DAR Endurance Event
New Forest, Old Tricks
Matt Unsworth / 11.02.2009
Here we go again then; a new year; the dawn of reinvigorated hope and chomping at the bit after a fully energized break. This loosely translates into Why do I find myself doing this again at my age; god I dislike new year resolutions and where do I start to get rid of all that Christmas pud clinging to my midriff.
The morning of the Dynamic Adventure Endurance Race in the New Forest dawned cold and bright, a pleasant change to the preceding weeks precipitation, much the same conditions as last years event. Good for mountain biking and not too bad for running either with just a few sections of mud and wet under foot likely. Last year’s event and my first visit to the New Forest however turned out to be the worst performance of the year with punctures and mechanicals the order of the day. I was hoping for some better fortune this year.
My one and only previous attempt at writing up a race report was DAR’s Quantocks Challenge last October. That event also saw me going solo for the first time but today I was back with my trusty sidekick, one of Wales’ finest, Gary Davies. With his solid running and good navigation I could expect to follow his backside through the foot stage and try and pay back on my strength, the biking. My only gripe with the New Forest is that the National Park Authority prescribed routes along the gravel roads and the lack of steep hills does not help the technical MTBers.
The New Forest is organisers’ Simon and Nicky’s stomping ground and the Event base for the weekend, Thorney Hill community centre, is only a stone’s throw from Bransgore where they reside. I’m an early riser and was one of the first to the HQ. The gate was still shut; surely I did not beat Simon, Nicky et al? Simon emerged from the hall to explain. Without the gate shut the lush grassy grounds of the centre are just too tempting for the wild ponies who last year descended on mass to take advantage of the relaxed door policy. There were still a handful of ponies inside this year. Not for long, as Nicky displayed her 4x4 skills in the Defender to round them up. She enjoyed that. Not so sure about the grounds though!
SleepMonsters
