My first BDS- Ae Forest

After coming 4th at the Innerleithen SDA I was feeling a bit disappointed and that I really wasn't on form this year-I hadn't felt fast or confident in my riding at all. 

On the Tuesday before the BDS I went out for a ride with Jamie who had won the SDA at the weekend and was riding well this year. The snow had come back and we went over to ride some of the steepest trails in Grantown which was pretty sketchy but I was feeling a bit better and found following Jamie good for pushing my riding. I was also feeling a bit fitter than I had a week before.

Then on the Wednesday night it was back down south again to Abbington services ready for a coaching day with Ben Cathro at Ae on the Thursday. As there was no uplift on the coaching day we were just sessioning a few of the lower trails below the fireroad. At the start of the day I didn't feel great but as the day went on Ben got me to be more aggressive and confident with my riding and helped me learn how I would spot and choose lines. I felt like I was pushing myself more and going faster.

Friday was a pretty chilled out day. The guys at the Hope tech tent very kindly bled my brakes and in the evening I did a track walk with Rona and Rachel. The track walk was a completely new thing for me as I had never done one before, but I found it quite helpful. The track looked hard though! It was wet and muddy and rooty and had quite a few jumps and gaps in it including a very awkward looking stream gap. 

On practice day the weather was getting better and the sun had come out but the track was still very slippy. I was pleased that I managed to do the stream gap and this rooty drop off a tree. However as I started going a bit faster I then crashed on that drop which kind of knocked my confidence on it a bit. I also felt I was getting the hang of the muddy rooty sections and corners a bit more as well. 


I had decided that I was going to go round the big coffin jump and so there was only one more thing left for me to ride: the step-down. I really wanted to do it and I knew that I was probably capable of riding it but I just stood looking at it for ages and couldn't bring myself to just go off it. I left practice day feeling pretty disappointed in myself for not doing the step-down and really worried for the race the next day. 

Race day came and the track was still quite wet but was definitely drying out a bit. Before my seeding run I was feeling really scared. As I was pushing myself a bit more in seeding my run felt messy and I felt like I was making mistakes all over the place. I was really surprised to hear that I had seeded first. I did know that a few of the other girls had had crashes but it still felt quite good and definitely boosted my confidence for the race. Although in the first ever Junior womens category at a BDS there were 8 riders and some very strong competition so I knew I would have to up my game to win the race.

My new Banshee Darkside was handling well and I was getting more used to it. And I made sure to do a proper warmup at the top. I felt ready to race. As I had seeded first I was going off last for my race run. This both felt like a lot of pressure but also felt pretty cool. I really wanted to win after having such a bad first two races of the year. 

It felt like my best run yet. I felt fast. And then I took off over the stream gap squint and as I landed on the grassy banking my wheels just slipped out from beneath me. After that there was a section of flat with a berm and then a step up so I had to run and jump on my bike and then peddle up the step up. I made sure not to give up but was thinking in my head that I had messed up my chances of winning. 

After jumping down the elevator I sprinted as hard as I could to the finish, trying to get back any time I could. I could not at all believe it when the commentator announced that I had gone quickest. 

And one of the best parts was as the Junior Womens Category was sponsored by Rachel Atherton this year I won a sweet GoPro Hero 4 as my prize! 

Photos: Peter Smith and Sarah Barrett

Innerleithen SES Round 1 2015

The first round of Scottish Enduro Series at Innerleithen didn't exactly go to plan. But at least the bike was working well and felt good.

For the few weeks before the race I'd had an illness that had gotten progressively worse. It had really affected my chest and given me a horrible cough, and I'd ended up on antibiotics. It had also meant I hadn't been able to get any good training in so I was feeling way less than fit enough for an enduro race. I had decided that I wasn't going to go to the race but a few days before I began to change my mind. I felt I would be expected to go to it, and I would be annoyed at myself if I didn't at least give it a go. Anyway I might feel ok when I got down there, and the forecast was for warmer weather than up north. 

I set off in a group with 2 of the other girls who were racing. But after a bit I got distanced from them as I had decided I was just going to take it super easy to try and save myself for the stages. 

Although even after taking my inhaler a lot I was still finding I was still finding I could hardly breath going up the hill and my coughing was coming back. I had made sure to get plenty of sleep and really fuel up beforehand but still as I was going up I could feel the energy being drained from me. It was on the last climb to the top of stage 1 that I knew I probably wouldn't be able to finish this race, so I was going to give stage 1 everything I had. 

