This was supposed to be a series of 10 dual races over the winter; it just became 11! With the advent of Farmer Jacks 40th Birthday we persuaded him that the best way to celebrate would be to have a dual race on his farm, then go to a big beer festival. He agreed.
When I turned up to Farmer Jacks last week just before dual he became a bit flustered; he’d forgotten to move the horses out of the field we were going to race in. I tried to placate Jack as it I knew we’d have just as much fun over on the Dual track… however, I didn’t quite expect that much fun.
Its hard to believe we are already in the closing half of the dual season, but this was race 6 of 10 and Farmer Jacks dual track was the venue. Conditions were biblical but the racing was epic.
Half way through the season already! Its hard to believe it goes so quickly… which is a good thing, as it means it will soon be Summer, the nights will be long and the sun will shine for days on end. We can live in hope eh
Last night saw the first Dual Race of 2014, round 4 in the winter series. We were back in our celestial home of the park and conditions were prime. I say prime, they were slick, sideways and so much fun. The racing was tight and quick with back ends fishtailing and tyres cutting through loam.
Twas the night before Christmas, well about a week actually, and the 3 wise men were no where to be seen. Well, maybe they were tucked up warm and dry in bed or perhaps having a pint with some dry friends. Because, there were certainly no wisemen present in the Park last night.
That was the most mental dual ever. Last night, we raced dual in a blizzard, with temperatures well below zero, with gusting winds and the sloppiest of mud. We were all wet, cold and grinning. There were a couple of cases of near hypothermia, many hands didnt work well enough to pull brake levers let alone hold on to bars. The chattering of teeth could be just about heard over the wind and there were many shouts of “Cant we just go home now?”.
The clocks have changed, the nights have drawn in, it’s wet; which can mean only one thing.
Dual
Last night saw the season opener and it was a cracker. It pissed down all night, it’s was as slick as I’ve seen it and it was so much fun. In the brief history of TiS dual, this is the first night I can remember when Its rained all night. Thankfully I’d thought to pack a tarp so Steph, our timing angel, stayed relatively dry. As did the laptop.
With it being the start of the season, interest was peaked, and we had a total of 39 riders. Too many! This meant the first half an hour of the evening was spent with quails whittling it down to 32. Great fun though as the left lane had a killer 2nd left turn. You had to setup for the following traverse and stay high otherwise you’d be paddling or running up the little hill. Several fell victim.
Racing was tight from the off and the mud took many a victim, changing racers fate in a heart beat. Big wheels were in abundance, with the 4 mid sized versions in the top ten.
The Blue Steel Racing summer series is in full swing. Last night’s chainless DH was a hoot and had a surprising result. Namely.. this prize in the prize bag. The ‘Prizer’ shall remain nameless but just to put it in context, his misses has just has a bouncing baby boy.