Enduroland - Scotland 16 May 2010

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When Nigel of Enduroland invited me up to Scotland for their first ever Scottish event I jumped at the chance. I was sure it would be a good day out, as the more rugged natural terrain of Scotland was bound to ensure a more varied and challenging day out, compared to the average south east venue – and I was right! But before we get too far ahead and jump straight into the action on the 16th of May, there was plenty of excitement leading up to the weekend. First off I was still nursing my hurt ribs so I didn’t bother to go to the 9th of May Enduroland event and stayed at home instead. That didn’t stop me coming down with a cold and a chesty cough though in the week leading up to the 16th , so I began to wonder if going to Scotland was a good idea. Rushing home from work on the Tuesday to deliver my bike to Nigel (so that it could be transported to Scotland in the Enduroland van) I was puffing and wheezing like a old git (ok I know I am) but I was feeling decidedly unwell along with it. What happed next didn’t help matters at all and I must say it kind of put the wind up me for a bit.

lucky escape

I was trailering the KTM to the other side of Aylesbury (to meet up with Nigel and his van) and took a small detour on a minor road. I was on the phone to Nigel at the time and all of a sudden the trailer tipped over and my bike disappeared from the rear view mirror! Looking in the driver’s wing mirror I saw bits of plastic and number plates scattering all over the road. Luckily I had the peace of mind to keep my foot down and all of a sudden the trailer re-righted itself, crashing back down on two wheels. Making my excuses to Nigel I pulled over to inspect the damage. As luck would have it the bike had remained securely fastened and was completely unmarked. However the rear light board was ripped in half with lights, number plates and bits of white plastic scattered all over the place. I quick jog down the road to retrieve both mine and Tony’s number plates (we double stack them) didn’t do much good in the lung department, but just then Nigel arrived so we quickly loaded the bike into his van and they roared off as he still had to get to the airport that night as well.

ouch!

Standing alone I surveyed the scene again and placed the bit of evidence together. As soon as I saw the missing spare wheel I realised what had happened. The wheel was mounted on two studs welded to the trailer. These had fractured and the wheel had dropped down passing under the LHS wheel lifting the trailer – just as I went round a left turn. This flipped the trailer over – almost onto its side. In fact the only reason why it never turned over completely was the fact that the outrigger dung into the tar and prevented it going any further. The reason I know this is that the corner was all scrapped which made it rather jagged – just waiting for an unsuspecting shinbone. Not wanting to disappoint I walked straight into it, tearing my Jeep pants I bought in SA. The day was only getting better!

Scotland Here We Come!

the new Forth Bridge

view from the venue, looking off into the distance

Saturday Morning

Thankfully I was feeling a lot better by the weekend but it was still cruel and unusual punishment getting up at 4am to make sure I got the 7am flight at Luton. I wondered around the airport for a while looking for any of the other guys and bumped into one of them. After a bit of a chat I headed off to get some breakfast. Time had passed me by without me realising it though so I was just sitting down to a nice beef and cheese Panini with a large coffee when I looked over at the TV screens and it said ‘now boarding’! Oh bollocks - I ate on the move by juggling my hand luggage, the food and coffee in two hands – John doesn’t leave food behind!
Edinburgh airport: I met up with two of the guys and Nigel’s other half picked us up to take us to the house where the team was staying. I’ve never been to Scotland as I adult but the hills looked very similar to the Brecon Beacons. It was nice to see the famous ‘Fourth Bridge’ as well.

the hungry enduroland team - dreaming of pies

view of the pits & car park

After a quick bag drop off we headed up to the venue which was the Scottish Off Road Centre. The team had been hard at work and the basic track layout had already been laid. As soon as we were kited up we followed Nigel on his quad (all the others were similarly mounted) and headed out on a lap of the track. Being a dedicated 4x4 venue there was plenty of rough terrain to use and the course had been laid out to take all the rough stuff into account and not necessarily the fastest route. In fact there were very few areas where you would get into the higher gears as the track was constantly switching left and right away from the paths to clamber over the many rocky slopes, banks, hills and just about anything other than what you’d find down south – and I was loving it!

