Gorrick Spring Series - Round 3

I've ridden and raced at Porridgepot Hill many, many times over the years. This wooded area around the military town of Deepcut has such a warren of fantastic trails to choose from that the course is always varied and different. That means it sometimes suits me and I've had some great results, but I've also had a couple of real shockers, so you never know what to expect. 

Although in their wisdom British Cycling have dropped the Masters category at a national level for 2015, Gorrick still offer the over 30's a choice of two categories. I chose the Masters Plus race - Plus meaning an extra lap. 

Tired but happy!

The majority of the course was fast flowing, rooty singletrack. The end of the lap featured some serious undulations, including one loose climb that had me using the full range of my new 42 tooth cassette. Dry weather during the week and genuine spring sunshine meant not only the first 2015 exposure of my white legs, but no muddy puddles. However, wander off line and the loose surface meant there wasn't a lot of grip.

Sprinting away from the start I got shuffled back in the pack during the usual first corner argy bargy. Sitting 10th the rider ahead of me let a gap open infront to the leading group. I ducked and dived and finally got through, dashing up the first climb trying to close down the chain of riders ahead. In truth I probably pushed too hard and had to throttle back a little, meaning I spent much of the first lap on my own.

Into lap two and a rider came past, I stayed with him for a while chasing his wheel, but the elastic broke and he pulled away. Now is the chance to get in my excuses! This was the first serious ride on my new bike and it would have been optimistic to think everything would be completely dialled first time out. I'm still struggling with the brakes which are suffering from a slightly long lever pull, effecting my braking into corners and confidence on some of the loose decents. Also I obviously got a bit over zealous when tightening my new shoes because my feet started to throb halfway round the first lap. I loosened them off but the pain in my feet was a distraction.

On the long climb at the end of the second lap I caught sight of another rider 50 meters ahead. I wasn't closing quickly and over the entire third lap I literally inched up on him. Through the singletrack we were pretty evenly matched, luckily I was marginally stronger when the course opened up or went uphill. I eventually pulled alongside and despite towing him along for a mile or so eeked out a small margin going into the fourth and final lap.

Unable to relax I had to keep pushing, and was constantly checking behind me. So I was very concerned when two riders closed in right at the end of the race. It is hard to check glancing over your shoulder, so it was a huge relief as they came past so see their number boards indicated they were in a different category.

This was my first XC race since October so I was pleased with 9th place. I'd forgotten how frenetic and full on XC racing is! Basically it is 1 hour 26 minutes at full throttle with no time to rest or regroup! Undoubtably I have some room for improvement, both on the bike and tuning the bike itself, but it is good to start with a top ten finish.