Gorrick Spring Series - Round 1. Snow Stops Play

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BY: Louise Robinson

Published: 5th February, 2012

Normally I would sit here on a Sunday night with glass of wine in my hand and an air of self-righteousness about me; safe in the knowledge whatever the race result I had given my all. Today however I feel somewhat a fraud. The race preparation went to plan. By yesterday evening the babysitters were booked, I was carbo-loaded, legs were ready, and the bike was race prepped - then it started to snow! By 10pm, with safety paramount the organisers of the Gorrick Spring Series had to throw in the towel and cancel the event.

But a babysitter in the hand is worth two in the bush and all that, so my husband and I set out as planned for Tunnel Hill with the aim of riding a few laps of the course and generally getting in a good ride despite the snow.

Now the thing about riding in the snow, apart from the obvious cold and wetness, is that (thank goodness) I don't have to do it very often. As a result I am absolutely rubbish it at. No grip, no traction, random changes of direction by my front wheel that seems to have a life of its own, then all of a sudden you go over something hidden under the snow and hit the ground anyway. The single track was not too bad (if you like riding on an ice rink with zero ability to turn or stop) but the fire roads were dire. Snow is a bit like riding in sand, energy sappingly slow, but with random slidey moments thrown in to prevent you actually making any progress. The course itself was a gem. Two and a half miles of twisty singletrack (deliberately shortened to allow for snow) with no significant climbs. However, my complete inability to ride in the snow combined with the knowledge of how fun the course would have been without the white stuff made it a nightmare.  Lap 1 was abysmal, lap 2 was only slightly better. The thought of lap 3 was too demoralising for words so we decided to head to another area to see if the snow was lighter there. However, after riding along normally innocuous fire roads that felt like riding through treacle, we decided to head home on the road. Boy was that a mistake! I had a complete wipe-out on a patch of snow and hit the deck hard with my right knee.  Off road the ground usually gives a little - on tarmac if doesn't.  I hobbled home with a sore knee, after a rubbish ride and to make matters worse I had written off a perfectly good pair of tights. Why is it never the old pair you take the knee out of? Why always the new pair?

So to sum up. 2 hours of barely raising my heart rate, more falls than I can even count, getting very cold and wet, 1 bloody knee and 1 pair of winter tights which will never be the same again. Not the best days riding I have ever done. But it must be good training! Things this miserable are always "good training". But I have done it now. That WAS winter. I'm ready for spring now.

 

Louise Robinson

XCracer.com

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