Just making it onto the start line on Sunday was my goal achieved. After being ill in November and taking 4 weeks totally off the bike at the beginning of December, my aspiration during my slow recovery since then had been to get well enough to just attend the ‘Muc-off Brass Monkeys - The New Year Hangover’. I didn’t commit to the full 4 hour race, instead opting for the softer 3 hour Open category. I was extremely pleased I made this decision! Conditions on the morning were cold and bright, which made a change from the excessively wet weather we’ve been enduring. It wasn’t just the weather that was different, we also congregated at a new venue - Eelmore Plain. First impressions were positive, with good parking and a nice tarmac area for warming-up.
I rolled up at the very, very back of the large grid of riders. I can honestly say I’ve never started this far back in a Brass Monkeys. By stretching and peering through the gaggle of jostling riders ahead of me, I could just about make out a friend on the front row.
Once the starting horn had blown Jon was long gone by the time I rolled out onto the start loop. The course Gorrick had put together at Eelmore was a mixture of broad, open sandy trails linked by loamy singletrack amongst the trees. Early on there was a water splash crossing and I thought to myself that’s a nice novel feature! Then we met another, and then another and another. It went on and on. The water table was so high that sometimes there were quite long stretches where pedalling meant dipping your feet into the water.
On the first lap I felt ok despite the conditions. At the very first big braking zone my lever pulled straight to the handlebar, but that wasn’t hugely surprising given the grim conditions. It was just disappointing it happened so early. The flat nature of the course meant it was hard for me to make much impact on those in front. So I sat in the snake of riders, who gradually fell off, ground to a halt in the mud or just faded away. Until I was left following another friend of mine, Ian, over the line to complete lap 1.
Just 35 minutes into the race and I could already feel the lactic building in my legs. I hadn’t ridden for 3 hours since October so I’d already known that Sunday was going to test me physically. I passed Ian, but with my legs burning and the lack of rear brake, I had little confidence in the slippery conditions. I was honestly just thinking about getting back to the carpark and heading home.
When I got to the end of the 2nd lap I rolled through the line, but I kept going. I’m not sure why. Partly because an old school friend was there and it seemed wrong to call it quits while he was excitedly shouting, “Go on Ben!”
On the next lap I got wetter and more tired. I now had almost no brakes front or rear. It was lucky the course was fairly flat and SO muddy, as this meant there wasn’t much speed involved to require braking! Where I did miss the brakes was when controlling the bike in slides or through technical sections. Instead I just ploughed onwards, crashing through the roots and bomb holes. This time I was definitely going to stop when I got to the line. But as the line drew near I talked myself into doing at least 2 hours to equal (and justify) the hours journey time there and back to Eelmore. So on I went.
I was wet, physically exhausted and the bike was mechanically a mess. It wasn’t just the brakes that the elements had destroyed. Every pedal stroke sounded like stirring gravel with a metal spoon. Truth be told I wasn’t enjoying myself - at all. This is very unlike me, as I usually get a real buzz and a kick from racing. I stopped in the pit area at the end of the next lap and rinsed water from my bottle through the brakes, hoping to breath some life back into them. I teetered on the very verge of packing it in, but in the end I ate a banana, swigged some water, looked around and set off again. At this point I thought there was technically time for 2 more laps, but I soon realised that I was right on the cusp. So when that 5th lap was finally complete this time I did head for the car, knowing that nobody behind me would be completing another lap either.
In the end I’m pleased with 7th place. I know I wasn’t in the main race with the fast boys, but considering how it had felt at the time I’ll take it. The challenge I’ve set now is to do the 4 hour race in 3 weeks at the final round of the series. I hope I continue to feel better and surely the conditions can’t be as bad as there were at Eelmore.
