Bristol Oktoberfest 4hr solo

5.30 on a Saturday is not a time I make a habit of seeing too often but this weekend was ‘Oktoberfest’ at Bristol’s Ashton Court so I was prepared to make an exception. By 8.50am I was stood in a group of about 500 racers at the bottom of a grassy field with wet feet looking up the hill trying to spot where I had left my bike, wondering if I should have just stayed in bed. No-one told me I would have to do any running in this ‘bike’ race! The mob mentality showed total disregard for the starters orders as the crowed started to inch up the hill with about a minute to go and the race started while the count down was still at 10. Fortunately the run was only short and I was about 10th into the first section of singletrack which was good as it meant I didn’t have to worry about picking my way through the field. The first section, as with the majority of the course, was like a well-groomed trail centre. Smooth berms and the odd jump or section of pump track. It was only really 1 rider wide so to pass people it really was a case of ask politely and wait to be ushered through. Even at this early stage of the race I was frustrated by being stuck behind people. We dropped out of the woods at he bottom of a gravel road climb which gave me the opportunity to pass a few slower riders and get some clear air. It also gave Paul Brenan the opportunity to fire past me and away into the distance in a cloud of dust. I didn’t chase, I thought there was no way he would be able to keep that pace up for the rest of the race and if he tried I would catch him later in the race. My priority was to settle into a comfortable pace and try to stay consistent. The next section was one of my favourite parts of the course. As you entered the woods the course reverted to smooth berms that begged you to lay of the brakes and wind full-pelt through the trees. I think I hit this section harder and faster with every lap. This lead into an uphill section of singletrack before a switchbacked fireroad descent, allowing you to clear any slow riders in your path. The toughest climb of the course then pulled you up to yet more man-made singletrack. The final section of singletrack was possibly the most enjoyable, it started with a BMX pumptrack style section and some 180 degree berms you could hit without braking followed by a couple of table-top jumps and a couple of steep rock garden sections before 3 flat out rock drops placed you at the bottom of the climb back up to the start/finish. For this section it was vital to get some clear air because less confident riders were taking the rocks very slowly and it could lead to a lot of lost time if you were unlucky. The first lap went pretty smoothly and I had a clear run at most of the sections. By half way through the second lap I had seen glimpses of what the rest of the race would be like. I was quickly catching back markers and having to pull off some pretty sketchy moves to get past them. The longer the race went on the more groups of riders I had to pass and as the speed of the lapped riders increased, so did the difficulty of getting past. It is one thing passing someone whose challenge is to get around the lap in one piece. It is much harder to get past someone who is actually racing for a position and doesn’t really want to slow to let you past. The constant catching riders, slowing and waiting for a passing place and then rapid acceleration to get past at the first opportunity was possibly the hardest challenge of this race and I was cautious not to push too hard to make up lost time. My task was made harder by riders who glanced back, saw a man in lycra and thought they didn’t need to let me past because I would be slow on the technical stuff, only to find that when they had given their all and started to coast on the flatter section I was still on their wheel and looking for somewhere to get past.

By midway through the third lap I was increasingly aware my back tyre was getting soft. I could feel it squirming in the mid-berm compressions and pump sections and nearly killed a photographer when I tried to take off on a jump he was photographing only for my tyre to slip from underneath the wheel sending me off course in his direction. I stopped at the pits at the end of the lap and topped up but my 6th lap it was starting to feel soft again. It seemed to be lasting about an hour and a half so after topping up at the end of my 6th I was hoping I could make it to the end without another stop. I did but only just.

After 3 hours I still felt pretty good and I had started to calculate how many laps I could fit in. Unlike most other endurance races you had to finish the lap within the 4 hour cut off for it to count, rather than finish the lap you are on once the time was up. I was lapping at just under 30 minutes/lap so the though of having one more lap after the one I was on was a big boost. I was boosted more when I spotted the long time leader going in the opposite direction through the trees and worked the gap out to be little over 2 minutes. I pushed on as hard as I dared but was cautious of over-doing it because I could feel the beginnings of cramp in my legs. Going onto my final lap I was told I was in second so I knew I had to push and there might be an opportunity to take the win. Unfortunately the straights were just too short and I never caught a glimpse of Paul on the final lap. I finished strongly with a sprint finish against part time team mate Alex but didn’t manage to make inroads into Paul’s lead. For my efforts I won a luminous Buff and, in accordance with th bevarian theme of the event, 2 bottles of Erdinger weissbeer and a large pretzel. Not your usual prizes but that and a huge welsh rarebit curtosy of The Drop-Off cafe certainly hit the spot!

Overall I am happy with my performance. It is the longest ride I have done since my accident (by duration, including road rides) and although I don’t think I could have lasted much longer at that speed my lap times were very consistent so I judged the effort required well. The only disappointment is that if I had not had to stop to top up my tyre I might have been able to see Paul on the last lap and managed to put in an extra effort to catch him. Still, it was a much improved performance from Dusk-til-Dawn last weekend and I have to be happy with that.

There should be some photos up on www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk at some point this week. Unfortunately my designated photgrapher is past the age of 40 so doesn't understand how to use a smartphone so here is one from someone else!