Mercian H&H 15th Nov 2009

Results on Mercian Dirt Rider's own Website.

Checkout Mercian's report on the £4000 raised for Help for Heroes.

The 15th November saw the final Mercian H+H round at Aberbeeg. It was my first time at this venue and it had a definite "Welsh enduro" feel about it. Setting off at 11.00am it soon became obvious that it was going to be tough out there for three hours, and as I approached the end of the first lap I could see there was no place out there to relax or take it easy.

A few more laps in and I was enjoying the variety of the going and getting used to being on a 2 stroke again. Big wide open muddy blasts, tighter forestry going, off camber fields, sunken tracks, and technical climbs with roots scattered with broush. It started raining about half way through, but as you were working so hard to get around, and the course was already wet, it made little difference. At about 2/3rds distance I was struggling with fitness and blistered hands, and decided to try and ride steadier to finish, but this was a big mistake, as the only way around was to keep some momentum. You just had to ride as quickly as possible, and after a near lap of "moments" I decided that going a bit faster with some big dabs when you closed the throttle, and the odd "off" was the better option.

Local riders I knew were, Steve Biddle, Gavin Bailey, Dan Bishop, James Wilden, Craig Ruck, and Nick Vaughan. All finishers, which I thought was a result considering the amount of non starters and DNFs. Following a trip off the track down a scary log strewn bank, and loosing his front brake, Steve had it all to do when he rejoined the track at the bottom just behind the last placed rider. He battled his way back though, finishing an incredible 5th completing 7 laps. Dan's 1st event on the new KTM 200 saw him finish 3rd on 7 laps. James was getting into the new GasGas 250 on 5 laps and Gavin also on 5. Craig completed 4 laps getting a Silver award in the Sportsmen and Nick finished the day on 3 laps. I finished 3rd in the Vets on 6 laps.

It was my toughest event this year, but enjoyable all the same. A big thank you to all the marshals and organisers.