SSUK

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BY: Melanie Alexander

Published: 23rd August, 2010




This year's Singlespeed UK was held at Cwm Rhaeadr a small man made trail in the scenic Towy Valley in mid Wales.

The Course had a long brutal climb that seemed to get steeper and steeper. Too steep for the majority of the singlespeeders and if you had the fitness to run up the hill as your heart rate peaked then it would of been quicker to run and with less after effect on the legs. Only two riders managed to clear the climb, Mark Spratt and Rich Lansdowne and were both rewarded with very nice prices for their huge efforts after. I cleared about a 3rd of the climb on my first lap before giving in to the pain and deciding not to attempt it again.

Once up the climb we were rewarded with the 4k of man made singletrack that descends gradually through the forest. It was so much fun and for me well worth pushing the bike up the hill for. With 12 weeks of no mountain biking and still feeling extremely stiff and rusty, 4 times down this descent was just what I needed to help start building my confidence back up. It was not that technical and flowed really well meaning you could definitely pick some speed up and had to be on the ball, it was good fun.
 
Those who have taken part in Singlespeed UK before would know that the popularity of the event is not due to the race itself but more about the post race party and having a fun weekend.

It was held in a fantastic location for this. Camping was in a nearby farm in a beautiful setting completely surrounded by hills. There was a large barn for the post race party where in addition to lots of space for people to socialize the 'Drop off' were serving food from their doubledecker bus, plus a bar and venue of the mini-bike race. As well as serving food throughout the weekend, the Drop Off also provided the post-race meal for all riders.

The price giving was entertaining with amazing prices. Cotic, Genesis and Lynskey bike frames, Exposure lights, Crank brother handlebars were among the many prizes for the person who could eat the most jaffa cakes, the first to stop for a pint during the race, happiest rider, the riders who cleared the climb and many others.


 
The most competitive parts of the weekend seemed to be the tug of war as teams of five competed determinedly against one another plus the very feisty finals of the mini bike race where kids bikes were raced round a short but twisty track set up in the barn.  The 4 fastest women and men who had set the fastest times round the track through out the day went head to head. It took some skill to corner and keep both wheels of the mini bikes on the ground. The final, for a Lynskey frame, came down to the fastest male and female with Pippa Lansdowne being a bit more feisty than your average woman beating her way to the win.
 
On Sunday we returned to the trail in Cwm Rhaeadr for a couple more laps round the actual trail before retreating to the nearby waterfalls for a dip in the freeeeeeeezing water (so exhilarating), BBQ and bathing in the sun. It was such a fun event and fantastic weekend catching up with friends, one not to be forgotten, full of laughter and stupidity.

A big well done to Matt Page and fiance Nia for working so hard behind the scenes in organising the event.

Photos by Matt Cope www.mattcope.co.uk
Thanks to our sponsors; XCracer.com, Accellerade, Exposure lights, Gary Fisher.