The first half of stage 1 was super fun and muddy, and I was really enjoying sliding about on all the roots. Then there was about a 30 second fire road uphill sprint, which wasn't so fun. I tried to sprint but was just breathing so hard I felt quite close to fainting. And one after the other people would fly past me, which was rather demoralising. I was pretty glad to finally get to the top of it and zoom down the steep little chute off the fire road. But just as I was descending into the second half of stage 1 my goggles suddenly steamed up and I could hardly see a thing. Not wanting to stop and take them off I continued on swerving my way down the muddy track, narrowly missing quite a few trees. I knew I was in some sort of muddy rut but I really couldn't see it very well. My front wheel must have hit the side of the rut and washed out because next thing I knew I had face planted in to the mud. At least this gave me a chance to take off my goggles. I scrambled up, untangled my bike and put the power down on the pedals now I could see again. But only a few corners later I was out of the trees and down the little chute to the bottom of the stage. To add to all that I had a bit of a nightmare getting my dibber to register at the bottom, and had to frantically wipe the mud off it before it finally beeped.

I felt annoyed that I hadn't been able to finish the race, and that I'd wasted an opportunity to get some good training in and practice on the Innerliethen trails. But I also knew what I had felt like at the enduro races last year when I had been fit and well and this wasn't it. I knew I would probably make myself more ill if I carried on. Now I'm going to focus on getting better and getting fitness back for the next races.

Perth Fair City Enduro 2014

Last year the Fair City Enduro in Perth was my first ever enduro race. This year I returned to event organised by Muckmedden feeling bit more prepared. I knew this was going to be pretty relaxed compared to most of the races I’d done this year but I still wanted to do well. 

I set off in the very first wave of riders which was good because we got round the whole thing while it was still nice and dry, and the sun even came out a bit. It started with the same long climb as last year and then the first out of the 6 stage was a brutal uphill sprint again. It was pretty hard but it wasn’t as bad as I remember from last years race. 

The downhill stages were mostly through the woods with a few tricky sections and slidy roots hidden under all the fallen leaves to catch you out, and they also had some punishing uphill sections in them. The downhills were quite a bit easier than the other Enduros I’d done this year but they were super fun and fast. It was pretty hard having to ride it blind though and not really knowing where the course was going. Quite a few times I got caught out in the wrong gear or went way to fast into a sharp corner and clipped a few trees.

My favourite stage was 3 which started in the woods down some twisty steep-ish trails and then down the bike park jumps and drops which were awesome fun.

I was the only under 18 girl competing so I won that category, but I was really pleased to have been 2nd overall woman behind Fiona Beattie as well. I was also pretty surprised to have won three of the stages and some pretty cool prizes.    

                  

King and Queen of the Hill Tweedlove Enduro

After a pretty bad crash had put me off the bike for a few days and knocked my confidence quite a lot; having only just come back from holiday and missed a few days of training due to travelling to and from France; and having not ridden my enduro bike for about 3 weeks, I wasn't feeling very prepared for this enduro and wasn't really sure what to expect.

I wasn't feeling very good on practice day and was struggling to keep up with people I could normally keep up with. Although the riding and trails were awesome, I wasn't really enjoying it and the fact that there was a time limit for the race- which at the pace I was going I wasn't sure if I was going to make- was constantly playing on my mind. 

The night before the race I ate a big meal and I ate a bigger breakfast than I had before the practice day which included some protein. I also filled my camel back up fuller, brought an extra bottle of water with me, and made my food more accessible so I could eat it while cycling. And I felt so much better during race day. Not wanting to miss the cut off time of 4 hours 15 mins for the whole enduro I went quite fast on the uphills but I felt I had enough energy to do this and I was still able to enjoy the downhills and really push it on them too. 

There were 4 stages in total. The first two were rooty, muddy, slippy, quite steep in places, but super fun. I made quite a few mistakes on these stages but I was still happy with my riding and I know I just need to build up the confidence to not dab my foot when I feel I’m about to slip out and to stick to my lines. 

The climb up to Stage 3 was pretty long one- from Peebles right to the top of Spooky wood at Glentress. Stage 3 was on some trail centre berms and jumps with a natural section at the end- a nice fast and flowy stage. But it had quite a few short uphill sections which I struggled a bit on- my legs didn't feel very strong on them.

