V funny pic samuri!
Last one I did was a 'first after Xmas, non league points scoring weird handicap thing) for the Lincolnshire league (somewhere there anyway). I was asked what cat I normally raced, Sport XC MTB, so I was somehow gridded on the front line despite having a singlespeed MTB? Course was fun, some farm track, rutted grass, singletrack, steep grassy climbs up to and descents off a reservoir edge, rolling sheep fields, ditches, etc. Weather was incredible – rain, sun, sleet, sun, clouds, hail, dramatic light, snow, so by the end there was about an inch of snow everywhere!
The result was somehow determined by your first lap time as a handicap, I somehow ended in a about 5th place but my fast first lap meant I was handicapped back to about 15th? No idea how it was worked out, but as everyone says it was an hour of flat out hurt, in a good way… Best bits were sliding past crossers doing two wheel drifts on the corners in the snow, and clearing the steep grassy run up sections every time (didn't see anyone else manage it after about the 4th lap) and usually regaining one or two places I lost through spinning out on the farm tracks.. Slightly mad, but just fun really 🙂