CHEC
- Lane End Race
18th April 2010
See all the Photos
We couldn’t have asked
for better weather. The sun was shining but the air remained relatively
cool and it hadn’t rained all week. The track was definitely going
to be a lot easier to navigate than the last outing we had at Lane End
back in March when CHEC held their first ever ‘Practice Day’.
Unfortunately even though that day was aimed at beginners, nature didn’t
play along and persistent rain on the days leading up to the event left
all the beginners struggling to contend with the slippery hills. This
time however we were greeted by baked hard going and the only concerns
were for dust and getting too hot!
I received a forlorn phone call from Steve on the Saturday saying that
his big bore rebuild of his husky (250 to 310cc) had hit the buffers after
only ten minutes of running and a suspected engine temperature sensor
meant he was going to be confined to marshal duties. This could have been
a blessing in disguise as he is still being hampered by a painful rib
following a spill up at Enduroland.
pre-race meditation
(medication) - the comfort of a hot cross bun!
Darren, me and Tony
My 450exc was now fully fit and rearing to go after the small scare a
few weeks ago when it ground to a halt and metal bits were found to be
lurking in the engine. I’ll fill you all in about that later in
another report, suffice to say the engine had regained some of the fire
breathing oomph that I hadn’t notice was gone. In fact it felt like
a bit of an animal again! After earlier reports in the week that it might
rain on Sunday I was slightly concerned about the GT216 on the rear. I
have the slightly harder 213 waiting to go on but as we got closer to
the day I opted to turn it around on the rim to prolong it’s life
slightly.
So it was once again up to Tony and me to fly the Club DB flag. Since
Lane End is close to home, Nicky and I enjoyed the luxury of not having
to get up too early. After one brief detour to head back home to retrieve
my mobile phone (lost without it) we picked up Tony at about 8am and after
loading up, set off for Lane End at about half past – but only after
another quick ‘about face’ to pick up Tony’s camelpack!
The Venue: Lane End
Before The Start
Getting to the venue we were once again greeted by the terrible news that
the catering van had not turned up, so for the second time we were tea’less
in the morning – disaster! Luckily the normal CHEC catering crew
will be back for the next one.
It looks like the changes brought in since last year has had an effect
as there was almost 150 riders booked in for the day. Slightly down on
the 200 that were at the practice day and I think the slippery going may
have put some absolute beginners off a little. This is a great pity as
the CHEC crew had laid out a cracking course of roughly 6 to 7 miles that
took anywhere from 22 for the quicker riders to 25 minutes for the moderately
fast clubman with sportsman bringing up the rear (in theory).
After parking up we had a chance to meet a load of the regular competitors
and a few newbie's like Darren who had signed up for his first ever H&H.
I’d been advising Darren how to get into the sport via the website
and he’s inherited my old body armour (suite and knees) to get him
going.
Riders briefing before the race
the parc ferme
Morning Session
I’d been waiting for Tony to enter the event so I could start on
the next row and have something to aim for – but this meant we were
stuck back on the 8th and 9th row. Not only that but a certain editor
and publisher were starting on the row behind me, so now I had some extra
motivation to keep up my 100% record of beating Si! I walked over to catch
up and check out the bikes they’d be using to see just how much
effort I was going to have to put in to stay ahead!
In the riders briefing Gavin (along with some others) got a small trophy
for a result at one of last year’s events. After a short talk on
the do’s and don’don'ts the race got underway at roughly 10.30.
and we're off!
no. 89 Ronnie Rodgers (eventual second place finisher) gets off to a flyer with Gavin next to him.
Now as some of you may know,
my fitness training of late has been more about sitting watching TV and
eating than pounding the treadmill or MTB, so I was determined not to
go too crazy and wear myself out. After a brief chat to Steve on the start
line we set off for the first lap of the two hour morning session. Luckily
there wasn’t anyone on my row to push the pace too much so I was
able to pull away and set my own speed. The track was being run in reverse
to the March practice day and it had a totally new feel to it. Furthermore
there were a fair few subtle changes to make it feel like a completely
new track. Having said that, there were all the Lane End favorites included
into the track and over time you learn these and know what to expect next.
We set off in what I think is a northwards direction away from the pits
and stuck to the top of the hill in the woods before looping back again
but this time doing some gentle turns up and down the slope of the hill.
It wasn’t long before I caught up to the slower riders from the
rows ahead but managed to either slip by on an open section or got waved
past by the rider ahead.
Once we’d worked our way back we took a path straight down followed
by a short dog leg that brought us out into a big sloppy puddle –
which we had to ride through. Luckily this never turned into a quagmire
so it must have a solid base underneath.
peace brother!
