Mountain Mayhem. View from the (Mud) Pack
You know you're in trouble when cars, vans and caravans are having to be towed INTO an event. Such was the case at this years Wiggle Mountain Mayhem. Lashings of rain was on the cards well beforehand so most people made preparations, both mental and tyre related, for some hard going.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who emptied their entire wardrobe of cycling kit into the boot of the car before they set off. I'd be needing ever bit of it. So I wasn't disappointed when high winds and heavy rain blew through the previously picturesque setting of Eastnor Deer Park. I say previously because now it has a large brown 9 mile stripe going all the way around and a swamp in the middle. As you may have guessed the 2012 edition of the UK largest MTB race was a wet one.
The Kinesis Morvelo Project had entered the mixed team of 5 category. Three of us have been riding and racing together for about 18 years and the other two, Katy and Liam were newer, faster and considerably younger. Not that this in any way helped as I tried to convince them that they should do the lion's share of the laps and our favourite wee Scottish racer, Katy, was subjected to a 24hr assault of "This must be like summer in Scotland" jibes. She coped remarkable well and Liam always had a smile. I think it was a smile but quite often when it looks like someone has shovelled 4 bucket loads of mud onto your face, it could have been a grimace.
Naturally we sent the young lad out to do the run. He made the fatal error of saying he had packed trail running shoes. Well volunteered Liam! He blasted around the course and not a half a lap in he suffered a puncture and couldn't get the pump locked onto the value. The first of many events that made not just the course conditions challenging. Next up Gareth set about treating his new KMP kit to some tough love. He came back pushing what looked like a tank made out of wattle and daub. Turns out his bike was under there. Somewhere.
Our laps times were long and slow but fortunately enough everyone else's where longer and slower so we had a lead! Just. It wasn't a race as such. Conditions meant you just had to get out there and go around, whatever and however you can. Pushing, running, dragging, walking and some occasional riding later you hope to be back dry and warm in the arena once again. Taking it easy on the bike, avoiding mechanicals and riding with perseverance and preservation firmly in mind.
Once my mindset had switched to viewing it more as a cross race I did find myself enjoying bits of it. Most of the big climbs I liked for no other reason that I could ride my bike and get into a rhythm. It was a nice rest from wrestling the bike which was behaving like an angry child. Strange as it may seem most people were praying for the rain overnight, in the hope that it would loosen "The Clag"! It did. But only on the last half of the course. The first sector was a death march of unfeasibly thick and sticky mud. Seeing groups of people wealding sticks and pocking them in bikes was not uncommon. The grimmer the conditions became the better the camaraderie on the course, with most people I passed happy to joke and laugh about the conditions as well as giving me some much needed encouragement and a quick push when I got stuck! What nice people mountain bikers are.
With dawn breaking we now had a good lead in our category and things were looking up. No sooner had I thought this then 20 minutes after Katy should have been handing over to me, she was nowhere to be seen. We then saw a small speck in the distance running. Katy had had a major mechanical halfway around the course and was forced to run the rest of the lap. This probably wasn't much different to what most people were doing anyway!
Myself and then Liam nursed the bikes around the next couple of laps trying to avoid chainsuck through enforced singlespeeding and ever fading brakes. Just up to Gareth to bring it home. An hour after the midday finish he's nowhere to be seen. This would make his lap about 2hrs! Luckily Phil had spotted him but he'd crashed 3 times in the wood and had sprained his achilles. Shite. Gareth soldiered on and crossed the line just ahead of the 2nd place team meaning we had won our category! It does feel strange to have won a race yet it not feel like a race. It was more everyone fighting the conditions and seeing to could last out the longest. I'm immensely proud of the team, Liam, Katy, Phil and Gareth. We kept each other going and kept our spirits high. Which is exactly what all the other brave finishers did and for that we doff our muddied caps. You're all mental.
Posted by Morvélo