Erlestoke 12 2011

Spam Biking had previously run this event as the Set2Rise, but decided to change the format for this year, reasoning that not everyone wants to race for the full 12 hours or overnight.

They came up with the Erlestoke 12, racing from midday to midnight for the 12 hour affectionados, as well as a 6 hour option for those not wanting to go the full distance. Entry options were plenty with solo, pairs or team, and of course the mandatory SS category. Having changed the overnight format, racing until midnight still gave the additional fun and challenge of racing in the dark, with lights mandatory from 8pm. With such dense woodland singletrack lights were definitely needed from then.

Spam Biking have contributed 10s of thousands of pounds to Help for Heroes and local charities over the years and the Erlestoke 12 is no different with profits raised from the event being donated to local charities. The course was a 7 mile loop incorporating a heap of fun, tree lined singletrack, fast forest trails and quick descents all run on MoD land.

Erlestoke 12 Scott Cornish

A smaller scale event than others, it didn’t lack in a friendly, yet competitive atmosphere. Some 350 riders turned out under dark skies for some hard racing. Camping was available on site, which was quite welcome when finishing at midnight. There were plenty of facilities available with catering from the Luff Bus providing top quality food and Colonel Grumpy’s Coffee Bus serving caffeine hits in a cup. Finely Tuned Ride was there providing mechanical support and Lumicycle provided sets of pre-bookable demo lights, and a charging station just in case you had forgotten to fully charge those lights!

With the Bristol Bikefest the following weekend, my competitiveness had to take a back seat and just enjoy the event. I was racing in the 6 hour pairs with a junior rider Dan Sampson who is in his first year of racing xc and endurance events. With a 4th place at this year’s Welsh xc champs he is going well. Racing got underway at midday for the 12 hour event and 15 minutes later for the 6 hour riders, with Dan doing our first lap. No Le Mans start here, instead a mass start with a good distance of wide track to separate the faster riders before hitting the singletrack. With dark skies looming, I had fitted a more aggressive front tyre over the preferred Hutchinson Pythons as much of the course was woodland trails, not much fun with dry weather tyres in the wet! Despite a number of brief showers the trails remained surprising dry and dusty, a real bonus, but the front tyre was a bit overkill! Well, the course remained dry for the first 6 hours or so until the showers became more persistent, making it slippy going for the 12 hour competitors, more so on the open grassy sections than in the woods. With Dan out on his final lap, I was anxiously waiting to see if would make it back in time for me to sneak in a last lap before the cut off at 615. As the minutes ticked by, the time left passed the point of my current lap times of a conservative 34 minutes (Dan was putting in a 38 minute lap), then 33, then 32. Which was possibly achievable with more effort, then 31, 30 and than I relaxed, knowing that a sub 30 minute lap wasn’t going to happen! We eventually finished in 6th place. There was a tight battle going on for podium as we were only 6 minutes off 3rd ourselves.

Erlestoke 12 Dan Simpson

Lap times varied from 30 minutes for the faster 6 hour team riders to 40 or so minutes for Ant White, winner of the 12 hour solo. Times slowed a little in the wetter conditions as riders fought to keep bikes in a straight line on the exposed grassy sections. It was a really fun course, twisting its way through the woodland around the upper edge of the race village. A short climb across a field was surprisingly tough, the grass causing the tyres to drag. The singletrack was awesome, but required skill to carry a good dose of speed through the corners without washing out in the dusty conditions. With dips and dropoffs to keep riders on their toes, you came out of the singletrack wanting more!

Event video by Black Canon Collective

Quite a surprise was just how many 29ers there were at the Erlestoke 12, from full suspension to fully rigid SS. Granted there weren’t alot relative to 26ers, but it seems to be a growing market and no longer just another bike to own, but the main ride. Often criticized for their slow handling in singletrack, I found the Niner Air 9 Carbon to be quite the opposite, handling superbly well in the twists and turns.

All in all a great day of racing, followed by a tasty slice of freshly made tortilla from the Luff Bus and some great coffee! The Erlstoke 12 is an excellent event with a hugely enjoyable course. Spam Biking have done a great job of putting this event together and are applauded for donating any profits to local charities. If you want to take part next year though, you may not be in luck as there is talk of the MoD pulling permission for the event to be run on their land. This would be a great shame as it’s a superb location with plenty of parking and camping space for all. Spam Biking are putting a case together to the MoD for continued use of the site, so if you have enjoyed the event in the past or wish to take part, please drop an email to Rob Rowe at Spam Biking, http://www.spambiking.co.uk/contact.asp to express your thoughts. Roll on next year, hopefully!

Erlestoke 12