Busy, busy, busy...

Harry and his big brother

Well it's been a busy 10 days...  Harry's new coat took a day longer to apply than planned so I spent Saturday being pit bitch for Elmar (my boss) at his local Moto-X.  When we got back to Hagen I picked Harry up and I headed down to Sram HQ in Schweinfurt, via a campsite to do my washing. Monday to Wednesday was spent mainly loading parts into draws where I thought they would be best and making/modifying special tools etc.

 

So late on Wednesday afternoon I pulled out of Schweinfurt and headed for my first race, a Super Enduro in Sesti Levante.  Great drive, via the Brenner Pass as I have to avoid Switzerland due to commercial goods etc.  Filled the LPG tanks for the first time which was interesting as I've never operated a LPG pump before and the instructions were in German and Italian but hey I did it, so now I can have a cup of tea anytime! 

Arriving in Sestri after lunch I found a wonderful car wash on the outskirts of town so set about cleaning Harry.  5 euros later he comes out shiny, shiny ready to place on my space but this being Italy, they don't know where this will be (local organiser and Super Enduro boys haven't worked it out yet) so I have to wait until Friday morning.  So Todd, who has come down from Schweinfurt to help and me, go and find dinner.

Friday morning and I wake to a rainy, windy morning.  These are the last things you want when you are putting up the awning, especially as it will be the first time.  So finally at 11:30 we get our place in the pit area and can start setting up. Thankfully the wind has dropped but it’s still raining on and off so we set about errecting the awning which has a lot of poles (I'll count them one day) that are stored in the garage and on the roof.  We spend around 3.5 hours assembling the awning which with a small lunch break and downing tools when it rained hard, we were ready to start wrenching at 16:00.

Awning up and closed down for the evening

At 17:00 I held our first FF@F (Fridays Fundamentals @ Five) session, which will be a regular feature at all the events I attend. This is where I'm hoping we can show that it's not a faff (see what I did there) to look after your RockShox fork to get the best performance out of it.  So, as there had been very little promotion a small firm crew arrive, and Carlo with his Pike fork.  I give Carlo's fork a lower lube, show him and the camera some tricks and tips and then do an interview explaining the concept of the need for riders to be able to look after their own equipment, especially in the enduro discipline.

Todd on the all important sticker application

Saturday is training in the morning with 2 stages in the afternoon so we are kept busy fixing racers stuff until 2 when we decamp to the parc assistance area where we set up under our ezzy-up too offer neutral support.  Riders will have 30 minutes to prep their bikes after the first two stages before being put into the parc ferme.  Matt Wragg on Pinkbike explained the principle behind this well " The idea is simple - your bike should be reliable enough to survive the whole weekend of racing. It's a great idea, as it pushes racers away from risking ultra light (and usually ultra-expensive kit) looking for small advantages, and towards strong, durable products. It makes for racing a world away from the World Cups, where forks and wheels are re-built almost every run and, in theory, makes for a more level playing field for amateur racers." - http://www.pinkbike.com/news/superenduro-pro-1-sestri-levante-friday-practice.html

The first rider to need help, well a new derailleur as he smacked it on a rock during stage 2 is Marco Miliventi who is leading the race.  We fix him up and then follows periods of inactivity punctuated by extreme madness with up to 4 riders at a time needing assistance.  In the end we have helped some 15 riders who without new parts or adjustments probably wouldn't have finished the race.  At 17:30 all the riders have passed through so we pack-up, I have the first shower in Harry and we head out for dinner in the restaurant opposite.

Sunday sees the riders collecting their bikes 10 minutes before their start time so we have various panics about the operation of their bikes, mainly gear adjustment (it’s amazing how many riders can’t do even the most basic adjustments).  With 2 stages today the leaders are due to finish around 14:00 with the last one home at 16:00.  Between the stages the riders return to the start to check in so we have several small tweak jobs then.  After they have finished we get hit up for parts riders have broken and Todd dictates the policy depending on age of product and how nicely the riders asks.  We then begins the take down of the awning which takes about 1.5 hours.  Todd heads for home as he is flying out to the World Cup in S. Africa on Wednesday and I slowly pack everything away.  I go for dinner with the Super Enduro crew and over pizza discuss various aspects of the event.

Lake Garda campsite with washing out to dry

As I don’t have enough of some things and too much of others I decide to drive the 900 km back to Schweinfurt to reorganise/restock but first a day on a campsite to do my washing.  I decide on a site near Verona airport as I plan to fly out of here in a couple of weeks to attend Steve Worland’s funeral so need to see how secure this is.  The site is on the south side of Lake Garda and is very big but peaceful.  After washing and various reports I make a very healthy salad before a long Skype call to Helen.

On Tuesday I start the return trip which I don’t rush as I’m not expected until Wednesday.  The only thing of note was the queues of trucks doing in the other direction around the Brenner Pass and the price of diesel around the pass.  The glamour of a German lay-is my night stop some 30 minutes shy of Schweinfurt. 

Arriving in Schweinfurt I set about reorganising the truck.  We go for lunch at a sausage shop and I spend the evening catching-up on this blog.