Ho ho ho was the cry with bells jingling all the way and a few red noses, the week before Christmas, the third round of the winter dual series was on. To mark the season of goodwill all proceeds raised were to be donated to the Scott Shepard recovery fund. Adding to the festive feel all entrants were required to dress as Santa, a loose dress code which added hugely to the merriment of the evening.
How many santas does it take to race a dual? (Photo: John Horscroft)
Joe and I rocked up early only to find Peaty, Jack and Cheggers lugging a genny and a set of red Christmas lights over a fence. Not as all suspicious! But worth the effort, the combo of silent generator and lights laid the foundations for an extra special evening. As more and more folk turned up the hilarity of Santa vs Santa became more apparent, this was going to be ridiculous. To add to the festive and friendly mood Fera Baybutt and Vicki Eastham were kind enough to spend the evening serving up the Mulled wine which Rich Baybutt had concocted. For a couple of quid you got a cup of your spiced beverage of choice plus a gingerbread man made by Vicki. Delicious, warming and all proceeds to Scott. Magnificent and hopefully the shape of things to come.
Baying crowd (Photo: Nick Hamilton)
We got the course laid out and lit and practise began in earnest. With a great turnout we had 32 santas racing head to head, the scene was ludicrous. It was a fast a pretty straight track until you hit the last corner. The right hand line took in the bottomless dip and the left a loose a slick sprint for the finish. The dip brought the end to many a run!
Chegs and 'Winny (Photo:Nick Hamilton)
Izzy and Mari were once again our timing angels and kept the whole race running smooth. I also brought along a white board and magnetic numbers and names to let everyone know who was racing when. Unfortunately, KRad was a victim of the system, sorry lad will make sure you race next time. Otherwise, it worked brilliantly and it was one of the smoothest races yet. Dave, Henry and Steve were also kind enough to work the walkie talkies which meant I could wonder round, drink mulled wine and indulge in the real purpose of the races. Socialising.
Start line banter (Photo: John Horscroft)
With 32 entries it was straight to the main event, no quali’s. The white board meant a proper random start order which made for some interesting pairings. In the first round I fell victim to the dip and crashed out but luckily (for me) Lee Baines missed a gate and was honest enough to own up. Malco and Danger had a needle match first round but Danger took no prisoners. Sam Taylor, our youngest entrant, was heartlessly beaten by Steve Hardcastle but he got plenty of practice in and was looking reet good on course. Carrie Poole smashed Alec Hartley, who couldn’t stay on his bike, and went through to the second round. Another fella to be beaten by a girl was the other half of team Faff, Dave Griffith who was dispatched by Jody Vallance. Good work ladies.
Timmy fixing up Will's bike.... good will to all men
Unfortunately, In the second round, they then came head to head where Carrie showed Jody how it was done. Timmy and Swinny also came head to head and it was down to the wire with Swinny coming out victorious. I faced Peaty with the inevitable result… no no, he won.
Moving on to the quarters Will and Joe had a proper battle which left Bowman buckling under the pressure and will able to use all the energy he had stored up on the couch. Carrie’s first time in the quarters left her facing an on form Cheg’s who was very ungentlemanly and didn’t hold back.
The BIG final, Swinny taking on the Mighty Peat (Photo: Nick)
After battling through the Semis we were left with Cheg’s and Will in the little final and Swinny and Peaty in the big. Someone wisely pointed out that at any other race Peaty is well loved and is the recipient of loud cheers and encouragement. In this dual series all he seems to get is discouragement and calls to fall off… perhaps its working, Swinny took the winny… AGAIN! Thankfully he’s already confirmed as being on the SPS for 2012.
Secret Santa (Photo: John Horscroft)
Then came the prize giving and in another Christmas twist we rocked the secret Santa. The rules were that the prize had to be worth at least 3 quid and must be wrapped up. The sight of a load a prezzies on the floor around the base of a massive tree was amazing and richly Christmas. Swinny was first to pick and unwrapped his gift in front of everyone, he chinned his bottle of Bucks Fizz in front of the baying crowd. He was the ceremoniously showered with another bottle of Bucks Fizz by Peaty, Boom! The selection process continued until we all got impatient and couldn’t wait to pick a prize. I have Timmy to thank for my 4 tins of fish… merry bastard Christmas. It was then off to the Lezzer for a couple of celebratory pints afterwards.
How many? How do you choose? (Photo: Henry Norman)
This leaves the overall in an interesting position at the top. Peaty and Swinny are neck and neck, with Timmy third, Jolley 4th and Chris Pearson 5th. Hanna is still our highest ranked lady, with Carrie only a point behind and Jody snapping at their heels.
Swinny necking his prize (Photo: Henry Norman)
Pints in the pub after (Photo: Henry Norman)
So many thanks go out to everyone that came along to race and got dressed up or decorated their bikes. Thanks again to Izzy and Mari for timing, Fera and Vicki for serving up the Christmas Cheer, Rich Baybutt for blending the brew, Bowman for his nevr ending assistance and the same to Timmy whose always packing up poles at the end. 2012 is going to be Rad, can you believe we’ve only had 3 rounds!
Nick
Great report Nick. Brought back some really good memories….