Redbull Foxhunt 2014 with Rachel Atherton

The first time I heard of The Female Red Bull Fox Hunt with Rachel Atherton I was filled with a feeling of grand delight in the anticipation that something awesome was going to happen.  The realisation that the event was taking place in Scotland and not only that but very near my roots hometown in the Pentland Hills compounded my excitement.  So its no surprise to myself and anyone who knows me, follows my blog, or racing that I was going to put my heart and soul into it.

At the Start Line  

Putting all that aside i've decided to focus on why I consider this event to have an ever increasing impact of the quality and popularity of mountain biking in the UK.  

So why was this event so fantastic for mountain biking?  Why do I consider it a success?

The first aspect that I never considered about the largest female only mountain biking event in perhaps the world, and definitely on this island we call home is that there would be a large amount of children present.  Not just random children, but the children of female bikers who don’t race or compete that often.  It was not only an incredible and accessible opportunity for the kiddie winks to see their own mother ride, but also to see other women and mothers in a racing environment.  Is it implausible to consider that this may be part of a small stepping-stone to demonstrate to a new generation that active women and athletes are the bees knees.  No matter who they are or what they do they want to be active both for fun and self-fulfillment. They are our mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins and grandmothers and these ladies are badass! And hell yeah they all rode their bikes as best they could. Taken this into consideration, surely a new generation of rippers could be on the cards and thus British Cycling could be in for an insane arrival of upcoming talent.   

Riding with my daughter Ski Pea

Secondly with the large amount of children in many instances with their fathers, brothers, mother’s partners or grandparents, it was empowering to see the role reversal of men with child whilst women ride.  Something that reassures me that Gender Equality for both the sexes may not be some words we just pull out of a political agenda hat every now and again to make local services look better.

Another aspect I never considered was that women who were pregnant may turn up to ride the course and participate in practice, joining in with their friends and part of this extraordinary celebration of women on bikes.  This alone gave me an acute sense of pride and belonging that women, despite this potentially limiting factor were more than happy to overcome this to show that the activity is part of their lives.  

On top of this it was great to see my daughter play with my friends children.  We ride and chat about our children a lot but very rarely with our children and partners.  With the inadvertent ex golf course bunker sand pits included, the Red Bull Fox hunt had a great family event feel in the air.

The Push up had our heart rates up. 

Perhaps what put the icing on the cake for empowering female riders and athletes was that Rachel Atherton (and her mother) were hugely supportive and involved.  Rachel talked openly about her own experiences of riding and racing, blending in with the social ease of any other participant, and it was easy to see that she was more than happy to be involved.  

Keeping the speed up out the woods 

I was really impressed to see Rachel and her team support all riders, young and old coaching and assisting them with technical issues and also providing support on the course and hill.  Seeing Rachel’s commitment and natural pleasure to be part of an event involving girls from all backgrounds and abilities-a far cry from the fast paced and competitive lifestyle she is usually engaged in, made me realise that she is a great asset to British and world cycling.

Chasing Elena

It was such a fantastic weekend.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many girls, catching up with old faces, racing with my friends from other disciplines, doing yoga and riding an awesome course as fast as I could.

And for me to crash so near to a podium finish was also a good lesson on my mental outlook for racing.

1.     Positive and confident riders take risks,

2.     A committed athlete has a positive reaction to set backs and takes responsibility that risks don’t always work and learns from this.

3.     Holding onto and dwelling on a mistake will only make it harder to race next time.  ‘So Let Go’ think of the positives and thrives on the good times.

4.     After a mild concussion I definitely need to buy a new helmet.

"You only achieve what you believe"

Well done to all the girls, women, mothers, daughters, aunts and grandmothers who took part.

 Thank you to Redbull for putting on a great event and to Rachel Atherton, her Mother and the GT Team for all their fantastic contribution.

A video of my race run: 

Orange Tour De Ben Nevis 20th September 2014

This was my introductory race for my new Team Sponsor, Singletrack Bikes.

As I gathered my supplies before heading onto Fort William High street for registration, I asked a fellow racer to take a picture of me for one last social media input and tagged the Tour De Ben Nevis as the ‘toughest race of the season’.

Sitting here in the warmth of a cosy bed, cradling a lovely cup of tea with entertainment at my fingertips whilst reflecting on a season that is still two months away from finishing I still can’t think of any other race that has pushed me to the mental and physical limits that I endured for the five hours of riding 'the Tour'.

