Farmer John's Race Weekend
September 2010
Marple Bridge Stockport
I had been riding MTB for about a year and went with some friends to Farmer Johns Race Weekend, competing in my first ever downhill race. I was mega nervous but excited and didn’t really know what to expect. I just went out to have fun and ended up having a fantastic weekend and got hooked on downhill (even if I did win the ‘Most Spectacular Crash’ award after going off the track and into the crash netting!)
A year past and it was back to John’s for the 2010 Race Weekend in September. We arrived nice and early to set up camp. Practice on the main downhill track was from one till six. The course was 1:30 to 2 minutes long, up at the top it was pretty straight forward with jumps, berms and a couple of drops. The bottom section was more technical with a few tight corners and there were plenty of roots to catch you out.
Next up was a few practice runs of the night track which was a much shorter 30 – 40 second track made up of berms, a 5ft northshore drop and a gap jump. The night race started at 8.00pm and as my first run approached, it was getting very dark. The camera flashes were very distracting during the race, I was blinded on just about every corner but it certainly made it quite an interesting race! I finished in second place, I was very happy with this result and was glad to get down the track in one piece!
On Sunday morning we were up bright and early and after a bacon butty and a coffee, we were ready for the practice runs. Practice ran from 10am – 12pm and I managed one run down which included two quite spectacular crashes, I didn’t feel too confident after that and decided to leave the riding till it was time to race!
So as I waited behind the timing beams for my first run the nerves kicked in, then the starting beeps sounded and I was pedalling into the first berm, the nerves soon vanished. There were a couple of sketchy moments but I managed a safe run down and got a time of 1:48.75 which I was happy with. Walking back up the track I saw all my friends and family, after a quick chat and some words of encouragement I was ready for my next run! After playing the first run quite safe I was ready to go for it on this one.
At the start gate, it was quiet because most of the other competitors had already completed their run and I waited nervously. Once again the beeps came and I rode the top section of the track as fast as I could. I was feeling was more confident as I approached the lower section and could hear my family and friends screaming and shouting, I rode most of the bottom section with a big smile on my face. As I got to the last few corners I had managed to catch up with another rider who went down before me, I wasn’t expecting to catch anyone up and didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately, she came off her bike and landed on the track in front of me, after a bit of hesitation and wondering what to do I asked if she was ok and got past to finish my run. My time for the second run was 1:48.73; this left me in 2nd place.
The end to another great race weekend at Farmer John’s was topped off with prize giving. Luckily there was no best crash award for me this year; instead it was two 2nd place podiums and lots of goodies. I’m very happy with my result and look forward to my next race at Moelfre in October and many more in 2011.
Jenna