Round 3 CHEC at Sevenoaks
(clickable thumbs) one of the 'pitstops'...... getting ready.....mucking about
Boy where to start? Well first things first –
it was a HOT one! The week leading up to the race was fantastic but I
was suffering from a bad headache on the Monday to Wednesday then a dickey
tum on Thursday/Friday, more of that later –unfortunately!
Drinking as much water as I could in the morning enforced some impromptu
‘pit stops’ along the way to the race venue at Sevenoaks,
a track neither of us (me/Tony/Phil) had ridden at before. First impressions
of the track when we pulled into the car park was disappointing as it
looked like it was going to be run across some big field, but first impressions
can be wrong! We parked up near the bottom of the field and we could see
why they had to cancel a recent meeting there, as it was still decidedly
soft under the car’s wheels. Before getting unpacked a quick pit
stop was necessary (again) and while in mid flow this daft German Sheppard
pup poked his head between my legs and ended up getting sprinkled, which
was amusing as the owner called him away and ruffled his head!
some last minute tyre prep moments and general fiddling
Getting unpacked it became very clear that we were
in for one hell of a day as the sweat was starting to run while still
dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. After signing on and cups of tea were
dispensed with, I popped down to say hello to Mel and Si who were also
taking part.
Standing next to the bike waiting for the off I had sweat trickling down
underneath the body amour and it seemed like forever waiting for our turn
to start, I’d been lumbered with number 119. Eventually we set off
and the first few corners were surprisingly soft, which required lots
of throttle to clear them. After three or four corners we blasted across
the open and fast flowing fields before turning into the woods for the
first time.
the field section before blasting up to the woods
(clickable thumbs) a few wheelie shots of several riders
The woods became quite technical straight away with lots of changes
in direction and some fairly big roots sticking out but surprisingly these
never became a problem during the day. Following this were some dips that
could be jumped out off, which was fun.
Disaster struck on the first major climb (the steep one that kicked up
again near the top). I’d caught up to a rider, and we tackled the
climb together. Unfortunately someone else had already dropped his bike
and was sliding down. The bike in front of me pinged off to the left,
and I went for the gap but it came back and dropped into my path so I
had nowhere to go. I ended up in a heap with two more bikes behind getting
tangled up in the melee as well. Trying to get them separated was a feat
and a half. Two marshals were on hand quickly but the slope was so steep
I was knackered just picking it up. We eventually pulled them apart and
even though I got my bike fired up it couldn't find any grip to go forward.
The two marshals tuned it round for me (big thanks for all your help guys)
and I rolled it down the hill, following the other riders on the alternate
route.
Starting so far back on the grid is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes
the bikes going first do leave a cut-out on the ground for you to follow
so it’s easier to see where to go, but on the flip side when you
get to a tricky part it invariably has stricken bikes liberally sprinkled
about the place. I managed to get round the remainder of the course without
any more mishaps. However I suddenly realized that I’d made a rookie
mistake by not switching on my lap timer stopwatch! I managed to press
it near the end of the lap and then worriedly started to work out how
I was going to judge the lunchtime break.
(clickable thumbs) some 'woods' action
A few laps later I was catching a couple of riders just after
the clock-in area. I was in ‘race mode’ so immediately started
looking for a way round. I tried to blast past but got slightly deflected
to the right. Instead of closing the throttle I thought “fuck it
- I’ll go the other side of these bushes and get past that way”.
While I was charging full speed through the virgin grass a small little
voice did try to say I was being daft, but I quickly strangled it (dam
those voices), as I nailed the throttle some more! To be honest I’m
not sure if I got past them or not cos when I rejoined the main track
the bike went into an almighty hissy fit and tried to throw me off! The
bars slapped a bit but that was dealt with pretty fast by the damper but
the rear end wipped sideways and back again the other way and for a moment
I thought I was going home in the ambulance – I’m not kidding
I almost shat myself (again more of that later). I’m sure it was
the damper that saved the day.
After that incident I tried to ease off the pace slightly, from ‘full
race mode’ to ‘ride fast mode’ i.e. just trying to be
smooth but fast at the same time without that frantic nailing the throttle
and charging into corners etc. I was also worried about lasting the distance
due to the heat, and my general lack of fitness. In fact when I looked
down at the stopwatch I was a bit dismayed to see only an hour had gone
by, and I was already knackered! I think fatigue was a problem for a lot
of the other guys as well, because the field seemed to thin out a lot
after the first hour. Mind you there were bikes lying all over the place
on the hills and there were lots of guys sitting taking a little rest.