Think of the very best bits of trail ridding in Wales plus the special tests at the Hafren and that was what the course was like. Back at the pits Nigel divided the team up into groups each with specific areas to cover. I was given the go ahead to go and ride it as much as I like – fine by me! I spent the next few hours riding the track just enjoying the change in scenery and getting to grips with the rocks, slopes and water crossings.

lunchtime entertainment - before they tried to blow up a quad

Lunch was served at about one’ish but while we were waiting for it to arrive the guys decided to try and get Joe’s quad running, as it was suffering from a suspected flat battery. Only problem was that there was no jump leads to be found. Mmm what to use? Cut some wire from the fence? Well that would be irresponsible (and stupid as it was electrified) so after a bit of a rummage around the only thing we could find was two security locks. Being I bit skeptical but sensing a good photo opportunity I watched closely – waiting for the big blue flash if it was earthed. Amazingly nothing happened (they need to try harder these Enduroland boys) but undeterred they pulled the battery from one quad to start the flat one, intending to remove the battery while it was running then replace the flat one – thereby charging the battery. Only nothing happened again but by pure chance the safety lanyard was pulled out and it burst into life - it had been wired in arse-about-face!

mmm lets see, naked chain on the earth and cloth covered one on the live right?

Lunch finished I set off once more but this time I did a little free riding to explore some rather gnarly looking climbs that Nigel had been talking about earlier. Eyeing them up I decided to ride down them first to get a better understanding of the layout. Starting at the easiest one I cleared that one and I got to the top without any drama so went to the next, building confidence as I went. The third one had a bit of a concave kick to it but after studying the slope for a moment or two a path became evident and once again I managed to clear it. By now I was pretty much knackered so I just chilled out riding around slowly and exploring, enjoying the scenery. My day’s riding finished, I chilled out at the van but the team set off right at the end of the day to include some extra rock face climbs.

Nigel chilling out on the top of the hill in the centre of the venue

getting comfy in the back of the van - ah plastic garden chairs!

getting a bit lively in the back now!
those petrol fumes are not bothering you are they?

Come the end of the day there was only one vehicle for us all to get back to the house, so we piled into the van getting comfy where we could, two of us on plastic garden chairs. That and the heady mix of petrol made for an interesting trip back. At the house we were all given a ten minute window to scrub up before heading off to the pub, which Nigel assured us was only one mile away. We took the car. The beers went down a treat but after the steak I only had room for Jacks ‘n Coke! I slept well that night.

no - overcrowding is perfectly legal in scotland!

get those beers in!

finishing someone else's dinner off - his had long gone!

only one had room for pudding - the skinniest one - bastard!

the next day - not quite so bright eyed and bushy tailed today!
i hope no one needs a medic...

Sunday - day of the event

Another early morning and the trip to the track was a decidedly more subdued affair compared to the night before! I kited up and sorted out my helmet cam. I’d pulled it off my other helmet to fit to my Airoh lid that I use for racing. Disaster struck while I was waiting for the day to start. My bike toppled over onto the helmet cam rig. I was only half successful in catching it and the foot peg hit the side of the chin bar, cracking it - £180 down the drain.

At around 9am we all gathered around the start point and Nigel had a little surprise in store of us – a piper played a little Scottish number on the bagpipes and then it was engines start, time to get out on track (again). I set off on the sighting lap but it was a little congested so I hung back for a while. Getting some clear track I kept to a steady pace as there had been some rain in the night and the early laps were slightly less grippy than the day before. The few extra rock faces that have been included late on Saturday looked daunting at first but were easy to clear as long as they were taken calmly and with enough momentum to clear them without using the throttle too much.

the rock garden

one of the rock faces - the camera flattens it out a lot!

The track twisted and turned so much it would be impossible to do a blow by blow account of the layout but the venue itself is centered on a rocky outcrop and most of the track is situated to the left, right and front of this outcrop – judged from the viewpoint of entering the site. We started on the far right hand side slowly working our way back and forth moving left all the time and climbing the slope several times before scaling the crest and carrying on over the top down the steep slope on the other side. Several bodies of water were crossed as well but most, if not all, of these had an easy opt out route to take should you feel too wary of tackling them.

