Enduroland Ashby de la zouch July 2010

Ashby de la something or other wasn’t on my ‘to do’ list. Yes the fact that it was a new venue with a built in motocross circuit was interesting, but the long drive was a bit off putting. Hell it was on the other side of Birmingham! Still when Tony called and offered to drive I could hardly say no could I? I mean if I don’t have to drive there was nothing stopping me going, not only that but Steve and Dan were going to be there as well so we’d be able to make a group outing of it.

Tony I and set off up the M40 but the morning coffee soon had us stopping and the service station unfortunately had a costa coffee so the obligator coffee and chocolate chip muffins were dully consumed. Using the Nokia to find the venue, the little man dutifully said “you have reached your destination” . But we could see neither hide nor hair of any Enduroland signs, so a mild panic set in as I quickly checked the Enduroland website for the postcode once more. Heading back down the road we spotted a car and bike/trailer combo so followed that and it lead us straight to the entrance – which had bunting, cones and big Enduroland signs!? We both said at the same time “how the f*** did we miss that the first time?” Still mild surprise over we bounced over the entry road and parked up near the top of the venue, just in case the weather turned wet and traction became an issue. And it certainly did look like it was going to rain as the clouds were heavy looking and the wind was particularly cold compared to the hot sunny weather we had been used to up until now.

into the pits we go!

Singing on we found Steve and Dan on the way back to the car and Steve had once again become the proud owner of a KTM - welcome back to the dark side! His new (to him) KTM450EXC was a 2009 (?) model that had a slightly chequered past (if you don’t mind me saying so Steve!). It had a set of ‘closed cartridge’ SX forks fitted and what felt like a harder spring on the rear too. Not only that but it had been tricked out in fancy ‘bling bling’ wheels – all this and it has “only been used for green laning”!!!!? Still, it looked to be in good overall condition so I was keen to give the new model 450 a try out. Tony in the meantime had run off to the loo and handed me the keys but I was still there talking to Steve when he got back. Tony showed off the battle scars from the previous weekend’s CHEC race and his legs/knees were black and blue, not what Steve wanted to see after we’d been trying to tempt him into racing there!

steves new ride

 

getting geared up - the clouds getting geared up for a soaking too!

Back at the car we set about gearing up and I overheard the guys (locals) next to us talking about the mileage on their bikes. They were all fairly new looking KTM’s but I was still surprised to hear ‘one hundred and something’ being branded about. I asked them if that was total mileage cos my old battle wagon has about 10K on now! Yep they were all near enough new as they’d not been into the sport long and had been doing as many Enduroland days as they could. Fair play to them for driving so far, as nearly all the venues are several hours drive away for them, this one being only just round the corner for them so they were well chuffed .

They spotted the redbikejohn sticker on the front of our bikes and asked if that was us. I replied that yes it was me and they commended why I was so calm talking on the videos and not all out of breath like they are when they ride? mmm I think they must have been watching someone else’s videos cos I think I sound like a steam train on them!

our neighbors on the new ktms

Once we were all sorted Tony and I set off on our first lap of this new venue. Initially the track took us on a winding route to the right of the main mx track. We switched back and forth between the trees and there were a few gentle slopes to break up the flatness of the terrain. Not that I noticed this as my first impressions were of the bumpy kind – man the going was terribly pockmarked. These bumps must have been made when it was wet and soft but now they had dried into a concrete like surface. After a couple of tight 90’ turns and a few short straights we dropped into a badly rutted track where it was best to keep your balance on the centre hump least you drop into the deep side ruts. Exiting the rutted bit there were a few more fast sections while all the time heading back towards the mx track.

steve and dan in the section just before the first part of the mx track

Slipping past a fence post (on most laps) we joined the lower end of the track near the tyre obstacles. This is where we had the first taste of the bark surface as we sped up to the flat left turn before getting to the first jump of the day. After the jump you could go straight on to the tyres or cut to the right and skip over a series of whoops, a small drop/jump and then the track curved around to the right followed by another curve to the left. A fast blast after the bends brought you out to the mx track proper.

play time on the tyres.
i tried it a few times...stalling on top of them on the first attempt!

an exhausted rider has a rest near the pits - it was a rough track!

Now this is the first time I’d ever ridden on a surface like this, but it works well. The bark does bank up nicely but it’s also fairly soft. This means that while the bank (berm) does not look very big you can really get the bike cranked over in it, BUT you need to keep your momentum up and use plenty of throttle! I found that the bends could be taken at quite a speed, as long as you hit the gas hard to pull you round the corner. Otherwise the tyres would dig into the soft surface and either stall you or wash out the front.

First up on the mx section was a left turn that had an uphill straight after it that brought you up to a right turn while still on the slope. Heading back down the hill the turns were repeated once more, but with slightly bigger banks and therefore higher speeds. Once we were heading back down hill for the second time the going was quite whooped out and you had to scrub off all your speed to make the tight turn off the track and into the woods once more.

Breathing hard by now there were a few tight bends followed by a more open faster bit before getting into the really tight stuff. Being covered these woods were a lot wetter than the surrounding countryside so it rutted up a lot quicker after a few laps. However the early laps caught a load of people out and they were struggling a lot for grip. I quite liked this bit though, as my bike is set up more for this sort of rough going than the faster jumpetty jump mx bits.

someone have a blast

Once we go back onto the mx track we nailed the throttle up the hill into a series of turns, up & down the hillside. The going became fairly rough as the day wore on. The bikes would shift the bark and make ‘dips’ which would make the bikes hop and skip some more, thus making the dips even bigger and deeper!

