just in Dan Darwood reports on the first round of the SDA:-
Scottish Downhill Association
I went racin’ this weekend. It was the first round of the SDA up past Aberdeen at Pitfichie… a long way from anywhere
and once I had some beers I was putting the tent up (badly) at 1:00 on Saturday morning. The course had no uplift but
the push up wasn’t too bad for a 3 minute run, it was dry and dusty and I got a wee bit of sun burn yesterday (doh!)
even though there was a frost overnight.
The top was flattish through the heather with loads of granite bedrock slabs, it then went into the woods where it was
all full of embedded rocks to hit and a couple of sweet bermed corners before a flattish traverse (again with more
embedded rocks) and the final berms and jumps to the finish. Initial practice was hard work but after some lunch I
adjusted my tyre pressures, tried a few different shock settings and put clips on, this plus some additional confidence
meant I finished the day happy that I knew the course and wasn’t riding too much like a numpty.
My first run was a 2:49 and put me in 5th in the Masters, I had made a mistake in the rocks put was pretty pleased. For the second run I managed to hit all my lines reasonably clean but was tired and didn’t pedal as much as the first time down (I had used too much energy in practice and pushing up) but I managed to take a second off my time which was my goal. A few other folks went faster and I got bumped down to 6th, 10 sec off the category winner. I was still in the top third and was pleased with the result, I can see where improvement can be made if I want to work on stuff (bigger forks would have been nice too). Overall it was a very good weekend, top weather, a course in great condition, good folks and a very mellow atmosphere.
Results:
http://www.sda-races.com/sda/viewrace.asp?RaceID=1562
