Woodside whispers

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 227 Location: Aberdeenshire

Regs are now up for 2 rounds at Selkirk

http://www.scottishenduros.co.uk/99/downloads2007/SelkirkEnduroRegSeptember.doc

Lets hope the weather stays dry enough to allow both days to run.

Wink

Dax · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

I was speaking to Hugh O Neill the other day. If you had paid for the two days at the earlier Selkirk event (where they cancelled Sunday) then you automatically get one day free this time. i.e. if youre applying for both days then you only need to pay for one. Apparently loads of people (me inlcuded) sent a cheque for both days not realising this, and hes having a 'mare sorting out the cash Smile

Apparently the farmer/landowner is keen to run both days, presumably due to them having a poor year for crop sales with the crap weather, so thats encouraging. Lets hope that we get a wee break with the weather so that we can get both days in.

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 227 Location: Aberdeenshire

Yes, 2 full days makes the journey worthwhile and day 2 direction is generally considered easier though easier is probably not the right word.

I sent off entry for 1 day and marked that I'd entered postponed July event on the day 2 form. Waiting for confirmation of entry.

Elginboxer · Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2007 9:17 pm Post subject:

Be sure to keep us informed on how it goes gentlemen Wink

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 227 Location: Aberdeenshire

Well it looks as if the plan is to run both days Cool

Here's hoping the weather plays the game Wink

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 227 Location: Aberdeenshire

2007 has given the Scottish Enduro riders a couple of real tough events due in no small part to the unusually wet weather. Little Clyde course was once again waterlogged and this event had to be cancelled. The ELRAT round at Aberfeldy 3 weeks ago was without doubt the enduro with the deepest bogs and a real slog for many riders. Personally, I found the Melville clubs enduro in July the most difficult event this year. Where Aberfeldy had deep bogs, Selkirk had slippy mud and roots that meant I spent even more time than usual picking the bike up. In July all classes had a lap cut in an attempt to preserve the course (and the riders) for the following days enduro in reverse direction. Due to even more overnight rain the 2nd day was postponed and was pencilled in to run in September along with the Melville clubs last enduro of the year.

The weather since Aberfeldy may not have been the hoped for Indian summer but there was certainly a lot less rain than we’ve become used to. My first experience of the Yarrowford course was the 2 rounds in July 2006 which took place in sweltering heat and very dry ground. The long climbs and descents, flat out sections and some of the best views that can be had from a motorbike in the UK cannot fail to impress. I’ve heard some riders say they dislike the course due to the long laps but in my mind the longer the better. With memories of 2006 and the fresher ones from July my fingers were certainly crossed in the hope that we would have a dry course and 2 days of fast riding. As the time passed it was looking like we might actually get a dry course. The forecast in the few days leading up to the weekend showed Saturday as dry with rain predicted for Sunday. We arrived and signed on with blue sky and the promise of sunshine for the whole day.

The riders meeting took place with riders being urged to follow the markers and not the brown line as there has been many alterations to the course since July. A minutes silence was observed for Colin McRae who died so tragically.

The event started on time with the experts off at 10.30 and the club men and over 40’s following. I was soon away, facing the now familiar hairpin around the fence post hoping that I would make it out of sight of the cameras before my first crash of the day. Up the rutted section beyond the 1st turn and a sharp right and along the track out of the woods and immediately on to the 1st test which is untimed. The test is fast and open and is the complete opposite from the tight and twisty affair that caused me so much bother in the wet in July. There are 2 stream crossings and a couple of good jumps to keep the photographers happy. The test finishes with an off camber section followed by a short climb. The ground is dry and I’m finding plenty of grip with my far from new tyres.. great fun. The going is mainly open with a lot of the tight sections in the trees that caused so much bother in July cleverly bypassed. There are the occasional muddy sections but I certainly had no bother with them and the big climbs and scary down hill sections that are a large part of this course are no less spectacular than in previous rounds. In general there are few rocks and other obstacles to catch out the unwary and screaming engines, high speeds and many natural jumps make for great fun on much of this spectacular course. The old test with the off camber, heather and fern section that gave me so much grief last year is approached with care but clever marshalling directs riders high where the camber is slightly more manageable and there is more grip. The descent on the other side is deceptive and I struggle to keep my speed under control as the loose rocks roll under the front wheel and a constantly locking rear brake compounds the situation. Calm is eventually restored and I follow the track to the next climb and some fast going. In what seems like no time I’m back to the start with over 20 minutes to spare. Dax is home just in front of me and given that we’re on the same minute and running almost identical times we decide to ride the next lap together.