I stopped now and again to take photos, which gave me the ideal opportunity to take a breather as I was really feeling the many laps I’d put in on Saturday (and the beers in the night). I found a piece of tape down right near a water splash. It was obvious someone had not wanted to get wet so they’d cut the corner. Unfortunately this made the track line up with a much more gnarly climb with a few rocky bits sticking out, a bit daunting for some. I stopped and waved the rider eyeing the slope with distrust and motioned him to go through the water – and he did. But instead of keeping to the left he decided the deep bit in the middle was better and the bike spluttered to a stop. While I retrieved some tape from the bushes to re-mark the course I listened to the familiar slow chuga chuga of a bike that was not going to start, shortly followed by the bbbzzzzz click click. I was kind of hoping the bike would start while I was fixing the tape but no luck and now he was trying to lift the bike out the mud but it was stuck. By now another rider had wadded in to help, so I gave in and helped push the bike out the ‘deeper than boots height’ water.

so where does it hurt?

a series of large whoops - good fun

Midday and I stopped a bit early, heading off down to the pits to chill out and to see what was going to be on the free buffet that Enduroland were laying on. Yep who said there was nothing like a free lunch!
In the afternoon I put in some more laps then chilled out talking to one of the medics. By mid afternoon Nigel went out on track with his new camera and he said he’d try and get a shot or two of me so I went out again for some more punishment .......... I mean fun.

getting ready for 'feeding time'

great buffet style lunch was laid on

coming out of a watersplash and lining up the hill

a submarine..... eer quad having some fun

By now there was only one thing on everyone's lips.... no not breadcrumbs and dust.... how we were going to get home due to the airports being closed. First off I wasn’t too worried but then when you start adding all the options together and the cost of them I decided that I didn’t like any of them so the flight would just have to be on – so there! Checking on the situation it was hard to believe we were so lucky. All the Easy Jet flights leading up to mine at 19H50 (to Luton) were cancelled, the next one at 19H55 (to Stansted) was also ok so the two medics were also alright as well. The next one after that was also cancelled. The sun shines on the righteous!

nice photo

me getting wet

one of the hills - some stuck to the right

while others 'flew' up the middle!

Getting to the airport was a bit of a rush as the track was to remain open until 17H00, so that didn’t give us much time to get back to the house and pick up our gear. No time for showers so we had to make do with a few squirts of anti smelly stuff to keep the pong down – I pity anyone who sat near me on the plane! So the flights all worked out in the end but they did keep me on my toes by not displaying the gate number until ten minutes before closing time and then changed the gate number so we had to all turn tail and head off to the other side of the airport. So as to miss the ash clouds we also ended up having to fly via Amsterdam, but the promised hour and a half flight time turned out to be much shorter. Luckily the Chinese takeaway was still open near home as there was no food on the flight – again due to the ash.

knackered but happy

So as a weekend away it was a great success but I think commercially Nigel could have done with higher numbers on the day. But this was the first toe into the water in Scotland and as word of mouth spreads I’m sure the numbers will increase to make it a paying concern at the next one in August. I’ve suggested to Nigel to make that one a two day event for people coming up from the South. That way there’ll be more of an incentive to make the journey. Come on, three to a van will reduce cost significantly and I promise you’ll love the riding...........make it happen!

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PS - latest on the GT Tyres test. I was using the GT213 at this event for the second time (Sherboune was the first) and considering the hard rock nature of this and the previous track the has been almost no wear on the tyre. The 213 is the intermediate/hard tyre in their range. Didn't notice any issues at all and it gripped fine in the mud too. So for trail riding i recon it'll be a good value for money tyre. On a slightly negative note I noticed several side knobblies have broken off the front GT216. However this is the 'soft' tyre in the range so maybe using it in such a rocky track wasn't the best thing to do. I'm going to fit a 213 front for this weekend.

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