POC Scottish Enduro Series Round 6 - Kinlochleven November 2014

Kinlochleven is no stranger to me and I know how changeable and diverse the terrain and weather can be. It’s a hard area to ride, not just due to the ruts, river crossings and muddy bogs amongst drainage ditches and rocks that ricochet even the strongest of riders off course, it’s also an area of mechanical mayhem. Rear mechs can be swallowed up and punctures can envelop at the sight of some of the rocks.  I spent nearly a whole week stressing about tyre choice, knowing that I would need a tyre to ride massive rocks fast but also cut through the slop of Sooks Pipe. There was only one tyre for it – the good old Maxis Minion, and a few days before heading off for my MBL assessment with Jules Fincham I had Dave at Singletrack Bikes fit the tyres himself. Thanks Dave!!

The view of Kinlochleven from the top of Stage one, Gray Mares Tale

In the week leading up to the Dudes of Hazzard Enduro the West of Scotland had had a severe weather warning for high rainfall, but I was pleased to hear from Olga, my hitchhiker buddy, that the weather was looking peachy for the weekend.

The village of Kinlochleven lives in a hidden mine of secret nuggets of mountain biking gold. Stumbling across this over five years ago after living there for nearly three years, raising my daughter and being a mother, I fell back in love with the sport and that is is in no small part what led me to here.  Kinlcohleven was my harsh training ground and tough conditioning for re-entry into the scene. Sharing its spectacular gnar and epicness with some 400 – 500 riders is a real privilege. Not only this, but to see and hear the village busy in the off-season is a real credit to how the industry can boast biking tourism to the remote areas of Scotland.

It is also a real credit to The Dudes of Hazzard and No Fuss Events that they have created this opportunity for Kinlochleven.  This event is possibly one of the most popular Enduro races on this Island and definitely in the Highlands with competitors coming from far and wide.

Some Riders opting for the push on one of the big climbs.

The three stages have been creatively developed over the last three years encompassing some classic local trails. The transitional route included the glorious climb up to Mamore lodge, a 300m ascent up a steep road that I eagerly climbed in order to heat up from the shadow of Garbh Bheinn that Kinlochleven sits in for half the year.

The sun rays on the climb up to Mamore Lodge defrosted our frozen tootsies fairly quickly,

For the last race in the season I had to maintain my focus, wits and composure, especially as I had to win to gain championship status.  Yes I had the advantage of local knowledge but as mentioned, Kinlochleven is a mechanical nightmare catalyst and when it comes to racing – anything can happen.  With this in mind I tried my hardest to stay positive to avoid any chat of negativity, mechanics, the course and conditions, and to find solutions for what could be possible obstacles or barriers to my overall time. 

My first stage on race day was Stage Three, Sooks Pipe and the muddiest of the day, which definitely came with an essential eyewear merit, especially to model the current Enduro trend of mud beards. I set off to a great cheering crowd and almost instantly ended up off course, but managed to bring it together and remember the small defining points of line choices. Just as I was thinking it wasn’t really that bad, the course flattened out but I managed to keep my wheels rolling even with my hubs deep in mud – thank goodness for Sram 1x11!

The black line of Sooks pipe and the Blackwater Dam pipe line

The sight of the pipe line came like light at the end of the tunnel and I was relieved to make it out the slop and onto the pedalling section of the puggy line, but not for long as this ended up becoming quite a lung buster.  I even sat down for the fast straight descent before turning back into the forest – I was loving the 1x11 aiding the pedal spinning on those steep up right banks.

I was so happy to make it down without any major mishaps apart from the inevitable dabbing and carrying a few additional pounds of muddy undercarriage.  I headed straight to the bike wash and then home to get changed before heading to stages one and two.

When I arrived at the start of Stage One, Gray Mares Tale, the whole race was preparing to stand down for two minutes to remember those who had fallen for our freedom. I stood amongst the eager riders with the beautiful and tranquil view of Lochleven and the Pap of Glencoe to remember in silence.

The Sun about to sitting above Garbh Bheinn,but the village sits in shadow. 

This was my favourite stage in practice and a trail that has always crossed the border of delight and dismay. For many people, riding this in practice might have seemed like a perilous challenge that only the daring and gallant could tackle with swift haste, but to be honest there is very little elegance to this stage and the easiest way to ride it is with less braking, keeping the wheels spinning at a rapid pace to limit the arm pump.  It’s a very physically demanding stage, with loose rocks and ruts at the top and a fairly pedally section with steep and tight switchbacks and this is where I knew a mechanical could very well happen.

