Progress Report 10 - w/c 27.04.09

I DID IT!!! i competed in my first enduro race!!!

i came 25th out of 42 in my class, i only had a few offs, i am intact and so is my bike, AWESOME!

i was up at 0615 on sunday, feeling relatively calm considering - i had gone out for a few drinks the night before to quell the pre-race nerves which helped! it was a beautiful morning but a cool 5 degrees, with thick dew and mist in the valleys, the calm before the storm. the bike was already loaded on the truck, so it was only my kit bag that needed loading and we were ready to go. at 0700 chobe and i headed for long compton, warwickshire, which was only 25 miles or so away.

the event was in fact a "hare and hounds" race, a 3.25 mile course on the side of a hill in the cotswolds where you complete as many laps as you can in a given time, in this instance it was 2.5 hours.



as you will see from the photos, it is quite a compact course, with a lot of tight turns, bumps and berms! we were told in the pre-race talk to take it steadily on the first few laps as the ground was damp and incredibly slippery, i heeded the advice, however i still managed a few offs but saved the best for the final lap, proper over the handle bar, onto the shoulder and a nice forward roll to finish!

the race track was very well laid out with stripy tape and wooden stakes, which was juxtaposed against the lush green grass and spring flowered hills that decorated the cotswold countryside! this is not your normal sunday morning activity either.

chobe by the truck


there were 142 competitors across a number of categories,the main ones being: enduro sportsman, enduro clubman 4 stroke & 2 stroke, enduro expert, i was a novice so i entered the sportsman category - but later found out that some top guys were in this class!

on arrival you had to sign in, have your bike and gear 'scrutinised' to ensure it is all safe and fair, then place your bike on the starting line. they lined up all the bikes according to their class and in this instance sportsman were on the front line, yes the first to go when the flag came down. apparently they rotate the groups at each event so next time i will be at the back. sitting on my bike at the start, with all 142 bikes revving their engines to warm them up was fantastic, the adrenaline was really flowing now and i was just concentrating on a good start, in front of me was a steep incline and sharp right hand turn at the top which would act like a funnel, so that was going to be interesting! then the signal came to turn your engines off, it was to be a 'dead start', whereby your engine is is not running until the flag comes down.



then we were off, any anxiety, and nerves were gone, it was now about staying on the bike! it was just what i had hoped for, it was a tough course, with a lot of steep and bumpy climbs, some big jumps and hairpin turns with an off-camber on an incline!

to start with i wanted to get a feel for the course, every turn, every bump was new to me. quite a few bikes went past and so long as i kept my line, the faster riders would find their way past safely. as the laps went by however, i started some of my own overtaking and had a few scraps with the fast lads trying to get by which really pushed you along, sometimes too far!! i'll never forget watching two lads go flying by over some awesome jumps and seeing them both in the air at the same time, it made me smile and yell out, i was in my element just watching them!!

andy on a husky!


mark on a ktm


me coming down one the hill


each lap you have to comeback through the checkpoint, have the bar coded sticker on the side of your helmet scanned, this is how they work out lap times etc, although if there is a queue that obviously effects the times a little, but hey what's a second or two, you need the break!! i did come into the pits for a break at the end of lap 6. andy from brackens was racing and kindly allowed me to share is tools - not that i needed them fortunately - but it also meant that his mate mark's girlfriend, gemma, looked after chobe which was invaluable. i necked a powerade and added a few more litres of unleaded to the tank, took a deep breath and then headed out for the next installment.

arriving at the check point


at the check point


the break made a big difference, the next few laps were well under 11 minutes and i was 'relatively' pushing it hard past a few competitors, but that also meant i had a couple more offs. but before i knew it i was on my last lap, the clock at the check point showed that i would only have this lap to go so i tried to enjoy it. arms knackered, sweating like a badger, i pushed on. one section had three really god jumps and i was grabbing some air with each one, such a great feeling (probably only a foot in the air but it still felt good!!) but then a f*^&ked it as i took the corner wide to avoid the deep ruts and hit the soft sand that had accumulated through the hours of racing and the bike stopped dead in its tracks and went over, hitting the ground with a thumped, i rolled over, stood up and shook myself before grabbing my bike and moving it off the main line of traffic. having gathered myself , i was back on the bike and hoofed it up the steep incline to complete my final lap. i was so tired.

