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SCU MTB XC Round 5 - Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle could be considered the "local" race
for those of us with a Stirling base, being only just over
a
half-hour's
drive away and once again it was a successful event. This
venue offers both racers and spectators a good day, with
plenty
of hills, singletrack, good views, showers, hose pipe, food
and shelter. Funny then to hear people moaning, even more
so that the complaints should be about mud!
Racing a mountain bike is exactly what it implies; riding
an offroad bicycle offroad. A bit of mud is surely within
the realms of expectation, especially considering the recent
weather? After all this is the Scottish mountain bike series
and it is August. Personally I love a spot of mud and at Aberfoyle
it was of the kind that does not sap the rider, instead purely
presenting a slight technical aspect to the course; wet but
not saturated, with a dry layer emergent underneath. A careless
rider could lose a wheel, but a clever rider could pick a
quick and fast line.
Regardless the sun shone, it rained only briefly and most
people seemed to be having an enjoyable day. Indeed Richard Barton made it out, dressed in lycra and astride his beloved
PACE, whilst Julie Mcinney won her race and promptly headed to the Alpine Bikes stand to discuss a "new purchase".
Douglas Shearer pulled in at 7th, David Brennan went one
further and
came in 6th and I, laden with a cold, surprised myself to
11th. Unfortunately Iain Nimmo's race did not go to plan
and
he was pushed back to 4th.
For those that haven't been Aberfoyle is a course that brings
you frequently on and off singleltrack, based around a core
of firetrack sections. These singletrack lengths are largely
of the downhill nature, tight, twisty and off camber, where
it's the rider's choice between run or ride. This time round
the course had been lengthened to add even more singletrack,
which all in all was a good decision as last year it was basically
a case of ride up a firetrack and fight down some singletrack.
Admittedly there was some mud - in fact a fair hundred metres
of it, where pushing through the gloop became the order of
the day, but it wouldn't be an MTB race if you didn't have
to fight nature at some point!
In fact at a length of six and a bit miles Aberfoyle was
a refreshing change from other, shorter and thus more repetitive
courses. A lap length of this magnitude means that racers
experience decent segments, thus a technical section can last
multiple minutes rather than flashing seconds and a lungbursting
sprint becomes a good opportunity to open up against competitors.
I like this, it makes racing a tougher experience and it also
adds to the excitement as you have fewer opportunities to
become familiar with the course. Undoubtedly there will be
those who disagree.
On a final note, in my last column I mentioned the possibility
of riders receiving outside assistance. Was it ironic that
this time round we were told explicitly where feed stations
were to be and reminded that outside assistance is not permitted.
Incidental perhaps, but definitely good news.
Happy riding.
Sam Long
Pictures from the event
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