Lap 2 is straight into the test and I manage to stay on the bike for the duration which always helps. This is the first time I’ve ever ridden an enduro with another rider and it was a new experience with Dax being much quicker and under control on the steep descents. We swapped lead several times and there were areas where I was slightly quicker and others where he was. I think this made us lap that little bit faster as chasing a slightly faster rider does tend to speed you up. We finished the lap with loads of time and were both enjoying the course and the ideal weather conditions.

Lap 3 for the sportsmen is a shortened lap which I must admit did disappoint me a bit as I was enjoying the course so much and didn’t particularly want to stop. It’s days like these that make me wish that I had entered clubman class but the other side of the coin is that if the conditions were as bad as July or Aberfeldy I’d be looking at a DNF or at best houring out. We ride the shortened lap together, swapping the lead several times and both thoroughly enjoy it.

All in all, day one was everything I’d hoped it would be with perfect conditions, loads of grip and a course that despite all the alterations from previous events still ranks as my favourite.
The only questions now was, what would the weather do and would it affect day two?

As I peered out the hotel window on Sunday morning I was greeted with obscured hills and rain Sad

. The forecast appeared to be spot on but as we drove from Selkirk to Yarrowford the hills cleared and the rain lessened. Within half an hour of us arriving the rain was off and small breaks in the clouds were appearing. Apart from a couple of light showers the rain stayed away. Cool

The event got under way after a half hour delay this time running in reverse direction and following the green arrows. Again riders were briefed to follow the markers and not the existing lines.

Dax and me decided to stick together again and minutes in to the 1st lap was the down hill from hell, loose rocks, pot holes, what seemed like a near vertical, almost bottomless descent with a very rough dry stone wall on one side and a barbed wire fence on the other just to make sure once you were on it there was no way out. As I struggled down I made a mental note to never ever attempt this course again with less than 100% brakes. It was clear that the KTM brakes were in need of attention. In the grassy sections I was struggling a little for grip and in the first serious grassy climb of the day the back end snaked around badly and I eventually lost momentum and lost a couple of minutes zig-zagging my way up. Things settled down after that but I was still having grip issues on the grassy sections. The heather going was fast and fun. Everything was going great until we came to a ditch across a track that was clearly marked as a hazard with a defined easy way around that would have taken no time. Instead I decided to jump it, so in true sportsman fashion I cracked open the throttle and just as the front wheel didn’t lift and caught the opposite side of the ditch and spat me off painfully I decided that selecting a lower gear would have been the slightly more sensible option Crying or Very sad

. Dax and Ian following took the intelligent course of action and avoided the obstacle altogether.

We finished our lap with around 25 minutes in hand.

A few minutes into our 2nd lap with Dax leading we again came across Hell’s hill. This time I couldn’t control the speed and ended up with brakes off and giving it throttle as some control as opposed to none seemed to be the only option. I screamed at Dax as I approached him worrying that I was going to take us both out but passed him at expert pace and got things slowed and reasonably under control by the time I got to the ditch at the bottom only to make a mess off the ruts and ended up stalling Embarassed

. Incompetence at it’s best!
Later on in the lap I made a mess of a simple ditch and ended up off again, this time it hurt a bit. I decided that was enough crashes for the weekend and managed to stay on the bike for the rest of the day. The test was at the very end of the lap and I found it a little harder and was struggling to get the bike slowed in time for the turns but I managed to stay on though I lost a few seconds when I locked the back wheel and stalled near the end Embarassed

. We again got in with around 25 minutes in hand.

