Jamie raced the DMRex Enduro – a fun, prototype race on Exmoor that also hosted the launch of the new DMR Trailstar.
At 9am Wednesday morning I was stood on-stage mumbling my way through a presentation for the day-job in Bristol. Quicker than I could say “enduro bum-bag” I was white-knuckling my way down fast, rocky, wild Exmoor singletrack (without a bum bag though). I had no idea what to expect as I left the van, or as I sat on the start line … it wasn’t till someone shouted “GO!” and I was tasting blood down a rocky moorland that I knew it was suddenly getting pretty serious! As shocks to the system go – it was a very good one!
The DMRex took place over two days and was the brain child of Bristol Bike Fest organiser Mike Wilkins and the team at DMR. Their event will – eventually – become a 3 day, multi-stage race across Exmoor with lots of great singletrack and lots of food, beer, tea and cake. It’ll be a gravity enduro style format that picks out the best of Exmoor’s incredible trails and offers a bit of uplift help at the start of each day. The aim is to make it more about fun, making new friends and exploring Exmoor than the taking-it-too-seriously thing we see at UK races these days. That is until you leave the gate and the racer-mist kicks in! As the old mantra goes … ‘when the gate drops, the bullshit stops!”.
This year’s event was a mini-protype version of what Ex will eventually become. It was a chance for Mike and co. to test out the format, see how many punctures we could all get and just how much cake and bacon butties they’d need. The answer to both of those was – of course – loads.
You might not have ridden on Exmoor. If you’re not a fan of fast, fun, rocky trails and stunning views I would give it a miss. Over the two days of the DMRex we rode a hand-picked selection of Exmoor gold – including at least four big five minute, white-knuckle descents. Often we’d start by galloping over open moorland then firing into the trees and into some fresh, loamy, rooty, twisty singletrack. Some of it was fun, fast and easy and some of it was steep, twisty, rocky and technical.
Register your interest for the DMR Ex enduro here.
Huge thanks for Mike, Paul and their team and the crew at DMR for a great two days of riding and racing and some ferociously good tea and cake! And a huge thanks to the other riders for a fun and just competitive enough razz around some great trails!