I definitely wasn’t feeling as smooth as I had been in practice, especially when the sidewalls of my wheels were shaving the banks of the corners, it’s a tough stage to ride clean. I was ecstatic upon clearing the river crossing and steep climb up the riverside cleanly for the first year ever - I love my Pivot and Sram 1 x 11, on top of this I managed to catch up with four riders in front who all let me past without any trouble– thanks guys.

My claim to fame for the day was I also cleared the climb up the log onto the dibbing station! Yas!! I headed back to Casa ala Roz to change my socks and bumped into Buviliscous who had had a nasty tumble on his first stage and had to pull out. I wouldn’t let him tell me where in order to keep myself focused - I was one stage away from the end of the season.

Stage Two, AKA the Kennels, is also a personal favourite. In practice I claimed a massive moment of self-admiration when I eventually rode the drop off. I have been riding this trail for five years and never thought I would build the courage to do it but I did! This weekend was proving to be a ticklist of challenges.

There was quite a bit of water on this trail and the dirty substance had somehow worked its way underneath my eyewear so upon riding the bottom section I was blinking liking a loon. With raging arm pump I remembered to keep a high line on a corner and cycle round the river to the finish with the sound of Buviliscous cheering me on. I was quickly presented with a freshly chilled can of Strongbow to celebrate the end of a fabulous season.

Riding Stage Two, The Kennels
Photo courtesy to David MacMillan

On the way back to the Ice Factor for my results I had an idea of what overall time would keep me in the winning stakes. I reckoned anything around 18mins 30 secs would be fantastic so I was delighted to see I had beaten my own target time and came in at 18mins 28 secs.

With over a minute and a half lead on the second fastest female and awesome junior talent and Fox Hunt Winner, Elena Melton, Rachel Walker from Hope came in second and my good friend and Wheelers rider Emma Holgate came third. Fellow pinner Nicola Fell landed in 5^th along with claiming 3^rd on stage one, well done Nicola! At prize giving I was over the moon to find I had won a year’s sponsorship deal with Adidas eyewear – thanks Adidas what a fantastic prize.

A great result and of course a fantastic round off to claiming a victory on the Scottish Enduro Championships, which I always considered out of my limits.   

Full results for round 6 can be found here.

The Scottish Enduro Series has been a great race series. I have met so many fantastic riders and Enduro acquaintances have now become friends. I have also introduced a few of my own friends to Enduro and outreached my Enduro family, including the fantastic and immensely supportive Buvilicious who has been behind me 100%. I am very thankful to have such a great support network of friends and family to help me.   Another great thanks would be to my sponsors Dare2B, Flare Clothing, and Singletrack bikes – which without their support would I never be able to accomplish the championship.

Scottish Enduro Champion with her Pivot
Photo Courtesy to James Robertson Photography

In reflection, it’s a funny old feeling sitting here in my NEW living room amidst the old mining tenements in the north of the Scottish Borders.  Gazing my eyes over a small gathering of grand trophies that are placed in amongst unpacked boxes, books and bags, it’s hard to deny that I’ve had a spectacular season. I have won races I always considered out my limits. I have stood shocked on podiums, rode stronger and faster than ever before and faintly began to realise my own potential as a rider not unlike Neo in the Matrix coming to comprehend the idea of his uniqueness. But I ain’t saving the world, I’m just riding my bike.

I don’t feel any different maybe the closest resemblance to this self-declaration of achievement or winning is like Charlie Sheen defining his personal outlook as a ‘winner’ on a US talk show.  I still feel like Roz who rides the big heavy Orange Patriot and that’s who I want to be - I still want to have fun riding my bike and winning well. It’s always comforting to reflect proudly of one’s efforts and realise that it paid off. There is nothing wrong with having a grand sense of achievement.    

And one last acknowledgement of what may have been a massive contribution to my development as a rider this season is the experience and ability to develop methods to remember my line choices and ride cleaner.

So for now its time to rest and wait for the snow to come for the off season and I’ll see you guys next year for what I hope will be a spectacular 2015 season.

Podium with Fiona Beattie, 3rd in The Series, Joe Barnes, Senior Male Winner and Rachel Walker 2nd in Senior women.

A well traveled trophy is this one. 

Scottish Enduro Series Round 5 - Innerleithen 18th & 19th October 2014

You don't have to be a gifted clairvoyant to guess that the October round of the POC Enduro Series may be a bit damper than its summer predecessors.

But then again Scotland’s not exactly known for the flocking tourists who take to the beaches in skimpy thongs, with volley ball nets to display their tans and muscles.  On this occasion the riders who had missed out on their foreign biking trips may have forgotten about the sloppy substance we once called mud as up until two weeks prior to this race, mountain biking in Scotland consisted of bone-dry dusty trails thanks to an exceptionally dry and awesome summer. 

