Mud, Sweat 'n Gears

The Tweed Valley has long been a home for mountain biking, since the first graded trails were laid out c2000 at Glentress Forest near Peebles, to the even more technical downhill runs on the south side of the valley at Innerleithen.

It is the latter that was the location for the 2012 iXS Downhill Cup, over this weekend.

Saturday, the main practice day, saw some of the heaviest rain we have seen this year, so race day saw mud. And more mud. And even more mud. I couldn't get my car in to the car parking field due to the atrocious ground conditions, and walking up to the track was as bad. From the state of the bikers walking down towards me, it was clear that a lot of mothers were going be very busy with their washing machines when their kids arrived home.

This shot was taken on the last set of hazards before the finish line. I haven't been able to identify woman rider number 241, as the results have not yet been posted.

Further uphill in the woods it was pretty scary stuff, but too dark for me to catch any decent pictures. The riders were all a pretty fearless bunch, and it was great fun to be there.

An excellent video of some of the racing has been posted here.