Forest of Dean Summer Series Round 1

After a number of my scheduled races were cancelled due to what can only be described as, absolutely sh*t weather over the last two/three weeks, the decision was made to make the last minute trip to FoD for the first round of their summer series. Calling it a 'summer' series at this time of year was always going to be a little hopeful but the sun definitely had his hat on for what feels like the first time since last April!

Once the mandatory track walk on Saturday morning was done it was time to get kitted up and start smashing some runs out, the race was held on the relatively new GBU course and definitely favored those who love a good pedal. 

For those of you that haven't seen the track it consists of a nice sharp pedal for about 250-300m at the start to make sure your awake, followed by some awesome rutty berms that drop down onto a fire road crossing. The middle section has an off camber chute followed by a stump/root gap into a flat left, off a drop into some fast, groomed 'Whistler' turns. Another fire road crossing and then into a radd jump section to finish off the course. Here you could really get loose and have fun on the fast, floaty tables and step downs; ideal for the crowds to see the riders getting their whip on.

During practice I was feeling good on the bike and really enjoyed the course, quickly getting a feel for the track and finding my preferred lines for racing. One of the good things about FoD is the crazy amount of runs that you can fit in during a days riding there, especially if you shuttle it, giving me a good opportunity to put the Banshee through it's paces and it made the 4 hour drive well worth it!

Come race day the good weather continued, the track conditions remained perfect and before I knew it, it was time for my first race run. I was super excited after a long wait since the last race and couldn't wait to get on course to test my preparation and skills against the clock. I knew that in order to place well you couldn't let up on the sprints and on such a short track there wasn't much margin for mistakes.

Putting in a solid run I came across the line with a 1:45 putting me in the hot seat, with a lead of 1.5 seconds... so the job wasn't done just yet. With second runs fast approaching my plan was pretty simple, think of all those moto mums and dads out there and just PEDAL! On completion of my second race run I managed to knock two seconds of my time giving me the senior win with a 1:43, just a second from getting onto the Elite podium and 5th fastest time of the day.

A massive thanks to MIJ for once again putting together an excellent race, all the marshalls and people involved were super friendly, the commentary was pretty entertaining and everyone I saw riding was loving it and giving it there all making for the perfect race vibe over the weekend.