|
 |
 Round3 of Dragon Downhill series - Rheola. I RIDE BLIND WHOOOO HOOO!!! sat morning race Prep - Mucky D's for a Bacon Roll ( Healthy ) Me and Paul Tambini from team 9.8 have chose to support the car sharing rule and travelled together to Rheola. We get there and its fine and bright loads of muck in the parking area but weather looks ok. Oh oh ten minutes later it starts to pegg it down and it doesn't really stop raining. Im wet just getting ready to do my first practise run. I have had a couple of runs a fortnight ago and my best run was 5.47 in the dry so was hoping to beat that can't see that happening when some of the course looks like a river! I'm Just getting changed and the rest of my team, Dan, Iuean, Will and Greg have already done three runs and look like they have been sprayed with a muck spreader!! They can tell us all about the course conditions that's the beauty of being team boss I can send out my guinea pigs to reccy. They all seem to be enjoying themselves. We are on the uplift for the first run, weather pissing down, trying to remember the course from the other day, the fog is thick on the top we set of sprinting to the first corner and its arghhh sheeet I can't see my glasses are steamed up and my goggles are covered in muck. Then the course is marked out differently to the lines I had been running a fortnight ago a hard right instead of straight over. More muck in my face, argh well off with the goggles and carry on for another third of the course and then I can't see through glasses they are covered in muck. Here is a good idea lets take them off and ride "star wars" down with blind COOLIO now that was a frightening experience really was just holding on and hoping. I make it down with a time of about 8mins which really I think some spectators could beat walking. OK Its back to Paul's Truck to dry and clean goggles Paul suggests taking all the foam out of the goggles to see if that helps, I will try anything to have a little bit more visibility, also keeping them in a dry goggles bag may help. I try all these things on my second run and all is cool until star wars where I brake a little bit to hard with rear brake ( I know faggot riding ) and the bike slides away with me doing the splits luckily I manage not to have a big wipe out but it intensified my breathing to steam my goggles up again so did the rest of the course with just glasses. Now it's the seeding run. Take this very serious I need some special diet to load me with energy I eat a banana, Fruit cake, Welsh Cake and Cheese Burger compliments of the lovely ladies on the burger van. Then I have a Sausage roll from Shan's picnic hamper mmmm mmm add some energy bars and im fit for the off!!! On the uplift I'm wet covered in mud and cold, nice. Get to the top goggles in a dry pouch, it pouring down at the top luckily the marshals made it pretty quick so we could have our run straight away before we died of Hypothermia. Here it is again Beep Beep Beeeeeeeep.. And we are off first 100 metres done and I notice my fitness isn't there even for a team fatty rider, I'm wrecked my arms and legs are just burning totally popped I keep going no steam on the goggles but I'm picking up loads of mud have to get a mud guard and tear offs later!!! I have to stop to let Paul past me and then again to take off my goggles even with two stops I did a 6:03 I'm pretty happy with that as I didn't crash so cool. Clean ourselves up a bit and then its straight over to our sponsors shop www.thebicycledoctor.com to get some tear offs and a mud guard these must help tomorrow. SUNDAY ITS RACE DAY _ Race prep again Mucky D's not good for the digestive system!!!! Turn up weather is fine but boy have we had some rain in the night,
my gosh. Paramedics don't know if they are coming or going, broken
hip, broken wrists, broken fima and gashs out of peoples flesh mmmm
nice and the marshals are I get ready to do one run of the course, really nervous seeing all the injuries thinking just take it calm don't even time this one watch some of the other riders I think to myself. Oh the course has changed but its ok really just different to yesterday a bit more caution and I should be alright. Time for lunch banana and a sandwich courtesy of Shan's kitchen. here we go 13:15 time for my run race run. Its bloody windy and cold at the top, keep riding around to try and keep warm. Beep Beep and I'm off sprinting to first water splash, the course has dried up even more which suits me, I'm flowing in this run it feels nice im as fluid as I can be letting the bike bounce around quite a bit, the main thing is I can bloody see. Hoooray!!!! I even get a nice dropoff at the bottom and roll-over the double with fair amount of speed!!! IM happy and the time wait for wait for it 5:49, my PB in the dry was 5:47 so happy with that governor. Onto the waiting around getting nervous now before the final run of the day. speaking to loads of people who had been red flagged which means they get another run, I hope I don't get red flagged don't think I could do another run my body hurts. OK 15:21 comes around, this is my last run in rheola for a while so lets give it my best shot sprint down again, trying to lay off the brakes in the top section as much as I can, it feels good even do the little jump into the right hand corner before the switch back. Onto the fire road and I sprint again hit the double a bit to hard crazy mess it up a little ok though just loose my footing but that's not a great setup for the next steep part which was a bit sketchy but got through it. get to the bottom let my brakes off for the last drop off and double pleased that felt good but my body is shattered totally in pieces.. Oh my gosh I did it in 5:35 I'm happy with that really pleased.. COOLIO. As for the rest of the team Iauen put in a storming time of 5:38 thats with chain and gear problems and first time to race the new orange 222 was good going. Will did a 5:21 which is great and Greg a 6:49 on a hard tail which is great I would not want to be on a hardtail myself this is the boy who yesterday did the course with no back brake, the dangerous twins they should be called. But the whole team were out shone by the star riders of Paul Tambini 9.8 ( co. team fatty ) with a storming time of 4:22 and Daniel Bowen showing us once again what we all need to aim for and this time of 4:52 was done on the team fatty's spare orange 222.. Boys whatever the time we did doesn't even come into it I just think to survive the weather and riding conditions unscathed to race again in three weeks is the best achievement showing great consistent riding skills. Good luck and catch you all in Myndd Ddu. Results for the team from first round |