CHEC 6hr Lane End Sept 2010

In 2009 the Chiltern Hills Enduro Club asked for some feedback on how to improve the club and bring in more numbers. One of the suggestions was to run an ‘open day’ for novices and that was done for the first event of 2010 and it turned out to be a huge success with some big numbers attending – even if the weather ‘turned’ the day before and caused the going to become a bit slippery, potentially putting off some first timers! Another suggestion was to run an extended endurance test in the form of a 6hr team event. Well the CHEC listened and the 6hr went ahead on the 5th of September 2010.

the offending seal on the right. the larger upgrade that can be done on the left

I had a bit more bike prep to do before the event. The rear shock that I’d diagnosed as ‘in need of a service’ really did need looking at after a day blatting around Whaddon’s mx track. I’d also managed to break the new rear tailpiece first time out, doh! Due to the bank holiday I wasn’t able to make any calls until Tuesday and the few well know service shops were doubtful of getting it back in time for the weekend. I quick Google search and I found Road and Race Suspension near newbury and seeing as they were within driving distance I gave them a call at lunchtime on Tuesday. One minor problem, he was going to be out of the shop on Thursday and Friday so would Saturday do? I wasn’t keen cos I still had to set up the sag and sort all the gear out. Seeing as I had it in the car I asked if I could drop it off that afternoon on the way back from work? He agreed to shift the jobs he was going to do on Wednesday to Saturday and said he would have the shock ready for me at the same time Wednesday afternoon.

Road and Race's workshop

After work on Wednesday I shot straight down there and it was all ready for me. We had a little chat and he explained that it was the seal on the piston rod that had rolled over and he advised that I should lube the piston with a little bit of engine oil after washing the bike** to help prevent the stiction from rolling the seal over. Apparently this is a common problem and there is even an upgrade mod that can be done to prevent it happening again. This involves modifying the part where the seal sits, to accept a much larger seal that eliminates the problem.
** point to note: do this before warming the bike up after you’ve washed it or you’ll end up burning the hell out of several fingers, back of hands etc – not that I did that of course!

For a 6hr event a big venue is needed and Lane End is ideal for that. However being a working farm it’s impossible to utilise the whole area until the crops have been harvested. This pushes the date into September and even though it was only one week after the ‘Dawn Till Dusk’ there was still a decent turnout for the ***** running the CHEC 6hr!

There was a little confusion before hand with reference to the scoring for this event in relation to the unofficial championship run by myself. After giving it a bit of thought there was just no easy way of fitting it in so I made the executive decision to not count this event in the overall standings. Thereby freeing people up to enjoy the day for what it is – good fun. I teamed up with Tony in the official Club Team i.e. Team ‘Dirty Bastards’.

yum yum piggy bum!

John (the CHEC Chairman) hard at work carving the neat and stocking the fire

couple of beers, a fire, food....it's all good

CHEC had laid on a Hog roast the night before and they had organised camping as well. Being fairly local we decided to pop over and sink a few beers, Steve was also keen so he picked both of us up on the way and we were free to knock back a few buds and enjoy a ‘second dinner’ of hog roast – boy that pig was nice, compliments to the chef!

Sunday - Race Day

we got there early to beat the signing on rush

Sunday promised to be a nice clear day but initially it was anything but. We parked and exchanged greetings under a cloud filed sky, but we kept on saying encouraging things like ‘it’ll clear up soon’.

The format for the day was like any other, riders briefing at 10h15 and first bikes away at 10h30. The only difference being that you could ride as part of a Team or solo in the Ironman class.
Being number 60 (I was doing the first session) we had five minutes or so before we were due out but I ended up getting a little boxed in and missed the holeshot that I normally get but still got out in front quick enough. After breaking away from the first group I caught some slower riders within five minutes or so but then had a long gap to the next bunch. There were several riders in a tight group and it was a bit of a struggle to squeeze past but I got there in the end only to get caught up behind three riders who in turn were behind a quad! Being in a really tight part of the woods there was nowhere to get by but I managed to pick of the ‘tail end charlie’ just before the quad rider either pulled over or got stuck, one of the two. Either way we shot past and I managed to get by one more rider so I was sitting behind one bike as we burst out the woods into the field and ......nothing. No markers and no tape! Stuck in the traffic jam I had blindly followed the other riders and they’d gone wrong. We turned tail back into the woods just as three more bikes popped out as well. I went to the right once back in the trees but I could see all the riders streaming past on the track and I wasn’t going in the right direction so I spun around again and fired it through the woods to rejoin the track but found myself behind all the riders I’d passed earlier, bugger. Later on Steve asked what was going on as I’d overtaken him twice on the one lap, well now you know!