I was no stranger to the endurance battle that the tour lays out for its competitors, and was far from naive to the efforts I was going to have to apply to claim a reasonable standing with such a very high standard of riders in all categories.  I definitely had my work cut out for me.  I had completed the tour two years ago in a time of 7 hours and 6 minutes riding it on my Specialized Myka hard tail.  At this time I had had very little experience of racing never mind endurance racing and it was the first time in my life I hit the emotional and physical 'wall' whilst riding. I was ready to give up and cry at the time and since then I have been hoping to claim victory over the race that nearly broke me.

The route - appropriately named as the grey stuff in the middle is Ben Nevis

This time I had experience, a Pivot, fantastic Dare2B clothing, a higher level of fitness and a greater knowledge of what to pack and what to expect.  As prepared as I was there was still a huge level of uncertainty about what was about to happen.  The tour is different to my usual races as it takes competitors into the wilderness on a circular route for 72km around Ben Nevis.  The distance away from civilisation and the sense of isolation or helplessness if anything were to go wrong  set some unease in my mind; What if I hit the wall once more, but even further away from home?

Queen of the hill title makes Lochaber News

I put all this aside, brushed myself down from the emotionally challenging two days that Scotland had just overcome and decided to find my race face.

At registration I caught up with the usual No Fuss crowd, picked up my dibber and chatted with some Wheeler friends.  As I congratulated Hannah Barnes for her great efforts for the Enduro World Series I found a spectacular character with walking logo's attached to various limbs..

This guy later pulled out a 6 pack of bud half way round the course.  Legend!

Lochaber Pipe Band - Photo Courtesy of No Fuss Photography

At 10am we set off along Fort William high street to the triumphant sound of the Lochaber Pipe Band. We embarked on the first of many steep climbs up Achintore Road along to Lochan Lunn Da Bhra and then onto the West Highland Way to Stage 1 at Kinlochleven.  I don't know if it was the lingering lergie that seemed to be clouding my head that left me feeling antisocial but this race seemed to send me off in an internal world of contemplation. I ran through race tactics and questioned continuously how and when I should pace myself in order to save energy for the special stages.  

Stage 1 descent

I'm fairly familiar with the terrain of the Mamore mountains, but not too familiar with the loose ground that the Indian summer had created.  The ground was pretty skitie!  After Stage 1 we climbed back up the 300m to Mamore Lodge and toward Stage 2, another brutal and punishing climb to Loch Eil, which would see competitors gain another 300m.  I was growling like a fierce VO2 max monster and felt sorry for anyone who crossed my path fearing that the hound of the Baskervilles were on their tale.

Toward Stage 3 I rode alongside a couple of Cross country riders whilst admiring the stunning scenery of Loch Eilde and the Mamores. My mind slipped in and out of waves of thought as I contemplated the popularity of this funny race. 

Beautiful views and blue skies

The Tour de Ben Nevis could very well be the lovechild  of Enduro and Cross Country.  Like its cross country father its takes its competitors into an internal battle between physical and mental endurance, whilst its Enduro mother provides timed stages to compliment.  Both the complete duration of the course and special stages earn you points.  You gain points for every person you beat on each of the stages and the winner, surprisingly, is the person with the most at the finish line.  Understanding what kind of rider you are is imperative for a good result.  Are you an Enduro master who can make up the points on the special stages timed downhills or are you blistering athlete who can whizz round the track faster than anyone else and gain points that way.  Perhaps this slightly different and exciting format is why the tour stands out as a popular race. It attracts a great variety of riders especially the cross country, Enduro and trail riders who see it as a great day out perhaps wanting to set some goals and conquer a massive challenge in a beautiful explorative environment.  

Anyway back to the race!  Approaching the special stage where you had to hike a bike up a hill with some soggy feet I  took a few deep breaths and set off to give all I could.  It was hard to know if the traditional style of running would help or just to opt for the fell running approach of 'big steps very quickly'.  Either way the summit seemed unachievable for quite some time.  Even after the dedication of the fell runners gait to the top of the hill the stage continued. Down some tumbling and technical rocks a few muddy crossings and numerous arduous and harsh climbs, crossing the river toward the bothy and barbecue could not have came any sooner. 

The route went on and on into the hills

Homeward bound and happy to have the hike a bike behind me I still had about 30Km to ride. I headed home as fast as my wee legs could go. I just wanted to get to the final special stage, Blue Crane.  The ride through the forest of Nevis Range lasted forever.  The distinctive and welcoming whistles of the marshalls for the Scottish Downhill Race at Nevis Range was like the sound of a Christmas choir.  Nearly there. 

