NPS 2 - Cross Country (Dalby Forest, 10th May)

The second round of the NPS greeted us with a shock. A shock because far from the the neat, fast and clean roadie-like lines of Sherwood Forest last month, Dalby was a 'proper' cross country course - lots of technical sections and lots of climbing.

The NPS XC 2 podium presentation from Rob Enslin on Vimeo.

During the practice session on Saturday both Mark and I were having doubts about two particlulary hazardous sections: the drop-off and the three-tired root descent. The real problem was not our riding ability it was our deep mental analysis - focusing on the what-if too much. We had to abandon a second parctice lap due to rain... further adding to our anxieties.

We enjoyed slightly lavish accommodation (by our standards) - Innkeepers Lodge - organised by Mr Bike Wikipedia - Nick Evans, from Beyond Mountain bikes, which included breakfast. We headed back to the forest park to attempt another practice lap before racing at 3pm. The practice lap was perfect for both of us... just as we'd predicted.

At 3pm, we lined up at the start. Mark on the front line, Tom on second row and me at the back. I stupidly forgot to pre-enter on time so lost a start line seeding. With a big circular field to start the race on there'd be plenty of time to come round some of the riders.

We set off to start 4 laps with Vets (including Steve Jones) shortly after us. I never saw Mark again as he sped off with the front riders (perhaps he could include a short commentary as a comment below?). Meanwhile I was still trying to get through the field and being held up by the traffic - having to come to a standstill to wait my turn to continue. With the climbs taking their toll the field began to spred out. I continued to pick off and pass a rider at a time. The drop-off and three-tier-root sections were fine - in fact I hardly noticed them anymore. By lap two I caught Tom who seemed to be struggling with cramp. He later retired from the race completing two laps.

I continued a fairly good pace till the end. Finally finishing 12th. Speaking to Hoppy (Paul Hopkins) I discovered Mark had won the race. He'd finally managed to achieve what he'd been trying to for so long. Huge congrats to him.

NPS XC2 Winner Mark Hutt from Rob Enslin on Vimeo.

My ride stats:

Time: 01:33

Average HR: 179 bpm

Maximum HR: 203 bpm

The final placings:

1. Mark Hutt AW Cycles 01:28:48

2 Dan Lewis 01:29:35

3 Christopher Rathbone 01:31:12

12 Rob Enslin - AW Cycles 01:33:32

Some weekend photos:

[Speaking to the winner, Mark Hutt, on the way home. George Budd joined in via Facebook]

[Pit stop on the way home]

Twitter feed

A colleague from work approached me this morning to ask how he could have his website articles automatically published to his Twitter account? Firstly, I explained that whilst it's possible, I did not recommend it. Twitter is a social publishing platform IMO so it loses that 'personality' which is counter-intuitive?

Anyway, as an experiment I thought I'd enable automatic Twitter posting from my blog. Confused? The idea is that when I write a blog post (from here) twitterfeed.com will automatically tweet it and include a link to my blog post. Seems simple enough hey?

What I'm curious about is whether you (reading this) think it's a good idea? (assuming you care about twitter). Good idea, bad idea or don't care?

Local North Downs 'legends'

Most people who know me know that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the UK - Beare Green (Dorking). An area of outstanding beauty and also an area that boast a fantastic network of on-/off-road riding trails.

Since moving to the UK (~10 years ago) I've been riding local roads and trails. In the years I've been rendezvousing there I've met a few 'legends' (people and places).

1. Dave Lees (mountain man)

Most Saturday mornings (9.30am) I meet like-minded mountain bikers at Nirvana Cycles, Westcott. There are a few notables including Hugh and Richard but, only a trail companion knows just what a legend Dave is. There's nothing special about is riding, handling ability, fitness, jokes, technical conversations, gold Santa Cruz bike, Assos kit or anything else.... he's just a legend. So, the next time you want a fantastic ride and want to experience a legend, come along to Nirvana Cycles on a Saturday morning make sure you ride in Dave's group. You won't forget it.

2. Surrey Hills roads

There's nothing quite like riding through the 'Surrey Hills' countryside. The roads are quiet and tranquil they're a joy to ride. I use the Surrey Hills lanes for training and have a few standard routes - flattish, hilly and mountain bike routes too. A local sportive, the Legs of Steel Sportive, is held on these lanes and takes in all the hills these Surrey lanes can throw at you. My personal favorite is Barhatch Lane hill.

3. Bike shops

Whilst the bike shops aren't actually legends in their own right, I've included them because they are important to me and have contributed to my love of cycling in the local area.

As you'd expect this area attracts many riders of all disciplines. So naturally the supply/demand ecosystem works nicely with three major bikes shops serving the region. Firstly, there's the roadies shop - Dauphin Cycles - which is located atop Box Hill. Whilst they mainly stock Italian bikes, they do have quite a fantastic range as well as clothing. The only down-side is they're closed Sundays... probably out riding?

At the opposite end is Nirvana Cycles. I've not spent much money there but their servicing and mountain bike specific knowledge is amazing. Simon, who owns the shop, is a jump junkie and swears by their Laprierre full-sussers. I might even convert sometime soon?

Lastly, Head-for-the-Hills, is a new mountain bike shop situated in the old end side of the Dorking High Street. They stock mountain bikes and have a busy servicing schedule so if you ever plan to have your bike serviced there make sure you book it well in advance.

These are my local North Downs legends. Do you have any?

My new Camelbak Daxio backpack

I finally decided to splash out and replace my old Camelbak with the Daxio. The Daxio is a beauty and at 26lt it’s good for commuting. It's good for commuting in that it's well made (good quality) and accommodates my Powerbook. I've only started using it this week so time will tell.

Over at Bikeradar.com the Daxio's was reviewed and it received 4 stars (out of 5).

I managed to record a short video of my Daxio as it arrived in the post - bought from Evans.

Evans Cycles Delivery from Rob Enslin on Vimeo.

Here I share my online shopping delivery experience. What I find when the package arrives and how I feel when I open the package is part of the overall experience.