Sunday, July 31, 2005

Back from Selkirk

Welp, back from Selkirk. A tough one. A good course, with some relentless climbing and rock f*ck descending. Hard. Not helped by a group of us going the wrong way at one point, a puncture and rolling the tire off the rim at about 30 mph, and another episode of the tire coming off later on due to a destroyed tire-bead. All part and parcel, but it won't be a good placing.

the course took in some of the best riding in the Borders of Scotland. Unfortunately, as is common in the Borders, a lot of the trails that were man made suffered with lots of braking bumps. It is a pet hate of mine, but I reckon there are many riders who would benefit from less suspension and less disc brake power for a learning experience. Hammering towards corners and then throwing down the anchors makes for an unpleasant time for those of us on rigid bikes. Still, I'll try not to whine too much.

A fine gift of a 'live wrong' bracelet from my hombre Marty, and good to catch up with Chris, Hamish, Andy Cathcart and Ally too...Might be some more thoughts on this one later. I may also learn that drinking 12 bottles of Sierra Nevada and 3 pints of Guiness the night before a race is a young mans game...

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