URBAN X MINI DOWNHILL EVENTS, SHEFFIELD: December 2013

REMEMBER THE TROOPS II
REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2013
FAST TRACK
WHARNCLIFFE WOODS, SHEFFIELD
12.00 NOON SHARP

REMEMBER THE TROOPS II

Sorry that it took me so long to update the blog, I have been very busy and also very tired....had a lot on. Anyway, first off I would like to thank everyone who turned up on Remembrance Sunday and raced for a good cause, awesome turn out as always and the weather was kind to us. So sorry that you guys and gals only got to do one run but I hope everyone understood due to the circumstances. Simon's crash was more serious that we thought at the time. After a up-date from the hospital I found out that the "Big Dawg" had smashed his Fe ma to bits, had bits of loose bone floating around in his knee and he had a open fracture where the bone had punctured the skin....came close to loosing the whole leg. The surgery went well so lets all say a prayer for a speedy recovery into the new year.

On a positive note we did end up raising £210 from entry fees, £127 from the raffle plus the £200 cash match I will get from work for a grand total raised of £537....not bad going for a bunch of like minded people having a few timed runs down a track. Special thanks to all the marshels on the day who helped out and to the sponsors who kindly donated prises, Avit Dirt, Over-ride, Cycle Supreme, Wide Open Downhill, Cycopath, Blurb Clothing, Gravity Mafia Clothing, SetUp Clothing.

EVENT WRITE UP BY LORNA HOBBS

Team Cycopath rider Lorna Hobbs misses top spot due to arguing with a rock!!

