Dynamic Adventure Racing
Steep Hill, Panoramic Views
Jonathan Mayne (Dynamic Adventure Racing) / 24.05.2006
The Quantocks is one of the UKs’ best kept secrets with tough hills, deep coombes and fantastic mountain biking. It was the chosen location of Dynamic Adventure Racings second race of the year. The sun popped its head out bringing no relief to competitors who were forced into making several uncomfortably steep ascents on bike and foot. As the racers marked up their maps, it became clear that good route choice would be essential in getting a top spot and the checkpoints were placed either at the tops of ridges or at the bottom of valleys.As the WARC Dynamic Adventure Racing team of Piers Constable and Greg Fisher helped the novices mark up their maps and offered some help on route choice and kit, the competitors got ready. The course had been cleared earlier that morning by Piers and Greg in 1 hour and 35 minutes and it was going to be interesting to see if anyone could beat them.
Brian Pearson came incredibly close – clearing the run in 1 hour 37 minutes and amassing an impressive 300 points for his efforts. Lucy and Paul Wells scored a 278, collecting 280 points but unfortunately being 30 seconds late back meant a 2 point time penalty. The aptly named Team Back, Crack and Sack scored 290, 10 points shy of the full 300.
Competitors had an hour to mark up their maps and plan their route for the bike stage whilst tucking into their snacks and isotonic drinks. A game of cricket had started on the pitch outside the hall, making for a very pleasant rural setting on a Sunday afternoon.
The bike route was rather evil – in order to get to the top of the Quantocks, you have no choice but to ride or push your bike up a 1:4 gradient. Whether you ride or push – the steepness of the ascent means that it takes at least 5 sweaty minutes to get to the top and enjoy the views the sea and South Wales in the distance. The special stage was a fantastic piece of single track that would reward the competitors with 100 points if they completed it. After 3 hours the racers started rolling in.See All Event Posts
