Matterley Peddlehound race 5/5/24

by hattenburrow | May 7, 2024 | Racing, Uncategorized

We arrived at the race 1.5hrs early so that we were able to walk stages 1,2 and half of 3. I appreciated the chance to see the stages as there were no practices runs for this race.

As I was in the queue for the start of the race I was feeling really excited to get riding and have a great time.

I was set off to start on stage 2 and told myself to take it easy on the first run.

My first run on stage 2 set off to a good start with a decent pace, the track was good but not ridden in yet so was tricky to work out lines therefore on an off camber turn I went out wide and lost some time. The second run was faster.

The subsequent runs on stage 1 went well, the track had been better ridden in so line choice was easier. I was able to set a good time for both of the runs.

Stage 3 was next the first corner was looser than I expected so front wheel slid out but I saved it with my foot down. A sandy berm caught me off guard but I managed to stay on track. The rest of the run was fast.

I was flying in the second run until I caught up with another rider which cost a couple of seconds. I was able to pick up the pace once I passed them.

Stage 5 was next, I really enjoyed it as it was a mix of flow and tech on both runs I got a good start, then was able to keep the pace throughout the whole run. Both runs were consistent.

Stage 4 was last, it went well, I pushed as hard as I could. It was another nice track.

I ran a couple of re runs on stages 1&2 to try and improve my time, happy to have made my way to 4^th position. A great day riding.

Southern XC Series and Southern Enduro Race Report – Jacob

by hattenburrow | Apr 19, 2024 | Racing, Uncategorized

Southern XC R 1 31.3.24

Couldn’t wait to race since this was the first Southern XC and I was hoping the course improved from last year. We arrived very early so lots of time to practice the course which helped.

The race went to plan (pushing the pace to try and get a gap) until I hit a slippery root at the wrong angle, slipped and hit a tree I got winded and my handlebars got twisted so it took a while to get back up by which point I was in fourth, I almost closed the gap to third but by then I had ran out of energy.

Despite that, I learnt lots. I had had a good start and fast four laps, holding my lead throughout. Maybe it was bad tactics that made me crash so I’m going to try an improve by being calmer (so I didn’t crash) and not giving up after my crash.

I’m looking forward to round 2 at the end of April.

Southern Enduro 7.4.24

I was really excited for this race but wasn’t expecting much as it was my first enduro. Practice went well so I was super excited, having the rest of the BTM team there was great and really helpful to talk about different lines and options on the track.

My best bit was hitting one of the important high lines on stage 2 plus having a great mistake–less run on stage 4 on which was a slippery and technical track.

On stage 3 I slipped off line and on stage Two I over braked into a corner so had to waste energy getting back up to speed. Overall, it was a really fun first enduro race and it went well apart from those few small mistakes and I still managed to get 4th in the U13’s – really happy with that!

I would like to improve my jumping for next time so I can hit some of the bigger ones like on stage 5 and maybe work on my line choices.

Thank you to my sponsors: Windwave | Right Bike | Southern Enduro | Melon Optics | Beyond the Mud

Welcome to the team – Ben Matthews!

by hattenburrow | Mar 7, 2024 | Uncategorized

Hey there, I’m Ben, hitting the ripe age of 34 this year. I’ve been tearing up the trails for a solid 22 years now, dabbling in all sorts of cycling disciplines along the way. Started out with dirt jumping and I then quickly got into riding Downhill back in 2006. Nowadays, I ride so many disciplines you could pretty much call me a freerider. My greatest accomplishment was getting the front cover of the Red Bull magazine, Red Bulletin back in 2018.

You’ll find me competing in Downhill, Enduro, and Dirt jumping competitions. Last year, though, I had a bit of a rough patch with a nasty crash in Leogang. Still on the path to recovery, but I’m grateful to be back in the saddle. The speed is slowly creeping back, and I’m itching to get back between the tapes.

Do something different this Black Friday

by hattenburrow | Nov 22, 2023 | Uncategorized

Black Friday has become a big deal. It’s primarily a time for big companies to compete in a ‘race to the bottom’ with massive sales that produce massive waste.

You could boycott it, but our view is that if we want to do something more positive. Let’s take that Black Friday traffic and offer an alternative.

That’s why, from 9am on Black Friday to midnight Sunday, Teemill will plant a tree for every order on you make through our store.

You can buy online here from our little store a mixture of tee shirts, hoodies and vests perfect for cycling or a trip to the pub!