(photo by David Brown)
the wet bit
the junction at the puddle
Through the wet patch it was back up the other side of the valley , followed by a high speed run to the woods to the south where we made our way into the trees again ie down the valley slope and slowly wound our way back along this eastern slope back to the wet patch junction. From here we climbed up the over side of the valley turned left then left again so we were heading back down but this time there was the ‘jump’ to deal with. Now I’ve seen so many people come a right cropper here that I’m kind of cautious and always opt for the cluck cluck method of ridding down instead of jumping. My bike really doesn’t like jumping, so I try not to force the issue, we have a good partnership and I try not to upset the applecart!
jumping down the drop - how it should be done
me doing it slightly more relaxed but still going for the overtake
I caught Tony just before a climb up through some saplings and at the
last moment opted to take the adjacent lane to the right and got to the
top first – mission number one accomplished. By now we were in the
main valley of the Lane End grounds and the single track going took us
up and down the length of the RHS but getting ever more lower until the
track crossed over to the opposite side where the course took in some
of the steep climbs that had everyone hitting the deck at the practice
day. Today however they were fairly easy to clear but some were still
struggling and on the first lap I came haring (hare & hounds?) round
the bottom bend to see two bikes on the deck, one on the left and one
on the right. In a micro second I spotted a do’able path to the
right and kept the gas on just as the second rider motioned to go where
I’d already aimed the bike – no problem.
one of the hills - a lot going on in this photo
one rider not coping
with the hill very well
( ever sympathetic marshal gives some advice!)
when in trouble - start peddling!
me near the top
Tony
We used several of these steep slopes going up and down them as we traced
the path of the valley side then topped out and traversed the flat section,
zig zagging through the trees until we skirted the bottom of one of the
plantation near the road, shortly after mile marker number 4 I think.
After a short windy bit we cut up into the plantation and dropped into
and jumped (if you’re fast enough) out of the ‘bomb hole’.
A few more twists and turns in the plantation then the course doubled
back on itself in a high speed flat out run along a rutted windy track.
Keeping the gas open I could feel the inertia of the mousses when changing
direction at high speed.
someone is very keen on getting some 'air'!
slip streaming to go faster ?!
sleepy head - Gavin - still going in the morning
A few more flowing bits and the track popped out the trees over a rutted
track that in the beginning I just road over but as the day worn on a
tried to jump over – with mixed success. By now we were in the south
west part of the woods heading progressively north. Another quick high
speed ride down a hill had us at the end of the woods where we turned
back in a more or less easterly direction to bring us back down the valley
skirting the main large field at the bottom to come back to the transponders
to complete the lap.
the inevitable wheelie shots
Lap one was pretty congested but I managed to slip by most of the slower
riders without any problems. By lap two the field had strung out a lot
and at times it seemed like you were all alone. This tends to slow me
down a bit as there no carrot in front to catch up to. By lap three the
shoulder muscles were starting to ache a bit but not too bad. As I started
lap four I noted the time on my stopwatch, but by the time I got back
round again at the end and clocked, in my tired brain wasn’t working
too well, so I couldn’t figure out if I had enough time for another
one. Taking a chance I set off again still trying to work it out in my
head but getting nowhere fast. After a few turns I thought I’d dropped
a right clanger and cocked up. A bit more brain de-scrambling and I changed
my mind to ‘perhaps I could make it’ so got down to going
fast but not too silly as to crash and really spoil everything. Luckily
the lap was incident free and I made it back to the transponders with
several minutes to spare.
Longest jump award goes to this guy
Darren on the hill - looking good in his first ever race!
eventual winner no. 105 - Glen Baker
Feeling better/fitter than I had any right to I topped up the bikes tank
first then made my way back to the car for some re-fueling of my own.
Pork pie, peanut butter and honey roll washed down by a monster energy
drink, topped off by a power shot thingy. Oh yes and some gel for the
left shoulder. During all of this Steve walked over and said Tony had
just come in. As he started in front of me I said to Steve “he’s
well late” and Steve replied he thought so too, but he also said
that Tony recon’ed he was ‘on time’. Having a full hour
to relax at lunchtime meant it was a fairly social affair and I even had
time to pop to the dunnee.
