Got back last night from the Kielder Avalanche Enduro, nursing a very stiff neck/shoulder but I had a great time. Nice weather, great atmosphere and banter with lots of random people. Never done a competitive event before but it was great fun.
It’s an excellent format imo because it involved too much pedalling/uphill for pure downhillers/dh bikes, but possibly too much gnar for your super lightweight jeyboy xc racer – so you got a really nice mix of people who just like riding bikes and were up for some fun.
I was a bit gutted to get a puncture on the seeding run, but managed to fix it pretty quick and still didn’t quite finish last. Got a big gash through the tyre which I had to patch up cos I didn’t have a spare tyre, and thankfully it held up all day – even after I noticed the patch/inner tube bulging out of the hole! Had a good off on a tiny jump on the last run, landed on my head and got some nice whiplash – my Giro Hex did its job well though cos my head doesn’t hurt at all!
Special mentions should go to the guy who took part who had never been on a mountain bike trail before (though he did have some nasty looking injuries to show for it!), and the guy who managed to rip off his rear mech and break his chain on the first climb, so did the rest of the course running and free-wheeling!
Anyone know where all the photographers there will be putting up their pics?