Dromara Trail Quest League Round 3 [Dolly's Brae]
Dolly's Brae Inn at Ballyward was the headquarters for round 3 of Dromara Cycling Club's Trail Quest Winter Series. These leisure mountain bike events are a great way to get out on your bike over the winter period with the added bonus that all proceeds from the six rounds are being donated to the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.
Thirty five teams, some 81 riders, took part in today's event with the first team away, team Nocturnal, at 10:31 am. The other teams followed at one minute intervals with only one team of juniors doing the 2 hour event and the other 34 teams taking on the 3.5 hour event. The weather was much improved from the same event in 2008 with bright blue skies and no clouds but there was a cold and occasionally gusty wind which ensured that the competitors did not stand about too much. At the appointed time, the teams were handed a map with the 27 markers shown as circles. The markers were spread across an area from Windy Gap in the north to Bannfield bridge in the south west and Castlewellan Forest in the east. The course had been designed by Trevor and Bob from the club and had made use of the majority of the routes used last year. The teams who had competed here last year were then at a slight advantage to the others but the lanes and bridle ways took their toll on the riders with lots of punctures as well as a few broken chains and other mechanical issues with the bicycles to deal with. Bob was called in on several occasions to 'rescue' participants and bring them back to base.
Team 'Who the fox is that?' was the league leader after the first two rounds but did not have as good a day today and then suffered a broken chain in the last 30 minutes of their alloted time. John Ruddell from the team had to be towed back to the event HQ by his team mate Paul McMinn. Team 'The Losers', who had set up and run the previous round, managed to make up for not taking part in that round by collecting the most points at this round, 290 out of a possible 410. Behind them was another Dromara CC team 'Blind Zeppelins' with the first team away on the day 'Nocturnal' finishing third. Team 'Who the fox is that?" finished fourth.
A big thank you to Trevor and Bob for setting up and running this round of the trail quest series. It was great to finally see the scenery especially after the hail stones that marred this round last year. Many thanks also the staff at the Dolly's Brae Inn who were generous with their hospitality and did not seem to mind the mess from the muddy shoes!
The next round will take place on Sunday 27 December 2009 at Brennan's Garage, Seaford. See website for details www.dromaracc.co.uk.
Photos and report by Martin Grimley
