SCUM Race @ the cabbage 31st May: caution in the wet!

The 5-10mm of rain through the night was not enough to keep the bikes in the shed. 80 odd riders with around 30 of them juniors were ready for the mud. It couldn’t have been any other way. On a near flat track the pools of water virtually joined the entire length of the trail. A far cry from the Cabbage when dry, flowing and super fast.

Although the trail was wet, the sun was shining so I headed out for a short recon to see if I needed a snorkel. On the way back, I met up with Andrew Paul, a new MUD recruit. He was about to tackle his first SCUM mtb race head on.

With riders lined up at the start line, it seemed more tense than usual. Maybe there were last minute thoughts on tyre choice? Or was it the worry of wear and tear on man and machine? What ever it was, it added to the atmosphere and I gotta say, I was into it! Primed and ready to go! So with that in mind, I couldn’t help to get myself up near the front for the start.

We all took off in the usual frenzy up the fire road. Before long we got into the lap pool, I mean, single track. After a lap of clearing water the corners soon became greasy. Just like home I thought, only we’re used to slidin in the sand! With the Igniter on the front tracking like on rails, and the Larsen free to go where it wanted, I was hangin on! With plenty of offs from other riders, I still had to be careful but a great lesson in cornering. I ended up behind a couple of 29ers at different stages. They seemed to slow a fair bit in the corners but managed to pick up the pace well on the straights and easy stuff (mental note, 29er??).

So at the end covered in Mud, Andy had a couple of good lap times in Sport B, but unfortunately had a DNF on the third lap. I managed a 6th place from 17 finishers in Sport B which I was happy with and I didn’t need to use a snorkel!

I owe my confidence in cornering to Jack & Grizz who helped me set up the front end by dropping it down close to 2 inches. Thanks guys. Without this, there is no doubt I would have been lyin in the mud rather than charging through it.

So with mud from head to toe (seriously), I drove back home not thinking about much more than driften corners!

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