Tweedlove Presents The Whyte Scottish Open Enduro "King and Queen of the Hill"

Entering the Tweed Green I felt a great sense of nostalgia upon seeing the rippling red of the Tweedlove flags, bringing back happy memories of past events in this, the holy grail of Scottish mountain biking valleys.  Joining the registration queue I spotted some of the usual Scottish Enduro faces and a fair few new ones. Listening to the excitement in the voices of the varied accents surrounding me it was obvious racers had journeyed from afar to claim their stake as the 'King and Queen' and that the Tweedlove events have earned their distinguished place in the UK race calendar.  Despite the weathers forecast for rain in the afternoon I, like most, had dressed in suitably unsuitable clothes for the kind of 'drizzle that sticks.'  Wearing flip flops and a hoodie I ran back to my car for some socks and a waterproof and to prepare the Pivot for another adventure.  I still have a wave excitement every time I open the boot of my car and see the beauty of the Pivot Mach 6 - that bike literally is sex on legs…well wheels!

I reacquainted with Eleana Melton, the massively talented young lass who clocks stupid fast times, and after convincing her to hang on until the West side crew were ready to depart we headed off a bit later than expected like a set of puppies released out to play for the afternoon.

The King and Queen is an enduro like any other but it places a level of pressure on the competitors to complete the whole course in 4 hours and 15 minutes, EWS stylee.  The target appeared a daunting prospect to many and checking my trusty Casio regularly I tried to provide my team with regular positive and reassuring updates as to whether or not we would return home within placed time constraint. 

Our first stop for stages 1 and 2 was the top of Peebles Cademuir hill, a place that I had never even heard of prior to the event,  and I made a mental note to take more time out during training to explore a bit more off the beaten track in future to expand my knowledge of this fantastic valley.

Rock strewn slalom on Stage 1 and the beautiful Pivot.

So happy to set off with the Pivot and my buddies I feasted my eyes on the myriad of trails bisecting the fireroad climb taking mental note for future adventures.  And holy isn't this place a little gold mine, firstly its was caked in late summer and autumnal goodness with a nice presence of mushrooms littering the outline of the dirt trails.   Despite being in the midst of a 'dry' Scottish summer the trails were being referred to all too often as 'greasy', so as I cycled into Stage 1 I was not expecting the loamy and steeply banked corners that flew at me through the dense forest.  It was even more exciting to re-enter the forest into a tight hard packed section that had so many handlebar checks my pinkies felt warm.

Stage 2 was just as much fun, but really fast and covered in the much discussed  'greasy goodness'.  Some gnarly features for the more adventurous rider adorned the course, in particular a drop that I seemed to waste about 30 minutes pondering over before deciding to leave for 'another day'. 

Heading over to Glentress and the climb up Janet's brae it was really evident that the secret to the tight deadline was to keep moving and eat little and often.  I had decided to wear one of my awesome Dare2b bike tops that had great back pockets to fill with food for race day.

Stage 3 started off in the famous Spooky Woods and then headed onto Brown Trout.  It was a long stage with a lot of pedalling and great cornering.  It was definitely going to be a lung buster that was for sure. I really enjoyed Brown Trout, another new delight, and was so  happy to find yet another fun trail in the mecca that is Glentress.

Stage 4 consisted of the final stage used at the EWS, a long descent from the top of Glentress all the way down to Peebles.  The start of it is so fast its literally a matter of holding on and hoping for the best. This doesn't last for long though as some tough climbs will send even the fittest of folk into a VO2 max.

  

 Views of the valley 

Heading back to the event village I witnessed a sunlit game of cricket with some peaceful onlookers, quite a contrast from the vigorous and forceful rugby game that we cycled past earlier, and also the children s football match where parents lined the side of the pitch supporting their offspring. I'm sure someone mentioned a duatholon happening too, the valley rarely sits idle.

A reflective spot to watch some cricket

Race Day

It was a funny event to start on race day with a few people casually mentioning that I was 'the girl to win', and despite taking the compliment graciously I started to feel the pressure and nerves building.  Reverting back to the ideas of my 'effort goals' that to complete the course 'without a mechanical and to keep my runs clean'  I pulled myself together and resumed to being more than happy to just hang out with some friends and have a good time

I always feel so much better when I finish the first stage and after reassuring myself to follow Andy Weir from Ridelines advice that I need to focus on my breathing.  I thought it all went fairly well, despite a wee off after clipping a tree and a few too many dabs of the super grabby XT's, but I felt so much calmer with a run bagged.

After the push up/climb for Stage 2 sweat was dripping clean and clear from my head.  After composing myself and a cheeky mopping of my brow from the exertion of this Indiana Jones moment I was able to relax and get ready to bag another stage.  

Stage 2 was the one that I wanted to get behind me.  I had decided to let the red mist decide if I would 'drop or not' on yesterdays nemesis. I wasn't feeling particularly smooth until I entered a forest road transition and I heard Emma Guy shout 'lift your eyes, lift your eyes" instantly I looked up and entered a new world of vision and felt so much better - Thanks Emma! 

The day carried on, with me and the gang supporting one another, catching up at the refuelling station, feeling the heat of the sun that had burnt through the cloud, sharing stories of our conquests and misdemeanors and keeping each other motivated and strong.

Stage 3 and 4 went well. I loved the Tweedlove fairy at the start of stage 3.  I even cleared some of the tables in Spooky woods and my love for the Pivot quadrupled on the descent of Stage 4. Wow does that bike love to blast (I caught myself saying it aloud, 'this is really fast!!') as I became one and released the potential of the Pivot.  

Fellow rider checking out the fairy

At the bottom of Stage 4 waiting for some friends to finish I witnessed the most fantastic bale of the day, a fellow West Coast rider skidded out at the dib station and caught one of the marshals who then ejected in a lateral motion down the river bank, smiling thankfully the whole way, in what could have been a pretty nasty one.

After that it was back to the event village to find out I was sitting first with a 2 minute lead, and my friend Nicola Fell was coming behind me in 2nd!  I spent most of the afternoon waiting for riders to return, and noticed Thom Mitchell doing the same, until Chris Ball arrived and claimed the throne with a hugely impressive time of 22.23.  I then caught up with Andy Barlow who looked dry as a bone and mud free, apparently the trails were bone dry in the afternoon...Doh!   Crawford Carrick Anderson came 2nd overall with another run tightly under the 23-minute line.

Lots of families out and about getting involved

So I was crowned as Mountain Bike Royalty alongside Chris Ball, the Director of EWS and a legend of Enduro really.  I indulged in the customary spraying Proseco over the valley children who are becoming the Tweedlove Podium roadies.  Thanks to Tweedlove for a fantastic event and if you fancy an enduro next year, this one is a great one on the calendar.

 Prosecco patter on the podium

1st - Roslynn Newman, 2nd- Gill Davies, 3rd - Nicola Fell

Lots of awesome prizes!

I won some fantastic prizes including my Endura shirt, a beautiful Tweed flat cap and an Osprey back pack, which is the best designed bag I have ever encountered in my years of biking.  These guys have thought of everything to cater for your mountain bike needs; from an inbuilt fold out tool bag organiser, storage compartments for snack bars, and water bottles, helmet carrier, and the easiest accessible and refillable water holder.  If you need a new backpack, check out Osprey. 

Eleana Melton at Tweedlove

Full Results can be found here.