SDA Round 3 - Aberfeldy

Arriving on Friday evening with the weather report due for rain, we were greeted by a dry, flat field with sunshine beating down and a dual slalom track to play on. Saturday morning was the same with the sun coming out to keep the track dry and dusty. After walking the track in the morning I got on the first uplift which was a pleasant 10 minutes in comparison to other venues.

Out of the start gate and a drop comes to one of the very few pedalling sections of the whole track. After a few shallow corners it’s a sprint to the big huck off a huge rock or the outside line which proved to be fast. Keeping high over a log drop and turning to the left, off a drop and round the inside of a tree leads into the steeper sections. A dusty rut with a lip at the end to pop you out leads into a steep and fast chute and straight into a tight left hander with a strong berm to hold you up. Off another natural drop and round to the right leads through a set of dusty corners with inside lines being faster but harder to get onto. Over an off camber section and over a steep rock chute leads into the bridleway crossing.

Dropping down to the right down a steep chute in between rocks and then to the left over a set of three large boulders which proved to be hard for most people at some point in the weekend. To the right over a drop and then sweeping down to the left into a dusty loose corner leads you into a set of switchbacks and into the woods.

Jumping over a stump on the inside line and keeping inside as much as possible round the shallow but steep and fast corners. From here you go through a rock garden with more than one fast line and into a tight rooty corner which was probably the hardest part of the track for a lot of people including myself as many front wheels slid into the bottom of the ruts. From here through a set of tight trees and over a large rock leads into the final corners. To the right and pumping through a rough set of rocks to keep speed leads onto an off camber finish dropping down to the left and straight through the finish line.

After a whole weekend of sun the track was dusty and loose and on my first run I face planted the dust when my front wheel hit a hidden stump in one of the loose corners near the top. Jumping up and wiping some dust off my gloves I carried on and got a time of 2:22. In the second run there was a delay and it rained literally 60 seconds before my run. Although the top was still dry due top the large volumes of dust, the bottom woods were wet and the roots caught my wheel causing me to crash in the tight section. I still got a time of 2:16 and came in 16th place in the junior category. Not a bad result considering the dramatic change in the weather.