Dusk to Dawn MTB report

Debbie reports back on the Dusk to (er, not quite) Dawn ride

Well it finally arrived! Our dusk til dawn ride! The route began on a section of open fire break so we could see the sun set, then darkness and finally the first light of dawn. It was followed by five miles of dry dusty singletrack, with a fun descent and technical climb, and back to our singletrack, lap after lap through the night.

At the end of the ride we planned a barbecue of sausages and bacon,all cooked and just ready to reheat (thanks, Jackie) whilst we chatted, with maybe a chilled beer or glass of wine to celebrate the sheer joy of it all.

Yeah, right! This is England and after the most wonderful and warm spring we got typical bank holiday weather. (Important note: never plan any event for a bank hol that involves  being outside. Will we ever learn?!)

We decided to set off long before dusk, because if we waited until dusk, we probably wouldn’t have gone out at all. It was pretty hard to notice dusk anyway through the mist and rain. It started badly: Jackie , Pickering Dave, Too Tall Tom and myself set off into the murk so I could teach them the route. Then it would be everyone on their own riding at their own pace.

One problem was that I had forgotten one of my batteries, so Matt, our base camp man, ready at any moment to leap to our assistance, was dispatched to collect it. Then i realised that trying to cycle whilst wearing glasses in those conditions meant i actually couldn’t see a thing. Frantic call to Matt to bring contact lens too!

Lap two: Jackie and Dave raced ahead whilst i popped in my contacts and then Too Tall Tom and i gave chase. Finally we began to enjoy ourselves. We caught Jackie, though to be correct she caught up with us as she took a wrong turn (I may have said left when I meant right but if she doesn’t know I mix them up by now, honestly!). Dave, however, was not to be caught, just too fast. He wisely left after three laps as he had no lights!

Brendan arrived to share the fun of it all. Good job, as it meant he could share his light with Jackie. She was using Matt’s but they have a complicated way of being switched on and though we could use them to send morse code messages to Mars they weren’t so hot to cycle with. Matt to the rescue, and Jackie could see! The little green men returned to Mars, clearly thinking we were crackers to be out on such a night. Brendan agreed - he went home, mumbling something about Clair, home, warmth etc etc. Nigel came and went, leaving messages of support, thanks!

We rode on. We decided to stick together, stopping anyone sneaking into the yellow taxi with Matt. We rode on, we put on fresh clothes, we were dry again, oh for at least 10 mins. Too Tall Tom’s lights went, our gears stopped working due to the mud, we were wet in places you only get wet in the shower. It was enough. We decided to say stuff to dawn and call it a night.

In the warmth of my lounge, warm and dry, stuffing our faces with bacon sandwiches (Jackie and Matt got the sausages) we felt a bit disappointed with ourselves, but we can always try again. Anyone up for attempt number 2? It’s great fun - honest!

One Response to “Dusk to Dawn MTB report”

1. richs says:

   May 31, 2010 at 9:29 pm

   ye i will give it a go next time if u pick a dry night lol as i was away this time sound like u had fun lol.