The rest of the lap went all right but by now it was starting to rain and the open sections were getting slippery. The parts covered by trees were still ok at this point and I pressed on making up for lost time and knowing the fact that I could stop and hand over the transponder to Tony once my hour was up. I caught up to another rider who then sped up slightly. I sat behind him and caught my breath for a moment, thinking I could nip past if the opportunity arose. After a while I decided that the pace definitely wasn’t fast enough, so I started to look for a spot to overtake with a little more determination. I sat on his back wheel revving the bike and trying to find a gap but he wasn’t taking any notice so a more direct action was required. As we got to the plantation we both picked the same run up the hill as I’d failed to react in time to get into adjacent lane. At the top of the run I become ‘red mist john’ and cut the corner in an attempt to get past but only succeeded in taking us both out!

Accompanied by shouts of “what you doing man” (from the other rider) I hit the deck face down with my bike pinning me to the floor by my left leg, and his bike laying on top of my right leg.
To make matters worse the other rider was on top of my back shouting “move move it’s burning my leg”! To which I replied “I can’t blood move, I’m stuck”. We both started wriggling like mad and got free at last which enabled me to get up. Mmm his bike was upside-down on top of mine with the wheels pointing into the sky. One of them was still running so I was trying to switch it of before trying to move it (experience has taught me to do this after having two bikes run away from me in the past) but the bikes were in such a tangle it was hard to make out what was what - coupled to the fact I was still a little confused after the tumble! We got them apart somehow (funny enough I was more worried my new seat cover was going to get torn) and the bike fired after a short press of the button and I was away again. I’ve no idea who it was, but if you are reading this I like to apologise for taking you out, sorry!

an impossibly clean rider arrives at the transponders

The controls were a little awry but otherwise the bike seemed to be unmarked. I tried to get back into the rhythm and settle down but the rain was starting to tip it down now and things were starting to get slippery everywhere. I made it back to the pits but couldn’t see Tony straight away so lost some time changing over the wristband. Tony asked for a rag (there are loads in my pit box?) but mine was tied to the handlebars so he was out of luck. “Have one ready for me when I come round” he said as he headed off.

I was feeling pretty low at this point as I felt I let the side down slightly what with going the wrong way and taking the other guy out by mistake. To cap it all off the rain didn’t look like it was going anywhere. I filled the bike with petrol and walked back to the car to get a sandwich and bottle of locozad. Walking back I got talking to Hans under a small gazebo and ate the sandwich while watching the rain thinking what a day this is going to be if this keeps up. Lane End can be a bit of a pig when it gets really wet as the surface has so much clay in it.
Luckily it started to ease off slightly and there was a glimmer of clearer sky in the distance. I met Tony at the transponders and he had some choice words about some marshal on the course. It turned out that he had stopped him going up a climb as he reckoned Tony would not make it. At this point several people who he’d overtaken went on the alternate route that was further back and he (tony) was stuck trying to turn his bike around in the narrow path – losing valuable time, not a happy bunny.

Tony coming around to complete a lap

During Tony second lap the rain eased off so things were looking up. I sat ready on the bike and positioned myself near the tape for a quick change over once tony made it back at the end of his second lap. I set off and while it was still slippery it wasn’t too bad. This session has sort of blended into obscurity and the only point of note that I can remember is having an almighty power slide on a dark muddy track a short while after leaving the pits. I turned left into the track and accelerated hard, about half way along the track I hit a small rock or something or other and that caused the back end spin out to the right. The bike was completely at 90’ to the track and I just had time to think ‘shit this is going to hurt’ before the bike snapped back in line of its own accord.... oops I mean huge skill on my behalf!
The only other thing I remember is catching up to a rider on 2T ktm that immediately started to try and go faster but enthusiasm being great than ability he started to get more and more out of control. At one point he got it completely sideways and looked certain for an off (most likely to get run over by me). Just as it was going to reach the point of disaster the rear end smacked into a tree which promptly punted him back on course!

think you can only compete on the latest shit hot enduro bikes? think again..

By the second lap (in the second session) it had mostly dried out with only the odd slippery section here and there. One of those slippery bits was the shallow rutted straight just after the field crossing. Up until then I’d not had a problem there but all of a sudden the front end got a little wayward and it gave me a bit of a wake up call as my legs went paddling! I should have fitted that new 216 front as it’s no good sitting in the garage at home, but hey, it was suppose to be a clear and dry day!
So my lap time came down quite a bit on this lap and once again I caught out tony who wasn’t ready! I rode up to the group of bikes and then spotted him coming on his bike. “You came round too quick and caught me out” he said as we swapped the transponder tag over – no shit, I wouldn’t have guessed! He asked me to be ready with a new set of goggles when he came round but in the end he didn’t need them as it had dried out nicely by now.
So another snack time for me and I quickly polished off a bread roll and a can of coke while keeping an eye out for Tony. Like I said he didn’t need the spare goggles in the end so I chilled out for a bit then suddenly remembered the helmet cam. I was feeling a bit tried by now and almost considered not taking it out but I knew if I didn’t I’d regret it so I quickly headed back to the car to gear up. Once I was back at the pits I realised that I had no idea what the lap times had some down too, so I got geared up early just in case Tony came round. I sat out by the tape for what seemed a long time and Steve came to chat to me as he said I looked like a sad lost soul sitting on my own! As Tony was approaching I fired the cam up and after swapping the tag over (using my specially adapted fastening device) I shot off knowing this was my last stint so I could push on a bit, not having to worry too much about conserving energy.

