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2015 BDS - Round 1 AE Forest
The first race of the British Downhill Series was long awaited. After a winter of little riding time for me it was going to be a bit of an unknown! 2 weeks with a virus meant I'd done little riding to get up to speed and still not fully recovered. This was going to be tough!
Driving up to Scotland for the first time (in the rain of course) on Friday ready to set up camp and walk the track in the village of AE. The track was a mix of everything you might find in a downhill track. Open hardpack rocky sections, tight rooty tree sections and rutted grassy sections, all that with big and small jumps and drops along the way!
Saturday's practice was tough due to the previous nights rain! The open sections dried out quickly but the sheltered sections stayed wet and sloppy! With limited time to practice, due to the slow uplift I only managed 5 runs! Most people managed 4 or 5 so nobody really got much track time. I struggled with getting to grips with the track quickly and was having to hit things blind and learn from how it went! A broken rear mech hanger and missing spokes on the last run down meant a late night fixing the bike for race day!
Only 1 run in morning practice which resulted in a cracked mech hanger, I did some cable tie adjustments and heading back up the hill. I thought it'd be good to treat my seeding run like another practice run and try one or two lines I'd spotted. With a smooth run soft pedalling the limited flat sections I was keen to see where I'd end up. 28th. Not bad, but room for improvement especially after a big stall in the second wooded section. The tracks short and changeable nature left no room for errors like that!
The sun was now beaming and slowly drying the track. Feeling the extra grip in the tighter sections I pushed to keep flowing and pedalled where ever possible! The run was better than seeding as I found 3 seconds and managed 26th in Senior. A mid pack result for a mixed weekend.
I've learnt a hell of a lot in one weekend and I know where I need to improve. The positives I've taken from this weekend show I'm moving in the right direction.
Thanks to Manx Mud DH, MMBC for the awning, Stu Brew for the sound advice and Riders Company for the apparel.
Let's hope BDS Round 2 in Fort William brings more opportunities! I better get training!
Adam
Driving up to Scotland for the first time (in the rain of course) on Friday ready to set up camp and walk the track in the village of AE. The track was a mix of everything you might find in a downhill track. Open hardpack rocky sections, tight rooty tree sections and rutted grassy sections, all that with big and small jumps and drops along the way!
Saturday's practice was tough due to the previous nights rain! The open sections dried out quickly but the sheltered sections stayed wet and sloppy! With limited time to practice, due to the slow uplift I only managed 5 runs! Most people managed 4 or 5 so nobody really got much track time. I struggled with getting to grips with the track quickly and was having to hit things blind and learn from how it went! A broken rear mech hanger and missing spokes on the last run down meant a late night fixing the bike for race day!
Only 1 run in morning practice which resulted in a cracked mech hanger, I did some cable tie adjustments and heading back up the hill. I thought it'd be good to treat my seeding run like another practice run and try one or two lines I'd spotted. With a smooth run soft pedalling the limited flat sections I was keen to see where I'd end up. 28th. Not bad, but room for improvement especially after a big stall in the second wooded section. The tracks short and changeable nature left no room for errors like that!
The sun was now beaming and slowly drying the track. Feeling the extra grip in the tighter sections I pushed to keep flowing and pedalled where ever possible! The run was better than seeding as I found 3 seconds and managed 26th in Senior. A mid pack result for a mixed weekend.
I've learnt a hell of a lot in one weekend and I know where I need to improve. The positives I've taken from this weekend show I'm moving in the right direction.
Thanks to Manx Mud DH, MMBC for the awning, Stu Brew for the sound advice and Riders Company for the apparel.
Let's hope BDS Round 2 in Fort William brings more opportunities! I better get training!
Adam
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Member since Sep 9, 2010
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