Strathpuffer 24
Strathpuffer 2012 - Team Age B4 Beauty
Morven Brown / 01.02.2012
After Strathpuffer 2011, flying in from France for only three days to complete the event and bagging myself by highest (to that point) six laps as part of the team I was looking for a chance to improve in 2012. The Puffer has always been an event we have done for the fun (honestly – it is enjoyable!) competing in every race since the first in 2006, each year with increased efficiency and success. Riding in an unchanged team of Steve Brown (dad), Ian Taylor (stand in dad), Tracy Munro and I means we have come to work well as a team together, Originally chosen to be done mostly for geographical reasons – you can’t say no to a race on your doorstep – we now have a full weekend with all sorts of perks each year.
In the week leading up to the Puffer I began to get nervous realising that I hadn’t done any sort of endurance training let alone any cycling in the snow or ice. My entire off-season so far had involved cyclo-cross racing at a maximum of fifty-minute efforts each weekend… Little did I know how helpful this would actually prove to be? Luckily for me also the weekend was forecast to be hot hot hot (well over 5 degrees!) so it was all looking quite promising really…
Friday morning was a busy morning, making pots of Goulash soup, packing up all the food necessary to fuel a team of four for 24 hours, picking up the far too large camper van and picking up the parking pass. At the back of two we made it up to Contin and much to our delight found that despite all the vans already on site our favourite pitch at the first corner was still unclaimed. Result! Our experience showed as we set up our pitch in record time, everything in its once yearly position. Generator, drying gazebo with a blow heater for almost instantaneous warm, dry clothes, camping chairs, even a home made bike rack and paving pallets to avoid getting muddy feet. It’s all about the home comforts dahling. After a relaxed dinner and a DVD and visitors to the van it was time to get as much sleep as possible before race day.
For my second time, this year it was my turn to do the first lap for our team. Heading up the firetrack for a wee spin on the bike I bumped into Guy Martin (a famous motorbike rider/racer who was taking part in the event for the first time) and reassured him that it was possible to enjoy the race. After being rather confused by clothing choices – 8 degrees and no jacket, surely this can’t be right?! – It was time to put on the dibber and head down following the piper ready for the Le Mans style start involving a run then a scramble to find the bikes.
SleepMonsters
