Kingston and District Mad March enduro – 11th March 2007
Report by Tom Lee. Photo courtesy of kdmcc.com
As ever, Tom had to go some distance to find events that cater for his age but is gaining experience and results on the way and this third place came from a mature ride.
The structure of the Kingston event was such that time controls were every 2 laps, so Clubman B had to complete 4 'sessions' – 8 laps. This was nearly 100 miles, and so it was going to be a tough days riding in this fantastic venue KDMCC had for the 2nd round of the south east combine championship. All the clubs organising the events could not have their riders scoring points in their own round, therefore there were many riders choosing to marshal which kept the event running smoothly.
65 minutes was pretty slack for the first couple of laps, and so I took it steady. I saw the 3 other riders on my minute disappear off into the distance, but had learnt my lesson from the Muntjac and paced myself nicely. I made it round in under 60 minutes so had plenty of time to refuel, swap gloves etc. and get on my way for the 2nd couple of laps which were to be done in 60 minutes. So, I kept the same pace and was going well until, I got some wire wrapped around my rear wheel! I spent 2 or 3 minutes sorting that then got on my way and upped the pace a bit to ensure I would get round in time – which I did.
The 3rd session was to be the hardest with 10 minutes slashed off the previous 2 laps – 50 minutes. I made it round the 1st lap of the 3rd session in 26 minutes, so my dad let me know I needed to find an extra bit of pace – which I did somehow, making it round in 25 minutes and cleaning that session by the skin of my teeth! I then had 60 minutes for the last laps – which were to be my 7th and 8th of the day. The team manager (aka Dad!) made the decision for me to go straight through on my minute for the forth session and have a splash and dash after 1 lap. I made it round with just enough time to refuel and get out with 30 minutes to complete my last 12 mile lap – which I did comfortably in 25, leaving me clean for the day!
I did my special test in the first session at the start of my 2nd lap. It went well, I rode smoothly with no mistakes. I ended up 1st of only 4 riders in class to be awarded Gold. I wasn't trying to set a great time because I was more concerned with conserving my energy in order to stay clean for the day, so I am pretty pleased with my 3rd place finish on my second timecard event. Many thanks must go to Kingston and District MCC for letting me ride, I thoroughly enjoyed this superb event.