After this series of bermed bends came a fast blast between a couple of markers followed by a jump and then it was more or less the end of the lap. I was so knackered after each lap (taken at speed) that I pulled into the pits for a breather – hell maybe I should have taken the lap with some ‘speed’ then I wouldn’t have felt so shagged out!

now see the lap on the helmet cam!

By now it had started to rain but it wasn’t too heavy so we stuck it out for a lap or two then as the rain got heavier we headed back to the car for a sandwich and cold drink. It didn’t last long though and by the time we’d finished one roll it was easing up enough to head back out.

I thought this rain would have made the first part of the enduro section of the track and ice rink but it really wasn’t that bad, in fact within one or two laps it helped to round off some of the worst stuff. Being bark the mx track was unaffected by the rain but the second woods section got a bit wetter and this helped to form the ruts in the bends so it actually speed this bit up somewhat.

Nigel and crew

By now it was lunchtime so it was back to the car again to stuff our emaciated faces all over again! Food dealt with I remembered to pull out the helmet cam (unlike the week before at the chec race).
Like I did in the morning I’d let Tony and Steve go first then hang back for a bit at the pits. Once they got a bit of a lead I’d head off at speed to try and catch them up. This is good practice for racing as normally you can’t ride flat out in a race situation for fear of burning yourself out before the end of the race.

We got in a few lap like this then I swapped over to Steve’s new bike and gave that a whirl. First impressions? Front brakes didn’t have the same feeling as mine so that took some getting used to. But the biggest difference was that it didn’t turn in nearly as quick as my bike. Later on I figured out that because the front forks were sx spec and clearly a lot harder than my Dr Sox EXC ones my bike was diving a lot more on the brakes and that meant the angle steepened up a lot making it easier to tip in to a bend. It’s only noticeable for a few corners and then your brain adjusts to it and it feels ok again. Even though the suspension was a lot harder it rode the bumps and whoops a lot better than mine, which was surprising has I thought it would be a bit slap happy. The engine also had the legs on mine at the top end but then that isn’t too surprising seeing as mine has worn out valves (will do write up soon). Overall it’s a good bike and it just needs the brakes sorting out and some better tyres.
Getting back to the pits Steve came in looking a bit sheepish, he’d managed to dump my bike – again! I not sure of the whole story but him and Tony had a coming together on the mx track somehow, and my exhaust end can has the scars to prove it!

some film shot by Steve.
he's used some of the same lap footage as me, so you can see me overtake near the tyres in this one ;)

On one of the laps I overtook Steve and Tony before the second woods section so I pulled over in the woods for them to catch up. Once Tony was past I sat behind him trying to get past again. Out onto the mx track once more and we both gave it loads and I managed to get past into the first bend – only for the bike to stall! Being in the soft bark it meant that the bike almost stopped dead (well it did actually) and I fully expected Tony to come slamming into the side of me. Luckily for me he didn’t but he came up the inside, as did another guy on an mx bike. My bike fired up straight away and I was on the second rider’s back wheel by the next bend only for it to stall again!
Next was an uphill run that was quite bumpy followed by a left bend that took us back down the hill, again over terribly bumpy going. I made up some ground on the two of them braking into the bend and nearly ran into the second bikes back wheel. Pulling wide I went for the outside line round the right hand corner but as this was the longer route I didn’t get past. I kept the bike open and managed to gain ground up the hill and into the next left hand bend where I pulled level with rider number two. On the next downhill I got past and lined up to overtake Tony at the following right turn. Going too tight might have cut up the other rider (I couldn’t see him by now) so I opted to go wide. Tony either guessed that or he was struggling to stop after going downhill but either way he went wide as well. Slowing up I cut back across to the inside and got on the gas earlier overtaking him on the short straight and nailing it through the series of tight banked bends. Great fun and you can see it all at the end of the YouTube clip.
Having taken such a hammering from the track I packed up early for once and then headed back down to the track to see if I could get some shots with the clicky camera. Steve and Dan were still out on track so I managed to get a few of them.

Dan getting a little air time

Dan & Steve (still in his husky gear) looking a little worn out after a hard day enjoying themselves

Getting home was another matter. Luck for me I wasn’t driving but the traffic wasn’t too bad until just by junction seven. It was backing up there but then seemed to be moving again so I said we might as well stick to the motorway – bit of a mistake as we got stuck in slow moving bumper to bumper crap up until the Wycombe turning.

It was a long way to go but it’s worth doing as the track layout is great for a bit of fun. I’m not sure I’ll be a regular visitor to this venue purely because of the journey time, but for the odd day out it’s well worth a visit. Well done Nigel and his team for once again laying on a great day.

Second Opinion by Tony

After 11/2hrs it was great to disembark from the tin box even if it was into the leaden sky's of Ashby De La Birmingham. After meeting up with Steve and Dan , myself and RBJ signed on, then it was time to visit the porto potty courtesy of Costa Coffee's magic alexia. Those things never fail to remind me of when Johnny Knoxville got into one once it had been filled to the brim and they turned it upside down (God bless America!).

The track was a real Jekyll and Hyde afair with the first part being very hard and bumpy through the undergrowth leading fleetingly onto the MX track made up of bark mulch (really). There were a few 1/2 buried tractor tyres to play on in the 'hard' option then back into bumpy woods that rutted up nicely once we had had a few showers (well it was Birmingham). It was after one such shower that i had a tumble as I excited the last part of the mx track, just before the pits. Bloody typical I thought, 50% of the track is made up of soft bark mulch and I end up twatting my shoulder on the unforgiving terra (very) firma. However I did manage to put this right later in the day when taken out expertly by Steve who was riding RBJ's bike on the MX track. If anyone caught this misdemeanor on film please insert here..... (no such luck mate-RBJ). All in all a good day. Well done to Enduroland for another well run event (yes I am after a discount ).

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