We say it every year, but that was an epic! As usual, getting there was tough, with the fear of road closures due to the snow, the A9 was pretty slushy, and the access road to the forest was still ice and snow when we arrived on the Thursday (this meant we got to use the snow chains though!). Myself and Drew were riding as a Bionicon UK team, in a pair, on their fantastic Golden Willow adjustable geometry bikes.
We set to work getting the club pit area assembled in the snow, then lent a hand digging snow off the last few hundred metres of singletrack, then off to town for some dinner. On Friday the rest of the club started to arrive, and after an interesting entrance from one of the campervans, we cleared the full pit area of snow (felt like most of the weekend was spent digging!), and everyone took turns helping out with the carpark marshalling (basically pushing cars out of snow banks!).
Race day came, and for the first time in a 24 hour, I wasn't in the Le-Mans start, with Drew doing the honours there! It was odd to be watching the start, but knowing that I'd still be racing.
With the recent thaw, the race course (now largely cleared of snow) had turned into the Somme, 1914, and riders quickly ditched ice tyres (although there were enough icy patches to make the course "interesting") for more suitable treads. Almost all the Walkers CC teams (except the soloists) finished lap 1 in the same, big pack, and stayed remarkably close over the first 7-8 hours. The BBC Adventure Show lost Dougie Vipond (riding in Walkers CC Kit after our support 2 years ago!) early on, crashing on his 2nd lap and earning a trip to A&E with concussion!
We were fairly quickly established into 5th place, occaisionally popping into 4th with changeovers, and going comfortably well. After a few laps the whole course became rideable, with the snow packing down on the final climb, but the fire-road was still a slog, and the final descent a bit slippy in places with the ice-tyres off.
As the night wore on, temperatures dropped, and the now frozen (but grippy) fire roads gave the riders some respite from the mud. The frost made the more technical sections difficult, as each individual rock was now coated in frosty slush! Through the night we made 4th place our own, and were slowly chipping away at 3rd (1st and 2nd places were clear out front). Heading out for my 11th lap, with the dawn slowly breaking, I realised that the overnight rain had frozen on the ground, and the fire-roads were now sheet ice! So my only crash of the day was going uphill, in a straight line! I passed the 3rd placed team at the entrance to the technical stretch at the top of the course, and pushed as hard as I could everywhere it wasn't icy to open up a gap, and as Drew began his 12th and final lap we had 15 minutes advantage.
I got the ice tyres back on for the final lap, and gave it everything, finishing 30 seconds behind my fastest lap from Saturday, and 1 lap clear of the 4th place team to grab a podium spot.
Despite 3 brake pad changes (per bike!), the Golden Willow's performed admirably - surefooted on the technical climbs, efficient on the fire-roads, and plush and confidence inspiring on the descents and technical sections (it was amazing how quickly I reeled riders in on the bumpy stuff, and the energy saved through these sections!).
I can now confirm that Alex Glasgow was right - riding the 'Puffer in a pair is harder than solo, the concentration required due to the higher speed (and to make the most of your laps off), plus you never really get a rest.
Off to bed now.
Neil Walker
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