LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Well, with all the big things going on this weekend, I'll add my own little bit of muddy mayhem to the mix.
The rally is held in the forests of the North Yorkshire Moors, up above Pickering. Apparently Pickering flooded quite badly last week, causing some shops etc to remain closed. It had been wet then.
Campsite:
It was really good to see some other big bikes there, 1 "bashed" AT, owner Roger is a confirmed enduro rider, fast too, and the near perfect big bikes of Ralph, Jonsey and Dick. They really were clean, looked wonderful on Friday night! (Mine was still muddy from being out with Alpslapper!)
I met up and camped with some mates, again on big bikes, Rik 950 KTM Adv, and Ian 1150 (I think) GS, Clare and Tim. Ian rides up from Somerset to race, fast on fire roads and never looks flustered, no matter what. Rik is just fast, the KTM is just fast, put them together and they are gone! Good beers Friday night, just what you need after 5 hrs on motorways, wearing out your knobblie tyres. I now had about 3mm of tread on the T63, so I knew it was going to be an interesting time. Good sleep, far too early alarm, but that always happens on rallies.
Got straight through scrutinerring, beer can carried to keep bike upright in Parc Ferme, check times sorted, and recorded onto bike, not that I really manage to stick with them, just push to be not 60 mins late, and excluded. Some of the big guns left the start at a rate of knots, roost everywhere! I sort of trickled away, but thats what I do!
Day 1 was fab, lovely road section with some good water in the fords, and the tracks wet enough to keep the dust down. Some really snotty sections, big ruts to start with, and some of the bigger bikes stuck straight away. Nicely the marshals cut the worst bits out, this was going to feature repeatedly over the weekend. I think the enduro bikes, or even the little trailies could get through those bits OK, but its a bit of an ordeal with 200kg + to pull through. Some interesting bits stayed in though, by the 4th lap the ruts there were causing problems for me, ground clearance and width being what it is! Fire roads were good though, I'm slowly building confidence on the corners, letting the back wheel go out a little.
Special test was hard for me, bit fire road, then fast muddy ruts and deep water splashed, some jumps, so a little air was gained, where are the photographers when you need them! Hard work though, never got a rythm in there so the times will be slow.
Half way round lap 4 you go of to another forest, wonderful, fast trail riding, with some excellent veiws too. This pulls you back for the final time check, then liasion section, and a preveiw half lap of the Sunday course. One snotty single track lane to finish, as ever a little sting in the tail! Finished day 1 though, not out of time, don't actually remember how late in I was though. 129 miles, lots of that off-road.
Check over bikes time, ok that no rear pad then! Lucky - spares are carried, fitted, sorted. Not just me either, Ian and Rik needed to do the same!
Zoom down to Pickering to fill up for Sunday, but more beers, and milk for after race tomorrow. Its a long ride home!
A wonderful pre race day 2 evening then followed, of Beer, chat and more Beer. This event is wonderfully hospitable, super fast pros, organisers and the likes of me all sharing beer and chat
Day 2 dawns early. Try and sort my life out, and sort of fall onto the start line ready at the right time. Even got day 2's checks recorded.
These laps are long today, with a time check about half way round. The first half ot the lap is generally easy, great fun, and I was able to keep to time around that section. Fire roads, some ruts on hard base, which is good, some bumpy lanes and a wonderful section of single track through the edge of some woods which ends in a pretty grim slick mud descent, but at least the run out is good. Time check, so far so good! The second half was a different kettle of fish entirely. OK so there were some long fast staights, hit 80+, but lots of really muddy, slippy, sloppy going. Really slow stuff, some of it possible for me in 1st standing, much of it paddling, bike at little over tickover my legs doing far too much work.
Then came the special test. It had the worst of steep slippy hills, sort of possible once, would have got worse, with deep long rut along the top of it. Went off line on the flat bit, and had issues getting back out of the trees. Then some more possible climbs, and a twisty section through the trees. Then a muddy track to a narrow wooden bridge, only about 1m long, but needed thinking about!
Actually, all the muddy, snotty sections are jumbled up in my head, such was the difficulty by the end of the day! Happily though, they cut the climb from the 2nd lap, and the twisty section from the 3rd. Still awesome hard going though, Rik and I rode together through the 3rd lap special, neither of us having enough left to pick up our own bike if it was to be dropped!
Couple of interesting incidents - bartering the use of the tow rope to lift a well drowned KTM from the biggest puddle for a 7 person push through a far too big rut, the KTM was just showing handlebars above the water! At some stage on Lap 2 I was lapped by an HP2 with one of the stars on it, must have seen him for all of 8 seconds! Saw a deer, in the clasic sideways, looking at you pose, before it darted off into the trees.
Eventually, and I really mean that, we finished Lap 3, just 6 mins under the possible 60 mins late
Wow, some day out!
Remained to wander aimlessly round my stuff whilst eating and drinking milk, pack it all up and head off homewards. Seems to take hours to pack when you can't bend your legs or your back! Home was cool, little mind numbing on the motorway, bed was more than welcome!
Will stick some pictures on here as soon as I can, very few action shots though, I was chasing my tail all day!
Photos now done, as you can see!!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks