Woodside whispers

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 228 Location: Aberdeenshire

The Regs are now out for the Griffin Forest Enduro at Aberfeldy. http://www.scottishenduros.co.uk/99/downloads2007/ELREGSAberfeldy2007.doc

A longer course is promised. This will be the third time this forest has been used and for those that haven't ridden it, there are no stumps as it hasn't been felled.

2 years ago was a wet event with some serious bogs while last years was bone dry. Who knows what the weather will have in store but there will certainly be midges present so take the the bug spray.

Who's doing it?

Wink

stucinabog · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 62

Reckon I'll give it a bash.
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If it aint broke keep trying.

Dax · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

I'll be there. With a fair wind, no noahs-ark rainfall, and no broken ribs, then I mayu even get a decent result!

stucinabog · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 62

Hmmm it was a bit tricky in places...... Shocked

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If it aint broke keep trying.

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 228 Location: Aberdeenshire

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 228 Location: Aberdeenshire

The third running of the ELRAT clubs Griffin Forest, Scottish Championship Enduro promised a longer course and a few surprises. As with most of the UK, the forest has soaked up a lot rain in the past few months. 2 years ago the course got really boggy due to some heavy over night rain that conyinued for most of the day. It was my first wet enduro and I really struggled, particularly on the last lap. Last years event took place in warm and dry conditions and from my point of view was one of the less demanding enduros of 2006 but thoroughly enjoyable all the same.

This years course was extended and run loosely in the opposite direction from last year. The special test was even longer than last years but still featured the same really quick bits. This also ran in reverse direction. There were also several sportsman loops.

The start featured a bumpy climb through the heather and this gave a few riders a bit of bother. Along through narrow breaks in the forest and after a few minutes a small bog that was easily crossed. As the course unfolded there were more boggy bits that really didn't cause problems but looked in danger of cutting up as the day progressed. On to the start of the first test that was untimed. I got through no bother and got back to the start with loads of time to spare and no crashes.

My second lap was a different story, the bogs were getting badly rutted and I made a few wrong line choices and ended up either stuck or off, or both. Riding the bogs was really hard work and hauling the bike out when it got stuck sapped energy. I was determined not to crash in the test so on the fire road sections which were an irritation on the first lap, I took it really easy and welcomed the chance to recover. The test started in really tight, dark woods before it opened up to some much quicker going. There was one part of the test that was particularly boggy but the worst bit had been taped off. The rest of it was badly rutted but I managed it no problem. I left this section just behind another rider who I followed to a muddy ditch where I got the front wheel stuck and fell off. I hauled the bike out, fell off again soon after and finally finished the test and made it back to the start with around 20 minutes to spare.

My 3rd & final lap went much better to start with as I managed to avoid the worst sections though some of the bogs from earlier were now really deep and rutted. Things were going great until I came to a really long boggy section that had a few bikes stuck. Riders and marshals were having a real hard time getting the bikes out. A marshal signaled to give it full throttle and pointed at a route through. I hit the bog with throttle pinned in second but the front end dug in & spat me over the bars. Ten minutes later after some really hard work we managed to get the bike out and moving. Many thanks to the 2 marshals that worked like beasts to get riders moving again. I kept it in 1st this time and kept my weight on the rear mudguard and cleared the final 100 or so yards of the bog. Not long after this there was a narrow water filled ditch that I'd followed with difficulty on the first 2 laps. Their was an alternative route that involved crossing the ditch and turning sharp left and riding the narrow rocky ridge on the opposite side. The only viable crossing had some rocks at the top that I knew would have me off but having learnt that if you are going to crash at an obstacle then its better to get over the obstacle then crash rather than make a feeble attempt and still have the obstacle to face. It's perhaps a strange philosophy but for a serial crasher it's sometimes the least hard option. Somehow I don't crash and feeling really pleased with my new found ability I head along the narrow rocky track only to let the back wheel slip off the edge into the ditch. I drag the bike back up and put my earlier ability down to a fluke. By the time I get to the test I've had a few minutes with no serious issues and am confident that I've learned enough from the first 2 runs at the test to ride it without mishap though I am a bit apprehensive about the boggy section. The apprehension was justified, as I approach it the Clerk of the Course is up to his thighs in mud and there are a couple of bikes showing from the deep mud. Charlie (CoC) signals to go right but my effort is too feeble and the bike comes to a halt in the killer mud. A poor guy who's Kawasaki looks like it's never going to be free of the bog helps me and Charlie, and after what seems like an eternity of muddy graft we get my bike clear of the bog. Charlie is also working hard at keeping following riders moving through the gunge as a log jam of riders could jeopardize championship positions for the higher classes. I try to help the guy with the Kawasaki but we're both so tired we struggle though we do eventually get the front end clear. Charlie is still on the other side of the bog wrestling with bikes. Eventually a marshal turns up and between the three of us we finally get the Kawasaki free. I stuggle on foot to get through the bog to my abandoned bike but eventually get it fired up and within 100 yards I've done a 180 on a simple flat turn and binned it again. There were no more real bogs that I remembered from the previous 2 laps but as I came over a small narrow rise I was confronted with an uphill section that had previously been manageable but was now a rutted mud trap. I stopped in a shallow rut (18 inches) just before the worst of the bog and followed the advice of my son and his friend who were screaming to go left. I lifted the front end out of the rut and walked the bike up a bank at the edge of the bog, I was now completely exhausted. Knowing that my son was armed with a camera and that he has a knack of being there to snap me as I crash I made one of my rare, intelligent decisions regarding line choice and somehow got through without further incident.
I probably spent more time on the test than I did on the rest of the lap so any chance of a result depended on the rest of the sportsmen being abducted by aliens. I eventually finished which was as much as I could realistically hope for.

