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West Glos & Dean Forest
Motor Cycle Club

Celebrating 71 Years of Motor Cycling 1953 - 2024

Snowrun Enduro 5th February 2006

Report by Ben Falconer (2005 Snowrun report) 2006 Results

JANUARY 06 was supposed to have been one of the driest on record which meant the corner of Wales where the Snowrun Enduro was held this year was only a bit on the damp side – as opposed to the usual state of completely soaking wet.

So it should have made for an easier enduro right? Well, kind of. Many clubmen who ride the sportsman schedule in this first serious timecard event of the year to avoid doing a 3rd lap, actually entered the right class this year - perhaps because last year's event was a bit on the easy side.

But they were in for a shock! Reverting to previous year's terrain, the lap appeared to have almost doubled in length from last year and quite a few of us ran out of steam well before the end.

Some West Glos members did card a finish, including our, once again, club chairman Ian Vessey, Dave Smailes and Steve Biddle. In fact quite a few Forest faces shone.

Some however, like your correspondent couldn't face the thought of another lap and did the gentlemanly thing 2/3 of the way round. My excuse – a marked lack of fitness, pure and simple.

At least I didn't go the way of several lemmings, who within minutes of the start were emptying anything between 250cc and 450cc of icy cold water from their top ends. We might have been high up but the water splashes were deep.

Although the sun had come out nicely for the start, almost as soon as we were away we were up in the freezing fog and on a toboggan run of a track. Many of us on 2 strokes were caught out by this, judging by the number of worried glances down to the "missing" motor at the end of a steady check 1. The wise ones of course, had prevented the radiator from doing the job too well by stuffing a bit of cardboard down one side.

Check 2 was where the action started and I dropped a minute here simply because I wanted to make sure I didn't go in early and took a few seconds to check my timecard – better to carry a minute for no penalty than clock in early and mess up the rest of the day.

In fact I'd save the messing up bit for later. Stuffing my head in to the scenery for the 4th time on lap 2, I realised that lap 3 was not going to be a barrel of laughs, even though I was still clean on time.

If it had been an 18 mile lap I might have gone out again but 34 miles is a long old way to get stuck ½ way round, so discretion ruled over valour.

As ever the Snowrun was an excellent way to start the season, even if for more than a few of us it was a wake up call on the fitness front.

For others though, it was a walk in the park – winner Tom Sagar found time to change his boots at the end of lap 1, before going on to cover another 3 laps. Big respect to him and all the finishers and many thanks to WTRA for yet another smooth as glass operation.