A new addition to this round at Innerleithen was the addition of Caberston or ‘The Golfie’.  A steep and windy technical forest with a copious amount of intertwined trails that have left a permanent impression on both my pinkie fingers and altered my cosiness of mountain biking comforts. Caberston had its world debut in this year’s Enduro World Series and since then has seen a good revenue of bikers amongst its slick forest lines.

Checking the forecast a few days in advance and seeing the stormy weather setting in for the weekend, I got myself a spiky Michelin Wildmud for the front and a nice sleek DHR Minion for the rear in an attempt to shed the claggy crud that the week before had turned my Hans Damps into racing slicks.  Thanks to Alpine Bikes at Innerleithen for their last minute help with my tubeless setup!

A grey ray of sunshine at Caberston 

The weather had certainly not deterred the thirst for competition and the event was once again sold out.  The event village/bog had a good depth of brown smearing skid marks up to the sign in tent.  It seemed it would only a matter of time before the local farmers and their tractors would be called to assist stranded vehicles....

On arrival at practice I met up with the buff Buviliscous biking boy along with the usual enduro crew including fellow female pinner Nicola Fel and enduro mud virgin Henderson. There were 4 stages with the first two starting at Caberston and then heading over to Innerleithen for stages 3 & 4, including about 30 km of cycling and a heck of a lot of climbing. 

Carrying the mud to the dry bits at the bottom of stage 4 

We set off with the sun and rain in our eyes and a momentary questioning of why didn’t we bring any sunnies with us, but this only lasted for the length of this thought.   Starting back to front at Inners and the dreaded climb, we then descended with various oooh’s and ahh’s as Stages 3 and 4 were a great dolly mixture of all the old Innerleithen classics: Gold Run, Alistair Lee’s, The Tunnel and many more.  A few funny detours at the bottom section had me in a bit of a navigational giddiness, but it only left me with more to chat about on the way to Caberston.  The rumour was spreading that Stage 1 (Lone Wolf) was unrideable but to me it seemed perfectly fine! Yeah a bit slimey in some sections, but I’ve seen a lot worse (nothing will ever come close to stage 2 at Fort William).  Stage 2, the old downhill track was defined by a passing Ozzy as just like stage one but more 'off camberrie and steepa'  and he wasn’t too wrong as this was the stage I thought about most for the drive home.

Heading home with some mud decor.  

Over night the heavens opened and it was a wild guess if this would improve or worsen the mud fest.  I set off with the rest of the ladies early in the morning it was pretty dreech.  Stage 1 was the talk of the race with many people discussing how difficult and unrideable the mud had made it. So at the start, my optimism wasn’t too high and I was also one of the many riders that fell at the entry shoot. I got straight back on and maintained my uprightness for a while until I realised that my forks had managed to turn themselves off, so at that, I jumped off and ran through most of the horrid bits at the top and then jumped back on finding it so hard to actually find my cleats under all that mud.  Not long after Lewis Buchanan flew past with an impressive speed and flow, I barely managed to have two feet on my pedals for most of the bottom section and fell just as Alasdair MaClennan flew by with a ‘you okay?’ acknowledgement.  It was great to have a visual knowledge of what it should look like to ride that stuff. 

Mud that sticks on thick- I'm still cleaning this stuff up. 

Feeling like I’d made a massive hodgepodge of Stage 1 I was sure I had to make some time back. I headed up to Stage 2 in a mental world of self-counselling and reassurance, telling myself over and over again ‘you can do this’.  This seemed to do the trick as I managed to hang on for dear life, the Ozzy lad wasn’t joking about it being off camber too, this was a sideways sliding race, if you could keep your bike pointing forward you were a winner.

Heading over to Innerleithen, the mud banter was non stop, people talked of how it would feel like concrete in comparison to the squidge of Caberston and mud tyre efficiency was definitely the theme of chat for most. 

Innerleithen was great fun, some folk had even brought pedals to change over from flats to clips in between the two varying locations, an interesting tactic.  I was so happy to complete both stages without falling or having too much feet out drifting action.  The trails were on the muddy side, but nothing as wild as Caberston, so what would normally be considered as wet and slippy felt like the traction of a fly on a sticky bun.

At the event village I collected my time to find I was sitting in top spot with a good lead too! I only had to wait for top ladies, Emma Guy and Tracey Brunger to return, but to my complete and utter surprise I managed to remain on the top spot, with stage one as my fastest stage... which was the surprise of the day!  

Podium banter with Tracey Brunger (2nd)  and  Emma Guy (3rd)

Full results can be found here.

And a fantastic write up  by Trevor Worsey from Enduro Mountain Bike Magazine.

  

A much deserved gratitude to Helen Findlay
the heart and soul of Innerleithin Mountain Biking
She will be well and truly missed.
Thank you Helen!  

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.