Hope PMBA Enduro Series, Round Two - Video

The Hope PMBA Enduro series hit Grizedale Forest for round two, with large elevation difference available some big stages had been planned. We hear from experienced enduro racer and 2014 Scottish Champion, Roslynn Newman about how she found her first PMBA Enduro.

For the past two years, I’ve been eager to step up my racing game and attend races south of the border, not just to gain the experience of different trails, but also to have the chance to race against a different field of competitors. This year, I decided, was the year to do it.


After our Female Riders Race team gathering at Steel City Down Hill, Kev Duckworth, organiser of the Hope PMBA Enduro Series, and a good friend insisted I pop into Grizedale on my way home, and race. I managed, at the last minute, to convince a speedy, Elena Melton to join me on my venture, and so we were off on our first ever trip to the Lake District. Turning off the M6 and into a maze of ever-increasing remoteness I started to get that 'why am I trusting this sat nav to lead the way?' feeling. Nonetheless, the beautiful scenery unfolding around me entirely quelled my doubts.

I was really surprised to find Grizedale trail centre quite literally in the middle of nowhere. However, the centre itself is a widely spread and modern facility with large and comfortable toilets, an awesome cafe with excellent and friendly staff, a fully kitted bike shop and a gorgeous gift shop. Not only this, but the centre is built from old converted buildings, with the original stone and authenticity retained. It truly is a gem in the middle of beautiful nowhere. I also noticed a huge circular sculpture supported by a giant beech tree and I knew this was going to be a great day out.

So I started off loving Grizedale before I had even sat on my bike. The spring sun shone brightly, the sky was blue and there was a cold refreshing feeling in the air. After a quick registration and a great chat with a very helpful and awesome Nancy, Elena and I set off to practice two stages.

The PMBA guys have done something slightly different with the enduro format. Most of the races are one-day-only events, with practice in the morning and racing in the afternoon. Although limited sections were available to practice the day before, arriving mid-morning I didn't have many options so I chose to practice the two final stages and ride the first two stages blind. My teammate and 2015 PMBA series champion, Bex Baraona advised, “it's better to prepare yourself to ride blind.”

Practice was great fun and all the marshals were super helpful. I bumped into the One Planet race team sessioning various line choices on the muddier sections of stage four and they made light work of the technical rock section on the lower part of the stage. After practice, the cafe offered a free lunch to each racer; a piping hot and scrumptious bowl of chilli was waiting with our names on it. This race was full of surprises! We soon had to get back to riding but had a chuckle with some locals trying to comprehend our Scottish burr during our lunchtime banter.

The Race

The whole circuit comprised 23 kilometres, 750m of ascent and four stages. The first two stages finished by Coniston water in the lakeside car park and after each was a fairly arduous climb back up onto the ridgeline, nothing to cry about but still a tough transition, but at least there was a feed station at the top.

Stage One

After a fairly long climb up to the top of the trail centre, stage one sat snugly in amongst the trees. Due to my lack of practice on this stage I had asked a number of riders about what I should be expecting and was told it was 'rooty death hell' and also 'the longest stage'. I knew, if nothing else, it was bound to be a buzz.


About two metres from the start, I could see that the previous descriptions were accurate. A number of nicely polished, shining roots crossed over in various directions shouting, “I want you to fall off your bike”. A bit of foot dabbing and some fairly girly noises got me through the worst and I was off, constantly having to remind myself, “you don't know this trail, keep your head right up and expect anything”. I heard rumours of big log jumps and a lot of mud, there was an especially muddy section before a steep shoot that I would have preferred not to roll in but ‘hey ho’, I am Scottish so mud isn't really an issue. It wasn't all mud, there was a really fast descent including the KS drop, but only after an uphill fire road sprint that sapped the juice from the legs. The fast and wet rocky descent did, however, have some beautiful corners to the finish line.


Now, at the foot of the hill at Coniston Water, we were greeted with lovely views of sailing buggies and picturesque houses; I never thought it was possible to have a manicured stonework finish until I went to Grizedale. We met some local riders on the road to stage two who shared their knowledge and updated us on what to expect for the next stage. Thankfully the feed station at the top served a well-deserved homemade flapjack from the cafe and water kindly donated by United Utilities.

Stage Two

The second stage was a loamy trail that had a multitude of line choices, a river crossing with a short uphill blast and some sneaky corners with looming roots. I kept hearing tales of "that root"


Video: "That root"

It was so much fun picking my way around but really important to keep on the pedals at the same time. The trail opened up onto a grassy field that was developing some rutted corners, but was great to thrash the bike about in. Riding blind adds another mix to the enduro format and I realised I was very reliant on the marshals to direct me as I crossed forest roads.

Stage Three

The view of the Lake District from the top of this stage was breathtaking. Elena and I shared such a wave of excitement as we admired the lovely hills of Northern England. Another wooden circlet stood distinctively in the landscape below, overlooking the trail we were about to tackle.


This was the stage everyone was referring to as the ‘puncture producer’. It had some sneaky rocks and a couple of sections reminded me of the rock slab features on the Fort William downhill.


It was a short and action-packed stage that crammed so many features into bitesize chunks; slippy slabs, wooden bridges, muddy puddles, drops and flat-out descents. The stories of punctures weren't exaggerated either. A shower of upside down frames with rear wheels, tubes and pumps were scattered along the transition road to stage four.


Stage Four.

The top section of this stage was fairly technical, going through some muddy ruts and awkward roots before leading onto a felled forest and a trail centre jump line.


There was a huge fire road section that I was absolutely dreading, as it seemed to go on forever. Dropping back into the forest, riders were greeted with a technical rock slab and some mud-coated rocks. Homeward bound toward the finish line was alongside a lovely piece of singletrack. It was so much fun if not hugely exhausting. Back at the event village I discovered I was sitting in first place but this was short-lived; Becky Cook arrived and had a hugely impressive time – just over 16 minutes, a massive 90 seconds faster than me. Second place was still satisfying. Elena came third, another 30 seconds behind.

The real winner of the day, though, was Grizedale and the amazingly well organised and fantastic atmosphere of the PMBA series. The balance of technicality, ability and the challenging aspect to the trails was spot on and suited to all levels of riders. The PMBA team really has thought of everything and all of the race information was well delivered. If you’re looking to try out enduro for your first time, the PMBA offer a lite category or, if you’re an experienced racer, the PMBA hits the spot.


Enter Here

Thank you to all the marshals, especially Nancy and the great staff at the café, and huge thanks to Richard Baybutt for demonstrating the brilliant kindness of strangers and lending me his brake for the day after a crash at Steel City the day before.

This is for you, Richard!

Full results can be found here.

Winners

Elite Men - Matty STUTTARD
Under 18's - Dan HOLE
Senior - Joe HARRISON
Master - Daniel JOHNSON
Vet - Davy LEDGERWOOD
G.Vet - Neil RAW
Women - Becky COOK
Hardtail - James CASH







Some spaces left for R3-7 Enter the Series here!

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MENTIONS: @KevDUK / @hopetech / @whitenosugar / @NPMphoto / @orangebikes / @oneal

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