Race report (day 2 only): Liasons: The first liaison was long (read:endless) and lung busting. A little way up I waited for a friend to fix a puncture, but, mostly due to my extreme unfitness, eventually got dropped on the climbs and ended up at the back of the pack, where I stayed for the remainder of the race. When I eventually rounded the last corner (walking at this point) and saw some people waiting to start the first special, I was just a tad relieved. The second liaison was another killer climb, but not quite as long as the first. The third was just a quick, 3 minute walk up some singletrack. After special 3 it was a fairly long, but relatively flat and incredibly scenic, pedal back to the start area. There was talk of a shuttle for the last liaison, but it never materialised, which sucks - I was finished by the time I made it back to the start, and was so far behind that most people had already finished their race. When it dawned on me that the shuttle wasn't coming, I set off to pedal up the final liaison. It was a killer - not long, but steep. I pedalled a bit, walked a lot, may even have crawled a little. After the final stage it was a few hundred metres coast to the finish. Specials: All 4 specials had 1 thing in common - they were fast and flowy. You could take it easy if you wanted, but the faster you went the more awake you had to be. None of them had any major obstacles (no jumps, rock gardens or drop offs), but each had its own twist. Special 1 was tight - came close to clipping some trees and felt my bike flirt with the sharp left edge of where the trail had been cut. It was a fun stage and a great way to start the race, with a dip into singletrack, a jeep track crossing halfway and a short lung busting sprint at the end on some jeep track to the tag point. I don't remember much about Special 2, except that it was the roughest of the stages (thank goodness I'd just had a new chain guide fitted, courtesy of cSixx), and ended on a corner with the tag point being up on a 5m climb, which I found a little cruel. Special 3 was open and flowy, probably had the most pedalling on flat bits (but no climbs really). Special 4 started on a gnarly rocky jeep track, and you had to hook it very quickly into a left hander onto singletrack. I thought Special 4 was the most tech, but it could just be that I was knackered. All in all I finished +- 34 out of +- 50 riders. Percentage-wise it's better than I did at the first enduro, but I want to do better. Fitness was a major factor - the climbs took it out of me to the point that at times during the specials I had to sit and coast for a few seconds to rest my legs, or I had to hold back where I should have been sprinting. I also braked too much - due to lack of confidence - and I really need to work on my cornering skills. I overshot a corner or two and that obviously added to my time. I really enjoyed this one though - the specials were a nice length and very fun to ride. I just need to get my butt in gear and ride more. The next one was going to be in August, but it's been cancelled due to Dirtopia being mega busy already that month, so that leaves October. However, a little birdie told me Dirtopia aren't the only peeps organising enduros, so watch this space My final times: 00:03:59 00:04:23 00:02:29 00:02:57 00:13:48 Top 3: Gary Barnard 52005548FF 00:02:57 00:03:06 00:01:55 00:02:16 00:10:14 Mark Hopkins 5200555844 00:02:57 00:03:12 00:01:56 00:02:18 00:10:23 Harry Orr 520055ED86 00:02:56 00:03:12 00:01:56 00:02:19 00:10:23 If I could have shaved off 1:28, I would have made top 20. Ultimately, that's where I'd like to be... I have work to do