I managed to catch up to and pass Mel, Phil and Doorag. The three of them
were easy to spot in their prospective get ups. I passed Tony fairly early
on and he was sitting on his bike at the side of the track with a face
like a bulldog chewing on a wasp! Partly his own fault as the previous
night he’d dropped his bike off at my house and when he removed
the rear light cluster, he gave the wires a good yank. This must have
shorted out and blown the main E-start fuse as the starter wouldn't work
come race time. It was back to kick starting for him and that is something
he’s not used to. Apparently he’d been sitting there trying
to kick start his bike for a while, then just stated kicking it instead!
He was NOT a happy bunny.
Tony in a slightly happier moment!
Phil also enjoying himself - no evil 'bike eating' tress jumped out at this event!
Doorag in the thick of the action! (center screen - looking back)
One thing I’ve not mention yet, but it was a major pain,
and that was the dust. Boy, in certain sections it was a real hazard.
It was so bad in parts that I had to throttle off and slow down because
I just couldn't see which way the track went.
It was a real rider’s circuit however, and having tricky terrain
and obstacles to overcome was enjoyable and made a welcome change. The
steep downhill near the road nearly caught me out on the first lap but
the rear stepped out just enough to square off the corner which is something
I normally don’t do with the rear brake. Anyway I’m not too
sure if this next incident happened in the morning or afternoon session
but for artistic purposes lets say it happened in the morning. I was following
a slower rider who clearly was not very comfortable as he was taking it
fairly easy. I waited patiently for him to move over or make a mistake
as I wasn't keen to barge past him as that is not what the CHEC is all
about is it? Anyway he did make a mistake, at the bottom of the steep
hill I just mentioned above. He lost the front end and fell into my path
leaving me nowhere to go as I was just lining him up for a pass on the
inside. I’m not sure but I think my front wheel went right over
him but I do know my bike ended up pinning him down by the engine! I picked
myself up and quickly went to his aid, first killing the engine as both
bikes were still running and I was worried bits might get caught up in
something they shouldn't. I then helped him extract himself from under
his own bike while waving to the other bikes to stop. Asking if he was
all right he squeaked that he was ok and I recognized that he was winded
(been there done that). I was starting to help him pick up his bike but
he urged me to get on my way so after again asking if he was sure and
was ok, I carried on.
I was really enjoying the hill climb sections as they zig zagged upwards
and again passed Tony on the climb that had the nice berm cut into it.
It was the steep right hand turn climb that came just after the very
tight left hand bend that had a wet patch in it. He was going fine but
all of a sudden things went a bit haywire and he zoomed off to one side
with lots of foot dabbing, so I managed to shoot past and get away.
As time wore on the worries of when to stop for lunch came back and
I was trying to work out (guess) how long I’d been out before
I started the stopwatch. I came back into the start area and a CHEC
marshal was there pulling riders in who didn't have time for another
lap. Being a fairly high number I was waved though – but I was
so tired I wasn't too sure I wanted to do another one! My camelpack
was running on empty now and half way round the final lap I got a chill
all of a sudden and had difficulty deciding which way to go on the course.
I recognized the two clear signs of heat exhaustion so I was very glad
that this was the last lap before the lunch break.
I got back to the pits and staggered back to the car where everyone
else was chilled out already and thankfully my girlfriend helped me
get my shirt/body armour off. I was gasping for a drink, so necked some
energy liquid while I used ice packs (from the lunch box) under my arms
to try and cool down. I just couldn't manage to eat a sandwich, but
did get a pork pie and an oat meal bar down before re-juicing the bike
as the front rows set off on their afternoon endurance test, and what
a test it turned out to be!
interesting low level action shot of number 38
When you have riders in front of you it’s
hard not too resort to race speed, but I knew that slow and steady would
win the day today, so I tried to keep it that way. However another problem
reared its ugly head so to speak – my dickey tum! There was a
few worrying rumbles from down below on the second lap but I ignored
them as best I could. I was drinking less as I didn't want to ‘fuel
the problem’ but of course that isn't a good thing to do in that
sort of heat. The problem was that they (the rumbles) got steadily worse
and soon I began to realize I wasn't going to last the distance. So
now I was too tired to stand all the time but in too much discomfort
to sit down. All sorts of things were going through my mind on what
to do so now I wasn't concentrating on my lines and getting erratic
and steadily slower. Should I pit then run to the loo? Or maybe ride
to the loo after clocking in and then rejoin the race? The thought of
stopping due to any reason other than crashing was so against my nature
that I was getting nowhere trying to come up with a solution. Soon I
was so distressed that I even thought about quitting, I was that fed
up. Then I came up with an idea. My girlfriend was in the woods near
the end of the lap and she’d have tissues! Once I realized the
end was in site (!) it was very difficult holding it all together for
those last few minutes. Pulling up she must have seen I was in distress
as I didn't get laughed at, well not by her anyway but a group of young
lads watching the race must have known what I was up to as they had
big smiles on their faces as I trudged down the hill to find a little
privacy.
