were soft and roots were slippery.
Over the past few weeks a few die-hard members have been practising Puppets in an effort to put in some good times on the day. To be fair, most people have a couple of ‘practise runs’ in the lead up to any of the TickerTapes, but this was different, this was a display of more than a whimsical semi effort, this was all out dedication, and boy did it pay off…
Within moments of the track being open Curtis Saunders marked up his first time, a time that would only be beaten by himself all day long. To put that into perspective Curtis was riding against Steve Geall, Chris Smith and Rob Lewis – all bloody quick but not in the same league on the day, Curtis was on fire.
The track was a real mix of ground conditions with a sloppy start into an almost sandy mid section before some glassy roots then full on slop and corner ruts by the bottom – it was a real test, and one that evolved as the track was ridden.
Liam Arkell showed the continued progression that he’s become known for, and a great attitude of getting back up and trying again when ever he came off. Tom Dunford was another rider that impressed; Tom rode the mid section with a really attacking style that looked fast and on the edge, a real step up and one that didn’t go unrewarded. Tom won the coveted Beans trophy while Liam was awarded a “king of the hill” T shirt both courtesy of Rose Bikes.
Chris Smith made a brief appearance, taking a break from being a proud farther to ride his bike in the interest of keeping the “overall” in reach. Despite a pretty impressive effort given the lack of sleep and clear zombie look about him, Chris was off the pace placing 6th leaving him needing a pretty special performance in the last two rounds.
Steve Geall was rocking an XC / Retro tyre mix with a Paneracer Trail Raker on the front and a Michelin DH Mud on the rear, but it worked well even with that poncey mudguard he’d bodged on the back. Steve rode well but got distracted by the urge to pull super-tweaks on the “WEEEEEEBOING” berm and lost valuable time.
Jason Southam popped his TickerTape cherry, James Richards made too many excuses, Ben Lovell’s mum made the best cookies ever, Rob Lewis looked like he’d been sleeping rough for the past few days and rode like he had too, Jamie and Pip were hardcore (or stupid) riding to and from the event and racing in jeans, Keith seemed to get a little frightened of a big tree, Simon actually got to recored a time, Bob should have spent less time worrying about other people’s times and Ben Irons was seen riding a full sussseerrrrrrR.
All in all it was a great day, one that had everyone wishing they’d shown even half the commitment that Curtis and others had in the lead up to the race. Sure if we all rode it on the same terms the times might have been a little different, but not the result, Curtis schooled every one of us.
Thanks to everyone who helped set up and pack away, especially Ian Crook who came out early despite not being able to ride, to Rose Bikes for the great prizes and to Shimano for the race tape.
(Click on the poster at the top of the page to see the overall standings)
Taking photos or shooting footage of friends riding bikes is pretty cool.
We’re lucky to have some really enthusiastic riders who are just as excited when behind the lens as they are behind bars. You’ve seen the stills that Tom Rickhuss creates, and had a taste of the videos that lay in store from a few others. Well, here’s a little glimpse of what Dan Irons is cooking up…
TickerTape is always fast, hell that’s kind of the point…but today was particularly fast because Spoons had seen some tweaks that increased speed through some of the fastest sections of trail we’ve got at the Allotment.
Ben and Ben (Batt and Irons) were on the pace from the off-set with both taking great pride unveiling their current fastest time with as much fanfare and suspense as is possible with a raised eyebrow, a whiteboard and a squeaky pen.
Charles Mountford managed to brain himself on a tree then punch the ground (screwing his wrist up) within 10 meters of the start line. Yep, that straight bit. Between the trees. With no corners or features. Yep, right there.
Ever keen to showcase my incredible triangular bandage skills I saved the day (by putting a tube sleeve bandage on and accidentally wrenching his bad shoulder whilst laughing at something Simon said when I should have been paying attention). Still, he took it like a man. Grrrr.
Jamie Friel was ripping all day on a multitude of different bikes. Having his bike stolen last week was crap but on the plus side he must have ridden about £14,000 worth of bikes over the course of the day!
Simon (Big Burd) managed to get worse as the day went on despite looking smoother than all but Ben (Irons), I reckon he was missing the usual banter from Stace, Jim and Robin or was in need of some alpine air to bring out the best in him. Robin did make it in the end, but we reckon he should’ve spent the afternoon trying to get that Duran Duran style bleached quiff sorted instead.
Other than plenty of all round Gunning It there were some that stood out above than the rest…. Jamie McDougall managed to look much faster and smoother than anyone had ever seen, even after destroying his big toenail by kicking the ground then ripping it off with a set of pliers and a tyre lever he continued to impress and was the worthy winner of the Beans award. Ben Irons was the other Beans victor, setting the pace and riding with more grace than a hardtail should allow. Something’s happened to Ben recently – he’s stopped looking like a gypsy and has bought a bike that actually works and as a result he’s killing it and is only getting quicker…
So there we go that was this months TickerTape – riding bikes fast between trees with mates.
Thanks to everyone for setting up and packing away, to Tom Rickhuss for the photos, Shimano for the race tape and Schwalbe and Monster for the prizes.
p.s. Oh…and…Ben Batt was the fastest (at the expense of his brothers bike) and the most visually impressive too (even though I’ve realised he looks like he’s doing a gorilla impression when he rides)! Oh yeah, and what’s with that eye of his….?
Today Ben, Will and I have been hard at work making a new notice board for the Allotment.
The weirdest thing has been happening though…. rather than being the ones doing the wolf whistling (well you know what builders are like…) we’ve been getting loads of attention from passers by.
I think it’s something to do with the way Ben hold his drill….
This year we’re taking 2 test bikes to the mega courtesy of Max Bikes PR. It’s gonna be ace!
The Marin Quake XLT 180 7.9 and the Transition Blindside with their long travel, considerable seatpost extension, single crown forks and double ring + bash set-up are aimed squarely at those doing the Mega or any other all day alpine riding.
So, anyway, before throwing ourselves down any massive mountains we thought we’d take them down the Allotment for a thrash about and some pics… (click ’em to make ’em bigger)
