Dynamic Adventure
Dynamic Adventure\'s 1st Anniversary at Peaslake
Simon Thomas - Dynamic Adventure / 07.09.2003
Registration was a relaxed affair and fitted nicely into the slow pace of life in sleepy Peaslake. Luckily, the competitors weren’t so sleepy and many at the briefing were keen to get out into the countryside and enjoy the next five hours of competition. The briefing included some words of advice from Jonathan relating to the sandy bridelways on the bike section, where he begrudgingly admitted to having more than one accident when putting the course out.
The course for stage 1 was broken down into two loops, an inner and an outer. The more ambitious headed out on the outer loop first, giving themselves an escape strategy on the way back on the inner loop as time ran out. For the beginners, the inner loop took them into Winterfold wood and up to Pitch Hill, where they could enjoy the views southward. Stage 1 was fiercely contested in the male solo category and saw Neville Baker, Richard Phillips and Jonathan Ross clear the course within the two hour limit. However, close on their heals were male pair Rob Butler and Toby Smith closely followed by mixed pair Simon Clark and Claire McGavagin, and John Drummond, Katherine Nobbs and Cas Van Ardenne.
Stage 2 took competitors west from the race base and offered the chance to use the roads to eat up the miles. However, this tempted many to overstretch themselves which resulted in having to drop controls to avoid time penalties and as a result noone cleared the course. Those that didn’t take head of Jonathan’s advice in the briefing came unstuck on the sandy bridleways around Blackheath Forest and Derry’s Wood.
Luckily there were no serious accidents although Johnathan Ross returned with a bad cut on his elbow. Apparently he came off while turning to answer a question as he passed Dawn Oldridge and Caroline Riley. Showing good adventure racing spirit the two ladies dashed to his aid and mopped his brow furiously whilst patching his wound. Top score for stage 2 came from male solo Duncan Arnold with 430 from a possible 450 pts.
As the competitors arrived back at race base the general opinion was that the course was both challenging and beautiful and for many it was their first time visiting the area. Once back they headed for the refreshments to eat the enticing home made cakes on offer. Mysteriously, whilst the competitors were out on the course, the stock levels took a dive!! The culprit remains at large!
SleepMonsters