Lap 3 was again a shortened lap and we set out with the intention of taking it very easy but the course and the company just makes you ride quicker than you intend. Twisted Evil

We finish the test with Dax noticeably quicker and hand in our cards with around 45 minutes spare. Shocked

A great weekends racing on a brilliant course in perfect conditions. It doesn’t get any better! Cool

As usual the Melville club have done a great job running 2 brilliant enduros. A big thank you to all involved. The marshals were always in the right place and got on top of problems immediately. Thanks also to the farmer for the use of the land and the people that make the soup and the burgers in the village hall and make us so welcome. It is very much appreciated. Wink

Dax · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

As usual Brians report summed the event up perfectly. My only previous experience of Selkirk was the soggy Saturday earlier in the year and I struggled a lot as I had never ridden in wet conditions like that before. I was fairly apprehensive on the way down as I wasnt sure what to expect this time around. This weekend however was a total revelation, Selkirk dry is a much more sportsman friendly place!

No serious offs for me, one noddy drop when I put my front wheel on a rock as I rounded a tight hair pin at walking pace. I could see it coming and my brain was saying "dont hit that rock with your front wheel", my arms however aimed right for it and I dropped the bike onto its side as it washed out. Noob. Another memorable moment on the moors when I was chasing brians rapidly disappearing waft of 2stroke smoke. Strayed slightly into the heather to keep out of the whoops and powered into one of those enduro rocks. You know, the ones which are entirely invisible yet can punch your bike 2 feet into the air with no warning whatsoever. Feet off the pegs, ar5e sewing buttonholes etc.

Riding round with someone of the same pace really helped me and I would recommend that to anyone doing these events. Brian was a lot faster over the high speed sections in the open moors and on the worst off camber bits, so it pushed me on to ride a little bit faster there. I took full advantage of the 4t grunt/grip on the hills to claw back a bit of the gap. The fact I had brakes which actually worked also helped me catch him as well when we were slowing down :p As Brian reports I was bimbling down that long descent between the fence/wall at a sensible pace when he barreled past roaring with what I thought was delight. I chuckled to myself thinking "aye aye, theres someone enjoying himself... bloody h3ll, hes tanning on a bit though... hmm whys he hitting that ditch at 40mph...oh, hes ended up on top of a gate"

Selkirk tip courtesy of big Mike. Make sure your reticulate foam is tie-wrapped down into the bash plate away from your exhaust header. Yes, it is flammable. Lucky the special test had a stream crossing in it eh Smile

stucinabog · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 60

Once again Selkirk foiled my attempts to complete 2 days in a row. In all fairness it was my own fault as I allowed myself to think that things were going well.

Went over the bars followed by the bike in the wee stoney gulley with the nasty drop-ofs on the 2nd lap. Hurt my hand which ached a bit for the rest of the day and then ballooned at the end. I was icing it in the pits every lap.

On the whole the Saturday was a good day and a massive improvement on the conditions to the previous event! The course was really enjoyable and only started to get bumpy nearer the end, or maybe it was because I was tired and emotional.

I would have liked to ride the Sunday but when I got up it was obvious that something was not right. A cheeky wee x-ray confirmed a broken knuckle. With three weeks till lumsden it could be touch and go. Here's hoping.

Thanks to Melville for organising another good enduro. And thanks to Charlie McK for the Ice pack which was better than a cool pint at that moment in time.

Take it easy.
_________________
If it aint broke keep trying.

Dax · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

Ouch, hope the hand heals up quick. That run down that gulley is hairy. Might be ok for the trials riders and nutters/heros but not nice for the rest of us mortals. The two drop offs are quite unpleasant. I was speaking to a lad who stopped and watched a few of the experts coming through there. Big jumps off the drops, madness

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 227 Location: Aberdeenshire

Sorry to hear about your hand Stucinabog...it really is a lottery when you come off. Both my major crashes could have been much worse but it seems sometimes you bounce and sometimes you don't.

Hope it sorts itself soon....my list of minor ailments from the weekend include: sore back, shoulders that feel as if I've been streched on a rack, sore knee and thumb. On the bright side I've got no blisters. Cool

stucinabog · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 60

I think I got off lucky with a busted knuckle to be fair as I was lying spread-eagled face first on the ground with the bike upside down on top of me! Praise be to helmets and body armour.
_________________
If it aint broke keep trying.