d disappeared towards the front while Karlos and I went more for keeping pace with those around us. Nothing over the top but enough not to have any crashes. The route started out on road for a few km with some good hills which spreads things out. Then off road we went. I had decided just to ride at my own pace which usefully seemed to fall pretty similar to Karlos and Carl. Every time I had a drink stop or a pee break, one or both of them turned up. This was basically the story of at least 60km of the day. Whether we were climbing up Minch Moor or descending twisty singletrack I was always close to a Hobo team rider. This really helped make the day go faster,
男士休闲皮鞋, I either sped up to catch someone in front or waited for another member to catch up.
Then it all got interesting. I know the Merida is as far from a race as it gets but I thrive on challenging myself. With 10km to go Karlos had put quite a distance between us. At the top of Minch Moor for the second time that day a lady showed me the profile which made the route look nearly all downhill from there. I set off feeling refreshed and strong - downhill is always a good way of boosting your energy levels and shaking out the tiredness. I eventually saw Karlos climbing the last big hill and this gave me enough of a boost to try to catch him on a fast downhill section littered with loose stones with a sharp bend at the bottom. I gave him a bit of a fright blasting past even though I was fighting to get traction. I then put as much effort as I could to put some space between us over the last 5km. I didn't even realise that I was approaching the finish straight until with a few hundred metres to go Karlos sailed past me and a lady was waving frantically to turn right into the field. I think she was worried neither of us were going to make the turn... I tried to put a sprint in but cramp killed that idea and I rolled in barely a metre behind Karlos. If it hadn't been so comical I would have been gutted. Turns out Steve had finished only three minutes before us with me and Karlos both in 6hrs 6min which I was more than happy with.
Unfortunately Wendy, our photographer, was busy drinking beer at the time so we didn't get any pictures of us finishing but we had the pleasure of watching shim, then dave then saintly come in. They'd decided to stick together and drag each other through the course. All seemed fit and well so a 100% result for Team Hobo.
This was one of the best events I have had the pleasure to take part in - professionally run,
男式皮鞋, exciting course,
Jeep 休闲鞋, friendly atmosphere. And made all the better for having mates around all day to help out.
Mark Szymczak
(aka Shim) Ride time 7:12:27
Well,
哥伦比亚户外鞋, what can I say? It was a fantastic event,
骆驼休闲鞋, well organised and excellent value for money - £28,
商务休闲皮鞋, free food and a T-shirt to boot. The course was excellent, with a realy good mix of stuff - it's not often that you get to ride a course like that without bothering to get the map out and have lots of feed stations on route.
It was very good to see so many good girl r