Having said that ... not a relaxed as Gavin's! After having a real good race in the morning session the week's worth of birthday celebrations and partying had their effect - AND HE FELL ASLEEP - missing the start of the afternoon session!!?? He consoled himself by donning a marshals bib and getting a few more laps in :)
While filling the camelpack I was in two minds to take out the helmet cam. I still use an old style camcorder and bullet cam to record the footage so it’s fairly bulky and not at all light. But I knew if I didn’t I’d be pissed off later so I geared up with the larger camelpack that has all the equipment in. Just before the off Steve told me that Dan had blown a fork seal so they were going to make a move
Afternoon Session:
the dust started to be an issue in the afternoon
The first lap was a nightmare! I got stuck behind just about every single bike out there. At one point I was stuck in a long queue behind some quads and even when there was a chance to overtake they were throwing up so much dust I had to back off as I couldn’t see then ruts. By the second lap things had cleared up a fair bit and I had a good run of it, mostly. I caught Tony again in nearly the spot as the morning session but a lap later this time. Just as I come up behind him I noticed someone’s aluminum sump guard laying in the track! Lining up for an overtake on Tony I nearly rammed into his back wheel (see video) – something that I’m sure wouldn’t have gone down too well!
second lap - Tony
me.....hot on his heels!
see - i told you it
doesn't like to jump!
must be the weight of all that mud under the seat unit
;)
At another point I almost had a bit of a whoopsie. I came up to a tree laying in the path (see video) and I’m 100% sure what happened next. I think I clipped a small tree and pulled my right hand off the bars slightly. That or I opened the throttle or I missed the brakes, either way I had to take avoiding action, stalling the bike in the process. Oh yes I nearly forgot – right at the beginning of the video – I missed a gear in a braking zone and dropped into neutral instead of first. Without engine braking I missed the turn but just stopped in time to avoid any serious tree hugging!
"Redbikejohn films his second lap in the afternoon session of the CHEC race at lane end on the 18th April 2010"
On lap three I started to feel the signs of cramp in my inner thighs, so I made an effort to drink even more to fend it off. I had a feeling another bike was coming for some reason and stole a quick glance over my shoulder to have a look. I spotted a flash of colour and it rang alarm bells as I recognised the colour - Barni was gaining on me! At the dogleg just before the muddy puddle I got a look and confirmed it was him. Dam, I couldn’t have that so immediately hit the boost button and got a move on. I managed to slip past several sets of slower riders fairly easily, as I caught them at the right moment.
Tony on the little muddy bit near the end of the lap
Gavin in his new role asa marshal!
For the next lap I pushed hard and managed to pull a big enough gap but by now the cramp was starting to show up in both legs. I carried on pushing and on lap four at the same spot he wasn’t to be seen so that was a relief. By the fifth lap I must have started to get complacent and slowed down cos right at the dogleg again I stopped him once more! I had just enough ‘turbo boost’ stored so I hit the button once more to keep in front even though I knew he’d more than likely beat me on time anyway. Sure enough I made it to the transponders without being caught ‘on the track’ so that was a nice little bonus.
me tired? no way!
Results: Well i did ok... 10th overall out of 137 finishers so i'm pleased with that. Tony on the other hand managed to get himself the second highest penalty score by being late in the morning! Ending up way down in 68th overall. Darren had a good solid performance by coming in 54th overall. Read his report lower down this page.
1st 105 Glen Baker Husqvarna
2nd 89 Ronnie Rodgers Yamaha
3rd 116 Ben Ilott
Tony - before.................. and....................... after!!!!
Second Opinion: Darren – newbie in his first race!
This being my first proper race outing it was with some trepidation that
I made the short trip from Windsor to Lane End. Having ridden off-road
only twice in the past 20 years I was hoping that a) I would last the
4 hour distance and b) the second hand Yamaha I’d bought a few weeks
earlier would last the distance! Got to the venue around 9am and it was
already filling up, so got signed on straight away and bike over to parc
ferme. No Burger van = No coffee – not good for a man attuned to
at least 5 cups a day! Delivered promised bottle of JD to John for all
the help he has given me and some free body armour!
Darren on his wr250
I was no.70 so starting around 10.38. Sat waiting for the off I realised
my camelback wasn’t working – great! Spent the next 2 hours
dreaming of water (well coffee!) and when I managed to have a look at
it discovered a kink in the tube – typical – one to add to
the pre-race checklist. The race seems like a blur now although I can
distinctly remember every time I fell off - what with hitting a tree (twice!),
4 front end slides, nearly rear ending the same guy twice (on different
laps) and one where the bike ended up on top of me - just not sure how!
Thanks to the guy who stopped to ask if I was okay!
The track was awesome and such great fun with lots of twists and turns
and some great straight blasts. I managed 8 laps in the end as did the
bike which I was pleased with but lack of fitness and skill prevented
anymore. Track was very well laid out although at points I missed a turn
(I put that down to my brain not being able to keep up with the bike though!)
I picked up some great tips from people and really can’t wait for
the next outing!!’
Cheers
Darren
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