Definition of
Rain: "precipitation from clouds in the form of drops of water,
formed by the condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere".
The wet stuff
that falls from the
sky seemed to dominate this weekend, although even mother nature couldn't
prevent Rapidracers getting another decent result this weekend. The
start of the 2006 season has seen a series of good results for the team,
and this weekend was no exception. With Bishop enjoying the delights
of Pat Pong in Thailand, and Brommers sunning himself in Spain, Paul
May (aka Gummy) and myself, Paul Mackie were the Rapidracers competing
in Masters this weekend. Sunshine and ladyboys were the last things
on our mind this for this damp weekend in Merthyr though!
Gethin is a 3.0 - 3.5 minute course that starts off with a long pedally
drag, then into some deep berms in a wooded section. The course then
bursts onto the hillside for a series of switchbacks culminating in
a nasty rooty section at the bottom. I stood by these roots for a full
15 minutes trying to work out what to do, but was slightly perturbed
by a rider dislocating his shoulder right in front of me - I chose not
use his line! After the open section its back into the trees and across
some grass sections - well, I say grass, it was so churned up it was
just a series of muddy ruts really! Then a few drops and you're into
the infamous rock garden. Again, I stood here for a few minutes assessing
what line to take, and the conclusion I came to was that its actually
quite smooth if you stick to your line. How wrong I was later proved
to be! After the rock garden it was time to pedal some more to finish
line.
This is a tried and tested course, and to be fair, holds up pretty well
in the wet conditions, offering a reasonable amount of grip. Tyre choice
was a matter of discussion in the pits though, with quite a few riders
turning to mud spikes. As good as this course is for racing, the uplifts
leave a bit to be desired. The long walk at the top of the course was
made worse by the new uplift safety rules imposed upon Dragon DH. From
the start of the queue, to the start line took about 45 minutes! This
resulted in me getting only one practise run, and earlybird Gummy getting
just two!
The conditions made this course damp and soggy. The bike just wouldn't
roll on this surface so a few more psi was put into the tyres - I'd
worry about the grip compromise later...
So, racing. After minimal practise I was the first Rapid down and posted
a solid time of 3:44 putting me in 10th. Gummy, running Comp 24's put
in 3:36 for his first run, putting him in 5th. Both Rapids in the top
20%. Before the second run however, the heavens opened and more rain
landed. Would this make times quicker of slower? For the majority, this
meant slower! Buoyed by my solid first run I thought I could eat into
the 8 second gap Gummy had on me. Pushing too hard though I made a series
of mistakes culminating in a crash in the rock garden - it was supposed
to be smooth! Concussed and with a sprained wrist I decided to give
the WNC on Sunday a rain check (boom boom), leaving Gummy to carry the
Rapids flag....
...and how! It rained heavily in the night and most of Sunday, but Mr
Consistency, Gummy managed to pip all the Masters to 1st place! If only
he'd admitted to his Welsh heritage and he'd have been crowned Welsh
National Champion! A time of 3:33, 3 seconds clear of second place saw
Gummy take the win on Sunday.
A damp, wet, slippery but satisfying weekend for the Rapids.
Gummy, 5th and 1st
Mackie, 11th and headache!
