The Fair City Enduro does it again by coaxing loam and dust from the Earth and 430 riders from around the country for this end of season bash.
Pete headed to Perth for his first and only race of the year and was surprised to find several inches of loam and dust underfoot despite the distant Cairngorms being painted white with the first snows of the year.
Photos by Ian Potter/PK Perspective.
Two things that late October isn’t traditionally all that good at, especially when snowgates are being closed not all that far away, is dust and full race entries.
The team at Muckmedden managed to find a gap in the impending winter storms and over four hundred willing participants for the 2018 Fair City Enduro. Usually a very chilled affair as riders are encouraged to wear fancy dress, this year’s event, like the 2017 edition, would bring with it Enduro World Series Qualifier points.
Riders would tackle six special stages in sequential order as long as they were home by 1545 when the stages would close. A mix of fast and easy, fast and tech, then plain warp speed stages made it a real mix, with the odd lung-busting climb to really sort the wheat from the chaff.
I am usually terrible at racing. As soon as I break the timing beam, I try too hard, get flustered, and either ride far to steady or crash my brains out. I therefore promised myself I’d just ride the trails as they presented themselves to my front wheel and deal with things accordingly. The same way I’d deal with any descent off a big old mountain.
Some panic intervals the week leading up to this race had my legs in good nick for the wandering transitions, but no quad damage for out-of-the-saddle attacks on the climbs. I’d b far fresher at the top of each stage as a result though.
Stage 1 started in a golden larch wood and slowly but surely upped the ante. A few fast, loamy corners lulled me into a false sense of security before a blind drop, and after a few corners the trail dived into the woods for yet more loam but a complete change in light levels.
I’d spend the remainder of the trail trying to get my eyes to adjust, and as soon as they did, it was all over. Time to catch my breath and head back up to stage 2.
The second stage had no such light issues, starting and finishing in a pine plantation. Loam again was king, the corners seemed to link well, then throw a stump into the exit to keep you on your toes. A short fire road pedal in the middle meant I’d be blowing hard down the bottom few turns.
Over the big rock boulder, eyes up and it was all over. Not even two minutes and you’d be heading up for stage 3.
Stage three started from the old SDA start at Kinnoull Hill but in the other direction, making the most of this open hillside. Fast and beautifully flowy before a climbing traverse and an absolute slag of a climb mid-way that lead into an absolute peach of a lower section.
Deep in dust and bomb-hole heavy, this section was all about being smooth and picking a good line. Get it right and that heroic feeling was hard to shift.
Stage 4 took a hefty climb to get to but more than made up for it. Classic SDA upper gave plenty of line choice before dropping into the berms and jumps. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to be caught out pedalling for the big tabletop only for the stage to veer off through the undergrowth and through the loam to the finish.
Stage 5 was new for this race and mixed a fast and loose upper to a physical lower than had me buzzing but wary that I’d need to get myself all the way back to the top for the final stage. Despite the massive turnout, this was the only stage I caught anyone on and there was plenty of room to pass.
Stage 6 was the crescendo it always has been at this race. Absolutely flat out along the cliff tops, some massive chutes into aero tucks lead into the climbs that had you rinsing everything you had left for more forward motion. The last few turns were dangerously loose and flat, and you could see evidence of where it had gone wrong for a few.
Wide-eyed, happy creatures lined the bottom of the final stage. Batman and Robin could not have been more pleased.
So how do they do it? Muckmedden might have touted the EWS Qualifier points here but it had none of the seriousness that might be associated with it. I left at midday, the final wave and was back by four o’clock. Hardly a massive outing, but enough to test those new to racing, capped off by six stages that anyone could ride.
The dust and loam factor certainly helped, but this race has never been anything but sold out and brilliant fun. Long may it continue.
