Helly Hansen Adventure Challenge #4
Porridge Pot or Bust
Rob Howard / 03.02.2009
Despite the winter conditions there were very few non-starters, though a few teams were down to two rather than three, and 219 teams prepared to set off. There were a few late starters jogging along behind and some last minute crisis, including one for race favourites Votwo.co.uk when Andy Blow found a crack on his custom built titanium bike frame and had to hastily borrow a replacement from Cycle Active. (He’s planning to make good on the lifetime guarantee on his ‘unbreakable’ frame!)
There were two starts, separated by a couple of minutes and the race began with a quick run around surrounding fields to separate everyone before they set off on their bikes.
Unfortunately, one of the regular race marshals, Patricia Daas, who was competing this time, fell awkwardly and was taken off to hospital with a suspected broken leg.
Votwo.co.uk were not going to let worries about a borrowed bike slow them and the team which has won every race in the series so far, lead out of the bike transition and into the surrounding woods for a two lap bike course with different out and back routes to transition. Going out there was a road crossing to negotiate, then a swift descent to pass under the railway line. The more experienced riders enjoyed this but those with less confidence were gripping the brakes, much to the frustration of the marshal. “Let go of those brakes�, he was shouting, “this is a race!�
Even more frustrated was the racer from Team 89, ‘Renegades for Hire’, who threw his bike aside in disgust at the road crossing after snapping his chain. Luckily he was close to the venue and could get another bike from those busy Cycle Active folk to rejoin his team on their second bike lap. (They subsequently finished 5th.)
There were plenty of ‘ear-to-ear’ grin descents (or ‘help I’m going to get off now’ moments) on the bike course. Race Director Paul Magner was enthusiastic about the biking in the area. “It’s some of the best mountain biking terrain we’ve ever had on a course,� he said. “There is so much good stuff we couldn’t possibly fit it all in, but there is always next year.� On the frozen ground the going was generally fast and the leaders were soon lapping slower teams, which was not always easy. “We were as polite as we could be in the circumstances,� said Andy Wilson of Team For Goodness Shakes.
There were a few crashes on the downhills (see the photo gallery), and one rider from Team 109, (The Portsmouth Three) was pushing his bike round on the back wheel only after buckling the front one badly. The coldest fall was taken by the lady in team 7 who fell into the biggest icy puddle on the course! This was on a section of single track through heather scrubland on the way back to transition, so at least she didn’t have too far to go before getting the chance to change into something dry.
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