Get out!

It’s been a dry-ish week again and the forecast is nothing short of excellent. The morning dew that’s now happening, followed by decent warm and sunny autumn days, should mean conditions are actually a bit special for the time of year.

Get out there while the going is good!

If it’s your first time riding at Aston Hill read the essentials and the frequently asked questions - they answer most enquiries people have about the park. Also bear in mind that Aston Hill becomes a far more technical venue in the wet, so take extra care.

Where is the time going?

It’s been a dry-ish week and conditions were surprisingly good on Wednesday. So while there’s been a few showers, the Hill should be running reasonably well. The morning dew that’s now happening, followed by decent warm and sunny autumn days, should mean conditions are pretty good.

There are more showers forecast but also fairly mild temperatures, so things could be beautifully loamy or tacky and ‘orrible, depending on how much the sky leaks. As ever, come prepared and take it easy to begin with, especially on the more polished chalky sections or covered runs.

If it’s your first time riding at Aston Hill read the essentials and the frequently asked questions - they answer most enquiries people have about the park. Bearing in mind that Aston Hill becomes a far more technical venue in the wet, so take extra care.

Looking damp.

It’s been a damp week, but has also been drying quickly because of the mild, muggy conditions. It’s looking like more of the same for the weekend with showers and decent temperatures (but hopefully no deluge, like last weekend). Expect humidity and some grease underwheel - it could either be fantastically loamy after the showers, or very tacky as it dries out. Definitely a weekend for spikier tyres!

If it’s your first time riding at Aston Hill read the essentials and the frequently asked questions - they answer most enquiries people have about the park. Bearing in mind that Aston Hill becomes a far more technical venue in the wet, so take extra care.

It could really do with a little rain…

After a dry week at the end of a very wet August, too many people were tempting the weather gods at Aston Hill. The very dusty course was “like riding on marbles”, according to one racer on Saturday’s practice and “it could really do with a little rain to settle things down” was said more than once.

Well my friends, ask and you shall receive.

To prove that the weather gods are listening and have a sense of humour, racing kicked off at 11am on Sunday and by 11.15 it had started raining. By 1pm it had become a deluge of biblical proportions and at 3pm it was barely letting up. By 5pm, shortly after prize giving, the sun finally came out.

Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?

Still, the conditions proved a few things. The first was that the 423 really is a good all-weather course, standing up remarkably well to the sustained beating that a day of racing brings. The second was that racers are a hardy bunch, with a good portion of riders staying to do a second run on a wet-turning-tacky trail.

The racing!

Hardtails

The hardtails were off first on a dry course, and Sam Johnson and Isaac Mundy of the Identiti Flow team claimed 1st and 2nd, with the 3rd and 4th fastest times of the day (1.10.71 and 1.12.93 respectively) and Matthew James making up the podium, barely four seconds off the winning time. Truly crazy, crazy fools.

More photos!

Event sponsor SimonSlaterPhotography.com‘s team have got all their shots up at www.simonslaterphotography.com/Aston_Hill_4.09.11.aspx

Vince Mo’s are on his website: www.mo-foto.co.uk/set/set_eastern_central_dh_2011.html

Dave Franciosy’s are on his Zenfolio site: davefranciosy.zenfolio.com/f258557286

And last but by no means least, BDS ‘tog Ian Cross has got put his shots on pics4all.zenfolio.com/p44359390

As ever, keep an eye on Aston Hill’s Flickr page and Roots and Rain.

More photo and video links as they arrive!

Here’s Neil Chapman’s suitably slick offering. Enjoy!

The first video is up, courtesy of Volker Pacher.

Results are up!

Check out www.mikrotime.com/mtb/ast2011/ast1102.html and www.rootsandrain.com/race542/2011-sep-4-aston-hill-central-and-eastern-champs-aston-hill/.

Links to photos and film will follow as they arrive. Hope all that raced are now clean and dry after yesterday’s biblical conditions!

Photos of practice…

…are now online from Ian at Pics4all and Dave ‘not so chubby’ Franciosy’s Zenfolio site.

Weather is also looking good and there’s still a few places left.

Coming racing? Sign-on and registration opens at 8am - see you there!