Fully Sussed Rd1

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BY: Oliver Herdsman

Published: 8th March, 2012

After the beautiful weather we had down south this Saturday it was a real disappointment to wake Sunday morning at 0630 to rain on my window and a massive drop in temperature, from 13 down to 2.5. Brrrrr.  I had planned to pack the night before to avoid the stress of leaving it to the last minute but I failed on that count, so it was a mad rush to get everything sorted and in the car, have some breakfast, shower and then I was on my way at about 0730.  After about an hour and a half on the road, a couple of toilet stops (?!?), I arrived at Woodbury Common and parked up in the first car park I came to.  I then made the massive mistake of riding to the registration area in my regular clothes...I returned to my car ten minutes later, totally covered in mud and with freezing cold hands.

Anyway, race time was fast approaching, so I undertook the embarrassing manoeuvre of changing into a bib short in the driver's seat of a small hatchback and then prepared my bike, whilst waiting for my support crew (my hungover cousin and his more hungover friend) to arrive.  I gave my bottles and instructions to my cousin and headed for the start line.  Elite/Experts at the front with Sport riders (me) just behind and other categories spread to the left and right waiting their turn to go.   After waiting for what seemed like a really long time - shivers set in - we were off! Elite, Expert and Sports men all at once.  I was fairly quick off the mark and was in the first 15 riders around the first turns and heading into the single track.  Everyone pretty quickly spread out, the Elite leaders moving way out in front - the pace was fast but manageable.  The lap was fun, a mix of fireroad descents, fast and twisting single track and some killer short climbs!  About half way round I came to 'Nods Drop'(this only stayed in the lap first time round - it must have been deemed too dangerous in the conditions), it looked pretty sheer so I took the chicken run, which also happened to be steep and sketchy but it's nice to lose control every now and then.  Some really steep and sticky climbs followed where a lot of riders became walkers - I tried to stay on the bike (it's a bike race after all), though in later laps it got too sticky for me and I was forced to walk.  Towards the end of the lap there was a fun and fast descent, with bermed corners and a couple of lines where you could get some air, if you are that way inclined.  Coming out of the last corner my front wheel slid out in the mud and I fell hard, hitting my knee, hip, elbow and head and getting totally drenched in a puddle.  I got right back up and on the bike but there was still time enough for 5 or 6 riders to pass me and I had no momentum up the climb that followed.  Soggy and aching, I found it hard to get going again properly and I kind of limped around the last part of the lap.  Turning into the start/finish area at the end of the first lap I felt pretty drained and like I wanted to just stop and head home, my legs were so h e a v y, probably from a lot of heavy(ish) training and having no kind of taper in the lead up to the race, but I carried on (so brave), clumsily discarding my top layer and grabbing a fresh bottle from my cousin.


The drivetrain of my bicycle quickly began to deteriorate and I winced at the thought of the damage that was being done, just 6 days before heading out to sunny Portugal for a week of MTB fun.  I took what gears I could and kept going - looking at the lap times I slowed only a small amount each lap, which reflects how I felt...heavy legs and uncomfortably cold and wet but still enjoying it in some sick way.  The laps passed and I got more and more into sliding around the course, revelling in the lack of control I had over my bike into the corners but always exercising caution heading into the corner I fell at earlier.  My 'support crew' provided entertainment twice per lap in the form of semi-encouraging shouts, flashes of drawn on six packs and woodland sickness (a heartfelt apology to anyone unfortunate enough to be around them, at any point).  A fellow Sport rider recognised me from the bike shop I work at in Yeovil (I unfortunately cannot remember his name now) and we pretty much rode together the whole race (his first!), I think I probably hindered him more than I helped but he seemed to be enjoying himself, despite the mud and the cold - champion.


Passing through the arena coming into the 4th lap I learned it was to be our last, the conditions reducing everyone's race by one lap.  This was pretty welcome as the rigours of XC racing were already taking their toll on my winter turbo body and I was really feeling a bit battered!  Knowing it was my last lap I tried to push myself and enjoy myself, grinding up the climbs as hard as I could and making up as much ground as possible on the flats and descents - it was a good lap, the last lap always feels good, adrenaline takes over and tiredness turns to a sudden burst of energy and power.  I rolled in to the finish in 5th place Sport, which is an acceptable result for my first XC race of the year, especially considering all my training has been geared towards improving my endurance for 12 hour events.


This was a great race, it had the feel of a local but was super well organised and had a great course - well done to the Fully Sussed team and to all their marshals and support crew.  I believe St. Johns were there which is great - thankfully I didn't have to use them on this occasion but it's always nice to know help is on hand!   I'll hopefully be at all the other rounds of the series, next time in better form and striving to get my first ever podium. 

See you there!

Oliver Herdsman

XCracer.com