Having lost a lap by this time I got back into the race feeling a little
low but now I could drink some energy drink so it wasn't too long before
I felt the benefit of liquid refreshment. On one of the laps I came
past my mate Tony who was stretched out by the side of the track having
a rest – a dedicated & committed racer if ever there was one!
Back on the bike after my 'do bears in the woods' time - quit or race?
A few laps later I was feeling much better and then perked up when I realized I was behind Si from TBM. I decided there and then to get back into the grove and pick up the pace. I sat behind him going across the open fields as I thought using the 450’s power on the fast bit to overtake and then to possibly hold him up in the woods section would be unsporting. Once we got to the woods again I found that I could keep up ok as we were running pretty much the same pace. We came across some poor chap who had dropped his bike in between two small humps, with the bike now filling the hole. The guy was standing there and looked ok and Si ran clean over the top of the bike and there was no way for me to stop in time so I’m afraid I ran over it too! Sorry mate no harm done I hope? A few more twists and turns later and in a dry right hand bend Si lost it big style and had a fairly major off. I stopped and asked if he was ok and he reckoned he was fine so I carried on. Half a lap later I came across Mel and tried to find a way past. We were both held up by a slower rider and he moved over for her but got back on line when I tried to get by. I almost rammed him several times when he slowed up too much and by the time I got past him Mel had pulled a large gap. Onto the open fields and I thought, “right no mucking about - open this sucker up and get by”. I was intending to show off by overtaking on the back wheel but of course when you try and do things like that it invariably goes wrong! I was going faster than normal as I got to the left hand bend near the barb wire fence and all of a sudden I got target fixated on the fence and ran straight on! Hard on the brakes I hurtled towards the wires and hit it still carrying loads of speed. For a moment I thought the wire would give way as I was still going that fast, but obviously fences are made of sterner stuff nowadays and it just stretched and sprung back. A spectator ran up with eyes as big as anything as I shook my head in disbelief at my own stupidity. The wire was caught up in the front headlight cowl and front wheel and it took a while for me and my helper to get it all untangled. I saw Si come past at this point which was a bit annoying so I set off again in hot pursuit.
Tony above and me below
I managed to slot in behind Si again and the race was on once more. I
was doing fine until the farmyard where the guy that was behind me overtook.
A bit unsporting I thought. Ok he was still taking it easy but he slotted
in between me and Si and I think I made a few daft mistakes so they got
away. Oh yes I remember, I lost the front in one of the downhill right
turns so got left behind. A quick hammer on the brush guards and I was
back on track again. Low and behold but guess who I found getting going
again a short while later! Once again I sat behind Si who now seemed to
have gone off the boil a bit so he pulled over to let me by. Naturally
I tried to pick the pace up a bit and after that it was my last lap according
to my stopwatch so I tried to be fast but safe, as I knew I couldn't afford
to be late back if I had a fall.
Parking the bike up at the car I nearly fell over when I got off the bike!
After a few ‘did you see that’ and ‘my god it’s
hot’ conversations I walked down to see Mel and Si with a cold coke
& moobs wobbling.
I asked if he was ok from the big off he’d had? He replied that
it was one of his biggest off’s he’s ever had, and his head
was pretty shaken up by it. I then thanked him for letting me by near
the end and got the impression he’d have let me wait, had he known
it was me! Read next months TBM mag for the full details of their days
racing and how the bikes faired.
It was good to meet Northy & Fausto from the TBM forum as well, unfortunately i didn't get to meet the other guys but we really should try to get a group photo next time.
Packing up I was feeling pretty worse for ware and had to visit
the portaloo again, luckily just before they took it away (and again at
Tony’s place). To say I was shattered at the end of the day was
an understatement.
Very good course layout so thanks to all involved. I can’t imagine
what it would be like in the wet though!
I say this at the end of very report, but I have got to get fitter. If
only I wasn't so dam lazy!
Provisional results:
Hey not too bad. i got 15th overall and 9th in O40 class even with my 'trip into the woods' . fastest lap - 11:41
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