Dark and White Winter Trailquest League
Winter And Spring In One Event
Jeremy Sainter (Dark & White) / 17.03.2011
For the final round of the Dark & White 2010/2011 Winter Series it was a fairly inauspicious start to the day as it dawned cold and very damp with a decidedly chilly wind; there were reports of wintry conditions on the higher ground en-route to the event. The forecast however was for an improving picture with sunny spells later in the day but at 8.30 a.m. I don’t think anyone would have been taking bets on that! By the time registration opened it was also raining heavily, but it didn’t put off over 160 starters who streamed steadily through the doors of the Hathersage Memorial Hall to register and brace themselves for the hills and mud to come …
Hathersage proved an ideal location as no matter which way you decided to go there were going to be some stiff climbs to collect a decent points total from the 22 checkpoints and 340 points on offer. People studied their maps intently trying to work out which way to go: clockwise or anticlockwise? bits in the middle first and then decide? Or maybe straight to the café?! But whichever way you decided to go there were some tough climbs - Sir William Hill, Shatton Moor or Stanage Edge take your pick. Luckily the westerly wind although cold was relatively light, given that the competition area was basically all to the west of the start.
A few people hung around as long as possible hoping that the weather would improve but it was not until later that conditions did get better. Maybe the forecast was to be believed after all. Out on the tracks however the overnight rain had created some very interesting off-road conditions. Tracks which had been in great condition the previous day were now covered with a layer of greasy, slippery mud - you really had to watch the corners as the front wheel could easily wash out.
Personally I decided on an anticlockwise route, because I didn’t want to have to climb up to Stanage Edge after 2 ½ hours of hard riding and I just didn’t fancy starting with Sir William Hill. So decision made, I set off and promptly made a navigational error turning right instead of left adding a good kilometre to the 1st checkpoint. I decided to give the next planned checkpoint a miss (10 points) and try to get back on track with the 25 points under Stanage Edge. That achieved it was down to the south side of Ladybower and another 20 pointer, before heading to Aston, Brough and the killer climb up onto Shatton Moor. For the climb the forecast sunshine had arrived and I had to remove the “boil in the bagâ€? jacket as I dribbled steadily up the hill.See All Event Posts
