Where: Sherwood Pines
When: 5 November 2016
Organiser: OSB Events
Course details: Run- track. Bike, track
Distance: 5k run 20k bike 3.5k run
Marshalling: Excellent volunteers and marshalls.
Facilities: Cafe, toilets, massage
Technical: Chip timing
Freebies: Medal, ricie pop things, protein & nut snacky things, Tech T
Oh yeah, I seem to recall saying on my last report ...
"Not doing that again! ... I can honestly say that was so damn hard, great respect for MTBers, do not think I will be rushing to do another."
Yeah ... so the night before entries closed got 'encouraged' (bullied more like) into entering.
Dilema; I was not going to lug around my cheapo 35 lb MTB around a course again. Solution: putting wide, spikey pedals and cyclocross tyres on a road bike - £38. Got and fitted them on Wednesday.
Rocked up, met up with all, registered, racked .. nobody laughed at my bike this time
Run 1 - 5k track:
Off, 5k run on mixed track - gravel to grass/clay. Nice and steady, bit uppy down and twisty turny.
T1
No dramas, straight run in, helmet on and off
Bike 20k 2 laps
Out of T1 onto the gravel access road, zipped past a few (woohoo) then onto the circuit. Within minutes it became apparant that the bike was so much faster then the 'bike of iron'. Uppy downy, then it became more single forest track and not going too bad. Forest floor was covered with leaves, fortunately not wet and slippy, but had no way of knowing what was beneath so could fast n fun or bouncy n teeth rattling. Pooped myself going down some of the sharp drops as all this was still new to me eek. Some were OK, some were sliddy slidy, some had 'tram lines'. But learning as I went along.
Then at 9k in going down a steep drop, think I was doing about 30kph or so, rear wheel started to fishtail, hit an earth bank and the next thing I remember is my head hitting the deck. Bit fuzzy on details, lay on the deck for a few seconds, nothing broken and yes I really did think 'is the bike OK?' straight away I thought 'can't believe I thought that'. Got up and saw a team mate had stopped just past me, waved him off as he had just lapped me and didn't want to screw up his placing.
After a minute or so sorted out the bike, a marshall and paramedic were on the scene very quickly but assured them I was OK to get the 2k back to Transition. Got back and Ian Hamilton the Race Director got my bike racked and walked me to the Medic tent where four paramedics got to work on me including an ECG and blood work.
Fortunately everything seemed OK. I think my shoulder struck first and reduced the impact of my head. Helmet was bashed in a bit so dropped it into a bin, it did its job.
24 hours later, slight stiffness down the left side, left shoulder sore as f### and head now just dull headache.
So two off road races, two not very happy experiences , think I don't like bumpy, teeth jarring, slippy slidy type of stuff Gave it a go though