10 under the Ben

May 17th, 2010 • Cycling, Mountainbiking •

This years Ten under the Ben broke the lucky run of weather the event has enjoyed since it’s inception. We were treated to classic Fort William weather, with a two tone sky. Blue to the South, Grey to the North. Fraser and the No Fuss team do a great job of tweaking and adding to the course every year. As he says himself “the only consistency is inconsistency”. The fantastic new natural wooded sections of course which had been added this year soon turned into a quagmire. Had the weather been as hoped these sections would have been exceptional. As it was they posed a solid challenge in bike handling, line choice and preserving momentum. As always the witches trails sections were brilliant fun, easy to ride despite the rain and full of speed. I found the most challenging part of the course were the long shallow fire road climbs, the rain had turned the usually hard packed surface in to a drag ridden paste which sapped energy and enthusiasm quickly. The new technical, forest, singletrack sections were definitely the highlight for me despite the intensity of the mud, I can’t wait to make it back and ride them in the dry at speed.

We had quite a crew of folk taking part over 20 of us loosely related through mates of mates. The vibe in the pits was great, a big thanks to all who contributed with food, drink, tents, houses and particular kudos must go to Lindsey Barr for orchestrating such fine hospitality at the race and after. The craic flowed and we all helped sort out broken bikes, keeping the kettle boiling and enjoying the fine Fort William weather. The atmosphere at No Fuss races is superb; friendly, comic and easy going. There is of course a competitive element but this plays second fiddle to having a good time and getting the craic with like minded folk. Big up to all those who contributed to such a fine weekend and hopefully we’ll all manage to make it again next year.

Our team was called “The crank addicts” which included myself, Spad, Davie G and Bowie. We managed 7th place. Which was pretty good, had I not stopped for a slash and Spads chain not come off we could have got up to 4th. Iain Bowie put in a gallant effort going out for a final lap but missed the cut off by only 2 mins. Next year eh!

Spad’s on the case of getting a video together so check back soon for that.

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