First round of the winter N-Duro MTB series last week. Having been on the road on a sales trip for the week prior I had two bikes in the car to choose from. Potentially both equally inappropriate for a fast XC event. In the end i chose the one with no suspension, drop bars, and 38mm deep carbon wheelset....
Did I mention non-tubeless is one retro set-up i could do without? Two tube changes in the first 4km saw me dead last by a long way. However a rocket ship of a bike up hill (and maybe 36/25 as granny forced that) had me back to 10th by the end (although I only made it to 2nd in the womens race - sonia smashed me).
riding a glorified road bike in singletrack was a pretty interesting experience. If I'd become lazy with riding habits this is certainly a way to get you thinking about what you are doing! moving time on the GPS showed I could have been pretty close to the front so plenty of positives. And a week later my arms and shoulders have finally stopped aching.
Will I use it again? Maybe. Although the thought of using 3 different styles of bike bike in each of the 3 races is kind of appealing too. Got a few weeks to decide
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