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Afan Enduro By Sylvain Garde

Rory picked me up on a sunny Saturday morning and we set off towards Wales in his shaky old Metro. On arriving in Afan, in a beautiful but obviously poverty-struck valley, we met John P and Ed, two Kiwis who will be competing in the stage race Transalp in July this year - the other two, Simon and Howard, were working that day and wouldn't make it to the campsite until late in the evening. So the four of us went for an afternoon ride of White's Level, a newly completed ten-mile loop, consisting of some of the most exhilarating singletrack I'd ever ridden, and which was a total blast to ride, whether down or up hill. 

It was very rocky and a section included big slates of rock arranged to allow jumping - boy that was fun. The only downsides were the numerous portals to prevent motorbike access, which several times per mile forced you to dismount and edge your way between the narrow gates.

On the way we met Hannah Reynolds and the Mountain Bike Rider magazine crew (the sponsor of this first ever Afan Enduro), whom we'd find out later enjoyed the trail so much they ended up riding it three times in a row. Back at camp, where we bumped into Agreeable John S (who had signed for the non-competitive event), we fine-tuned our bikes for the race - Rory fiddling with his noisy rear drivetrain, and myself trying to stop my grips from slipping off the handlebars - and loaded on carbs, by which time we were all completely exhausted and retreated to our tents for some repairing sleep. 

Sunday morning and a beautiful blue sky greeted us, hot sun but with a nice cool breeze - perfect riding weather. The early start was in waves in groups of 30 or so and included the only road section of the entire course, which given the 62km distance meant there weren't any manic sprints from the start line. 

Simon, John and myself started at 9.05, followed by Rory at 9.10. From the start we kept going down and down, which was a bit worrying for what was to come - the climbing. As soon as we hit the dirt we were set for the first of many grinding fireroad climbs, and this started to spread the field, which included riders fighting for the Welsh Enduro title. 

I settled into my own pace and found myself in a group of four, feeling good and still gobsmacked by the quality of the trails - the kind of stuff you'd ride at full blast even when not racing, just for the kick of it. After 30km I was now riding alongside a guy, road cyclist and runner, who told me he was in his first season of mtb-ing and doing pretty darn good in the technical sections. 

Unfortunately upon hitting a sharp rock with the rear wheel I got a pinch flat, which not only deflated my tire but also my motivation, seeing rider after rider passing by as I was rushing to fix the puncture, kicking myself for not having fitted a beefier tire at the back. 

Still the race was far from over and catching up some of those who'd just passed me gave me a boost. I must note that everyone I met on the course was friendly, and even at race pace we often found time to exchange a few words (generally along the lines of "great riding uh!"). The following miles included more than enough fireroad climbing, but somehow knowing that this would be followed by some sweet forest singletrack gave you the legs to make it to the top. I got a second puncture - same wheel, same cause - and as I had just finished fixing it was caught up by Rory. This was lucky as I was seriously starting to lose focus on the race at that point. 

Rory was feeling so-so and I decided to keep going at my own pace - after all I had a bit of a revenge to take after he'd smashed me at last year's Cristalp! Having ran out of tubes though I had to pick careful lines on the rocky sections, standing up and unweighting the rear of the bike to avoid another pinch flat, which thankfully didn't happen despite some of the gnarliest sections were yet to come.

 It was great to ride the White's Level trail again, and not so great to haul up the steepest and longest of all the climbs. As could be expected the final singletrack was awesome and lasted for ages, winding its way down the valley towards the finish, which included a ride around a series of ponds before crossing the finish line. Results:  Rory Black 11th/41 in Masters, 3"46 ,Sylvain Garde 9th/38 in Sports, 3"43 John P got a 13th in Masters, and Simon, struck by cramps early into the race, a 28th in Sports. Ed had entered the non-competitive event by error, but still ended with a 3"53, and John Shurmek did a 6"43. The overall winner's time was 3"06 - that's close to 12.5mph average on a super-tough course! 

Altogether this has to rate as one of the very best races I've done so far. The longer than average distance meant you had to pace yourself, the quality of the trails was second to none, and for once you'd cross the finish line with a big grin on your face. Another one to add to the "not-to-be-missed" list for next year then.