THE BEST WAY TO ENDURO

I’ve ridden and owned enduro bikes, but had never done any form of official event, so obviously the sensible thing to do was enter a 24-hour race. The Dawn to Dusk Enduro takes place at Walters Arena in Wales, and I joined my two mates Ed and Gar for 24 hours of racing around an increasingly battered enduro course. They initially pitched the 6 hours, but the 24 was my stupid idea. We had three bikes, some tools, plenty of fuel, a couple of pot noodles, and a rather optimistic belief that we’d do alright.

THE DARK BIT WAS OK

The race started at 7pm and, despite everyone saying it was a long game, it didn’t exactly feel like one once the racing got underway. It was dusty. The track was already getting chewed up, everyone was pushing harder than they probably should, and we’d all managed to have a fall during our first stint. At one point Gareth had a proper tumble which meant his bike needed some creative repairs. Some JB Weld and power tools later and he was back to it, and we continued to spend the night taking turns riding, fixing things and generally trying not to destroy ourselves. And that was before the daylight loop even started.

24 HOURS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA

The route changes during the day; it gets much longer, and the other races start too – 6 and 12 hours – timed so we all finish together at 7pm. The fresh riders joining the course didn’t exactly help as they had zero sympathy for us tired lot and that, combined with a lot of arm pump and several more crashes, cemented the gradual realisation that this was less about racing and more about simply surviving. Did we make it to the end? Well, for that you’ll have to watch the videos.

Catch you next time. Ollie.