Stage 4 was a downhill I’d already ridden in the Enduro World Series that was there and one which I really liked. The top section was quite rocky but really fast and was my favourite part of that stage. However this stage also had quite a few very punishing climbs, a bit longer than the ones in stage 3, and my legs were very sore at this point. This was the longest stage- from the top of Glentress right down the Peebles- so was quite tiring but it had a lot of variety which I liked. On the bottom section through the trees a stick got in my disc and stopped my front wheel moving so I had to stop and pull it out, but other than that I was quite pleased with how it went. 

Well done to Roz Newman on a well deserved win. I ended up 4th woman which I was happy enough with because before the race my goals were just to finish within the time limit and not get any time penalties, and to enjoy the riding, both of which I did. And I was the only junior girl competing.  

Scottish Enduro Round 3- Laggan

I was really looking forward to the Laggan Enduro- racing on trails I knew and in the dry! And after an awesome practice day getting some coaching from Emma Guy and Tracy Brunger, I was feeling quite good for the race. 

However I hadn't really anticipated just how hard stage 1 was going to be. Being down the black climb, up onto the old red, and then down a natural section to the bottom it was incredibly pedally, and full of lots of uphill sprints and rocky sections. I could feel I was quite slow on this stage as my legs were feeling quite tired and didn't have much energy to sprint. 

The next stage was funner- but still quite punishing- as it was down the black and then a natural cut through at the end. The black was flowing quite nicely, but then a silly line mistake and an over the handle bars lost me a bit of time. I really liked the natural section at the end though. 

Although the first two stages were really good, I much preferred the two stages over the other side on the newer, more flowy trails through the trees that were actually quite dusty for once. Even with missing the dibber at the end of stage 4 and having to run back to get it, these and the last stage down the orange with jumps and loose berms were the stages I did best in against the women- coming 3rd overall woman behind Tracy and Emma.

As I was the only Junior girl there I won that category, but I did place better against the women than I had at the previous rounds which I was quite happy about. 

Here's some video from some of the stages:

Scottish Downhill Championships Glencoe 2014

As I descended down the dry, dusty track on the Saturday practice day, it looked like we weren't going to have to race in the wet for the first time this year. But with dry also came loose and very skiddy, so the course wasn't without its challenges. My practice runs were going quite- I was gradually getting faster as I learned the course and I finally got the gap jumps. I was feeling quite good, but the course was very punishing on the body as it was so fast and rocky and after 5 practice runs my arms and legs were getting really tired, so I decided to stop there and rest up for the next day.

First race run

I was really nervous on the Sunday morning because I knew I did maybe have a chance of winning if I did a good run and got all my lines right. But I was also really looking forward to the race. I wanted to get a safe run in on the first run and then on the second run I could really push it. So on the first run I really focused on all the lines I wanted to take, and getting the corners good, pedalling wherever I could, and going as far on the gap jumps as I could. When I got to the bottom though I was really surprised to see that I had got the fastest time, beating the next Junior girl by 6 seconds. And then it turned out that it was the fastest time of all the women so far. I knew on the second run the other girls would definitely be stepping it up to try and beat me, but I had a good time down so I could afford to ride more on edge on the second run. However this lead to me making quite a few line mistakes on the top section and then by the bottom my arms were so tired and I went too fast down the rocky staircase and straight over the berm at the bottom. 

Luckily none of the other girls- or women- beat my first run time. So I came away with a Scottish Downhill Champion’s jersey, a trophy, and a massive cup- not bad really. 

Here is a video of some of bits of my practice runs and first race run.

Tweedlove Enduro World Series

I had done a number of rounds of the Scottish Downhill Enduro series but had a feeling that this was going to be a whole different ball game and I wasn’t wrong. For a start the race consisted of 8 stages spread over 2 days and a huge amount of climbing in between. To feel at all confident I also had to practice all the stages on Thursday and Friday. So I knew I had 4 very tough days ahead of me. Things were not helped by the weather, it poured down on Wednesday night. And just to make things extra challenging I only received my new bike- a Banshee Spitfire from Basecamp Bikes- on the Wednesday so I hadn’t actually had time to ride it. I should say a big thank you to Lindsay and Ben at Basecamp for getting it ready as my Mondraker would definitely not have coped on these trails.