I have never been so pleased to see Blue Crane but in classic Newman style this is where I managed to deck myself by failing to clip in and losing my feet resulting in me granulating my crotch on my rear wheel for a few metres. I was all over the place but I loved it.   

Stage 4 nearly home.

Back toward Fort William and while dibbing out I was so mentally gone that I nearly had a full blown conversation with a stranger, convinced she was my best friend Louise.

This little dude watched me do yoga.  

For the afternoon I wound down with the classic soup and sandwich, catching up with the Aviemore crew Nash and Ronan and reading over some celeb gossip in Closer Mag. Then some yoga on the Parade  and a fab dinner with my wheeler buddies and sharing stories of the day.  I then set off to prize giving thinking I may have made it to third place I was absolutely gobsmacked to find out that I had won!  

I reckon this was probably the best result I have ever achieved on my bike. Full results can be found here. 

Looking a bit stunned from the result
I'm very small too

With the Senior Male winner
also from Kinlcohleven, Gary MacDoanld

Thanks to the support of Singletrack Bikes and Dare2B 
and my awesome family for helping me with my daughter.

Thanks for another fantastic event No Fuss. 

A well deserved rest in the sunshine followed

Scottish Enduro Series Round 4 Ae Forest

Driving out of a wee Midlothian suburb toward Dumfries and Galloway I had the epiphany that I may have to turn on my sat nav.  Like many other people venturing to Ae for the fourth round of the Scottish Enduro Series I was visiting it for the first time ever.

I had heard many stories of the Ae trails, notoriously the 18-foot jump/drop on the downhill route and the muddy trails in the dense dark forest teaming with roots.   I had assumed that the current dry spell had made all UK trail centers a dusty network of brown sand and dust however on arrival I met with Emma Guy and she quickly filled me in that "Ae never really dries up".

Looking pretty lush and seasonal 

Ae are no strangers to hosting race series’ with the down hill route attracting many keen racers for the SDA and BDS, and are no strangers to Enduro either hosting a UK Gravity Enduro round too .   The trail center has some fantastic facilities including an open plan and well equipped bike shop, café (and well looked after toilets) whilst  being located just 20 minutes drive from Dumfries and other facilities such as accommodation.

Ae is part of the 7Stanes network and I have always been eager to venture to the Western centers within the network, but have never had the incentive to be lured to make the journey.  This is the champion of the SES, with more riders experiencing and acquainting their knowledge of other trails and centers building an awareness of Scotland's mountain biking infrastructure.

The course consisted of a 36Km loop with 5 timed stages including 3 long and grueling slow inclines up to the top on forestry road.  On heading out to practice I met up with Junior Female leader and very talented Elena Melton.  Elena is a speedy lass whom I attempted to keep up with whilst practicing stage 1 and 2 at Laggan, this was a fairly scary ordeal, almost turning my knuckles white.

The best view of the weekend - the top of the forest road climb. 

The first stage started at the top of Shredder, a fast and flowing trail, with drops, jumps and big berms. Unfortunately I had a pretty bad crash on the first berm, the ground was so loose I just washed out on the corner and gave my recurring dodgy elbow another whack adding to the hairline fracture that seems to be working into a crack.  A bit shook up and feeling funny I caught up with the rest of my practice crew – to chill out and recover – but not for long as the midges were relentless and unforgiving.  Thank goodness I had  the “groovy chick” elbow pad in the car, to keep my elbow under sufficient protection.

Loving my 'groovy chick' elbow pad. 

The trails were consistently hard packed and trickled with a loose layer of skittish dust and stones for an extra topping of sweetness.  It was very easy to slide off side ways and on stage 1 and 3 a puncture could be on the cards if care and tact weren't applied.   Under the tree canopy, any newly cut additions were dry, dusty and loamy but with the potential to become a slimy mud bath at the slightest hint of moisture.  Stage 4 and the Downhill trail, like Emma mentioned was wet, and very dark,  like entering a tunnel with only sporadic holes in the ceiling for illumination.  It was so hard to define a decent line with so many off camber roots, rooty bumps, more roots, and tree stumps. It appeared that the trail was the decider of the day who made it out with the least mishaps and after hitting some nice jumps we were back up the long fire road for the final stage of the day. The heat of the road seemed to be easing as some grey and dark clouds moved in and the wind picked up.  The ominous smell before rain started to set in and as we reached the exposed hill top and wind farm view it was pouring down. This stage was great fun and had multiple line choices, and to get them right could make the difference for a podium spot.

It got a bit damp.

