Apparently the course was only 6.5km long. It felt longer! The bit around the field at the start was nice and easy, but then there was a massive bottleneck that didn't really thin out until you got to the first bit of North Shore. I think Tom had it even worse, because someone stacked.
The new bits of trail near Adderstone rode okay, with some step downs and rocky steps up to keep things interesting. After that, we were back into the field and then onto the start of the red route where it goes over that section of three small tabletops with some the couple of kitty-litter surfaced berms right after. After the fireroad, there was a bit more new singletrack, then the course dropped down into Worry Gill on the existing red route. But instead of going up the other side, it took a tighter bend into the gill and up the side, where there was a steep drop down back into the gill. This was rollable but needed commitment. A few people face planted coming down it. I bottled it and went down the chicken run, while the spectators heckled. It cost about 10 seconds per lap to do this.
Back down the gill, which the black route comes up, the route carried on until it comes to where the steep switchbacks of the red route come out. It went up it. It's a really stiff climb that you need either a granny ring or legs like Oli Beckingsale's to get up without walking. I had neither, so I walked. Loads of people came past. Instead of going right up the red route, it then tacked across the slope to join the black route descent. Plenty of people ran this too, but it was rideable - albeit not on the third lap for me, when I was knackered and fell off in a half-assed kind of way.
Then the route went up that steep straight climb that used to be part of the red route. All the way up. At least that was rideable for mere mortals. Pretty tiring by the third time up it, though. At the top, there was no respite. It crossed the fireroad and carried on up on another bit of singletrack, dropping down a narrow wheel-grabbing descent to come back to the fireroad. Along this for a bit, then it dropped into and out of Worry Gill again, climbing out on another section of singletack that took us back to the carpark then for a quick blast around the jump park and back to the start.
It was an interesting course - more like normal mountain biking than races I've done in the past. But the people turning up for a British XC Series race are fit and fast. There were quite a few in skinsuits. It was that kind of racing. Having said that, I also got beaten by a bloke riding a rigid Surley Pugsley with monster Endomorph tyres 
I think next time I'll enter the Open race. Or lie about my age and try to get in the over-60s race.
The Singlespeed UK champs are coming up next month on 7th June. I'd hope to do a bit better in that, simply because there's more likely to be more chubby middle-aged men with beards involved. Anyone else doing it?
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will have some photos soon.
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