I'm writing this having just watched the exciting climax of the Andorra UCI MTB XC World Cup on Red Bull TV online. Great race and I saw far more than if we'd been there as planned.
The July schedule with Max changed after I last wrote, instead of doing the GB National XC series, the weekend of the 6th July saw Max and I going to Exmoor for her to dip her toe in the Enduro scene and ride a more relaxed event at her coaches guidance. We were hosted by one of Max's sponsors Whackjob Clothing who had their own gazebo and inflatable sofa (and beer fridge) and were great company over the weekend. It was good to meet and chat to Joel and Joan (on Sunday) and chat.
(side note - I'd recommend checking out Whackjob's rider profile of Max : here (nuff said))
As a mechanic, Enduro events are far more relaxed too. After a long drive down windy roads, we rocked up at the event (the Mondraker Gravity Enduro) and I got the stand out and prepped Max's Orange enduro bike. Max is very good at looking after her kit, so, really it was more of a check over and a brief discussion on tyre pressures for the morning recce of a couple of the timed sections and then send Max and Joel off ... and then relax whilst they do all the hard riding stuff.
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| Not the worst spot to work |
After the recce, it was just a case of checking with Max that she was happy with the pressures (small change) and then I gave the front end of Joel's bike a look over as he was concerned about headset movement. The main cause of the chatter was that his forks were in need of a good service, as there was definite movement in the lower legs.
After lunch, they were off again to do a couple of timed runs which we initially thought were for group seeding for the following day. Max wasn't too happy with the second section, thinking she could have pushed more. I got the bikes back, washed them down, checked them over and had a nice cold beer courtesy of the Whackjob fridge.
Rather than camping, we stayed in a local hotel so we had dinner in a pub and a little walk along Minehead seafront. Back to the hotel and we caught up with the days TDF stage before lights out.
Back at the site the following morning, I gave Max's bike a final check over before sending them off for the day.
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| Max getting ready to set off on Sunday |
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| Joel before the off (note the discarded tutu (don't ask)) |
For me, the rest of the day was a relaxing time, reading a book and doing a bit of work on a bike that a friend of Max's, who had come along to support, had brought with him. Having got his bike working "a million times better" he went off on a ride and I chilled.
The wait for the riders to come back was broken slightly by one rider coming back in saying his friend had crashed and been airlifted (this is Exmoor after all) off from the first timed section. A short while later the worrying sight of two riders with three bikes heralded the return of the bike that had been left after the crash. I made sure the chap and his mate's bike were reunited.
Max's yellow helmet and shoes made her dead easy to spot, so when they rolled back in I took the bike, made sure nothing was broken and, after a brief chill out, we packed the kit back in the van and headed off home.
...
A week or so ago, I had a chat with Max about the World Cup round in Andorra, and she and her coach felt that it might be best to miss this one *. So I've utilised the time I had booked off work to recce a couple of the Sky Ride Local routes on which I'm leading next month. This included a spin through Swinley Forest on the CX bike.. which was "interesting" (read : very difficult) with steep (20% +) rocky, gravelly, loose, sandy climbs and decents on the "Devil's Highway" stretch. On the CX bike, this was challenging. but a lot of fun. a few long stretches of sand were also great for "bike skills" training..
P and I popped out later and took a few pics of me on the CX bike (as I didn't have any) ...
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| Proof that the Panda occasionally IS indeed On A Bike |
Tomorrow, P is riding the London to Cambridge sportive with the president of the fledgling Girton College cycling club (of which more later) and I will be providing support.
* Note: subsequent to this chat, Max rode the National XC Champs at Cathkin Braes near Glasgow and finished a rather excellent 6th - very proud of her.