From my point of view this was a really tough physical event that was really on the limits of what I could do. Any notions I had about moving up to clubman class to get an extra lap for my money have completely vanished. I saw many riders with much more ability than me totally wiped out with the nature of this course.

Thanks to all the marshals, people manning the checks and to all from the ELRAT club who managed to create a rideable course in spite of months of wet and miserable weather. The marshals on the day did a great job with re-routing riders whenever it was possible and worked really hard at pulling us out of the bogs when there was no alternative routes. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

If there was a man (or woman) of the day award my vote would go to Charlie McKenzie the clerk of the course who spent so much time up to his thighs in mud trying to keep riders moving through the worst section of the test.

Finally one last thank you must go to the guy with the new white trainers who pulled the bike off me when I got stuck under it in the mud after a very public fall. I hope your shoes clean up mate!

Yours truly in a rare upright moment

Less than 3 weeks to Selkirk and riding in the clouds Laughing

The Hooker · Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Nairn

This years ELRAT enduro was a whole different ball game from last year, I really enjoyed last year and posted reasonable times, this year I couldnt get a good run at the special stages, the first un-timed lap was ok, the next lap that was timed I took a wrong turn in the trees 20 yards into the start of the test then got stuck in both of the bogs, last special stage I was ready to give up but decided it was so near the end I would carry on, ended up getting stuck in both bogs yet again, as Old Git says, cheers to Charlie the clerk of course, I absolutley covered him in mud as he tried to get me out of one of the bogs, the second bog took me forever to get out of, I didnt feel so bad as there was an expert stuck in it also, got a finish and I got my ELRAT mug which makes it all worthwhile. No rest for the wicked, Orkney this weekend.

Dax · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 29

There are results up on the scottish enduros page. I was on the phone to mike when I checked and saw them. He was in 11th (in the points!) and I was just outside at 16. Didnt look like a complete list so I checked again a few minutes ago, and now Mike is a more reasonable mid-table, and I've dissapeared totally Smile

Ah well. Hopefully rev 3 will see me back in.

As the guys said, a bit boggy in places. I've been a bit blase about bogs up till now, couldnt see what all the fuss was about. That changed yesterday. In summary :-
Lap 1. Bit knackered from the early start and a dubious curry I had the night before so shaky for the first couple of miles till the cobwebs dispersed. Mike and me were the first sportsman away so lap one wasnt too bad for ruts etc, and the seperate sportsman loops were pristine. That was the good side, the bad side of being first away was you are the test-case sportsmen which the marshalls use to see what bits need cut out Smile

Got stuck on a steep slippy hill and burnt a load of energy getting going again. (This was cut out on laps 2 and 3)
Lap 2. Much better, looser on the bike, flowing through the going and starting to enjoy myself. Was starting to think I had the measure of the event. The course was cutting up a bit but it seemed ok... until I reached the long bog in the special test. Took the left line, ended up in a big deep rut that musta had special tyre adhesive superglue in the bottom of it. 10minutes+ to dig the bike out at a huge cost in energy/strength. Struggled onward with jelly arms and legs fairly depressed that I had lost all that time in the test. However I arrived with 15minutes or so to spare so all was not lost.
Lap 3. Knew I was starting to run low on energy so I didnt go bananas. Drove hard where it was safe to do so but really played safe on the tough bits. Went so far as to stop before some of the bogs and watch people throwing themselves into the bottomess pits before picking a careful line passed them Wink

This time I had no stoppers, got mildly stuck twice but only needed to hop off the bike and push it with it revving like fk to get moving again. On the long bog on the special test I got given a line by Charlie. Fired into it in 2nd gear with the motor bouncing off the rev limiter. Bike was bucking about and I was ended up hanging from the bars while legs were supermanned off the back of it, but I made it most of the way through before I stuck, but not so bad that I couldnt get off and get it moving again quickly. As a result rolled into the last check 25minutes early having taken 60 minutes for the last lap. Nice way to finish the event after the nightmare on lap 2.

I have some video clips of the hill at the start, and a few of us on the going. Brian, you do a classic effort on the hill where you fail to make the top, and simply U turn to the left, drive back down (through the red/white marking tape) to the bottom, and take a successful run at it. Crafty Smile

I'll try to compress them a bit and upload to this site. Its no great viewing but mildly of interest to those involved!

old git · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 228 Location: Aberdeenshire

Cheers Dax. My excuse for the double take is there was a guy blocking the line. As for the rest of the day, well I have no excuse at all.

Here's a bit of film that Angus got on the test. I'm the dirtiest guy in it Laughing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWtukyXHJGo