Corinium 2006
Words and Photos By Ben Falconer
THE 28th Corinium Enduro had to be one of, if not the best for many a year.
Swindon and District MCC pegged the times nice and slack and arranged the weather so well that the going was easy but not so hardpack that it was frighteningly fast.
With 80 minutes to do 20 miles (yes, they'd found another 2 miles in Lord Bathurst's back garden!), the first lap was straightforward enough. As is usual with the Corinium, the times tightened, to, if memory serves me right, 70, 65, and 60, or something like that.
Lots of new diversions from the course made for some superb technical going in this unique event and with the weather on our side, apart from a brief hailstorm, it was a joy to just flick the bike about and have fun.
This was the second year times were slacker and it is the better event for it, for most of the entry. Otherwise it can be like a special test all the way round if the going's quick.
I'd been minuted with fellow CHG members Guy Mansfield-Smith (fastest CHGer and 9th clubman, 125KTM), Steve Venn and Sam Wilson.
I kept up a tidy pace with Sam on the second lap, but he admitted it was a bit quick for him. So on the third lap, with the need to get a wiggle on, I followed Guy, for about 10 to 15 minutes before his class told.
I really have no excuses for not keeping up for longer - especially as my bike's 75cc bigger and it used to belong to him.
But hanging on to his bumbag gave me a flier of a lap and got me in to parc ferme in plenty of time. I even caught up our club chairman, which is a first.
So on the 4th lap, I thought I'd do the same. We went haring off, caning the two strokes through the woods.
Then I ran out of talent, hitting two trees and headbutting a tree stump, which gave Steve the chance to edge past.
So I just tooled round and got in by 5 minutes on the last lap. It could have been more eventful, if Vess hadn't pulled right off the course just as I was about to pass him though.
At the bombholes next to the Stroud road, there was a fairly handy former expert, stuck in the bottom of one, unable to extricate the bike. Standard procedure was to follow Vess, who found a nice little route round, no bother.
Foresters out included Anthony Moore, whose back gave out, and the other Sherco rider, Glenn Thomas, who picked up a bronze with a minor mechanical mishap on the sportsman schedule along with Mike Allen.
Steve and Guy picked up golds, and I bagged a silver along with Steve Biddle who nearly got a gold.
Vess and Gavin Bailey both bronzed.
Many thanks to SDMCC for a very well organised event.