Erlestoke 12

Erlestoke 12

 6hr Male
 6th Matt Knight    -   9 laps

 8th James Bailey   -  9 laps

 18th John Davies   -  7 laps

 19th Andy Goodyer - 7 laps


12hr Male
9th Damian Redmond - 13 laps

This was without doubt the best course of the enduro season so far, flowing, rideable and  with enough technical sections to keep you on your toes. Good turn out for club with 5 riders, well done to Damian who finished the 12hrs in 9th place, Matt and James 6th and 8th in 6hrs and the old gits John and Andy coming in in 18th and 19th. Weather was a bit changeable with bouts of rain and a strong wind. Some top class riders there with Ant White(Cannondale/XC Racer) winning the 12hr and Jon Pybus(GT UK) the 6hr.

St George/Moab Trip April 2011

Day One:- Hurricane Cliffs Trail System 
This ride was fairly non-technical,  a few long, gradual climbs make it challenging and there are a few surprises on the section plus some of the corners are super fast, but if you over cook ‘em, you can fly right off the trail in a hurry(as I did destroying my camera). This is a 21 mile loop incorporating the Jem Trail and Hurricane Rim, we also did an out and back above a river which was a little nervy descending as you are pretty close to the edge(photo below). 
This was a great day to break me in for what was to come.

Day Two:- Gooseberry Mesa

I thought I was good with heights until I hit the trails here, it took me a couple of miles before I had the confidence to follow the guys around some tight bends just a couple of feet from a 600'+ drop. This trail was spectacular, riding the north and then the south rim with a little bit of slickrock thrown in for good measure in the interior.

The slickrock here was great only small climbs and some nice technical trails popping in, out and over the formation.

Day Three:- Slickrock Trail, Moab
The promised land, this is the ride that made Moab I had already ridden slickrock at Gooseberry and wasn't to worried about what to expect. On the practice loop I soon became a little concerned this was  much more difficult, some of the climbs were over 30ft at 45 degree + gradients and the drops well my butt spent alot of time mm's from the rear wheel.

On the slickrock above the Colorado River

3 hours in this playground was quite a tough workout at this altitude you spend alot of time in oxygen debt at the constant interval sessions you are doing.

Day Four:- Amasa Back
An out and back trail with an insanely steep initial descent followed technical climb up steps and ledges for 3 miles before you reach the top of Buzzards Bluff an easier section high above the desert floor for a couple of miles after which it was time to explore. Retracing the route was a fast paced rocky adrenalin rush.

Day Five:- Porcupine Rim
Next to the slickrock this is one of Moab's most notorious trails. There is a nasty 4 mile climb up from the parking lot to 6800' and then its all downhill but first you have take in the view from the rim which is absolutely breathtaking. The descent is very technical but it induces a perma-grin when riding over the ledges off boulders and towards the bottom you are swooping down boulder strewn singletrack 3ft from a couple of hundred ft drop into the Colorado river dicing with a certain visit to the A&E if you make any mistake even death.  My advice don't admire the view.

Can't wait to go back, looking for some volunteers for the next trip. Must take a full sus though as I was battered, and riding the slickrock would be much more fun.

Great Britain Triathlon Team Member :o)

As some of you may know I have had a goal during the last year to get into the Great Britain Triathlon Age Group squad (not pro...). Upon qualifying, successful entrants would compete in the World Championships in Beijing for Sept 2011.

In order to get into the squad there is some pre nominated races where if you come in the top 4 in your age group and do it within 15% of the winners time you get a place. The race was held at Eton last Sunday (22nd May), the swim part started off with a mass lake swim start, with the usual kicks and punches to the head / legs (about 45 people started at once in my wave), so as you are all so close in the swim at the start, it is impossible to see where you are going, so a little hazard to deal with i.e people swimming into you / over you.... The bike section was on a flat closed road circuit around Dorney Lake and boy was it exposed to the super strong winds, which at one point my speedo went down so low I am embarrased to publish the speed I was doing (not fast..). Anyway I managed to come in 2nd, 25 secs behind the winner. Therefore I now need to order my GBR team kit (wont take it off when I get it) and sort some flights out to China to kick some ass. So to say I am happy is an understatement, cant wait to wear the flag and represent!

PS : As Mr Postie likes to see photos of me at work, here is a pic from a ride the week before. Sadly not the Tri race, but a sponsored Steyning Strikers (football) kids 9.5 mile bike ride with my 5yr old son, which Southdown Bikes kindly co sponsored...

South East Road Race Champs

Congratulations Emma on your 3rd place in the Ladies 43 mile road race in Kirdford.

Also congratulations to regular shop night rider Chris McNamara on winning the Men's 142km race at Lamberhurst,Kent.

Gorrick 100 Enduro 1st May

With another day of fantastic weather the Gorrick 100 attracted a huge field in
all classes. The lap was actually about 11.3 miles long which made for nearly an
80 mile race for the 7 lappers! There was so much singletrack that it made my
arms tired!
I had planned to enter the 5 lap event but at the signing on Ben, Alex (Davey)
and Rory (Hitchens) persuaded me to enter the full event of 7 laps – thanks
chaps. So at the start Ben, Alex and I rode off together at a nice steady pace,
all was going well until about 1/3 into the 1st lay I had a sidewall puncture.
Messing about trying the let the Stans seal the hole and then a foam canister
and an air cartridge saw me at the back of the field, and then on lap 2 the tire
needed a tube, thanks to someone unknown for the loan of a pump. Then I had a
race on my hands to try and catch Ben and Alex. The final results were a very
good 14th for Ben, 21st for Ian and 25th for Alex, 26th for James Bailey and
51st for Damian Redman.
The Gorrick 100 attracted a large Southdowns Bike team with the following
entrant:
4 laps – Steve Calland, Marc Clothier and Stephen Turner
5 laps – Roger Smith, Matt Knight, Andy Goodyer and John Davies
Sorry if I’ve missed anyone.

Southern XC round 2 and Southern Championship – Wasing Estate 15th May.

More fine weather attracted what must be a record number of entrants for the
Southern XC championships.
The course was much improved from last year and being dry and dusty it was
considerably safer with a mix of tight and open singletrack, lot of roots, open
fast sections and still including the same big drop off (which seemed easier
this year).
Southdowns Bikes was supported by just 3 riders Ian in Grand Vet, Ben in Masters
and Alex (Taylor) in Open. For my part I was a disappointed 6th being out
sprinted to the line by 1 second, Alex continues to improve and was 7th and Ben
was 23rd Alex now needs to move up to the Masters class with Ben.

Ian P

Gorrick 100

Results

1 Lap Ladies 

1st Cliodhna Duggan

4 Lap Male

 4th Steve Calland  

  10th -  Marc Clothier

    59th - Stephen Turner

5 Lap Male

7th - Roger Smith

8th - Matt Knight

   47th - Andy Goodyer

79th - John Davies

7 Lap Male

14th - Ben Connor

       21st - Ian Petherbridge

25th - Alex Davey

   26th - James Bailey

         51st - Damian Redmond

Cliodhna leading the way.

Great ride by all in hard and dusty conditions.