Help The Heroes Race, Wharncliffe Woods, Sunday 10th November 2013
Organised by Urban X, Photo credits to Dave Clarkson
Lorna Hobbs
Team Cycopath
For what may be the final race of the 2013 season we were back in Wharncliffe, this time racing on Fast Track. Being only a few weeks after the last Urban X event there was less time to practise on this track but nevertheless we managed a few trips to see what this track had lined up for us (by we I mean me and my Cycopath team mate / mechanic / coach / fiancé Gary Robinson!)
Fast Track starts with a fairly steep and rough drop in but, after a few runs down you soon learn that brakes are unnecessary and you need all the speed this drop in gives you. From here the track snakes left and right over fairly flat ground with rocks being the main feature. Keeping momentum and speed is the key, especially on the second corner which takes you over a rock garden which is rollable but could catch you if you did not have enough momentum to get onto the downslope. A few rocky berms follow before a section over a few large boulders where I found the main challenge to be pedalling to keep my speed up whilst avoiding catching pedals on the rocks. After a very small (and very slippy!) piece of north shore there is a rocky double. A number of the guys seemed to manage to carry enough speed to jump this but I personally was focusing on having the speed to roll it! A nice up and over rock garden (again, very rollable with enough speed) completes the rocky top section although in the event this feature was taped out for the race. We practised it just in case but I’m pleased they didn’t include it as it really took your speed away! From here it’s on the pedals into the single track middle section.
The Saturday before race day saw a hail storm and significant rain so this single track section, whilst being very simple, turned into a bit of a challenge as keeping grip became very difficult . The single track leads into the wooded bottom section which takes you over a few rock features (are you sensing a theme yet?!) and then into a nice little roll in (with optional drop) to two very tight switchback corners. Once through the corners it is over a large boulder and then a cute little kicker before the final sprint through the woods and onto the fire road finish.
Overall, this track was more about maintaining speed and momentum and getting enough pedals down to get a good time in. We did some timed practice runs to compare to last year’s times so we had an idea where we were in the standings and we felt pretty good going into the race.
Race day arrived and, thankfully, it was a beautiful sunny day, albeit bitterly cold. A flask of tea became a rucksack essential along with lots of thermal base layers! Gary and I arrived at the track around 9.30 to get some practice runs in and the track was running similar to the day before with a very slippy middle section and a few puddles but overall it was riding well. We let a few other riders head down before us to clear the puddles out a little although I was still covered in mud from head to toe after just one run so not sure that theory worked.
A good crowd developed over the next hour or so and the track started to get really well worn in with lines starting to show through the leaves and mud.
At 11.50 we observed a one minute silence to remember the troops and those who gave their life for their country. The poppies on our race boards added a sense of occasion to this race and reminded us that it is all for a good cause.
There were 3 lovely ladies in this event – Cath Tilford, Claire McCallum and me and, as usual, the mood at the start line was one of support, camaraderie and fun. I was second to go and my run started well; I managed to hit the lines I wanted through the rocks and got plenty of pedals in when I could. In the middle single track section it all went a bit wrong when my front wheel started to drift – nothing that hadn’t happened in practice – but this time, instead of managing to bring it back on line, my wheel encountered a big rock and I ended up being thrown to the side of the track into a ditch with my bike on top of me. Not ideal, especially with no-one around to help me up! The race adrenaline helped me get back up but I knew my race run was lost at that point. It was difficult to get back up to pace from a standing start so the rest of the single track was a bit of a nightmare. I was back in the swing of it when I hit the woods and the rest of the run went without a hitch but the off cost me and I ended up with a time of 2.57. Cathhad a great run at 2.16 and Claire did fantastically considering she was riding the track blind (no track walk or practice run!) and finished in 2.49.
This is the first race where I have had an off so I was very annoyed at myself and really focused on improving on my second run.
Cath and I had a steady push up – discussing the 2014 race season along the way – and, as we approached the top it was clear something was not right. A rider was laying at the side of the track and was screaming in pain. It soon became apparent he had lost the bike on a root and his knee had encountered a rock . An ambulance was called as the injury seemed very serious. The rider and the group looking after him were just off the track so racing continued. Gary was the next rider down the track and, unfortunately, taking a left line into the first corner to avoid the group caused his line into the berm to be less than ideal and he lost some time but, in the circumstances there was nothing that could be done to avoid this as the rider was in extreme pain and not in a position to be moved.
At this point, someone was needed to go and meet the ambulance and guide them to the track as it is not exactly close to the main road. Having already done our runs, Cath and I set off to meet them. The next 45 minutes was a bit of a mission so I shan’t go into the details but suffice to say it involved a lot of locked gates, encounters with the “locals”, hiking and carrying of equipment. The ambulances finally made it to the race track (all 3 of them) and there were 8 paramedics on site dealing with the injured rider.
It was apparent at this point that the injury was very serious and there would not be enough daylight for second runs. I’ll confess that I was disappointed as my first run was a write off but, given the situation, it was a decision that was absolutely supported by everyone. Hearing the screams of pain from down the track made us all appreciative to be in one piece. The great sense of community that exists in our chosen sport was shown when the paramedics called for help in lifting the stretcher – I think there were around 6 or 8 riders all helping to get the rider into the ambulance.
After the ambulance had departed there was just one rider who needed to do a run – Dave Camus – as he had been doing a great job of running the timing solution so we waited to cheer him on. Once he had gone down we made our way to the top car park to get out of our muddy clothes and have a much needed brew.
The prize giving and raffle were fantastic – considering that this is a mates race the prizes are amazing and reflect the time and effort put into this by the organisers.
For the women’s category, Cath took a very well deserved top step position, Claire was second and I was third. Gary was 2 seconds off the third place in Masters so was also a bit disappointed with his time but we both had a good day and enjoyed the company and couldn’t help but feel fortunate to be going home safe and sound.
Not the best note to end the 2013 season but training for 2014 starts now so we’re looking forward to a really exciting season for Team Cycopath.
Thanks to Trev (Urban X) , the team and the sponsors for another great event and a huge amount of healing vibes to Simon Croft.