it took the organisers 4 days to set this course up so they ask all competitors to take a sack and fill it with the battens and tape. so at the end of the race, everyone, still on their bikes are sent off around the track. being new to this, i had to go a fair way along the course before i started clearing. i had forgotten about this element, i was absolutely shattered, dehydrated, filthy, but elated to have finally competed in a brilliant enduro!

i can't wait for the next one on may 24 in daventry!!

some of my stats
fastest lap: 10m 31s
highest speed: 18.54mph
riding time: 2h 39m 32s
pit stop: 11m
total laps: 13

to put it in perspective, the fastest rider on the day completed 18 laps in 2.5hrs! so all in all i was pretty happy with that result.



so having baby wiped my face, loaded the bike back onto the truck and changed into some dry clothes, i headed back to the cottage for some serious r&r. awesome day, awesome!!!

Progress Report 9 - w/c 20.04.09

been another hectic period since my last proper update from the western cape all the way back in january!! do you remember those long, cold and dark nights? it is hard when it is 17 degrees outside with blue skies and the sun shining until late into the evening, thank goodness for our seasons!!

so what has been happening? well, small steps are being made; the mechanic course is progressing well, have taken a few tests, passed some, don't know about others - will find out tomorrow, but i think the next few months are going to be a little intense as we have a lot of written and practical tests to do. the course finishes in the first week of july, so only 11 weeks to go. it is a great course and i am even considering carrying onto the next level, but time is the issue.

my mechanic training is going to come into it's own now that i have purchased another ktm, a 400exc. yep i've done it! it is my first enduro competition bike, i am so excited! i drove to wayne mounter motorcycles in pontypridd, south wales, on saturday. i was fortunate to meet wayne, the owner, who showed me the second hand bike, which although looking well used, it was in tidy condition and sounded great. he also told me his name was 'fast wayne', who 'smoked' john from brackens while test riding the rc8 in spain earlier this year! the world of bikes and in particular ktm, is a small one. well john, if you ever read this, i did come over to your shop two weeks ago to talk about buying a bike, but you don't stock seconds anymore, still you know i'll pick up and rc8 from you one day! in fact it was paul from bracknes who recommended the 400exc, he reckoned i'd end up in hospital if i went ahead with a 300exc! i took his advice.

loading the bike onto the pickup i returned to the cottage and just stood there for a while looking at it, then i took some photos, sad i know!!



and then on sunday, i took the bike for a little spin around the sleepy village, found a few tracks to muddy the tyres, it was so easy, you just wanted to open her up and fly! i just have to be patient, i have a race next weekend where i can test out man and machine and see which one i break first, hahaha!

and yes, i have just registered with the amca, the cotswold enduro club and my first enduro competition at manor farm in long compton on april 26th which is on sunday. again this was thanks to brackens, andy, who seems to be running things over there now, while john, as fast wayne put it 'is trying to become a welshman', said he was competing with the cec. he rides a 400exc too, but will be test riding a husky 400 on the day - i must let him know i will be there, and ask him for some support!! it is a 4 mile course in the northern cotswolds, that i will go round as many times as i can in 2.5hrs. i wonder if there is some irony in the competition title 'slow pete', i'll soon find out!?!

i have had a lot of encouragement from family and friends over the past few months. in fact my uncle earl and his mate are coming up next weekend to provide some moral and team support - dog walking, fuel filling, drinks and spare drivers (to get home) if i damage myself. it is only my first race, and i am incredibly excited about it, but it feels like this could make or break the dream of racing in the dakar, it is quite a pressure. so i just have to keep reminding myself to enjoy the races one race at a time, embrace the here and now and not worry about the future, too much! more anon.

life at home is good in that the flat decoration is pretty much finished, well apart from the last bit of floor varnishing and the hall/stair carpet needs laying - need to source suitable underfloor heating too - and....in all seriousness, i now have a home in town that i can look forward to going to at the end of each day which makes a world of difference. the work started in september!

and saving the biggest bit of news until last, some of you already know, but for the record, i am leaving moving brands on april 30th. ben wrote a very supportive email to the company which i am very proud to share with you....