The Pivot well and truly had her first taste of Scottish dirt and after a swift and non thorough bike wash, I headed of to Chateau de Buwert for some lush nourish, shower and bed.

I forgot all about mud, for a while. 

Race day

Awaking to bright sunshine I was aware remembered that upon stirring at 3am the consistent heavy downpour outside was what had woke me.  I knew that today was going to be somewhat different.   I had been seeded into the first group and set off with Elenor Melton and Lesley Ingram and the seeded senior males.

Scenic Dumfriesshire. 

Stage 1 

I knew that this stage had the pedaling potential to make a good impact on my time but I was still apprehensive of washing out like the previous day and hurting myself and or losing time. I had a bit of confusion about my tyre pressure as I was still getting used to running tubeless, but decided to keep it pretty high for the hard packed jump section.

It ran really well though and I managed to remember some of my lines, the steep and greasy shoot to the fire road exit attracted a few spectators that were cheering and 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as people threw all sorts of shapes trying to remain upright. 

A crowd of eager and happy racers congregated at the end of the stage to witness approximately 1 in every 2 riders exit with a puncture. Good choice with the PSI! 

Stage 2

We were definitely a lot muddier as we headed to the start of stage 2. This stage had a very sloppy and flat entrance that reminded me of pedalling through the slush at the Macalvalache. Before dibbing in I acknowledged a massive amount of respect to the marshalls who showed their resilience to the midge.  Everyone was squirming.  

Marshalls love midges.  

This was definitely my most frustrating stage as I managed to get my crank stuck on a tree stump on a small knoll and had to get out of the way of a biker wanting past, then the dreaded "I can’t get my feet clipped back in" scenario sprung up and I could not find any flow. I had to usher myself into race mode to get pedalling when I came out of the forest. 

A beautiful scenic and long climb up to stage 3 

Stage 3

Stupidly I had forgotten to turn my suspension back on but I quickly realised this at the start and managed to get some travel out my forks.  This was another pedally stage that had puncturing potential but with a loamy exit.  Entering the loam it all seemed to be going pretty good until I had to take my foot out and yet again “I can’t get my foot back in’ scenario.  It’s so hard to focus on line and choice whilst fiddling with your foot to clip back in.  God damn these tiny feet and lack of available bike shoe choice.  I slipped out sideways on some greasy roots and slimy bits, which induced a race stage rage, which I vented loud enough for people waiting at the finish to hear.  At least I didn’t puncture though!

Loamy with the mud that sticks. 

Stage 4

After completing 2 out of the 3 forest road climbs a group of riders congregated around the refuelling table while I did a spot of stretching and yoga in the sunshine and pondered about blaeberry picking the huge amounts of fruit that decorated the hill top.  The hissing of the air being released from tires was ever present and it was obvious that the next stage was indeed going to be muddy.

Within the forest I was feeling fairly pleased with myself until I had yet again another “I cant get my foot back in’ scenario and I came to a complete stop and re shuffle a couple of times, as this was the closest I had come to riding slop for sometime.   Like I mentioned before it was really muddy and I was happy to come out to near the jump section without any major crashes, my tires were so caked in mud that there was no traction I was sliding on even non-sloppy surfaces and actually slipped up hill off track. How does that happen!?  Waiting at the dib out spot it was crazy to see how many riders exited with eventful mechanicals such as brakes hanging off and saddles pointing up to the sky.

Stage 5
Undoubtedly my favourite stage of the weekend.  The ground had visibly had the sun on it for most of the day and maintained its grip it was pretty hard packed. The trail led you into some nice loamy and flowy switchbacks. I realised in practice the key to this section was to stay high and claimed some kudos from a spectator about my ‘good line choice’.   I felt strong although I did do some tripodding through a tree section that I had practised to death the day before, sometimes too much choice is my demise.  Coming into the last section I heard someone shout ‘your doing really well’ which I acknowledged and then instantly stacked it, I jumped back on and then headed to the finish another Enduro done and dusted.

1st Emma Guy, 2nd Rachael Walker and I'm 3rd. 

I was delighted to come 3^rd especially with such a high standard of female riders present. Elena managed to claim 2 seconds on me too. Emma Guy demonstrated that her riding is most definitely in a different league with nearly a 2 minute lead. The drive home in the sunshine was reflective and I returned to a great BBQ at some friends, Ski Pea and to drink some beer and eat doughnuts.  A great weekend.

Full results can be found here:    

Thank you to Dare2B for all your support and the excellent cycling shirt that kept me very cool in the hot climb up the fire road.