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Wet & Windy in Wiltshire

Gary Vallance / 17.08.2005

Usual Suspects had taken a team decision to use this event more for preparation than competition, opting to try a few new gizmos instead. The first of these was Karen McFall (aka Chihuahua) drafted in for her AR debut, who was “not happy� to discover she’d be joining team regulars, Tom, Beany, and myself in the Masters, not Novice, category. Also on test were new towlines for run and bike, new compass and prototype bike mapboard.

The Best Laid Plans ...

Pre-race the tension was evident, with geography and meteorology looming behind us. Early investigation identified a ridge of steep chalk hills skulking to the north, while above us patchy cloud indicated the approaching front, promising downpours and high winds. It was shaping up to be a challenging event.

At registration we collected our maps and noted our kayak “timeslot�. This confirmed our intentions of run first, then bike, leaving the kayak leg ‘til last. Our rationale was simple, we knew Karen could run, with half marathons under her belt, but was new to mountain biking and a complete paddle rookie. We would run hard, going for the bulk of controls, and then trim the bike and kayak legs to maximise our total and prevent any late-home penalties.

At 10:17 it was our turn through the staggered start. Collecting Control Descriptions as we left, we stopped briefly to cross off the six “dummies�. Relieved to find they hadn’t changed our planned route, we scampered off for our first CP’s.

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