British Cycling Nationals Round 3

by hattenburrow | May 16, 2023 | Uncategorized

On a bleak May day Hannah, Emyr and Ffion headed to Winchester for the third round in the British Cycling cross country series. This race was part of the national series which travels across the UK and attracts the best riders in every age category.

The racing started with Short track, a short course with high speed racing for around 20 minutes. Emyr was first on track for this race, his first ever short track battling a large field to come sixth overall in his age category.

As the rain continued to pour and the course turned to mud the hours ticked by until Hannah’s 2:30pm race. A big shout out to little Ffion who stayed in the car all day at only 18 months her first race experience was not the best! Nerves and conditions nearly sent us packing on more than one occasion this being Hannah’s first cross country race in eight years. But we stuck with it, and at 2:30 along with one other girl and a huge field of men she lined up between the tapes.

Riding her own race from the start and not letting the conditions let her down Hannah kept consistent lap times and consistently falling off once per lap! After 1 hour 10 minutes of racing she crossed the line in first place, ending up on the podium (very unexpected).

At home the kit clean up ready for Emyr’s XCO race on Sunday began… Three hours later, kit bikes and people were clean and heading to bed ready to do it all again on Sunday!

Up early again Sunday, choclate spread sandwiches in the car for Ffion and we headed to a now dry but foggy matterley basin. Although it was not raining the mud had turned to thick brown gloupe and the race was carnage!

Spending an hour and 40 minutes running and riding in equal measure Emyr finish in a very respectable 15th position in the vets race.

A great weekend in the saddle!

Burn Series Adventure Race Bath

by hattenburrow | Mar 30, 2023 | Adventure, Biking Adventures, Uncategorized

On Saturday I stepped way out of my comfort zone and did an adventure race. The Burn Series in Bath was made up of mountain biking, trail running and kayaking. All whilst navigating to check points marked on a map!

This was my first race since having Ffion and the nerves well and truly set in from around Wednesday leaving me feeling very unsure about whether I could actually do it.

Race day came, the car was packed, and we set off for Bath at 6am to start racing at 9:30.

The first thing I had to figure out was my route for each activity – something I’ve never had to think about before. In cross country mountain biking you just follow the arrows and stay within the tapes this was a new challenge and one that made it quite tactical as it turned out!

Everyone was given a kayak slot and mine was in the morning which meant I would run first so I could run to the kayaks. I had always wanted to bike first as that is my strength, but soon switched the gears in my head to feet first then pedals as we set off from the start line.

I had highlighted the route on my map but soon found running, looking at the map and trying to look for check points was rather a lot for my brain to compute. The result was me missing my first check point and ending at the canal… Oh well, this is where I wanted to get to anyway right!?

The kayak section was fun, having not been in a kayak since I was about 14, I found my body seemed to remember what to do and the Pilates certainly helped with the core strength. The main challenge with the kayak leg was actually a very angry swan who stopped me from getting my third checkpoint! I decided being dry and not bitten by a swan was better than trying to battle my way past it.

Once back on dry land I did procrastinate about doing more running. After a minute or so of procrastinating (I really must stop doing this) I decided to stick with the plan and go get my bike. In hindsight this was silly as I retraced my steps when I could have run past more running check points back to my bike on a flatter route.

Back at the main transition I got my bike and headed out to collect as many bike check points as I could. I decided to go for the highest scoring checkpoint first and made my way up some super steep hills to get there. Quick picture at the top and a text to Emyr to say there was a nice park for Ffion to run around and then I remembered this is a race – I should probably get on with it! Back on the bike and into a long spooky tunnel that reminded me of a similar one I had raced through in the Alps. The cold air surrounded me and every now and then you would see an eery shadow and have to dodge dog walkers. At least in the alps all the bikes were going in the same direction.

This was a great cycle route which took me all the way to the furthest check point from where I had just been, only to realise I had missed one and you guessed it! Retraced my steps again… I started to realise I needed to be more tactical and just head for the bigger point check points so with this in mind amended my route. This would have been fine but in my rush to do so a trail I thought was bridleway turned out the be footpath so once again I back pedalled.

All in all, I managed to get every bike check point bar 4 so I was happy with that! During the ride I rode down streams and up steep gravel bridleways, down awesome muddy descents and at times a few technical downhills. The riding was awesome if not slightly hillier than I expected!

After six hours racing, I made it to one last check point before crossing the finish line. Completely exhausted but riding on a high from what I had achieved.

I learnt a lot in these six hours, route planning needs more attention, look to get to the big scoring check points and I need to learn to run uphill!

Thank you for a great day out!

If you would like to find out more about these races go to www.burnseries.co.uk for more information on the other race sin the UK.

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