Last weekend was the third round of Borderline/PMBA enduro series supported by local shop Ride-On – and this time round three was held at two spots local to ST Towers.
Lee Quarry and Cock Hill are well-known spots around here; they were linked with a track in between the two. The race also featured a long moorland transition, and a total of five stages.
So five tracks with a handful of trail centre berms, a large dollop of hand-cut woodland fun, and a generous handful of downhill trails – with a sprinkling of loam thrown in for good measure. This was also the Northern Champs; the winners took the title of Fastest Northern in their category. In fact, the PMBA is going from strength to strength with Tracey Mosley attending round two, and some more very, very fast lads and ladies came to join in this one.
Stage one was the classic Singletrack Weekender trail – it starts right at the top of Lee Quarry with some amazing views of the local valleys and villages. A swoopy start down the big banked berms sent you through an awkward lumpy section. Too big to ride smoothly and not the right shape to jump (well, for my skillz), time was lost here by quite a few riders who mistimed it, or turned in too sharply. It was a steep drop into the arena, and then into the natural turns cut out between young trees. And then you had to pedal your little heart out to the finish line for the final flat section.
To get over to stage two we had to travel out of the back of the quarry and over the moors. It’s a nice change to have a fun transition for once. Many races take you down the most direct route, which is often a monotonous fire road.
Stage two – now this was a track that made everyone smile. Built by a local rider, it contours around a wooded hill side on a narrow track. A few jumps and drops made it a fast track if you had the courage to hit them all. It was one of those trails that if you turn in too tight, you’re guaranteed a knuckle-to-tree fingerburster. In the middle, there was a very awkward rocky climb. Many practiced a CX-style dismount and ran (hardly losing any speed to be honest). But as I came around the corner, it looked so doable. And oh, how wrong I was to try. One stall and and dismount later, and I smarted from some time lost.
After the moorland transfer we hit Cock Hill. Now the trails here are completely different to Lee Quarry. I think this is what made this race so good last year (and even better in 2015). Downhill-oriented trails with roots, jumps, rocks and loam in the lower sections.
Stage three was the Dark Red trail. It is dark in these woods and it takes a lot to dry it out. The slight drizzle made some of the top corners greasy and hard to hold, but it quickly dropped you into a root section and over a large tabletop. From here on we were twisting and turning, jumping and dropping, all with a smile. And it finished off with some natural corners similar to those in the Tweed Valley. There were some definite lines to try and hit here, which I’m so pleased we’d practiced previously.
Stage four was the Wilder Beast. Last year the trail guys at Cock Hill cut this in; an already rowdy trail, with some off-camber loveliness. To make things more interesting they put in a new section just for this race; a straight-line rhythm section traversing back across the hill side. Upper body strength and pump skills were needed to keep the bike moving before we found ourselves back on the original Beast and over the infamous rock garden. The brave were clearing the lot from a small take off, but in practice I witnessed too many riders landing short on the sharp rocks. So I played it safe and went for a tyre tap, hop, skip and jump, affair. The lower section was nicely bedded in this year with a definitive line into the final steep turns. But a target on the trail at the bottom wouldn’t have been out of place for those coming in too hot! Our own James decided exiting backwards with a flip was the way to go here. Crashing with style – until he realised he’d popped the hose out of his front brake.
What was he going to do without a front brake and one stage to go? Use his near-infinite charm to find another rider who had already finished to borrow one from!
Stage five was back at Lee Quarry. Again, from the top but taking in one of the different right-hand lines. A similar style of start as stage one (big, high-sided berms) led us on to a flat pedal with a headwind (boo). Keep the power down though, and you dropped into a steep grassy gully, which put you into a tight left and right turn designed to kill our speed. And into another steep chute back onto the trail centre jumpline. The final section was a sort of give-it-everything-you-have-left-in-the-tank (if anything) pedal to the finish.
This was such a great day out on the bike with a real nice set of varied trails and top folk. I love the relaxed atmosphere and the growing field of riders out having a good time.
The next round takes us north to Kirroughtree in Scotland, where the trail pixies have been lovingly preparing some more trails. Enter here, camping is available!
We’d like to thank all of the sponsors for supporting the round and the series, the medics (who were kept busy), all the trail people and most importantly the folks who give up their time to marshal these races. We can’t race the tracks without their help. THANK YOU!
Click here for all Stage 3 results
Here’s an ace video which does the whole moving pictures thing:
Comments (2)
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Is the ride on section open to ride generally or does it cover some private land?
Kirky72, yes the Ride On section is on private land.