Tuesday, October 12, 2010

First dirt criterium

  Tonight was a first for me. I've never participated in a 'dirt criterium' before and the experience was a good one. I wasn't sure what to expect and had brought the dually after briefly contemplating bringing the 'crosser. This proved to be a good decision. During the racing there was a guy on a 'crosser struggling on anything other than the open bits. IMNSHO the perfect steed for this racing would've been a 29er hardtail and there were several punters rding them tonight.
The course was a 3km loop consisting of grass, hardpack dirt paths, newly cut tight singletrack, obstacles resembling large mounds, a couple of sandy areas and some rutted doubletrack. My impression of the track was that it's not the sort of place you''d go to ride your mountain bike but as a course for racing it was excellent. The creators managed to come up with a track of decent length and enough challenges to make it enjoyable for mountain bikers and still have plenty of places for the fitter crew to power along.

A few familiar faces were amongst the 44 punters including Pete, Chris, Nigel and the effervescent Cheryl.

I'd entered in the largest grade (B) and we were keen to get going before the mozzies made a meal of us. 'A' grade came through to complete their first lap and then 'B' was released. Didn't take too long for the field to spread out. Highlights of my race included :-
- missing one turn and briefly going the wrong way
- couple of sketchy moments turning off dirt paths (still reluctant to ride with low pressures in my front tyre...)
- oversteering in the start/finish area and coming to a complete halt so I didn't bring down the pretty bunting.
- Missing a turn in the fast, tunnel like singletrack, ploughing through a bush and then realising I was still on the track!
- Being passed by the three eventual 'A' grade winners going Warp Factor 9 .

I was supposed to do five laps but after four they were pulling people off the course which was fine by me. Pete ended up finishing fourth in 'B' - not bad for an adventure racer!

I think the night was a great success. It was great to get out on the dirt and get the heart rate up on a school night. Much fun was had racing an interesting track and located within the metro area. In the past I have ridden through this area as part of my commute to/from work but I never thought it would suitable for mountain bike racing. How glad I am that some of the genius's at Perth MTB club have a better imagination than I. I'd like to get out there during daylight hours and get some pics of the course.  Top marks to the organisers (just don't run out of bunting next week!) I'd encourage anyone who doesn't mind a dose of mid-week dirt competition to get out there and give it a go. Only $5 if u already have a MTBA licence. Don't forget your Aeroguard (or mozzie repellent of choice).   Unfortunately I wont be able to attend next week but I'm looking forward to having another crack at this format of racing in the following weeks.
 
Details of my ride can be found here.
Pete's report is here.

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