English
Well, what a fantastic event!
Being a MTB virgin I was extremely apprehensive riding this event as my hours on a MTB machine has been very limited. The last time I rode a MTB bike was back in 2007 for the Mountain Mayhem event held near Devizes during March. I found that event tough but also enjoyable at the same time. The Wiggle Enduro 6 was different though. Racing the MTB bike for six hours was going to be a real test for me as it’s a different set up from the road bike I ride almost daily.
When I arrived at the start, which was at Catton Park, a lovely place to visit by the way, my first job was to find the Wiggle boys who were sleeping next to the Focus stand. The stand was also next to the large food tent which was great as when I arrived from the local Premier Inn I was starving. As the guys seemed sound asleep I decided to get some breakfast first. In around 3 hours time I would be competing in a six hour ride so decided to have some porridge and a cup of tea. After eating and signing on I then walked around to the back of the Focus stand to see if any of the guys had emerged from their tents. As I walked around I saw Rob walking about, looking like death warmed up mind you, and then spotted Jase scrambling out of his cheap £20.00 tent from Tesco’s.
Once the guys woke up I then asked about how the weekend had gone so far and from the response I got the weekend was going very well. The guys rode the night time trial and had a good laugh. Rob, then took me into the tent to show me the machine I was going to ride for 6 hours or more Focus First Expert. As the morning went on I meet up with the rest of Team Wiggle, namely Matt Page, Lee Williams and Ben Simmons who were all looking forward to the event as much as myself. The Focus First Expert is a lovely looking full susser and the way the rear suspension works, and fits into the frame is great. Totally different to the usual set up you see on the majority of machines.
As I was riding the event for a great deal of time my choice of saddle was important to me and my backside. I had a spare Fizik Arione saddle at home and I chose to use this saddle for the duration of the race. As the 10,00am start time loomed I had to get my pit spares into my allocated pit before 9.30am as after this time they would close. In my pit area I placed plenty of food bars, numerous drink bottles, inner tubes, a selection of clothing (just in case of rain) and various tools for any emergencies. During our pre race chat, Pat, the organiser, mentioned that all competitors had to run 1 km first before jumping onto our machines. To be honest with you I was not expecting this and as we set off on the run my legs felt heavy and tired. Saturday’s 50 mile road race the day before was still in my legs and every stride hurt, but I wanted to continue so battled on. I’m not the fastest runner by any means but I kept up pretty well keeping a good pace throughout the run.
The weather could not have been better. Lovely sunny conditions, if a little cold to start with, and with no rain this led to a dry and dusty course. As I entered the pits, finishing my run, I could already see plenty of riders leaving the pit area and racing off into the woods. Well, I arrived at my bike jumped on and with the cheers from Ben, Rob and Jase, cycled under the banner to start my ride. Within 10 minutes my legs felt better as I was now cycling and not running.
The start was flat and over grass which was great as I made up some time and also passed many riders, but it was short lived as when we approached the first part of singletrack a bottle-neck of riders had began. It took many minutes for us to filter through and get back into a rhythm. The majority of the course I loved, but there was one section which I could not get on with and on every lap the same thing happened. It was the second very short little climb on the course, but it claimed me every lap and forced me to get off the bike and walk up losing me time and positions, but the rest of the course with its long climbs, fast descents and single track sections through the woods was a joy to ride.
The first lap finished and I felt good so with more yells from Team Wiggle’s supporters club I carried on. My confidence by this time was growing as well as my speed and by the end of the second lap I was flying. The third lap went well so did the fourth lap and by this time I had completed 2.5 hours out of the six hours. The next 3 laps though (1.5 hours approx.) was actually the hardest part of the race for me as I started to feel tired. Parts of my body were now starting to ache namely my hands and shoulders. As I was cycling around the course I wished that I had placed some bar ends like the Cane Creek Ergo Control II on the bike to help with my riding hand positions.
I did think of packing it in, but with the support from the guys on the side lines and also the other Team Wiggle riders I decided to carry on until the finish. As I entered the last hour I could hear the commentator say that a gunshot would be fired to end of the event and you then finished your race the next time you came through the start/finish area. I had no idea of the time and was actually now waiting to hear that sound and on the far side of the course and on hearing this sound I, and the riders around me, cheered out loud with delight that our race was going to be over soon.
With the finish not so far now, my pace went up and I gave it all because I now just wanted to rest plus I was now getting tired and very hungry. As I descended the final hill I could hear the applause other riders were receiving and a couple of minutes later I crossed the line totally exhausted. Jason came to greet me taking photos as he approached whilst congratulating me on finishing the event.
My total riding time was 6 hours, 22 minutes and 16 seconds completing 10 laps. I totally enjoyed the event and aim to ride next year with the sole purpose of completing 12 laps instead of 10 and in a short time period. Hopefully the weather will be good as I’m not sure how hard it would be if wet and muddy.This is a great event for all and if you want to challenge yourself as individuals or as a team then I recommend that you ride this event. It’s a well organised event with plenty of atmosphere, great food and friendly people making it a great day out or if you wish a camping weekend as you can pitch up a tent up in the field giving you the time to enjoy the other events held on the Saturday prior the Enduro 6 event.
Rich
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