Enduroland – 12th Jul 09 Great Brickhill or ‘Tall Pines’

Having missed the last CHEC race at Penn Wood due to a rather bizarre case of vertigo, I was keen to get back onto the bike and get some practice in. Enduroland on the 12th of July was an ideal event to see if I could still ride the bike properly.
I spent the Saturday pottering about the house as I didn’t need to prep the bike at all, as it hadn’t been ridden since I prepped it for the CHEC event. Oh I did do some work on it during the week though. It had sprung an oil leak near the sprocket somewhere during the Sidcup XC race. As I’d previously replaced the gear shaft seal, it had to be the drive shaft one this time. I picked up the seal for The KTM Centre after work and it was duly replaced. While I was off sick I decided to replace the gear stop arm on the shift mechanism as well, as this is a weak spot on RFS engines and an upgraded part is available from KTM. This worked out to be quite a tricky job if you don’t take out the clutch basket, but I got there in the end and only bumped into the other (alarmed) bike twice while losing my balance! However the next day all the noise had been too much for the poor little 450 as there was a small wet spot on the garage floor - again! After several investigations and wiping clear it become evident the gear shaft seal was leaking once more. Some crap must have been compacted in by the chain or overenthusiastic use of the pressure washer. Anyway it didn’t take long to replace it and it was less then £2 - no worries.

What was concerning me though was the amount of rain falling on Saturday afternoon. The weather forecast was for rain on Sunday and I started to imagine the quagmire the track would turn into if it kept on raining all night and during the next day. Sitting up late and watching ‘Armageddon’ on TV, I was more worried about the other great event ‘The Great Flood’! I went to bed with rain still beating a pattern on the windows.

Sunday – ta da! The sun was out, birds were singing and all was good with the world. Ha – the sun shines on the righteous!

I somehow manager to get a little lost getting to the venue. Twice I was driving up new by-passes that the GPS was convinced was a field in the middle on nowhere! Both times the several mile long diversion was in completely the wrong direction.

As soon as I got to the track I realised I’d not been there before. I’d been thinking about the other location at Aston Tirold, so I was please to get a chance to try this one out before it changed hands and we become unwelcome.

Getting kited up I got a text from Ben who was there as well, and turned out to be in the van behind me but one. Pete turned up just as I was about to go out so I said I’d see him in a bit and popped out for a quick two laps.

The track started off by heading down the open field and then looped back and into a turn before entering the undergrowth in a banked turn. A sand track that was wooped out lead up to a couple of root lined bends through the trees then hitting another banked turn which lead you down the hill amongst the trees. What followed was one of the best sections of track I have ever ridden. The course flowed up and down the hillside in the woods, each turn was nicely banked so you could get the bike leant over and really power out the berms
There were a few steep slopes to get up and I must say a lot of people were having trouble on them. However due to the soft sandy going all it took was to power on and shoot up the hill – unlike the normal stuff I get to ride that is clay based and you have to be careful not to overpower the rear wheel on the 450 by feeding in too much gas. A few roots started to get exposed but the bike still bounced over the top of them without difficulty.

Below is a short clip of me riding the woods section

Once out of the woods we headed out across the open fields down into the valley that dominated the area. The track curved up and down these hills several times and it was a chance to practice my flat corner skills as these are a weak point of mine.
Eventually once we’d lopped back up towards the pits we entered another section of woods that flowed very nicely once more due to the (slightly smaller) berms.

Two laps in (at race speed) and I was feeling the pressure on my arms, so I pulled in and headed back to the car for a hot cross bun and a coke. I also geared up with the camelpack and camera, then popped some energy drink powder into the bladder as I was already feeling a bit drained.

Teaming up with Pete and Ben I switched on the helmet cam and sat behind them while we did a lap. The pace through the woods was a bit more controlled now and my tired arms weren’t taking such a beating. The flow was also a little bit better as there were fewer bikes stuck on the slopes. We still had a few hold ups, but nothing major.

Once out on the open going I overtook Pete and sat behind Ben for a while and just before the last woods section I overtook again and enjoyed a great run through the trees without getting held up at all. Looking back at the footage I’m disappointed to see that there is some moisture build up inside the lens which is disappointing, but isn’t too bad. It’s very noticeable when the cam is looking into bright light from the dark area of the woods but otherwise it’s sort of ok.

Me filming Ben and Pete

Pulling in to re-group I think Ben went back to the van, so Pete and I set off again with him in the lead. Mucking about pulling a few wheelies a Honda xr got between us, so I was unable to see Pete on film – until we came round a corner and found a 300 exc revving its guts out on the floor and Pete scrambling up the slope to switch it off!
Pulling up I parked the bike and signalled the following bikes to slow down while I walked over to help pick Pete’s bike back up. I suggested we have a short break so he could gather his thoughts and after five minutes we set off again. Unfortunately within three corners Pete tried to knock over a small tree with his bike, but only managed to break the hand guard on his KTM.
We made our way back to the pits and Pete set about repairing the damage with I grabbed a coke and something to eat. Plastics repaired I helped to free off the sticky throttle, then got the lockwire out of my spares box to wire the throttle cable end in place, to stop branches pulling the gas open wide.

We managed a few more laps with Ben but just after lunch Pete wrist was hurting too much so he called it a day and headed off home. After another few laps I also decided to pack up. It was near the end of the day anyway and I’m a bit wary of the ‘one last lap’ frame of mind after Lane End!

Another cracking day, one of the most enjoyable tracks I’ve ridden on, hopefully not the last time we get to ride here.

Highlights of the day -
with Pete crashing into a tree, and also the last woods section shown as well

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