THE CRASH

5-4-3-2-1-go I watched as "Big Dawg" set off for his first run, slipping and sliding down the rock shoot drop in on the Fast Track. I saw when he wet down as well, from my point of view it look like his front end washed out....didn't look serious at all, so the normal shouts of "are you all right pal" went out....after a few seconds a loud scream of "No" bellowed out. I ran down with a few others to see what was happening. Simon was in tremendous pain and still on the race course, we asked him if he could move because races were still coming down at 1 minute intervals and just squeezing by inches from his injured leg. We still didn't think it was that serious until we tried to move him and boy did he scream. At that point the racing was stopped and our first aider Steve Johnson was straight on the phone to the emergency services.

After talking to them it was apparent that someone had to meet the ambulance and guide them to the crash site so Cath Tilford and Lorna Hobbs volunteered and also helped with carying down heavy and life saving equipment. After minutes seeming like hours and hours seeming like days the ambulances finally show up, all three of them with what I could only describe as a army of paramedics, at least eight of them. He was wearing full body armour and knee pads which they had to cut off him, thank god he was wearing them because with the amount of damage that was caused I hate to wonder what his condition would have been like if he wasn't wearing any at all. When it was time to lift the stretcher it was like a call to arms and everyone rushed down to help carry him and the equipment.....was a awesome sight to see.

RACE DAY PICTURES 10.11.2013

RESULTS

WOMAN OPEN:

#09 Cath Tilford                 00:02:16    1st place, 29th overall
#02 Claire McCallum 00:02:49    2nd place, 36th overall
#03 Lorna Hobbs 00:02:57    3rd place, 37th overall

JUNIOR 14-16:

#14 Adam Dawson 00:01:49    1st place, 8th overall
#12 Harry Patrick 00:01:50    2nd place, 9th overall
#05 Jake Monk    00:02:06    3rd place, 25th overall
#11 Tom Grice 00:02:10 4th place, 27th overall
#13 Charlie Dunn 00:02:48 5th place, 35th overall
#04 Oscor Monk 00:30:00 DNF, 38th overall

MASTERS 30 PLUS:

#23 Paul Birtle                                     00:01:40                               1st place, 2nd overall
#24 Craig Bargery                               00:01:52                               2nd place, 13th overall
#21 Ben Tilford                                   00:01:57                                3rd place, 15th overall
#40 James Wood                                00:01:57                                3rd place, 15th overall
#29 Dean Cosby 00:01:58    5th place, 17th overall
#18 Michael Brennan    00:01:59    6th place, 18th overall
#33 Gary Robinson 00:01:59    6th place, 18th overall
#26 Christof Raschbauer 00:02:00    8th place, 20th overall
#30 Steve Rout 00:02:03    9th place, 22nd overall
#36 Malc Dunn 00:02:09                           10th place, 26th overall
#19 David Guest 00:02:10                               11th place, 27th overall
# 22 Rob Gibb                                   00:02:27                                12th place, 32nd overall
#37 James Booth                               00: 02:28    13th place, 33rd overall
#27 Simon Croft    00:30:00    DNF, 38th overall

SENIOR 17-29

#53 Craig Evans                               00:01:34                                     1st place, 1st overall
#54 Dave Camus                              00:01:43                                     2nd place, 3rd overall
#42 Danny Whittington                     00:01:45                                     3rd place, 4th overall
#16 Andrew Wright                          00:01:48                                     4th place, 5th overall
#56 Gareth Jones                             00: 01:48                                     4th place, 5th overall
#48 Luke Andrews                          00:01:48 4th place, 5th overall
#45 Luke Croft    00:01:50 7th place, 9th overall
#50 Danny Whitehead    00:01:50 7th place, 9th overall
#44 Steve Dawson 00:01:51                                       9th place, 12th overall
#41 Marco Wood Bonelli                 00:01:54                                       10th place, 14th overall
#47 Richard Butterfield                     00:02:02                                       11th place, 21st overall
#52 Andrew Murphy                        00:02:03 12th place, 22nd overall
#58 Sam Gillot 00:02:05                                        13th place, 24th overall
#43 Murray Kemp                           00:02:18                                        14th place, 30th overall
#46 Tom Haslam    00:02:23    15th place, 31st overall
#51 Ryan Dunn                                00:02:33 16th place, 34th overall