...Toby's email is without doubt the biggest news we have had to announce as a company. Typically he has written a very understated email which i would like to follow with some colour.

This is an emotional email to write; Toby is my cousin, my friend and a partner in Moving Brands, he is also a huge source of strength for me - i think i have spent more time with him then anyone else.

i have spoken to Toby about my feelings and the huge contribution he has made, what i wanted to do was write to you all so that you might understand the role he has played a little better as we wish him the best in his next chapter.

Firstly, once he mentioned he was thinking of applying his operational experience in another industry we began working towards this move, early conversations were over a year ago now and there has been a ton of work to get through in the meantime, work which toby has driven and which many of you may not be familiar with;

As a business we have moved successfully to a model which Toby was instrumental in authoring - the 'Strategy, Identity, Expression' offer which has not only stabilised our business coming into this harsh recession - but meant we are fighting fit, agile and diverse, in fact able to move forward when most are going backwards. The business has stayed true to our 5 year business plan which Toby put together along with leadership inputs. A document that is steering us through. Aside from being a shareholder and director covering all companies house responsibilities, Toby has been ensuring all our operational and professional needs are met; legal; IP and contracts, accounting, banking and loan facilities, leasing facilities, renting, employment... (many of which have increasingly been handled by Geoff as MD over the past months) ...to take legal as one example, Geoff and Toby have had to navigate through 5 frame agreements with global tec companies in the past 3 months....ontop of this from a people and infrastructure point of view in the past year Geoff has become MD, Zaid has become FC, John Toppin has been acting Financial Director, we have renegotiated our bank position (with HBOS - no mean feat in this market i can assure you) ... and throughout Toby has been helping me keep our 'global' plans alive so we continue to function as a 'global' offer and structure our needs going forward in Apac, EU and US ... well there are many, many more tasks which i need not mention. Suffice to say this recession coupled with the challenging times we had already been through have demanded a disproportionate amount of management time and the need for properly tough decision making ....i have learnt a great deal from Toby over all the years working together but never more intensely than over the past 18-24 months and i will be carrying that learning with me every day as we go forward.

i hope this throws light on some of the immense tasks Toby has undertaken recently, and many of them off his own back - unfortunately these are thankless tasks which is a harsh reality of the role he has played. i know he takes a lot of strength from what we have achieved as a group of people but think for a minute when has he been acknowledged for his role and hard work? Toby we all owe you a huge debt of gratitude - i most of all, thank you. I hope you will all take some time to talk to him over the coming weeks and understand better the journey he has been on and his plans going forward.

Overall i would say Toby has always 'made it happen' - i can't remember one action or agreement that we have made that he hasn't delivered on; right from day one, our first project - when he came on as a producer to make a television series for NTL - a two hours a week programme - 8 cameras, 23 crew, he produced 28 hours of television from a standing start (well teaching karate and running a hotel!) and we went from there to become Moving Brands. He always said that his intention was to make things work; keep Jim, Guy and i together and make a success our our combined agenda - he has certainly done that, and in a selfless manner. I am pleased that he is going on to lead a business that can further utilise him - they don't know how fortunate they are.

There is much more to say over the coming weeks but i have written enough here for now. On the positive, this news provides us a lovely opportunity to mark Toby's time and our achievements as a group over the past 10+ years, and so as Toby mentioned we will be having a very special get-together at the end of April (wed 29th is most likely, please earmark).

From the start Toby has bound Jim, Guy and I together and shoved us forward, gathering more of us as we went - i will miss him a great deal as i'm sure we all will.

Ben

into the wild!!