a rider heads back out

The track was grippy just about everywhere by now but I was feeling a little off the pace having been sitting around for a while but I tried to press on as I was filming after all. Shortly after crossing one of the fields a bike suddenly appeared from behind me. I’ve no idea where it came from but all of a sudden it was there so I pulled to one side to allow him pass. Getting back up top speed I managed to pull some time back on him and just sat there for a while keeping up with his pace. However it wasn’t long before I noticed his speed was slowing up. By the time we got to the little plantation he’d slowed down a fair bit and he pulled to one side to let me past. I carried on and put in a burst of speed to make sure I didn’t hold him up, but he disappeared after that so I’ve no idea what happened to him. Coming up to a narrow gap in the trees just before a dip I caught a root with the front wheel and it slid the bike off-line enough to get me stuck in a too small a gap. I had to yank the bike backwards to free it and get on my way. The rest of the lap went by without incident that I can recall, if you don’t count the leaf getting stuck in my goggles covering my right eye that is! Several seconds of no depth perception at speed was interesting.
Starting the next lap I realised it was my last for the day so I knew I could put in a bit of extra effort as Tony was going to finish off the event. I was a bit kak handed with the clutch though as I managed to stall the bike going into tight slow turns (normally downhill ones) several times when I didn’t whip the lever in quick enough. I might try a slightly higher idle rpm at the next outing as I think I turned it down when I was running it in.
Just before the climbs I caught up to a slower rider but the track was a little narrow to squeeze past but I kept close to make a move when I could. I’m pretty good on the climbs so I readied myself to make a pass on one of them. We came round a bend to find a bike stuck at the top of the climb (to one side). I’m not sure what happened but the rider in front of me spun out his bike completely sideways and I was convinced he was going down so I broke left and took to the bushes to avoid contact. Amazingly he didn’t fall and managed to get to the next downhill before me but then took it too steady at the bottom turn so I nipped up the inside. The rest of the last lap went well and as I got into the pits Tony was ready for a quick change of tag.

A full lap of the circuit recorded on the helmet cam.
(24 minute lap)

Ah time to relax! I parked up and walked back to the car pulling off the camera gear, mx shirt and front body armour breastplate. Grabbing a can, my chair and the last sandwich I plonked myself down on the side of the pits and chilled out for a while. Having polished the food off I repositioned my chair to the transponders and waited for Tony to come round just in case he needed a spare set of goggles. Tony came through on his first lap and I wondered up to my bike.... and noticed the time, oh crap. He was going to come back round with enough time to squeeze in one more lap.
At the start of the day we’d agreed to do one hour apiece. Early in the day when conditions weren’t so favourable that worked out great at two laps each. But now that the going was so much faster we were doing two laps a lot quicker. That meant someone was going to have to do an extra lap. Mmm, I was full of coke and sandwich plus all the water I’d been drinking had worked my stomach a bit so I needed to visit the portaloo! But then again I’m faster than Tony so it made sense for me to do the lap. Maybe he’d see there was time for another and ride through? Nope I knew him too well for that so I came to the conclusion that I’d have to get geared up again – bugger. First of all I had to visit the portaloo to ‘lighten the load’ and I quickly got geared up again, this time without the camera equipment as I knew it might be tight.
I sat waiting anxiously, ready to head out again and counted down the minutes trying to work out the ‘point of no return’ time wise. I was just starting to curse him thinking that he’d cruised round on the last lap taking it easy when he appeared. A lightening change over and I was away – it was going to be close. So how hard do to push? Too fast and you’ll crash (been there done that at lane end!) but too slow and you risk pilling on the late penalty points. Luckily the lap went very well and I didn’t get stuck behind anyone or crash anywhere and I’m pretty sure I came in on time.
So 13 laps under our belts at the end of the day and a great time was had by all.

Thanks to all the CHEC guys and girls for laying on another enjoyable event. It was a great days riding with slightly less pressure than at a ‘normal’ race but that made it all the more fun. Pity there weren’t more people there on the day (even though the turnout wasn’t bad) and hopefully the hog roast the night before will pull in some more campers next time. See you all at Tring in October.

Below is two youtube clips from Cliff comprising a full lap of the circuit

Results

Well not the most spectacular, but still pretty good. Tony and I finished in 12th place overall. Better yet my fastest lap was under the 24 minute mark at 23min 29 sec!

Photos

You may noticed a lack on action shots in the report. this is due to my photograph nopt being able to make it. I did however organise for a profestional fotographer to be in site so pop over to his website to have a look at the shots he took. more will be added over time but the first batch is now being displaid and are ready for ordering.

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