Race Report: Howies Dyfi 65k Enduro
This weekend saw the 14th consecutive yearly running of the Howies Dyfi Enduro, this is not the kind of Enduro we would usually report on here at Enduro Mag. The concept is that of the original type, large 65k xc endurance loop, which you just basically have to get round. The event is mega popular, with several hundreds of participants, all had raced to get their entry in, which can fill up in a matter of hours! The event is taken place over the entire bank holiday weekend, with a great family friendly atmosphere and set-up, with beer tents, food and lots of cool kind of festival activities going on about the place all weekend.
For Gravity Enduro racers, like myself, and the many who entered, this really is just a great ride and fantastic training to get some miles in the fitness bank. The serious racers were there on their featherweight xc rigs, with their head angles being sharper than a comedian’s whit! These guys and gals were here to do the business, fully lycra’d up and with less fat on them than a butcher’s dog. We all headed off, myself and mate Myles upon our beautiful Intense Carbines, these bikes get so much attention at a gig like this. First up we rode through the small Welsh villiage town of Machynlleth, this was lined with around a thousand people all cheering you on, as you head through the streets and up the long road climbs to the start of the mountains.
We personally had a plan, steady as we could up the hills, but hammer the downhills, seeing how many people we could overtake, great Mega Avalanche training! Most of the climbs were of the long, dragged out fire-road variety, they seemed to go on forever, but were always worth it, as they were followed by fantastic loose, rocky and single-track descents, of which many were used at the UKGE events of the past. There were crazy happenings going on about the loop, like the bunch of weirdly dressed people playing wind instruments and riding around on kids bikes, plus a guy towing a massive stereo about, blasting the tunes out from the back of his bike. At the 30k mark, where I was starting to feel beat, there was a much needed food station, where you could grab a bite to eat and top up on fluids, then with about 10k to go I even managed to swig a small glass of ale at a small beer station, bazaar!
We managed to ride up one of the trickiest steep single-track descents, as all riders around our order of the ranks were pushing, this nearly killed us, but felt great. I do think, however, that we paid for that climb later in the event, as with 20k to go I was real tired and the last 10k shut me right up, head down, thinking of nothing but the end. But we did it, collected the much-prized Dyfi Enduro mug and would definitely do it again next year.
Thanks for all the brilliant organization and atmosphere, for an excellent video by Will Sanders or if you would like to take part in this or any other events organized by them, check out www.summitcycles.co.uk/enduro/dyfienduro.html
Words: Jim Buchanan, Photos: Rob Barker
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