The first practice day was hard technically and physically. It was so muddy and steep and my Hans Dampf tyres weren’t giving any grip at all. Somehow I got down the first two stages and then up the huge climb to Minch Moor. I thought once we hit stage 3 things were then going to get easier and for a while they were. I was just starting to feel more confident when the trail suddenly pointed down hill steeply downhill. Again it was really slippy and muddy and if I stopped I just couldn’t get going again. Neither was it easy to walk down. Crampons would have been better than my Five tens. It was also at this point that I realised I was totally knackered and that if I got this tired in the race I was going to have big problems. Eventually I got to the bottom of stage 3 and ground my way to the top of stage 4. I had really had enough and was seriously doubting I could do this. Fortunately stage 4 was a bit easier just being down the normal downhill tracks. That evening I decided E1 would probably be too much and it was going to be hard enough without the tight transition times. Fortunately I was able to change to E2, which made me much less nervous for the race and meant I didn’t have to do stage 3 which was a really hard stage, that I had a bit of a mental block on. 

The second practice day saw us on the Glentress stages. Fortunately they were a bit easier. More rocky fast trails, and less mud which which was a relief. I did stage 1 and then 4 which took me all the way down to Peebles so I could register. That was the first time I saw the event village. It was massive. All the big manufacturers trucks were there just like the Fortwilliam downhill world cup. I was starting to get excited and pretty nervous. A quick shuttle back to the Buzzards nest carpark and then I practiced stages 2 and 3 which were both pretty cool. Fortunately that night we managed to borrow a Mud tyre for the front wheel and also the weather was improving so things were starting to look up. 

Changing to E2 meant I had a later start time which was good in that I could have a lie in but not so good in that I would have the E2 men around me. They were quite unpredictable on the stages: pushing to get by me then crashing or holding me up on other bits. 

The bike felt a bit alien still and I kept thinking the front fork was diving but it was just me not used to the longer fork. The first two stages were a bit drier than practice but still so slippy and difficult. I was pretty anxious and struggling to relax into my riding. All things considered stage 1 went ok but stage 2 went pretty badly, as it was so slidy and steep and I was struggling to get into a rhythm. Then we had the big climb up to stage 4. As I was in E2 I didn’t have to worry about missing the cut off but instead I had a really long wait at the top before I could ride stage 4. Stage 4 was ok but still not feeling totally comfortable and struggled with remembering where I was going. I would be following the trail and then it would suddenly be taped off in a different direction. Getting to the bottom of stage 4 was a big relief and then I just had the 10 km ride back to Peebles. That night we looked again at the suspension settings and realised we had the pressures way too high front and back. So whilst I survived day 1 I was looking forward to going faster on day 2. 

Day 2 started with a huge climb from Peebles up to the Mast at the top of Glentress. Surprisingly after 3 big days my legs were feeling okay, and I was starting to feel quite positive. Stage 1 went pretty well but I was stuck in my little chain ring because the front mech wasn't working properly and I knew I could go faster. I was looking forward to stage 2 the suspension was feeling a lot better and I decided I was going to really to push it on that stage. There were quite a lot of pedally bits on stage 2 so I took a bit of time at the start of stage to recover from the climb. I went through the start gate and was finally getting up to speed, I was getting the feel of the bike and riding well. Unfortunately it didn’t last long, my chain came off and got jammed between the frame and the chain ring so I had to stop and try pull it out and spent ages trying to get it unjammed but couldn’t. The rest of the stage was pedally and so I had to walk to the finish. I was pretty  annoyed and upset that I had lost loads of time and any chance of a podium in E2 had gone. Just when I was getting into it. I was thinking there wasn’t much point in carrying on but eventually decided I wouldn't give up. Stage 3 was good: quite steep and slippy in places, but had a nice flow to it. I was still quite disappointed as I climbed up to stage 4, but as I passed all the E2 men walking up the hill I started to feel a bit better. Stage 4 was really long: basically from the top all the way back into Peebles. I started off fast feeling still quite strong despite all the riding I had done. I wanted to show what I could do and was starting to fly but then again my chain came off, I was gutted. I didn't want to lose even more time stopping to put it back on so I carried on not being able to pedal. Then to make things even worse, at the end of the stage there’s a steep chute onto a road and a really tight corner and I crashed at the corner just before the end gates. I wasn’t hurt badly which is more than can be said for the guy being stretchered off to hospital when I crossed the line. 

I wasn't very happy with my result: 4th E2 woman. But I realised it was a really good experience and a great atmosphere taking part in such a big race, and I had ridden further than ever before over 4 consecutive days and on harder and more exciting trails than I have ever ridden on. I now know I can make the transitions and with a bit more practice I can cope a bit better with the super steep mud slopes. I know what I need to do for next year to be able to compete in E1, and I will definitely be going back.