Bang goes that theory

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BY: Rob Smith

Published: 1st June, 2010

I've been playing around at this racing thing for about 3 years now and up until Saturday I've not raced in the rain and that includes a couple of seasons of  Soggy Bottoms.  It was only a matter of time.  

 

What a difference a day makes

After dodging a car fire on the A38 and getting stuck in the exodus from Cardiff we made it to Margam with time for a practice lap. OK there were a few hills, but it was some of the dodgy descents that were more focusing than the final climb up to the trig point. So finishing the lap I was happy that come the race I'd be able to give everything a go and maybe only crash once a lap. 

And then it rained!

 

Stitch in time

Getting back to the venue to find the Certini enclave empty and being looked after by the neighbour, it became apparent that all was not well.  Maddie had taken a header down one of the descents and had cut her arm as well as given herself a nose bleed and team certini (rescue) had swung into action collecting her from the St Johns ready for a trip to Hospital.

 

Slaying the dragon

I have a bit of history with Margam, it was one of the first marathon events I entered many years ago. We drove up, camped over night, I went out did one lap and then put my toys back in the pram and drove home. So I really wasn't looking forward to Margam anyhow and seeing how the over night rain had effected the earlier categories things weren't looking good for the Masters Race at 1500; with the Experts lapping around the 30 min mark and with conditions worsening I had concerns that if I did the full four laps I'd need light to see so I made the decision to only ride three laps.  Lining up on the penultimate row on the grid Martyn took pity on us all and reduced the race to three laps, a silver lining in the cloud which shrouded the trig point and the top of the course.

  

To finish 33^rd first you must finish

Under leaden sky's the gun fired and we were off.  The front end kept the pace reasonably slow which allowed me to hold on to the back. Up the first climb and into the traverse which had been so much fun the previous day. Unfortunately being at the back of the bunch meant walking/running/sliding along rather than riding the first section. The weather meant that my glasses fogged up pretty quick so on the fire road after the descent that caught Maddie out I had to remove the clear lenses leaving me with just the optical inserts in my Adidas Evil Eyes.

As the first lap progressed the air was thick with imaginative combinations of Anglo-Saxon expletives as riders fell, slide, tumbled and attempted to ride around the slippery, challenging course. Hitting the 1K plus climb was actually a relief but perhaps that was because due to the low cloud and misted glasses I never knew where the top was.  Let me tell you descending down to the start with limited visibility was "interesting" and might explain some of my more inventive line choices.

Second lap pretty much like the first but I must say I thought about pulling up as I could see even less this lap but the sounds of encouragement from the guys from certini and the fact that my wife Jane had been stood in the feed zone all race, meant there really was no choice, I had to finish my last lap. 42 odd minutes later and I was done.

 

Monkey off my back

I'd completed a Margam event relatively unscathed and despite the conditions enjoyed it.  I've got my best result this year and now I have a four month break from the nationals until the last round as I'll be in Aldershot competing in Inter Service Enduro Champs when the BMBS Circus hits Dalby in July.

 

And finally…

My sympathies to all those that were unfortunate enough to have bikes stolen over the weekend; and to all those who went home injured a speedy recovery to you all.

 

Rob still picking mud from his ears!