Dyfi Enduro, May 2003
A total of 5 Cambridge intrepids (Chris , Howard , Andy , John, Dan and
Shane) crossed the country, underneath wave after wave of torrential
downpour, to Macynlleth for the 2nd Welsh Dyfi Enduro. Most of us arrived
early on Saturday afternoon, but a combination of drizzle and the heady
attractions of Macynlleth town centre kept us from our bikes until Sunday,
and the morning of the race.
The race starts with a 5 mile drag from the town up into the Dyfi forest,
escorted by car. Its quite a feeling to be in a 350 person strong peleton,
and that 20minutes was good for warming up the legs. The real race then
begins apace, with a 3 mile long climb up to the highest point in the
forest. In typical fashion, Andy was up with the leaders. About half way up
the climb, Chris on his single came past. Watching him wind his way up with
one quarter the cadence of the rest was like a slo-mo scene from the matrix.
The group was well stretched out by the time we were welcomed to the top by
the now famous brass band. Despite heavy rains on the run up to the race,
the Dyfi trails did not dissapoint- the course did not become a mud-bog. The
mixture of fire road climbs and single track decents pleased everyone, and
there was no flat sections to be found. The rain held off and it was turning
out to be a good day.
Then disaster struck. First Chris, with a single-speed freewheel that would
not engage, and no amount of kicking was going to help the cause. Second was
Andy, with a burst tyre. The rest of us carried on until the food stop,
where Jon and Dan refilled their bottles. I was feeling OK so carried on.
Then on the very last descent, I came off. Skidding to a halt, inches from
the fireroad that decends to the finish, my chain had broken. Doh! As it was
mainly downhill to the finish, I decided to push the bike to the end. Dan
came flying past a few minutes later, finishing in little over 3 hours (50th
out of 350), followed by Shane, Jon(who had to fix a puncture), Andy(who
recieved a free continental tyre from the marshalls), and Howard.
As with last year, all agreed that this is one of the best races in the
calendar - a decent length, without being stretched to the unnatural
proportions of some 100k races, and with a great course that stands up to
the weather.
Shane Slater
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