CHEC Lane End March 2011

See all 600 photos here
(if you want any very high res copies then email me and i'll send them)

So the practice day came and went a while ago now. I've had few things going on in my personal life so I've not been in the right state of mind to type up a report at the time. Anyway the day could not have gone better really. The going was nice and dry, it wasn't too cold and the sun even came out later in the day! By the very fact that the fields could not be used and the very nature of the remaining land, meant that the track was going to run in the woods and would be tight. CHEC had still managed to put together a fairly long lap though.

riders briefing - almost time to get all the shiny bikes dirty

On the morning of the event Tony was absent (DIY) but the usual bunch of Steve, Dan and Dave were there with some more friends as well. Darren who started out last year was back for more on his newly re-built WR250 and we were all looking forward to a day in the dirt.

Around 150 odd riders ended up entering, a fair few of them entered on the day and seeing as this was a non scoring event (being a practice day) CHEC were very relaxed about these late entries. For the next event be warned, you may incur late entry fees!

lets go play!

Since last year I'd done minimal work to the bike other than a quick service. Since the engine re-build (and installation of the high comp piston) I'd planned to take it to be Dyno'ed and had even made an appointment, but unfortunately I had to cancel at short notice. A conversation with a KTM enthusiast on the ktm uk forum set me up with the recommended needle and jetting combo so I ordered the parts in time to have them fitted for the practice day. Boy did it make a difference! The midrange (which was strong before anyway) was now even stronger and the front would rear up between bends if you fed in too much throttle, but the downside was lots of wheel spin if you got too carried away with the go go juice.

One of the marshals ... HOG' (as he's know on the forums) stands ready to spring into action on one of the hills.
This shot manages to convey just how steep some of these hills really are!

A rider starts to tackle the hill

another pair climb the slope

I'd fitted an mx tyre (GT240) for another enduro practice day a week or so beforehand and while that was technically a lot narrower than the GT216 I had on previously, the year old mousse filled it just fine. The knobs were deeper than the normal FIM tyre and the grip seemed to be fine on the harder surfaces of the two events even though it was for ‘soft going’.

some riders weren't too lucky on the hills!

I was listed as number 5 but as this was not an official race I wasn’t too worried about setting off on time, just as well as I was still faffing with my gear when Steve and co set off on their first lap. The track was a long and winding clockwise route though the woods, and of course all the usual Lane End features were included, tight winding tracks through trees, tricky climbs ¾ of the way around and the odd dip here and there. Mix this all up with a few off camber slopes in the woods and you had the idle track. Not too hard for the novices but that did not stop loads of riders coming to grief on the climbs. Being dry really helped, as none of the tree roots became treacherous once they became exposed. The notoriously tricky Lane End clay wasn't too much of an issue either– unlike last year when we had a wet few days beforehand and the novice riders had a real hard time of it, some only completing one or two laps before calling it quits and packing up!

Setting off I quickly pulled away from the others and set about learning the track and catching riders in front, all the time marveling at the stomping midrange now on tap. I was setting a quickish pace but when I saw others ahead I pushed a lot harder to catch and pass them. As this was a practice day it was ideal for getting into shape for the real thing.

After a while I pulled into the pits to take a breather and I tried to convince Steve to come out for a spin but he was still not too keen to join me. He's still got it in his head that I'm bad luck for him, as he always falls off when he rides with me! Dan was feeling the effects of a knee injury as well but in the end we set off for a bit of a play and thankfully Steve stayed shinny side up for a change. Which is more than can be said for another unfortunate chap who injured his arm somehow, and needed an ambulance. For some reason an air ambulance arrived and while the injured party never got a ride in the chopper it did add to the excitement of the day a little, as everyone was poised with cameras waiting for it to take off. Get well soon whoever you are.

After a bite to eat and a quick drink I set off out again to try and get some more quick laps in. Around one'ish we stopped for sandwich and seeing as the light was better I decided to break out the helmet cam. I'd grafted on a microphone from a damaged loom as the old one was only recording on one channel and for some reason youtube wasn't able to play the sound in mono so I ended up having to overdub the sound with music. Playing on the tv it sounds fine but while listening to it via headphones the problem is still there. It could be that the camcorder heads are dirty so it's only recording in one channel. (Edit: new software can compensate for it)

a pic of me at the top of the hill

a rider cutting it fine, yes he saved it. more pics on photobucket

me leading steve and co

During my first lap with the camera running I stopped to wait for some slower riders who were struggling on the slopes and got passed by another rider myself. Once under way again I tried to close the gap a bit once we were clear of the other riders. He was quick, very quick but I think I pulled some of the gap back but all of a sudden he cleared off and I lost sight of him completely. Looking at the photos afterwards it's no wonder why I lost sight of him. He was jumping out of the sapling wood hill like he had wings. I kid you not, I have never seen anyone jump so far, he was basically taking the piss out of everyone. Not only did he clear the road, he cleared the bushes and landed at the first course marker!!!

steve coming out of the woods at the jump

me, also at the jump

now this guys was just taking the piss.....

Pulling in for a breather I met up with Darren and after a brief chat he went out for another lap while I cleaned goggles to allow myself a bit of a buffer that I could use to chase him down. I set off in pursuit but made a few daft mistakes from not concentrating enough. Darren also had the wind up his tail and was putting in some good pace so it took me a while to catch him. I sat behind filming for the rest of the lap and it was obvious his ridding had come a long way in the last year, but it nearly all came unstuck when he clipped a tree stump and pivoted the bike around it, saving it by a well placed dab with the left foot. Once back at the pits I commented that if he rode like that the whole event he’d be right up there in the results, to which he replied that he'd never mange to keep that pace the whole race– Time to hit the gym!

a report won't be a report without a wheelie shot!

One complete lap of the track - filmed by myself

So after several more laps I called it a day and packed up, tired but happy. Thanks to the CHEC club for laying out another cracking course and thanks to the marshals for looking after everyone. See you all again on the 17th of April for the first CHEC event of the year.

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