Bigman downed in 'tumble dryer' spin

Yesterday was the first experience of real mountain biking since signing up to the Cape Epic Challenge 2010 for Ironman and Bigman. The intro to the blog site talks about them finding out about themselves and yesterday proved the point.

It was a 10 hour endurance race with 10 laps of a course 11 miles long and climbing 1000ft with a mixture of fire block trails, single track trails and technical section tough for the uninitiatated.

The uphill start to the circuit was a breeze for the pair, with some some friendly banter being hurled from other competitors as the pair stormed past on the climb sections. A team of fellow participants going under the name of nae faws, nae b**Z gave us an introduction to a place in Falkirk to have our Cape Epic team kit produced. Their name inspired the Bigman to have 3 spills on his first lap out of 4 for the whole day. It was easy to get sucked into the pace of the downhills, less easy to take control in a corner much tighter than estimated - result = spilling onto the forest floor.

The technical section shook every part of the upper body to pieces. If you enetered the section with trepidation you were spat out like a wimp. It had to be cycled with agression and confidence. Bigman began to master the section after lap 4.

The Ironman had a trapped nerve in his shoulder meaning he had to retire after lap 4 with sense prevailing. He had lost the sensation in his left arm. Bigman continued for another 2 laps when his chain snapped. After 30 minutes acting like a healthy meal for a clan od midgies he was back on teh road. The technical section spilled him on the floor as he lost concentration. With over 60 miles done and more than 600ft climbed over an 8 hour period he decided he had done enough for the day. This trip equalled a day in the saddle on Cape Epic. Bigman felt strong as he finished however the 'tumble dryer' effct on the technical section means he willl need to hone his skills in this area.

In summary, the pair can take confidence on their strength to stay the course with the best albeit around 25% slower than the best.