Gorrick Kawasaki 100

BY: Louise Robinson

Published: 5th May, 2014

Anyone will tell you the most important part of any race is the preparation. There are lots of schools of thought on what makes the perfect preparation but I am pretty sure none of them involve a day of fence building before a 100k enduro. We lost the rear garden fence in the December storms over Christmas and through a combination of bad weather, lack of enthusiasm and the fact that you can hardly buy fencing for love or money at the moment it has taken this long to get round to fixing it. Unfortunately, a bank holiday weekend was the perfect opportunity and the fact I had a little race in the middle of it was just pure inconvenience. Never mind, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...and this did, nearly kill me that is.

The 7 lap start - lead out by race winner Tim Dunsford

As I might have mentioned before, I am entering the 12 hour solo at Bonty this year and yesterday’s race was a big milestone in my preparation. I have not spent over 6 hours in the saddle since my last 12 hour race back in 2011 so the Gorrick 100 was an ideal opportunity for a bit of distance training and an exercise in finding out what works and what doesn’t on a long ride. Learning point one: My Assos shorts are lovely - I will definitely be taking these to Bonty. Wearing team kit over the top just resulted in a J-Lo bum and after nearly 7 hours, bruising in places that haven't been bruised since my darling daughter came into the world five years ago. Doubling up did not work for me.

The 2 lap fun race - XC whippets and weekend warriors

After all the rain (which has been almost constant for the last 6 months) we had a single day of sunshine before the race in order to dry out the course. It worked...in places. Over a 9+ mile lap, there were only really a few yards of wetness. But boy were those few yards wet. Proper gloopy, sloppy mud, edge to edge across the trail. But once these few yards were negotiated, the rest of the course was dry and in places dusty. The organisers had taken pains to provide an endro course, rather than an XC course. By utilising every drop of single track at the top and bottom of the hill, they kept the climbing down whilst keeping the distance up. With very little fire road, this was a fabulous fun course but absolutely unrelenting.

Amanda Brooks - eventual winner of the ladies 7 lap race

Despite a clash with the BC national race in Cornwall, attendance was at its usual high level. In the 7 lap race, 6 ladies mixed it with the men on the start line. An amazingly eclectic mix of riders enter this race. Everything from the local XC whippets looking for new Strava KOM’s, to the weekend warriors who’s challenge is to make it to the end in one piece. With 7,5,4,3,2, and 1 lap opitions there is something for everyone. And not to mention the fat bikes. The new uber niche. If 100K off-road seems too easy, do it on a fat bike like Scott Swalling!

Doing it the hard way - Fat biking

I deliberately started in the middle of the pack, aware of my usual tendency to go out too fast and fade before the finish. Although I am sure the front of the race went off like mad things, the middle of the pack set a very conservative pace and I was happy to sit in and enjoy the riding. The first 5 laps progressed without incident (except a bit of chain suck that was annoying rather than problematic). I ping ponged repeatedly with Amanda Brooks and spent a good lap or so riding with Banjo Cycles regular, Chris Hillier. Lap 6 felt hard but I was still in the lead… just. Lap 7 was a nightmare. I finally succumbed to my urge for a wee (which had been with me since lap 2) and got ridiculous cramp as I tried to peel off layers of clothes (girls can’t do the crouching dwarf in bib shorts). As I peered out from behind a tree (oh the glamour) I saw Amanda sail past to take the lead. By this point I was in my own little mental battle and it took everything just to finish the lap, let alone give chase. I rolled into the finish in second place, very glad to be able to stop riding. Learning point 2: Go way, way slower at the beginning for Bonty.

Flagging a little on lap 7

Other learning points:
• My shoes were great, no blisters and no pain.
• My gloves are worn out, buy a new pair quickly to get them worn in by Bonty
• Having a camelbak filled with water ready in the pits to grab if drinking from bottles is difficult was great BUT make sure it is set up for me, not my five year old daughter, before the start
• My old-style roadie peak cap was great at keeping the mud out of my eyes but gave me chronic neck ache from looking up under it – ditch this for Bonty

Mr Brass Monkeys (Si Panter) finds his race mojo at Porridge Pot Hill

All in all, another fabulous event. Thanks Gorrick. Thanks Kawaski. And thanks to all the riders. I found everyone on the course to be friendly and in good spirits. Lots of banter and the general camaradary really helped to get everyone home in the end.

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